Natural gas now supplies 20 % of Germany's primary energy needs. 37 % of all residences are heated using this energy source, a figure which rises to 70 % in the case of recently constructed domestic property. Even these few generalized facts clearly illustrate the importance of natural gas on the Federal Republic of Germany's present-day energy market. All institutions concerned with forecasting of energy requirements predict increasing sales for natural gas in the coming decade, both in Europe as a whole and in Germany, in particular. Natural gas will thus be the highest-growth energy source.


Through the teaching experiment, the paper studies the basic theory of the design and practice of the study style of different categorization and cooperation in hurdle teaching. In the teaching process, teachers should carefully study and rationally categorize students, and arrange class preparation, teaching, guidance and communicate with students to make the teaching process possess system and categorization. Thus, students can get their all-round development as they help and encourage each other within their reach.


The article studies the images, plots and motifs taken from Norse mythology and reflected in the lyric poetry by two Russian poets of the 19th-20th centuries, Valery Bryusov and Alexander Blok. Scandinavia in Bryusov's and Blok's poetry has been a subject of interest for a number of philologists. However, almost none of them has paid much attention to the images of mythology and has tried to compare them in Bryusov's and Blok's works. The article observes the transformations that the mythological images, plots and motifs have undergone in the poets' works. The author studies the interpretations of myth in their oeuvre. The research methodology is based on the comparative method; it also includes the descriptive, mythopoetic and structuralist methods. V. Bryusov' poems "Loki to Balder" ("Bal'deru Loki") and "The Prophecy of the Doom of the AEsir" ("Prorochestvo o gibeli azov") illustrate two mythological plots consistently: Balder's death and the end of the world, the Ragnarok myth. In their poetic embodiment, they almost do not undergo any changes, and those deviations from the mythological plots, which can be found in the poems, are intentional and serve the author's purposes. The poem "The Garden of Nightingales" ("Solov'inyi sad") by A. Blok reflects the plot of the Irish saga of the voyage of Bran. The hero of the poem is correlated with Bran who goes on a voyage, and the lovely garden is related to the Promised Land. The temporary death of the mythological hero acquires a new content in the poem: the cause of his spiritual death is the temptations of the garden he has succumbed to. The main difference between Bryusov's and Blok's poetic mythologizations is that Bryusov is interested in a myth, first of all, in its original form, and because of this, he tends to keep its main features in his poetry, while Blok considers a mythological story as a kind of symbol, which can be embodied in the life of his lyrical hero and can be revisited by him once again. The research helps to understand not only the reflections of Scandinavian mythology in the writers' poetical systems, but the poetical systems as such more thoroughly.


Abstract  Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand‐gated ion channels, which mediate fast cholinergic synaptic transmission in insect and vertebrate nervous systems. The nAChR agonist‐binding site is present at the interface of adjacent subunits and is formed by loops A–C present in α subunits together with loops D–F present in either non‐α subunits or homomer‐forming α subunits. Although Y151 in loop B has been identified as important in agonist binding, various residues at the 151‐site are found among vertebrate and invertebrate nAChR α subunits, such as F151. In Xenopus oocytes expressing Nlα1 or Nlα1Y151F plus rat β2, Y151F mutation was found to significantly change the rate of receptor desensitization and altered the pharmacological properties of acetylcholine, but not imidacloprid, including the decrease of Imax, the increase of EC50 (the concentration causing 50% of the maximum response) and the fast time‐constant of decay (τf). By comparisons of residue structure, the hydroxyl group in the side chain of Y151 was thought to be important in the interaction between Nlα1/β2 nAChRs and acetylcholine, and the phenyl group to be important between Nlα1/β2 nAChRs and imidacloprid.


The Frontal Boundary Study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy in October and November 1989 in central Ohio. This report, which was prepared for the US Environmental Protection Agency, presents the results of the aircraft and surface observations made for one precipitation event during the study, on October 10, 1989. This particular event was selected because of its relatively simple meteorological setting. PNL`s Gulfstream (G-1) aircraft was used to sample trace gas concentrations aloft in the inflow region of the precipitation system. Precipitation chemistry and rainfall rate data are presented for the October 10, 1989, event from the network of surface precipitation samplers. Trace gas concentrations and other meteorological variables measured with the G-1 during flight 03 on this date are included. Meteorological observations obtained with radiosondes and radar are also presented. These data sets can be used to evaluate air quality and wet deposition models.


Based on MMSE(minimum of max square error) ,FIR with linear phase was designed via the improved GA(genetic algorithm) .After simulation and comparison,it showed that the improved GA could converge to most optimal solution more quickly than adaptive GA.


The invention discloses a method for the synthesis of a polysilicon raw material trichlorosilane. The method comprises the following steps: A) silica powder is conveyed to a trichlorosilane synthesis furnace by dried hydrogen chloride gas; B) hydrogen chloride for reaction is input into the synthesis furnace from the bottom of the trichlorosilane synthesis furnace proportionally and proper amount of hydrogen and silicon tetrachloride are added in the synthesis furnace at the same time; C) silica powder and hydrogen chloride react at the temperature of 280-310 DEG C to generate mixing gas containing trichlorosilane and silicon tetrachloride; D) the mixing gas of dust and high chlorosilane is removed, after water cooling and pressuring by a diaphragm compressor, trichlorosilane and silicon tetrachloride are condensed into liquid by a refrigerant with -40 DEG C, wherein, noncondensable gas containing H2 and HCI is separated. The method of the invention can improve the yield of trichlorosilane from 82 percent to more than 88 percent.


Introduction. Organizational development and practice of the project management system implementation is of particular interest to engineering companies that implement complex and multi-stage design and construction projects having a complex structure, a large number of stakeholders and a high degree of result individualization. In this case, a situation often arises when processes are formalized, which means that a certain list of regulatory documents are developed in which project contributors, their activities, authority and responsibility, a sequence of actions to be performed, templates of project documents, etc. are defined, but in practice these requirements are not fulfilled or not fulfilled in full. The research problem is that approaches to the formation of a project management system do not offer a universal mechanism applied to monitor the compliance with project management requirements established by inhouse regulatory documents. As a result, project contributors resist such requirements in some companies. The subject of the study is the development of a tool designated for the monitoring of compliance with regulatory documents in the field of project management in a full-cycle engineering company.
Materials and methods. The method of process modeling and reengineering, statistical analysis, and the requirements management methodology were applied.
Results. Features of project management in engineering companies are outlined. Research results obtained in terms of adapting the requirement management methodology and engineering project quality are analyzed. The target scheme that applies to project management quality control and project audit processes was performed. The toolkit for the project management quality control was developed and a list of indicators was formulated. The analysis of statistics on cases of failure to comply with project management quality indicators and underlying reasons is conducted.
Conclusions. The project management quality control toolkit, proposed in the article, allows to analyze the compliance of project contributors with the requirements applied to project management processes formalized in a company and to increase the efficiency of various types of projects.


Abstract In recent years there has been growing interest in convex optimization techniques for system identification and time series modeling. This interest is motivated by the success of convex methods for sparse optimization and rank minimization in signal processing, statistics, and machine learning, and by the development of new classes of algorithms for large-scale nondifferentiable convex optimization.


The pore structure of PS/SiO2 balls were self-assembled with coated SiO2 polystyrene as monomer in oil-water system,and the three dimensional structure of SiO2 ball was form by high temperature calcination and dissolve removing template methods.The products were characterized by SEM,TEM,BET,FT-IR.Results indicated that the adsorption performance of three-dimensional structure of multistage SiO2 ball have been improved.The silicon hydroxyl and generates larger pores were retained when the method of solvent removing the template was used and the adsorption quantity of heavy metal Pb2+was 63mg/g.


In several question answering benchmarks, pretrained models have reached human parity through fine-tuning on an order of 100,000 annotated questions and answers. We explore the more realistic few-shot setting, where only a few hundred training examples are available, and observe that standard models perform poorly, highlighting the discrepancy between current pretraining objectives and question answering. We propose a new pretraining scheme tailored for question answering: recurring span selection. Given a passage with multiple sets of recurring spans, we mask in each set all recurring spans but one, and ask the model to select the correct span in the passage for each masked span. Masked spans are replaced with a special token, viewed as a question representation, that is later used during fine-tuning to select the answer span. The resulting model obtains surprisingly good results on multiple benchmarks (e.g., 72.7 F1 on SQuAD with only 128 training examples), while maintaining competitive performance in the high-resource setting.


There is some suggestion that microscopic infarct could be associated with invasive monitoring, but it is unclear if the microscopic infarct is also visible on imaging and associated with neurologic deficits. The aims of this study were to assess the rates of microscopic and macroscopic infarct and other major complications of pediatric epilepsy surgery, and to determine if these complications were higher following invasive monitoring.


It is feasible to argue, that an apparent trend which characterised the 1980s and 1990s was the upsurge, in the number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and grassroots organisations (GROs), involved in relief and development. This trend can be highlighted by the number of government registered NGOs. In the OECD countries of the industrialised North the number has grown from, "1,600 in 1980 to 2,970 in 1993" (Edwards & Hulme, 1995, p.3), while in the South countries like Bolivia, have seen the number of NGOs increase from, "100 in 1980 to 530 in 1992" (Arellano-Lopez & Petras, 1994, p562). Alongside this rise there has been the emergence of the notion, that if the objective of reducing the number of people in absolute poverty is to be achieved, then there is a need to have improved relations between those NGOs residing in the North and South. Quintessentially there were growing calls for strengthening the coordination and policy coherence, among all stakeholders in the development community. This new relationship manifested itself through the term 'partnership,' which provided a framework for NGOs involved in development in the North and South to influence economic, political and social policy. This was because partnership was seen to be the most viable form of relationship, in which it was possible to combine the resources of both Northern NGOs (NNGOs) and Southern NGOs (SNGOs), into alleviating poverty. Yet before evaluating its significance, it is necessary to define what partnership actually means. Here the paper turns to the work of Alan Fowler who describes authentic partnership as, "understood and mutually enabling, independent interaction with shared intentions" (Fowler, 1997, p.117). He therefore views partnership as an important tool in the enhancement of social capital, which brings about a more functional civil society better able to deal with the states and markets at all levels of operation. (Cornwall, Lucas & Pasteur, 2000). However the distinctive feature of Fowler's definition of partnership is that it involves sharing, with a sense of mutuality and equality for all parties involved. Therefore in essence partnership implies that, power should be shared equally among all stakeholders and more importantly, these conditions should be met before any relationship can be defined as a partnership. It is the intention of this paper to ascertain to what extent the relationship between, NNGOs and SNGOs is based on partnership – as defined by Fowler – and free from local and international agendas. Through its evaluation supported by case studies, this paper will argue that to an extent the relationship between the two sets of NGOs is based upon partnership. However it will go on to argue that to a greater extent, the relationship between NNGOs and SNGOs is not free from local and international agendas and as a result, the power sharing context of partnership disproportionately favours the NNGOs.


A systems approach that integrates processing, structure, property and performance relations has been used in the design of multilevel-structured flbrous materials. For electrospun flbrous structure, numerical implementation of multiscale materials philosophy provides a hierarchy of computational models deflning design parameters that are integrated through computational continuum mechanics. Electrospun micro/nano (multiscale) poly("-caprolactone) (PCL) flbrous scafiolds were studied. The flbrous structures were evaluated for their mechanical, morphological and cell attachment properties. The cell attachment studies showed that cell activity on multi-scale scafiolds was higher compared to micro-flbrous scafiolds. These results suggest that the combination of a micro- and nano-flber hierarchical scafiold could be more beneflcial for tissue engineering applications than for individual scafiolds.


The number of children with autism has drastically increased, despite the treatment being inadequate. The complexity of treatment for children with autism is due to special approach, method, and experts needed, as well as being relatively longterm and expensive. This present research obtained model of independent intervention program for children with autism through the development of systematic review result towards a number of empirical articles on autism intervention programs involving parents. The development of the model is based on cross-field study involving curriculum development, psychology (in particular, psychology of special needs children), and adult education (andragogy). The model proposed and developed in this research is expected to give parents of children with autism a solution to be able to independently perform intervention and early treatment for their children. By the intervention of their parents, the social skills of the children can be improved. Furthermore, the model is assumed to be effective, for parents are the closest figure to their children and able to spend longer time to guide them. Moreover, parents are assumed to be financially capable in performing the treatment as the cost of the intervention can be reduced due to its independent aspect.


The article is devoted to the consideration of the main aspects of composite formation in modern German. In the course of the study, the features of the mechanism of sema formation of German composites were analyzed, methods for the formation of lexical meanings in a complex structure are described, characteristics of the productivity of the method of compounding are given, and various typologies of German composites are presented.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the cardiovascular responses induced by activation of the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVN) and the roles of the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) on this effect.

METHODS
The PVN was activated by microinjection of L-glutamate or electrical stimulation. The CeA was injected with L-glutamate or Kainic acid (KA). The femoral arterial pressure, mean arterial pressure (MAP), electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart rate (HR) of the male SD rats were recorded when the PVN was electrically stimulated.

RESULT
The blood pressure increased when the PVN was activated either by electrical current or by L-glutamate. The blood pressure increased for (10.27+/-1.80)mmHg and the change of heart rate was -10.66 +/- 8.11 beat/min after L-Glu (100 nl) was injected into the ipsilateral CeA. The pressor response of PVN stimulation could still be evoked by electrical stimulation of (13.78 +/- 3.18)mmHg 10 min after kainic acid (100 nl) was injected into the ipsilateral CeA. But this pressor response decreased of 6.57 mmHg compared to that before injection of KA (P <0.05). The locations of the electrode tips and termination of the injector tracts were identified according to the atlas after the recording.

CONCLUSION
Stimulating the PVN elicits pressor response in rats. The CeA mediates partly the pressor response elicited by activation of the PVN.


The study examined how quantitative formative assessment tools may be applied to virtual team communication and provide quality and progress metrics to virtual team leaders. Representational avatars benefit virtual team communication and productivity. Organizational leaders need measurement tools to assess avatar innovation and monitor progress in virtual teams. A goal of this research was to supply a suite of tools to evaluate the potential for avatars to improve as well as monitor and measure virtual team participation and communication. The virtual teams were composed of students (N= 97) at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in New Zealand and Uppsala University in Sweden. Students enrolled in the Intelligent Business Systems (IBS) course formed teams by country and were randomly assigned to a text-only or avatar-enriched communication format. Survey results indicated that text-based teams were perceived as efficient but lacking in inspired participation. Avatar-enriched teams noted frustration with software but rated their experience as enjoyable. No significant difference in communication quality between teams was indicated, but avatar-enriched teams posted significantly more words on weekly logbooks than text-based teams. Recommendations include a model for data disaggregation that may be of value to improve assessment, productivity, and administrative costs of technology-enhanced virtual teams.


In order to support increased consumer awareness regarding energy consumption, we present new ways of monitoring and predicting with energy in electric appliances. The proposed system is a design of a common electrical power outlet called smart plug that measures the amount of current passing through current sensor at 0.5 second. To acquire data for training and testing the proposed neural network, weather parameters used include average temperature of day, min and max temperature, humidity, and sunshine hour as input data, and power consumption as target data from smart plug. Using the experimental data for training, the neural network model based on Back-Propagation algorithm was developed. Multi layer perception network was used for nonlinear mapping between the input and the output data. It was observed that the proposed neural network model can predict the power consumption quite well with correlation coefficient was 0.9965, and prediction mean square error was 0.02033.


The paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the key differences between the characteristics of Si and SiC low-voltage (LV) BJT. The purpose of this investigation is to identify the special characteristics of SiC LV BJT which will require changes in the parameter extraction sequence of the conventional compact models. Characteristics of LV SiC bipolar devices fabricated in KTH's ion-implantation-free process are compared with a similar Si BJT characteristics. The investigation proves that key differences arrive from the low intrinsic carrier concentration, high contact resistance, and the presence of interfacial trap states in the SiO2/SiC interface. To verify the claims, TCAD deck for LV SiC bipolar device has been developed. TCAD simulation results clearly indicate the importance of interface trap states and, comparatively, large internal resistance in the base region. It also verifies the very low current of SiC BJT at the operating voltage range of Si BJT, which is difficult to measure with curve tracers.


Adjustable maintenance dosing is recently recommended as a new maintenance therapy for the majority of patients with persistent asthma.Because it is different from fixed-dosing regimen,much controversy are aroused between these two different strategies.In this article ,many clinical studies about comparing adjustable maintenance dosing with fixed-dosing regimen in treatment of persistent asthma were summarized.


We have employed molecular beam techniques to investigate the molecular trapping and trapping‐mediated dissociative chemisorption of C3H8 and C3D8 on Ir(110) at low beam translational energies, Ei≤5 kcal/mol, and surface temperatures, Ts, from 85 to 1200 K. For Ts=85 K, C3H8 is molecularly adsorbed on Ir(110) with a trapping probability, ξ, equal to 0.94 at Ei=1.6 kcal/mol and ξ=0.86 at Ei=5 kcal/mol. At Ei=1.9 kcal/mol and Ts=85 K, ξ of C3D8 is equal to 0.93. From 150 K to approximately 700 K, the initial probabilities of dissociative chemisorption of propane decrease with increasing Ts. For Ts from 700 to 1200 K, however, the initial probability of dissociative chemisorption maintains the essentially constant value of 0.16. These observations are explained within the context of a kinetic model which includes both C–H (C–D) and C–C bond cleavage. Below 450 K propane chemisorption on Ir(110) arises essentially solely from C–H (C–D) bond cleavage, an unactivated mechanism (with respect to a gas‐phase energ...


The effect of either (randomized) Heparin/Dihydroergotamine (HDHE) or heparin-acenocoumarin (Hep/S) on the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis in the legs was studied in 212 women of more than 60 years of age with hip fractures. All patients were screened with the 125-I-fibrinogen uptake test (FUT) confirmed by a bilateral ascending venogram upon positive FUT. This revealed good sensitivity and specificity (85/84%) for the FUT. Deep vein thrombosis developed in 37.6% of the HDHE group and in 59.1% of the Hep/S group which was significantly different (p less than 0.005). The calculated thrombosis risk was significantly diminished (by 38% - p less than 0.005) in the HDHE group. Therefore we conclude that in traumatology Heparin/Dihydroergotamine seems to be the prophylaxis of choice.


The study reflects the results of comprehensive rehabilitation of professional athletes with fibular tendinopathy. The effectiveness was evaluated based on the indicators of goniometry of the ankle joint at different stages of the rehabilitation process.Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the developed comprehensive program of physical rehabilitation with tendinopathy of the fibular tendons.Materials and methods. The study involved 60 professional male athletes with the diagnosis of "fibular tendinopathy" established by ultrasound examination. All patients were randomly divided into two equal groups of 30 people. Group I patients, in addition to the main ones, were assigned specially designed exercises for balance, balance and proprioceptive sensitivity on the Biodex Balance System (BBS) biofeedback system (Biodex Medical Systems, Inc. New York, USA), as well as balancing disksResults. The percentage of reduction in the total amplitude of movement in the ankle joint, that is, its deficiency, statistically significantly differed between the groups. Thus, at the time of examination before the start of treatment, the total amplitude deficit in group I patients was 13.2°, and in group II – 14.0°. At week 6 after the start of treatment, this indicator improved in group I patients and amounted to 3.8°, and in group II – 12.2°.


The article describes the concepts of "Projective Techniques"and "Projective Method," giving a brief historical overview of their creation as well as their classification and application to various types of marketing research. Special attention is given to the projective technique "Fairy tale", developed by the author, with a description of its application in political-marketing research.


We show that a strong case can be made for an intrinsic magnetic field of dynamo origin for Mars earlier in its history. The typical equatorial magnetic field intensity would have been ∼ 0.01-0.1 Gauss. The earlier dynamo activity is no longer extant, but a significant remanent magnetic field may exist. A highly non-dipole magnetic field could result from the remanent magnetization of the surface. Remanent magnetization may thus play an important role in the Mars solar wind interactions in contrast to Venus with its surface temperatures above the Curie point. The anomalous characteristics of Mars' solar wind interaction compared to that of Venus may be explicable on this basis.


"Participatory action research" has been acclaimed for producing new knowledge as well as solutions to organizational and social problems. But the term has quite different meanings to different audiences: The "Southern" tradition is committed to community transformation through empowering disenfranchised groups; the "Northern" tradition is concerned with reforming organizations through problem-solving. This paper describes a series of collective reflections that brought together leaders of development agencies from Southern and Northern settings to consider the roles of nongovernmental development organizations (NGOs) in promoting sustainable development. The results of these reflections, in terms of new knowledge and new action strategies, are illustrated. Critical processes for such collective reflection, including the management of value and ideological differences, the definition of participation, and the organization of joint inquiry are discussed. The paper also discusses the implications of such reflections for re-defining the social realities of key actors in the development drama, and so catalyzing major changes in development theory and action through relatively small interventions.


Purpose: This paper aims to assess extrinsic motivation in the Spanish labor market. We focus on evaluating whether remuneration programs have a sufficient prevalence in the Spanish context to be considered in research models. Besides, we are also interested in identifying which are the factors that might affect the adoption of those programs.Design/methodology/approach: We gather the data from three waves (2006, 2010, and 2014) of the salary structure survey (EES) conducted by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE). We use Descriptive Statistics for identifying the incidence and intensity of remuneration programs in the Spanish context. We use the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) for exploring which factors are affecting the implementation of remuneration programs.Findings: Our results show that both degree of use and intensity of remuneration programs related to extrinsic motivation are low. There are not important differences between the three series of data. It seems that the rigidity of the Spanish labor legislation influences the salary structure. In this sense, the basic salary and fixed payments are the central part of the monthly gross amount. Finally, few of the factors under study have a substantial effect on the intensity of variable retribution.Research limitations: Our research uses only official data provided by company payroll records and many economic participation programs are grouped into a single category within the survey, which limits the possibility of analysis. In addition, the cross-sectional nature of the data limits the possibility of establishing causal relationships.Practical implications: We have concluded that remuneration programs related to extrinsic motivation are not being widely used in the Spanish context. This fact is relevant since many studies point out that employee involvement is essential for the success of organizations in the current contextOriginality/value: The importance of the study lies in its focus on the salary structure to assess whether extrinsic motivation mechanisms are used in the Spanish labor market. We have studied the salary structure composition in Spain in a disaggregated way, focusing on variable remuneration, whereas most of the previous research considers the salary as a whole (total gross salary without dividing by retribution concepts). Also, we have identified which factors are affecting the implementation of remuneration programs.mic programs. Also, we have clarified several issues related to the salary structure in Spain


Arzu Topeli, Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Tip Fakültesi, İç, Hastahklari Ana Bilim Dali, TR-06100 Ankara (Turkey) Dear Sir, The cause of hypoglycemia in a patient with chronic renal failure (CRF) is a difficult clinical problem since it may be due to various causes, the first thought of is uremia itself. Here we describe a case with severe hypoglycemia in a patient with CRF. A 26-year old male patient with end-stage renal disease was admitted to our medical intensive care unit (MICU) because of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. He had systemic amyloidosis, diagnosed on rectal biopsy in 1984, secondary to seronegative rheumatoid arthritis since 1982. He had been on a regular hemodialysis program three times weekly since 1985. On admission his blood pressure was 180/100 mm Hg, pulse 104/min, body temperature 36.2°C and physical examination was unremarkable with the exception of a systolic murmur on the mesocardium. Laboratory examination revealed: hemoglobin 8.5 g/dl; blood urea nitrogen 74 mg/dl; creatinine 6.9 mg/dl; Na concentration 136 mgEq/dl; K concentration 4.2 mEq/dl; Ca 8.5 mg/dl on calcium supplement, and P 5.4 mg/dl. GI bleeding was successfully managed with medical therapy and 2 units of packed red blood cells were transfused. During his hospital stay, his plasma glucose levels were noted to be low, with fasting venous blood glucose concentrations of 40 and 45 mg/dl on two separate occasions, though he was asymptomatic. The patient denied any alcohol and drug abuse. Blood samples were taken for basal cortisol and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). ACTH stimulation test was done with 250 mg synthetic ACTH (Synacthen; Ciba-Geigy, Basel, Switzerland) administered intramuscularly and plasma cortisol was measured 30 min later. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), insulin and C-peptide levels were measured after an overnight fast and fasting for 72 h with simultaneous glucose determinations. After stabilization of his GI bleeding, the patient was discharged on his own wish as he refused any other tests while the results of the tests were pending. Two days after discharge he was taken to the emergency room by a family member, in deep coma and unable to respond to even painful stimuli. Blood pressure was 130/ 75 mm


Two species of Microsporidia were identified (Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon cuniculi) among the non-HIV, and immunocompromised individuals at the Jos, Plateau and Benue State, Nigeria. In Jos, 500 species were subjected to laboratory test and the infection rate of microsporidium species were 1(0.5%) for gastroenteritis with <350 cell/μl; 15(15.0%) were HIV individuals with <200 cell/ μl, and 19(19.0%) AIDS patients had low CD4 counts (<100 cell/ μl). The severity of the illness was seen to have impact on the CD4 counts of the individuals in Makurdi where, in both sexes 5(3.5%) students had <100 cells/ μl CD4 counts with corresponding fall in 36(5.7%) Civil servants of <100 cells/ μl cells count. Housewives were 44(8.8%) with <50 cells/ μl, and others (undefined occupational status) 11(1.5%) had CD4 counts <90 cell/ μl. Microsporidiosis is now known to cause a serious threat in HIV/AIDS patients in Nigeria with less pathogenesis among non-HIV individuals hence, P<±1.96 critical region, we accept that, there was a significant difference in the distribution of Microsporidiosis among sexes in Makurdi with the x2=0.59<7.8 at 5% level of significance (indicating a significant difference in sex related prevalence at the Jos, Plateau). However, there was high level of social behavior observed at Makurdi with a general low CD4 counts (<50 cell/ μl-<100 cell/ μl).


Although the global market has witnessed a proliferation of diverse match-3 puzzle games, achieving success in this competitive market remains challenging. The crucial factors that determine the success of match-3 puzzle games are the creation of numerous engaging stages and precise level balancing. The purpose of this study is to propose a match-3 puzzle game system that aims at identifying the most effective algorithm for training artificial intelligence agents in stage construction and level balancing verification. To validate the systems' usefulness, this paper conducted experiments with the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm and obtained cumulative reward and entropy value graphs. Consequently, it has been confirmed that the system can be employed to compare learning outcomes for each algorithm and identify the optimal algorithm suitable for match-3 puzzle games. The use of machine learning technology in match-3 puzzle games holds the promise of revolutionizing game development and leading to the creation of more captivating and rewarding gaming experiences for players.


The present research is due to the sociocultural project to rescue, recognize
and preserve the Haitians immigrants' culture in Baguanos´ community. It has
an ethnographic study about some legends and Traditions that goes around the
Cuban-Haitian holly week in Baguanos and it´s cultural significance as such. Essential
hints of this haitians´ culture and it presence in the mentioned zone, having
as a base the oral testimonies recopiled about that forcing culture.


Co-base alloy was successfully prepared by the laser cladding technology,the microstructure and phase composition of the laser cladding alloys were analyzed by SEM、EDS and XRD,and the wear resistance of the alloy was tested by hardness and wear tests. The results show that the composition of Co-base alloy prepared by laser cladding technology is mainly M6 C,M23C6,Cr Co intermetallic compound and matrix,the morphology of phase of Co-base alloy changes under different process parameters. The hardness and wear resistance of Co-base alloy prepared by laser cladding technology are lower than that of the as-cast alloy.


It is commonly assumed that rainfed areas face a soil fertility crisis. While there are concerns, a research study carried out in 2001/2002 in two districts of semi-arid India by the Natural Resources Institute, the Deccan Development Society and the BAIF Institute for Rural Development challenges the view that farmers are not managing soil fertility carefully, and that simply more external inputs will improve livelihood. It offers alternatives based on consultation with farmers and analysis of a wide range of case studies. The research findings have implications on development programmes, future research and policy. The study focused on two poor groups: small and marginal farmers and how they are managing soil fertility and the soil-related problems on their farms, and (often landless) families engaged in the trade of organic fertilisers, such as farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost. The research included a combination of reviews and fieldwork using both quantitative and qualitative methods, such as farm resource flow mapping. Fieldwork covered four villages each in both Andhra Pradesh (Medak District) and Karnataka (Tumkur/ Hassan Districts). Key findings are: 1. In the study areas there is little evidence that soil productivity is in decline. In fact, yield trends and the views of farmers suggest that productivity is stable or increasing. 2. Farmers are actively managing soil fertility and other soil properties through a wide range of practices and significant inputs of labour, knowledge and capital. 3. While the overall number of livestock is decreasing in the study areas, the proportion of landless and small farmers owning livestock is increasing. Livestock ownership opens up new opportunities for the poor, including trade in FYM and compost. 4. The strong demand for organic inputs and changes in livestock ownership have led to a rapidly expanding market for organic fertilisers. With improved access to the supply of FYM, some of the poor and landless are in a strong position to benefit from this trade. 5. Farmers expressed concern about negative impacts of chemicals on soils such as hardening and compaction, and the soil becoming 'addicted' to fertiliser applications.


Background: Subfertility is defined as one year of unprotected intercourse without conception. This study evaluates the efficacy of sonosalpingography (SSG) as an alternative to Diagnostic laparoscopy (D'Lap) in assessment of tubal patency in patients with primary/secondary subfertility. Objective: To find out whether Sonosalpingography, which is a less invasive method, can be used for assessment of tubal factor in cases of primary and secondary subfertility initially instead of Diagnostic laparoscopy with chromopertubation. Methods and Materials: The study is conducted in the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Govt. KMCH among women with primary/secondary subfertility attending Gynaec OP. SSG is done on 7th or 8th day of the menstrual cycle. Diagnostic laparoscopy with chromopertubation was performed under general anesthesia on the following day to evaluate pelvic pathology and tubal patency. Results: Of the 23 tubal blocks detected by SSG, 14 were primary and 9 were secondary subfertility cases. Of the actual 20 tubal blocks detected by D'Lap, 12 were primary and 8 were secondary subfertility cases. It was found that SSG has a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 90% and a diagnostic accuracy of 96%. Conclusion: SSG offers a much less invasive method of diagnosing tubal pathology while maintaining a high sensitivity and specificity similar to that of laparoscopic chromopertubation.


The title nitrile {1-[4-(1,3-dithian-2-yl)butyl]-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridine-3-carbonitrile, C14H22N2S2} was prepared as part of our investigations into the conjugate addition reactions of unsaturated nitriles [Fleming & Pak (1995). J. Org. Chem. 60, 4299–4301]. The ring adopts a half-chair conformation appended by a four-carbon chain to the dithiane ring which also adopts a chair conformation.


The kinetics of the oxidation of cuprous chloride with oxygen was studied in the solution of hydrochloric acid whose concentration range was 0.2-4.8 molg. Since the reaction was fairly fast, it was difficult to study the reaction by the ordinary kinetic method. Accordingly, the reactions li'vere observed in a stirred vessel with a flat gas-liquid interface in the diffused state. The observed chemical absorption rates of oxygen were analyzed by using the equations for chemical absorption obeyed (m+ n) th-order irreversible kinetics, and it was found that the reaction was of the first-order with respect to cuprous chloride and oxygen. The over-all reaction rate constants were determined from the experimental data by using the equations for chemical absorption obeyed second-order kinetics. It was found that cupric chloride in the solution retarded the reaction rates. The retardation due to cupric chloride was studied and found that the concentration of cuprous chloride was decreased due to the formation of a complex with cupric chloride, which brought about the depression of the rate.


Policy instruments for GHG abatement may follow different strategies. Two prominent distinct strategies that are also part of the EU climate protection approach are market oriented cap and trade regimes and support schemes for carbon free generation technologies. The two strategies differ in their impact on the energy system and thus in effectiveness of abatement, in economic impact, and in consequences for energy security. We contrast the EU-wide impacts of two policy instruments each representing a single control strategy by using the recursive-dynamic, technology rich CGE model NEWAGE-W. First, we consider a cap and trade regime where international emission allowance trade is implemented following the Kyoto-protocol. Second, we consider targets for the application of renewable energy sources in electricity generation. Our model results suggest that for reasons of effectiveness, economic efficiency, and security of supply a GHG control strategy should not merely rely on technology oriented policies. Combining a technology oriented strategy with a cap and trade strategy may only slightly further decrease emissions where this reduction is accompanied by negative growth impacts. Impacts differ between new and old member states and are highly sensitive to the allocation of the overall EU target.


Behavioural science is increasingly becoming recognized as a necessary part of a marketer's skills. Keith Williams provides a review of the main areas of behavioural research, and examines in depth their specific relevance to marketing. Cognitive influences on the individual - perception, learning, and motivation - are discussed first, followed by the social factors - the nature of society, attitudes, communication, and personality. The relationship between cognitive and social influences as it affects marketing is pinpointed in a chapter on modelling consumer behaviour and the decision-making process. The book features sections on behavioural aspects of the organization and the individual within the organization; and the author demonstrates that these considerations along with consumer-orientated studies can play a decisive role in marketing. Each chapter includes diagrams and reading lists. Written specifically for the Chartered Institute of Marketing and CAM Certificate courses.


This paper is for transportation security and fleet management. An embedded device is designed and fabricated into PCB. The embedded device having SIM908, integrated GSM/GPS module, is kept inside vehicle which acquires the speed and location of the vehicle and send data to the server. The fuel level detection circuit calculates the fuel level from the fuel gauge which is present in all the vehicles. Connecting to internet requires additional money deducted by internet provider and the more use of battery. In order to be efficient, SMS function is included to start/stop internet connection. When the owner needs to track the vehicle, a SMS is sent to the device which then establishes the connection to the TCPserver through GPRS. Data such as location speed and fuel level is sent to the server and stored in a database. The web page and android application designed for this purpose tracks the vehicle three dimensionally and show them in integrated map. Emergency call function is designed. The driver can call to the police, ambulance and the owner of the vehicle in emergency situations. The owner can dial a call to the vehicle at situations when the driver goes beyond the limits like high speed driving and wrong direction.


This research is conducted with the goal to provide reference data and guiding principle with which administrative authorities can utilize at the planning of GTX(Great Train Express), through case studies about the policy of detailed source-of-revenue reservation and an assignment, development system of station surrounding area, route design, construction and operation of advanced foreign countries. This research is also focused on analyzing the current situation of express railways, institution and finance resources for railway construction, combination with housing land development and railway construction, and measures to reactivate station surrounding areas targeting at the Greater Tokyo Area and Metropolitan Ile-de-France. Tsukuba Express Line was constructed by the national organization, and then sold to a railway operator. The operator was allowed to pay for the assignation expenses during 35 years after 5 years deferred. This is the reason why the operator the Tsukuba Express Line can concentrate on improving railway service without pressure for operational expenses. Therefore this is the point that we should draw a direct line with, when we promote the construction of social infrastructure by using of PFI(Private Finance Initiative) scheme. In Japan, the government establishes special laws for integrated town redemarcation projects with a view to facilitate land acquirements of railway lands, and return the benefit to the railway operater from the development of station surrounding area.


The opportunity of applying of fundamental tenets of the legal values doctrine to the theory of legal adjustment efficiency of social relation is considered in the article. The social relations of the economic sphere are chosen as a subject


PURPOSE: A control method of taper ratio of strip on finishing mill is provided to minimize fluctuation of coiling tension generated during final stand metal out in finishing mill by providing a control means capable of varying taper reduction ratio by accurately predicting residual weight. CONSTITUTION: The method comprises first step of calculating weight of non-coiled strip by the following expression when a tail part of the strip is at a point of fi stand metal out: £fidc = Wf{(i) to (i+1)} + Wf{(i+1) to (i+2)} + Wf{(i+2) to (i+3)} + Wf{(i+n-1) to (i+n)} + Wrot + Wprm|; second step of calculating completed coiling diameter of coil by the following expression so that taper tension is completed when the tail part of the strip is at a point of fi stand metal out by using the weight of the strip calculated by the first step: £Dfidc = {(total weight of coil - Wfidc)/(densityxπxstrip widthxspace factor(porosity)) + (diameter of mandrel/2)¬2}¬0.5 x 2|; and third step of calculating taper reduction ratio varied by the following expression according to unit weight of the coil by using the completed coiling diameter of the coil calculated by the second step: £taper reduction ratio = (initial tension set value - minimum tension set value)/(completed coiling diameter - diameter of taper tension initiating coil)|.


A stimulant traction system of urban railway vehicle with 2.2 kW AC asynchronous motor is designed,using Siemens S7-300 as controller and Sinamics S120 frequency-converter as drive equipment with communacation between PLC and S120 by PROFIBUS-DP to achieve urban rail traction system operating simulation in the low power condition,and the characteristic parameters of the traction motor are collectied and analyzed.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a design supporting device for storing knowledge or know- how necessary for designing various products, and for allowing even a person who does not much experience to design those products in a short term by utilizing this. SOLUTION: A designer faced to the display screen of integral design supporting software on a terminal 10 performs an operation under the guidance of the integral design supporting software. Various past data related with the design of a portable telephone case are preliminarily stored in a data base 14. When the integral design supporting software is started, and the actual design operation is started, the interface picture of the integral design supporting software is displayed on the display of the terminal 10, and a base model being a basic model at the time of largely classifying the kinds of the portable telephone case is selected. This base model is preliminarily prepared at the time of constructing this system, and registered in the data base 14. COPYRIGHT: (C)2002,JPO


Innate and adaptive immunological responses are accompanied by leukocyte adhesion to the blood‐vessel wall and their subsequent infiltration into the underlying tissues. In the majority of the cases, leukocytes cross the endothelium by squeezing through the border of apposed endothelial cells, a process that is known as diapedesis. Many data suggest that proteins at endothelial junctions establish homophilic interactions with identical proteins, which are present on leukocytes. These interactions might then direct the passage of leukocytes through the endothelial border. In this review, we focus on two endothelial junctional proteins [junctional adhesion molecule‐A (JAM‐A) and PECAM], which play an important role in leukocyte diapedesis. In vivo data with blocking antibodies or inactivation of JAM‐A and PECAM genes indicate that the role of these two proteins depends on the stimulus and the experimental model used.


The existing speckle reduction algorithms of Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) image can efficiently reduce the speckle effects but unfortunately smear edges and details.A new method,based on morphological Haar wavelet,was proposed.In this method,the SAR image was firstly decomposed by 2-D morphological Haar wavelet.Thus,the edges,details and textures were well preserved in low-frequency sub-band.The speckle noise was mainly distributed in high-frequency sub-bands.Then,the average filtering and median filtering were run on the corresponding high frequency sub-bands according to the noise features.Finally,2-D morphological Haar wavelet inverse transform was carried on to low-frequency sub-band coefficients and filtered high-frequency sub-bands coefficients to reconstruct SAR image accurately.The experimental results show that the proposed method can not only filter the speckle noise efficiently,but well preserve the image textures and details of SAR image.The proposed method is better than the traditional Lee filtering,Frost filtering,Kuan filtering and wavelet soft-threshold overall.


The structural, magnetic, and electron transport properties of Mn55−xFexBi45 (x = 0, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 16) films prepared by multilayer deposition and annealing using e-beam evaporation have been investigated. Fe doping has produced a significant change in the magnetic properties of the samples including the decrease in saturation magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy and increase in coercivity. Although the magnetization shows a smooth decrease with increasing Fe concentration, the coercivity jumps abruptly from 8.5 kOe to 22 kOe as Fe content changes from 4% to 5%, but the change in coercivity is small as the concentration goes beyond 5%. The temperature dependence of resistivity shows that the samples with low Fe concentration (≤4%) are metallic, but the resistivity increases unexpectedly as the concentration reaches 5%, where the resistance increases with decreasing temperature below 300 K. First-principle calculations suggest that the observed magnetic properties can be understood as the ...


We have modified the transition probability calculations in the lattice gas model of biased-random walkers. Adopting the collision-avoided rules, a new cellular automata model of pedestrian flow which updates in parallel is established. Using this model, we have simulated and studied the evacuation process of people in a hall. The spatial configuration of people is presented, which is more consistent with the scene of reality than that presented in the lattice-gas model. It is found that the escape time tc closely depends on the width of the door and the initial density of people, it scales as tc ∝ W-0.55±0.01 and tc ∝ ρ0.98±0.01 ≈ ρ.


Significance The Arabidopsis R2R3-MYB transcription factor FOUR LIPS (FLP) is the first identified key transcription factor regulating stomatal development. By screening and analyzing a genetic suppressor of flp stomatal defects, we found that FSP1/RPA2a, which encodes a core subunit of Replication Protein A (RPA) complexes, acts downstream of B1-type Cyclin-Dependent Kinases (CDKB1s). This ensures that terminal division during stomatal development will produce a pair of kidney-shaped guard cells to compose a functional stomatal complex. We demonstrate that the CDK-mediated phosphorylation at the N terminus of RPA2a is essential for the RPA functions in cell cycle control and response to DNA damage. We provide direct evidence for the existence of an evolutionarily conserved, but plant-specific, RPA regulatory pathway in plants. The R2R3-MYB transcription factor FOUR LIPS (FLP) controls the stomatal terminal division through transcriptional repression of the cell cycle genes CYCLIN-DEPENDENT KINASE (CDK) B1s (CDKB1s), CDKA;1, and CYCLIN A2s (CYCA2s). We mutagenized the weak mutant allele flp-1 seeds with ethylmethane sulfonate and screened out a flp-1 suppressor 1 (fsp1) that suppressed the flp-1 stomatal cluster phenotype. FSP1 encodes RPA2a subunit of Replication Protein A (RPA) complexes that play important roles in DNA replication, recombination, and repair. Here, we show that FSP1/RPA2a functions together with CDKB1s and CYCA2s in restricting stomatal precursor proliferation, ensuring the stomatal terminal division and maintaining a normal guard-cell size and DNA content. Furthermore, we provide direct evidence for the existence of an evolutionarily conserved, but plant-specific, CDK-mediated RPA regulatory pathway. Serine-11 and Serine-21 at the N terminus of RPA2a are CDK phosphorylation target residues. The expression of the phosphorylation-mimic variant RPA2aS11,21/D partially complemented the defective cell division and DNA damage hypersensitivity in cdkb1;1 1;2 mutants. Thus, our study provides a mechanistic understanding of the CDK-mediated phosphorylation of RPA in the precise control of cell cycle and DNA repair in plants.


Magnetic moment of a relativistic three-body system of Dirac particles is studied. Special attention is paid to the Lorentz boost of the center of mass coordinate, which allows us to take the correct non-relativistic limit of the matrix element of the electromagnetic interaction.


: Background: Road traffic accidents are as war on the roads and it takes the lives of approx 1.2 million individuals around the world. It is direct effect of modern day urban civilization. Occupied time between the accident and reaching the hospital is life-threatening and that is a very important gap to provide medical first aid to the victims. In urban life, 75% of thoracic trauma follows blunt injury. Greatest difficulty is faced in their management and long time in diagnosis. Hence, objective of study is to get knowledge of the blunt chest injuries among accident victims travelling in different modes of road transportation. Material and Methods: Data was collected from 100 cases of death by road traffic accident that were brought for medicolegal autopsy at the mortuary of Forensic Medicine Department, Rajrajeshwari Medical College and Hospital Bengaluru, during the period from December 2013 to May 2015. Results: Out of 100 cases studied, high risk of age of the victims were between 21-40 years (male 43.9% and female 44%). Males (82%) included the majority of victims as compared to females (18%) in the ratio 4.5:1. Most of the victims died on spot or within 6 hours of the incident (80%). Two-wheeler occupants (62%) were the commonest victims involved in RTA. Most of the RTA occurred in highway roads (78%). Most of patients succumbed on the way to hospital (54%). Conclusion: All blunt thoracic traumas constitute potential factor in increasing the amount of morbidity and mortality and therefore proper attention towards their accurate diagnosis and satisfactory management is mandatory. Last but not the least; a multidisciplinary approach is required for treating trauma victims.


Quantum mechanical diffraction is of particular interest, because it contradicts our everyday life experience.
This theoretical work considers the diffraction of electrons at standing waves of light, referred
to as the Kapitza-Dirac effect. The work focuses on a special version of a Kapitza-Dirac effect in which
the electron interacts with three photons. The particular property of this 3-photon Kapitza-Dirac effect
is, that the electron spin is rotated.
This work considers different relativistic and non-relativistic quantum mechanical wave equations
which are described in momentum space. On one hand, the quantum dynamics of the diffracted electrons
is solved numerically in momentum space and the properties of the 3-photon Kapitza-Dirac effect
are investigated in detail. On the other hand, the quantum dynamics is solved via time-dependent
perturbation theory and is compared with the numerical results.
In contrast to the originally proposed Kapitza-Dirac effect with two interacting photons, the number
of absorbed and emitted photons by the electron is not equal for the 3-photon Kapitza-Dirac effect.
Therefore, the diffraction process only appears for relativistic electron momenta in laser propagation
direction. Furthermore, a very high field strength of the laser beam is required for driving the Kapitza-
Dirac effect with a measurable diffraction probability. The electron spin is rotated along the axis of the
magnetic field of the laser beam, when it undergoes the diffraction process. The rotation angle of the
spin rotation depends on the electron momentum component in laser polarization direction. Therefore,
the probability for flipping the electron spin can be tuned by choosing the electron momentum in
the direction of the laser polarization. An experimental investigation may by established by utilizing
future X-ray laser facilities.


We explore the evolution of stellar mass black hole binaries (BHBs) which are formed in the self-gravitating disks of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Hardening due to three-body scattering and gaseous drag are effective mechanisms that reduce the semi-major axis of a BHB to radii where gravitational waves take over, on timescales shorter than the typical lifetime of the AGN disk. Taking observationally-motivated assumptions for the rate of star formation in AGN disks, we find a rate of disk-induced BHB mergers ($\mathcal{R} \sim 3~{\rm yr}^{-1}~{\rm Gpc}^{-3}$, but with large uncertainties) that is comparable with existing estimates of the field rate of BHB mergers, and the approximate BHB merger rate implied by the recent Advanced LIGO detection of GW150914. BHBs formed thorough this channel will frequently be associated with luminous AGN, which are relatively rare within the sky error regions of future gravitational wave detector arrays. This channel could also possess a (potentially transient) electromagnetic counterpart due to super-Eddington accretion onto the stellar mass black hole following the merger.


This paper proposes the form driven object-oriented reverse engineering modeling methodology by using forms to recover semantics of legacy applications. This methodology consists of five different phases:form usage analysis,form structure modeling,scenari design,and model integration.This methodology use knowledge of the form structure and information of the user's interaction to extract semantics.


The characteristics of alloy membranes are introduced. The alloy membrane structures and performances can be changed by liquid phase blend of the membrane materials. The compatiblity of the membrane materials influences the structures of alloy membranes. The main factors influenced the alloy membranes compatibility include the characteristics, composition, molecular structure, molecular weight, crystallinity, plasticity agent, operating tempeature and solvent. Therefore, liquid pase blend is an effective method for modifying the membrane materials, optimizing the membrane performances.


2 Section One: Education Development Initiatives EDls 3 1.0 Introduction 3 1.1 Policy Reaction 4 1.2 Pilot Studies 4 1.3 Kellogg's Study 5 Section Two: The Northern Wairoa Education Development Initiative 6 2.0 Introduction 6 2.1 EDI Information 7 2.2 Selected Viability Criteria 7 2.3 Discussion 12 Section Three: Other Central Government Reviews 15 3.


BACKGROUND
In the Medimurje County, colorectal cancer (CRC) poses a serious health problem. According to the incidence of CRC in men and women, and mortality in men, it is the second most common malignancy, and the leading one in women. Compared with the average in Croatia, the CRC mortality rate in Medimurje County is higher. CRC mortality can be reduced by repeat screening by fecal occult blood testing (FOBT). It is important to ensure successful implementation and continuous improvement of the national CRC program it Medimurje County.

AIMS AND METHODS
This report describes the implementation of CRC screening in Medimurje County and performance indicators from the first 2.5 years. The main obstacles and suggestion for improvement are presented. Study results are compared with international references. The Institute of Public Health of Medimurje County has to collect data on the uptake, tests, lesions and key indicators needed for monitoring and epidemiologic evaluation of the program.

RESULTS
Medimurje County is located in the northern part of the Republic of Croatia. The target group includes approximately 30,000 individuals suitable for CRC screening (aged 50-74 years). In the first screening round, between January 2008 and September 2010, 19,722 invitation letters with test kits (gFOBT) were sent to people born 1933-1945 and 1955-1957. The overall attendance to screening was 28.1%. Blood in the stool was detected in 12.6% of the individuals presenting for screening. The waiting time for follow up colonoscopy was too long (median 113 days). Colonoscopy rate reached 87.7/100 people with positive test. A total of 22 individuals were diagnosed with cancer and the percentage of cancer detected by colonoscopy was 6.4% (results were available for a total of 346 colonoscopies performed in people born between 1933 and 1942). The main limitations to program implementation are inappropriate software for data collection and the lack of a protocol for standardized data collection; the rate of positive test results is unacceptably high, local colonoscopy service is insufficient and waiting time for colonoscopy too long. Also, the inclusion of general practitioners (GPs) in the program has proved inadequate. The role of local public health institutes as coordinators is of crucial importance, but financial and human resources are inadequate.

DISCUSSION
The participation rate in Medimurje County is higher than the national average, but lower in comparison with other neighboring countries that also use the same methods. Immunochemical FOBT had higher participation rate than guaiac test, so we should consider the choice of iFOBT in our program. Reminder letters had a significant impact on participation, so this strategy should be adopted. For better success of the program, the involvement of GPs should increase and it is important to make a strategic plan to improve the population and GP awareness of the screening program importance.

CONCLUSION
The national program is tested in local conditions and it needs change based on the difficulties observed. The results of program implementation are quite satisfactory considering the conditions in which it is carried out, but less satisfactory than those reported from the neighboring countries. In the next period, the program should be allocated due financial and human resources, and it is important to agree upon a strategy that would yield the best results.


The use of videoconferencing for remote class teach ing includes not only a simple technology acquisition but also the a daptation of teachers, students and all pedagogical processes involved int o the preparation and development of the classes. Unlike other forms of r emote class, videoconferencing facilitates classroom teacher-stu dent interaction, but requires a strong adaptation of both parties in this context ual change. This work shows how the use of videoconferencing at the National Un iversity of the Northwest of Buenos Aires Province, impacted over the universi ty community and the actions that transformed a technological project in to a diary reality.


A study on the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the plant was conducted at low land and private highland forest. The purpose of this study was to get plant species with high CO2 absorption in both lowland and upland of the private forest. The study used a survey method. The location was grouped into two strata, namely lowland and highland of the private forest. The sample of composition of the private forest vegetation at both lowland and highlands location was carried out by using quadrat 10 m x 10 m. The capacity of the plant CO2 absorption was analyzed through the mass of carbohydrates. The results showed that there are 27 species of plants that consistently composed at both strata of private forest. These species consist of both trees, and crops with the number of species were 21 and 6 species, respectively. Species of trees that have a high absorption of CO2 are Tectona grandis, Neolamarckia cadamba, Havea brasiliensis, Coffeea robusta, Gmelina arborea, Cocos nucifera, Mangifera indica, Hibiscus macrophyllus, Canna edulis, Vigna sinensis, Zea mays, and Calocasia esculenta. The results of this study can be used as a basis for preparing a sustainable private forest pattern-based on the high absorption of CO2.


The location of a chainstore directly influences its survival and development.On the basis of the challenges China chainstores face,this paper has analyzed the traditional chain store location theory and its inadequacy,summarized current site-selecting methods,and proposed the real application.


To research the influence of stepped reinforcement size on pile displacement in the passive zone of deep foundation pit,we presented the concept of stepped reinforcement.On the basis of field test data of a foundation pit,we established a numerical model in which factors affecting the pile displacement such as the reinforcement shape and size are taken into consideration.Results showed that the simulation could well reflect the actual deformation of pile support system.The reinforcement in the passive zone has significant impact on the pile displacement.The optimum reinforcement effect can be obtained when the reinforcement width and depth at each step are approximately equal.Compared with other reinforcement approaches,the stepped reinforcement has obvious advantage,and is also highly feasible.


George Belknap and Angus Campbell, "Political Party Identification and Attitudes Toward Foreign Policy," Public Opinion Quarterly, 15 (1952), 601-23; Warren E. Miller, "Party Preference and Attitudes on Political Issues: 1948-1951," American Political Science Review, 46 (1952), 45-60; Angus Campbell et al., The American Voter (New York: Wiley, 1960); Philip E. Converse, "The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Politics," in David Apter, Ideology and Discontent (New York: The Free Press, 1964), pp. 206-61; Angus Campbell and Donald Stokes, "Partisan Attitudes and the Presidential Vote," in Eugene Burdick and Arthur J. Brodbeck, American Voting Behavior (New York: Free Press, 1959), pp. 353-71; Philip E. Converse et al., "Continuity and Change in American Politics," American Political Science Review, 63 (1969), 10831105; Philip E. Converse, "The Concept of a Normal Vote," in Angus Campbell et al., Elections and the Political Order (New York: Wiley, 1966), pp. 9-39; Philip E. Converse, "Information Flow and the Stability of Partisan Attitudes," Public Opinion Quarterly, 26 (1962), 578-99; Philip E. Converse et al., "Stability and Change in 1960: A Reinstating Election," American Political Science Review, 55 (1961), 78-95; Richard W. Boyd, "Popular Control of Public Policy: A Normal Vote Analysis of the 1968 Election," American Political Science Review, 66 (1972), 429-48; Aage Clausen et al., "Electoral Myth and Reality: The 1964 Election," American Political Science Review, 59 (1965), 321-32. 2 Campbell et al., The American Voter, pp. 148-49; Converse, "The Nature of Belief Systems ... ," p. 240.


Aiming at the low efficiency of the traditional examination, waste of human and material resource, this paper presents the design and implementation of a web- based test system based on B/S structure. The system realizes efficient, flexible arrangement of multi subject test, achieves low cost to organize students examination, automatic scoring, paper archive, and is convenient for students to read the history record, Checks the scores and knowledge of each test questions, at the same time, while using the backend system calling Microsoft office components, to achieve a key generation related documents function. After many hundreds people at the same time tests prove that the system is stable and efficient.


The invention discloses a preparation method of amphoteric polyacrylamide dispersion liquid. The preparation method comprises the following steps: putting a main functional monomer into a mixed system comprising an amphoteric dispersion stabilizer, a chelating agent, a pH regulator and inorganic salt deionized water solution; initiating a reaction by virtue of an initiating agent; and preparing the amphoteric polyacrylamide dispersion liquid by virtue of a dispersion polymerization method. The dispersion liquid prepared by adopting a novel amphoteric polymer dispersion stabilizer has the characteristics of good stability, high molecular weight, high dissolution rate and the like, and a synthetic process of the dispersion liquid is environment-friendly and pollution-free and is low in energy consumption, and the product is nontoxic and noncorrosive, cannot generate secondary pollution and accords with the development direction of green and environment-friendly chemical assistants. The amphoteric polyacrylamide dispersion liquid has an application prospect in the fields of water treatment, papermaking, printing and dyeing, oil fields, mining, daily chemicals and the like.


Flow control is an important issue in the performance of aircrafts and many fluid mechanical devices. In recent years, synthetic jet actuators have shown good promise in delivering active flow control. Unsteady three dimensional incompressible laminar numerical studies were performed on single and two-orifice synthetic jet actuators in order to investigate the benefits of dual circular orifice synthetic jets over a single one for higher circulation production. The flow features of synthetic jets and the circulation of the vortex rings from one orifice and two-orifice actuators are examined and compared in this paper. Two dominant parameters in two-orifice actuators are the orifice diameter and spacing between them. The effects of these parameters on the vortex rings produced were investigated in detail. It was found that the generation of two distinct and non-interacting vortex rings has direct dependency on the spacing between the orifices. It is important that the vortex rings do not interact with each other to prevent any circulation cancellation, and in this regard, the present study suggests that a minimum spacing related to the diameter of the orifice (Do) and the dimensionless stroke length (L) is required (~1.5 L*Do). The present study also demonstrates that it is possible to increase circulation by more than 160 percent with a fixed input energy as a result of having two orifices with smaller diameters but higher dimensionless stroke lengths using two-orifice actuators.


This study was conducted to investigate the effect of three toxicants: diazinon , carbaryl and lambdacychalothrin, on catalase and glutathione s-transferase activity in brain, liver and kidney tissues of both weanling and adult rats. Eighty male Wistar rats were used, 40 of them were weanling with an average ages of 3-4 weeks, and the other 40, were adult with average ages of 13-15 weeks. Rats from each group were subdivided into 4 subgroups; 10 animals in each. One subgroup was regarded as control, the others three groups were treated with either 50ppm of diazinon, 50-ppm of carbaryl or 20 ppm of lambdacychalothrin. The toxicants were given in drinking water for 45 days. The results indicated that, diazinon carbaryl" and lambdacychalothrin in the applied doses inhibited the activity ofcatalase and glutathione s-transferase in the weanling as well as in the adult rats.The inhibitory effects of the toxicants on the activity of glutathione s-transferase was greater in the tissues of weanling rats in comparison with adult one. The inhibition in the activity of the catalase and glutathione s-transferase (an antioxidant enzymes), may be due to that the applied toxicants induced oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. This in turn could cause inhibition in the activity of antioxidants, or oxygen free radical scavangering enzyme.


In microarray experiments, gene expression profiles are often affected by biological properties, such as synchronization loss, and show some non-stationarity. Worse still, the microarray data usually suffers from missing values. The conventional spectrum-based methods, when used to identify a subset of genes that are periodically expressed, are degraded by these factors. In this paper, we use the Wigner-Ville distribution analysis and L-curve method for detection of periodically expressed genes. We provide a graphical exploratory device for assessment of the presence of periodically expressed genes. Then, we identify the subset of genes actually involved in the cell cycle using the L-curve method. The experiments on several widely used datasets show that our algorithm can effectively reduce the effect of non-stationarity and missing values problems


The dynamic response performance of single-phase Boost power factor correction (PFC) converter is poor, which is easy to cause large input current ripple. This paper proposes the working principle of bidirectional interleaved boost-PFC in current continuous mode (CCM). And the characteristics of the system analysis, the average current control circuit is optimized, through Matlab simulation analysis, the circuit has a faster dynamic response speed, can reduce the average current stress of the switching device, while achieving higher output power; Finally, a 3.2kW staggered parallel Boost-PFC experimental sample machine was built. The experimental results show that the interleaved parallel PFC circuit has higher power factor and better current ripple suppression effect.


Direct emissions from commercial-scale composting are uncertain. We used micrometeorological methods to continuously measure greenhouse gas (CO2, CH4, N2O) emissions from full composting of green waste and manure. We measured oxygen (O2), moisture, and temperature continuously inside the composting pile, and analyzed chemical and physical characteristics of the feedstock weekly as potential drivers of emissions. Temperature, moisture, and O2 all varied significantly by week. Feedstock porosity, C:N, and potential N mineralization all declined significantly over time. Potential net nitrification remained near zero throughout. CH4 and CO2 fluxes, indicators of feedstock lability, were variable, and most emissions (75% and 50% respectively) occurred during the first three weeks of composting. Total CH4 emitted was 1.7 ± 0.32 g CH4 kg−1 feedstock, near the median literature value using different approaches (1.4 g CH4 kg−1). N2O concentrations remained below the instrument detection. Oxygen, moisture and temperature exhibited threshold effects on CH4 emissions. Net lifecycle emissions were negative (−690 g CO2-e kg−1), however, after considering avoided emissions and sinks. Managing composting piles to minimize methanogenesis—by maintaining sufficient O2 concentrations, and focusing on the first three weeks—could reduce emissions, contributing to the climate change mitigation benefit of composting.


DCF more more frequent detection of this drug in the environment. DCF was detected in samples from in fl uent, ef fl uent, and receiving streams, in surface waters, in groundwater, and even in 2021 Abstract. The decomposition of diclofenac (DCF) in sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant was investigated. It was found that adsorption of DCF on sludge is about 40%. Compared to previous studies, where the degradation yield in aqueous solution was 100%, in those experiments at the dose up to 5 kGy, only 50% of initial DCF concentration of 50 mg  L − 1 was decomposed in sediment and in solution over the sediment. The experiments were carried out using both gamma radiation and electron beam. It has been observed that DCF in the aqueous phase, above the sediment, was decomposed with the same ef fi ciency using both gamma radiation and electron beam. Whereas for DCF in the sediment, a higher degradation ef fi ciency was found when gamma radiation was applied. This is most likely due to the limited penetration depth of the electron beam into the sludge layer. It was shown that the applied peroxide addition (in a stoichiometric amount needed for complete mineralization of 50 mg L − 1 DCF) did not cause increase in yield of


The Huanxiangwa gold deposit,which is a large scale structural alteration type Au deposit,is located in east part of the precious metallic-polymetallic metallogenic belt in Huashan-Xiong'ershan on the southern edge of North China Craton.The tectonic magmatic activities in this area are very frequent with the ore-forming conditions being ascendant.The orebodies in this area are strictly controlled by F985 which is a major Au-bearing structural alteration belt.The mineralization can be classified in 5 phases,of which the K-feldspar-(Au) pyrite phase(Ⅲ) is the major one for ores' forming.The research has shown that this deposit is a postmagmatic epithermal-mesothermal Au deposit with the best ore-forming temperature being 180℃~265℃,as well as the ore-forming depth being 0.68km~0.83km.The general characteristics of the ore-forming solution are rich in elements of Na,Ca with the ore-forming fluid being the liquor containing halogen and alkali matters,which belong to the NaCl~H2O,CO2~H2O systems.The ore-forming solution in the major ore-forming phase presented in weak acid,while it presented in alkalescence in the later metallogenic phases.From earlier phase to later phase,the δ34S value has changed from higher negative to lower negative,which indicates the characteristics of deep-source S element.


Problem statement: topicality, novelty, methodology of the research. The logical grounds of this article are a requirement of the scientific understanding of specific of Lesya Ukrainka's work in the national puppet theatre and absence of articles from the marked question.
Based on the comparative, diachronicsynchronic, historical, evolutional methods and principles of analytical and culturological approaches, the aim of the article – creation of panorama of the works by Lesya Ukrainka in the Ukrainian puppet theatre of last XX – early XXI century, with the exposure of specific of their interpretations, – is
realized as an innovative element of the reseach. The results of the study. Lesya Ukrainka's work, as a representation of the Ukrainian culture polyphony and Ukrainian nation's mental horizons specificity, purchased sign status and meaningfulness of the modern scale conceptual, vivid, thematic and expression field for the intensive creative searches of modern representatives of national puppet theatre. Meaningfulness of the creative inheritance by Lesya Ukrainka in the context of the Ukrainian puppet theatre is certified by it representation on the All-Ukrainian
festivals, and also activation of it introducing to the modern repertoire
of puppet theatre. Research of aesthetic parameters of the specific versions of Lesya Ukrainka's works allows to establish the presence of
certain repertoire dominants – such as the "Forest song"; gravitation to implementation of the earlier not typical for the
puppet theatre works as the "Old fairy tale", and the creation of original presentations, such as the "Lesya Ukrainka. Woman fate", "Lesya's letters" (in particular, on the base of epistolary inheritance by authoress). The specifics of embodiment of Lesya Ukrainka's works in the Ukrainian puppet theatre of last XX – early XX century lays in their inter-textual modification, gravitation to creation of associative artistic space and to use the unconventional systems of dolls (plane- silhouette paper doll in presentation the "Old fairy tale"). In accordance with originality of conceptual foundation of Lesya Ukrainka's works – drama of ideas – the modern stage directors appeal to the dramaturgical type that marked by secondariness of eventfulness relatively to poetics based on updating of palette of facilities of expressiveness and ideological concepts. Such innovations in "re-reading" of works by the authoress is a dialogue of doll and living acting, that creates two dimensions in development of action ("Stone Lord", "Forest song"), the symbolic manipulations with the piece of paper ("Lesya's letters"), creation of synthetic artistic space of the spectacle, that combine light, color, elements of shadows theatre and theatre of reader, living acting, work with the dolls of different constructions and like other, and also intention to
the conscious limiting of facilities of expressiveness (monochrome and maximum narrowing space of scenic action in interpretation of the"Forest song"). An innovative touch in the puppet versions of Lesya
Ukrainka's works is the accentuation of mental markers of the national worldview, saturation with the national attributes and folk rites, which to the attraction of contemporary artists to revive the sources of national spiritual culture. In the pluralism of puppet representations, Lesya Ukrainka's work is marked by a general tendency to philosophical and innovative affirmation of the national foundations of the worldview and the creation of a synthetic artistic space. Conclusion. Lesya Ukrainka's work is an open and inexhaustible thematic line for the modern national puppet theatre not only due to the lack of an established tradition of its embodiment. Philosophical, symbolic, appealed to the foundations of the national worldview the contents of her work and unbreakable connection of it with world art culture – the attributive features of the creative world of the writer, which determine its timeless relevance for contemporary artists, the conceptual and expressive diversity
of its interpretations.


On the bases of field on-site inspection and analysis of the data dealt with, the article mainly discusses the problems existing in tourist exploring of Baimasi Mountain Forest Park in Jincheng by the analyses of scenic resource feature and the current situation evaluation of the tourism development of the park, and proposes the tour development stratagies for the park from the followed four points aimed at above problems: scenic spots planning, tour transport development, tour spots joint and tourism exploring.


In this study, Artemia parthenogenetica was fed with either Spirulina (S), yeast (Y), rice bran (R), oat (O) or their combinations in 10 experimental groups in triplicate for 20 days in laboratory conditions and growth, biomass, feed conversion rate (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR), survival rate, crude protein, crude lipid contents were determined. The highest average body length obtained at the end of the experiment was 2.805±0.003 mm in treatments (S) and (SYR), and the highest average individual dry weight was 23.057 µg in treatment (S). The mean biomass changed between 167.2±0.003 mg and 115.7±0.012 mg. The highest biomass value was 20.9 g/m3 in treatment (S), followed by 20.5 g/m3 in treatment (SYR). The highest FCR was found to be similar in (S) and (Y) with 1.14±0.02. SGR was 1.01±0.001 in all experimental groups. The highest survival rate was in treatment (S), and overall it ranged between 78.22±1.78 - 90.64±0.06%. The highest crude protein contents of Artemia were found in (SR) and (S) and the highest lipid content was found in treatment (O). As a result, it is thought that combinations of by-products such as rice bran and yeast together with microalgae will be economical in the cultivation of Artemia parthenogenetica.


A permanent magnet probe flowmeter and a Pitot-static bubbler flowmeter are considered for coolant flow measurement in the Fast Test Reactor. The permanent magnet probe offers a sensitivity on the order of tenths of a millivolt per foot/second flow velocity, appropriate linearity of response, simplicity of operation, and no contact between liquid metal and electrical insulation. Its applicability is contingent on magnetic material having sufficient magnetization retention in high temperature and high neutron flux environments. The Pitot-static bubbler offers low sensitivity to nuclear radiation, use of off-the-shelf materials, and high, though non-linear, sensitivity. Positive displacement flow in the bubbler may eliminate plugging of the probe tubing by sodium oxide.


The number of vehicles parked on-street in the UK has increased by four times during the last 25 years. There could be a further doubling of this number to 5M by 2025, if effective policies to reverse this trend are not applied. This article investigates possible alternatives. One reason for this trend is the increasing number of households requiring separate homes. One of the main constraints to providing additional homes is the physical limitation imposed by parking needs. A new study for the London Research Centre by the Llewellyn-Davies consultancy suggests how to increase capacity by about 50% over current Urban Development Plan (UDP) policies and standards in London. It is examining three design site options, based on different approaches to design and development standards: (1) based on current UDP policies and standards for housing density and car parking; (2) a site-specific design-led approach, which would optimise layouts and reduce off-street parking to one space per housing unit; and (3) the same approach with no off-street parking. It claims that higher housing densities could be achieved without reducing quality of life. Another possibility is to encourage more car-sharing among residents. Several examples of approaches being considered by local authorities in London and other cities are outlined.


The purpose of this study was to obtain the basic data as a improvement method through the fact-revealing concerning the drinking water management of school and utilization of student. The problems of the research are as follows: First, to investigate status of management of drinking water by area a...


From the four aspects of low frequency oscillation principle, analytical methods, affecting factors, and control policy, the author summaries the study status of low frequency oscillation and analyses the progress research in the field. According to the actual power system in the new characteristics of low frequency oscillation appear, and puts forward the mechanism of low frequency oscillation problem, namely: low frequency oscillation research needs to solve problems. In addition to this, combining with the accomplishment in others fields, such as: control subject, Structural power subject, electronic technology etc, the paper is concerned about new thinking about analytical methods and control policy for low frequency oscillation, such as: modal analysis method, synchronized phasor measurement technique, energy storage technique.


One set of problems facing anyone trying to track public expenditure programmes is how to handle the intergovernmental aspects. This can be illustrated by Rose and Davies's study of public expenditure in Britain. Amongst these problems are changes to the system of grants from central government to local authorities and transfers of functions between local and central government. There are also problems in the consistency with which Rose and Davies use central government grant or all of relevant expenditure in devising programmes. As a result, Rose and Davies findings about local government expenditure programmes lack consistency over time or between programmes. These discrepancies occur in what in some cases are the largest programmes in their policy area, so they also undermine the empirical and theoretical conclusions drawn about policy change as a whole in Britain. Alternative approaches and data may provide a more meaningful tracking of policy change.


This study analized the association of new drugs antagonists for AT1 receptor with hypertension, in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR). The new drugs (50mg/Kg) were administrated intravenously into the following groups: SHR‐C (saline‐treated); SHR‐Los (positive control, losartan), SHR‐Salt I, SHR‐Salt II, SHR‐Salt III and SHR‐Salt IV. The arterial blood pressure (BP) was measured before and after administration of drugs at 0, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 minutes. In the SHR‐Los, BP decreased 13.1 mmHg after 15 minutes and 33.8 mmHg after 240 minutes. Salts I and II did not have effect on BP. In the SHR‐Salt III, we detected a 6 mmHg BP increased after 15 minutes, with a decreased of 9 mmHg in 240 minutes. A ramarkable reduction of 17 mmHg of BP was detected in the SHR‐Salt IV after 15 minutes, similar to SHR‐Los. Angiotensin hydrolyzes was analyzed in plasma by HPLC to verify the role of these compounds as ACE inhibitors/activators. Salt III converted 80% of angiotensin I to angiotensin II in higher speed than Salt I, Salt II and Los, implying that Sal III could work as an ACE activator. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the Salt IV decreased BP similar to Losartan. In addition, the BP increased by Salt III, suggested that this drug may be a possible allosteric modulator of ACE, confirmed by results obtained through HPLC and binding experiments. Supported by Capes and Instituto Vita Nova.


AlN-C composites with excellent microwave attenuation characteristics were prepared by hot-pressing under the reasonable controls of sintering temperature and soaking time with the AlN and C powder as starting powder. The effect of the content of attenuator C on the microwave attenuation characteristics of AlN-C composites was investigated by network analyzer and SEM. The results show that: when the content of the attenuator C is very low(w ≤ 1.0%), AlN-C composites has not attenuate electromagnetic wave performance. When the content of attenuator C is in the range of 3.0 to 5.0 %, AlN-C composites represents the wide frequency band attenuation performance favorably. When the content of attenuator C is more than 7.0 %, AlN-C composite represents the narrow frequency band attenuation performance obviously. At the same time with the content of C increasing, the attenuation increases, the effective attenuation bandwidth decreases gradually and the center resonant frequency f0 will shift to high frequency. The dielectric characteristics of AlN-C composites are also analyzed. The mechanisms of microwave attenuation mainly ascribe to the electric conductive loss and the interfacial polarization loss.


Forecasting elections is a high-stakes problem. Politicians and voters alike are often desperate to know the outcome of a close race, but providing them with incomplete or inaccurate predictions can be misleading. And election forecasting is already an innately challenging endeavor—the modeling process is rife with uncertainty, incomplete information, and subjective choices, all of which must be deftly handled. Political pundits and researchers have implemented a number of successful approaches for forecasting election outcomes, with varying degrees of transparency and complexity. However, election forecasts can be difficult to interpret and may leave many questions unanswered after close races unfold.


Dear Editor: In their article published in September 2004 (1), authors Dr Piper and Dr Merskey respond to previous assertions that the "critics of DID 'never review the literature adequately'" (p 593). In fact, the criticism is accurate. A case in point is their review of my article confirming childhood abuse in child and adolescent cases of multiple personality disorder (MPD) (2). In their article, Dr Piper and Dr Merskey allege that confirmation of abuse is lacking. I will quote directly from my article so that readers can make up their own minds:


This study assesses sensitivity to stereotype threat among girls learning to play football. It fits precisely in the perspective of works on the reduction factors of this phenomenon. It proposes emotional intelligence as a factor that can reduce sensitivity to this threat; hence the hypothesis: among girls learning to play football, high emotional intelligence reduces sensitivity to stereotype threat more than low emotional intelligence. Specifically, participants' exposure to an ingroup stereotype of incompetence was expected to impact them differently, depending on their level of emotional intelligence. This hypothesis was tested through an experiment carried out with 61 female pupils attending the Government Bilingual High School of Penka-Michel (Cameroon). That exeperiment was conducted in a natural setting, following the stereotype threat's experimental paradigm. The results do not support the hypothesis of the study, although it can be observed that the average performance of participants with high emotional intelligence is higher than that of their counterparts with low emotional intelligence (f (1, 61) = 6.79; Ŋ = .98; p = .135˃.05; t = .63; p = .532˃.05; M high IE = 3566.67> M low IE = 3433.72). It is concluded that emotional intelligence does not significantly reduce sensitivity to stereotype threat.


Since the potential consequences of the subsynchronous resonance phenomenon were encountered in 1970, concern has escalated among those electric utilities which rely upon series compensation to seek reliable methods for determining the existing power systems subsynchronous stability margins. In the several publications available on this subject, no attempt has been made to represent the synchronous machine governing and excitation control systems in the mathematical models devised, particularly when the torsional dynamics of the shaft are considered. It is the main objective of this paper to present a rigorous mathematical technique for the evaluation of the subsynchronous resonance stability limits of regulated synchronous machines connected through series compensated transmission systems. The results of a digital simulation of the suggested mathematical technique is also presented. The investigations presented show that properly designed electrohydraulic governors can improve considerably the subsynchronous resonance stability limits. On the other hand, practical voltage regulators seem to be unable to achieve such an improvement.


The study sought to explore the influence of strategic capabilities on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya. Specific objectives of the study were: To assess the influence of human resource capability on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya;  To determine the influence of financial capability on competitive advantage of cut flower companies in Kenya; To establish the influence of knowledge management on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya; To assess the influence of financial capability on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya and to  establish the influence of technological capability on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya. It was anchored on the theories of Resource Based Theory (RBT); Dynamic Capability and Human Resource Theory. The target population was 228 composed of directors, marketing managers, financial officers and accountants as well as supervisors. A sample size of 70 respondents was used. The primary data was collected using a questionnaire pretested for validity and reliability. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics where data was coded and descriptive statistics generated using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences. Results were presented using, tables. The study found that human resource capabilities and knowledge management capabilities have positive and significant influence on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya. Financial capability had a negative significant influence while technological capabilities had positive but insignificant influence on competitive advantage of cut flower exporting companies in Kenya. The study recommended that firms should strive to cultivate organizational capabilities. Recommendation is made to the cut flower firms' management to come up with ways and procedure to enhance the capabilities of individual players such as the managers and subordinate staff in terms of technology, knowledge management capabilities and financial capabilities.
Strategic Capabilities, Human Resource Capabilities, Financial Capabilities, Knowledge Management Capabilities, Technological Capabilities, Competitive Advantage