A formula for the quantum efficiency of Schottky barrier metal-semiconductor composite photon detectors is derived. It includes the two factors that completely describe the quantum efficiency of a planar Schottky barrier detector. It has in addition a third factor, that can be larger or smaller than one depending on the ratio of the mean-free path of the photoexcited carriers to the dispersed metal particle sizes. Using this formula, quantum efficiencies, due to photoexcited holes in experimentally prepared PtSi∕p-Si composite films, were calculated in the 3–5μm micron wavelength range using measured absorption and particle size data. The results provide evidence for the contribution of particle size effects to the efficiencies in PtSi∕p-Si composite detectors and are consistent with previous particle size effects in other metal-semiconductor composite materials.


C59-X (X= C, N, P, As and Sb) was studied by Density Functional Theory DFT at the B3LYP/3-21G** level. Group V elements have been selected to be substituted in the fullerene-C60 cage in order to show the effect of such substations upon structural and electronic properties of the studied molecules. It is found that elements of Group V doped C60 have an electronic structure similar to those of n-type semiconductor. The electronic structure of electron donor (Group V-doped) of the C60 molecules demonstrates the possibility of using these systems in electronic applications as many properties as HOMO-LUMO gaps can be controlled by the appropriate substitution. At the same level of theory the effect of water, methanol, heptanes and acetonitrile upon C60, was studied in terms of geometry, HOMO/LUMO energy and total dipole moment. No changes in the calculated parameters were regarded as a result of solvents.


Immunoperoxidase staining for Regan isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase was performed on cryostat sections of five human tumor tissues. With a direct immunoperoxidase staining for the localization of Regan isoenzyme at the light and electron microscope levels, sections previously fixed with 0.05 M phosphate‐buffered 4% paraformaldehyde were reacted with rabbit antisera to human placenta alkaline phosphatase conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. Comparison of conventional histochemistry and immunohistochemistry for Regan isoenzyme indicated that strong specific immunoperoxidase staining appeared on the cell membrane surface, and a diffuse one, in the cytoplasm of lung and colon cancer tissue cells showing L‐phenylalanine‐sensitive alkaline phosphatase. No immunoperoxidase reaction was obtained in tumor cells showing sensitivity to L‐homoarginine or lacking alkaline phosphatase activity.


Objectives: In this study, we report a new, less invasive surgical technique in managing preserved parathyroid tissue in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism who undergo bilateral parathyroid exploration and excision of all 4 parathyroid glands. We report this technique in 4 patients and evaluate their postoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels as a marker to evaluate efficacy. Methods: All 4 glands were first exposed. Superior glands are not possible to transpose and were excised while the inferior glands were mobilized on their pedicles. Once identified, the inferior glands were kept intact until it was determined which gland can be best preserved on its vascular pedicle with adequate length for transposition. This gland was then mobilized through an incision made in the strap muscles, placing it superficial and ventral to the muscles. The majority of the hyperplastic gland was then resected distal to its vascular pedicle. The portion of the gland that was preserved was secured over the strap muscle, making it easily accessible for future exploration and debulking if needed and avoiding a second operative site in the forearm. Results: Rapid intraoperative PTH assay confirmed adequate removal of hypersecreting parathyroids and was indicative of a curative outcome. All patients exhibited a greater than 90% initial reduction in the PTH level from their baseline and a sustained decrease in postoperative PTH levels well below their preoperative baselines at one month. The percentage mean reduction in PTH at longest follow-up was 94.57%. Importantly, none of the patients exhibited postoperative PTH levels indicative of hypoparathyroidism. Conclusions: None provided.


The end socker of skirted tower equipment is one of the key components in tower equipment design with its complex structure and load.A new structure design for the flat end socker of skirted tower equipment is introduced,and FEA design analysis for the flat end socker is made in detail,in which the stress intensity at the end socker of tower equipment is mainly analyzed under three combined operating conditions with internal pressure,hydrostatic pressure,wind load,earthquake load and dead weight.The results reveal that this new structure design for the flat end socker can meet code requirements and effectively decrease the factor of stress concentration at the geometric discontinuous zone between tower vessels and tower skirt.


We develop a general framework to analyze the controllability of multiplex networks using multiple-relation networks and multiple-layer networks with interlayer couplings as two classes of prototypical systems. In the former, networks associated with different physical variables share the same set of nodes and in the latter, diffusion processes take place. We find that, for a multiple-relation network, a layer exists that dominantly determines the controllability of the whole network and, for a multiple-layer network, a small fraction of the interconnections can enhance the controllability remarkably. Our theory is generally applicable to other types of multiplex networks as well, leading to significant insights into the control of complex network systems with diverse structures and interacting patterns.


In this work, we investigate the decay behaviors of several higher strangeonia into $\Lambda\bar\Lambda$ through hadronic loop mechanism, enabling us to predict some physical observables, including the branching ratios. Furthermore, we assess the reliability of our research by successfully reproducing experimental data related to the cross section of $e^+e^-\to\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$ interactions. In this context, we account for the contributions arising from higher strangeonia, specifically $\phi(4S)$ and $\phi(3D)$. Additionally, we extend this study to encompass higher strangeonia decays into other light flavor baryon pairs, such as $\Sigma\bar\Sigma$ and $\Xi\bar\Xi$. By employing the same mechanism, we aim to gain valuable insights into the decay processes involving these particles. By undertaking this investigation, we hope to shed light on the intricate decay mechanisms of higher strangeonia and their interactions with various baryon pairs.


The idea for this special section of the American Review of Canadian Studies was sparked by a conference held in the fall of 2012 at the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus. The theme of the conference, hosted by UBC's Canadian Studies program, was "Beyond the Culture of Nature." The aim of the event was to interrogate and rethink the culture–environment nexus at the core of much Canadian Studies scholarship produced in Canada. Whether in the traditions of the Staples and Laurentian theses of Canadian historical–geographic development (see, respectively, Innis 1995; Creighton 1937), in the idea of a national imagination emerging through confrontation with harsh northern landscapes (see, for example, Simpson-Housely and Norcliffe 1992; Frye 1995), or in more recent emphases on power and the cultural production of nature in Canadian discourse and practice (see, for example, Braun 2002; Loo 2006), "[f]or decades the phrase 'culture of nature' has been deployed in Canadian and environmental studies to examine the cultural mediation of the rest of nature or tropes of nature and nation" (Evenden 2013, 5). And yet, "[j]ust what constitutes a culture or nature, or various proxy terms with their own complex histories like wilderness or environment, is neither agreed upon or fixed" (Evenden 2013, 5, emphasis in original). The conference conveners asked presenters to reflect on new directions and imperatives for consideration of 'the environment' in the interdisciplinary field of Canadian Studies. Given the prominence of environmental issues in recent popular, political, and academic discourse, the theme of the event was timely and welcomed by the participants. As such, it was a productive event replete with discussions of the potential for themes of biopolitics, post-humanism, postcolonialism, pluralism, and environmental justice to thrive at the intersection of Canadian and environmental studies. It was also mostly a set of discussions about Canadian Studies as produced from a Canadian perspective. As a Canadian who studied in Canada for all of his degrees, the literatures and themes being debated were quite familiar and engaging to me. However, as a faculty member in a Canadian Studies program in the United States, and having served as editor of this journal, I have developed a sense that Canadian Studies as produced from a US perspective has traced a somewhat different trajectory than the one that was being considered at the conference. Thus, upon receiving the call for papers for the conference I had wondered: if the broad theme of 'culture of nature' has been central to Canadian Studies in Canada, what has been the 'nature' of Canadian Studies in the US? The brief paper that I presented at the conference set out to suggest an answer to that question. And, in prompting thoughts about past emphases and future directions, the paper ultimately framed two special sessions titled "Unsettling the Nature of Canadian Studies in the United States" at the 2013 Association for Canadian Studies in the United States Biennial in Tampa. It is from those special sessions that the articles following this introduction were drawn. In order to get a picture of the place of nature, or the environment, in Canadian Studies in the US to present at the UBC conference, I examined the table of contents of each volume of this journal since its inception in 1971 and identified every article that addresses issues of nature or the environment, broadly defined. The quantity and American Review of Canadian Studies, 2015 Vol. 45, No. 3, 259–265, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02722011.2015.1084138


Due to their nature and location, ports and other maritime projects are particularly sensitive to climate change actions. Thus, when designing these types of projects, it is important to follow a methodology that incorporates climate change adaptation measures throughout the design process. This paper aims to identify the most relevant work developed in this field, along with the main knowledge gaps, through a systematic literature review process. Through a careful selection and analysis of relevant articles associated with "climate change adaptation", "ports" and "design", it was possible to conclude that these focused on existing infrastructures and specific case studies, on individual design aspects, on policies and economic or legal frameworks, on the perceptions around climate change or on stakeholder management. The literature review process described in this paper is part of a larger project, dedicated to the development of a practical and robust framework focused on the implementation of climate change mitigation measures in the design of new ports and other maritime projects.


This chapter focuses on the opioid crisis. There has been substantial attention devoted—appropriately—to this issue. However, there are three areas that receive far less attention than they should. First, while opioids have attracted most of the headlines, two other drugs are being misused in America at newly alarming rates, their rise paralleling that of opioids. These are cocaine and its prescription-based stimulant cousins, such as Adderall and Ritalin. Then there is the issue of who is affected by opioids. This opioid crisis has presented countless news stories about the toll on white, middle-class, suburban, and rural users. While there have indeed been dramatic increases in opioid deaths in these groups, the opioid-related deaths of black Americans have doubled in the past 15 years. Thus, people must remind themselves that this is not just a white epidemic. Finally, because access to treatment for opioid addiction remains fragile, with national treatment rates low, people should keep in mind that Medicaid remains a key source of coverage for many people who use drugs. As Americans shore up a treatment system for opioid, cocaine, and stimulant misuse that has been woefully inadequate, threats to Medicaid's structure and funding need ongoing attention, or the consequences of drug use will continue to grow.


Attachment theory provides an informative theoretical description of how prosocial behaviors in response to the distress of others may be socialized. This study aimed to investigate associations between attachment security to mothers, fathers, closest grandparents and peers, and young adolescents' (a) prosocial responses to others' distress and (b) global prosocial behaviors, via the mediation of empathic concern. Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from 520 adolescents (aged 11–14) from nine schools in Cape Town, South Africa. Structural equation modeling revealed that a model in which all paths from the attachment variables were routed through empathic concern was superior to a model which proposed only direct effects of attachment on prosocial behavior. Peer and grandparent attachment were significantly associated, through empathic concern, with self-reported helping in response to others' distress. For teacher-reported global prosocial behavior, the indirect effects of peer and grandparent attachment failed to reach significance. The results provide theoretical insight into the association between secure attachments and prosocial behavior, and highlight the importance of relationships with friends and grandparents in early adolescence.


In 2009, it was shown that, with an original approach to hydrodynamic cavitation, a phenomenological model was realized in order to compute some of the physical parameters needed for the design of the most common technological applications (turbo-machinery, etc.) with an economical saving in planning because this analysis could allow engineers to reduce the experimental tests and the consequent costs in the design process. Here the same approach has been used to obtain range of some physical quantity for jet engine optimization.


Waxoline purple AS has been established as an efficient colorimetric reagent for the determination of boron in 84% sulphuric acid. Data are presented showing the loss of boron during the orthodox ashing techniques of both plant residues and soil extracts. Conditions of ignition have been established whereby it is possible to check the relative boron status of any crop or soil when compared against standards from the same crop or similar soil type known to have a satisfactory boron status.


We now know that the ACL has at least two distinct bundles: anteromedial and posterolateral. Because of this, anatomic two-bundle ACL reconstruction techniques have become an established option [3]. Taking this a step further, some authors have identified partial ACL disruptions (a tear to one of two bundles), and have promoted isolated bundle reconstructions — reconstructing only the torn bundle, leaving alone the bundle that is apparently uninjured. This kind of ACL-remnant preservation with isolated bundle reconstruction is gaining recognition in the orthopaedic community. In fact, several authors have demonstrated clinical outcomes equal to those of standard ACL reconstruction with the use of remnant preservation/isolated bundle reconstructions [1, 2, 6]. Identifying these isolated/ partial ACL tears can be difficult, not only on clinical examination, but also by MRI. Recently, Van Dyck et al. [5] demonstrated that the accuracy of MRI for the diagnosis of partial ACL tears was 25% to 53%, with only moderate interobserver agreement. The authors found that the partial tears demonstrated MRI features that are indistinguishable from complete ACL tears, mucoid ACL degeneration, and the normal ACL. Additionally, Dejour et al. [4] confirmed these findings by indicating that, in partial tears, there was no correlation between preoperative MRI findings and arthroscopically confirmed type of ACL tear. Partial ACL disruption, compared with complete ACL disruption, is extremely rare. In the Van Dyck study, researchers diagnosed partial ACL disruption on MRI in only 6% of their patient cohort.


People who come from foreing countries to stay for a long time have their own culture, traditions and ways of life that depends on different elements like : the age, the family, the formation, the job, etc. this contribution tries to know some of these component to make easier the distinction of de causes that promote the malfunctions that are happening in our scene.


The reviewed book contains the documents and materials devoted to the history of relations of two twin-towns: Tolna region (Hungarian People's Republic) and Tambov region (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) in the period of late socialism, of "perestroika" in the USSR and market reformations in Hungarian People's Republic. The materials of the collected publication reflect the multi-aspect processes of experience exchange in two peoples of two countries in the sphere of industrial production, agriculture, complete building, culture, public health, education, sports through the prism of activity of regional department of All-Union Society of Soviet-Hungarian Friendship. Based on the example of documents, firstly published in the collected publication of party apparatus, correspondence of first secretaries of Tambov regional committees of C.P.S.U. (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) and Tolna regional committee of HSWP (Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party), return of heads of social organizations and workers' association, the cognitive value of information about two-sided relations is revealed. The significance of documents, showing the efforts of heads of two regions to improve the level of efficiency of twin-towns' relations in the second half of 1980-s is shown and it is still relevant at the moment.


The present invention relates to a pressurized gas in a pressure vessel for storing or transporting. More particularly the invention relates to such a container for storing or transporting compressed natural gas. The invention also relates to a method for storing or transporting the gas from onshore or offshore. The present invention also relates to a transport member for transporting a gas, in particular compressed natural gas.


Recycling agriculture is the trend of agricultural development.As one of the most effective ways of solving issues concerning agriculture,countryside and farmers and improve ecological environment,the localization and generalization of recycling agriculture becomes a vital part in the agricultural development of China.With Hepu Dongyuan Technology Corporation as the case,the author conducts an analytical study on the relationship between technology chain,industrial chain,and recycling agriculture and reaches a conclusion that key technology chain determines industrial chain and would cast impacts on the realization and operation of recycling agriculture.


1. Introduction to Attractors and Chaos 1.1 Basics of Attractor and Chaotic Dynamics 1.2 Brief History of Chaos Theory in 5 Steps 1.2.1 Henry Poincar'e: Qualitative Dynamics, Topology and Chaos 1.2.2 Steve Smale: Topological Horseshoe and Chaos of Stretching and Folding 1.2.3 Ed Lorenz: Weather Prediction and Chaos 1.2.4 Mitchell Feigenbaum: Feigenbaum Constant and Universality 1.2.5 Lord Robert May: Population Modelling and Chaos 1.2.6 Michel H'enon: A Special 2D Map and Its Strange Attractor 1.3 Some Classical Attractor and Chaotic Systems 1.4 Basics of Continuous Dynamical Analysis 1.4.1 A Motivating Example 1.4.2 Systems of ODEs 1.4.3 Linear Autonomous Dynamics: Attractors & Repellors 1.4.4 Conservative versus Dissipative Dynamics 1.4.5 Basics of Nonlinear Dynamics 1.4.6 Ergodic Systems 1.5 Continuous Chaotic Dynamics 1.5.1 Dynamics and Non-equilibrium Statistical Mechanics 1.5.2 Statistical Mechanics of Nonlinear Oscillator Chains 1.5.3 Geometrical Modelling of Continuous Dynamics 1.5.4 Lagrangian Chaos 1.6 Standard Map and Hamiltonian Chaos 1.7 Chaotic Dynamics of Binary Systems 1.7.1 Examples of Dynamical Maps 1.7.2 Correlation Dimension of an Attractor 1.8 Basic Hamiltonian Model of Biodynamics 2. Smale Horseshoes and Homoclinic Dynamics 2.1 Smale Horseshoe Orbits and Symbolic Dynamics 2.1.1 Horseshoe Trellis 2.1.2 Trellis-Forced Dynamics 2.1.3 Homoclinic Braid Type 2.2 Homoclinic Classes for Generic Vector-Fields 2.2.1 Lyapunov Stability 2.2.2 Homoclinic Classes 2.3 Complex-Valued H'enon Maps and Horseshoes 2.3.1 Complex Henon-Like Maps 2.3.2 Complex Horseshoes 2.4 Chaos in Functional Delay Equations 2.4.1 Poincar'e Maps and Homoclinic Solutions 2.4.2 Starting Value and Targets 2.4.3 Successive Modifications of g 2.4.4 Transversality 2.4.5 Transversally Homoclinic Solutions 3. 3-BodyProblem and Chaos Control 3.1 Mechanical Origin of Chaos 3.1.1 Restricted 3-Body Problem 3.1.2 Scaling and Reduction in the 3-Body Problem 3.1.3 Periodic Solutions of the 3-Body Problem 3.1.4 Bifurcating Periodic Solutions of the 3-Body Problem 3.1.5 Bifurcations in Lagrangian Equilibria 3.1.6 Continuation of KAM-Tori 3.1.7 Parametric Resonance and Chaos in Cosmology 3.2 Elements of Chaos Control 3.2.1 Feedback and Non-Feedback Algorithms for Chaos Control 3.2.2 Exploiting Critical Sensitivity 3.2.3 Lyapunov Exponents and KY-Dimension 3.2.4 Kolmogorov-Sinai Entropy 3.2.5 Classical Chaos Control by Ott, Grebogi and Yorke 3.2.6 Floquet Stability Analysis and OGY Control 3.2.7 Blind Chaos Control 3.2.8 Jerk Functions of Simple Chaotic Flows 3.2.9 Example: Chaos Control in Molecular Dynamics 4. Phase Transitions and Synergetics 4.1 Phase Transitions, Partition Function and Noise 4.1.1 Equilibrium Phase Transitions 4.1.2 Classification of Phase Transitions 4.1.3 Basic Properties of Phase Transitions 4.1.4 Landau's Theory of Phase Transitions 4.1.5 Partition Function 4.1.6 Noise-Induced Non-equilibrium Phase Transitions 4.2 Elements of Haken's Synergetics 4.2.1 Phase Transitions 4.2.2 Mezoscopic Derivation of Order Parameters 4.2.3 Example: Synergetic Control of Biodynamics 4.2.4 Example: Chaotic Psychodynamics of Perception 4.2.5 Kick Dynamics and Dissipation-Fluctuation Theorem 4.3 Synergetics of Recurrent and Attractor Neural Networks 4.3.1 Stochastic Dynamics of Neuronal Firing States 4.3.2 Synaptic Symmetry and Lyapunov Functions 4.3.3 Detailed Balance and Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics 4.3.4 Simple Recurrent Networks with Binary Neurons 4.3.5 Simple Recurrent Networks of Coupled Oscillators 4.3.6 Attractor Neural Networks with Binary Neurons 4.3.7 Attractor Neural Networks with Continuous Neurons 4.3.8


Most peptide or protein-based drugs like insulin require an injection for delivery. Alternatives routes of delivery could potentially improve treatment efficacy and clearly improve the patient's qu...


The invention relates to a structure using graphite alkene as buffer layer epitaxy GaN (gallium nitride) and a preparation method of the structure. The method comprises the following steps of: adopting a graphite alkene layer as a buffer layer between the substrate and a gallium nitride epitaxy layer; and inserting a nitride thin layer between the graphite alkene layer and a GaN layer so as to obtain a gallium nitride epitaxy layer with low stress and high quality. The defective rate of LED (light emitting diode) devices is reduced, the quality of the LED devices is increased, and the life cycle is prolonged. The problem of lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the substrate and the gallium nitride are solved effectively.


The analysis of complex systems frequently poses the challenge to distinguish correlation from causation. Statistical physics has inspired very promising approaches to search for correlations in time series; the transfer entropy in particular (Hlavackova-Schindler et al., 2007). Now, methods from computational statistics can quantitatively assign significance to such correlation measures. In this study, we propose and apply a procedure to statistically assess transfer entropies by one-sided tests. We introduce to null models of vanishing correlations for time series with memory. We implemented them in an OpenMP-based, parallelized C++ package for multi-core CPUs. Using template meta-programming, we enable a compromise between memory and run time efficiency.


The Analysis of National Basic Information Needs in Urban Hydrology has focused on Data Needs, Data Devices, and Data Networks. Primarily aimed at improvement in design of storm drainage, intensive study has been made of the data requirements for analyzing rainfall-runoff-quality relationships and of suitable data collection instrumentation, with consideration of the types of networks required for the collection of adequate data. There are important implications in the use of data as part of the intelligence required for comprehensive management and operation of urban water services. ASCE, through its Urban Hydrology Research Council and with the assistance of scores of experts, has had the privilege of mapping a national program of urban storm drainage research.


Compared with the widely used constant switching frequency PWM method, variable switching frequency PWM can benefit more because of the extra freedom. Based on the analytical expression of current ripple of three-phase converter discussed in "Study of Analytical Current Ripple of Three-Phase PWM Converter" in APEC 2012, variable switching frequency PWM (VSFPWM) methods are proposed to satisfy different ripple requirements. Two methods are discussed in this paper. The first method (VSFPWM1) is designed to arrange the current ripple peak value within a certain value, and can reduce the equivalent switching frequency and EMI noise; the second method (VSFPWM2) is designed to keep ripple current RMS value constant and reduce the EMI noise. Simulation and experimental results show that variable switching frequency control could improve the performance.


This paper presents a solution to determining the maximum/minimum values for two-dimensional mathematical functions using the three most popular crossover techniques (Single point, Two point and cut and splice) randomly in genetic algorithm. A set of experiments were ran over 20 complex functions, the obtained results show that using random crossover techniques tends to be worst compared with traditional genetic algorithm that uses specific crossover method such as single point crossover.


As healthcare costs rise, hospitals are seeking ways to improve operations. This paper examines the usefulness of free-form notes to solve a classification problem commonly associated with customer churn. The authors show that classifiers which incorporate free-form notes, using natural language processing techniques, are up to 9% more accurate than classifiers that are solely developed using structured data. The authors suggest that hospitals and chronic disease management clinics can use structured data and free-form notes from electronic health records to predict which patients are likely to cease receiving care from their facilities. Classification tools for predicting patient churn are of interest to hospital administrators; such information can aid in resource planning and facilitate smoother handoffs between care providers.


The study was undertaken to detect the occurrence of E.coli in raw milk samples collected from different sources in and around ElArish city, North Sinai Governorate. A total of 450 raw milk samples were collected from different milk animals from farms, houses and market (supermarkets, dairy shops, groceries and vendors) situated in El-Arish city and surrounding areas. Various media were used for cultivation of the organism; biochemical identification was carried out by applying certain tests for E.coli, as well as serological identification by using specific antisera. Congo red test used as in vitro pathogenicity test ; to detect the virulence markers of E.coli strains. E.coli was recovered from the raw milk samples; with a percentage of 8.9%. E.coli was detected in farm and market milk, with an incidence of 10% and 11.7% respectively. The serological identification revealed the detection of six serogroups (O1, O6, O55, O86, O128 and O158). E.coli strains showed 40% positivity for the Congo red dye uptake. It is concluded that the contamination of raw milk with E.coli potentiates the alarm for the possibility of food poisoning occurrence for human being.


This study aims to design and improve the development of office automation system of basic affairs in university and college. By means of software engineering, adopting J2EE, combined with SQL Server database to complete the design and the development of system, through the test of platform, it can complete the relevant business administration management in university and college, which can explore a new way of sound development for university and college.


VIKOR method being one of the frequently used Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, is based on the distances of alternatives to positive and negative ideal solutions, and presents compromising solutions. AHP is another MCDM method dividing the big problem into small and manageable problems through pairwise comparisons of criteria and alternatives. In these methods, linguistic assessments are generally preferred since exact numerical assignments of criteria values are really difficult and experts can not reflect the thoughts in their minds with crisp numbers. The fuzzy set theory captures the vagueness and impreciseness in these linguistic assessments successfully thorough fuzzy numbers. Circular intuitionistic fuzzy sets (C-IFS) are the latest extension of ordinary fuzzy sets, which was introduced by Atanassov [1]. C-IFS help experts to define membership (belongingness) and non- membership (unbelongingness) degrees by incorporating the uncertainty of these degrees. In this paper, an integrated C-IF AHP & C- IF VIKOR methodology is developed and applied to a multi-expert


Optical performance of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with multiple GaN-InGaN barriers is investigated. The energy band diagrams, light-current performance curves, and internal quantum efficiency are studied numerically. The simulation results show that the InGaN LED has markedly improved the optical performance when the first conventional GaN barrier is replaced by the GaN-InGaN-GaN barrier, in which the indium composition is less than 5%, with other GaN barriers remain unchanged. The improved performance is due to the enhanced injection efficiency of holes and relatively uniform distribution of electrons and holes.


"If we guarantee the right to do X, some people will have to do X." Let X represent a liberal reform such as legalizing abortion, prostitution, or assisted suicide. Arguments like thee, which I label "false freediom" arguments, comprise a critique to which both feminists and liberals should respond seriously. This paper analyzwes and criticizes the false freedom critique from a feminist post-liberal perspective.


The present invention relates to a rotor pump (10), comprising: a pump body (50A) capable of being rotatably driven and forming an accommodation cavity (52) therein; a pump wheel (20, 20A) having a main body part (22) capable of rotating in the accommodation cavity and a first shaft part (24) axially extending from the main body part; and a sealing plate (30) comprising an eccentric hole (32) being eccentric relative to the rotation axis of the pump body; the first shaft part is rotatably fitted in the eccentric hole; a suction channel (25) is formed on one side of the pump wheel, and a discharge channel is formed on the other side of the pump wheel; the suction channel and the discharge channel are respectively in fluid communication with a compression cavity formed between the outer circumference of the pump wheel and the inner circumference of the accommodation cavity. The present invention also relates to a rotary machinery comprising the rotor pump. The rotor pump of the present invention has a simple structure, fewer components and low cost.


Abstract. X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is used to
resolve the detailed internal architecture of the siliceous skeletons of two
well-preserved middle Cambrian (Miaolingian Series) radiolarians from the
Inca Formation of the Georgina Basin, Australia. Digital dissections of
specimens of Archeoentactinia incaensis and A. tetractinia
reveal for the first time that both are exclusively
composed of tetractine spicules. A basal layer consisting of robust spicules
together with an interwoven meshwork of smaller spicules is observed in both
micro-CT models. Detailed structural analysis with the aid of a digitally
inserted artificial sphere shows that the framework spicules are likely to
have been added one by one as the radiolarian cell enlarged. The timing of
spicule genesis may be an important factor controlling the morphology of
different groups of spicular radiolarians. Observation of these fundamental
skeletal structures suggests that the type genus of Archeoentactiniidae Archeoentactinia
belongs to Echidninidae; thus, Archeoentactiniidae is a junior synonym of
Echidninidae.


: The form and function of the in-house design organization, its positioning within the company, and the scope of its activities, are possible major factors that influence the design decision making process. This paper aims at contribution to understanding current situation of design management focusing on design-decision-making in major manufacturers in the global automotive industries and establishing a better model of design management that will promote creation of more competitive design in the international market places. The methodology of research was mainly surveying related reports or articles on books and magazines, interviewing to design managers of the current leading automotive firms in Japan, America and Europe and comparing their system, mechanism, and method of product design development. We identified their differences and understood the structure of "Design-Decision-Making" that has been a very important part of design management in the in-house design organization of each company.


Researchers have identified the level of the protein troponin below which it is highly unlikely that someone presenting with chest pain has had a myocardial infarction (MI).

Routine use of the test in the emergency department could rule out a diagnosis of MI in two thirds of patients with chest pain, the authors have estimated—double the number of patients currently suitable for immediate discharge.

A total of 6304 patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome at four emergency departments in Scotland from June 2013 to January 2014 were recruited to the prospective observational cohort study, reported in the Lancet .1 All patients …


Part I 1. What is CPD? Complex and Varied! 2. CPD: Who? Who From? For Whom? 3. Visions of CPD Part II 4. CPD Governance: Compliance Policies 5. CPD Governance: Programme Support 6. CPD Governance: Regulatory Procedures 7. CPD Measurement and the Paradox of CPD: Effective Achievement of Professional Development Value? Part III 8. Complexity, Paradox and Mystery: Potential of CPD yet to be Realised 9. Dynamics: CPD Today and Tomorrow 10. CPD Field Beyond Tomorrow: Affecting Players and Passive Stakeholders 11. Visions and Fulfilment: Will the 'Real' CPD Please Stand?


A 63-year-old male was admitted to our surgical department for an operation for oesophageal cancer. He had no episodes of syncope or a family history …


veloped. Without them a new arms race might follow. Under these world institutions each side must be permitted to maintain the basic values of its society. This global community must develop through the United Nations, and new ways must be found to accelerate progress in this direction. Another necessity for a stable world order is the narrowing of the sharp economic gap between the "have" and "have-not" countries. New ways must be found to step up the economic and political development of these underdeveloped countries. Granting technical and economic aid could be an effective tool if the method of doing it were basically revised. The major change needed is this: Instead of granting a large number of countries a totally inadequate amount of funds, aid should be focused on a limited number of countries at a time, bringing them to a state in which they can continue to grow on their own. Then the developed beam should be shifted to another group of countries. In carrying out a program of focused development, all grants should be given as interest-free loans, repayable for use by count ies yet to b devel ped. Five to 10 percent of all funds should be invested in scientific research in


Exponential decay estimates are derived for quadratic functionals of solutions of boundary value problems associated with a third order diffusion-like equation. Spatial as well as time decay estimates are included.


3 Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems ensure safe and efficient operation of a nuclear reactor. They play a major role in all the states of the reactor including operation of the reactor at various power levels to controlled safe shut down. That's why Instrumentation and Control systems are aptly called the eyes and ears of the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The Instrumentation and Control systems are designed with safety and availability of the reactor as the guiding requirements through redundant systems and also keeping in mind the simplicity of design and maintainability. A judicious combination of hardwired and computer based Instrumentation and Control systems, state-of-the art design, manufacturing processes and testing were employed in the design of Instrumentation and Control systems. Instrumentation and Control systems for 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) have been indigenously designed and developed and being manufactured at ECIL. In this article, I would like to highlight the activities relating to Instrumentation and Control being carried out at our Centre.


Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy is caused by intramyocardial deposition of transthyretin-derived amyloid fibrils, which leads to progressive ventricular wall thickening and stiffness of the heart. Once diagnosed, it is associated with a life expectancy of only 2 to 6 years. Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy can be an inherited trait, caused by pathogenic mutations in the transthyretin gene TTR (ATTRm), or it can be acquired through the aggregation of wild-type transthyretin protein (ATTRwt). The condition is typically manifested as failure of the right side of the heart, cardiac conduction blocks, or supraventricular arrhythmias.1 Although ATTRwt mainly affects the hearts of patients 60 years . . .


A heuristic with multi-byte suffix matching plays an important role in real pattern matching algorithms. By skipping many characters at a time in the process of comparing a given pattern with the text, the pattern matching algorithm based on a heuristic with multi-byte suffix matching shows a faster average search time than algorithms based on deterministic finite automata. Based on various experimental results and simulations, the previous works show that the pattern matching algorithms with multi-byte suffix matching performs well. However, there have been limited studies on the mathematical model for analyzing the performance in a standard manner. In this paper, we propose a new probabilistic model, which evaluates the performance of a heuristic with multi-byte suffix matching in an average-case search. When the theoretical analysis results and experimental results were compared, the proposed probabilistic model was found to be sufficient for evaluating the performance of a heuristic with suffix matching in the real pattern matching algorithms.


To investigate altitudinal changes of tree species biodiversity and community structures, we investigated 30 plots on the southeastern slope and 13 plots on the northwestern slope of Mt. Huanggang, Wuyi Mountains, Fujian Province. We recorded 151 tree species from 42 families and 73 genera on the southeastern slope, and 102 tree species from 32 families and 54 genera on the northwestern slope. There was no significant difference of tree species composition between these two slopes. The number of families, genera and species in the tree layer decreased as altitude increased. The richest families, genera and species were recorded at the altitudes between 800-1000 m a.s.l. on the southeastern slope, and between 1500-1600 m a.s.l. on the northwestern slope. The species diversity of tree layer on the northwestern slope was higher than that of the southeastern slope from 1200-1800m a.s.l.. Shannon-Wiener index (H′) correlated negatively with elevation on both slopes. Srenson index (IAc) varied in transitional zones between vegetation types, and was lowest at the ecotone between evergreen broad-leaved forests and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests. Considering community structures, larger maximum tree height (H max ) and maximum diameter of breast height (DBH max ) were recorded at middle elevations than at upper or lower elevations. H max and DBH max were higher on the northwestern slope than on the southeastern slope at the same elevations. Total basal area (TBA) of evergreen broad-leaved trees was greater than those of deciduous broad-leaved trees and coniferous trees at low elevations. TBA of coniferous trees showed two peaks, corresponding to two different types of coniferous species while that of deciduous broad-leaved species stayed stable along the altitudinal gradient. TBA of deciduous broad-leaved trees was greater on the northwestern slope than on the southeastern slope. TBA patterns of these three life forms along the altitudinal gradient were similar on both slopes.


In December 2019, transmission of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, China1 .And later the virus began to be transmitted from person to person2 .Face masks are a type of personal protective equipment used to prevent the spread of respiratory infections,it may be effective at helping prevent transmission of respiratory viruses and bacteria3 .Here, we share a case of face masks are be used to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 infection.


Railway track drainage has a significant effect on both the response of a rail to loading and the durability of the ballast and sub-ballast. Although various standards and design methods exist for the surface drainage there is limited information on sub-surface drainage. In particular there is a paucity of analytical or numerical studies of drainage of track foundations. The present study re-evaluates results of a laboratory-based investigation of track drainage. A time-variant numerical model, based on the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation, was developed to reproduce the experimental results. The model was also used to show the importance of the slope of subgrade and the ballast/sub-ballast permeability ratio in reducing the water retention time in the track support layers. The numerical model has practical applications as it can be used to evaluate groundwater conditions beneath the track for rainfall storm return periods and can thus be used to design track drainage.


The angular correlation of photons from the two- gamma decay of positrons in all sodium halides and all alkali chlorides was measured. The data yield the momentum distribution of the two gamma rays which is also the momentum distribution of the annihilating electron-positron pairs. It is seen that the positive ion has very little influence on the momentum distribution in comparison with the negative ion. The distributions in momentum are compared with the distributions calculated from various models of electron and positron wave functions in the crystal. For fluorides and chlorides, the electron- positron wave-function products that yield fits to the experimental data resemble HartreeFock free-ion electron wave functions. Both the wavefunction products and the free-ion wave functions yield density distributions that are similar to the electron densities obtained by x-ray measurements. This conclusion makes improbable a model of single-particle wave functions, describing both the electrons and the positron tightly bound to the negative ion. (auth)


Significance
 The country has been without a permanent government for close to a year after elections in April and September failed to produce a coalition; another snap poll is now scheduled for March 2, 2020. The government has continued to function on a day-to-day basis, but critical policy decisions have been put off.

 Impacts
 The political deadlock will have a negative impact on the economy as the country enters 2020 without a budget for the year.
 Netanyahu's challenger in the Likud primary, Gideon Sa'ar, will likely lose but still position himself as heir apparent for party leader.
 Israel may have trouble managing security threats from Gaza and Iran due to the election and continued rule by a caretaker government.


Literature on drying science, engineering, and technology has been expanding nearly exponentially since the IDS series was inaugurated in 1978 and this journal was established in 1982 with two small issues in two years. After a decade of fledgling existence, the journal developed strong roots and the IDS series spawned several international and national conferences as well as workshops. Numerous books have appeared in the last three decades that also helped promote drying R&D as a viable multidisciplinary area for challenging inquiry in academia as well as industry. The rising energy costs and climate change concerns triggered strong growth in drying literature. One direct outcome of this growth in archived literature is a problem all researchers in all fields face. It is increasingly difficult if not impossible to remain abreast of the latest developments and even harder to identify important gaps and needs for challenging research in any selected area of drying. In order to assist both novices and experienced researchers in this area, Drying Technology has been making special efforts to identify research themes of current interest and to seek expert authors to provide authoritative capsule summaries of recent literature. This provides an immense savings in time and effort for readers interested in various research areas. During 2015 alone, this journal has published numerous refereed reviews on areas of academic as well as industrial interest. Current interest in superheated steam drying is reviewed by Romdhana et al., with a focus on industrial pilot and full scale operations. Infrared drying is a unique operation that is used in practice due to its unique features, as reviewed by Riadh et al. Si et al. provided an industry-oriented review of low rank coal technologies. Wray et al. have summarized recent developments in microwave drying of foods—an area of growing research interest. Despite the current drop in energy costs, sustainability of the energyintensive drying operation remains a major concern globally. Hence, it is important to be aware of advanced drying techniques for fresh produce, which is covered by Zhang et al. A review paper by Aghbashlo et al. provides a useful and highly comprehensive overview of the ANN methodology, which is gaining ground as deterministic models for modeling of dryers and their control are severely limited due to the highly nonlinear nature of drying and dryers. Food drying is a massive operation of immense interest in industry and academia. It is well recognized that the drying operation must be carried out carefully to avoid development of toxic aflatoxins during or after drying operations of most grains and foodstuffs. This is reviewed by Chiewchan et al. I am sure this summary of the most recent critical reviews on key topics of current interest will be helpful to our academic as well as industrial readership.


In 1890 Bryan observed that when a vibrating structure is rotated the vibrating pattern rotates at a rate proportional to the rate of rotation. During investigations of the effect in various solid and fluid-filled objects of various shapes, an interesting commonality was found in connection with the gyroscopic effects of the rotating object. The effect has also been discussed in connection with a rotating fluid-filled wineglass. A linear theory is developed, assuming that the rotation rate is constant and much smaller than the lowest eigenfrequency of the vibrating system. The associated physics and mathematics are easy enough for undergraduate students to understand.


Editor's note: This essay originally appeared in the November, 1970, issue of The Linacre Quarterly. Dr. Galla was, at the time, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. His essay emphasizes the importance of moral formation in the practice of medicine, as well as the difficulty in encouraging such formation in a multicultural environment. The need for an understanding of the connection of religion to medicine—and the importance of religion on the care of patients—is as important, and as difficult, today as it was then. Well-rounded physicians must not only understand the importance of moral considerations in practice from their own perspectives, but must also appreciate the importance of religion to the patients they treat.


Objective. To assess coagulation parameters and activity indices in pts with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Material and methods . 86 pts with SLE (83 female and 3 male) were examined. 12 of them had antiphospholipid syndrome. Mean age was 35,9±1,5 years (from 18 to 58 years), mean disease duration was 9,8+1,4 years. Control group consisted of 60 healthy volunteers with mean age 37,1+4,1 years. SLE activity assessment was performed with SLAM, SLEDAI and ECLAM indices. Results. SLE pts showed 5-fold (p<0,01) increase of spontaneous platelets aggregation and more than 3-fold increase of factor von Willebrand antigen (FWA) concentration. Platelet activation in pts was accompanied by decrease of platelet aggregation with collagen (on 27%), p<0,01. Characteristic sign of coagulation hemostasis activation was significant increase of soluble fibrin-monomer complexes (SFMC) concentration on 81 % (p<0,01) so as increase D-dimers level in 53,3% of pts. Fibrinogen concentration was increased on 29%, spontaneous fibrinolysis parameters were decreased on 20%, antithrombin (AT) 111 - on 21% in comparison with control. Direct correlation between activity indiccs and SFMC(ECLAM, r=0,5), fibrinogen concentration (SLAM, r=0,34), D- dimers level (ECLAM, r=0,5), spontaneous platelet aggregation (ECLAM, r=0,5) so as inverse correlation with AT III activity (SLEDAI, r-0,73) was revealed. Conclusion. Changes of hemostasis parameters in SLE may serve as predictors of thrombotic disorders development and indication to drug correction of blood coagulation disorders. Direct correlation between blood coagulation system activity and indices of SLE activity.


Background: Thoracic outlet syndrome is treated using non-surgical or surgical approaches. Surgical treatment is necessary if non-surgical treatments fail. In this study we compared the supraclavicular and transaxillary approaches for surgery of the brachial plexus. Methods: We, retrospectively, studied 69 patients undergoing surgery to treat thoracic outlet syndrome from 2001 to 2008. Twenty six patients had bilateral thoracic outlet syndrome. Sixty three cases were operated with supraclavicular approach for the first time, 32 cases were operated with transaxillary approach for the first time, and 7 cases were reoperated with supraclavicular approach. The complications were evaluated for 24 months. Results: Pneumothorax, hemothorax, vessels injury in transaxillary and supraclavicular approach were the same but permanent and transient brachial plexus injury in transaxillay approach were more than supraclavicular approach. Conclusion: Supraclavicular approach for surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome provides better access to braxial plexus and there is less need for reoperation compared to transaxillary method.


ABSTRACT Bacterial spot caused by Xanthomonas spp. (X. vesicatoria, X. euvesicatoria pv. euvesicatoria, X. euvesicatoria pv. perforans, and X. hortorum pv. gardneri) may result in significant losses for tomato crops. Simonkolleite nanoparticles (SK-NPs) has been indicated as a novel approach for plant disease control. The objective of this work was to evaluate SK-NPs (ZnOCl, ZnOCl:Ag, and ZnOCl:Cu at different concentrations) for the in vitro inhibition of X. hortorum pv. gardneri, determining the time of exposure of the products for the bacterial death; the reduction of bacteria recovery on inoculated seeds, and their efficacy to reduce bacterial spot severity in plant. The growth inhibition was evaluated by inhibition zone in culture medium plates, when the diameter of the inhibition zone was measured. The period of exposure of the products to the bacterial suspension tested were 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 h. Tomato inoculated seeds were treated with SK-NPs. In plant, the preventive and curative effects were evaluated by applying the products two days before or after inoculation, respectively. Disease severity was evaluated and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated. ZnOCl:Ag, ZnOCl:Cu, and ZnOCl inhibited bacterial growth, and the 5 h exposure time was necessary to reduce bacterial growth. ZnOCl:Ag, and ZnOCl:Cu reduced the bacteria presence in the seeds, and did not affect the seed germination. Both products reduced the AUDPC in the preventive application. The use of SK-NPs ZnOCl:Ag and ZnOCl:Cu showed to be promising to manage tomato bacterial spot.


This study focuses on a number of private voluntary and municipal organizations in Ecuador that have official fee collection policies and systems. Among the different mechanisms aimed at facilitating access to services are general fee subsidies reduced fees for services in poorer locations exemptions and reduced fees for certain services means testing sliding fee scales waivers special government funds and fast track services. The effectiveness of these various mechanisms is discussed and recommendations for health care providers in Ecuador are presented. (authors)


Present inventions relate to a backlight unit and a display device with the same. The backlight unit includes a light guide plate having a groove, a light source module arranged in the groove, and a projection from a side of the groove in the light guide plate toward the light source module for guiding a light from the light source module to the light guide plate.


Optimum strains for koji were screened and the effect of mold addition,glucose addition,water content of the fish and koji-making time were studied.Based on single-factor experiment,the koji-making conditions were optimized with orthogonal test.The research conclusion can be summarized as follows,the maximum protease activity occurred when ratios of mixed strains of As 3.042 and Aspergillus usamii were 3∶1,and the optimum koji-making conditions were cultivation for 48h,raw material of 25g,glucose addition 3%,fish body water content 30%,and mold addition 2%.


A new EEPROM circuit for analog trim is proposed.Comparing with the traditional double-gate EEPROM structure,the new EEPROM structure is not only with standard CMOS processes but also has low cost and high yield.When used in the voltage reference circuit,this circuit can achieve a voltage range about±4.82%,and a precision about 4mV.This circuit also can be widely used in the high precious required circuits.


A novel wideband bandpass filter (BPF) based on signal-interaction concepts is presented in this paper. Two transmission paths with a wideband double-sided parallel-strip line 180° inverter and a 3λ/4 transmission line are employed to transmit signals from Port 1 to Port 2. By introducing two λ/4 shorted lines, the passband transmission performance of the BPF can be improved effectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed BPF can achieve three transmission zeros and good harmonic suppression in the whole operating band ranging from 1.35 to 3.41 GHz, with 3-dB fractional bandwidth of 86%.


Abstract The English East India Company established a factory on the island of Condore, off the coast of southern Vietnam, in 1702 as part of its plan to maintain a settlement to direct shipping activities between trading ports in China and Southeast Asia and India. For three years, the settlement thrived and was an important part of the China trade network, especially as a stopping point for ships plying the China route. The island settlement also carried out trading activities with neighbouring ports along the Indochina coast and the Malay Archipelago. The setting up of the factory, however, coincided with the emergence of the new entity of southern Vietnam under the Nguyễn family who were expanding their power-base to the south. In the process, the Nguyễn had already subdued the Chams and were coming face-to-face with the Khmers when the English factory was established. This paper will trace the English venture on Condore Island and the reaction of the Nguyễn ruler towards this venture which culminated with the destruction of the factory in 1705. This paper will attempt to explore the following questions: the shifting importance of the islands in the Nguyễn's security and foreign relations vis-à-vis the English factory, and will also investigate the circumstances that brought about the massacre and destruction of the English factory on Pulo Condore—a historical event that has not been properly explained thus far.


We study the application of group testing to the design of efficient algorithms for random multiple-access communication systems. Both direct transmission and reservation systems are considered for various types of channel feedback. We propose and analyze algorithms based on conventional and generalized group testing techniques. The proposed algorithms outperform TDMA and algorithms based on binary tree search and possess certain optimality properties.


A contact hypersurface in a Kaehler manifold is a real hypersurface for which the induced almost contact metric structure determines a contact structure. We carry out a systematic study of contact hypersurfaces in Kaehler manifolds. We then apply these general results to obtain classifications of contact hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature in the complex quadric SO(n+2)/SO(n)SO(2) and its noncompact dual space SO(n,2)/SO(n)SO(2) for n > 2.


We describe a fossil heron, based on seven fossil bones, from the Early Miocene Bannockburn Formation at Saint Bathans, Central Otago in the south of New Zealand. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of 50 morphological characters, we determine the new heron is a member of Ardeidae but, in an analysis where we retrieve three major lineages in Ardeidae: (1) bitterns, (2) egrets and true herons, and (3) night herons, there is no support for a sister group relationship with any of these clades. We discuss aspects of the higher taxonomy of the herons based on our phylogeny.


There are many kinds of sociology courses on the family, but if we had to reduce them to just two categories, the cut might be courses that celebrate the now mythic "ideal American family," and courses that look at the "new American family," diverse couples with no affection for past traditions, and no pretensions to meeting those standards. The usual Family textbook pretends to cover both of these family types, but generally the main theme is the progression of young men and women through heterosexual dating to aging long-term couples figuring out how to live on managed incomes. Homosexual couples, racial minorities, and segregated subcultures (e.g., Mennonite families) are mentioned in various sidebars with the appropriate amount of political correctness, but they do not really share the spotlight. As a result, some sociologists, looking out into a sea of nonwhite, non-middle-class students from single mother families, or parents who had an arranged marriage in distant lands, find themselves somewhat embarrassed by the presumptions these textbooks contain. These family sociologists either find a different kind of textbook or look for supplementary books that will reflect both their student's lives, and their own search for materials that guide students to new insights about the full continuum of family systems. Inside the American Couple takes a look at intimate couple relationships as influenced by history, gender, sexual orientation, and competing cultural values. When first viewed, the collection might seem aimless, with a little of this and a little of that, but as the reader progresses through the volume, it is clear that the editors have been very clever about picking this selection of articles to make a point about "the new American family." The point is not that we live in gloriously discontinuous types of relationships. To my mind, we have had enough of that kind of bazaar-type family book where you celebrate diversity but make no larger point. Rather, Yalom and Carstensen give us a book where each excellent article presents a point that the next article can build on, and make an additional contribution, so that at the end of the book, the reader will have an overall sense of the progression of change and (or no change) that created the world we have now, a world of different kinds of couples building a number of kinds of families, each with their own particular challenges, benefits, and costs. The book starts with an insouciant article by Yalom about the Biblical model of the family, imagining what her life would have been like if she had been part of an ancient Hebrew family, and what "correctives" early Christian theology contained to the Hebrew model. In the second article, on "The Marriage of Abigail and John Adams," the not so modern bargain of the storied Adams marriage can be clearly seen as revolutionary in comparison to strict patriarchy, if only because love, mutual respect, and cerebral alliance have now become possible between a man and a woman. Author Edith Gelles shows us that the power dynamics of male leadership and female compliance are intact, and yet, the marriage is justly revered in American history, because it showed that a man and woman of spirit, intelligence, and intense mutual attraction could, in the mideighteenth century, construct a marriage that had some of the properties of a modern "soul mate" relationship. However, it is the next article that shows the Adams marriage was not truly modern, if we mean by that the development of gender differentiation, as well as emotional equity. Kate Washington's article, part history, part sociology, and part literary criticism, shows how the Victorian woman and man were starting to spar in stories, and in reality, over


Abstract While there has been much anticipation that open government data (OGD) would increase the inclusion of marginalized groups in government decision-making processes, researchers have found little evidence of it. Such findings or lack of findings of social impact have led researchers to call for critical review of present notions of OGD's impact and also for better theoretical frameworks. In response to these calls, we develop a theoretical framework based on an ethnographic study of civic use of OGD in Hong Kong. We argue that constrained by the deliberative democracy models that focus on existing mechanisms of political participation, researchers have tended to overlook the use of OGD for protests, contestation, and other expressions of adversarial politics, which also produce a use of OGD for social impacts.


Introduction: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon cause of cerebrovascular disease that mainly affects children and young adults, mostly in fertile-age-women. Objectives: A contemporary review of the epidemiological, anatomical, pathophysiological, diagnostic and treatment characteristics of CVT. Materials and methods: A bibliographic research was performed in the PubMed / MEDLINE database and including studies published in the period 2015-2020. Development: The estimated-annual-incidence has been increasing in last years. Its diagnosis is established by clinical studies and neuroimaging, and laboratory studies. Although, the diagnosis is generally late due to a highly variable and nonspecific clinical presentation. Treatment target is preventing potential mortal complications, followed by anticoagulant therapy. In some cases, surgical thrombolytic procedures are indicated. Conclusions: The diagnosis is based on a combination of MRI or CT studies. The current gold-standard treatment is low molecular weight heparin and warfarin.


The concept of regulation is also connected to the humanities and history, a fact which had been given little attention up to now. Experts in constitutional and European law as well as legal and economic historians have explored this field in a joint research project, the results of which are contained in this book. (Published in German.)


Objectives:Hyperchloremia is frequently observed in critically ill patients in the ICU. Our study aimed to examine the association of serum chloride (Cl) levels with hospital mortality in septic ICU patients. Design:Retrospective cohort study. Setting:Urban academic medical center ICU. Patients:ICU adult patients with severe sepsis or septic shock who had Cl measured on ICU admission were included. Those with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 or chronic dialysis were excluded. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Of 1,940 patients included in the study, 615 patients (31.7%) had hyperchloremia (Cl ≥ 110 mEq/L) on ICU admission. All-cause hospital mortality was the dependent variable. Cl on ICU admission (Cl0), Cl at 72 hours (Cl72), and delta Cl (&Dgr;Cl = Cl72 – Cl0) were the independent variables. Those with Cl0 greater than or equal to 110 mEq/L were older and had higher cumulative fluid balance, base deficit, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores. Multivariate analysis showed that higher Cl72 but not Cl0 was independently associated with hospital mortality in the subgroup of patients with hyperchloremia on ICU admission (adjusted odds ratio for Cl72 per 5 mEq/L increase = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.02–1.59; p = 0.03). For those who were hyperchloremic on ICU admission, every within-subject 5 mEq/L increment in Cl72 was independently associated with hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio for &Dgr;Cl 5 mEq/L = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.11–1.69; p = 0.003). Conclusions:In critically ill septic patients manifesting hyperchloremia (Cl ≥ 110 mEq/L) on ICU admission, higher Cl levels and within-subject worsening hyperchloremia at 72 hours of ICU stay were associated with all-cause hospital mortality. These associations were independent of base deficit, cumulative fluid balance, acute kidney injury, and other critical illness parameters.


This chapter assesses the coherence of the ICTR Completion Strategy and the extent to which it contributes to the realization of the ICTR's mandate. Some of its objectives include identifying the United Nations' objectives for the development of the strategy, establishing the characteristics of the development process, ascertaining whether the strategy involves all the relevant stakeholders, assessing whether the strategy was imposed on the Tribunal or whether its design was based on a genuine need, assessing the level of achievement of the strategy's goals and identifying possible impediments to the smooth and successful implementation of the strategy. The chapter sets out what the literature says on some of the issues and topics. It further focuses on the formulation and development of the ICTR strategy; and then deals with issues related to the implementation of the strategy. Keywords: ICTR completion strategy; ICTR management; relevant stakeholders; United Nations Security Council


Objective: An indirect competitive ELISA was developed by using anti- DON monoclonal antibody and coating antigen DON-BSA for detection of deoxynivalenol in wheat and corn. Methods: The best dilute concentrations of anti-DON monoclonal antibody and coating antigen were obtained by matrix titration experiment. Methodology of ELISA kit was also studied to ascertain qualifications. Results: The detection limits was 10μg/L. and the linear range of the inhibition curve was 10~500μg/L. The mean coefficients of variation was 5.8%, and mean recovery rate of DON in the samples was 104%. The detection could be finished within 2h. The kit has more than six months stationery phase during 4℃ storage. Conclusion: This ELISA method was verified to be rapid, safe, sensitive, repeatable, specific for DON detection.


The present invention relates to a CMP polishing liquid, the polishing liquid contains a dispersion medium in the medium and the silica particles as abrasive grains, wherein, (A1) of the silanol group density of the silica particles is 5.0 / nm2 or less, (B1) was observed from a scanning electron microscope, the average particle diameter of primary shaft when selecting two arbitrary images of the silica particles 20 particles of 25 ~ 55nm, (C1) of the silica degree of association of the particles is 1.1 or more. Thereby good dispersion stability, can provide a barrier film polishing rate is high, and the abrasive grains, the polishing layer can be a high-speed inter-insulating film CMP polishing liquid, and providing finer, thinner, dimensional accuracy, excellent electrical properties and reliability a polishing method for producing high and low cost of the semiconductor substrate or the like.


Polar van der Waals (vdW) crystals that support phonon polaritons have recently attracted much attention because they can confine infrared and terahertz (THz) light to deeply subwavelength dimensions, allowing for the guiding and manipulation of light at the nanoscale. The practical applications of these crystals in devices rely strongly on deterministic engineering of their spatially localized electromagnetic field distributions, which has remained challenging. The polariton interference can be enhanced and tailored by patterning the vdW crystal α‐MoO3 into microstructures that support highly in‐plane anisotropic phonon polaritons. The orientation of the polaritonic in‐plane isofrequency curve relative to the microstructure edges is a critical parameter governing the polariton interference, rendering the configuration of infrared electromagnetic field localizations by enabling the tuning of the microstructure size and shape and the excitation frequency. Thus, the study presents an effective rationale for engineering infrared light flow in planar photonic devices.


Energy efficiency is an important property of mobile and pervasive computing devices. Dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) offers a technique to potentially achieve this property by reducing the energy consumption of the microprocessor. There has been much research conducted in the area of DVS algorithms. However, many of these algorithms have only been tested in simulation environments. In this paper, we take a practical approach and explore existing DVS algorithms on real hardware running a real operating system (OS) executing real workloads. In particular, we used an IBM Thinkpad T30 Mobile Pentium 4-M laptop and Linux kernel 2.6.0-test9. In our implementation, we introduce an alternative interpretation of existing DVS algorithms based on hypothetical idle time rather than actual idle time. In addition, we developed our own algorithm, called FUTURE, based on the experience gained during the implementation process. The FUTURE algorithm makes use of information available in the OS scheduler. Our results indicate that energy savings is achievable, with PAST and AVGn algorithms providing the best trade-off between performance and energy savings.


Cholera is an acute infectious disease with high mortality if left untreated. Historically, between the 19th and 20th centuries seven great pandemics of cholera occurred and worldwide, thousands of people died. Based on an old theory, cholera was considered an air-born disease and the emergence of its outbreaks were attributed to bad weather or miasma. However later in the 18th century, British physician John Snow (1813-1858) explained the association of a terrible cholera outbreak in London in 1849 to contamination of the drinking water supply with human excreta. Despite his finding, the causative agent of this dreaded illness was unidentified until later in the 19th century. In 1854, Filippo Pacini (1812-1883) an anatomist from Italy and then in 1883, Robert Koch (1843-1910) the German bacteriologist, discovered 'vibrio cholerae' as the etiologic agent. During the major pandemics of cholera in 19th and 20th centuries this illness reached Iran and led to vast depopulation and a crucial impact on the country's socioeconomic status. Poor public health conditions, lack of a well-organized public health authority for implementing preventive and quarantine measures as well as Iran's specific geographic location were the main facilitating factors of the emergence of various epidemics, including cholera in Iran. The present paper briefly reviews the cholera outbreaks in Iran during the 19th and 20th centuries.


In this paper, a torus is designed as an adding mass to modify the dynamic characteristics of the tool-holder system in free boundary condition and in fixing boundary condition. The torus is fixed on the holder of a given face milling cutter, which may change the mass distribution and the stiffness distribution of the system, to adjust the frequency and damping ratio of the tool tip. Although the dynamic characteristics of the tool tip are significantly influenced by holder-spindle interface, the influence of the tool-holder can't be neglected. In this attempt, by adding mass on the tool holder, the first order frequency decreased by 37% in free boundary condition and 6.7% in fixing boundary condition. The first damping radio increased by 48% in free boundary condition and 4.5% in fixing boundary condition. Chatter suppression is verified in the cutting process by adding mass on the holder.


Five novel [(1H-benzotriazol-1-ylacetyl)amino]acetic acid derivatives were synthesized by substituting corresponding amino acids on a reaction intermediate 1H-benzotriazol-1-ylacetyl chloride. The derivatives were characterized by physical, chemical parameters, TLC and spectral data. Synthesized derivatives from Ib to Vb were screened for anti microbial activity against, S. Aureus, B. Subtilis, E. coli, S. typhi, C Albicanse, A Niger. MIC was measured against norfloxacine and ketoconazole. Present study confirms the synthesized derivatives endowed with effective antimicrobial activities.


The use of mobile payments has become a public interest during the current spread of the coronavirus. The use of mobile payments prevents society from touching the payment media. This study examines the effect of ease of use on e-WOM through the intention to use and social media community on the mobile payment method. This research was conducted by taking data through closed questionnaires designed with a five-point Likert scale. This study distributed two hundred fifty questionnaires, and 202 returned to be processed using the partial least square (PLS) technique. The results of data processing show that the ease of use of technology applications had a positive effect on the intention to use an e-WOM. Ease of use of technology has a positive effect on the social media community because of the ease of operation and understanding of the steps for using technology to access and join as members of the social media community. Intention to use in the operation of technology and relatively low cost does not directly affect e-WOM but must go through a community on social media that provides an exciting atmosphere. The social media community has a significant effect on e-WOM. The social media community can share information on social media and share reviews between members so that it creates a sense of trust and mutual concern among members. This study provides an insight into the mobile payment provider to consider the ease of use of their design. This research contributes to the ongoing research in the online payment application study in the pandemic era.


gram of right ventricular hypertrophy, the rnid-portion in frontal plane displaccd from initial position to the right, in horizontal plane te thc right anterior, and in sagittal planc to the anterior, and in vectorcardiogram of left ventricular hypertrophy, that in frontal piane displaced to the left, in horizontal plane to the left posterior, and in sagittal plane to the POSterlor. These rcsults could be explained Py the rotation and variation of the QRS-Ioop bcforc the procedure, Rotation of QIRS-loop in right ventricular hypertrophy: The initial Q,RS-loop is rotated ceuntcrclockwise areund


Wall reinforcement with highly porous synthetic Dacron mesh was devised and evaluated in various aortic operations. Excellent attachment of the mesh to the aortic wall, good preservation of pliability of the aorta, and efficient pressure resistance with minimal scar tissue formation were the usual findings. This type of wall reinforcement was employed in 60 patients for the following indications: 1) prevention of suture line complications; 2) wall reinforcement of aortic aneurysm without resection; 3) reinforcement of adventitia or autogenous vein following thromboendarterectomy. It is concluded that reinforcement with highly porous synthetic Dacron mesh should be superior to reinforcement with conventional prosthetic Dacron graft.


With the aim of describing statistically mixed states in realistic many-body systems, the su(n)- and the su(n,1)-algebra in the Schwinger boson representation are presented in a form generalized from the su(2)- and the su(1,1)-algebra. The generators of the two algebras are expressed in terms of certain bilinear forms for boson operators. Some concrete examples are discussed in detail.


Objective:To explore the apricot butyl injection of unstable angina pectoris(UAP) patients with hypersensitive c-reactive protein(hs)-CRP) and hemorrheology influence.Methods:Will 85 cases of UAP of inpatients,randomly divided into treatment group 43 cases(routine therapy﹢apricot butyl injection 25ml static point,once daily) group,42 cases(routine therapy﹢compound danshen injection 20ml static point,once per day),treatment before and after the treatment of 1 treatment respectively detection hemorheology indices and hs-CRP levels.Results:The treatment group after the treatment of plasma viscosity,platelet aggregation rate,whole blood viscosity,whole blood viscosity high cutting decreased,fibrinogen content decrease,hs-CRP levels decreased.Compared with before treatment were significant difference(p 0.01),and the control group after the treatment of comparative significant difference(p 0.05).Conclusions:UA patients based on conventional treatment combined with apricot butyl injection can be reversed hemodynamics abnormality,anti-inflammatory properties,reduce the incidence of AMI,worth and sudden death rate of clinical application.


The complexchemisty of "nacked" Ex-unites (E = P, As, Sb, Bi; x = 1–6) has developed rapidly since the end of the seventies. Most of the Ex-groups, except P4, are unstable in the free state but can be stabilized by complexation with transition metal fragments. They are isolobal to the corresponding (CH)x-arrangements. This article gives a comprehensive review of this young and dynamic field of chemistry up to 1988. It generalizes methods of synthesis, compares modes of coordination and types of polyeders of these complexes. The article describes the analogies and differences in the coordination behaviour of "nacked" Ex-groups of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth. Thus, there is an anomaly of bismuthine complexes by reason of the metallic character of Bi.


This paper presents experimental and theoretical data regarding the design, characterization and analytical applications of a non-expensive, liquid-membrane ion-selective electrode for Pb2+ ions. The membrane is a solution of the active complex formed by Pb2+ ions with dibenzo-18-crown-6-ionophore (DB18]-C-6) extracted in propylene carbonate (PC). The sucessful application of the developed electrode for the determination of Pb2+ ions in aqueos solution samples by direct potentiometry and potentiometric titration is presented. For the presented analytical results, there are insignificant systematic errors between the direct potentiometric method with the developed ion-selective electrode and atomic absorption spectrometry.


Were investigated the local ecologic knowledge (CEL) by fishermen about biological characteristic of Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara in northern Paraense Amazon, a critical endanger specie. This research was development in three municipality of Bragantine region: Augusto Corrêa, Bragança (Ajuruteua Peninsula) and Tracuateua (Chapada). Data were obtained by interviews with semi structure formularies to fishermen between June to October of 2014, by snowball technical. A list of 27attributes, with categorical variables, with until 6 classes by each one, were draw up to fishery system 'Atlantic Goliath Grouper'. These attributes were classified according 5 dimensions: technologic, economic, ecologic, social and sustainability. RAPFISH shows particular patterns to 'Atlantic Goliath Grouper' system, but no dimension was regard excellent, however, social dimension headline by all attributes listed received notes very closer one by other, become homogeneous their social profile, differently of observed to the other dimensions, mainly economic and sustainability, that were responsible by high polygon deformity, once production status were subtly even with continuous fisheries.


In an effort to develop ways of reducing the rate of absenteeism, this study assessed the scope and dimensions of the problem, constructed a profile of the so-called problem operators, identified major causes of absenteeism, and developed some absenteeism reduction strategies based on these findings. Because of its many contributing factors, no single solution can effectively deal with all facets of absenteeism. The solutions presented here range from being easy to implement to those requiring major labor contract revisions. An effective absence reduction program requires a coordinated and comprehensive effort aimed at the probable causes of excessive absenteeism. At the Southern California Rapid Transit District an attempt is being made to develop a program for monitoring and controlling absenteeism, highlighting the disruption and expense of the problem, involving first-line supervisors in identifying solutions, and evaluating major operational and work-rule changes.


A particularly enduring piece of received wisdom about electoral behaviour is the assertion that the young are the most liberal section of the electorate whereas the old are the most conservative in their views.' This academic generalization appears to have been shared by the parties themselves; certainly the Labour Party felt it would benefit from widening the franchise to 18-year-olds during the 196670 Wilson government.2 The base for this belief is grounded in studies of the electorate undertaken during the 'consensus' years of the 1960s, h ~ w e v e r . ~ Since then, the decline in popular support for Labour and the anti-consensus stance promoted by the Conservative leadership since 1975 have created a very different milieu within which young voters have been socialized. The purpose of this note is to test whether that changed milieu has had an impact on the political attitudes of voters socialized during the years of the 'Thatcher ascendancy'. Political socialization takes place at a variety of spatial scales, from the home through the neighbourhood and the region to the nation-state and even the global. At any time, one set of attitudes may dominate at a particular scale, and thereby influence those most open to suggestion. If we assume that younger voters are among the least firm in their political a t t i t ~ d e s , ~ then if one set of


Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (REAH) is rare, non-neoplastic lesion characterized by an abnormal proliferation of the glandular part of the respiratory nasal mucosa. Occasionally, this polypoid mass can be bilaterally associated with inflammatory nasal polyps. We present a case of a 63-year-old woman with REAH that originated from the right-sided superior turbinate and that was associated with nasal polyposis of the left nasal cavity. Endoscopic examination results revealed a lobular, yellow, soft-tissue mass in the right nasal cavity and nasal polyps in the left nasal cavity. Therapy included complete excision. Histopathological examination results showed the characteristics of REAH in the right nasal cavity and inflammatory nasal polyps in the left nasal cavity. To our knowledge, only one case of simultaneous presentation of REAH and nasal polyps in opposite sides of the nasal cavity has been previously described. Appropriate cooperation between a rhinologist and pathologist enables a correct diagnosis of these rare and unusual lesions.


Objective: To identify the correlation between sleep deprivation and patient pain, mood, and satisfaction of stay.Design: Quasi-experimental, DescriptiveSetting: Hays Medical Center Acute Care UnitParticipants: Acute Care patients of Western Rural KansasMethods: During their hospital treatment, patients will be subcategorized into two groups. One group will have nighttime disturbances limited to three events per night. The other group will have no changes to their nighttime treatment. Patients will then receive surveys to collect data on pain level, mood, and satisfaction of hospital stay. They will receive these surveys on day one, day three, and the day of discharge.Results/Conclusion: Pending results and data collection.


This paper presents an overview of the Didactic Transposition and Anthropological Theory of Didactic of Chevallard and the relationship between them in order to use them as an analysis tool to understand the appearance of content on the Clapeyron equation in both books of Physics and Chemistry. Praxeological analysis revealed a common core to these two science courses, complemented by some concepts which are contextualized to each one of them. This analysis can provide elements that guide the internal didactical transposition, helping teachers of physics and chemistry to minimize the fragmentation of this content in both science courses.


Objective:To provide useful information for prevention of birth defect by understanding relationship between air quality outside and birth defect.Methods: An ecological trend study method is applied in this paper by gathering data from surveillance of air quality outside and birth defect.Results:Under controlling motley factors,there is an increasing trend in incidence of birth defect in Guangzhou,which is similar with change of air quality outside in Guangzhou.Conclusion:Air quality outside will have effect on incidence of birth defect.This highlights an emergency need of building collaboration between medical health department and environmental protection department,to improve air quality outside and reduce incidence of birth defect.


Loss of vision is believed to have a great impact on the acquisition of spatial knowledge. The aims of the present study are to examine the performance of individuals with visual impairments on spatial tasks and the impact of residual vision on processing these tasks. In all, 28 individuals with visual impairments—blindness or low vision—participated in this study. The results reveal that participants with visual impairments were competent to perform spatial tasks, and their performance is related to the existence of residual vision.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gr am-negativ e bac-terium that causes a series of life-threatening acute and/or c hr onic infections in humans, often in persons with immunode-ficiency . P . aeruginosa has been listed as one of the priority bacteria that r equir es extensiv e r esearc h and ur gent de v elopment of new antibiotic treatments by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) in 2017. 1 In r ecent years, numer ous studies have shown that miRNAs play an important role in infection and inflammatory responses. 2 , 3 Our earlier r esearc hes suggest that miRNAs are a k e y regulator of


ICT, i.e. information and communication technology, is today an important part of the society. ICT tools are used in many different aspects in the everyday life, for example to perform transactions ...


ABSTRACT In light of an economic recession at a global scale, we should turn our attention toward sources of funding which, as leasing, present clear advantages to the more vulnerable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Applying logistic models on a sample of 4,425 SMEs from 25 European countries, we show that financial constraints and the characteristics of the institutional environment might play a distinctive role in the use of leasing for SMEs across developing and developed countries. Consequently, leasing regulations should be carefully studied to trigger rather than sink the feasibility with which leasing might be deployed and used.


The focus of this paper is the application of the Fink identity in obtaining
 Jensen-type inequalities for higher order convex functions. In addition to
 the basic form, we establish superadditivity and monotonicity relations that
 correspond to the Jensen inequality in this setting. We also obtain the
 corresponding Lah-Ribaric inequality. The obtained results are valid for
 functions of even degree of convexity. With this method, we derive some new
 bounds for the differences of power means, as well as some new H?lder-type
 inequalities


A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Security and Strategic studies


This article is devoted to semantic analysis of a special version of modern cultural texts musical video clips. The author defines the notion of «verbal-iconic text» in the lingua-cultural context, he also suggests some possibilities of describing such texts in the space of non-verbal speech games.


divided into four codes, and "general laws" besides many statutory provisions in the constitution. The codes deal in general with distinct subjects. The Political Code contains statutory law, dealing with political organization and governmental administration. The Civil Code contains the law governing civil rights and regulating the relations of individuals with each other. The Penal Code treats of crimes and criminal procedure. The Code of Civil Procedure governs civil procedure. The codes do not contain all of the statutory provisions in their respective fields. Much law which should be in the codes is contained in the general laws. It may be true that all of the statutes might better have been placed in the codes, and it is certainly true that the statutes would be far more accessibile and convenient to use if they were all collected and organized in one code or compilation. The general laws have been collecting for seventy-five years, and have never been organized. They contain much which has been repealed by implication, and on some points of law the statutory provisions are almost as difficult to find as the common law. Because of the greater accessibility and better organization of the codes it is the better practice to put new statutory provisions in the codes whenever the subject of the act is not treated exclusively in the general laws. Whenever the proposed act is an amendment of or addition to an existing act it should, of course, be an "amendment" of the existing act. While the placing of provisions in the wrong code will not make them ineffective," every provision relating to the same subject should be placed together in the same code.


The paper describes the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) Project, a research and development collaboration between NASA centers which focuses on the investigation and development of technologies, processes and integrated simulations related to the collaborative distributed simulation of complex space systems in support of NASA's Exploration Initiative. This paper describes the three major components of DSES: network infrastructure, software infrastructure and simulation development. In the network work area, DSES is developing a Distributed Simulation Network that will provide agency wide support for distributed simulation between all NASA centers. In the software work area, DSES is developing a collection of software models, tool and procedures that ease the burden of developing distributed simulations and provides a consistent interoperability infrastructure for agency wide participation in integrated simulation. Finally, for simulation development, DSES is developing an integrated end-to-end simulation capability to support NASA development of new exploration spacecraft and missions. This paper will present current status and plans for each of these work areas with specific examples of simulations that support NASA's exploration initiatives.


In the comprehensive process of lifetime learning, the introduction of m-learning systems, services and applications represents one of the main challenges in the area of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp). With the rapid development of mobile devices, the widespread provision of connectivity, as well as well-modeled learning services, all presumptions for effective m-learning implementations are fulfilled. The acceptance of such systems is however highly dependent on usability, implying particular emphasis on the design of both application user interfaces and interaction. In this paper we discuss a holistic approach to personalization of mobile human-computer interaction, targeting the improvement of the overall user experience. Within this context we analyze the possibilities for m-learning application adjustment regarding mobile device capabilities, student domain knowledge level, and interaction style and skills. Personalization issues are explained along with the respective functional models, with special focus on the menu component model, which is transformable according to users' navigation patterns.


Increasing production costs and a lack of current industry growth force operators to conserve energy and optimize production to lower production costs. Of the more than one-half million U.S. wells on artificial lift, about 85% are on beam pump. Therefore, if costs are to be reduced for many producers, beam pumping deserves attention. This includes proper maintenance, design and analysis, automation, and the most energy-efficient equipment, including prime movers. Although the choice of prime movers between electric motors and natural gas engines has been around for a long time, some recent developments may encourage operators to reevaluate the choice. This is because auto-start systems are now available to cycle gas engines. Reportedly, the auto-start can be used to time cycle a well (as is most often done for pump-off control) or can be tied to any transducer signal normally used for pump-off control such as a load cell on the polished rod or walking beam or other automated methods.


The authors describe the fabrication and characterisation of 1.55 µm wavelength DFB lasers with integrated, etched lateral taper, spot size converters. The buried ridge structure lasers were fabricated by conventional two-stage growth and processing techniques. Typical threshold currents of 10–15 mA were achieved with output powers up to 25 mW at 100 mA drive and with high singlemode yield. Coupling efficiencies to singlemode fibre were ~40% with positional tolerances of approximately ±2 µm at the –1 dB power point.


At the end of February 1991, a ''triple‐axis'' high‐resolution diffractometer for on powder sample measurements with synchrotron radiation was put in operation on the Adone wiggler line BX1 at Frascati. The diffractometer is based on a Seifert goniometer, designed according to our specifications. During the project, particular attention was paid in assuring the highest reliability together with great flexibility in the use. In fact, the diffractometer can also be used in a ''medium resolution'' configuration. For preliminary alignment and data collection, it is possible to operate with a traditional x‐ray tube, too. The alignment procedure of the diffractometer to the x‐ray beam is very easy. Powder samples can be measured both on the flat holder and on the capillary. An IBM PC computer is used for the instrument actuation and preliminary on‐line data collection, while a large software package has been developed for the data analysis performed by a Macintosh IIcx. The instrument performance has been teste...


Understanding dark matter (DM; Figure 1), how it was produced in the early universe, what is its nature, and where it is located in the cosmos is one of the fundamental physics problems of our century. The community working on DM is active and diverse, including particle physics theorists and astrophysicists with a wide range of interests, as well as particle physics experimentalists focusing on collider, fixed-target, beam-dump, and direct and indirect DM detection experiments, as well as dedicated axion/Axion Like Particle experiments. Given the diversity of the DM community, discovering or constraining DM requires broad discussions beyond the ongoing efforts for cross-collaboration within the different communities (e.g., Dark Matter Working Group, Physics Beyond Colliders study group, Long-lived particle community). However, to date there has been no common permanent platform where all these communities can come together for discussion beyond ad-hoc occasions like conferences and workshops. Furthermore, given the breadth of the information needed and produced by these communities, there is a need for an up-to-date collection of resources on DM that would facilitate more cross-communication beyond individual experimental efforts or models.