A compact optical sensor for the measurement of distance and displacement has been developed by using the self-mixing effect of a laser diode. Although the principle of self-mixing interference is different from conventional interference, it is shown that FFT analysis technique can also be used to detect the signal phase and increase the measurement precision of self-mixing interferometry. The optical phase of self- mixing interference is detected by FFT analysis, and the phase error caused by the laser frequency fluctuation was reduced by using a reference reflector. By these techniques, we can determine the distance from centimeters to a few meters and the displacement with nanometer precision.


Supply disruptions often appear in supply chain. Using appropriate coping strategies can help firms to compensate the economic losses effectively. In this paper, we construct a supply chain consisting of single supplier and single retailer. By introducing interruption time, we study the coping strategies of retailer after supply disruption under stochastic demand, including taking no countermeasures, assisting supplier in productivity recovery by cost-sharing of productivity recovery and purchasing products to the spot market. Through numerical analysis, we analyze the impact of the interruption time on the retailer's purchase quantity and compare the profit changes of all parties in the supply chain under different strategies, which provides guidance for the enterprises in the supply chain to deal with the supply disruption effectively.


Abstract A modern Multiphase Compressor Technology is proposed and investigated for wet gas compression. Usually the fluid to be handled by the wells operate under wet gas conditions, in which the fluid contains a mixture of liquid and gaseous phases. Consequently, the proposed multiphase pumps have the ability to handle directly the wet gas without the need for separation equipment, which is very attractive from an economic view, as it reduces very much the weight, size and cost of the gas compression devices. Hence, the growing interest in wet gas compression leads to a general request for accurate performance calculation procedures and proper measurement techniques for multiphase flow metering in compressors. According to the proposed modern technology the well known multiphase pumps used for wet gas compression will be extended to next generation forms. Besides, the efficiency and operating range of a compressor are constrained by aerodynamic instabilities. In such way, by the present investigation the different flow phenomena associated with compressor instability are investigated and presented recommendations for suitable instrumentation and measuring techniques. Thus, with the high demand of wet gas compression system, it is necessary to model the performance of twin-screw multiphase pump with wet gas conditions and provide solutions to increase both efficiency and reliability. So, a calculation model is investigated to evaluate the suitable form of the multiphase compressor and to find the proper parameters for its operation. Hence, the international oil companies must be ready to face the new challenges of using the "next generation" multiphase pumps for wet gas compression.


Responsible production is essential for sustainable development and for ensuring global food security. The concept of responsible production has been well studied in other sectors of the economy, but has yet to gain recognition in the agricultural sector. Therefore, this study examined responsible production in the context of agriculture and the factors affecting responsible farm production in the developing country of Pakistan. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data from 196 farmers selected using the multistage random sampling method. An independent sample t-test, chi-square test, and ordered probit model were used to analyze the data. The responsible farm production index was estimated based on the climate change adaptation, resource efficiency, carbon footprints, and economic returns of each farm. The mean value of the responsible farm production index is 0.69. The farmers were divided into low-, moderate-, and highly responsible farm producers using cluster analysis. More than 36% of farms were highly responsible. The results revealed that women's participation in farming activities, extension services, the use of information and communication technologies, and farmer entrepreneurial orientation dimensions significantly affected responsible farm production. Farm producers using the Internet for agriculture had a 1.4% points higher probability of belonging to the highly responsible farm producer category compared to those who did not use the Internet to obtain agricultural information. Farms with women's participation in agricultural activities were 33.5% points more likely to belong to the highly responsible farm producer category than farms where only males perform agricultural operations. Therefore, women's empowerment and farmers' entrepreneurial skills are absolute necessities of responsible farming. This study piques the interests of stakeholders while also adding to the scant body of knowledge on responsible farm production around the world. Furthermore, this study is critical for developing a roadmap for long-term sustainable agricultural development.


'May you live in interesting times' was made famous by Sir Austen Chamberlain. The premise is that 'interesting times' are times of upheaval, conflict and insecurity - troubled times. With the growing numbers of displaced populations and the rise in the politics of fear and hate, we are facing challenges to our very 'species-being'. Papers in the volume include ethnographic studies on the 'refugee crisis', the 'financial crisis' and the 'rule of law crisis' in the Mediterranean as well as the crisis of violence and hunger in South America.


The archiving, analysis and diagnosis of process data is often inadequate or unwieldy for quality and cost management. Furthermore the requirement of data access via Internet for customer relations is often in the foreground. The expectations and capabilities of universal analysis systems for measured data are presented using the energy supply industry as an example.The SILO-SQL® system, described here, is open and is not only suitable for an energy supply utility, but also for enterprises in the process industry, as well as their customers who are able access it via normal Internet browsers. The systems have been running in municipal works departments, refuse incineration plants, gas and water supply plants and industrial enterprises for some time now and have proved themselves to be effective.


Bureaucracy is a widely disseminated concept in Sociology and in Organisational Theory studies, and it currently has an image where negative aspects are often highlighted. However, for Max Weber, bureaucracy has very specific features that differ, in varied situations, from the representation and application often ascribed to this model of organisational administration. This review aims at contributing to putting forward the concept of bureaucracy as initially proposed by Max Weber, discussing it in its potentialities.


FPGA-based hardware emulation platform runs significantly faster than software simulation for verifying complex circuit designs. However, the controllability and observability of circuit internal signals mapped onto FPGAs are restricted due to the limited chip pins. Scan chain-based technique is effective in providing full-chip controllability and observability, at the cost of large area overhead, especially for FPGAs. Therefore, partial scan has been proposed as an alternative way to improve the controllability and observability while reducing the area cost. However, the optimized partial scan solution with the minimum number of scan flip-flops is not always found. This paper formulates the classical balanced structure partial scan procedure in one step as an integer linear programming problem, leading to the optimized partial scan solution. In addition, partially used logic resources in FPGAs are exploited to implement the extra logic required by the scan chain, to further reduce the area cost. Experimental results show that our partial scan approach can reduce the area overhead by 78.6% and 16.6% compared to the full scan and the existing partial scan approach.


The Economic Area LCCI of Guanzhong—Tianshui areas is analyzed by the related spatial autocorrelation model of the Guanzhong—Tianshui agricultural economic data from 1978 to 2008.The results showed:The area of cultivated land in the economic rapidly declines,but the population expands.The LCCI spatial distribution pattern is "city high,east higher and west lower".The spatial distribution showed a high degree of positive global spatial autocorrelation.The distribution characteristics of local spatial autocorrelation: the city area and Tianshui area is significantly high value of the gathering area,the middle of Guanzhong—Tianshui areas is a significant lower concentration zone,which tests their various regions significantly.


When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, new clothing protocols for state employees resulted in far-reaching changes in what people wore. In a pioneering history of dress in the Mao years (1949–1976), Antonia Finnane traces the transformation, using industry archives and personal stories to reveal a clothing regime pivoted on the so-called 'Mao suit'. The time of the Mao suit was the time of sewing schools and sewing machines, pattern books and homemade clothes. It was also a time of close economic planning, when rationing meant a limited range of clothes made, usually by women, from limited amounts of cloth. In an area of scholarship dominated by attention to consumption, Finnane presents a revisionist account focused instead on production. How to Make a Mao Suit provides a richly illustrated account of clothing that links the material culture of the Mao years to broader cultural and technological changes of the twentieth century.


In The Ambassadors, an escalating dispute over the nature of the change in Chad Newsome, who has been away in Paris for some years, reverberates across a discursive spectrum in which some voices are heard, and others compromised or silent. Lyotard's notion of the 'differend' provides a theoretical framework for understanding what is at stake in unresolvable conflicts, and forms the basis for a discussion of the novel's rhetorical strategies in negotiating difference.


Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been applied to the study of electrodeposited thin films of manganese dioxide as used in electrochemical capacitors. Conventionally EIS employs a relatively small AC excitation signal to provide valuable characterization on electrode features such as the series resistance, charge transfer and double layer charge storage processes, as well as mass transport. The small excitation signal is used so as to focus on the processes occurring within that potential domain allowing for considerable resolution across the full potential window. In this work we have compared the output from this conventional analysis with data from the application of a large amplitude AC excitation signal; i.e., an AC signal that spans the full potential window of the manganese dioxide electrode. Not only does this allow access to electrochemical data representative of the full range of domains within the manganese dioxide structure, it also facilitates performance analysis (determination of specific power and energy data) of the electrode in a much more efficient manner than conventional means, as well as enables separation of the total specific capacitance into its non-faradaic and faradaic components.


We treat nouns that behave adjectively, which we call adjectival nouns, extracted from large corpora. For example, in "financial world" and "world of finance," "financial" and "finance" are different parts of speech, but their semantic behaviors are similar to each other. We investigate how adjectival nouns are similar to adjectives and different from non-adjectival nouns by using self-organizing semantic maps. We create five kinds of semantic maps, i.e., semantic maps of abstract nouns organized via (1) adjectives, (2) adjectival nouns, (3) non-adjectival nouns and (4) adjectival and adjectival nouns and a semantic map of adjectives, adjectival nouns and non-adjectival nouns organized via collocated abstract nouns, and compare them with each other to find similarities and differences.


Background: The aim of the study was to analyze the distribution of stresses caused by an axial force in a three-dimensional model with the finite element method in the implant-supported fixed partial denture with distal overhang (PPFIVD) on short dental implants in the posterior edentulous maxilla. Methods: geometrical models of the maxilla with a bone remnant of 9 and 5 mm were created. Straumann SP® (Base, Switzerland) implants were placed in the premolar area. Two groups with subgroups were designed. Group A (GA): PPFIVD on two implants (GA1: 4.1 × 8 mm and GA2: 4.1 × 4 mm); Group B (GB): PPFIVD on the single implant (GB1: 4.1 × 8 mm and GB2: 4.1 × 4 mm). It was applied to a static force of 100 N to 30°. Results: PPFIVD on two implants reached the maximum tension in GA2 with respect to GA1; the difference was not significant in implants. In the maxilla GA2 was lower in relation to GA1; the difference was not significant. In PPFIVD over an implant, the stress was greater in GB2 with respect to GB1; the difference was significant in maxilla and implants. Peri-implant bone micro deformations and prosthesis-implant displacements were observed. Conclusions: PPFIVD over short splinted implants could be viable in the maxilla with reduced bone height, being an option when lifting the floor of the maxillary sinus. The rehabilitation with unitary implant (4 mm) did not provide adequate results. The dominant tensions evidenced bone micro-distortions with a displacement of the prosthesis-implant set. The real statement of this paper was to define that short splinted implants can be used in soft bone with high success rate in reducing bending forces.


Nowadays there are a few ships built or designed with a small water-plane area (SWA) and low (absolute) speed. Some general methods of such ship development are described with an example of a Chinese-designed research SWA ship. Initially a work definition of slow speed is proposed and then some of the specificities of slow-speed SWA ships are discussed. The main methods of such ship development are: ship type selection; optimal hull structure; high enough tensile steel application; hull structure selection by calculations; measure of viscosity resistance decreasing; and method of motion mitigation. These topics are examined briefly. This paper discusses the initial ship option, estimated characteristics, and two alternative options.


The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of combined and traditional training applied to football players on multi-faceted performance development. Experimental research model from quantitative research was used in this study. This study sports infrastructure Antalyaspor the average age of 12,3±0,2 a year, training the average age of 3,5±0,7 with 12 years Combined Training Group (CTG) and the mean age of 12,2±0,1 years of training average age 4,0±0,7 year 12 Normal Training Group (NTG) to 24 male soccer player voluntarily participated. Before and after the 8-week training period, anthropometric measurement (length, width, circumference, subcutaneous fat), posture analysis, physiological tests; heart rate measurements, blood pressure, biomotoric tests; strength, sprint, flexibility, vertical jump, maximal strength (1RM), sit-ups, push-ups, standing long jump, jump rope, sit-reach, FutTech Technical tests (slalom, dribbling, passing, shooting, running), body temperature, ambient temperature and determination of perceived difficulty level tests were carried out. When the CTG and NTG pre-test and post-test data were examined, a statistically significant difference was found in the pre-test biomotoric tests in standing long jump, lat pull and FutTech time values (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was found in the lat pully and abdominal values of the CTG and NTG end test values in the biomotanical tests (p<0.05). Based on the data we have obtained, it has been determined that combined training performed in children in the infrastructure contributes to the development of some biomotoric features and supports the development of football-specific technical skills compared to normal training programs.


The lack of reliable quantitative estimates of the length and time scales associated with hot electron thermalization after a gamma-ray induced energy cascade obscures the interplay of various microscopic processes controlling scintillator performance and hampers the search for improved detector materials. We apply a detailed microscopic kinetic Monte Carlo model of the creation and subsequent thermalization of hot electrons produced by gamma irradiation of six important scintillating crystals to determine the spatial extent of the cloud of excitations produced by gamma rays and the time required for the cloud to thermalize with the host lattice. The main ingredients of the model are ensembles of microscopic track structures produced upon gamma excitation (including the energy distribution of the excited carriers), numerical estimates of electron-phonon scattering rates, and a calculated particle dispersion to relate the speed and energy of excited carriers. All these ingredients are based on first-princi...


This brief, final appendix has provided a simple memory palace for remembering the MBSE Ontology. The use of memory palaces, although quite strange, has been proven over millennia and should not be dismissed out of hand.


Abstract Necking development and fracture strain of superplastic material under tensile load are analysed by introducing a model of cavity growth into the long wavelength approximation analysis which can describe the external neck development of specimens during deformation. The results show that both strain rate sensitivity m and cavity growth rate η have an important influence on the fracture strain of superplastic material. According to these results, a fracture diagram is presented in m–η coordinates, which is divided into three: a region in which material fails by macroscopic external necking, a region where cavity growth is predominant leading to fracture without pronounced external necking, and an intermediate region where both fracture modes occur. The prediction of fracture strain for various superplastic alloys exhibiting cavity growth during deformation is in good agreement with experimental results. The present analysis thus enables quantitative prediction of the effects of both strain rate se...


Introduction:
 Stroke is a leading cause of brain injury. Most stroke survival has long-term disability due to cerebral damage. We have demonstrated that xenon(Xe) liposomal injection provides novel neuroprotection.

 Hypothesis:
 Repetitive Xe-liposomal administration over a longer period post stroke results in brain protection.

 Methods:
 Stroke was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) for 6 hours. Xe-liposomes were intravenously administrated for varying duration and time periods to investigate the administration frequency and administration duration. Infarct size was evaluated by TTC staining. Forelimb placing/Grid walking were conducted to evaluate neurological function.

 Results:
 MCA occlusion for 6 hours generated a 23%±2.8% infarct volume. Repetitive injections at every one hour for 5 injections effectively reduced infract volume(3.8%±0.2%,p<0.05) than a single injection(11%±2.3). Extending Xe liposomal treatment to 3 days further decreased infarct volume to 1.9%%±0.7 (p<0.01,Fig.1A). Behavior tests results are correlated with TTC staining(Fig. 1B).

 Conclusions:
 Repetitive Xe-liposomal administration over the first 6 hours following MCAO and extending daily administration results in brain stabilization.This novel method may help may help extend the time window for stroke treatment.


Recent advances in computing technology in terms of speed, cost, as well as access to tremendous amounts of computing power and the ability to process huge amounts of data in reasonable time has spurred increased interest in data mining applications to extract useful knowledge from data. Machine learning has been one of the methods used in most of these data mining applications. It is widely acknowledged that about 80% of the resources in a majority of data mining applications are spent on cleaning and preprocessing the data. However, there have been relatively few studies on preprocessing data used as input in these data mining systems. In this study, we evaluate several inter-class as well as probabilistic distance-based feature selection methods as to their effectiveness in preprocessing input data for inducing decision trees. We use real-world data to evaluate these feature selection methods. Results from this study show that inter-class distance measures result in better performance compared to probabilistic measures, in general. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Hospital service improvement is associated with trusted personnel in treating patients. The form of supervision of Hospital accreditation is held every year. Hospital personnel requirements namely improving skills and updating knowledge related to the profession. But the problem faced by personnel is not being aware of their abilities. This is related to motivation or encouragement to personnel. The problem is seen, some personnel are less aware of the emotions they are feeling. Researchers conduct Self Awareness Training for hospital personnel. Participants numbered 18 personnel consisting of several sections in Hospital. Based on literature studies conducted by researchers, found a positive relationship between self-awareness and work motivation. Therefore, the researcher tried to implement a self-awareness training program to increase the work motivation of hospital personnel. The results of paired sample t-test analysis showed that there was a change in motivation after psychological capital training, with a significant value of 0,000 (p <0.05).


Current videoconferencing systems show a lack of support in adapting visual remote camera presentation to the users' needs. Some manage to put focus on the current speaker. In this demonstration we show an automatic decision making component in the realm of social video communication that aims to go beyond that. Our approach takes into account several aspects such as the current conversational situation, conversational metrics of the past and device capabilities to make decisions on the visual representation of available video streams. This allows to optimally support users in communication within various communication contexts.


It is now nearly a decade since the current Director of Aslib rocked the somewhat complacent debating chambers of the information profession with his paper 'There won't be an information profession in 2000 AD'. At the time, the IT world was developing a view of the paperless office brought about by heady dreams of electronic libraries, common networks and end‐user searching. The day of the intermediary was drawing to a close, or was it? With the passage of time, experience brings with it a realisation that nothing is black and white, but a rich texture of shades of grey. As we enter the 'Information age', those with the capability to exploit information effectively will be the winners. The advice 'to change or be changed' was never more apt than it is today.


Background: Increased level of stress has a potential impact on physical, mental, and social well-being. It was seen aggravated during the global pandemic situation of COVID-19. Aim: The aim of this study was to find the effect of a community-based structured yoga program on the level of stress, anxiety, and depression. Materials and Methods: This was a community-based quasi-experimental study of pre–post in type involving 26 adult participants without any preexisting morbidity. All of them were provided 12 weeks of structured yoga program of 50 min/session, ≥2 sessions/week. Psychometric questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), stress biomarker serum cortisol, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and rate pressure product were used to assess the primary and secondary outcome variables. Results: A total of 26 participants (male: 6 and female: 20) were enrolled and 18 participants completed the follow-up assessment. The median number of yoga sessions attended was 22. At the end of 12 weeks, there was a significant reduction of the stress component of DASS-21 (p: 0.0018) and the serum cortisol level (p: 0.032). Other variables had a reduction but it was not significant. No adverse effect was reported by the participants. Conclusions: This community-based yoga study showed beneficial effects among the participants. The stress level was found reduced significantly. However, the sustainable effect needed to be assessed further.


This chapter considers the competing ways in which human beings socially construct their claims upon natural resources. The axis around which conventional thinking tends to revolve is a distinction between anthropocentrism on the one hand and eco-centrism on the other. The former entails a set of assumptions about the primacy of humanity over Nature: assumptions that are challenged by the latter. The foundations of anthropocentrism run deep. The Biblical account of the Earth's creation conceptualises the Earth as an environment created for humanity: a world created for a free-willed species supposedly made in the creator's image. The Genesis narrative has not only informed the major religions of the world, but its allegorical potential has resonated with Western Enlightenment thinking, insinuating itself into the conceptual ethos and cultural norms of believers and non-believers alike. The challenge to this orthodoxy has equally ancient roots in Greek mythology, which on the one hand warns humanity against the hubris of Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods to give to mere mortals, while on the other celebrating Gaia, the primordial Earth Mother, whose name has been appropriated by a contemporary hypothesis that the Earth as a self-sustaining organism will defend itself against the reckless encroachments of mortal humanity.


The theoretical relationship between throughput S and offered load G of reservation ALOHA (R-ALOHA) is derived. Closed-form expressions are given. It is shown that the performance of one version of R-ALOHA is mathematically equivalent to that of carrier-sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) under special circumstances.


Advanced biometric applications require estimation of the optical properties of human skin which are often unknown and expensive to obtain. We introduce a simple and fast method to measure the complex index of refraction of human skin and apply it to fingerprints.


The optimal control problem of adjusting the inflow, of piecewise constant type, to a supply chain in order to minimize the queue size and the quadratic difference between the outflow and the expected one is considered. The controls are represented by the duration of injections of different amounts of goods. The supply chain is modelled by a PDE-ODE: the conservation law describes the density of processed parts and the ODE the queue buffer occupancy. The numerical technique is based on the extensive use of generalized tangent vectors to a piecewise constant control, which represent time shifts of discontinuity points.


In this paper, it presented a device intended to reproduce magnetic fields of differents shapes to help the test or calibration of current measuring instruments based on Ampere's Law (current transformers, current clamps, and Rogowsky probes). In particular, this device can reproduce the effect of uncentered currents without requiring any mechanical displacement of the conductor or the device under test during its operation. Any uncentered or distributed current is approximated by a linear combination of currents flowing along a specific set of conductors. First, the theoretical vectorial analysis is presented, and second, a specific arrangement of conductors is used to illustrate the method. A number of measurements have been taken to check the results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


tes (defined as maintenance of glycemia with glycated hemoglobin levels below 7% with the patient receiving no diabetes-related medications) occurs in approximately 77% of patients and resolves or improves in 85%. Dyslipidemias also improve or resolve in 70% to 95% of surgically treated patients and hypertension in 87% to 95%. 2 Together, these short-term effects would predict favorable effects on mortality. Concordantly, longerduration follow-up in the SOS study reveals that, in patients without diabetes at baseline, bariatric surgery reduces incident diabetes by 83%; moreover, considering the entire cohort of obese patients, surgery also lowered cardiovascular event rates by 43%, cancer rates by


Liver transplantation (LT) is the only life-saving modality for patients with advanced liver disease. Because the introduction of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and the Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease (PELD) system, the waiting list death rate and median times to transplantation have decreased significantly (1). Moreover, despite a greater proportion of sicker and older candidates having received a liver transplant, patient and graft survival has remained unchanged in the past decade owing to improvements in patient selection, surgical techniques, immunosuppression and medical management (1). In spite of these advances, the fact remains that the number of patients requiring LT is greater than the number of available donors; therefore, candidacy for transplantation is determined by a multidisciplinary committee. Multidisciplinary committees consist of hepatologists, transplant surgeons, social workers, nurses, psychiatrists and members of other medical and surgical subspecialties. The extent to which medical professionals in LT can adhere to their moral obligation of extending life and relieving suffering whenever possible is restricted by the fact that transplantation is not necessarily an entitlement. In fact, the access and allocation process in organ transplantation is guided by principles of equity and medical utility with concurrent application of the concept of justice. In a broad sense, this concept highlights the issue of fairness in distributing the benefits and burdens of a communal resource. A typical LT candidacy assessment includes an evaluation for past or present alcohol or illicit drug addiction. In many instances the indication for LT is a disease process that may be directly related to an addiction as is in alcoholic liver disease. If the multidisciplinary committee functions in an objective and evidence-based environment, candidacy for LT should be rather uniform among transplant centres. The study by Kroeker et al. (2) demonstrates that many decisions are not necessarily evidence based but predicated on societal values. Kroeker et al. (2), in this issue of Liver International, evaluated LT eligibility in the US and Canadian centres. All Canadian, and 10 of 43 American LT centres responded to the survey. It is important to emphasize only a small proportion of the US LT centres (23%) responded, therefore these LT centres that did respond may not be an adequate representative sample of all the US centres. The majority of centres were high-volume centres, with the median number of annual cadaveric transplantations 60. The current practice in the determination of the LT eligibility in certain patient groups was evaluated by the responses given on the questionnaire. The factors being investigated were HIV infection, alcoholic liver disease, Jehovah's witnesses, medical non-compliance, non-alcoholic substance abuse, prisoner status and the lack of social support. Nearly all (93.8%) respondents in the current study indicated that their LT centres require 6-month abstinence policy along with evidence of successful alcohol counselling before LT. The reason behind any period of abstinence is two-fold – provide an opportunity for alcohol hepatitis decompensation to resolve and provide some measure of the candidate's motivation not to resume drinking alcohol. However, the duration of sobriety that is necessary to prevent alcohol recidivism is unclear, and may be more complicated than only a period of time (3–5). In a recent meta-analysis by Dew et al. (6), pretransplant factors that predicted alcohol relapse included social support, a family history of alcoholism and o 6 months of abstinence. Other authors have argued a 3-month period may be sufficient in selected cases (7). Nevertheless, there does appear to be a general consensus in the necessity for such a period and based on this current study a 6month period has been adopted and well accepted in both Canada and the US. Despite extensive evaluation of potential transplant candidates, as high as 50% of transplant recipients resume alcohol after surgery (8–10). A significant proportion of the heavy drinkers post-LT die from alcohol-related causes (8, 9). Standard practice for most transplant centres in the US is to require abstinence from any illicit drug use with chemical dependency contracts and utilize random drug screening to document adherence. American and Canadian centres were also in agreement when it came to cocaine use. Most transplant centres in both countries felt cocaine use was at least a relative,


Greece often hosts many earthquakes, whilst a moderate or small magnitude earthquake is felt every 2-3 days on average. Greece is also full of historical monuments with the great need for their protection as well as for archaeological excavation. An integrated geophysical investigation, in and around the byzantine church of Kaisariani Monastery, is designed in order to detect the stratigraphy under the church, the seismic velocities VP and VS of the near surface layers and possible anthropogenic structures or other local features in the underground. EM, GPR ERT and seismic measurements and results, fulfilling the above targets, have provided useful information both to archaeologists and engineers.


The architecture and implementation of an auto-operating short-term load forecasting system for Shenzhen power network is resumed. To realize the unattended load forecasting mode and to meet the need of electricity market, the closed loop operation mechanism is applied in this system. The essentials and the difficult points in the implementation of this system are described in detail and the corresponding solutions are given. The concepts and methods of bad load data identification, weather-cumulative effect and self-organization algorithm are put forward. On the basis of application examples the operation situation of the presented system is summarized.


Keywords: Inverse problems Multi-parameter Tikhonov regularization Damped Morozov principle Model function method Parameter choice a b s t r a c t In this paper, we study the multi-parameter Tikhonov regularization method which adds multiple different penalties to exhibit multi-scale features of the solution. An optimal error bound of the regularization solution is obtained by a priori choice of multiple regularization parameters. Some theoretical results of the regularization solution about the dependence on regularization parameters are presented. Then, an a posteriori parameter choice, i.e., the damped Morozov discrepancy principle, is introduced to determine multiple regularization parameters. Five model functions, i.e., two hyperbolic model functions, a linear model function, an exponential model function and a logarithmic model function, are proposed to solve the damped Morozov discrepancy principle. Furthermore, four efficient model function algorithms are developed for finding reasonable multiple regularization parameters, and their convergence properties are also studied. Numerical results of several examples show that the damped discrepancy principle is competitive with the standard one, and the model function algorithms are efficient for choosing regularization parameters.


Despite the enormous amount of research and development financed by the federal government—about $70 billion worth for fiscal 1998—no agency other than the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health really ever kept precise track of what it was actually doing at the project level with all that money. Where would one go, for example, to check which of the government's 1,550 separate R&D programs were doing or supporting work on new car batteries? Much of that information has now become available for new car batteries— and for any topic having to do with research being done by, for, or with the government. The source of these data is called Radius (for research and development in the U.S.), and it is run by Rand's Critical Technology Institute (CTI) in Washington, D.C. Radius is clearly an ambitious undertaking. It attempts to collect in one extensive, retrievable database everything the government is doing in R&D—a ...


Natural-language prompts have recently been used to coax pretrained language models into performing other AI tasks, using a fill-in-the-blank paradigm (Petroni et al., 2019) or a few-shot extrapolation paradigm (Brown et al., 2020). For example, language models retain factual knowledge from their training corpora that can be extracted by asking them to "fill in the blank" in a sentential prompt. However, where does this prompt come from? We explore the idea of learning prompts by gradient descent—either fine-tuning prompts taken from previous work, or starting from random initialization. Our prompts consist of "soft words," i.e., continuous vectors that are not necessarily word type embeddings from the language model. Furthermore, for each task, we optimize a mixture of prompts, learning which prompts are most effective and how to ensemble them. Across multiple English LMs and tasks, our approach hugely outperforms previous methods, showing that the implicit factual knowledge in language models was previously underestimated. Moreover, this knowledge is cheap to elicit: random initialization is nearly as good as informed initialization.


We address the problem of instruction selection for Multi-Output Instructions (MOIs), producing more than one result. Such inherently parallel hardware instructions are very common in the area of Application Specific Instruction Set Processors (ASIPs) and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) which are frequently used in System-on-Chips as programmable cores. In order to provide high-level programmability, and consequently guarantee widespread acceptance, sophisticated compiler support for these programmable cores is of high importance. Since it is not possible to model MultiOutput Instructions as trees in the compiler's Intermediate Representation (IR), traditional approaches for code selection are not sufficient. Extending traditional code-generation approaches for MOI-selection is essentially a graph covering problem, which is known to be NP-complete. We present a new heuristic algorithm incorporated in a retargetable code-generator generator capable of exploiting arbitrary inherently parallel MOIs. We prove the concept by integrating the tool into the LCC compiler which has been targeted towards different Instruction Set Architectures based on the MIPS architecture. Several network applications as well as some DSP benchmarks were compiled and evaluated to obtain results.


In this thesis we will address the location routing problem (LRP) with uncertainty in customer demand. The objective of the LRP is to minimize the sum of depot cost, vehicle cost and routing costs. The LRP is an integrated version of the facility location problem (FLP) and the vehicle routing problem (VRP), where the decisions on the opening of facilities and determining optimal routes are considered simultaneously. We will present a two-stage light robust problem formulation, where in the first stage the decisions regarding the locations of the open depots, the number of assigned vehicles and the \\textit{a priori} routing are considered. After observing the actual demand values, the \\textit{a posteriori} routing can be revised. We will show that we can provide non-conservative robust solutions using the light robust approach. We also introduce a set of valid inequalities specifically designed to tighten the light robust LRP formulation and evaluate the computational performance on benchmark instances. In addition, we consider a similar LRP with uncertainty in the customer set.


Inthis paper weprsent ageneral approach totheanalysis problem ofquantization errors indigital control systemrs using floating point arithmetic. Theclosed formof thedescription ofsystem errors duetoquantization isderived forthegeneral class oflinear digital control systems. Weconsider almost allkinds ofquantization errors which mayoccur ingeneral digital control systems; truncation orroundoff quantization errors ofA/DandD/Aconversions, andtruncation orroundoff errors inarithmetic operations. Wealso develop amethod toestimate theinfluenceoftheorder ofthearithmetic steps ofcontrol algorithms implemented indigital controllers onquantization errors. A mathematical description oftheorder ofarithmetic steps indigital controller isintroduced. Thevalidity oftheproposed analysis iscomfirmed through numerical experiments.


Double fast steering mirror (FSM) are made of a fast steering mirror driven by piezoelectric actuator and a fast steering mirror by voice coin motor, which provides not only high control bandwidth and high resolution but also a wide range of angle for the tracking control system. A classical control system of double fast steering mirror is that each CCD sensor provides line of sight error to control relevant FSM respectively, resulting in complexity and weakening optical energy. The proposed system works by depending on single CCD sensor, which implies that it is crucial to decouple the control double fast steering mirror .An unload technique is designed to solve this problem .The FSM driven by piezoelectric actuator is driven using line of sight from CCD, while the other FSM is followed it. Error attenuation transfer function is modeled and used to analyze stabilization and performance of the control system, which is optimal only if the control bandwidth of FSM driven by piezoelectric actuator is ten times more than that of the FSM driven by the voice coin motor. The experimental results are in great accordance with theoretical analysis.


A vacuum sublimation apparatus with a continuous-temperature gradient (30–280 °C) along the glass tube (60–0 cm) at 10−2 and 10−1 Torr (1 Torr=133.322 Pa) was used. 8-Quinolinol (Oxine, ox) and its Mo6+ and W6+ chelates (MoO2(ox)2 and WO2(ox)2) in milligram amounts were sublimed without any thermal decomposition. The Mo6+ chelate (orange yellow) forms large, rectangular crystals in the crossed state, while the W6+ chelate (pale yellow) forms small, rectangular crystals in the scattered states after vacuum sublimation.


A superconducting heterojunction made of a p-wave superconductor and a normal s-wave superconductor is investigated. The Bogoliubov transformation for the p-wave superconductor was obtained by diagonalizing the superconducting Hamiltonian. The value of the Josephson current that flows in the heterojunctions of p-wave/s-wave superconductors was calculated with this Bogoliubov transformation and was shown to be zero in the first-order perturbation at 0 K and at finite temperature. The ground state of the Balian-Werthamer-state superconductor at 0 K was obtained in the second-quantization formalism.


This study was aimed at analyzing the operational efficiency of DPAs(the delivery and pickup agents), which serve as sub-terminals in parcel delivery services, using CCR/BCC models in DEA. The input variables included the number of employees, and the amount of equipment and the operating expenses. The output variable was revenue value. The efficiency for the period from 2014 to 2016 was analyzed. The results revealed that the operational efficiency improved in 2016, compared with 2014, in both CCR and BCC models. According to the benchmarking analysis, DMU 1 and DMU 7 showed higher efficiency in 2016. The inefficiency analysis based on the BCC model showed increased efficiency of all factors in 2016 when compared with 2014. The Malmquist productivity index (MPI) dropped slightly as a result of technical changes and indicated a declining technical efficiency in all DMUs. This study suggests the need for government-led systematic improvement and support for DPAs by providing current insight into the parcel delivery industry and analyzing DPAs' operational efficiency in Korea for the first time. This research performed efficiency analysis of DPAs located in new town of paju and gimpo cities. In future research, comparative study on efficiency analysis including new town, old town area, and other cities are needed.


Omics data such as RNA gene expression, methylation and micro RNA expression are valuable sources of information for various clinical predictive tasks. For example, predicting survival outcomes, response to drugs, cancer histology type and other patients related information is possible using not only clinical data but molecular data as well. Moreover, using these data sources together, for example in multitask learning, might boost the performance. However, in practice, there are many missing data points which leads to significantly lower patient numbers when analysing full cases, which in our setting refers to all modalities being present. In this paper we investigate how imputing data with missing values using deep learning coupled with multitask learning can help to reach state-of-the-art performance results using combined omics modalities - RNA, micro RNA and methylation. We propose a generalised deep imputation method to impute values where a patient has data for one modality missing. Interestingly, deep imputation by itself outperforms multitask learning in classification and regression tasks across most combinations of modalities. In contrast, when using all available modalities for survival prediction we observe that multitask learning by itself significantly outperforms deep imputation (adjusted p-value of 0.03). Thus, both approaches are complementary when optimising performance for downstream predictive tasks.


The Evolution and Context of Arts Marketing Audiences Marketing Research Product Generating Income Promotion Making the Arts Available Marketing Planning Managing the Marketing Function.


An example system for inducting air into an engine includes a compressor and a turbine mechanically coupled to the compressor and driven by expanding engine exhaust. The system also includes a first conduit network configured to route some engine exhaust from a take-off point downstream of the turbine to a mixing point upstream of the compressor, and, a second conduit network configured to route some engine exhaust from a take-off point upstream of the turbine to a mixing point downstream of the compressor. The first and second conduit networks in the system have a shared conduit and a control valve configured to adjust an amount of engine exhaust flowing through the first conduit network and to adjust an amount of engine exhaust flowing through the second conduit network. The system also includes a flow sensor coupled in the shared conduit. The inventor herein has provided an integrated HP and LP EGR system in the same engine system, in which certain cost-, weight-, and package-intensive components are shared between the two loops and compressor surge is prevented and the EGR streaming potential is increased in a certain work condition.


This paper studies the remote evaluation system of tennis batting action standard based on acceleration sensor, which aims to help improve the standard degree and technical level of tennis batting action. The system includes a data acquisition module to collect original signal data of tennis batting action by the acceleration sensor signal acquisition device in the bracelet and upload to the personal computer (PC) for storage, data preprocessing module to smooth original signal data and extract the key time and frequency domain features as the evaluation basis, and remote evaluation module to assess tennis batting action standard. We applied our system to five tennis trainees from the experimental university, and the results show that the batting action standard level of student c and student e is lower. Student c is weak mainly in the best position of the hitting point and the timing of the lead shot, while student e mainly shows poor performance in the timing of movement and the stability of the overall center of gravity. Compared with the proposed system or device, our system has a short real-time delay under the concurrent use of different types of users indicating stable and high real-time evaluation performance. More importantly, our system strictly protects the user's privacy when uploading the user's data remotely. In short, the evaluation results obtained by our system can be used as a scientific basis to improve the tennis batting action standard.


A cohort program to increase retention of under-represented groups in chemistry was developed at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University. In particular, this program chose to emphasize early career mentoring and early access to research. This goal was chosen because research has been repeatedly shown to increase scientific identity resulting in increased retention of students in the STEM fields. Several elements of this program have been useful in preparing students to access research programs early in their college careers including a summer bridge program, career mentoring, advising, and a second year "research bootcamp" course.


The invention discloses a digital patient standard position precise control intelligent chair for stomatological department, and relates to the technical field of medical equipment. The intelligent chair has a function of precisely regulating and fixing a patient position in all directions; the intelligent chair is provided with a doctor-patient exchange system by which a doctor and the patient can exchange, an intelligent control system, a lighting and image acquisition and recording system, and expansion mounting interfaces by which the intelligent chair can be connected to various treatment apparatus; and universal wheels and a large-angle horizontal slewing supporting device are arranged on a base of the intelligent chair, so as to facilitate treatment of the doctor of the stomatological department, installation construction of a chair position and moving of the chair position when a consulting room is designed. The intelligent chair offers an object support to the unification of a standard position in clinical treatment and academic exchange of the stomatological department, and the faster and better popularization and application of an advanced treatment method based on a standard position condition are achieved conveniently, so as to guarantee the efficient implementation of medical activities to the greatest extent and to guarantee the fundamental interests of both the doctor and the patient.


The definition and classification of double negation are unclear. No satisfactory consensus has been reached so far. This article arranges the definition and classification standard of double negation in Chinese and Korean, and states its own view. The article classifies the double negation into explicit type and implicit types, contrasts the semantic structure in Chinese and Korean, and analyses the similarities and differences.


ABSTRACT The North Cape spill of 828,000 gallons of home heating oil was unique in that the natural resources most affected by the spill were water column and benthic resources. There was a fishery...


Fitting a cubic smoothing spline is a typical smoothing method. This paper reveals a principle of duality in the penalized least squares regressions relating to the method. We also provide a number of results derived from them, some of which are illustrated by a real data example.


In interpreting data gathered in an administrative internship program, the author suggests that certain attitude changes, taken as an index of role shift, are associated with interaction patterns with "significant others." The data interpretation further suggests a proposition that interns' attitudes are not substantially affected by the influence of the role-model (cooperating administrator).


What changes must economics undergo, if it is to become a more adequate discipline, furthering of survival and flourishing? This essay argues that a break must be made from contemporary mainstream economics at the level of ontology (i.e., about the nature of reality). Drawing on neglected traditions of pragmatist philosophy and process metaphysics, some elements of 'old' institutionalist economics, and late-twentieth century natural science, it demonstrates that ample argument exists for a view of the world as open, evolving and permeated with value. Furthermore, feminist scholarship offers an explanation for why such a worldview faces an uphill battle for acceptance. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.


A novel structure of 1.55 um bottom-emitting InAlGaAs VCSELs grown by single-step MOCVD has been thermally analyzed in simulation and measurement through active sizes, to be optimized the performances for the flip-chip bonded assembly on Si-substrate.


We study the determining sets for discrete harmonic functions on the square lattices. The stability and regularization of the reconstruction of harmonic functions from its values on a part of a domain are discussed. For some specific configurations, we use the logarithmic convexity estimates to obtain error bounds and propose an optimal choice of the mesh size of discretization.


Exercise training has been recognized as an effective treatment for childhood obesity. Clinical experience has shown that great efforts are needed to train children...


The diverging diamond interchange (DDI) has gained in popularity since its first implementation in the United States in 2009. The operational benefits and lower costs of retrofitting a conventional diamond with a DDI have contributed to increased use of the DDI. Research on DDIs has focused primarily on the assessment of operational benefits. Formal safety evaluations of DDIs are lacking. This study aimed to fill the knowledge gap by conducting a safety evaluation of DDIs using three types of before–after evaluation methods: naive, empirical Bayes, and comparison group. Three evaluation methods were used because each involved different trade-offs, such as data required, complexity, and regression to the mean. All three methods showed that a DDI replacing a conventional diamond decreased crash frequency for all severities. The highest crash reduction (59.3% to 63.2%) was observed for fatal and injury crashes. Crashes involving property damage only were reduced by 33.9% to 44.8%. Total crash frequency also decreased by 40.8% to 47.9%. A collision diagram analysis revealed that the DDI, as compared with a diamond, traded high-severity crashes for lower-severity crashes. Whereas 34.3% of ramp terminal fatal and injury crashes in a diamond occurred in left-turn angle crashes with oncoming traffic, the DDI eliminated this crash type. One potential concern for the DDI is the possibility of wrong-way crashes, but only 4.8% of all fatal and injury crashes occurring at the ramp terminal of a DDI were wrong-way crashes. The DDI offers significant crash reduction benefits over conventional diamond interchanges.


The invention relates to a method for controlling cooling of an auxiliary brake on a vehicle, wherein the auxiliary brake is cooled by a cooling member. The method comprises the steps of: determining if the vehicle is travelling down a slope or is to be driven down a slope, and activating the cooling member automatically for cooling the auxiliary brake provided that at least one predefined downhill slope condition is determined.


Abdominal pain in children is one of the most common symptoms that a child experiences in his life, and in most cases, the related causes are benign. But when pain is acute, severe and are concentrated in the lower right part of the abdomen, the surgical causes should be excluded, the most important of which is Acute Appendicitis (AA).


Some studies of public opinion suggest that most people are ignorant about the detail of politics and are simply unable to arrive at a considered vote. They hold that voters are ignorant about the ideological substance of politics, since their opinions do not appear to be constrained by ideas and are unstable over time. However, other studies cast doubt on both the definition of ideology employed in these studies and their operational measures. It is suggested that, once allowance is made for measurement error, the opinions of most voters are constrained and highly stable. This article demonstrates that differences in political awareness result in considerable heterogeneity among the electorate. The opinions of more aware voters are subject to greater constraint and are more stable over time than those of less aware voters. It is therefore suggested that issue-voting models must be applied with caution to less aware voters.


An experiment has been designed to measure charge injection into insulators using high voltage pulses. In order to limit the area of charge injection, point plane geometry and low energies are used. These low energies are achieved by using a small Marx generator, a ring up inductor and a vacuum feedthrough bushing and insulator sample to provide a CLC ringup. Connecting the ground plane behind the sample introduces a second inductance which produces a second mesh in the equivalent circuit. Charge injection into the insulator provides a short risetime pulse which excites the second mesh. Monitoring the excitation of the current in this second mesh provides charge injection information. The erection of the Marx generator via spark gaps is a source of high frequency electrical noise which also excites the second mesh and therefore must be reduced if charge injection information is to be obtained. Inserting ferrite cores of proper frequency response between stages of the Marx generator, as well as on both sides of the ring up inductor, is shown to reduce the erection noise. This noise reduction is demonstrated by a decrease in the excitation of the high frequency resonant mesh. With the ferrite cores inserted the amplitude of the second mesh excitation is 20% of what it is without the ferrites.


Objective:To study the etiology,diagnosis and treatment of endophthalmitis after operation.Methods:The literature concerning endophthalmitis after operation were analyzed.Results:Vancomycin,Ceftazidime,Amphotericin B are respectively the recommended medicine to treat the infection of Gram-negative bacteria,Gram-positive bacteria and fungal.Witrectomy is the major management to treat serious cases.Conclusions:Correct diagnosis and treatment can be accomplished with satisfactory outcome in endophthalmitis after operation.Prevention is very important.


Sharing of software with object-oriented technologies is a recent trend in accelerator control. Among the objectoriented technologies, Java and CORBA have been widely accepted in all industrial fields. We have studied use of both Java and CORBA in order to develop sharable applications among various accelerators. Sample applications have been made at the KEK electron/positron injector-linac. Evaluation of the application and discussion are given in this article.


This article studies technological, physical and technical properties and corrosion resistance of cement-sand slurry. Comparative data of the strength of test samples made on mortars of equal mobility with a composition of 1:1 (C: S) using river sand with fineness moduli (Mf): 1.50; 1.35; 1.25, showed the best results in the latter case. The use of the "Mylonaft M1" plasticizer in the solution in an amount of 0.5 % of the mass of the cementing with sand with Mf = 1.25 allowed to keep the mobility of 200 mm at W/C ratio = 0.6 without loss of the mixture homogeneity. Investigation of the corrosion resistance of sample mortars with the introduction of 1 % Na2SO4 into it during the process of its preparation made it possible to achieve stability in aggressive sulfate media at low (T = 20 °C) and normal temperatures (T = 5 ° C). In order to mechanize the work on strengthening the loess soils with cementing slurry the traditional equipment used in the production (stationary solution station with a compressor and a pump) has been compared with the advanced mobile unit UNB-125 × 50 SO on the basis of KamAZ 363501.


Access to education is recognized in several international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, for many people, especially those from marginalized communities, access to education can be difficult due to financial, cultural and language barriers. In response to these challenges, there is growing recognition of the importance of scholarships and financial aid in expanding access to education for international students. Previous research has shown that scholarships can play a critical role in overcoming financial barriers and expanding access to education. For example, a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that increased investment in education, including scholarships and financial aid, is associated with higher economic growth (below we will write in more detail about this study). In this article, we will take a fresh look at the importance of the right to education and the role that scholarships for international students can play in securing and protecting this right. We will also discuss the challenges international students face in accessing higher education and the impact of scholarships in overcoming these barriers. Ultimately, this article will demonstrate how scholarships for international students can be a valuable tool in ensuring access to education for all and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to realize their right to education. Moreover, we will also look at several case studies to analyze the impact of scholarships on the lives of specific students from low-income countries. In addition, this article will show the correlation between granting scholarships and the economic growth of the countries (scholarship providers) as well as their receiving additional and unobvious at-first-sight political benefits.


This chapter considers Orwell's merits as a political thinker. It shows how his politics can only be understood by examining them in context—alongside contemporary debates about the importance of realism and the drawbacks of moralism in political life. The consistency and power of his views also need to be tested against a broader backdrop of political thought. Orwell was not a systematic thinker and he was famously hostile to intellectuals and theorists; yet the problems he encountered in politics had an irreducible conceptual element. Orwell's contradictions express his own limitations, but they also expose the limits of justice itself. For justice, it would seem, is many-headed and services different—even incompatible—ends. Orwell's writings express this conflict, producing a very agonized form of idealism.


This paper looks at the consequences on investment performance of family control. Sweden is an interesting case as vote differentials are widely used. Two questions are posed. Do we see family control of listed firms because the family is better than other owners in generating value enhancing investments or do we see family control because the family uses the control for other purposes of amenity type? These questions are expressed as two alternative hypotheses. If family ownership in general can be considered as motivated by concern about firm value only investments with a positive net present value will be made. On the other hand if other motives are at play investments with a negative net present value might be carried out. Marginal q analysis is used. We find a positive impact of family control on investment performance. However excess votes over cash flow rights turns out to have a negative effect on investment performance. Our explanation to that result is that amenity types of investments are chosen when excess votes make it less expensive for controlling owners to indulge in that kind of consumption. Acknowledgments: Financial support from Sparbankstiftelsen Alfa and CeFeo to James Dzansi s and Johanna Palmberg's dissertation work is gratefully acknowledged.


Mountain region, where they enjoy an immunity from their malady. The objects of this association, which is composed of lay as well as medical members, and of'both sexes, are the communication of mutual benefit and the distribution of useful information to all sufferers from hay-fever, wherever they mdy be found, and the proceedings are regulated by an organised Board consisting of President, VicePresidents, Treasurer, Secretaries, and other officials. The author states in his Preface that he Expects his work to be read chiefly by the laity, and among the sufferers from the disease which it describes, and he therefore excuses himself for avoiding purely technical words and phrases. Nevertheless, the work contains a considerable amount


The ideological and political theory course has an undoubtedly important status in college teaching system.Therefore,it is necessary to explore a new teaching mode to enhance students' subjective initiative in order to advance the actual effect of ideological and political theory course teaching.


Abstract Intelligent machining is an advanced method in manufacturing, related to the recent developments in reconfigurable manufacturing equipment. A multilevel modular scheme for implementing integrated process monitoring, diagnosis and control is proposed. A PC-based hardware integrated within an object-based software structure is used to manipulate several machining parameters while performing on-line sensing of machining variables, through sampling and processing by means of digital signal processing (DSP). Indirect measurement of machining parameters, surface finish and tool wear monitoring, through the use of neurofuzzy (NF) sensor fusion modelling, is presented as a part of the integrated approach. A fuzzy relation (FR), indicating the nature of the connection between dependent and independent process-related variables, and acting as a knowledge node within a decision-making scheme, determines intelligently the variations in machining parameters when a performance parameter exceeds the predetermined functional limits. Such capability is utilized on-line. The integrated approach for further improvement in machining quality and overall productivity is described.


Abstract Wind-tunnel experiments have been conducted on cylindrical models with canted fins. The fins introduced a swirling motion into the wake downstream of a blunt-based afterbody aligned with a Mach 2 flow. Measurements of the velocity field downstream of the models and the pressure distribution at the model base show evidence of two wake flow patterns distinctively differing from the classical supersonic wake, depending on the degree of rotation introduced. For a fin-cant angle of 16$^\circ$, a rotating wake flow with a central, downstream-directed vortex tube and a concentric, counter-rotating, toric vortex pair forms. A higher fin-cant angle of 32$^\circ$, in turn, results in a swirling flow surrounding a region of low-momentum flow at the axis. Near the central axis of the flow field an upstream flow establishes, extending from the far wake up to the model base. Numerical simulations have been performed to explain the fluid-dynamic processes and the origins of the experimentally observed structural changes of the rotating wakes. The results of the large-scale-turbulence-resolving simulations agree qualitatively well with the measured flow fields. The numerical results show that the centrifugal forces decrease the base pressure and cause the experimentally observed structural changes in the wake.


Background: Previous research suggests that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) has a positive effect on symptoms of depression. ICBT appears to be more effective with therapist support, but it is unclear what this support should comprise. General practitioners (GPs) have positive attitudes toward ICBT. However, ICBT is rarely used in regular care in general practice. More research is warranted to integrate the potential of ICBT as part of regular care. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore aspects perceived by GPs to affect the implementation of guided ICBT in daily practice. Understanding their perspectives may contribute to improving the treatment of depression in the context of general practice. Methods: A training package (3 day course) introducing a Norwegian translation of the ICBT program MoodGYM was developed and presented to GPs in Norway. Following training, GPs were asked to include guided ICBT in their regular care of patients with symptoms of depression by providing brief, face-to-face follow-up consultations between modules. We interviewed 11 GPs who had taken the course. Our interview guide comprised open questions that encouraged GPs to frame their responses using examples from their experiences when implementing ICBT. Thematic analysis was chosen to explore patterns across the data. Results: An overall belief that ICBT would benefit both the patients' health and the GPs' own work-satisfaction prompted the GPs to take the ICBT course. ICBT motivated them to invest time and effort in improving treatment. The most important motivating aspects in MoodGYM were that the program based on cognitive behavioral therapy could add a structured agenda to their consultations and empower depressed patients. Organizational aspects, such as a lack of time and varied practice, inhibited the use of ICBT. Inadequate knowledge, recalling the program, and changing own habits were also challenging. The GPs were ambivalent about whether ICBT had a negative impact on the doctor–patient interaction in the module followups. Generally, GPs made an effort to recommend MoodGYM, but the expected module


This paper presents a 1.3mA current stimulator integrated circuit (IC) with closed-loop, active charge balancing for nerve interfacing applications. The stimulator employs two current-based digital-to-analog converters (DACs), one each for anodic and cathodic phases, with binary-weighted transistors and 2b-programmable least-significant bit (LSB) currents. The biphasic, cathodic-leading, stimulus current pulse amplitude is 5b-programmable in four ranges of ~ 12-341μA, 23-682μA, 32-992μA, and 42-1,300μA. A low-power (~10μW), active charge balancer monitors the site voltage after each stimulus cycle and, if necessary, injects positive or negative current pulses via two 3b auxiliary DACs to bring the site voltage back within a userset safety window. All digital circuitry operate from 3.3V, whereas the stimulator output stage operates from 5V with a stimulus site common-mode voltage of 3.3V for better use of the available voltage headroom in cathodic-leading, single-supply stimulation. A prototype chip is fabricated in 0.5μm 2P/3M CMOS, and measured results from benchtop electrical characterization of the chip are presented.


To the Editor — Although research on antimicrobial stewardship is on the rise, much is still unknown about how various social deter-minants of health affect antimicrobial prescribing among different populations. In particular, there is a dearth of research on disparities of antimicrobial resistance among different racial and ethnic populations. 1 Among the studies that look into racial disparities, most have focused on White, Black, and Hispanic patient populations, with limited data on Asians, Native Americans, and American Indians. 2 Studies have suggested that individuals of White race are twice as likely to make antimicrobial drug prescription fills and to be diagnosed with a Clostridioides difficile ( C. difficile ) infection, but this has been difficult to generalize to the broader US population. 1,2 There are also contradictory studies showing greater risks of C. difficile infections among other racial groups. 2 Although many of these studies focus on the prevalence of antimicrobial prescription or resistance, few studies focus on the reasons behind these disparities. Social, political, and economic factors that drive racial disparities in antimicrobial stewardship are not well understood. Further research is needed to better understand how race and ethnicity may affect antimicrobial prescribing practices and antimicrobial resistance development in various settings. In particular, there are gaps in the literature con-cerning how racial disparities differ between adult and pediatric patients along with inpatient versus outpatient settings. the prescription compared and


The occurrence of two varieties of Jatropha gossypiifolia L. (var. gossypiifolia and var. elegans (Pohl) Muell. Arg.) of Euphorbiaceae has been reported for the first time from Andhara Pradesh in southem India. An artificial key to the two varieties is also provided.


Objective
To evaluate the role of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (mito-KATP) channel in reduction of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury by calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in rats in an in vitro experiment.

Methods
Healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, were used in this study.After the animals were anesthetized, their hearts were immediately removed and retrogradely perfused with oxygenated K-H solution at 37 ℃ in a Langendorff apparatus.Twenty-four isolated rat hearts were assigned into 4 groups (n=6 each) using a random number table: control group (C group), I/R group, CGRP group and 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD) group.The hearts were first perfused with K-H solution for 30 min in the three groups.The hearts were continuously perfused with K-H solution for 150 min in group C. The hearts were subjected to ischemia for 30 min followed by 120 min of reperfusion to establish the model of myocardial I/R injury.In group CGRP, after the hearts were perfused with K-H solution for 10 min, 10-8 mol/L CGRP was infused for 20 min at a rate of 0.5 ml/min via the aorta, and then the model of myocardial I/R injury was established.In 5-HD group, specific mito-KATP channel blocker 5-HD 100 μmol/L was infused for 10 min at a rate of 0.5 ml/min via the aorta, and the other treatments were similar to those previously described in CGRP group.At the end of equilibration and 30, 60, 90 and 120 min of reperfusion, heart rate (HR), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and the maximum rate of increase or decrease in left ventricular pressure (±dp/dtmax) were recorded.The myocardial infarct size was measured by 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining at 120 min of reperfusion.

Results
Compared with C group, HR, LVSP and ±dp/dtmax were significantly decreased and LVEDP was increased during reperfusion, and the percentage of myocardial infarct size was increased at 120 min of reperfusion in the other three groups (P<0.05). Compared with I/R group, HR, LVSP and ±dp/dtmax were significantly increased and LVEDP was decreased during reperfusion, and the percentage of myocardial infarct size was decreased at 120 min of reperfusion in CGRP group (P<0.05). Compared with CGRP group, HR, LVSP and ±dp/dtmax were significantly decreased and LVEDP was increased during reperfusion, and the percentage of myocardial infarct size was increased at 120 min of reperfusion in 5-HD group (P<0.05).

Conclusion
Opening of mito-KATP channels is involved in CGRP-induced reduction of myocardial I/R injury in rats in an in vitro experiment.

Key words:
Calcitonin gene-related peptide; Myocardial reperfusion injury; Mitochondria; KATP channels


Some applications of infrared and THz free electron lasers in solid state spectroscopy are discussed. In particular, nonlinear experiments on semiconductor quantum well excitons and pump-probe studies on carrier relaxation in graphene are presented.


Abstract Omega dropwindsonde and other in situ (INS) data collected during the NOAA/Hurricane Research Division's (HRD) Hurricane Field Program are used as a ground truth dataset for the evaluation of VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) soundings over the subtropical Atlantic. The experiments were coordinated with the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Services at the University of Wisconsin. The focus of this study is to determine whether soundings derived from VAS radiances are an improvement over the first-guess data used as a starting point in the sounding retrieval process. First guess inputs for this study are provided by NMCs Regional Analysis and Forecast System (RAFS) nested grid model (NGM). In a case study, an objective algorithm is used to analyze the INS, VAS, and first-guess data at and below 500 mb from an HRD experiment on 1–2 September 1988. The case study is supplemented by a statistical investigation of data composited from other HRD experiments. In particular, we examine VA...


The main objective of today's graduate education reform is to improve the quality of graduate students. Curriculum development, as an essential part of graduate education, is pivotal to this goal. While classroom teaching innovation is placed in the front of curriculum development, it has become an important issue for graduate education study to practice an alternative capability centered way other than the current knowledge centered classroom teaching. We offered the course called "literature presentation and discussion" to the class 2006 graduate students at Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. This article briefed and discussed the purpose,practice of this course,feedbacks from students and problems and solutions.


The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed a new bipropellant Upper Stage providing orbit transfer propulsion capabilities from a Delta II launch vehicle. This bipropellant stage utilizes a pair of Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV) to store helium for pressurization of the Upper Stage fuel and oxidizer propellant tanks. A systems engineering trade study was performed to determine the size requirements of the helium tanks followed by competitive vendor selection and subsequent tank development and qualification program. This paper discusses the helium tank sizing analysis and documents details of the COPV design and qualification testing effort. Additionally, spacecraft installation interfaces, a tank pressure hazard analysis, and on-orbit temperature and pressure performance are summarized and presented. Program description. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and Marine Corps and conducts a broad program of scientific research, technology and advanced development. The NRL, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), developed the Upper Stage (US) for the Microsatellite Technology Experiment (MiTEx) program by drawing on its corporate experience building and operating spacecraft. The Upper Stage provided the orbit transfer propulsion for the MiTEx microsatellites and was launched on a Delta II in June of 2006. NRL personnel performed a series of mission analyses and trade studies that showed that an earth storable liquid bipropellant system would best satisfy the MiTEx orbital maneuvering requirements. A constant feed pressure is required to optimize bipropellant engine performance; therefore the propulsion subsystem design includes two Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV) to store helium pressurant. ARDE, Inc was selected as the COPV contractor after a competitive procurement. ARDE developed a tank design to meet the NRL requirements, and conducted extensive tests both to qualify the design and to provide thermal – helium expulsion data to support NRL mission planning needs. Mission sizing and blowdown. NRL personnel performed a series of analyses to support the COPV procurement. These included parametric studies, mission requirements flowdown, budget allocations to the various components including the COPV, and packaging studies. The key requirement addressed in these analyses was the pressure remaining in the COPV at the end of each maneuver and 1 Osborn, Clauss, Gorin, Netwall, "Micro-satellite Technology Experiment (MiTEx) Upper Stage Propulsion System Development," AIAA 2007-5434 how well that pressure could satisfy feed system flow requirements. These analyses considered the propellant tank volume, the propellant volume required for various orbital maneuvers, the propellant volumetric flow rate, and the COPV's operating pressure at the beginning of the maneuver to develop a trade-space that included helium end of maneuver pressure and helium flow path pressure drop. The parametric analyses showed that the temperature of the helium at the end of the maneuver is the driver for the final expected pressure. The helium tank blowdown can be modeled as a polytropic process using Equation 1 where n represents a constant for a particular process.


An especially dry period from July to October in Indonesia, a result of the 2015-16 El Nino, contributed to a severe fire season and significant carbon and pollution emissions.


The quality of a firm's financial report is crucial for assessing its wellbeing and boosting investor's confidence. The number of financial scandals in recent years has increased questions about the financial reporting quality being presented for shareholder's decision-making. This study examines audit committee and financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria: moderating role of managerial shareholding. Secondary data covering a period of 15 years from 2007 – 2021 were extracted from the sample of 16 firms chosen from the population of 21 consumer goods firms that were listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group as at December 31, 2022. Multiple regression analysis results show that audit committee size and financial accounting expertise significantly impact the quality of financial reporting. Additionally, managerial shareholding is a significant factor in the relationship between the audit committee and financial reporting quality. To protect shareholder interest and stakeholders at large, the study recommends increasing managerial shareholding and maintaining the inclusion of financial experts in the audit committee. should be increased to help reduce opportunistic behavior by managers. Adhering to a minimum audit committee size of five members is recommended to ensure high-quality financial reporting, and provide relevant and useful information to shareholders and other stakeholders.


Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) aims to extend the edge of cloud computing networks in remote servers. MEC promises advantages such as fast response time and balancing processing load because MEC devices can process the information between the user devices and cloud servers intelligently and dynamically depending on the situation. An increasing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices share information with cloud servers. MEC can address issues arising from situations where billions of IoT devices share information with other devices, MEC, and cloud servers. In this case, a load balancing model and architecture are needed for better storage and communication bandwidth control to avoid problems such as data congestion among MEC servers. Considering that the Key-value type context is one of the most popular representations for IoT information sharing, a new approach to address the communication load imbalance in MEC is needed. This paper proposes a novel model and architecture to share key-value type context among mobile devices, cloud servers, and MEC servers. We use probabilistic data structures, Bloomier Filters, to reduce the key-value type information footprint. The data quality degradation caused by false positives can be controlled and eliminated with a particular type of Bloomier filter and a common dictionary shared by devices and servers. We analyze our approach to show the proposed model's performance, architecture, and algorithm, demonstrating that we can reduce the footprint size to represent the key-value type context information with zero or practically zero data degradation.


Based on 2020 "A Survey on the status of people with disabilities" conducted by Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, we identified 7025 development people with disabilities and selected 3820 from this sample, which was used in our study. Our findings can be summarized as follows. Firstly, we found statistical differences in the level of developmental disability and disaster safety across gender, age, self-reported income percentiles, and education. Meanwhile, the difference in life satisfaction was only found in age, reported income percentiles, and education. We also found that men and those between the ages of 30 and 40 were more likely to have a positive view of disaster safety. While those that were self-reported to be part of the upper-income percentile have a more positive view of disaster safety. Meanwhile, the level of education was positively correlated with disaster safety. Secondly, we found that the level of developmental disability has a statistically significant association with life satisfaction. That is, a lower level of developmental disability suggested a higher level of life satisfaction. Thus, both the level of developmental disability and disaster safety had a positive association with life satisfaction. We also found that the low level of developmental disability is positively correlated with disaster safety and that disaster safety is positively correlated with life satisfaction. Meanwhile, the relative effect of disaster safety on life satisfaction was higher than that of the level of developmental disability. Thirdly, we found that the level of developmental disability has a direct effect on life satisfaction and that disaster safety mediates its effect on life satisfaction. That is, those that were reported to have high disaster safety tend to have higher life satisfaction.
Our findings provided a few implications regarding the disaster safety of persons with a developmental disability.


Thirty-nine pregnant Wistar strain albino rats were used to determine possible teratogenic activity due to chronic exposure with microwave radiation at a field intensity of a 10 mW/ cm2 at a frequency of 915-MHz microwave radiation. Ten rats were irradiated in a fully characterized anechoic chamber from Days 1 to 21 of gestation. The results of preliminary studies using 20 pregnant rats indicated that this power density was the maximal level which did not cause increased rectal temperature. Twenty-nine pregnant females were used as control animals. On the 22nd day of gestation animals were killed and maternal brain, liver, kidneys, and ovaries were removed, examined, weighed, and fixed in buffered formalin. Fetuses and placentae were removed, examined, weighed, and fixed in Bouin's fixative. All fetuses were examined for malformations using a cross-section dissection methodology. No significant alterations were observed for the following parameters: maternal body weight and weight gain, term maternal orga...


An algebraic framework for discrete-time nonlinear control systems is introduced, based on the forward and backward shifts of the vector fields, dual to that based on differential 1-forms. As an application, the accessibility criterion of a control system in terms of vector fields is given and compared to those obtained under more restrictive assumptions.


In this paper, the TiO2 film and Ti/TiN/TiO2 multilayers were prepared by anodic oxidation and RF magnetron sputtering technology on surface of NiTi shape memory alloy, respectively. The structure and surface morphology of films were systematically studied by X ray diffracmeter (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM); blood compatibility was researched by kinetic clotting time and platelets adsorption experiment. The result showed that, blood compatibility was improved in varying degrees after surface treatment. And the multilayer which was deposited on NiTi alloy by RF reactive magnetron sputtering after the method of constant voltage anodization had optimal Anti-clotting properties.


An experiential perspective for examining family business creation is introduced. As a "lived experience," the family firm generates a cumulative series of interdependent events that takes on properties rooted in affect. The family business is a context that enables unscripted temporal performances by founders. Characteristics of the venture creation experience are examined, and underlying dimensions are proposed and empirically investigated. Building on social capital theory, differences in experiences between founders of family businesses, nonfamily managers, and founders of nonfamily ventures are explored. These differences are argued to have important implications for decision making and ongoing dynamics within the family firm.


In this report a new algorithm is presented for the spectral factorization of a two-sided symmetric polynomial. The method is based on the discrete Fourier transform theory (DFT) and its relationship to the Z-transform. Involving DFT computational techniques, namely the famous fast Fourier transform routine (FFT), brings high computational efficiency and reliability. The power of the proposed procedure is employed in a particular practical application. Namely the problem of computing an H2-optimal inverse dynamic filter to an audio equipment is considered as it was proposed by M. Sternad and colleagues in [12] to improve behavior of moderate quality loudspeakers. Involved spectral factorization is resolved by our new method and its performance is compared with existing algorithms.


For meeting the needs of information collection of soil,this paper presents a new idea of using wireless sensor network(WSN) for soil information acquisition system.A soil information collection system is developed based on the wireless sensor network.It puts forward the design of wireless sensor network node based on low power consumption MSP430 microcontroller and CC2430 radio frequency chip,which can collect soil temperature,humidity,volumetric water content of the soil.The system gateway design using ARM7 based chip S3C44BOX and GPRS module SIM100 are simply introduced.Then a reasonable wireless information transportation network topology and data protocol are constructed.The simulation result indicates that the scalability of the whole system is good.When the volumetric water content of the soil is too large or some factors cause damage of some sensor nodes,other part of the system can still continue to work and has restore function.The system can reorganize even if one node has been damaged.Having gathered the value of soil temperature,humidity and volumetric water content of the soil successfully,this design can be used for real time information acquisition of soil,and provides a strong basis for the implementation of farmland irrigation.


This paper addresses the issue of complexity in the administrative processes in public institutions; in particular, accounting routines and processes are examined. Back-office activities, although having a merely supporting role in the delivery of public services, are often quite complex and use a significant amount of public institutions' resources. However, the literature reveals a scarce use of accounting data by politicians and citizens. While the relation between complexity and costs has been the subject of major research in the business world, this issue is still unexplored with regard to the administrative processes of public institutions. This paper is based on an in-depth analysis of two cases in the higher education sector.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Life-cycle Theory (LCT) and Free Cash Flow (FCF) hypothesis with dividend policy in listed firms in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The sample of the research includes 90 firms listed in TSE which is studied during the period of 2006-2010. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between profitability (return on assets), leverage and firm size with dividend policy. In addition, results indicate that there is a significant negative relationship between investment opportunities and firms life cycle with dividend policy. Finally, findings highlight that there is not a significant relationship between FCF and dividend policy. These findings support LCT but not FCF hypotheses.


In October 1965 and February 1966, 55 Young-pits were installed in tropical Northern Territory (NT) and temperate New South Wales (NSW). Pits were monitored in 1968, 1971 and 1974; also, for the NT only, in 1988. In each region, half of the pits are on weathered granite, and half on sandstone. Local relief is 30m or less, and slopes are up to 20°. Annual rainfall is evenly distributed in the NSW sites (800 mm a−1), but is confined to the five to six month wet season in NT (1200 mm a−1). Six pits suffered external disturbance and so were not analysed. Analysis of 160 rods in 49 undisturbed pits shows: (1) vectorial movement generally not downslope parallel to the ground surface, but dominated by a vertically downward component; (2) significant uphill and vertically upward components of movement for many rods; (3) a weak correlation between total movement and sine of slope; (4) rapid movement during 1965-68, and slow movement thereafter; (5) significantly higher creep rates on the NT granites than on all other sites, perhaps because mound-building termites are especially active there. We conclude that our data do not support soil creep models which assume that all movement is downslope and slope-parallel. Repeated long-term measurements are essential to distinguish long-term creep rates from the short-term effects of disturbance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Objective To compare proximal femoral nail(PFN)introduction by percutaneous K-wire through a small incision with conventional PFN introduction protocol in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. Methods From January 2004 to March 2005,51 patients with intertrochanteric fractures were randomly dis- tributed into a minimally invasive treatment group(group MI)and a conventional treatment group(group C).All the fractures were closely reduced.In group MI a K-wire was percutaneously inserted through the tip of the greater troehanter into the center of medullary canal of the pruximal femur before the PFN was inserted under the guidance of K-wire through a small incision made along the K-wire while in group C the PFN was introduced according to the conventional procedure.The operation time,intra-operative blood loss,length of incision,X-ray exposure,duration of in-patient stay and time of bone union in both groups were recorded and compared.Results The mean oper- ation time,mean intraoperative blood loss and mean length of incisions in group MI were 77.20 min,104.20 mL and 5.12 cm respectively and significantly lower than those in group C(P<0.01).The X-ray exposure and the reduction time in group MI lasted longer than in group C(P<0.01).The mean time of bone union and in-patient stay in both groups were nearly equal(P>0.05).At the latest tollow-up,all the fractures united in both groups without nonuuion or delayed union.Conclusion Compared with the conventional protocol,introduction of PFN by a pereutaneuus K-wire inserted into the central medullary canal of the proximal femur is much more minimally in- vasive and effective.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-run association and short-run causality among oil price, exchange rate and stock market in Norwegian context.

Design/methodology/approach
This work uses auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound co-integration test to examine the long-run association among international crude oil, exchange rate and Norwegian stock market. Further to test the causality, Toda–Yamamoto Granger causality test is used. Daily data ranging from 1 January, 2011 to 31 December, 2018 is used in this study.

Findings
Findings of this study suggest the existence of long-run equilibrium relationship among oil price, exchange rate and Norwegian stock market when oil price is taken as dependent variable. Further, this study observes the bi-directional causality between Norwegian stock market and exchange rate and unidirectional causality between oil and Norwegian stock market (from oil to stock market).

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this the first study in context of Norway to explore the long-run association and causal relationships among international crude oil price, exchange rate and stock market index. Particularly, association of exchange rate and stock market largely remains unexplored for Norwegian economy. Further, majority of studies conducted in Norwegian setup have considered the period up to year 2010 and association of these variables is found to be time varying. Finally, this study uses ARDL bound co-integration test and Toda–Yamamoto Granger causality test. These methodologies have been used in literature in context of other countries like India and Mexico but not yet applied to study the Norwegian case.