The soot oxidation catalysts supported on Al2O3 ceramic substrate were prepared by using the dip-coating method.The catalytic activity of the catalysts as well as the water absorbability and sulfur-resistant property were investigated.It was found that when the molar ratio of Pb∶K = 1∶2,the Pb/K catalyst behaved an ignition temperature of 308 ℃ and the highest oxidation rate occurred at a temperature of 405 ℃ and the soot was completely oxidized before 448 ℃.At the Nd(La)∶Pb∶K molar ratio of 1∶1∶10,the ignition temperatures and peak temperatures were 308 ℃ and 403 ℃ for the Nd/Pb/K,and 313 ℃ and 410 ℃ for the La/Pb/K.Apter sulfuration,the ignition temperature was 352 ℃ when the Nd∶Pb∶K molar ratio was 2∶1∶10,and 357 ℃ when the La∶Pb∶K molar ration was 1∶1∶2.The experimental results showed that the catalytic activity water-absorbing property and sulfur-resistant property were improved with addition of La and Nd elements.


This paper investigates the effect of different types of oil price shocks on the time varying correlation between oil and stock markets, and compares this effect in the oil importer and oil exporter countries for the period of 1996:1- 2014:2. To this end, the paper uses SVAR, cDCC and MS models which introduced by Kilian (2009), Aielli (2011) and Hamilton (1989), respectively. These models help us to apply nonlinear and dynamic linkages in estimating relationship between oil price shocks and the correlations between oil and stock markets. Our results show that correlation between oil and stock markets does not depend on oil price shocks origins and being oil importer or oil exporter countries. We also conclude that the relationship between oil price returns and stock index returns are time varying for selected countries. Considering the results, it is obvious that international investors could not hedge oil price shocks' risks in their global portfolio by diversification and managing their portfolio of oil importer and oil exporter stock markets. Hence, it is suggested they use other substituted policies and investing strategies, like future contracts.


© 2009 The Authors. doi: 10.2340/00015555-0722 Journal Compilation © 2009 Acta Dermato-Venereologica. ISSN 0001-5555 Sir, Necrobiosis lipoidica (NL) is a chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease of the skin of unknown aetiology, which can be associated with diabetes mellitus. NL is characterized by slowly growing initially erythematous plaques that turn into yellow-brown, partly telangiectatic and atrophic scars. Ulcerations occur in approximately 35% of cases. Many therapies have been recommended for this chronic disease; nevertheless, therapeutic success is rare. We report here the successful treatment of ulcerated NL with clofazimine, without noteworthy side-effects.


The following article was intended to give an account of the documentary review of academic and research production that has taken place at the University of Santo Tomas since 1999 and to date, focused on the field of recreation. The review began with the search of the University's databases, inquiring about documents associated with the aforementioned topic; said information collected in an RAE format allowed an ordering based on three categories: a) conceptualization, b) history and, c) trends associated with recreation. The research was qualitative with a descriptive approach. We analyzed 21 documents of different types, explicit in the following sections. It was concluded that there is a challenge to the promotion in the academic community about rethinking, reflecting and writing about the manifestations that recreation has had over time, that is, about history, as well as conceptualizing internally from knowledge and own experiences of the tomasina community and from how the trends of recreation are action scenarios for future professionals.


Highly structured fluorescence spectra are reported for molecules isolated in Ne and Ar matrices. Their excitation spectra are very similar to the gas-phase two-photon ionization spectrum of . Most of the bands seen in emission can be attributed to Herzberg - Teller or Jahn - Teller active modes and to combinations of these modes. The intensity distribution of the fluorescence bands is compared with calculated intensities and shows that the emission is of mixed singlet and character in Ne matrices in nearly equal proportions and of mixed singlet and character in Ar matrices, in a proportion of 4 to 1 in favour of the state. The band frequencies show that these three states are degenerate to within our experimental uncertainty and we estimate their gas-phase energy at . The assignment of ground-state vibrational band frequencies are rediscussed in the light of the present results.


The present study was an attempt to study the religious orientation and mental health among university students belonging to different family backgrounds like nuclear or joint family. The data for the present study was obtained from university students [N=200 (Males 105 & Females 95)] belonging to various departments of Aligarh Muslim University. The data collected was analyzed by using appropriate statistical techniques like mean, SD and t-test. A significant difference was found among university students on mental health with respect to their family type. However, no significant difference was found among them on intrinsic religious orientation and extrinsic religious orientation. Citation: Mehrnaz Dehgan, Irshad Ahmad Najar, Muzafar Hussain Kawa (2018). Religious Orientation And Mental Health Among University Students With Reference To Type Of Family. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR ) ISSN:2581-4281 Vol 1, Issue 9, November, 2018, #Art.917, pp 58-62 International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research(IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281 Volume 1, Issue 9, November, 2018 https://doi.org/10.31426/ijamsr.2018.1.9.917 https://doi.org/10.31426/ijamsr.2018.1.9.917 59 International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281


In order to exploit fresh herbage material into product, an experimental study of the compression process is conducted for the fresh corn stalk. Based on the data of experiment, a mathematical model in term of the relationship between compression pressure and density is established and the law for the feeding rate to exert influence on the compression pressure, compressed density and the power consumption is acquired. All these provide a basis for the optimum design of the fresh herbage materials compression engineering.


The author studies retrospective and modern categories of admissible limitations of the constitutional right of a person to elect others and to be elected for appointment into bodies of public authority and public offices if they have committed grave or very grave crimes. The author also gives a contemporary assessment of the normative introduction of such limitations in the election field taking into account the legal positions in international and Russian court practice. It is argued that the current Russian constitutional-legal model of free elections has an undifferentiated limitation of active suffrage for persons sentenced to a criminal punishment with a limitation of freedom. The author analyzes the court practice regarding the lawfulness and adequacy of undifferentiating limitation of suffrage rights of convicts, specifically, the legal position of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. It is shown that some regimes of incarceration should be transferred into alternative types of punishment that do not entail the limitations of active suffrage. It is stated that there could be more stringent limitation for the realization of passive suffrage than for realization of the constitutional right to elect representatives into bodies of public authority and public offices, especially in cases of grave and very grave crimes. The author concludes that the limitations imposed by the federal legislation regarding the constitutional right to suffrage for persons guilty of grave or very grave crimes is admissible, no matter if the criminal punishment for such publically dangerous and illegal actions is conditional or it is an actual imprisonment in a penitentiary institution.


The program metatext1 was developed out of an application for indexing large quantities of textual data regularly over a long period of time. It turned out to be necessary to reorganize the structure of the descriptors being used at any given time. In order to improve indexing and the retrieval it was therefore decided to detach that part of the program in which the indexing takes place from the part in which the structure of the descriptors is being handled. The result of this design is a powerful tool for the collection and interpretation of historical data. The first historical sources analyzed with the help of metatext were three examples of 16th century legislation of the German Reich.2 The purpose of the thesis in progress is to analyze forms of social discipline in these sources as part of the early modern state formation. The term social discipline3, first introduced by Gerhard Oestreich, integrates Weber's theory of the development of modern society defined by reason and


The unprecedented spread of pandemic crisis has changed the paradigm of banking and financial regulation worldwide Specifically, the Covid-19 has imposed emergency regulatory measures to contain the risk of default for businesses and households Liquidity support and loans guarantees have been adopted by public authorities to mitigate the deterioration of debt market and commercial paper However the policy makers and regulators have concentrated their attention on temporary and short-term ad hoc interventions that leave discretion in decision-making process This article examines the UK regulatory responses to the pandemic outbreak addressing the challenges of "monetary financing" and the impact of exceptional lending schemes for consumers borrowers It also discusses the regulatory toolkit adopted by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority for keeping credit lines flowing and funding the marketplace (e g mortgages and payment holidays) The Bank of England has launched operations intended to release the banking sector of pressures in the time of coronavirus and reduce the economic contraction although this regulatory package seems a frenetic reaction to the unexpected risk of systemic collapses © 2020 Fondazione Gerardo Capriglione Onlus All rights reserved


A method is described for the determination of trace amount of tellurium in high temperature nickel-base alloys by platform graphite furnace. In this work, with nickel as a matrix modifier the sensitivity is enhanced, the ashing temperature is increased and the interferences are reduced. The detection limit of the method is 0. 041 μg/g. The relative standard deviation is 3-6%. The recovery rates are 90-99%. The results are satisfactory.


The electrical conductivity of polyphenylacetylene(PPA) was enhaced by eleven orders of magnitude after absorption of bromine vapor.TG,UV-Vis spectra,and XPS spectra were used to study the interaction among bromine,nano-graphite and PPA.According to the results,bromine played a major role to enhance the conductivity of the composites when the weight percentage of bromine doped graphite was low.When the weight percentage of bromine doped graphite was high,the doping effect formed by bromine doped nano-graphite and bromine doped PPA,was the main point to enhance the conductivity.When the weight percentage of bromine doped nano-graphite was higher,the conductive network formed by bromine doped nano-graphite,played a major role.


In this paper, a bidirectional converter with multi-mode control strategies is proposed for a battery energy storage system (BESS). This proposed converter, which is composed of a half-bridge-type dual-active-bridge (HBDAB) converter and an H-bridge inverter, is able to operate the BESS with different power conditions and achieve the DC–AC function for lower input DC voltage applications. For the HBDAB converter, the variable-frequency control (VFC) and phase-shift control (PSC) are both adopted to achieve zero-voltage switching over a wider power range and the battery module balance control capability for BESS, respectively. In addition, the interleaved configuration is used to reduce the current ripple and increase the overall current rating. For the H-bridge inverter, the unipolar control mode (UCM) and totem-pole control mode (TPCM) are adopted to manage the real and reactive current control under different AC grid conditions. The UCM offers a reduction in current ripple for real and reactive power control. The TPCM is able to eliminate switching losses and achieve higher conversion efficiency for pure real power control. Considering applications for battery energy storage systems, the principle of operation and voltage gain analysis are described. Finally, computer simulations and hardware experimental results from a prototype system are presented to verify the performance of the proposed converter with the different control strategies.


This study aims to examine the effect of leverage, institusional ownership, managerial ownership, ndependent commissioner, and auditor reputation on sukuk ratings. The dependent variable on this study is the rating sukuk. While independent variables are the leverage, stitusional ownership, managerial ownership, independent commissioner, and auditor reputation. The population of the study is sukuk issued by a sukuk issuer company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period 2013-2016. Sampel method is done by purposive sampling and obtained 64 samples. The data used
are secondary data such as annual reports of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period 2013-2016, statistical data of sukuk, and rating
data of sukuk. Analysis method used in this research is ordinal logistic regression. The test result of this study show that leverage and independent commissioner has a negative effect on the rating of sukuk. While the institusional ownership, managerial ownership, and auditor reputation have no effect on the rating of sukuk. Keywords: sukuk rating, leverage, institusional wnership, managerial ownership, independent ommissioner, auditor reputation


This article outlines a health education lesson that tasks students with identifying and advocating for resources in their community and is aligned with the National Health Education Standards.


The authors examine the special significance of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) event sequence timing among all the factors affecting human performance. It is concluded that because of the nature of the recovery actions modeled in PSA and the inherent characteristics of commercial nuclear plant design, the time available for recovery is the basic criterion for evaluation of human performance, whether the time is an explicit parameter of the operator actions analysis or not. Examples taken from the author's work in support of the more than 20 PSA studies illustrate how the time enters alternative human-factors models recovery for actions.<<ETX>>


Turtles have been the subject of numerous morphometric and growth studies. Morphometrics are commonly used to aid in identification of sex as well as age, growth, and other characteristics of turtles such as colour variation (Berry and Shine, 1980; Claude et al., 2003; Lovich et al., 1990). The relative growth of a part in relation to the entire organism, has been studied in various turtles. These studies have compared either changes in the mass or weight of the turtle with growth of the shell, or the growth of the shell scutes or other body parts in relation to increases in shell length (Ernst and Lovich, 1986). Cryptodiran turtles in the families Chelydridae (Lagler and Applegate, 1943; Mosimann and Bider, 1960), Kinosternidae (Mosimann, 1956, 1958; Hulse, 1976), Emydidae (Mosimann, 1958; Jolicoeur and Mosimann, 1960; Graham, 1971; Rouault and Blanc, 1978; Meek, 1982) have been previously studied.


Abstract : This demonstration was developed under the Central Archive for Reusable Defense Software(CARDS) Program to help facilitate advances in software reuse methods. This demonstration illustrates techniques for incorporating commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software into the CARDS reuse library framework.


Coupled three-dimensional GeSi quantum dot crystals (QDCs) are realized by multilayer growth of quantum dots (QDs) on patterned SOI (001) substrates. Photoluminescence spectra of these QDCs show non-phonon (NP) recombination and its transverse-optical (TO) phonon replica of excitons in QDs. With increasing excitation power, peak energies of both the NP and TO peaks remain nearly constant and the width of the TO peak decreases. These anomalous features of the PL peaks are attributed to miniband formation due to strong coupling of the holes and the emergence of quasioptical phonon modes due to periodic scatters in ordered GeSi QDs.


16 teams of 2 college students each solved four credible "real world" problems for which computer systems have been or could be useful. Each of the 4 problems was solved on four successive days. A team member sent messages either by voice or by typewriter, and every team was tested with all 4 combinations of the 2 message channels assigned to individual team members. Half the teams could interrupt their partners at any time; half could not. Dependent measures were time to solution, number of messages exchanged, total number of words used per team, message length, messages communicated per minute of channel time, and words communicated per minute of channel time. The results show that communication by voice is much more rapid and wordy than is communication by typewriter. Giving Ss the freedom to interrupt had no effect on the time required to solve problems, on the number of words used in the solution of problems, or on the rate at which words were communicated. When Ss had the freedom to interrupt, they "packaged" their words differently: they exchanged more messages, messages were shorter, and messages were exchanged with greater frequency per unit time. Practice effects were almost entirely absent. A number of significant differences were attributable to the problems and the jobs assigned to the two communicators.


Proposed is a compact dual-band balun filter adopting a double-sided parallel-strip line (DSPSL). The middle conductor plane can be treated as a virtual ground. Then, two sets of short-stub loaded dual-mode resonators on the top and the bottom layer act as two dual-band filters. They are fed by the DSPSL at the input port, and the filters can be excited simultaneously. Meanwhile, an out-of-phase feature is obtained between the two output ports. In addition, the proposed dual-band balun filter has good frequency selectivity which is due to multiple transmission zeros. Finally, a dual-band balun filter sample was designed and fabricated with good agreement obtained between its measured and simulated S-parameters.


This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Maurice Kottelat (2017): Schistura indaaegyiana, a new loach from Lake Indawgyi basin, Myanmar (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters 28 (1): 1-8, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.886939


Intraparotid facial nerve schwannomas are rare, slow growing encapsulated tumours that originate from the axonal nerve sheath. Preoperative diagnosis of this tumour is difficult due to varied clinical presentation and nerve site involvement. Although fine-needle aspiration cytology would be indicated, the diagnosis is usually confirmed after surgery by histopathology. The following case of schwannoma is extremely rare to see in paediatric age group presenting as an asymptomatic parotid tumour with normal seventh nerve function. Also, on fine needle aspiration cytology and intraoperatively, it mimicked pleomorphic adenoma. Although facial nerve palsy is not commonly seen in such tumour, proper preservation of this nerve is mandatory to avoid the post operative complication and the patient should be explained about this complication preoperatively.


This exhibition exploring the first fifteen years of Raphael's career might have been called, 'The Young Raphael' – but then Raphael was always young. He died in April 1520, at the age of thirty-seven, by which time he had established himself as one of the leading artists in Rome. Already by 1513, the year Julius II, his first great papal patron, died (and the exhibition's endpoint), Raphael's only major rival as a painter in Rome was Michelangelo – and Raphael was eight years younger than the great sculptor. As curators Hugo Chapman, Tom Henry and Carol Plazzotta note in the catalogue, Raphael's artistic development until 1513 was remarkable: in little more than a decade, Raphael 'had moved from a relatively provincial practice in the Marches and Umbria to assume a near monopoly of papal patronage in the field of painting at the court of Pope Julius II, where his art attracted international demand and commanded extraordinary prices' (15). The exhibition thus focused on a period when Raphael's career was on a meteoric rise, and he himself was learning, looking, experimenting, and drawing on – and from – the example of his contemporaries, among them his father Giovanni Santi, Luca Signorelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Leonardo, and Michelangelo. Other recent exhibitions featuring Raphael's work have looked to his connections to a particular patron, or to his artistic heirs, rather than focusing on this early, formative phase of Raphael's career, here presented in over 100 paintings and works on paper. 1 But the success of this exhibition lay not only in the number of objects, many of them glorious, but also in its refinement of the idea that Raphael's youth was a steady march from his birthplace in Urbino, through Florence


Jetten has furnished us with a seminal and multifaceted introduction to the historical variability of Jesuit riductions in Quebec. Inevitably, some of the themes were left undeveloped. Minor lapses occur: Noel Tekouerimat was a Montagnais, not an Algonquin chief. At Sillery, the Jesuits distributed lots to French censitaires, not serfs. In addition, the bibliography could have been more representative ofpertinent research results. Full-length histories of individual r•ductions, including later ones created during the eighteenth century, should now be undertaken, followed by comparative studies to highlight differences as well as similarities. Jetten has laid an excellent basis for this work. CHARLES MARTIAN Minist•re de la Culture et des Communications, Quebec


Data fusion is being increasingly used to combine the outputs of different types of sensors. This paper reviews the application of the approach to ligand-based virtual screening, where the sensors to be combined are functions that score molecules in a database on their likelihood of exhibiting some required biological activity. Much of the literature to date involves the combination of multiple similarity searches, although there is also an increasing interest in the combination of multiple machine-learning techniques. Both approaches are reviewed here, focusing on the extent to which fusion can improve the effectiveness of searching when compared with a single screening mechanism, and on the reasons that have been suggested for the observed performance enhancement.


The first occurrence of a string of 2r — 1 consecutive composite numbers be- tween two primes (denoted by /(/) and f'r) + 2r) is tabulated for f(r) in the range 2.6 x lu12 <f(r) « 4.444 x 1012. This extends earlier computations in the range f(r) < 2.6 x in12.


With the software version 3.80, the Sirona company also delivers the Buccal Scan feature, among other features. This opens up a completely new way of high-precision registration of the occlusion. The new method can be used easily and universally.


ly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test taking smarts. Rather it reflects a broader and deeper


A series of symmetrical dialkyl-4-substituted-2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates were prepared by the classical Hantzsch method. This method involved condensation of aromatic aldehyde, alkylacetoacetate and ammonia in methanol. The structures of all the twelve synthesized 1,4-dihydropyridne derivatives were confirmed by IR, 1HNMR, and Mass spectral data. All the compounds were screened for anticonvulsant activity by using maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced models. Compounds 3e, 3f, 3h, 3k and 3l exhibited significant (p<0.001) anticonvulsant activity in MES and PTZ induced seizures in rats.


One of the primary concerns during the design of a secure routing protocol in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) is the balance between security and energy efficiency. Routing decisions play a vital role by balancing power consumption at the network layer to extend the operational life of the network. In our previous works, we proposed two routing mechanisms to mitigate packet forwarding misbehaviors in MANETs. This paper aims at evaluating the energy efficiency of these two proposals under three distinct types of adversaries. We compare these approaches to show their effect on the energy usage of the mobile nodes. Simulations are performed in NS-2 under varying network conditions.


A series of experiments has been performed in which a mass‐analyzed ion beam is injected into a drift tube containing gas. The ions drift through the tube under the action of a uniform electric field and they undergo inelastic processes. The product ions are mass analyzed upon exit. The drift velocity and the ratio of the primary and secondary ion currents are measured as a function of the electric field and the gas pressure in the drift tube. From these data the cross section of the process is calculated. The effect of the lateral diffusion in the drift tube is discussed theoretically.Cross sections are determined in the energy range from 0.06 to 10 eV for the processes, Ne++Ar→Ne+Ar+,Ar++Ne→Ar+Ne+,O++N2→O+N2+,O++O2→O+O2+. Because of the nature of the ion source used these processes are supposed to be conducted largely by the ions in their excited states. It is shown that the cross sections of the former two processes agree well with predictions based on the theory of Rapp and Francis if appropriate comb...


Three of nine foraminifer samples collected from the Dikili Bay in the northwestern Aegean Sea yielded three species demonstrating aberrance in development: Peneroplis planatus (Fichtel and Moll), Rosalina sp. and Elphidium crispum (Linne). We suggest that the cause for such abnormalities may well be thermal springs, which are known to exist in the regions of the Dikili Bay and the Island of Lesbos to the west, and correspondingly high proportion of certain elements in the waters.


The article is devoted to the study of mediation as an alternative way of resolving labor disputes. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of the definitions of mediation contained in the Law of Ukraine «On Mediation» and in the relevant laws of Austria, Bulgaria, Spain, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Germany, Poland and concluded that the legal definition of mediation in Ukraine as a whole takes into account the experience of other countries. The scientific analysis of the term «mediation» allowed the authors to propose their own definition of mediation as an alternative way to resolve labor disputes, according to which mediation - voluntary, alternative way to resolve labor disputes, by negotiating with the involvement a third party (mediator) to achieve a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute. It is argued that the peculiarity of mediation is that, in contrast to the judicial settlement of a dispute, mediation involves the acceptability of the result obtained for all parties to the conflict. The scientific work draws attention to the advantages of mediation over other ways of resolving labor disputes. The features of mediation as an alternative way of resolving labor disputes were also highlighted.


should be read and studied by those who are concerned with the educational develop ment of the Malays. By doing so, they will not repeat the " mistakes " of the colonial education system. The author suggests that the key to modern Malay literacy (as opposed to orality) lies in the understanding that the right approach is not to impose Western concepts of literacy, but rather by starting from the point of understanding the oral background of the Malays and proceeding from there. From personal experi ence I have found that Western-style education is not well understood by some Malay graduates. At least one of them wrote in reply to my article on university education that a student would be better off if he was plied with as much knowledge as possible while he was in the university. A Full Hearing is not a book on a specific subject like folklore, literature, or lan guage, yet it contains useful views and findings on many aspects of Malay Studies. Although a little diffuse, one can still see the common thread that is woven through a tapestry of many things the authors has to say: that the oral thought patterns and processes are still retained by the Malay, even it literacy exists in his culture and the modern form is being propagated widely. The book is thought-provoking, never theless, and the scholar of Malay Studies will be the poorer if he misses it. Mohd. Taib O s m a n University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


The paper proposes the design of linear phase filters using the optimization techniques based on methods for sparse signal restoration. The filter response is treated as weighted sum of the phase shifted versions of the signal. The filter design problem is converted into form Ax ≈ b, where A has rows given by [1 cos(−ω) cos(−2ω) …], corresponding to a given frequency ω. x corresponds to the filter coefficients and b = R(ω) cos ϕ (ω), where R stands for the magnitude and ϕ the phase of the desired response. The problem is formulated into an L1 term and and L2 term and solved iteratively using ISTA (Iterative Soft Thresholding Algorithm [1]) to get the filter coefficients. The visible outcome of the approach is the considerable reduction in the non-zero coefficients.


It is common for any language to develop different speech styles that are to be used depending on the situation. Different groups of people, be it a professional milieu or a city district, tend to create new modalities of the language. We call those slang or jargon. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a jargon would be "special words and phrases which are used by particular groups of people", and its main difference with slang would lie in the familiarity of this last one, as well as in the use itself of this speech: Cambridge Dictionary states very clearly that slang "is usually spoken rather than written". However, this definition is somehow incomplete if we think of the greatest phenomenon of our era, that is, the Internet. In this Research Article, a special jargon born on the Web and its possible influence on English will be the main focus.


Boundary spanning has gained significant popularity in the field of information systems given its role as a critical antecedent to innovation and organizational performance. The majority of boundaryspanning studies have focused on assessing the impact of boundary spanning—as an activity—on distinct dependent variables, such as team innovativeness or operational performance, rather than on measuring the success of the boundary spanning efforts per se. In this conceptual paper, we integrate the literature on boundary spanning and usability to delineate three distinct dimensions of boundaryspanning success by measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of a boundary-spanning interaction— that is the dyadic relation between the boundary spanner and the responder. Our exploratory descriptive statistics reveal that although ESM may be useful in supporting teams in enacting effective information search in reaching the requisite target audience and yielding the desired resources, it is less useful for supporting effective representation and coordination. Developing success metrics not only helps us determine the role of IS in boundary spanning interactions, but also provides a behavioral approach to assessing whether or not boundary spanning is successful in itself rather than determining its downstream performance impacts.


Value chain analysis and core ability analysis are two main methods of enterprises competitive abilities analysis. but both of them have some weaknesses. For a detailed analysis of the enterprises competitive abilities, these abilities are divided into seven aspects. They are viability, gain ability, development ability, innovation ability, aggregation ability, strain ability, and the ability of repelling risks. The division of the enterprises competitive abilities is helpful to revealing the overall contents of enterprise competitive abilities with accuracy and concreteness.


Background and Objectives: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been proved efficacious in reducing morbidity and mortality related to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, however, also associated with long and short term drug induced toxicities. This study was conducted to monitor the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with various antiretroviral drug regimens, its causality, severity and preventability assessment in patients receiving ART. Methods: Using a prospective observational study design, 280 patients were enrolled for the study. The ADR monitoring was carried out for a period of one year (December 2015 - November 2016) in patients living with HIV (PLHIV) and receiving ART from an outpatient setting of nodal ART centre of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi (Jharkhand). Results: A total of 280 patients were monitored by active surveillance. Out of them 228 patients identified of at least one or more ADRs. The most number of ADRs were observed with ZLN (Zidovudin + Lamivudin + Nevirapin) and ZLE (Zidovudin + Lamivudin + Efavirenz). The ADRs commonly found, GIT side effects (29%), CNS side effects (27%) and anaemia (25%). Tenofovir based regimens was safer than ZLN and ZLE. Conclusion: Type of antiretroviral regimen and time since initiation of ART were associated in causality of related adverse reactions. This study addressed the added morbidity among HIV patients taking ART. With the increasing incidence of ADRs associated with antiretroviral chemotherapy, it requires proper monitoring and reporting to intervene at an early stage and modify the antiretroviral drug regimen (ARV) as per.


Reoperative antireflux surgery (ARS) is complex and often needs to be customized to the individual patient. A transthoracic approach is preferred in select patients with concomitant esophageal pathologies or a complex surgical history. The clinical presentation and perioperative evaluation of patients who require reoperative ARS as well as surgical options, the role of the transthoracic approach, and Nissen and Belsey Mark IV fundoplication techniques are discussed in detail. Outcomes associated with the transthoracic approach to reoperative ARS are reviewed. Although less invasive laparoscopic approaches have become more common, the transthoracic approach must remain in the foregut surgeon's armamentarium.


social and protective skills and assertiveness training" (p. 208). Linda R. Mona takes on the controversial issue of using personal assistants to help disabled women practice sexual activities, sometimes termed "facilitated sex." Disabled women have a right to personal assistants to accomplish everyday self care. They also have a right to sexual expression. Mona believes that disabled women should be able to use a personal assistant to help them to masturbate, to provide transportation to a partner's residence, to undress, to position their bodies for sexual intercourse, to assist with condoms and, for those with cognitive or hearing impairments, to discuss sexual boundaries and favorite sexual activities. These activities fall into the category of "personal daily life activity." Needless to say, finding personal assistants who are willing, trained, and capable of warm-hearted, nonjudgmental, and professional assistance with sexual activities is a difficult task. Since most disabled women hire their personal assistants, Mona offers suggestions about how to discuss the contract of assisting with sexual activities. Apparently, some disabled women have very satisfactory assistants. However, there are legal problems with defining "assisting with sexual activities" and "performing sexual activities." Paying for sexual activities is a crime and in a work environment, issues of liability for sexual harassment might arise. Therefore women who are institutionalized will most likely be unable to receive assistance for sexual activities. Mona offers more detailed advice to therapists who treat disabled women. A therapist should accept a disabled woman's sexual needs and desires and offer knowledgeable advice about how to make a contract with a personal assistant. She can also provide and discuss ideas about how to maintain intimacy with a partner when an assistant is present. Melissa Farley challenges pervasive cultural assumptions about prostituted women by redefining them as disabled women. She sees their disability as made invisible by a culture that calls them "sex workers" as though it were an ordinary job. Using lengthy and impressive documentation, she reports that the majority of prostituted women experienced one or more of the following: suffered childhood sexual abuse and physical abuse; began being prostituted between the ages of 12 and 14 years old; have run away from home; have been raped, assaulted, and/or suffered head trauma; at one time were homeless; suffer PTSD; suffer many physical ailments; are more likely to be impoverished and to be minority women; and want to get out of the sexual slavery but have no options. All the issues raised in this volume are relevant to prostituted women: lower caste status, environmental impediments, prejudice, limited options, and the need for rehabilitation. The editors and some contributors acknowledge that more research about disabled women is needed. Therapists need to develop and disseminate information about the best therapies for women with physical and mental challenges. This volume opens the discussion and sets a direction for this work.


"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. " John F. Kennedy, Inaugural address, 20 January 1961. "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship." Barack Obama, Inaugural address, 20 January 2009 THE NEW PUBLIC SERVICE In his recent inaugural address, US President Barack Obama revisited a theme raised 48 years earlier in John Kennedy's inaugural address by reminding Americans of "the price and the promise of citizenship." This paper argues that academic public administration has focused over much on the promise of citizenship, in terms of what citizens can expect from their governments. What has been overlooked, though, is Obama's "price" of citizenship. By way of illustration, in a highly influential and well received book and article Janet and Robert Denhardt call for "a New Public Service" (NPS) as a governing heuristic for public administration. In the 2000 article the concept is presented not so much as a theoretical contribution but as a proposal, responding to Osborne and Gaebler's pithy "steer, rather than row" with an equally pithy, cautionary question: "In our rush to steer, have we forgotten who owns the boat?" (2000: 549). By the 2003 book the NPS is an "emerging movement" (2003: 3), in large part a reaction against 'the New Public Management', with its emphasis on introducing market-based, or market-inspired reforms, and so on treating the public as a customer. The customer metaphor is a powerful one, evoking the often efficient, conscientious service that customers receive from private sector providers of goods and services, with these providers motivated by the brutal efficiency of the market. As a result, through introducing these market-based reforms, the New Public Management offers the metaphor of a public administration that 'steers, not rows', with the rowing being carried out by private and nonprofit actors. The central point of the Denhardts' message is that the public needs to be treated as citizens first. Citizens have rights, not least rights of democratic control over government. As a result, ceding the right to 'steer' the boat to public administrators gives these too much power, at least in the metaphorical terms in which this debate is being couched. Instead, the Denhardts argue that public administration should serve and empower citizens. As Perry put it: The Denhardts' motivation is transparent: they want the field of public administration and, more importantly, practicing professionals to be as attentive to words and ideas like "democracy" and "citizen" as it is to "market" and "customers". (2007b: 5) In this the Denhardts are on firm theoretical ground, identifying various 'roots' of their new public service: the democratic citizenship literature, organizational humanism, the new public administration, postmodernism, and models of community and civil society (2007: 27-42). A second, and for this paper more important set of characteristics of the proposed New Public Service concerns its implementation mechanisms. The NPS sees the role of public administrators as facilitating democratic discourse, and so 'building a collective, shared notion of the public interest,' through a participatory process. What the NPS overlooks, though, is ample evidence of the lack of a collective, shared notion of the public interest, and the lack of participation on the part of large parts of society. …


This study reports experimental results of the free surface flow of rotating fluid between concentric cylinders which the inner cylinder is rotating and the other one is fixed. The free surface flow was developed up to the wave motion with increasing Reynolds number. The wave motion is presumed to be influenced by the inertia force or centrifugal force. As experimental results, the photographs of surface flow were taken by the 35 mm camera. They showed that the wave motion appeared in the whole flow region and then the ring shaped wave formed in the outside region of rotating flow. The variation of the position of free surface was measured by a supersonic sensor and analyzed by FFT method. The phenomena of the transition from the stable state to the chaotic one were clarified.


A general basis for using orthogonal functions to approximate the variables of a dynamic output feedback control system is presented. The use of an operational matrix of integration reduces the problem to a set of linear algebraic equations. The result is also useful for implementing open-loop approximation of derived closed-loop control. The flexible controller structure provides easy adaptation to feedback configurations using state, output, dynamic output or observer output, and feedback compensator. As an example, an approximation analysis of dynamic output feedback control via Fourier series is investigated.


Sequential and one-pot Stille–Heck and Heck–Stille reaction processes have been invoked to give divergent access to polycyclic ring systems. Both reaction conditions and substrate structure are important in determining the nature of the reaction products formed. The Heck–Stille reactions have involved a reversal of the usual Heck regioselectivity and both cine- and ipso-substitutions have been observed in the Stille reaction.


Abstract Federal law gives states an important voice and role in defining the Outer Continental Shelf 5-Year Lease Program. This article reviews selected written state responses to the Trump Administrations Draft 2019–2024 Draft Program issued by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management pursuant to President Trump's April 28, 2017 "Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy" Executive Order. The states' comments outline the contours of the upcoming political and court battles over the 5-year program. In addition, the comments illustrate how stakeholders use a variety of legal arguments and policy developments to influence ocean use.


The invention discloses an audio-visual education system and an instant projection display method of the system. The audio-visual education system is provided with an electromagnetic handwriting pen, an interactive tablet computer, a wireless transponder and a projector, wherein the interactive tablet computer is provided with an electromagnetic induction touch screen, a receiving system, a processing system and a wireless synchronous transmitting device, the electromagnetic handwriting pen is matched with the electromagnetic induction touch screen, a writing signal of the electromagnetic handwriting pen is received through the receiving system, the receiving system inputs the received signal into the processing system, the processing system obtains writing image information corresponding to the writing signal after processing the input signal and sends the writing image information out through the wireless synchronous transmitting device, and the wireless transponder receives the signal transmitted by the wireless synchronous transmitting device and displays the received signal through the projector. According to the audio-visual education system and the instant projection display method of the system, writing can be performed on the tablet computer, the written content can be displayed instantly with the projector, and the audio-visual education system has the advantages of being simple in structure, good in performance, easy to maintain and low in cost.


Unlike in the physical sciences, theories in criminology (as in the other social and behavioural sciences) rarely derive or test exact quantitative predictions. In a true science, exact quantitative predictions are derived and tested empirically. Most criminological theories aim to explain and predict (qualitatively rather than quantitatively) only the total prevalence of offending. In developmental and life-course criminology (see e.g. Farrington, 2005), theories also aim to specify the extent to which total prevalence is influenced by classic individual, family, and socio-economic risk factors. However, it is highly desirable to propose theories that also explain and predict important criminal career features such as the age–crime curve, the probability of recidivism after each offence, and time intervals between offences. The main aim of this Element is to make progress towards truly scientific criminology by deriving and testing exact quantitative predictions about key criminal career features from simple theories. We hope that criminologists will build on our simple theories to develop and test more complex theories (e.g. incorporating risk and protective factors) that make exact quantitative predictions.


Intensity and frequency noises associated with microwave intensity modulation of semiconductor lasers are theoretically investigated in both time and frequency domains. The modulation dynamics is classifled into six distinct types. The noise spectra are higher when the laser emits pulses than when its signal varies continuously with time. Under low-frequency strong modulation, the low-frequency noise is most enhances as the laser emits irregular spike-like pulses.


Objective: To evaluate the effects of tooth whitening with 10% carbamide peroxide on the surface ultramorphology of three dental restorative materials. Materials and methods: Three materials were tested: (1) a reinforced zinc oxide-eugenol cement (IRM® Powder Zinc Oxide Eugenol, Dentsply, Konstanz, Germany), (2) a high copper amalgam with spherical particles (Ventura Finest®, Madespa SA, Toledo, Spain) and (3) a nanohybrid composite (EvoCeram Tetric®, Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein). 6 specimens of each material (N = 18) were inserted into silicone molds with circular cavities of 10 mm × 2 mm. 3 specimens of each material were randomly assigned into the whitening or control groups. In the whitening group, the specimens were exposed to a 10% carbamide peroxide gel (Opalescence® PF 10%, Ultradent, South Jordan, UT, USA) for 14 consecutive days, 6 h per day. In the control group, the specimens were exposed to distilled water. After 14 days stored at 37 ◦C, all specimens were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Results: The specimens exposed to carbamide peroxide revealed an irregular surface, with cracks and pores. Specimens from all control groups showed a smooth surface. Conclusion: The 10% carbamide peroxide gel may cause changes in surface ultramorphology of the materials tested: reinforced zinc oxide-eugenol cement, amalgam and composite. © 2011 Sociedade Portuguesa de Estomatologia e Medicina Dentária. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved. Efeitos do branqueamento dentário nos materiais restauradores


The experiment was carried out at two stages. First stage, determine the optimum hydraulic loading rate and second stage, determine fish growth parameters. Wetland cell was filled with three layers of gravel, the bottom layer coarse gravel ( 30 – 50 mm) with height 0.3 m, the middle layer fine gravel ( 10 – 20 mm) with height 0.2 m and the upper layer (soil) with height 0.05 m. Three hydraulic loading rates (4.8, 9.6 and 19.2 m day -1 ) were used in the present study. The data obtained were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (using SPSS program) to test the effect of the inflow and outflow nutrient concentration. The results indicated that the total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentration was significant variation among the hydraulic loading rates treatments and control. It was observed significantly highest in hydraulic loading rate 4.8 m day -1 . Total Ammonia Nitrogen concentration increased with increasing hydraulic loading rates among treatments, whereas TAN values were 0.18, 0.21 and 0.23 mg l -1 at hydraulic loading rates 4.8m 9.6 and 19.2 m day -1 respectively. The results indicated that the nutrient to area loading (AL) and area retention (AR) increases with increasing the hydraulic load for most of the measured nutrient parameters. The total nitrogen (TN) removal values were 7.1, 9.5 and 13.1 % at hydraulic loading rates 4.8, 9.6 and 19.2 m day -1 respectively. While, the TAN was decreased with increasing the hydraulic loading rates. The theoretical dissolved oxygen consumption (DOcon) were about 2.6, 4.3 and 3 mg l , representing 65%, 90% and 50% of the measured DO loss throughout the wetland at hydraulic loading rate 4.8, 9.6 and 19.2 m day -1 respectively. The results 1 Lecturer of Agric. Eng. Dept., Faculty of Agric., Kafrelsheikh Univ., Egypt. E-mail: email@example.com 2 Prof. of Agric. Eng. Dept., Faculty of Agric., Kafrelsheikh Univ., Egypt. Misr J. Ag. Eng., 34 (1): 417 430 BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING Misr J. Ag. Eng., January 2017 418 indicated that no noticeable difference between fish growth parameters observed under hydraulic loading rate for 9.6 m day -1 and control


The present paper aims to reveal what the basic condition for textual coherence is. The research method is mainly comparison and theoretical argumentation. In the first part of the paper three major theories are compared and the contributions and limitations of each are pointed out. The current situation is that the research on textual theory still lays its emphasis on the aspect of linguistic forms; the interpretations for textual coherence in the aspect of language meaning and the recognition of the essence and the condition of textual coherence are not yet deep nor comprehensive enough. Then in part two the authors reveal the different knowledge or enlightenments by the three theories about what textual coherence is, and argue that semantic relevance is the essence of textual coherence. In fact the production and understanding of language cannot be free from context. Context constrains the generation of coherent texts and the cognition of the coherence of the text. So part three of the paper elaborates the constraining effect of various contexts on the relevance of the meaning of the various linguistic items within the text. In the end the paper draws the conclusion that contextual relevance is the basic condition for textual coherence, that is to say, only relevant contexts can bring a smooth, logically coherent text.


Abstract A reagent‐controlled stereodivergent carbocyclisation of aryl aldimine‐derived, photocatalytically generated, α‐amino radicals possessing adjacent conjugated alkenes, affording either bicyclic or tetracyclic products, is described. Under net reductive conditions using commercial Hantzsch ester, the α‐amino radical species underwent a single stereoselective cyclisation to give trans‐configured amino‐indane structures in good yield, whereas using a substituted Hantzsch ester as a milder reductant afforded cis‐fused tetracyclic tetrahydroquinoline frameworks, resulting from two consecutive radical cyclisations. Judicious choice of the reaction conditions allowed libraries of both single and dual cyclisation products to be synthesised with high selectivity, notable predictability, and good‐to‐excellent yields. Computational analysis employing DFT revealed the reaction pathway and mechanistic rationale behind this finely balanced yet readily controlled photocatalytic system.


A linear photodiode array mounted in a camera body provides an excellent means of acquiring position‐time information for gliders moving on an airtrack. Based on the output of a 512 photodiode array, a computer calculates positions of two gliders simultaneously with a resolution of 10 μm and accuracy of 400 μm along the full length of a 2 m airtrack. Motions lasting up to 5 min can be acquired at rates of 50 positions per second. The resulting data can be interpreted with the aid of spreadsheets and graphing programs. Setup, calibration, and operation of the apparatus are simple enough that students can design and perform their own mechanics experiments.


The relationship between mind and body is an old new topic, and it has also been the focus of discussion in the fields of philosophy, psychology, and pedagogy. The reason why it is ancient because philosophical thinking has been used to explore the relationship between the subject and the object from the beginning of the generation of an independent individual consciousness, including the relationship between mind and body. The reason why it is brand new is because with the development of cognitive psychology, the theory of embodied cognition was proposed in the 1980s, and the ancient propositions of mind and body relations were re-examined, which also prompted the discussion of physical and mental relationship to turn from philosophical speculation to experimental science. This article combines the understanding of the relationship between physical and mental in Eastern and Western cultures, and re-examines the relationship between physical, mental and environment from the perspective of embodied cognition theory, as well as the inspiration for individual development.


In this article we examine under wnich conditions personally threatening questions produce sufficient response rates. The income question serves as an example to demonstrate that question format may increase the threatening impact of the question topic. Based on the compliance gaining mechanisms operating in the 'doorin-the-face ' technique an income question sequence was designed. Tested in two nationwide German surveys this question sequence achieved extremely low refusal rates. Reducing Refusal Rates 1


In the present world, people are shifting towards renewable sources of energy and solar energy is a widely explored area. Due to the less efficiency and small duration of peak power, it cannot be a reliable source. Here, the power output can be maximized from a solar power system. A solar tracking technique is used based on GPS to achieve maximum power output. This system is especially proposed for the moving platforms that keep on changing their location with time. In this article, various subsystems and the maximum power output in an effective way and its advantages over the existing techniques were discussed.


Introduction The significant and multiple benefits that Genetically Engineered (GE) crops have generated, including increased yield and lower production costs due to reduced insecticide applications, have been well documented in the literature1-2. However, the impact of GE crops on farmers' health due to the reduction of pesticide use has not been rigorously analyzed. While previous studies have indicated a reduction in acute (visible) pesticide poisoning in farmers because of GE crops, the impact of this reduction on farmers' invisible health has not been quantitatively analyzed3. Our recent study estimated the health impact of pesticide reduction on farmers through the adoption of GE rice. We focused on invisible health effects because they are more common and may ultimately lead to fatal disease4-5.


U.S. Geological Survey USGS FS-127-03 December 2003 Background Humans have dramatically altered wildlands in the western United States over the past 100 years by using these lands and the resources they provide. Anthropogenic changes to the landscape, such as urban expansion and development of rural areas, infl uence the number and kinds of plants and wildlife that remain. In addition, western ecosystems are also affected by roads, powerlines, and other networks and land uses necessary to maintain human populations. The cumulative impacts of human presence and actions on a landscape are called the "human footprint." These impacts may affect plants and wildlife by increasing the number of synanthropic (species that benefi t from human activities) bird and mammal predators and facilitating their movements through the landscape or by creating unsuitable habitats. These actions can impact plants and wildlife to such an extent that the persistence of populations or entire species is questionable. For example, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) once were widespread throughout the Great Basin, but now are a focus of conservation concern because populations have declined for the past three decades across most of their range. At the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, we are developing spatial models to better understand potential infl uences of the human footprint on shrubland ecosystems and associated wildlife in the western United States. The Human Footprint in the West: A Large-scale Analysis of Human Impacts


3,4-Dimethoxy-trans-cinnamic acid (Dmca) reacts with zinc sulfate in the presence of 4-(1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine (L1) or 4,4'-bipyridine (L2) under hydrothermal conditions to afford two mixed-ligand coordination complexes, namely tetrakis(μ-3,4-dimethoxy-trans-cinnamato-κ(2)O:O')bis[[4-(1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine]zinc(II)] heptahydrate, [Zn2(C11H11O4)4(C8H7N3)2]·7H2O or [Zn2(Dmca)4(L1)2]·7H2O, (I), and catena-poly[[bis(3,4-dimethoxy-trans-cinnamato-κO)zinc(II)]-μ-4,4'-bipyridine-κ(2)N:N'], [Zn(C11H11O4)2(C10H8N2)]n or [Zn(Dmca)2(L2)]n, (II). The Zn(II) centres in the two compounds display different coordination polyhedra. In complex (I), the Zn(II) cation is five-coordinated with a pseudo-square-pyramidal geometry, while in complex (II) the Zn(II) cation sits on a twofold axis and adopts a distorted tetrahedral coordination environment. Complex (I) features a centrosymmetric binuclear paddle-wheel-like structure, while complex (II) shows a chain structure. This study emphasizes the significant effect of the coordination mode of both carboxylate-group and N-donor coligands on the formation of complex structures.


At the beginning of September 2004, the European Commission informed the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament of its proposals for modifying the Stability and Growth Pact. These had been worked out in answer to the Council's request to the Commission of 18 June 2004 to set forth proposals for strengthening the Pact and clarifying its implementation. The Council of Ministers will have to meet in the coming months to decide whether or not to accept these proposals. This article argues that neither the Commission's proposals for a rethinking of the Pact, nor a more radical approach to the reform of European constitutional rules on deficits and debt can guarantee monetary stability and economic growth. The correct answer has to be found in removing the balanced budget rule from the European Union's budget and replacing it with a "golden rule", that is, a rule which allows for the debt financing of some kinds of EU public expenditures, namely the investments needed for development of Euroland. This conclusion is reached after a thorough and analytical examination of the Commission's text. The proposals contained in it look rather conservative, even if this may be needed to remove the excessively rigid


The urban competitiveness indicates the urban's development and abilities of innovation.By using the principal components method and founding the computation model,11 cities of Hebei province are analysed according to the estimated result of each city and the conclusion that the 11 cities can be divided into three levels is elicited.Based on the comprehensive analysis of different level cities with their advantages and disadvantages,the advice and countermeasures to 11 cities are proposed in order to accelerate the economic development.


The aim of this paper was to identify meaning construction strategies in selected English riddles and account for the mental processes involved in their production. In pursuance of this aim, 38 riddles, together with their answers, were downloaded from Amidst a Tangled Web, an online source for English riddles. The answers supplied by the riddlers were subjected to cognitive semantic reading. The riddlers' answers were tested against our cognitive perception of the riddles, which served as clues for conducting and categorizing our analysis. Analysis of the data, based on insights from cognitive semantic theory, proclaimed the primacy of cognitive context in the semantics of the discourse of the riddle by revealing that its production and interpretation required more than conventional linguistic knowledge. The paper showed that the meaning of a riddle is an imposed meaning that relates to the logical, experiential, linguistic, literary and intuitive judgments of the riddlers. The paper concluded that a riddle is an exemplar of cognitive dimension of power dominance expressed in discourses.


Currently, cloud computing plays a very important role in the development of Information Technology. Every cloud user continues to expect maximum service, especially in security. The absence of standardizing standards in the security framework of the cloud world, especially in cloud computing community becomes an endless problem. This paper presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) which sharpens the critical components of the security framework that exists in the Cloud Computing community that will help users and cloud computing service providers determine their service standards. The framework analysis is extracted by comparing the existing security framework when dealing with its implementation in the cloud computing community. The major security components that can be applied in the cloud security framework are found in this paper. Another finding is that critical security components have been adopted in some security frameworks.


Three-dimensional (3D) digital image processing and segmentation techniques are very useful for reconstruction and visualization of materials microstructures to obtain information regarding 3D geometry of particles, either dispersed in the matrix phase or filled the 3D space. In this contribution, an approach to apply these techniques for 3D reconstruction, visualization and analysis of large datasets of grain structures is described and demonstrated through reconstruction and visualization of � -iron grains. One hundred and twenty serial sections with mean section spacing of 1.69 � m were used for reconstruction of 3D microstructure. The final reconstructed volume measures 813 × 610 × 203 � m 3 , containing a total of over 1859 � -iron grains. The reconstruction results clearly revealed a nearly true 3D morphology of grains, which is very important to study the grain coarsening process. Further, the 3D visualization (surface rendering) techniques demonstrated in this approach are also very useful to study the 3D morphology of precipitates and connectivity of microstructural phases in different alloys.


Now a day's communication network and its services are migrating slowly towards new and upgraded versions. Multi-Protocol label Switching (MPLS) is a key feature in new technology and it delivers new services from old network to a new network during migration and it has totally focused on new network topology. MPLS is capable of providing secure and reliable connection for costumers through Multi-Protocol Label Switching Virtual Private Network (MPLS VPN). This thesis describes the requirements and motivation for using MPLS VPN as a data center inter-connects technology. A comparison of Traditional VPN has been made with that of MPLS VPN and also VPN has been implemented over MPLS using Graphical Network Simulator GNS3. MPLS technology is being used widespread in the Service Provider (SP) networks for the deployment of residential, business, and mobile services.


. We consider an inverse problem involving a parabolic equation which contains an integral operator of convolution type. We show that we can approximate its kernel by using three readings of a certain weighted average of the solution. In case the kernel is known to be band limited then the three measurements are enough for its full recovery.


The practice training is an important way for cultivating applied specialized intellectual with high quality.According to the goal and requirements of specialty of water supply and sewerage engineering,optimized plan of practice training and comprehensive open experiments is carried out.Through analyzing the purposes and requirements of practice training,the varied practice form,the characteristics of different practical stages,and the key point of practice implementation are designed to enhance the student's engineering ability,also some suggestion on management and examinable methods for practice are proposed.


One of the first things learned by beginning logic students is the definition of a valid argument. The standard definition of a valid argument runs along these lines: An argument from a set of premises to a conclusion is valid if and only if it is not possible for all the premises of the argument to be true and for the conclusion to be false. Alternatively, one might say that an argument is valid just in case it is that necessarily, if the premises are true, then the conclusion is true. The concept of a valid argument lies at the heart of logic. The definition of the concept of validity, in turn, depends essentially on the modal concepts of possibility and necessity. These concepts are called "modal" because they indicate a "way" or "mode" in which the truth-values of the premises are connected with the truth-values of the conclusion. One of the main tasks of symbolic logic is to represent the form of arguments, in such a way that their validity or invalidity can be determined using standardized techniques. One can use truth-tables, for example, to represent the validity or invalidity of arguments whose basic units are individual sentences. In the logics that are generally taught in introductory logic courses, the properties of validity or invalidity are not represented in the symbolic language itself. There are symbols representing the "truth-functional" operators 'and', 'or', 'not', etc., but there is no symbol for 'therefore'. 1 In fact, the operators of truth-functional logic, as well as those of predicate logic, do not represent possibility or necessity at all. Standard logic is non-modal in this respect, even though it might be used to establish modal properties of arguments. Modal logics are precisely those logical systems which contain modal operators. In the case of validity one might seek to build a logical language which contains an operator which is understood to express the modal property of validity. That is, it would contain a modal operator.


Standardized testing is viewed as particularly incompatible to the process of learning due to its summative nature as it measures what students are able to recall and produce. Because of the discrepancy between the process of learning and products of learning, educators today have come to recognize that an alternative form of assessment is required to complement the existing form of assessment. This study intends to determine the techniques ESL teachers use in implementing portfolio as an assessment tool. The techniques ESL teachers employed while implementing the assessment process in the classroom enabled the researchers to propose a model for portfolio assessment. Currently, ESL teachers in Malaysia do not have a specific model or technique to conduct the portfolio assessment process because portfolio is heard of but not widely used. Therefore, this study was carried to scrutinize procedures ESL teachers use as a guide in instructional planning and student evaluation based on their teaching in the L2 classroom. The participants were nine ESL secondary school teachers in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and teachers' individual portfolios were utilized to explore the techniques which served as a guideline for ESL teachers employed for the teaching and learning in the classroom. Findings indicate that the portfolio assessment model developed has provided ESL teachers the opportunity to document individual student's growth. Furthermore, the teachers divulged that teaching is sustained when teaching materials, teaching techniques and assessment techniques were upgraded to help students in achieving the learning outcomes. The results of the study have implications for assessment, teaching and learning of English as a second language.


Highly c-axis oriented thin films of Ce-based heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 were grown on Cr∕MgO substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The films consist of micrograins which are strongly oriented in c axis but are random in the film plane. Kondo temperature, superconducting transition temperature, and upper critical fields of the films are very close to those of single crystals.Highly c-axis oriented thin films of Ce-based heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 were grown on Cr∕MgO substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The films consist of micrograins which are strongly oriented in c axis but are random in the film plane. Kondo temperature, superconducting transition temperature, and upper critical fields of the films are very close to those of single crystals.


The stability of a discrete-time Glucose Insulin interaction system is considered in this paper. The system is modeled with difference equations. Local stability conditions about the equilibrium points are obtained. The phase portraits are obtained for different sets of parameter values. Also bifurcation diagrams are provided for selected range of parameter. Numerical simulations are carried out and graphs are also generated to indicate the role of insulin in the regulation process of glucose in the human body. Introduction: Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by high levels of blood glucose (blood sugar), which leads to severe damage to heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. It is a disease that occurs either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or because the body's cells cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by deficiency in insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin. Type 2 diabetes results from the body's inability to use insulin effectively. Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Diabetes is an epidemic in India with more than 69.1 million diabetic individuals currently diagnosed with the disease. A body's homeostatic mechanism, when operating normally, restores the blood sugar level to a narrow range of about 4.4 to 6.1 mmol/L (79.2 to 110 mg/dL). For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows: between 4.0 to 6.0 mmol/L (72 to 108mg/dL) when fasting, up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating. Mathematical models have been used to describe and understand diabetes dynamics. There are various models based on glucose and insulin distributions and those models have been used to explain glucose-insulin interaction. The most widely used model in the study of diabetes is the minimal model which is used in the interpretation of the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) [2]. A glucose tolerance test measures how well a human body is able to break down glucose. Model of Glucose and Insulin Interaction: Sometimes, it is desirable to use a set of difference equations for which time is a discrete variable. Also, discrete time models governed by difference equations are more appropriate than continuous ones. Discrete time systems can also provide efficient computational models of continuous ones of numerical simulations. Several authors [1,3,5,6] have proposed more popular, general and realistic models with results consistent with physiology. The modeling of the glucose-insulin system has become an interesting topic and several models have been proposed and studied with the purpose of understanding the system better, investigating possible pathways to diabetes as well as providing better insulin administration practices. In the glucose regulatory system, insulin and glucagon play vital role in balancing metabolism. Insulin and glucagon act together to balance metabolism. Insulin helps control blood glucose levels by signaling the liver and muscle and fat cells to take in glucose from the blood. Glucose is stored in the body as glycogen. The liver is an important storage site for glycogen. In this paper, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Modern Education (IJMRME) ISSN (Online): 2454 6119 (www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume II, Issue II, 2016 68 we consider the following system of difference equations as the discrete version of the model studied in [7]. ( 1) (1 ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( 1) (1 ) ( ) ( ) x n a x n bx n y n c y n d y n ex n     


Non-critical contributions are discussed in the context of fluctuations of conserved charges, which are of particular importance for disentangling critical signals originating from second order phase transitions. The approach is based on a model-independent construction of canonical partition function, i.e., by using measured mean multiplicities of baryons and anti-baryons. The experimental measurements of the STAR and ALICE collaborations are confronted with the presented model predictions. For this purpose, in line with the experimental observations, different acceptances are introduced for baryons and anti-baryons. It is demonstrated that nearly all measured experimental signals of net-proton cumulants, up to order four, can be described by accounting for global baryon number conservation. A dedicated Python package is developed in order to obtain analytical expressions for cumulants of any order of net-baryon (net-proton) distributions. Moreover, it is demonstrated that contributions due to local baryon number conservation at the LHC energies are negligible, which implies sensitivity of measured second order cumulants to early stages of collisions.


In Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs), monitoring data generated by field devices are supposed to be delivered to the gateway with high reliability and low latency. However, most of the existing industrial wireless standards are based on IEEE 802.15.4, offering a very limited data rate, which prevents their adoption in critical industrial applications. Based on IEEE 802.11, a recent international standard WIA-FA is proposed to address higher communication requirements in factory automation. In this paper, we study the timeslot allocation for retransmissions in the WIA-FA network. Specifically, we first design a novel superframe to support the Negative ACKnowledgment (NACK)-based retransmission mode in the WIA-FA network, and build a network model which considers the uplink and downlink packet losses simultaneously. Then, we analyze the three major drawbacks of the default NACK-based retransmission scheme in WIA-FA and propose an Automatic On-Demand Retransmission (AODR) scheme. Finally, we give a detailed reliability analysis of the proposed AODR scheme, and prove the relationship between the transmission reliability and critical factors (e.g., the channel condition and the length of the superframe) in the WIA-FA network. Simulation results show that the proposed AODR scheme outperforms existing works in terms of transmission reliability and timeliness for different channel conditions.


&NA; National behavioral health care efforts have opened opportunities to reignite occupational therapy mental health practice and research. The profession's person‐centered and occupation‐based practice fits well with the growing needs of people with serious mental illness (SMI) served in community‐based settings. The nine articles in this special issue provide a growing body of evidence to support the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for adults with SMI to enhance health management skills and promote independence in living a balanced and satisfying life. However, much more high‐level research is required to explicitly investigate the contributions of occupational therapy in all areas of occupation for adults with SMI and to broaden the available evidence base to inform occupational therapy practice. &NA; Nine studies contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for adults with SMI to enhance health management skills and promote independence to live a balanced and satisfying life.


The target localization algorithm is critical in the field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and is widely used in many applications. In the conventional localization method, the location distribution of the anchor nodes is fixed and cannot be adjusted dynamically according to the deployment environment. The resulting localization accuracy is not high, and the localization algorithm is not applicable to three-dimensional (3D) conditions. Therefore, a Delaunay-triangulation-based WSN localization method, which can be adapted to two-dimensional (2D) and 3D conditions, was proposed. Based on the location of the target node, we searched for the triangle or tetrahedron surrounding the target node and designed the localization algorithm in stages to accurately calculate the coordinate value of the target. The relationship between the number of target nodes and the number of generated graphs was analysed through numerous experiments, and the proposed 2D localization algorithm was verified by extending it the 3D coordinate system. Experimental results revealed that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve the flexibility of the anchor node layout and target localization accuracy.


In this study, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using the Turkevich method. This article explains the didactic step-by-step synthesis, showing pictures of the entire process, including a well-explained mechanism and characterization study. Synthesis involves the reduction of NaAuCl4 using sodium citrate at high temperatures (approximately 90 °C). The two main mechanisms used to explain AuNPs synthesis via the Turkevich method are also discussed. The first mechanism considers that a nanowire intermediary and the other proposes that aggregate intermediates are not formed at any time during the synthesis. The materials (NaAuCl4 and AuNPs) were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The UV-Vis spectrum exhibits an absorption maximum at 521 nm because of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption band of the AuNPs. The SEM images of NaAuCl4 show crystals with cubic shapes, while the AuNPs have an average particle size of approximately 16–25 nm and particles that appear mainly spherical. To confirm the particle shapes, AFM was conducted, and it was possible to clearly observe individual spherical nanoparticles and their aggregates, and the average diameter of these AuNPs was approximately 12–19 nm. The XRD pattern of AuNPs showed four main characteristic peaks corresponding to the (111), (200), (220), and (311) planes, confirming the presence of cubic (FCC) gold. The DLS presented an average particle size of 3.3 ± 0.9 nm and a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.574. AuNPs were synthesized using a simple and rapid method. The resulting spherical and ultra-small particles can be used in several applications.


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study is to examine the plain knee radiographs in Turkish subjects in order to determine the prevalence of the fabella and analyse the differences between age, gender, laterality and its symmetry pattern.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Bilateral antero-posterior and lateral knee radiographs of 500 patients (250 male and 250 female subjects, 1000 knee radiographs) were randomly selected from the clinical database and retrospectively evaluated. Data on patient age, gender, and knee laterality (right-left) were evaluated from hospital records. The differences between the sesamoid bones at a particular location and the side, sex and age groups were analysed.

RESULTS
The overall prevalence of the fabella (unilateral or bilateral) was 22.8% (114 subjects). The fabella was present unilaterally in 38 (7.6%) subjects, while it was present bilaterally in 76 (15.2%) subjects. The prevalence of the fabella was similar between the body sides. The prevalence of the fabella was also similar between genders (unilateral or bilateral cases) and age groups.

CONCLUSIONS
We examined the prevalence, symmetry pattern, age and gender differences in Turkish population. It is the first study performed on Turkish population with the largest sample in current literature. Prevalence of fabella is found to be 22.8% which is quite similar with other Caucasian ethnic populations.


The invention discloses a chemical mechanical polishing device and method. the chemical mechanical polishing device comprises a polishing platform, a drive device connected with the polishing platform and used for driving the polishing platform to rotate, a sensor connected with the polishing platform and used for measuring a rotating speed of the polishing platform and converting the rotating speed into a rotating speed signal, and a controller connected with the sensor and used for receiving the rotating speed signal output by the sensor and outputting an alarm signal according to the rotating speed signal for starting the alarm device to alarm. The sensor can be used for measuring the actual rotating sped of the polishing platform, once the rotating speed of the polishing platform is abnormal, the controller can output the alarm signal according to the rotating speed signal output by the sensor, an operator can know that the chemical mechanical polishing platform fails and immediately processes a wafer, thus the wafer is avoided being scraped.


ing to this estimate the railroad retirement system might have a relatively small amount to transfer to the old-age and survivors insurance system, but the amount is far more than offset by the employer and employee contributions with respect to the short-service employees that the railroad retirement system, in effect, collects and retains. No benefits other than the residual death payment, which in virtually all cases will either not be due or not be claimed because of the survivor's lack of knowledge, can be payable by the railroad retirement system with respect to the wage records on which these contributions are based. Year-by-year projections of the estimated operation of the railroad retirement program were presented during the hearings only for the old law and for H.R. 3669 as introducedJ5 Under the old law the benefit disbursements for the calendar year 1952 were estimated at $357 million, which represents 55 percent of the estimated contribution income of $649 million. Under H.R. 3669, as introduced, the estimated benefit disbursements for 1952 were $460 million, or 62 percent of the estimated contribution income of $739 million (an increase from the contribution income under the previous law because of the higher maximum taxable wage base). For the


Following the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, six seismic recorder sites were deployed in the northern part of the Awaji-shima island during the period between 8 and 29 August 1995 . Analyzing continuous seismic recordings, we find an activity of micro-earthquakes with local magnitude below 2. Total number of well-located aftershocks is 448. The epicentral distribution and its NE-SW azimuthal trend are similar to those obtained just after the main shock. The trend is interrupted and changed by the Nojima fanit at the east-shore of the Awaji-shima island. The epicentral locations of aftershocks are generally coincident with surface active fault traces: e.g., the Nojima fault, the Higashiura fault, and the Asano fault. An aftershock cluster just beneath the south margin of the Nojima fault is found at depths between about 2 and 10km by dipping toward inland direction with an angle of 80°. We also find an aftershock cluster beneath the Higashiura fault, which did not slip coseismically at the mainshock. The cluster can be traced down to about 9km depth. Such distributions of aftershocks seem to indicate that these faults are structurally independent of each other down to this depth.


The spin–orbit splitting factors for various terms of positive ions of Cr, Mn, and Fe have been evaluated from existing analytical Hartree–Fock functions. The agreement with the experimental values, whenever available, is satisfactory.


The contemporary reality of globalization and the ever-changing circumstances at international level make the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness key elements in the services of public administration to the citizens. The new public management principles stress the role of human resources as being especially reinforced. The primary local government (municipality), based on the immediate contact with the citizens, is assigned actions that aim to equilibrate all the financial and social losses created by the economic crisis and therefore are considered of essential importance to the citizens. The assessment of the generative prospect of human resources through a proper motivation will assist in the development of the Public Administration services, and as a result those services provided to the citizens will be increased. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the motivation methods in conjunction with the level of adoption of the new public management's principles. For this reason, a questionnaire, completed by a representative sample of employees, will be used. The case study is about Piraeus, one of the metropolitan municipalities of the country. The outcomes of the investigation are expected to highlight the elements and the motivation methods of human resources. Moreover, they will define the weaknesses of the local government as far as the administration of human resources is concerned. Furthermore, the primary local government (municipality) should try to improve these weaknesses in order to be able to increase its provided services to the public. This comprises a requirement of every modern management method worldwide.


Objective
To analyze the effects of personalized time nursing on rehabilitation and neurological function in patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage undergoing craniotomy.

Methods
A total of 54 patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage undergoing craniotomy received traditional nursing intervention in our hospital from April 2016 to March 2017 (control group); a total of 54 patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage undergoing craniotomy received personalized time nursing in our hospital from April 2017 to March 2018 (study group). The rehabilitation indicators before and after the intervention were compared between the two groups. The quality of life of the two groups before and after the intervention was assessed by the SF-36 scale.

Results
After the intervention, the neurological deficit score, intracranial pressure, and Glasgow coma score in the study group were lower than those in the control group, the scores of daily living ability were higher than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). After the intervention, the score of quality of life in the study group was higher than that in the control group, with statistically significant difference (P<0.05).

Conclusion
The personalized time care model is suitable for patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage treated by craniotomy, which can promote the recovery of patients' condition and improve nerve function.

Key words:
Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage; Personalized time nursing; Recovery; Neurological function; Craniotomy


Theories of indefinites vary with respect to whether these noun phrases can be treated as quantificational. Although everyone seems to be in agreement that indefinites do not always introduce their own quantificational force, there is widespread disagreement as to whether they ever do. In this article, we present experimental evidence from children learning English and Kannada demonstrating that children's indefinites show scopal restrictions parallel to the restrictions they show with other unambiguously quantificational expressions. Children, unlike adults, show a strong preference to assign quantificational expressions surface scope. This is true for both strong and weak quantifiers, which would be surprising on a theory of indefinites that treated these expressions as uniformly nonquantificational. Consequently, we argue that in adult grammars indefinites must have a quantificational representation at least some of the time.


Abstract We identified two novel δ-globin gene mutations in two families during routine thalassemia screening. One missense mutation at codon 73 on the δ-globin gene [δ73(E17)Asp→Val, HBD: c.221A>T] which results in a Hb A2 variant homologous to the β-globin gene variant called Hb Mobile [β73(E17)Asp→Val, HBB: c.221A>T] and we have named this variant Hb A2-Henan. The other is a nonsense mutation [δ7(A4)Glu→Stop, HBD: c.22G>T] which gives rise to a stop codon (TAG) at codon 7, resulting in δ0-thalassemia (δ0-thal). The Hb A2 in one individual with homozygous HBD: c.22G>T was absent.


At the present stage in Russia there are the special conditions, which stipulate specificity of competition in agrarian sector of Russia. It is an activity in crisis conditions, the cause of which was the discrepancy of legislative bases of the Russian state market order. It was revealed that the effect of all factors of production does not yet promote the development of effective competition. First, this is the action of technical and economic factors. Now in agricultural production there is no reserve of financial, material and technical resources, in contrast to developed countries, investment vehicle is not debugged, industrial infrastructure is poorly developed. There are high degree of depreciation of fixed assets of production, degradation and disposal out of turnover of large areas of agricultural land. Second, this is the incompleteness of legal aspects of activity. In whole, there is no strict system of laws regulating competitive struggle in food markets. Thirdly, this is the imperfection of organizational and management conditions. This is imperfect structure of agricultural production, discrepancy of forms and methods of management requirements of the market order, insufficient use in the management of motivational factors, poor development of integration in the framework of agribusiness. Fourth, this is the discrepancy of social and psychological factors of activity of the agricultural sector the market economy. It is a psychological and technical unpreparedness of most farmers to independent activities in market conditions, the lack of tradition of market ethics, skills of competition.


As I read the latest issue of the Learning Disability Quarterly, I was appreciative of the essay by King-Sears (2009) highlighting the value of universal design for learning (UDL) to the learning disability community. The allure of UDL has captured the imagination of many educators and policy makers. The recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–315, Section 202, I, A), for example, requires colleges of education that receive federal funding for teacher quality partnership grants to report on the outcomes of UDL training within their preservice preparation programs. King-Sears' efforts to encourage the learning disability community to dialogue about UDL are noteworthy and timely. Given that the King-Sears piece was featured as a "Commentary" article designed to spark conversation about contemporary topics, I would like to take this opportunity to extend the conversation and highlight nuances associated with translating UDL theory into practice. As someone who has been involved in helping individual teachers as well as schools, states, provinces, and policy makers translate UDL theory into practice, I am concerned about the ability of the profession to implement a construct that it cannot define.


Accurate modeling of wind turbine systems has received a lot of concern for controls engineers, seeking to reduce loads and optimize energy capture of operating turbines. When designing wind turbine systems, engineers often employ a series of models.This paper investigates the wind turbine systems modeling in Matlab Simulink environment. The model can be further used to study the parameters that affect the electrical power generated by the wind turbines, allowing optimizing the wind turbine.


This is a master's thesis about green public procurement (GPP) in the construction sector, based on a legal dogmathic study and a case study. The legal dogmathic part focused on both EU-legislation and on Swedish legislation. The case study was performed on the municipal of Lund to understand how a small authority works with GPP. The study of EU-legislation shows that the possibility to request buildings with less environmental impact in a procurement process is good. It is even better now since EU decided to update the old; Directive 2004/18/EC on public procurement to the new; Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement. In connection to that a completely new directive was launched; Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts. Before the directive of concession contracts was launched, concession contracts were regulated within the ordinary procurement directive. The study of the Swedish legislation shows that the Law (2007:1091) about public procurement allows the authorities to purchase with the same environmental requirements as the EU-legislation does. One of my results is the list of possible environmental requirements from The National Agency for Public Procurement. The proposed requirements help contracting authorities to purchase better buildings from an environmental perspective. The case study of Lunds municipal showed that Lunds work with GPP when purchasing buildings was done through; 1) the certification system Environmental Building (Miljobyggnad) from the non-profit organization Sweden Green Building Council, 2) goals in the local environmental program Lunda Eko II, 3) goals in the comprehensive plan and 4) goals in Lunds municipals procurement policy. (Less)


Aiming at the problem of complex clouds under the infrared background of the sky and the edges of buildings are likely to cause false alarms in the detection algorithm, an Three-layer four-direction and single-scale local contrast method is proposed. A three-layer window consisting of an inner layer, a middle layer, and an outer layer. The center layer window breaks the previous cognition of fixed-size windows, and uses multi-scale Gaussian filtering to enhance the target . The middle layer window is the isolation layer, its function is to isolate the target and the background area, and it has the ability to adapt to multiple scales of the target, and outer window is used for background extraction. This algorithm uses the idea of cascading magnification and the calculation method of diagonal gray difference, which can effectively enhance the target, suppress the background and background edges, and has good robustness to multi-scale target detection.


Polycrystalline silicon–silicon dioxide–silicon capacitors were annealed in argon and argon containing oxygen ambients in a rapid thermal annealer. Capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics were determined before and after anneal as a function of annealing time at 1100 and 1200 °C. C–V characteristics of the capacitors annealed in argon degraded with increased annealing time and temperature. At 1100 °C oxide capacitance decreased and oxide leakage occurred. At 1200 °C the annealing resulted in catastrophe, capacitance decreased by more than factor of ten. Careful examination of the thin oxide layer, after selective removal of the polysilicon film, showed holes in the oxide, hole density increasing with time and temperature. On the other hand, C–V characteristics of capacitors, annealed in argon containing oxygen, had no significant change after anneal at 1100 °C. Also defect density was extremely low. The C–V characteristics of capacitors annealed in pure argon can be recovered by the anneal in oxygen amb...