Abstract. An indigenous subterranean termite, Reticulitermes tibialis Banks, fed on quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stakes in prescribed burn and non-burned field plots on an established sagebrush-steppe rangeland restoration study site on Red Mountain, southeastern Idaho, expanding the known distribution of the 'arid-land subterranean termite' species. Aspen and pine stakes in the plots as part of a 5-year wood-decay study were unexpectedly damaged by termites. Groups of 25, 15-cm-long stakes were placed horizontally on the soil surface, and groups of 25, 20-cm-long stakes were vertically inserted to a depth of 20 cm into the soil. Aspen stakes were more damaged by feeding termites than were pine stakes. Stakes inserted into soil sustained greater termite feeding and decay damage compared with stakes on the soil surface. During the first 4 years of the study, wood mass loss caused by termite feeding on stakes exceeded loss from decay. Losses from termite feeding and microbial decay were similar by the 5th year. Differences in termite feeding damage on aspen stakes were compared with pine stakes in prescribed burn and non-burned plots. Stakes in prescribed burn plots had more mass loss than those in non-burned plots.


The introduction of minimal clinically important improvement and patient acceptable symptom state is a major advance in outcome research

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder in the world; it occurs in the majority of people over the age of 65 and is an important cause of (work) disability. The public health impact of OA is immense and will further increase with the growing elderly population. Therefore, the search for, and evaluation of, treatments for OA are relevant research topics, not only for the medical community, including individual patients and doctors, but also for pharmaceutical companies and health economists. Assessment of present and future treatment modalities in OA is important and requires a balanced approach.1

Outcome assessment is the measurement process whereby the consequences of disease and health management interventions are evaluated.2 Outcome measures may be divided into two broad categories: observer dependent (or assessor rated) and observer independent (or self rated). In general, observer independent clinical measures are based on self administered questionnaires, whereas observer dependent clinical measures include questionnaires scored by the interviewer, physical findings, and tests of performance rated on technical instruments, such as walking time.

Many physicians tend to value assessor rated outcome measures higher than self rated outcome measures. However, this interpretation is obsolete and does not allow consideration of the patients' perspectives. In line with the OMERACT recommendations,3 most studies in OA use clinical outcome measures of pain, function, and patient global assessment (all self rated) and, only for studies over 1 year, imaging (assessor rated). Clinical trials in OA assess short term changes in symptoms and long term changes in structural improvement. As yet, no definite proof of structural improvement has been documented in OA research.

The sequential OMERACT conferences have boosted the science of clinical measurement to generate …


Based on polynomial and operation matrix representation,the proofs are given on condition of polynomial divisible,polynomial root and coefficient relation.The usages of the polynomial theory are given by examples.


Blatt and Brown (1974) describe a novel way of separating heavy minerals through the use of a rubber contraceptive device inserted into the centrifuge tube. M/iller (1967, p. 122) mentions a very similar technique, originally described by Correns (1933). The Correns method consists of making one's own transparent, flexible tubes of "cellit" (cellulose acetate). Translated from the original German, the procedure is as follows: Make a 15% solution of cellulose acetate by dissolving cellit powder in a 9:1 mixture of acetone and benzene. Pour this solution into a tube having the diameter of the centrifuge tube but a greater length of about 1 cm. Add more solution until yon get an adequately thick membrane. Dry at 30°C with the tube upside down. I f milky spots appear, these must be irrigated with more solution, because such spots become brittle easily. The membrane hardens in 5-10 rain. Af te r drying, place the tube in water, and in a few minutes the membrane will be loosened from the tube's rim. Wash the membrane for about one hour longer, then blow off excess water and dry the newly-made transparent tube upside down. This "homemade" tube is then used exactly like Blatt and Brown use the rubber contraceptive device. Correns' method, published as is was in German in a relatively inaccessible journal, was obviously never widely known. In any case, making one's own tubes is a time-consuming task. No doubt this is also why it was never used for making contraceptives.


Self-aligned assembly, making use of capillary forces, is considered as an alternative to active alignment during thermo-compression bonding of Si chips in the 3D heterogeneous integration process. Various process parameters affect the alignment accuracy of the chip over the patterned binding site on a substrate/carrier wafer. This paper discusses the chip motion due to wetting and capillary force using a transient coupled physics model for the two regimes (that is, wetting regime and damped oscillatory regime) in the temporal domain. Using the transient model, the effect of the volume of the liquid and the placement accuracy of the chip on the alignment force is studied. The capillary time (that is, the time it takes for the chip to reach its mean position) for the chip is directly proportional to the placement offset and inversely proportional to the viscosity. The time constant of the harmonic oscillations is directly proportional to the gap between the chips due to the volume of the fluid. The predict...


Wood density of western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) was determined by X-ray densitometry of strips from breast-height samples consisting of rings 20–24 from the pith. Ring parameters were averaged over the 5 years for each strip. Wood density was negatively correlated with radial growth rate. Average wood density dropped from 0.47 to 0.37 g/cm3 as average ring width increased from 2 to 8 mm. Wood density decreased at higher growth rates primarily because earlywood width increased while latewood width remained the same; as a result, percentage of latewood decreased. Earlywood density decreased slightly at higher growth rates, but latewood density was not significantly related to growth rate.


OBJECTIVE
To characterize the GDSL (glycine, aspartic acid, serine and leucine motif in protein sequence) esterase Xcc_ est from Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) 8004.

METHODS
Xcc_ est gene and different domains of Xcc_ est gene were PCR amplified and expressed in Escherichia coli, the HIS-Tagged fusion proteins were purified by Ni-NTA chromatography.

RESULTS
The optimum pH and temperature of partly purified Xcc_ est were 8.0 and 52 degrees C when pNPB (4-nitrophenylbutyrate) was used as substrate. The Km and Vmax value of Xcc_ est and the passenger domain (Xcc_ estN1-334) for pNPB were 47.6 +/- 4.6 mol/L, 67.6 +/- 7.8 U/mg and 469.4 +/- 9.8 mol/L, 2.5 +/- 0.9 U/mg respectively. Inclusion bodies of mature domain Xcc_ est (Xcc_ estN26-606) could be refolded but inclusion bodies of the passenger domain (Xcc_ estN26-334) could not be refolded. Refolded mature domain had broad substrate spectrum and showed higher stability than Xcc_ est when stored at 25 degrees C.

CONCLUSIONS
Refolded Xcc_ estN26-606 can be a candidate for biotransformation application.


Given the close link between language and culture,linguistic motivation can play an indispensible part in the cultural lead-in in the learning of college English.Hence the interplay between linguistic motivation and the cultural leadin is finally realized in terms of cultural motivation.The use of cultural motivation,particularly the cultural differences understood from the perspective of linguistic motivation,enables college students of non-English majors to obtain the concrete knowledge,construct the metaknowledge in English learning,and eventually succeed in practicing the crosscultural communication between Chinese and English.


This paper describes the development of the Intelligent Data-Acquisition and Control (IDAC) system -a virtual instrumentation-based system for conducting experiments in the electrical machinery laboratory at Penn State Harrisburg. The system as developed departs from the traditional approach in a power laboratory environment where measurements are manually logged from several meters, and followed by hours of calculations and plotting of results. Introduction of the IDAC system has offered the typical power engineering undergraduate a unique opportunity to learn the principles of real-time data acquisition, and to apply it in the study of electric machines.


FIELD: oil and gas industry. SUBSTANCE: method includes placing a well device in well at working depth and connecting it to ground source, and performing excitation of elastic oscillations of different frequencies. At that, polluting products are destroyed from the bottomhole area of the oil formation, and oil recovery is stimulated by regular impact of elastic oscillations field of ultrasonic range in a continuous mode and pulse acoustic low-frequency action with simultaneous removal of the polluting products from bottomhole area of oil formation by creating rarefied space in the well perforation area and withdrawing said products from well with a jet pump. In the continuous mode, the impact is performed by high-frequency oscillation of 16-25 kHz in ultrasonic range, and the impact is carried out in pulse mode at frequency of 1-50 Hz. At that, the impact on the perforation area is started from the lower section with the subsequent movement above. The oil stimulation devices are three main devices: an ultrasonic generator, a downhole acoustic emitter and the jet pump. The downhole emitter is of magnetostrictive type or has a modular structure consisting of resonators with piezoelectric packs. EFFECT: increase of operation efficiency for intensification of oil production and duration of impact effect of equipment used. 12 cl, 5 dwg


It is found that there is a direct correspondence between similarity meaning degree of sentences and quantity of positive reactions irrespective of the preliminary instructions. All this permits to estimate quantitatively the conditional reflex activity of sentence.


Brain hemorrhage is bleeding in or around the brain tissues caused due to ruptured artery, which is a form of stroke known as hemorrhagic stroke. CT scan enables the accurate diagnosis of brain hemorrhage. The aim of this project is to help radiologist as well as medical students in diagnosis of brain hemorrhage in more refined manner by feeding CT images & identify the type of brain hemorrhage using watershed algorithm along with artificial neural network (ANN).


The optical properties of as prepared and annealed [(Cu5Se75Ge10In10)99 (CNT)1] thin films deposited with thermal evaporation technique has been discussed as a function of photon energy in wavelength range 300–900
 nm in present paper. The bulk sample of as prepared glassy alloys were developed using the melt quench technique. Thin films of prepared glassy alloys were deposited on a glass substrate with thermal evaporation unit at room temperature at base pressure of ∼10–5 Pa. The
 films were annealed at two different temperatures between glass transition temperature and crystallization temperatures. Analysis of the optical data shows that optical bandgap decreases with increasing annealing temperature while extinction coefficient, absorption coefficient and transmission
 shows increasing behaviour with increase in annealing temperature.


Human Rights and Gender issues within the framework of Women, Peace and Security Agenda have been introduced into the UN peacekeeping operations in different ways. Taking into account that these operations have not been foreseen in the San Francisco Charter, this article intends to reflect on the evolution of both aspects in the Security Council resolutions that contain the UN peace operations mandates. They are the ADN of the peace operations as legal basis of their deployment and include the objectives to be accomplished. In the actual multidimensional operations, human rights and gender related objectives have evolved to become a relevant part of peacekeeping mandates though their interaction is not always clear and their implementation under the protection of civilians' umbrella could be compromised.


A time domain coupled analysis capability has been developed to model the dynamic responses of an integrated floating system incorporating the interactions between vessel, moorings and risers in a marine environment. Hydrodynamic responses of the vessel allowing diffraction, radiation damping and wave drift forces on panelized bodies in addition to loads on Morison members, are modeled using the well-established program, MLTSIM. RodDyn, a finite element rod dynamics program, based on Garrett's rod theory, is an efficient program to model the nonlinear dynamics of risers and moorings. The coupled MLTSIM-RodDyn suite integrates the nonlinear motions and structural analysis capabilities of RodDyn with the extensive hydrodynamic simulation capabilities of MLTSIM. With the fully-coupled dynamic analysis, the integrated system can be analyzed consistently. That is, the forces and moments applied by the rods to the platform are concurrent with the motions imposed on the rods by the platform at their multiple contact points. An asynchronous coupling of these two programs has been developed which allows for a fast simulation of this very complex problem. A worked example showing the nonlinear coupled analysis, is elaborated with systematical comparison with uncoupled analysis.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


It is a vehicle door assembly is provided which includes a outer panel, an inner cladding and a movable disk portion with an inner surface, said movable disc part between the outer panel and the inner cladding is disposed. Furthermore, the assembly includes a washer guide member which is operatively connected to the inner surface of the glass part. Further, the assembly includes a support structure with a channel that is configured to retain the disc guide member slidably, wherein the support structure is operatively connected to the inner cladding.


In view of the low initial abundance of 146Sm, 142Nd anomalies are expected to be extremely small (less than 40 ppm), and their detection requires ultra-precise 142Nd/144Nd measurements. A rapid solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) technique, using HEHEHP resin as sorbent, is established to completely separate Ce from rare earth element (REE) mixtures. This technique is applied to ultra-high-precision 142Nd/144Nd measurements in geological materials. In contrast to the traditional liquid–liquid micro-extraction (LLME) technique, the benefits of the SPME tandem column are high Nd recovery, low residual Ce (Ce/Nd 3.0. Thus, 142Ce interferences on 142Nd never exceed 1.3 ppm. Ultra-high-precision thermal ionization mass spectrometry analyses of silicate standards show that the internal precision of all runs are better than 4 ppm (2 RSE) for 142Nd/144Nd values. 142Nd/144Nd values for JNdi-1, JR-3, and BCR-2 have external precisions of ±4.8, ±4.4, and ±3.9 ppm (2 RSD), respectively. The external reproducibility is sufficient to distinguish and resolve 5 ppm anomalies in 142Nd/144Nd values.


Cellulosic fibre composite compounds based on hemp and flax fibres in triethyl citrate plasticised starch acetate were prepared by melt processing. Composites were prepared with fibre contents up t ...


Our research on the mechanical and thermal properties of magnesium silicon nitride (MgSiN2)-silicon nitride (Si3N4) composite specimens has been reviewed in this paper. The specimen was fabricated by hot-pressing the compressed powder at a temperature between 1550°C and 1700°C for 90 min under a pressure of 75 MPa in a nitrogen atmosphere, using 1 mol% ytterbium oxide (Yb2O3) addition as a sintering aid. Mechanical and thermal properties of MgSiN2 specimen without Si3N4 addition were as follows: Vickers hardness, 18.3 GPa; flexural strength, 371 MPa; fracture toughness, 2.2 MPa . m 1/2 ; and thermal conductivity, 22.7 W. m −1. K −1 . In order to improve these properties, MgSiN2 composite was fabricated with the addition of 0−89 mol% Si3N4. The fracture toughness of MgSiN2 specimen could be enhanced by the addition of Si3N4, e.g., 6.6 MPa . m 1/2 (4 mol% Si3N4 addition) and 8.7 MPa . m 1/2 (49 mol% Si3N4 addition). An increase in fracture toughness of MgSiN2-Si3N4 specimen was attributed to the elongation of Si3N4 grains. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of MgSiN2-Si3N4 specimen increased to 32.7 W. m −1. K −1 for 29 mol% Si3N4 addition.


The purpose of this study was to determine how the adoption of metacognitive strategy in jigsaw cooperative learning method influences students' achievement in Biology. The study was carried out by following pre-test post-test experimental design with one control group and one experimental group. To guide this study, six hypotheses were stated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A total of 70 students from Municipal Higher Secondary School, Tamilnadu, India were used as sample for the study. The tools Metacognitive Strategy Model on Achievement in Biology, Biology Achievement Test (BAT), Attitude Scale Towards Learning Biology (ASTLB) and Home Environment Inventory (HEI) were developed, validated and used. The results suggested that instruction in the metacognitive strategy improve the students' biology achievement.


The effect of phosphorus levels (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/dm of P) on dry matter (DM) yield and chemical composition of Panicum maximum var. Massai, was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. P fertilization significantly increased DM yields and nitrogen, and phosphorus contents, however did not affect calcium, magnesium and potassium contents. Maximum DM yield and crude protein, and phosphorus contents were obtained with the application of 169.9; 86.4 and 175.5 mg/dm of P, respectively. Internal phosphorus requeriment for 80% maximum DM yield was estimated at 0.227%, corresponding to application of 199.1 mg/dm of P. The phosphorus efficiency utilization was inversely proportional to phosphorus levels.


Peel experiments involving three PSA tapes and three paper substrates were employed to develop a general approach for the analysis of peeling from paper. Plotting the logarithm of the peak peel force (i.e. the maximum value) versus the logarithm of the peel rate yielded a generalized peel curve which illustrated transitions from interfacial to paper failure. The general peel curve consisted of linear segments (on the log/log plots) which intersected when the failure mode changed from interfacial to paper failure. The influence of paper type, PSA type, and peel angle on the generalized peel curve was determined.


The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893—with exhibits and participants streaming in from across the globe and 25 million visitors marveling at its palaces, pavilions, and foreign villages—is understood as a formative moment in Chicago's history. Less well documented, however, is the fair's significance for Jews, notably those living half a world away in Paris, Tetouan, Jaffa, and Smyrna. Yet they too were present. Their exhibits of crafts, art, and student accomplishments were on display in the largest of the fair's structures, the Manufactures and Liberal Arts building, thanks to an unprecedented global constellation of philanthropists, luminaries, teachers, and students.


Objective To explore the significance of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography(CEUS)in the diagnosis of acute testicular torsion.Methods The ultrasonic imaging of 32 acute testicular torsion patients confirmed by surgery was retrospectively analyzed.Results The contrast performance of testicle which was not completely reversed was as follows:uneven filling of contrast agent in the testicular parenchyma,visible patchy enhancement region,defects of contrast agent,and reduced testicular perfusion.The imaging performance of testicle completely reversed was:no contrast agent within the testicular parenchyma.Of the 32 cases,16 were diagnosed as complete reverse,14 as incomplete reverse,and2 were misdiagnosed by CEUS. The diagnostic accuracy was 93.75%(30/32),with more advantages compared with conventional ultrasound diagnostic results by the chi-square test(P0.05).Conclusion CEUS helps to more accurately evaluate the blood flow information inside the testis,which is of high applicative value in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of acute testicular torsion.


In this paper, we conduct a survey on the state-of-the-art security attacks on sensor-rich automated vehicles with remote access and control capabilities. In particular, we examine threats regarding on-board sensors and external communication linkages for remote access (or control) and software updates. First, (words about physical access/RKS). Second, a comprehensive review of attacks on image-based perception systems is presented with respect to the security of machine learning algorithms for object classification. To evaluate the vulnerability of ML algorithms to such attacks in real-world scenarios, we implement untargeted attacks on residual networks (ResNet) [19] using German traffic sign benchmark [20]. The result suggests that potential risks caused by adversarial examples do exist when applying deep neural network to traffic sign classification. Third, we will examine the connectivity and exploitation potential of other computational elements, particularly the head unit and CAN bus. We present mitigations for each type of attack described and conclude with high-level recommendations for improving automotive security. We do not base our discussion on a particular commercial product in the market, but on published conference and journal papers, patents and security blogs that are publicly available.


Abstract The present study gives an overview on the potential, possibilities and perspectives that the synthesis of functional materials, such as BaTiO3, with microemulsions as the reaction medium offers. Well defined nanocrystalline particles in the form of powders for further ceramic processing, as well as stable colloidal dispersions for the preparation of coatings may be obtained. The paper describes the formation, phase behaviour and stabilization of microemulsions and related water/oil/surfactant systems that may be used as a nanoreactor during particle formation. The reaction principles of microemulsion mediated synthesis are outlined and some examples of structural aspects, revealing size effects in these systems are implemented using advanced characterization techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy. Finally, the preparation of mesoscopic layers, covering the thickness gap between thin film and thick film technology, is demonstrated.


The second‐order pair energies of LiH and BH are calculated using Rayleigh–Schroedinger perturbation theory. The first‐order perturbed pair functions are expanded in terms of explicitly correlated Gaussian functions. The nonlinear parameters entering the Gaussian geminals are optimized with reference to crude SCF functions according to the method proposed previously. The final values of the second‐order pair energies are then calculated using accurate SCF orbitals. At this final stage only the linear parameters are reoptimized. The calculated second‐order correlation energies of LiH and BH are compared with recent diagrammatic many‐body perturbation theory results. The basis sets composed of two optimized Gaussian geminals for each spin‐adapted pair function are shown to give quite reliable second‐order correlation energies. The results obtained with four geminals for each pair function are superior to the most accurate many‐body perturbation theory data. It is stressed that the nonlinear parameters of Ga...


In the present article, cumulative frequency distributions for hourly global horizontal illuminance based on the modeled data of 56 US locations have been presented. Measured illuminance information from other sources also has been utilized. Suitable normalized variables have been introduced to depict the generalized cumulative frequency distributions for hourly global illuminance. The cumulative distributions developed based on representative set locations have been shown to be applicable for another set of locations. In addition, the present article brings out, the major differences between daily and hourly cumulative frequency distributions and, a method to generate hourly (synthetic) global illuminance data from the frequency distributions.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


PETER G. EMBREY: Fourth supplementary list of British minerals I69 PAUL B. MOORE, CARLOS DO PRADO BARBOSA, and RICHARD V. GAINES: Bahianite, Sb3AIsO14(OH)2, a new species 179 S. A. WILLIAMS and MARJORIE DUGGAN: Tlapallite, a new mineral from Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico 183 I. H. CAMPBELL and P. R. KELLY: The geochemistry of loveringite, a uranium-rare-earthbearing accessory phase from the Jimberlana Intrusion of Western Australia 187 WOLFGANG PANNHORST and HARTMUT SCHNEIDER: The high-temperature transformation of andalusite (AlzSiO5) into 3/2-mullite (DA12Oa2SiOz) and vitreous silica (SiO2) 195 MALCOLM D. CLARK: Amphibolitic rocks from the Precambrian of Grand Canyon: mineral chemistry and phase petrology 199 , M235 (App.) STEFAN ARNORSSON: Major element chemistry of the geothermal sea-water at Reykjanes and Svartsengi, Iceland 209 J. M. MCARTHUR: Element partitioning in ferruginous and pyritic phosphorite from the continental margin off Morocco 22I T. MITSUDA and H. F. W. TAYLOR: Normal and anomalous tobermorites 229 BRIAN P. ATKIN : Hercynite as a breakdown product of staurolite from within the aureole of the Ardara Pluton, Co. Donegal, Eire 237 BERYL NASHAR: Sedimentary analcime at Murrurundi, New South Wales, Australia 241 A. F. SEAGER: Zonal dissolution in analcime and pseudomorphs of adularia after analcime from the Lizard, Cornwall 245 OLE V. PETERSEN: The twin formation of tugtupite, a contribution 25I A. PUTNIS and M. M. WILSON: A study of iron-bearing rutiles in the paragenesis TiO2-AI20 3P2Os-SiO2 255 B. HALFEN: Relations between the spectral reflectance and the chemical composition in the magnetite-ulv6spinel series 265 C. E. FORD: Platinum-iron alloy sample containers for melting experiments on iron-bearing rocks, minerals, and related systems 27I R. SOONG and V. C. FARMER : The identification of sulphide minerals by infrared spectroscopy (Synopsis) 277, M17-2o J. JUST and C. E. FEATHER: Tu~ekite, a new antimony analogue of hauchecornite (Synopsis) 278 , M2I-2 A. M. CLARK, A. J..EASTON, and M. MOUNT: A study of the neotocite group (Synopsis) 279, M26-3o A. T. RAO: Pargasite from the Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, India (Synopsis) 28o, M31 A. T. RAO: Allanite from the Kondapalli charnockites, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India (Synopsis) 280, M3 i PETE J. DUNN: Sanmartinite: new data 28 PETE J. DUNN: Dehrnite and lewistonite: discredited 282 C. F. BLAIN: Hydrothermal n,ickelian mackinawite in nickel mineralization at Wadi Qatan, Saudi Arabia 284 RICHARD A. D. PATTRICK : Microprobe analyses of cadmium-rich tetrahedrites from Tyndrum, Perthshire, Scotland 286 A. J. HALL: Post-growth readjustment of a cassiterite twin-boundary revealed by cathodoluminescence 288 M. J. WILSON: Occurrence of thaumasite in weathered furnace slag, Merthyr Tydfil 29o A. M. R. NEIVA: Barian chromium-bearing hydromuscovite from Mozambique 292 K. VISWANATHAN: Intergrowth of Ha-rich and Ha-poor phases in barium feldspars from Otjosondu, South-West Africa 294 CAROL J. LISTER: Luxullianite in situ within the St. Austell granite, Cornwall 295 G. R. BRUMBY and T. J. SHEPHERD: Improved sample preparation for fluid inclusion studies 297 C. ALABASTER: A new wulfenite locality, near Bristol 298


In a recent paper by the author, the concept of asymptotic stability was extended to systems containing uncertain parameters and a sufficient condition for asymptotic stability of linear discrete systems containing uncertain parameters was developed. In this paper the results are extended and a sufficient condition for asymptotic stability of linear continuous systems containing time-varying uncertain parameters is developed.


It is systematic engineering for strengthening student's physical fitness.It needs the common management of school,family and society and pays more attention to strengthening their own constitution and takes the effective action.On the basis of it,this paper puts forward the suggestion about strengthening junior student's physical fitness from aspects such as school,family,society and themselves.


After the application of autopsy as the only method for assessing pathophysiology of renal disease, over 50 years ago, the kidney biopsy has become an essential tool for diagnosis and management of renal diseases. To perform an appropriate kidney biopsy, some steps should be considered. In this review, the authors aimed to mention thorough details regarding percutaneous kidney biopsy under the guidance of ultrasound.


A new camaenid Aegistohadra baii sp. nov., close to Aegistohadra delavayana but having smaller and more conical shell and anatomically different, was described from Yunnan, southwest China. Helix seraphinica Heude, 1889 was confirmed to be an Aegistohadra species based on structure of genital organs. Cryptozona yunlongensis Chen Y., Chen D. et Zhang, 1997 was transferred to Aegistohadra based on shell and genital characters.


A method for obtaining nanocrystals facetados fluorapatite, comprising isolation pseudoesmalte shark teeth, said pseudoesmalte pyrolysis at a temperature of between 1000-1200oC, mechanical milling of the material obtained and the final separation of said nanocrystals.


Comparing to the big-size scanning spectroradiometer, the compact and convenient fiber spectroradiometer is widely used in various kinds of fields, such as the remote sensing, aerospace monitoring, and solar irradiance measurement. High accuracy calibration should be made before the use, which involves the wavelength accuracy, the background environment noise, the nonlinear effect, the bandwidth, the stray light and et al. The wavelength lamp and tungsten lamp are frequently used to calibration the fiber spectroradiometer. The wavelength difference can be easily reduced through the software or calculation. However, the nonlinear effect and the bandwidth always can affect the measurement accuracy significantly.


The objective of the present work was formulation, optimization and in-vivo evaluation of in-situ nasal gel of granisetron that shows liquid to gel transformation at nasal temperature (32-34°C) and maximum drug release after 4 hr; shows biovailability enhancement over oral delivery. Formulations were prepared using poloxamer PF 127 as gel forming polymer, carbopol as mucoadhesive agent and fulvic acid as penetration enhancer. A Box Benhken Design was used to prepare the experimental batches and Design Expert software for optimization of the formulation. Ex-vivo evaluations were carried out on sheep nasal mucosa and for in-vivo evaluation, rabbits were used. It was observed that optimized formulation showed gelation temperature near 33°C and drug release of 96% after 4hr. Fulvic acid was evaluated as penetration enhancer in this work and showed significant enhancement of drug diffusion across nasal mucosal membrane. Ex-vivo histological evaluation of nasal mucosa treated with optimized formulation showed no significant destructive effects. In-vivo evaluations showed that the plasma level profile of prepared insitu nasal gel was enhanced significantly over oral delivery. The findings suggested that nasal route nasal transmucosal delivery of granisetron can result in enhancement of its bioavailability over oral route.


Security breaches that affect personal data and organisational systems have become increasingly significant in the global technology (IT) industry. There is scope for research on the factors that influence user behaviour and attitudes toward this aspect of information security and their impact on organisation's network integrity. This research aims to study the critical success factors (CSF) for employees in order to comply with the organisational information security policy with a view to mitigating security breaches. Information security can be managed through three separate mechanisms: organisational factors, behavioural factors and training. Each of these elements impact differently on information security and comprehensive solutions include combinations of all three. The findings provide empirically evaluated information regarding the obstacles and the effective factors in employees' compliance with the implementation of the information security policy. The identified categories of factors are followed differently by employees working in Health, Business and Education. Questionnaire analysis as part of this study suggests that employees in the health sector comply the most in adhering with information security policy as compared to other sectors. One of the reasons for this is that health sector employees have better awareness, robust communication and effective training programmes with reinforcement and satisfaction. Moreover, employees in the health sector believe in the norms of security policies and have a positive attitude, as they recognise the significance of security policies, unlike the business and education sectors.


Since diffusion of particles as large as vesicles or organelles is constrained by the high viscosity of cytoplasm, directed translocation of these particles from one cytoplasmic site to another must be achieved by cytoskeletal intervention. In most cases, this is achieved by attaching the particle to a molecular motor which then navigates along a microtubule or an actin filament track (Fath and Burgess, 1994). Although microtubule-dependent transport in animal cells has been more extensively studied, important roles for actin-dependent transport have also recently been recognized (Langford, 1995).


An experiment was conducted on the College of Animal Science and Livestock
Production Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Alabata, Abeokuta in June -
December, 2000.
The purpose of this study was to compare the botanical composition of Panicum
maximum Ntchisi Jacq and Brachiaria decumbens stapf and Stylosanthes hamata cv.
Verano as sole crop and in mixtures. The pastures were planted at two different
spacings - 0.5m x 1m and 1m x 1m.
The result from the study showed that pasture type has significant effect on the
dry matter yields of sown species. The yields of the sown species, weeds and overall
total were not affected by spacing. The interactions between spacing and pasture types
on the dry matter yields of sown species, weeds and overall total were not significant.
Grass weeds e.g. Pennisetum pedicellatum were more in all the plots. This was
followed by the broadleaf weeds Chromoleana odoratum. Sedges were absent in all the
)lots except in the BrachiarialP anicum at the time of sampling in December, 2001.


Using bicyclo [3.3.1] nonane-2, 4, 9-triones substituted general formula (I) (see formula) in which: * R1, R2, R4 and R5, identical or different, represent so independently of each other one of the following groups: (See formula) with the condition however that if one of R1, R2, R4, or R5 radicals represents a benzyl group, none of the other radicals can then represent a benzyl group ; * R3 represents a hydrogen atom; * R6 and R7 both represent methyl group or a hydrogen atom respectively, and R8 and R9 both represent methyl group or both represent a hydrogen atom respectively, provided however that if R6 and R7 methyl groups, R8 and R9 are then hydrogen atoms, and if R8 and R9 are methyl groups, then R6 and R7 are hydrogen atoms; and their physiologically tolerated salts, hydrates, isomers, more especially stereoisomers, tautomers and constitutional isomers, derivatives, for producing medicaments for the prophylactic and / or therapeutic treatment of tumor and / or cancer derived.


Paradise on Earth is the result of a collaboration between IUCN and Harper-MacRae Publishing (now World Heritage Publishing Pty. Ltd.) with support from UNESCO and WCMC. The book includes more than 350 colour photographs which accompany detailed descriptions of each natural site inscribed on the World Heritage List.


Laser ignition of energetic material composites was studied for initiation with heating rates from 9.5 × 104 to 1.7 × 107 K/s. This is a unique heating rate regime for laser ignition studies because most studies employ either continuous wave CO2 lasers to provide thermal ignition or pulsed Nd:YAG lasers to provide shock ignition. In this study, aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) nanoparticle powders were pressed into consolidated pellets and ignited using a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm wavelength) with varied pulse energy. Results show reduced ignition delay times corresponding to laser powers at the ablation threshold for the sample. Heating rate and absorption coefficient were determined from an axisymmetric heat transfer model. The model estimates absorption coefficients from 0.1 to 0.15 for consolidated pellets of Al + MoO3 at 1064 nm wavelength. Ablation resulted from fracturing caused by a rapid increase in thermal stress and slowed ignition of the pellet.


The effect of two plant populations and six fertility levels on the nodulation. nitrogen content and its uptake by three varieties of green gram (Phaseolus aureus Roxb.) and nitrogen balance in soil was studied. The number of nodules increased till 30 days after sowing and thereafter their number declined. Thirty and 60 ke P0/ha signifi- cantly increased the number of nodules over control. Application of 20 tg N/ha reduced the nodule formation that was not affected by 10 kg N/ha. Variety 'Cott.70 had some what poor nodulation as compared to 'H-70-16 (Varsha). The total uptake of nitro- gen and its fixation was more with high plant population than the lower one. Appli- cation of nitrogen and phosphate increased the uptake of nitrogen by the crop and the fixation of nitrogen in soil over control. The nitrogen content in root, shoot. its totol uptake and protein content was the highest in Pusa Baisakhi but the highest nitrogen fixation (62.44 kg/ha) in soil was obtained with H-70-16 and lowest with 'Cott. 70 (13.56 kg/ha).


Methods: The case was initially diagnosed as an unusual presentation of choriocarcinoma with acute haemoperitoneum due to perforation of uterus with lung metastasis. The patient an 18 yr old woman came with acute abdominal pain and signs of haemoperitoneum. Emergency laparotomy followed by hysterectomy was done. Subsequently patient took chemotherapy and improved. Conclusion: Acute haemoperitoneum is a medical emergency. So this case report emphasizes the need of sophisticated diagnostic technology for early diagnosis and successful management of the patient. Clinician should give more attention to unusal presentation of choriocarcinoma.


We propose a music-box-type interface, "HomeOrgel", which can express various activities in the home using sound. Users can also control the volume and content using common methods for controlling a music box: open- ing the cover and winding the spring. This system helps users look back on past activities in the home using sounds, imitating the recall of memories using a music box. We developed the HomeOrgel device and installed a simple activity recognition system in an actual house "Ocha House" to verify the effectiveness of the HomeOrgel using actual data.


Objective To implement advanced phacoemulsification + artificial intraocular lens implantation,improving the cure rate of cataract surgery.Methods Holistic nursing was implemented in the preoperative,intraoperative and postoperative process,so as to organically integrate phacoemulsification and artificial intraocular lens implantation in cataract surgery. The surgery procedures and its relevant nursing have been made specific and operational,fully embodying the principle of patient-centered and holistic nursing which highlighted the principle of "putting people first".Results The application of holistic nursing effectively alleviated the fear and anxiety of patients.After surgery,visual recovery rate of 893 patients was above 97%.Conclusion The integration of phacoemulsification + artificial intraocular lens implantation in cataract surgery and holistic nursing can have better effects,higher cure ate and increased satisfaction of medical staff.It is worthy of wider clinical application in eye surgery.


With several new incentives, revisiting electron modulation using a comprehensive numerical model is appropriate. First, one has better confidence in the galactic electron spectrum at energies ≤ 300 MeV, second, several good independent observations of modulated electron spectra at 1 AU at solar minimum and along the Ulysses trajectory have been made, and third, progress has been made about theoretical predictions for mean free paths in the heliosphere. In this work, as a first approach, an assessment of the various new predictions for electron parallel mean free paths at 1 AU, especially their rigidity dependencies, is made by looking at the effects of these predictions on heliospheric modulation of galactic electron at energies below ∼300 MeV. Electron modulation is most suitable at these energies because adiabatic energy changes are still negligible and drift effects become less important. Several spectra are shown together with the radial dependence in the equatorial plane of the electron fluxes associated with each approach that was used. It was found that a damping turbulence model with composite slab, two-dimen-sional geometry gave parallel mean free paths that resulted in reasonable electron modulation at these energies. However, several other important modulating parameters have to be considered of which diffusion perpendicular to the averaged magnetic field is arguably the most important.


General education originated from the western countries, Japan was the first to accept the western general education mode in Asia. After introduced to Japan, initially general education was fully accepted, which was intensified firmly in positioning and proportioning without considering actual situations, later it was completely rejected. With the college reform launched in 1991, except the University of Tokyo, the general education in all other universities broke up one after another. In recent years, due to attentions and support of social fields, general education in universities start to restore, and the general education departments were rebuilt or newly built. The Osaka University is a top quality university in Japan, where the evolution of general education better reflects characteristics of the general education reform in Japan, which provides an entry point to understand the general education in Japan and provide references for the general education reform in China. Keywords—Japan; public university; general education; Osaka


Cognitive Radio Ad-Hoc Network (CRAHN) is an emerging class of mobile ad hoc networks that provides each network node with a list of available channels. It is expected that the traditional routing approach will not work well in CRAHN, by which its performance may be determined by user and channel interferences, as well as by frequent topology changes. The result is varying connectivity conditions being experienced by the mobile nodes. Therefore, to achieve a realistic cognitive routing in CRAHN, the routing protocol and its routing metrics shall be chosen to adapt to propagation and channel conditions. Typically, the aim of any routing protocol is to provide QoS that could be measured by some performance parameters such as average delay and packet delivery ratio. The focus of this work is to justify the effect of user and channel interferences on QoS routing function in CRAHN. Hence, if this justification can be explained, the routing operating conditions can be controlled and the achievement for QoS routing can be more objectively obtained.


Low-alcohol milk wine was produced by mixed of yeasts and lactobacillus with milk as raw material.The factors affecting fermentation technology were studied in this paper.The optimal fermentation conditions were obtained as followed:inoculation quantity of yeast is 3 %,initial pH4.5,fermentation temperature 30 ℃.


In the last decade, many groups around the world have been exploring different ways to probe transport containers which may contain illicit Special Nuclear Materials such as uranium. The muon tomography technique has been proposed as a cost effective system with an acceptable accuracy. A group of Canadian institutions (see above), funded by Defence Research and Development Canada, is testing different technologies to track the cosmic muons. One candidate is the single wire Drift Chamber. With the capability of a 2D impact position measurement, two detectors will be placed above and two below the object to be probed. In order to achieve a good 3D image quality of the cargo content, a good angular resolution is required. The simulation showed that 1mrad was required implying the spatial resolution of the trackers must be in the range of 1 to 2 mm for 1 m separation. A tracking system using three prototypes has been built and tested. The spatial resolution obtained is 1.7 mm perpendicular to the wire and 3 mm along the wire.


A discussion of the systems currently used for anti-noise barriers, such as reverberating or reflecting walls, or sound-absorbing walls which are not necessarily weatherproof. An innovation is sound-absorbing constructional elements made of calcinated or porous clay. Formulae, graphs and diagrams are used to show the problem of noise absorption and corresponding technical possibilities.


We give an alternate definition of the free Dirac field featuring an explicit construction of the Dirac sea. The treatment employs a semi-infinite wedge product of Hilbert spaces. We also show that the construction is equivalent to the standard Fock space construction.


Laboratory name: LPTMS and LPS CNRS identification code: UMR 8626 and UMR8502 Internship director surnames: Leonardo MAZZA, Guillaume ROUX and Pascal SIMON e-mails: firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com Web page: http://lptms.u-psud.fr/ and https://www.lps.u-psud.fr Internship location: Orsay (labs will be neighbor in January) Thesis possibility after internship: YES


At many institutions, online courses are becoming increasingly available. Yet, very little research has been completed on the effectiveness of online courses as compared to in class versions. "Online" is defined here to be a course in which all instructional and course materials are available via internet. At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the Colorado School of Mines a course titled, Engineering Cultures, has been offered both online and in class. Based on the current Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology criteria, all engineering students should have some understanding of global issues, suggesting the importance of courses such as Engineering Cultures. If such a course can be delivered online, access can be provided to a broad range of engineering students. Online seems to be an excellent method to provide broad access to educational material, but is it as effective as in class versions of the same course? As part of this study, a multiple choice pretest and a posttest were administered to a treatment and control group. The treatment group completed the online version of the course and the control group completed the in class version of the course. Both groups also completed a survey at the end of the course. The results of this analysis were surprising: the treatment group displayed greater increases from pre to post test than did the control group. In other words, the online students displayed a greater increase in knowledge as measured by the test than did the in class students.


The present lack of recognised methodology, should not mean that research is not practicable in this field. It is necessary to explore the field and develop a methodology for research. The main difficulty appears to be that the final product, namely, health, is not measurable, and no mathematical models have been developed for the study of a health programme such as the organisation of medical care.


Detecting car motion in video frames is one of the key subjects in computer vision society. In recent years, different approaches have been proposed to address this issue. One of the main challenges of developed image processing systems for car detection is their shadows. Car shadows change the appearance of them in a way that they might seem stitched to other neighboring cars. This study aims to propose an optimized method for removing car shadows using entropy and Euclidean distance features. For each pixel, a weight is assigned according to the mentioned features. The weights assigned to shadows and background (asphalt) pixels are very close to each other which enable the background subtraction to remove both of them. The proposed method was evaluated on three datasets based on OA, HR, FAR, MODP and MOTP measures. The method was also compared with both NCC and HSV color methods which are well-known in removing car shadows. The results showed that the proposed methods depending on the type of the index is variable between 3 to 12 percent accurate results.


In this article, the authors examine safety as it relates to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). They discuss the concept of Safety Integrity Levels (SILs) and how SILs can be used to assess and validate systems. ITS, however, are considered to be complex systems and their SILs can evolve over time. The authors discuss the issue of certification, and conclude that the most effective solution to assuring the safety of future ITS would have equipment developers and system integrators following through with safety assessments.


Abortion is theoretically defined as termination of pregnancy before the foetus becomes viable (capable of living independently). This has been fixed administratively at 28 weeks, when the foetus weighs approximately 1000g. Medical abortion has become extremely popular today. The accepted method of medical abortion worldwide is a combination of Mifepristone with the prostaglandin. Unsafe abortion resulting in complications are main public health problems in developing countries. Abortion is legal for a wide range of medical and social reasons in our country.


An experimental study of the durability of extreme UV optical coatings to a large number of free-electron laser pulses is reported.


An acoustic neuroma (also known as a vestibular schwannoma) is an intracranial tumour of the vestibular nerve that is commonly treated by surgical resection. Following resection of an acoustic neuroma, patients may experience a range of symptoms that include deficits in gaze stability, mobility and balance. Vestibular rehabilitation may be useful in reducing the severity and minimizing the impact of these symptoms.


Terrorism's efficacy, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder in that those who commit political violence deliberately directed against civilians believe in the success of their deeds. In one respect, most if not all terrorists do achieve an important goal. Whenever they strike, especially if they stage socalled terrorist spectaculars, their deeds assure them massive news coverage and the attention of the general public and governmental decision makers in their particular target societies. Moreover, given the global nature of the communication system, the perpetrators of international and domestic terrorism also tap into the international media and thereby receive the attention of publics and governments beyond their immediate target countries. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said that publicity is the oxygen of terrorism. Without publicity, terrorism would be like the proverbial tree that falls in the forest and the press is not there to report-it would be as if the incident never happened. The term "mass-mediated terrorism" signifies the centrality of media considerations in the calculus of political violence that is committed by nonstate actors against civilians.' While publicity is not the ultimate objective, terrorists recognize that it is the means to advertise and further their larger political ends. This article examines whether and how the architects of the horrific events of September 11 succeeded in achieving their media goals.


The invention discloses a cascade reservoir optimal scheduling method based on ESP. The cascade reservoir optimal scheduling method includes the steps that the improved ESP method is used, the streamflow prediction probability distribution condition is considered, other prediction modes such as the manual experience method are consulted, then streamflow prediction frequency distribution models are corrected, and streamflow prediction probability distribution models at all moments are built; then, a dynamic programming method is adopted, and the cascade reservoir optimal scheduling method with the maximum electricity generating capacity expectation value or the maximum electricity generating benefit expectation value under the constraint condition is solved through the streamflow prediction probability distribution models at all moments. The cascade reservoir optimal scheduling method is scientific, reasonable and close to engineering practical conditions, and can provide the important reference high in operability for practical reservoir running scheduling.


The research problem concerns the role and importance of educational services as an instrument of marketing mix in the higher education institution for management, as well as the students' satisfaction with the quality of educational services. In addition to determining their attitudes and opinions about the investigated issues, the problem of research deals with the influence of the mentioned instrument on the number of educational services users. The research subject is related to the establishment of links between marketing mix and students' satisfaction and choice of a particular higher education institution and service it is offering. The paper studied two groups of variables: the general characteristics of the students and the characteristics of educational services. The overall objective of the research is concerned with the identification of the most important groups of factors that affect students' satisfaction with the educational service and its influence on their choice of a particular higher education institution and its offered service. Additionally, this study includes determining the degree of correlation among the mentioned groups of factors. The specific objective of the research is to determine, in the context of the results, the intensity of impact each factor has on the satisfaction and choice of students in order to determine which factors exert a powerful influence and which the weakest influence on a mentioned research subject. Descriptive method will be used as the basic method for researching defined subjects, while content analysis and comparative method will be used as auxiliary methods. In the process of collecting research data the authors will apply the test method.


This research aims at elucidating the Islamic Sharia's point of view concerning the woman's right and freedom to choose her place of residence. The inquiry adopts a comparative method between two opposite perspectives, the Islamic Sharia and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The results illustrated in this research assert that in case of a dispute between spouses on their choice of residence, it is the husband's right to decide and the wife is obliged to abide by his decision. This is a prerequisite for the implementation of the Islamic legal obligations and rights for each spouse to maintain the concept of family. Moreover, there will be no meaning of qawamah (guardianship) if spouses choose to live * PhD Candidate at Department of Shariah and Law, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, email@example.com ** Prof., Department of Shariah and Law, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, firstname.lastname@example.com


A PID autotuning algorithm based on relay feedback has the capability of exploring different points of the process frequency response before performing the actual tuning procedure. In addition, the algorithm minimises the amount of a prioriinformation required on the process; in fact, the user is only asked to specify the minimum phase margin required for the closed-loop system. Some experimental results, obtained by laboratory simulation, are also presented.


Strong anisotropy features (e.g., saddle points) displayed by excited states of (311) valence-band GaAs-AlAs quantum wells are determined through the exact solution of the effective-mass equation including the spin-orbit interaction. Qualitative changes in the topology of the subband energy surfaces occur as the well width is varied. The relevance of the present calculations for the interpretation of recent resonant magnetotunneling experiments on p-type (311) A double-barrier heterostructures is discussed


ply warp-lcmtstitched fabrics provided for models of composites reinforced with woven and multi-axial multitools for analysis of composites processing and properties. Examples are mechanical and permeability models for composites, which provide simulation and tension. The model of the textile geometry serves as a base for mesolinear, non-conservative inelastic behaviour of yams in compression, bending for textile composites. It allows handling of complex textile structure with nonprinciple of textile modelling, creating an integrated modelling and design tool challenge addressed m the paper is to take full advantage of the herarchcal represented by a model of textile geometry and mechanical behaviour. The Textile materials are characterised by a herarchy of structure, which can be


Electro-discharge machining (EDM) is a common non-conventional machining technique for cutting a variety of conducting materials. In this study, the machining performances of Ti-6Al-4V, SS316, and WC work pieces were examined using EDM while considering various thermophysical parameters. Surface roughness, material removal rate, tool wear rate, radial overcut, surface fracture density, and surface hardness have all been investigated using different input parameters such as discharge current, pulse on time, and pulse off time. There is a wide range of performance characteristics among the materials used in the workpieces. In comparison to Ti-6Al-4V and Tungsten Carbide materials, the rate of rise in MRR, TWR, and radial overcut in SS316 is quite high as current increases.


Cardiac arrest caused by massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is highly refractory to conventional resuscitation. Thrombolytic therapy has been considered to be an effective way to massive PE.


Higher education in Ireland faces challenges. In order to be competitive with the world-class universities, Irish higher education needs a strategic approach at the system level, an increase of investment, and a consideration of performance-based funding for greater productivity. The Irish government has implemented two initiatives regarding reform and investments in 2008. After the global economic crisis, though many countries took stimulus measures, Ireland conducted massive cuts in public expenditure.


The detail kinetics of 1-Butene Hydroformylation using RhH(CO)(PPh3)3 as a homogeneous catalyst was studied. The present kinetic study involves the effects of concentration of catalyst, 1-butene and PPh3, partial pressures of CO and H2, temperature on the rate of hydroformylation. It was observed that the rate of hydroformylation reaction was increased with increasing the concentrations of rhodium, 1-butene, temperature and ratio of H2 to CO, decreased with increasing concentration of PPh3 and partial pressure of CO. A nonlinear semiempirical kinetic model has been proposed.


Objectives  To assess the long‐term impact of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control on itching and onchocercal skin disease (OSD).


By analyzing the faults of dry hollow reactor of 500kV substation,the paper points out these normal faults,including damp coil,uneven temperature distribution,partial overheat,insulation damage,would gradually turn over the accident,even destroy equipments and the main cause and hollow dry reactor fault is dielectric breakdown.It also analyzes the problems in design and manufacture, proposes some suggestions and measures about daily maintenance and overhaul for dry hollow reactor.


Alkali-activation or geopolymerisation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) provides a useful way of recycling that can form an important step towards waste management. This chapter evaluates the suitability of waste brick and waste concrete as source materials for the synthesis of alkali-activation or geopolumerisation technology. The mechanical properties of the prepared geopolymer samples are suitable for use on an industrial scale. Efflorescence, however, is an issue that should be considered and controlled.


In automation flexible manufacturing systems, tool wear detection during the cutting process is one of the most important considerations. This study presents an intelligent system for online tool condition monitoring in drilling process .In this paper, analytical and empirical models have been used to predict the thrust and cutting forces on the lip and chisel edges of a new drill. Also an empirical model is used to estimate tool wear rate and force values on the edges of the worn drill. By using of the block diagram of machine tool drives, the changes in the feed and spindle motor currents are simulated, as wear rate increases. To predict tool wear rate in drill, Fuzzy logic capabilities have been used to develop intelligent system. The simulated results presented in MATLAB software show the effectiveness of the proposed system for on-line drill wear monitoring.


Peer relationships are crucial for the formation and development of prosocial behavior among adolescents. However, most studies have focused on harmful behaviors and risky behaviors of adolescence, and previous verifiable work has often focused on peer relationship influences for antisocial behavior in adolescents. The research on the influence of adolescent peer relationship on prosocial behavior is relatively insufficient, especially the lack of systematic reviewing articles. This article presents peer influence can affect the prosocial behavior by demonstrating social and prosocial behavior in adolescent stage, exploring the importance of peer relationship, decision information of peers and peer intimacy. Moreover, this paper reviews recent experiential studies to explain the mechanism of peer influence on adolescent prosocial behavior from the perspectives of social learning and conformity theory and gender differences. This paper builds a higher study basement for future prosocial behavior field. Limitations of differences between different prosocial behaviors, and the influence level from peers are also worth investigating in the future.


An advanced, automated method is presented for determining an effective scene illuminant chromaticity (scene illuminant plus imaging system variables) from specular highlights in digital images subsequent to image capture. Underlying theories are presented based on a two component reflection model where the scene ihuminant relative spectral power distribution is preserved in the specular component. Related methodologies for extracting scene ihuminant information as well as alternative methods for achieving color constancy are presented along with factors which inhibit successful implementation. Following, development of a more robust algorithm is discussed. This algorithm is based on locating the center of convergence of a radial line pattern in the two-dimensional chromaticity histogramwhich theoretically identifies the effective scene ihuminant chromaticity. This is achieved by using a radiality index to quantify the relative correlation between a radial mask and the histogram radial line pattern at discrete chromaticity coordinates within a specified search region. The coordinates associated with the strongest radiality index are adopted to represent the effective scene ihuminant chromaticity. For a set of controlled test images, the physics-based specular highlight algorithm determined effective scene ihuminant chromaticities to a level of accuracy which was nearly three times better than that of a benchmark statistically-based gray-world algorithm. The primary advantage of the specular highlight algorithm was its sustained performance when presented with image conditions ofdorninant colors, weak specular reflections, and strong interreflections.


Radio and television systems can be specified into three types, namely, commercial ,public and state-operated. They can exert diverse Influence on the production of radio and television programs and the matter of broadcast directly.This dissertation puts an emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of the three systems, based on the analysis of their theoretical origins and characteristics .


To the great majority of American dermatologists the term cutaneous lymphoblastoma conveys a certain definite clinical picture. It consists usually of a preliminary diffuse dermatitis (generalized scaly erythroderma) succeeded by a tumor-like stage (granuloma fungoides sensu stricto ). It is the clinical phase which commands the scene. Promptly after the appearance of the clinical manifestations, however, the picture becomes associated with disease of the lymphoid apparatus. Therefore, considerations of this subject must be arranged into, and must revolve around, two fields: (1) the essentially dermatologic and (2) the hematopoietic. It is not urgent to discuss the former field because dermatologists are so familiar with it, but at present there is real need for better understanding of the precise scope of the lymphoblastoma. The role of the lymphocyte in particular is implied, for if the suffix is removed from ``lymphoblastoma'' only ``lymphoblast'' remains. Indeed it was the original intention


Iuan effort. t.o produce higher quality Selective Laser Sint.ering (SLS) parts, a number of approaches have been taken. One such approach is t.he use of in-bed· metastructures, such as tortillas and canis t.ers. In past. work, these metast.ructures have produced changes part qualit.y, but only qualitative analysis has been done. Using a model created during previous work, a numerical st.udy of these in-bed metastructures is undertaken, with the goal of systematically determining the thermal effectiveness of the various structures. The thermal behavior of in-bed st.ructures subjected t.o mixed mode convection and conduction is then determined. Result.s demonstrate that in-bed structures can be designed t.o spatially affectin-bed thermal transfer, providing SLS users t.he capability to remove or retain heat as a part's local geometry demands.


iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the last few years, I have received an incredible amount of opportunities and was given many chances to broaden my experiences. I do not believe I could acknowledge everyone who has helped me during this time. But I will highlight specific people whom I believe deserve more than this simple recognition. First and foremost, I would like to thank Sam and Charlene Scaggs for their emotional support over the last few years. I would also like to thank June Cheng for her support and understanding. I know it has been difficult. Finally, I thank Dr Tufekci for his insight and support in this paper's development.


In this research, fish balls were produced with the addition of MTGase (0.60%) from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758), which is included in the seafood menus of catering companies, hotels, restaurants and other ready-made food establishments in our country and especially around the world. In order not to risk food safety for such businesses where time and hygiene are very important, nutritional, physical and sensory analyzes were carried out in fish balls to investigate the adequacy/applicability of the combined effect of short time and low temperature (4±1ºC; 3 hours) for MTGase enzyme activation. After the production and activation processes, the meatballs were baked in the oven at 180 ºC for 20 minutes. While the crude protein and moisture content of MTGase added group (B) was higher than the control (A) group (p


Careers follows p 236 Sexual health physicians used to spend half their working lives dealing with genital warts, but thanks to the advent of the human papillomavirus vaccine those days are rarer. Today a sexual health physician can expect to talk to patients about sexually transmissible infections, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia, but those conversations can also cover gender identity, sexual assault, reproductive health ... in fact, every aspect of life related to sexuality. And they're happy in their work. "We get to talk about sex all day", says one practitioner. "Why wouldn't we be happy?" Dr Darren Russell, director of sexual health at Cairns Hospital, Dr Lynne Wray, president of the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine, Professor Basil Donovan, head of the sexual health program at the Kirby Institute, and Dr Robert Finlayson, from the Taylor Square Clinic, talk about their chosen fi eld (page C1). Our regular events calendar can be found on page C3. Lighting the path to sexual health Pathogeni-city


In 1997 a group of investigators at Virginia Tech initiated a study, funded by the USEPA, to develop procedures for integrated assessment of environmental , economic, and biological impacts of alternate land development scenarios. The Upper Roanoke River Watershed (URRW) in southwest Virginia was chosen as the case study watershed. HSPF was selected as the hydrologic model because of its widespread use in evaluation of the hydrologic impacts of land use change. The model was applied to a 145 km 2 (56 mi 2 ) sub -watershed (Back Creek) of the URRW. Four different development tracts (i.e. high density, medium density cluster, medium density conventional, and low density) were defined for creating various hypothetical scenarios of residentia l development, both with and without a network of primary and secondary roads. Continuous hydrologic simulation was performed using data for water years 1995 -1998 to investigate the hydrologic effects of various spatial arrangements of development, measur ed in terms of effects on various error statistics. The entire effort was aided by the development of a macro-based scenario generator that partially automated the analysis of development scenarios.


ABSTRACT The instant runoff voting (IRV) method fails the monotonicity criterion. This means in an IRV election it is theoretically possible for a winning candidate to lose an election if certain ballots are changed to raise the otherwise winning candidate higher on the ballot. We analysed data from over 100 real-world IRV elections to ascertain if any demonstrated a monotonicity anomaly. Despite theoretical research indicating potentially high incidence of such voting anomalies, our investigations found only one election showing a monotonicity anomaly: the 2009 Burlington mayoral election. Burlington was also the only election resulting in different winners using IRV, Borda Count, and Pairwise Comparison voting methods.


Abstract In this manuscript, we analyze the exponential stability of a strongly coupled semilinear system of Klein-Gordon type, posed in an inhomogeneous medium Ω \Omega , subject to local dampings of different natures distributed around a neighborhood of the boundary according to the geometric control condition (GCC). The first one is of the type viscoelastic and is distributed around a neighborhood ω \omega of the boundary ∂ Ω \partial \Omega of Ω \Omega , according to the GCC. The second one is a frictional damping and we consider it hurting the GCC. The third dissipation, which acts only in the second equation (according to the GCC), is of the frictional type. We show that the energy of the system goes uniformly and exponentially to zero for all initial data of finite energy taken in bounded sets of finite energy phase space. We also prove the exponential decay for the linear problem associated with this same system, and in this case, no restrictions are made with respect to dimension of the space nor with respect to the limitation of the initial data in the phase space.


Confucian Resources for a Paradigm of Just Peacemaking Confucianism is not generally considered to be a pacifist tradition. However canonical texts like the Mencius offer important elements that could undergird a paradigm of just peacemaking: a prophetic critique of the status quo on grounds of social welfare, an emphasis on relationality, a strategic position advocating the extension of empathy, and a faith in the goodness of human nature and thus the perfectibility of human persons. Among other things, these points represent significant motivators for social justice, conflict transformation, and restorative justice. Perhaps most importantly, however, the this-worldly orientation of the Confucian tradition, as found in the Mencian example, offers a theoretical model with potential for dissolving the traditional paradigm's dichotomy found in such oppositions as ideal and real, faithfulness/effectiveness, and clean hands/dirty hands that have historically made debates between pacifism and Just War so intractable. David Kratz Mathies


Münsterberg frames this chapter by discussing a notorious Chicago case where he received considerable criticism for arguing that the defendant—who was subsequently convicted and executed—had confessed falsely. He presents a number of reasons why suspects might confess to crimes they did not commit, such as instrumental efforts to obtain promised rewards or avoid punishment, or genuinely coming to believe that one did indeed commit the crime. It is yet another example of Münsterberg's prescience in including this topic, as there is a growing awareness of the false confession phenomenon in both the psychological and legal communities. The last decade or so has seen an explosion of research and policy statements that examine the factors embedded in American criminal procedure, especially interrogation techniques, that may lead innocent people to implicate themselves in crimes they did not commit.


This research on arts creation focuses on creation of corporate batik for InstitutSeni Indonesia Surakarta. The created model is possible to be applied to other institution. The creation of batik corporate is based on the need of a uniform for institution unity as well as to express good image to the community. This research applies the approach of design creation implemented in the series of batik creation especially of Institut Seni Indonesia. The research method of design creation includes the following steps: (1) identification (2) research (3) formulating ideas (4) prototype (5) selection (6) application (7) evaluation. The result represents the specific batik of Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta academic staffs according to institution vision. The vision and mission of Institution can be searched from the realized logo and the official color of Institution as well as landscape that can become the icon.Keywords: Batik, corporate, ISI Surakarta


Abstract Geological surveys of 172 early and late medieval sculptured stones from central and western Scotland have been undertaken to determine the provenance of the materials used. Non-destructive petrological studies (including grain size, mineralogy distribution, and textural and structural characteristics) and magnetic susceptibility measurements are used to characterize the sculptured stones and potential source material. The results indicate that for the early medieval sculpture: (1) all the sculptured stones are sandstone with the exception of one siltstone and one granite; (2) the sedimentary rocks are consistent with sources in the Lower Old Red Sandstone of the area; (3) from within the Lower Old Red Sandstone, a number of different geological units have been used. For the late medieval sculpture, the results indicate that: (1) various rock types have been used including schist, slate and sandstone; (2) non-locally derived material is used extensively in some areas, suggesting a more developed network for procurement of raw materials. The analytical techniques used also provide additional information in the art historical interpretation of a number of carved stones by identifying carved fragments from the same monument.


We prove that the time average over the quantum evolution of a system of innnitely many harmonic oscillators whose classical ow is ergodic with respect to the Gibbs measure has a limit equal to the relevant classical phase average, and therefore independent of the initial state provided it belongs to the image of the quantum Gibbs measure.


The development and reason of asymmetric flow pattern during plane strain compression was analyzed. The metal flow in the course of deformation was analyzed by using MSC/Superform finite element software. The flow pattern and microstructure of pure aluminium samples was studied in room temperature. The reason causing oscillatory was analyzed by applying concerned slip line field theory. The results show that the severe asymmetry of strain distribution as a consequence of the offset causes the specimen to rotate. The phenomenon of oscillatory is more severe when the strain and offset increase.


In this paper, the origin of software reliability is introduced first. The definition of software reliability, the mechanism of software failures, and the differences between software reliability and hardware reliability are discussed. Two software reliability estimation approaches based on fuzzy number arithmetic operations are proposed.


Implications of Stimulus Sampling on the Attraction Effect Shaurabh Nandy (firstname.lastname@example.com) School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 800 W. Campbell Road Richardson, TX 75080 USA Abstract Context effects in multi-attribute decision making are important findings that challenge large classes of rational choice theories, while also providing innovative consumer product strategies. Trueblood (2012) is the first demonstration of the attraction, similarity and compromise context effects using the same experimental paradigm. A closer examination of the attraction effect experiment reveals that the choice probability estimation procedure gives rise to systematic properties in the choice sets, which in this paper are collectively termed as the sum-highest property. Conducting a simulation study reveals that the sum-highest property can affect a large number of choice sets. This is followed by an experiment that shows that people are biased towards options which satisfy the sum-highest property. These results provide a plausible alternate explanation to the attraction effect in studies which use similar estimation procedures, while also highlighting choice behavior under the sum-highest property as a potential principle of multi-attribute decision making. Keywords: choice probability estimation; context effects; attraction effect; multi-attribute choice; stimuli generation. Introduction Context effects are a class of observations in the preferential choice literature where the preference between options can be altered by a change in context such as the addition of alternatives to the choice set. The three most widely studied context effects are the attraction effect (Huber & Puto, 1983), the compromise effect (Simonson, 1989), and the similarity effect (Tversky, 1972). Multi-alternative decision making refers to any situation where there is a choice between more than two options. For example, a simple question such as "What is your favorite number between 1 and 10?" is a choice between 10 alternatives. When each alternative is further characterized by additional information, the common nomenclature is multi-attribute decision making. For example, in a choice between cars, each car may be characterized by attributes such as "Mileage", "Horsepower", "Price" etc. Taken together, the term multi-alternative multi-attribute decision making refers to any choice where there are more than two alternatives and each alternative is described by at least two attributes. The attraction effect is a context effect where given a two- alternative multi-attribute choice set, the addition of a third alternative, the decoy, which is inferior to one of the initial alternatives, the target, increases the preference for the target. In the similarity effect, the addition of a third option which is similar to one of the initial options in a two alternative choice set, results in an increase in preference for the dissimilar option. In the compromise effect, the addition of an intermediate option, to a choice set consisting of two extreme options, alters the preference towards the intermediate option, which is a compromise between the two extreme options. Context effects allow for manipulation of choice probabilities by clever addition of alternatives to a choice set and hence are of practical importance in consumer product placement. Additionally, these context effects also provide significant insight into theoretical endeavors of human decision making. To illustrate this point, let's consider the violation of the simple scalability property of choice. The simple scalability property states that each option in a complete choice set can be assigned a single scaled value, u, independent of other options in the choice set. For example, u can be a utility function which assigns each member of the choice set {a1, a2) to a real number. The choice probability for any option is then determined by a function, F, which for option {a1} is given by P(a1| {a1,a2}) = F(u(a1), u(a2)) and for option {a2} is given by P(a2| {a1,a2}) = F(u(a2), u(a1)), where F is always strictly increasing in the first argument and strictly decreasing in the rest. To see why the three context effects violate the simple scalability property via a single demonstration, let us narrow our focus by considering the case where the three context effects result in a change in preference order in the complete choice set. It is important to note that a change in preference order is a sufficient but not necessary condition for these context effects to hold 1 . A change of preference order is a violation of the simple scalability property because theories which assume the simple scalability property start with defining fixed utilities over the entire choice set. For example, let us consider a choice set {A, B} where A is slightly more preferable than B. This implies that P(A | {A, B}) = F(u(A), u(B)) > P(B | {A, B}) = F(u(B), u(A)), which in turn implies that u(A) > u(B). However, in the case of the attraction effect, the addition of option C can result in option B becoming the most preferred option in the complete choice set {A, B, C}. This implies that P(B | {A, B, C}) = F(u(B), u(A), u(C)) > P(A | {A, B, C}) = F(u(A), u(B), u(C)), which in turn implies that u(B) > u(A), which is a contradiction. Similar arguments can be used to show how the compromise and similarity effects violate the simple scalability property. A more general treatment is to show the attraction effect as a violation of the regularity property of choice, which is not discussed in this paper.


We discuss the traditional support vector machine-based text classification problems,the method constructing and combining several binary support vector machines with a binary tree can solve web text classification problems,applying binary tree into support vector machine,further combination of genetic algorithm,proposes a new support vector machine multi-class classification methods, Experiment results show that the method of multi-class classification,classification accuracy improved,manifests the algorithm's advantage of genetic algorithm integrated with binary tree support vector machine.


Two species of rhinoceros—the Javan and the Sumatran—once inhabited Vietnam but the Sumatran rhinoceros apparently became extinct there early this century and by the late 1960s it was feared that the Javan rhinoceros probably no longer occurred there either. Then, in November 1988, a hunter shot an adult female rhinoceros about 130 km north-east of Saigon. He was arrested when he tried to sell the horn and hide. In early 1989 the authors were conducting wildlife surveys near where the killing took place and they took this opportunity to check the status of the species. They found evidence that perhaps 10–15 Javan rhinoceros still survive in Vietnam. As a result of this discovery the Vietnamese Government has set up a Rhinoceros Conservation Group.


Empirical studies on efficiency of the governance system in agriculture are very rare. That is a consequence of both theoretical and practical challenges. The criteria and approach for assessing social efficiency are still debated while appropriate statistical, accountancy, etc. data for evaluation diverse mechanisms and modes of governance are not readily available. This is a first attempt for a comprehensive empirical study on the efficiency of the system of agrarian governance in Bulgaria. Since there is a social "contract" about sustainable agrarian development in EU and Bulgaria, the impact to sustainability is taken as a criterion for assessing the social efficiency of the governance system. The interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics framework is incorporated, and the impact of institutional environment and diverse market, private, collective, public and hybrid modes of governance on agrarian sustainability at the current stage of development in Bulgaria assessed. First, the methodological framework of the study is outlined. After that impact of major components of institutional environment of agrarian sustainability evaluated. Following, dominating governing modes in Bulgarian farms of different juridical type, size, specialisation, ecological and geographical location are identified, and their impacts on agrarian sustainability assessed. In conclusion implications for further research, public policy improvement, and private managerial strategy formation are presented.


ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical characteristics and microsurgical technique of the posterior cerebral artery(PCA) aneurysms and the curative effects of microsurgery on PCA aneurysms.Methods The clinical and following up data of 14 patients with PCA aneurysms,who underwent microsurgery from January,2002,to June,2011,were analyzed retrospectively.Of 14 patients with PCA aneurysms,10 underwent clipping the necks of the aneurysms,1 trapping of aneurysm,and 3 clipping the parent arteries.Results Of 14 patients,8 were recovered well,4 had semiplegia and oculomotor nerve palsy,1 survived vegetatively and 1 died.Of 12 patients were followed up from 2 to 9 years,7 were recovered well,3 had semiplegia,1 still had oculomotor nerve palsy and 1 died of pulmonary infection 3 years after the surgery.Conclusions The choice of surgical approach is closely related to the location of PCA aneurysms.The brain stem,PCA perforating artery,oculomotor nerve and other important anatomical structures should be intraoperatively protected as well as possible in the patients with PCA aneurysms.


This study aims at deducing the educational styles learned from Prophet Moses story peace be upon him found in Surt taha (Verses 9- 99), and the Department of current research into four topics, The first topic dealt of the teaching styles, The second section the dealt with Psychological educational styles, and while devoted the third section the Classroom management styles, and the fourth topic dealt the Linguistic styles. The researcher used the descriptive analytic method to derive The Educational styles from the verses included under that dimension, the verses in Sort taha (9- 99) are under consideration in this research. The research revealed the presence of fourteen teaching styles in Mousa's Story peace in Surt taha, the most common of these teaching Styles the decision- making, repetition, and the teaching style depending on brain activity, demonstration, and The results showed that there three Psychological educational styles such as (Preparation, Intrusion and intimidation, Spread security, ), And six methods of classroom management for example punishment style, And two styles of language. The study concluded with some recommendations including Conducting educational research relevant to the verses and chapters of the Holy Quran, and spreading and Urging educators to take advantage of educational methods contained in the sora and work on applying, and emphasizing the importance of taking them in the field of education and in preparing teachers and training them during service.


The Impulse Radiating Antenna (IRA) is suited for radiating picosecond electromagnetic impulse for the treatment of skin cancer. The feed of the reflector IRA is an ultra-wideband antenna. In this proposed work, a Tapered Slot Vivaldi Shaped (TSVS) feed arm is designed for Prolate Spheroidal Reflector (PSR). The feed antenna is placed at the first focal point of the PSR. The picosecond electric pulse is launched from the first focal point and is focused at the second focal point where the target is placed. Next Partition dielectric lens system is designed to enhance the electric field and reduce the spot size of the focused pulse. The TSVS feed arm is matched from 500 MHz to 10 GHz. The 3 dB angular beam width of the proposed IRA with 50 cm aperture diameter is 4.3°, and the radiation efficiency is 63% at 10 GHz. Simulation results show that the full width half maximum of electric field intensity is reduced by 57% in the axial direction and 20% in the lateral direction when compared to the conical feed IRA without lens. The three layer partition lens system greatly reduces the spot size from 1.187 to 0.75 cm, when compared to five layer spherical dielectric lens and increases the electric field by 65%.


A nanoindentation-based flat punch method has been developed to determine the stress-strain behaviour of single micron-sized Ugelstad polystyrene-co-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) particles in compression. Five groups of particles with identical chemical compositions but different diameters have been tested. The diameter of the PS-DVB particles varied from 2.6 mu m to 25.1 mu m. Constant relative deformation rate has been applied with two maximum strain levels of 5% and 10%. Results show that the particle compressive stress-strain behaviour is strongly size-dependent. The smaller the particle size is, the stiffer the particle behaves. Analyses indicate that the pre-load and adhesion during the flat punch test play a minor role on the size effect. The presence of a core-shell structure can possibly be a main contribution to the size effect. Finite element analyses have been carried out to demonstrate this surface shell effect. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


In today's world, due to the growing demands of technology and rise in population, there has been a tremendous pressure on the electricity demands. The world needs to find alternative sources of energy. Hence renewable sources are being considered to meet the growing demands of energy. Renewable energy sources hybrid including photovoltaic cells , wind turbines and Battery's require converters with high voltage gain in order to interface with power transmission and distribution networks. These conversions are conventionally made using bulky, complex, and costly transformers. Multiple modules of single-switch, single-inductor DC-DC converters can serve these high-gain applications while eliminating the transformer. The gain and efficiency of both series and cascade configurations are investigated analytically, and a method is introduced to determine the maximum achievable gain at a given efficiency. Simulations are used to verify the modeling approach and predict the performance at different power levels. This work comprises developing an EMS that dynamically optimizes the operation of stand-alone dc micro grids, consisting of wind, photovoltaic (PV), and battery branches, and coordinately manage all energy flows in order to achieve four control objectives: i) regulating dc bus voltage level of micro grids ii) proportional power sharing between generators as a local droop control realization; iii) charging batteries as close to IU regime as possible; and iv) tracking MPPs of wind and PV branches during their normal operations. Non-linear model predictive control (NMPC) strategies are inherently multivariable and handle constraints and delays. In this project, the above mentioned EMS is developed as a NMPC strategy to extract the optimal control signals, which are duty cycles of three DC-DC converters and pitch angle of a wind turbine. Due to bimodal operation and discontinuous differential states of batteries, microgrids belong to the class of hybrid dynamical systems.


This research sheds light on the development that has occurred on the use of press pictures in the Iraqi press by analyzing the form and content of the images used in (Al-Sabaah) newspaper for the 2012 model. The researcher's interest in this topic for what represented by the press picture of a way to highlight and attract the reader's attention to the substance journalist who represents the goals behind the newspaper publishing.

This research is divided into three sections. The first one dealt with the methodological framework of the research, and the second part addressed the aspect of press pictures and its history and technological development, while the third section devoted to the study of the development of the form and content of the press is in the Iraqi press.

The results of the search to confirm the following:

Al-Sabah newspaper, through its transformation from the traditional mode to the electronic production mode, used modern techniques to produce the press picture to be suitable for publishing through electronic means in a very fast, flexible and accurate and using many of the software provided by the technological development in this production field.
Al-Sabah newspaper was interested in highlighting advertising pictures in the first place, and second place came in the news function of the press picture by reviewing a group of important events regionally and internationally.
During the research period, Al-Sabaah newspaper focused more on its use of press pictures in the local field than in the regional, Arab and international fields. Despite the use of this field, we see that the source of the local press picture was mostly from Reuters, followed by the French Press Agency.
Al-Sabaah used its best available image to dominate the first page in size and position, at the top of the page on the left and on an area spanning two columns to more than four columns.
Al-Sabaah newspaper has written the commentary on the picture in the present tense form to reinforce its status, and the explanation in the description was limited to the event shown in the press picture.


Biosynthesis of metallic nanomaterials has become an important field of research. The synthesis of metallic nanomaterials using plant extracts is a single-step, simple, rapid, and eco-friendly. The reducing agents involved include the various water-soluble secondary metabolites (Alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, carbohydrates etc.) of the plant extracts. Diverse salts of metals of the transition metal series such as Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) etc, have been used in the synthesis. This review focused on the use of extracts of Calotropis species (spp) in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles. The methods of synthesis and various applications of the synthesized nanoparticles were also discussed.


In this work, glycerol was chemically modified into novel toluene diisocyanate (TDI) based trifunctional polyol (NTP) by a two step process, involving the reaction of TDI with glycerol to form an isocyanate-terminated pre-polymer, followed by the reaction with glycol. A thermal and mechanical property of water-blown rigid polyurethane foam (WB-PUF) was enhanced by the partial substitution (30 & 50 wt%) of castor oil with glycerol or synthesized NTP. The effects of glycerol content and NTP on the WB-PUF properties were investigated using various characterization techniques including ATR-FTIR, TGA, SEM, compression test, and Shore-A hardness test. Notably, the introduction of NTP substitution into the formulation of WB-PUF foams had beneficial impact on the structure of materials enhancing foam density from 77 kg/m3 to 117 kg/m3 and also exhibited superior thermal and mechanical properties compared to those with glycerol and unmodified foams. Shore A hardness and compression strength of those foams ranged from 50 to 69.5 °Sh A and 1.88-3.28 MPa, respectively. These findings suggest potential applications of the modified WB-PUF in areas such as rigid tissue engineering. Graphical Abstract


Because of the great altitude of the core of the 'polar-night' jet stream, only isolated rawinsonde observations have penetrated the core, and this scarcity of data renders the construction of synoptic cross sections difficult. For a more definitive determination of the structure of this current, all soundings of the North American Arctic were combined into one cross section for a four-day period when the jet stream was in relatively steady state. It turned out that the core was located at a height of 26 km and had a speed of 135 knots. Below this altitude the atmosphere was isothermal in the mean; above it, temperatures increased upward.

Cross sections were constructed for the wind components parallel and normal to the jet axis, temperature, potential temperature, and absolute and potential vorticity. Comparison was also made between observed and geostrophic wind speeds; a high correlation was found to exist.