Purpose

To explain a set of recent US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) administrative settlements targeting fund administrators and to alert fund administrators and other financial service providers to their growing "gatekeeper" obligations.

Design/methodology/approach

This article explores the factual and legal contours of SEC administrative settlements with a fund administrator, as well as related enforcement actions against investment managers, to better understand the affirmative steps the SEC is expecting financial service providers to take to help root out fraud and misappropriation in the financial services sector.

Findings

The SEC's administrative settlements with this fund administrator illustrate the SEC's expanding focus on the "gatekeeper" function and signal the intent of the SEC to impute culpability for wrongdoing to fund administrators and other financial service providers simply for not doing enough to root out fraud and misappropriation in the financial services sector.

Originality/value

This article contains valuable information about recent SEC enforcement activity and practical guidance from experienced white collar, securities, and investment management lawyers.


The prevention and control of water pollution is of critical importance to protecting human and environmental health. Monitoring of water and wastes is an efficacious way to prevent the introduction of pollutants and costly remediation of drinking and environmentally important waters. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), along with local regulatory bodies, is responsible for regulating water and wastes under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Depending on the number and type of analytes, the number of samples and the productivity requirements, several different analytical techniques can be applied to measure trace elements in water and wastes.


The Electromyogram (EMG) was at first produced for diagnosing the neuro-muscular disorders and abnormalities. Clinical applications before long wound up obvious, most eminently in epilepsy, lastly it ended up well known because of the introduction of prosthetics, explicitly body-powered prosthesis. The EMG recorded amid different movements to know the electrical action and functional state of the muscles which recognizes the medicinal variations from the normal conditions. The aim of this paper is to remove noise using the thresholding values at each and every level of the decomposition using wavelet can be a better technique, if the thresholding values are appropriate so that the loss of the EMG signal chances will be less.


The utility model discloses a production line traveling trolley and a guide track structure thereof. The production line traveling trolley and a guide track structure thereof comprise a frame body (1) and a traveling trolley (9). The production line traveling trolley and the guide track structure thereof are characterized in that the travelling trolley (9) is provided with a driving gear (4) and roller wheels, the inner side of the frame body (1) is fixedly connected with channel steels (2) which are disposed symmetrically, upper portions of the channel steels (2) are provided with racks (3), the racks (3) are meshed with the driving gear (4), simultaneously, the roller wheels (5) contact with end surfaces on the lower portions of the channel steels (2), and guiding edges (6) which are arranged on the inner sides of the bottom ends of the channel steels (2) contact with guiding wheels (7) on lateral surfaces of the traveling trolley (9). The production line traveling trolley and the guide track structure thereof have the advantages of having skillful and compact structure, small occupied space, few positioning parts, convenient adjustment, high load capacity and fast moving speed, being capable of realizing accurate positioning and the like.


We use large-scale simulations to study the microstructure and concentration fluctuations in sedimenting suspensions of anisotropic particles such as spheroids, and deformable particles such as viscous droplets in the Stokes flow regime. An efficient method based on point-particle interactions is used allowing the simulation of full-scale suspensions with both periodic and slip boundary conditions, where the latter are used to qualitatively reproduce the effects of container walls. The concentration instability occurring in such systems is adequately captured, and we show that the formation of inhomogeneities is closely linked to the large-scale fluctuations of the disturbance flow. In particular, our simulations suggest that the presence of walls is important for a wavenumber selection to be observed, as they lead to a decay of the initial large-scale recirculation that otherwise dominates the flow in periodic systems. Results for the sedimentation rates and orientation distributions are also presented, and show good agreement with published experimental results.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Geological heritage is a natural heritage remained from geological process,which is worth to be protected and to be exploited.The paper investigates the approach to design the data structure of geological database,puts forward a workable data structure for geological heritage database,and discusses the main entities and the relations of them.


Classes of coordinate-invariant omnibus goodness-of-fit tests on compact Riemannian manifolds are proposed. The tests are based on Gine's Sobolev tests of uniformity. A condition for consistency is given. The tests are illustrated by an example on the rotation group S0(3).


The specimens of family Zingiberaceae were collected in Bago Township from June to November in 2016, in order to study the morpholigical characters and uses. Plant samples were collected from five different areas (Day-Son-Par area, Kan-Taw-Gyi area, Sat-Inn area, Narani Sima area and Kyauk-Ta-Lone area). A total number of 8 individuals, belonging to 8 species in 5 genera of Zingiberaceae were collected, photographed and pressed as herbarium sheets. Then, the collected plants were identified, classified and their utilization was noted from the available literatures and also from the people living in these areas. In addition, locations were recorded with the GPS system. In this study, almost all plants in Zingiberaceae are found to be important natural resources for local villagers and mostly used as medicines, foods, drinks and ornamentals. lanceolate, the bases rounded, slightly oblique, the margins entire, undulate, the tips acute to acuminate, the upper surface pale green, the lower reddish brown to dark green, both surfaces glabrous. Inflorescence spike, arise from the rhizome, basal sheath reddish, glabrous. white; bracts linear lanceolate, whitish green, silky, glabrous; bracteoles linear lanceolate, white, membranous, glabrous, calyx tubular, apex bifid, white, glabrous; corolla tubes white, glabrous; corolla lobes oblong, white, the posterior lobes larger than the lateral ones, glabrous. The lateral staminodes broadly obovate, pale yellow, apex rounded, connected to the labellum, glabrous; the labellum saccate, semi-orbicular, white, light yellow throat centre dark red, the apex elongate, red, emarginated, margin wrinkled revolute on the side, Fertile stamen one, the anther white, reflexed apical crest, the filament very short, pale yellow. Ovary sub-globose, white, tri-locular, axile placentation, 3 rows of ovules in each locule, glabrous; the styles filiform, white, the stigmas rounded, white. Fruits are not seen. arise from the centre of a leafy tuft; peduncles long, green, glabrous; hidden within the pseudostem; flowers yellow; bracts numerous, ovate-spatulate, deep orange-red, coma bracts similar in color and size to fertile bracts, lower half forming deep funnel-shaped pouches substending cicinnus of 2-4 flowered, upper part spreading, pubescent; bracteoles lanceolate, creamy white, glabrous; calyx 3-toothed, transcucent white, unilaterally split, glabrous; corolla tubes, funnel, golden yellow, glabrous; corolla lobes ovate, creamy white, the posterior one larger and more concave, glabrous, Lateral staminodes unequally rhomboid, golden yellow; the labellum orbicular, golden yellow, emarginated, deeply yellow and thick in the centre, thinner lateral ones overlap the staminodes. Fertiles stamen one, the filament sub-sessile, the anthers white, with basal spur. Ovary oblongoid, trilocular, 2 rows of ovules in each locule, axile placcentation pubescent; the styles filiform, the stigmas passing between the anther sacs. Fruits globose. tips bifid, in filament slender, white, the anthers without appendages. Ovary globose, unilocular, parietal placentation, many ovules in the locule, the style filiform, exserted from the anther lobes, the stigma hairy. Fruits globose to ovide, slightly warted. Seeds ovide, hairy.


Introduction Ruxolitinib is the first approved drug for treatment of myelofibrosis. Major effects are reduction in spleen size and improvement of constitutional symptoms. Because spleen size and constitutional symptoms may influence outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT), ruxolitinib is recommended before stem cell transplantation in order to reduce therapy-related morbidity and mortality and improve outcome (EBMT/ELN recommendation, Leukemia 2015) The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the impact of pretreatment with ruxolitinib in comparison to transplantation of ruxolitinib-naive MF patients with regard to outcome after ASCT. Patients and methods We included 171 myelofibrosis patients (pts) with a median age of 59 years (r: 28 - 74) who received ASCT between 2000 and 2015 from related (n = 25), matched (n=94) or mismatched (n=52) unrelated donor. Stem cell source were more peripheral blood stem cells (n = 167) than bone marrow (n = 4). All patients received busulfan-based reduced intensity conditioning. While 113 pts (66%) did not receive ruxolitinib, 58 pts (34%) received ruxolitinib at any time point prior to ASCT. The median daily dose of ruxolitinib was 30mg (range 10-40mg) and the median duration of treatment was 28 days (range 12-159 days). In 11 pts ruxolitinib was stopped before stem cell transplantation because of no response or loss of response, while in 35 pts ruxolitinib was given until start of conditioning and in 12 pts ruxolitinib was given until stable engraftment. GvHD prophylaxis consisted of CNI plus short course MTX or MMF and anti-lymphocyte globulin. According to dynamic IPSS (DIPSS) (n = 170) the patients were either low (n = 2), intermediate-1 (n = 37), intermediat-2 (n = 81), or high risk (n = 38). 74 patients (43%) were transfusion dependent. Results As the median follow up was shorter for patients treated with ruxolitinib (15 vs 73 months, p Conclusions These results suggest that ruxolitinib pretreatment in myelofibrosis patient does not negatively influence outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. To confirm the observed favorable trend in outcome after ruxolitinib treatment more patients and a longer follow-up is needed. Disclosures Crysandt:Novartis: Other: Travel grant. Stelljes:Pfizer: Consultancy. Kroger:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding.


Objective To assess the application potential of the improved MMI(IMMI) to analyze the trend and regularity of ceftazidime-resistance of E.coli in China. Methods The published data of drug-resistance of E.coli to Ceftazidime was collected from the China national knowledge internet (CNKI) during the period from 1996 to 2009. The annual mean drug-resistance data was analyzed by the χ~2 trend test and presumed by the IMMI method, IMMI presumed results and the comparations of the presumed results from IMMI and MMI were mainly by sum of squares of error(SSE), relative standard error(RSE) and mean absolute deviation(MAD) methods. Results The annual mean drug-resistance data analyzed by the χ~2 trend test showed an escalating trend (P 0.01). The IMMI assay revealed that SSE, RSE and MAD value closed to the smallest level when H equaled to 1.Data analysis between IMMI and MMI methods showed that, IMMI(H = 0.01) showed smallest value in the SSE, RSE and MAD value based-on IMMI method (H = 0.01) were smaller than those based-on MMI method (M = 2, K = 2/3). Conclusion The prediction result base-on IMMI (H = 0.01) method is better than that based-on MMI(M = 2, K = 2/3) method. The IMMI(H = 0.01) analysis showed that the drug-resistance data of E.coli to Ceftazidime was influenced mainly by the short-term data and was influenced little by the long-term data. Both MMI and IMMI are available methods for prediction the Ceftazidime-resistance of E.coli, however, the IMMI method is better, and the results would be influenced obviously by different parameter setting in both IMMI and MMI methods.


There are a number of approaches for converting image resolution. In general, resolution conversion takes place in the spatial domain, which is a straightforward method. However, DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) is often used in image compression. Resolution conversion in the DCT domain is noteworthy because this method can convert image resolution with compressed image data (ex. JPEG and MPEG formats) without decoding so that the resolution conversion process in this method is faster than that in the straightforward method. However, there are many problems in which the scaled up images have blocky noise, the edges are blurry and the basis length after transformation is not the same as before transformation, so general decoders such as JPEG and MPEG cannot be used in this method. We have proposed a new conversion method in the DCT domain using neighboring blocks' DCT coefficients. It is possible to convert image resolution and to improve resolution conversion images by decreasing edge blur and blocky noise. However, using this method, it was not possible to scale up at rational rates, and it was not useful for resolution conversion. So, we propose an expansion to rational rates for this method.


ABSTRACT Leaders play crucial roles in their enterprises. Most modern organizations today, such as corporations and government departments, have no leaders. About 80% of all organizations have no top structures, and are run by inertia as leaderless organizations. These organizations have pretense-pseudo structures and filled roles, such as CEO, Department Head/Secretary, EVP, VP, and others, but this non-accountable system mostly harms than benefits the organization and its stakeholders. When the eventual crisis unfolds, often because the façade setup has failed to properly prepare the organization for the future, these "leaders" cut resources and lower-level roles out of the organization to continue in the downfall. Sometimes, they even sacrifice their own citizens.


Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a complex chronic disease characterized by secondary hyperglycemia. T1DM is a result of genetic and environmental causes. It is predominant in children and adolescents yet can present in adults. Classical presentations are weight loss, polydipsia or polyuria, and the risk of getting ketoacidosis. Still, the presentations of T1DM could be confusing and lead to a delay or improper treatment. Through summarizing the mechanism, and epidemiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and analyzing different diagnoses and treatments of T1DM based on existing literature and data, this research aimed to determine the current effective methods of detecting and recognizing T1DM in potential patients, and the present beneficial treatments. The result shows that although T1DM is a common metabolic disease, it has not yet been fully discovered, which could lead to errors in treatment. Therefore, further research could focus on these parts, which are still confusing: precise triggering factors and more effective medicine in treatments.


In current work, peculiarities of the micro-plasma powder welding deposition process applied to the batch refurbishment of D-18T aircraft engine HPT blades made of ZhS32-VI nickel superalloy with limited weldability have been studied. It has been demonstrated that extending operating resource over 6-8 thousand hours leads to an increase in ZhS32-VI "base-deposited metal" weld's cracking susceptibility during welding and subsequent thermal processing operations. It has been shown that providing stable forming of deposited bead on the shroud edge's surface requires applying nonstationary impulse modes of straight polarity welding current. Considering the significant amount of technological parameters of the process studied, subjective analysis of such welding modes is extremely complicated. We have introduced the method of specifying requirements for such single-layer micro-plasma powder welding deposition modes with welding current in a range of 7-20 A according to the criteria of effective arc heating power and heat input, which involves using the system for registration and digital processing of welding current-welding bead deposition time dependency. Based on the analysis of statistical data on the quantitative evaluation of cracking susceptibility of the investigated weld, the optimal range of average values has been discovered for these generalized welding deposition mode parameters to be applied in a manual or automated process, which provides no more than several percent of cracked blades detected at the end of refurbishment technological cycle. We have shown that significant technological parameters, which affect the amount of technological defects during mentioned blades' refurbishment, are the average value of effective welding current and ZhS32 superalloy powder quality, primarily determined by oxygen and nitrogen average weight content in its dispersed particles. It was also shown that the increase in average weight content of gas impurities in the filler powder, primarily oxygen, causes a significant increase in energy consumed on deposited bead formation during the micro-plasma powder deposition process. An initial quality control method for the ZhS32-VI filler powder range has been proposed. The method is based on the average weight content of oxygen and nitrogen, evaluated by reducing fusion in transporting gas flow and on evaluation criteria of effective arc heating power and heat input average values of witness sample blades' refurbishment process and their conformity to previously defined optimal. An evaluation of future application possibilities for registration systems and deposition mode analysis in batch repair conditions of nickel superalloy aircraft parts has been introduced.


This paper presents a model Master's curriculum in information management.* It integrates the special repertoire of computer technologies, management information system strategies, and theoretical principles of direct relevance for social welfare administrators of the future. Such expertise will be needed to effectively discharge administrative decision making functions within increasingly complex human service organizations.


A process is disclosed for laser-welding sheet metal plates that have an aluminum-silicon containing pre-coat layer. The pre-coated sheet metal plates are arranged one relative to another such that an edge of one of the plates is adjacent to and in contact with an edge of the other one of the plates, and a laser-welded joint is formed along the adjacent edges of the pre-coated plates. In particular the joint is formed absent removing the aluminum- silicon containing layer from along the adjacent edges, such that aluminum from the aluminum-silicon containing layer enters into the melt pool that is formed. Additionally, an alloying material is introduced into the melt pool during forming the laser-welded joint and forms a compound with at least some of the aluminum in the melt pool.


We study the character of the first excited 1/2^{+} state of {9}^Be, which is observed as a low-lying sharp peak in the cross section of 9^Be({\gamma},n)2{\alpha} just above the {8}^Be+n threshold. Using the {\alpha}+{\alpha}+n three-body model, we describe the ground and excited unbound states of {9}^Be above the {\alpha}+{\alpha}+n threshold. Applying the complex scaling method to the three-body model, we find no 1/2^{+} resonant solutions, while the low-lying peak in the photodisintegration cross section is reproduced in the present calculation. It is found that the low-lying peak is dominantly explained by the 8^Be+n component. Furthermore, using the analytical continuation of the coupling constant of the three-body interaction for the {\alpha}+{\alpha}+n system, we discuss the virtual-state character of the 1/2^{+} state.


The past few years have witnessed a growing appeal, both from home and from abroad, that China should reform its diplomatic system and proactively embrace the historic transformation of its relationship with the world. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, China's diplomatic system has undergone multiple changes within its basic framework. From the perspective of institutional dynamics, the system is shifting from emphasizing the role of serving the country's development to the role of serving the Chinese Dream, that is, the great renewal of the Chinese nation, putting more weight on top-level design, strategic coordination, and multi-dimensional diplomacy. These changes are determined by China's changing role in the world as well as the intrinsic demands of China's social development. In the future, it is expected that China's diplomatic system will maintain such a course of transformation, so as to reach a new balance between the existing international system and China's domestic governance system.


This paper investigates performance behaviour of TCP sessions when supported over IEEE 802.11b Wireless LANs. We emphasize the interaction between uplink/downlink TCP fairness and link layer parameters or Access Point buffer provisioning. The novel aspect is that this investigation is fully made in an experimental environment. We prove that TCP suffers of some inequalities that derive to unfair bandwidth sharing between uplink and downlink. Our extensive experimental analysis shows the main effects of these inequalities on the TCP behavior and highlights some performance anomalies that are difficult to be measured via simulations. A simple, but effective, scheduling mechanism is then provided within the Access Point to alleviate the unfairness.


This volume is a collection of 85% of the papers presented at the Materials Research Society symposium entitled Photons and Low Energy Particles in Surface Processing. This symposium focussed on the chemical and physical processes that occur in the surface and subsurface regions of solids when irradiated with beams of photons, low-energy ions, electrons, or high-energy neutrals. Many excellent papers were presented covering a broad spectrum from the fundamental science of such interactions to important technological applications. Fundamental studies were reported on a wide range of process mechanisms: the influence of energy deposition on final film properties was a prominent theme. Materials damage resulting from beam-based processes was treated both at a fundamental level and in terms of its vital importance in technological applications. Several novel beam-based processes for hard-to-fabricate materials and structures were presented. Advances in laser etching and ablation, pulsed laser deposition, electron-beam-induced decomposition and growth, plasma etching, and ion-induced effects were presented. Pulsed laser deposition and ion-assisted and plasma deposition sessions were held jointly with the symposium on Phase Formation and Modification by Beam-Solid Interactions. Papers have been divided in this volume in accordance with the topical divisions employed for the oral sessions. The number of highmore » quality papers greatly exceeded the number of available time slots so many papers were presented as posters. They have been included in this volume under the appropriate topical heading.« less


nevertheless, Reynolds acknowledges that, through engineering's twentiethcentury accommodation with large corporations, nearly one in five corporation presidents and board chairpersons in America have an engineering background. Thus he concludes that the association of American engineering with management has "preserved for the profession at least some of the autonomy and much of the status it had so feared losing at the beginning of the twentieth century" (p. 190). The book contains many stimulating reflections in this vein, making it a collection worth careful perusal by both scholars and business leaders.


As advanced crew support technologies will be available more and more in future military aircraft, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the possibilities in this area, taking into account operational demands, technical possibilities, human factors, evaluation, and validation aspects. A Crew Assistant (CA) is a decision support system for air crew, designed to improve mission effectiveness and redistribute crew workload in such a way that the crew can concentrate on its prime tasks.


Guanethidine Actions Guanethidine, like reserpine and methyldopa, exerts its antihypertensive action by interfering with neurotransmission at the adrenergic postganglionic nerve terminals, and thereby decreasing arteriolar vasoconstriction. Guanethidine acts both by preventing the release of norepinephrine from the postganglionic nerve terminals and by depleting norepinephrine stores at these terminals. 180–184 Guanethidine also partially depletes the myocardium of its catecholamine stores.185 Unlike methyldopa, guanethidine does not interfere with the synthesis of norepinephrine or result in the synthesis of a false neurotransmitter. Guanethidine decreases heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output, probably owing to its sympatholytic action on the heart.145, 185 , 186 The decrease in . . .


The invention discloses a semiconductor packaging structure and a production method thereof. The semiconductor packaging structure comprises a substrate, an annular blocking body, an adhesive layer, a chip, a first dielectric layer and a rewiring structure, wherein the annular blocking body is arranged on the upper surface of the substrate, and the annular blocking body and the substrate define an accommodating recess; the chip is arranged in the accommodating recess, and is fixed on the substrate through the adhesive layer; the chip is provided with an active surface away from the upper surface of the substrate, and a plurality of receiving pads arranged on the active surface; the first dielectric layer is arranged on the upper surface, and surrounds the chip; and the rewiring structure is arranged on the first dielectric layer, and comprises at least one patterned conductive layer electrically connected with the receiving pads of the chip.


Polymer films with ordered patterns have attracted considerable interest because of their potential applications. Herein, an innovative and facile strategy for patterned film formation by means of a trapping and locking process has been proposed. The results demonstrated that within seconds periodic structures with hexagonal packing could be obtained without the use of a template. Quite a few common polymers could be implemented in this novel fabrication method. Solvent evaporation and nonequilibrium convection have been determined to be responsible for the formation of ordered patterns that are fixed and locked on the film's surface through a simple solidification step. It is remarkable that the nonequilibrium convection and the polymer's architecture on the molecular scale could be trapped on a macroscopic scale. The straightforward strategy disclosed herein has general suggestions for the molecular structure transcription and the pattern formation techniques. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015


It is common view that people should attach great importance to library information management in the era of informatization. The statistics of document as the important part of information management, its importance is more and more obvious.


While Ga and Al do not form extended solid solutions in equilibrium, metastable single phase Ga–Al alloys were prepared by rapid quenching from the melt to −1190°C (splat cooling), yielding a wide extension of the Al-rich solid solution α; at higher Ga contents, this phase is followed by a tetragonal phase α′. Another metastable phase rich in Ga was also observed. The mean atomic volumes of α and α′ permit a quadratic extrapolation to pure Ga, for which V(Ga) = 18.27 A3 at −190°C. The solid solution formation and the structural instability of the cubic and tetragonal phases α and α′ are discussed in terms of pseudopotential theory; the analogy of α′ to a high-pressure phase of Ga has been noted.


The issue of sustainability of natural capital and implications for economic growth ranks high in the interests of both policy makers and the general public, as manifested by the intense debate on Canada's ratification of the Kyoto accord. In this chapter, Nancy Olewiler makes an important contribution to the debate on natural resource sustainability by exploring the crucial, but often ignored, role of productivity in the maintenance of natural capital sustainability. Olewiler defines sustainability as the ability of the economy to maintain the flow of production necessary to ensure non-decreasing per capita consumption indefinitely, so future generations can have a standard of living equal to or better than that of the present generation. She makes a critical distinction between the concepts of strong and weak sustainability.


The reactions of [Mn(CO)5Br] with [M(salen)][M = Co, Cu, Zn, Pd, Ni, or Sn; salen =N,N′-ethylenebis(salicylideneiminate)], [Co(salphen)][salphen =N,N′-o-phenylenebis(salicylideneiminate)], or [Co(salchd)][salchd =N,N′-cyclohexane-1,2-diylbis(salicylideneiminate)] in a variety of solvents resulted in the substitution products having the general formula [(ML)Mn(CO)3Br](L = salen, salphen, or salchd). The reaction of 4-ethyl-5-methyl-3,6-diazaocta-3,5-diene-1,8-dithiolatonickel(II), [NiL′], with [Mn(CO)5Br] resulted in the substitution product [(NiL′)Mn(CO)3Br]. These complexes were characterized by i.r. and electronic spectra and magnetic and cyclic voltammetry measurements. Chemical and physical data indicate that the metallo-ligand moieties of these bimetallic complexes bond weakly to the Mn(CO)3Br moiety.


In his latest contribution to the Journal of Borderlands Studies, French geographer and diplomat Michel Foucher tackles the enduring myth that the "arbitrary, artificial and absurd" borders inherited from the colonial era are responsible for Africa's woes. The author argues that African boundaries were often negotiated between colonial powers and adapted to local circumstances. The Niger-Nigeria border, for example, divides the regions permanently incorporated into the Sokoto Caliphate and those that freed themselves or were too peripheral such as Maradi or Damagaram. Foucher also argues that modern African states respected the 1964 principle of the inviolability of African borders. They relied on the International Court of Justice to handle their border disputes and accepted the principle of uti possidetis juris that holds that the lines established by colonizers have more bearing that current practices and use of territory. The author builds on two previous publications that made a big splash in the Frenchspeaking world but that have not been translated into English: Fronts et Frontières, initially published in the late 1980s, and the more recent Frontières d'Afrique, a short essay published in the Débats series of the French Center for National Scientific Research in 2014. Both rely on a detailed analysis of the length of border segments and their physical and political nature. Borders are classified according to how and by whom they were created (a process called "horogenesis" by the author) and according to whether they follow rivers, lakes, orographic elements, geometric lines, or other types of ethno-linguistic lines. Needless to say, this approach contrasts sharply with that adopted by the international border community around the Association for Borderlands Studies and its journal. In recent decades, border studies have gradually shifted away from the study of the frontier line itself to study the borderlands created by these imaginary lines and the borderlanders taking advantage of national boundaries. By deliberately choosing to think about the nature of societies from the margins of states, border scholars have contributed to documenting social, spatial and historical dynamics that would have remained hidden if the state remained the prime unit of analysis of human societies as in mainstream political and economic sciences. In Africa, in particular, border scholars have highlighted the vitality of social ties, political patronage and trade networks that exploit colonial partitioning in border regions, often in contradiction with the institutional initiatives developed by states and regional organizations. One of the main contributions of this approach has been to show that borderlands, border towns and borderlanders were often central to the survival of the African political and economic elites despite being situated at the margins of the state.


The article analyses the origines and evolution of the said problem in Uzbekistan in the late 1980-s early 2000-s, examines its influence on the relations between two countries and the influence of these relations on the living of the Russian-speaking population of Uzbekistan.


A wide variety of sensor technologies are recently being adopted for traffic monitoring applications. Since most of these technologies rely on wired infrastructure, the installation and maintenance costs limit the deployment of the traffic monitoring systems. In this paper, we introduce a traffic monitoring approach that exploits physical layer samples in vehicular communications processed by machine learning techniques. We verify the feasibility of our approach with extensive simulations and real-world experiments. First, we simulate wireless channels under realistic traffic conditions using a ray-tracing simulator and a traffic simulator. Next, we conduct experiments in a real-world environment and collect messages transmitted from a roadside unit (RSU). The results show that we are able to predict different levels of service with an accuracy above 80% both on the simulation and experimental data. Further, the proposed approach is capable of estimating the number of vehicles with a low mean absolute error on both data. Our approach is suitable to be deployed alongside the current monitoring systems. It doesn't require additional investment in infrastructure since it relies on existing vehicular networks.


The utility model discloses an one -way valve, close continuous last disk seat and lower disk seat including the spiral shell, go up vacuole formation between disk seat and the lower disk seat, install the case in the cavity, the case includes end cap and base, set up the first wash port and the second wash port of mutual intercommunication on the base, still install first sealing washer on the base, first sealing washer links to each other with the inner wall of last disk seat, the connecting pipe closes continuously with last disk seat spiral shell, install fixation nut on the connecting pipe, install the snap ring on the inner wall of last disk seat, the end cap links to each other with the snap ring block, the through -hole has been seted up down on the disk seat, set up threadedly in the through -hole. The utility model discloses an one -way valve, the spring mounting is in the ring channel to seal through second sealing washer and third sealing washer, avoided spring and fluid contact, end cap, snap ring pass through the arch and the draw -in groove block links to each other, has avoided the collision of case to the valve body, has increased one -way valve's life.


Objective To investigate the prevalence of ESBLs in clinical isolates of klebsiella pneumonia and the genotypical characteristics and its susceptibility of ESBLs. Methods The ESBLs producing strains were detected by K-B disc diffusion method of phenotypic confirmatory test. PCR was performed using primer specific for blaCTX-M-1, blaCTX-M-9, blaSHV, blaTEM. MIC(minimal inhibitory concentration) were detected with double agar ailution method. Results 44.29% of Klebsiella pneumonia produced ESBLs.The 31 ESBLs producing strains were amplificated by four groups of primers, and 26 of the 31 strains were bla CTX-M positive, 19 of the 31 strains were blaTEM positive, 7 of the 31 strains were blaSHV positive. MIC results showed that the sensitivity of ESBLs producing strains to imipenem was 100%. And the susceptibility rate to piperacillin/tazobactam was 67.74%. The resistance rate to cefotaxime was 80.65%. Conclusion In this experiment, CTX-M was the most prevalent genotype of ESBLs. Imipenem is the most effective antibiotics to infections caused by ESBLs producing strains.


In this short paper, we exploit robotics domain knowledge, be it acquired from humans or self-organization, to alleviate learning and control challenges from directly dealing with raw demonstrations or sparse reward signals. We take a unified latent variable perspective in incorporating domain constraints. The latent variables are regarded as task parameters or representations, which rationalize task observations with a generative model. The constraints can thus be specified with structured latent variables. Different from many related works, we explore latent structures that are computationally feasible and robotics-oriented to facilitate both task learning and control synthesis. The paper will briefly discuss adopted structures ranging from parameter dependency, modality and dynamical associativity, extending imitation learning such as inverse optimal control and deep generative models. The framework is shown to be effective in a range of manipulation tasks, including 1) learning variable impedance controllers in robotic handwriting; 2) boosting motion synthesis for writing novel symbols; 3) reasoning an internal model to score a balltarget under malfunctioning visual input.


Reactive power compensation is one of the effective means to improve the quality of voltage, reduce loss and save energy. How to make full use of the inductance converter and capacitance banks and to make them cooperative run, is the key of industrialization for the dynamic reactive power compensator for the composite power load. Therefore, a novel parameter optimization platform of the dynamic reactive power compensator for the composite power load is designed in this paper. The following works have been done in the study: reactive power variation characteristic of the composite power load and power factor requirements, capacity calculation and parameter adjusting method of the dynamic reactive power compensator, and a novel parameter optimization platform of the dynamic reactive power compensator for the composite power load. The research has laid a theoretical foundation for this dynamic reactive power compensator in industrial applications.


This paper presents two pilot studies related to the self-presentation of users of the professional social network LinkedIn. The first one looks at the most relevant categories users and observers employ when they assess LinkedIn profiles. The results show that professional and non-professional observers rely on similar aspects of the observable characteristics of these profiles to draw conclusions and form their assessment of a given candidate's employability. However, job selection professionals (recruiters) are more suspicious of profiles than non-professionals. The study concludes that candidates are highly aware of how they have to present themselves in a LinkedIn profile in order to attract the attention of selection professionals. The second pilot study asked whether certain gender roles, namely instrumentality (traditional masculinity) and expressiveness (traditional femininity), were predictors of the perceived employability of candidates, in addition to their competencies, personality and gender. The variable competencies turned out to be the strongest predictor of perceived employability, followed by expressiveness. These results are discussed in relation to changes in gender roles in society overall and in the labour world specifically.


Raises professional identity issues of pastoral counselors and notes implications of these for supervision, theological education, and relationships with other mental health professions. Responses to the articles are provided by C. Roy Woodruff, Brian H. Childs, and Jonathan H. Waddell.


The origin of lenticels during apple fruit development growing in different altitudes, the physicochemical and physiological fruit features at harvest and storage, were studied in order to correlate these aspects to lenticel breakdown. 'Gala' and 'Galaxy' apples were harvested from orchards located at three traditional growing regions in Brazil: Vacaria, RS (971 m a.s.l.), Fraiburgo, SC (1048 m a.s.l.) and São Joaquim, SC (1353 m a.s.l.), during the 2008/09 season. The fruit were kept in cold storage (CS) at 0 ◦C and 90% RH for up to 120 days or at controlled atmosphere (CA) at 1.5% O2, 2.5% CO2, 0 ◦C and 90% RH for up to 210 days. Colour index was higher in 'Galaxy' apples and in fruit grown in São Joaquim, where the minimum temperatures were approximately 10 ◦C. The firmness was reduced at CS and CA, but it remained greater than 40 N in all the treatments. Acidity, except for 'Galaxy' apples, and sugars were influenced by the climatic conditions of the growing sites. There was no relationship between the lenticels dyeing and the incidence of lenticel breakdown. Contrary to the expectations, higher incidence of the disorder was noticed in 'Gala' apples grown in São Joaquim (SC) at the end of the both types of storage. The lenticel breakdown was featured by symptoms such as concentric depression around the lenticels, cell obliteration of the epidermis and subepidermal layers, with wide spaces formed by cell lysis. The origin of lenticels has no influence on the disorder development. It was not possible to establish a relationship among physicochemical, physiological and anatomical features from distinct growing sites and the predisposition to lenticel breakdown disorder.


Introduction previous operations. Duplex scan and angiography showed occlusion of the common iliac artery, site of Because chronic renal failure is a known risk factor for previous transplants, and mild atherosclerotic lesions atherosclerosis and longer survival for haemodialysis in the infrainguinal vessels. The ankle–brachial index patients has been reported, the occurrence of chronic was 0.3. The reconstruction did well for 30 months. arterial disease and the need for peripheral arterial One month before re-admission he started a therapy reconstruction are increasing in this group of patients. based on rHuEPO (3000 IU 3 times/week) because of Human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) has been introduced moderate anaemia (red blood cell count=2.8×10/ to reverse the severe anaemia of end-stage renal disll reference range: 3.9–5.5×10/ll – platelet count= ease and to improve life quality of chronic uraemic 85×10/ll, reference range: 150–450×10/ll – haemopatients. globin=8.8 g/dl, reference range: 14.0–17.5 g/dl – Several reports have recently focused on the risky haematocrit=27%, reference range: 41–50%). At preside-effect of this therapy if haemoglobin concentration sentation he was afebrile, blood pressure was in the is normalised to levels of 13.5–16.5 g/dl. An increased reference values. Laboratory tests showed a red blood thrombogenicity of prosthetic arterial access for cell count of 4.26×10/ll, a haematocrit of 37.4%, haemodialysis and an increase in cardiac-related fata haemoglobin of 10.8 g/dl, a platelets count of alities are possible side-effects of this therapy. 128×10/ll and a white blood cell count of 2.72 (reference range: 4.5–11.0×10/ll). Studies to assess the coagulative profile (PT, PTT, fibrinogen and AT-III) were within the reference range. The right lower limb Case Report was cold and no distal pulses were palpable. A thrombectomy of the occluded graft was successfully A 53-year-old patient under recombinant human carried out. No signs of infection or myointimal hypererythropoietin (rHuEPO) had recurrent thrombosis of plasia were observed. Postoperatively all distal pulses an axillofemoral bypass graft. In 1981, he made two unsuccessful kidney transplants for chronic glowere present and the ankle–brachial index was 0.8. The merulonephritis that resulted in end-stage renal failpostoperative course was complicated by an episode of ure. Thereafter, he started chronic haemodialysis on a angina pectoris. rHuEPO therapy was continued at 3-day basis. In 1995, he underwent a right axillofemoral the same dosage. One month after discharge the patient bypass graft (externally supported Dacron, 8 mm in was re-admitted for critical ischaemia of the right diameter) for critical ischaemia. An abdominal upper and lower limbs. The bypass was occluded procedure was contraindicated because of multiple and the ispilateral upper and lower limb pulses were absent. Laboratory tests were comparable to those of the last admission. An emergency operation was ∗ Please address all correspondence to: A. Mingoli, First Department planned, but the patient had a fatal myocardial inof Surgery, Policlinico Umberto I, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy. farction.


The invention, including the photocatalytic activity, the electrical properties provide excellent functional material. The porous structure 10, the first target material 20 and, the first is deposited on a target material, a first located to surround the periphery of the target material, the first target material is agglomerated aggregates 30 in It includes, and having a plurality of first balls study (32) and a plurality of second balls study 34 is scattered in the aggregates in which the aggregates are, unevenly distributed in the vicinity of the first target material of the agglomerates.


ABSTRACT To mitigate longitudinal vibration of long-span railway suspension bridges, a Combined Viscous-Steel Damping System (CVSDS) is put forward in this paper. In the CVSDS, the viscous damper is expected to work under train braking and frequent earthquakes, while the steel damper can resist rare earthquakes. Moreover, a fuse-lock device is proposed to work as the switch between the aforementioned two dampers. The working mechanism of the CVSDS was introduced. The locking function was verified by static test, and the vibration reduction efficiency of the proposed system was validated through numerical method. The results show that the combined system is efficient.


Mechanical conveying of pelleted carbon black replaced the manual handling of paper bags. Installations with storage silos and bulk handling of carbon black generally use either mechanical or pneumatic conveyance. Development has changed the design of such equipment. This also goes for some properties of the carbon black. In addition, at the consumer's silo plant there are two different requirements concerning the conveying installation. For this reason, the use of both mechanical and pneumatic conveyance at the same silo plant is suggested


Investigative interviewing can be thought of as the interaction between two clusters of factors: questions and techniques. Analyses of question types and interview techniques are often treated discretely, where one is the focal point at the expense of the other, or they are conceptually indistinguishable. To explore these relationships further, the current study examined a sample of interviews using the Griffiths Question Map and a taxonomy of interview methods. In addition to presenting maps as example interviews, the article explores the associations between interview clusters and suspect cooperation. Results indicate that greater use of appropriate questions was associated with greater use of rapport-building techniques and greater suspect cooperation, and a reduction in the use of accusatorial interrogation tactics, which themselves were associated with suspect resistance. Implications for research and practice include understanding the interaction between these—and potentially other—clusters.


In our previous study, we proposed the optimum specimen preparation method in atom probe analysis, in which the analytical part was attached to the support needle by the physical strength of carbon deposition in connected hole. The optimum method was concluded from the point of view of the strength at the attachment part under high electric stress and fabrication feasibility. In this study, the rupture frequency of the specimens and the fabrication time were also evaluated, and an optimum method was reexamined. As a result, it was concluded that the optimum methods were the methods in which the analytical part was attached to the support needle by the physical strength of carbon deposition in connected hole and by the physical strength of the hooked joint of analytical part and support needle. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.348]


Cultural resources in rich in xiangxi autonomous region and cultural industries developed rapidly,But because of such as the existence of the cultural management system in the region do not live,loss of cultural market,lack of cultural industry professionals,cultural industry issues legal safeguards are not in place has being limiting the development of their own cultural industries.Strengthen the consciousness of legislation in national autonomous areas,Strengthening and improving the legal system in the national economy's financial management system,investment law,legal system of market management,will guarantee and promote the development of cultural industries in the region.


Meu allows users to connect to their inner emotional states and communicate them to others by providing customizable avatars along with unique algorithms that connect your movements to reactive music, visual effects, and haptics vibrations. Your body language and dances create a Meu that your friends can then experience.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the inclusion of social values in all reading texts of students' books in Action Pack Series One through Twelve. The study asked how much the Action Pack Series teaches social values like coexistence, cooperation, accepting differences, dialogue, love, peace, and human relationships. A quantitative and qualitative content analysis, with the paragraph as the unit of analysis, is used to answer this question.  The results show that cooperation is the most common value in all twelve Action Pack series while accepting differences is the least common value in the same textbooks. The results show, without a doubt, that social values are common in grades 5–9. On the other hand, the next three classes put less emphasis on social values in the same readings. The researchers have come up with the following suggestions: Based on what the study found, it is suggested that the Ministry of Education offer seminars and training programs to help teachers better understand how texts show social values.


The Association for a National Film and Television Archive (ANFTA) was started in the year 1975 to draw the attention of the public to the perils facing the collections and the inadequacies of the Archive's situation within the National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library. However, the year 1975 marked the crucial turning point in the chain of events that ultimately led to the Archive's separation from the National Library and established it as a separate institution in the year 1984.


We introduced a method of identifying people by their typical aspects of walking. We created a data representation for the MUFIN system. We have also developed a feature metrics for assessing the similarity of two data representations. To improve the gait recognition algorithm, it will be necessary to take further steps, including the following in particular: To enhance accuracy of extraction of gait patterns. To normalize extracted gait patterns in terms of the same length and starting phase. To represent a gait pattern by more than two curves. To represent a gait pattern by other specification not only from distance-time dependency graphs but also other – velocity, acceleration or pressure distribution measuring. To measure the larger number of people in laboratory conditions and also in real situations.


This paper presented a study on the reaction kinetics of magnesium sulfite catalyzed by Catalyst TR. Used a Lib-scale Plexiglas reactor aerated by air compressors to research the oxidation process Influence by pH, catalyst concentration, aeration quantity, temperature, time, sulfate concentration. Through experiment concluded the activation energy, got the formula between reaction rate and sulfate concentration.


Pressure change characteristics of a field emission display (FED) panel in operation was studied with various operating conditions. For this study, low anode voltage FED samples with a vacuum gap of 0.2 mm were fabricated using unique process technologies of cathode, anode, spacers, and packages. With the FED samples, real-time pressure measurements were carried out during operation of the FED panel with a forced increase of an anode current and/or an anode voltage. Results from the experiment suggest that the pressure buildup of the panel in operation is mainly affected by an electron flux density rather than an electron energy in the low anode voltage FED.


Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials, entailing the efficient electromagnetic (EM) shielding and high EM wave (EMW) absorption, have become a further requirement for the upcoming ...


The main concern of this thesis is the formal reasoning about reactive systems, that is, systems that repeatedly act and react in interaction with their environment without necessarily terminating. When describing such systems the focus is not on what is computed but rather on the interaction capabilities over time. Moreover, reactive systems are usually highly concurrent, typically spatially distributed, and often non-deterministic. Such systems include telecommunication protocols, telephone switches, air-traffic controllers, circuits, and many more. The goal of formal reasoning is to achieve system with provably correct behaviour. The task of formal reasoning is to specify systems and properties of systems as mathematical objects and to supply methodologies and techniques supporting formal proofs of properties of systems. Numerous semantic formalisms such as synchronisation trees, event structures, transition systems, temporal logics, Petri nets, and process algebras, to mention a few, have been proposed for the specification of reactive systems. In particular, formalisms vary in the sort of reasoning methodologies they support and encourage. Some methods have little practical pertinence, others have more. Some methods are decidable, others are not. Hence, numerous methods for reasoning about systems have been proposed; ranging from manual methods for the analysis of the most simple isolated aspects of systems to automatic methods for the synthesis of complex systems from succinct logical specifications. In this thesis we first consider the automated verification of safety properties of finite systems. We propose a practical framework for integrating the behavioural reasoning about distributed reactive systems with model-checking methods. We devise a small self-contained theory of distributed reactive systems including standard concepts like implementation, abstraction, and proof methods for compositional reasoning. The proof methods are based on trace abstractions that relate the behaviours of the program with the specification. Our main goal is to show that the methods are useful in practice. Hence, the use of the proof methods must be supported by a decision procedure which will answer questions about the system, such as "Does trace abstraction R show that program P implements S?" and "Do the trace abstractions between the subsystems combine to a trace abstraction between the compound systems?" Therefore, we show that trace abstractions and the proof methods can be expressed in a decidable Monadic Second-Order Logic (M2L) on words. Trace abstractions offer an alternative to refinement mappings when working with behavioural specifications, and we show that trace abstraction can aid in encompassing combinatorial blow-ups and in performing non-trivial decompositional reasoning. To demonstrate the practical pertinence of the approach, we give a self-contained, introductory account of the method applied to an RPC-memory specification problem proposed by Broy and Lamport. The purely behavioural descriptions which we formulate from the informal specifications are written in the high-level symbolic language Fido, a syntactic extension of M2L. Our solution involves Fido-formulas more than 10 pages long. They are translated into M2L-formulas of length more than 100


Cytokinins initiate or promote cell division and cell differentiation of plants. N-(4-Pyridyl)-N'-phenylureas with an electronegative substituent (s) at positions 2 and 6 of the pyridine ring are the strongest cytokinins so far known. Structure-activity relationships between urea- and purine-cytokinins were discussed.


Precipitation of lead ions by hydrogen sulfide in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) in aqueous or methanolic solution yields Q-PbS particles (quantized particles) which have a structured absorption spectrum. The particles have a rod-like or spherical shape (size quantization mainly in two or three dimensions, respectively). PbS with a structured absorption can also be made in acetonitrile using poly(ethylene oxide) as stabilizer. PbS stabilized by sodium polyphosphate has a structureless absorption spectrum. — Depending on the method of preparation and surface modification after preparation PbS samples fluorescing in the red or/and infrared are obtained. Methyl viologen generally quenches but can in certain cases promote the fluorescence when it is present in low concentration. Oxygen quenches when the colloid is stabilized by polyphosphate. — The rate of the photoanodic dissolution in the presence of air is increased by methyl viologen. Half reduced methyl viologen does not transfer an electron to Q-PbS but can do so in the case of larger particles. — Illumination under argon leads to increased Ostwald ripening of the particles. However, when sulfite is present in the deaerated solution, photoanodic dissolution takes place. — Attack by hydroxyl radicals generated radiolytically leads to Pb2+ + SO2−4. The fluorescence of a Q-PbS particle is efficiently decreased after the attack by a single OH radical (i.e. after injection of one positive hole). — Single electron transfer from 1-hydroxy methyl ethyl radicals, (CH3)2COH, to Q-PbS also leads to a decrease in fluorescence. These effects are attributed to interactions of the charge carriers deposited by the radicals on the colloidal particles with the exitonic state produced by light absorption. — Accumulated electron transfer to PbS-particles from organic radicals yields lead metal and organic sulfur compounds. In the beginning of this process, the fluorescence strongly increases (10% quantum yield) which is explained by destruction of surface defect states.


Objectives: Evaluation of Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) methods, comparison of advantages and disadvantages of them by applying single level frameworks in design of UAVs using genetic algorithm optimization and Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP). Methods/Statistical Analysis: Multidisciplinary design optimization methods are divided into 2 overall single level and multilevel frameworks, mathematically. Frameworks under investigation here are: Multi Disciplinary Feasibility (MDF), All At Once (AAO) as single level frameworks and Collaborative Optimization (CO) in addition to Bi-Level Integrated System Synthesis (BLISS) as bi-level frameworks. Selection criteria of appropriate design framework include simplicity of algorithm, quick response as well as degree of convergence in finding optimal answers. Findings: in accordance with the aforementioned criteria, single level methods are superior to multilevel ones. Anyway, no method or framework could be considered as superior; instead, appropriate design framework according to each application should be selected. Finally, single level methods have been used in UAVs design according to which, MDF framework holds higher convergence capability than AAO, though with higher run time in comparison to AAO. Applications /Improvements: single level methods have been used in UAVs design and Global Hawk (RQ-4B) is redesigned for implementation and comparison.


Among the different types of digital games, Massively Mul-tiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are one of the most popular. Game producers use usage data to compute metrics to analyze their game lifecycles. The most popular is the MAU (Monthly Active Users), which indicates the number of active players in each timestamp. MAU only describes how many players played a game. It cannot show how players are motivated for that game. We support that motivation is a key factor to follow and game producers should be aware of it. In this way, we are proposing in this article a new game independent Key Risk Indicator. The risk indicator is based on commitment and, in our context, can be defined as the attachment of a player to a given game. The game industry may use commitment to evaluate how attractive a game is during its usage lifecycle. A machine learning approach is presented to predict the risk indicator. We applied the method to a real dataset. The proposed approach identified risky situations where the classical approach did not.


This paper devoted to the methods for evaluating the jamming effectiveness of smokescreen jamming devices on electro-optical imaging systems and electro-optical guided weapons.The evaluation rules of jamming effectiveness were presented.For smokescreen jamming upon the electro-optical imaging system for observing or aiming,the jamming effects are graded into three rates according to the degrees of interference to target identification.Quantitatively,the correlation function is proposed as an evaluation index for smokescreen jamming effectiveness and the jamming effects are graded into three rates according to the correlation function of the two images before and after being jammed.For smokescreen jamming upon the imaging system for automatic tracking,the proposed criterion for jamming effectiveness is whether the imaging system under jamming could produce effective tracking errors,or its tracking error under jamming is three times greater than its tracking accuracy when there is no jamming.For smokescreen jamming upon the guided weapon,the proposed criterion for jamming effectiveness is whether the miss distance of the guided weapon under jamming is greater than its kill radius for specific targets or three times greater than its guidance accuracy(standard deviation) when there is no jamming.The jamming grades are determined according to the jamming success rate for a number of jamming tests.


The levels of soluble CD4 (sCD4), sCD8 and β2‐microglobulin (β2‐M) were measured in sera from patients with visceral leishmaniasis during the course of infection. Levels of sCD4. sCD8 and β2‐M were raised significantly above levels In normal sera and returned to the normal range after recovery. The decrease in the levels of CDS was related to a reduction of anaemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. In contrast, sCD4 levels fluctuated during the period of infection. β2‐M returned within normal range more rapidly than sCD8 secretion. Our results suggest that T cells are activated during infection, and that it is also possible that the raised levels of these soluble molecules play a role in the impairment of protective immunity.


The first statistical information systems (SIS) for sentencing were built more than 20 years ago, but had then only limited interest for researchers. However, during recent years interest has been growing among researchers and experts in the related fields. This is reflected in the new systems that have been built, two workshops that have taken place, and various publications that have appeared on the topic. Lately a rigorous analysis and criticism of this kind of computer system has also been published. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to describe the Israeli approach to SIS, which is fundamentally different from the previous systems. Secondly, to inspect the Israeli system in the light of the analysis and criticism just mentioned. Our conclusion is that the Israeli kind of system, while far from being perfect, suffers from fewer problems than the systems created hitherto.


Until about a decade ago, acrylamide was known only as a constituent of cigarette smoke and of products such as plastics and water treatment chemicals. But in 2002 Swedish scientists were surprised to find this human neurotoxicant and probable carcinogen in many heat-processed foods, especially starchy ones such as potato chips, crackers, and french fries. A flurry of research since then has yielded general advice about reducing formation of acrylamide and other heat-generated food toxicants in home cooking and a few recommendations for healthier eating. Now, in 2010, new acrylamide studies are giving a clearer picture of the extent of exposure to the chemical in the United States. These studies also raise additional questions about whether differences in metabolism make exposure more dangerous in certain populations, including children and people who are obese.


The design of a power supply intended for a traveling wave tube (TWT) is discussed in this paper. In this work, a collector converter, a helix converter, and a timing-control and protection circuit useful for the operation of a TWT amplifier are designed and simulated using Proteus 8.9. The collector converter circuit generates DC output voltages which are further fed to a high voltage section that produces voltages between approximately 800-3000V. The collector converter and helix converter circuits employ a +12V of DC power supply and produce pulse signals of 2.5 V amplitude and varying width, which is utilized in a high voltage section connected before the TWT amplifier.


Two field experiments were carried out in Kafr El-Hamam Agriculture Research Station, Sharkia Governorates, ARC, during 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons to study the effect of five crop sequences (maize/wheat (CS1), intercropping potatoes with maize/wheat (CS2), maize/fahl berseem/wheat (CS3), maize/peas/wheat (CS4), maize/fodder maize/wheat (CS5)) and four combination treatments between seeding rates and nitrogen fertilizer levels were as follows 50 kg seeds+60 kg N/fed (SN1), 50 kg seeds+75 kg N/fed (SN2), 60 kg seeds+60 kg N/fed (SN3), 60 kg seeds+75 kg N /fed (SN4) on growth, yield and its components of wheat (cv. Sakha 94). The treatments were arranged in a split plot design with three replications. The main plots were occupied by crop sequences and seeding rates with N fertilizer levels were assigned to the sup plots. The results revealed that: Crop sequences had significant effect on plant height, number of tillers and spikes/m 2 , spike length, weight of spike and grains/spike, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, cereal units, total income and total net income of wheat in both seasons as well as straw yield/fed in 1 st season only. Legume as preceding crops for wheat gave significantly higher grain yield compared with fodder maize. Whereas, the highest grain yield and net income after fahl berseem, (2.959, 2.980 ton/fed and 5422, 5414 L.E/fed), was at par with grain yield and net income obtained after peas, being (2.886 and 2.939 ton/fed as well as 5191 and 5071 L.E/fed), with an ignored differences in the 1 st and 2 nd seasons, respectively. Increasing seeding rates from 50 to 60 kg/fed caused a significant increase in number of tillers and spikes/m 2 , grain and straw yields/fed. On the other hand, increasing seeding rates caused a reduction in spike length, number of spikelets/spike, weight of spike and grains/spike as well as 1000-grain weight. All characters gradually increased by increasing N fertilizer levels from 60 to 75 kg N/fed. Maximum grain yield was 2.801 and 2.888 ton/fed obtained from SN4 (60 kg seeds+75 kg N /fed) followed by SN2 (50 kg seeds+75 kg N/fed) being, 2.757 and 2.825 ton/fed in 1 st and 2 nd seasons, respectively. Similarly, the highest cereal units, total income and net income were detected with SN4 (60 kg seeds+75 kg N /fed) followed by SN2 (50 kg seeds+75 kg N/fed). It is worth to noting that under the same level of N fertilizer differences among seeding rates did not reach level of significance. The interaction effect of crop sequences and seeding rates and N fertilizer levels showed significant differences in plant height, spike length, spike weight and 1000-grain weight. Multiple cropping had significantly increased total cereal units, net incomes, land use efficiency (multiple cropping index (MCI) and cultivated land utilization index (CLUI)).


This discussion consists of five sections, beginning with a pair of citations marking up a politics of inclusion, and exclusion in philosophical discussion. The second section, focusing on the first part of this essay's title, 'Phenomenological futures in dispute', locates three inflections of the notion of the future, in the context of an encounter between phenomenology and Marxism. The third section proposes two rewritings of the subtitle, in terms of thematics, as opposed to using proper names as indices for theoretical orientations. The first rewriting retrieves Heidegger's notions of tradition, as both transmission and inheritance. This opens up a givenness of a futural horizon to alternating versions of futures; the second rewriting then offers modes of evaluating these alternating futures, in a contestation between a patriarchal, a differentiated, and a neutral mode of transmission. A fourth section raises some further questions of methodology, indicating the manner in which a rethinking of religion and of theology returns within phenomenology. In an inconclusive summary, the paper returns to the point of departure, the first version of a relation of non-relation, in a disputed connection to be set out between philosophy, a politics of exclusion, and psychoanalytical accounts of political investment. The paper seeks to locate a relation of non-relation, both in the failed encounters between Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy, with respect to phenomenology and its futures, and in the re-emergence, as non-relation, of the formative function within phenomenology of religious precursors, preconditions and commitments.


Process comprising the steps of: - producing an aqueous mixture comprising a diacyl peroxide of formula (I), wherein R1-R4 are independently from the group selected consisting of a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, and alkyl radicals, alkaryl and linear and branched aralkyl or saturated or unsaturated, optionally substituted with one or more halogen atoms, provided that if R1 and / or R2 are a hydrogen atom, then R3 and / or R4 are not a hydrogen atom and, vice versa, that if R3 and / or R4 are a hydrogen atom, then R1 and / or R2 are not a hydrogen atom, procedure in which R1-C-R2 and / or R3-C-R4 can be part a ring structure that can be saturated or unsaturated and substituted by one or more groups R1 independently chosen, or one of R1-C (R2) H and R3-C (R4) H represents an aromatic ring structure, optionally substituted with the further proviso that peroxides are excluded diacyl of formula (I) wherein R2 is a halogen atom and R4 is a hydrogen atom, and R1 and R3 are alkyl groups of long chain having from about 10 to about 16 carbon atoms, by reacting, in a so-called peroxidation step, one or more acid halides of formula (II), wherein X is a halide moiety, preferably chloride or bromide, most preferably chloride, with i) MOOH / M2O2, wherein M is any group containing ammonium or metal which reacts with H2O2 to form MOOH / M2O2 without decomposing one or more of the peroxides present in the process, preferably M is selected from the group consisting of ammonium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and lithium and / or ii) one or more peracids of formula (III), or salts of M, in an aqueous phase, in which method the acid halide, or mixture of acid halides, is placed essentially in contact only MOOH containing water / M2O2 and / or one or more peracids or peracid salts, preferably M2O2 or the M salt of the peracid, - optionally introducing one or more solvents of the acid halide in any part of the process, - optionally introducing one or more salts in any part of the procedure, - Input optionally one or more colloids and / or surfactants, before, during or after the peroxidation step, - optionally purifying the aqueous mixture in one or more purification steps, - optionally homogenize the aqueous mixture in one or more homogenization steps, - Transferring the product from the previous steps comprising the diacyl peroxide of formula (I) to the polymerization reactor, and - thermally decomposing said diacyl peroxide, to generate organic free radicals, in the presence of one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers to polymerize said monomers in said polymerization reactor.


The Tasmanian Wound Care Association (TWCA) hosted the 5th Biennial Australian Wound Management Association (AWMA) Conference on behalf of AWMA from 18-20 March 2004. The Wrest Point Convention & Conference Centre was an ideal location for this event as it is situated on Hobart's beautiful waterfront, enabling the 450 national and international conference delegates to access Hobart's magnificent scenery in between conference activity. The weather also facilitated this as it was quite moderate - much to the surprise of some of our interstate colleagues!.


Annotated checklists of identified ptyctimous mite taxa from Ecuador (7 species, 6 genera, 4 families), Ethiopia (13 species, 6 genera, 4 families) and Nepal (11 species, 7 genera, 4 families) are provided. Acrotritia refracta and Phthiracarus pygmaeus are recorded for the first time in Ecuador; Indotritia krakatauensis, Acrotritia vestita, Arphthicarus inaequus and Plonaphacarus tanzicus are recorded for the first time in Ethiopia; Protoribotritia oligotricha, Acrotritia duplicata and Phthiracarus bryobius are recorded for the first time in Nepal. Two new species, Oribotritia multisetosa Niedbała sp. nov. and Plonaphacarus martensi Niedbała sp. nov., are described from Ecuador and Nepal, respectively. Morphological and/or taxonomical remarks for Ar. inaequus (Niedbała, 1984), Indotritia bellingeri Niedbała & Schatz, 1996, Plonaphacarus rybalovi Niedbała, 2011 and Pl. tanzicus (Mahunka, 1993) are presented. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DC0E4649-9D0F-4222-A197-6E818CDE6D1C


AbstractThe effect of bubble size on air-scoured backwashing efficiency in a biofilter was investigated using experiments and simple mathematical models based on collapse-pulsing theory. Four types of backwashing experiments were conducted: water alone, water and large bubbles (diameter = about 1 cm), water and small bubbles (diameter = about 0.2 cm), and water containing dissolved air. The third type, water and small bubbles, was found to be the most efficient. Modeling results confirmed the experimental results, indicating that even when the same volume of air was used, smaller bubbles generate higher shear stress on the surface of the medium, resulting in more efficient removal of biomass. In the case of dissolved air, however, micro-bubbles (diameter = 10–100 μm) are too small and rise too slowly to produce a strong-enough collapse-pulsing effect. This produces less shear stress and ultimately results in poor backwashing efficiency.


Two-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations are presented that demonstrate several novel phenomena in MHD shock formation. The stationary symmetrical flow of a uniform, planar, field-aligned, low-β and superfast magnetized plasma around a perfectly conducting cylinder is calculated. The velocity of the incoming flow is chosen such that the formation of fast switch-on shocks is possible. Using a time marching procedure, a stationary bow shock is obtained, composed of two consecutive interacting shock fronts. The leading shock front has a dimpled shape and is composed of fast, intermediate and hydrodynamic shock parts. A second shock front follows the leading front. Additional intermediate shocks and tangential discontinuities are present in the downstream part of the flow. The intermediate shocks are of the 1–3, 1–4, 2–4 and 1=2–3=4 types. This is a confirmation in two dimensions of recent results on the admissibility of these types of shocks. Recently it has also been shown that the 1=2–3=...


Purpose: This study examined Korean nurses' job attitude (i.e., satisfaction and burnout) regarding the extent to which organization's emotion display rule influences on job attitudes through emotion-related variables (i.e., negative emotion suppress behavior and inauthenticity), thereby examining mediation effects of negative emotion suppress behavior and inauthenticity. Method: Using a survey to nurses working in various general hospitals in Korea, structural equation modeling was adopted. Result: Emotion display rule affected outcome variables but these effects were mostly observed via the two mediators, negative emotion suppress and inauthenticity, which largely supports the research model. Conclusion: Individuals who perceived stronger emotional display rule suppressed more their negative emotion, and also perceived more inauthenticity. In turn, negative emotion suppress behavior only affected job burnout positively. Inauthenticity showed a negative effect on job satisfaction while it had a positive effect on burnout. The study provided directions for future research and practical implications to help nurses' effective job performance.


BACKGROUND: The study aimed to set forth a model simulation approach for an accurate calculation of denitrification potential (NDP) and selection of appropriate anoxic volume (VD) in biological nitrogen removal. Simulations utilized the characteristics of a typical sewage and the model coefficients associated with a model structure that included all relevant microbial processes. They were carried out first for a fully anoxic reactor sustained with excess nitrogen and then for a pre‐denitrification system operated with different anoxic volume ratios (VD/VT) of 0.1–0.4 when the influent nitrogen (TKN) level was set as 57 and 85 mg N L⁻¹. RESULTS: Without nitrate limitation, generated NDP could reach 37 mg N L⁻¹ for VD/VT = 0.1 and gradually escalated to 56, 75 and 86 mg N L⁻¹ when VD/VT was raised to 0.4. Results for the pre‐denitrification system showed the effect of nitrate limitation on both substrate removal and NDP levels: At VD/VT = 0.4, NDP associated with TKN = 85 mg N L⁻¹ was approximately 60 mg N L⁻¹, while it remained basically around 40 mg N L⁻¹ with TKN = 57 mg N L⁻¹. Simulation also indicated that the hydrolysis kinetics significantly affected NDP generation. CONCLUSION: Simulation results revealed that stoichiometric estimations always underestimated NDP, recommending unnecessarily high anoxic volumes, where the oxidized nitrogen was consumed within the 20–25% portion of the provided volume. The remaining volume fraction was then totally wasted since it was forced to operate under anaerobic conditions, with practically no useful microbial activity and negligible substrate utilization. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry


Mathematical models of particle size distribution (PSD) are necessary in the modelling and simulation of comminution circuits. In order to evaluate the application of the Swebrec PSD model (SWEF) in the grinding circuit at the Punta Gorda Ni-Co plant, a sampling campaign was carried out with variations in the operating parameters. Subsequently, the fitting of the data to the Gates-Gaudin-Schumann (GGS), Rosin-Rammler (RRS) and SWEF PSD functions was evaluated under statistical criteria. The fitting of the evaluated distribution models showed that these functions are characterized as being sufficiently accurate, as the estimation error does not exceed 3.0% in any of the cases. In the particular case of the Swebrec function, reproducibility for all the products is high. Furthermore, its estimation error does not exceed 2.7% in any of the cases, with a correlation coefficient of the ratio between experimental and simulated data greater than 0.99.


The research aims to investigated the efficiency of repairs of the damaged concrete column using the concrete jacketing. Strengthen what's more, restoration by the reinforce concrete jacketing of the column is assessed, consider of the diverse useful aspect anchor and slab cross of the add longitudinal reinforced, interface surface readiness separating of widow stirrup transitory shoring of the structural and the addition of news to the concrete. Late research the topic and the main recommendation to accomplish great RC jacketing are introduced. Also, factors such as corrosions of the rebar or aging may be deteriorated or then again corrupt to the limit of the reinforce concrete section, thereby necessary prompt strength to either extends or ensured it designs life isn't constrained's. As in the instances of RC basic, segments are exposed to the garbs and ceaseless stacking with the increments in the no. of story and may prompt the incomplete relinquishment or plane aggregates disappointment of the sections. RC segments even before its help period is over immediately consideration is required in and the harmed piece of fortified cement is fixed by Greek and Latin made strengthened cement jacketing. The range of observation of these papers is limited to jacketing techniques for making strength warm feeling, desire fixing both typical and high strengths RC sections. The paper moreover takes to be the same possible unused quality operation of making observations openings, nothing in between, and outlines the future direction of operation of making observations into the making stronger and put right of RC columns.


Brain is the regulatory unit in human body. It controls the functions such as memory, vision, hearing, knowledge, personality, problem solving, etc. The main reason for brain tumour is the abandoned progress of brain cells. Many health organizations have recognized brain tumour as the second foremost dispute that causes a large number of human deaths all around the world. Identification of brain tumour at a premature stage offers a opportunity of effective medical treatment. Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging images have been recognized as more detailed and more consistent images when compared to Computed Tomography images. There are various techniques to detect brain tumour or neoplasms. The most competent and effective algorithms are discussed in this paper after studying a number of appropriate research papers. Pre-processing brain images, segmenting them, feature extraction, clustering and detection of the tumour are the methodologies in most researches.


The energy of the soft mode associated with a structural transition in a solid decreases as | T - T c | 1/3 as the temperature T approaches the critical temperature T c , which is identical to the real transition temperature if the transition is of the continuous second order. In a liquid-solid transition, an excitation with a nonvanishing momentum will become soft to finally result in the appearance of a periodic structure as the temperature approaches the transition point T LS from above if the cause to yield the metastable characteristic of the liquid phase does not affect the dynamics of the softening very much. The energy of the excitation decreases as | T - T c | 1/3 for the temperature decreasing toward a critical temperature T c which is always less than the real transition temperature T LS .


In order to analyse the performance on the Hydraulic Control Rod Driving System for HR-200 Heating Reactor, factors affecfing its performance and some possible improvements on this system, a methed is presented, that is,first linearize the two-order nonlinear differential equations by neglecting the multi-powered small quantities or segmenting , then solve the linearized differential equations using Laplace transformation. The motion rule of the control rod near the ballance position is found and a simple numerical method to calculate the rod's movement on any position is proposed. A theoretical analyses and comparisons with experimental results are conducted. Both the theoretical analyses and the experiments show that with certain structural improvements and parameters change, this Hydraulic Control Rod Driving System will be able to work properly on HR-200. Further,the main factors affecting the system's performance are analyzed and some reasonable improving methods are proposed.


BACKGROUND: Accurate identification of the cricothyroid membrane is crucial for successful cricothyroidotomy. The aim of this study was to compare the conventional downward and modified upward laryngeal handshake techniques in terms of accuracy to identify the cricothyroid membrane in nonobese female patients. METHODS: In 198 anesthetized female patients, the cricothyroid membrane was identified by either the conventional downward laryngeal handshake technique (n = 99) or the modified upward laryngeal handshake technique (n = 99). According to the conventional downward laryngeal handshake technique, the cricothyroid membrane was identified by palpating the neck downward from the greater cornu of the hyoid bone, thyroid laminae, and cricoid cartilage. According to the modified upward laryngeal handshake technique, the cricothyroid membrane was located by moving up from the sternal notch. The primary outcome was the accuracy of identifying the cricothyroid membrane. Secondary outcomes included the accuracy of midline identification and time taken to locate what participants believed to be the cricothyroid membrane. The primary and secondary outcomes according to the technique were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: The cricothyroid membrane could be identified more accurately by the modified upward laryngeal handshake technique than by the conventional downward technique (84% vs 56%, respectively; odds ratio [OR], 4.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.13−8.93; P < .001). Identification of the midline was also more accurate by the modified laryngeal handshake than by the conventional technique (96% vs 83%, respectively; OR, 4.98; 95% CI, 1.65−15.01; P = .004). The time taken to identify the cricothyroid membrane was not different between the conventional and modified techniques (20.2 [16.2−26.6] seconds vs 19.0 [14.5−26.4] seconds, respectively; P = .83). CONCLUSIONS: The modified upward laryngeal handshake technique that involved tracing the trachea and laryngeal structures upward from the sternal notch was more accurate in identifying the cricothyroid membrane than the conventional downward technique in anesthetized female patients.


A study was carried out on the diffusion of helminth parasites of liver, gastrointestinal system and bronchial system in 68 red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Regional Park "La Mandria" (Piedmont, Italy). The following species of nematodes were identified: Trichostrongylus axei, Spiculopteragia spiculoptera, Rinadia mathevossiani, Cooperia oncophora, Cooperia pectinata, Cooperia punctata, Cooperia zurnabada, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Dictyocaulus eckerti, Varestrongylus sagittatus. Studies on some nematodes, belonging to the genera Spiculopteragia and Ostertagia, are still in progress. A large diffusion of Fascioloides magna was also present (only two young specimens resulted negative).


Objective: The CD163 glycoprotein is a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily acting as an inflammatory modulator inducing anti-inflammatory pathways. Previous findings from our group identified this gene as being differentially expressed in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of severely obese men with vs. without the metabolic syndrome. The current study aimed to test the association between CD163 gene polymorphisms and obesity-related metabolic complications.
Methods: Sequencing of the CD163 gene region was conducted in 25 severely obese individuals. Eleven tagging SNPs (tSNP) were selected and tested for association with obesity-related complications in nearly 1900 severely obese individuals. To further explore potential mechanisms underlying associations identified, the impact of tSNPs on methylation levels of 3 CpG sites (two promoter and one intronic) and gene expression levels were tested in a subset of 14 individuals.
Results: Rare allele carriers for rs7980201 demonstrated lower fasting total cholesterol (total-C) levels (p=0.01) while rs4883263 rare allele carriers had increased total-C (p=0.04) and triglyceride (TG) levels (p=0.01). An association identified between rs7980201 SNP and methylation level of a promoter CpG site (p=0.04) suggested an impact on CD163 gene methylation in VAT, but such association was not reflected at gene expression level.
Conclusion: The current study reports association of CD136 gene variations with fasting total-C and TG levels and suggests that CD163 SNPs could contribute to the inter-individual variability observed in obesity-related metabolic complications.


Very few studies have examined reflection of scientific collaboration networks through coauthorship on the Web. In this paper the collaboration between 80 German institutions of immunology is analyzed, including gender collaboration. Multi-authored papers from 1997 are less visible on the Web in 2004 than the data from 2002. Highly productive institutions have a higher central position in both bibliographic and web collaboration networks and consequently greater influence on the entire scientific community than the less productive institutions. The contribution of female members of the German Society of Immunology in both the networks is very low in relation to that of their male counterparts, which corresponds with general results of a large gender study conducted by the European Commission. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.


Determining the probability of survival after injury is important as it can inform triage, clinical research and audit. A number of methods have been reported for determining the probability of survival after injury. However, these have shortcomings and thus further developments are needed to improve their reliability and accuracy. In this study, a Bayesian method called Predictive Statistical Diagnosis (PSD) was developed to determine probability of survival in 4124 adults (age: mean = 67.9 years, standard deviation = 21.6 years) with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). In total, 86.2% of cases had survived and 13.8% of cases had not survived their injuries. The parameters considered as inputs to PSD were age, abbreviated injury score (AIS), Glasgow coma score (GCS), pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and respiration rate (RR). PSD statistically modeled the TBI cases and their associated injury outcomes, i.e., survived or not survived. The model was calibrated on randomly selected, roughly 2/3 (number 2676), of the cases and its performance was validated on the remaining cases (number 1448, i.e., validation dataset). The effectiveness of PSD in determining the probability of survival was compared with a method called Ps14 that uses regression modeling. With all parameters (i.e., age, AIS, GCS, SBP, RR and PR) included as inputs to PSD, it correctly identified 90.8% of survivors and 50.0% of non-survivors in the validation dataset while Ps14 identified 97.4% of survivors and 40.2% of non-survivors in the validation dataset. When age, AIS and GCS were used on their own as inputs to PSD, it correctly identified 82.4% of the survivors and 65.0% of non-survivors in the validation dataset. Age affected the performance of PSD in determining the survival outcomes. The number of non-surviving cases included in this study may have not been sufficiently high to indicate the full potential of PSD and a further study with a larger number of cases would be beneficial.


In recent years, new approaches to intensive blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) production have become necessary, in terms of protected environments and planting systems. These are designed to avoid numerous production difficulties, such as market saturation, damage from hailstorms, bird attacks, and spring frosts, and specific soil property requirements. Use of high tunnels and planting in a custom substrate (e.g., pots, along ridges) have gained interest among growers in recent years. As in our previous study, we determined the performance of three blueberry cultivars, 'Duke', 'Aurora', and 'Brigitta', when planted in pots and along a ridge under a high tunnel. Substrate water content was maintained at the same level for the pots and the ridge, although the substrate temperature fluctuations were greater for pots. Plant growth in pots was significantly lower for 'Duke' and 'Aurora' compared to the ridge. Additionally, for 'Aurora', the fruit yield was significantly lower for pots (103.4 g/plant), compared to the ridge (315.2 g/plant), although the opposite was seen for 'Brigitta' (122.4 vs. 93.5 g/plant, respectively). Individual sugar and organic acid contents mostly coincided with total contents, with lower total sugars for 'Duke' and higher total organic acids for 'Aurora' and 'Brigitta' for pots. For 'Duke' and 'Brigitta' fruit, the contents of some individual phenolics showed significant differences between treatments for phenolic acids and flavonols. These data show that growth in pots can be a useful planting method for the blueberry cultivars 'Duke' and 'Brigitta', and high yields and good fruit quality can be attained by following correct technological measures.


This study explored the common wisdom that sees Botswana as inherently ethnically homogenous. It used the existing Afrobarometer survey data drawn from Round 1 (1999), Round 2 (2003), Round 3 (2005) and Round 4 (2008). The findings of this study revealed that when using language spoken mostly at home, common wisdom is confirmed. However, it is disconfirmed when using disaggregated home language. This is more apparent when language is broken down according to district and rural-urban location. The implications of this study are that multicultural and linguistic diversity of Botswana compels us to view every group as heterogeneously unique and important in its own ways. While Botswana is generally viewed as a shining example of a successful African democracy, its policies towards language, especially within the education system, leave much to be desired. The education system should move beyond the homogenous-thinking doctrine and embrace multicultural diversity.


We present a mathematical model for a UAV-based, multi-sensor data integration. As a background, we first discuss the design and the implementation of a low-cost civilian UAV system, including its field flight validation, system calibration, and mapping accuracy evaluation. Then, this photogrammetry-based mathematical model is developed. The field flight tests demonstrate that the designed low-cost UAV is capable of collecting clear and high-resolution video. The UAV can be controlled and navigated remotely and video stream and navigation data strings, including position and attitude, can be downlinked to the ground control station in real-time. The present multi-sensor, mathematical model reveal that the boresight matrix in a low-cost UAV system does not remain constant. This contradicts the practice in traditional airborne mapping systems where the boresight matrix is assumed to be a constant over an entire mission. Thus, to achieve a high-accurate mapping, EOPs of each video frame in a low-cost UAV mapping system have to be estimated. The present model can achieve a planimetric mapping accuracy using 1-2 pixels when compared with the USGS DOQ orthophoto. * Corresponding author. email@example.com


This paper develops a multi-step procedure for classifying Farsi handwritten digits using a combination of classifiers. Generally, the technique relies on extracting a set of characteristics from handwritten samples, training multiple classifiers to learn to discriminate between digits, and finally combining the classifiers to enhance the overall system performance. First, a pre-processing course is performed to prepare the images for the main steps. Then three structural and statistical characteristics are extracted which include several features, among which a multi-objective genetic algorithm selects those more effective ones in order to reduce the computational complexity of the classification step. For the base classification, a decision tree (DT), an artificial neural networks (ANN) and a k-nearest neighbor (KNN) models are employed. Finally, the outcomes of the classifiers are fed into a classifier ensemble system to make the final decision. This hybrid system assigns different weights for each class selected by each classifier. These voting weights are adjusted by a metaheuristic firefly algorithm which optimizes the accuracy of the overall system. The performance of the implemented approach on the standard HODA dataset is compared with the base classifiers and some state-of-the-art methods. Evaluation of the proposed technique demonstrates that the proposed hybrid system attains high performance indices including accuracy of 98.88% with only eleven features.


This article discusses new challenges for series development regarding the vehicle safety that arise from the recently published AEB test protocol by the consumer-test-organisation EuroNCAP for driver assistance systems [6]. The tests from the test protocol are of great significance for an OEM that sells millions of cars each year, due to the fact that a positive rating of the vehicle-under-test (VUT) in safety relevant aspects is important for the reputation of a car manufacturer. The further intensification and aggravation of the test requirements for those systems is one of the challenges, that has to be mastered in order to continuously make significant contributions to safety for high-volume cars. Therefore, it is to be shown how a simulation approach may support the development process, especially with tolerance analysis. This article discusses the current stage of work, steps that are planned for the future and results that can be expected at the end of such an analysis.