Nitrogen loss phenomenon occurred during the operation of a nitrifying reactor for the treatment of nitrogen-contained wastewater was analyzed based on the material balance. It is shown that the nitrogen loss happens due to the ammonia escape. According to double-film theory and thermodynamic theory, a kinetic model for the ammonia escape was formulated, in which the ammonia concentration C_0, temperature t, and pH value were chosen as variables, while the model parameter K_(NH_3) was determined to be 0.6921 L/h by experiment. The model predictions for nitrogen loss are in good agreement with the experimental data, with average deviation of 6.61%. The sensitivity analysis shows that the effect of pH value is the most significant among the factors affecting the ammonia escape.


Guided by cybernetic perspectives on personality, the present work used a representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 992) to examine Big Five personality traits and social and aging factors as predictors of social media network membership and past-month browsing/searching and profile updating among members. The results showed adults who were less extraverted and less neurotic and who reported greater physical limitations were less likely to be members. Moreover, extraverted adults without partners were more likely to be members than introverted adults without partners. Among members, the results showed extraverted and emotionally stable younger and older adults reported a similar frequency of profile updating. In contrast, older adults with all other combinations of extraversion and neuroticism showed a reduced frequency of profile updating compared to younger adults. The findings are discussed in terms of social media involvement as a response of a self-regulatory system of personality adaptation.


The influence of a permitted yellow food colour, Sunset yellow -FCF on root tips of Allium sativum was investigated with a view to ascertaining its mitodepressive effect. Root tips of Allium sativum were treated with five concentrations of Sunset yellow like 100 ppm,250 ppm,500 ppm,750 ppm and 1000 ppm and with distilled water as control. The time of action of the respective concentration of solutions were 2 hrs,4 hrs and 6 hrs. Exposure to different concentrations of Sunset yellow showed an inhibitory effect on cell division of Allium sativum root tips. It caused a general decline in mitotic index value. Sunset yellow diminishes the mitotic index in correlation with the increased concentration and duration of treatment. The results implicated Sunset yellow - FCF as a mitotic depressor.


The review provides a commentary and identifies gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the pedagogical issues relating to work-based learning. For the purposes of the review, the term work-based learning is used as a form of 'employee learning' that can be blended with other approaches to learning and is intended to mean the learning process by which those in work or wanting to re-enter work can undertake higher education qualifications.


tert-Butyl isocyanoacetate was synthesized from glycine tert-butyl ester hydrochloride via formylation and dehydration with an overall yield of 65%.The method is most suitable for commercialization thanks to its convenient preparation steps,simplicity for post-treatment and high yield.


A widely tunable coupled-ring-reflector filter based on compact polymer waveguide is fabricated and the characteristics are measured. The ring radii of two rings are slightly different, which are 150 and 156 m, to achieve wide tuning of 43 nm using a low heating current as small as 37 mA.


This text, which makes use of the National Policy on Special Education in the Perspective of Inclusive Education and the programs that embrace the training of teachers for diversity/ inclusion, puts the discursive effects of these documents in analytic sets. Without attempting at doing an exhaustive analysis, this study aims at problematizing the effect of teacher's silence that the neoliberal policy has been producing on teachers who work in municipal and state education systems in Santa Maria area. The conceptual and methodological tool of governmentality is used in this enterprise in order to think that the discourses of inclusion have convinced and subjectivized teachers, because in the face of the irreducibility of this discursive network the silence is an effect of the production and consumption of the principle of inclusion and enterprise itself.


Let $I \subset R = \mathbb{F}[x_1,x_2]$ be a height two ideal minimally generated by three homogeneous polynomials of the same degree $d$, where $\mathbb{F}$ is a field of characteristic zero. We use the theory of $D$-modules to deduce information about the defining equations of the Rees algebra of $I$. Let $\mathcal{K}$ be the kernel of the canonical map $\alpha: \text{Sym}(I) \rightarrow \text{Rees}(I)$ from the symmetric algebra of $I$ onto the Rees algebra of $I$. We prove that $\mathcal{K}$ can be described as the solution set of a system of differential equations, that the whole bigraded structure of $\mathcal{K}$ is characterized by the integral roots of certain $b$-functions, and that certain de Rham cohomology groups can give partial information about $\mathcal{K}$.


The electric power industry need changes in various power system operation, control and planning activities. Generation companies (GENCOs) schedule their generators with an objective to maximize their own profit rather than compromising on social benefit. Power and reserve prices become important factors in decision process. GENCOs decision to commit generating units is associated with financial risks. This paper presents a hybrid model between Lagrangian Relaxation (LR) and Quantum inspired Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO), to solve the profit-based unit commitment problem. The proposed approach is investigated on three unit and ten unit test systems and numerical results are tabulated. Simulation results shows that this approach effectively maximize the GENCO's profit when compared with existing methods.


What is the best way to provide nuclear physicists with continuous beams of 4‐GeV electrons? Three years ago the pulse‐stretcher‐ring concept embodied in the winning SURA design for the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility appeared to be the optimal solution (PHYSICS TODAY, July 1983, page 57). But while construction of CEBAF has not yet begun, accelerator technology has not stood still. In the light of recent progress in the development of superconducting rf cavities, a review of CEBAF technology initiated last summer by Hermann Grunder, the project's new director, has concluded that a superconducting‐linac design should now replace the original pulse‐stretcher‐ring concept (see page 51). Looking toward the beginning of construction in fiscal 1987, DOE in December directed CEBAF to prepare a conceptual design for such a machine.


GRAPHIC DESIGN IS A PRACTICE WITH ROOTS that can be traced to both the early days of advertising (commercial art, as was) in the US, and the ascendancy of the Modern movement in Europe. Thoroughly ubiquitous in its current, everyday manifestations – from the shelves of supermarkets, bookstores and music stores to movie theater screens and lobbies, banknotes and the web-graphic design, graphic design has nevertheless been largely invisible to the eyes of critical observers. Even the popular bestseller No Logo (Klein, 2000) makes scant mention of the graphic designers whose business it is actually to create corporate identities (swooshes, golden arches, triple stripes) and then apply them to a multitude of surfaces. As Mildred Friedman (1989) noted during her tenure as design curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis:


Regional population projections for Germany are presented up to the year 2000 using two different migration scenarios. Consideration is given to international migration of foreigners and ethnic Germans migration from East to West Germany and internal migration. (ANNOTATION)


One of the crucial tests of QCD is to evaluate the scale parameter A in analyzing various independent physical-quantities and to see whether the values of A thus obtained are consistent with each other. It is well-known in such a test that we need to calculate up to and including the nextto-the-leading-order asymptotic freedom corrections. In the present paper we try to determine the scale parameter by analyzing the singlet-moments of the deepinelastic n ucleon,structure-function F2e,p+n.*l,ll The result will be supplemented with the one of the previous nonsinglet analyses to constitute a QCD-


Adult experience evaluating left ventricular diastolic function (LVDFx) includes volume administration during catheterization while obtaining pulmonary capillary wedge pressures (PCWP) or left ventricular end diastolic pressures (LVEDP). Catheterization is inherently challenging in pediatric patients, making echocardiographic assessment ideal. Pediatric echocardiographic studies predicting LVDFx have variable hemodynamic and hydration conditions and have produced inconsistent results. We evaluated the association between simultaneous echocardiographic and catheterization assessment of LVDFx, using a fluid bolus for optimal loading conditions.


It is most likely that the backbone of rhamnogalacturonan I (RGI) in cotton is a repeating disaccharide of rhamnose and galacturonic acid, frequently 3-O-acetylated. After endopolygalacturonase treatment of cotton walls, polymeric RGI can be solubilized by strong alkali extraction or cellulase digestion. All of the RGI along with xyloglucan is solubilized by the alkali, whereas only {approximately}50% is solubilized by the cellulase which digests the xyloglucan. The polymeric material solubilized by cellulase was shown by {sup 13}C and {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy to be quite highly acetylated and to have some of its galacturonic acid residues methylesterified. From compositional analysis, and assuming a repeating (galA-rha) n backbone for RGI proper, it appears that a considerable amount of homogalacturonan containing {approximately}20% methylesterified galA co-solubilized with the RGI and is possibly covalently attached to it. Progress towards the structural characterization of the RGI and its associated polymers will be presented.


The invention relates to a method for treating threonine mother liquor, and concretely relates to the method for treating other waste liquid by using compound enzyme to perform enzymolysis and fermentation of waste thallus and by using a bipolar membrane electrodialysis treatment. According to the invention, the problem of effective components separation on threonine mother liquor, threonine fermentation residual sugar and other components are fully utilized, the method of the invention has the advantages of high energy efficiency, less waste water emission and low pollution; in addition, an electrodialysis technology has the advantages of simple operation, no pollution, long service life and the like, thereby the investment cost of enterprises can be reduced, the energy saving and emission reduction can be carried out, so that the method of the invention serves multiple purposes.


As corporations have evolved from command-and-control structures with sharply defined boundaries into loosely knit organizations, corporate alliances (1) have become central to many business models. Most large companies now have at least 30 alliances, and many have more than 100. Yet despite the ubiquity of alliances--and the considerable assets and revenues they often involve--very few companies systematically track their performance. Doing so is not a straightforward task. In our work with more than 500 companies around the world, we have found that three problems typically bedevil efforts at measurement. The first is a failure to measure the performance of individual alliances rigorously. Our experience suggests that fewer than one in four of them has adequate performance metrics. (2) As a result, alliances are run by intuition and incomplete information; partners may not agree about the progress of their ventures; and senior management can't intervene quickly enough to correct problems. Companies frequently have three to five major alliances in desperate need of restructuring--but don't know which ones they are. Second, companies often fail to recognize performance patterns across their alliance portfolios--patterns concerning particular deal structures, types of partners, or functional tasks. A failure to spot and fix such recurring problems can be costly; one leading pharmaceutical company had so many slow launches, for example, that it was losing an estimated $500 million a year from missed product sales and other opportunities. Finally, few senior management teams know whether the alliance portfolio as a whole really supports corporate strategy. Executives at a leading US airline, for instance, couldn't quantify the total revenue from its alliances five years after it made them a centerpiece of its international strategy and thus had no idea if the returns were positive or negative. (They have since calculated that the deals generate $500 million a year in direct revenue, plus indirect revenues and cost savings.) At a time when alliances are increasingly important, underinvesting in efforts to measure their performance isn't a realistic choice. To get the maximum value out of all alliances and the ability to intervene when their performance veers off track, managers should learn to measure their fitness on several levels--a process that can also reveal fundamental weaknesses in the way companies create and manage them. With this deeper understanding, senior executives can assess whether alliances fully contribute to the corporate strategy and can spot new opportunities to use them. The challenge To measure the performance of alliances accurately, a company must start by recognizing the obstacles. Because each partner has its own reporting processes and systems, the first hurdle is agreeing on a common approach to performance measurement. Each partner might have different aims (such as gaining access to specific technologies or customers), so it can be hard to agree about what to measure. And since alliances are fundamentally about collaboration, managers must constantly attend to the health of the relationship--a "soft" and frequently overlooked issue. Second, the operations of an alliance are often entwined with those of the parent companies, and this complexity makes benefits and costs difficult to track. Most alliances receive some inputs--raw materials, customer data, administrative services--from the parent companies and provide outputs to them, thereby creating complicated transfer-pricing issues. Before Airbus Industrie was revamped in 2001, for instance, the four consortium members made aircraft sections and "sold" them to the joint venture, which then assembled and marketed the airplanes. Setting accurate transfer prices was a challenge because of the sensitivity of the partners about sharing detailed cost data. …


The diploma thesis focuses on the issue of over-caring and loving parents who take responsibility for duties and obligations which should be in full domain of their child. A deep-rooted problem of modern times reflects in an ever-increasing number of parents who apply well-intentioned approaches for their child, not being aware they can be detrimental in the end. Parents opt for these approaches in good faith and due to various reasons, but normally these approaches result from erroneous assumptions about permissive upbringing. Family relationships are limited to the form of parental »service«, where a child does not need to contribute to the family community. Moreover, such parents are heavily involved in the child's school work and obligations. In addition to this, the child does not develop the essential competences to live on his or her own which negatively affects the quality of life, even when he or she is already all grown-up. In my diploma thesis, I focus on an expert's approach to parents and his professional contribution in the process of helping parents to return back responsibilities to the child. The empirical part of the diploma thesis presents an interview with a professional worker, who is an educator in one of the youth care centres. Based on qualitative research methods and a semi-structured interview, I gained an insight into specific approaches and methods that are welcomed by professionals in the process of assisting and working with parents. The results show that contribution and assistance of experts are crucial in order to achieve the goals that parents set in the very beginning.


Over the past years, the judicial review of merger control decisions has been a much debated topic. Whilst several Commission decisions have been reviewed by the Court of First Instance (CFI) in the context of an annulment action under Article 230 EC Treaty, Schneider was the first company to initiate an action for damages under Article 235 EC Treaty to seek compensation for the harm allegedly caused by the Commission's incompatibility decision after having successfully obtained the annulment of that decision.


The following case, which has been observed for four years, is one of an unusual type of decalcification of the bones in an 8 year old boy. A decreased calcium content of bone brings to mind the following conditions in which it tends to occur: osteitis fibrosa cystica, rickets, renal rickets, osteomalacia, hyperthyroidism, ammonium chloride and acid poisoning, atrophy of disuse and osteoporosis due to a low calcium and phosphorus intake. The case to be described does not readily fall into any of these categories. REPORT OF A CASE W. R., aged 4 years, was first admitted to the Lenox Hill Hospital on Dec. 22, 1927, because of a reducible right inguinal hernia which had been growing larger since birth. He had lived in New York all his life. Both parents, Porto Rican by birth, were well. The mother had never had a miscarriage. The patient had four brothers and


Building confidence/credible intervals for the high-dimensional (p >> n) linear models have been the subject of exploration for many years. In this paper, we explore three specific setups. First, we look at the Bayesian paradigm for the LASSO model. A double-exponential prior has been applied to the regression coefficient and from that, a posterior distribution is derived to get the necessary quantiles to calculate the credible intervals for the regression coefficients. Second, we explore the de-sparsified LASSO estimates, and using its asymptotic normality, we calculate the confidence intervals for the model coefficients. Finally, we incorporate an adaptive LASSO model. To calculate the confidence intervals, we have used the residual and perturbation bootstrap methods and obtained the necessary quantiles. All three methods have been put through a simulation study to compare the interval coverage of the true coefficient values. The width of the intervals is also compared. We make n, the sample size fixed, and explore the cases where we put a set of correlated covariates as true values. The considered number of covariates, p includes 200, 500, and 1000. We also compare the time it takes to complete 10 runs of each setup on a personal computer. We assume two kinds of correlation structures for data. We call the first one AR-1 and the second one is known as compound symmetry. For AR-1 cases, when p >> n, the Bayesian LASSO provides better coverage for true non-zero coefficient, especially if the correlation is close to 0.9 and 0.5. For compound symmetry cases, the desparsified LASSO seems to provide closer to the nominal coverage regardless of the value of correlation coefficient, ρ. However, the coverage is around 0.90 for p = 1000. This better coverage comes with the cost of getting wider intervals for highly corre-


The main purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of ceramic coating on piston to improve the thermal efficiency along with reduction in emission of engine. In this study, the surface of a piston in a diesel engine is coated with Zirconia material with depth of 100 microns using plasmaspray technique. The temperature distribution is subsequently analyzed by Finite Element Analysis method which is carried using ANSYS. An experimental work is conducted to detect the change in engine characteristics with the influence of functionally graded coating material. The experimental setup was constructed and results were obtained for thermal efficiency, Performance and emissions. The obtained results were compared between uncoated and Zirconia coated piston. Validations between the experimental and analysis reports were made and the values were matched proving the potential application of using this project in real time scenario. It also aims in converting a conventional engine into a low heat rejection (LHR) Engine.


The theory of western career guidance has been applied and advanced to school education and human resources management since it was introduced into China.But it cannot adjust to China's situation without any changes due to the differences in Chinese and western cultures and values.So it is necessary to integrate the career guidance according to Chinese standards in order to make it play a better role in a new situation.


A B ST R A C T Radialvelocity searchesforextrasolarplanetshavediscovered starsundergoing slow accelerations.The accelerations are likely due to one or m ore gas giant planets or brown dwarfs orbiting with period longer than the totaltim e span ofobservations. The stellar acceleration is proportionalto the m ass of the com panion divided by the square ofits radius from the star.In this paper we predict the distribution of accelerationsusing a M onteCarlo m ethod and assum ing a sem i-m ajoraxisand m ass distribution forthe com panions.Radialvelocity surveyssuggestthat20 and 10% of starssurveyed exhibitaccelerationsabove � 10 and 25 m s 1 yr 1 ,respectively.W e �nd thatan extrapolation ofthesizeand period distribution found by radialvelocity surveyswithin � 5 AU orcom panion im aging surveyspredictstoo few system swith detectable accelerations.The fractionsofstarswith accelerationsabove these values can bem atched ifevery starhostsa gasgiantplanetorbrown dwarfwith sem i-m ajor


Wireless intraspacecraft communication technology is being developed for signal transfer on space missions to save weight and simplify the design. One consideration for this new technology is its interaction with space environment-induced electrostatic discharges (ESDs). The short time scales of spacecraft ESD events result in broad frequency band signals that can interact with high-frequency wireless antennas. These interactions present a source of signal noise. However, they also present a possibility of in-flight wireless ESD monitoring. We present laboratory measurements of arcing on common spacecraft insulators using commercially available single-band 2.4-GHz and dual-band 2.4-/5.8-GHz Wi-Fi antennas. These wireless detections are shown to coincide with direct simultaneous measurements of discharge event currents. The amplitudes of the wireless signals are shown to provide a measure of the relative magnitude of the arcs, although the narrow frequency ranges of Wi-Fi antennas make absolute measures of the discharge intensity impractical. The wireless signals are shown to provide very accurate nanosecond timing of ESD events, which presents the potential of identifying arc location on a spacecraft with the use of time-of-flight detection from multiple antennas.


Hsun Tzu regarded what makes humans human as the main line,based his theory on the doctrine of evil human nature and the theory of group graduation.,discerned distinction between human nature and variation,emphasized the integrity of human nature and variation,advocated transforming human nature through variation,gave prominence to education as the main primary means which transformed human nature and didn't return his original shape for ever,elaborated that education was the necessary measure which maintained the crowd's survival from the human species characteristic and was a desirability achieving the harmonious well-organized steady-going's society development.His theory provides the important reference system to research and analyse education origin for us.


Tracing the origin of the product in the agriculture supply chain offers food safety, identifying the root cause of the food hazard if any, information connectivity between the participating stakeholders and to achieve customer trust. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology whose transactions can be recorded in a decentralised and immutable ledger. Several applications were developed in the last few years for blockchain based - traceability systems. Most of the work concentrated on information retrieval and system scalability. Still, promising research has not been seen for a blockchain traceability system with user identification methods. This work presents a blockchain system with user identification and access control mechanisms to fill the gap for each supply chain participant. In addition, the system also proposes a novel Proof of Transaction (PoTx) consensus algorithm designed to achieve scalability with reduced communication overhead and computation power. A novel PoTx algorithm is developed by choosing a random validator from a consensus group based on the transaction count to enforce the fault-tolerance of the system. The proposed system with user identification method allows to prevent and identify product adulteration while tracing the agriculture product.


The underlying cryptography suite of Hyperledger Fabric only supports international cryptographic algorithm, and does not support Chinese commercial cryptographic algorithm SM2/3/4, which prevents the promoting of Hyperledger Fabric in China. To further promote the application of Hyperledger Fabric in China, we retrofit the underlying cryptography suite of Fabric v1.4.3 by Chinese commercial cryptographic algorithm SM2/3/4, called Fabric-SM, and then evaluate the performance of Fabric v1.4.3 and Fabric-SM in various aspects, such as transaction throughput, execution time and transaction latency. The experimental results show that the performance of Fabric-SM is close to that of Fabric v1.4.3. Without any degradation in performance, Fabric-SM fully meets the requirements of Chinese government on the legality of cryptography. In a word, developers can develop various applications of Permissioned Blockchain based on Fabric-SM under the condition of safety and legality.


A sex/contraception-related questionnaire distributed through schools and youth clubs in Suffolk was completed by more than 1000 people aged 16 and younger. Discussions were also held with six groups of young people to focus upon several issues raised by the questionnaire. Although the teens felt that it was important to receive information about both male/female relations and contraception the respondents overall felt most strongly about receiving information on contraception. Magazines were the most popular source of information on contraception followed by television and friends. At school teachers were the main source of information on relationships and contraception with the school nurse seen as a stranger. 78.6% of the teens stated that individuals should know about relationships by age 12 years while 85% stressed that people should learn about contraception by the age of 13 years. Knowledge of family planning services available from general practitioners and family planning clinics was however poor. Some young people reported that services were poorly advertised. 12.4% of the teens had visited a general practitioner or family planning clinic for advice on contraception or relationships with 60% finding out about the services through friends and relatives. Of those who had not attended a family planning service 8.1% had wanted to. Counselors family planning service providers and other adults must begin to understand and accept that young people have sex. Family planning services should be readily accessible to adolescents outside of school hours and provided by young receptive staff who do not intimidate their young clients. Adolescents should be treated as equals. The respondents expressed concern about the potential lack of confidentiality resulting from the procurement of advice and contraception services provided in school.


Two-dimensional charge carrier accumulation at oxide heterointerfaces presents a paradigm shift for oxide electronics. Like a capacitor, interfacial charge buildup couples to an electric field across the dielectric medium. To prevent the so-called polar catastrophe, several charge screening mechanisms emerge, including polar distortions and interfacial intermixing which reduce the sharpness of the interface. Here, we examine how atomic intermixing at oxide interfaces affect the balance between polar distortions and electric potential across the dielectric medium. We find that intermixing moves the peak charge distribution away from the oxide/oxide interface; thereby changing the direction of polar distortions away from this boundary with minimal effect on the electric field. This opposing electric field and polar distortions is equivalent to the transient phase transition tipping point observed in double well ferroelectrics; resulting in an anomalous dielectric response -- a possible signature of local negative differential capacitance, with implications for designing dissipationless oxide electronics.


The study aims to analyse managerial and operational hindrances to polio eradication process in Tehsil Katlang, District Mardan using quantitative research method i.e. questionnaire and statistical analysis. A sample size of 200 respondents i.e. polio workers of health department, staff of WHO and UNICEF are selected through proportionate stratified random technique. Bi-variate analyses are conducted with the help of Chi-square test. The study results concludes a significant association between polio eradication process and maintenance of cold chain, lack of transportation facility to polio staff, accessibility with reference to locality, training opportunities of polio workers, lack of trained public health professionals, workers dissatisfaction from salaries, timely payment of NIDs remuneration, unnecessary bureaucratic interventions and influences in Expended Program on Immunisation (EPI), lack of proper evaluation of National Immunisation Days (NIDs) campaign and security threats to polio workers. Further, a non-significant association is ascertained between polio eradication and timely availability of vaccines to EPI workers, effects of load shedding on maintenance of cold chain and proper monitoring of NIDs campaign. The findings state that the program needs proper management process for cold chain and transportation facilities. Salaries of the workers need to be increased and NIDs remuneration needs to pay on time. Various training programs should be initiated for workers and shortage of staff should be removed. Security arrangements for polio workers may be enhanced.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of both the Dual-time point PET imaging and the Time Activity Curve (TAC) in dynamic PET imaging in differentiating tumor and inflammation (both subcutaneous and in situ). Methods: Dynamic FDG-PET was performed on 23 female mice inoculated with tumor or inflammation subcutaneously or inside the lung. Values of Retention Index (RI) as a metric in the dual-time analysis and curvature of TAC were obtained. Results: Values of RI showed no significant difference between various experimental groups, while values of curvature showed significant difference between subcutaneous tumor and inflammation, tumors at different locations (subcutaneous and in situ), and inflammations at different locations (subcutaneous and in situ). Conclusions: Dual-time analysis requires more work in deciding the two time points. Compared to the dual-point analysis with current settings, analyzing the shape of TAC has a higher sensitivity for differentiating malignancies from inflammations.


By theoretical analysis and practical experimental summary,the effects of microstructure and dopant and sintering process on electrical properties of TiO_2 varistor are discussed. By changing these factors properly, the better electrical property can be achieved.


Spark-source mass spectrometry was used in order to determine the impurity elements from Li to La in nine commercial samples of Si3N4 raw materials. Total contents of thirty three impurity elements detected from Si3N4 raw powders which were prepared by a reaction of Si and N2 were 1.0 to 2.2wt%. Otherwhile there were few kinds of impurities in samples which were prepared by reactions of pure SiCl4-NH3 and SiO2-C-N2, and total impurity contents was 0.07-0.14%. Three-point bending strength at 1200°C for the hot-pressed body from α-rich powder with 2wt% Al2O3 and 5wt% Y2O3 was decreased with the total impurity contents. Similar correlations were observed between the 1200°C-strengths and respective contents of Ca, Ti or Fe. However the room temperature strength was independent on the total impurity contents. Hot-pressed bodies from β-, α≅β- and amorphous powder showed lower strengths than those expected from the correlation curve for α-rich powder.


Peroxymonosulfate ion, HSO−5, as Oxone, readily converts phosphorus(V) esters of thiols into the phosphorus(V) and sulfonic acids. The esters were Ph2PO·SC6H4R(p) with R=MeO (1a), Me (1b), H (1c), Cl (1d) and NO2 (1e), (EtO)2PO · SPh (2), Ph2OI · SEt (3) and PhPO(OEt)SEt (4). Reactions are first order in each reactant and second-order rate constants, k2, for 1a–e fit the Hammett equation with ρ=−0.46. The rate constants increase markedly with increasing water content of H2O–MeCN, the activation enthalpies are low and the entropies are negative. Despite the low value of −ρ, these esters are much less reactive than thiol ethers, but the rate constants of reactions of these compounds and acyl thiols qualitatively follow the ionization potentials of the ethers and the esters. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A Novel embedded domain decomposition method (EDDM) is proposed to simulate electromagnetic scattering from structures in an inhomogeneous medium. In this method, the inhomogeneous medium (e.g. layered substrate) is set as the background subdomain, and the integrated structures (e.g. metallic/ dielectric components) with properly defined buffer regions as the embedded subdomains, where the meshes of two can be completely independent and arbitrarily overlapping. The major contribution of this work lies in the following three aspects. First, to allow for arbitrary inclusion of the embedded subdomains in an inhomogeneous background subdomain, an adaptive buffer region method is developed. The self-coupling equation is re-derived to ensure the consistency of the buffer region and the inhomogeneous background, and a new mutual-coupling equation is introduced to account for the material and/or conductor differences. Second, the boundary element method (BEM) accelerated by the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) is utilized to truncate the finite-element region, so that the computation capability can be enhanced, and the extra air box setting of the background subdomain in the original EDDM can be avoided. Third, for structure adjustments such as translations and rotations, we further propose an inherited calculation to avoid mesh re-generation and repeated computation of the self-coupling and preconditioning matrices, and also reduce the iteration counts and solution time. Numerical examples have shown the accuracy, robustness, and efficiency of the proposed method.


This paper addresses an effective technique for digital fingerprinting for video. The code modulation technique, that uses an averaging collusion resilient fingerprint code derived from BIBD, is a robust method against averaging attacks. In this paper, we propose a new fingerprint code based on GD-PBIBD theory that is efficient in designing the fingerprint code and describe an effective method to embed and detect the fingerprint code, in which the merits of orthogonal modulation and coded modulation techniques are combined. To analyze the performance, we apply our method to video applications using a spread-spectrum watermarking technique in the spatial domain and the results show the proposed method is effective for fingerprint code embedding and detection.


The Titanic sank on April 15, 1914, with 2224 people on board, and only 32% survived. The survivors are somewhat random, but they are somewhat the same. Studying the types of people who are more likely to survive in a disaster will promote an understanding of the values and ideology of the society at the time. Therefore, this study collected data on some of the passengers on the Titanic and the survivors through Kaggle. This study predicts the survival of passengers through data cleaning, feature engineering, dimensionality reduction processing, and different models such as Random Forest, Decision Tree, KNN, and Logistic regression. In this study, it was found that Age, gender, representation of socioeconomic status, and whether they traveled alone were associated with survival rates. Among them, the decision tree and random forest models scored 98.65, which performed the best and had the highest prediction accuracy. After visualizing the data, this study concluded that survival rates were higher for females, children younger than ten years old first-class passengers, and non-solitary travelers.


Metal oxide aluminosilicate and aluminoger-manate nanotubes, called imogolite nanotubes, are custom made nanotubes with controlled diameter, morphology and organization. These nanotubes undergo major structural changes at high temperatures. Here, we report a complete analysis of the structural transformation of single and double-walled aluminogermanate nanotubes, organized or not in bundles, up to 800 ◦ C . Complementary X-ray scattering and spectroscopy experiments were performed. The evolution of both Al and Ge atoms coordination during the transformation process was studied in-situ. Quantitative analysis of X-ray absorption spectra reveals that the dehydroxylation of nanotubes leads to intermediate stages of 'metaimogolite', which differ in the coordination of the aluminium atoms. A mechanism explaining the major structural reorganization is proposed based on atomic jump processes.


During the requirements elicitation phase a software engineer tries to determine what the customer really wants (and needs.) This task requires, on the one hand, strong communication skills and, on the other hand, a good engineering background to construct a coherent set of requirements. There is a thus a conflict informal and formal techniques. Scenarios are a powerful communication tool and may be given a formal semantics so that they may be amenable to formal verification. We present a method to verifying properties of scenarios based on fixed points of predicate transformers. This work is adapted from an approach that had been originally proposed by Sifakis for transition systems. Scenarios are modelled in a similar way to Diijkstras guarded commands.


Mariko Takayama a , Ryuhei Okuyama a , Yoshinori Sasaki a , Toshihiro Ohura b , Hachiro Tagami a , Setsuya Aiba a Departments of a Dermatology and b Pediatrics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai , Japan pear at various locations on the body around that time. One of them had been removed by a local physician at the age of 25 years and was diagnosed as an epidermal cyst. On physical examination, all of her fi ngernails and toenails were thickened with subungual hyperkeratosis despite frequent shaving, revealing a yellowish brown color. Her soles were elastic and hard due to hyperkeratosis but wet with hyperhidrosis. There were multiple subcutaneous tumors in the axillae, buttocks and internal side of thighs. However, there were no hair abnormalities or laryngeal leukokeratosis. From her history of natal teeth and multiple subcutaneous cysts, we diagnosed her as having pachyonychia congenita type II. Based on recent reports that there are mutations of keratin 6a and keratin 16 genes in pachyonychia congenita type I, and of keratin 6b and keratin 17 genes in pachyonychia congenita type II, especially many mutations in the 1A domain of the keratin 17 gene in type II, we carried out gene analysis. However, we could not detect any mutations in the 1A domain of the keratin 17 gene in either her, her daughter or her sister. Twice daily applications of 20% AlCl 3 ointment to her soles improved not only the hyperhidrosis but also the tenderness when walking. After the use of AlCl 3 ointment, we attempted to apply 10% salicylic acid ointment for the treatment of the hyperkeratosis. Her soles softened after these applications which further reduced the tenderness when walking. The treatment with 20% AlCl 3 ointment and salicylic acid was found to be much more effective for her 3-year-old daughter, probably due to the thinner epidermis of the child's skin. Our clinical experience in the present case suggests that topical treatment with AlCl 3 together with salicylic acid is effective for controlling the discomfort caused by pachyonychia congenita.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy and safety of recombinant human interferon α-2b (INFα-2b) monotherapy and combined therapy with entecavir (ETV) plus adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) in chronic hepatitis B patients with poor response to combined therapy with lamivudine and ADV.

METHODS
A total of 161 patients with chronic hepatitis B refractory to to combined therapy with lamivudine (LAM) and ADV were randomized to receive INFα-2b monotherapy (5×10(6), three times a week) (group A) or combined therapy with entecavir (0.5 mg/day) plus adefovir (10 mg/day) (group B). Serum levels of HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV viral load were analyzed at 48 weeks using chemiluminescence assay and by real-time PCR as appropriate. The drug resistance genes in HBV was tested by direct DNA sequencing.

RESULTS
At 48 weeks of treatment, HBV DNA decreased significantly in groups A and B to 2.06∓1.15log10 copies/ml and 1.77∓1.28log10 copies/ml, respectively. The rates of viral response, serological response, and biochemical response in groups A and B were 48.15% (39/81) vs 53.75% (43/80), 61.70% (50/81) vs 53.75% (43/80), and 49.38% (40/81) vs 60.00% (48/80), showing no significant differences between the two groups (P>0.05). The drug resistance gene mutation rate was significanty higher in group B (64.86%, 24/37) than in group A (30.95%, 13/42, P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
Chronic hepatitis B patients refractory to lamivudine combined with ADV have a good response to INFα-2b monotherapy and combined therapy with entecavir and ADV , and interferon treatment is preferred to reduce potential drug resistance gene mutations.


The influence of NiCrAlY coating deposited on gun-steel CrNi_3MoVA by the way of magnetron sputtering is investigated.It shows that the oxidation and heat corrosion resistance by the ways of sputtering NiCrAlY coating are improved obviously.


Insect–pathogen interactions have remained underutilized and underemphasized until relatively recently. Some studies have now begun to address this by including searches for plant pathogens and their interactions as an integral part of biological-control programs at the outset. Similarly, while climate matching and genetic description of host populations has been incorporated into weed biological-control programs, life-table analysis has remained unexploited. The author has expanded the normal life-table concept to include plant pathogens and, in the case of Euphorbia esula, has demonstrated the major contribution of two fungi in causing weed mortality. The propensity of a candidate agent (insect or microbe) to interact should also be considered, and it is recommended that this be a selection factor for candidate natural enemies. Additionally, survival analysis applied to the target weed upon exposure to appropriate combinations of insects and pathogens is also recommended to help assess the potential effectiveness of candidate agents. A protocol is proposed to enable such analyses. Application of one or both of these recommendations could increase success in classical biological control of weeds and reduce associated costs and environmental risks.


This article defines the list and significance for individuals of social competences that can be acquired during social-psychological training. The main goal of the conducted research is to highlight the characteristic features and conceptual foundations of social and psychological training. The systematization of literary sources and approaches to solving the problem proved that in the process of conducting socio-psychological training, participants can acquire the following social competencies: respect for socially accepted systems of values and principles, decision-making abilities and willingness to take responsibility for their behavior and behavior of the team entrusted to them, the ability to properly organize their own work and harmonious cooperation in the team, etc. In the materials of the article, it is determined that the crisis conditions of the functioning of national economies, intra-personal and interpersonal conflicts, the uncertainty of the future determine the need to conduct various forms and types of social-psychological training. The urgency of solving this scientific problem lies in the fact that the complication of interpersonal relations at the macro and micro levels, global and local uncertainty of the environment, leads to a growing need for individuals to acquire and develop social competences that would reduce the level of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts. The study of the list and characteristics of social competences acquired in the process of social-psychological training made it possible to reveal its influence on social and emotional intelligence, to determine approaches and methods of formation and development of liquid and crystallized intelligence. It was determined that the intensity of social-psychological training depends, on the one hand, on the certain temperament and personal traits of all its participants, and on the other hand, on the influence of the external environment in which the individual functions. Historical and logical methods, methods of analysis and synthesis became the methodical tools of the conducted research. The results of the conducted research can be useful for the formation of a program of socio-psychological trainings for particularly vulnerable categories of the population.


The subject of this research is noise reduction methods in the sound sequence as a part of the proposed speech-to-text (STT) module for converting a verbal lecture or a lesson into a written text form on digital educational platforms. The goal is to investigate the influence of noise reduction methods on the operation of the acoustic signal recognition system. 3 methods of noise reduction were considered for integration in the proposed acoustic artifact recognition system and for the researching: spectral subtraction method; fast Fourier transform; Wiener filter with software modeling of every method. The obtained results: after testing the system with integrated noise reduction modules in it, based on the fast Fourier transform, Wiener filter and spectral subtraction method, it was concluded that the module using the Wiener filter improves the identification results by 25%, which is the highest result. However, performance testing has shown that fast Fourier transform is the fastest method. The practical significance of the work is – the identifying acoustic events system was developed, different noise reduction methods were integrated and researched into the module for converting a verbal lecture or a lesson into a written text form in a proposed system with the aim of increasing of speed and accuracy.


Since modern society is essentidly patriarchical in nature, women must first of all break this society in order to win complete liberation. Post-modernist feminists try their best, while criticiing severely the parriarchical systen, to solve the problem of sexual inequality and the crises faced by human beings at the present time and in the process they put forward an ideal social model: post-partriarchical society, in which internal relations, differences, cultural diversity and the unity of human beings and nature are greatly valued. There fore, it is an equal, non-violent,culturally-diversified, cooperative and non-hierarchical ideal society, and post-modernist feminism is characterized by its striving for a post-patriarchical society.


Given a distribution of pebbles on the vertices of a graph, say that we can pebble a vertex if a pebble is left on it after some sequence of moves, each of which takes two pebbles from some vertex and places one on an adjacent vertex. A distribution is solvable if all vertices are pebblable; the pebbling threshold of a sequence of graphs is, roughly speaking, the total number of pebbles for which random distributions with that number of pebbles on a graph in the sequence change from being almost never solvable to being almost always solvable. We show that any sequence of connected graphs with strictly increasing orders always has some pebbling threshold which is $\Omega(\sqrt{n})$ and $O(2^{\sqrt{2 \log_2 n}} n/\sqrt{\log_2 n})$, and that it is possible to construct such a sequence of connected graphs which has any desired pebbling threshold between these bounds. (Here, $n$ is the order of a graph in the sequence.) It follows that the sequence of paths, which, improving earlier estimates, we show has pebbling threshold $\Theta(2^{\sqrt{\log_2 n}} n/\sqrt{\log_2 n})$, does not have the greatest possible pebbling threshold.


The aim of this study was to characterise a recently identified adult smooth muscle stem-like/progenitor cell (SMSPC) and exploit the ability to differentiate contractile smooth muscle cells (SMC) from SMSPCs facilitating tissue engineering of small to medium arteries, an approach which is hampered by inadequate sources of, and scale up methodologies for autologous SMCs. We initially identified a novel SMSPC in the bone marrow (BM) of rats that retained classic stem cell-like characteristics (clonogenicity, unlimited self-renewal, high telomerase activity, expression of stem cell markers) whilst expressing low levels of SMC-like transcripts. Spontaneous differentiation favoured a SMC phenotype where ~20-fold increases in calponin and SM-MHC protein expression were observed 10 days post-embryoid body formation, an effect augmented by TGFβ (P < 0.0001). Differentiation of SMSPCs from an undifferentiated state towards contractile SMCs was Myocd-dependent. Overexpression of Myocd in SMSPCs increased their percentage contraction in response to AngII (P < 0.05) and KCL (P < 0.05) and Ca2+ signalling to levels indistinguishable from rat SMCs. Knockdown of SMC-specific repressors resulted in Myocd-dependent SMC differentiation of SMSPCs. Taking advantage of the fact that SMSPCs possessed unlimited self-renewal capacity ex vivo and could be successfully reprogrammed into functional SMCs, we determined the vascular tissue engineering potential of SMSPCs and showed these cells integrate as viable tissue engineered vascular grafts in vivo. Specifically, after 1 month implantation, a Myocd-GFP+/Isl1+ smooth muscle layer was observed in the grafts along with a vWF+ luminal endothelial layer and multi-layered collagen and elastin fibre formation throughout the graft wall. We have recently isolated cells with similar SMSPC phenotype and differentiation potential from human peripheral blood. This study demonstrates that adult SMSPCs derived from rat BM and human blood can be reprogrammed to efficiently generate large quantities of mature contractile SMCs, displaying great utility as a cellular backbone for tissue engineered vascular grafts, making them an attractive source for vascular cell therapy and surgical applications.


Written in a conservation law form, the time domain multiconductor transmission line (MTL) equations are solved by splitting the fluxes and using a second order accurate upwind differencing technique. The solutions of the initial and boundary value problems are compared to those obtained by employing the standard finite difference time domain (FDTD) scheme based on the Yee version of the leap-frog method. For any general explicit numerical scheme, for a given MTL, only the fastest propagating mode can be solved for at the Courant number of the scheme. This causes the other slower modes to disperse. The results of our comparisons, show that the upwind scheme produces much less numerical dispersion for the slower propagating modes than the standard FDTD scheme. In addition, the Courant number of the second order upwind scheme is twice of that of the investigated FDTD schemes. These advantages make the second order upwind scheme a better tool to model any MTL with linear terminations.


Vibration and stability feedback control of a robotic manipulator modeled as a cantilevered thin-walled beam carrying a spinning rotor at its tip are investigated. The control is achieved via incorporation of adaptive capabilities that are provided by a system of piezoactuators bonded or embedded into the master structure. Based on converse piezoelectric effect, the piezoactuators produce a localized strain field in response to an applied voltage, and as a result, an adaptive change of vibrational and stability response characteristics is obtained. A feedback control law relating the piezoelectrically induced bending moments at the beam tip with the kinematical response quantities appropriately selected is used, and the beneficial effects of this control methodology upon the closed-loop eigenvibration characteristics and stability boundaries are highlighted. The cantilevered structure modeled as a thin-walled beam, and built-up from a composite material, encompasses on-classical features, such as anisotropy, transverse shear and secondary warping, and in this context a special ply-angle configuration inducing a structural coupling between flapping-lagging transverse shear is implemented. It is also shown that the directionality property of the material of the host structure used in conjunction with piezoelectric strain actuation capability, yields a dramatic enhancement of both the vibrational and stability behavior of the considered structural system.


Under its one-stop-shop philosophy, Astrium services provides satellite communications, satellite navigation and Earth observation services as well as secure satcom systems expertise to a range of military, government and institutional customers. Using a combination of its own assets, including the Skynet secure satellite constellation of paradigm secure communications Ltd (an Astrium Services Company in the UK) and intelligent packaging of both military and commercial bandwidth, Astrium Services meets its customers' requirements with innovative and highly competitive end-to-end solutions. Within the Astrium services group of companies, Paradigm is the global secure satellite communications company delivering resilient, survivable and secure communications to UK MOD and other approved customers. Established in 2002 under a PFI arrangement, and now operating its full satellite constellation complemented by the addition of three new high power and high capacity satellites during 2007/8, Paradigm's evolution is now entering a new era. Whilst service delivery to the MOD (paradigm's foundation customer) remains the priority, Paradigm now also has the capacity to develop and deliver services to approved national ministries and wider governmental and institutional customers. This paper provides insight into Astrium services' and paradigm's program of service innovations. From a historical perspective, it will cover key system and service features. It will go on to cover the key milestones in paradigm and Astrium services' evolution and explain how, whilst maintaining the UK MOD as its primary UK customer, we are increasingly able to offer the benefits of resilient and secure network services cost- effectively to other government and institutional customers. (3 pages)


Reliable gear drive operation depends on a number of factors. In the first place, a gear drive system should be properly specified, designed, manufactured, and installed. A good maintenance program should include checking for proper alignment and lubrication, periodic changing of lubricants, and making sure that noise, vibration, and temperature parameters are within recommended guidelines. Visual inspection of gears and shafts is important not only in preventing failures but in failure analysis as well. Distress or failure of gears may be classified as surface fatigue (pitting or spalling), wear (abrasive or adhesive), plastic flow or surface deformations, and breakage of gear teeth. Several modes of failure can occur together, so careful reading of telltale signs is important. Knowing the appropriate nomenclature regarding gear operations helps the user to communicate information about specific problems with the gear drive manufacturer.


Presentation of Case A 52-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of a pulmonary nodule. There was a history of asthma for 20 years, with positive skin tests to oak, birch and house-dust ...


42 PERCENT NOIR is a new live performance project consisting of two music and visual artists that have collaborated closely for a long time. The project combines acoustic piano playing with digital sound and visual art. On stage, the two sides are merged together to form a performance that explores the interesting relationship between sound, vision, and live-interaction in the modern world.


The results of monitoring the execution of judgments of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation passed over the period from 2013 to the first quarter of 2014 are considered, trends characterising the state of practical execution of acts issued by the judicial agency for constitutional control are analysed, and recommendations on improving the legal and organisational framework for monitoring the execution of judgments of the Constitutional Court are given.


ABSTRACT In this paper, the cavitation and gas ingestion in a custom-made transparent nozzle were observed using a visual experimental platform of a transparent nozzle. Based on the Two-Fluid Model and dynamic grid overlapping, the evolution mechanism of the cavitation and gas ingestion in a diesel engine nozzle was analyzed at the end of injection, and the influence of three different velocities of the needle valve motion was analyzed. The results demonstrated that cavitation in the orifice preceded that in the sac, and the cavitation was mainly concentrated in the sac. As the needle valve seating velocity increased, the amount of cavitation and gas ingestion in the nozzle increased. Furthermore, as the amount of gas ingestion increased, the time of gas ingestion inception was delayed, and the value varied nonlinearly from 0.48 ms (0.2 m/s) to 0.13 ms (1.0 m/s). A dimensionless parameter was deduced by theoretical analysis to describe the cavitation extent in the orifice at the end of injection. This study provides a theoretical basis for further analysis of the mechanisms of cavitation and gas ingestion as well as the effect of the needle valve velocity on cavitation and gas ingestion.


Two Linnaean names, Othonna sibirica and Cineraria glauca, for species of Asteraceae tribe Senecioneae are lectotypified. The lectotype of the former name is a specimen in the Linnaean Herbarium in Stockholm (S), and the lectotype of the latter is a plate published by Gmelin in 1752, cited by Linnaeus. Both species belong now to the genus Ligularia Cass., as L. sibirica (L.) Cass. and L. glauca (L.) O. Hoffm., respectively.


Objective : After a period of five years, evaluate the use of early load in 24 patients at a private clinic. Methods : One hundred and three fixations and prosthetic rehabilitations were performed in 24 patients, with a mean age of 38 years (minimum of 23 and maximum of 72 years), eleven being women and 13 men, in whom 50 and 53 fixations respectively, were performed. Results : The success obtained among single dentures and splinted implant supported dentures was similar, around 92%. Conclusion : The predictability between the protocol of two separate stages and the protocol of immediate or early functional load is similar; the initial stability of the implant plays a fundamental role in the immediate or early functional load protocol. Indexing terms : osseointegration; dental implants; retrospective studies


1.Background Major portions of urban areas in Asia are highly exposed and vulnerable to devastating earthquakes. Many studies identify ways to reduce earthquake risk by concentrating more on building resilience for the particularly vulnerable populations. By 2020, as the United Nations' warning, many Asian countries would become 'super-aged societies', such as Taiwan. However, local authorities rarely use resilience approach to frame earthquake disaster risk management and land use strategies. The empirically-based research about the resilience of aging populations has also received relatively little attention. Thus, a challenge arisen for decision-makers is how to enhance resilience of aging populations within the context of risk reduction. This study aims to improve the understanding of the resilience of aging populations and its changes over time in the aftermath of a destructive earthquake at the local level. A novel methodology is proposed to assess the resilience of aging populations and to characterize their changes of spatial distribution patterns, as well as to examine their determinants.


Based on the panel data sample of enterprises from 2009 to 2012,the author conducted a quantitative exploration of the constitutional latitudes of subsidiary growth.On this basis,the author carried out empirical analysis on the relationship between equity participation of the parent company and the various dimensions of the subsidiaries growth,and then discussed the regulating effect of the executives' association of the parent and subsidiary company to the relationship between parent company equity participation and subsidiary companies growth dimensions.Then the author drew the following conclusions:subsidiaries growth includes three latitudes:profitability,operational capacity and growth potential;the equity participation of parent company has a positive impact on subsidiary's profitability and operational capabilities,and has a negative impact on the growth potential of its subsidiaries;parent company executives' association has a significant negative regulating effect on relationship between the equity participation of the parent company and subsidiaries operating capacity and growth potential.It has an insignificant regulating effect on relationship between parent company equity participation and subsidiary profitability.


Objective To study the importance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEU) in the differential diagnosis of local renal space occupying lesons. Methods Seventy-six cases of renal space occupying lesions were examined by contrast-enhanced ultrasound. All patients received surgery. The characteristics of renal space occupying lesions in CEU were observed and analyzed. Results Satisfactory and dynamic-enhanced perfusion images were obtained for 76 patients. Among them,62 lesions were diagnosed as malignant and 14 lesions as benign tumor by pathology. The way of contrast medium wash in and wash out was various. Most cases showed synchronous wash in and fast wash in(P0.05). There was no difference between fast wash out and low wash out. A special characteristic of the malignant renal lesions was that they were rich in blood supply,tending to look like a "bright ball". Hamartoma showed asymmetric enhancement without pseudocapsule. There was no enhancement found in cases of cysts. Conclusion The contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEU) is a useful method for differentiating renal space occupying lesions.


A nationwide survey of congenital hydrocephalus, including secondary hydrocephalus occurring within one year after birth, was carried out in 1988 using two questionnaires. The first questionnaire, which attempted to determine the number of patients treated for hydrocephalus during the year of 1987, revealed that 2,222 patients were under medical care in 68.6 percent of responding hospitals. The second questionnaire was concerned with the clinico-epidemiological features of the disease in those patients. The total number of patients for which questionnaires were returned was 1,435. The number of patients treated in hospitals with 200 or more beds during the one year period was estimated to be 3,000 (2,000 for primary and 1,000 for secondary). The number of new cases of this disease which occurred during the year was calculated to be 800. This indicates a rate of 0.58 per 1,000 live births.


The fall of chess as a main domain for Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, after the victory of Deep Blue over Kasparov, put forward robotic soccer as a new challenging domain for AI researchers. Robotic Soccer is very appropriate for researching in Distributed AI problems, e.g. coordination methodologies, whose results can later be applied to other domains. Coordination can be defined as the capability of several agents to work together as a team, in order to accomplish a common goal. In the context of robotic soccer, several aspects may benefit from appropriate coordination methodologies, since team play is decisive for winning the games. This paper presents a methodology to enable a team of robotic soccer agents to coordinate their positioning in the field, and a methodology that enables them to cooperatively execute predefined set plays (flexible plans). Both coordination methods are used in real soccer and sports in general, commonly known as formations and set plays respectively. However, its use in a team of autonomous agents is still unexplored and is a major innovation of this work. A graphical tool to define formations and set plays was fully developed in the context of this work offering a quicker and more appealing way to define both formations and set plays. The tool's interface was inspired on "blackboard" applications, used nowadays for the same purpose in real sports. The tool enables very easy definition of set plays that may then be executed in real-time during the matches. Examples of complete set plays and their practical execution are also described, showing the usefulness of the set play concept and the utility of the developed tool.


Age waves is theoretical concept that take into account the importance of disordered cohort flows, mainly as by-product of demographic transition (fluctuating fertility and improved survival), but also external factors (especially wars). The primary age wave as a consequence of high births after the Second World War in Serbia did not remain an isolated phenomenon, but created a secondary cohort wave although the fertility indicators were declining, which is visible as the thickening of the pyramid base in 1981 due to the absolute increase in births. Cohort "tide" has influenced the shape of the pyramid to longer retain the properties of the stationary type because the baby boom generation reproduced the "echo" generation, which is a counterbalance to extreme demographic aging as the baby boom generation entered the contingent of the old population. A cohort analysis of the elderly population shows that the declining share of the elderly in a certain age group is typical for cohorts born during turbulent times, most often wars, while cohorts born afterwards form more numerous generations. A half-century characteristic of the Serbian population is an absolute increase of people older than 65, but it does not automatically mean an adequate increase in the relative share of the elderly because it depends on the number of other age groups and their cohort trajectories. The methodological tool that can valorize heterogeneity of the old population is important for societies with past oscillations in fertility and migratory movements. In this study, the usefulness of the arithmetic and geometric coefficients of aging was tested on the example of baby boom and baby bust generations and their position in the old population, revealing periods when rejuvenation or aging of the old has dominated.


Previous efforts involving picture-based passwords have not focused on maintaining a measurably high level of entropy. Since password systems usually allow user selection of passwords, their true entropy remains unknown. A 23-participant study was performed in which picture and character-based passwords of equal strength were randomly assigned. Memorability was tested with up to one week between sessions. The study found that both character and picture passwords of very high entropy were easily forgotten. However, when password inputs were analyzed to determine the source of input errors, serial ordering was found to be the main cause of failure. This supports a hypothesis stating that picture-password systems which do not require ordered input may produce memorable, high-entropy passwords. Input analysis produced another interesting result, that incorrect inputs by users are often duplicated. This reduces the number of distinct guesses users can make when authentication systems lock out users after a number of failed logins. A protocol for ignoring duplicate inputs is presented here. A shoulder-surfing resistant input method was also evaluated, with six out of 15 users performing an insecure behavior.


Biometric authentication is a process of identifying and differentiating individuals for security purpose that counts on the distinctive physiological and behavioral characteristics of a person for verification. Dorsal vein pattern is one of the prospective biometrics and we have made successful use of this biometric feature for authentication purpose. This paper describes a novel design and its implementation for identifying individuals on the basis of their vein pattern of dorsal hand. The prime goal has been to establish a method with better Correct Recognition Rate (CRR), low False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and low False Rejection Rate (FRR). For our paper we have used Near Infrared (NIR) image of dorsal hand as it provides better resolution of vein pattern in the image than visible light. This recognition system consists of several steps; they are denoising of the input image using Laplacian Scale Mixture Modeling (LSM), Region of Interest (ROI) extraction from denoised image using valley point detection method, contrast enhancement using pyramid based edge aware filtering method, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization, binarization, several serial morphological operations and finally authentication using neural networks and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The experiment was initially performed on a database of 16 distinct subjects where there are 10 raw images of each subject taken in different conditions. The accuracy obtained from experimental results is 96.63%. The scale of the experiment can be extended for more users, which we believe will yield similar success and thus this method of biometric authentication using dorsal vein pattern can be used in security purpose.


Dendrodontia hyphopaxillosa , a new epithelioid species from southern China in Polyporaceae is described and illustrated. The species is characterized by resupinate, adnate, effused basidiocarps, densely distributed cylindrical hyphal pegs, frequently branched contorted dendrohyphidia and small ellipsoid to subcylindrical basidiospores. Discriminating characters between the new species and closely related species are discussed, and an identification key to the species of Dendrodontia is provided.


IN 1977 the Journal published the results of the Veterans Administration randomized trial of coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG).1 In an accompanying editorial2 I stated: "This report confirms the widely held impression that CABG reduces the incidence and severity of angina, but finds no difference in the survival of almost 600 patients with chronic stable angina (excluding those with obstructive disease of the left main coronary artery) randomized into medically and surgically treated groups. . . ." Concern was also expressed about the steeply rising frequency with which the procedure was being performed (approximately 70,000 in 1977) and that despite the . . .


Tape dicing concept is most commonly used in miniature QFN package singulation process due to its low operating cost and high throughput [1]. Processing with strip based material, starting from saw singulation to unit transfer into reel tape, while sawn unit still intact on dicing tape, robust process is needed as well as short cycle time for productivity. Currently, there are 2 common tape dicing methods. Firstly, strip cutting method, and secondly, strip to panel cutting method [2]. Both methods have pros & cons respectively. Nevertheless, in order to improve cycle time, extreme processing method is needed without jeopardizing the processing quality. Introducing this strip chopping cut method enables singulation process of maximum unit density per 12 inches wafer ring and processing abnormal lead frame design with thick metal side rail and moulded-only layer on panel. This method needs dicing blade to directly touch down on top of moulded package during cutting without fully cut metal side rail. In this paper, will further discuss in details how it works and what are the pros and cons, as well as its benefits.


Background: Radical forms of oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) are highly reactive with nucleic acids, proteins and lipids and promote their oxidation. Normally, cellular ROS/RNS concentrations are tightly controlled by the inducible antioxidant system, which is predominantly regulated by the transcription factor Nrf2 (nuclear erythroid-2 like factor-2) and its cytosolic repressor protein, Keap1. We hypothesized that a decrease or an abrogation of Nrf2 impairs cardiac function and induce hypertrophy upon endurance stress in aging heart. Methods: Age-matched wild-type (WT) and Nrf2-/- (KO) mice (n=12/gp) at 2 and >20 months were subjected to endurance exercise stress (EES; 20 meter/min, 12% grade) and assessed the activation of Nrf2/ARE-dependent transcriptional mechanisms in the heart. Cardiac hypertrophy was determined by echocardiography, heart/body weight ratio and biochemical/molecular marker analyses. Results: Interestingly, both old-WT and Nrf2-/- mice exhibited oxidative stress on EES due to significant decrease or abrogation of Nrf2 nuclear levels, respectively, suggesting that aged-WT is equally susceptible to stress as Nrf2-/- mice. Age-dependent loss of Nrf2 decreased the transcription of Nrf2-dependent antioxidants and thereby elevated ROS levels to cause a more oxidized intracellular environment. Importantly, the loss of Nrf2 induced cardiac hypertrophy upon endurance stress in the aged (>20 mon) mice. At the end of 2-weeks of endurance stress, both the old-WT and Nrf2-/- mice had developed cardiac hypertrophy. Also, qPCR analysis showed significant (p Conclusions: We conclude that enhancing protein levels and stability of nuclear Nrf2 could activate the transcription of major antioxidant enzymes and biosynthesis of key antioxidants. Enhancing protective mechanisms against oxidative stress in the elderly is expected to prevent or delay the onset of age-associated cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyopathy.


Cryogenic components in LHD are cooled down to the liquid helium temperature. Since the coolant flows through long plumbing paths from the inlet to the outlet, the temperature gradient in a component induces a mechanical stress distribution during the cooling process. Although the strain measurement system was not stable under a condition of temperature changing, stress distribution was estimated by using FEM with an assumption of temperature gradient. The total weight of 822 ton is supported by ten support posts that are made of CFRP plate and stainless steel. The post was designed to prevent a heat leak from the base plate of the cryostat vessel (room temperature) to the coil support structure (4K). It also must be flexible against a displacement of 13 mm which is caused by the contraction of the support structure. The thermal anchor in each post has a different temperature because the coolant flows from one post to another. Mechanical behavior among the posts was studied considering the temperature difference and contact condition between the CFRP and stainless steel.


In the past years Rail vehicle modelling and stimulations have developed a long way from its origin. This paper presents a brief study on modern stimulating models of railways, their applications and what all challenges we are facing currently in this field. The both linear, non-linear models have been discussed in this study. Finite Element geometric model of the bogie and railway coach have also been studied in this paper. Critical aspects related with programming approach, computational demand in simulation of railway vehicle problems have been discussed. Important aspects related with traction drives, traction power supply and drive system, modified load flow approach, direct matrix method, static and dynamic ordering have also been critically discussed in this paper. Further this paper discusses varies aspects and criteria's that are required to be considered while characterizing stimulating models in railways and what all developments are happening or will happen in near future in this field. Here different methods and approaches regarding optimum performance of suspension, wheel-rail contact and modelling inputs such as track geometry etc have also been discussed. The Finite element modeling of railway vehicle enables the researchers to incorporate the flexibility in the different parts of the railway vehicle system. Linear and non-linear rigid body modeling provides the researchers to examine each component of the railway vehicle system individually.


Welcome to the 2013 edition of the Internet Measurement Conference. The 42 papers you will hear presented over the next three days represent some of the year's best work in network measurement and we hope you enjoy their contributions!

This year the conference received 178 submissions of which 92 were long papers and 86 were short papers. During an initial round of reviewing, each paper received 3 reviews. After assessing these reviews, 100 papers (63 long and 37 short) proceeded to a second round of additional reviewing. From these 100 papers, 72 papers (45 long, 27 short) were selected for discussion at the program committee meeting. The typical PC member reviewed between 20 and 22 papers and read several more.

The program committee met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 10th. Almost the entire program committee was present. We are grateful for the effort they made (in some cases taking international and red-eye flights) to attend and for their insightful discussion.

Reviewing was single blind. The reviewers knew who the authors were, but the authors will not know who the reviewers are. We were careful to ensure reviewers did not review papers for which they were conflicted. We did catch a couple of cases where conflicts were inappropriately claimed to try to exclude a reviewer, a practice we resisted.


Effective management of phytophagous pests and improvement of crop protection measures can be based on the study of the life cycle under specific conditions. In this respect, a number of issues relating to the biological features of plum moth development under modern conditions require clarification and further study. The life cycle of phytophages is determined by two main parameters: heat availability (the sum of the effective temperature) and the duration of daylight hours. The amount of heat required to complete the different stages of otogenesis is characterised by the sum of average daily temperatures. The article presents the results of observations on the development of Grapholita funebrana (Treitschke, 1835) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in 2017–2020, in the Prikubansky zone of the central horticultural subzone of the Krasnodar Territory. The research objectives included gaining new knowledge about adaptive responses, dynamic processes occurring in the G. funebrana population under conditions of increased abiotic effects in the conditions of southern Russia. In the course of the research it was established that the changing climatic conditions observed in recent years have an impact on the flight of the first butterflies of the overwintering generation and on the set of sum of effective temperatures (SET) necessary for the onset and mass flight of the phytophagus. The specified number of calendar days and the sum of effective temperatures required for the development of the overwintered, first and second summer generations are shown in comparison with the average annual indicators. Several peaks were noted during the mass flight period of phytophagus, due to the interruption of the flight period in spring with wind, precipitation, low temperatures, and in summer with high temperatures combined with atmospheric dryness. Several peaks have been observed during the mass flight period of the phytophage, due to the interruption of flight in the spring by wind, precipitation, lower temperatures, and in the summer by high temperatures combined with atmospheric drought.


Objective To observe the effect of preservation of bone marrow of acute leukemia patients with CDPA on the result of RT-PCR detection of the MUC1 gene. Methods Two bone marrow samples of 31 newly diagnosed acute leukemia patients were prepared at the same time. One sample was separated for mononuclear cells in extraction of total RNA. The other sample was injected into a CDPA blood bag preserved at 4 C for 48 hours before separation of mononuclear cells and extraction of total RNA. Result The OD 260/280 values of total RNA extracted from both samples are greater than 1.8. The test results of MUC1 detection of both samples are entirely the same. Conclusion A Duration of 48-hour preservation of CDPA of bone marrow does not affect the result of RT -PCR detection of the MUC1 gene, which can be utilized by hospitals at grassroots level.


Cardiovascular disease continues to be a leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally, with inherited cardiac disorders amongst those taking pride of place. In the early 1990s a newcomer joined their ranks. Named after the three Spanish physicians who first identified it, Brugada Syndrome can present in a variety of different ways, which creates significant challenges for risk stratification and management.


Abstract The multilayered biaxial weft knitted (MBWK) fabric made of E-glass fibres and stitched with polyester yarns, which is a kind of non-crimp fabrics, has been impregnated with epoxy via resin film infusion technique to manufacture the composite plates. The tensile properties of the MBWK fabric reinforced composite are studied with the multidirectional tensile testing. The classical lamination theory is applied to evaluate both the tensile modulus and Poisson's ratio, which shows good agreements with the experimental results. Failure analyses are also available by means of sample debris examination to identify the failure modes and the scanning electron microscope to reveal the microscopic mechanism. Predictions of the tensile properties provide a way to estimate the mechanical behaviours of the MBWK composite structures. Elongation at break is independent of the testing directions, which can be used as the failure criterion of the composite.


Modern MIMO RF transceiver systems are designed to operate reliably under diverse channel conditions leading to incorporation of significant performance margins in RF transceiver systems. In general, across dynamically varying channel conditions, the fidelity of the RF front end devices can be traded-off against power consumption without compromising system-level BER limits. In this work such a real-time performance vs. power consumption modulation of RF front-end devices in MIMO systems is demonstrated. Through a multi-dimensional optimization technique, power-optimal configuration of the frontend for varying channel conditions are created. Additionally multiple low-power operating modes for the MIMO system are proposed depending on the performance metric (data rate or energy-per-bit) that need to be optimized for different applications.


The paper briefly covers the original unit train equipment in service on CP Rail's coal haul in Western Canada, which introduced bathtub gondola car technology and radio control of locomotives, a system which has operated largely unchanged for twenty years. A second generation of unit train has been under development at CP Rail, which is directed to greatly improve train handling and reduce equipment and track maintenance. The multi-year development program, now in it's final stages, is expected to have the first train operating in regular coal service in early 1989. The system embodies the spirit of the High Productivity Integral Train without the requirement for new cars or locomotives. Rather, the system is created by the modification and upgrade of existing rolling stock, using largely proven enhancements such as truck steering, variations of radio control of locomotives and new departures such as zero slack coupling of cars and multiple distribution of locomotives. The future development of the second generation unit train will bring discrete control of multiple remote locomotives to reduce train forces further and optimize the fuel economy of train operations. Performance data related to development and testing of equipment and system elements of the second generation unit train is presented.


ABSTRACT Inertial stabilised platforms are increasingly popular with a large range of products available mainstream. Most items are controlled using popular algorithms that sometimes do not offer best achievable performances. Present paper proposes an advanced control which aims at improving these latter. The exposed solution is based on quaternion representation and self-adapts to the characteristics of the payload it tries to stabilise. Proposed control law ensures the stability of the system whatever the required orientation path is. Although only simulation has been performed to check the performances of such control, results look very promising compared to non-adaptive controls and may help to construct more polyvalent and efficient gimbals which would further facilitate their expansion. Proposed control law can also be applied, as is, to every system that shares the same quaternion-based rotational dynamics.


During the pre-pandemic era online education in Bangladesh was not popular and certificates achieved from online education were often discouraged by organizations. However, the scenario has changed a lot within the last one and half years. The covid-19 pandemic force almost all the countries to adapt to new norms in almost every aspect of life and that happened in Bangladesh also, especially in the education sector. Undoubtedly this caused psychological stress to almost every stakeholder of this system. Our paper aims to predict this stress level of students in the context of Bangladesh using machine learning techniques. To conduct the research primary data were collected using google form and after preprocessing the data several prominent supervised classifiers were applied to predict the stress levels of students due to online education. Among these classifiers, the proximity of the Random Forest algorithm was found to play the greatest role in predicting the stress level detection in online classes and the accuracy was 73.91%.


Carbon (C) sequestration in soils through the increase of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool has generated broad interest to mitigate the effects of climate change. Biosolids soil application may represent a persistent increase in the SOC pool. While a vast literature is available on the value of biosolids as a soil conditioner or nutrient source in agricultural systems, there is still limited knowledge on soil sequestration mechanisms of biosolids-borne C or the main factors influencing this capacity. The emerging challenges posed by global environmental changes and the stringent needs to enhance C storage call for more research on the potential of soil biosolids incorporation as a sustainable C storage practice. This review addresses the potential of C sequestration of agricultural soils and opencast mines amended with biosolids and its biological regulation.


Coral reefs not only support a vast amount of marine biodiversity (Fisher et al. 2015), but provide critical goods and services to humankind, such as coastal protection, commercial fisheries, and pharmaceuticals, and have important recreational and cultural value (Moberg and Folke 1999). The need to protect and restore coral reefs has, however, never been more urgent than today. A suite of human activities with local and global scale consequences for the environment have contributed to the decline of coral reefs. These include coastal development and related terrestrial run-off and sewage outflow causing habitat destruction, nutrification, sedimentation and pollution; overharvesting of commercially valuable species; the introduction of foreign species; and the excessive emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses causing ocean acidification and warming (Jackson et al. 2001; Pandolfi et al. 2003; Hughes et al. 2007; De'ath et al. 2012). Of these anthropogenic disturbances, the rise of sea surface temperatures (IPCC 2021) is currently the biggest threat to the persistence of coral reefs because it is a global threat that causes an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of summer heatwaves (Oliver et al. 2019). The critical symbiosis between corals and their microbial photosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) often breaks down during these periods of unusually high temperature, causing a paling of the coral tissues due to a loss of the Symbiodiniaceae (called coral bleaching) (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999). Corals rely on their symbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae as the symbionts provide corals with most of their energy (Muscatine and Porter 1977; Yellowlees et al. 2008; Kopp et al. 2013), and they often die if the symbiosis cannot re-establish. The Symbiodiniaceae also accelerate calcification rates and thus the formation of the coral skeleton (Pearse and Muscatine 1971; Barnes and Chalker 1990) which functions as the reef's real estate providing a home to at least a third of all marine multicellular eukaryotes (Fisher et al. 2015).


Uzbek dance is famous for its ancient origin, centuries-old development, amazing variety of schools, types and genres. Karakalpak dance is a dance of the whole body, a dance of virtuoso leg movements, sophisticated patterns of hand movements, quivering body movements, complex ornamental hand movements, unusual, unusual movements of the shoulders and head.


The article is devoted to the analysis of health correcting technologies which are used in physical training. The paper is devoted to analysis of technologies used during physical training strengthening health. The regulation of an erect posture of the person concerns to number of the most actual biological and social pedagogical problems of the modernity. The special value is added works in range of a regulation of an erect posture and shaping of bearing of the person. In the special literature the data describing the organization of sports improving provisions during physical training of students with violations of bearing, presented fragmentary.


Religion and the Powers of the Common Life. Edited by Max L. Stackhouse with Peter J. Paris. God and Globalization, Vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 2000. xiii + 288 pp. $40.00 (cloth). I confess I approached the task of reviewing this volume with considerable anticipation, since the topic it addresses is both ambitious and significant. After all, many would argue that globalization is the reality that defines the new century, against which all the crises we confront, whether economic, cultural, political, or even religious, must be analyzed. Certainly the project begun with this volume is impressive in its scope: It represents an effort, sponsored by the Center for Theological Enquiry at Princeton, to find ways of understanding globalization from the perspective of theological ethics-ways which will both adequately describe and evaluate the many faces of the phenomenon but also prescribe ways of behavior in response to this new reality. Its general editor, Max Stackhouse, is aware that there have been other attempts "to find a faith-transcending, critical, secular base for universal human values and norms beyond religion" (p. 15), but he argues that all civilizations, including the current one, have "a religious core" (p. 25). The series begun with this volume seeks to articulate motifs in the Christian tradition which help us understand the new realities of globalization, and in the process lay the foundation for a "public theology" and "public ethic" which would command respect in the world crossroads where we all now live. Each of the subsequent essays has a different author, and each seems to have been written without direct reference to the others. Roland Robertson, a recently retired sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh, who has written widely on globalization, offers an optimistically titled analysis of "Globalization and the Future of `Traditional Religion."' He identifies the relativization brought about by closer contact with other cultures as the primary cause of twentieth century fundamentalism, and counters it with what he calls "glocalization," or the limiting of the global by the local. By the end of the essay, the optimism of its title has been diminished by a more sober warning about the possibilities under which traditional religion can continue to flourish. The chapter contributed by Korean-born Yersu Kim, entitled "Philosophy and the Prospects for Universal Peace," is in fact short on philosophy and longer on the search for commonly held values. Kim, who heads UNESCO's program to draft an "Ethics Charter for the Twenty-first Century," cites a laundry list of global challenges and describes the tentative steps the "international community" has made in the last decades to address them. Not surprisingly, this comes to fruition in the UNESCO Project. Using a methodology dependent on discourse ethics, that project seeks to identify universally held moral values-a "planetary macroethics" (p. 95) that can be affirmed by the global community. Interestingly for the purposes of this volume, 11 proposals from religious traditions" come fifth and last among the sources being studied to determine what (if any) universal values might be identified. While the four concluding chapters stand independently of each other, their relation to the project outlined by Stackhouse is clearer. …


The viscous flow of the supercooled liquid for a bulk amorphous Pd 40 Cu 30 Ni 10 P 20 alloy was examined as a function of temperature and applied stress. The flow rate increases linearly with increasing applied stress, but the viscosity is independent of stress. Thus, the viscous flow of the supercooled liquid occurs via the Newtonian flow mechanism. The viscosity at the temperature just before crystallization is as low as 8.3 ×10 5 Pa.s and the low viscosity reflects the high resistance of supercooled liquid against crystallization. The viscosity (η) measured by thermomechanical analysis is independent of applied stress and heating rate and can be expressed as a function of temperature by equation; η=9.34 ×10 -3 exp [4135/(T-447)] (Pa.s). The Pd-based amorphous alloy heated at a heating rate of 0.33 K/s up to 600 K can retain the supercooled liquid state with a low viscosity of about 10 8 Pa.s for 1 ks. The die-forging into a three-stage die with pitch circle diameters of 4, 5 and 6 mm and a module of 0.3 was made for 120 s at 610 K under a compressive stress of 10 kPa and a three-stage gear was formed. The shape and dimension of the gear agree with the inner size of the die within a scattering of ± 1%. The utilization of viscous flow in the supercooled liquid was found to be useful for secondary working of the bulk amorphous alloys which can produce a final product with near-net shape.


Abstract : The role of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is to provide joint forces access in the littoral. LCS is designed to be a fast, agile, and networked surface combatant. It will focus on three primary anti-access mission areas within Littoral Surface Warfare operations: prosecution of small boats, mine warfare, and littoral anti-submarine warfare. Its high speed and ability to operate at economical loiter speeds will enable fast and calculated responses to small boat threats, mine laying and quiet diesel submarines. LCS employment of networked sensors for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance in support of Special Operations Forces will directly enhance littoral mobility. Its shallow draft will allow easier excursion into shallower areas for both mine countermeasures and small boat prosecution. Using LCS against these asymmetric threats will enable Joint Commanders to concentrate multi-mission combatants on primary missions such as precision strike, battle group escort and theater air defense.


Basing on the principle of entropy increment on the molecule of earth atmosphere, the entropy increment of cosmos is approximately caculated, and as a result the using range of the principle of entropy increment is presented.After the analysing for property of cosmic self-gravitation system, the theory of heat death is refuted.


In the old collections of the Archaeological Museum in Cracow, Poland, there is a
 small group of medieval mace heads and flail striking heads of various forms. A part of
 them has been published by the author of this article, the rest is still waiting for
 publication. Here, artifacts of undetermined provenience are presented. We may only
 guess that they were discovered before the World War II in the Old Ruthenian areas of
 the modern Ukraine. They are discussed in conformity with the typology of medieval maces
 and East European flail striking heads elaborated more than a half century ago by
 Anatoliy Kirpichnikov. Presented specimens of old weapons are not full-value
 archaeological sources because they are devoid of the archaeological context. For this
 reason, this short text is only a catalogue supplementing the corpus of medieval mace
 heads and flail striking heads.