Refractory linings of waste incineration plants based on oxidation resistant SiC materials enable a long service life at suitable firing and operation conditions. Steam oxidation resistance of Si3N4-SiC, SiO2-SiC, SiAlON-SiC material at 1000°C was tested according to ASTM-C863 after 50c, 100h, 200h, 250h and300h respectively. The phase composition and microstructure before and after oxidation were analyzed by means of XRD and SEM. Results indicate that there is continuous increase of volume expansion and weight change on materials with the oxidation to the oxidation time. After 50h of oxidation, a small amount of cristobalite can be observed in these materials, which comes directly from the oxidation of SiC, Si2N2O and SiAlON or from the crystallization of glass phase. Oxidation weight gain occurs in the first 50 h, but volume expansion takes place after 50h . Compared with the three materials, SiO2-SiC material has a smaller weight change and volume expansion. Comparing the SEM these three materials, it is obvious that SiO2-SiC material has a better density after 300h. Based on the above results, conclusions can be reached that: the sample of SiO2-SiC has better oxidation resistance and is more suitable as lining material of waste incinerator.


This paper reviews the relationships between cluster size and firm performance-positive,negative and nonlinear relationships.Based on the previous research,it analyzes how to determine the optimal cluster size.


The classified return tree takes one kind the non-parameter recognition technology which based on the statistical theory, the computer realizes, has the good application prospect in individual credit appraisal domain. How does the article mainly discuss establishes individual credit status model using the classified return tree. The real diagnosis result indicated: This model may make the good progress to individual credit status.


Provision of quality housing and settlements is the basic right mandated by the Constitution. The enactment of Law No. 1 of 2011 on Housing and Settlements Area is the legal basis of housing maintenance and settlement areas in Indonesia. The concept of eco-settlement is a concept of ecologically developed from the concept of sustainable development. The concept harmonized the three pillars, namely social, economic, and ecological sustainability supported by established institution. Related to the concept of ecosettlement, the Law on Housing and Settlements Area accommodates several parameters in the concept, but some issues such as healthy and environmental friendly housing criteria, community education, community participation and institutional strengthening to be arranged in a more detailed regulations.


This study investigates the design and development of Ceramic candle filters from Ohiya clay and their performances to improve the physical quality of drinking water. The ceramic candle filters were produced from Ohiya clay, feldspar, silica and hardwood sawdust mix. The optimal mixing ratio for clay, feldspar and silica in wt% was obtained as 36:30:12 at a firing temperature of 900oC. However, due to the low porosity value obtained, 22wt. % hardwood dust was added which was the most efficient and ideal mix. The water pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended solids (TSS) of water sample after filtration were analyzed. In relation with filtration efficiency, 78.3% and 79.2% for the total dissolved solid (TDS) and total suspended solid (TSS) respectively were obtained. The water pH level obtained after filtration was 7.10. The results reveal the ability of the ceramic candle filters made from Ohiya clay as a viable water treatment alternative.


Every major park, especially one that features a nature preserve, strives to document its biological resources, at least its flowering plants, mammals and birds, and if it has the money and mandate as well as the personnel, it may include reptiles, amphibians, and insects such butterflies and dragonflies. Only the luckiest nature preserves ever see their ''cryptogams,'' the fungi, mosses and lichens, listed in a systematic way. Urban parks, those in or close to population centers, are especially keen to create inventories because they are so vulnerable to impacts from overuse, pollution and pressures on their very existence. The managers want to know what's there, what is rare and what is vulnerable. White Rocks Nature Preserve, within the city boundaries of Boulder, Colorado, is such a park. With Erin Tripp's book, we not only have a carefully executed inventory of the lichens, a neglected but important segment of the biodiversity, but we also have an accessible field guide to carry in the Preserve to help us recognize them. The book illustrates every lichen discovered in Erin Tripp's inventory, 56 in all, and it provides descriptions and keys for their identification. It is a field-book in size and format with a full page photograph on the left and comments on morphology, chemistry, distribution, habitat and pertinent literature on the right-hand page. The photos were all taken in the field at White Rocks and mostly are at close range, perhaps a blown-up and cropped portion of a larger photo. Most are excellent and in some cases illustrate a species for which there are no other color pictures in existence (for example, the rare and newly reported Rinodina venostana). Some, however, could be sharper and a few (e.g., Lichinella stipatula and Enchylium tenax) do not have enough detail to be helpful. The photos of Montanelia disjuncta and M. tominii unfortunately do not show the characteristic soralia, although both species are normally sorediate, perhaps not abundantly so at White Rocks. Tripp's notes are informative but do not provide complete descriptions. They only mention what the author believed would help distinguish the species from others, either at White Rocks or elsewhere. They are written in an informal, chatty style, often with funny personal comments and asides. The book is clearly written with the casual naturalist in mind, one who has the interest and perseverance to flip through the volume comparing pictures and even using the keys. A glossary is provided to define many technical terms, but not all (e.g., placodioid, thallinocarp). I think some of the technical terms could have been avoided (e.g., why not ''colorless one-celled spores'' rather than ''hyaline simple spores?'') The factual material is reliable throughout the book, which makes the occasional lapse all the more noticeable. For example, Peltula doesn't have perithecia as stated on page 99, and the stable Kþ purple reaction in the grey thallus cortex of Caloplaca pratensis is due to an insoluble pigment, not to an anthraquinone like the yellow pigments in other species of Caloplaca that give soluble and dissipating Kþ deep purple reactions. The names of the lichens basically follow Esslinger's 2015 version of the North American checklist, but some recent generic splits are not


BACKGROUND Glenohumeral instability is a known complication of congenital brachial plexus palsy. In certain cases, muscle imbalance leads to posterior displacement of the head of the humerus on the cartilaginous glenoid, resulting in glenoid dysplasia and varying degrees of joint subluxation. Studies using ultrasonography have demonstrated that these anatomical changes occur in the early months of life and can be reversed with prompt treatment. However, the technical challenge of obtaining standard ultrasonography in a child a few weeks old is considerable. The subject is small, mobile and unable to sit unsupported. The shoulder that is being examined must be fully exposed with the upper limb free to move in order to obtain dynamic imaging. We had previously tried several methods of supporting the baby in order to facilitate the examination to no avail until it occurred to us to use a simple proprietary seating aid.


Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) has been used to form many materials. SHS generally involves mixing reactants together (e.g., metal powders) and igniting the mixture such that a combustion (deflagration) wave passes though the mixture. The imposition of an electric field (AC or DC) across SHS reactants has been shown to have a marked effect on the dynamics of wave propagation and on the nature, composition, and homogeneity of the product . The use of an electric field with SHS has been termed "field-assisted SHS". Combustion wave velocities and temperatures are directly affected by the field, which is typically perpendicular to the average wave velocity. The degree of activation by the field (e.g., combustion rate) is related to the current density distribution within the sample, and is therefore related to the temperature-dependent spatial distribution of the effective electrical conductivity of reactants and products. Furthermore, the field can influence other important SHS-related phenomena including capillary flow, mass-transport in porous media, and Marangoni flows. These phenomena are influenced by gravity in conventional SHS processes (i.e., without electric fields). As a result the influence of the field on SHS under reduced gravity is expected to be different than under normal gravity. It is also known that heat loss rates from samples, which can depend significantly on gravity, can influence final products in SHS. This research program is focused on studying field-assisted SHS under reduced gravity conditions. The broad objective of this research program is to understand the role of an electric field in SHS reactions under conditions where gravity-related effects are suppressed. The research will allow increased understanding of fundamental aspects of field-assisted SHS processes as well as synthesis of materials that cannot be formed in normal gravity.


This paper proposes a novel input-series output-parallel (ISOP) current-fed modular dual-active-bridge (CF-MDAB) dc-dc converter for medium-voltage dc (MVDC) system application. The proposed converter exhibits favorite features of DAB converter such as galvanic isolation, soft-switching condition and small passive components. Compared to ISOP DAB converter, the proposed topology has direct dc current controllability, thus can achieve dc circuit breaking and fault ride-through operation. The operating principle is described, and the corresponding control system is developed to realize the power flow and balancing control. A case study of 500 kW, 20 kHz ISOP CF-MDAB is simulated for validation and downscaled experimental results will be given in full paper.


Distributed object based intrusion tolerant system (ITDOS) has become one of the attractive issues on intrusion tolerance. There havebeen many significant researches on the model of a heterogeneous intrusion tolerant distributed object system, but few of them focus on distributedobject recovery strategy. This paper presents a model of ITDOS based on middleware, CORBA, which is based on the researches of the SITARmodel, and presents a recovery strategy for ITDOS in this model. The objects, recovered by the recovery strategy, can resist the attack of the last tosome extent. It is validated by experiment that the strategy correctly performs forward recovery.


Charles Sampford and Mary Ajamian consider how we can remain democratic in extreme times. And equestrian Mark Phillips is in Melbourne for Equitana. With live music from Liv Hally


Abstract The WTO concluded in 2012 that subsidized aeronautical research and development (R&D) gave Boeing a head start in product development that caused serious prejudice to the interests of Airbus but later, in 2019, it could not decide how long that head start had lasted. Meanwhile, the WTO concluded in 2018 that launch aid for Airbus aircraft led to innovations that also improved later aircraft models, thereby contributing to serious prejudice to the interests of Boeing. Both conclusions relied on a causation analysis that considered the effects of technological innovation, which makes subsidies used for R&D particularly vulnerable to challenge. This novel analysis may be too broad for the actionable subsidy disciplines of the SCM Agreement.


Currently many family researchers view parenthood as a social construct (Thurer, 1994; Glenn, 1994; Phoenix, Woollett and Lloyd, 1991). Social construction refers to the process by which parenthood (mothering and fathering) is culturally definedwithin social, economic, and historical contexts (Apple and Golden, 1997). This construction process is affected by the environmental and social contexts in which we live and varies over time and across cohorts. According to social construction theory individuals receive cultural messages regarding the roles they should assume and how these roles might be fulfilled. These messages form discourses, which are ways of representing phenomena in a visual, oral, or written form (Lupton and Barclay, 1997). Social construction theory argues that the discourses represented in a society help construct the manner in which its members will think about and respond to a phenomenon. Thus, the meaning that people give to a particular phenomenon, in this case motherhood and fatherhood, is dependent upon the discourses portrayed within the culture. Parenting is a topic commonly discussed in the media particularly magazines, books, and television. Parents use these resources to shape their image of what a "good parent is, how a mother or father should behave, and how a "goodn child behaves. They construct an image of mothering and fathering through these media portrayals. Parenting magazines are becoming an increasingly popular source for parents to receive advice and information. These magazines are readily available and commonly line an entire shelf in bookstores. Magazines have advantages over books as they are easy to read and they are inexpensive as well as concise (Luke, 1994). Parents often receive subscriptions from family members or friends and rely on the magazines for reassurance that they are parenting the "right" way.


Automatic parsing of video structure is one of the key techniques for video understanding and retrieval. In this paper, we propose a computable film structure model: the nine-plot model, which parses a film into three hierarchical semantic levels: act, plot and scene. The model has been motivated by "Hollywood mode" and generic narrative structure of the story. In addition, a set of modeling methods for film-making rules based on scene classification and segmentation are proposed. The experimental results on seven full-length Hollywood movies demonstrate the effectiveness of the model.


Models in many disciplines are specified by algebraic equations. In filter engineering, they are always specified by differential equations (DEs), and in this chapter we develop the necessary background to enable us to use DEs as models. For each DE we will see that there is a unique transition matrix, and it is through the transition matrix that the DE is actually implemented. Our discussion is thus about DEs and their transition matrices, and how such matrices are derived.


1 Introduction: Citizenship, participation and democracy in an era of crisis Thomas Poguntke, Sigrid Rossteutscher, Rudiger Schmitt-Beck and Sonja Zmerli PART 1 Citizenship and perceptions of system performance 2 Democratic institutions and citizen beliefs about democracy: How do they interact? Max Kaase 3 What's gone wrong with democracy, or with theories explaining why it has? Jacques Thomassen 4 When representation fails: Behavioural reactions to perceived failure of political representation in France and Germany Oscar W. Gabriel 5. Mass media and political trust in Europe: Testing for 'rainmaker' effects Sonja Zmerli, Kenneth Newton and Rudiger Schmitt-Beck 6 The dynamics of good citizenship norms M. Kent Kennings PART II Inequality: socialization and supply-side perspectives 7 Early conditions of political participation and civic integration of immigrant-children Hartmut Esser 8 Political socialization and inequality: The role of primary schools Simone Abendschon and Sigrid Rossteutscher 9 Much ado about something? Demand- and supply-side participation in a dysfunctional democratic market William A. Maloney 10 Living in different worlds? Left-wing parties and trade unions Thomas Poguntke PART III The democratic impact of participatory innovations 11 Is digitally networked participation a form of political participation? Yannis Theocharis 12 Citizen engagement and acting in the interest of citizens in the EU Beate Kohler-Koch 13 Representative vs. direct democracy in Germany: A contribution to an ongoing debate Franz Urban Pappi 14 Democratic citizenship under challenge Thomas Poguntke, Sigrid Rossteutscher, Rudiger Schmitt-Beck and Sonja Zmerli


The catalytic behavior of hydrotalcite-like catalysts for the synthesis of dipropyl carbonates(DPC) by the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate(DMC) with propanol was investigated.The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),FT-IR spectroscopy,and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms(BET).Effects of the molar ratio of Mg to Al,calcinatory temperature,catalyst dosage and reaction conditions on the catalytic activity were investigated in detail and the optimized reaction condition was found.With the conditions of the molar ratio of Mg to Al 2∶1,the calcinatory temperature 500 ℃,the reaction temperature 90 ℃,the reaction time 5 h,molar ratio of DMC to propanol 1∶3 and catalyst content 1%,the yield of DPC 46.87% was achieved.


Beethoven was short at 5 feet 6 inches (1.65 m) tall, the same height as Newton and Napoleon, and stocky, and, with his large head and severely scarred and reddened face, undoubtedly could look ugly (hiisslich). He was remarkably singleminded, and, as well as being eccentric, his behaviour could show what Slaterl called "the aggressiveness of combativeness" when he related the story of Beethoven thrusting himself forward along a garden path through a crowd of courtiers, so that even the Emperor, Francis I1 (1768-1835), had to step out of the way, while murmuring, "There have to be such people!" It was to the same royal patron that Beethoven once wrote a letter that cost him his salary at court. He wrote:


There is a growing interest in passenger/cargo ships and this article describes what shipboard life is like for the passenger travelling aboard such a vessel.


For continuous-time systems the robust stability problem according to which coefficients of a characteristic polynomial vary in a diamond can be considered as a dual problem to Kharitonov's (1978, 1979) theorem on interval polynomials. The authors study the problem of the robust-stabilization of such a family of diamond polynomials. It is shown that to stabilize a family of polynomials whose coefficients of numerator and denominator lie in two diamonds is equivalent to stabilizing simultaneously sixty-four one-dimensional edges of the diamond polynomials. The result obtained is sufficient and necessary. When the variation of the coefficients is limited to denominator (or numerator) the number of edges to be checked will reduce to eight.<<ETX>>


&NA; Rationale: Small airways are the primary site of pathologic changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the major smoking‐induced lung disorder. Objectives: On the basis of the concept of proximal‐distal patterning that determines regional specialization of the airway epithelium during lung development, we hypothesized that a similar program operates in the adult human lung being altered by smoking, leading to decreased regional identity of the small airway epithelium (SAE). Methods: The proximal and distal airway signatures were identified by comparing the transcriptomes of large and small airway epithelium samples obtained by bronchoscopy from healthy nonsmokers. The expression of these signatures was evaluated in the SAE of healthy smokers and smokers with COPD compared with that of healthy nonsmokers. The capacity of airway basal stem cells (BCs) to maintain region‐associated phenotypes was evaluated using the air‐liquid interface model. Measurements and Main Results: The distal and proximal airway signatures, containing 134 and 233 genes, respectively, were identified. These signatures included known developmental regulators of airway patterning, as well as novel regulators such as epidermal growth factor receptor, which was associated with the proximal airway phenotype. In the SAE of smokers with COPD, there was a dramatic smoking‐dependent loss of the regional transcriptome identity with concomitant proximalization. This repatterning phenotype was reproduced by stimulating SAE BCs with epidermal growth factor, which was up‐regulated in the SAE of smokers, during differentiation of SAE BCs in vitro. Conclusions: Smoking‐induced global distal‐to‐proximal reprogramming of the SAE represents a novel pathologic feature of COPD and is mediated by exaggerated epidermal growth factor/epidermal growth factor receptor signaling in SAE BCs.


The study of hormone status changing was conducted in the patients with atherosclerotic first manifestations of chronic brain ischemia. As a result it was established the hypo- function of thyroid glands in the male-patients under 40 years and female-patients at the age of 41-55, low figures of cortisole in the male-patients with five-year period of a disease, hypofunction of genital glands with compensatory function of hypophysis in the male-patients under 40 years and in the any age female-patients with different period of a disease. The changes of hormone profile have been received and can be used as the laboratory criteria in the case of making of chronic brain ischemia diagnosis.


A Healthcare information system (HIS) is a complex information system in nature that deal with early disease detection and therapeutic. However, the development of these systems is quite complex in a collocated environment. Therefore, Healthcare organizations are outsourcing their projects to a globally distributed environment. Global software development has gained many intentions due to its economic and strategic effects on the development of the project. Though there are several benefits of outsourcing projects GHIS also poses several challenges particularly pertaining to the HIS development process. Several Process improvement techniques and standards have been developed to assist organizations in their effective management of the development process. For example, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is widely accepted by organizations for their process assessment and improvement. Similarly, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) i.e., ISO 9000 used for the assessment of the quality of the developed system. The deployment of HIS process improvement in the globally distributed environment requires adequate resources and time. Though working in a distributed environment makes communication and collaboration difficult and developing the HIS process improvement program is much pronounced. HIS teams face difficulties establishing relationship among other members, eliminating the temporal and cultural boundaries become significant. The fundamental objective of this research work is to develop a Software Requirement Engineering Healthcare Implementation Maturity Model (SRE-HIMM) that will assist healthcare organizations to effectively evaluate and implement HIS development process. The model was developed based on the systematic literature review (SLR) approach and Empirical results. The 53 primary studies were extracted using the SLR approach and CSFs, CBs, and best practices were identified form the extracted primary studies. The identified success factors and barriers were further ranked using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach. Furthermore, I have adopted the critical success factors (CSFs) and critical barriers (CBs) instead of PAs and available Maturity models i.e., CMMI for the development of (SRE-HIMM). The identified CSFs and CBs were classified into five maturity levels based on the CMMI, IMM, and SOVRM. The empirical investigation was conducted HIS experts to evaluate the findings of SLR. Further, a case study


Background/Aims
 SERENA is an ongoing, non-interventional study involving ∼400 European sites with an observation period of ≤ 5 years to evaluate retention, effectiveness, safety/tolerability and quality of life with secukinumab (SEC) in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the real world. We present effectiveness and safety data through 1 year in the 577 PsA and 507 AS patients enrolled, of which 533 PsA and 461 AS patients comprised the target study population (fulfilling all eligibility criteria).
 Methods
 Patients (aged ≥18 years) with active PsA or AS who were treated for at least 16 weeks with SEC were enrolled. Effectiveness assessments included 78 tender joint count/76 swollen joint count, PGA, total pain (VAS, 0-100 mm), presence of enthesitis/dactylitis and PASI75/90/100 in patients with PsA, and BASDAI, PtGA, C-reactive protein, ASDAS and total spinal pain in patients with AS.
 Results
 Mean disease duration from diagnosis to enrolment was 8.6 and 9.8 years for PsA and AS patients. Patients received SEC for a mean duration of 1 year prior to enrolment (range: 0.90-1.00). In total, 64.7% (N = 533) of PsA and 60.7% (N = 461) of AS patients received other biologic drugs prior to SEC treatment, with 59.7% and 52.7% of PsA and AS patients receiving at least two different biologic drugs. Most patients pre-treated with biologics discontinued biologic treatment due to lack of efficacy (88.0% PsA; 86.8% AS). Retention rates for SEC after 1 year were 85.9% and 86.5% in PsA and AS patients. Responses across all effectiveness assessments in both cohorts were maintained or improved after 1 year of observation (Table 1). No new or unexpected safety signals were reported. P186 Table 1:Effectiveness outcomes in patients with PsA or AS at enrolment and Year 1Characteristic, mean±SD (M), unless otherwise specifiedPsA (N = 533)PsA (N = 533)AS (N = 461)AS (N = 461)EnrolmentYear 1EnrolmentYear 1Total pain (VAS 0-100 mm)31.80±24.28a (432)30.77±24.57a (322)34.68±24.23b (350)34.16±24.49b (228)Presence of tender or swollen joint, n/M (%)280/520 (53.8%)158/373 (42.4%)--Tender joint count, mean [min-max] (m)6.5 [0-68] (203)6.8 [0-78] (140)--Swollen joint count, mean [min-max] (m)3.3 [0-38] (203)2.8 [0-23] (140)--Presence of dactylitis, n/M (%)33/516 (6.4%)13/370 (3.5%)--Enthesitis index0.4±1.0c (276)c0.3±0.9c (243)c0.7±1.70d (246)0.6±1.7d (170)HAQ-DI0.83±0.70 (398)0.83±0.72 (268)--BASDAI--3.20±2.28 (436)3.24±2.36 (270)ASDAS-CRP--2.25±0.94 (229)2.27±0.97 (173)hsCRP, mg/L--8.53±13.42 (285)8.10±14.72 (218)PtGA (NRS) (VAS 0-10 cm)--4.18±2.32 (366)4.07±2.37 (246)aTotal pain;bTotal back pain;cLeeds enthesitis index;dMaastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score. AS, ankylosing spondylitis; ASDAS-CRP, Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein; BASDAI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; HAQ-DI, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index; hsCRP, high sensitivity C-reactive protein; m, number of patients with detailed assessments of tender or swollen joints; M, number of patients with evaluation; n, number of patients with a positive response; N, number of patients in the study population; NRS, numeric rating scale; PsA, psoriatic arthritis; PtGA, Patient's Global Assessment; SD, standard deviation; VAS, visual analogue scale.
 Conclusion
 Patients in SERENA had long-standing disease with more than half previously treated with biologics, most of whom had discontinued treatment due to lack of efficacy. SEC showed sustained effectiveness, a high retention rate and favourable safety profile in PsA and AS patients in the real world over 1 year of observation. Incomplete data due to lack of rigorous monitoring (an intrinsic weakness of observational studies) must be considered when interpreting real-world findings.
 Disclosure
 K. Gaffney: Grants/research support; Research grants, consultancy fees and/or speaker fees from AbbVie, Celgene, Lilly, Pfizer, Gilead, MSD, Novartis and UCB. N. Gullick: Grants/research support; Research support, consultancy fees and/or speakers fees from AbbVie, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Izana, Janssen, Novartis, UCB. U. Kiltz: Grants/research support; Research grants, support and/or consultancy fees from AbbVie, Biocad, Biogen, Chugai, Eli Lilly, Grünenthal, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and UCB. P. Sfikakis: Grants/research support; Research grants, support and consultancy fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis and Pfizer. A. Theodoridou: Honoraria; Consultancy fees from UCB, Amgen, Novartis. J. Brandt-Jürgens: Honoraria; Consultancy fees and speaker honoraria from AbbVie, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Lilly, MSD, UCB, BMS, Janssen and Medac. E. Lespessailles: Honoraria; Received speaker and consultant fees from Amgen, Expanscience, Lilly and MSD, and research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, Lilly, MSD and UCB. C. Perella: Other; Novartis employee. E. Pournara: Shareholder/stock ownership; Novartis shareholder. Other; Novartis employee. B. Schulz: Other; Novartis employee. J. Veit: Other; Novartis employee.


Teacher is professional educator having very strategic role-playing in preparing pre-eminemt generation at period to come, In the activity, teacher carry out education program start from preparing, design, execute, evaluate and improve; repair instruction in school.


A solar system library has been developed for use on programmable hand-held calculators. The components in this library include components for determining system performance and economics and components for proper selection of heat exchangers and for proper sizing of ducts and blowers in air systems. Brief descriptions of these programs are presented.


Woody decides to go surfing at the beach but Meany Ranger is determined to spoil his day. Can Woody teach Meany Ranger how to have fun?


After about a 20-year hiatus, I decided to start to play guitar again. I'm not sure if it is because of the new Beatles Rock Band game my son has for his Wii, out of boredom, or to offset the deafening ambient noise levels in my house. Both of my children are learning musical instruments; my son has a new trumpet, which prompted my daughter to bring home a flute or recorder (or whatever is called these days). Subconsciously, like any good parent, I think I wanted to inflict the same kind of ear-splitting torture on them that they put me through. The problem for me and my guitar is that if you create a Venn diagram of the songs I like, the songs I can actually play, and the songs that I can almost sing, the middle of the diagram consists of five songs total in the English language (and three are by Del Amitri). But like Carl Lewis singing the national anthem, I've never let minor details such as a complete lack of musical talent stop me. My wife recently postponed the kitchen remodel in favor of a soundproof room in the basement.

I like to learn new things. Although, or possibly because, I spend a great deal of my time teaching, it is easy to forget how daunting learning can be. Teaching procedural skills to fellows and residents may be more difficult than guitar. Academic interventional radiology is more akin to driving school—at some point, you have to let the kid take the wheel, and there is no blueprint on when and how to do this. It can be scary and mistakes are bound to be made. There were no driving instructors where I grew up. Therefore, I received lessons from my dad. Like most fathers and men in general, he approached driver's education like a foreman overseeing a group of workers who can't speak English. His commands generate puzzled looks punctuated by louder commands followed by vacant expressions. On an quiet abandoned road near a beach on the west side of Kauai, the only audible sounds during our lessons were seagulls and the muffled screams of profanity coming from my father in the suicide seat of his 1976 baby blue Cutlass Supreme.

Teaching procedural-based catheter skills is becoming increasingly difficult in the current medicolegal climate of Chicago. I'm convinced some patients and many lawyers view any unforeseen event as a potential winning lottery ticket. I was involved in a particularly painful malpractice case that was recently settled. My entire involvement consisted of interpreting a follow-up abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan on a Saturday for a woman who had recently undergone gastric bypass surgery. It showed the usual postoperative findings, which hadn't changed from the CT done 3 days earlier. The patient went home, recovered, and began eating. Unfortunately, 6 weeks later, she got sick again and returned to the emergency room with abdominal pain. She then left after 45 minutes, against medical advice and prior to being seen by a physician, and went home. She was called at home and urged to return to the hospital. She expired from a ruptured abdominal abscess at home the next day and a lawsuit was filed.

The crux of the malpractice case was my interpretation of her CT done 6 weeks earlier. You'll have to take my word that it did not show an abscess. Of course, in our wonderful legal system, it is not particularly difficult to find some medical "expert" who will pretty much say anything a plaintiff's attorney wants. The plaintiff's radiology expert claimed that there was a "developing abscess" that I had failed to diagnose, which caused the patient's tragic demise. I spent hours reviewing medical records from all aspects of this case, which are still on the floor in my office. When stacked up, they are nearly 3 feet high and easily weigh over 20 pounds. During my deposition, I was asked about my failure to diagnose the abscess…over and over and over again.

During the plaintiff's expert's deposition, it was quickly apparent that he was no expert. I assumed he was going to point to a random area of the upper abdomen and call it a "developing abscess." As it turns out, he didn't even understand the anatomy of a post–gastric bypass patient. He identified the excluded stomach, a normal finding, as an abscess. He said he had never heard of the term "excluded stomach." As my first foray into medical litigation, I was amazed. Who goes to a deposition as an expert radiologist and doesn't even know the anatomy of the patient?

I commented to my attorney that this guy should be suspended by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Funny thing was that my attorney called the ACR on a whim and discovered that the expert actually had been suspended by the ACR. What are the odds of that? He had committed "ethical violations during malpractice testimony." I thought that this discovery and the time course of the patient's illness pretty much sealed the deal in my favor. I thought wrong. My lawyer explained to me that the facts were more or less immaterial and I had to convince the jury that I was correct and the plaintiff's expert was wrong. It wasn't at all clear to me how to do that. As far as I could tell, this would be akin to holding up a hieroglyphic symbol in front of a jury that has no background in the language and having two "experts" argue about what the scribble really meant. Who were they supposed to believe? Moreover, in this case, the patient did ultimately have an abdominal abscess. Who would you believe under those circumstances?

In malpractice proceedings, it seems like the physician is pretty much guilty unless proven innocent. Ultimately, over 5 years after the case was filed, and after hours of depositions and case reviews, it was settled out of court on the eve of the trial date and I was (thankfully) dismissed from the suit. Perhaps the 1000 times I said that the scan failed to show an abscess was ultimately convincing enough. I don't know. I do know that it was a horrible experience, a tragic case, and I felt worst of all for the patient's family. No one really "wins" in these things.

I think one of the problems we have with malpractice litigation is that as physicians, we're trained to seek the truth. In a lawsuit, the truth is secondary to who can sell a story better. I'm not sure what this all means except that saying we need health care reform without tort reform is more laughable than my guitar skills.


Water discharge data for the 1993 water year for Arizona consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, water quality of lakes and reservoirs; water levels of observation wells; and quality of ground water. The report contains discharge records for 174 gaging stations, annual peaks for 26 crest-stage partial-record stations, and discharge measurements at 5 miscellaneous sites; contents only records for 8 lakes and reservoirs; stage and contents for 1 lake; elevation only for 1 streamflow station; 20 supplementary records, included with gaging-station records, consisting of monthend or monthly stage, contents, and evaporation of lakes and reservoirs, diversions, and return flows; water-quality records for 29 continuous-record stations and 4 miscellaneous sites; water levels for 1,068 observation wells; and water-quality data for water from 241 wells.


Seedbank studies often suffer from major methodological inadequacies such as absence of appropriate statistical data analysis and low sampling intensity. Multivariate analysis and computer mapping are innovative ways to treat seedbank data. Computer contour mapping was used to visualize spatial patterns of a population of common lambsquarters at three intervals during a growing season. At one site, high spring seed density of 600 000 seed m-2 was decreased to 18.3% of its original size by July, while at another site, low spring seedbank of common lambsquarters of 25 000 seed m-2 increased to 40 000 seed m-2 by autumn. Seedbank studies usually report results on total seed density or on densities of the most abundant species because of difficulties in analyzing large species matrices using parametric statistics. Multivariate analysis and specifically canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) are well suited for seedbank populations. The seedbanks of six agricultural habitats were demonstrated to be floristically different based on the analysis of the relative abundance of weed species in each site using CDA. Organic soils either under grassland or cultivated had significantly larger total seedbanks than mineral soils. If seedbanks are to be used in predictive population models, quantitative data that are reliable, rapidly obtained with limited resources, and logistically feasible for large sampling protocols are needed. Image analysis may be a potential rapid technique for weed seed recognition of washed soil samples.


Regression analysis is a versatile and powerful statistical tool for describing relations among variables. An example is the development of water production functions that relate water applied or evapotranspiration to crop yield. The widespread use of regression is enhanced by availability of regression software packages on most computers. However, while most researchers are now familiar with the output from such programs and its interpretation, few are familiar with the basic regression theory necessary to perform analyses not specifically included in the program's command statements. This article describes how statistical tests of hypothesis are performed in regression, with an example showing how standard software can be used to test the equality of water production functions.


WHAT FACTORS CULTIVATE INNOVATION WITHIN THE MBA: STUDYING THREE EXAMPLES OF CURRICULAR INNOVATION John David Schramm, II Blake Alan Naughton This research explores the phenomenon of peerless curricular innovation, defined as an innovative course that exists at a top-50 business school, but has not been directly replicated by peer schools. These outliers achieve a demonstrated impact on their intended audience, and result from multiple collaborators not simply a single course created by an individual professor. In exploring this phenomenon, the primary research question focuses on what precipitating factors within a school of business nurture this type of peerless curricular innovation? What characteristics of a business school provide for the launch, evolution, and sustenance of innovation over time? Why do these programs thrive? This research reviews relevant literature from management education and innovation theory and highlights where these literatures overlap. Then, two specific qualitative case studies of peerless innovation are presented from two schools at different places within the rankings, from different geographic locations, and serving distinctly different populations of full-time MBA students. From these two


Urban areas are exposed to many risks from natural sources. Even if these circumstances occur entirely depending on natural events, correspondent consequences and damages that could derive are also connected to anthropic factors. Urban structure, due to its aptitude to influence how people "use" the city, drives human risk exposure in built environment. Working on the city related network to account for it is gaining momentum, leading the quest for a renewed modeling approach to the city. Therefore, it will be proposed a particular network based approach to analyze risk scenarios, appealing to the concept of urban resilience as a net property. Even though it holds in urban contexts independently from the type of calamitous event that can occur, it will be deepened with particular reference to urban flood risk.


Incidental thyroid nodules are commonly found during routine neck examination. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) followed by cytological examination is currently considered as the most reliable method for evaluation of thyroid nodules. However, 10–40% of FNA results are inconclusive, and are reported as indeterminate or suspicious. Approximately 20% of indeterminate or suspicious nodules are malignant. Therefore, there has been an increasing trend in use of molecular markers as an adjunctive measure for more accurate preoperative diagnosis of indeterminate or suspicious nodules. Molecular markers can be used alone or as a part of molecular panels. Although some investigations revealed promising findings regarding the potential use of molecular markers in the management of thyroid nodules, their true impact on management of patients with indeterminate nodules is still unclear.


Practical teaching is the key point of Vocational education. The application of Computers' Limitating skill will influeme traditional teaching idea and teaching mode.


The invention relates to a sleep monitoring method based on wearable equipment and a sleep monitoring system based on wearable equipment, and the sleep monitoring method and the sleep monitoring system are applied to the wearable equipment. The sleep monitoring system comprises a confirmation unit, a start unit and a turn-off unit, wherein the confirmation unit is used for confirming that the motion amplitude of a user wearing the wearable equipment is less than or equal to a preset first threshold; the start unit is used for starting up a heart rate detection function, judging whether sleep of the user is deep sleep or not; the turn-off unit is used for turning off the heart rate monitoring function if the sleep of the user is deep sleep. Consequently, the sleep monitoring method based on the wearable equipment and the sleep monitoring system based on the wearable equipment have the advantages that action detection and heart rate monitoring are combined so as to be applied to sleep monitoring, so that not only can judgment accuracy be improved, but also electrical energy is greatly saved, and the user experience level of the product is improved.


In order to realize sharing and collaboration of spatial data and spatial analysis models, typical characteristics of cloud GIS are described. As a good solution of cloud GIS, ArcGIS server is introduced. On the basic, function structure of spatial decision support system based on ArcGIS Cloud (ACSDSS) is designed. Then, several key issues are studied, including publishing spatial data and analysis models, service query, ontology construction, services optimal-selection, the procedure of spatial data and models composition. It provides theoretical support for the realization of efficient and intelligent Cloud Spatial Decision Support System.


(Time delay estimation for equal shape signals) An original method in order to estimate the time delay between two equal shape signals is presented. This method combined with the classical averaging of time-locked measurements, makes it possible to extract a deterministic signal from a random noise.


Single-crystal thin-film transistors on nonrefractory materials such as glass can be realized if monocrystalline islands of sufficient sizes can be grown at a predetermined position. By artificially controlling the super-lateral growth phenomenon observed in excimer-laser crystallization, this could be achieved. In this letter, we present such a method in which the silicon filling of a very small indentation fabricated in the substrate will act as a seed for lateral growth of large grains. When the melt is deep in these indentations, lateral growth is preceded by a vertical growth phase during which grains become occluded, so that a high yield of monocrystalline islands is obtained.


A serially concatenated space-time encoder is proposed that can utilize the high capacities available for large-dimensional multiple-transmitter, multiple-receiver wireless systems under fading conditions. For sufficiently long block lengths, it satisfies the code state complexity lower bounds and the rank criterion required for maximal diversity. A 3-stage iterative decoding structure, treating the modulator and channel stages as an additional encoder in serial concatenation, is presented. Its decoding complexity is non-exponential in the number of antennas or the transmission bit rate and it also provides a performance gain compared to the traditional, 2-stage exponential-complexity decoding.


With the deployment of 5G networks, standards organizations have started working on the design phase for 6G networks. 6G networks will be immensely complex, requiring more deployment time, cost, and management efforts. On the other hand, mobile network operators demand these networks to be intelligent, self-organizing, and cost-effective to reduce operating expenses (OPEX). Machine learning (ML), a branch of artificial intelligence (AI), is the answer to many of these challenges by providing pragmatic solutions, which can entirely change the future of wireless network technologies. By using some case study examples, we briefly examine the most compelling problems, particularly at the physical layer (PHY) and link layer in cellular networks, where ML can bring significant gains. We also review standardization activities in relation to the use of ML in wireless networks and a future timeline on the readiness of standardization bodies to adapt to these changes. Finally, we highlight major issues in ML use in wireless technology, and provide potential directions to mitigate some of them in 6G wireless networks.


Shows a montage featuring photographs of two women talking with speech bubbles. Below is a cartoon strip continuing the story with a happy ending, and referring to the actress Joan Bennett who uses Lux toilet soap.
Extended Title - From "The Lux Book; knitting for 1937", back cover.
Quantity: 1 colour photo-mechanical print(s).
Physical Description: Photolithograph 280 x 198 mm.
Provenance: Donated by Les Cleveland, Wellington, in 1998.


A recently completed series of tests on TEPCO's UHV transmission line aimed to measure the propagation of lightning surges, verify the computer program used to model transient phenomena and measure the voltage at which corona occurs.


Laser-induced Chemical Vapor Deposition (LCVD) is an emerging technique in freeform fabrication of high aspect ratio microstructures with many practical applications. The LCVD process is kinetically limited at low temperatures and pressure. The growth rate rises exponentially with temperature and becomes mass transport limited beyond a certain threshold. While the surface temperature drives the deposition rate of a heterogeneous pyrolytic reaction, the rate obtained depends on the reaction activation energy and the ability of the precursor reactants and by-products to transport to and from the surface. To achieve precise control of the thermal deposition near the focus of a laser beam, a mathematical model for 3-D LCVD is developed taking into account both kinetically limited and mass transport limited reactions. The model describes heat transport in the substrate and deposit as well as the gas-phase mass transport and temperature in the reaction zone in order to determine growth rate. A finite difference method is developed for solving the governing equations and an iterative algorithm is presented for simulating the process. The applicability of the model is demonstrated by growing a rod from silicon deposited on a graphite substrate.


Associate Justice William O. Douglas, ardent mountain climber, libertarian and judicial activist, flatly asserted in June 1972: "We are currently in the throes of another national seizure of paranoia, resembling the hysteria which surrounded the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Palmer Raids and the McCarthy era. Those who register dissent or who petition their governments for redress are subjected to scrutiny by grand juries, by the F.B.I., and even by the military. Their associates are interrogated. Their homes are bugged and their telephones wiretapped." To Douglas, then, "We have as much or more to fear from the erosion of our sense of privacy and independence by ... Government as we do from the likelihood that fomenters of domestic upheaval will modify our form of governing."1 The challenge is clear. Demands for order and security are threatening to snuff out individual freedom in the bicentennial decade of that freedom. Not everyone would agree with Douglas that we are facing the kind of pervasive and deadly threat to our liberties that faced Americans in the eras of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Palmer Raids, and Joseph McCarthy. Those were periods of severe external threats, real or perceived, to American national security. But even in the present context of reduced international tensions, there are some repressive straws in the winds. The most visible one today relates to freedom of the press and whether newsmen's sources of information are to be protected. But then there have always been straws in the winds. Perhaps they have not been found at the highly visible national level; more likely they have been floating around at the state and local levels. There is nothing like a little grass roots democracy for enforced conformity to local norms of behavior. This factor has been of some importance to nonconformists starting with Roger Williams in John Cotton's Massachusetts Bay theocracy. The question today as it was yesterday and the day before is: If liberties are threatened by the actions of government officials, by


In order to investigate the effects of earth surface temperature on the buried biogas project in Harbin,the paper tested the temperature changes from earth surface to-3 m-depth for more than one year.Earth surface temperature tests showed that there was large gap between environment temperatures and the needed temperature of buried anaerobic digestion in Harbin.So it is necessary to provide heat insulation and precise temperature control for biogas generating pit.


A relatively new type of data that NSIs encounter is network data. For example, a network that represents family relations, neighbour relations, co-worker relations or a network that represents the connections between different businesses. This can be seen as either a new type of output or as a particular format of microdata. Hence, we need to consider the statistical disclosure part of this type of data. One of possible risk measures is related to the "structural uniqueness" in a network: when you consider a node in a network and look at its neighbourhood structure within the network, how unique is that structure? This risk measure makes use of the isomorphism definition in graph theory and can be related to the notion of k-anonymity. We will elaborate on some work that has been done in this area using unlabelled graphs and we will try to extend that work to labelled graphs.


The article mainly introduces the present condition and the development trend of standards for domestic and international filters and related products. Brief introduction the main request and standards adoption status for hydraulic filter international standards ISO,the national standards GB and the industry standards. Analyze the development of domestic and international standards.


Background- Colon cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer globally with incidence rate 1.15 million new cases. Snuhi (Euphorbia neriifolia Linn.) possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, cytotoxic and anticarcinogenic properties as per previous studies.
Objective- The present study aimed to explore anticancer activity of Snuhi Kshara (SK), the formulation of upavisha snuhi against colon cancer in Wistar rats.
Materials and methods- 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) was used to establish colon cancer model in female Wistar Albino rats. The acute toxicity of Snuhi Kshara was tested in accordance with OECD guidelines. Change in body weight, hematological and biochemical parameter, colon length and weight, Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF) count, histopathological findings with toxicity score were used to screen In Vivo anticancer activity.
Result- The oral LD50 cut off value of Snuhi Kshara was found to be 5000mg/kg body weight. Snuhi Kshara significantly (p<0.05) increase the body weight and colon length in treated group. Snuhi Kshara significantly (p<0.05) decrease the Total Cholesterol Level (TCL), colon weight, Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF) count and histopathological toxicity score. Snuhi Kshara decreased the colonic injury induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and helped to repair.
Conclusion- Based on the findings, it can be concluded that Snuhi Kshara possesses anticancer activity against DMH induced colon cancer. Further studies are required to determine the exact mechanism of action of Snuhi Kshara.

Key words: Snuhi (Euphorbia neriifolia Linn.), Snuhi Kshara, Anticancer, Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF)


Fan following is a spontaneous individual behavior, as one-way followers of stars' industrial chain. It realizes positive feedback on stars' performance strength and commercial value through continuous consumption behaviors. With the progress of media technology and the development of society, the identity attributes of stars and fans have undergone great changes. In the past, the cultural field of fans' "enclosure" has been broken. Under this condition, being as the loyal fan, they not only need to spend money for the stars, but also need to spend a lot of time on network data maintenance, so as to help stars maintain high popularity and good image. Therefore, this paper discussed the influence of celebrity participation on fans. The research mainly used literary analysis to support the evidence. This article found that all the people hold a rational attitude, even though the negative impact is still greater than the positive impact. The fan economy is often found to be a factor, but fortunately, the results are clear.


Women Empowerment is made up of two words women and empowerment. Empowerment means to give power or authority to someone. So, Women Empowerment means power in the hands of women. It signifies that women should be given equal opportunity in every field, irrespective of any discrimination. In this essay on Women Empowerment, we will discuss the need for women empowerment and the ways through which it can be achieved. Women Empowerment Essay Our society comprises men and women. In earlier times, men were considered to be the leading members of a family. They were responsible for earning the livelihood and were the decision takers of the family. On the other hand, women were responsible for doing household work and upbringing of the children. So, the roles were mainly based on gender.


Epi-LASIK is safer for patients; it offers a lower risk of ectasia, fewer serious complications and better contrast sensitivity, according to Robert J. Mitchell.


Previous investigations have shown that the action of chloramine T or brominewater solution at pH 4 on cyanocobalamin first causes cyclization of the acetamide side chain of ring B to form cobalamin lactone and that the further action of chloramine T causes substitution of chlorine into the chromophore yielded the chlorocobalamin lactone (Bonnett et al. 1957). The chlorination of cobalamin coenzyme, methyl cobalamin or cobalamin-sulphonate took a different course (Wagner & Renz 1963; Wagner & Bernhauer 1964; Dolphin, Johnson & Rodrigo 1964). The first equivalent of chloramine T causes in this product substitution of chlorine into the chromophore without cyclization and only the further action of chloramine T leads to the formation of the corresponding monochlorolactones.


This paper is one of a series produced for the project that provides in-depth information on the four thematic building blocks of the Bali Action Plan—mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance—as well as on land-use, land-use change and forestry. The project materials also include executive summaries for policymakers, background briefing documents and workshop presentations. These materials will be used for national awareness raising workshops in the participating countries.


The situation of the Jews in Prague has long attracted historians interested in the complexities of German and Czech identities and relationships in the Bohemian lands. After all, the Jews provide a fascinating case study in how groups adopt national identities and then cope with nationalist pressure to change those identities. The Jews, who adopted German language and culture, a German liberal political orientation, and deep loyalty to the Habsburg Monarchy in the course of the nineteenth century, came under pressure to speak Czech and join the Czech national movement in the late nineteenth century. At the same time, antisemitism complicated the situation enormously, making full assimilation into the German or Czech nation virtually impossible. Historians have disputed the degree to which the Jews of Prague remained wedded to a German-Austrian identity, or increasingly embraced a Czech identity, or rejected both in favor of Zionism and Jewish nationalism. The fact remains that the evidence, as is often the case when trying to measure national affiliation, is fragmentary and contradictory, providing rich material about intellectuals and political activists and precious little insight into the choices made by ordinary men and women.


Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) acclimated to short photoperiod display episodes of spontaneous daily torpor with metabolic rate depressed by ∼70%, body temperature (Tb) reduced by ∼20 °C, and heart rate (HR) changing from ∼70 bpm during torpor to ∼570 bpm during arousal from torpor associated with remarkable resistance to arrhythmogenesis. The cardiac dynamics of heartbeat interval fluctuations (RRi) obtained from high-resolution telemetric ECG recordings during daily torpor were studied using nonlinear techniques of signal processing. The nature of cardiac dynamical properties assessed from pointwise Hölder exponents (h) is shifted from strong irregularity of sinus bradyarrhythmia during low-Tb torpor towards smooth regularity on spontaneous rewarming during arousal. The pattern of h fluctuations indicates that both fractality and multifractal properties of RRi's were decreased during torpor. The cardiac rhythm exhibits both deterministic and stochastic components with intermittency of alterations of prevalence of one over the other on short time scales. During the low-Tb state, RRi dynamics exhibt nonlinear properties that temporarily shift to linear characteristics during entry into and arousal from torpor. Sympatho-vagal antagonism of autonomic cardiac control is markedly relaxed but remains active and highly alert when animals are torpid and temporarily out of the mainstream of competition.


The whole mobile satellite communications system is introduced in details, and it is divided into five parts; they are antenna system, communication system, tracing, testing and instruction system, control system and power source system. Moreover, the development tendency of mobile satellite communication system is introduced. Two link design methods are introduced, and link equation method is used for the design of satellite communication link. Furthermore, the feature of satellite channels is introduced. The satellite channels are simulated and analyzed.


and for the validation of short-term designs for the evaluation of these programs. By &dquo;short-term&dquo; evaluations we mean those which involve minimal delay between program participation and evaluation data collection and which aim at the assessment of ultimate treatment effects by the measurement of performance judged to be predictive of some ultimate criterion. &dquo;Long-term&dquo; longitudinal evaluations on the other hand refer here to


Aluminium nitrate and aluminium isopropoxide were used as aluminium precursors to prepare bimodal porous alumina–silica mixed oxides via the sol–gel method with the addition of nonionic surfactant C16EO10 as the structure-directing agent. The characterization of the mixed oxides was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements, chemical composition measured by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and surface acidity was investigated by the Hammett indicator method and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) of adsorbed pyridine. It is found that the resultant mixed oxides possess micrometer-range interconnected macropores and nanometer-range mesopores. Studies have shown that relatively large mesopore size materials can be obtained with aluminium nitrate precursor, but relatively high Al content materials can be synthesized using aluminium alkoxide as aluminium precursor. Surface acidity analysis results indicate that the alumina–silica mixed oxides synthesized by present sol-gel method have Lewis acid sites and Bronsted acid sites, and these acid sites exhibit mild strong acidity. Moreover, two different synthesis pathways have little influence on the acidity of alumina–silica prepared by the present method. In addition, the adsorption capacity of such acidic mixed oxides, with bimodal pore structures, for pyridine from diesel oil was studied. The adsorption experiments indicate that these mild strong acidic adsorbents with high surface areas and large macropores are effective in removing basic nitrogen compounds (BNC) such as pyridine from diesel oil, and are easily regenerated by washing with polar solvents.


As captured in a series of Editorials in our first year, CB&DD has gained momentum towards the goal of becoming a premier journal to advance innovative science, technology and medicine by promoting multidisciplinary chemical biology and drug design. Relative to the framework of the charter Editorial Team established with the launch of CB&DD in January 2006, a world class group of outstanding academic, industrial and government researchers has grown with additional new members that are identified on both the CB&DD website and the inside cover of this January 2007 issue. Collectively, these individuals provide extraordinary knowledge and experience to guide and shape the growth of CB&DD. I am especially grateful to my 12 Senior Editors for their special efforts and shared leadership to CB&DD. The CB&DD Senior Editors include Fahad Al-Obeidi (Sanofi-Aventis), Karl-Heinz Altmann (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH), Carlos Garcia-Echeverria (Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research), Stephen Fesik (Abbott Laboratories), Richard Friesner (Columbia University), Victor Hruby (University of Arizona), Henry Mosberg (University of Michigan), Mark Murcko (Vertex Pharmaceuticals), Juswinder Singh (Conxcys), Joseph Vacca (Merck Research Laboratories), Gabriel Waksman (University College London and Birkbeck College) and Zhong-Yin Zhang (Indiana University School of Medicine).


A dimming module that can generate current pulses of variable pulse width, frequency, and amplitude supplying to LEDs from a DC source with high voltage ripple will be presented. The module is connected in series with the LEDs and acts as a buffer between the DC source and LED. Thus, its volt-ampere (VA) rating is much smaller than the power rating of the LED and the power density of the overall system is maximized. The module can regulate the LED current pulses, even if the source voltage has a wide fluctuation. The operating principle of the whole system is described in the paper. A 400V/100W prototype has been built and tested with a 330V LED string with the source having a ripple of ±20V. The peak value of the LED current pulses has a variation of ±1.5%. Its dynamic behaviors under voltage fluctuation will also be investigated.


Abstract : The recent measurements and study of the carbon-induced localized vibrational mode (LVM) in GaAs have demonstrated that nearest neighbor isotropic frequency shifts can be observed if one uses the high resolution capability of a Fourier transform infrared (FITR) spectrometer. One major importance of such measurements lies in the use of the shifts to determine the impurity site and the formation of complexes such as dimers. This feature has been used in a detailed study of the LVM infrared absorption of Si-doped GaAs. Samples electrically compensated by electron irradiation and by Li saturation were used in the study. Bands due to SiGa, SiAs, SiGa-SiAs, 7LiGa, and SiAs-AsGa (or VGa) were studied in high resolution. In several cases the structures observed in the high resolution measurements were compared with model calculations with generally satisfactory results.


The salinity status of soil can be obtained through the measurement of the pore-water electrical conductivity σp . In the present study the WET sensor's capability in predicting σp through the simultaneous measurements of the soil bulk electrical conductivity ( σb ) and the soil dielectric constant (K) is investigated. The estimation of σp is based on a model by Hilhorst, which relates σp to the two other quantities K and σb and an extra fitting parameter K0 which is incorporated in the software of the device. The study involved experimental measurements in the laboratory using four different soils with a large range in soil texture and volumetric water content θ . In each soil type four different electrical conductivity aqueous solutions were used. The results exhibited a rather strong linear relationship between K and σb . The slope of this linear relationship appeared to depend on both the soil type and the electrical conductivity of the pore water. The value of K0 seems to be soil specific and increas...


The productivity of irrigated agriculture in Australia is low for most crops and one important factor is the physical and chemical constraints caused by sodicity in the rootzone. Over 80% of the irrigated soils are sodic and have degraded structure limiting water and gas transport and root growth. Irrigation, without appropriate drainage, leads to the buildup of salts in soil solutions with increased sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and can develop perched watertables due to a very low leaching fraction of the soil layers exacerbated by sodicity. Therefore, irrigation management in Australia is closely linked with the management of soil sodicity.The inevitable consequence of continued irrigation of crops and pastures with saline-sodic water without careful management is the further sodification of soil layers and concentration of salt in the rootzone. This will increase the possibility of dissolving toxic elements from soil minerals. The yields of crops can be far below the potential yields determined by climate. The cost of continued use of amendments and fertilizers to maintain normal yields will increase under saline-sodic irrigation. Most of the irrigated soils in Australia need reclamation of sodicity of soil layers at least in the rootzone. The management of these sodic soils involves the application of gypsum, suitable tillage and the maintenance of structure by the buildup of organic matter and biological activity aver time. Then artificial drainage, an essential component of the management of irrigated sodic soils, is possible. By following these soil management practices, irrigated agriculture in Australia will become sustainable with increased yields and high economic returns.


Treatment of tacrolimus toxicity includes holding tacrolimus and supportive care. The objective is to describe considerations for pharmacologic induction of tacrolimus metabolism.


A novel modification to the ''slithering snake'' algorithm is used to enable Monte Carlo simulations of partially ionized polyelectrolyte chains where the charged beads interact via screened Coulomb interactions. The use of ''stroboscopic'' averaging enables detailed shape characteristics of the chains to be calculated. The moment of inertia tensor, the distribution function of the end‐to‐end distance and the segment density distribution functions from the center of mass and both ends of the polyion are combined to give an overall characterization of the shape changes of a polyion as added salt concentration, chain length (up to 240 beads) and degree of ionization are varied. Some abrupt behavior seen for high degree of ionization may be smoothed once ionic degrees of freedom are included. The present work—by characterizing the shape of short chains—may also help to formulate models for very long polyions consisting of many segments, each of a few hundred beads.


In 1913, United States Army Chief of Staff Leonard Wood inaugurated his famous citizen-soldier military training camp at Plattsburg Barracks, New York. At the time, his government would give him neither money for equipment nor conscription for enrollment. College students, for whom the camp was founded, would therefore have to volunteer to pay for the privilege of spending their summer vacations obeying drill instructors. The General, obviously needing all the help he could get if he was to gather a respectable number of recruits, appealed to the presidents of Americas most eminent universities, telling them that military training would improve their students' citizenship, discipline and character.1 Except for Columbia's Nicholas Murray Butler, a self-proclaimed pacifist, all those whom Wood contacted, from Yale in the East to the University of California in the West, "enthusiastically applied their support." Because the General might not have mustered a hundred recruits without their help, these men prob...


The utility model relates to a circular stacking type car parking and pickup mechanism of an underground three-dimensional garage, which comprises a rotary platform, wherein a rotary mechanism for driving the rotary platform to rotate is arranged in the rotary platform; a pickup and delivering platform is arranged on the rotary platform; a pickup and delivering mechanism is arranged between the pickup and delivering platform and the rotary platform and is used for driving the pickup and delivering platform to move forward and backward to realize the pickup and delivering action; a rotary clamping mechanism and a jacking mechanism are arranged on the pickup and delivering platform; and the jacking mechanism is used for jacking the rotary clamping mechanism. The car parking and pickup mechanism is characterized in that the pickup and delivering mechanism, the rotary clamping mechanism and the jacking mechanism are respectively driven by each hydraulic oil cylinder of a hydraulic system; and the rotary mechanism is driven by a hydraulic motor of the hydraulic system. The rotary mechanism, the pickup and delivering mechanism, the rotary clamping mechanism and the jacking mechanism are driven by the hydraulic oil cylinders or the hydraulic motor to realize various actions of rotation, pickup and delivering, clamping and jacking. The car parking and pickup mechanism has small volume, compact structure, high running speed of the system and short waiting time for the car parking and pickup.


Self-Esteem and Attitudes Towards Violence: A Theory About Violent Individuals ANDREW THEISS, B.A., State University of New York M. A., Teacher's College, Columbia University Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst Directed by: Professor Ervin Staub This paper attempts to contribute to the understanding of individual violence by addressing the question of why some individuals are violent while others are not. Theories on aggression and research on and related to violent offenders are reviewed and critiqued. A theoretical framework involving a) low self-esteem, b) lack of social competencies, c) exposure to violence, and d) attitudes accepting of violence is posited to differentiate violent from nonviolent individuals. This theory is discussed in terms of existing research findings and a study designed to assess its validity is presented. Results obtained support the basic assertions of the theory. Self-esteem was found to be significantly correlated with undergraduates' attitudes towards violence. Likewise, factors of social competencies and exposure to violence were significantly correlated with self-esteem. Significant correlations were also obtained for selfreported violent behaviors and attitudes accepting of violence (positive correlation) and self-reported violent behaviors and self-esteem (negative correlation). While these findings are supportive of the differentiations posited, more work needs to be done to define and


Address-Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) techniques prevent intruders from locating target functions by randomizing the process layout. Prior ASLR techniques defended against single-target brute force attacks, which work by locating a single, omnipotent system library function such as execve(). These techniques are not sufficient to defend against chained return-into-lib(c) attacks that call a sequence of system library functions.

In this paper, we describe the Island Code Transformation (ICT) that addresses chained return-into-lib(c) attacks. A code island is a block of code that is isolated in the address space from other code blocks. Island code not only randomizes the base pointers used in memory mapping, but also maximizes the entropy in function layout (that is, knowing the location and extent of one function gains the attacker little knowledge as to the memory location of other functions).

We also provide an efficacy analysis of randomization schemes based on combinations of available ASLR techniques. Our analysis shows that ICT is exponentially more effective than any prior ASLR technique in defending against brute-force searches for addresses of multiple target functions - a key component of chained return-into-lib(c) attacks. ICT uses a predefined rerandomization threshold, that determines how frequently (in terms of failed attacks) the process layout is re-randomized to balance security and availability.

Our overhead measurement on some well-known GNU applications shows that it takes less than 0.05 second to load/rerandomize a process with the necessary C system library functions in code islands, and our technique introduces a 3-10% run-time overhead caused by inter-island control transfers. We, therefore, conclude that ICT is well-suited for dedicated servers.


The IP multimedia subsystem IMS is a basis for a significant new architecture which offers network operators the opportunity to expand their services, by integrating voice and multimedia communications and delivering them into new environments with new purposes. Basically, the IMS is an overlay network on top of IP layer that uses Session Initiation Protocol SIP as the primary signaling mechanism. SIP works at the application layer in IP networks. It is thus faced to not only the IP-networks security issues, but also to new issues which are related to the SIP protocol directly. Consequently, using IMS bears several new security challenges. This paper presents the most relevant SIP-related security vulnerabilities and threats, and the implementation and simulation test bed to experiment two versions of the SIP Asterisk software to emphasize these threats. The different security mechanisms that can be deployed to overcome the SIP security issues while putting emphasis the most important ones are discussed. Afterwards, the authors propose adaptable solutions to the SIP threats already identified for a specific service access information from anywhere in IMS context. Finally, conclusions are drawn and some perspectives are introduced to improve the security of multimedia applications.


Abstract Nucleotide analogues are the divergent scaffolds that are reliable potential therapeutic drugs to treat the wide range of diseases including viral infections. For instance, Remdesivir is a biologically important nucleotide analogue prodrug that can act as a key drug target for the diseases Ebola and COVID-19. Remdesivir is a structurally chiral aryloxy-phosphoramidate prodrug as it is metabolized into nucleoside triphosphate (active drug form) inside the cell through sequential reactions by ester mediated-hydrolysis. Thus, the current minireview focuses on the earlier reported synthetic approaches of key fragments of remdesivir and their developments to attain the scale-up yields of the drug for clinical/commercial applies. Further, this review serves as a template for the design and development of other complex organic molecules.


Ethylene-releasing agents (ethephon, ethanedial dioxime, etacelasil, 2-chloroethyl-methylbis(phenylmethoxy)-silane, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) applied to dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobiumpusillum Pk.) infections on black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) in four separate tests (August 1982, 1983, and 1984 and May 1983) promoted premature abscission of mistletoe shoots. Concentrations of the chemicals ranged from 12 to 5000 μg/g. Surfactants (Ortho X-77 and PGFI-100) were evaluated for increasing the effectiveness of the ethylene-releasing agents. The treatment combination that consistently resulted in 74–100% abscission of dwarf mistletoe shoots was August applications of 2500 μg/g ethephon plus either surfactant. Treatments did not significantly affect growth of black spruce or subsequent growth of dwarf mistletoe shoots. Abscission of dwarf mistletoe shoots prevents spread of the disease in black spruce for 2 years and for at least 4 years in some western conifers.


The article argues that insurance services, while being a fast developing segment of the financial market, still need a further theoretical generalization. The article presents analysis of the notions insurance and insurance services and shows the difference between insurance services and insurance products. The author holds that the universally accepted interpretation of the notions insurance and insurance services in foreign and domestic literature is absent. The article notes main features of an insurance service as an object of international trade. The author concludes that insurance per se is a wider economic category and includes narrower notions of insurance services and insurance products. The said approach may also be used when analyzing several categories of the financial, and particularly the banking sector.


The invention belongs to the field of general building construction, in particular to a combination-typed off-loading component cast-in-situ hollow floor and a construction method. The invention adopts a technical proposal that the invention comprises off-loading components which are fixed between an upper layer reinforcement and a lower layer reinforcement by a fixed connecting part; the concrete is filled in the gaps between the off-loading component and the reinforcement in the whole floor and between the off-loading components; the off-loading component comprises at least two cylindrical or box-shaped or spherical off-loading cells; the off-loading components are intermittently or compactly arranged; the off-loading components with different shapes are combined and applied; the type and form of the off-loading components are smartly arranged according to the requirement, thus having the advantages of good porosity, good quality, light self-weight and optimum section.


Analysis of electroencephalography(EEG)is an important approach for epilepsy study.Scalp EEG data collected clinical is used as object of study.Permutation mutual information between different electrodes is computed.The results show mutual information of epileptic patients is obviously higher than that of healthy objects.So permutation mutual information can be used as an important feature for epilepsy diagnosis.Synchronism analysis is conducted on EEG based on permutation mutual information.The results show the exchange of information in left brain region,right region and left-right region of epilepsy patients is obviously more than that of healthy objects.That is the synchronism of epilepsy patients is obviously enhanced.Mutual information and synchronism analysis can also be used to analyze EEG before a seizure and that during a seizure to predict epileptic seizure.


Two computer simulation programs, 'Nerve physiology' and 'Frog heart', are described in relation to their use as practical alternatives to the use of animals in class experiments. The programs, which are highly interactive, utilize actual experimental data to generate high resolution waveforms of compound nerve action potentials and heart contractions, identical to those which would normally be recorded. These are presented on either an oscilloscope-like display screen or on a continuously scrolling display to simulate a chart recorder. Students thus work through the programs at their own pace and take measurements directly from the monitor screen, as they would in an actual experiment. The programs, which are written for the BBC microcomputer and aimed at A-level students and above, contain introductory text and student assignments and come complete with a comprehensive instruction manual and tutor's notes. The potential of these programs to provide a realistic alternative to conventional laboratory expe...


In image data display apparatus and method, code data stored in a memory is converted to image data, which is then cyclically stored into a plurality of image memories for displaying on a display as display data. Overrun of image screen which is caused by a difference between a recognition time and a response time of an operator when a continuous paging mode of the display for data retrieval is terminated is corrected by a hardware implemented circuit or a software implemented computer program so that a desired image screen is displayed.


In this paper hydrodynamic and kinetic approaches to model low pressure capacitively coupled complex radiofrequency discharges are discussed and applied to discharges under microgravity. Experiments in the PKE‐Nefedov reactor on board the International Space Station, as well as discharges in which gravity is compensated by means of thermophoresis are simulated with a 2‐D cylindrically symmetric hydrodynamic model. Kinetic effects are studied with a 1‐D Particle‐In‐Cell plus Monte Carlo model in which capture and scattering by dust grains is included. Simulations with this model address non‐local effects and modulated discharges (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The main purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of FDI inflows into the economy of Turkey, to analyze its development and various economic determinants, which govern its levels and performances. For this purpose, we have firstly to examine exact reasons for comparably low level of FDI in Turkey and secondly compare determinants of FDI in other EU Members & Candidates in order to discover essential steps to be taken. For this purpose, an FDI development analysis is made in the second chapter, and a comparative analysis between Turkey and EU Members & Candidates is completed in the third chapter. The research indicates that political and economic instability, weakness of legal framework, insufficient administration system, and corruption have been the major problems that prevent favorable investment climate, thus, attracting large amount of foreign direct investment. The lack of transparency in the financial statements and resistance to adopt the international accounting standards stand as the most important impediments in the microeconomic scope. The increasing FDI by 2005 is considered to be closely linked with the European Union process of Turkey and the well functioning privatization program.


We evaluated whether AN-238, the cytotoxic analogue of somatostatin (SST) consisting of the radical 2-pyrrolinodoxorubicin (AN-201) linked covalently to the SST octapeptide carrier RC-121 ( D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-TrpLys-Val-Cys-Thr-NH 2), could be used for targeting human primary and metastatic prostate carcinomas that express SST receptors (SSTRs). The antitumor activity and toxicity of AN-238 and its components were first characterized in nude mice bearing s.c. xenografts of PC-3 human androgen-independent prostate cancer. In experiment 1, AN-238 was injected once i.v. at 200 nmol/kg when the mean volume of s.c. tumors was about 30 mm. Administration of AN-238 inhibited tumor growth, as shown by a 74% decrease in tumor volume and by a 71% reduction in tumor weight after 7 weeks as compared with the control group. AN-201 at an equimolar dose did not show any antitumor activity. The mortality was 14.3% (one of seven mice) in the AN-238-treated group and 47% (three of seven mice) in mice that received AN-201. In experiment 2, two i.v. injections of AN-238 at 150 nmol/kg were given 10 days apart when the tumors measured 65–70 mm. A significant inhibition of tumor volume (62.3%; P < 0.001) and tumor weight (61.1%;P < 0.01) was observed after 4 weeks of treatment. AN-201, given alone at the same dose or coadministered with RC-121, had no significant effect on PC-3 tumors. The suppression of tumor growth induced by AN-238 was accompanied by a significant enhancement of apoptosis ( P < 0.01). There were similar side effects in all treated groups, which included a transient loss of body weight and leukopenia. The effectiveness of AN-238 in a metastatic model was then investigated in animals implanted orthotopically with 2 3 10 PC-3 cells. Two i.v. injections of AN-238 or AN-201 at 150 nmol/kg were administered 10 days apart at 10 weeks after intraprostatic inoculation of PC-3 cells. After 4 weeks of treatment, the mean weight of primary tumors in animals receiving AN-238 was 77% lower ( P < 0.01) than that in controls. This reduction was also significantly greater ( P < 0.05) than that in animals given AN-201, which showed only a 34% inhibition (nonsignificant versuscontrols). All control animals and four of six (67%) mice treated with AN-201 developed metastases in the lymph nodes; however, no lymphatic spread of cancer was found in the AN-238-treated group. Using reverse transcription-PCR analysis, we demonstrated the expression of SSTR2 and SSTR5 in intraprostatic tumors and their metastases in lymph nodes as well as in s.c. tumors. The present study demonstrates the high efficacy of SSTR-targeted chemotherapy in a model of advanced human androgen-independent prostatic carcinoma, as shown by the inhibition of primary tumors and their metastases by the cytotoxic SST analogue AN-238. INTRODUCTION Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignant neoplasm among American men and remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths (1, 2). In spite of major refinements in diagnosis, a significant number of prostate cancers are only detected at an advanced stage of the disease, with no possibility of cure by radical prostatectomy (2, 3). The principal approach to management of disseminated carcinoma of the prostate has continued to be essentially unchanged since 1941, when the effectiveness of androgen ablation was first reported by Huggins and Hodges (4). Although the rate of response to androgen deprivation is high (80%), the mean duration of the remission is only 18–36 months, and patients eventually die of hormone-refractory disease (5, 6). Conventional chemotherapy for prostate cancer that is no longer responsive to androgen deprivation was initially found to produce only marginal responses (7) but is now being reevaluated with interest as new agents and better supportive care become available (reviewed in Ref. 8). Nevertheless, palliation still remains the primary goal of current chemotherapy, and overall response rates are low and are associated with general toxicity. To overcome the problem of toxicity, attempts have been made to achieve site-specific drug delivery and improve the therapeutic index. Targeted chemotherapy using potent cytotoxic radicals conjugated to carrier molecules, such as antibodies (9, 10) or analogues of peptide hormones (reviewed in 11), that can be specifically recognized by tumor cells may improve therapy of androgen-independent tumors. Various tumors, including carcinoma of the prostate, express receptors for peptides such as LH-RH 4 and SST (6, 11–14). Preclinical studies have shown that SST and its octapeptide analogues can inhibit the growth of prostate cancer and other malignancies (6, 11, 15–18). SSTRs were found on surgical specimens of primary and metastatic lesions of prostate cancer and visualized in vivo by scintigraphy with In-labeled octreotide (19, 20). Some clinical improvement was observed in patients with relapsed prostate cancer who were treated with SST analogues (21–24). The successful use of radiolabeled SST analogues forin vivo imaging of SSTR-positive tumors (20, 25, 26), as well as our own previous experience with cytotoxic analogues of LH-RH (6, 11) and a prototype peptide conjugate consisting of methotrexate linked to SST analogue RC-121 (27), encouraged us to design and synthesize a series of modern targeted cytotoxic analogues of SST (28). These conjugates consist of doxorubicin or its potent derivative 2-pyrrolinodoxorubicin (AN-201) (29) linked covalently to carrier SST octapeptide analogues such as RC-121 (30). The hybrids thus formed retain both the receptor affinity and the cytotoxic activity of their respective components (28, 31). Recently, Koppa ́n et al. (31) demonstrated that one of these cytotoxic analogues, AN-238 containing AN-201 conjugated to RC-121, inhibited the growth of SSTR2positive Dunning R-3327-AT-1 anaplastic rat prostate cancer at nontoxic doses. Received 11/23/98; accepted 2/18/99. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. 1 Supported by The Medical Research Service of the Veterans Affairs Department (A. V. S.), a CaPCURE Foundation Research Award (to A. V. S.), and a grant from ASTA Medica AG (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) to Tulane University School of Medicine (to A. V. S.). 2 On leave from the Department of Neuroendocrinology, Medical Center of Postgraduate Education, Warsaw, Poland. 3 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Veterans Administration Medical Center, 1601 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70112-1262. Phone: (504) 589-5230; Fax: (504) 566-1625. 4 The abbreviations used are: LH-RH, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone; SST, somatostatin; SSTR, SST receptor; hSSTR, human SSTR; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3phosphate dehydrogenase; RT-PCR, reverse transcription-PCR; NOR, nuclear organizer region; BW, body weight.


Based on preexisting containership companies, this paper proposes a stochastic fleet planning model with consideration of carbon tax scenario structures, aiming at supporting companies to make risk-neutral planning and avoid extreme carbon tax risks. Meanwhile, the carbon tax'implementation time and rates are described through a 2-dimensional scenario tree. Through case experiment, the stochastic fleet planning model is tested to be feasible. Results show that planning decisions can be adjusted step by step according to carbon tax's realizations. Higher fleet profits and lower carbon emission volume are obtained by the proposed stochastic model, compared to deterministic model under the same case settings.


In order to improve the rate and capacity of storing the industrial equipment operation data,a universal data recorder was designed with RS-422 interface as its input and USB2.0 as its output.The power circuit,RS-422 interface circuit and the USB host interface circuit were analyzed and the USB HCD and USBD were developed.The experiment results showed that the data sent by the RS-422 interface was highly consistent with the data received by the U disk,reflecting objectively that the data recorder was independent from the PC's support.


Recent advances in the study of children's difficulties with the use of language have given rise to the development of various assessment schemes concerned with pragmatic skills. Most approaches to date have used observational methods, often guided by checklists of relevant pragmatic skills. A desirable extension of these methods is the standar dized test. This paper examines and evaluates a recently published standardized test, Shulman's Test of Pragmatic Skills. It is suggested that the test could form a useful part of an assessment battery, to be used in conjunction with other methods for assessing pragmatic skills.


There has been a recent interest in employing reinforcement learning for training end-to-end goal-driven robot navigation policies. However, implementing reinforcement learning in end-to-end navigation may result in inefficient policies that exhibit redundant turning actions when attempting to avoid obstacles. This work proposes a two branches network to learn efficient policies with less turning action when robots cross the obstacles. We first employ supervised learning to train a robot action classification network with optical flow. We then combine this classifier with an RGBD optical encoder to develop an action-decision network. Ultimately, we evaluate our approach in a visually realistic simulation environment. The results show that our method can reduce unnecessary steering actions and improve efficiency while ensuring navigation capabilities. We further show that our approach can reduce energy consumption during navigation and extend the robot's work time. Experiment results in the iGibson® simulator over hand-made paths reveal that our method can reduce 13.1% of the action number in the training set and 12.9% in the testing set compared with the baseline approaches. It also can reduce 8.3% energy consumption in the training set and 9.6% in the testing set and only has a 4.2% and 8.1% difference compared with the human path.


This article discusses how the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is building on successful state requirements and practices in developing the Ground Water Rule (GWR) for promulgation by November 2000. Best management practices (BMPs), which are required by state regulatory agencies are discussed as a way of giving attention to all aspects of the public water system including well construction, and operation and maintenance.


The article refers to the attempts to conceptualize and further develop theoretical and practical base for training future interpreters. In this respect the notion of translation and interpreting competence plays a prominent role. Translation products occur as a result of the interaction between expectations of what translations should be and the translation practices as well as competences by which interpreters produce/create acceptable translations within temporal and economic constraints.


Inhibition of interleukin 6 (IL‐6) signalling has been proposed as a potential cardioprotective strategy for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the direct effects of IL‐6 inhibition on renal function are not known. A Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to investigate the association of genetically proxied inhibition of IL‐6 signalling with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), CKD and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Inverse‐variance weighted MR was used as the main analysis, with sensitivity analyses performed using simple median, weighted median and MR‐Egger methods. There was no evidence for an association of genetically proxied inhibition of IL‐6 signalling (scaled per standard deviation unit decrease in C‐reactive protein) with log eGFR (0.001, 95% confidence interval −0.004‐0.007), BUN (0.009, 95% confidence interval −0.003‐0.021) and CKD (odds ratio 0.948, 95% confidence interval 0.822‐1.094). These findings do not raise concerns for IL‐6 signalling having large adverse effects on renal function.