IN the following a description will be given of a peculiar morbid condition, of which I have observed altogether five cases since my attention was first attracted to it in February, 1937. The lesions appear in the form of hard infiltrations in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of the face, particularly in little children, and are produced by exposure to severe cold. As far as I know, it is not mentioned in the ordinary text-books of dermatology, but already in 1902 Hochsinger described an affection probably identical. Hochsinger describes the lesion he observed as an acute freezing reaction, occurring in very young children, and presenting a firm thickeniug of the subcutaneous tissue below tbe chin. These observations of Hochsinger appear not to have attracted the attention they deserve.


Albany, New York ? Valeo Pharma has announced a partnership with Del-Ray Dermatologicals, a subsidiary of Crown Laboratories, for the exclusive sale and distribution of Hydrosal Professional in the U.S, according to a company press release.


Nanoantenna-based surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) is a powerful platform for the detection of biological and chemical species due to its ability to strongly enhance infrared absorption...


This chapter contains sections titled: SDM/V-BLAST OFDM Architecture Linear Detection Methods Nonlinear SDM Detection Methods Performance Enhancement Using Space-Frequency Interleaving Performance Comparison and Discussion Conclusions


We present a new top-down quadrisection-based global placer for standard-cell layout. The key contribution is a new general gain update scheme for partitioning that can exactly capture detailed placement objectives on a per-net basis. We use this gain update scheme, along with an e cient multilevel partitioner, as the basis for a new quadrisection-based placer called QUAD. Even though QUAD is a global placer, it can achieve signi cant improvements in wirelength and congestion distribution over GORDIAN-L/DOMINO [SDJ91] [DJS94] (a leading quadratic placer with linear wirelength objective and detailed placement improvement). QUAD can be easily extended to capture various practical considerations; our timing-driven placement can obtain wirelength savings (as well as small cycle time improvements) versus the SPEED [RE95].


Increased thyrotrophin‐stimulating hormone β (TSHβ) expression in the pars tuberalis is assumed to be an early step in the neuroendocrine mechanism transducing photoperiodic information. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between long‐photoperiod (LP) and diurnal TSHβ gene expression in the juvenile chicken by comparing LP‐photostimulated birds with groups kept on a short photoperiod (SP) for 1 or 12 days. TSHβ expression increased by 3‐ and 23‐fold after 1 and 12 days of LP‐photostimulation both during the day and at night. Under both SP and LP conditions, TSHβ expression was between 3‐ and 14‐fold higher at night than in the day, suggesting that TSHβ expression cycles in a diurnal pattern irrespective of photoperiod. The ratio of DIO2/3 was decreased on LPs, consequent to changes in DIO3 expression, although there was no evidence of any diurnal effect on DIO2 or DIO3 expression. Plasma prolactin concentrations revealed both an effect of LPs and time‐of‐day. Thus, TSHβ expression changes in a dynamic fashion both diurnally and in response to photoperiod.


To investigate the influence of moisture content, density, and loading frequency on the dynamic strength and liquefaction characteristics of sandy soil, a series of vibration triaxial tests were designed and conducted. The tests were divided into incremental loading tests and cyclic loading failure tests. The results of the incremental loading tests indicated that the shear modulus decreases with increasing moisture content and density, while it increases with increasing loading frequency. The damping ratio of unsaturated samples showed no significant correlation with moisture content, whereas samples with a density above 50% exhibited an increasing trend in damping ratio with increasing density. The damping characteristics of the sandy soil were found to be related to the loading frequency, exhibiting the characteristics of viscous damping. The results of the cyclic loading tests revealed that the dynamic failure mode of the sand soil is the ultimate equilibrium failure mode. Increasing moisture content and decreasing density make the samples more susceptible to failure. During the process of cyclic loading leading to dynamic failure, the shear modulus of unsaturated samples remains constant, while the shear modulus of saturated samples gradually decreases. The damping ratio of saturated soil is significantly higher than that of unsaturated soil. During the process of cyclic loading leading to dynamic failure, the damping ratio of saturated soil shows no apparent correlation with loading frequency, but it decreases with increasing density.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are fascinating in their versatility. Animal cells express hundreds of distinct microRNAs, and each microRNA can regulate hundreds of distinct mRNA targets. Therefore, in aggregate, the microRNA compliment of a cell can exert pervasive effects on gene expression. Individual microRNAs can also be potent determinants of phenotype:The first microRNAs identified by genetics in nematodes [1,2] and Drosophila [3] function asmaster regulators controlling genetic switches between cell fates, largely by repressing translation of the mRNA of a single target—for example, lin-41 in the case of the let-7microRNA [4], or Hid in the case of bantam [3]. Many additional cases of microRNAs functioning as developmental switches have been identified genetically, but also many puzzling cases have emerged where genetic ablation of a microRNA—or even entire families of microRNAs—resulted in no visible phenotype [5,6]. In some such cases themicroRNA turns out to be required under certain stressful conditions to ensure robust development [7–9]. These findings led to the appreciation of the importance of microRNAs for buffering genetic regulatory pathways against the perturbations associated with everyday stresses, such as temperature fluctuations [7,8], or pathogen challenge [9]. The fact that microRNAs are predicted to target thousands of genes—even a 'developmental switch' microRNA such as let-7 has hundreds of complementary mRNA targets in addition to lin-41—has suggested that amajor role formicroRNAs could be in conferring developmental or physiological robustness, essentially by dampening transcriptional noise or other fluctuations in gene regulatory networks (GRNs) [10]. Mechanistically, this buffering function has been considered to reflect a default mode of microRNA activity, where microRNA binding to target mRNA causes a slight destabilization of the mRNA, without necessarily inhibition of protein synthesis [11]. However, it has also been shown that in vivo, microRNAs can engage in a dynamic process of repression, with translational inhibition preceding target mRNA destabilization [12]. So, the versatile microRNA can in some cases directly affect specific phenotypes, often by translational repression of a limited set of mRNA targets, or alternatively (or even simultaneously), that samemicroRNAcanpitch inwith hundreds of other microRNAs to collectively dampen gene expression across the transcriptome. Given the assumption that themajority ofmicroRNA::target interactions could be weak, and individually exert only slight reduction of gene activity, can this pervasive pan-transcriptome activity of microRNAs contribute to the stability of the gene regulatory networks that underlie cellular physiology and behavior?Chung-IWuand co-workers (Chen et al.) explore this question usingmathematicalmodelling ofGRNstability against perturbations, employing network parameters that are anchored by actual transcriptomic data, together with data-guided assumptions for the genomic scope and potency of microRNA repression. By modelling GRN stability with or without varying degrees of microRNA activity, Chen et al. show that even weak microRNA::target interactions, when applied across a substantial fraction of the transcriptome, are sufficient to exert stabilizing effects on the network [13]. The results of theChen et al. study reinforce our appreciation of the versatility of microRNAs—with their capacity to function, on the one hand, as master regulators of phenotypicallypotent developmental switches, and on the other hand, as minor contributors to a powerful pan-transcriptomic stabilizing collective. Future directions for this sort of modelling of GRN stability could include employing ribosome profiling datasets to incorporate into the model the impact of microRNAs on the proteome, represented by mRNA translational activity. Since microRNAs can exert translational repression that is oftenmore potent than their effects on mRNA levels [3,14], the network stabilizing effects of microRNAs could likewise be more potent when assessed in terms of protein synthesis. It would also be interesting to use the Chen et al approach to explore the contribution of microRNAs to GRN stability in the face of specific biological stresses such as heat shock response, inflammation, or cell cycle arrest/progression, with the perturbation models based on datasets of gene expression dynamics during those processes.


A method for designing conventional filters for decision feedback systems is described. Practical considerations, such as error propagation effect, timing inaccuracy and complexity, are incorporated in the design rules. In particular, non-band-limited noisy transmission channels and channels impaired by bandwidth limitation are investigated. In addition, noise and bandwidth limitations are taken into account simultaneously. The design approach is based upon polynomial descriptions which reveal simple relationships between the forward and feedback path, a stability measure which is representative of the error propagation, and an evaluation in terms of Laguerre polynomials. Results of simulations in hardware are given by way of a practical example and a binary regenerative transmission system for coaxial cables is studied.


Climate change has severely affected rainfall regularity, limiting grass growth and thus fodder availability. Finding unconventional resources has become a challenge for small and medium breeders to feed their livestock. The objective of this study is to determine whether the use of marine plant debris, Posidonia oceanica, as total or partial replacement of oat hay in alpine goat diets will affect or not milk yield and quality. The sea grass was characterized according to the sampling site. Chemical and phytochemical analysis revealed significantly higher levels of dry matter, minerals, total polyphenols and carotenoids in P. oceanica on banquettes than in floating Posidonia. The condensed tannin content was almost the same for both sites. Partial or total replacement of oat hay by P. oceanica in alpine goat rations significantly increased milk production and milk fat content, while somatic cell count decreased significantly. In addition, P. oceanica significantly enhanced milk biochemical composition by increasing flavonoid and total phenol contents. However, protein, lactose and freezing point parameters were not affected. Sensory analysis revealed substantial improvement in the organoleptic quality of P. oceanica fed goats' milk compared to the other group, which was highly appreciated by most of the panelists. The seagrass P. ocanica could therefore be a safe solution to improve fodder availability for small and medium breeders, reduce production costs and increase milk market value. © 2021 Friends Science Publishers


The subject of this research paper is to analyze the possible models of using public-private partnerships in the management of sea ports in the Republic of Croatia. Public-private partnership, as a modern form of cooperation between the public and private sector, enables port systems to increase their efficiency and to base their port services on a commercial arm's length basis despite the limitations of public funding. The introduction of the private sector in port operations directly affects their management models. The aim of the paper is to point out, through the presentation of different management models of ports and possible forms of publicprivate partnerships, the differences in the approach of solving the problem of modernization of Croatian ports and achieving their sustainable developments goals. The research results indicate that the timely analysis of the port environment and basic port performance indicators precondition a strategic planning of some Croatian port systems both at regional and national level. In this way, a better implementation of investment projects will be achieved that will contribute to further growth and development of the Croatian port system.


Background and Purpose Ischemic stroke is a major cause of death worldwide. Ischemic precondition stimulates the production hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α). HIF-1α regulates other genes to produce erythropoietin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to increase oxygen delivery through induction of angiogenesis to improve survival and clinical outcome. This study aimed to measure the association HIF-1α and VEGF level with clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke.


As manufacturing scales down, there is an increasing need to use bottomup self-assembly techniques over conventional top-down assembly techniques. Previously self-assembling units or tiles forming aggregates based on the polarity of magnetic pads on their sides have been demonstrated. These assemblies were simple, primarily because of the small variety of magnetic pads used. This paper addresses the key challenge of increasing the variety of magnetic pads for tiles, which would allow macroscopic tiles to self-assemble into more complex patterns. The main contribution of our paper is a novel barcode scheme for magnetic tile pads, and the design and optimization of our barcode scheme for magnetic pads is the paper's major concern and focus. We present a physical model and a software simulation system that models the binding of these tiles using magnetic interactions as well as external forces. The physical model is based on Newtonian mechanics and Maxwellian magnetics. The simulation system models attachment, orientation and binding of macroscopic tiles using magnetic interaction as well as external forces (wind) which provide energy to the system. It allows us to estimate the suitable parameters for the barcode scheme for magnetic pads that selectively bind (or do not bind) with other tiles, and so to calculate the predicted interactions for two large floating ∗This paper is a revised version of the conference proceedings paper: Urmi Majumder and John H. Reif, A Framework for Designing Novel Magnetic Tiles Capable of Complex Self-Assemblies, Conference on Unconventional Computation, Vienna, Austria, Aug 25-26, 2008, Unconventional Computing, Lecture Notes in Computer Science number 105633, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg. †Oracle Corporation, Washington D.C, USA ‡Department of Computer Science, Duke University, Durham, NC , USA and Adjunct, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FCIT), King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia tiles with embedded magnets. We observed that tiles that are elongated and magnetically shielded allow less cross-talk between interactions and the implementation of a magnetic bar-code for a larger number of specific bindings. We also demonstrate how we can use our simulation model to extract a scalable thermodynamic model which can be used to predict yield of assembly on a larger scale and also to provide better insight into the dynamics of our physical system.


BACKGROUND
The 21-aminosteroid (U-74389G) is a nonglucocorticoid steroid that was synthesized to inhibit lipid peroxidation without the glucocorticoid activity. We recently demonstrated that the 21-aminosteroid administered to endotoxin shock mice reduces liver injury and improves the survival rate of mice through inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B activation in the liver. The study was undertaken to determine whether the 21-aminosteroid could suppress pro-inflammatory gene up-regulation through inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B activation in Kupffer cells.

METHODS
Kupffer cells were isolated from rats by collagenase perfusion followed by pronase digestion. After a lipopolysaccharide addition, each assay was performed for tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha messenger RNA, nuclear factor-kappa B, and I kappa B proteins.

RESULTS
After the lipopolysaccharide addition, Kupffer cells released both tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6. The 21-aminosteroid treatment suppressed the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in a dose-dependent manner. The 21-aminosteroid also inhibited the increase of tumor necrosis factor-alpha messenger RNA expression and nuclear factor-kappa B activation in Kupffer cells 1 hour and 30 minutes, respectively, after lipopolysaccharide addition. Furthermore, the 21-aminosteroid treatment suppressed the degradation of I kappa B proteins in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Kupffer cells.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the 21-aminosteroid inhibits release of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Kupffer cells by inhibiting nuclear factor-kappa B activation. This is accomplished by inhibiting I kappa B degradation in endotoxin shock and this may prove useful for the treatment of endotoxin shock.


We present regularization tools for training small-and-medium as well as large-scale artiicial feedforward neural networks. The determination of the weights leads to very ill-conditioned nonlinear least squares problems and regularization is often suggested to get control over the network complexity, small variance error, and nice optimization problems. The algorithms proposed solve explicitly a sequence of Tikhonov regularized nonlinear least squares problems. For small-and-medium size problems the Gauss-Newton method is applied to the regularized problem that is much more well-conditioned than the original problem, and exhibits far better convergence properties than a Levenberg-Marquardt method. Numerical results presented also connrm that the proposed implementations are more reliable and eecient than the Levenberg-Marquardt method. For large-scale problems, methods using new special purpose automatic diierentiation combined with conjugate gradient methods are proposed. The algorithms developed utilize the structure of the problem in diierent ways and perform much better than Polak-Ribi ere based methods. All algorithms are tested using benchmark problems and guidelines by Lutz Prechelt in the Proben1 package. All software is programmed in Matlab and gathered in a toolbox.


The Meguma Supergroup of southern mainland Nova Scotia is an Early Cambrian to Early Ordovician deep-water peri-Gondwanan succession. The base is not seen, but isotopic and geochronologic evidence suggest broadly 'Avalonian' basement. The lower part of the succession (Goldenville Group) comprises relatively quartz-rich, thickly bedded turbidites and interbedded green slates. Abundant turbidite structures indicate sedimentation continuously below wavebase, and the great thickness of the succession attests to major subsidence. The trace fossil Oldhamia indicates Early Cambrian age. At the top of the group the stratigraphy is more diverse; alternating finer and coarser units show enrichment in manganese and spectacular bioturbation. A rare trilobite-bearing horizon indicates Middle Cambrian age. A unit of manganiferous laminated slate marks the transition into the overlying Halifax Group. The overlying Cunard Formation comprises rustyweathering black pyrite-rich slate, siltstone, and sandstone with turbidite structures. Higher parts of the group possibly show a transition to shallower water conditions, with more abundant trace fossils, and rare Tremadocian graptoloids. The group is overlain with angular unconformity by the Early Silurian White Rock Formation. The succession in the Harlech Dome in North Wales is also an Early Cambrian to Early Ordovician deep-water peri-Gondwanan succession. Underlying basement is not seen but drilling has revealed 'Avalonian' volcanics in the subsurface. The lowest part of the Harlech Grits Group comprises Early Cambrian cross-bedded, probably deltaic sandstones which pass up into fully marine slates. The overlying Rhinog Formation consists of relatively quartzose thickly bedded turbidites and green slates. Abundant turbidite structures indicate sedimentation continuously below wavebase, suggesting significant subsidence. At the top of the group the stratigraphy is more diverse; alternating finer and coarser units show enrichment in manganese and spectacular bioturbation. Rare trilobite fragments indicate Middle Cambrian age. A unit of carbonaceous laminated slate marks the base of the overlying Mawddach Group. The overlying Maentwrog Formation comprises rusty-weathering black pyrite-rich slate, siltstone, and sandstone with turbidite structures. Trilobites indicate Late Cambrian age. Higher parts of the group show a clear transition to shallower water conditions above wavebase, with linguloid brachiopods and trilobites indicating Tremadocian age. The group is unconformably overlain by the Early Ordovician Rhobell and Aran volcanic groups. Lithological and chronological analogies between the two successions are striking. However, significant differences include: (1) the greater thickness of the Meguma succession; (2) the presence of shallow marine to non-marine strata at the base and top of the Harlech succession; (3) the possible presence of an unconformity between the two groups in Harlech; and (4) the presence of volcanics near the base and top of the Welsh succession. Nonetheless, the similarities indicate closely similar evolution for the two basins, and would be consistent with deposition in connected parts of a peri-Gondwanan rift system.


High grazing pressure from over-abundant macropods (kangaroos) is perceived to have a detrimental impact on biodiversity. Studies have shown potential changes in state and retardation of degraded vegetation recovery while other investigations have shown correlations with increased floristic diversity. The responses of grasslands to high impact macropod grazing may not be universal. Endangered Themeda triandra-dominated grasslands, on coastal headlands of New South Wales (NSW) and the associated threatened flora are thought to be negatively affected by high macropod grazing. We assess these assumptions via a comparative investigation across 46 headlands (467 plots) on the North Coast of NSW, and a BACI (Before and After Control Incident) design grazing exclusion experiment at a particularly significant site. We compare floristic richness, species density, evenness, Shannon H, Whittaker Beta Diversity, occurrence of listed threatened flora, average sward height and macropod density. Look At Me Now Headland (LAMN), between Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga has one of the highest recorded population densities of macropods. Here 16 permanent plots were placed with grazing exclusion cages erected around half. Sampling occurred annually (October-November) for four consecutive years (2015-2018). Under high macropod grazing pressure LAMN Headland was found to have the highest scores for total richness, species density, species diversity and moderate to high values for species evenness and beta diversity. Within grazing exclusion plots the sward height increased significantly and was associated with a significant decrease in species density, beta and alpha diversity. Our results indicate that macropod grazing, even at the highest intensities, may be beneficial to floristic species diversity within the endangered Themeda-grasslands of coastal headlands and seacliffs within the North Coast Bioregion of NSW; our broader comparative study would suggest that this may also be the case on other headlands.


The transition from suction-type deglutition to dental-type deglutition needs to occur spontaneously between 3 and 4 years of age, but the genetic information for this is not expressed systematically. When this transition does not occur spontaneously, the new program needs to be engrammed by conscious actions or by stimulation of the sensory-motor areas. 326 Japan Journal of Medicine 2019; 2(1): 326 329 . doi: 10.31488/jjm.1000134


With the improving of environment?protection sense and of needs for habitation, there are more and more requirements for construction materials, which tend to be intelligentized and multi?functional, and among them phase change materials may be used as functional elements. Phase change materials possess lots of advantages such as larger energy?storage density, higher efficiency and approximately constant temperature during phase changing. Based on a great deal of literatures, this paper deals with some information of phase change material such as its characteristics, classification and so on. Application of phase change material in building materials is introduced in detail including classes, processing technology and development prospect.


The notion of family influence on cognitive development and school achievement has great intuitive appeal and has been popularized in educational practice. Educators now widely acknowledge the importance of the family (Leichter, 1974), as they have during earlier historical periods (Clarke-Stewart, 1978b). Because of the importance attributed to the family, the specific means through which the family might influence intellectual development need to be delineated. Studies of the family's influence are especially timely because families are undergoing change, such as in the increased number of one-parent families, the increased participation of fathers in child rearing, and the increased participation of mothers in the work force. This chapter discusses some of the ways in which families may influence children's cognitive development and school achievement. Environmental and biological factors that have been prominent in explanations of the family's influence are examined. The studies reviewed illustrate some of the major conceptualizations of the family's influence on intellectual development and achievement. Because of space limitations, not every pertinent line of research is included. Studies of the family's influence on children's social development are not included, although it is acknowledged that social development is probably intimately related to cognitive development and achievement. A review of the various parent programs designed to enhance children's cognitive development is not included. These intervention programs are important applications of existing knowledge and have been covered in previous reviews (e.g., Clarke-Stewart, 1978b; Goodson & Hess, 1978). The validity of various measures of intelligence or achievement used


Objectives.—In a randomized controlled trial extending over 6 months, we evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture versus flunarizine in the prophylactic treatment of migraine without aura.


The Smyrna-Aidin Railway Company was the only British railway company in Asia Minor before the outbreak of World War I. The railway was essential to the British Empire to carry agricultural products and mines to the Smyrna Port. On 2 November 1912, the Smyrna-Aidin Railway Company's agent at Constantinople submitted an application for a concession to the chief of the Railway Department of the Ministry of Public Works, and a copy was handed to the Grand Vizierate. The concession applied for was to construct and operate a line of approximately 80 km. starting from a point on the eastern shore of the lake of Eğirdir at a distance of about 20 kilometers from the city of Eğirdir, and ending at the shore of the lake of Beyşehir. The Ottoman Government tried to use the extension of the line as leverage to have economical gains such as creating new monopolies or imposing consumption duties on petroleum, spirits, sugar, matches, tinder, cigarette paper, and playing cards. However, a year later, the Italian Government signed a contract to study the construction of a railway from Adalia to Burdur. The negotiations over Smyrna-Aidin Railway exposes power dynamics between the two Great Powers on the eve of World War I.


To the Editor-in-Chief We read with interest the study by Kesapli et al. which reported a large series of in-flight medical emergencies aboard Eurasian flights. The authors' analysis identified burns as the most common traumatic injury resulting in requests for urgent medical support. Burns secondary to spillage of hot liquids during periods of air turbulence may be an important contributory factor in such cases. The Federal Aviation Administration in the US has identified in-flight turbulence as the leading cause of injuries to passengers and flight attendants. So-called aviophobia, or fear of flying, affects as many as one in four passengers and has multiple underlying causes, not least of which is apprehension about aircraft turbulence. Clear-air turbulence is particularly difficult to avoid, because it cannot be anticipated by pilots or detected by on-board radar or satellites. Climate model simulations predict that transatlantic flights will experience more winter-time turbulence by the middle of this century due to anthropogenic climate change, making it likely that this issue will assume even greater importance for international travellers and the aviation industry in the future. Recent high profile episodes of air turbulence-related injuries give cause for concern among the flying public. The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit reported a serious incident which occurred in October 2013 involving a Boeing 757-200 aircraft which encountered turbulence 148 km short of its destination airport in Dublin. Of the 139 passengers and crew on board, 17 people were injured, most sustaining minor injuries resulting from contact with parts of the aircraft's interior. One injured passenger was in the lavatory at the time of the incident. In May 2016 an Airbus A330-200 landed safely at Jakarta International Airport in Indonesia following severe turbulence which injured 31 passengers, 9 of whom had to be taken to hospital. A further 14 passengers and 2 crew members required hospital assessment after a transatlantic Boeing 767-300 jet hit severe turbulence on a flight from Houston to London in August 2016 and was forced to make an emergency landing at Shannon airport in Ireland. These and other such incidents highlight the potential consequences of air turbulence and the importance of observing safety precautions on board. Most people who sustain serious or fatal injuries as a result of air turbulence were unrestrained at the time. Case reports of internal carotid artery dissection and placental separation, resulting from turbulent short-haul flight in two female restrained passengers, highlight the dangers of clearair turbulence even when these safety measures are implemented. Despite the recommendation that passengers and crew sit with seatbelts fastened while aircraft are taxiing, taking off or landing, and whenever the seatbelt sign is illuminated during flight, 7% of passengers in one study admitted that they rarely or never fasten their belt in the seatbelt sign off state. Travel medicine has a role in reducing in-flight traumatic injuries in passengers and flight attendants by promoting seatbelt compliance among airline passengers and crew. This advice should be reiterated as part of general air travel health recommendations at every pre-travel consultation.


The carrying capacity of resources and environment is an important topic in the study of sustainable development. It is of great significance to analyse and summarize the relevant progress at home and abroad for future research in this field. This paper analyses the domestic and foreign bearing capacity related literature in chronological order, and divides the development process of bearing capacity into four stages: concept proposing, connotation expansion, method and model development, and comprehensive bearing capacity. And the progress in the evaluation and evaluation methods of bearing capacity in recent years is reviewed. According to the research status at home and abroad, it is proposed that the research should be strengthened in the aspects of comprehensive urban carrying capacity, index system and improvement of quantitative methods.


Jacky Knapman & Tony MorrisonBrighton, UK: Pavilion, 199856 pp., £14.95ISBN 1-900600-77-3This great handbook is a comprehensive introduction to engaging in a positive and active way with the superv...


Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people (UASC) experience harrowing journeys to a destination country seeking safety and refuge. Once in the host country, adapting to life in reception centres, foster families or supported housing, brings further challenges. Sleep difficulties is a recurring issue identified by both practitioners and young people. Lack of sleep and disturbed sleep have negative health and social/educational impact on young people. In this paper, we present the evaluation study of a Sleep Project intervention for UASC. The multi-agency intervention was introduced to support newly-arrived UASC in the Kent region, where there was a rapid increase in numbers since 2015. The aim of the evaluation was to explore practitioner experiences by identifying benefits, challenges, examples of good practice and transferable knowledge during the project. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 18 practitioners. Verbatim data were analysed thematically according to Attride-Stirling's (2001) model. Findings suggest that the project encouraged conversations to develop between practitioners and young people, and between the young people themselves, normalising the sleep difficulties. It helped practitioners to feel more confident and equipped with skills to talk to the young people about sleep and allowed them to become more empathetic, specific and person-centred. Significantly, they reported that the project allowed them to 'look at the basics', that is, practical help such as providing night lights and educating young people about factors that hamper a good night's sleep, whilst they gained greater understanding and responsiveness as to why young people could struggle with sleep. This has been important in shifting practitioners' perceptions, particularly those in educational roles, helping them to be more patient and supportive to young people struggling to get to lessons on time and to concentrate. We conclude with recommendations about sustainability of this work, the project's legacy, and opportunities to transfer gained knowledge to practice with other vulnerable populations.


A three-stage process that consisted of saccharification, ethanol fermentation of the saccharified liquid, and anaerobic treatment of the saccharified residue to convert food waste (FW) to ethanol and CH4 was developed. Results revealed that high sugar recovery (i.e., 61.7%) from FW could be achieved after saccharification and 15.2% saccharified sugar was retained in saccharified residue after solid–liquid separation. A high ethanol yield was obtained during ethanol fermentation of the saccharified liquid. This high yield indicates the superiority of the system. The ethanol productivity in the ethanol fermentation stage was 0.9 g L–1 h–1. A CH4 yield of 248.4 mL/g of volatile solid (VS) was achieved in the CH4 fermentation stage, whereas that in the single-stage fermentation system was 252.6 mL/g of VS. A comparison of the two fermentation systems based on material balance and energy outcome demonstrated that the three-stage process achieved a 27.5% increase in the FW decomposition rate, a 51.8% reduction...


The application of the GPS-X computer simulation of sewage works to a 55 Ml/d dry weather flow (dwf) nitrifying activated sludge plant (ASP) is described. The role of simulation and the features of a simulation package as required by the end user are outlined. The plant processes, operation, performance and the instrumentation are described. The on- line measurements are collected and displayed by the GFX monitoring system which acts as input/output stage for GPS-X. The simulation package uses the IAWPRC model with modifications based on Dold (1990). The features of the model, its calibration and successful verification are described.


Abstract A new hybrid sensor technology integrating existing weigh-in-motion axle configuration data combined with inductive signature data obtained from advanced inductive loop detectors is gaining interest due to its potential to provide detailed classification of truck body types as well as anonymous tracking of truck movements on freeways. However, selecting optimal deployment locations for the hybrid sensors has been persistently challenging because implementing new technologies state-wide can demand significant capital investment and logistics preparation. This article investigates two proposed strategies for optimally deploying this new technology on California freeways based on actual truck GPS trajectories: (i) A flow-interception approach to maximize the total amount of net origin-destination flows; and (ii) a truck re-identification approach to maximize insights into origins and destinations of sampled truck trips, as well as routes of those trips. The flow-interception model is capable of selecting locations emphasizing different body types with flow-based weight factors. The truck re-identification model investigates the best locations to identify heavy truck movement by selecting pairwise locations, and is shown to be sensitive to re-identification performance uncertainty.


Nowadays, due to division of customer segmentation has become much more detailed than ever; channels contend under a more competitive environment, the success of multi-channels strategy plays an important role. Therefore, enterprises have to consider how difference types of channels influence different consumer groups. This research adopts survey method and discusses consumers' shopping orientation factors in multi-channels with their mental characteristics. Then, based on multi-channel shopping orientation, we separate consumers into different groups. Finally, a complete multi-channel behavior pattern is constructed. In the study, we make a better understanding of differences among categories toward multi-channel shopping orientation factors and comparative analysis of various channel types. This research takes multi-channel purchasers as the object, proceeding examination of the model relations by structural equation model. As to the results, we discovered that there are seven kinds of multi-channel shopping orientations and can be divided into six shopping orientation groups. Besides, there are differences demonstrated among economical, opinion leader, and entertainment shopping orientation. We further explore the behavior patterns: As to the aspect of multi-channel orientations toward searching attitude, all of the shopping orientations has significant positive effects on searching attitude except opinion shopping guidance; on the multi-channel shopping orientations toward shopping attitude aspect, both convenience and entertainment shopping orientation has significant positive effect; on attitudes towards behavior intention aspect, only searching attitudes demonstrates a significant negative effect towards shopping intention, all the others show positive effect; on searching towards shopping aspect, it shows significant positive effect. In addition, this study separates research samples into two categories: searching and shopping. The results show that, different multi-channel shopping orientation factors will have differences on searching and shopping groups.


The goal of this thesis is analysis of the active substances in the biocidal products used for disinfection of hands and surfaces that were approved to be placed on market under the Regulation of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia, in the period from 2010. until March 2020, and actual scientific literature overview of biocidal products use and disinfection in the food industry. Out of 2784 products in the Register of Biocidal Products, all products for personal hygiene and disinfectants in the field of food and animal feed were singled out. In addition, the most common active substances and product formulations were identified. Current ways of disinfection have their own challenges, therefore, alternative methods of disinfection in the food industry are being explored, as well as efficient solutions against microorganisms that are hard to remove and solutions for specific problems in individual sectors of the food industry. Most research is focused on testing the new active substances and disinfection methods, for example, the use of plant extracts and phytochemicals, lactic acid bacteria, enzymes and other compounds obtained from microorganisms, use of cavitation and electrolyzed water, and use of silver nanoparticles.


Tiered immunotoxicity testing strategies have been developed in both rats and mice. These tiered systems focus on the detection of compound-induced immunosuppression. Clinical relevance has clearly been demonstrated in the case of pharmaceuticals for which the primary aim is to induce immunosuppression in organ transplant recipients. Validation for pharmaceuticals is still ongoing.


In this paper, we investigate the numerical differentiation of higher order. Based on Groetsch's idea, an integral method is obtained to approximate any order derivatives of approximately specified functions. The convergence rate of the approximation is given under some conditions. Numerical experiments of second, third and fourth order derivatives are presented. Numerical experiments prove that our method is applicable.


A multiple-choice key for the identification of cultures of 149 species of wood-inhabiting Hymenomycetes, whose cultural characters have been published previously, is based on the following diagnostic characters: presence or absence of extracellular oxidase, types of septation of hyphae, occurrence of special structures and accessory spores, color of hyphae and mycelial mats, color changes in agar, rates of growth, formation of fruit bodies, odor, host relationships, and interfertility phenomena. In the key, each diagnostic character is symbolized by a number, the Code Symbol; each species is described in abbreviated form by a Species Code, the series of Code Symbols that denote the characters shown by the species; and each section in the key is headed by its Key Code, the series of Code Symbols that denote the characters shared by all the species in the section. Most of the final sections in the key consist of a number of species with identical or similar Species Codes. In these sections, detailed descri...


Dermatological side effects can occur with treatments for non-dermatological conditions, and consultation with a dermatologist may be a wise step in such cases.


The Understanding Participation rates in post-16 Mathematics And Physics (UPMAP) Project examines why some students continue to study mathematics or physics once these subjects are optional whereas other students do not. IOE Research Briefings are short descriptions of significant research findings, based on the wide range of projects carried out by IOE researchers.


By means of experiment on water culture and pot culture of landscape lawn-Festuca arundinacea in Tianjin, the limit values of three key indexes about the landscape irrigation with reclaimed water were obtained. It is indicated that along with the increase of total salt, residual chlorine, and SS concentration in reclaimed water, the biomass, photosynthetic rate, and total content of chlorophyll in seeding stage of Festuca arundinacea are reduced to varying extents, and the activity of catalase rises firstly and then drops down. Use of reclaimed water for irrigation of Festuca arundinacea shall meet the following limit values: salt content 1 900 mg/L, residual chlorine 1.0 mg/L,SS 30 mg/L.


The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 requires that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for each contaminant which may have an adverse effect on the health of persons. The SDWA clearly specifies that these MCLs shall be met at the consumers tap. Nevertheless most regulatory concern has been focused on water as it leaves the treatment plant before entering the distribution system. There is, however, growing interest in determining the factors that cause water quality variations in drinking water distribution systems. In order to study this effect, the Drinking Water Research Division of EPA initiated a cooperative agreement with the North Penn Water Authority. This cooperative agreement has resulted in a series of field monitoring and systems modeling studies that lend insight into the movement of contaminants in distribution systems. Previous research has resulted in development of a steady-state model, a quasi-steady-state model and dynamic model that have provided useful approaches to modeling the general propagation of contaminants in distribution systems. In this paper, results from the steady-state model are utilized to examine the actual pathways of water flow and the time of passage and percentage of water that flows from a given source to a given node in a distribution system. The contaminant propagation technique developed from this extension of the steady-state model provides a useful technique for analyzing many of the factors that affect water quality in a distribution system. A major finding of this research study is the importance of adequate hydraulic modeling of the systems being studied and the importance of field studies in verifying systems performance. The approach suggested in this research will provide useful insight into the water quality variations that may impact consumers at the tap and the development of time and spatially sensitive monitoring strategies.


When the primary modulation demodulation system between a power line connected to the same power-line modem has been set, the use of the concept of the virtual master. If a particular wanted, then connected to the power line 7, a plurality of power line modems determines that "the current primary modulation and demodulation is difficult to ensure the communication quality of" power line modem becomes a modulation scheme is changed the virtual master processing. First, the virtual master device to the other power line modem transmits a prompt of the next primary modulation change request command. Further, when changing command response in the absence of rejection from other power line modem receives the change request command, and to replace the primary modulation and demodulation of the current self power line modem being used for a one time modulation of the foregoing, and further, transmission instruction command change to the other power line modem. Finally, the other power line received instruction command change the current primary modulation scheme is changed to a modulation scheme indicated.


High efficiency mist eliminators (HEME) and high efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) made of High fiberglass will be used at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to remove particulate matter from offgases generated during melter feed preparation and vitrification of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). These filters will be contaminated with high-level, radioactive species and also with various high-boiling organic compounds. For this reason, a process was developed at the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) that will dissolve the spent filters so that the residues may be recycled to the HLW tanks for eventual vitrification. This process involves boiling the filters sequentially in NaOH, HN0{sub 3} and NaOH, while contained in a stainless steal wire mesh frame assembly. The objective of this communication is to present some of the original preliminary work done by Ritter on the simple one-step dissolution process. The results from six bench-scale experiments are reported for the dissolution of an organically-fouled sample of HEME obtained from the Integrated DWPF Melter (IDMS) offgas filtration system. The preliminary effects of filter packing density, air sparging versus rotating basket agitation, fouling, and adding Triton X-405 as a dispersing agent are reported.


The last fifteen years have witnessed an unprecedented series of celebrations of John Wesley by his ecclesial descendants and the larger church. The series began in 1988 with several events marking the 250 anniversary of Aldersgate, continued with broader commemoration of the bicentenary of Wesley's death in 1991, and is culminating with the many celebrations of the tercentenary of his birth in 2003. In an earlier article reflecting on the first of these occasions I noted that there is no evidence that Wesley's experience at Aldersgate had been commemorated a century earlier. Formal memorials of this experience emerged only in the twentieth century. Once introduced, however, I traced how celebrations of Aldersgate displaced several other events that had been commemorated by Wesley's nineteenth-century heirs. While affirming the inclusion of this aspect of his spiritual journey, I closed that article with some reservations about an exclusive focus on Aldersgate in considering Wesley's legacy for contemporary Wesleyan traditions. In this light, the scope of the celebrations of the bicentenary of Wesley's death and of the tercentenary of his birth is heartening. Focus on these boundary markers encourages reflection upon the whole of Wesley's life and ministry, seeking what wisdom he might have to offer his contemporary heirs—and the larger Christian family—for our central task of participating in God's salvific mission in our world. I offer the present essay as an instance of such reflection, suggesting that Wesley's developed emphases concerning the nature of salvation are an important legacy that remains to be fully appreciated and appropriated.


We prove that a class of monotone, $W_1$-contractive schemes for scalar conservation laws converge at a rate of $\Delta x^2$ in the Wasserstein distance ($W_1$-distance), whenever the initial data are decreasing and consist of a finite number of piecewise constants. It is shown that the Lax--Friedrichs, Enquist--Osher, and Godunov schemes are $W_1$-contractive. Numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the main result. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first proof of second-order convergence of any numerical method for discontinuous solutions of nonlinear conservation laws.


This paper discusses the quality monitoring of multiple steps delay feedback controlled processes. A quality control model based on multiple steps delay feedback controlled processes is set up. And the calculating method of average run length of control charts based on process output and control action of multiple steps delay MMSE feedback controlled processes is provided to evaluate control charts performance.A simple example is used to illustrate the procedure of this approach.


This study uses data from the current rate of population growth, agricultural development and effects of climate change to estimate the future of water demand and the amount of available water in the Shatt Al-Arab River basin. The Shatt Al-Arab River will be facing a freshwater deficit as a result of the decrease of water received from its tributaries. Currently, the river receives freshwater from the Tigris only, as a result to dam construction projects on the tributaries remaining. In 2040, it is expected that the freshwater from the Tigris will not be available to the Shatt Al-Arab; therefore the intrusion of seawater into the river will increase. This may cause a gradual change of water quality in the river from freshwater to seawater. When the Shatt Al-Arab River loses freshwater from all its tributaries the seawater will progress further from Persian Gulf towards the upstream.


The degree of determination of the young embryo of S. gregaria has been investigated using ligation, thermocautery and centrifugation techniques. From the overall results, it is suggested that the early development of the embryo is mediated by two physiological centres. The formation of the germ rudiment is controlled by an activation centre located in the periplasm round the posterior end of the egg. This centre is already present at the zygote nucleus stage and is essential during the very early cleavage period. The differentiation of the germ band is induced by the activity of a second centre, the differentiation centre, located in the presumptive thorax. It apparently becomes established at least by the late blastoderm stage and its activity continues during the period of germ-band formation. During the late cleavage and early blastoderm stages, the egg is labile and the embryo is therefore able to normalize its development after part or parts of the germinal Anlage have been cauterized, removed or displaced. The differentiation centre completes its functions by the beginning of gastrulation. Thereafter, the embryo is determined. The embryo can regulate its size at least up to the gastrulation stage provided that a certain minimum amount of usable yolk is available. The development of the serosa is not under the control of either centre. This structure seems to be capable of regeneration providing that a part of the extra-embryonic blastoderm remains intact.


Complicated collisions and spectrum uncertainty constrain the usage of Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs) on heavy transmission and time sensitive applications. On the other hand, data aggregation has been considered as an essential operation in wireless networks. A large amount of effort has been dedicated to the investigation of CRNs and data aggregation in wireless networks. However, the existing literatures rarely concentrate on how to use cognitive radio technique to promote the performance of data aggregation in conventional wireless networks. In this paper, we investigate the Minimum Latency Data Aggregation Scheduling in wireless networks with Cognitive Radio capability (MLDAS-CR) problem. As the first try, an approximation scheduling algorithm based on Integer Linear Programming (ILP) and Linear Programming (LP) is proposed. According to the simulation results, this method performances great, however, it is difficult to theoretically evaluate the solution. Therefore, a heuristic scheduling algorithm with guaranteed latency bound is presented in our further investigation. The performance of the proposed solutions are evaluated through extensive simulations.


This paper introduced two forms of FSM (FSM-IT FSMLog) and the application of FSMLog in Tazhong No.1 gas field. Taking pipeline of TZ82 as an example, the paper used MultiTrend software to analysis the average corrosion rate, the maximum pitting rate and weld corrosion of testing area.


With the intelligent vehicle location and navigation system(IVLNS) becomes more and more widely available,but this format map can not be used in IVLNS directly,and it must be analysed before use,how to apply MAPINFO format map data to IVLNS becomes urgent.Against the analysis of this format map and extracting the data,the methods of extracting data from the roll-out file of MAPINFO format map(*.mif and *.mid file)based on the Linux operating system C compiler environment is proposed.The format of its roll-out file(MIF format map file) and the key technique involved in the map analysis procedure design is described.The preparation procedures which use the method above has the characteristics of portability and high efficiency,and actually runs well.


Keyword Searching is a simple software to searching word or phrase on contain
of document files. Supported document files are ODT and TXT. In this software,
user must input source directory to search document files, input word or phrase
which it use to search on contain document files, and search button to start
searching. Result will be displayed and sorted by amount of keyword found.
Searching keyword use Boyer-Moore algorithm and the data structure using
Binary Tree.


In Affiliated Hospital of Jilin Medical College,using interior qualification experiment method and outdoor antibacterial experiment method in natural conditions research the influence on urban plants bacteriostatic effect under the changed environment(with the daily time changes,for different weather,the response of the bacteriostatic effect on different samples types).The results showed that shrubs,deciduous trees and evergreen trees bacteriostatic changed effect in time with a day not identical.As a general rule,evergreen trees change biger than deciduous trees and shrubs;as for the weather,plant antibacterial ability:sunnycloudyrainy daysnow.


The invention discloses a broken wire detecting device for a stranding machine. The device comprises a bracket; a supporting wheel is arranged at the lower end of the bracket; a barrel is arranged on the supporting wheel; a plurality of wire rope through holes are formed on the outer edges of two upper and lower sides of the barrel; an arc fixed bracket which is mutually matched with the upper side of the barrel is fixedly arranged on the bracket through a bakelite fixing block; a plurality of adjusting bolts are fixedly arranged on the arc fixed bracket; the end part of each adjusting bolt is propped against an arc steel tube so as to prop the arc steel tube on the outer edge of the upper side of the barrel; and one end of the arc steel tube is connected with an electric control device through a lead. The broken wire detecting device has the advantages of simple structure and low manufacturing cost, and can timely detect broken wire signals and transmit the signals to the electric control device. The electric control device controls a main motor to stop and process broken strands. The operation is safe, and the phenomenon that the broken wire enters a pressing roll is prevented.


The invention provides a wall-hung type tri-network integration-oriented full-service intelligent terminal with the honeycomb radiating function. The full-service intelligent terminal mainly comprises an intelligent terminal box and a wall-hung type supporting structure, wherein the wall-hung type supporting structure comprises a wire winding box, a wire spool and a supporting plate; the wire spool is mounted inside the wire winding box; the supporting plate is fixedly connected to the lower end of the wire winding box and extends forwards; through holes are formed in a front panel of the wire winding box and a side plate at one end of the wire winding box respectively; at least one screw hole is formed in a rear panel of the wire winding box, and the front panel of the wire winding box is connected with a top plate or the side plate through a hinging mechanism; honeycomb radiating holes are formed in the supporting plate; the intelligent terminal box is positioned on the supporting plate; a plurality of circular radiating holes are formed in the bottom surface of a box body and are arranged in a * shape; circular radiating holes are formed in two side faces of the box body respectively.


Jacques Derrida is now well known for his interventions in the domain of postcolonial theory, but his own work has also always been resolutely opposed to notions of both 'theory' and 'postcolonialism'. Derrida concedes, for example, that the 'critical theory' produced in America during the 1980s can be conceived as the 'opening of a space' for multi-disciplinary approaches, but nevertheless goes on to distinguish his own work from 'theory' precisely because it cannot be stabilised and conceived as a thematisation of some specified content. Even 'philosophy' is a problematic term for Derrida, since along with 'theory' it implies the advancement of an argument, the championing of a set of propositions, whereas his own writing constantly strains against closure and undermines the establishment of a thesis, both in its readings of others and in its rigorous self-questioning. Deconstruction is equally not a method or a school, since it works against the creation of a model to be copied or a set of principles to be dictated. Derrida's thought does not congeal to form a monolithic practice but unsettles the foundation of the rules and norms that govern any theoretical or philosophical method. Furthermore, Derrida may be seen as a 'poststructuralist' as a result of his development and reworking of the structuralism of Saussure and Levi-Strauss in De la grammatologie , and yet the term is not one that he himself uses, and it risks narrowing the focus of a project that extends far beyond linguistics and structural anthropology into the history of Western philosophy.


The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners in trying to understand the emerging phenomenon of global software development. As we witness an increased globalization of software development, it is important that research addresses the challenges of distributed software engineering and informs the development of techniques and technologies to improve such practice.


A study was conducted for 12 weeks with 168-day-old goslings to find out the growth performance supplying di fferent levels of supplementary feed. The experiment was conducted among 24 farmers of Baghabari, Sirajgonj, Bangladesh. The farmers were trained on nutrients, feed ingredients, ration formulation, ingredient mixing etc. A total of 168 goslings were distributed to four di fferent levels group farmers (50g, 75g, 100g and No supplement group) having six replications with 7 goslings per replication. The nutrient composition of the diet was followed as per recommendation. The other management practices were semi-intensive on farm trial at farmers house. According to the findings of the experiment weight gain of the native geese increased significantly among feed supplementary groups upto 8 weeks of age. Interestingly, it is found no significant e ffects on weight gains were observed in supplementary feeding groups with no supplementary group at 11 and 12 weeks of age. Considering the result, supplementary feeds may be provided upto 8 weeks of age and the medium level i.e. 75g may be recommended to the rural geese farmers of Bangladesh. For drawing a rigid conclusion further research is needed in Bangladesh context.


This study was conducted at the Superior Technical School of Construction Engineering of Seville (Spain) with students registered in the Materials I course who received academic training using blended learning methodology. Technical degree programs are characterized by a high dropout rate and academic underachievement. For that reason, the study aimed to assess the dominant learning approaches among these students, the relationship between leaning approaches and academic achievement, the relationship between learning approaches and the extent of WebCT platform use, and the influence of learning approaches on the students´ assessment of the platform. To identify students´ learning approaches, the R-SPQ-2F questionnaire developed by Biggs, Kember, and Leung (2001) was used. The students assessed the WebCT platform using an ad hoc PSEW questionnaire. The study was descriptive and used a correlational design. The study was conducted retroactively and measured variables that were not experimentally manipulated. The results indicate that the majority of the students have a low-intensity deep approach. The deep approach was more common among the female students than the male students, and the female students obtained higher scores on the deep motivation and deep strategy subscales. The dominant learning approach had no influence on academic achievement, but the dominant learning approach did influence the extent of WebCT platform use, as well as the students' assessments of the platform.


INTRODUCTION For HOM loads proposed for the Energy Recovery Linac injector cavities we used different materials for absorption, two kinds of ferrites and a ceramic-like material with a trade name "ceralloy". These material s were brazed or soldered to a metal substrate. One important requirement to the bonding of absorbers and substrate is a very large temperature range where a good mechanical and thermal contact is needed: from the highest temperature of bonding to 77 K. Such a low working temperature was chosen to accommodate the HOM load inside the cryomodule close to the superconducting cavities at 2K. The necessary condition for reliable bonding of absorber and substrate is a close  correspondence between their coefficients of thermal expansion. Some details for the choice of these pairs are discussed in this paper.


The invention relates to a method for electronically evaluating a dialogue between at least two persons comprising the steps of receiving audio data, analysing the audio data to determine the repartition of utterances of the at least two persons in the course of the dialogue and comparing the results of the analysing step with predetermined communication patterns.


The present invention relates to a method for moving guide movable mechanical elements of the machine having the following method step (2). Creating a model for simulating a) mechanical shaft (1, 2), b) inputting a displacement movement to be performed in the machine element (2), c) the model, previously given quality functional and mechanical axis (1, 2) based on the movement of the motion restriction of appropriate positions elapsed locomotion optimized movable machine element (2) (x The invention further relates to an apparatus corresponding to the method. The present invention allows an optimal motion guide for movable machine element (2).


This article reviews the exciting and rapidly expanding literature on realized volatility. After presenting a general univariate framework for estimating realized volatilities, a simple discrete time model is presented in order to motivate the main results. A continuous time specification provides the theoretical foundation for the main results in this literature. Cases with and without microstructure noise are considered, and it is shown how microstructure noise can cause severe problems in terms of consistent estimation of the daily realized volatility. Independent and dependent noise processes are examined. The most important methods for providing consistent estimators are presented, and a critical exposition of different techniques is given. The finite sample properties are discussed in comparison with their asymptotic properties. A multivariate model is presented to discuss estimation of the realized covariances. Various issues relating to modelling and forecasting realized volatilities are considered. The main empirical findings using univariate and multivariate methods are summarized.

http://www.econ.puc-rio.br/marcelomedeiros/McAleer and Medeiros (Econometric Reviews%2C 2008).pdf


Background: Antibiotic resistance is a leading cause of death, with the highest burden in low-resource settings. There is limited evidence on the potential for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure to reduce the burden of antibiotic resistance in humans. Methods: We used geospatially tagged human gut metagenomes and household survey datasets to determine the association between antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) abundance and community-level coverage of improved drinking water points and improved sanitation facilities. Adjusted general linearized models with robust standard errors were used to estimate the relationship between ARG abundance in the human gut and access to water and sanitation. Findings: We identified 1589 publicly available metagenomes from 26 countries. The average abundance of ARGs, in units of log10 ARG reads per kilobase per million (RPKM) mapped reads classified as bacteria, was highest in Africa compared to other World Health Organization (WHO) regions (one-way ANOVA p<0.001, post hoc Tukey HSD p<0.05). Increased access to both improved water and sanitation was associated with lower ARG abundance (effect estimate: -0.26, 95% CI [-0.44,-0.08]); the association was stronger in urban (-0.37 [-0.68, -0.07]) compared to rural areas (-0.16 [-0.38, 0.07]). Improved sanitation alone was associated with reduced ARG abundance (-0.16 [-0.32, 0.00]) while improved drinking water was not (-0.09 [-0.35, 0.16]). Interpretation: While additional studies to investigate casual effects are needed, increasing access to water and sanitation could be an effective strategy to curb the proliferation of antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries.


This article explores the ways that othering and differentiation in Fiji tourism discourse cater to international tourists' presumed quest for authenticity. In addition to tapping into western discursive practices differentiating Polynesian and Melanesian `primitivity', Fiji tourism promoters market their destination as a site to experience the `genuine friendliness' of indigenous Fijians as the native, `authentic other'. `Genuine', is about `real' friendliness which, as a qualifier, also becomes a subtle reference to what other `others' that are also the focus of a western tourist gaze are relatively not. This process of differentiating indigenous Fijians from alternative others occurs internationally as an implicit albeit significant theme in Fiji tourism. Yet, differentiation also occurs domestically as indigenous Fijians become specificated as the group more `touristically marked' in Fiji, particularly in relation to Fiji Indians, whose erasure from tourism imagery is consistent with the prevailing themes of Fiji tourism discourse.


Knowles, i.m.s. In view of the fact that an excessive number of papers have been received in past years which has made it impossible for all the papers to be read in the time available, and necessitated the curtailment of discussion on other papers, it is unfortunately necessary to exercise a strict selection. Authors are therefore requested to take note of the following points: (i) Papers must be received by the Sectional President (Lieut.-Col. R. Knowles, i.m.s. Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine) not later


An outlaw regime, hoping to resist the rampant tide of African nationalism, declared Rhodesia unilaterally independent from Britain, its nominal colonial sovereign, in 1965. During the ensuing afteen years, a few hundred-thousand white Rhodesians retreated into successful autarkic economic self-sufaciency to sustain their independence against a worldwide (albeit porous) boycott. For much of the same period, they fought an increasingly tough and punishing war against African guerillas. They also battled mightily in the court of public opinion, wooing racists, antiAfricans, and anti-communists all over the world. Horne's book is not at all about the struggle to keep Rhodesia white, the war against Africans, the economic battlefront, the all-important and ultimately fatal alliances with fascist Portugal and apartheid South Africa, or the diplomatic endgame (including Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's eventual realization that only Africans could run Zimbabwe) that ultimately transferred power in Zimbabwe to Africans in 1980. Instead, it is a thorough, almost obsessive, account of how individual Americans assisted Rhodesia's rearguard contest for white supremacy. Harry Byrd, James Eastland, Jesse Helms, and Strom Thurmond— U.S. senators or future senators—espoused Rhodesia's cause. So did newspaper editors from South Carolina and California, a cast of corporate moguls (many with obvious mineral interests in Rhodesia), AfricanAmerican apologists, fellow-traveling academic collaborators, and a kaleidoscopic array of mercenary soldiers. Horne's contribution is all to the good. The study of southern-African nationalism needs a thoroughly researched account of the external, as well as the internal, opposition to a freedom struggle like this one. But Horne's is almost entirely anecdotal, heavy on innuendo and long on hearsay. As history, much less interdisciplinary history, Horne's book is a disturbing model. Individuals are reviled without any substantiation more than off-handed allegation. Statements by mercenaries are taken at face value. This reviewer stopped counting the number of inaccuracies, half-truths, and near-truths well before the end. Moreover, at no place in the book do quantitative measures appear, such as the proportion of mercenaries who were Americans, the number of Americans who raised funds in the United States for the Rhodesians, the amounts that they raised for various purposes, and so on. This is a book without a thesis or a conclusion. Some Americans were indeed segregationists and racists; other misguided men and women may have sympathized with Rhodesia and tried to help. But did any of them make a difference? Was the course of the war in Zimbabwe inouenced by racist Americans in any discernible way? We still do not know.


Single-layer MoS2-carbon nanocomposites (SLMoS2/C) are facilely prepared via a dopamine (DOPA)-Mo(VI) complexation-assisted approach. The large interlayer spacing, sandwich structure and crumpled nanosheet morphology of SLMoS2/C render it excellent electrochemical performances as a lithium-ion battery anode, showing a reversible capacity of 500 mA h g(-1) at a discharge rate of 5 A g(-1).


Ionizing irradiation has become a modern packaging sterilization in the most common method,it can make the plastic materials cross-linking and degradation.From the meaning of ionizing irradiation to food packaging sterilization,analyzing the effects of ionizing radiation on the performance of polymer mechanism,and discussion the comparisons betweenγ-irradiation and electron beam irradiation;Finally,interpretering the effects of the ionizing radiation of several commercial plastic packaging materials on their performance emphatically.According to the actual needs,make a good use of irradiation sterilization technology.


Ninety-four patients were entered in a clinical trial assessing the clinical activity of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (CAP) versus a combination of cyclophosphamide, 5-Fluorouracil, and prednisone (CFP) in patients with advanced breast cancer. Objective response rates were comparable, 49% for CFP and 46% for CAP. There was no statistical difference between the duration of response of the two regimens or in time to progression. Most importantly, survival differences were not apparent. Both regimens were clinically tolerable and toxicities, for the most part, were comparable. Thus, no therapeutic advantage existed for either of these polychemotherapy regimens in patients with advanced breast cancer.


Since modern times, Chinese intellectual Liang Qichao and others have imitated the Western political system and vigorously advocated and implemented party politics in order to promote the historical process of political democratization and diplomacy in modern China. As China was in the current situation of internal and external troubles, various political parties have advocated national diplomacy, and have written national diplomacy policies into the party constitution or political program as a guideline for the fierce competition on the domestic and foreign affairs arena. Due to the frequent divisions and reorganizations between political parties, the political programs and political ideas of the political parties were confused with each other, and the responsibilities and obligations of party members were blurred, resulting in the increasingly complex internal and external competition of modern Chinese political parties, which reflected the modern Chinese political system Major changes.


The distillate formulations in siddha medicine called theeneer is the aqueous dosage form obtained by the effective distillation of herbal parts especially by using traditional apparatus. Terminalia chebula is an exquisite raw drug used in almost all type of siddha drug formulations. The herb is considered as a rejuvenator with its acclaimed antioxidant property. The usage of the drug is prevalent in many distillate preparations. To prepare the distillate from Terminalia chebula and to analyze the bio active compounds for determining its effectiveness as a rejuvenator and antioxidant supplement. The raw drug kadukkai (Terminalia chebula) was processed and distilled with reference to siddha texts and the distillate sample was analyzed through GC-MS. The prepared kadukkai theeneer was colorless with slight typical odor and taste. A total of 12 compounds were spotted in the sample distillate belonging to class of fatty acid esters and volatile siloxanes. Few of the compounds like hexadecanoic acid and pentadecanoic acid has reputed antioxidant property, other still unreported but can be ascertained as they belong to the same class of fatty acids. The study puts forward the possibility of using kadukkai theeneer as a rejuvenator supplement.


With the deepening trend of economic globalization,the transfer scope of the manufacturing industry led by transnational corporation is continually expanding.At the same time,the further development of the domestic small and medium enterprises is restricted and industrial upgrading pressure increases due to the constraint of cost and government energy-saving emission reduction effects.Therefore,labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries' gradient transfer from east coast to West is at a faster rate.The new round of industrial transfer presents many new characteristics and the development trend is evident in the industrial matching,accelerated chain transfer,which is beneficial to the small-l and medium-sized enterprises with a certain amount of pressure and risk.Moreover,the system of industry transfer and related phenomena causes the change from competition between individual enterprises to the competition between the industrial chains,which embodies the advantages of industrial clusters and the importance.Therefore,small-and medium-sized enterprises should be based on the core enterprise in the industry chain,coordinative development,chain of production network or system,the creation of sustainable competitiveness.


Nudge is a concept introduced by behavioral sciences to ameliorate the attitude and behavior of individuals by utilizing the concept of positive reinforcement. The execution of nudges in a targeted and proper way has the potential to induce motivation in learners by identifying and making amends in the potential learning gaps. The present study used repeated nudges for a targeted group of students who performed subpar in the summative assessment of an integrated module and followed their performance in repeated online formative assessments. The identified students were sent multiple nudges through social media in the subsequent module. The summative scores of these students during both modules were compared with the rest of the students of the same class. The mean score of the study participants showed a significant improvement in comparison to the mean score of the rest of the class at the end of the second module. A significant improvement in the attendance, MCQ score and the overall score of the nineteen students in the second summative assessment were observed after frequent nudging. Students responding more frequently to our nudges showed more improvement in overall scores and attendance as compared to the participants who were less responsive to nudges. Nudging resulted in significant consequential improvement in the summative scores and attendance in comparison to other students. Nudging could be an effective strategy to incentivize students and allow them to identify their weak areas and put more effort into their studies and hence improve grades.


Films of oxide were anodically formed on Zr foils in a sodium borate- boric acid solutlon buffered at pH 9 The foil was cleaned and etched almost to transparencv. Absorption spectra for numerous films were obtained for formation voltages of 30 to 200v. The absorption spectra obtained for 150v formation of a typical film is included. By extrapolation the long wavelength limit of absorption is found to be 2500A. (B.O.G.)


Miraculin is a glycoprotein with taste-modifying activity and is isolated from miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum), a shrub native to West Africa. The protein can modify human's taste and turn a sour taste to a sweet taste. The mature peptide of miraculin consists of 191 amino acids and has taste-modifying activity in the forms of dimmers or tetramers, but not in monomers. Two histidine residues, exposed on the outside of the protein, are the main functional groups. In addition to the taste-modifying activity, it can also improve sensitivity of diabetic animals to insulin. Several methods have been developed for the purification of miraculin, including dialysis, centrifugation, solvent precipitations and chromatographic separation. Recently, genetic engineering approaches have been applied to its production in transgenic microbes and plants. This paper reviews recent studies on its structure, function, extraction and biosynthesis in transgenic organisms.


The pathogen Coronavirus is a member of the Orthocoronavirinae subfamily of the Coronaviridae family and the
Nidovirales order. Four structural proteins, in addition to viral RNA and Nsp1-16, are employed to speed up virus
replication within host cells. Antiviral drugs that target the S protein have recently been discovered, although the
technique of targeting the S protein has some limitations. The objective of the study was to test the potential inhibitors
for the use of novel agents against CoV-2 infection. In this, we conducted the virtual screening of various lead
compounds from three different databases i.e. SWEETLEAD, ZINC, and Selleckchem Antiviral compound library
against COVID-19 proteins Nsp 15 and Nsp 7 and 8 complex which act as receptors using two software like Molegro
Virtual Docker and PyRx. For this, a phytochemical library was constructed followed by ligand and target preparation.
The molecular docking and Virtual screening as well as ADMET characteristics were also analyzed. Our results revealed
twenty high-affinity lead compounds from 4,200 molecules out of which Danoprevir, Lanatoside C, and
Digoxin/ZINC242548690 can act as powerful inhibitors of Nsp 15 and Lanatoside C, Ledipasvir, and BMS-790052 for
Nsp 7 and 8 complex targets respectively.


Approximately 80 per cent of tyrosine hydroxylase activity in bovine mandibular nerve and rabbit sciatic nerve was soluble, and the rest of the activity was particle‐bound. The soluble enzyme in bovine mandibular nerve was isolated by ammonium sulphate fractionation (25–35 per cent saturation). The enzyme had a pH optimum at 5·9 in Tris‐acetate buffer, and at 6·5 in Tris‐HCl or phosphate buffer. The enzyme required a tetrahydropteridine cofactor. Km values toward various tetrahydropteridines such as l‐erythro‐tetrahydrobiopterin (a probable natural cofactor), 2‐amino‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐methyltetrahydropteridine, and 2‐amino‐4‐hydroxy‐6,7‐dimethyltetrahydropteridine were 2 × 10−5m, 5 × 10−5m and 4 × 10−4m, respectively. The Km value for tyrosine at 1 × 10−3m‐2‐amino‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐methyltetrahydropteridine as a cofactor was 5 × 10−5m. The enzyme activity was markedly stimulated with Fe2+ or catalase, but Fe2+ gave higher activity. The activity was inhibited with α, α′‐dipyridyl, l‐α‐methyl‐p‐tyrosine, and various catecholamines. Among catecholamines, dopamine was the most potent inhibitor. l‐5‐Hydroxytryptophan was an inhibitor as potent as dopamine. Neither d‐5‐hydroxytryptophan nor 5‐hydroxytryptamine inhibited the enzyme. The inhibition by l‐5‐hydroxytryptophan was partially competitive with tetrahydrobiopterin at concentrations higher than 9 × 10−5m, and partially uncompetitive at concentrations lower than 9 × 10−5m. The addition of heparin or lysolecithin did not affect enzyme activity with tetrahydrobiopterin as cofactor.


Abstract The effect of H2S upon differential aeration cells using Fe, Mo, Pb, Sn, annealed 4340 steel, and hardened 4340 steel electrodes has been studied. The electrolytes in all cases were 0.6 M ...


Summary form only given. We present an ultra-high-density embedded loadless four-transistor SRAM cell for 0.13-/spl mu/m logic LSIs. The cell size is 0.99 /spl mu/m/sup 2/, which is the smallest of all reported SRAM cells. In addition, its fabrication process is fully compatible with CMOS logic technologies. The following three technologies reduce the cell area to less than 1 /spl mu/m/sup 2/, and provide highly stable operation at 1.2 V. The double-exposure technique using KrF excimer laser lithography with complementary phase-shift masks reduces the spacing between the drive-transistor gate and the word line. Using the borderless-contact etching process expands shared contact up to 0.21 /spl mu/m without contact leakage current to obtain sufficient misalignment tolerance. The thickness of the gate dielectrics in the cell is controlled to suppress the direct tunneling current to less than the off-state current in order to retain the cell data from -40 to 125/spl deg/C.


The article aims to resume critically studies devoted to the thought of Zygmunt Bauman, contemporary Polish sociologist, in order to grasp their signifi cance in the overall production and dissemination of his work. By associating ostensibly the author's life to his modus operandi, such assessments are closer to a biographical study than properly metatheoretical one. To do so, we use the critical biographies and autobiographies of Pierre Bourdieu, in order to demonstrate the inadequacy of such readings. We conclude that the current studies of Bauman's sociology respond more to the interest aroused by the author in recent decades in the broad non-specialized public, which demands a proper academic. However, the sociology of the author seems to be rooted in a dialogical perspective between scientific knowledge and common sense.


This research sought to investigate the effect of smart Agri-preneurship dimensions on food affordability in South-West, Nigeria. Diverse literature confirmed positions of scholarly discourse regarding the relationship between smart Agri-preneurship dimensions and food affordability. Cross-sectional research design was adopted while adopted questionnaire was used to source primary data. Duly registered Agri-preneurs in South-West Nigeria were selected with a population of (2,557). Cochran, Hatzes, Butler, and Marcy formula (1997) was adopted and a reliable and valid questionnaire was tested on 558 Agri-preneurs. The regressed constructs revealed a positive and significant effect of smart Agri-preneurship on food affordability. The findings indicated that smart Agri-preneurship dimensions have positive and significant effect on food affordability (Adj.R2 = 0.602, F (6,551) = 141.319, p=0.000). The study concludes that farmers should embrace smart Agri-preneurial technologies as innovations that could improve their farm yields, hence reduce the cost of production and make food output more affordable. The study recommends that the government should engage Agri-preneurs and provide partnerships that would be beneficial in improving food affordability opportunities through the adoption of smart technologies.


Queensland was a frontline of Allied efforts in the Pacific War of 1941-45, and especially in the crisis year of 1942. Queenslanders felt the threat of invasion keenly, and the state's military bases, airfields and ports were major launching points for the American-led counter attack on the Japanese in the southwest Pacific.


The Man-Machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) is an integrated suite of software components that constitutes a prototype workstation to aid designers in applying human factors principles to the design of complex human-machine systems. MIDAS is intended to be used at the very early stages of conceptual design to provide an environment wherein designers can use computational representations of the crew station and operator, instead of hardware simulators and man-in-the-loop studies, to discover problems and ask 'what if' questions regarding the projected mission, equipment, and environment. This document is the Software Product Specification for MIDAS. Introductory descriptions of the processing requirements, hardware/software environment, structure, I/O, and control are given in the main body of the document for the overall MIDAS system, with detailed discussion of the individual modules included in Annexes A-J.


Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters, the ubiquitous protein cofactors found in all kingdoms of life, perform a myriad of functions including nitrogen fixation, ribosome assembly, DNA repair, mitochondrial respiration, and metabolite catabolism. The biogenesis of Fe-S clusters is a multi-step process that involves the participation of many protein partners. Recent biophysical studies, involving X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), have greatly improved our understanding of these steps. In this review, after describing the biological importance of iron sulfur proteins, we focus on the contributions of NMR spectroscopy has made to our understanding of the structures, dynamics, and interactions of proteins involved in the biosynthesis of Fe-S cluster proteins.


Calculations, for NH2 using a minimal basis set of SCF atomic orbital, expressed as a linear combination of gaussian orbitals, are optimized by determining the theoretical bond angle (105°) and hydrogen atom orbitals exponent (1.35). After this partial optimization the calculated hyperfine coupling constants are : aH=–22.33; aN= 8.46 G, in excellent agreement with experiment.


From three parts,the paper reviews the studies on the relationship between four properties of Chinese medicine and material composition.The first part introduces the relationship between four properties of Chinese medicine and organic components;the second part introduces the relationship between four properties and inorganic components;the third part introduces the research hypothesis.


This paper presents the results of tests on fully-clamped circular plates subjected to blastloading directed down a tube. Four series of tests were performed. In one set of experiments,the blast wave was allowed to progress unhindered down the tube to impinge upon the plate,and in the other tests, perforated plates were placed in the path of the blast wave to hinderprogression down the tube, disrupting the blast and absorbing some of the kinetic energy.Results of the tests indicate that the perforated plates can be used as a form of passive mitigation.


This article describes the finding about discovering Coccinella septempunctata's parasites in various region of Tajikistan. For the first time, it has been reviled the cases of infecting Coccinella septempunctata with Dinocampus coccinelae parasite, which makes up 3 up to 8%.


Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a cool season vegetable crop and well adapted to Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most important vegetable cash crop used as green leaves as well as mature bulbs. India is the second largest producer of onion in the world with an area of 12.17 lakh ha and production of 192.99 lakh MT (Anonymous 2014). As per the estimates of National Seed Corporation, India needs about 4000 tonnes of certified seed of onion per year while the yearly production of seed has been estimated to about 6000 quintals (Singh, 2003), which indicates that there is an imperative need to produce more from less arable land and water. The continuous improvement in productivity with optimum International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 1 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


Notation can be seen to sit conformably between theory and practice as it symbolizes practice, generates and implements theory, and produces practice. Historically, its presence changes in significance across the development of activities such as music or architecture. From design tool to canonic text, notational artefacts both solidify and formalize practice, as will be expanded below. How, then, does the role and function of notation change with specific contemporary practices, which are by definition ill-defined and feed off fluidity and change? What is the nature of notation in distributed and collaborative practices such as improvised music or network music performance?


Probing the photo-degradation of silk fibers is helpful to protect silk cultural relics. Studying the interactions between sericin and fibroin is essential for understanding the ageing degradation of silk fibers. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies demonstrate that compared to the silk fibers under 38℃ water, the variety of β-sheet structure under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation with or without water increases and then decreases due to the removal of sericin and the damage to the peptide chains. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of silk fibers are investigated by measuring the stress–strain curves and the ultimate tensile strength. The changes of E modulus on strain ε are calculated and the results are used to describe the mechanism of elastic, elasto-plastic and plastic strain in silk fibers under stretching. In addition, the stress degradation rates of silk fibers indicate that the synergetic role of water and UV irradiation can cause the breakage of crosslinks in the fibers with the increase of ageing time. The calculation of artificial degradation life estimation also shows that the existence of water affects the life of silk fibers. This study demonstrates that the appropriate condition can be employed for the protection of ancient silk fabrics.


We develop a simulation-based method for the online updating of Gaussian process regression and classification models. Our method exploits sequential Monte Carlo to produce a fast sequential design algorithm for these models relative to the established MCMC alternative. The latter is less ideal for sequential design since it must be restarted and iterated to convergence with the inclusion of each new design point. We illustrate some attractive ensemble aspects of our SMC approach, and show how active learning heuristics may be implemented via particles to optimize a noisy function or to explore classification boundaries online. Supplemental material, including an R package, is available online.


This article analyzes the agambian figures of homo sacer and muslim, state of exception and concentration camp as paradigms to explain the superfluity of contemporary life under a process of degradation and human disintegration which is continuous and increasingly accentuated and perfected. Human life, ethically and politically qualified as just life, is now replaced by the simple life, bare life, biological or vegetative life, stripped of all political, moral, legal attribute. In the meantime the citizen is confused with the homo sacer, Muslim, non-man, whom anyone can kill without committing murder, because life has already been dehumanized by the exclusion, exception and abandon. And the cities become similar to the concentration camps, which rather than places for death, are spaces in which man is transformed into a living-traveling Cadaver, mummy, Muslim by impoverishment, overcrowding, starvation and abandon. This implies that, today, the task of the philosophy of law is not only to consider the best theory of power or justice, but claim and vindicate forms of life understood in all its potentiality, in their ability to live long and specially as potential. Simultaneously with the conception of other philosophical and legal issues relating to contemporary forms of life, we must assume, of course, other theoretical references and also other answers that allow the opening of new horizons of understanding of human life in its relation to law, justice, and community. In this sense, the work of Giorgio Agamben represents a necessary epistemological and methodological framework to understand aw in all its complexity today and address the most pressing problems of our times


This article was first published by Nebraska Pork Talk There is strong local and national interest in adding hog barns to existing row crop operations. Declining on farm income over the past several years has accelerated this interest. Grain operations cite diversifying farm income, adding another family to the farm operation, and/or replace commercial fertilizer expense as the primary reasons for adding a hog barn. While there is industry demand to increase hog contract growing, these agreements can possess significant benefits and risks to producers. This is the first of a four part series which will discuss some financial and legal implications of adding a hog barn to an existing grain operation. In this first part, I discuss how the type of hog operations in the US have changed over time, where hogs are raised in Nebraska, and how Nebraska compares to other states.


In this article, a new approach for designing 3-D printed single- and dual-band filtering rat-race couplers based on hemispherical cavities is presented, for the first time. By constructing two types of multiplexing multimode topologies in dual-cavity configurations, both single- and dual-band filtering rat-race couplers are developed. In these designs, a pair of TM201 degenerate modes form the passband for single-band operation, while dual-band operation is realized by exciting an additional pair of TE101 degenerate modes. Due to the natural $E$ -field distributions of these modes, the desired 0° and 180° phase differences and isolations can be realized between output ports without additional matching circuits. By elaborately placing the internal coupling slots and input–output ports, desired filtering responses and phase requirements can be flexibly attained for both single- and dual-band filtering rat-race coupler designs. For demonstration, two prototypes are well implemented as monoblock circuits using 3-D-printing technology. Compared with the up-to-date designs, the proposed works exhibit the merits of compact size, high $Q$ -factor, lightweight, good single- and dual-band filtering responses with controllable bandwidths and center frequencies, nice phase difference characteristics as well as flexible extendable topologies.