S U M V A R Y . Total sialic acid (TSA) and lipid-associated sialic acid (LASA) conccntrations werc found to be significantly elevated in the sera of patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) and those with chronic renal failure (CRF) who were maintained on haemodialysis. The refercncc values for TSA and LASA werc detcrmined in the sera of 60 hcalthy sub.jects (33 males and 77 females) and showed no significant dependence on age and sex. N o correlation existed bctwccn the TSA ; ~ n d LASA valucs, nor betwecn TSA and LASA and the serum BlJN and creatininc v;iluca in the patients and controls. A large amount of bound sialic acids was excreted in the urinc of both groups of patients. although the serum sialic acid levels werc increased.


United States' business computing power is dedicated to the transaction-based activities of companies, not to the needs of senior executives responsible for critical corporate decisions. Software supporting current business systems is absolete and inflexible. Antiquated, inappropriate software undermines business ability to compete. Business requires new better systems that will provide external competitive data, as well as economic and research data vital to strategic decisions concerning products, operations, production, marketing, personnel and investments. There are four approaches to these future systems - redesign, package software, retrofitting, and prototyping. Retrofitting provides a unique approach to the immediate problem of prolonging the aging application portfolio while prototyping will likely be an important future direction in system design and development.


This article considers the political situation of an authoritarian province in a nationally democratic country. The objective is to uncover strategies that incumbents (in this article, governors) pursue to perpetuate provincial authoritarian regimes, as well as dynamics that can undermine such regimes. A central insight is that controlling the scope of provincial conflict (that is, the extent to which it is localized or nationalized) is a major objective of incumbents and oppositions in struggles over local democratization. Authoritarian incumbents will thus pursue "boundary control" strategies, which are played out in multiple arenas of a national territorial system. The article fleshes out these processes via comparative analysis of two conflicts over subnational democratization in 2004: the state of Oaxaca in Mexico and the province of Santiago del Estero in Argentina.


The present invention provides a shell and tube heat exchanger comprising: a housing having a coolant inlet, a coolant outlet, a water inlet and a water outlet; tube plate partitioning the interior of the housing and the coolant water paths path , the tube plate having a through hole portion; and a tube, a tube plate supporting the tube with the water path communicating to the water through the tube, wherein the tube comprising: an inner tube, water flows through the inner tube, the inner tube is formed of a copper material ; an outer tube which at least a portion surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube, the outer tube contacting the coolant path to the coolant, wherein the outer tube is formed of an aluminum material; and a packer member, engaged with the inner tube, the packer member is placed in close contact with the through hole portion, wherein the packer member is formed of a copper material. The cost of material can be minimized to prevent the outer tube of an aluminum material is water erosion.


For economic and technical reasons, low solid content thickeners are desirable for printing cotton with reactive dyes. With this in mind, the crosslinking of an acrylic acid-based thickener (saponified acrylonitrile terpolymer) was attempted with multi valent metal salts and a bifunctional crosslinking reagent. As the concentration of aluminium sulphate increased, a tremendous increase in the viscosity occurred. At an aluminium sulphate concentration of 2.5% w/w and a formaldehyde content of 0.25% w/w, the crosslinked products showed the printable viscosities at solid contents of 1.5-2.0% and 0.5-1.0%, respectively. The performance of these products in the reactive printing of cotton is also detailed.


Aim:  The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), developed by Dr Nasreddine (Nasreddine et al. 2005), is a brief cognitive screening tool for detecting older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We examined the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the MoCA (MoCA‐J) in older Japanese subjects.


The research entitled (The obstacles of Kurdish Language –Kurdistan Region of Iraq as example). In this scientific paper attempted to illustrate the significant obstacles and barriers of Kurdish language and also illustrate the prevention of development and vitality of Kurdish language in a scientific and critical manner in this part of Kurdistan as examples of the research. So it focuses on the insufficiencies of the language, in this way we might serve and protect our language. Hence we could protect our language from collapse and death. It is needed that all of people and those who are related to this case could have a serious attention on our language; the attention could be in personal attempt or a group attempt either in a formal way or in an informal way to serve the language.


Accurate seasonal precipitation forecasts, especially for extreme events, are crucial to preventing meteorological hazards and its potential impacts on national development, social stability, and security. However, the intensity of summer precipitation is often significantly underestimated in many current dynamical models. This study uses a deep learning method called Cycle-Consistent Generative Adversarial Networks (CycleGAN) to enhance the seasonal forecast skill of the Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology Climate Forecast System (NUIST-CFS1.0) in predicting June-July-August precipitation in southeastern China. The results suggest that the CycleGAN-based model significantly improves the accuracy in predicting the spatial-temporal distribution of summer precipitation than traditional quantile mapping (QM) method. Due to the use of unpaired day-to-day correction models, we can pay more attention to the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme precipitation events in the climate dynamical model forecast. This study expands the potential applications of deep learning models to improving seasonal precipitation forecasts.


Tumor stroma (TS) is a cardinal component of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); it comprises 60 to 90% of tumor volume and is an emerging treatment target. There are conflicting reports of the role that TS plays in disease progression and its prognostic significance. The objective of this study was to develop a high-throughput, operator independent method for objectively quantifying TS density (TSD) and to evaluate the prognostic significance of TSD in resected tumors. Tissue sections of primary tumor from 126 patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy for PDAC from 1979 to 2008 and followed by observation only were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE 2016 May 12-15; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(24 Suppl):Abstract nr B80.


ARTICLE DETAILS Abstract Article History Published Online: In modern civilization, an academic discussion on the idea of Rights is essential because its core principles ascertain humans as independent and sovereign. This paper, in the view of the significance of rights in a human being"s life, discusses the idea of rights and focuses on two questions that ask what is the purpose of rights and who is entitled to have rights. To explore the possible answers, this paper discusses different perspectives that have evolved with political thinking. While doing so, the paper argues that in the modern States, rights are introduced and discussed as a common consensus and their objective is to attain a common good. In order to keep the rights as a common consent, this paper argues to realize and endorse rights above the division of self and others. In view of this stance, this paper discusses rights with reference to three ideas. The first sheds light on the fact that rights are interests of individuals that are collective in nature. The second pinpoints that rights are benefits and as individual benefits, they are basically to be enjoyed by the entire community. Lastly, the third idea of this paper underlines that rights are entitled to attain individual welfare which includes the welfare of all as commons.


With the popularity of office automation,electronic documents within the network security issues become more critical.Designs and realizes an electronic document security system,and discusses the framework model of the system,key technologies,the implementation of function modules in details,and tests the system.


On May 25, 2005 Patricia Hudgins, MD, became the 43rd President of the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR), a position which followed her service in 2004 as the 28th President of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology (ASHNR). In the February 2005 issue of the AJNR , Bill Dillon wrote


As the result of a steady trend, roughly one-half of the Native Americans in the United States now reside in urban areas. Most studies of urbanization among American Indians have focused on either the causes leading to emigration from the reservation or factors that contribute to initial urban adjustment. However, relatively little attention has been paid to Indian populations that have maintained long-term urban residence. Using a group that has maintained long-term urban residence, the Papago of Tucson, Arizona, this paper seeks to begin to fill this gap. The Papago Indians have maintained a settlement in and around Tucson since its inception. The present paper examines demographic changes that have taken place among the Tucson Papago between 1960 and 1972. In addition, current (1972) differences between persons engaged in modern and traditional occupations are explored. The findings of this study serve to illustrate the kinds and differential rates of adaptation that the Tucson Papago are making in response to modernization and urbanization.


The formulas for the numerical determination of stresses in an infinite elastic medium having two circular holes of different diameters subjected to different hydrostatic pressures on their walls, have been deduced from the well-known Airy's stress function represented by the bipolar coordinate system.Modifying the above formulas, we can also determine the stresses in a semi-infinite elastic medium having a circular hole closed to the straight boundary, under the cases of loading on both the walls of the hole and the straight boundary, and of loading on either of them.In the present study, we calculated the stresses in an infinite or a semi-infinite medium under the above mentioned conditions using the formulas, and discussed the results of the stress analysis. Some examples of the results obtained are as follows:(1) In the case of the infinite medium having one hole subjected to hydrostatic pressure and another hole with free surface, unless the interval of their holes is extremely small, the maximum tensile stress on the wall of the hole subjected to pressure does not occur at the intersection (A) of the wall and the line through the center of their holes, but occurs at the point having the value of θ=30°∼60° (Fig. 2, ∼4).(2) In the case of the infinite medium having two holes subjected to equal pressure, the maximum tensile stress occurs at the inner intersection of the wall of the smameter diameter hole and the line through the center of two holes (Fig. 8, 9).(3) In the case of the semi-infinite medium having a hole subjected to pressure, the maximum tensile stress on the wall of the hole occurs at the point having the value of θ=80°∼90° (Fig. 11).


The invention relates to the field of semiconductor equipment, and in particular relates to a method for reducing friction between components of a machine. The method for reducing friction between the components of the machine is applied to the machine including a gas ejector and a dual gas belt, wherein the gas ejector comprises a hollow round hole, and an O-shaped ring is arranged on the inner wall of the hole; the dual gas belt is provided with a protruded round cavity, the diameter of the cavity is not more than that of the O-shaped ring, and thus the cavity is inserted into the hole after penetrating through the O-shaped ring. According to the method provided by the invention, the O-shaped ring is arranged on the inner wall of the hole of the gas ejector, so that the cavity of the dual gas belt is prevented from being rubbed with the hole when being inserted into the hole, and thus service life is improved.


A thermodynamic perturbation theory for mixtures of fluids composed of particles interacting via discrete potentials is presented, based on previous work for pure component systems. Square-well and square-shoulder mixtures are accurately described by this theory, giving the necessary information for studying a wide range of discrete potential fluids. As an example of this, the theory is applied to a discrete Lennard-Jones mixture, obtaining very good results when compared against computer simulation values. The scope of this work is to implement perturbation theory for discrete potential systems in modern theories for complex fluids.


Background: A Gar is a primarily freshwater fish that resides in North America. The flesh of a garfish is edible; however, the eggs and any meat surrounding the eggs are highly toxic to humans. The toxicity is induced by the protein ichthyotoxin.
Case Report: The studied patient was an 18-year-old male who ingested 2-3 spoons full of gar eggs in their residence place. Each spoon full contained 40-50 eggs. The estimated total amount of consumed eggs equaled 3 teaspoons. Approximately one hour after eating the eggs, the patient began to feel unwell. Upon arrival at the local Children's Hospital, the patient was experiencing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and sweating.
Conclusion: Patients affected by gar eggs should be treated symptomatically, given there is no antidote or specific treatment for ichthyotoxin. Further research is required on the mechanism that makes ichthyotoxin toxic. Luckily, the presented patient presented no seizures due to the toxin and the care providers could manage the related symptoms.


Multiwall carbon nanotubes were functionalized with epoxy groups by chemical modification in four stages. At each stage, the compound was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Epoxy composite samples were prepared by mixing diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A-based epoxy resin and synthetic epoxy-functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (E-MWCNT) with different percentages (1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15%) in acetone. Ultrasonic dispersion was used to produce homogenous blends. The optimum ratio of the reacting components (9%) was investigated by total enthalpy of the curing reaction from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms. The kinetics of the curing reaction for epoxy composites with 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsolfon as a curing agent was studied by means of a DSC nonisothermal technique. The kinetic parameters such as activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and rate constant were obtained from DSC data. The structure ofthe nanocomposites and dispersion of the E-MWCNTs in the nanocomposites were observed using SEM, and the thermal properties were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


The Euler-Lagrange equation for the quantized Skyrmion with definite spin and isospin is derived. It turns out to be the operator equations for the conservation of the axial-vector current in the massless-pion case and the partial conservation of axial-vector current relation in the massive-pion case. Contrary to earlier claims, it admits stable rotating soliton solutions. Furthermore, it is shown that the classical equation in the Skyrme model with rigid-body quantization is a good approximation.


The Bronze Age cairn of Bredaror at Kivik, Scania, southern Sweden, is famous for its stone cist with rock engravings. Discovered and looted in 1748, it was excavated by archaeologist Gustaf Hallstrom in 1931. On the basis of the rock engravings and the fragments and descriptions of bronze objects found in the cist, scholars have interpreted Bredaror as a single princely burial and suggested various dates for it ranging from 1500 to 700 BC. Hallstrom found bones in and around the cist that have not been studied by osteologists until now. Analyses show that at least five human individuals are represented, four adolescents and one adult. Radiocarbon dates for the bones indicate at least three episodes of deposition from 1400 to 800 cal BC. The adult individual dates from the 9th century cal BC, that is, much later than the engravings and the bronze objects that have been the primary material for the princely interpretation.


The study explored, from the cognitive neuropsychological perspective, the spelling performance of boys and girls in 5° and 6° primary school, between 10 and 11 years old, attending public and private schools in Lima. The research was descriptive with a non - experimental –transeccional– descriptive design, used as an instrument, the Spelling Test Performance (PRO), levels 1-2, which has a 0.90 reliability and structural validity ranging from 0.523 (semantic processing) to 0.902 (lexical processing). We globally found, that men and women didn't showed significant differences in the spelling performance, although girls achieved significantly better performance on tests of punctuation marks, exclamation and interrogation marks, while males showed a performance significantly better on the test of accent marks. On the other hand, sixth grade students, compared to fifth graders, only showed significant difference in the punctuation test; otherwise happening in homophones test dictation.


Sedimenting the alternating copolymer, synthetic poly[d(A-T)], through increasing concentrations of CH3HgOH at pH 6.8 in solutions of different ionic strength reveals that there exists a critical CH3HgOH concentration at which double-stranded poly[d(A-T)] becomes denatured. The denaturation reaction is accompanied first by a sudden increase in the rate of sedimentation followed by as sudden a decrease. The change occurs over a narrow concentration range of added CH3HgOH indicating that the transition is highly cooperative. At CH3HgOH concentrations insufficient to induce denaturation, the organomercurial does not interact with poly[d(A-T)] as judged from the invariance of s20,w with increasing concentrations of CH3HgOH. By contrast, s20,w of denatured poly[d(A-T)]is strongly dependent on CH3HgOH concentration.

It appears that in solvents of low ionic strength s20,w of single-stranded poly[d(A-T)] is determined largely by the increase in mass caused by the addition of the methylmercury group to the various binding sites of adenine and thymine. In more concentrated supporting electrolyte solutions, on the other hand, the variation of s20,w with organomercurial concentration can no longer be explained solely on the basis of a variation in molecular weight but presumably involves also changes in the frictional properties of the polymer.


This paper makes analysis on character of energy supplement of time trial event of cycling and discus the main factors influencing the performance such as speed,endurance,explosive and speed-endurance,and training method.The main purpose is to provide the scientific basis for cyclist improving performance.


The Centre for Living Information Systems Thinking (LIST) is looking at IS development in organisations undergoing change. After discussing the problems that change introduces into IS development, the paper explains the basic philosophy of the centre, and some of the areas of research that might make a contribution to the basic questions that have been derived. Some views on the subject of change in organisations will be outlined, and the change paradox will be introduced. Problems with Information Systems for Business The first few sections of this paper are a condensation of Paul (1993). There are many forms of information systems (I.S.) in practice. This paper restricts itself to those I.S. that are used by human beings to assist them in their endeavors, the type of I.S. that are exemplified by business I.S. The most generous observation that one can make about current I.S. development is that most, if not all, systems disappoint. This disappointment is mostly with the customer, be that the user or the owner, but also with the analysts and developers. A good example, which demonstrates this point, is the sad case of the London Ambulance Service computer system that spectacularly failed and had to be disconnected on its first days of operation (Watts, 1992). On Monday and Tuesday 26 and 27 October 1992 between 10 and 20 people are alleged to have lost their lives because the emergency service failed them. Whilst such claims are almost impossible to verify, it is clear in this case that the ambulance service customers were 'disappointed'. But what of other interest groups. The man in charge of the system is alleged to have said: "The computer did not fail on that Monday it was working exactly as it was designed to." The report goes on to observe that the people using the computer system in the control room and in the ambulances are "doing things wrong". That is, they are not doing what the computer has been designed to expect. There are many reported I.S. problem developments. The question that one might ask is "are there any complete success stories?" This sometimes gets turned into the opposite question "why don't systems do what people want?" But perhaps the better question to ask does not concern whether people get what they want, nor even how can we find out what people want, but the more fundamental question of how people can know what they want. We shall return to this last question after the next section, where we examine attempts to alleviate disappointment by the offering of a palliative (something that relieves but does not cure).


In thin film magnetic recording media, the carbon protective layer and the outermost lubricant layer have a significant influence on the tribological properties. It is thought that the functional groups on the surface of the carbon influence the adsorption of the lubricant. The present study describes the identification and quantification of the functional groups on the surface of magnetic thin film media based on an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) preceded by chemical derivatization. The number of functional groups on the surface of the carbon protective layer was obtained from the ratio of the fluorine and carbon in the XPS spectrum. Gas-phase chemical modification was found to be preferable as a pretreatment for surface analysis, and the number of carbonyl, hydroxy, and carboxylic acid groups were directly determined. The number of hydroxy group was higher immediately after deposition, and the carbonyl group, of which the concentration rapidly increased with exposure time to air, became the most abundant. Both groups improved the affinity of the lubricant and will probably lead to a better lubricity.


This paper presents the design and experimental results relevant to front-end circuits integrated on detector grade, high resistivity silicon. The fabrication technology is made available by the Istituto per In Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (ITC-IRST), Trento, Italy and allows using a common substrate for different kinds of active devices such as N-channel JFETs and MOSFETs and for pixel, microstrip and PIN detectors. This research activity is being carried out in the framework of a project aiming at the fabrication of a multichannel mixed analog-digital chip for the readout of solid state detectors integrated in the same substrate. Possible applications are in the field of medical and industrial imaging and space and high energy physics experiments. An all-JFET charge sensitive amplifier, which can use either a resistive or a nonresistive feedback network, has been characterized. The two configurations have been compared to each other, paying particular attention to noise performances, in view of the design of the complete readout channel. Operation capability in harsh radiation environment has been evaluated through exposure to /spl gamma/-rays from a /sup 60/Co source.


Acute exercise appears to have positive influence on arterial function during the recovery period, yet the effect of obesity is poorly understood in recovery. We examined the effects of an acute bout of exercise on arterial function in obese versus healthy weight individuals. Young (23 yr), lean (n=38, BMI=22.3 kg/m2) and obese (n=20, BMI=34.0 kg/m2) individuals had arterial measurements obtained at rest, and 15 and 30 min following a maximal bout of aerobic exercise. Arterial tonometry and ultrasound were used to obtain central BP, arterial compliance and stiffness (beta stiffness, elastic modulus (Ep), and central pulse wave velocity (PWV)). Despite similar central mean BP, the obese group had higher cPWV following exercise. Beta stiffness and Ep responded similarly to exercise between groups. Arterial compliance was higher in obese but the response in recovery was similar between groups.


A homologous series of monoand dicationic, neutral, and monoand dianionic zinc diazabutadiene complexes, Kx[Zn(t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2], Zn(t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2, and [Zn(t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2](OTf)x (x ) 1, 2), have been prepared and isolated in pure form. The crystal structures of the monoand dicationic as well as of the monoanionic complexes are reported. In this series, the formal charge on the t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu ligands ranges from -2 to+2, and the way in which the molecular geometry of the ligands varies with the charge is discussed. [Zn(t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2](OTf)2 reacts with methanol to give 1,3-ditert-butylimidazolium triflate. Crystal data: dicationic2 ([Zn(t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2](OTf)2, C22H40F6S2N4O6Zn), monoclinic, space group C2/c, with a ) 18.015(6) Å,b ) 9.257(6) Å,c ) 20.012(5) Å,â ) 109.63(3) °, andZ ) 4; monocationic3'thf ([Zn(tBuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2]OTf'thf, C25H48F3N4O3SZn), orthorhombic, space group P212121, with a ) 10.3077(6) Å,b ) 17.1974(6) Å,c ) 17.8241(13) Å, andZ ) 4; monoanionic5'thf (K(thf)3[Zn(t-BuNCHCHN-t-Bu)2], C36H72KN4O3Zn), triclinic, space groupP1h, with a ) 10.8702(10) Å,b ) 11.5175(9) Å,c ) 18.2815(13) Å,R ) 73.795(6) °, â ) 74.227(6) °, γ ) 75.736(7) °, andZ) 2; 7 (1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolium triflate, C12H21F3N2O3S), orthorhombic, space group Pbca, with a ) 14.4086(8) Å,b ) 12.0293(8) Å,c ) 18.6985(12) Å, andZ ) 8.


This paper describes the bitumen emulsion practice in the United Kingdom with special reference to the use of polymer surface dressing binders and high bitumen content emulsions. Climate and the latest road statistics are utilised to explain the expansion of the use of bitumen emulsions. Emulsion viscosity problems are discussed in relation to obtaining good transverse distributions. Some aspects of the surface dressing operation are covered including plant and techniques. The degree of site difficulty defines the skid resistance required and where polymer and thermosetting binders should be used. The author feels that this appreciation is intrinsic to maximising economic benefit and is important for the future of surface dressing. For the covering record of the workshop see IRRD 283860. (Author/TRRL)


If the space is compact one or the function is monotone non-decreasing,the equivalence between Boyd and Wong's fixed point theorem and Banach's contraction mapping principle is proved.As we all know, Banach's contraction mapping principle is very important in theory and application, so the research of equivalence between the two principle is important too.


To replicate full colour perfonnance of a cathode ray tube,efficient EL active red,green and blue phosphors having specific emission colour must be available. The prospects for production of a full-colour EL display have brightened considerably following the discovery and efficient operation of the blue emitting phosphor SrS:Cu and ifs modifications( 1]. Por SrS based EL devices the phosphor layer is deposited at substrate temperatures 400oC600°C and sulphur co evaporation to realize stoichiometric films[2,3].For the films deposited at low temperatures post deposition annealing should be perfomled at high temperatures in the range 650oC-8500q4-8].


Introduction  The supervision of medical residents is a key responsibility of attending doctors in the clinical setting. Most attending doctors, however, are unfamiliar with the principles of effective supervision. Although inconsistent, supervision has been shown to be both important and effective for the professional development of medical residents.


The goal for the West China development should be the coordinated development of economy and natural environment,with the harmony of human beings and nature and sustainable social development.In practice,it is necessary to change from human development without reflecting on nature to harmonious development of man and nature and to make the transition from traditional development idea to coordinated environmental development.Therefore,it is necessary to emphasize that the crux of the matter is to bring in and cultivate talents.


Objective :To research the balance function in patients with stroke rehabilitation assessment methods and progress. Methods :By collecting documents,we summarized clinical and related departments together to discuss the way for generalizations. Result :Balance function of the evaluation methods mainly included observation method,questionnaire method,the balancing instrument testing method and the method of 3 d motion analysis system. Conclusion :Different evaluation method has its own application value. There is no way to completely replace another,only better selection and application of the different ways of evaluation to make more accurate assessment and guide the treatment.


During July and August 2006,two earthquake swarms(with maximum magnitude of MS5.1)occurred in Yanjin,Yunnan.We analyze and process the strong motion records of their aftershocks and the earthquake with MS4.7 on August 29,2006,and obtain their velocity and displacement time curves and major spectrum values.We also discuss the phenomena of small earthquake but serious disaster according to the recordings of strong motions.


With the continuous production from Kuwait oil reservoirs, a clear decline in reservoir pressure is observed. Subsequently, the demand for artificial lift is increasing to sustain production. Maintenance of those wells requires frequent interventions and continuous presence of workover rigs, which affects overall cost of production. Change of the electrical submersible pump (ESP) deployment method represents one of the cost reduction initiatives undertaken by the operator to reduce well intervention time and improve asset utilization.
 To minimize deferred production generated by the ESP replacement operation, a novel rigless approach leveraging coiled tubing (CT) was introduced in southeast and west Kuwait. It reduces operating costs and eliminates disruptions to operations by enabling rigless retrieval and redeployment of a standard ESP assembly. To evaluate the efficiency of using CT as rigless ESP retrieval and conveyance method, two candidate wells were selected to recover and redeploy a 108-ft-long ESP system. The intervention methodology relied on CT equipped with optical line and real-time downhole telemetry, a high-pressure rotary jetting tool, and a specific ESP deployment assembly.
 The retrieval and redeployment of the ESP was executed in a single rigless intervention, averaging less than 72 hours of operational time per well. This represents five times improvement over the standard practice using a workover rig. The intervention was executed in several stages, according to the well intervention program, and included tubing drift and cleanout runs, retrieval, inspection, and redress of the ESP assembly, followed by its successful redeployment. The high-pressure rotary jetting tool was used to condition the wellbore tubulars across the fishing area, while downhole real-time data enabled by the 1 3/4-in. CT equipped with optical telemetry were instrumental to eliminate uncertainties associated with changing downhole conditions. The casing collar locator allowed live depth control and ensured accurate positioning of the ESP. Its careful retrieval and redeployment were monitored thanks to the downhole axial force readings, which allowed controlling the weight applied on the fishing assembly. Internal and external downhole pressure data, along with downhole temperature, helped in controlling actuation and use of the high-pressure rotary jetting nozzle under nominal conditions for maximum efficiency.
 This enhanced rigless ESP replacement technique, made possible by the joint use of CT and real-time downhole measurements, was confirmed as a robust workover method for retrieval and redeployment of rigless ESPs in southeast and west Kuwait. The experience gained in the first two wells brings a new level of confidence to Kuwait operators about this technique, which certainly can be expanded to other fields in the Middle East and elsewhere.


Objective : The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Paljung-san on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods : We researched four men with BPH and LUTS, who were treated 3 times a day for 10 days with Paljung-san. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and post void residual urine (PVR) were evaluated. Results : The mean decrease in IPSS total score was 13 points (P=0.007, Mann-Whitney test). The reduction of IPSS was more prominent in the obstructive subscore but was not significant (P=0.057, Mann-Whitney test). Furthermore, Paljung-san reduced PVR. Conclusions : After the 10-day treatment period, Paljung-san improved total IPSS score, especially in the obstructive subscale score, and reduced post void residual urine.


The Joint Detection is a key technology of the TD-SCDMA system.It can combat the system noise,improve the frequency using ratio,increase the system capability,reduce the requirement of the power control and so on.It can even reduce the cost of wireless net.In this paper,the hardware implementation of JD is introduced,and the simulation waves are given.


Due to lack of available experimental data, plastic design of stainless steel (SS) indeterminate structures is currently not permitted by Eurocode 3: Part 1.4, despite the excellent material ductility and the existence of a Class 1 slenderness limit, thereby compromising design efficiency. The high initial material cost warrants the development of novel design procedures, in line with the observed structural response, which fully utilise its merits, improve cost‐effectiveness and minimise material consumption. This paper focuses on the response and design of stainless steel continuous beams. FE models of austenitic and lean duplex stainless steel SHS and RHS were developed and validated against published test data. The validated FE models were used to conduct parametric studies, in order to obtain structural performance data over a range of cross‐sectional slendernesses, cross section aspect ratios, moment gradients and loading arrangements. Based on obtained results, it was concluded that the current Eurocode 3: Part 1.4 approach significantly underestimates the strength of continuous beams. This is because the formation of successive plastic hinges and moment redistribution in indeterminate structures with adequate deformation capacity, as well as the effect of strain‐hardening at cross‐sectional level, are not accounted for. It is shown that accounting for both strain‐hardening and moment redistribution is of paramount importance for design. To this end, the application of the Continuous Strength Method (CSM), which rationally accounts for local buckling at cross‐section level, is extended to the design of stainless steel indeterminate structures. Further research is underway to quantify the effect of high shear stresses on the design procedure and to extend the method to the design of pinned based and fixed based stainless steel frames.


The article deals with the prose works by two representatives of Ukrainian literature from the last quarter of the 19th century — Oleksandr Konyskyi and Borys Grinchenko. It emphasizes that a number of their works expand the genre-style possibilities of Ukrainian prose of their time, while simultaneously embodying their efforts within the limits of realistic artistic prose to model the desired idea of society. Aware of the limitations of their practical actions, the novelists count on the literature role of a serious mediator for the established communication between the "old" and "young" intellectuals, between the intellectuals and the people. The ideological prose was a way to promote Ukrainian culture and attract new forces to the cultural-enlightenment movement. The subject of research is the problematic-ideological basis of the works and their system of images. The object of research is the prose works by O. Konyskyi and B. Grinchenko, where the driving force of the plot and the main protagonists are representatives of various Ukrainian intellectuals, who used to be called "new people". The aim of the article is to trace the examples of these two authors' works and how the ideas of the national movement and mood were changing among the Ukrainian public and cultural figures in the older and younger generations of Ukrainophiles. The stated aim includes solving the following tasks: to outline the different periods of the populist movement in Ukraine in the perception of its long-term and active participants; to analyse the approach to conceptualizing the image of the "new man" as a bearer of a new ideology and the popularization of the latter among the broad masses; to find out to what extent the dreams of the populists corresponded with reality.

As the result of the analysis carried out using the approaches of biographical, historical-literary, and empirical research methods, it was possible to establish that the tasks faced by ideological prose at the beginning of the 70s of the 19th century did not lose their relevance in the last decade of the 19th century, since the internal policy of the government towards the Ukrainians essentially did not change. According to the authors, literature could program a certain social behaviour of a significant social group, however, for objective reasons, works from the life of the intellectuals were known to a small audience.


The utility model relates to a stainless steel aluminum compounded solderless radiator. Holes are arranged on a round (or square) main water pipe made of stainless steel material (or carbon-steel or plastic material), a thread is arranged at the inward turnover part of each hole, and water outlets at both ends of the main water pipe are respectively in the shape of a contracting tube with an inside thread; an outside thread is arranged at one end of each water outlet joint, steps are arranged in the middle of each water outlet joint, and the other end is in the shape of a cone with a circular notch; each water outlet joint is screwed in each thread, and radiating fins and a coupling are extruded into a whole by the conical parts of the water outlet joints. When the radiating fins are connected with the coupling, the distance of the steps on each water outlet joint is kept among both ends of each radiating fin w and the main water pipe of the coupling. The utility model has the advantages of good sealing performance, easy alignment in mounting, uniform gaps, attractive appearance, no welding spot and leakage, low maintenance frequency and high yield, and an anticorrosion film is coated between an aluminum alloy tube and a stainless steel tube on each radiating fin to improve the anticorrosion property and prolong the service life.


This paper reviews the research progress on the inducement of cotton fiber invitro, including the factors affecting cotton fiber differentiation and growth, and the mecha-nism of cotton fiber development. Cotton fiber in vitro can be induced mainly from ovules orfrom the callus, and was regulated by plant growth substances and environmental factors.This paper discussed the problems about culture of cotton fiber in vitro and the potentialapplication of culture of cotton fiber in vitro.


The present paper aims to characterize the hydrosedimentary dynamics of the estuary of Cotonou, a small channel of the ouémé river. This channel is used as a link of communication between the NokoueLakeand the Atlantic Ocean. So, this channel is an estuary of Ouémé River which has been the focal point of all the hydraulic and hydrologic exchanges between the lake and the ocean. That channel, artificial estuary, was built in 1885 to evacuate the floods of Nokoué lake, and to restrict this exchange between the lake and the ocean. To limit that exchange, one dam was built on the estuary in 1979. The construction of that dam had created a lot of environmental problems and had provocatedachangement of the hydraulic boundary conditions of the channel. The construction of the seaport of Cotonou, mainly the dam are the principal causes of the hydraulic changes which took place in the estuary. That dam is particularly responsible for the trapping of majority of the sediments discharged into the lagoon of cotonou by the Nokoué lake. This characterization of hydrosedimentary dynamics is based on the Shields parameter and the reading of the so-called Huljström diagram, on one part, and using the geometrical model established, depending of the bathymetry of the estuary, a modelization which leads to a better appreciation of the evolution of the sediments in the river.


Fine grain evolution taking place during deformation of magnesium alloy AZ31 was studied in compression at 673 K (0.73 Tm) and by using optical and SEM/EBSD microscopy. The flow curve shows a rapid hardening and a stress peak at relatively low strain (ep = 0.12), followed by a strain softening and then a steady state flow at high strains. Fine grains are evolved at serrated grain boundaries at around ep and developed rapidly during strain softening, finally leading to a roughly full evolution of equiaxial fine grains. On the other hand, kink bands are evolved at serrated grain boundaries and also frequently in grain interiors even at around ep. The misorientation of the boundaries of kink band increases rapidly during strain softening and approach a saturation value at high strains. The average size of the regions fragmented by kink band is almost the same as that of fine grains evolved in high strain. It is concluded therefore that new grain evolution can be controlled by a deformation-induced continuous reaction, i.e. continuous dynamic recrystallization (DRX), although many characteristics of new grain evolution process and its relation to flow behaviors are apparently similar to those in conventional, i.e. discontinuous, DRX.


This article discusses a model of a robotic platform that can be used for the proximal probing of biological objects in an ecologically balanced zone. The proximal probing is for scanning deciduous and fertile parts of biological objects with a hyperspectral camera at a distance of no more than a few meters. It allows for the obtention of information about the presence of phyto-diseases of tissues and also about the degree of ripeness and other parameters of the internal quality of the fruit. In this article, we report the methods and approaches used to detect fruits in the crown of a tree and also to identify their diseases such as scab and decay with an accuracy of at least 87%. For the autonomous movement of the platform in an ecologically balanced area, visual and inertial navigation is based on a Zed 2i stereo camera. This allows for the moving of biological objects in accordance with a given route indicated on the 2D map. The analysis of the information received from this platform allows for the building of maps of the presence of phyto-deseases in an ecologically balanced zone, and decisions are promptly made regarding the implementation of technical and protective measures that ensure high-quality products.


For the development of optical coatings (as high power laser mirrors) of higher and higher performances, it is necessary to use more and more powerful characterization means for optical thin films. The highly sensitive and simple technique of Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy (P.D.S.) gives the absorption losses down to ultra low level. We show that this method can be applied to transparent single layers. Techniques used for photothermal signal calibration are presented. Photothermal signal versus wavelength for absorbing layers (extinction coefficients from some 10-3) is compared with absorption spectra obtained by classical spectrophotometry. Experimental results are given which show the sensi-tivity of the method. Extinction coefficients that do not exceed some 10-7 can be measured. P.D.S. can also give absorption losses for multilayer coatings. Some results on narrow band filters are presented.


Atherosclerosis is a disease where plaque builds up in arteries, resulting in harmful cardiovascular events. Inflammation has a significant role in its progression, starting from the initial stages. Cancer patients, due to their constant exposure to inflammatory processes caused by treatments or illnesses, are at a higher risk of developing this condition. Arterial inflammation can be quantified with 18F‐FDG PET/CT imaging. In this case report, we propose that routinary PET/CT imaging for oncological surveillance could be useful for cardiovascular risk stratification by reviewing a case of a patient with breast cancer whose imaging study revealed arterial inflammation and a subsequent echocardiogram evidenced grade II diastolic dysfunction (potentially, an initial manifestation of the ischemic cascade).


Ма с ло в К. В. 188 THREATS TO NATIONAL TAX SECURITY: LEGAL DIMENSION K. V. Maslov Dostoevsky Omsk State University E-mail: email@example.com Rece iv e d 1 Fe b 2 0 2 2 Introduction: the article is devoted to the identification of essential signs of threats to na- tional tax security, significant for lawmaking and law enforcement. The study of the content and types of such threats makes it possible to determine the forms and methods of legal support for the tax security of the state, to minimize the likelihood of harmful properties of the legal norms themselves. Purpose: to identify the essence of threats to national tax security and classify them in the context of their legal regulation. Methods: system analysis of the provisions of the phi- losophy of security, taxation theory; analysis of Russian and foreign doctrinal sources in the field of legal theory and branch legal sciences; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic, deduction and induction; the legal-dogmatic method and the method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: threats to national tax security essentially represent a set of events or acts that can prevent the collection of the planned amount of tax revenue calculated so that there could be ensured full funding necessary for the performance of their functions and tasks by the state and municipalities both in the current period and for a long-term development. The paper provides a classification of threats which was developed based on criteria such as the degree of their being targeted against tax collection, the source and territory of occurrence, the subject, the period of action, the participation of a person, the object, the relationship with law. Conclu- sions: threats to national tax security are not limited to the most harmful violations of tax legis- lation but also comprise deeper determinants that make illegal behavior accessible and profita- ble for private and public participants in tax relations. Through defining the nature and identi- fying the types of threats to national tax security, it is possible to adequately minimize their im- pact by appropriate legal regulation


The necessity for efficient green energy production compels scientists to develop advanced nanostructured metallic alloys with tunable properties. This contribution places emphasis on tuning pore architecture and film thickness of mesoporous Pd – Cu – Si thin films sputtered on Si substrates for enhanced electrocatalytic and hydrogen sorption/desorption activity and their comparison with the state-of-the-art electrocatalysts. The small Tafel slope of 44 mV dec–1 with a rapid rise in the cathodic current rendering low hydrogen overpotentials of 24 mV at 10 mA cm–2, and the largest sorption/desorption peaks for the T4H2 electrode suggest its use for a fuel cell electrode. Moreover, the kinetic parameters described by the equivalent circuit model have a very good correlation with Tafel slopes and sample mass. The 10 nm T1H1 sample has one of the highest capacitive responses where the hydrogen-metal interaction takes place and is promising as a nano-charger and sensing of hydrogen.


Electron beam directed energy deposition (EB-DED) is a promising and efficient additive manufacturing technology, but the vacuum environment challenges the in situ parameters monitoring. In this paper, an in situ beam current monitoring method is developed based on the absorbed electrons. A series of experiments show that there is a linear relationship between the absorbed electron current and the impinging beam current. However, this relationship only holds when the beam power density is relatively low. When the power density is high, the absorbed electron current will be lower than the theoretical value determined by the linear relationship. This is mainly due to the massive generation and ionization of metal vapor. The critical power density depends on the melting point of the material. Nonetheless, the deviation of the absorbed electron current at high power density can roughly determine the relative position between the focal spot and the workpiece surface. In addition, the slope of the linear relationship is material-dependent, so this method can also distinguish different materials.


In this report, the fabrication of inkjet-printed complementary organic inverters was demonstrated. The acceleration sensors were integrated with printed inverters to enable amplification of sensor signals. This demonstration of sensors with amplifiers showed a potential printing method to fabricate low-cost, mechanically flexible sensor system from polymers.


Technologies are essential for human life because they improve efficiency, productivity, and convenience in various aspects of daily life. This paper explores the integration of Blockchain, Artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and their potential impact on various industries. It highlights the benefits of combining these technologies, including increased security, transparency, and automation. The paper also discusses the challenges associated with integrating these technologies and the potential solutions to address them. The study concludes by providing insight into the future of this integration and its potential to revolutionize various industries including finance, healthcare, and transportation. the limitations and issues of existing models before the integration of blockchain, artificial intelligence, and IoT technologies included a lack of transparency, data privacy and security concerns, and a lack of automation.


In the context of the major function oriented zoning,the evaluation of the superiority degree of transportation is one of the ten indicators for the classification of major functional zones,especially for the optimization development zones and key development zones.This paper employs the technical processes and assessment methods in The Technical Specification of Regional Division of Provincial Major Functional Zones.Based on the evaluation of the individual and integrated indicators of the 107 counties(city,district) level administrative units in Shanxi Province,this paper analyzes the spatial distribution characteristics of the superiority degree of transportation in Shanxi Province.The study has the following results.(1) The superiority degree of transportation has a skewed normal distribution.Some 7.48% of the counties(cities,districts) have outstanding transportation advantages,and 23.36% have obvious disadvantages.Compared to the national transportation superiority degree assessment,the ratios of both the counties(cities,districts) with outstanding advantages and disadvantages are significantly higher in Shanxi Province.(2) It is characterized by a regional differentiation of "high in the north and low in the south" and "high in the east and low in the west".Taiyuan,Yuncheng,Changzhi,and Datong,the four city-and-town concentrated areas,have significant transportation advantages with a "Da-shaped" pattern of distribution in the province.This is mainly caused by the comprehensive functions of multi-factors such as the national trunk line construction,the coal resource development,the topography and so on.(3) Roads,especially highways,is the main factor that affects the evaluation.However,the regional distribution of roads is uneven.If a connecting line is drawn from Yuxian to Yonghe,we will find that regional road network density is significantly higher in the southern and eastern parts of the line compared to that in the northern and western parts.Contiguous areas with low superiority degree values are found in Luliang mountain areas and along the Yellow River.Two dense road network belts,i.e.Taiyuan-Yuncheng and Taiyuan-Jincheng road network belts,are formed in the province.


Mechanical gimbals are used in UAV to direct cameras to a target area, regardless of the vehicle attitude. We present an approach to replace the mechanical camera gimbal by a wide-angle fisheye lens and a high-resolution optical camera. The proposed article describes a method that computes a conventional camera image from the distorted image of a fish-eye lens. The method was designed for real time operation and evaluated in flight tests with a rotorcraft and a fixed wing mini-UAV. The image and the vehicle attitude data are transmitted synchronously to the ground control station using a broadband data link. The electronic camera gimbal can be controlled from inside the ground control station using a joystick. In contrast to mechanical gimbal systems, the electronic variant allows monitoring multiple target areas at the same time. The achievable image quality is evaluated based on data from conducted flight tests using two different camera systems. Opportunities and limits of the method are discussed.


We previously found that inflammation in benign prostate tissue is associated with an increased odds of prostate cancer, especially higher‐grade disease. Since part of this link may be due to genetics, we evaluated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in immune response genes and prostate cancer in the placebo arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial.


Whether a student has a positive mentality concerns whether he can give full play to his learning potential and improve his capability.Located at the bottom of higher education,the vocational technical institutes are usually considered as the hesitant entrance choice of the losers.Therefore,the vocational technical institutes should face up to the psychological characteristics of their students so as to help them develop a positive and healthy mentality.As a main channel and platform for ideological and political education,the course of ideological and political theory is thought to ought to play a key role in helping the students develop a positive mentality and strengthen their comprehensive ability.In order to help the students develop a positive mentality by studying the course,the premise is change their old-fashioned notions and wake up their subject-awareness;the fundament is establish the concept of multiple-intelligence and the sound mechanism for student evaluation;the key is change the traditional teaching mode,make vivid the teaching of the ideological and political theory and convert the classroom into a stage where students enjoy learning,thus improving the teaching effect of the course.


The invention discloses a method for weaving a 5*5 cable with four plain stitches, and is characterized in that a computer flat knitting machine is used for weaving, wherein the flat knitting machine comprises a pair or more than one pair of needle beds, wherein a needle plate at least comprises more than ten needles, and the needle beds can move from left to right, the front and back needle bedshave needle transferring function; the left and the right take the face, which faces to the front bed, as a reference, the front bed needles are orderly named as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and so on fromleft to right in sequence, the back bed needles are orderly named as A', B', C', D', E', F', G', H' and so on from right to left in sequence; after the weaving method is adopted, through weaving of the front bed, opposite turning of the front bed and the back bed, movement of the back bed and deposit of four plain stitch coils j2, weaving for the cable with four plain stitches can be realized. According to the weaving method, the four plain stitch coils j2 are deposited on a partition drop stitch, after the cable action is finished, the deposited coils return to the original stitch, so that the original four plain stitch coils j2 can be ensured, the coils can be prevented from being enlarged and torn, so that broken holes of fabric can be avoided.


Adsorption of chromium (VI) on silica gel modified by diphenilcarbazide (Si-DPZida) have been studied. Parameters analyzed were surface acidity by acid-base titration method, specific surface area by absorption of methylene blue method, optimum conditions of adsorption (pH, contact time), and isotherm adsorption. The results showed that Si-DPZida adsorbent has surface acidity (K al ) of 1,5996 mmol/g with the number of active sites of 9,6328 x 10 20 atom/g with specific surface area of 4.4538 m 2 /g. The optimum adsorption process of chromium (VI) by both Si-DPZida occurred at pH 5  and 15 minutes of contact time.  The isotherm adsorptions on both adsorbents tend to follow Freundlich adsorption pattern.


Begian, Harry. "Legends in Music Education: Profiles of Dedicated Directors." The Instrumentalist 50 (August 1995): 14-19. Berz, William L., and Judith Bowman. "An Historical Perspective on Research Cycles in Music Computer-Based Technology." Bulletin 0/ the Council/or Research in Music Education 126 (Fa111995): 15-28. Boothe, Raymond. "The Philosophy of John Dewey and Its Influence on Music Education: A Historical Perspective." Triad 63 (November 1995): 53-55. Croft, James. "Mastering the Magic Wand: Five Decades of Conducting Wisdom." The Instrumentalist 50 (August 1995): 78-83, 198. Dunnigan, Patrick. "The Growing Complexity of Marching Bands." The Instrumentalist 50 (August 1995): 74-77, 193-194. Hatchett, Marion J. "Early East Tennessee Shape-Note Tunebooks." The Hymn 46 (July 1995): 28--45. Huang, Hao. "The Parable of the Grasshoppers." American Music Teacher 45 (August-September 1995): 14-17. "In Memoriam: Howard Swan." Choral Journal 36 (December 1995): 40-41. Ling, Stuart J. "Jazz Goes to School." The Instrumentalist 50 (August 1995):38-44,188-190. Mark, Michael L. "Music Educaiton and the National Standards: A Historical Review." The Quarterly Journal 0/ Music Teaching and Learning 6 (Summer 1995): 34-43. Mischakoff, Anne. "Strings: The Golden Age of Pedagogy." The Instrumentalist 50 (August 1995):50-56, 191-192. Mullins, Shirley Strom. "Life as a Music Teacher." The Instrumentalist 50 (August 1995): 88-91. Watkins, Rosemary C. "A Brief History of the SMTE from 1980-1995." Journal ofMusic Teacher Education S (Fa111995): 3-4.


Posed a new method which establishes digital land price model to determine the land price section and the mutation area of land price. Through the zone statistics function of grid, we generate premium homogeneous region, and comprehensively divide land price section. With the help of spatial analysis functions to cluster classification, the paper gets mutations region, rapidly changing region, slowly changing region, and the stable region. Besides, on the basis of Jintan 2007 Urban Land Price Monitoring results, we verify the rationality and feasibility of the above way.


Sweep Frequency Response Analysis (SFRA) testing has become a valuable tool for verifying the geometric integrity of electrical apparatus, specially transformers. The SFRA technique provides internal diagnostic information using non-intrusive procedure. Power Transformers are specified to withstand the mechanical forces arising from both shipping and subsequent inservice events, such as faults and lightning. Transportation damage may lead to core and winding movement. This research is undertaken to study and diagnosis the failure of power transformer by investigation of transformer mechanical integrity using the Doble's M5200. This paper presents case studies related to the SFRA testing, & their result interpretation through the statistical indicator and the standard interpretations available.


Detecting and quantifying crop residue cover on agricultural fields is essential in identifying conservation tillage practices and estimating carbon sequestration, both of which are important goals within the Agricultural Policy Framework of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Crop residue is traditionally measured using ground survey techniques such as the line-transect method or visual (drive-by) assessment but these techniques are tedious, time-consuming and subjective. With the increased number of advanced earth observation satellites, remote sensing has now become a viable option for mapping agricultural land management practices and percent crop residue cover. A wide variety of indices such as the Normalized Difference Index (NDI) and the Modified Soil Adjusted Crop Residue Index (MSACRI) were developed using multispectral data for this purpose but results have been mixed. Advanced classification techniques including linear spectral mixture analysis (SMA) and spectral angle mapper (SAM) provide an alternative to derive percent crop residue cover. Landsat-7 SLC-Off data were acquired over an agricultural study site in Eastern Ontario on May 25 2005. Simultaneous ground data were collected to characterize residue type, position, direction and percent cover. NDI, MSACRI, SMA and SAM were all computed and used to derive percent crop residue cover information. Preliminary results indicate that the SMA model predicts percent crop residue cover over agricultural fields with the most success, especially over fields of corn residue with an R2 value of 0.85 (RMSE of 12.46 and D of 0.99). However, further investigation is needed where residue models are validated against a larger dataset with greater variability in percent crop residue cover.


Pictish sculpture was the one thing, in Wainwright's opinion, that could definitely be called 'Pictish' (1955, 31), and Wainwright and Stevenson's consideration of Pictish monumental sculpture more than fifty years ago set out quite clearly the then state of 'problematic' Pictish art. In terms of the archaeology of Pictish carved stone monuments, excavations of or around individual standing monuments are rare and often frustrating to interpret and date. The layout of images on Class I stones is usually centred on a pair of symbols normally located at the upper end of erect stones. The grouped monuments at Burghead and in caves (e.g. Covesea, Morayshire), 39% (101 out of 263 listed examples of Class I or II stones) are part of a pair or group of monuments. The Rhynie Environs Archaeological Project (REAP) was designed to explore one of these groups of monuments from the village of Rhynie in Aberdeenshire. Keywords: monumental landscape; Pictish art; Rhynie Environs Archaeological Project (REAP); Rhynie symbol stones


Abstract : This report discusses the evaluation of ambulatory patient classification systems for military use. The two systems which appeared to have the greatest potential for this purpose were the Products of Ambulatory Care (PACs) which was developed by the New York State Health Department and the Ambulatory Visit Groups (AVGs) which was formulated by a group at Yale University. The data base used for all evaluations consists of a sample derived from the Army's Ambulatory Care Data Base (ACDB) Study. The sample used in the evaluation contained 516,006 clinic visits. Because the military does not have a per visit cost accounting system, four costing methodologies were applied to the PACs and AVGs to allow analyses on the effectiveness of these groups as resource allocation devices. An important finding was that the effectiveness of a classification system is directly related to the methodology used to attach a cost to each visit. the results of the study also provided a greater understanding of ambulatory classification systems when using a large data set which covered the spectrum of military-based hospital out-patient services. Even with the large data set, all the AVGs were not used (140 empty groups). Conversely, given the large number of visits and the diversity of these visits in each of the PACs, it seems appropriate to expand the PAC grouping beyond the present configuration.


Makes a detailed description to electric design of modern residence from the following aspects:power applying load,power distribution way,socket system,lighting system,weak power system,grounding system and lightning system,and so on.


Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the galvanic behavior of different bracket and archwire combinations that are commonly used in orthodontic treatments. Methods: Three types of orthodontic archwires with a diameter of 0.016×0.022 inch and 80 standard edgewise maxillary central incisor brackets were selected. Three groups consisted of different wire-bracket couples and one group was just brackets as a control group. Each group had five samples. Four brackets were then connected to each wire by elastic bands made from electrochemically neutral material. The samples were immersed into capped containers of Fusayama-Meyer artificial saliva. After six weeks, the released nickel ions were quantified via ion absorption technique. The mean and the standard deviation of all four groups were calculated and the data were compared together with Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric statistical test. Results: The highest concentration of released nickel ions was for bracket+ steel archwire and the least for the bracket without archwire. Conclusion: There were not significant differences among experimental groups, so it could be concluded that galvanic corrosion would not be a serious consideration through orthodontic treatment.


Background: Medical students play important frontline roles in the prevention, early detection, and treatment of hepatitis C. This study investigated knowledge and attitudes toward hepatitis C among 5th- and 6th-year medical students and possible associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2000 students from eight medical universities using a self-administered structured questionnaire. Results: The mean knowledge and attitude scores for hepatitis C were 20.1 ± 4.0 (out of 26) and 10.6 ± 2.9 (out of 20), respectively. Approximately, three-quarters (74.4%) of the participants had a good knowledge score, but only a small proportion (3.1%) obtained a good attitude score. Although the participants had fairly high knowledge about the causes, consequences, and transmission routes of hepatitis C, there were important gaps in their knowledge about hepatitis C screening and treatment. In multivariate analysis, female students, 5th-year students, and students from the central provinces had significantly higher knowledge and attitude scores. There was a low positive correlation between knowledge and attitude scores. Conclusion: This study points out the need to update the medical training curriculum to improve the knowledge and attitude of students about hepatitis C infection.


Biochemical analysis of the vitreous humour in 80 infants brought to necropsy, including 18 in whom terminal plasma levels were known, indicates that sodium and urea levels closely reflect ante-mortem plasma values. With increasing time, post-mortem vitreous sodium and glucose concentrations diminish, whereas urea and magnesium rise. Vitreous magnesium levels are age related. Chemical analysis of vitreous humour is thus a valid adjunct to the post-mortem examination and may be important in the study of unexpected deaths in infancy.


If we understand history as a field constituted by a type of research and inquiry that concerns itself with human action in the past and is based on the interpretation of evidence, regardless of whether positivist or interpretive methods are used, then it can be said that historical works on Hadhramaut and its diaspora have been written. These works can be divided in broad terms into the two general categories of Arab and Western historiography. Nevertheless, in both cases, owing to certain theoret- ical problems that have beset these works, little progress has been made in the advancement of Hadhrami studies, particularly where the diaspora is concerned. Such theoretical problems include the lack of conceptualisation of Hadhrami emigration in terms of a "diaspora", and atheoretical approaches to the study of the history of Hadhrami political economy and society. The purpose of this chapter is to outline these theoretical problems and to suggest fresh approaches to the study of the history of Hadhramaut and its diaspora that are more theoretically self-conscious.


Transmitted reference pulse cluster (TRPC) structure was proposed as an improved transmitted reference (TR) signaling for low date-rate ultra-wideband (UWB) communications. In the uncoded case, TRPC outperforms the conventional TR and non-coherent pulse position modulation (NC-PPM) signaling schemes. Moreover, it overcomes the implementation problem of the long delay line inherent in the conventional TR. Therefore, TRPC is a promising candidate for noncoherent UWB communication systems. Accordingly, coded TRPC has also been developed employing several forward error correction (FEC) codes, such as Reed-Solomon and convolutional codes. Based on these previous works, in this paper low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes are introduced to the TRPC system and two methods are presented to construct the parity-check matrix for LDPC codes. We evaluate the bit error rate (BER) performance of the two corresponding LDPC codes in the IEEE 802.15.4a channels. Results show that both the two investigated LDPC codes obtain significant performance gains in terms of the BER over the existing FEC codes used in the TRPC system.


There are many ciassiliers in Dunhuang Hanjina(离煌汉简), and they are ed widely. But a classifier is only used in front of a kind of nouns generally. The classifiers of length, capacity and weight are simple, clear, standard and systematic.


Although researchers desire to evaluate system reliability accurately and efficiently over the years, little progress has been made on system reliability analysis. Up to now, bound methods for system reliability prediction have been dominant. However, two primary challenges are as follows: (I) Most numerical methods cannot effectively evaluate the probabilities of the second (or higher)-order joint failure events with high efficiency and accuracy, which are needed for system reliability evaluation and (2) there is no unique system reliability approximation formula, which can be evaluated efficiently with commonly used reliability methods. Thus, this paper proposes the complementary intersection (CI) event, which enables us to develop the complementary intersection method (CIM) for system reliability analysis. The CIM expresses the system reliability in terms of the probabilities of the CI events and allows the use of commonly used reliability methods for evaluating the probabilities of the second-order (or higher) joint failure events efficiently. To facilitate system reliability analysis for large-scale systems, the CI-matrix can be built to store the probabilities of the first- and second-order CI events. In this paper, three different numerical solvers for reliability analysis will be used to construct the CI-matrix numerically: first-order reliability method, second-order reliability method, and eigen-vector dimension reduction (EDR) method. Three examples will be employed to demonstrate that the CIM with the EDR method outperforms other methods for system reliability analysis in terms of efficiency and accuracy.


This study investigates how trade openness and financial openness influence wealth inequality by considering heterogeneity across transitional and developed countries in South and South-East Asia by employing dynamic panel data model with World Inequality Database (WID) and World Development Indicators of the World Bank over the period 1990 to 2000 . We regress wealth inequality index on trade openness index, financial openness index, GDP, proportion of working age population and urbanisation in a dynamic panel setup . T he study observes that t rade openness reduces wealth inequality while financial openness increases it. Economic growth aggravates inequality, but urbanisation helps to reduce inequality for the full sample of countries. This empirical result can be explained by looking into the conditions in the labour markets by following the Stolper-Samuelson theorem.


Sugarcane is an important commercial crop of the tropics which supplies raw material to produce much of the sugar requirement of the world. As the highest biomass producing crop, it has gained focus in the current biofuel research programs across the world. Sucrose is accumulated in sugarcane to a level approaching molar concentrations (0.6-1.0 M) and studies on sucrose metabolism identified several important genes controlling the sugar content. In a crop like sugarcane wherein large amounts of sucrose are accumulated, the genes and their regulation are presumed to be different from those of other crops that do not accumulate high levels of sucrose. Invertases are a group of enzymes that play a key role in the maintenance of sugar levels inside the plant cell. The present study was conducted to identify, characterize and differentiate sugarcane invertases from those of different crops using molecular tools. Invertase nucleotide and protein sequences were retrieved from NCBI-Genbank database and characterized for homology search, multiple sequence alignment for conserved domains, distribution of conserved motifs and phylogenetic relatedness with crop species like sorghum, rice and arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analyses indicated the systematic position of sugarcane invertases in comparison with other invertases of closely related crops. The findings also confirm that the sugarcane invertases are different from those of other crops that are highly conserved and may prove to be useful in planning further studies like genetic transformation or gene manipulations .


Objective To assess the causes of erectile dysfunction (ED) after spinal or pelvic injuries.Methods From 2005 to 2009,a total of 67 patients who complained of ED after pelvic fracture or spinal injures were evaluated with the average patient age of 32 yrs (18 to 64) and average injury period of 38 mon (3 -144).Of the 67 patients,56 had pelvic fractures (84%) and 11 patients had spinal injures ( 16% ).All patients reported normal erectile function before the injuries.All patients answered IIEF-5 and underwent nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) tests (Rigiscan assessment system,continuing three nights).If resuls of the test were abnormal,color penile duplex ultrasound ( CDU ) with intracavernous injection were performed.Normal nocturnal erectile function was defined as at least three tumescence periods lasting more the 10 minutes with rigidity at the penile tip of at least 70%.Patients with abnormal nocturnal erectile function were diagnosed with organic ED.Patients who achieved a fully erect penis after intracavernous injection,and who had a peak systolic velocity ( PSV ) of less than 25 em/s on CDU were diagnosed with arterial ED.Patients with a PSV of more than 25 cm/s and an end diastolic velocity (EDV) of more than 5 cm/s on CDU indicated venous leakage.Patients with organic ED who had normal vascular function on duplex ultrasound were diagnosed with neurogenic ED.Results All patients reported IIEF-5 less than 8,NPT tests showed that all patients had organic ED.Of the patients with pelvic fracture,neurogenic ED,arterial ED and venous leakage was diagnosed in 24 patients (43%),22 patients (39%) and 10 patients (18%),respectively.However,the patients with spinal injuries were all diagnosed with neurogenic ED.Conclusions Pelvic fracture and spinal injury can cause organic ED.Vascular ED is common in pelvic fracture,however,neurogenic ED was the most common type of ED in spinal injury.

Key words:
Injury;  Erectile dysfunction;  Arterial;  Venous leakage;  Neurogenic


In France, the observed temperature has increased by almost 1degreesC during the last century and this rise has mainly occurred since the 1970s. The IPCC projects that the increase in temperatures will continue during the next decades. For most greenhouse gas emission scenarios, climate models calculate a global warming of about 0.2degreesC per decade at the beginning of the twenty-first Century. It is very likely that warming will accelerate after 2050 at a rate depending on the emission scenarios taken for hypothesis. Increase in temperature will be stronger over continental regions at mid-latitudes which concentrate a major part of the roads and of the traffic in the world. There is no doubt that climate change will have in these regions an important impact on the maintenance activities of the roads in winter. In a nutshell, the number of frost days, of cold waves and snowfalls will significantly decrease. This will probably limit the damage by frost of the road structures and the number of days when the traffic will be disturbed by snow. However, less favourable factors have to be taken into account, such as the rise of the summer temperatures or the increase in the intensity of winter precipitations in certain regions. A sound assessment of the impact of climate change on the roads and their winter maintenance needs a solid understanding of the processes intervening between the pavement and the meteorological conditions. The use of physically-based simulation models is necessary to quantify the respective role of various factors like the air temperature and humidity, the cloudiness, the precipitation or the physical properties of the road structure. It also needs realistic climate scenarios on a regional scale which are now available. Because snow and frost conditions are common but not very frequent, France is a particularly interesting case to assess the impact of climate change on road maintenance activities in winter. Recent results will be presented to illustrate the possible impact of various climate scenarios to be expected on the number frost and snow days. Particular attention will be devoted to the number of days when snow is likely to stay on the roads. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.


Battery life prediction method and apparatus and a battery management system using the same are disclosed. Method of predicting the battery life, generates a SOH for predicting the degree of degradation of time apart from the battery (State of Health) estimating an estimate, the history table by aligning the plurality of estimated values (History table) the step of includes the step of determining the target SOH of the battery on the basis of the history table step for extracting candidate value, and the candidate value. .Field


The time‐average temperature distribution in a thermoacoustic pore, such as one pore of a thermoacoustic stack, is calculated. The analysis applies to straight pores of arbitrary shape but is limited to the acoustic and short‐stack approximations. A partial differential equation for temperature is found by applying conservation of energy to the standard expression for time‐average energy flux. Previous solutions for parallel‐plate pores [G. Mozurkewich, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 380–388 (1998)] are extended to pores of circular section. A heat‐transfer coefficient is defined by h1=q(z)/ΔT(z), where q is the rate of heat transfer into the pore interior per unit area of pore wall, ΔT is the temperature difference between pore wall and pore centerline, and z is the axial coordinate. This coefficient is independent of z provided z is not too close to an end of the pore. Results will be given for the shapes of the radial eigenfunctions and for the variations of eigenvalues and h1 with pore size and Prandtl number.


Abstract The current pandemic has substantially affected workers in the informal economy in Bangladesh. Most of the underprivileged groups of people engaged in the informal economy have been going through tremendous economic vulnerabilities during this pandemic. Among them, domestic workers are one of the most vulnerable groups of people who live on the margins. Hence, this study examines the degree of vulnerability domestic workers have experienced amid this challenging time. To assess the key vulnerabilities, seven live-out and two live-in workers from the capital city's Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Malibagh, and the Korail areas were interviewed. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews using multiple open-ended questions. The respondents reported loss of employment, loss of income, food shortages, inability to pay rent, and inadequate social security coverage as the critical vulnerabilities. The findings of our paper can be used by policymakers and employers to address the serious problems the Bangladeshi domestic workers have been facing. Since no prior study has been undertaken to analyze the vulnerability during a pandemic in the Bangladeshi context, this research will have significant theoretical and policy implications. Further research can be undertaken incorporating larger sample size and other factors concerning COVID-induced economic vulnerability of Bangladeshi domestic workers.


In terms of the information characteristics and organization structure of construction enterprises the establishment and management of information management system are analyzed. Through responsibility and duty analysis of this system its goals are elaborated.


Cookbooks have been used to impart domestic advice and nationalism to their readers for centuries. American and British cookbooks during the Second World War served not only as a means of distributing recipes that took into account rationing and food shortage, but also as a way of educating women about nutrition and healthy diets, as well as to promote the citizen consumer. Despite the shortages of food, the nutrition and health of both nations improved during the war years. This article compares the use of and motives behind ration recipes during World War II in the United States and Great Britain by examining primary sources, including pamphlets, cookbooks, magazine articles, and advertisements. Overtly patriotic cartoons, poems, songs, and catchy saying were all used as means of educating the citizen consumesr. Cookbooks and ration recipes played an integral role in winning World War II on the kitchen front.


Graphite particles(30 μm) were coated with copper by electroless plating method. The copper - coated graphite/silver matrix composites have been made by the method of powder metallurgy. The properties of the composites, such as volume density, resistivity, hardness, bending strength and tribological behavior were tested, and comparison was made with silver - graphite composite of the same content graphite. The results show that properties of the copper - coated graphite/silver matrix composites have lower resistivity and coefficent of friction , higher hardness, bending strength and wear resistance.


Objective To investigate a proper way of endotracheal tube cuff management in older patients with long-term mechanical ventilation.Methods Patients were randomly assigned into minimal leak technique(MLT) group and finger touching(FT) group.The tube cuffs were filled with air to observe the incidence of cuff leaking,cuff rupture,injuries of tracheal mucosa and ventilation associated pneumonia(VAP) between the 2 groups.Results The incidences of cuff leaking,cuff rupture and injuries of tracheal mucosa in MLT group were lower than those of FT group(P0.05).There was no obvious difference of the incidence of VAP between the 2 groups(P0.05).Conclusion MLT could reduce complications of excessive air filling into tube cuff during long-term mechanical ventilation.


Many patients who are treated with spironolactone develop hyperkalemia, especially if spironolactone is co-prescribed with other drugs that also can


"Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication'" (Rev 14:8 NRSV). At the heart of the second angel's message is the term Babylon and its prophetic interpretation. In Rev 14:8, the word Babylon is introduced in John's Apocalypse and reoccurs five more times in the subsequent chapters (16:19, 17:5, 18:2, 10, 21). Although the subject of Babylon may be approached in distinctive ways (i.e., history, archeology, or eschatology), in the book of Revelation it plays a significant role as it uncovers the climax of human history. Besides all other cities cited in the book of Revelation—such as the seven city churches to which the book is addressed (Rev 1:4; 2; 3)—Babylon and the New Jerusalem have a vital role in the unfolding of humankind's final destiny. Beasley-Murray says, "Revelation as a whole may be characterized as A Tale of Two Cities" with the sub-title, The Harlot and the Bride" (1974:315; emphasis in original). Nevertheless, the main focus of this article goes beyond the possible prophetic interpretations of the term Babylon. Instead this article focuses on the fact that from all the available images that could have been used to expose the control of the evil power, God chose a city. What are the connections between the use of the city as a symbol, and the tension portrayed between the Mother of Harlots (Rev 17:5) and the Bride (Rev 21:2)? What are some of the implications of this relationship and the urban mission of the church? The purpose of this article is, as Redford asserts, "to read


In 2025, 565 million visits to primary care physicians are projected in the United States. To meet this increasing demand, a study published in 2012 found that an additional 52,000 primary care physicians need to be added to the workforce.[1][1] In 2018, 3,654 family medicine residency training


Lanthimos's The Lobster (2015) invites a way of looking that coincides with work done by scholars of feminist new materialism with an eye toward queering binary and static concepts of species, gend...


Government–media relationships are both symptomatic and constitutive of a nation. In Venezuela the history of Hugo Chávez's revolutionary government cannot be written without paying attention to its complex relationship with the media in a country in which political polarization defines national life. Existing scholarship about the Chávez–media saga provides analyses at the macro level. We lack, however, studies that illuminate the micro level of the everyday life of mass media in Venezuela's changing context. Based on 12 years of research (1999–2011), this article examines government–media relations through the study of five successful telenovelas. Each show was written and broadcast at a time that defines a period in the history between Chávez and the media. These five case studies track changes in the legal framework, document instances of self-censorship, tease out the particulars of the difficult coexistence of government and private media, and illuminate the consequences for the writing, production, consumption and international sales of Venezuelan telenovelas, and for Venezuelan television in general.


Abstract : Attack aviation should adopt a balanced approach to employment against hybrid threats. While the exact nature of future threats is uncertain, evidence points to the increasingly hybrid nature of potential threats in the current and future operational environment. Traditionally attack aviation has focused on either aerial support to ground forces in the close fight or deep attacks at operational depths of the battlefield. This singular focus in employment technique came at the expense of additional roles attack aviation plays on the battlefield. Given that hybrid threats are characterized by their ability to engage US forces across a spectrum of conflict from the material to cognitive in nature, attack aviation must posture its doctrine, training, and focus to seamlessly counter both conventional and unconventional threats.


57 ABSTRACT A device for distributing laser beams used in an isotopic separation method. The plurality of laser beams Sn used in the process; where n is a whole number at least equal to 2, are divided by means of a plurality of partially reflecting mirrors and superimposed by suitable di chroic mirrors. The superimposed beams, during sev eral passages, are sent into a reaction chamber. When one of these beams has its fluence equal to the saturation fluence, a new part of the beam is superimposed onto the beams. This is accomplished by means of a suitable dichroic mirror. The interference between this new part and the residual beam having traversed the chamber are avoided. A specific application is for the isotopic sepa ration of uranium vapor by laser beams.


Experience design is a human-centered activity. It starts with a deep understanding of people's needs and contexts of living or working, and the end result is a product or service that provides people with a quality experience or a culturally relevant solution. With such a clear and deliberate focus on people, other issues such as technology, economics, belief systems, or the broader topic of ethics and sustainability take a secondary role. But should they? The way we organize our lives and societies in social, economic, spiritual, and environmental terms is very much part of the human experience. And since we are living in a time of rapid change, our task as professionals is not just to understand the current context or anticipate future possibilities , but to help create a future world that is socially, economically , spiritually, and environmentally sustainable. From this vantage point, the end-result of our work—that quality experience or culturally relevant solution—takes on a whole other meaning that goes beyond the relevance for an individual (the " user ") or a client. Distributing technology to Distribute Power Four billion mobile devices are currently in use in a world population of 6.6 billion. Deduct infants, and you realize that a very large percentage of humankind has a mobile phone. The advantages of this technological tsunami for the so-called bottom of the pyramid have been widely publicized, but most of the important decisions in how our countries and economies are run are still in the hands of very few people. Even in the best scenarios, this power concentration is based on the logic that we need to delegate decisions to accountable leaders, that we cannot involve ourselves in all decisions that matter to us, partly for practical reasons. This is now changing. Distributing technology in the hands of the many opens previously unfeasible options for a growth in participatory decision making. But how can this be implemented in the future? What kind of tools would designers need to create to support this? And how can the design itself be decentralized? As Bruce Sterling recently said during the LIFT Asia '08 conference to an audience of startled Koreans: " When you are working on cell phones, when you are working on the Web, when you are working on electronic money and payment systems, you need to think: What if my user is a North Korean? How would I do …


The attack path is an effective tool for showing possible hacking routestaken by an attacker to target a specific computer network. It also informsadministrators about potential weakness in a netwo ...


President Obama's unilateral directives on gun control issued last week have been praised by his supporters and described as "imperial overreach" by his detractors. Despite this approval and opprobrium, Joshua Kennedy argues that the measures announced by Obama are not "executive orders", but are simply a collection of suggestions, requests, and minor rulemaking steps which do little to contradict existing laws, and may well be discarded or changed before they can be implemented.


Abstract- We report  nano fibrous layered structures of Polyvinyl alcohol and multiwalled carbon nanotube (PVA-MWNT) that fly in the air for long period of time in the laboratory environment implying very little fiber mass comparable to that of the air. While taking a piece of a fiber with the tweezers it repelled and floated in the air for relatively infinite period of time. It continued to float in the lab for some time before we had to catch it. One of the primary reasons for the layered formation of these nanofibers is that the fiber formation was taking place for almost 10s and then it stopped for approximately another 10s may be because of the higher viscosity of PVA solution causing intermittent fiber formation. To witness this event, we shone a laser light on the fiber sample, and laser light would light up for 10s and then was dark for another 10s. The appearance and the disappearance of laser light is indication of presence or absence of fibers formation. The fiber mass is relatively very less compared to air and hence when left in the air they fly for a very long time in laboratory environment. Figure below shows an optical image of the sample where each fiber layer can be peeled off. AFM suggests extremely thin fibrous filaments topography and SEM shows the structural morphology of the fibers. COMSOL analysis suggests the orientation of the electrical field lines while the electrospinning process is running and leading the fibers to orient in the direction.


In this study, the acute effects of thiacloprid and spiromesifen, and effects of its on some biological stages of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) were investigated. For this aim, field application dose (T) of thiacloprid, field application dose (T) and half of field application dose (T/2) of spiromesifen were used in acute effect studies. When acute effects were investigated on A. swirskii larvae, two methods were used, direct application and dry residue. The direct application method was used when examining the effects on the biological stages and eggs, and the individuals who were treated (0-24 hours old) were checked daily to determine development periods, fecundity and longevity of predatory mite. In the acute effect studies, the mean effect was 38.47 % and 57.82 % for thiacloprid (T) dose in direct application and dry residue, respectively, and 86.42 % and 94.44 % for spiromesifen T dose, 10.23 % and 70.48 % for spiromesifen (T/2) dose. All of the A. swirskii eggs applied with thiacloprid (T), spiromesifen (T and (T/2) and pure water (control) were hatched after 72 hours. The mean life span of A. swirskii females that applied thiacloprid (T) was 26.22 days while that of male was 30.00 days. The mean adult lifespan was 25.90 days in female that applied spiromesifen (T/2) doses and 28.50 days in male. In A. swirskii individuals treated with pure water (control group), female life was estimated to be 26.59 days while male individuals life was determined as 30.00 days.


The accuracy of forest growth and yield forecasts affects the quality of forest management decisions (Rauscher et al. 2000). Users of growth and yield models want assurance that model outputs are reasonable and mimic local/regional forest structure and composition and accurately reflect the influences of stand dynamics such as competition and disturbance. As such, simulation models should be subjected to a process of evaluation in order to build confidence in their validity (Reynolds et al. 1981, Vanclay et al. 1996). Operational validation, as defined by Rykiel (1996), tests whether the model output conforms with its stated purpose. Operational validation may be viewed from two perspectives: (1) hypothesis testing and (2) confidence interval estimation (Rykiel 1996, Rauscher 2000). Confidence interval estimation expresses the degree of reliability that can be placed in model predictions through estimates of the direction, magnitude, and variability of the prediction error and is the approach used in this study.


avid S. Citrin eorgia Institute of Technology chool of Electrical and Computer Engineering tlanta, Georgia 30332-0250 and 958 Georgia Tech-CNRS nité Mixte Internationale eorgia Tech Lorraine rue Marconi 7070 Metz, France Abstract. Fabrication of silicon microring resonators was optimized by using electron-beam lithography EBL and inductively coupled plasma ICP etching with different mask materials. Sidewall roughness of less than 10 nm was revealed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy SEM without any post-etch process. The fabrication processes are described in detail, and comparisons are made in consideration of process complexity, process latitude, and sidewall roughness. © 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. DOI: 10.1117/1.3258487


A state observer is proposed for permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). The gain of this observer involves a design function that has to satisfy some mild conditions which are given. Different expressions of such a function are proposed. Of particular interest, it is shown that high gain observers and sliding mode like observers can be derived by considering particular expressions of the design function. The simulation is given in order to compare the performance of a high gain observer and a sliding mode observer obtained through two different choices of the design function. Simulation is made by the software MATLAB/SIMULINK