Abstract We examine the impact of COVID‐19 on changes in firm value, and the moderating role of firm‐level sustainability performance on this relationship. We find that firms domiciled in countries where the COVID‐19 impact is more devastating experienced greater decline in firm value. The negative impact of COVID‐19 on firm value is less pronounced for firms with better sustainability performance. Firms domiciled in countries with higher levels of environmental‐ and stakeholder‐value‐oriented culture experienced less decline in firm value from the impact of COVID‐19. Findings suggest a firm's stakeholder‐value orientation contributes to preserving a firm's value when general stakeholder value declines.


This paper reviews economic studies on rural-urban migration in China. The review focuses on four issues: the evolution of rural-urban segmentation and migration, explanations for rural-urban migration, the interaction between migration and labor market evolution with special attention to labor market segmentation, labor market flexibility and wage differentials, and lastly suggestions for further research.


This paper mainly introduces the principle and method of the search engine, it also gives the design and implementation of the multi-thread concurrent spider based on the local network. This spider adopts the BloomFilter to solve the URL duplicate and thread pool to manage the concurrent threads; it uses the IoC technique in Spring to provide the support of the different file formats such as DOC, PDF, XLS etc which can demonstrate the scalability of the whole application; the spider speeds up the I/O performance by storing the data in the light database. At the end of the paper, we give the comparison and the analysis between the local search engine and general business search engine in the efficiency and performance.


The invention relates to a method for adhering a covering material (2) to surfaces (4) of workpieces (6) that are continually moved (8) and plate- or strip-formed. The inventive method comprises the following steps: a) providing (20, 28) at least one band- or strip-formed adhering element (22) which is provided with an activable adhering means (26); b) continually conveying (16, 20, 34, 38) the adhering element (22) between the covering material (2) and the moving surfaces (4) of the workpieces; c) at least partially activating (46, 48, 50) the adhering means (26) and d) continually bringing together (16, 44) the covering material (2) and the surfaces (4) of the workpieces by means of the intermediary adhering element (22) for producing an adhering connection between the covering material (2) and the surfaces (4) of the workpieces. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out said method.


Wiener deconvolution is applied to the problem of reconstructing transient signals from pneumatically attenuated pressure measurements. The presented method offers a viable alternative to traditional techniques where pressures are sensed by in situ surface transducers. In situ installations present significant issues, including potential weakening of structural walls, overheating of pressure sensing elements, strain biasing of sensing elements, and resonance within the measurement port. A less complex installation involves a small surface pressure tap with the pressure signal transmitted to the transducer via a significant length of pneumatic tubing. This remote installation allows the transducer to be mounted in a controlled environment, and it virtually eliminates any sensing errors due to surface strain. The presented filter amplifies attenuated pressure signals while selectively rejecting sensor noise. The frequency-based algorithm accounts for both white and colored noise contaminations. The deconvolution method is validated using laboratory-derived step-response data. The examples presented demonstrate the algorithm accuracy for both constant and frequency-weighted signal-to-noise ratios based on the noise threshold of the measured pressure signal. Experiment results demonstrate insensitivity of the Wiener algorithm to weighting schemes used to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements. Sensitivity analysis indicates that deconvolution fit errors are relatively insensitive to parameter perturbations near nominal measured values.


\S 1. Affect-free equations. What is the simplest affect-free equation (\S 5) of given degree $n$ ? Although many affect-free equations are known, simple examples are rare (cf. [5], [6]). Perhaps one of the simplest examples is the equation (1.1) $x^{n}-x-1=0$ , which is affect-free for every $n>1$ ([4], Theorem 4). Another possible answer to our question is the equation (1.2) $x^{n}+2x+2=0$ , which is also affect-free for every $n>1$ (\S 4). The equation (1.2) is much different from (1.1). For example, it is obvious that the left-hand side of (1.2) is irreducible; it is not at all obvious that the left-hand side of (1.1) is irreducible (Selmer [7]). Let $\alpha$ denote a root of (1.2), and let $\beta$ denote a root of (1.1). Then the prime number 2 is completely ramified (\S 5) in $Q(\alpha)$ , whereas no prime numbers are completely ramified in $Q(\beta)$ if $n>2$ . The discriminant of $Q(\beta)$ is square-free ([4], Theorem 3), whereas the discriminant of $Q(\alpha)$ is not square-free. Therefore, Theorem 1 of our previous paper [4] is not applicable to the equation (1.2). The main purpose of the present paper is to prove the following theorem. THEOREM 1. Let $a_{0},$ $a_{1},$ $\cdots,$ $a_{n-1}(n>1)$ be integers such that


Theodore R. Marmor's The Politics of Medicare has long been the classic work in Medicare scholarship. Three decades after its original publication, it remains the most important, most read, and most widely cited analysis of Medicare's enactment. Indeed, the second edition, which does not alter the original text but instead adds new chapters to cover contemporary developments, reminds us how enduring and influential The Politics of Medicare has been. I want to use the publication of the second edition as an opportunity to reflect on the book's significance, its enduring appeal, and more broadly, on the state of the Medicare literature and the field of health politics.


Bluetooth technique is the standard of the short-distance wireless communication instead of the wire connection between the portable equipment and the fixed one. Bluetooth system is a set of protocols that are adopted to communicate among wireless digital devices. L2CAP is one of the core protocols in Bluetooth. In this paper, the function and structure of this protocol was analyzed and discussed in detail.


The use of electrochemical noise based corrosion monitoring equipment to detect localized corrosion in laboratory and process systems has increased markedly over the last five years. One of the most interesting systems to study is the stress corrosion cracking of UNS C22000 brass exposed to 1-M sodium nitrite (NaNO{sub 2}) at ambient temperature. This test has been proposed as a possible standard for evaluating electrochemical noise equipment. Stressed brass specimens exposed to this environment consistently display the same movement from general corrosion to passivation to transgranular stress corrosion cracking. In an effort to better understand the complex patterns of data this system is capable of producing, crevice corrosion tests using similar specimens and environments were performed. Data from the stress corrosion cracking tests are presented and compared with data from the crevice corrosion tests.


Contents: Foreword Bruce Harvey PART I: NEW APPROACHES IN THINKING ABOUT SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 1. Current Issues and Trends in Social Impact Assessment Frank Vanclay and Ana Maria Esteves 2. Understanding the Organizational Context Deanna Kemp 3. Looking Beyond Impact Assessment to Social Sustainability Ilse Aucamp, Stephan Woodborne, Jan Perold, Anita Bron and San-Marie Aucamp 4. Community-based Agreement Making with Land-connected Peoples Simon Nish and Sara Bice 5. Theoretical Foundations Richard Howitt 6. Ethical Issues and Dilemmas James Baines and C. Nicholas Taylor PART II: NEW ISSUES TO CONSIDER (OR OLD ISSUES TO CONSIDER BETTER) 7. Considering Gender in Social Impact Assessment Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Nesar Ahmad 8. Social Impact Assessment and Indigenous Social Development Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh 9. Disasters and Climate Change Alison Cottrell and David King 10. Landuse Change Jacki Schirmer 11. Development-induced Community Resettlement Thayer Scudder 12. Cumulative Social Impacts Daniel Franks, David Brereton and Chris Moran 13. Closure Planning Robin Evans 14. Enhancing the Benefits of Projects through Local Procurement Ana Maria Esteves, Mary-Anne Barclay, David Brereton and Daniel Samson PART III: NEW METHODS AND TECHNIQUES 15. Enhancing Effectiveness through Deliberative Democracy Janette Hartz-Karp and Jenny Pope 16. Environmental Conflict Mediation Rauno Sairinen 17. Conflict-sensitive Impact Assessment Paul Kapelus, Emily Richards and Hope Sherwin 18. The World Bank's Poverty and Social Impact Analysis Anis Dani and Sabine Beddies 19. Utilizing a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Inform Social Impact Assessment Practice Sheridan Coakes and Andreas Sadler 20. Human Impact Assessment as a Framework for Integration Tapani Kauppinen 21. A Human Rights-based Approach to Social Impact Assessment Gillian MacNaughton and Paul Hunt Index


Interfacial magnetism stimulates the discovery of giant magnetoresistance and spin-orbital coupling across the heterointerfaces, facilitating the intimate correlation between spin transport and complex magnetic structures. Over decades, functional heterointerfaces composed of nitrides are seldomly explored due to the difficulty in synthesizing high-quality and correct composition nitride films. Here we report the fabrication of single-crystalline ferromagnetic Fe3N thin films with precisely controlled thickness. As film thickness decreasing, the magnetization deteriorates dramatically, and electronic state transits from metallic to insulating. Strikingly, the high-temperature ferromagnetism maintains in a Fe3N layer with a thickness down to 2 u. c. (~ 8 {\AA}). The magnetoresistance exhibits a strong in-plane anisotropy and meanwhile the anomalous Hall resistance reserves its sign when Fe3N layer thickness exceeds 5 u. c. Furthermore, we observe a sizable exchange bias at the interfaces between a ferromagnetic Fe3N and an antiferromagnetic CrN. The exchange bias field and saturation moment strongly depend on the controllable bending curvature using cylinder diameter engineering (CDE) technique, implying the tunable magnetic states under lattice deformation. This work provides a guideline for exploring functional nitride films and applying their interfacial phenomena for innovative perspectives towards the practical applications.


The number of irreducible factors of a given monic polynomial $f( x )$ over $GF( q )$ is equal to the dimension of the space of characteristic sequences associated with $f( x )$. A basis for this space can be used to obtain the irreducible factors.


The Coventry Very Light Rail (VLR) program, a collaborative research and development initiative, to date supported by $30 million in UK government funding, aims to create a low-capital expenditure (CAPEX), low-carbon, rail-based public transportation system for Coventry and other cities. This ambitious project, involving partners from academia and industry, primarily focuses on developing an innovative trackform system in conjunction with a bespoke vehicle design. Conventional rail trackform systems typically necessitate deep foundation layers, increasing risk, duration, complexity, and costs, particularly in urban scenarios. The primary objective of this project is to engineer a shallow yet resilient trackform that can be installed on diverse substructures commonly found under existing road systems, which vary greatly in material, construction, and bearing capacity. This approach minimizes the need for deep excavation, substantially reducing project risks, duration, complexity, and costs. The 4-year R&D program has produced a patent-pending track system incorporating a concrete slab design whose stringent performance requirements were only feasibly met using Ultra-High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). Following prototype manufacture and two successful pilot installations of the system, the program has secured an additional $42 million in funding to construct a 1.6 km (1 mile) requirement-validation demonstrator route, requiring the provision of approximately 1,100 UHPC slabs (about 800 m 3 or (1,046 yd 3 )). If successful, this city-centre demonstrator route will pave the way for a full network expansion in Coventry and other cities, necessitating the production of thousands of UHPC slabs annually.


Embodiments of the invention are generally useful in the immersion lithography process, a non-self-image-forming and image-forming norbornene type polymer, and how to make such polymers, the immersion lithography method using the compositions and such compositions using such polymers relate to. More specifically, embodiments of the invention the top covers the image-forming layer, and such an image-forming layer in an immersion lithography method relates to useful norbornene type polymer and a method for forming a coating layer. Immersion lithography process, norbornene, top-coat layer, a photoresist


Objective:To explore and compare the intravenous anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia in laparoscopic cholecystectomy(LC) and simple intravenous anesthesia.Methods:Sixth cases underwent LC were divided into two groups randomly,there were 30 cases every group.The SBP,DBP,HR,the time of eyes open,the time of extubate,the cases with PONV,the average value of VAS whitin 8 hours and the dosage of propofol were recorded in pre-anesthesia,pro-anesthesia,the fifth minute in aeroperitoneum and the time of operation completed.Results:The significant difference of haemodynamics change between two group could not be found;but the significant difference of the time of eyes open,the cases with PONY,the average value of VAS whitin 8 hours and the dosage of propofol between two group coule be observed.Conclusions:The intravenous anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia in laparoscopic cholecystectomy are safe and economical with quickly wake,little disturb to respiratory apparatus and recirculating system.


Learning Objectives: Central venous catheters (CVC) are devices used for therapeutic, diagnostic, and monitoring purposes.The catheters-related thrombosis (CRT) is the one of the main complications associated with the placement. This aim of this study is to determine the incidence of CRT in different CVC sites and related risk factors in ICU. Methods: CRT due to subclavian (SC) and/or internal jugular (IJ) catheters from ICU patients in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University were prospectively observed from 2015 May to 2015 December. CRT was checked once a day and the CRT incidence and rate (normalized per 1,000 catheter days) were recorded. Results: 367 patients (235 male and 132 female) were included. 367 catheters and 1,494 catheter days were observed. CRT were found in 31 patients and the rate is 20.7 per 1,000 catheters days. 19 patients were found with CRT at the first day and other 12 patients were found at the third day after insertion. 103 IJ catheters and 303 catheter days were checked, in which 16 patients were found with CRT. 264 SC catheters for 1191 catheter days were checked and 15 patients were found with CRT. The incidence of CRT from SC catheters was significantly lower compared that from IJ catheters (5.7% vs 15.5%, P<0.01). The rate of CRT per 1,000 catheter days from SC catheters was also lower than that from IJ catheters (12.6 vs 52.8). The incidence of CRT from surgical patients was higher compared to that from non-surgical ones, though there is no significant difference (7.5% vs 2.9%, P>0.05). However, the rates of CRT per 1,000 catheter days from surgical patients were significant higher than those from non-surgical ones (24.0 vs 4.3). Conclusions: The CRT usually occurs within 3 days after insertion in ICU. The incidence and rate of CRT from SC catheters were significantly lower compared to those from IJ catheters. Surgery may have effects on the rate of CRT.


Coastline,tidal flat is a significant and sensitive region for perfecting China's geographical information database,rapid and accurate survey toward it and processing Lidar data effectively is the main survey work.This paper omnibearingly proposed separation methods of main planimetric feature in coastline and tidal flat area,from the Lidar points cloud data.Vegetation,soil and water-body would be extracted through integrating spectral information,laser reflection rate,return intensity,especially,the characteristic of double return signals introduced for the extraction of water-body points.These methods drew lessons from existing filtering and classifing algorithms,seek other approaches to solve problems from deficiency of existing algorithms.Typically,in water area boundary,it daringly presented determining water's border by computing interval between soil points(or vegetation points) and water-body points.


This paper verifies the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 stock index futures in China stock market volatility function from an empirical perspective.The conclusion is: stock index futures market slightly reduces the volatility of Shanghai stock index returns,but the degree of influence is limited,stock index futures have stablized cash market volatility function,and the relevant government departments can timely watch out the latest trend of stock index futures,to have an understanding of the economic situation,to cope with economic fluctuations and to prevent the crisis.


ABSTRACT Staurastrum gracile is a highly polymorphic species that overlaps morphologically with other species of the genus. The observation of some reproductive features, such as zygospore development, is necessary for correct identification of some Staurastrum species. This study describes the sexual and asexual reproduction of S. gracile in culture and emphasises the importance of characters observed in the fully developed stage of vegetative individuals and zygospores. The description of the life cycle is based on isolated populations from Mexico studied in light and scanning electron microscopy. We describe morphology in the asexual reproductive stages, resulting from an early division before complete cell development, but also results from the number (3, 4, or 7), the length, and the plane of projection of the arms (divergent, moderately divergent to straight, and slightly convergent). We describe gamete fusion type in S. gracile and establish that meiosis occurs in early stages of zygospore formation, characterising the morphology of all stages until germination. The phylogenetic position of the Mexican populations was confirmed by sequence analysis of the ATPase beta-subunit gene (atpB), and the resulting phylogeny was compared with zygospore characters of species. The result suggests that zygospore morphology can be a significant phylogenetic signal in desmid taxonomy.


The failure of classical Marxist social theory is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the face of the bureaucratic centralist societies that use Marxism as their "science" of legitimation. The project of a critical social theory demands the immanent critique of all Marxist and neo-Marxist attempts to theorize this new social formation, but this is as yet an unfulfilled task. For now, only some hypotheses are possible regarding the failure of the whole set of approaches, and these are best organized around five fundamental components of the classical theory. 1. The concept of critique. A genuine immanent critique of Soviet Marxism, attempted most notably by Marcuse had to fail according to the basic premises of critical theory itself.


Spoofing has grown to be a serious problem when digital payments are made for diverse transactions. In this work, we have addressed this problem using different deep learning models to distinguish between authentic and fraudulent fingerprints. Firstly, we have employed Discrete Cosine Transformation (DCT) to obtain the significant information from the given fingerprints. In the second phase, we have considered different deep learning models to obtain features which are subsequently used for classifying a given fingerprint as either authentic or fraudulent. In our work, we have explored LeNet, AlexNet and VGG models with DCT for fingerprint liveliness detection. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used as a classifier. Compared to the most recent findings, the proposed methodology yield better results.


Semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) structures have been designed and grown by molecular beam epitaxy for multi-functional integration of 1.55-µm photonic devices on InP. Triple n-type modulation-doped, strain-balanced compact quantum wells (QWs) are designed to provide desirable gain characteristics under forward bias and clean index changes under reverse bias. The largest refractive index changes with low levels of electroabsorption have been obtained for a sample with modulation doping of 4.27 ×1011 cm-2 per QW and with a hole-stopping barrier.


The present invention, in order to increase the pattern repeat, a sleeve, is laminated to the sleeve, the layer thickness is 2 to 20 mm, an intermediate layer enlarging the printing length, laser engraving allows layer of radiation-curable polymer When, to methods of using the flexographic printing sleeve including.


Base-year floor space data are essential for integrated land use transport models. This information has traditionally been estimated on the basis of limited population or employment data provided by the census, with unknown accuracy. Advances in geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technology enable the accuracy of this conventional method to be evaluated with geographic data of high precision. This study assessed the accuracy of the census-based approach in estimating base-year floor space data; the paper describes the use of a hybrid method that combines lidar and geographic vector data (referred to as the "lidar-GIS method") to develop a ground truth building floor space database for the City of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. A ground survey proved that the developed ground truth building data set provided highly accurate estimates of building heights, footprint areas, and therefore floor space. Through a case study, the floor space at the dissemination area level estimated with the traditional census-based method was compared with the floor space estimated with the lidar-GIS method for various land use categories. The results showed that for the residential floor space estimation, the average absolute percentage error of the census-based approach was 15%. The accuracy of the conventional method was much lower for nonresidential land use categories, with average errors of 50% or higher. These statistics indicate that the traditional census-based approach is unreliable and inaccurate for use in the estimation of base-year floor space and suggests that a method that incorporates the above-mentioned modern information technologies be used.


The Case Report of a 32-year-old male patient with cystic fibrosis and primary infertility is reported. The patient had unilateral absence of the vas deferens, evidence of azoospermia on semen analysis, and rare evidence of spermatogenesis on testicular sperm extraction (TESE). This Case Report illustrates the importance of TESE in evaluation and diagnosis of male infertility, in the setting of cystic fibrosis.


A partial matrix A is a rectangular array with entries in F ∪ {∗}, where F is the ground field, and ∗ is a placeholder symbol for entries which are not specified. The minimum rank mr(A) is the smallest value of the ranks of all matrices obtained from A by replacing the ∗ symbols with arbitrary elements in F. For any bipartite graph G with vertices (U, V), one defines the set M(G) of partial matrices in which the row indexes are in U, the column indexes are in V, and the (u, v) entry is specified if and only if u, v are adjacent in G. We prove that, if G is chordal bipartite, then the minimum rank of any matrix in M(G) is determined by the ranks of its fully specified submatrices. This result was conjectured by Cohen, Johnson, Rodman, Woerdeman in 1989.


Coastal Zone Imager(CZI) was designed for coastal water body and islands. To analyze the potential application of Chinese ocean color satellite in coastal zone area and evaluate the image quality, we used subjective and objective evaluation method and took a comparison between Chinese ocean color satellite and Gaofen series satellite. Subjective evaluation showed that Chinese ocean color satellite images had a better performance than Gaofen series satellite images in water bodies. Based on statistical information ,objective evaluation showed that each band gray distribution of Chinese ocean color satellite images was more dispersed and had a higher separability feature. Applying evaluation showed that Chinese ocean color satellite also performed better in terms of texture property and classification accuracy. Overall Chinese ocean color satellite had a high image quality and potential applications in coastal areas.


In this paper,the method of detecting hemoglobin from animal processed by-products(blood) is discussed.The difference between cyanide methemoglobin method and alkaline hydroxyl hemin method(AHD-575) is respectivelydiscussed by the studying on the series of stability parameter of detection methods.The results showthat above-mentioned two methods have no significant difference.It is feasible and accurate todetect hemoglobin bythe method ofalkaline hydroxyl hemin(AHD-575).


Cell division in almost all bacteria is orchestrated by the essential tubulin homologue FtsZ, which assembles into a ring‐like structure and acts as a scaffold for the division machinery. Division was recently validated as an important target for antibiotics by the demonstration that low‐molecular‐weight inhibitors of FtsZ, called benzamides, can cure mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus. In treated cells of Bacillus subtilis we show that FtsZ assembles into foci throughout the cell, including abnormal locations at the cell poles and over the nucleoid. These foci are not inactive aggregates because they remain dynamic, turning over almost as rapidly as untreated polymers. Remarkably, although division is completely blocked, the foci efficiently recruit division proteins that normally co‐assemble with FtsZ. However, they show no affinity for components of the Min or Nucleoid occlusion systems. In vitro, the benzamides strongly promote the polymerization of FtsZ, into hyperstable polymers, which are highly curved. Importantly, even at low concentrations, benzamides transform the structure of the Z ring, resulting in abnormal helical cell division events. We propose that benzamides act principally by promoting an FtsZ protomer conformation that is incompatible with a higher‐order level of assembly needed to make a division ring.


Data models for service and network management provides a programmatic
approach for representing (virtual) services or networks and deriving
(1) configuration information that will be communicated to network and
service components that are used to build and deliver the service and
(2) state information that will be monitored and tracked. Indeed, data
models can be used during various phases of the service and network
management life cycle, such as service instantiation, service
provisioning, optimization, monitoring, and diagnostic. Also, data
models are instrumental in the automation of network management. They
also provide closed-loop control for the sake of adaptive and
deterministic service creation, delivery, and maintenance. This
document provides a framework that describes and discusses an
architecture for service and network management automation that takes
advantage of YANG modeling technologies. This framework is drawn from
a network provider perspective irrespective of the origin of a data
module; it can accommodate even modules that are developed outside the
IETF. The document aims to exemplify an approach that specifies the
journey from technology-agnostic services to technology-specific
actions.


Power monitoring systems (power quality monitors, digital fault recorders, digital relays, advanced controllers, etc.) continue to get more powerful and provide a growing array of benefits to overall power system operation and performance evaluation. Permanent monitoring systems are used to track ongoing performance, to watch for conditions that could require attention, and to provide information for utility and customer personnel when there is a problem to investigate. An important development area for these monitoring systems is the implementation of intelligent systems that can automatically evaluate disturbances and conditions to make conclusions about the cause of a problem or even predict problems before they occur. This paper describes the development of a Next Generation Power Information System that will provide an open platform for implementing advanced monitoring system applications that involve integration with many different data sources. The work builds on many years of experience with software for management and analysis of large power quality monitoring systems. BENEFITS Interoperability and open access to data are cornerstones to successful development and implementation of advanced smart-grid applications at the enterprise level. An integrated platform is needed that includes access to power quality data and disturbance data in addition to traditional data stores such as historians, GIS, and electrical models. Key benefits that are realized when this integration occurs include: • Advanced applications that are based on disparate utility information systems. • Automated data analysis using intelligent algorithms. • Enterprise wide (web-based) data access, reporting, and alarming . • Improved performance of transmission and distribution systems through advanced applications, such as fault location and equipment diagnostics. In operating and maintaining a power system, the timeliness and accuracy of available information has a direct impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the system. It also has a direct impact on the safety of employees and the public. Seamlessly integrated and automated processes that take advantage of newer and smarter remote data gathering devices reduce the time that is required to understand system dynamics and return to the optimum state. BACKGROUND Monitoring and recording power quality data can result in especially large databases. And, applications like PQView operate on these databases for data management, analysis, and reporting. Figure 1 is an example of a typical power quality monitoring system. Example of System Monitoring Concept Transmission Distribution Substation Substation Monitoring System Customer Monitoring System Customer Monitoring System Monitoring Database Local Network Data Collection Data Collection Database Management/ Local Data Analysis Corporate Intranet Internet/ World Wide Web Power Quality/ Energy Information Service Power Quality/ Reliability Performance and Data Analysis le of System it ri oncept s is ion i tribution st tion


This article proposes a new explanatory framework to understand the transversal developments that have emerged from the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU on the Framework Employment Directive. It argues that the Court operates a functional differentiation in the implementation of anti-discrimination norms, which gives rise to a complex interpretation architecture. Following the constitutionalization of EU equality law, the Court reads three main functions into the Framework Employment Directive: socialization, integrity, and calibration. This differentiation gives rise to competing interpretive paradigms and analytical templates that affect the level and shape of equality protection under the Directive.
Directive 2000/78/EC, Charter of Fundamental Rights, Equality, Discrimination, non-discrimination, Functional differentiation, Socialization, Integrity, Calibration, Competing interpretive paradigms, Framework Employment Directive


Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) changes the way of conducting business by opening their services to the larger business world over the networks. However, the "open" and "interoperable" properties of SOA make privacy a sensitive security issue. In SOA, service providers (SPs) limit permission of access to specific authorized Access Requestors (ARs). SPs need to verify ARs' identity information, but ARs may not willing to disclose their privacy to unknown SPs in an open system. To solve this conflict in SOA environment, we propose privacy preserving protocols for rolebased access control (RBAC) in the SOA environment. The security analysis demonstrates that our protocols are privacy protected.


Optical interconnections integrated on a flexible substrate combine the advantages of optical data transmissions (high bandwidth, no electromagnetic disturbance and low power consumption) and those of flexible substrates (compact, ease of assembly...). Especially the flexible character of the substrates can significantly lower the assembly cost and leads to more compact modules. Especially in automotive-, avionic-, biomedical and sensing applications there is a great potential for these flexible optical interconnections because of the increasing data-rates, increasing use of optical sensors and requirement for smaller size and weight. The research concentrates on the integration of commercially available polymer optical layers (Truemode BackplaneTM Polymer, Ormocer®) on a flexible Polyimide film, the fabrication of waveguides and out-of plane deflecting 45° mirrors, the characterization of the optical losses due to the bending of the substrate, and the fabrication of a proof-of-principal demonstrator. The resulting optical structures should be compatible with the standard fabrication of flexible printed circuit boards.


In the DC distribution network, the ability of the converters to withstand overcurrent is very poor. When a fault occurs in the DC line, the converter protection and line protection cannot be easily coordinated, making it difficult to ensure selective fault removal. This paper investigates protection for the DC distribution line connected with the DAB converter. First, a fault current limiting scheme for the DAB converter using phase shifting and constant current control is proposed. Then a protection scheme for the DC distribution line based on the similarity of the fault currents flowing on both sides of the line is proposed. The effectiveness of the fault current limiting control scheme and the protection scheme is verified in PSCAD/EMTDC simulation.


To clarify this situation, this paper discusses a such production system as a. queueing model. In this system, one operator attends to two lines: a main-line and sub-line. Units to be processed on the main-line (hereafter referred to as units of type 1) are in great demand, and there is an unlimited supply of those in the main-line. While units to be processed on the sub-line (hereafter refereed to as units of type 2) are in temporary demand, and there is a random supply of those in the sub-line. Processing time of each unit, both of type 1 and type 2, has two components: handwork and automatic machining. Upon departure of a unit from a line, a new unit is allowed to enter. The operator is needed only during the handwork portion of each unit's processing, and can walk from one line to the other instantaneously. For such a production system, although the several performance measures can be con sidered to answer questions pertaining to the efficiency of the system, our purpose in this paper is mainly to study the output of the main-line and show the relationship between the mean output rate of the main-line and the behavior of the sub-line for the different queueing disciplines.


3-ketothiolase deficiency is an inherited disorder of isoleucine degradation, characterized by excretion of 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyric acid and tiglylglycine. The clinical findings vary widely, from life-threatening acidosis a few days after birth, to single episodes of acidosis in late childhood.We have investigated the biochemical basis of this clinical heterogeneity. The pathway of isoleucine degradation was studied in cultured fibroblasts by measuring the incorporation of 14-C from 2-methylbutyric acid into protein(Iden et al. Soc Study Inborn Errors Metab, 24th Ann Symp, Amersfoort 1986,Abstr 25). Fibro-blasts from 18 verified or suspected cases of 3-ketothiolase deficiency were studied. Three cell lines showed normal incorporation, whereas in 15 cases the incorporation varied from 2% to 79% of controls, low incorporation correlating with clinically severe disease.


The invention discloses a 3G network system based on a Beidou navigation satellite system and a 3G intelligent mobile communication terminal. The 3G network system based on the Beidou navigation satellite system comprises a Beidou basis module for receiving and processing a Beidou signal and generating a corresponding position information; and a 3G network module for receiving the Beidou position information and realizing 3G communication. The 3G network system based on the Beidou navigation satellite system disclosed by the invention can use the Beidou navigation satellite system so as to effectively guarantee the security and privacy of the communication. Furthermore, the communication omnidirectional coverage and real-time positioning of the omnidirectional coverage can be realized by using the satellite communication. The 3G intelligent mobile communication terminal comprises the 3G network system based on the Beidou navigation satellite system.


A process for developing (100) texture in silicon steel sheets by manganese removal and decarburization is described. The process consists of annealing in vacuum and subsequent decarburization of conventionally hotand cold-rolled steel sheets that contain silicon, manganese, and carbon. During the vacuum annealing at ~ duplex or y-phase temperatures around 1000 *C, manganese removal occurs and a thin layer near the sheet surface transforms to r The (100) texture markedly develops in the surface layer. Various types of (100) texture--for example, (100)[021], (100)[001], and (100)[011]--appear at this stage of annealing, depending on processing conditions. During the subsequent decarburization, the grains at the surface layer grow inward as columnar grains retaining the (100) texture. The decarburized steels with a grain size of a few hundred micrometers exhibit excellent soft-magnetic properties.


* Microprocessor control of all parameters and functions * 10 investigation programs with preselectable settings * Patient isolated preamplifiers with high sensitivity * Impedance test of electrodes * 2-channel normalized averager * Alpha-numeric display of settings, measuring values and calculations on built-in video monitor or slave monitor * Markers for measurement of amplitude, latency and duration * Incorporates stimulators for evoked response — visual, auditory and somatosensory


. The novel "TWICE BLESSED" by Filipino-American novelist Ninotchka Rosca starts the writing of Philippine history through historical events such as the country's presidential election. The author, through the identity writing about the main characters in the Philippine President candidate group, lets the readers understand the different identities of the presidential election activists, that is to say, to understand what kinds of people do what kinds of things in the Philippines, what kind of Filipinos will lead the Philippine people to pursue the path of national development, so as to stimulate the readers' national memory and thinking about the history of the Philippines. The novel presents a grand and colorful picture of the Philippine history, revealing the author's worries and hopes for the fate of the country and nation between the lines.


The phenomena of frosting and defrosting are quite important in evaluation of efficiency of various heat equipments such as heat pump etc. In this paper, hydrodynamic phenomena in frosting and defrosting were studied experimentally. Cooling surfaces were flat or artificially grooved with the size of several tens of microns in pitch and depth. In frosting process, super cooled small water droplets were formed on the cooling surface. In the flat surface, droplets are formed around the cavities which are small holes or scars on the surface. In the artificially grooved surface, droplets are formed in the groove or flat part between grooves. Maximum size of droplets on the artificially grooved surface was controlled by pitch and depth of the grooves. In the defrosting, larger water droplets or water films were formed on the cooling surface. On the flat surface, water droplets or films remained on the surface for long time. On the other hand, on the grooved surface, water droplets or films were drained rapidly through microgroove due to the capillary driven flow.Copyright © 2011 by JSME


We study the effect of spatial correlations in the quenched disorder on random quantum magnets at and near a quantum critical point. In the random transverse field Ising systems disorder correlations that decay algebraically with an exponent rho change the universality class of the transition for small enough rho and the off-critical Griffiths-McCoy singularities are enhanced. We present exact results for 1d utilizing a mapping to fractional Brownian motion and generalize the predictions for the critical exponents and the generalized dynamical exponent in the Griffiths phase to d>=2.


Abstract Geobotanical remote sensing techniques have been applied in studies of the geological characteristics of the Assynt area of Sutherland, Scotland. Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM( data were used to evaluate the geobotanical utility of the multispectral information recorded in the visible and reflected infrared bands with respect to mineral exploration. The main aims of this study were, first, to evaluate remote-sensing techniques for the detection of stressed vegetation due to underlying mineral deposits and, secondly, to study the possibilities of using ATM data for lithology and structural mapping under existing natural conditions. Of the eleven multi-spectral bands, differences in canopy physiognomy characteristics may partially control the spectral response in bands 5, 7 and 9. Band 7 in the near-infrared wavelength region, however, has the contrasting effect of apparently enhancing topography and reducing the spectral effect of vegetation. This permits the recognition of a number of linear feat...


Background: Meningitis is a medical emergency that requires to be diagnosed at earliest for early therapeutic interventions for favorable outcome. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemistry plays an important role in diagnosis of meningitis. Point-of-care availability of CSF examination for its biochemical parameter is a necessity for resource-limited hospitals. Objectives: The present study evaluates urine reagent strip for leukocyte count, glucose, and proteins for its diagnostic utility in samples of CSF in suspected cases of meningitis. Materials and Methods: 50 CSF samples were evaluated by urine reagent strip method. The results of it were compared with results of definitive test. The values for sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value were evaluated for reagent strip method. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of reagent strip method for thin-layer chromatography were 83.35% and 100%, respectively, and for glucose, it was 100% and 78.95%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of reagent strip method for protein were 78.57% and 100%, respectively. The overall PPV for reagent strip method was 97.06% and PLR was 7.12%. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 86.27% and 87.88%, respectively. Conclusion: The urine reagent strip method works satisfactory at CSF sample evaluation in predicting the diagnosis of meningitis. A resource-limited hospital might find it useful as a point-of-care laboratory workup of CSF.


The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (the Institute) is the professional body representing Chartered Accountants in Australia. Our reach extends to more than 53,000 of today and tomorrow's business leaders, representing some 43,000 Chartered Accountants and 10,000 of Australia's best accounting graduates who are currently enrolled in our world-class postgraduate program. Our members work in diverse roles across commerce and industry, academia, government, and public practice throughout Australia and in 107 countries around the world. We aim to lead the profession by delivering visionary thought leadership projects, setting the benchmark for the highest ethical, professional and educational standards and enhancing and promoting the Chartered Accountant brand. We also represent the interests of members to government, industry, academia and the general public by actively engaging our membership and local and international bodies on public policy, government legislation and regulatory issues. The Institute can leverage advantages for its members as a founding member of the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), an international accounting coalition formed by the world's premier accounting bodies. The GAA has a membership of 700,000 and promotes quality professional services to share information and collaborate on international accounting issues. In producing this monograph the author acknowledges the benefit from discussions with colleagues at the School of Accounting, University of New South Wales, and particularly the comments on earlier drafts by Jeff Coulton (UNSW), Sarah McVay (NYU) and Caitlin Ruddock (UNSW). Disclaimer: This monograph presents the opinions and comments of the author and not necessarily those of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (the Institute) or its members. The contents are for general information only. They are not intended as professional advice – for that you should consult a Chartered Accountant or other suitably qualified professional. The Institute expressly disclaims all liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information contained in this paper. The use of extensions to traditional financial reporting to capture performance information, for example, the value of intangibles, corporate social responsibility and sustainable strategies has become common practice. For accountants, as preparers and interpreters of traditional financial statements, there is now a required awareness of these new reporting extensions. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, the premier accounting body in the country, has a mandate to ensure that accounting as a discipline evolves to meet these changes. This monograph was commissioned by the Institute and written by Professor Stephen Taylor from …


troductory essay gives a fair and adequate appraisal of the intellectual efforts being made by our colleagues in the bosom of Mother Russia. If I have any reservations about the report (and I have) I express them with the positive intention of encouraging future Soviet editors to fill out what has here been omitted, or change what are, for un-marxist minds like my own, some rather indigestible concepts. May I begin with the central matter of how Soviet social


Methods or tools that designers use can originate from potentially anywhere. The aim in this research was to explore sculpture and architecture with the intention of uncovering new methods or ways of working that could facilitate the design process. A study was devised to compare the working processes of sculptors and architects with those of designers. Professionals from each of the three disciplines were asked to solve a design brief in their spare time, over a period of a few weeks. Data collected from diaries, interviews and design sheets, enabled their design processes to be identified and consequently, similarities and differences were revealed. The architects' way of working was too similar to the designers to offer any new methods, however the sculptors' processes were found to be the most different, especially with regard to how they approached and explored the design brief. They focused on intangible and more abstract aspects and did not allow existing products to inform their design. They were also more self-expressive and more concerned with the general experience of use than about solving precise problems with existing products or methods of mass manufacture. This approach resembled that of the architects, who participated in Alessandro Mendini's Tea and Coffee Towers project in 2003. This demonstrates the potential use of a sculptural process when designing products in order to produce interesting solutions.


In the case where the dimension of the data grows at the same rate as the sample size we prove a central limit theorem for the difference of a linear spectral statistic of the sample covariance and a linear spectral statistic of the matrix that is obtained from the sample covariance matrix by deleting a column and the corresponding row. Unlike previous works, we do neither require that the population covariance matrix is diagonal nor that moments of all order exist. Our proof methodology incorporates subtle enhancements to existing strategies, which meet the challenges introduced by determining the mean and covariance structure for the difference of two such eigenvalue statistics. Moreover, we also establish the asymptotic independence of the difference-type spectral statistic and the usual linear spectral statistic of sample covariance matrices.


ABSTRACT This study aims to explore how rising powers who are also donors within the G20 strive to achieve a positively distinctive identity in the field of development cooperation through status-seeking strategies. The article employs Social Identity Theory (SIT) to critically examine and understand the increasing importance of South-South cooperation in the foreign policies of the nine selected G20 rising donors (namely China, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, India and Argentina). For this purpose, it will first explain why status matters for rising powers. Second, it will present the linkage between status-seeking policies of states and state identity. Third, it exposes social creativity as a driver of state behaviour. And fourth, it focuses on G20 rising powers' quest for status through social creativity with a particular focus on South-South development cooperation.


The reliability of data and services hosted in a virtual machine (VM) is a top concern in cloud computing environment. Continuous snapshots reduces the data loss in case of failures, and thus is prevailing for providing protection for long-running systems. However, existing methods suffer from long VM downtime, long snapshot interval and significant performance overhead. In this paper, we present ConSnap, a system designed to enable taking fine-grained continuous snapshots of virtual machines without compromising VM performance. First, ConSnap adopts the COW (copy-on-write) manner to save the memory pages in a lazy way, and thus decrease the snapshot interval to dozens of milliseconds. Second, we only save the incremental memory pages on the basis of the last snapshot in each epoch to reduce the snapshot duration, and thus mitigate VM performance loss. Third, we propose a multi-granularity space reclamation strategy, which merges the unused snapshot files to achieve storage space saving, as well as fast recovery. We have implemented ConSnap on QEMU/KVM and conducted several experiments to verify its effectiveness. Compared with the stop-and-copy based incremental snapshots, ConSnap reduces the performance loss by 71.1% ~ 10.2% under Compilation workload, and 14.5% ~ 4.7% for the Ftp workload, when the interval varies from 1s to 60s.


Every man's life is an interesting story. When one of the leading physiologists of our time gathers his memories and opinions, his frustrations and achievements into an autobiography, he is sure to have an interested audience. And when these reminiscences are pithy, uninhibited, concise and specific the story may be instructive as well as fascinating. Dwight Ingle began life on an Idaho farm, moved with some difficulty through elementary and high school, graduated from college, and took up a career of research in physiology. He ultimately received a Ph.D. (in psychology) from the University of Minnesota. He worked in many outstanding laboratories-at the Mayo clinic, at the Cox Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, at the Upjohn Company, and at the Ben May Laboratories of the University of Chicago, where he finally became chairman of the Department of Physiology. Ingle's work has been of great importance in clarifying the influence of the adrenal cortex on metabolic processes. He never deviated from high standards of technical excellence, and he never allowed himself to be seduced into easy or "practical" problems. He followed his own inclinations and pursued the questions which interested him. In the course of his work he developed theoretical concepts of importance to experimenters in all biological fields. His philosophical attitude toward research ultimately led him to found and edit Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, which has held a unique position as a journal of ideas. The story of Ingle's growth and development is only a small part of what he spreads before us. He knew intimately most of the eminent endocrinologists of our time, and he writes of them as friends, colleagues and personalities in a way which will certainly intrigue their younger colleagues. He has strong ideas about a number of subjects, ranging from technicians' salaries and the blighting role of the personnel office in university life to the problems of education and integration of minority groups. In these discussions he follows no party line. Although himself now an administrator, he has serious fault to find with those who make administration their life work. Himself completely unprejudiced about race or religion, he has harsh words for those who would apply panaceas to the difficult social problems of our times. Although he has great sympathy for the novice and compassion for the uneducated, he has nothing but scorn for the inept, the lazy and the poseur. To his friends, this book recalls a fine friend and expert colleague; to those who do not know him, it introduces an honest and productive man.


This Paper describes a simple method for the calculation of second-order solutions to dynamic general equilibrium models. The method relies on standard linear solution procedures and does not require any new numerical algorithm. As an illustration, the method is used to derive a full second-order approximation for aggregate utility in a sticky price model. In an open economy example the method is used to calculate the welfare gains from international coordination of monetary policy.


Hearing loss is a low-incidence disability, affecting 1 to 6 per 1,000 live births. Until recently, hearing loss was not diagnosed until 2 years of age or later. In the late 1990s, a push began for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: the ultimate goal was that every newborn's hearing would be tested before leaving the hospital. Prior to widespread implementation of UNHS, some researchers found that hearing parents of deaf children had higher stress and atypical parent-infant interactions. More recent research, focused on parents of infants diagnosed through UNHS, is inconsistent. Some researchers have found that parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hh) children have significantly more stress than parents of hearing infants; however, some researchers have not found these differences. Because increased stress is linked to impaired parent-infant bonding, researchers have made conclusions about bonding based on assessments of stress. The purpose of the current study was to compare the bonding of hearing mothers to d/hh infants to hearing mothers of hearing infants. A second aspect was to assess the needs of mothers of d/hh infants and to evaluate, from mothers' perspectives, how early-intervention services could be improved. Results from the current study show that mothers of d/hh infants were not bonding abnormally. In addition, the bonding of hearing mothers to d/hh infants is not significantly different from the bonding of hearing mothers to hearing infants. On the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), mothers of hearing infants were significantly more likely to feel as if their babies cried too much. Interview results show that all mothers were worried


Objective: To determine the content of free and conjugated luteolin in Callicarpa nudiflora Hook.et Arn.Methods: The chromatographic conditions were as follows: Dikma Diamonsil C18 column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm) with column temperature at room temperature,the mobile phase of methanol-0.1% phosphate acid(62∶38),flow rate at 1 mL·min-1,and the detection wavelength at 348 nm.Results: The linearity of luteolin was good in the range of 4.58~114.6 μg·mL-1(r=0.999 9).The average recoveries were 97.5%(free) and 97.2%(conjugated),respectively.RSD was 2.0%(free) and 2.7%(conjugated),and repeatability of RSD was 1.7%(free) and 2.7%(conjugated)(n=6).Conclusion: This method is simple,accurate and specific.It can be used for the quality control of Callicarpa nudiflora Hook.et Arn effectively.


Interface crack under the radial displacement load was simulated on the rubber-metal ring.The relationships between crack size and tearing energy were researched respectively along the axial and circumferential direction at the stretched end of the rubber-metal ring and the squeezed end.The following conclusions: The crack expansion couldn't occur at the squeezed end.The crack expansion had little chance along axial direction at the stretched end,and the most possibility was along circumferential direction at the stretched end.Fitting curves of the tearing energy with crack size build a foundation for fatigue life prediction to such structures and load.


Temperature-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)was grafted onto the polyethylene microporous membrane by plasma-induced graft polymerization technique.The results of XPS analysis and FT-IR analysis indicate that the grafted chains exist both on the outside surface and on the pore walls of the grafted membrane.The XPS result also confirms that the grafted chains have different configuration below and above the low critical solution temperature(LCST).The permeation experiment shows that the permeate flux of the grafted membrane varies sharply with narrow temperature change in close vicinity to the LCST.Streaming potential method was used to characterize the electrical property of the grafted membrane.The results show that the grafted membrane possesses the negative charges.The zeta potential and charge density of the grafted membrane change dramatically around the LCST and their absolute values increase with the growth of temperature.


I am honored as well as humbled to be here with you this morning as the 2011 American Association for Health Education (AAHE) Scholar. There is no greater recognition than the recognition from peers. As we just heard during the AAHE General Meeting, the health education profession is evolving. There is little doubt that the choices being made today by all of us as health educators will affect the future of health education in great ways. These are intentional choices that will allow the profession to meet the needs of health educators in all settings and continue to be a strong advocate for health education research, policy, and practice. I am proud to be a member of this profession and to be engaged in what I think will be a turning point for the profession. Like all of my esteemed AAHE Scholar recipients before me, our passion, our career, and our profession has been a journey. I want to provide a brief glimpse of my journey, of how I got where I am today, and acknowledge a few people who helped me make some good choices along the way. MY HEALTH EDUCATION JOURNEY AND CHOICES I am a health educator. That statement seems self-evident today standing here before you. I am not exactly sure when I came to this realization, but most likely during my doctoral studies at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). The choices I made along the way have helped shape who I am personally and professionally as a health educator. The road to becoming a health educator was not a straight line. Like many freshmen college students today who enter college wanting to become a doctor or lawyer, I wanted to be a dentist. And like many freshmen today, my dream was short-lived when my lack of acumen for physics and calculus became all too apparent. It was time for a choice--one strongly encouraged by the university. I enrolled at a community college and successfully completed an associate of science degree in dental hygiene. I began practicing dental hygiene. But there was a burning desire to earn a bachelor's degree. So, I went back to the University of Toledo, taking most of my courses in the evening while working during the day. I enrolled in several stacked courses, where graduate and undergraduate students were in the same class. This is where I met Dr. James Price, who many of you recognize as the 2008 AAHE Scholar. During my undergraduate program, Dr. Price encouraged me to earn a master's degree and subsequently offered me an assistantship. Knowing little about either, I talked with my parents and the dentists I worked for, Drs. Robert Stearns and William Zouhary. Both not only encouraged me but allowed me to cut my hours back from 40 to 20 hours a week so I could go to school and also have the assistantship. Once in the master's program I found what I enjoyed doing--teaching and conducting research to understand health behavior. My next question was "How do I do this full-time?" The answer was plain and simple: you need a doctorate degree. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined completing a master's degree, let alone a doctorate. So, during our spring break in 1984 my good friend and now colleague Dr. Sharon Desmond hopped in my maroon Chevy Citation and traveled to several universities to check them out. I decided on Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. It was a good choice. But I don't think I still fully understood what being a health educator was or meant. During my time at SIU-C I took courses with such health education legends as Drs. Elena Sliepcevich and Bob Russell (both AAHE Scholars). It was also during this time that I met Dr. Robert McDermott (2000 AAHE Scholar), who was, for a brief time, my major professor and later became a valued colleague at the University of South Florida College of Public Health. During my final year at SIU-C, I had a conversation with Dr. Sliepcevich about accepting an opportunity at a community college as a dental hygiene instructor. Her advice: "Stay and finish your degree and become a health educator. …


Moisture content of live fuels (LFMC) is one of the main factors determining fuel flammability and, therefore, a key indicator of fire danger. In this study, we modeled the relationship between spectral indices derived from satellite imagery and field estimations of LFMC in the Chaco Serrano subregion; then, we analyzed the relationship between fire danger estimations based on LFMC calculations and fire activity. Empirical LFMC models fitted for grasslands, Chaco Serrano forests, and glossy privet forests may be considered very accurate R2 > 0.80, whereas the model corresponding to shrublands still needs to be improved (R2 = 0.57). Monthly maps of fire danger reflected the occurrence of fires consistently during years of both high and low fire activity. Most fires occurred mainly in areas with high or extreme fire danger, demonstrating a clear relationship between LFMC and fire activity in the Chaco Serrano subregion. Our LFMC models may be useful to assess the spatiotemporal distribution of fire danger in the Chaco Serrano subregion using remote sensing data. The associated fire danger maps represent a valuable tool for improving decision making processes to organize early warning and fire suppression activities.


You can't simply take a pill or an injection and become a world-class athlete—the innate physical talent, the inner drive for excellence, and years of training and competing must first be there. But as biochemistry has become increasingly better understood and sports science has evolved, athletes now can optimize their training to overcome areas of weakness and to maximize performance—sometimes illegally. This ability has become especially important as the separation between champions and runners up has diminished to hundredths of a second, a fraction of a centimeter, or a rail-thin margin in scoring. This evolution of sports also has led to an epidemic-sized problem of athletes pushing the envelope on performance enhancement. The recently completed Pan American Games held in Winnipeg provided the latest setting for news headlines of drug scandals in the world of sports. Last year, the doping headlines came from the Tour de France, the world swimming championships, and even from ...


The genetic effects and heterosis of yield-related traits in derivative lines from Indica-Japonica crosses of rice under different environments were studied with the additive-dominance genetic model(AD model),including the genotype×environment(GE) interaction.The results showed that days from sowing to heading,grain number per panicle,filled grain number per panicle and 1000-seeds weight were mainly controlled by additive effects,seed setting rate and plant height were mainly controlled by dominant effects.The yield-related traits were more obviously affected by the GE interaction,they were mainly controlled by dominant×environment interaction which days from sowing to heading,grain weight per plant,1000-seeds weight and panicle length were specially obvious affected by the GE interaction.Heterosis analysis showed that heterosis were controlled by genetic main effects.Beside the panicle number per plant,the other eight traits showed positive population mean heterosis.GE interaction heterosis analysis showed that heterosis of the grain weight per plant,the panicle number per plant,filled grain number per panicle,1000-seeds weight,plant height and panicle length were better stability,and the rest 3 traits were less stable.The results of genetic effects analysis showed that a number of traits of Minghui 413,97gk1037,Minghui 118 and Minghui 417 were mainly controlled by the additive effects and dominant effects,the environment interaction effects were weaker,reflecting a certain degree of environmental stability,which indicated these 4 derivative lines from Indica-Japonica crosses of rice had a higher value in use on heterosis utilization.


This empirical research analyzes the degree of use of the outsourcing of accounting as a tool that adds value and competitiveness to MSME of the city of Panama, the degree of knowledge of the alternatives that has this tool, as well as their degree of knowledge and interest in the adoption of new international standards of financial information (IFRS) for SMEs. The methodology consisted of a survey that was carried out with the help of a questionnaire consisting of ten closed questions to make the collection more efficient, applied to a sample of 144 MSMEs counter face to face, to avoid mistakes in the information capture. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical. With the results, we can say that the majority of MSMEs are more than 15 years of being using accounting outsourcing for the preparation of reports to third parties, the payroll and paying taxes and are convinced that it has improved its administrative management, compliance with various regulatory bodies of the Panamanian companies and obtaining of bank financing; in addition, its internal accountants found in an update continued in relation to the IFRS for SMEs to improve their knowledge and interested in their immediate implementation.


This paper describes a 2.4-GHz fully-integrated front-end receiver including a single-pole triple-throw (SP3T) switch and a low-noise amplifier (LNA) with bypass function, which was fabricated in a 0.25 μm GaAs pHEMT process. An asymmetrical SP3T switch architecture is incorporated to enable the receiver to operate in four modes. The exploration of impedance and voltage gain behavior of the proposed LNA help to establish the matching network and alleviate the trade-off between noise figure (NF) and gain performance. In LNA high gain mode, the implemented front-end receiver shows 1.7 dB of NF and 6dBm of input third-order intercept point (IIP3) with 20 dB of power gain drawing 11 mA of current from 5 V power supply at 2.4 GHz. All input and output return loss had exceeded 10 dB with fully on-chip impedance matching network. In bypass mode, the measured insertion loss of typically 7.5 dB is achieved.


OBJECTIVE
To explore anti-inflammation and mechanism of Qinghuachang Decoction (QD) by using LPS stimulated differentiated colon cancer Caco-2 cells (as an inflammation model of human enterocytes).

METHODS
QD was prepared. Human colonic epithelial Caco-2 cells were cultured. Expressions of TNF-alpha and IL-8 were determined using ELISA. Expressions of inhibitory Kaba protein (IkappaB-alpha), phosphorylated inhibitory Kaba protein (p-lkappaB-alpha), nuclear transcription factor p50 (p50), and nuclear transcription factor ReIA (ReIA) protein were determined by Western blot.

RESULTS
Compared with the negative control group (without LPS stimulation), LPS stimulated the release of IL-8 and TNF-alpha in Caco-2 cells (P < 0.05). QD treatment could reduce the secretion of TNF-alpha and IL-8 induced by LPS in a dose dependent manner (P < 0.05). QD at 0, 5, 10, and 50 microg/mL had no significant effect on Caco-2 cell survival rates (P > 0.05), with no statistical difference among various concentrations (P > 0.05). QD could significantly suppress nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) phosphorylation stimulated by LPS. The expression of p-IKappaB-alpha was decreased with increasing concentrations of QD (P < 0.05). There was no obvious change in IKB-alphaB expressions (P > 0.05). Expressions of p50 and ReIA decreased with increasing concentrations of QD (P < 0.05). Both of them were in a dose dependent manner.

CONCLUSION
QD inhibited LPS mediated NF-kappaB activation, which might be one of its mechanisms for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).


https://ejgo.org Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is usually diagnosed as a locally advanced disease (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2018 stages III/IV) and is the most lethal gynecological cancer in developed countries [1]. Primary treatment usually consists of debulking surgery followed by adjuvant platinum/taxane therapy [2]. In the 80s and 90s, a marked gain in overall survival (OS) was observed with the introduction of cisplatin and paclitaxel in the treatment of EOC, respectively. Since then, the development and approval of new drugs has not been as impressive as those seen in other malignancies, such as lung, breast cancer and melanoma.


Two taxonomies for transfer of learning are described. The first specifies six levels or degrees of transfer. The second employs two categories for classifying kinds of transfer: one is based on five types of knowledge, and the other is based on transfer per se, of which there are fourteen types. The implications of transfer of learning for classroom instruction are discussed. Haskell's Taxonomies of Transfer of Learning: Implications for Classroom Instruction esearch suggests that transfer of learning differs in kind, occurs at different levels, and influences all learning, memory, problem-solving, and cognitive processes (Mayer, 1987). Although the transfer of basic skills, knowledge, and thinking skills is integral to our educational aspirations and expectations, many students believe that little of what they learned in school benefited them later in life. Not surprisingly, R NATIONAL FORUM OF APPLIED EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 2_______________________________________________________________________________ transfer of learning persists as one of the most vexing problems in the classroom (Bevevino, Dengel, & Adams, 1999; Borich & Tombari, 1997; Rossett, 1997). In addressing this critical educational issue, Haskell (2001) developed two taxonomies: one for levels of transfer and one for kinds of transfer. Levels and Kinds of Transfer of Learning Transfer of learning refers to the influence of past learning on current and future learning and to the application or adaptation of previous or current learning to similar or novel situations (Haskell, 2001). Since virtually all learning entails connecting past learning to new situations, all transfer, therefore, entails transfer of learning. However, because nothing ever recurs in exactly identical ways or in exactly identical contexts, the fundamental problem in transfer involves perceiving when and how something is identical to or equivalent to something else. Haskell perceives other problems that plague our understanding of transfer: the need to differentiate between levels of transfer and kinds of transfer and the need to develop taxonomy for each. Accordingly, both of Haskell's taxonomies of learning will be described below.


Two interrelated yet seemingly contradictory discourses framing girlhood studies depict feminine identities as either restricted by the Ophelia girl in crisis or overwhelmed by the complexity of feminine norms confronting the Girl power girl. Currently missing from this polarized discussion is how online social networks provide a unique venue for creating and expressing the subjectivities of girlhood. In this paper, we study how 25 young women and girls in Hong Kong engage with Facebook and how this online social space is used to push beyond the linear crisis vs. power continuum to claim a more multidimensional understanding of feminine identity. We evaluate the reasons why Facebook is popular among these users and highlight how these young women expand the "rescue versus empowerment" debate by claiming new spaces to create, experiment and express their own unique forms of femininity.


An extensive field survey has been made of the three television transmitters in the New York City territory. The survey consisted of observations of many receivers permanently installed in the metropolitan area and of observations made with special receiving equipment mounted aboard the cruiser Hurricane II. Continuous recordings of field strength and still photographs have been made. This paper deals extensively with the multipath problem in television broadcasting which causes multiple patterns in the received picture. Extensive use is made of photographs and diagrams illustrating the appearance of these patterns and explaining the causes of these various types of "ghosts." The findings of this survey definitely lead to the conclusions that the lower-frequency channels provide the least multipath interference in metropolitan territory such as New York City. Reasonably good reception is found from all three New York stations at distances beyond five miles up to the distances where signal level becomes too low for satisfactory receiver operation. Photographs are used to exhibit the quality of reception and types of programs now current in good locations around New York City.


scientific performance assessment is an important part of the hospital's scientific management.The paper introduced a scientific performance assessment scheme established in our hospital by exploration and practice.We selected research project,research article,scientific and technological achievement,patent and publication as evaluation indicators,and then established the individual and the department assessment programs by quantification.After bringing the assessment into effect,the hospital scientific assessment had got remarkable benefit,and achieved breakthrough in research projects,SCI papers,scientific and technological achievements in succession.


Aquifer protective capacity and groundwater quality investigations around some open dumpsites were conducted along New Road Sapele, Delta State. Nine Schlumberger arrangements of vertical electrical soundings (VES) were carried out with a maximum electrode separation of 500 m, and obtained data were interpreted by partial curve matching and computer iteration using Win Resist software. 2D survey using nine dipole-dipole stations was also utilized to give resistivity map of the dumpsites, while standard laboratory methods were used to analyze the groundwater. The study shows four to five geoelectric sections. The aquifer is within the third, fourth, and fifth layers at a depth of 30 m. The overburden protective capacity from the total longitudinal unit conductance indicates that VES 1 and 5 are adequately protected with protective capacity of 0.7 to 0.9 mhos, VES 2, 3, 6, and 7 are moderately protected with conductance values of 0.2 to 0.69 mhos, VES 4 is weakly protected with values of 0.12 mhos, and VES 8 and 9 are poorly protected with values of 0.003 to 0.004 mhos. In the 2D imaging, VES 4, 8, and 9 show contaminant presence to the depth of 20 m while VES 3, 6, and 7 show contamination to a depth of 50 m. However, the aquifer shows good transmissivity, an indication that if it is contaminated, the contaminants will circulate the aquifer at a high rate. The groundwater flows in the northeast (NE) direction, thereby recharging river Ethiope. The study also shows the presence of lead (0.01 mg/l), nickel (0.02 mg/l), and cadmium (0.03 mg/l), which made it unsafe for drinking and use in other life-related activities. Groundwater should hence be sourced from a depth of about 45–50 m in order to tap from the uncontaminated aquifer.


Aims: To evaluate the nutritional and sensory characteristics of soybean and tigernut based infant food that could be adoptable at house-hold level by rural dwellers. Study Design: Randomized design. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, University of Calabar, between January 2009 and 2010. Methodology: Soybean seeds were washed, soaked overnight, cooked, dehulled, dried and milled into flour to pass a 300μm sieve. Tigernut tubers were washed, soaked for 96h, dried and milled into flour (300μm). Three weaning foods; STF1 (Tigernut: 75%; soybean: 15%); STF2 (Tigernut: 65%; Soybean: 25%); STF3 (Tigernut: 55%; Soybean: 35%) with 10% full cream powdered milk (FCM) each were prepared to yield formulated weaning food (FWD). Samples were assayed for proximate, energy, pH, mineral and organoleptic qualities. The control was a commercial brand based on maize, soybean, FCM and additives. Results: Proximate, energy and mineral contents of the samples were different (P<0.05). FWDs contained higher (P<0.05) amounts of protein, ash, fat, fiber, energy and mineral contents than the control. STF3 recorded higher (P<0.05) ash, protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Among the FWDs, STF3 had higher (P<0.05) panelists ratings for all the sensory attributes and it compared favorably with the control. Research Article British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 2(4): 356-366, 2012 357 STF3 was rated higher (P<0.05) for overall acceptability compared to the control. The result suggested that STF3 hold a potential promise for the delivery of cheap nutrient dense infant food for low income house-holds. Conclusion: The potential suitability of tigernut flour in weaning food formulation was shown in this study. Although all the formulated diets met the benchmark for infant food, taking into consideration the dietary profile and sensorial ratings, STF3 (Tigernut 55%; Soybean 35%, 10% milk) was found to be the most promising formulation. This indicates that underutilized tigernut tubers could be exploited to produce adoptable household cheap weaning food with soybean that can compare favorably with commercial brand. This could be a sustainable way of curbing malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.


All change: Complete ligand exchange through the hydrogenation of [Ru(eta(4)-cod)(eta(6)-cot)] in the presence of GaCp* under mild conditions leads to the title complex featuring a "naked" gallium atom bridging two ruthenium centers (see structure: C white, Ga blue, Ru red). This cluster can be considered as a trapped intermediate on the way to mixed-metal nanoparticles; cot = 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene, Cp* = C(5)Me(5).


The 3-minute all-out cycling test (3MT) is a valid, practical, and time effective method for determining Critical Power (CP) and intensities used in training and competition for cyclists. Changing the crank length (CL) on a bicycle may affect an individual's ability to produce and/or maintain power output while cycling. A change in CP due to CL differences would lend to a change in the ability of the cyclist to maintain power output. PURPOSE: To determine the impact of short crank arms on the metrics of the 3MT. METHODS: A total of 9 recreationally trained male cyclists (27.6 ± 7.5 yrs.) participated in the study. Subjects completed an incremental cycle test to determine V ̇O2peak (57.4 ± 6.4 ml/kg/in; 366 ± 47 W) and gas exchange threshold (276 ± 59 W) to calculate the resistance for the 3MT. Session two consisted of a familiarization trial of the 3MT. For sessions three and four, subjects completed the 3MT using CLs of 145 (short crank, SC) and 175mm (normal crank, NC). CL was determined in a randomized counterbalanced format. T-tests were utilized to determine differences between outcome variables of the 3MT. RESULTS: Peak power and peak cadence were significantly higher in the SC trial compared to the NC trial (SC 531 ± 116 vs NC 496 ± 113 W, p = 0.00; SC 168.9 ± 9.2 vs NC 157.6 ± 8.9 RPM, p = 0.00). The mean cadence over the last 30 sec of the 3MT did not differ between CLs (SC 93.4 ± 13.9 vs NC 93.0 ± 13.0 RPM, p = 0.79), but the average pedal speed over the same 30 sec was significantly slower in the SC trial compared to the NC trial (SC 1.41 ± 0.21 vs NC 1.70 ± 0.23 m/s, p = 0.00). CP (SC 287 ± 41 vs NC 287 ± 46 W, p = 0.97) and work above end power (WEP) (SC 12.2 ± 4.0 vs NC 11.4 ± 3.4 kJ, p = 0.08) were not significantly different between CL trials. CONCLUSION: CP was not different in the current study and demonstrated that changing CL by as much 30mm may not be a major factor in maintaining submaximal power output when position on the bike is maintained between CLs. However, individual differences among the subjects reveal changing CL could affect CP by up to 20 watts; some individuals performed better with 175mm while others performed better with 145mm. Cyclists should begin testing CLs to determine if a CL outside of the typically prescribed norms of within 2.5mm of 172.5mm could possibly benefit their performance and comfort while cycling.


Mn-Co Spinel is considered as one of the most promising materials for the interconnect protection of solid oxide fuel cells; however, its conductivity is too low to maintain a high cell performance as compared with cathode materials. Element doping is an effective method to improve the spinel conductivity. In this work, we proposed doping Mn-Co spinel powder with Cu via a solid phase reaction. CuδMn1.5−xCo1.5−yO4 with δ = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and x + y = δ was obtained. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) were used to evaluate the Cu-doping effect. After sintering at 1000 °C for 12 h, the yield exhibited the best crystallinity, density, and element distribution, with a phase composition of MnCo2O4/CuxMn3−xO4 (x = 1, 1.2, 1.4 or 1.5). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to semi-quantitatively characterize the content changes in element valence states. The areal fraction of Mn2+ and Co3+ was found to decrease when the sintering duration increased, which was attributed to the decomposition of the MnCo2O4 phase. Finally, coatings were prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying with doped spinel powders and the raw powder Mn1.5Co1.5O4. It was found that Cu doping can effectively increase the conductivity of Mn-Co spinel coatings from 23 S/cm to 51 S/cm. Although the dopant Cu was found to be enriched on the surface of the coatings after the conductivity measurement, which restrained the doping effect, Cu doping remains a convenient method to significantly promote the conductivity of spinel coatings for SOFC applications.


The study proposed a maintenance rating program (MRP) in Taiwan which combines the methods of DEcision MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) to evaluate maintenance activities accurately. In the view of the provincial and county roads in Taiwan, DEMATEL was employed to compute the effects between criteria through experts' interviews and questionnaire surveys, and ANP was used to determine the weights of elements in each criterion. The results showed that the five key factors for the maintenance activity evaluations are road safety, road surface, road construction, road management, and facility and landscape of road. The proposed MRP based on the DEMATEL and ANP methods is more suitable than the traditional decision-making methods to solve problems with different degrees of effects among criteria which are used to the evaluations of maintenance activities.


The purpose of this study is to examine dropping of the mixing pump in Tank 102-AP during its removal poses the risk of causing a leak in the tank bottom with attendant potential for public exposure from the leak. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the potential for causing such a leak (i.e., estimated frequency of leak occurrence); to qualitatively estimate leak magnitude if its is a credible event; and, finally to compare the worker hazard, in the installation of an impact limiter (should it be required), to that which the public might incur if a leak is manifest in the tank bottom. The ultimate goal of the study is, of course, to assess the need for installation of an impact limiter.


The American "agricultural problem," the origins of which extended into the nineteenth century, reached serious proportions during the period between the two World Wars. As farmer, editor, and Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace was an active force in the farm community during this era. Edward and Frederick Schapsmeier's book describes many of the farmers' problems, traces the evolution of the social, economic, and legislative thought regarding agricultural policy as ultimately embodied in the New Deal, and examines in detail the i*ole played by Wallace in these events. The discussion is not limited to agricultural policy, however, since the evolution of Wallace's economic and political philosophy prior to his ascendancy to the vice-presidency reflects in many respects the development of what has become identified as the New Deal. Apparently more reformist, idealistic, and philosophical than the leader he served, Wallace developed, nurtured, and vigorously supported proposals identified in some segments of the public's mind as "collectivist" or "socialistic." The Schapsmeiers paint a considerably more complex picture than that presented by Wallace's contemporary detractors or that gleaned from histories of the Roosevelt Administration. His personality emerges as a combination of religionist, evangelist, Veblenesque institutional reformer, scientist, and political pragmatist, a potpourri that frequently confused and angered both his adversaries and his friends.


In this paper, a double closed-loop control scheme based on active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) is proposed to enhance the anti-disturbance ability and trajectory tracking accuracy of the quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system. Firstly, quadrotor's dynamic model is established and simplified. Secondly, the corresponding active disturbance rejection controller is designed for attitude inner loop and position outer loop respectively, the extended state observer (ESO) considering the motor dynamics which makes the observation more accurate is used to estimate and compensate the internal uncertainties and external disturbances in real-time. The experimental results show that the control scheme proposed in this paper can largely ensure that the quadrotor tracks the target trajectory quickly and accurately while maintaining stability, even with intense external disturbances.


In this work, single phase Nd0.9Sr0.1FeO3 electroceramic material has been synthesized by solid state reaction method. Phase purity and microstructure were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and SEM. By employing impedance spectroscopy, ac electrical properties have been measured in wide temperature (77–358 K) and frequency (1–1.5 × 107 Hz) range. To correlate the electrical properties an equivalent circuit (RgQg)(RgbQgb)(RcQc) has been used at lower temperatures which gradually changed to (Rgb)(RcQc) at higher temperatures. Around 218 K, the conduction mechanism changed from variable range hole hopping to small polaronic hole hopping mechanism which was also confirmed by ac conductivity and magnetization measurements. The localization length calculated for grains and grain boundaries are 1.17 A and 1.06 A, respectively. Hall measurements pointed out that majority of the charge carriers are p-type. The dc bias measurements confirmed the presence of non-ohmic electrode contacts and obeyed the Mott-Schottky law....


In the paper,a new ground based impact experiment system is designed to study the impact phenomenon of probe-cone docking mechanism in the course of spacecraft docking.Firstly, the whole scheme of the system,which includes the composition of the experiment system,experiment process,experimental sample and design of related devices,is given.Then,the frequency characteristic of acceleration and the effect of initial velocity on the impact time are summarized by numerical simulation on the basis of Hertz contact law,and the essential principle to choose the accelerometer for the experiment system is concluded.At last,the experiments of low speed impact are carried out.The experimental results show that the design scheme can meet the demand for measuring the docking impact force.


It is widely held that there is a correlation between complexity and precision in dataflow analysis, in the sense that the more precise an analysis algorithm, the more computationally expensive it must be. The details of this relationship, however, appear to not have been explored extensively. This article reports some results on this correlation in the context of logic programs. A formal notion of the "precision" of an analysis algorithm is proposed, and this is used to characterize the worst-case computational complexity of a number of dataflow analyses with different degrees of precision. While this article considers the analysis of logic programs, the technique proposed, namely the use of "exactness sets" to study relationships between complexity and precision of analyses, is not specific to logic programming in any way, and is equally applicable to flow analyses of other language families.


In this paper, natural fiber/waterborne polyurethane composites were prepared from the imidazole blocked waterborne polyurethane and eucalyptus fiber mats. The related properties of blocked waterborne polyurethane and natural fiber/polyurethane composites were, respectively, measured by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, dynamic contact angle, water absorption, and scanning electron microscope. The results showed that blocked waterborne polyurethane readily improved storage modulus (G') and dynamic loss (tanδ) of the composites. The blocked ratio determined the density of the cross-linking structure in natural fiber/polyurethane composite and significantly affected natural fiber/polyurethane composite's properties. With the increase of the blocked ratio, dynamic mechanical properties showed up a maximum value and the water absorption ratio reached a minimum value. The deblocking reaction of blocked waterborne polyurethane took place between 107.5℃ and 124.5℃. Due to these results, blocked waterborne polyurethane used as a matrix improved the dynamic mechanical properties of natural fiber/polyurethane composite.


CONTEXT
The TSH-T4 relationship was thought to be inverse log-linear, but recent cross-sectional studies report a complex, nonlinear relationship; large, intra-individual studies are lacking.

OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to analyze the TSH-free T4 relationship within individuals.

METHODS
We analyzed data from 13 379 patients, each with six or more TSH/free T4 measurements and at least a 5-fold difference between individual median TSH and minimum or maximum TSH. Linear and nonlinear regression models of log TSH on free T4 were fitted to data from individuals and goodness of fit compared by likelihood ratio testing.

RESULTS
Comparing all models, the linear model achieved best fit in 31% of individuals, followed by quartic (27%), cubic (15%), null (12%), and quadratic (11%) models. After eliminating least favored models (with individuals reassigned to best fitting, available models), the linear model fit best in 42% of participants, quartic in 43%, and null model in 15%. As the number of observations per individual increased, so did the proportion of individuals in whom the linear model achieved best fit, to 66% in those with more than 20 observations. When linear models were applied to all individuals and averaged according to individual median free T4 values, variations in slope and intercept indicated a nonlinear log TSH-free T4 relationship across the population.

CONCLUSIONS
The log TSH-free T4 relationship appears linear in some individuals and nonlinear in others, but is predominantly linear in those with the largest number of observations. A log-linear relationship within individuals can be reconciled with a non-log-linear relationship in a population.


LTE(Long Term Evolution) network is developing at a very high speed all over the world. LTE voice solution is one of the key points in the LTE network and terminals. LTE network is totally based on the packet-switched architecture, which can not provide custumers with voice service in the circuit-switched network. We need to implement the IMS network to make the VoLTE work. However, it is impossible in the early days of the network implementation. This article introduces several voice solutions over LTE network, analyses good and bad aspects about each solution, and has a deep analysis about what solution should be implemented for operators in different periods.


Drivers can be either human beings or artificial drivers in future intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). It is important to learn how people drive so that artificial drivers can be programmed to drive consistently with them. This will lead to future ITSs that are safe and efficient. In this article, we propose a new, fully end-to-end decision-making method, namely the pyramid pooling convolutional neural network with long short-time memory (PPC-LSTM), for multitask (longitudinal and lateral) decision inference in future ITSs. In this method, the features were extracted from multiscale red, green, blue images, depth images, and historical driving sequences. Our multitask loss for learning was designed by comprehensively considering the homoscedastic uncertainty of each task. Finally, experimental evaluations were conducted on a data set collected from CAR Learning to Act and the BDD100K naturalistic driving data set to examine the effectiveness of our proposed method. The results show that the prediction accuracies of driving speed and steering angle by our proposed PPC-LSTM are 89.97% and 84.67%, respectively. This is an improvement over state-of-the-art-methods by at least 2.52% and 2.67%, respectively, which demonstrates the method's promising applications in future ITSs.


ABSTRACT This article reports on the persistence and significance of notions of time and temporality in interviews with early childhood educators in Victoria and Queensland, Australia, in two studies designed to explore the concept of 'pedagogical leadership'. Interpretive analysis of the interview transcripts of the 19 participants identified three basic categories related to the concept of time: 'time use', 'time scales' and 'perceived time'. Drawing on contemporary philosophical discussions on the nature of time and temporality, and the sociological literature about the relationship between time and work, we argue that time and temporality merit further empirical and theoretical exploration in early childhood. We suggest that approaches that understand time and temporality from the perspective of the (gendered) body may provide a way forward.


There is growing interest in longer-term operation of the current US nuclear power plant fleet. This paper will discuss technologies needed to ensure safe and effective operation of the existing fleet. There will be an increased need for condition-based maintenance applied to active components. It is increasingly recognized that new and advanced sensors and systems will be needed to enable the move from current NDE, with periodic inspections and a find-and-fix approach, to prognostics: using online monitoring to enable operators to proactively manage systems with prediction of remaining useful life.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of muscle temperature and fatigue during stretch (eccentric) and shortening (concentric) contractions of the maximally electrically activate...