I recently wrote about my workflow for Analyzing Microbial Growth with R. Perhaps the most important part of that process is the plate map, which describes the different experimental variables and where they occur. In the example case, the plate map described which strain was growing and in which environment for each of the wells used in a 96-well microtiter plate. Until recently, I've always created two plate maps. The first one is hand-drawn using pens and markers and sat on the bench with me when I started an experiment. By marking the wells with different colors, line types, and whatever other hieroglyphics I decide on, I can keep track of where everything is and how to inoculate the wells.


The work-process oriented curriculum reform has its unique superiority.On the base of profession analysis and typical work task,regarding the working progress as the guidance and the work task as the carrier,Hydraulic Engineering Drawing adopted different teaching methodologies according to different teaching environments and work tasks.The overall design of the curriculum process helps to develop the students' comprehensive vocation abilities effectively.


Systems with time-delay are a specific group of dynamic systems. There occurs the time lag of the signal, information or material, which results in the deterioration of the properties of a control circuit if we want to control of such system. The presence of time-delay complicates the synthesis of a control circuit and therefore it is necessary to these systems was described by the differential equations. Laplace transform gives a very simple method of solving these linear differential equations with constant coefficients. The theoretical basis for simple but exact solution gives W-transform that a transcendent solution converts to solve algebraic equations. W image is defined similar as is defined by the Z image of the functions.


Using the operator product expansion, we obtain new sum rules in the heavy quark limit of QCD, in addition to those previously formulated. Key elements in their derivation are the consideration of the nonforward amplitude, plus the systematic use of boundary conditions that ensure that only a finite number of ${j}^{P}$ intermediate states (with their tower of radial excitations) contribute. A study of these sum rules shows that it is possible to bound the curvature ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}={\ensuremath{\xi}}^{\ensuremath{''}}(1)$ of the elastic Isgur-Wise function $\ensuremath{\xi}(w)$ in terms of its slope ${\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2}=\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\xi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}(1).$ In addition to the bound ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}g~\frac{5}{4}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2},$ previously demonstrated, we find the better bound ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}g~\frac{1}{5}[4{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2}+3({\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2}{)}^{2}].$ We show that the quadratic term $\frac{3}{5}({\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2}{)}^{2}$ has a transparent physical interpretation, as it is leading in a nonrelativistic expansion in the mass of the light quark. At the lowest possible value for the slope ${\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2}=\frac{3}{4},$ both bounds imply the same bound for the curvature ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}g~\frac{15}{16}.$ We point out that these results are consistent with the dispersive bounds and, furthermore, that they strongly reduce the allowed region by the latter for $\ensuremath{\xi}(w).$


COLORING pyridone of formula (I). BEING; R (1) hydrogen or C 1 to 4; R (2) YR (3) same or different and independently of one another hydrogen, alkyl C 1 to 12, cycloalkyl C 5 TO 7 SUBSTITUTED phenyl SUBTITUIDOS, pyridyl substituted, alkanoyl C 1 A 12 REPLACED, alkoxycarbonyl C 1 A 12 alkylsulfonyl C 1 to 12 REPLACED, CICLOALQUILOSULFONILO of C 5 through 7, phenylsulfonyl substituted, pyridylsulfonyl REPLACED, substituted benzoyl, PIRIDILOCARBONILO O TIENILOCARBONILO; R ( 2) YR (3) together with the nitrogen atom SUCCINOIMIDO REPLACED THROUGH alkyl C 1 to 4 or A REST saturated heterocyclic 5 to 6 membered containing other heteroatoms; X CH or nitrogen; and cyano or a residue of formula CO-W, CO-OW or CO-NHW; W hydrogen, C 1 to 8 may be substituted and may be interrupted through one or two oxygen atoms in ether function, C of C 5 to 7, phenyl or tolyl YZ A REST carbocyclic or heterocyclic aromatic ASI As a method for transmission thermals.


Improvements in water supply and sanitation conditions played a fundamental role in improving health in industrialized countries during the nineteenth century (1). In the mid-1970s it was generally agreed that water supply and sanitation had a similar role to play in the transition to low mortality rates in developing countries. As a consequence of this belief, water supply and sanitation were included as integral parts of the primary health care (PHC) package (Z), and the 1980s were declared to be the United Nations' International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. Upon closer examination of the PHC strategy, it was argued in an influential policy-oriented analysis (3) that insufficient resources were available to implement the complete package of PHC interventions, and that only those interventions which were most cost-effective in terms of reducing infant mortality should be implemented. In particular, it was argued that the cost per infant death averted through water supply and sanita-


In a biological cell, proteins perform their functions in a highly complex environment comprising crowding and confinement effects as well as interactions with interfaces, cosolvents, and other biomolecules. Cosolvents can stabilize or destabilize the native folded structure of proteins in solution. Here, we present recent studies on how ionic and non-ionic cosolvents affect the interfacial affinity and structure of proteins at hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces [1,2]. We studied the adsorption of bovine ribonuclease A (RNase A) at the silica-water, the polystyrene-water, and the air-water interface as model systems that were analyzed applying optical reflectometry as well as neutron and X-ray scattering techniques. The degree of protein adsorption and the density profile of the adsorbed protein films were determined in the absence and the presence of cosolvents. It has been found that both the protein stabilizing glycerol and the destabilizing urea cause a distinct reduction in the interfacial affinity of RNase A, which may represent a rather unexpected result. At the hydrophobic polystyrene surface, it has been found that both the kosmotropic salts, (NH4)2SO4 and Na2SO4, and the chaotropic salts, NaSCN and Ca(SCN)2, significantly reduce the amount of adsorbed protein, while maximum adsorption is observed in the presence of NaCl.


Latin America represents a region of the world with a population of more than 350 million (including the Caribbean) distributed among 20 countries [ I ] . There is considerable variation in cancer incidence and mortality in the different Latin American countries, but, taken as a whole. more than 270,000 deaths from cancer occur every year. Cervical cancer is the most common and annually kills more than 40,000 women between the ages of 35 and 50 years. These numbers emphasize the importance of cancer as a massive health problem in most Latin American countries. Recognition of cancer as a group of diseases that require specific care is well established by the presence of cancer units, cancer hospitals, or comprehensive cancer centers in practically all Latin American countries. By the end of the 1970s, under the auspices of the office of International Affairs and the Division of Cancer Treatment of the National Cancer Institute of the United States initially, a program of collaborative cancer clinical research projects between Latin America and United States cancer institutes was fostered and developed with the coordination of the Pan Anierican Health Organization. A Collaborative Cancer Research Program was established in five Latin American countries and seven selected cancer institutions, and this was later extended to nine countries and 12 institutions. More than 3,000 patients were accrued to various protocols. Unfonunately, when the benefits of this implementation were just beginning to emerge, the program was discontinued after only 5 years of operation. In Latin America there are 17 centers that comply with the minimal requirements for a comprehensive cancer center; most are government dependent and usually belong to the National Health Service. In addition, we have been able to identify 59 hospitals, services, and departments of oncology. either in general or in university hospitals. At the beginning of the present century, there was a recognition of cancer as a disease that requires special-


We apply a technique of Sinkovic and van der Holst for constructing orthogonal vector representations of a graph whose complement has given treewidth to graphs whose complement has given degeneracy.


The author presents the argument that serious problems exist with regard to the competence of professionals involved in the assessment of exceptional children. The argument is presented through citation of opinions and perceptions related to problems in professional performance, review of research on professionals' test-scoring skill, and discussion of research and documentation related to the placement of children in special education. Recommendations for improving the competence and performance of professionals are also given. These include suggestions for research aimed at identifying specific areas of training need for particular groups of professionals, in-service efforts to address areas of documented training need, and consideration of a performance-based certification system to assure adequate levels of professional competence. Only through such comprehensive evaluation, training, and certification efforts can quality assessment services be provided and maintained.


This paper is concerned with the parameter adaptive least squares estimation of random processes. The main result is a general representation theorem for the conditional expectation of a random variable on a product probability space. Using this theorem along with the general likelihood ratio expression, the least squares estimate of the process is found in terms of the parameter conditioned estimates. The stochastic differential for the a posteriori probability and the stochastic differential equation for the a posteriori density are found by using simple stochastic calculus on the representations obtained. The results are specialized to the case when the parameter has a discrete distribution. The results can be used to construct an implementable recursive estimator for certain types of nonlinear filtering problems. This is illustrated by some simple examples.


In this work, the redox processes of copper ions were studied by electrochemical methods in NaCl and NaClO4 solutions in the absence or in the presence of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 (T-X-100). The enhancement of the anodic peak current of copper in the presence of T-X-100 in sodium chloride solutions was observed depending on the Concentrations of T-X-100 and copper (II) ions. This is the consequence of destabilization of the otherwise stabile CuCl complex in chloride solutions by the presence of T-X-100. The process involves disproportionation of formed copper (I) species to copper (0) and copper (II).


Sample preparation is a crucial step for the reliable and accurate analysis of both small molecule and biopolymers which often involves processes such as isolation, pre‐concentration, removal of interferences (purification), and pre‐processing (e.g., enzymatic digestion) of targets from a complex matrix. Gold nanoparticle (GNP)‐assisted sample preparation and pre‐concentration has been extensively applied in many analytical procedures in recent years due to the favorable and unique properties of GNPs such as size‐controlled synthesis, large surface‐to‐volume ratio, surface inertness, straightforward surface modification, easy separation requiring minimal manipulation of samples. This review article primarily focuses on applications of GNPs in sample preparation, in particular for bioaffinity capture and biocatalysis. In addition, their most common synthesis, surface modification and characterization methods are briefly summarized. Proper surface modification for GNPs designed in accordance to their target application directly influence their functionalities, e.g., extraction efficiencies, and catalytic efficiencies. Characterization of GNPs after synthesis and modification is worthwhile for monitoring and controlling the fabrication process to ensure proper quality and functionality. Parameters such as morphology, colloidal stability, and physical/chemical properties can be assessed by methods such as surface plasmon resonance, dynamic light scattering, ζ‐potential determinations, transmission electron microscopy, Taylor dispersion analysis, and resonant mass measurement, among others. The accurate determination of the surface coverage appears to be also mandatory for the quality control of functionality of the nanoparticles. Some promising applications of (functionalized) GNPs for bioanalysis and sample preparation are described herein.


Let $g_{\upsilon}(z)$ be the classical Bessel function of the first kind of order $\upsilon$ and $f$ be an analytic function defined on the unit disc $\Delta$. Suppose the operator $H(f)$ be defined by $H(f)(z)=\frac{z}{\frac{z}{f(z)}*\frac{g_{\upsilon}(z)}{z}}$. In this paper we identify subfamily $M_{n}(\alpha,\beta)$ of univalent functions and obtain conditions on the parameter $\upsilon$ such that $f\in M_{n}(\alpha,\beta)$ implies $H(f)\in M_{n}(\alpha,\beta)$.


Regional Discourses on Society and History: Shaping the Caribbean provides a platform for scholars to examine the ways in which the Caribbean has been shaped through analyses of historical and contemporary issues. This noteworthy publication has twelve chapters and is divided into three themes. Each theme features the work of contributors specializing in the diverse areas of History, African and Latin American Studies, Law, Literature, Heritage Studies and Politics. It presents fresh perspectives on elements of Caribbean history and society and provides insight into undeveloped areas of study. Regional Discourses on Society and History attempts to fuse subject matters described by the editors as "vintage in origin" (xi) such as race and nationalism, with more recent areas of scholarship. The first section examines the theme of "Migration and Identity" and two of the contributors, Peter Timothy and James Cantres, focus on the experiences of the Caribbean diaspora in the United Kingdom (UK). The other two scholars, Ronald Noel and Aakeil Murray, discuss connections with North America. Timothy in "Visionaries, Pioneers, Apostle and Healers" reveals the significant contributions of migrants from Trinidad and Tobago, to the development of society, science and culture in the United Kingdom from 1948 to 1986. Attempts to establish roots in the UK, manifested in the development of different elements of Caribbean culture which served the double purpose of fostering Black Power and identity and resisting racism. Timothy delves into ways in which prominent Caribbean individuals in the UK could have been considered to be visionaries and pioneers in the development of Black British society as a result of the way they used their creativity and sense of Black pride to create an accepted space for the Caribbean diaspora. Cantres in "Black Power and West Indian Cricket Exercises in PostNationalism" focuses on the development and success of the West Indies Cricket team and how the performances of extraordinary West Indian


The clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is quite variable. Some patients suffer a progressive course with survival measured in months, while others experience a more indolent disease that may never require treatment. Thus, it is important to identify those patients with agressive disease, who may potentially benefit from early intervention and, if possible, determine the most effective form of therapy. Clinical staging using classification systems developed by Rai et al. and Binet et al. forms the foundation for assessing prognosis in patients with CLL. But approximately half the early‐stage cases will progress and require treatment. New prognosis factors, as cytogenetic abnormalities, mutational status of IgVH gene and CD38 expression, appear to correlate with clinical course and treatment response. These parameters may be of significant prognostic benefit and key when determining the need for early therapeutic intervention.


A method of establishing aeroengine on-board adaptive model was proposed based on improved hybrid Kalman filter(IHKF).The output of nonlinear on-board engine model(NOBEM) was regarded as the steady-state basic model of piecewise linear Kalman filter(PWKF),while its performance deterioration factor was regarded as the augmented state vector of PWKF for on-line estimation,and fed back to NOBEM for on-line updating.In addition,the switching logic of work mode was established,which could make the IHKF work better.By applying this method to a turbofan engine,a series of simulation results show that the model can always match the actual engine in the whole flight envelope,under different engine states and severe performance deterioration,thus meeting the needs of practical applications.


Infant flow biphasic nasal continuous positive airway pressure (Bi‐NCPAP) and regular NCPAP (Re‐NCPAP) are equally useful with respect to the rate of successful weaning from mechanical ventilation. It remains unclear, however, whether Bi‐NCPAP or Re‐NCPAP is more effective for reducing apnea of prematurity (AOP).


Cell imbalance can cause negative effects such as early stopping of the battery charging and discharging process which can reduce its capacity. In the previous active balancing research, the energy used for the balancing process was taken from the cell or battery pack, resulting in drop of electric vehicle driving range. In this paper, a cell charger based battery balancing system is proposed with a reduction in the number of switches. The use of a cell charger aims to increase the usable energy of the battery pack, since the energy used for the balancing process is taken directly from the grid. The use of fewer switches aims to reduce the cost and space used on the battery management system (BMS) hardware. The charger used for the balancing process has a maximum current of 3 A and a maximum voltage of 3.65 V while the number of switches used is n+5 for n batteries. A 15S1P 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery pack consists of 15 cells used for testing purpose. The test results show that the time needed to equalize the 15 cell battery voltage reaches 6 hours from the difference between the highest and lowest battery cell voltages of 145.1 mV to 15.1 mV.


The use of the Mike11 one-dimensional (1D) hydraulic model, together with official hydrology, represents a standard approach of the National Water Management Authority (NWMA) in Poland for flood mapping procedures. A different approach, based on the hydrological Event-Based Approach for Small and Ungauged Basins (EBA4SUB) model and the Flood-2 Dimensional (FLO-2D) hydraulic model has here been investigated as an alternative procedure. For the analysis, two mountainous rivers in Poland were selected: Kamienica Nawojowska is characterized by a narrow valley, while Skawinka has a broad valley. It was found that the flood zones can enormously differ locally, with larger zones generated by the Mike11/NWMA model in some cases and by the EBA4SUB/FLO-2D model in other situations. The benefits of using the two-dimensional (2D) model are consistent in areas without drainage and where the connection to the main channel is insufficient. The use of 1D modeling is preferred for the possibility of mapping the entire river network in a short computational time.


Education for sustainability is becoming a critical component in achieving a sustainable life and protecting our planet and human habitats. However, a review of the sustainability literature reveals a great deal of confusion and misinterpretation regarding the concepts, themes, and goals of education for sustainability. Education for sustainability, including the themes that should be derived and taught, lacks an interdisciplinary conceptual framework. In addition, the literature of education for sustainability mostly lacks the aspects of urban and community planning and the significant contribution of the planning profession. This paper proposes a new conceptual framework, Sustainability Education Framework , which is composed of concepts that derived from different disciplines. At the heart of the conceptual framework rests the normative category and its concepts. The epistemological foundation of the conceptual framework of education for sustainability is based on the unresolved paradox between 'sustainability' and 'development'.


Clinically, the term shock is used to refer to an acute circulatory disturbance which might progress to fatal circulatory failure. It is often caused by derangement of the body fluids and itself causes other biochemical changes to become superimposed. Hypotension is an important clinical sign. The arterial blood pressure varies directly with the cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance, both of which are influenced by several factors. VI shock syndromes there is a low cardiac output usually caused by a fall in the central venous pressure (C.V.P.) or by depression of the myocardium.


With the wide application of fractional differential system theory in the field of physics,control,etc.,fractional degenerate differential equations have become an important topic in the field of the fractional differential equation.In this paper,the transformation problem and the explicit representation of solution were considered for fractional degradation delay differential equations with non-square matrix.By using the generalized inverse matrix theory,sufficient and necessary conditions that guarantee the general fractional degenerate differential equation with delay were normalized.By combining the fractional Laplace transform method,the explicit representation of solution was derived for fractional degenerate(delay)differential equations.The results generalized the corresponding results of the relevant literature.


ethos of embranquecimento (whitening) of the population and concomitant practice of mestiçagem (intermixture). She states that in Brazil the "one-drop rule" works in reverse (p. 113) in that any amount of "whiteness" leads to the absorption of the "black" into the "white" population, eventually "erasing" the former. This is supposedly detrimental because it prevents the "people of color" from having a separate existence and identity. One is led to wonder how the social inclusion of a group can possibly imply its marginalization. Moreover, is there not an assumption of ontological domination here, that is, of an essential negritude that is being denied, through the whitening process, to all but members of the "white elites"? If allowed to flourish, this condition would permanently sustain a "black" community, as in the castelike separatism of biracial systems. I scarcely think this to be a desirable outcome for ethnic minorities anywhere. I do not wish to deconstruct the idea of race entirely. Where operative as the key regulative principle of social relations, race fulfills important bureaucratic and psychosocial functions. Still, I want to relativize it crossnationally so as to neutralize its worst reifications. The imposition of a biracialist armamentarium in this book has ridden roughshod over historical and cultural particularity and the fact that race and ethnicity must be addressed in the context of the social system. Aspects related to the dominant-minority cultural relationship, which are crucial for differentiating between interethnic models, were basically neglected. The Brazil that emerges from this analysis therefore is simply another United States—only an inferior, less progressive version.


connections between genotype and behaviour. Do these advances in genetic information threaten our free will? This paper offers a philosopher's perspective on the question. Whether or not genetic discoveries do really threaten free will, many feel threatened, and it is not difficult to see why. If genetic advances enable us to predict with increasing accuracy and reliability what people will do, this seems to undermine the pretensions of individual autonomy and agency. In what sense do I choose for myself what I do, if you can say reliably in advance what that choice will be? At the same time, a philosopher may wonder how the new knowledge could by itself make a difference. Given the classic philosophical difficulties in seeing how free will is possible even under the best of conditions, it is unclear how new knowledge could make things any worse. Moreover, if free will is possible at all, it is unclear how the new knowledge differs in kind from the familiar threats to free will already posed by old knowledge. These two questions will focus the discussion to follow. My conclusion will be broadly deflationary: genetic information might enable us to anticipate that certain individuals are likely to suffer from exceptional conditions that threaten their autonomy, but it is the nature of these conditions or effects that count, not their source or how we come to know about them. Moreover, we have no particular reason to suppose that the conditions thus revealed will be different in kind from the already familiar ways in which a person's free will may be compromised. As for the majority of us who are not afflicted by these conditions, whatever free will we now enjoy will survive dramatic advances in genetic understanding.


The proceedings of PAWS-2000 included an article "Scalable Internet Servers: Issues and Challenges" [1] wherein we identified eleven different research areas in the Internet Server space that require significant work (available at http://kkant.ccwebhost.com/PAWS2000). The main motivation was to spur more interest and research into the Internet server. In this article we add to this list by mentioning a number of research issues on the two new topics encompassed by PAWS-2001, namely, wireless Internet access and peer to peer computing. On the latter topic, we also describe some of our recent work. We also revisit some of the content and load management issues mentioned in [1] and briefly describe some of the work that we have accomplished in these areas.


An atomistic model of a dislocation, in which the scattering properties of each atom were described by a screened pseudopotential, was used to calculate the dislocation resistivity of aluminium. A value of 2.7*10-25 Omega m3 was obtained, in good agreement with experiment.


Teaching of language forms and teaching of language meanings,which are relatively independent but complement each other,are two aspects in the practice of classroom English teaching.So in the practice of English teaching,teachers should pay attention to language meanings in the teaching of language forms and pay attention to language forms in the teaching of language meanings.


Abstract This cross-sectional study examined binge eating and binge drinking behaviors exploring their association with the strategies of Emotion Regulation, such as Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) and Expression Suppression (ES). The sample consisted of 1004 Italian students (395 males and 609 females) attending high school. The average age of the students was 17.9 years (SD =0.8; range: 16–21). They completed self-report measures assessing binge behaviors and Emotion Regulation strategies. No differences resulted between adolescents assuming binge behaviors and no bingers as regards CR; conversely, adolescents engaging in binge eating and in both binge behaviors reported the highest levels of ES. Furthermore, both Emotion Regulation strategies were significant predictors of binge eating. The present study suggested that binge behaviors were strongly associated with adolescent's ability to evaluate and manage their emotions, so that adolescents may benefit from more precise and specific prevention and treatment approaches focused on training to use more adaptive and effective strategies to regulate their emotions.


Cloud computing is an internet based computing which enables obtaining resources (hardware, software, platform and services) from the internet on a scalable basis. . Many users place their data in the cloud, so correctness of data integrity and security are prime concerns. Security issue is one of the major concern in cloud computing. To maintain our data in cloud, it may not be fully trustworthy because client doesn't have copy of all stored data and hence maintaining the integrity of the data is an important and integrated aspect of cloud computing. In this paper we propose a framework that would provide integrity of data of multiple users through Third Party Auditor (TPA) and proposes different set of algorithms based on the sensitivity of the data. In the proposed framework concept of multi cloud platform has been used to provide best cost optimization for various requirements of user. Finally we have implemented different algorithms for the various platforms in the proposed framework. In the obtained results, we can find that the proposed framework is easy to implement and provides better performance by using the traditional algorithms of network security over the various issues of cloud computing. Key-WordsAES, Bcrypt, Cloud computing, data integrity, RSA, security, data management in cloud, Data integrity, TPA. Terminologies• MAS Multi agent system. It is a technique where several agents communicate with each other. • PDP Prove able data possession. It checks that a file which consists of a collection of n blocks is retained by the outsourced storage site. • QOS Quality of service. It defines the degree to which a provided activity promotes customer satisfaction.


The Aries River, due to its geographic position and its significance in the Mures – Tisza Basin, has a major impact on environmental media, influencing their quality. In the Middle Catchment Basin the main industrial activity is mining, since the Roman times, when the first mines were opened. The mining operations in the region generated a severe pollution of all the environmental media. The paper identifies the risk areas in the middle Aries River in terms of surface water pollution based on analyses performed in the autumn of 2006 and spring of 2007. The content of heavy metals has been analyzed in sampling points upstream and downstream of the main mining operations in the middle segment of the river. The results illustrate the fact that the waters generated from the mining sediments and storage facilities affect the ecosystem on significant surfaces after the closure of the mining exploitations, if not subjected to an appropriate management and to the best available technologies.


Historically, man has built with what he had underfoot: if the earthen construction is a tradition of 11 000 years old, the technique of the rammed earth (earth rammed in a formwork) is relatively new since it appeared for the first time in Tunisia in 814 BC. Exported in France, rammed earth is established mainly in Rhône-Alpes Region which has an ideal soil, rich in gravel, sand, silt and clay. Traditionally associated with the rural world, rammed earth heritage is also present in urban centers. The city of Lyon is one of the rare European cities to concentrate a large proportion of rammed earth buildings: the inventories made show that they are present in almost all the districts as well as in the suburban areas. This high density could be explained by the phenomenon of rural exodus experienced by Lyon during the nineteenth century. The agricultural populations, attracted by the prosperity of the city, then settled at the doors of this city, bringing their know-how by building with the cheaper and easier material available: earth. Rammed earth buildings are therefore located on bounder areas between the countryside and the city. They are thus found on lands that were once outside the city walls. With the advent of the industrial era at the end of the 19th century and the appearance of concrete, rammed earth constructions gradually disappeared. The constructions that we see today are therefore prior to 1900. Varied, ranging from detached houses to the 6-storey buildings, they stand as a testimony to a know-how that finds a particular resonance today, while the environmental and economic concerns are at the forefront. Little known, they constitute a heritage in danger that should be rediscovered.


Purpose: To describe the main quality assurance (QA) procedures undertaken at the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) in preparation for patient treatment via the uniform scanning (US)proton beam delivery technique using two source to axis distances (SADs). Methods and Materials: HUPTI currently uses a uniformly scanned proton beam for patient treatments. Patient specific apertures and compensators (properly scaled to account for the dual SADs) are used to shape the field laterally and to conform to the target volume longitudinally. Machined part QA is performed by using in‐house software to convert the DICOM output from Eclipse into images which represent the aperture and compensator shapes after correcting for the dual SADs. These images are matched to the physical shapes of the apertures and compensators to ensure correct machining. The beam QA measurements include the absorbed dose (output factor) at the center of the Spread‐Out Bragg Peak (Mid‐SOBP) in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency's Report TRS‐398; a verification of the lateral planar dose profile at isocenter measured with a 2D ion chamber array (IBA‐MATRIXX); and the depth dose profile measured along isocenter with a multi‐layer ion chamber (MLIC‐IBA‐ZEBRA). Results: The QA measurements for approximately 30 patients who have been treated at HUPTI utilizing the US technique will be presented. Analysis of the lateral and depth dose profiles exhibits agreement with the Varian Eclipse Proton Treatment Planning System within acceptable limits (less than 2%). Dose measurements are within the 5% accuracy recommended by International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) and are well described by empirical modeling. Conclusions: The Quality Assurance Program at HUPTI has demonstrated that the prescription of protonradiationdose designed by the radiationoncology team is being delivered to each cancer patient under our care with the highest precision and accuracy possible.


Abstract.  We propose a general test of whether a time‐series model, with parameters estimated by minimizing the single‐step forecast error sum of squares, is robust with respect to multi‐step prediction, for some specified lead time. The test may be applied to a, possibly seasonal, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model using the parameters and residuals following maximum likelihood estimation. It is based on a score statistic, evaluated at these estimated parameters, which measures the sensitivity of the multi‐step forecast error variance with respect to the parameters. We derive the large sample properties of the test and show by a simulation study that it has acceptable small sample size properties for higher lead times when applied to the integrated moving average or IMA model that gives rise to the exponentially weighted moving average predictor. We investigate the power of the test when the IMA(1,1) model has been fitted to an ARMA(1,1) process. Further, we demonstrate the high power of the test when an AR is fitted to a process generated as the sum of a stochastic trend and cycle plus noise. We use frequency domain methods for the derivation and sampling properties of the test, and to give insight into its application. The test is illustrated on two real series, and an R function for its general application is available from http://msor.victoria.ac.nz/Main/JohnHaywood.


Abstract In planning for technology in libraries some benchmark standard related to FTE students is desirable. At Yavapai College data was needed to plan for the number of computers needed on the library floor to serve student research needs. A survey of twenty-three responding community colleges yields a ration of students to computers that is a useful benchmark for planning purposes.


Direct overtone spectra of H 12C 14N, H 13C 14N, and H 12C 15N have been measured between 15 000 and 18 500 cm−1 with a precision of 0.001 cm−1. These were obtained using intracavity photoacoustic spectroscopy, with a fully automated laser system. The spectra are unperturbed. The transition energies and rotational constants are in good agreement with predictions of first order anharmonic constants. Classical trajectories for HCN have been computed on the best experimentally parameterized potential, and found to be stochastic 12 990 cm−1 above the ground state. Quantal density of states were computed for HCN and show that if extensive vibrational coupling occurs, the observed states would be highly perturbed. The simplicity of the observed states is shown to be expected given a Franck–Condon type limitation on significantly perturbing states. The results show the inapplicability of classical dynamics for predicting the dynamics of molecular vibrations.


The article is devoted to a problem of improving the law enforcement bodies control of trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives. The ways of prevention work carried out by law enforcement bodies are analyzed in the article. Proposals for the use of innovative forms of propaganda and prevention are given by the authors.


Abstract In search of novel γ-lactam antibacterial agents as non-β-lactam mimics of some γ-lactam antibiotics, N-aryl modification in the γ-lactam ring has been made to synthesize compounds 4–8 in two to six steps. Compound 4 was synthesized using the intermolecular Michael addition of diethyl N-(6-coumarinyl)-2-aminomalonate and 3-aryl/(2-heteroaryl)acryloyl chloride followed by intramolecular amidification. Hydrolysis and stereoselective decarboxylation of 4 resulted in the formation of trans- γ-lactam carboxylic acids (5), which on side chain homologation followed by saponification of the intermediate γ-lactam monoester (7) afforded γ-lactam carboxylic derivatives 8. Moderate to good bacterial growth inhibition was observed for some of the synthesized compounds against E. coli and S. aureus. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


In this note we analyze a modified mixed finite element method for second‐order elliptic equations in divergence form. As a model we consider the Poisson problem with mixed boundary conditions in a polygonal domain of R2. The Neumann (essential) condition is imposed here in a weak sense, which yields the introduction of a Lagrange multiplier given by the trace of the solution on the corresponding boundary. This approach allows to handle nonhomogeneous Neumann boundary conditions, theoretically and computationally, in an alternative and usually easier way. Then we utilize the classical Babuška‐Brezzi theory to show that the resulting mixed variational formulation is well posed. In addition, we use Raviart‐Thomas spaces to define the associated finite element method and, applying some elliptic regularity results, we prove the stability, unique solvability, and convergence of this discrete scheme, under appropriate assumptions on the mesh sizes. Finally, we provide numerical results illustrating the performance of the algorithm for smooth and singular problems. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 19: 192–210, 2003


NCEP/NCAR NARR Reanalysis data, SPC storm reports, and an analysis of upper-level linear jet streaks by Johnson-O'Mara were used to examine the placement of storm reports associated with linear jet streaks over a ten-year period. The study also explores how average circulations within the jet streaks compare to the linear jet streak theory. It was found that tornado and hail reports tended to occur most frequently in the exit region away from the jet center, while wind reports were concentrated far from the major axis in the right entrance region. A low pressure center in the left exit region was the reason for the extensive surface convergence, and fronts associated with the low appeared to be a major reason for the storm report distributions and circulations observed. Convection and the tropopause height also appear to influence the jet streak circulations.


Emerging applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) require real-time quality of service (QoS) guarantees to be provided by the network. Traditional analysis work only focuses on the first-order statistics, such as the mean and the variance of the QoS performance. However, due to unique characteristics of WSNs, a cross-layer probabilistic analysis of QoS performance is essential. In this dissertation, a comprehensive cross-layer probabilistic analysis framework is developed to investigate the probabilistic evaluation and optimization of QoS performance provided by WSNs. In this framework, the distributions of QoS performance metrics are derived, which are natural tools to discover the probabilities to achieve given QoS requirements. Compared to first-order statistics, the distribution of these metrics reveals the relationship between the performance of QoS-based operations and the probability to achieve the performance. Using a Discrete-Time Markov queueing model in node-level analysis and fluid models in network-level analysis, the distributions of end-to-end delay, the network lifetime, and the event detection delay are then analyzed. Based on the evaluation of QoS metrics, a probabilistic optimization framework is developed to demonstrate the investigation of the optimal network and protocol parameters. Guidelines of designing networks and choosing optimal parameters for WSNs are provided using the optimization framework. Intensive testbed experiments and simulations are used to validate the accuracy of the proposed evaluation and optimization framework.


Sunspots are the most easily detected ramification of the rather complex phenomena of solar activity. For this reason they have a long continuous history of observation stretching from pretelescopic times up to the present period of intensive study. It is thus with some surprise that one realizes that this book is the only comprehensive monograph on the subject to be published in modern times. (We discount the numerous treatises in which the emphasis is placed on sunspots as a statistical index of solar activity to be correlated with various geomagnetic, economic, and biological phenomena.) Lest such a statement be construed to imply that any book, good or bad, would be welcome in order to fill the breach, it should be noted that this reviewer regards Sunspots as a good book in its own right. As often occurs in astronomy, much of the relevant detail of the morphology of sunspots appears at the limit of detectability, where the parameters of the observing technique may influence the conclusions drawn. The author's comprehensive discussion of the methods of high angular resolution photography of the solar surface and the causes of image deterioration is therefore especially welcome. Here their discourse is as practical as it is authoritative. Many of the techniques used to ameliorate seeing in solar telescopes have been pioneered by the authors, (The domeless telescope, the seeing monitor, and the shield to prevent the formation of a hot boundary layer of air at the front of the telescope will doubtless find increasing use in future years.) The effectiveness of their remedies can be judged by the numerous excellent photographs contained in the volume. Following this discussion of the observational techniques, the authors examine the phenomenon of sunspots from the standpoint of the morphology of such features as sunspot umbrae and penumbrae, photospheric faculae, photospheric granulation, and bright fight bridges. The existence of an unsuspected, complex fine structure including long-lived granulation within the umbrae of sunspots is demonstrated by the authors' own observations. In later


309. (a) A director shall perform the duties of a director, including duties as a member of any committee of the board upon which the director may serve, in good faith, in a manner such director believes to be in the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders and with such care, including reasonable inquiry, as an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. (b) In performing the duties of a director, a director shall be entitled to rely on information, opinions, reports or statements, including financial statements and other financial data, in each case prepared or presented by any of the following: (1) One or more officers or employees of the corporation whom the director believes to be reliable and competent in the matters presented. (2) Counsel, independent accountants or other persons as to matters which the director believes to be within such person's professional or expert competence. (3) A committee of the board upon which the director does not serve, as to matters within its designated authority, which committee the director believes to merit confidence, so long as, in any such case, the director acts in good faith, after reasonable inquiry when the need therefor is indicated by the circumstances and without knowledge that would cause such reliance to be unwarranted.


In keeping with the decisions of the September Plenary Meeting of the CPSU Central Committee, it is planned to introduce new wholesale prices for industrial output. For the products of the machine-building industry, they should be put into effect as of July 1, 1967, and for some products, notably power equipment, radio parts of general application, and semiconductors — as of July of this year.


Arterial smooth muscle contraction is the result of both electro‐mechanical and pharmaco‐mechanical coupling. During electro‐mechanical coupling, membrane depolarization activates dihydropyridine‐sensitive CaV1.2 channels, raising intracellular calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) and results in contraction of arterial smooth muscle. Pharmaco‐mechanical coupling activation of G‐protein coupled receptors (GPRCs) by angiotensin II (AngII) produces inositol 1,4,5‐triphosphate (IP3) and protein kinase C (PKC) activated diacylglycerol (DAG). This leads to an increase in [Ca2+]i via sarcoplasmic reticulum IP3 receptors and PKC dependent Ca2+ channels in the sarcolemma. It is known that male and females respond differently to antihypertensive drugs. However, it is unknown whether the nano‐scale organization of key molecular complexes between sexes play a role in smooth muscle physiology. Our data show that Ca2+ influx through CaV1.2 channels is larger in female than in male arterial myocytes. Furthermore, male smooth muscle responds greater to GPCR activation by AngII than female. We observed sex‐specific nano‐organization of CaV1.2 and AngII related signaling proteins angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AngIIR1), AKAP150 and PKC in arterial smooth muscle. We propose that there are sex‐based differences in smooth muscle physiology that are a result of different nano‐organization of signaling complexes.


Increasing observational evidence gathered especially in X-rays and γ-rays during the course of the last few years support the notion that Supernova remnants (SNRs) are Galactic particle accelerators up to energies close to the " knee " in the energy spectrum of Cosmic rays. This review summarises the current status of γ-ray observations of SNRs. Shell-type as well as plerionic type SNRs are addressed and prospect for observations of these two source classes with the upcoming GLAST satellite in the energy regime above 100 MeV are given.


—Aiming at the two-stage supply chain composed of manufacturers and retailers, it is assumed that all enterprises upstream and downstream strive to implement carbon emission reduction. Because of information asymmetry, manufacturers have a moral hazard in reducing carbon emissions. At the same time, the government decides whether to implement punishment or not by testing the carbon emission reduction standards of the product declared by manufacturers and retailers. This paper focuses on the impact of manufacturers' moral hazard probability and government punishment level on carbon emission reductions and profits of upstream and downstream enterprises. The study results show that when the government penalty intensity acts only on the retailer, the manufacturer must have an incentive for moral hazard behavior. The higher its moral hazard probability, the greater the retailer's expected profit loss. Therefore, a linear incentive contract design with fixed payments and adjustable incentive coefficients for retailers and an external loss-sharing contract design are investigated as a way to resolve the possible losses from moral hazards. The before and after comparison with the profit level and emission reductions also confirm the effectiveness of the contract design, which can ensure the manufacturer's expected profit. Achieve Pareto improvement of retailers' profits simultaneously. Linear incentive contracts have some limitations compared to external loss-sharing contracts. The analysis of examples further verifies the validity of the relevant conclusions.


Many studies of workplace inequality have examined why workplace gender segregation still exists and how gender segregation affects workplaces (Cohen, Huffman, and Knauer 2009 Work and Occupations 36(4):318; Huffman, Cohen, and Pearlman 2010 Administrative Science Quarterly 55(2):255). Yet, fewer studies have examined how space might affect gender segregation. In this paper, we investigate two types of space, normative space and industrial space, and their in fl uence on gender workplace segregation within geographic space. We use data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportu-nity Commission (EEOC) and mixed models to examine how normative and industrial spaces affect workplaces within geographic space. We fi nd that both measures of normative and industrial space predict differing levels of gender segregation within geographic spaces (measured via commuting zones). In addition, the effects normative space (women ' s share of the labor force) has on gender segregation are mediated by industrial restructuring.


AbstractNankai megathrust earthquakes are expected to occur with a return period of approximately 90–200 years along the fault of the Nankai Trough. Because they are interplate earthquakes, it is predicted that they will cause heavy liquefaction damage as a result of the long duration of their ground motion, especially around bay areas with soft deposits. In this study, a numerical analysis was performed for the ground in Osaka City with a hypothetical earthquake in the Nankai Trough region. In the numerical simulation of the dynamic behavior, a liquefaction analysis program was used. To quantify the degree of liquefaction at certain points, an index, named the liquefaction risk index (LRI), was defined and obtained by the weighted integration of the effective stress-decreasing ratio (ESDR) with respect to depth. Moreover, the LRI values were evaluated by data from the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake. It was found that the obtained LRI values were greater than 6.0 for the points at which heavy liquefaction...


e17502Background: Neuroendocrine cervical carcinoma (NECC) is a very aggressive and rare disease. To date, only 2 prospective studies with scarce patient numbers have been reported in the literatur...


Good quality of plastic packaging waste has the potential to be recycled, as it can be used as raw material for the next packaging products. Recycling is preeminent due to the grave necessity of decreasing plastic production rate, especially for packaging industries which are known to use more plastic compared to other sectors. Material value conservation is a new paradigm which can be implemented through a new category of design for recycling in order to avoid value degradation. Implementations of this paradigm has produced better quality processed plastic waste with higher selling price. Applied with this paradigm, recycled plastic pellets can be a viable alternative as raw material based on its mechanical properties, even after the 8th stage of recycling. This study aims to reveal the effect of repetitive recycling on the optical properties of polypropylene with implementation of material value conservation paradigm, to strengthen previous evidence of the implementation of the material value conservation paradigm on plastic packaging whether repetitive recycling plastic packaging can be a viable alternative as raw material based on its optical properties. Optical properties observed in this research were based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, which are consisted of colour (ASTM D2244), gloss (ASTM D2457) and transparency (ASTM D1746). The result of this study indicated that even after the 8th stage of recycling, plastic pellet of polypropylene still can be a viable alternative as raw material based on its optical properties, with more attention on transparency property.


EMP Simulators are important installations to implement HEMP effect and adaptability validation test for electronic equipments and systems. Horizontal dipole and headstand cone are two types of HEMP Simulator Antenna, which radiate horizontal and vertical polarization pulse electric field separatly. Radiation field distribution of arc horizontal dipoles with different bend radius and conic monopoles with different slope angle are simulated in this paper, and an optimized project of simulator antenna is investigated to improve test area peak field strength or uniformity.


This research is focused on improving the efficiency of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining by enabling automatic feedrate selection. Model accuracy and utility are improved by a calibration process that uses spindle motor power and a wide variety of test cut geometries. A low-cost noninvasive spindle motor power sensor is combined with geometric and mechanistic models of the cutting process. Different constraints are set for rough, semi-finish and finish passes. A Numerical Control (NC) part program is processed one tool move at a time by the feedrate selection planner. For each tool move, a geometric model calculates the cut geometry. The selection algorithm then chooses the fastest possible feedrate, subject to constraints on part quality, tool health and machine tool capabilities. Experimental results for a sculptured surface bottle mould show the value of the method as an aid to process planning.


We present a new multi-resolution (MR) approach to 3D electromagnetic (EM) modelling. Initially, the approach was developed for plain wave assumption. Current work is a further extension of the MR solver for controlled-source applications. Modelling with controlled-source requires the finer grid discretization in the near source location to accurately model the rapidly varying EM fields in the vicinity of the source. On the other hand, the EM field propagates in a diffusive manner and can be sufficiently well described on a grid that becomes gradually coarser with depth. We implement a MR finite-difference scheme that allows us to decrease the horizontal grid resolution with depth. MR approach, therefore, provides a means to significantly decrease the number of degrees of freedom and hence improve on computational efficiency without significantly compromising the accuracy of the solution. In MR implementation, the full grid is represented as a vertical stack of sub-grids, each of which is a standard staggered grid. Therefore, operators and functions already developed for a simpler standard structured grid can be applied for each sub-grid. The major difficulty lies in discretizing the operators around interfaces between varying cell sizes.


Some impurities cannot integrate into isolated kinks because they completely block the growth of the kinks to which they adsorb. For this class of impurity, we derive an equation for the amount that incorporates into a crystal during growth of the elementary step by assuming that such an impurity incorporates if and only if it gets captured between a kink and an antikink. We show that the impurity concentration in the crystal increases monotonically with the impurity concentration in the mother phase, but that it can vary non-monotonically with both the supersaturation of the mother phase and the kink density of the step. In contrast to other capture mechanisms, we find that weakly adsorbed impurities incorporate to an extent that is independent of the supersaturation when the supersaturation is high. Irrespective of the growth conditions, the amount of impurity that can incorporate into a crystal is limited by an upper bound determined by the kink density.


MAESTER, Thaís Carvalho. Screening for genomic sequences which codify lipolytic enzymes specialized in petroleum hydrocarbons degradation. 2011. 81 p. Masters thesis (Biotechnology) – Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2011. Lipolytic enzymes have show enormous biotechnological potential, such as in enzyme mixtures for the production of detergents, the processing of leather, the production of cosmetics and other pharmaceuticals, perfumes and biodiesel. Most lipolytic enzymes are derived from microbes, present low toxicity, are easily biodegraded and are notably selective of chemicals. The present work was done as an attempt to find genes which codify lipolytic enzymes in a fosmid metagenomic library composed of petroleum hydrocarbons degradation microbe consortia with 4224 clones. Clones were selected according to lipolytic activity and were assessed by cultivation in Luria-Bertani (LB) medium supplemented with1% tributyrin (v/v), 1% gum arabic (w/v), 0.00125% chloramphenicol (v/v) and 0.001% arabinose (w/v). All cultures were maintained at 37oC for 72 hours and then transferred at 4oC. Assessment was done by observation of halos formed around the colonies, with 30 clones producing halo formations and identified as positives. Of these, two were selected and had their DNA sub cloned in pUC19 vectors. DNA from the sub libraries was sequenced, generating a complete contig for clone PL28.F10 that was compared to sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) bank by the ORF Finder program. An ORF coding for esterase/lipase of 303 amino acids with 61% of identity with uncunturable microorganism was found. Alignments were done using the Clustal W program and cladograms were constructed using MEGA 4, to compare the ORF found, ORF15, and the deposited sequences. Assessment of the cladograms showed that the clone presented the ORF15 similar to that of esterase/lipase family IV, because it was located in a unique branch, differing from the other representatives of this family. The alignments made possible the identification of active sites which represent the family, confirming the results obtained with the construction of the cladograms, although it was observed some changes in amino acid residues. When the same evaluation was done using patented sequences, the ORF15 showed similarities to patented BASF esterase/lipase (Patent WO0100842 ) related to biosynthesis of FK228 and its analogues used in cancer treatment and an unnamed protein of CAMBIA (Patent 6562958, accession number AAQ29806.1) used for diagnosis and therapy, which has conserved domain esterases/lipases.


In the United States obesity has been considered an epidemic, with approximately 72.5 million adults classified as obese. Despite the increasing prevalence of obesity, stigmatization of obese individuals has not decreased. There is a widespread stereotype of and negative attitude toward overweight and obese individuals. Stigmatization of these individuals has led to discrimination, as well as feelings of shame and guilt. Although much has been written about obesity, the goals for prevention, and strategies for behavior change, there are few guidelines for practitioners who are working with overweight and obese individuals to minimize the effects stigma might have on overall mental health and consequent behavior change strategies. The purpose of this review is to help guide those working with overweight and obese individuals to understand more fully stigmatization and the role it may play in their approach to treatment.


1Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assuit University, Assuit, 71526, Egypt, 2-Animal Production Research Institute,Agriculture Research Center, Dokki, Giza,12311, Egypt, 3Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assuit, 71526, Egypt, 4Animal Production Dept., Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, New Valley Branch, El kharga, New Valley, 3201, Egypt *Correspondence: M.A. Abdel-Ghani (e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com)


Station keeping and target tracking are two valuable features for underwater inspection, but are key requirements in most underwater intervention tasks. In order to precisely manipulate objects, the relative position between vehicle and object should remain constant. Landing or attaching to the structure with an auxiliary manipulator is not always feasible. The resulting tasks of station keeping and target tracking can be divided into two parts: 1) sensing and 2) control.The sensing part deals with estimating the transformation matrix from the vehicle's body frame to either a reference point (station keeping) or an object (target tracking). The control part then uses this information to correct the vehicle position and orientation. While a number of sensor systems can be used to aquire data on relative vehicle motion, this work uses cameras as sensors. A. Introduction and Technology Background In the past years, there has been a trend in the oil and gas industry to extend their operation to deeper regions in the sea. Also an increasing effort in seabed-mining operations of mineral resources and the construction of huge offshore wind parks could be observed. With more and more artificial structures being build onto the sea-floor in ever increasing depth, the need not only for robotic inspection but also for maintenance during operation and removal / renaturation of those infrastructure at the end of their life cycle increases. A frequent approach in the past for close-up inspections of unmanned underwater vehicles, where the vehicle is exposed to external forces coming from currents or an attached umbilical, was to attach the vehicle physically to the object to be inspected. Since this method needs an extra device (e.g. second manipulator) for this method, it is mainly used in the offshore industry, where heavy work-class ROVs equipped with such manipulators are in operation. This approach is not feasible for a large group of vehicles not equipped with a second arm (smaller ROVs, hybrid AUVs or AUVs, etc.), or for situations, in which attaching to the structure could harm or even destroy it (for example because of sensible coatings, in the case of natural structures like reefs, maritime life, etc.). One approach to tackle the station keeping or (in the dynamic case) target following task is the use of computer vision techniques. Imaging sensors like cameras are widely used in robot perception, both for reactive behaviors [1] and localization [2]. Several algorithms for visual station keeping using monocular or stereo setups and also target tracking in the underwater domain have been proposed [3]–[6], some implemented on vehicles especially designed for the task [7]– [9]. Most of these approaches in the underwater domain face the problem of a lacking reference measurement to evaluate performance and robustness. This work adresses, apart from the developed algorithm itself, specifically the evaluation issue by introducing and applying performance metrices.


High Dynamic Range (HDR) Image sensors aim at having a dynamic over 120dB. Compared to classical architectures this is obtained at the cost of a higher transistor count, thus lower fill factor. Three Dimensional integrated circuits (3DIC) somehow change the constraints, photodiodes and electronics can be stacked on different layers, giving more processing powers without compromising the fill factor. In this paper, we propose an original architecture for a high dynamic 3D image sensor with data reduction obtained by local compression. HDR acquisition is based on a floating point coding shared by a group of pixel (macro-pixel), thus giving also a first level of compression. A second level of compression is performed by using a Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). With this new concept a good image quality (PSNR of about 40 dB) and a high dynamic range (120 dB) are obtained within a pixel area of 5μm×5μm.


For complicated and variable environment for mass customization, how to deal with the problems of monitoring dynamic and variable quality fluction,diagnosing the abnormal variation and adjusting the process at the right moment, is a difficult problem that mass customization faces in process quality control. An intelligent process quality control system model for mass customization, which integrates quality prevention, analysis, diagnosis and running intelligent quality control system. This model dealt mainly with constructing and running intelligent quality control system, integrated several enabling technologies such as process quality analysis based on similarity process, process quality diagnosis based on Elman and expert system of process quality adjustment. It is basis of realizing network, intelligent and automatic process quality control.


The concept of Flipped classroom is based on the concept of active learning, student engagement, hybrid course design and course podcasting. The classroom becomes a workshop where interaction among Educator and students takes place. Since effectively flipping a classroom brings many benefits, it will provide opportunities to B.Ed student teachers to learn at their own pace easily. In this study, B.Ed student teachers from two different teacher training institutes were randomly selected (22 from each having Economics as their optional teaching subject). In an institute, 11 students out of 22 were randomly assigned as the control and rest as the experimental group. So, 22 students were in the control and the experimental group combining both the institutes. The result in this strategy seems to be effective in teaching Economics by student teachers, without any monetary burden in creating active learning environment in the classroom.


Prey use and prey spectrum in the sympatric digger wasps Bembecinus hungaricus (Frivaldzky 1876) and B tridens (Fabricius 1781) was investigated by field studies in north eastern Austria. Both species hunted for adult leafhoppers, mainly of the family Cicadellidae. Both wasp species prey upon leafhoppers of the same body size. Comparison of prey taxa demonstrated little overlap in prey utilization. Significant differences in the choice of prey species resulted from different hunting habitats: B hungaricus shows a preference for arboricolous leafhopper species, while B tridens mainly provisioned with praticolous taxa. No significant sexual bias of prey was observed.


Most educational resource grids are required to support multi-attribute multi-keyword fuzzy-matching queries. But such queries are not efficiently supported in current structured P2P systems. Towards an efficient P2P system capable of processing multiattribute multi-keyword fuzzy-matching queries with high recall ratio and load balancing, we propose a new resource indexing model which is expanded from Chord and called MF-Chord. Besides one-dimensional fingerprint which includes main keywords information of each attribute of the resource, MF-Chord generates opposite-fingerprint for every resource, which is the partial reversal of the fingerprint and is used to balance the query load. Reforming the finger tables of nodes and the query-request-message format, MFChord dynamically generates the query-requestforwarding- tree for every query and realizes the efficient multi-attribute multi-keyword fuzzy-matching query function. Through theoretical Analysis, we prove that MF-Chord has high recall ratio in limited hops. The experiment results show that the recall ratio of MF-Chord is more than 80% even when the maximum hop count is set to 7 and there are 80000 nodes in the system.


The survival of a uniform series of 318 cases of Columbia Clinical Classification stage A breast carcinoma for 10 or more years postmastectomy was analyzed, with particular reference to influence of the nuclear grade of the cancer and sinus histiocytosis of the axillary lymph nodes. No statistically significant effect of these two factors on survival was found in this stage of the disease.


Roller harmonic reducer is new mechanical devices that both have the speed change function and Supportive role.This paper mainly introduces theTransmission principle of such devices.Beginning with the theory of mechanisms to find common features of such transmission form and classify them. Finally elaborate affect the fatigue life of transmission factors. Studies have shown that Such transmission has several advantages, has good value in engineering.


This paper describes significant cost saving opportunities for consumers in developing countries by the use of computational intelligence and demand-side-management techniques to mitigate the massive use of diesel back-up during grid outages. Application of load scheduling optimization is investigated during scheduled power outages for statistical distributions of loads and diesel pricing for residential consumer in India under conditions of both a flat-rate and Time-of-Day grid tariff structure. Two load shifting approaches are explored - a casual load shift out of blackout region and a combined TOD-Outage scheduler. The load types modeled include passive loads and schedulable. Maximum executable peak load at any time is constrained by an aggregate load limit. The maximum diesel savings for consumer due to load shifting can be approximately 40% for a flat-tariff grid to more than 70% for a TOD-tariff grid. Effect of rising diesel prices on the economic benefits of load-shifting is also examined.


Detection of abnormal behaviors is essential in complex and/or strategic systems requiring a high level of safety and security. Sensing environmental conditions to ensure that the device is not operating out-of-specifications is highly useful in detecting anomalies caused by failures or malevolent actions. In this regard, digital sensors (DSs) are particularly attractive as they are portable and can be easily calibrated. In contrast to analog sensors, DSs have an interesting property that considers the operating environmental conditions as a whole, i.e., they are sensitive to temperature, voltage, and process altogether, without precise knowledge about each. This property endows DSs with fewer false positives compared to analog sensors. This article studies a low-cost DS, discusses its presilicon architecture and post-silicon calibration such that it detects system failures accurately in the designer's preferable range of operating conditions. The impact of aging in this sensor is studied extensively. Tradeoffs between false positive and undetection rates are discussed. As an example, we target the substitution box (S-Box) of the PRESENT cipher assuming that it can be the target of fault injection attacks launched via abruptly changing the operating temperature and voltage. We show that such malfunction can be accurately detected by our DS, i.e., with a very negligible percentage of false and missed alarms (<1% totally). The results show that the number of false alarms raises with aging (while the rate is highly negligible), whereas the number of missed alarms remains at a reasonable low rate.


In the first census of China,the definition of "nationality"given by Stalin illume us to take a series of consideration about ethnic theory.Some people tended to change "nationality"into "ethnic group"to make it non-political,but this obviously did not agree with the ethnic policy of the Party and the government.China has formed a united country with multi-ethnic groups.Some scholars thought that in the history,the ethnic relation was culturalization while the new China followed the former Soviet Union's model and made it politicalization. This is worth to be discussed.The difference and character of the each ethnic group in China will exist for a long time and the ethnic relation will be "unite but with the character of each own" will also last for a long time.The regional autonomous model in China points out a way that while meeting the political right of each ethnic group,the unification of the country and the friendly co-exist are maintained.The equality and unity of the ethnic groups is the basic norm of the country.


This Bachelor's Final Project is titled Vertical Kampong in Ilir Timur Kampong Arab Area, Palembang with Eco-Building Approach and Clean Air Provider for Environment. This Bachelor's Final Project solves the problem of changing the type of kampong into a vertical form in densely populated slum area, household waste contamination, and reducing air pollution levels using technology. The design method uses the stages of problem's tracing and solving to find design concepts covering spatial, mass, shape, and landscape arrangement, facade, structure and infrastructure system, and building technology. Then the design is tested using the results of research about kampong Arab Ilir Timur for kampong identity, mathematical calculations for air pollution reductions, and GBCI assessment for the success of green buildings. The results of design are: (1) The division of the type of houses into the type of Batu house, Indis house, Kapiten Arab house, Kaca house, Kembar Darat house, Tinggi house, Limas house, and Kembar Laut house. (2) The disabled's ramp design as the main vertical transportation. (3) The use of trash chute and Biodigester for building waste processing. (4) Application of anti pollution technology i.e. Water Mist System, Electrostatic Precipitator Filters, and SMOG Free Tower. (5) Kampong Arab Ilir Timur's unique anti pollution building skin using Titanium Dioxide material. Design testing about the architecture of the building using the research about kampong Arab Ilir Timur managed with a match rate of 100%. Testing of eco-building design using GBCI standard reaches 46% with Silver rating. For testing clean air providers using mathematical calculations, with the level of air pollution cleared by 80% and belong to good category of air quality.


Processes such as ecosystem development, productivity, resilience, and stability are of great importance for interspecific relationships (Van Der Putten et al. 2004) and are increasingly relevant in ecosystem conservation studies (Harvey et al. 2017, Heinen et al. 2020). Arachnids, insects, and centipedes are constantly interacting with each other and with other arthropods (Polis et al. 1981), and field observations of these interactions are important to increasing our knowledge of local food webs. The scorpion genus Centruroides Marx, 1980 currently comprises 93 species and two subspecies (Ponce-Saavedra & Francke, 2019; Rein 2021), 47 of which are found in Mexico (González-Santillán et al. 2019, Ponce-Saavedra & Francke 2019, Quijano-Ravell et al. 2019). Centruroides infamatus C. L. Koch, 1944 is a species of medical importance with a known distribution in the central and Pacific regions of Mexico in the states of Aguascalientes, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Queretaro, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas (Riaño-Umbarila et al. 2017). Herein, we report nocturnal observations made during the months of September and October 2019 concerning interactions between C. infamatus and the ant Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870, the tenebrionid beetle Stenomorpha sp., and the centipede Scolopendra viridis Say, 1821. The interactions were observed in the municipality of Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico (Fig. 1, 2A) and constitute the first known contributions on prey and predator interactions of C. infamatus. The climate in Calvillo is classified as BS1hw(w) (Garcia 2004)—i.e., semi-dry and semi-warm with rains primarily during the summer. Total annual precipitation is 500–700 mm, and annual mean temperature ranges from 18–21°C (INEGI 2008). The area is mostly tropical deciduous forest (INEGI 2017). Collected specimens were deposited in the Zoological Collection of the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes (CZUAA). Observations of the interactions are reported below:


We discuss the signal estimation that can be finished on a signal buried in generalized Gaussian noise based on the quantized version provided by a summing array of threshold devices. In the estimation, the Fisher information contained in the array output about the input signal is investigated. We show that the Fisher information can be improved as the noise intensity increases in the summing array and that a noise with a thinner tail in its distribution can lead to a better improvement, i.e., the fatter tail in the noise distribution may neutralize the beneficial role of noise. These results prove that the phenomenon of stochastic resonance (SR) or supra-threshold stochastic resonance (SSR) exists based on Fisher information in the summing array of threshold devices for generalized Gaussian noise, and that the noise distribution has an effect on the efficacy of SR or SSR. These above results also extend the applicability of the nonlinear phenomenon of SR or SSR in signal estimation.


We consider the problem of finding the global minimum of the least squares Stress function with L1 distances in multidimensional scaling. The problem can be formulated as a quadratic programming problem with complementarity constraints and solved as a two level optimization problem with combinatorial minimization at the upper level and convex quadratic programming at the lower level. In this paper, we propose a parallel branch and bound algorithm for this two level optimization problem.


With the transformation from traditional business model to e-commerce model, e-commerce has become a necessary condition for the survival and development of enterprises and public institutions. In order to implement the party and government's strategy of accelerating e-commerce construction, some regions have begun the construction of regional unified ecommerce information platform one by one. Local governments provides funds for the construction ,and commissions China International Electronic Commerce Center to build it on the third party electronic commerce platform of the center, realizing resource sharing and embodying local characteristics. All regional unified e-commerce information platforms of the country form one-stop international e-commerce information platform. This kind of regional unified information platform is a comprehensive website integrating various industrial websites and information management systems of enterprises and public institutions in the region. The application of this kind of platform can reduce the time needed in business process, and improve business environment, and adjust industrial structure, and improve economic benefits. To build such a comprehensive website into an efficient information platform, people concerned should carry out a deep research and discussion on the solution of platform construction. This paper just gives a deep research on platform construction from multiple aspects such as requirement analysis, function orientation, platform framework, construction solution and principle. Hence, it is significant to the construction of international unified e-commerce information


The primary goal of NEESgrid data/metadata effort is to work collaboratively with NEESgrid team and the NEES community and to help define data requirements and needs for the George Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation instigated by the National Science Foundation. The NEESgrid promotes NEES as a distributed virtual laboratory for earthquake engineering research and simulation. The "collaboratory" will allow researchers gain remote, shared access to experimental equipment and data. This report serves to outline current tasks and approaches to define data models for supporting the activities involved in earthquake engineering simulations.


Linz-Donawitz slag (LDS) is a major solid waste generated in huge quantities during steel making. Although a number of ways for its utilization have been suggested in the past, its potential as a possible erosion resistant coating material has not yet been explored. This work is an attempt to develop functional coatings of this LDS on metal substrates by plasma spraying. The coating deposition is carried out using an 80 kW atmospheric plasma spray system working in non-transferred arc mode at different torch input powers (10–24 kW). Coatings are characterized in terms of their thickness and adhesion strength. Coating deposition efficiency is calculated to assess the coatability and XRD is done to ascertain the phases present in the coating. It is found that the operating power levels of the plasma torch affect the adhesion strength, deposition efficiency and mean thickness of the coatings. Solid particle erosion trials, as per ASTM G76 test standards, are conducted on the coating samples following a well planned experimental schedule based on Taguchi design of experiments. This work reveals that LDS is eminently coatable with deposition efficiency as high as 33% and can be gainfully used as a cost-effective wear resistant coating material.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


of body mass that, when evaluated in isolation, is an inaccurate method because it does not distinguish 3 important components of body mass (adiposity, muscle, and bone), as well as the adiposity tissue distribution (3). Despite the fact that, from an epidemiologic point of view, a high BMI reflects high visceral adiposity, the deduction that BMI really represents high adiposity, and moreover, that it is visceral, is equivocal and may lead to several misinterpretations at bedside. Given that fact, 2 questions arise. The first is that we know that patients with RA are mostly sedentary, especially due to the functional limitations inherent in the disease itself. Thus, although some studies indicate that there is no direct association between obesity (defined by high BMI) and sarcopenia in patients with RA (4), low muscle mass is not unusual in our patients. Considering that, what is the biggest problem for them: adiposity or sarcopenia? The second question arises when considering that the findings by Baker et al (1) corroborate other publications by suggesting that underweight also interferes with the therapeutic response of patients with RA. Does this phenomenon represent low adiposity and/or sarcopenia? If so, is rheumatoid sarcopenia a consequence of a more aggressive disease, and therefore, more difficult to treat, or can muscle mass, like adipose tissue, interfere with the therapeutic response? (5,6) The purpose of this letter is not to challenge Baker et al (1), whose article faithfully reflects what we have seen in clinical practice, but only to shed light on the importance for us to improve our ability to phenotype obesity. Metabolically healthy obese, sarcopenic obese, and normal weight obese are phenotypes (7) that rheumatologists need to know to better study and care for their patients. Although BMI still serves as a compass for recognizing rheumatoid arthritis patients with greater potential for refractoriness to treatment, it cannot reveal whether the mechanism for this refractoriness to treatment is excess/lack of fat and/or underdiagnosed sarcopenia. Thus, even while excited about the diversity of new pharmacologic therapies for RA, we should not forget to recommend not just aerobic, but also muscle and bone-strengthening, activities as an essential therapeutic tool for RA management. Author disclosures are available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1002%2Facr.25042&file=acr25042sup-0001-Disclosureform.pdf.


After the end of a dose, pores in a substrate are ideally saturated with a constant partial pressure of a reactant. During purging, this reactant needs to diffuse out of the pore. The characteristic time determines the interval between ALD doses. In most of cases, dimensions of the pores and process pressure are such that diffusion takes place in the Knudsen regime. This allows us to estimate the characteristic diffusion times based on the Knudsen diffusion coefficient and the characteristic dimensions of the pore. In this case:


The accumulation of Mismanaged Plastic Waste (MPW) in the environment is a global concern. The amount of waste generated by countries is estimated using globally available data layers and/or empirical surveys. Unlike globally available metadata, MPW estimates based on empirical surveys allow for better visualization of amounts, potential pathways, and hotspots. A model study conducted in 2015, based on global metadata, ranked Sri Lanka in fifth position among the world's worst mismanaged plastic offenders. However, there is significant uncertainty in the source data on waste generation and the parameters used for model prediction, such as plastic usage (5.1 kg per person per day), since Sri Lanka is predominantly a service-based country with limited plastic-based manufacturing industries. The source data for plastic usage has been derived from a very limited study, biased toward waste hotspots that have not been verified. Our empirical data has shown that population density, one of the key parameters used for global ranking, is a weak predictor of debris densities. Therefore, we argue that the given plastic leakage data and the ranking is an error. Therefore, Sri Lanka's position in the global ranking deserves reconsideration. Further, we propose the need for model predictions that rely on global metadata to be backed by robust and unbiased designed surveys that are based on empirical data and undergo intense baseline data verification to generate more precise predictions on litter quantities.


Empirical studies show that trade relations between China and Japan play as the corner stone to those in Asia and the Pacific. China- Japan trade relation is characteristic of deepening vertical division,tight mutual connections,and high level inter- industry in intermediate products as well as complimentary trade based on comparative advantage. MTR Gravity model analysis finds that geographic distance,high growth rate of China's economy and Japan's FDI outflow contribute positively to the trade growth between China and Japan,whereas Japan's weak economic growth,convergence in productivity and trends in Japan's trade and FDI to areas outside China work negatively. South Korea competes with Japan in China's market,which checks Japan's bargaining power with China. ASEAN is both an important exporter and potential rivalry of China. Trade negotiations between China and Japan turns out to be most tricky but will prove most valuable to China. FTAs with ASEAN and South Korea improve China 's bargaining power in the talks with Japan. Bilateral talks between China and Japan should be given priority. In case of multiple lateral talks such as " 10 + 3 ",China can leverage on the existing FTAs for a favorable situation.


We propose a modeling and optimization framework to cast a broad range of fundamental multiproduct pricing problems as tractable convex optimization problems. We consider the basic setting of a retailer offering an assortment of differentiated substitutable products to a population of customers that are price-sensitive. The retailer selects prices to maximize profits, subject to constraints on sales arising from inventory and capacity availability, market share goals, bounds on allowable prices and other considerations. The goal is to use pricing to shape demand in order to better match constraints and maximize profits over a single period. This work shows, both theoretically and empirically, the tractability of large-scale constrained price optimization under the commonly used family of attraction demand models. The class of models includes the ubiquitous multinomial logit demand model. The treatment of arbitrary linear constraints on sales represents an important generalization of existing methods which usually focus only on limited classes of constraints such as individual product inventories, or at most joint capacity constraints. Our framework lends itself to adaptation in common heuristic approaches for multi-period stochastic pricing problems based on re-solving the certainty-equivalent problem, while significantly increasing modeling power at reasonable computational cost. ∗Operations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology †Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


It has been criticized that there are discrepancy between 'general statements' of the curriculum and subject-matter curricula. The possible reasons for this are as follows: The developers of the general statements were educational curriculum specialists. These specialists were not good enough to develop general statements and guidelines of subject matter curricula reflecting the characteristics of science contents, to examine developed science curriculum, and to give feedback to science curriculum developers. Under the present curriculum developing system where curriculum is developed in ten months or less by the research team commissioned unpredictably and imminently, it might be difficult to develop valid and precise science curriculum reflecting the purport of the general statements and teachers' needs. The inadequacy of these curriculum development processes resulted in (1) inconsistent statement about the school year to be applied to differentiated curriculum, (2) abstract and ambiguous stating about the characteristics, teaching-learning and assessment guidelines of enrichment activities, and (3) failure to reduce science contents to a reasonable level. Therefore curriculum development centers should be designated in advance to do basic research at ordinary times, and organized into a cooperative system among them. Two years or more of developing time and wider participation of scientists are recommended to develop more valid and precise science curriculum. In addition, commentaries on science curriculum should be published before textbook writing begins.


This study aims to answer eight problems related to leadership effectiveness. It is realized that the quality of education in general and the achievement of students in particular is not a stand-alone thing, but it is the result of a learning process that is determined by various factors such as principals, teachers, students, curriculum, source books, libraries, laboratories, and facilities. other supports. The population of this study was the principal of a high school in Medan, amounting to 231 people. Sampling was carried out using a stratified proportional random sampling technique using the Cochran formula to produce a sample of 114 people. The research instrument used a questionnaire with a Likert. Research data is processed and analyzed by path analysis. The results of this study indicate that there is a direct effect of job design on managerial competence 0.5881; job design on achievement motivation 0.3105; job design on leadership effectiveness 0.2481; interpersonal communication on managerial competence 0.1428; interpersonal communication on achievement motivation 0.2573; interpersonal communication on leadership effectiveness 0.1779; teacher managerial competence on leadership effectiveness 0.1644; and achievement motivation on leadership effectiveness 0.1893. It can be stated that increasing the effectiveness of the principal's leadership can be done through job design, interpersonal communication, managerial competence, and achievement motivation.


Over the years, spherical near-field (SNF) antenna measurements have become increasingly popular for characterizing a wide variety of antenna types. The SNF configuration allows one to measure data over a sphere surrounding the antenna, which provides it a unique advantage over planar and cylindrical near-field systems where measurement truncation is inherent. Like all antenna measurement configurations, SNF systems are susceptible to a number of measurement errors that, if not properly understood, can corrupt the antenna's far-field parameters of interest (directivity, beamwidth, beam pointing, etc.). The NIST 18-term error assessment originally developed for planar near-field measurements [1] has been adapted for SNF systems [2] and provides an accurate measure of the uncertainty in a particular SNF measurement. Once particular measurement errors are known, steps can be taken to reduce their impact on far-field radiation patterns. When manually assessing all 18 terms of the NIST uncertainty budget this procedure becomes tedious and time consuming. This paper will describe an acquisition algorithm that allows one to analyze all 18 error terms or a subset of those in automated fashion with minimal user intervention. Building upon previous research toward developing an automated SNF error assessment algorithm [3, 4], this new procedure will automatically generate tabulated and plotted uncertainty data for directivity, beamwidth and beam pointing of a particular far-field radiation pattern. Once measurement uncertainties are known, various post-processing techniques can be applied to improve far-field radiation patterns. Results will be shown for three antennas measured on large phi-over-theta SNF scanners.


Provided is a robot used to ride on power transmission lines or climb between power transmission steel towers, comprising a pair of mechanical arms. The upper ends of the mechanical arms are equipped with a clamping device which is capable of rotating around a mounting shaft, and the clamping device is provided with a gripping jaw which is capable of clamping a strain tower angle-bar and directing lines, and a roller which can be hung on the directing lines. Lower ends of the mechanical arms are installed on a slipway which can relatively slide along a guide rail, arms are capable of rotating around the mounting shaft and can do swaying movement, a control and driving unit is installed in an electric box which is arranged at the bottom portion of a hanger and the slipway, and the control and driving unit can slide along the guide rail, playing a key role in regulating the center-of-gravity position of the robot. The invention is compact in structure, the articulated linkwork is capable of accomplishing complex operation among different vertical planes, and the invention can climb over all structural forms of steel towers and has wide using range, being capable of realizing the automatic inspection on the full power transmission lines and replacing human workers.


The size frequency distribution for age structure, length-weight (LWR) and length-length (LLR) relationships of six populations of Platycephalus indicus along the Persian Gulf coastal waters in Iran are reported.  A total of 180 P. indicus specimens were studied from six localities including Charak, Bandar-Abbas, Shif, Motaf, Khur-Musa and Bahrekan.  The maximum standard length recorded for the studied populations ranged between 300 to 510 mm and the b values of the length-weight relationships ranged between 3.0 and 3.2.  The obtained results indicated isometric growth patterns for all these populations with the exception of the Bahrekan population which showed a positive allometric growth pattern.  The LLR between the total and standard lengths in these populations were found to be highly significant.  The results would be useful for further studies on population assessment and sustainable conservation of the fish along the Persian Gulf coastal waters.


The paper is concerned with the study, by means of a linearized operator, of the instability of stationary solutions of a nonlinear Schrodinger equation with nonvanishing "boundary conditions." We prove that this operator possesses a real positive eigenvalue, and that when they exist, the stationary "bubbles" are always orbitally unstable.


The effects of pH and added salts on the partition coefficients of proteins in a polyethylene glycol)-dextran aqueous two-phase system were investigated. The partition coefficients attained the lowest value at the isoelectric point of proteins in an equal volume aqueous two-phase system containing 5% PEG and 9.5% dextran in 5 mM phosphate buffer solution. The coefficients increased dramatically at pH 11; BSA which had highest effective hydrophobicity marked 50-fold increase, while and ovalbumin which had low hydrophobicity 10-fold increase, respectively. The effect of added salts varied with the pH. The partition coefficient increased by the addition of salt at pH 3.0 but decreased drastically at pH 7.0. The partition coefficient increased in the order of added Li


It is urgent to determine suitable municipal sludge treatment solutions to simultaneously minimize the environmental negative impacts and achieve sustainable energy benefits. In this study, different sludge pretreatment techniques were applied and investigated to enhance the sludge solubility and, subsequently, facilitate the anaerobic biodegradation performance of the mixed sludge under different sludge concentrations and pretreatment techniques. The sludge characteristics before and after pretreatment and batch experiments of anaerobic digestion of sludge samples under different conditions were analyzed and discussed. The results showed that the mechanical pretreatment method, alone and in combination with low-temperature heat treatment, significantly improved the sludge solubility, with the highest solubility at 39.23%. The maximum biomethane yield achieved was 0.43 m3/kg after 10 d of anaerobic digestion of a 3% sludge sample subjected to mechanical and thermal pretreatment prior to anaerobic biodegradation. In comparison, it took more than 28 d to achieve the same biomethane production with the unpretreated sludge sample. Mechanical pretreatment and subsequent heat treatment showed a high ability to dissolve sludge and, subsequently, accelerate anaerobic digestion, thereby providing promising prospects for increasing the treatment capacity of existing and new sludge treatment plants.