Technology of hydrate-based CO2 separation and capture is considered as a green and economical gas separation technology and is extensively studied. Most of the previous studies involving the aspects of thermodynamics and kinetics of the CO2 gas hydrate formation were carried out with small reactors, whereas few studies were carried out with pilot-scale equipments. In this paper, a pilot-scale CO2 separation from flue gas by the hydrate method is reported. By the equipment, we successfully realize CO2 separation from flue gas. By a two-stage hydrate separation process, the CO2 concentration can be enhanced to approximately 90.0% from 17.0%. The effects of the operating pressure and gas flow rate on CO2 recovery are also investigated by comparing and analyzing the data of the CO2 concentration, gas consumption, and CO2 recovery. The higher pressure results in the higher CO2 recovery, and there is an optimal ratio of the gas flow rate to the fluid flow rate for obtaining the highest gas consumption. The res...


Robust speech recognition is necessary for realizing useful speech interfaces. A microphone array is an effective item at capturing distant-talking speech with high-quality in noisy environments. It captures the target speech by localizing a talker and steering the directivity. These processing is usually executed in each frequency. For realizing useful speech interface, these processing must be finished in real-time. In the research into sound source localization, various methods have already been developed, and these methods localize a sound source based on acoustic space scanning by fixed resolution in each frequency. Therefore, calculation time is increased, and the real-time processing is difficult in higher spatial resolution. To overcome this problem, we proposed the localization method based on multi-resolution scanning in frequency domain. The lower frequency band has lower spatial resolution, and the higher frequency band has higher spatial resolution. The proposed method localizes the sound sou...


This paper is the product of research conducted under a Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement #58-8260-6-003 between the University of Maryland and the USDA, ARS, National Agricultural Library.


Study on the polymerization of 4 vinylpyridine was carried out with propionamide complex of neodymium chloride. The different factors of influences on polymerization were investigated. The results show that the catalytic activity of the complex increases with increasing of Al/Nd(molar ratio), and concentration of catalyst. Addition of pyridine increases the catalytic activity. For aluminum alkyls, the activity decreases in the following order ( i Bu) 3Al( i Bu) 2AlHEt 3Al. When polymerization temperature is at 50 ℃, the catalytic activity of the complex is the highest.


Recently, in South Africa, the question of a safe passing distance between motor vehicles and bicycles has been featured in the media, and there have been calls to introduce a road traffic regulation that requires motor vehicles to pass bicycles at a distance of at least 1.5 meters.. This article looks at the proposed regulation, drawing on similar enacted legislation in European countries, and discusses the benefits of setting a specific distance for motor vehicles to safely pass bicycles in traffic.


In its reporting on doctors' unhappiness over proposed changes to the NHS pension, the press has portrayed a moaning profession that is losing the respect of the public. But that's far from the full story, writes Margaret McCartney


Potential and geological methods are traditionally used to discover Cu-Au deposits. Whilst these methods seem effective, they lack resolution needed to confidently detect deeper mineral deposits. As the search for ore-bodies under regolith cover expands due to depletion of the near surface deposits, there is need to develop new exploration technology to explore these ore-bodies within 1-3km depth range. Seismic reflection method represents this new technology as it offers distinct advantage over all other geophysical techniques because of its depth of penetration and superior spatial resolution. Further, in many different geological environments, it offers a greater "3D mapability" of units within the stratigraphic column. We present two prospect case studies within the Gawler craton (Olympic Dam and Vulcan) deposits. Results show that seismic method could be a useful tool for exploration of deep seated IOCG deposits. The migrated section was not only able to identify and trace various and the complex structures but also shows reflections around the edges of intrusion. In the case of Gawler Craton, IOCG deposits tend to be a later addition to the regional metamorphic events hence seismic reflection surveys might be good for such exploration especially along known faults or edges of major intrusive complexes


: The paper presents some examples of continuous education and training of Slovenian teachers that use or teach computer technology in the Slovenian elementary and secondary schools. The underlying research was granted by the Slovenian Ministry of Science, Education and Sport. The first example explains organizational and technological details, problems and advantages of videoconference supported summer schools. The second experience is based on periodic tutorials, scheduled on local TV and accompanied by videoconference supported workshops for the same learning community.


. Multi-organ segmentation enables organ evaluation, accounts the relationship between multiple organs, and facilitates accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions. However, only few models can perform segmentation accurately because of the lack of datasets and computa-tional resources. On AMOS2022 challenge, which is a large-scale, clinical, and diverse abdominal multiorgan segmentation benchmark, we trained a 3D-UNet model with large batch and patch sizes using multi-GPU distributed training. Segmentation performance tended to increase for models with large batch and patch sizes compared with the baseline settings. The accuracy was further improved by using ensemble models that were trained with different settings. These results provide a reference for parameter selection in organ segmentation.


In order to explore the whole stressed performance of the cable-stayed bridges,the paper takes the design scheme for the cable-stayed bridge over railway in Heping road of Xuzhou as an example,and researches the structural response and the stressed performance under the earthquake effect,in order to exert its directive significance in the future design and construction of the similar bridges design.


BACKGROUND
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder which may be associated with another autoimmune or systemic disease.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the links between autoimmune diseases and celiac disease.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Among 31 patients with a celiac disease, we selected those who had another autoimmune or systemic disease.

RESULTS
We report 6 patients with such disease association: 3 with autoimmune thyroiditis including one also with Grave's disease, 2 with systemic lupus erythematosus including one also with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and 1 with temporal arteritis.

CONCLUSION
The link between celiac disease and autoimmune thyroiditis or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus seems to be real but many discrepancies are observed for the other autoimmune diseases. After a literature review, we suggest a summary of effective associations between celiac disease and autoimmune or systemic diseases.


The overall purpose of this project was to extend our understanding of the impact of human and organizational factors (HOF) on pipeline process safety incidents. Six pipeline incident reports were systematically analyzed using a two-phased approach developed in the Abnormal Situation Management (ASM�) Consortium research program [1]. The first phase of the incident analysis approach used the TapRoot methodology [2] to chart the event sequence, identify contributing factors including organizational practice failures, and identifying root causes of the organizational practice failures. The second phase of the analysis characterized the organizational failures as Common Failure Modes based on the HCS Effective Operations Practices and the specific expression of the root causes in terms of Common Root Cause Manifestations based on the Dirty Dozen human factors taxonomy [3]. The Dirty Dozen taxonomy of human factors was found to have the potential to provide a tractable root cause framework for human and organizational factors. Specific limitations of the Dirty Dozen taxonomy as a HOF framework are discussed.

This report has a related webinar.


This article looks at women's participation in formal political institutions in posttransition politics. Employing the case of post-dictatorship Chile, it outlines the barriers to women's participation in the formal political arena; discusses the various strategies that Chilean women are currently employing to overcome their exclusion; and finally, examines the challenges that political women confront in promoting 'women's interests' in political institutions. Throughout the article two main arguments are advanced. First, where women's movements do not demand institutional reforms during the transition period - a time when movements enjoy influence and parties are in flux - then the barriers to women in political institutions re-emerge. In Chile, the fact that women did not demand institutional reforms, such as quotas for women in decision-making positions, is linked tothe broader strategy of the movement tomake citizenship demands based on women's 'difference'. This strategy inhibited women from demanding power (i.e. access to institutions as individuals) because this conformed to a masculine-defined notion of politics inconsistent with women's 'different' style of practising politics. A second,related argument is that a strategy based on women's 'difference' hinders women in politics frompromoting feminist goals,especially in the climate ofsocial conservatism that characterizes post-transition Chilean politics. Despite these constraints and the many challenges Chilean women in politics confront, gains are being made, as women recognize the need for, and begin to demand, institutional reforms to expand their presence in formal politics.


Abstract Management of the highly migratory North Atlantic bluefin confronts the political, economical, and environmental issues inherent in natural resource management. Unique to this fishery is the lucrative fresh Japanese giant bluefin market that has driven, since the early 1970s, North Atlantic fishers to maximize their fishing effort and pursue higher annual harvest quotas. Balancing the efforts of commercial bluefin fishers are global conservation organizations, which face an uphill battle in trying to promote recovery of the now depleted North Atlantic bluefin population. International fishery managers, through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), have attempted to manage this fishery while considering both economic and political forces. A key element to successful resource management of highly migratory species stems from the collection and analysis of accurate statistical data by all harvesting countries; an inconstant ingredient that has handicapped the e...


In this work the dynamics of permalloy circular magnetic islands of 225 nm radius and 10 nm thickness arranged into square lattices was investigated employing micromagnetic simulations.The simulati ...


Let w = f (x;y;z) be a function of the three variables x;y;z. In this chapter we shall explore how to evaluate the change in w near a point(x0;y0;z0), and make use of that evaluation. For functions of one variable, this led to the derivative: dw=dx is the rate of change of w with respect tox. But in more than one variable, the lack of a unique independent variable make s this more complicated. In particular, the rates of change may differ, depending upon the direction in w hich we move. We start by using the one variable theory to define change in w with respect to one variable at a time.


There is evidence that oregano essen- tial oil has a significant antioxidant effect on the pro- cess of lipid oxidation. In order to obtain fractions enriched in antioxidant properties, oregano essential oil samples were processed by molecular distillation. Molecular distillation experiments were done in two groups of tests, using an evaporating temperature between 22 and 30 oC. Pressure was varied between 0.7 and 53 mbar. Antioxidant activity, specifically radical scaveng- ing capacity, was analyzed in the essential oil and the distillates and residues obtained by a free radical scavenging method, using DPPH* (2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl). The results obtained allowed to con- clude that the free radical scavenging capacity was increased in the residue fractions obtained by mo- lecular distillation. These fractions were concentrat- ed in thymol. The IC50 values of the residues were similar to the synthetic antioxidant BHT, suggesting that fractions concentrated in oxygen derivatives ob- tained by molecular distillation could be used in the food industry to retard lipid degradation.


This paper studies the dynamic characteristics of a human-structure system. The integrative modeling
(i.e., a continuous bar represents a body standing on a Single Degree-Of-Freedom (SDOF) structure)
is used to derive the coupled Two Degree-Of-Freedom (TDOF) system when the fundamental mode of
the bar is considered only. In the new TDOF system, the mass matrix is full, which is different from the
conventional TDOF system where the mass matrix is diagonal. The solutions of the natural frequencies,
damped natural frequencies, resonant frequencies, damping ratios and displacement spectra of the new
TDOF body-structure system are derived. A parametric study is conducted to examine the effects of
different bar-body models, the mass ratio and frequency ratio on the three types of frequencies (natural,
damped natural and resonant frequencies) of the new system. It is found that the bar-body models have
slight effects on the three types of frequencies. The first natural frequency of the human-structure system
decreases with the increase of the mass ratio. However, the second natural frequency of the system
increases with the increase of the mass ratio. Both natural frequencies of the system increase with the
increase of the frequency ratio.


Indonesian language learning model at the college, include MKDU course, must be taken by all students in all departments. Usually, the lecturer use books sold in the bookstore or designed by the lecturer him/herself.  In order to make the students become proficient in the Indonesian Language Learning, then the books provided by the lecturer always interjected and motivated the students to produce the relevant examples with the lecturing material. According to the writer's observation toward some references available, it is very rare or there is none of religion-based examples.  Considering UU Sisdiknas No. 20 year 2013 that education aimed to improve the students potency to be a believer and devoted human to the only god, to be noble,....." And to be synchronous with the goal of the 2013 Curriculum which says the 2013 curriculum prepare the Indonesian people to have a life skill as a personal and believers citizens,... the writer offers the Indonesian language learning model at the college based religion, such  as  in the producing sentences: (1) Father and Mother watch movie in the TV together, to be Father and Mother pray together in Masjid. (2) My younger sister gives the neighbor a plate of bread, to be my younger sister handout the neigbor a plate of bread. The religious themes delivered to the students will lead the students to the religious character. The Indonesian language learning at the religion-based college should be interpreted widely, not only related with shari'a, but also include other characteristics. Keywords : language learning model, religious-based,


This note has been prepared to provide examples of the use of Petri nets [1] for the description of the control mechanisms of a complex computer, and of the relation between Petri nets and modular, asynchronous control structures [2, 3] that realize them. We hope that familiarity with such examples will lead to understanding of the problem of translating a Petri net specification into an efficient digital system. The example also shows that Petri nets, and asynchronous circuits assembled from the few module types introduced below, are suitable for expressing all control functions found in high performance computer systems.


The concept of ecologically sustainable development has been incorporated into a number of pieces of legislation (Stein, 2000) and environmental planning instruments in New South Wales. There is a significant question, however, as to whether its incorporation is anything more than pure symbolism. This paper begins by exploring the limited role played by ESD principles in decision-making processes under existing legislation, as a prelude to a more detailed analysis of what commitment to ESD principles should mean for such processes. It focuses in particular on the implications of such a commitment at the holistic level of environmental and natural resources planning, as distinct from control of individual projects. In doing so, it draws attention to the particular problems faced by planners in urban and urbani sing environments.


Verification, validation, and testing (VVT) are the primary means of risk reduction in the product development process. Through systematic and early VVT strategy planning and continuous monitoring of the product development activities rework can be avoided and significant product lifecycle cost reductions can be achieved. In this paper a VVT process modeling procedure is described, which offers an effective method for reducing programmatic and technical risk through providing valuable assistance in the VVT strategy planning process. Programmatic risk reduction in the VVT process modeling procedure can be achieved by the elimination of redundant VVT activities, optimization of test schedule and restructuring of VVT activities into clusters based on the input needs of the tests and the deliveries of the product development activities. Through iterations in the VVT process during VVT strategy planning, the most effective combination of VVT activities can be found for the VVT goals and objectives. Iterations in the VVT process modeling procedure can be made based on the different durations, costs and effects on quality of the different VVT activities and methods applied at different points in the product lifecycle. Since the VVT strategy planning is an iterative process, the VVT process modeling procedure can be used to update the VVT process after every critical decision and milestone in the product development. The modeling concept for verification, validation and testing processes introduced in this paper, is currently being developed in a European research project, called SysTest (more information on the SysTest project can be found under: http://www.secoe.org/0105.htm).Copyright © 2003 by ASME


Records of Famous Ceramics in Yangxian was compiled in 1786 and written by Wu Qian, a scholar living in Qianlong and Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty. The paper overviews briefly the academic life of Wu Qian and the reason for compilation of Records of Famous Ceramics in Yangxian, and analyzes systematically the value of content and position of it from history, technology, documentation and so on. The paper contends that although the book has a few disadvantages, it is another important systematic work on Zisha in the wake of Zhou Gaoqi's Famous Pots in Yangxian of Ming Dynasty and an indispensable reference of the Zisha researchers during the ancient and modern times, having relatively high academic value.


The present invention relates to a rotary drive member, comprising: a longitudinal axis (8), the longitudinal axis (8) defining a longitudinal direction; curved cam contact surface (12), the curved cam contact surface (12) forms a closed about the longitudinal axis profile and extends in the longitudinal direction; shuttle member (4), the shuttle member (4) having a holder (5) is movable in the longitudinal direction. At least one cam follower (7) driven by a cam shaft (6) rotatably mounted on a support, the cam follower shaft (6) extends in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction. Wheel having wheel contact surface in contact with the cam surface (12) engaging, rolling along the cam contact surface and the contact surface of the drive cam about the longitudinal axis (8) of rotation. The cam follower shaft (6) the angle α with respect to the transverse direction to eliminate the gap between the wheel and the cam surface and to avoid interference. In the case of the roller having an axial load does not generate a radial force on the stent. Fluid supply line (28) extending through the cylindrical body, and the fluid pressure source is connected to the space between the lateral end portion and the annular portion of the wheel, so that the cylindrical body to move relative to the hub. Optimum contact force between the wheel and the cam surfaces in this way. Fluid supply line (25, 28) through the cylindrical body (15) extends, and the fluid pressure source is connected to the transverse end portion (17) and the ring wheel (7) between a space, in respect to the annulus wheel (7) axial movement of the cylindrical body (15). In this manner, the axial position of the cam follower to achieve the easy and precise adjustment.


Copper tubing is commonly used in drinking water systems. Blue water corrosion is caused by general corrosion of the copper that produces blue-green discoloration. This article describes research undertaken to investigatemicrobiological effects on blue water corrosion. The results showed rod-shaped bacteria and exopolysaccharides and blue-green corrosion products on the tube surfaces. Field tests of a proposed biocidal treatment are underway.


Mitral valve abnormalities are commonly associated with partial endocardial cushion defect. Aneurysm of the cleft leaflet has not been described in association with partial endocardial cushion defect. This case describes the aneurysmal deformity of the cleft leaflet in a 70‐year‐old woman diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography imaging.


FIELD: organic chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to new thienopyrimidines of the formula (I) , their pharmaceutically acceptable salts eliciting effect of inhibitors of phosphodiesterase V. Invention relates also to method for preparing thienopyrimidines of the formula (I) and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pharmaceutical composition based on thereof. In thienopyrimidines of the formula (I) R 1 and R 2 both in common mean alkylene with 3-5 carbon atoms; R 3 and R 4 each independently each of other means hydrogen atom, A, OA or Hal; R 3 and R 4 both in common mean also alkylene with 3-5 carbon atoms, -O-CH 2 -CH 2 , -O-CH 2 -O- or O-CH 2 -CH 2 -O-; X means R 7 or R 5 monosubstituted with R 6 ; R 5 means linear or branched alkylene with 1-10 carbon atoms; R 6 means cycloalkylalkylene with 6-12 carbon atoms; R 7 means COOH, COOA, CONH 2 , CONHA, CON(A) 2 or CN; A means alkyl with 1-6 carbon atoms; Hal means fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine atom; m = 1 or 2; n = 1, 2 or 3. Method for preparing compounds of the formula (I) and their salts also involves interaction of compound of the formula (II) wherein R 1 , R 2 and X have above indicated values and L means Cl, Br, OH, SCH 3 or reactive esterified OH-group with compound of the formula (III) wherein R 3 , R 4 and n have above indicated value followed by if necessary conversion of one residue X to another residue X in compounds of the formula (I), for example, by hydrolysis of ester group to COOH-group or by conversion of COOH-group to amide or to cyano- group and/or by conversion of compound of the formula (I) to one of its pharmaceutically acceptable salts. Pharmaceutical composition contains at least one compound of the formula (I) and/or one of it physiologically acceptable salts. Prepared compounds can be used for control of cardiovascular system and for treatment and/or therapy in potency disorder, for preparing pharmaceutical composition in form useful for treatment. EFFECT: improved preparing method, valuable medicinal properties. 7 cl, 14 ex


The quality of the reconstructed image from lensless imaging is affected by the exposure time. This paper explores the influence of exposure time on imaging technology. Based on the lensless imaging system established by us, we compare and analyze the objective evaluation indexes of reconstructed images under different exposure times, which proves that our lensless imaging system is suitable for all-weather application fields.


Time-convolutionless forms of the quantal master equations for driven open system are derived from the Liouville equation for the total system under an arbitrary initial condition for the two cases of weak external driving fields and of arbitrary ones. They have forms convenient for the perturbational expansions, and are respectively compared with the time-convolution forms of equations in the lowest Born approximation for the interaction H SB of the system with its surroundings. It is shown that the time-convolutionless forms of equations prevail over the time-convolution ones, and that the conventional Markoffian approximation for the latter in the narrowing limit leads to the incorrect conclusion. The time-convolutionless form of master equation is expanded up to n -th order in powers of the external driving fields in the lowest Born approximation for H SB .


similar to those of enteric fever in this county, due to the sanme causes ? As to the existence of a form of fever, characterised by certain phenomena and pathological changes very, closely, if not exactly, resembling those that characterised the enteric fever of Stewart, Budd, Jenner, and Murchison, there was a pretty general consensus of opinion. But, on the question 6f causation, a considerable divergence of opinion existed. It was a growing belief that the cause of some of the cases of the socalled enteric fever was to be sought in high temperature, malaria, miasmata, water contaminated by organic matter, not only frecal, rather than in a specific poison generated in the intestines, or in the alvine discharges after extrusion from the bowel ; and perhaps in some state of body, especially in the young, induced by exposure to one or all of these. It could not be disputed that the poison of the enteric contagion must be equally effective in producing fever wherever it occurred ; and certainly not less so in India, or the tropics, than elsewhere. Few questioned its potency here, though it was possible that, twenty years hence, even here this view might be somewhat modified. Some believed that the specific contagion theory would neither explain the facts -i all cases abroad, nor did they think that a certain train of symptoms and phenomena during life, and lesions observed after death, must necessarily be invariably due to one sinale cause; but rather that the ulceration of the bowel, diarrhea, spots, and a certain range of febrile disturbance in the temperature, might be brought about also by other conditions, such as those already referred to, and which miiade up what was known as climatic influence. It was difficult to resist the impression that, whilst enteric fever in India might originate as it did here, other causes rnight be at work; and that cases of fever, which, in India, were not only called enteric, but presented the phenomena in life and the changes after death charactetistic of the disease in England, did occur, and Iiot unfrequently, where it was probable that climatic and other local conditions were the cause, rather than fsecal contagion.


We consider a quantum scalar field on an arbitrary gravitational background. We obtain the effective in-in equations for the gravitational fields using a covariant and nonlocal approximation for the effective action proposed by Vilkovisky and collaborators. From these equations, we compute the quantum corrections to the Newtonian potential. We find logarithmic corrections which we identify as the running of the gravitational constants. This running coincides with the renormalization group prediction only for minimal and conformal coupling.


To improve the poor's access to healthcare services, the Indonesian government introduced Askeskin, a subsidized social health insurance for the poor. We examine the effects of this social health insurance on women's use of healthcare—maternal, preventive, and curative healthcare—services. Using propensity- score- and difference-in-differences matching strategies, we find the insurance increases the use of public facilities for maternal healthcare, discourages the use of midwives' services, and increases the use of contraception; it does not seem to increase the use of preventive and curative care, however.


Export risk occurs when trade shocks affect expected foreign currency earnings. Economies with exports concentrated in fewer categories, are riskier than other economies. The risky economies also exhibit higher interest rates. These findings are consistent with a two-period Ricardian trade model showing a positive relation between export risk and expected currency returns in a costly production environment, where cost shocks are impactful. A hedge portfolio capturing export risk explains average excess currency returns in the cross-section. The export risk factor is negatively related to innovations in market volatility, but unlike other factors, is positively related to US dollar returns.


The primary focus here is on log-linear models for contingency tables, but in this second edition, greater emphasis has been placed on logistic regression. The book explores topics such as logistic discrimination and generalised linear models, and builds upon the relationships between these basic models for continuous data and the analogous log-linear and logistic regression models for discrete data. It also carefully examines the differences in model interpretations and evaluations that occur due to the discrete nature of the data. Sample commands are given for analyses in SAS, BMFP, and GLIM, while numerous data sets from fields as diverse as engineering, education, sociology, and medicine are used to illustrate procedures and provide exercises. Throughoutthe book, the treatment is designed for students with prior knowledge of analysis of variance and regression.


For (Xt) a two-sided α-stable moving average, this paper studies the conditional distribution of future paths given a piece of observed trajectory when the process is far from its central values. Under this framework, vectors of the form Xt = (Xt−m, . . . , Xt, Xt+1, . . . , Xt+h), m ≥ 0, h ≥ 1, are multivariate α-stable and the dependence between the past and future components is encoded in their spectral measures. A new representation of stable random vectors on unit cylinders –sets {s ∈ Rm+h+1 : ‖s‖ = 1} for ‖ · ‖ an adequate semi-norm– is proposed in order to describe the tail behaviour of vectors Xt when only the first m + 1 components are assumed to be observed and large in norm. Not all stable vectors admit such a representation and (Xt) will have to be «anticipative enough» for Xt to admit one. The conditional distribution of future paths can then be explicitly derived using the regularly varying tails property of stable vectors and has a natural interpretation in terms of pattern identification. The approach extends to processes resulting from the linear combination of stable moving averages and applied to several examples.


There is an increasing demand for fluent nonnative speakers of English who can perform a variety of discourse tasks across various professional...


Deng Xiaoping's sports practice and theory is an important aspect of his sports thoughts.It includes not only the summary of his own sports practice experience and Olympic bid complex,but also the profound theories such as "the development of mass sports activities should coordinate with that of the athletic sports","physical culture should be an important part of building spiritual civilization","the dialectical relationship between sports and politics",etc.The research and the spreading of Deng Xiaoping's sports practice and theory is extremely important both in theory and practice for guiding and promoting the reformation and development of socialist physical exercises of our country.


Abstract The reference sample plot (RSP) method is a distance-weighted k nearest neighbour estimation method, which allows simultaneous interpretation of several variables. In the RSP method, the k spectrally nearest field plots are looked at separately for each unknown pixel, and the area weight of the unknown pixel is divided as a function of the spectral distances to the nearest plots. The RSP method was examined in a forest inventory for estimating stem volumes by tree species groups using different satellite materials. Two methods were tested both in searching for and weighting the nearest field plots. Euclidean distance functions worked steadily with all the volume variables studied. The other distance measure tested was based on regression modelling. With more than 15 plots, both covariance weighting and inverse distance weighting gave similar results. Considering the field data of this study, the suitable number of the nearest plots in plotwise estimation appeared to be between 10 and 15 plots. Wi...


We give new contributions to the existence problem of canonical surfaces of high degree. We construct several families (indeed, connected components of the moduli space) of surfaces $S$ of general type with $p_g=5,6$ whose canonical map has image $\Sigma$ of very high degree, $d=48$ for $p_g=5$, $d=56$ for $p_g=6$. And a connected component of the moduli space consisting of surfaces $S$ with $K^2_S = 40, p_g=4, q=0$ whose canonical map has always degree $\geq 2$, and, for the general surface, of degree $2$ onto a canonical surface $Y$ with $K^2_Y = 12, p_g=4, q=0$.
The surfaces we consider are SIP 's, i.e. surfaces $S$ isogenous to a product of curves $(C_1 \times C_2 )/ G$; in our examples the group $G$ is elementary abelian, $G = (\mathbb{Z}/m)^k$. We also establish some basic results concerning the canonical maps of any surface isogenous to a product, basing on elementary representation theory.


In recent years, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) had produced by biological methods such as plant extract due to their efficiency, low cost, being non-toxic, and ecofriendly nature. Ag NPs have antibacterial, anti-mold, and anti-fungi because of their high surface area to volume ratio. In this study, Opuntia ficus-indica (Prickly pear) extract was used to produce green synthesized Ag NPs. Different techniques had adopted to describe the generated nanoparticles, such as an ultraviolet spectrophotometer, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and Zeta Potential Analysis. Escherichia coli (E. coli), separated from sediment and water of the Hillah River in Babylon city in Iraq, was utilizedto estimate the antibacterial activities of Ag NPs at different concentrations. Both broth microdilution assay and well diffusion assay were applied. The Congo Red Agar implied to investigate the ability of E. coli isolates to form a biofilm. The TEM images of Ag NPs illustrated spherical morphology with a diameter of approximately 22±4 nm. The antibacterial activity tests showed that the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) ranged from 0.0125 mg·L to 0.05 mg·L, whereas Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was from 0.025 mg·L to 0.05 mg·L. 5 h ofexposure to the 0.025 mg·L concentrations of the Ag NPs had a bactericidal impact on 92% of the E. coli isolates. In our study, we found silver nanoparticles synthesized by Opuntia ficus-Indica have antibacterial activity against waterborne Escherichia coli isolates and it could be utilizedtoreduce microbial growth in contaminated water.


67 Objective: To evaluate sex-differences in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, taking the potential 68 modifying role of clinical disease stage and APOEe4 genotype into account. 69 Method: We included participants (n=1801) with probable AD dementia (n=937), Mild Cognitive 70 Impairment (MCI; n=437) and Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD; n=427). Main outcomes were CSF 71 amyloid β1-42 (Aβ42), total tau (Tau) and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (pTau) levels. Age 72 corrected three-way interactions between sex, disease stage (i.e. syndrome diagnosis at baseline) and 73 APOEe4 were tested with linear regression analyses for each outcome measure. In case of significant 74 interactions (p<0.05), sex-differences were further evaluated by stratifying analyses for clinical 75 disease stage and APOEe4 genotype including age as a covariate. Covariates included age (model 1), 76 and additionally MMSE and educational level (model 2). 77 Results: Three-way interactions were significant for Tau (p<0.001) and pTau (p<0.01), but not Aβ42. 78 In APOE carriers, women showed higher (p)Tau concentrations than men in SCD (Tau:β±se= 79 0.25±0.08, p=0.002; pTau:β±se= 0.16±0.06, p=0.009) and MCI (Tau:β±se=0.29±0.07, p<0.001; 80 pTau:β±se=0.21±0.06, p<0.001), but not AD dementia. In APOE non-carriers, women showed higher 81 (p)Tau concentrations in MCI (Tau:β±se= 0.22±0.09, p=0.012; pTau:β±se= 0.19±0.08, p=0.013) and 82 AD dementia (Tau: β±se= 0.20±0.07, p=0.006; pTau:β±se= 0.14±0.06, p=0.014), but not in SCD. 83 Conclusions: Within APOEe4 carriers, sex-differences in CSF (p)Tau are more evident in early 84 disease stages, whereas for APOEe4 non carriers sex-differences are more evident in advanced disease 85 stages. These findings suggest that the effect of APOE e4 on sex-differences in CSF biomarkers 86 depends on disease stage in AD. 87 R. Babapour Mofrad 4


Education remains an indispensable tool as far as human and societal development are concerned. Moreover, among the other levels of education, the Early Childhood Care and Education is the bedrock and foundation upon which subsequent knowledge is built and developed. It is therefore imperative that proper attention should be given to education at this level. It is however evident that in Nigeria the implementation of Early Childhood Care Education is faced with enormous challenges. The paper therefore, examined these challenges which include; dearth of trained teachers and proprietors, lack of facilities and teaching equipment, language problem, non-implementation of the curriculum, bad teaching methodology, non-use of modern technology and government lack of involvement and supervision of the programme. The ways these challenges affect the children, the teachers and the nation at large were discussed and solutions were proffered to enhance effective implementation of Early Childhood care and Education in Nigeria. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-6-20 Publication date: February 29 th 2020


Using data from the Australian Naturalistic Driving Study (ANDS), this study examined patterns of secondary task engagement (e.g., mobile phone use, manipulating centre stack controls) during everyday driving trips to determine the type and duration of secondary task engaged in. Safety-related incidents associated with secondary task engagement were also examined. Results revealed that driver engagement in secondary tasks was frequent, with drivers engaging in one or more secondary tasks every 96 seconds, on average. However, drivers were more likely to initiate engagement in secondary tasks when the vehicle was stationary, suggesting that drivers do self-regulate the timing of task engagement to a certain degree. There was also evidence that drivers modified their engagement in a way suggestive of limiting their exposure to risk by engaging in some secondary tasks for shorter periods when the vehicle was moving compared to when it was stationary. Despite this, almost six percent of secondary tasks events were associated with a safety-related incident. The findings will be useful in targeting distraction countermeasures and policies and determining the effectiveness of these in managing driver distraction.


What are the virtues of a good citizen? This article argues that Machiavelli takes a skeptical view of the Roman social virtues, and especially certain aspects of fides, in light of their strong association with clientelism. Attentive to how these "virtues" have been used by elites to amass significant extralegal powers, Machiavelli urges his readers to condemn them as the political vices they actually are. As part of this effort, he re-examines a classic exemplum of Roman virtue, Manlius Torquatus, both to expose how personal loyalties can endanger republican liberty and to develop a new portrait of good citizenship in which "unsociable" traits assume a central place.


The cells of multicellular organisms come in fascinating shapes and sizes that are nearly as varied as the animals themselves. Cytoarchitecture is responsible for this diversity and also contributes greatly to the multifaceted functions of each cell type. Historically, the three major cytoskeletal networks—actin microfilaments, intermediate filaments (IFs), and microtubules—were viewed as independent entities, and cytoskeletal researchers focused on the most important functions ascribed to each of these networks. From these initial studies, actin microfilaments were found to play pivotal roles in cell polarity and contractile and migratory processes. In contrast, IFs impart intracellular mechanical strength and are consequently especially abundant in tissues such as epidermis and muscle that undergo substantial physical stress. Cytoplasmic microtubules are vital for intracellular trafficking of vesicles, organelles, and proteins, whereas spindle microtubules function in the dynamics of chromosome alignment and segregation during mitosis. As cell biologists searched for functional differences between cytoskeletal networks and identified proteins specifically aligned with each network, they discovered that agents perturbing one filamentous network often affected the others and that functions ascribed to one network were sometimes also features of another network. In the past 5 yr, it has become increasingly clear that multiple cytoskeletal networks cooperate to perform many of their tasks. Facilitating these close encounters are connector proteins that have dual capacities to associate with more than one cytoskeleton, enabling them to integrate old functions and generate new ones. Many of the proteins initially found to associate with microtubules, and hence called microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), have been found to also associate with actin microfilaments. A number of microtubule-based motor proteins (kinesins and dynein) and actin-based motor proteins (myosins) have now been found to be members of multiprotein, bifunctional motor complexes that can maneuver along multiple cytoskeletal roadways to transport common cargo. One of the biggest surprises in this topsy turvy world of the cytoskeleton has come from a growing family of cytoskeletal binding proteins called plakins, which were initially identified on the basis of their association between IFs and membrane junctions (for review, see Ruhrberg and Watt 1997; Wiche 1998; Fuchs and Yang 1999; Coulombe et al. 2000). These proteins are encoded by huge genes that give rise to many different isoforms, each with unique functions and with varying capacities to associate with different cytoskeletal systems. We now know that cytoskeletal cross-linker proteins are involved in many cellular processes ranging from vesicle and organelle transport/orientation to mitosis to adhesion and migration. This review focuses on how cytoskeletal bridges are formed, how they function, and how their connections are regulated.


This paper investigates the relationships between quality management practices and multiple performance measures in SMEs. Based on extensive literature survey six determinants of TQM practices were identified, and their impact was measured on overall performance of ISO certified and Non-ISO manufacturing SME's in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The investigated constructs included Management Support, People Management, Training, Continuous Improvement, Customer Focus, and Supplier Relationship. Sample of this study comprised of 133 ISO certified manufacturing industries of Karnataka and Maharashtra and 40 Non-ISO firms. A set of questionnaires was sent to some conveniently selected ISO certified and Non ISO manufacturing industries of Karnataka and Maharashtra. The data set resulted from the questionnaire survey were analysed using statistical software SPSS. The focus of analysis was to produce results that reinforce the belief of senior management in quality management practices. The findings of this study bring out the significant benefits of ISO 9001:2000 in SMES and, encourage the Non-ISO firms to begin quality initiatives via ISO.


Compressed digital video is becoming prevalent for video storage and communication. It is often desirable to perform various video processing tasks on compressed video streams, however, operations once considered simple, such as splicing and reverse play, are much more complex in the context of compressed video. The conceptually-simple approach of completely decoding the video into the pixel domain, performing the processing, and re-encoding the entire video sequence is often inefficient and impractical. This paper investigates the problem of transcoding compressed video data from one standards-compliant data stream to another. The goal is to develop video transcoding algorithms that achieve high performance with computational efficiency. In particular, this paper presents efficient algorithms for splicing and reverse play of compressed video streams.


The Virtual Beanstalk Project is an internet-based design workshop and feasibility study for a near space beanstalk which is supported by hydrogen balloons attached to a near space station floating at 20 kilometers above sea level. All designs are done by volunteers and therefore the project has not appreciably moved forward. This beanstalk concept entails the use of a lightweight, high strength Spectra polyurethane tether which anchors the high altitude research platform to the ground. Access to the platform is via solar electric elevators which climb the tether by using an electric winch. The near space platform could offer a research platform for near earth phenomena, life support studies in near space conditions, a telecommunications station or a national security radar station. Operating expenses could be offset by revenue from adventure tourism. A horizontal launch rail for rockets is planned. Project website is at: http://members.aol.com/beanstalkr/project/


Aim: To translate and validate a European Portuguese version of the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA) questionnaire. Methods: The original English version of RAPA was translated into Portuguese following standardized procedures. Fifty-five Portuguese older adults were assessed in two sessions, approximately one week apart. Test-retest reliability was evaluated by weighted kappa (K). Construct validity was evaluated by Spearman's correlation coefficient between the RAPA and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) and the short physical performance battery (SPPB) (gait and chair stands tests, and total score); and by the Mann-Whitney U test between participants with and without depression and able and unable to complete the SPPB balance test. Results: Weighted K was 0.67 (95% CI=0.52–0.81) for reliability. A significant correlation was found between the RAPA and WHODAS 2.0 (rs=–0.47, p<0.01), gait test (rs=–0.45, p<0.01) and total SPPB score (rs=0.45, p<0.01). Pa...


This study measured blood pressure (BP)using an average of 2 readings, hypertension(HTN)/medication history, body mass index(BMI), waist circumference (WC) in cm, and a 6‐minute walk test (6‐MWT) at baseline, 3‐ and 6‐months among community members participating in a motivational interviewing‐enhanced walking intervention (n=269). 190 participants retained at 6 months were stratified by HTN/medication history (normotensive: NT, hypertensive taking medication: HTM, hypertensive not taking medication: HNTM). BP measures were compared by repeated measures ANOVA. Other measures were compared with paired t‐tests. From baseline to 6‐months, mean systolic BP was significantly decreased for both NT and HTM (5.0 ± 13.8 mm Hg (p<.001); 9.8 ± 17.7mm Hg (p<.001), respectively), but not among HNTM. Mean diastolic BP was significantly decreased in all three groups (NT: 3.7 ± 10.3 mm Hg (p<.001); HTM: 4.6 ± 11.8 mm Hg (p<.01); HNTM: 6.0 ± 10.3 mm Hg (p<.05)). Among all participants from baseline to 6‐months, BMI decreased 0.4 ±1.8 (p=0.008) and WC decreased 2.0 ± 14.3 cm (p=0.066). Mean distance walked during the 6‐MWT increased 6.4 ± 10.3 meters from baseline to 6 months (p=0.09). The community‐based intervention had the most impact on both systolic and diastolic BP among NT and HTM; however, HNTM also realized benefits in diastolic BP. Supported by: NIH/NCMHHD 3R24MD002787‐01 S1. Content is sole responsibility of the authors.


Among grouse, intrageneric hybrids are not uncommon especially in Tetrao and Lagopus (Gray 1958, Johnsgard 1983). In Dendragapus (here we follow AOU [1983] in placing Canachites in Dendragapus), intrageneric hybrids seem to be less frequently recorded than are intergeneric crosses with Bonasa (Ouellet 1974, Tufts 1975), Lagopus (Lumsden 1969), and Tympanuchus (Brooks 1907). The only monotypic grouse genus (sensu Morony et al. 1975 and Johnsgard 1983) is Centrocercus and while several hybrids of it and Tympanuchus are described (Johnsgard 1983), hybrids with other genera remain undescribed. We report here an instance in which grouse with quite different courtship behaviors have hybridized. In his summary discussion of grouse hybridization and assessment of ecological and behavioral conditions producing hybridization, Johnsgard (1983:45) stated he received a report of some hybrid Sage (Centrocercus urophasianus) x Blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) from Utah but that ". .. this hybrid is still undescribed in the literature." Plumage features and measurements of the two hybrid birds mentioned by Johnsgard (one male immature and one female immature based on gonad examination) with comments are given below. We follow Ridgway and Friedmann (1941) in their diagnosis of immature plumaged grouse and comparisons with the adult of the respective species.


Introduction Meat and meat products are high in nutritive value and because of this they can only remain fresh for a short time before spoilage sets in, but simple preservative techniques can reduce spoilage. One such simples techniques is Intermediate Moisture Meat processing (IMM). Obanu (1981), observed that IMM are shelf stable under the tropical climate without refrigeration and may be eaten directly with or without rehydration. Ogunsola and Omojola (2008) stated that IMM is used to describe meat products that have less than 30% of moisture. Kundi is one of such IMM products that is easy to prepare. It is therefore the objective of this study to identify the microbial loads in Kundi products.


In situations of serious uncertain risk, precautionary assessment, decision‐making and control may be inevitable. In this paper, the long and wide‐ranging debate about the precautionary principle (PP) is surveyed in comparison to parallel developments of classical risk analysis. The 'new risks' provoking precaution typically are complex, often extensive in space and time, socially diverse, supposedly unlikely but highly uncertain, and potentially catastrophic. Classical risk analysis falls short of grasping such ill‐defined problems validly enough for effective policy support. Similarly, the 'prudent' PP is criticised for its vagueness, multiple meanings and lack of practical elaboration. Despite their differences, however, risk‐analytic and precautionary‐principled approaches seem to be converging. On the way towards a decision‐theoretic exposition (see follow‐up paper), an integrative circumscription of the PP is proposed, which comprises 10 key issues for further elaboration. Logically, the 'pessimistic' PP is contrasted with its 'optimistic' counterpart, the venture principle (VP), which may be equally rational and/or inevitable in particular uncertain decision situations.


In this paper, we examine patterns of violent ethnic targeting during Kenya's 20072008 post-election violence and estimate the impact of that targeting on local ethnic demography. Specifically, we focus on patterns of arson, one of the key types of violence used to displace certain ethnic sub-groups. We find that patterns of arson are related to the presence of ethnic outsiders in the region, and even more strongly related to measures of land quality, accessibility of targets, and local electoral competition. By comparing ethnic composition before and after the post-election violence, we show that arson caused a significant decrease in the number of Kikuyu registered to vote in the Rift Valley, and that other ethnic groups do not experience this decrease. This result supports narrative accounts of ethnic targeting during Kenya's 2007-2008 post-election violence, and provides systematic evidence of the effects of the post-election violence on local ethnic composition in Kenya. A placebo test confirms the robustness of our results. ∗Kuondoa madoadoa, translated as removing spots or stains, was a term used by locals to describe the process of chasing away non-indigenous settlers in Kenya's Rift Valley. †Ph.D. Candidate in Government, Harvard University. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR CIRCULATE WITHOUT AUTHOR'S PERMISSION.


Objective. To compare workloads of a university-based health research ethics committee (medical) for 2003 and 2007.
Methods. Minutes and database records of all applications processed by the committee in 2003 and 2007 were examined.
Results. General research applications increased from 439 to 553 in 2007 while clinical trial proposals declined from 102 to 86. Some
60 - 70% of applications required revision; 77 - 81% of general research applications and 86 - 97% of clinical trials were eventually
approved.
Conclusion. The workload puts an increasingly heavy burden on committee members and support staff. South African Journal of Bioethics & Law Vol. 1 (2) 2008: pp. 38-43


Frame times as low as 1-2 microseconds are needed for high-speed real-time (HSRT) simulations of power-electronic systems. To achieve such short frame times it is necessary to use special processing platforms and both digital signal processors (DSPs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have been used for this purpose. Programming these special platforms presents the simulation developer with significant problems since the currently available simulation software tools that support them are very limited. As a result early efforts to develop HSRT simulations have proved very labor intensive. Tools are now under development aimed at minimizing these problems. Mathematica and Matlab routines have been developed to convert differential-equation based math models first into the corresponding difference equations incorporating the selected integration algorithm and then into C-code. Methods of extracting the difference equations from graphical representations of circuit diagrams have also been investigated.


A dynamically affine map is a finite quotient of an affine morphism of an algebraic group. We determine the rationality or transcendence of the Artin-Mazur zeta function of a dynamically affine self-map of $\mathbb{P}^1(k)$ for $k$ an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic.


The aim of this research was to examine the subjective quality of life in blind and partially sighted people in relation to the type of impairment, du


ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACEAnother TimeAnother Place Another time and thenAnother Time: Box SetAnother Time, Another PlaceThe Whispered Heart -Volume IIMemoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'CheyneEcho of Another TimeTraces of Another TimeAnother Time, Another PlaceNews of WarIn Another TimeAnother Time, Another PlaceBallad of Another TimeExciting Stories of My Personal Brushes with Greatness: Memoirs of Another Time (1922 to 1956)Another Time, Another PlaceAnother Time Another PlaceOnce Upon Another Time--Another PlaceAnother Time Another PlaceIn Another TimeAashadezmariahJourney to Another Time Another PlaceFable for Another TimeAnother Time, Another PlaceDaboll's Schoolmaster's AssistantAnother Time, Another PlaceAll In Another TimeThe Thief of Another TimeAnother Time--Another PlaceThe Arrival of Another TimeOf Another TimeAnother Time/ Another LandDas Mädchen mit dem EdelweißThe Student's JournalNew York Memories: Stories from Another Time and PlaceAnother Chance, Another TimePERSONAL POWER (All 12 Volumes)Another Time in FragmentsAnother Time, Another PlaceBeloved in Another Time, Another Place Book 1: The Prophecy


Data growth has seen an exponential acceleration with the advent of computer and network, which have imparted the digital form to data. Data can be classified into three categories: Unstructured data, Semi-structured data and structured data. Text Mining concerns extraction of relevant information, knowledge or patterns from sources that are in Unstructured or Semi-structured form. This project entitled " Transforming Digital Unstructured and Semi-structured Data into Structured Data with the Aid of IE and KDT " demonstrates a framework for text mining using a learned information extraction system aided with KDT (Knowledge Discovery from Text) principles. The functionality of this project is concentrated over the integrated result of IE (Information Extraction) module, KDT (Knowledge Discovery form Text) module and Standard Protocols module. Pre-processing is employed for transforming unstructured data or Semi-structured data such as HTML documents, text documents, and documents with .doc, .docx or .pdf extensions into a feasible format of data which is then mined for interesting relationships. Standard Protocols are defined for discovery of additional information's from input sources. For Example, consider if information extraction system has managed to extract skills like "HTML" and "DHTML" from a computer job posting but could not find "XML" in the document, in such cases relationships can be mined through predefined derivations which are framed in the standard protocols module. In addition, rules mined from the database extracted from a corpus of texts are used to predict additional information that could be extracted from future input documents, thereby improving the recall of the underlying extraction system. Results are presented by applying these techniques to a corpus of computer job announcement from an internet news group.


In May 2013, Greens MLC Tammy Franks introduced the Criminal Law Consolidation (Provocation) Amendment Bill 2013, to prohibit non-violent homosexual advance from providing a basis for a provocation defence. The Bill consisted of a single provision entitled 'Limitation on defence of provocation', which proposed that.


A new parallel on-line testing scheme for digital microfluidic biochips was proposed.The biochip array under test is divided into same-size sub-arrays first,and these sub-arrays are tested parallel under biochip module placement constraints in the bioassay process.The proposed scheme reduces the number of test droplets and test application time efficiently,and it would not disturb the bioassay process.The experimental results also prove the efficiency of the proposed on-line test scheme.


For deploying any robotic solution, the most cumbersome yet essential task remains calibration. Almost every robotic system uses a camera to extract information to produce some output. In the case of the pick-and-place system, camera information is used to detect objects and estimate their position in real-world space. The accuracy of tasks like sorting and stacking the objects in the box depends on their estimated pose in the space, especially when they need to be arranged in a confined space. We propose the automatic calibration of the workspace using distinct markers. Our experimentation was carried out with loose packets of recycled paper, which consists of small parts inside. We evaluate our results on the basis of translation errors of the estimated centroid position of objects with respect to the position given by the calibrated 3D camera. In conclusion, we also assess the typical pick-and-place performance on the success rate of stacking the packets in a small box.


Security evaluations of electronic cash (e-cash) schemes usually produce an abstract result in the form of a logical proof. This paper proposes a new method of security evaluation that produces a quantitative result. The evaluation is done by analyzing the protocol in the scheme using the Markov chain technique. This method calculates the probability of an attack that could be executed perfectly in the scheme's protocol. As proof of the effectiveness of our evaluation method, we evaluated the security of Chaum's untraceable electronic cash scheme. The result of our evaluation was compared to the evaluation result from the pi-calculus method. Both methods produced comparable results; and thus, both could be used as alternative methods for evaluating e-cash security.


The author examines the Aswan High Dam project in Egypt from 1963 to the present with particular reference to the impact on the people most directly concerned. The resettlement of some 100000 Nubians in Sudan and Egypt is described the problems analyzed and guidelines for future resettlement projects of this kind discussed (ANNOTATION)


The utility model provides a color-changeable decorative structure which improves the monotonicity of conventional decorative structures. The color-changeable decorative structure comprises a base layer, a color-changeable pattern layer and a UV-resistant transparent layer, wherein the color-changeable pattern layer is attached to the surface of the base layer and formed by randomly combining the following pattern blocks: temperature-sensitive color-changing pattern blocks, night lighting pattern blocks and light-sensitive color-changing pattern blocks; and the UV-resistant transparent layer is attached to the surface of the color-changeable pattern layer and a part of surface of the base layer. Accordingly, the color-changeable decorative structure can provide color change so as to achieve the effects of circumstance change and temperature control.


Describes the properties and distinguishing characteristics of more than 500 rocks and minerals around the world, and includes a color photograph of each specimen.


Recalling history of industry in university, there is a clear evolution: operational safeguard system, political task, seeking profit, serving society, in which industry in university can be adjusted and upgraded. Its changeable trend is characterized by: rise in science-technology enterprises, decline in trading enterprises, school-financed enterprises and department-run enterprises without legal-person qualification. After 1990s there have risen such high-tech school-run enterprises as Fangzheng of Beijing University, Tongfang of Qinghua University, which reveal that the development of China's university-school enterprises have entered a fast lane, reflect the present situation of school-run enterprises in China, find shortcomings in their development and play a realistically crucial part in promoting the better development of China's university-run enterprises.


At least one of the mesopores - method for producing mesoporous microporous crystalline materials using templating agent. The mesopore - templating agent soluble in the form of a unimer, can produce micelles at elevated temperatures, gathered unimers to form a micellar aggregates, the micellization is reversible with temperature changes.


Objective:To investigate the MR imaging features of transient osteoporosis of the hip(TOH) and its differential diagnosis with avascular necrosis(AVN).Methods:MRI imaging of TOH was collected in 7 cases with hip pain.Of seven patiens,6 were male,and 1 was female,with an avereage age of 41 years(31~53).The female patient developed the condition during no pregnancy.MRI scanning was performed in axial and coronal planes with T1-weighted,T2-weighted and T2-STIR.Results:MR imaging demonstrated abnormal signal of unilateral hip in all patients,with low signal intensity on T1-weighted,medium high signal intensity on T2-weighted,and high signal intensity on T2-STIR.The abnormality might extend from femoral head to neck,the intertrochanteric region through the upper femur.The joint effusion was observed in 4 cases.Conclusion:Familiarity with the distinct features of TOH on MR imaging may be important in the differential diagnosis of AVN.


A computer program was developed to study the mixing process in the quick quench region of a rich burn-quick quench mix-lean burn combustor. The computer program developed was based on the density-weighted, ensemble-averaged conservation equations of mass, momentum (full compressible Navier-Stokes), total energy, and species, closed by a k-epsilon turbulence model with wall functions. The combustion process was modeled by a two-step global reaction mechanism, and NO(x) formation was modeled by the Zeldovich mechanism. The formulation employed in the computer program and the essence of the numerical method of solution are described. Some results obtained for nonreacting and reacting flows with different main-flow to dilution-jet momentum flux ratios are also presented.


Conditionality has always been an integral aspect of multinational aid schemes for so many decades. While some studies have been conducted on aid conditionality across different aspects of development, human social existence, educational sectors and contexts; less attention has been paid to what goes on within the framework of higher education (HE) especially in Africa at large and Cameroon in particular. Using interviews, focus group discussions and text documents, this article examines academic conditionality perceived as negative, metaphors of aid conditionality depicting problems, and some implications of aid conditionality for multinational finance of higher education institutions (HEIs) and educational policy borrowing in Africa/Cameroon by learning from existing literature. Conclusively, the article suggests that multinational aid donors should be encouraged to reinforce academic conditionality perceived as positive, and not academic conditionality perceived as negative in order to obtain a win-win relationship with aid recipients. Keywords— Aid conditionality, African higher education, educational policy borrowing, implications, multinational finance of education.


Integration of foreigners is a process that requires the receiving country a series of measures aimed at enabling access to rights and services. After joining the European Union in the Act of 12 March 2004. On social assistance standards have been introduced to provide assistance to foreigners who have received international protection. In 2012, the Council of Ministers adopted the Polish Migration Policy - current status and requested action. In order to achieve the objectives of Polish Migration Policy Ministry of Labour and Social Policy Poland has developed a program document foreigners integration policy – principles and guidelines are recommendations that determine the directions of the state policy in the field of strengthening the integration of foreigners in Polish society and prepare the Poles to accept foreigners in their local communities.


This manual has been revised and modernized. It includes a chapter on plant analysis criteria for plantation forest species. It has been designed to provide an accessible account of the use of plant analysis to diagnose disorders in mineral nutrition, to assess the effectiveness of fertilizer programmes, and to monitor longer term changes in nutritional status. The book includes tables of interpretation criteria for 294 species, and all the tables been revised from published Australian and overseas sources for field crops, pastures, vegetables, ornamentals, fruit, vine, nut crops and forest species. Interpretation guidelines for Australian conditions are listed separately. The information is presented in such a way that a proper sample can be obtained to provide easily interpreted analytical results. The reader is directed through the steps involved in the sampling and interpretation of results. An entire chapter is devoted to the identification of nutrient deficiency and toxicity symptoms. The various uses of plant analysis are discussed in detail.


We present a near-infrared direct imaging search for accretion signatures of possible protoplanets around the young stellar object (YSO) TW Hya, a multi-ring disk exhibiting evidence of planet formation. The Paβ line (1.282 μm) is an indication of accretion onto a protoplanet, and its intensity is much higher than that of blackbody radiation from the protoplanet. We focused on the Paβ line and performed Keck/OSIRIS spectroscopic observations. Although spectral differential imaging (SDI) reduction detected no accretion signatures, the results of the present study allowed us to set 5σ detection limits for Paβ emission of 5.8 × 10−18 and 1.5 × 10−18 erg−1 s−1 cm−2 at 0.″4 and 1.″6, respectively. We considered the mass of potential planets using theoretical simulations of circumplanetary disks and hydrogen emission. The resulting masses were 1.45 ± 0.04 MJ and at 25 and 95 au, respectively, which agree with the detection limits obtained from previous broadband imaging. The detection limits should allow for the identification of protoplanets as small as ∼1 MJ, which may assist in direct imaging searches around faint YSOs for which extreme adaptive optics instruments are unavailable.


The article focuses round the phenomenon of psychological feedback a in a context of its use in educational process, the part of a feedback in pedagogical system of a lesson is determined. The author singles out the basic functions of a feedback (controlling f., correctional f., aims achievement, self-rating, the help in decision-making, course of communication process, self-organizing of pedagogical system). Conclusions are drawn about the positive and negative aspects of application of feedback methods when using information-communication technologies in education, absence of an indirect psychological feedback when using a computer in teaching. Levels of possible feedbacks and feedback features in programmed teaching are marked out.


This study aims to describe and analyze the role of youth organization in community empowerment in Krembung Villange, Krembung District, Sidoarjo Regency. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative research. Data collection techniques are carried out through observation, interviews, and documentations. Determination on informants in this study using purposive sampling technique. Data analysis technique using Miles & Huberman theory namely data collection, data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The results of this study indicate that the empowerment of villange communities through youth organizations is seen from three indicators of the role of youth organizations, namely as a motivator for the role of youth organizations by holding entrepreneurship socialization by inviting the Krembung Villange community. As a facilitator of the role of the Krembung villange youth organization, conducting training on screenings to provide understanding and knowledge of printing techniques by inviting the community to practice it direvtly. While as a mobilizer for the role of youth organizations is this case mobilizing or directing people who are already running a soap business to develop more. In developing this business, youth organizations held a bazaar exhibitions through the youth organization instagram


In this paper, we present a method for using rational expectations in a stochastic linear-quadratic optimization framework in which the unknown parameters are updated through a learning scheme. We use the QZ decomposition as suggested by Sims (1996) to solve the rational-expectations part of the model. Parameter updating is done with a Kalman filter, and the optimal control is calculated using the variances and covariances of the uncertain time-varying parameter.


Spatial join is the most important and time-consumed in spatial query of spatial database.As we know,many scholars at home and abroad have done a lot of research work on one-step filter method using index.Among them,R-tree based spatial join is always considered as a kind of high efficient processing mechanism.This paper proposed second filtration method based on R-tree for further reducing the candidate sets of filtration phase.The experimental results showed the effectiveness of method.


The pervasive problem of young and novice drivers being disproportionately represented in road crash injuries and fatalities is well recognised around the world. Graduated driver licensing programs (GDL) were introduced in Australia and New Zealand (referred to as Australasia) as a driving exposure measure, such that more driving experience can be gained over an extended period and in lower risk circumstances. The Adolescent Risk Research Unit (ARRU) of the University of the Sunshine Coast is pleased to provide a summary of the key features of graduated driver licensing programs in all states and territories in Australia, and in New Zealand. This information is current as at December 2015. These tables are updated monthly.


Microstructures and mechanical properties of Nd: YAG laser welded transformation induced plasticity(TRIP) steel with tensile strength 650 MPa and 1.2 mm thickness were studied.The hardness and tensile strength of butt welding joint were investigated by optical and electronic microscopies under different welding speeds.The formability of raw material and welding joint were tested with Erichsen experiment.The study showed that the welded metal mainly consists of martensite which is different from the original TRIP or parent metal,which is composed of ferrite matrix plus bainite and a little residual austenite.Therefore,the welded metal or the heat affected zone has the maximum hardness for the whole welded joint.The yield strength(YS) and tensile strength(TS) of the welded specimens tested perpendicular to the weld line were almost equal to those of the parent metal.But the YS and TS of the welded specimens tested parallel with the weld line were obviously higher than those of the parent metal.The stamping formability of laser welded TRIP steel sheet was obviously decreased compared with that of the parent metal.


This study aims to analyze the problematic analysis of science learning based on local wisdom and the solution in terms of its solution in terms of several aspects, namely: curriculum, teachers, students, learning strategies, assessments, facilities and infrastructure. This type of research is descriptive qualitative. The research data was obtained through literature review and giving questionnaires to 65 respondents. The respondents came from 201 teachers who are alumni at one of the universities in Mataram City who are members of WAG IKA (WhatsApp Group Alumni Association). The questionnaire contains a list of six open-ended questions. The results of the study provide information that curriculum changes are expected to answer the needs of the times and consider local wisdom according to the characteristics of each region, these changes require mental changes from curriculum implementers. The quantity of teachers is sufficient but the quality of teachers still needs to be improved, especially in designing learning tools based on local wisdom. From the student factor, the role of parents as well as motivation and interest in learning is important to improve so that learning outcomes are as expected, and students also care about local wisdom in their neighborhood. For this reason, teachers need good learning strategies in planning local wisdom-based learning processes in the classroom by considering authentic assessments that are able to measure aspects of students' attitudes, knowledge, and skills in learning science. Facilities and infrastructure that can support science learning activities based on local wisdom include: library facilities, science laboratories, multimedia laboratories, and objects of local wisdom around students.


For many companies there is a case for a fundamental review of what is meant by excellence and what the focus should be in relation to both innovation and excellence. There are many questions that directors and boards should consider ahead of the 29th World Congress on Leadership for Business Excellence and Innovation in relation to reviewing approaches and board practices; agile, innovative and supportive leadership; transformation and innovation; continual and intelligent adaptation; disruptive and enabling technologies; corporate purpose and sustainability; fostering creativity and innovation; and reviewing strategic direction.


Squeak is an undesirable noise generated by friction-induced, self-excited vibration of two contacting surfaces. Due to the highly non-linear nature of the underlying mechanism, it is very difficult to develop a systematic procedure to address squeak problems in automotive engineering. Obviously it is impractical to eliminate all possible sliding contacts in a vehicle, but a good structural design will minimize occurrence of contacts. For example, potential contact areas may be identified by structural analysis in the design stage, and pairs of materials that have low squeak propensity may be used for such areas. A unique squeak test apparatus was built to enable quantitative rating of squeak propensity of a given materials pair. The mechanism utilizes a sprag-slip mechanism to induce unstable vibration of a given materials pair in a consistent and repeatable manner. An analytical model was developed to understand dynamic characteristics of the test set up and refine the design of the apparatus. Unstable motions and sounds generated by the apparatus were measured for several pairs of materials, and a squeak detection and rating algorithm previously developed by the authors was applied to quantify squeak propensities. The developed procedure will be used to build material database to help NVH engineers to deal with squeak problems in the design stage.


The contribution of this paper is two fold. First, it presents a novel approach called DeepBiRD which is inspired from human visual perception and exploits layout features to identify individual references in a scientific publication. Second, we present a new dataset for image-based reference detection with 2401 scans containing 12244 references, all manually annotated for individual reference. Our proposed approach consists of two stages, firstly it identifies whether given document image is single column or multi-column. Using this information, document image is then splitted into individual columns. Secondly it performs layout driven reference detection using Mask R-CNN in a given scientific publication. DeepBiRD was evaluated on two different datasets to demonstrate the generalization of this approach. The proposed system achieved an F-measure of 0.96 on our dataset. DeepBiRD detected 2.5 times more references than current state-of-the-art approach on their own dataset. Therefore, suggesting that DeepBiRD is significantly superior in performance, generalizable and independent of any domain or referencing style.


Establishing architecture is the premise of system development. It is necessary for establishment architecture of simulation training system to meet the needs of scientific hierarchy, Reasonable composition division, Technical feasibility and Integrity, Consistence and Traceability of content design. on this basis, puts forward five views is used to describe the simulation training system, and has carried on the detailed elaboration on the relationship between the various products in the view, with operation and reference.


Integrated marketing communications (IMC) or integrated communications: advertising and public relations (1CAP)the merger of all communication functions under a single organizational unit-is one of the most debated and controversial topics in the field of mass communication, both from an educational perspective and from its practical application. Generally, advertising professionals have been in favor of integration, while public relations practitioners have objected on the grounds that public relations is not a marketing function but a broader entity that should report directly to the CEO of a corporation. In fact, some public relations educators have gone as far as to call the current movement imperialist and an encroachment on the field (Lauzen, 1990; Dozier & Lauzen, 1990). The reality is that more and more clients are taking a multi-disciplinary approach to corporate communication planning (Alter, 1990; Kotler, 1987). Several forces account for this trend: (a) agency mega-mergers combined with greater emphasis on niche marketing have reduced the need for multiple specialty firms such as ad agencies, public relations agencies, direct response agencies, sales promotion agencies, etc. (Kalish, 1990); (b) an increased emphasis on bottom line profits has spurred agencies to add functions; (c) the proliferation of small, multi-purpose agencies in smaller markets (Schultz, 1991); and (d) a perceived need on the part of clients to integrate communications. Philip Geier, past CEO of Interpublic, said, "Companies overseas are starting to shift responsibility for ancillary marketing services, such as public relations, sales promotion, and direct response, back to their advertising agencies ... this trend may soon spread to the U.S." (Ad Forum, 1985). And, indeed, it now has. As early as 1986, direct marketers were arguing that the preferable agencies were those that had integrated both direct response and general advertising into the agency structure rather than keeping directresponseas aseparatefunction (Everett, 1986). Recently, Leo Burnett, the country's second-ranked ad agency, added sales promotion and event marketing to its existing integrated direct marketing program. They believe that the integration is successful (Kirk, 1991). Having initiated multi-tier account management to serve their clients on an interdisciplinary system, the agency brings its creative and account people up to speed in what used to be called "ancillary'' fields so that clients can be presented


This paper shares our experience in supporting and running the Open vSwitch (OVS) software switch, as part of the NSX product for enterprise data center virtualization used by thousands of VMware customers. Starting in 2009, the OVS design split its code between tightly coupled kernel and userspace components. This split was necessary at the time for performance, but it caused maintainability problems that persist today. In addition, in-kernel packet processing is now much slower than newer options. To solve the problems caused by the user/kernel split, OVS must adopt a new architecture. We describe two possibilities that we explored, but did not adopt, one because it gives up compatibility with drivers and tools that are important to virtual data center operators, the other because it performs poorly. Instead, we endorse a third approach, based on a new Linux socket type called AF\_XDP, which solves the maintainability problem in a compatible, performant way. The new code is already merged into the mainstream OVS repository. We include a thorough performance evaluation and a collection of lessons learned.


State-owned enterprises have implemented the requirements for innovation and development, and their R&D investment has increased significantly in recent years. This study proposes measures, such as a comprehensive R&D marginal benefit and production synergy benefit to determine a reasonable investment scale, refine the R&D activities identification criteria, strengthen inter-professional collaboration, and increase digital application, to provide reference for the improvement of R&D investment management of state-owned enterprises, and to facilitate high-quality economic and social development.


The representations of spatial relationships among multidimensional features and subsequent querying of these relationships are two areas wherein the application of fuzzy concepts has tremendous potential. Of particular interest to us are the sets of qualitative topological and directional relationships for geographical data of two dimensions. These sets form a substantial part of relationships in which users of spatial information systems are interested. Furthermore, these relationships are best described and interpreted by humans when some degree of fuzziness is allowed, as it is very difficult to precisely determine for example, whether one area feature is exactly northwest of another area feature. More likely, there is more than one applicable directional relationship between the two, and a precise categorization will lead to some degree of loss of information and subsequent misinterpretation of geographic reality. Many existing systems, unfortunately, do not allow for either the fuzzy representation or querying of such relationships. In this paper, we show how, using a previously defined fuzzy data model and low-level query framework for spatial relationships, the capability for providing such fuzzy modeling and querying of spatial relationships can be integrated into existing query systems. Specifically, we show the application of these concepts to the query languages Spatial SQL, Pictorial SQL (PSQL) and PICQUERY/sup +/.


Glycine betaine is the end product of a two step oxidation of choline. Although glycine betaine is a common osmolyte in the cells of many species, the mechanism(s) regulating its synthesis in response to hyperosmotic stress has not been thoroughly studied in animals. We localized glycine betaine production in the mitochondrial matrix of cardiac cells from the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Isolated Limulus mitochondria take up choline and convert it to glycine betaine. The uptake rate is stimulated by exposure to hyperosmotic medium and mediated in part by a Na + -dependent, high affinity transporter. The increased choline concentrations in hyperosmotically stressed mitochondria result in increased glycine betaine concentrations


In order to establishment of urban centers in high-risk earthquake zones, these cities put potentially at risk of serious injury. Most of the harmful effects caused by earthquakes are due to developing urban patterns in the fault zones. Non-considered development of urban areas in near fault regions has caused the occurrence of earthquake leads to a human tragedy. Tabriz metropolitan is Iran's only major city which is located in the susceptibility with a very high relative risk. Tabriz fault is located in the immediate vicinity of the city and some parts of the city are constructed along the fault. The Tabriz fault is a prominent tectonic feature in the vicinity of the city. Tabriz metropolitan has experienced destructive earthquakes during history as a consequence of locating in vicinity to the Tabriz fault. Today, Tabriz metropolis is extremely growing with a population of more than 2000000 people and many high buildings in the privacy of active fault zone. Because of the importance of the issue, in this study, seismic power of Tabriz fault and casualties in Tabriz metropolitan is estimated based on experimental models and GIS. The results demonstrate that the Tabriz fault can cause earthquakes with magnitude over 6 in the Richter scale. Assuming seismic activity Tabriz fault scenario, 1632526 casualties were estimated at night of total population in Tabriz metropolis including 858123 people dead, 774403 people injured


Measures of early childbirth are high in Cote d'Ivoire. The share of women ages 18-22 who had a child before 18 is 29.7 percent, but it has decreased over time. The share of girls who had a child before the age of 15, at five percent, has also decreased. Early childbirth is associated with lower wealth, lower education levels, and employment without cash earnings. These are however only correlations, not necessarily causal effects. This brief has provided a basic profile of early childbirth in Cote d'Ivoire. Measures of early childbirth are high. The share of women ages 18-22 who had their first child before 18 is 29.7 percent and it has decreased over time. The share of women with their first child before 15 is at 5.1 percent. Early childbirth is associated with lower wealth and lower education levels, and employment with payment in kind. These are however only correlations, not necessarily causal effects. Other briefs in this series look at potential causal effects.


With the development of network technology,network teaching has become a new teaching mode.The research takes the signals and systems course as an example,which is an important professional basic course of communication and information engineering.In order to achieve better teaching results,the newnetwork teaching mode is discussed,based on the traditional teaching method,aided by the network teaching and the course website.The asynchronous teaching mode,the discussion based learning mode and the explorative learning network teaching mode are emphasized.Practice has proved that,network teaching mode can better mobilize students' learning enthusiasm and further achieve better learning effect.


In this research, a six-order, fully implicit Block Backward Differentiation Formula with two off-step points (BBDFO(6)), for the integration of first-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that exhibit stiffness, is proposed. The order, consistency and stability properties of the method are discussed, and the method is found to be zero stable and consistent. Hence, the method is convergent. The numerical comparisons with the existing methods of a similar type are given to demonstrate the accuracy of the derived method.


Surrounding the known kimberlites are shallow dipping sediments of the Bullita Group. This is composed of thinly bedded reddish brown dolomitic siltstones and fine sandstone of the Timber Creek Formation. The Bullita Group has formed low rounded hills sometimes capped by overlying unconformable massive quartz sandstone. This sandstone is the Jasper Gorge Sandstone (Auvergne Group) which also caps the gently sloping plateau of the Newcastle Range to the northwest.


Studies of the pulsar B0823+26 have been carried out using the Large Phased Array (LPA) radio telescope. At time span of 5.5 years, the amplitudes of the main pulse (MP), postcursor (PC) and interpulse (IP) were evaluated in daily sessions lasting 3.7 minutes. It is shown that the ratio of the average amplitudes of MP in the bright (B) and quiet (Q) modes is 60. For B-mode, the average ratio of MP amplitudes to IP amplitudes is 65, and the ratio of MP amplitudes to PC amplitudes is 28. The number of sessions with a nulling is 4 per cent of the total number of sessions. Structure function (SF) and correlation function analysis of MP, IP and PC amplitude variations of over a long-time interval allowed us to detect typical time scales 37 ± 5 days and one year. The analysis of time variations shows that the time scale of 37 days is well explained by refraction on inhomogeneities of interstellar plasma, which is distributed mostly quasi-uniformly in the line-of-sight. This scintillation makes the main contribution to the observed variability. Analysis of the structure function showed that there may be a few days variability. This time scale does not have an unambiguous interpretation but is apparently associated with the refraction of radio waves on the interstellar medium. One-year variability time scale has not been previously detected. We associate its appearance with the presence of a scattering layer on a closely located screen at a distance of about 50-100 pc from the Earth.


A new unified design formula for calculating the composite compressive strength of the axially loaded circular concrete filled double steel tubular (CFDST) short and slender columns is presented in this paper. The formula is obtained from the analytic solution by using the limit equilibrium theory, the cylinder theory and the "Unified theory" under axial compression. Furthermore, the stability factor of CFDST slender columns is derived on the basis of the Perry-Robertson formula. This paper also reports the results of experiments and finite element analysis carried out on concrete filled double steel tubular columns, where the tested specimens include short and slender columns with different steel ratio and yield strength of inner tube; a new constitutive model for the concrete confined by both the outer and inner steel tube is proposed and incorporated in the finite element model developed. The comparisons among the finite element results, experimental results, and theoretical predictions show a good agreement in predicting the behavior and strength of the concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns with or without inner steel tubes. An important characteristic of the new formulas is that they provide a unified formulation for both the plain CFST and CFDST columns relating to the compressive strength or the stability bearing capacity and a set of design parameters.


Activity concentrations of twenty-six (26) samples of sediment collected from rivers from eleven (11) oil-producing communities and two (2) non-oil producing communities in Delta state of Nigeria were studied. Hyper Purity Germanium (HPGe) Detector was used for counting and detection of radionuclide content of all samples. Results of the samples analysed showed that the radioactivity concentrations of K40, Th232 and U238 in the sediment samples from oil-producing areas range from 32.47 Bq·kg-1 to 525.1 Bq·kg-1 with an average of 302.15 Bq·kg-1, 6.31 Bq·kg-1 to 19.33 Bq·kg-1 with an average of 11.66 Bq·kg-1, and 4.45 Bq·kg-1 to 18.69 Bq·kg-1 with an average of 8.66 Bq·kg-1 respectively. Activity concentrations at the control site ranged from 3.15 Bq·kg-1 to 4.80 Bq·kg-1, 2.27 Bq·kg-1 to 4.18 Bq·kg-1 and 1.15 Bq·kg-1 to 1.76 Bq·kg-1 for K40, Th232 and U238. These values are within the world average; natural radioactivity mapping of the study area is carried out using the Surfer software. Statistical analysis of the results showed that there is a significant difference between the radionuclide concentrations of the sediment samples from rivers in the oil producing site compared to results from non-oil producing communities, except for one of the oil producing site samples (Idumuesah) which has values that are close to those from the control sites for K40. The values of the radiological assessment indices obtained were observed to be within the permissible maximum values; hence the radiation hazard at study areas are negligible. However, concentration values of studied radionuclide at the oil-producing study areas were observed to be higher than values from the non-oil producing sites in most cases. It could therefore be reported that the operations of the oil companies in Delta state of Nigeria may have contributed to the high radioactivity level of the river sediments. Although the concentration at the time of this study poses no risk, further industrial activities in the study area may raise the activity concentration and radiological burden in the future.


Near infra-red (NIR) images of natural scenes usually have better contrast and contain rich texture details that may not be perceived in visible light photographs (VIS). In this paper, we propose a novel method to enhance a photograph by using the contrast and texture information of its corresponding NIR image. More precisely, we first decompose the NIR/VIS pair into average and detail wavelet subbands. We then transfer the contrast in the average subband and transfer texture in the detail subbands. We built a special camera mount that optically aligns two consumer-grade digital cameras, one of which was modified to capture NIR. Our results exhibit higher visual quality than tone-mapped HDR images, showing that NIR imaging is useful for computational photography.


F ). We re-evaluate this relationship with an expanded database of 80 events, that includes 57 strike-slip, 12 reverse, and 11 normal faulting events. When the data are subdivided by fault mechanism, magnitude predictions from rupture length are improved for strike-slip faults when slip rate is included, but not for reverse or normal faults. Whether or not the slip rate term is present, a linear model with M


Objective: To examine the characteristics of criminal parenting styles.Methods: 371 prisoners took part in the cross-sectional design study with EMBU.Results: ①There existed significant difference of parenting styles between the criminals and general population.②There also exist significant sex difference in some dimensions of parenting styles.Male criminals reported more rejection,punishment,strictness and less emotional warmth and understanding than female criminals.Criminals from the rural areas reported less partiality,emotional warmth and understanding than the criminals from the city.③Maternal emotional warmth and understanding,and maternal punishment and strictness showed significant difference between various level of maternal education.④There were three similar parenting styles: doting,indulgent and contradictory.Conclusion: Parenting style of the criminals has extreme tendency,which can be divided roughly for doting type,indulgent type and contradictory type.