. This contribution reports the results of an empirical study on computer-supported collaborative problem solving. This study aimed to analyze how two users build a shared solution during collaborative computer-mediated problem solving. The collaborative environment included a text-based virtual reality - a MOO environment - and an elementary whiteboard. Our initial hypothesis was that the whiteboard would enable partners to draw schemata to repair the misunderstandings which inevitably occur in dialogue, like we draw a sketch on the napkin during a meal. The results contradicted this hypothesis. The whiteboard does not simply support verbal interactions. Instead, it appears as the central space of interaction, because the information displayed is persistent and because partners can assume shared visibility. The whiteboard reifies the problem states and hence plays an implicit but important role in mutual regulation. The content of information being mediated through the whiteboard varies from pair to pair. The difference between pairs can be expressed as different configurations of a distributed cognitive system, in which the collaborative functions implied by the task are allocated to different tools, but in which the whiteboard generally appears as the central tool.


Service-learning may offer an innovative perspective in the competing global and national health interests among Philippine universities. This study sought to understand the enablers and barriers of implementing service-learning in the context of a premier private Catholic Philippine allied health profession education. It used an in-depth descriptive qualitative design. Transcripts from interviews, field notes and organizational documents were analyzed using thematic analysis. Data were coded and categorized into perceived barriers and enablers according to The Self-Assessment Rubric for Institutionalization of Service-Learning in Higher Education (SRISL) by Furco (2002). A wide range of enablers and barriers to implementing SL in one of the university's health-related program were discussed. The results of this study may support further uptake of service-learning as a signature pedagogy in the allied health profession, particularly for its emerging unique professional identity and role in enhancing disability-related health outcomes.


This paper presents the method of emergency warning system operation based on T -DMB and th e design of T-DMB AEAS(Automatic Emergency Alert Service) receiver model. The proposed receiver model compares the geographical location of emergency with the location of DMB transmitting station from TDMB broadcasting signal and classifies the receiver location into alert region, neighboring region and non-alert region and transmits the emergency alert message according to each region. The proposed receiver model consists of the checking process of AEAS message from the received DMB signal, the verifying process of DMB transmitting location and the displaying process of AEAS m essage according to the classified region. In our experiment, we implemented the proposed rec eiver model with display section, storage section, DMB module for receiving broadcasting signal and control section and performed test emergency alert broadcasting using T-DMB signal generator.


The mechanism of the reaction between CH3CH2O and HCHO was investigated at CCSD( T) ccpVDZ / / B3LYP /6-311 + + G( d,p) level. Eight possible reaction channels( five H-abstraction channels and three H-isomerization channels) for the title reaction were identified. The results indicated that channel R→ IMa( CH3CH2O…CH 2 O)→TS1→IM1b→P1( CH3CH2OH + CHO) was the most favorable channel with the apparent activation energy of 14. 65 kJ / mol. The rate constants of the path R1 were evaluated over a temperature range of 275—1000 K via the canonical variational transition state theory( CVT) combined with a smallcurvature tunneling correction. The fitted three-parameter expression for the path R1 is kCVT / SCT= 2. 26 × 10- 17 T0. 57exp(- 1004 / T) and R1 has a positive temperature effect over a temperature range of 275—1000 K.


Equalization for inter-symbol interference (ISI) channels for single-pulse modulation schemes such as pulse- and quadrature amplitude modulation (PAM, QAM) is a mature branch of communication theory. However, multipulse modulation, a simple example of which is FSK, is seen as a nonlinear modulation technique, so that equalization of ISI channels for such modulation is described as being difficult (Lee and Messerschmitt, 1994). It is demonstrated here that that is not the case. In particular, we obtain linear and decision feedback zero-forcing equalizers for multipulse modulation. These equalizers are multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) filters and they are the natural counterparts of the single-input, single-output (SISO) linear and decision feedback zero-forcing equalizers for single-pulse modulation.


The demand for efficient optical communication systems has fuelled considerable research in developing techniques for eradicating phase-induced intensity noise (PIIN) in spectral-amplitude coding optical code-division multiple-access (SAC-OCDMA). This paper investigates the use of modified-AND subtraction detection technique to mitigate PIIN in SAC-OCDMA systems. The simulation results show that the modified-AND subtraction detection demonstrates better performance over the conventional AND detection approach. Furthermore, we have found that, from a transmission length of 40 km onwards, group velocity dispersion (GVD) degrades SAC-OCDMA system performance apparently. Dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) is used to lessen the influence of GVD caused by single mode fiber (SMF). Keywords—optical code-division multiple-access (OCDMA), spectral-amplitude coding (SAC), modified-AND subtraction detection, phase-induced intensity noise (PIIN), group velocity dispersion (GVD).


It provides a method of cooling improved cell system and the battery cell assemblies. To provide a battery system having cooling fins located between said first and second battery cells first and second battery cells. Cooling fins receives heat energy from the first and second battery cells, into a two-phase refrigerant inside the channel. Compressor for pumping the gas-phase refrigerant in the condenser. Condenser converts the gaseous refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant by extracting heat energy from the vapor phase refrigerant.


For quasihomogeneous isolated hypersurface singularities, the logarithmic comparison theorem has been characterized explicitly by Holland and Mond. In the non quasihomogeneous case, we give a necessary condition for the logarithmic comparison theorem in terms of the Gauss-Manin system of the singularity. It shows in particular that the logarithmic comparison theorem can hold for a non quasihomogeneous singularity only if 1 is an eigenvalue of the monodromy.


With his well-known acumen Professor Charles C. Torrey (" Notes on Daniel," Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. XV, July, 1909, p. 264) has discovered and pointed out an imaginary difficulty cast into the student's thorny path through the Aramaic of Dan. 3:21-24 in a popular and supposedly critical edition of the Old Testament, Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, II, 1166, notes on verses 23 and 24. Most frequently, when he publishes such discoveries, Mr. Torrey elucidates the fancied difficulty by a solution striking in its freshness and convincing in its simplicity. The Notes on Daniel are full of examples of this procedure. In this particular case Professor Torrey contents himself with a mere suggestion that everything is in order, perhaps because he lacked time and space to do more, perhaps because the case is rather clear, possibly because he has not quite correctly appreciated the import and force of the notes in the Kittel Bible.


Abstract:Through her epistolary correspondence and her novel Ifigenia 1924, Teresa de la Parra (1889–1936) questions racial stratification systems reminiscent of colonial times and still present in twentieth-century Venezuela. Parra establishes the malleability of racial categories through a moderate racial discourse that intends to re-classify whiteness as the sole marker of economic wealth. Via its young and naïve protagonist, Ifigenia depicts how white elites reluctantly adapted to modernity's significant socioeconomic changes, leaving previous racial stratification systems—and their whitening projects—obsolete. Parra's moderate approach to race has been consistently overlooked by numerous scholars who often focus on Ifigenia's feminine discourse. However, Parra's novel thrives in the nuanced juxtaposition between racial purity and mestizaje that mirrors the tension between Paris and Caracas as opposing geographical and racial spaces. Parra's nuanced discourse reveals a moderate racial theory that underscores the importance of controlled racial mixing and intends to negotiate between a European ideal of racial purity and a Venezuelan mestizo reality at the turn of the twentieth century. Ultimately, her protagonist willingly sacrifices herself for the continuation of a national narrative where modernity has enforced an acceptance of mestizaje.


Four System Concept Definition (SCD) contractors to the National Maglev Initiative (NMI) developed conceptual designs of maglev systems in 1991--1992. The objective of the work reported here was to perform independent calculations of the magnetic forces and fields of these four systems to assess the reasonableness'' of the results presented to the government. Commercial computer software was used for computing forces in the system employing nonlinear ferromagnetic materials and for some calculations of induced eddy current effects in finite-sized systems. Other cases required the use of models developed at ANL and verified by experiment, or in a few cases, new computer programs that have not been validated by experiment. The magnetic forces calculated by the contractors were found to be credible in every case evaluated. The stray fields were also found to be in reasonable agreement with those calculated by the contractors, but, for lack of spice, are not reported here.


China is one of the 'megadiversity' countries of the world, and is therefore rich in biodiversity information. The decision making on biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization demands sufficient, accurate, data and information which covers living things as well as natural background and human activities. It is estimated that 152 biodiversity databases have been developed in China, mainly distributed in the thematic information categories of forestry, nature reserve, forest ecosystem, animal, plant, crop germplasm resource, traditional Chinese medicine, water resource, geology/geography, and climate/meteorology, etc. The status quoof biodiversity information system was also reviewed and main information networks related to biodiversity were presented. There are problems in the CHM construction in China, such as insufficient funding, unreasonable organizational mechanism, and low-level information sharing. Future needs for the CHM construction were discussed.


Random fluctuations in Very Large Scale lntegrated Circuit WLSlC) fabrication processes cause the parametric production yield to fall below acceptable levels, causing the lines to be counterprofitable, which results in a loss of competitive edge. We propose a profit-based framework for an integrated Computer Aided Design-Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM) system that will enable the design, fabrication, control, and diagnosis of present and future VLSlC's profitably. The inefficiencies of present-day CAM systems are due to the lack of appropriate methodologies for process monitoring and statistical techniques to analyze the in-process and end-of-process data. Methodologies for monitoring lots in fabrication lines, using in situ measurements, and for controlling lots, using the multivariate distribution of observable in-process parameters, are developed at the Carnegie Mellon University; these methodologies attempt to eliminate the pitfalls of the previous statistical process control algorithms. The software system which implements the new algorithms has shown encouraging results when applied to industrial fabrication lines.


Abstract Using a laboratory experiment, we investigate whether comovement can emerge between two risky assets, despite their fundamentals not being correlated. The 'Two trees' asset pricing model developed by Cochrane et al. (2007) guides our experimental design and its predictions serve as our source of hypotheses. The model makes time-series and cross-section return predictions following a shock to one of the two assets' dividend distributions. As the model predicts, we observe (1) positive contemporaneous correlation between the two assets, (2) positive autocorrelation in the shocked asset, and (3) time-series and cross-sectional return predictability from the dividend-price ratio. In line with the rational foundations of the model, the model's predictions have stronger support in markets with relatively sophisticated agents.


53BP1 is a tumor suppressor protein that is important in the non-homologous end joining: NHEJ) pathway for DNA double strand break repair. Mice lacking 53BP1 present with increased radiosensitivity and genomic instability and are cancer prone. Loss of 53BP1 has been implicated by our laboratory in causing genomic instability in cells that lack A-type lamins and work by others has shown that loss of 53BP1 is associated with breast cancers of the poorest prognosis - BRCA1-mutated and Triple Negative Breast Cancers: TNBC) - and contributes to their resistance to current therapies, such as PARP inhibitors: PARPi). Work in our laboratory had previously identified a novel mechanism for regulation of 53BP1 protein levels - degradation by the cysteine protease cathepsin L: CTSL). The main questions addressed in this dissertation are whether CTSL-mediated degradation of 53BP1 is a mechanism contributing to BRCA1-mutated and TNBC tumor progression and resistance to therapy and if activation of this pathway is responsible for genomic instability in progeria and other laminopathies. We found that CTSL-mediated degradation of 53BP1 is activated upon loss of BRCA1, rescuing homologous recombination: HR) and proliferation defects. Inhibiting CTSL using CTSL inhibitors or vitamin D treatment stabilizes levels of 53BP1 protein, leading to an increase in NHEJ and defects in HR. Stabilization of 53BP1 using CTSL inhibitors or vitamin D leads to increased genomic instability and compromises proliferation following ionizing radiation or treatment with PARPi, which could represent a novel therapeutic strategy for breast cancers with the poorest prognosis. Furthermore, we identified nuclear CTSL as a novel biomarker for TNBC, which correlated inversely with 53BP1. We also identified the signature of low nuclear vitamin D receptor: VDR) with low 53BP1 and high nuclear CTSL in TNBC and BRCA1-mutated tumors, revealing a novel triple biomarker for stratification of patients with these cancers. We hypothesize that these patients can be treated with vitamin D or cathepsin inhibitors to stabilize 53BP1 levels to render tumor cells susceptible to PARPi treatment or other DNA damaging strategies. We also show that the Δexon9Lmna mouse model of progeria exhibits telomere shortening and defects of heterochromatin, but not an increase in telomere deletions or an increase in genomic instability as seen upon loss of A-type lamins. Interestingly, the levels of 53BP1 are maintained in cells from these mice. These results demonstrate that different lamins mutations present with varying phenotypes and that 53BP1 status could be an important determinant for maintenance of genomic instability in some lamins-related diseases.


A chief obstacle to community development and progress in sub-Saharan Africa is persistent, widespread, low-scale, yet catastrophic, ethnic and communal conflicts. Nigeria is no exception! Nigeria's Middle-Belt region has experienced long-standing ethno-religious and political conflict/crises. Frequent and intermittent ethnic conflicts have persisted among the various ethnic groups. This research looks at the seemingly contrasting, yet complimentary, roles of traditional and new media in ethnic conflict transformation in the area. Using a peace journalism media-ecological model that incorporates spiral of silence, priming, agenda-setting, and framing theoretical frameworks, the research analyzes the (dis)functional roles legacy and new media play in conflict exacerbation, resolution, and mediation. It employs a qualitative interpretive critical approach to examine how traditional and new media respond to ethnic conflicts in the region. It proposes a new ethic for ethnic conflict reporting, suitable for professional and citizen journalists.


The article deals with the rights of children in international conflicts. The author focuses on international legal mechanisms for the protection of children in armed conflict, on the issues of compliance and fulfillment of obligations defined by international agreements and the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The article proposes measures to improve international legal instruments for the protection of the rights of children in armed conflict


Recently, people use whitening cosmetics products popularly in order to inhibit the formation of the melanin in the skin with the purpose of whitening the skin. Subsequently, evaluating the effection of whitening cosmetics is the key point. The article mainly discusses the efficacy evaluation of whitening cosmetics, according to that cosmetic inhibits the tyrosinase activity and introducing five methods of whitening cosmetics efficacy evaluation. They are cell-level efficacy measurament, animal testing, human skin testing, cell biologic and equipment.


The provision of reinforcement to increase desired behaviors is a crucial element of behavior analytic intervention for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Formal preference assessments, like the multiple stimulus without replacement procedure (MSWO), are often used to determine reinforcers used during intervention. While these types of assessments have been widely investigated, there is no empirical evidence to support that these rigorous methods of reinforcement identification produce higher rates of responding compared to the in-the-moment reinforcer analysis. The present study compared the average number of chips sorted per session on a sorting task when participants were reinforced with items selected based on an MSWO preference assessment versus items provided using in-the-moment reinforcer analysis. The results showed no significant difference in the average number of chips sorted, however there were differences in terms of efficiency.


In order to draw attention to the effectiveness of the single‐grain evaporation technique of Pb‐Pb zircon dating, this method has been applied to the Charleston Granite, a Mesoproterozoic granitoid from the South Australian Gawler Craton. The granite has previously been dated by both conventional and SHRIMP U‐Pb techniques permitting comparison of the relative advantages of all three techniques. The date obtained by the evaporation technique for the crystallisation of the main magmatic phase of zircon was 1581 ± 4 Ma (2σ) which is the same within error as the SHRIMP result of 1585 ± 5 Ma (2σ).


In this paper an optimized Fuzzy based controller is proposed for automatic generation control of two area hydro-thermal power system connected to the wind farm. The parameters and membership functions of the proposed controller are optimized by a modified version of Cuckoo search algorithm (CSA). Also, a weighted objective function is proposed to minimize the frequency deviation and transmission power oscillation. The suggested heuristic objective function is a weight function from maximum frequency drift and oscillations fading time. To assessing the performance of suggested controller, studies is accomplished by two different scenarios. In the first scenario, the simulations are performed without wind farm and in the second scenario, the simulation is done in the presence of a wind farm. The simulation results indicate that the wind farm presence has major effect on sustained improvement of power system and the reason is considering the load variations in the area, the demand electrical energy in the same area is provided by the wind farm and hence, the frequency oscillations are decreased in both areas.


One of life's major activities that guarantee the sustenance of livelihood is farming. Farming on the other hand has to be embarked upon on one of the natures most wonderful endowment referred to as land. Land is the solid part of the earth's surface used for several other activities (Oni and Adegeye, 2001), but farming appears to be the most outstanding of these activities. Land is of course, not simply an economic commodity, just as labour is not. In areas where it is abundant, there seems to be a marked tendency for people to think of it only as a place where people live and as the ground where ancestors are buried: it has a sacred quality. It may indeed be the case in sparely populated area, whether pastoral or agricultural, that land is not scarce and is thus not a true economic resource in the usual meaning of the term; and these conditions were probably the norm, says a century ago. One of the most serious problems of the agrarian structure is the excessive reductions of agricultural productivity resulting from major degradation of soil fertility. According to Bamire and Manyong (2000), research efforts have revealed that the need for intensification of production, greater use of land-saving technologies, limited expansion into marginal land and provision for increasing multi-use pressures on land. The increasing rate of population growth from period to period in Nigeria and the consequent pressures from competing demands for land over time have resulted in cultivatable land being drawn from its traditional agricultural uses, with resultant reduction in the land-man ratio. This assertion had earlier been made by Ruthernberg, 1980; Adesimi, 1988). It was discovered that this reduces the average size of farm land and invariably leads to soil fertility depletion through continuous or intensive cropping along with short, unfertilized fallow. Fallow and shifting cultivation practices were traditionally used to replenish most of the nutrients removed by crops. Fallow periods have however shortened from between 15 and 20 years to between 0 and 5years on the average in many places in Nigeria (Bamire and Manyong 2003, citing Jibowo and Adepetu, 1985; OSSADEP, 1996). There is a dire need to therefore economically assess the performance of recently identified sustainable land enhancing technologies. Such technologies include the use of leguminous cover crops and appropriate fertilizer application. This will serve as a consistent lee-way for alternatives to maintain the potentials of the land resources under the various prevailing economic, social and political environment and land use system.


In order to solve the problems of low efficiency, lag and changing price tags frequently with paper labels, a low power electronic shelf label system was designed based on ZigBee technology, making computers controlling and display screen updating information in time come true. The system overcame the disadvantages of large power consumption, low transmission speed and high cost, having a high commercial value.


The lymphatic vasculature extends through most tissues of the body and plays an essential role in maintaining fluid balance, immune cell trafficking, and lipid transport. Nearly all dietary lipid is transported from the intestine to the circulation via the lymphatic system in the form of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins called chylomicrons. This process can be described through two different mechanisms: 1) entry of the chylomicron into the initial lymphatic vessels of the small intestine, known as lacteals, and 2) the transport of these chylomicrons through the larger collecting lymphatics by a complex and coordinated system of individual contracting vessel units (lymphangions) and valve leaflets. We describe here a set of in vitro and in vivo tools we have developed to study the mechanisms that modulate lipid transport under these two different paradigms and show how these tools are uncovering important biological features involved in these mechanisms. Lymphatic pump function is known to be sensitive to the mechanical load on the vessel as the contractility of isolated vessels has been shown to be both shear and stretch sensitive [1], yet whether these mechanisms are important in regulating contractile function in vivo remains uncertain.© 2010 ASME


English has become the most influential language for international discourse (Weber 1997, Graddol 2010) and it is tempting to foresee a largely monolingual future at the international level, where other languages become irrelevant. Such a simplistic view sees the adoption of English as something universal and uniform with little room for variation, local identity, or other lingua francas. Data shows that other lingua francas are not inevitably in decline. Diverse languages – e.g. Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, French – continue to be important regionally or in certain discourse contexts (Weber 1997, Ostler 2010, Ronen et al. 2014) and on the internet. In this paper, we look at recent data from a variety of recent sources (Ronen et al. 2014,Olivie et al. 2015,) in an attempt to examine the situation regarding languages and their influences in the world today. In particular, we will attempt to take into account the fact that much language distribution is today no longer tied in with territorial dimensions. New media such as the internet, as well as mass migration between countries, have made it less easy to identify specific langugaes with precise geographical areas. Furthermore although the world is increasingly globalised, significant regional divisions still exist in the use of media (especially in the case of China) making it difficult at present to make direct comparisons about language use. In this complex scenario, it is also apparent that as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) variations emerge and gain in influence (see Seidlhofer 2011), the identity of English will change and come to become itself a reflection of a plurilingual reality in which speakers typically have at their disposal a repertoire of different languages


In this paper, we formulate and estimate a model of residential water demand with the aim of evaluating the potential of pricing policies as a mechanism for managing residential water. The proposed econometric model offers a new perspective on urban water demand analysis by combining microlevel data with a dynamic panel data estimation procedure. The empirical application suggests that residential users are more responsive to a lagged average price specification. Another result of the estimated model is that price is a moderately effective tool in reducing residential water demand within the present range of prices, with the estimated values for income elasticity and "elasticity of consumption with respect to family size" reinforcing this conclusion.


have proposed that action of penicillaniine in cystinuria is to split cystine to form the mixed penicillamine—cysteine disulphide and cysteine, whilst Meyer, Hoffman and Linker (1960) report that cysteine is effective in reversing the heavy metal inhibition of hyaluronidase. A leading article in the British Medical Journal (1964) has drawn attention to the possible occurrence of side effects during therapy with rf-penicillamine and we would suggest that stimulation of hyaluronidase activity leading to epidermolysis bullosa acquisita is such a side effect that occurs not infrequently with this drug. We would like to thank Professor M. D. Milne, Westminster Hospital, for allowing us to publish this report of his patient and Mr. R. Morton of the Photographic Dept., Westminster Medical School for the photograph.


The purpose of this paper is to evaluate roentgenologic changes of ankylosing ing hyperostosis of the spine(AH)and speculate the factors developing AH. In this report,22 patients with spinal injury were studied. All patients were males. The mean age of these patient at the final follow-up was 58 years with a range from 34 to 79 years. The patients were divided into two groups;one group of ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament of the spine(OALL)and the other of non-ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament of the spine(non-GALL). Each group was composed of ll patients. There was no difference in the background between two groups. Roentgenologic changes were evaluated by comparing two groups with regard to three points;the height of intervertebral discs, the degree of kyphosis and lordosis, and the degree of spodylolisthesis. The main results found in this long term follow-up study were as follows 1)In the cervical spine, GALL group has narrowing of the intervertebral discs more commonly than non-OALL group. 2)In the thoracic and lumbar spines, non-OALL group has more narrowing of the iritervertebral discs than OALL group. 3)OALL group has tendency to increase the degree of thoracic kyphosis and decrease that of lumbar lordosis. 4)There is no significant difference in the degree of spondylolisthesis between two groups. According to these results, we think that the important factor in the development of AH is not only diffuse ossifying diathesis but the local biomechanical factor.


Received Nov 28, 2022 Revised May 25, 2023 Accepted Jun 18, 2023 Thermo-sensitive hydrogel is a drug delivery system in breast cancer therapy, where the influence of environmental temperature changes will affect the characteristics of the polymer base. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of polymers in thermo-sensitive hydrogel bases as drug carriers in breast cancer therapy and compared them with traditional intravenous drug release. This study used a systematic literature review (SLR) using selected reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis guidelines (PRISMA) (P), based on predetermined inclusion criteria, namely English article, thermos-sensitive hydrogel, breast cancer, and original article. An initial database search yielded 618 articles, PubMed (241), Scopus (364), and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) (36). To maintain the quality of the data studied in this article, researchers used inclusion and exclusion criteria, where the exclusion criteria used were non-English languages, review articles, proceedings, communications, video articles, and not open access. After the article screening process, 11 articles were obtained which would then be summarized in data extraction. The conclusion of this study shows that the thermos-sensitive hydrogel drug delivery system has advantages in drug release, where the drug will be released continuously, but also has the disadvantage of uncontrolled drug release.


Splicing of pre-mRNA, which involves the excision of introns from a primary RNA transcript and ligation of exons into mature mRNA, is one of the essential cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms. Although this process has been extensively studied since the discovery of splicing almost three decades ago, the highly reliable identification of splice sites by the splicing machinery is still not a very well understood phenomenon. It is currently believed that the identification is accomplished through the base-pairing interactions between the conserved sequences at the exon/intron boundaries as well as within introns and the small spliceosomal RNAs. However, these sequences are short and often hard to distinguish from the numerous unutilized sequences throughout the genome. The inadequacy of the primary sequence to unambiguously specify splice sites prompted scientists to speculate about the effects of higher order RNA structure. There are a number of research articles discussing various effects of RNA secondary structure on splicing, but more general role has not been established. In our current research we are attempting to characterize the types and role of RNA secondary structure in the context of gene splicing.


A novel method of electromagnetically coupling an air-dielectric stripline interdigital or combline bandpass filter to a planar microwave circuit has been demonstrated. The filter structure can be soldered or epoxy-attached to the surface of the printed circuit board, resulting in a low-cost, high-performance assembly. By eliminating connectors, reducing wall thicknesses, and, in some cases, printing some resonators, a reduced-size filter suitable for mounting with automatic equipment is produced. Good electrical performance was demonstrated on a single design iteration after some minor or predictable modifications to the coupling gap between the coplanar-waveguide line and the first resonator of the filter. The experimental work was carried out on low-dielectric-constant material, but the concept should work also on higher-dielectric-constant materials such as alumina.<<ETX>>


—The objective is to build a global analytical approach for the evaluation of the quality of service perceived by the users in wireless cellular networks which is calibrated in some reference cases.To do so, a model accounting for interference in a MIMO cellular system is firstly described. An explicit expression of users bit-rates theoretically feasible from the information theory point of view is then deduced. The comparison between these bit-rates and practical LTE performance permits to obtain the progress margins for potential evolution of the technology. Moreover, it leads to an analytical approximate expression of the system performance which is calibrated with the practical one. This expression is the keystone of a global analytical approach for the evaluation of the QoS perceived by the users in the long run of users arrivals and departures in the network. We illustrate our approach by calculating the users QoS as function of the cell radius in different mobility and interference cancellation scenarios.


Among the various types of FOSs (Fiber Optic Sensors), fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) stand out as the most prominent technology for contact measurement of strain, vibrations and pressure. Fiber optic sensors (FOSs) are receiving a continuously growing interest in structural health monitoring (SHM) due to their many advantageous properties, such as: immunity to electromagnetic interference, intrinsic fire safety, low invasiveness, minimum aesthetic impact, possibility to send the data remotely using the same sensing fiber, etc. The popularity of FBG sensors is due to their valuable sensing properties: excellent balance between performance and complexity, possibility to work in less favorable signal-to-noise ratios than other types of optical sensors, predictable and memory-less dependence on temperature, and suitability for multiplexed optical sensor networks. Exploring and developing a novel sensing technologies with fiber brag grating sensors for structural health monitoring are the main objectives of this study. The present work focused on the study on principle and development of FBG sensors. A software OptiGrating has been used to simulate a FBG sensor, and the effect of strain and temperature on wavelength variation has been observed. KEYWORDS-Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG), Fiber Optic Sensors (FOS), Strain measurement, Structural Health Monitoring, Optiwave Software


We have shown that the Brown‐Norway rat (BN/Mcw) is markedly resistant to the development of ARF following I/R vs other rat strains. Furthermore, studies analyzing the cellular distribution of NaK‐ATPase suggest that BN rats maintain their cytoskeletal integrity immediately following I/R when compared to Sprague‐Dawley rats. Due to the relationship between ATP and cytoskeletal integrity, we investigated alterations in cellular energetics in BN rats in response to renal I/R injury. Renal cortical ATP content dropped to approximately 22 ± 6 % of control following 45 min of ischemia; levels recovered to 79 ± 7 % of control by 180 min reperfusion in SD rats. In contrast, ATP levels fell significantly less in the BN (37 ± 5 %) vs. control following ischemia and recovered to values significantly greater than control at 180 min 142 ±15%. State II and state III respiration were repressed following 1 hr of reperfusion using both complex I and complex II substrates; (e.g., state III inhibition of 59 ± 7% and 65±8 %, in response to pyruvate or succinate, respectively). In contrast, the inhibition in response to I/R in BN rat kidneys was significantly less than SD (23 ± 5% and 19 ± 6 %). In addition, transmission electron microscopy of cortical proximal tubules demonstrated prominent swelling in mitochondria of SD rat following I/R, while BN mitochondria were generally resistant to swelling. Taken together these data suggest that resistance to ARF in BN rats results from may attributable to mitochondrial integrity in the setting of I/R.


There is a pressing need to prepare mixed methods researchers for the creative development of methodological advances so that they can contribute to solving complex societal problems. One way to prepare researchers, through mentoring, has long been considered as being one of the most impactful learning experiences because of its developmental and relational focus. Mentoring often focuses on building specific skills to support the mentee's personal and professional development. Inspired by issues of mentor capacity and the potential of a synergistic mentoring framework advanced by Frels, Newman, and Newman (2015), this commentary describes promising practices for promoting sustainability within mixed methods research mentoring approaches. In closing, we encourage the global mixed methods research community to consider the practical implications of designing and implementing an effective synergistic and sustainable mentoring approach for mixed methods researchers.


We focus on the problem of predicting gene deletion experiments. In order to build a model that describes the underlying biological system well, our goal is to effectively utilize all data sources that are available, including unlabeled data, relational data, and abstracts of research papers. We study the effectiveness of transduction and co-training for exploiting unlabeled data. We investigate a propositionalization approach which uses gene interaction data. We study the benefit of text classification and information extraction for utilizing scientific abstracts. The studied task is one of the two data mining problems of the KDD Cup 2002; the solution that we describe achieved the highest score in one of the two subtasks and received an "Honorable Mention" for the overall task. Our results shed light on the benefits and limitations of several machine learning techniques for this large-scale application.


The time available to perform testing is often far less than would be desirable given organizational recommendations. When accelerated schedules are known in advance they can be accommodated, but often scheduling evolves because development tasks take longer than expected. When insufficient time is available to meet organizational standards, new strategies are needed.
This research identifies accepted testing activities and develops two models: an abstract model of the general system testing process, and a dynamic simulation model of an existing organization's system testing process. A series of experiments are performed using the dynamic model to characterize the process performance as the available schedule is reduced. The process is then modified to mitigate the effects of schedule reduction. Experimental results comparing different test strategies are presented and discussed. The results indicate that spending the recommended amount of time on an activity is a better strategy than reducing the amount of time per activity in order to process more items, even though not everything is completed. Doing a good job on a subset of the total items provides more value than doing a poor job on every item.
This research extends previous research in both software system testing and in software process simulation. In the former area, the effects of selected testing activities are studied and analyzed statistically. In the latter area, a systems dynamic model is developed which describes and implements a number of causal relationships and behavioral feedback loops.


Method for producing a construction element, in particular a tunnel element, from a curing material, such as concrete, in a mould, said construction element being provided with a watertight seal on at least one side thereof, wherein a gasket is used comprising a deforming body which is produced from a yielding material, such as rubber. According to the invention a base is produced from a relatively strong material, which base may or may not be detachable from the deforming body. Said base with or without said deforming body is placed against an inner side of the mould, said curing material is cast in the mould, and said curing material is cured to form said construction element with said watertight seal.


In different ways, social theory and social history represent discourses that implicitly or explicitly highlight the need to apply perspectives on modern social realities that are conducive to discerning and scrutinizing the centrality of large-scale processes that have been influencing and shaping the relationships between individuals, social groups and forms of organization, and society as a whole. Social theories with history stress form at the expense of substance (and social, political or cultural relevance); histories without social theory tend to amount to little more than the enumeration of isolated facts, at the expense of cohesive narratives that may be socially compelling and meaningful. Representing a range of approaches and emphases, the chapters in this volume address and illustrate linkages between social theory and history; social theory and historical analysis as mutually supportive frames of analysis, and affinities between the history of social thought and the history of modern societies. Both classical and more recent theorists feature prominently, especially Durkheim and Weber, but also such central figures in the field as Bourdieu and Luhmann.


Interaction between the chemokine receptor XCR1 and its ligand is closely related to the immune function in animals; however, there are only a few reports on role of XCR1 in the immune system of fish. We aimed to analyze the expression of XCR1 in various organs or tissues of grass carp before and after Grass Carp Reovirus (GCRV) infection to better understand the function of XCR1 in resistance to GCRV infection. We cloned and sequenced the cDNA of grass carp XCR1 and analyzed the molecular structure of XCR1 based its amino acid sequence. Further, we analyzed the relative expression levels of XCR1 in different organs or tissues of male parent grass carp with GCRV resistance (P1) and their first-generation offspring (F1) before and after GCRV infection. Our results show that the total length of cDNA of the grass carp XCR1 gene is 1659 bp and encodes 365 amino acids. XCR1 contains seven conserved transmembrane helical domains. The homologous tertiary structure of XCR1 is similar to its homologs in other species. After artificial GCRV infection, there were significant differences in the expression of the grass carp XCR1 gene in different tissues, at different time points, and between P1 and F1 fish. These results will contribute to our understanding of the role of XCR1 in fish immune responses and contribute to the development of GCRV-resistant grass carp.


This paper deals with the numerical analysis of a system of elliptic quasi-variational inequalities. Under a M^ 2>p(Q)-regularity of the continuous solution, a quasi-optimal L°°- convergence of a piecewise linear finite finite element method is established, involving a monotone algorithm of Bensoussan- Lions type and standard L°°-error estimates known for elliptic variational inequalities.


The results showed that there were totally 42 families,91 genera,267 species(included 9 varieties) of Pteridophyte in Mt.Leigongshan Nature Reserve.The families which included more than 10 species were Dryopteridaceae,Polypodiaceae,Athyriaceae,Aspleniaceae,Thelypteridaceae,Hymenophyllaceae and Selaginellaceae.The Pteridophyte species in Mt.Leigongshan Nature Reserve can be divided into 11 areal-types and 8 subtypes.Temperate distribution and Tropical Asia distribution were the main elements of the areal-type in this area and represented the feature of subtropics transition to temperate arealtype.


o Expense Optimizing compilers are expensive to write and to run. This expense is to some degree inherent, especially if the important classes of inter-procedure optimizations are considered. Conceptually, every line of code to be loaded together must be examined before even very basic decisions about code generation can be made within each procedure: this is expensive, and makes separate compilation of procedures difficult. Attempts to circumvent these information-flow problems by forcing the user to do more work in declarations usually have led to rather ponderous languages that are neither efficient nor easy to compile.


The Defense Department has written into its budget a proposal to discharge all HIV-positive members of the armed services. The House Committee on National Security has approved the fiscal 1996 defense budget with the ban included. Rep. Robert K. Dornan, R- Calif., contends that having HIV-positive service members in the military compromises the nation's readiness because, under Defense Department policy, they cannot be stationed abroad. However, only one-fifth of all service members on limited assignment have HIV, the others have diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. This shows the military's readiness to discriminate against HIV-positive individuals, according to William J. Freeman of the National Association of People with AIDS. Currently all recruits are tested for HIV; if they test positive, they are denied entry to the armed services. All service members are tested annually for HIV antibodies. In anticipation of cutbacks in military-related AIDS research due to the Republican control of Congress, the military has begun to eliminate most of the AIDS research it conducts.


Portable Document Format (PDF) has being consolidating itself in the world as a Web Document Transmission Standard, specially recognized like only-to be re...


In this paper we propose a new decentralized control strategy applied to a DC Microgrid in order to manage the power delivery of storage devices into a common DC-link, avoiding high-bandwidth communication (HBC) between the storage devices (SD) and alternative sources. Batteries and Ultracapacitors (UC) are used as SD and the common DC-link is fed by alternative sources such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and fuel cells as well. The batteries are used to supply/absorb extra power in steady-state regime while the UC absorbs the power transients caused by variations on the power production or load connections. The proposed strategy uses as input for the batteries control only the DC-link voltage and state of charge (SOC), while for the UC only the DC-link voltage and UC terminal voltage are used to achieve the power sharing among the storage devices, equalization of the batteries and voltage restoration of the UC without HBC. The DC-link voltage is not restored in order to work as the sharing signal between storage devices. Additionally, the DC Microgrid is connected to the AC grid in order to deliver the extra power to the distributed system; however, the voltage variation on the DC-link does not affect the power quality of the produced energy. Simulated and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.


As the Korean demilitarized zone(DMZ) has unique geological features and terrains, conventional wheel-based unmanned ground vehicles(UGVs) are hard to perform the landmine removal tasks. Compared to other types of robot platforms, multi-legged robots, which climb the inclined way and overcome the complex obstacles with lower contact area on the ground, have several advantages to perform landmine detection tasks in DMZ effectively. Thus, to exploit such benefits, in this paper, we propose the design schemes and gait methods of multi-legged spider robots. Especially, this paper presents the design and motion control of multi-legged spider robots with four and six legs. In detail, we implemented the design and motion control of multi-legged spider robots suitable for landmine detection in the DMZ by applying the gait algorithms on Arduino and Dynamixel servomotors. Our proposed algorithm and system design demonstrate that the proposed system design architecture enables operational flexibilities while walking in harsh conditions.


Introduction:
 Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a significant cause of hemorrhagic stroke. Almost one third are untreatable using current methods. We aim to use stereotactic radiosurgery as a priming tool to elicit novel protein expression on irradiated AVM vessels and targeting with thrombotic antibody-conjugates to induce rapid thrombosis and vessel closure.

 Hypothesis:
 Radiosurgery induces novel protein changes on the AVM endothelium that are potential therapeutic targets.

 Methods:
 A model arteriovenous fistula (AVF) formed in rats was irradiated by GammaKnife (20Gy) or sham-irradiated. After 24h, animals were perfused with EZ-link Sulfo-NHS-LC Biotin to label surface-accessible proteins. Biotinylated AVFs were dissected, pooled (n=4/group) and protein extracted. Biotin-labelled proteins were enriched on streptavidin-agarose beads before LC-MS/MS using SWATH acquisition label-free mass spectrometry.

 Results:
 At 24h post-irradiation, 280 surface-associated proteins were identified in sham and irradiated extracts. Of these, 56 were up-regulated in irradiated AVMs (greater than 1.5-fold change vs sham). Radiation increased fibrinogen α/β (1.5-fold), platelet factor 4 (16-fold) and plasminogen (2-fold), suggesting enhanced adhesion of blood-borne molecules to the vessel wall. Twenty-eight mitochondrial proteins increased, including manganese superoxide dismutase (2-fold), which may reflect radiation-induced changes in subcellular localization or cell lysis causing intracellular molecule release and entrapment. Troponin I (cardiac) and tropomyosin 1α, actin-associated proteins externalized under stress, increased 14- and 4-fold. Secreted and membrane proteins were also identified (e.g. clusterin, 1.5-fold; CD93, 5-fold; Ras-related Rab18, 1.8-fold).

 Conclusions:
 Using
 in vivo
 biotin labelling, we have identified a series of novel surface-accessible proteins induced by radiosurgery that are potential therapeutic targets. Externalization of intracellular proteins may provide unique radiation-stimulated candidates for vascular targeting in AVMs.


vascular center for evaluation of limiting intermittent claudication. She gave a history of hypertension found to be secondary to renovascular disease that was initially treated with bilateral angioplasty and stenting. The procedure was uncomplicated; however, her renovascular hypertension promptly recurred. One year later, she underwent bilateral aorto-renal artery bypasssurgery. Prior to the operation, she was able to walk for 2/2 miles (4 km) and sometimes further without much limitation. Immediately following her operation, she noted reproducible symmetric bilateral thigh and calf 'tightness' limiting her to half a block of ambulation. Review of the preoperative angiogram revealed diffuse aorto-iliac atherosclerosis without stenosis. MR angiography revealed severe focal stenosis of the abdominal aorta superior to patent bilateral aorto-renal bypass grafts (Panel A). The distal aorta, iliac and femoral arteries were of normal caliber without stenosis. The superior mesenteric artery (SMA) is occluded at the origin Vascular Medicine 2006; 11: 173–174


This chapter examines some key areas of the history of Jewish youth in Europe during and in the aftermath of the Holocaust, paying particular attention to the significant shifts in the field over the last decade. It discusses how the field has been changing and expanding as a result of historians' recognition of children's agency with the rise of child-oriented historiography, and the late postwar tsunami of child survivors' testimonies. It focuses on specific aspects of Jewish children's history beginning with the ghettoization process, life on the Aryan side in Nazi-occupied Europe, Jewish disabled children, the universe of concentration camps and extermination centers, and the aftermath of the war.


When transformation model of coordinates is computed by RTK/level,the model precision could be deteriorated by the RTK's error.In this paper,the model precision was improved by localizing and insulating errors by model of height abnormity.


Background The present study aims to explore the expression, clinical significance, and prospective pathway signaling of miR-501-3p in ovarian cancer (OC) based on database and informatics analysis. Methods Kruskal–Wallis test, Wilcoxon sign-rank test, and logistic regression were used to evaluate the relationship between clinical features and miR-501-3p expression. Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis was used to explore the relationship between miR-501-3p expression and the prognosis of OC patients. The miRNA targets were obtained from databases TargetScan, miRanda, TarBase, miRTarBase, miR2Disease, miRecords, and miRWalk. GO and KEGG analyses were used to analyze the significant involvement of miR-501-3p target genes in function. Results The low miR-501-3p expression in OC was significantly associated with histologic grade (P=0.015). Low miR-501-3p expression predicted a poorer overall survival (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61–0.96; P=0.02) and disease-specific survival (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61–0.99; P=0.038). GO and KEGG analyses demonstrated that miR-501-3p might participate in the development of OC by pathways including one carbon pool by folate, protein digestion and absorption, cell cycle, kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection, and viral carcinogenesis. Conclusions Low miR-501-3p expression is significantly associated with poor survival in OC patients. It may be a promising prognostic biomarker for OC patients.


Currently,most of the college freshmen have a poor ability of autonomous learning,while meta-cognitive level has a close relationship with autonomous learning.Therefore,college English teachers should pay attention to knowledge about meta-cognitive and use it to guide freshmen step by step,making them know basic psychology and learning style,cooperative learning and learning autonomously.


The article presents construction concept of a tractor with hybrid, diesel-hydraulic and diesel-electric drive meant for the use in livestock holdings. The tractor is enabled to cover short distances with the combustion engine switched off. This solution uses independent engines to propel front and rear axles. This article presents a computer model and simulation results for the project of a hybrid, diesel-electric tractor based on a benchmark machine Fendt 516. Aside from the ability to drive with diesel engine switched off, the proposed solution has additional positive features allowing smooth transition of relation of peripheral speed of the front and rear wheels. It enables to obtain higher tractive powers for various conditions in a broader range than for a traditional solution (with propelling both axles with one engine through different transmission systems and specific difference of peripheral speed of the wheels). The computer model was built on the basis of the benchmark machine.


This paper presents a scene composition approach that allows the combinational use of standard three dimensional objects, called models, in order to create X3D scenes. The module is an integral part of a broader design aiming to construct large scale online advertising infrastructures that rely on virtual reality technologies. The architecture addresses a number of problems regarding remote rendering for low end devices and last but not least, the provision of scene composition and integration. Since viewers do not keep information regarding individual input models or scenes, composition requires the consideration of mechanisms that add state to viewing technologies. In terms of this work we extended a well-known, open source X3D authoring tool.


T cell based adoptive immunotherapy induces potent anti-tumor response in many cancers. Highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, however, severely impairs effector functions and survival of transferred T cells. In order to gain the best possible immune elimination of tumor cells, specific molecular changes that impair T cell effector functions in the tumor microenvironment need to be identified and targeted. We recently reported that transcription factor Foxp1 critically regulates T cell effector functions as Foxp1-deficient CD8+T cells are better effectors. Here we demonstrate that immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment results in the upregulation of Foxp1 in tumor-reactive T cells, and impairs their effector functions. Consequently, mice bearing ovarian tumors survived significantly longer upon receiving adoptively transferred tumor-primed Foxp1-deficient T cells. In vitro studies further showed that Foxp1-deficient CD8+ T cells can proliferate better in the presence of immunosuppressive TGFb1. Analysis of adoptively transferred T cells showed that, compared to WT CD8+ T cells, Foxp1-deficient CD8+, but not CD4+, T cells survive better in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Tumor bearing mice receiving Foxp1-deficient effector T cells rejected secondary tumors indicating generation of anti-tumor T cell memory. Our findings indicate that targeting the transcription factor Foxp1 on effector T cells can dramatically improve anti-tumor immunotherapy.


A novel battery SOH estimation algorithm based on outlier detection has been presented. The Battery state of health (SOH) is one of the most important parameters that describes the usability state of the power battery system. Firstly, a battery system model with lifetime fading characteristic was established, and the battery characteristic parameters were acquired from the lifetime fading process. Then, the outlier detection method based on angular distribution was used to identify the outliers among the battery behaviors. Lastly, the functional relationship between battery SOH and the outlier distribution was obtained by polynomial fitting method. The experimental results show that the algorithm can identify the outliers accurately, and the absolute error between the SOH estimation value and true value is less than 3%.


There is increasing evidence that the opioid inhibition of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion is mediated, at least in part, by catecholaminergic mechanisms. This study determined the effects of selective manipulation of noradrenergic and adrenergic systems on the ability of opiate receptor blockade to induce the release of LH in adult male rats.


Thailand is the largest natural rubber producer country in the world. In several years ago, the natural rubber price shows a negative trend. This condition make a rubber smallholder face difficulties in life. This paper aims to study efforts made by rubber smallholder to face low rubber prices. Methods in this paper used descriptive analysis with literature studies of the efforts undertaken by rubber smallholder in several rubber producer countries, especially in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Laos to face low rubber price. This study show that the alternative effort undertaken by rubber smallholder to face low rubber price generally was 1) management of cost production by reduced fertilizer and others factor production which no disturbed rubber income in short term condition; 2) develop other crops by intercropping technique on rubber side line; 3) looking for side jobs such as construction laborers, public transportation drivers, opening stalls and catching fish; 4) use of loans to maintain the standard of household living; 5) implement a joint marketing system to obtain a better rubber price; 6) selling or renting old and unproductive rubber land; and 7) renew/replanting rubber plantation.


Objectives: There are adhesion molecules, angiogenetic factors, and proteolytic enzymes such as E-cadherin and MT1-MMP, which are involved in carcinogenesis, cancer invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to determine the MT1-MMP and E-cadherin mRNA expression in cervical cancer, And we investigated the relationship between their expression and questioned whether their expression is related to cervical cancer stages and other prognostic factors. Methods: The cervical and cervical cancer tissues were taken from the patients; healthy women(n=14), and the patients with cervical cancer(n=35). The E-cadherin and MT1-MMP mRNA expression were examined by quantitative competitive PCR after polymerase chain reaction amplification of reverse transcriptase copies of RNA transcripts(RT-PCR). Results: E-cadherin mRNA expression in cervical cancer was not lower than that in normal cervix(p>0.05). MT1-MMP mRNA expression in cervical cancer was higher than that of normal cervix(p


The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. Provide a semiconductor device having improved quality. The semiconductor device of the present invention comprises: a semiconductor chip having thereon a tape substrate, a plurality of pads around the pads of the semiconductor chip is placed, the electrode pads for electrically coupling the semiconductor chip to the pads of the plurality of pads wires, and a plurality of terminal portions provided on the lower surface of the tape substrate. A second region between the average distance between local peaks of the surface roughness of the first region of the tape between the pads of the substrate and the semiconductor chip pad is smaller than the tape pad and the substrate pads first region the average distance of the local peaks of the surface roughness.


Formula Varsity is about formula racing car student organised by UTeM almost similar
Formula-SAE competition. This competition delegate a valuable project where it
combine academic work and learning with practical skill development engineering. In
building a racing car, one of the main components should be taken into consideration is
the structure (framework). Objective of this project is to produce design concept for
UTeM Formula Varsity structure. Design criteria used in this building structure are
predicated to FSAE rule 2009, ergonomics, and load analysis and safety factor. Software
used in this project is CATIA V5R16 for 3D modeling and for structure analysis. There
are 7 concepts that had been proposed in this project and the selection method used to
find out the three best concepts to further into the next step which is detail design. The
three best concept designs were selected based on the criteria that had been stated in
Pugh Selection evaluation. Detail design will be preceded into the Finite Element
Analysis to find out one of the design which is the best among three designs. A final
design concept will be selected as the best design which following the SAE standards
and regulations. After that, modification of a structure would be made to optimize the
design (if necessary) to be more suitable and it will continue until the design achieve the
target which is suitable and better to be used for next UTeM Formula Varsity.


The North Anatolian fault zone of Turkey has become widely
publicized in recent years because of the remarkable series of earthquakes
that began along it in 1939 -- most of which have been associated with
dextral surface displacements that have successively delineated the fault
trace from east to west (Ketin and Roesli, 1953; Ambraseys and Zatopek,
1968). It is not so generally recognized that even prior to 1939 the fault
zone could easily have been recognized on the basis of abundant and through-going
features of Quaternary displacements, and that the North Anatolian
fault is almost completely analogous to the better-known active transcurrent
faults of the circum-Pacific region, such as the San Andreas fault of
California and the Alpine fault of New Zealand.


Factors attributing to the behavior of non-prescription used of antibiotics in Indonesia setting have not been identifi ed yet. The availability of eff ective and effi cient instrument or method to identify the attributing factors might be the cause of non-optimal identifying process. The objective of present study was to develop instrument, i.e questionnaire, to identify factors contributing to the behavior of non-prescription used of antibiotics. The questionnaire was developed based on factors identifi ed on published scientifi c literatures. Face and content validity were conducted by having the experts' judgement, while the construct validity was conducted by using the Spearman Correlation Test. Reliability was tested by using Cronbach's alpha test.There were 14 rating and 8 multiple answer questions in the questionnaire that could be classifi ed unto 5 domains. After conducting the validity and reliability test, the fi nal questionnaire had a R value 0.276-0.628 and Cronbach's alpha 0.833. This valid and reliable questionnaire could be used to portray the attributing factors of non-prescription used of antibiotics in larger area, therefore, the most appropriate intervention could be planeed based on the identified factors.


of master's thesis Author Laura Korhonen Title of thesis Investing in Care Home Properties in Finland Degree programme Degree Programme in Real Estate Economics Major Real Estate Management Code M3003 Thesis supervisor Professor Kauko Viitanen Thesis advisor Ph. D. Tero Lehtonen Date April 11, 2016 Number of pages 64 + 2 Language English


The precise identification of drugs in body fluids or in illegal preparations may be accomplished by the relatively sophisticated techniques of mass spectrometry [1,2] or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [2,3]. The application of these techniques to drug analysis is well documented [4–6]. Recently, more attention has been paid to the type of mass spectra produced by different methods of ionization [7]. The most useful mass spectrum for many applications is one in which the molecular ion is large and unambiguous. However, some fragmentation is often a desirable feature because this may help to confirm the identity of a compound, differentiate isomers, or assist in elucidating the structure of an unknown. High pressure ionization methods have been found to be particularly useful for drug identification since they often produce the base peak of the spectrum in the molecular ion region, thus serving to identify the molecular weight of the compound. However, some compounds, notably heroin and morphine, fragment easily when ionized with the high pressure reagent gases used so far.


A combined Raman and elastic-backscatter lidar for independent profiling of tropospheric aerosols, moisture, and ozone and aerosol parameters is presented. GKSS operates this advanced Raman lidar at Geesthacht, Germany. First routine ozone measurements were taken between February and April 1995, Simultaneously with the European SESAME (Second European Stratospheric Arctic and Mid-latitude Experiment) campaign. The transmitter contains two lasers, a XeCl excimer laser and a frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser. The received backscattered light is separated in an eight-cahnnel filter polychromator and detected by photomultipliers in single-photon counting mode. Ozone concentrations and aerosol and moisture profiles are obtained by applying the Raman-DIAL and conventional DIAL and the Raman lidar technique, respectively. Aerosol and moisture profiles and derived by applying the common Raman technique. Examples of the measured aerosol, ozone, moisture, and temperature profiles are shown.


Glands of biliary tree (Peribiliary Glands: PBGs) contain a niche of heterogeneous endodermal-like stem/progenitors cells (Biliary Tree Stem/progenitor Cells: BTSCs) that can be easily induced to differentiate, in vitro and in vivo, towards pancreatic islets (1,2). Whether these cells may play a role in insulin production in diabetes is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in experimental diabetes, proliferation of PBGs and differentiation of BTSCs towards insulin-producing cells. Diabetes was generated in mice by intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 200 mg/kg (High-Dose STZ group; N=12) or 120 mg/kg of STZ (Low-Dose STZ group; N=12). Control mice (N=17) were injected with citrate buffer (i.e. the STZ carrier). Glucose levels in blood and urine and HbA1c blood levels were measured. Liver, pancreas and extrahepatic biliary trees (EHBT) were en bloc microdissected and processed for histology, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and RT-PCR. Our results showed that PBGs proliferated in an experimental model of type-1 diabe- tes. Their proliferation was greatest at the hepato-pancreatic ampulla and correlated with a decreased pancreatic islets' mass. The PBG proliferation was characterized by the expansion of the compartment of Sox9+ stem/progenitor cells that gave rise to insulin-producing cells. Insulin-producing cells were mostly located in the portion of EHBT closest to the duodenum, and their appearance was associated with the upregulation of MafA and Gli1 gene expression. PBG proliferation and the expansion of Sox-9+, insulin-producing cells were more evident after 90 than after 30 days STZ treatment. In conclusion, PBGs and associated BTSCs respond to diabetes with proliferation and differentiation towards insulin-producing cells. This indicates that PBG niche may rescue the pancreatic islet impairment in diabetes with important implications for the patho-physiology and complications of this disease.


The history of the propentdyopent problem is briefly summarised. Tetraethyl(methanol)propentdyopent and tetraethyl (water) propentdyopent are prepared from octaethylhaemin and from 3,3′,4,4′-tetraethyl-2,2′-methylenedipyrrole-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid under specified oxidative conditions, are interconverted under appropriate acidic conditions, and readily form the orange zinc(II) complex of tetraethylpropentdyopent. Arguments are advanced to show that the water and methanol derivatives are to be formulated as the valley adducts (18a, b) of tetraethylpropentdyopent.


Be careful what you give children, for sooner or later you are sure to get it back.-Barbara Kingsolver The experience of long-term poverty affects a child's personality development, through a family stress process in which poverty is considered to be one of the major factors. This causes family dysfunction, stress among caregivers and inadequate parenting. According to the World Bank estimates in 2003, there were 1.2 billion out of the developing world's 4.8 billion people living on $1 per day, while another 2.8 billion are living on less than $2 per day. Many factors contribute to family poverty including underemployment and unemployment. Some may 'inherit' poverty because of being born into a particular social group defined by race, class and location. Families who constitute the 'working group' may have one or both parents working at or near the minimum wage. The findings of a research done by Zaslow & Eldred (1998) provide strong support for the view that parenting is important to children's development, as are influences from the children's larger social context. Impacts of poverty The 'Family Stress Model' (Conger et al. 2000) proposes that the experience of poverty is one of the more important factors that can put severe strains on spousal relationships, bring about feelings of depression and increasing family dysfunction. According to the 'Family Stress Model' family contributes to emotional distress (e.g. depression) and family dysfunction. Family distress causes problems in the relationship between adults that are, in turn, linked to less effective parenting – a complex notion that involves insufficient surveillance, lack of control over the child's behavior, lack of warmth and support, inconsistency, and displays of aggression or hostility by parents or older siblings.


-Summer waterfowl use of playa lakes in summer was significantly associated with characteristics of emergent vegetation and with turbidity. Biological differences between modified and unmodified playa lakes include total cover, height of emergent vegetation, invertebrate populations, and brood use. Modification of playa basins reduced the littoral zones available for important aquatic communities, thus underscoring the conservation and management needs for the playa


Not surprisingly, there have been a number of recent editorials, including in this journal, in response to the student protests of 2015 and 2016 (see, for example, Jansen 2017; Keet 2017; Postma 2016a; Zembylas and Bozalek 2017), as well as a burgeoning literature in the form of journal articles, books, and masters and doctoral theses (see, for example, Cordeiro-Rodrigues's comment in this issue of Education as Change, in response to the article by Vorster and Quin earlier this year). Whilst analyses of the protests differ, generally the editorials see the protests as marking a potential moment to reflect on higher education in South Africa, including the role of academics (Keet 2017; Postma 2016a). Keet (2017, 7), for example, argues that this is a moment for self-reflexivity "on both our 'complicity' and historical production as academics." I would argue that one of the key historical processes we urgently need to reflect on is the way in which our labour, as academics, has been alienated.


The ITER Bottom Correction Coil (BCC) is an important part of the ITER magnet system, which is used to compensate the error field of other coils caused by non-axial symmetry. The BCC lifting frame is used in the process of lifting the BCC to the temporary position in the pit, and the BCC lifting frame is also suitable for the Top Correction Coil (TCC). According to the actual working conditions, the load combination of BCC lifting frame is considered, and the tilting 6° in 4 directions is considered when the BCC lifting frame is used. The finite element analysis ensures that the BCC lifting frame can meet the stress analysis criteria. On the basis of finite element analysis, 12 lower lifting points of the lifting frame were tested with appropriate loads, and it was proved that the BCC lifting frame met the deformation evaluation criteria of load test.


Argon and krypton lasers are widely used in medicine. The paper contains information on ion lasers parameters and a description of diagnostic and therapeutic systems containing ion lasers used in different branches of medicine: ophthalmology, dermatology, micro-surgery, and photodynamic therapy of tumors.


The contamination of the environment with pollutants, like heavy metals from human activity, has caused the loss of agricultural land. One possible solution could be the utilization of phytoremediation technique with particular plant, capable of absorbing the contaminants from soil.
Jatropha curcas, an important plant for the biodiesel production, in particular in tropical areas, has the capacity to grown in marginal land, compromised for food cultivation. The experiment was conducted in hydroponic conditions with the objective to evaluate the response and growth parameters of juvenile plants grown in presence of different Pb levels (0-100-200 mg/L). It was possible to study the interaction in the plant between some mineral element (Ca, Mg, Zn and Fe) and morphological parameters and Pb, and evaluate some tolerance indicators. Results showed that the plants were able to grow in presence of Pb and to accumulate high levels of heavy metal in the roots, followed by the stems and leaves. However, Jatropha curcas subjected to Pb treatment demonstrated stunted growth and alterations in mineral elements contents. The results suggest that J. curcas may tolerate the levels of Pb imposed, but there is low translocation of heavy metal to aerial tissues, within the time period of analysis.


If simple entropy in the Bekenstein-Hawking area law for a Schwarzschild black hole is replaced with 'negative' quantum conditional entropy, which quantifies quantum entanglement, of positive-energy particles of the black hole relative to its outside, a paradox with the original pair-creation picture of Hawking radiation, the first law for black hole mechanics and quantum mechanics is resolved. However, there was no way to judge experimentally which area law is indeed adopted by black holes. Here, with the no-hair conjecture, we derive the perfect picture of a second law of black hole thermodynamics for any black hole from the modified area law, rather than Bekenstein's generalized one from the original area law. The second law is testable with an event horizon telescope, in contrast to Bekenstein's. If this is confirmed, the modified area law could be exalted to the first example of fundamental equations in physics which cannot be described without the concept of quantum information.


High Street TV (HSTV) in Harrogate, the most dominant direct response presence on UK television, has been recognised by Disney for its multi channel ...


The book offers a synthesis of the natural values and ecology of north Australia together with recommendations for actions needed to maintain these values. The book's authors, John Woinarski (NRETA), Brendan Mackey (ANU), Henry Nix (ANU) and Barry Traill (Pugh Foundation, formerly The Wilderness Society) have brought together a great deal of recent research in these areas, much of it enabled by the TS–CRC partners, particularly through John Woinarski and NRETA.


A semiautomated uricase method for measuring urinary or serum levels of uric acid directly at 292 nm was developed. The optical density of the sample is determined with and without prior treatment with uricase. Reduction of blank optical density and increased resolution of the absorbance due to uric acid were achieved by the utilization of manual deproteinization of serum in perchloric acid thereby reducing costs and providing greater precision and a rapid sampling rate. Coefficients of variation within-run and between-run were 2.5 and 4.3 respectively. The mean percentage of uric acid recovered was 99.6%. Normal and hypertriglyceridemic young men and women with and without oral contraceptive (OC) therapy were studied following an oral fructose meal. The uric acid response was found to parallel fasting uric acid levels. Women taking OCs had a markedly lower uric acid response compared with the males. The results suggest that fructose levels in hepatic portal blood and the pattern of hepatic fructose metabolism determines the extent of the serum uric acid response to fructose loading.


ore makes nonsense if taken with repulsum. Madvig (Opusc. Acad., pp. 411 £), Baiter, and Clark take ore with erumpentem, and refer it to the mouth of the Black Sea; the word-order is astonishing, the historical reference inaccurate, and the whole phrase impossibly obscure. Butler and Cary tentatively suggest ore Bospori (with erumpentem), but the word-order remains strange; they also say that cervicibus suis is to be taken with sustinerent, which is impossible. Miiller and A. Klotz do not punctuate before or after ore, and it is not clear how they interpret the passage. Some old editors follow late manuscripts in reading aegre, which has neither authority nor merit. I suggest that corpore or something similar is required. See Pared. 12 qui Carthaginiensium adventum corporibus suis intercludendum putaverunt; De Sen. 75 Scipiones qui tier Poenis vel corporibus suis obstruere voluerunt; Balb. 39 moenibus (hostem) exduserunt, classibus insecuti sunt, corporibus opibus copiis depulerunt; Phil. vi. 9 quidegit aliud (D. Brutus) nisi ut paene corpore suo Gallia prohiberet Antonium? Dom. 63 ham ego vim . . . meo corpore opposite . . . depuli, omnemque impetum discordiarum . . . excepi meo corpore. It may be objected that in our passage the plural corporibus might have been expected. Yet elsewhere corpus, etc., are used in the singular with reference to more than one person (Kuhner-Stegmann, Lot. Gramm. i. 78 f., Kiihner— Gerth, Griech. Gramm. i. 14 f.), though it must be admitted that none of the instances quoted gives a completely satisfactory parallel to our passage. Of course plural cervicibus is no obstacle to singular corpore; for cervix is not found in the singular in Ciceronian prose (P. Maas, Arckivfur lat. Lex. xii. 501). I have also considered pectore; pect might easily have fallen out after pete. But pectore involves a more unusual metaphor than corpore, and would suit a word like exceptum better than repulsum. Admittedly Statius says magno pectore montem reppulit (Silv. iii. 1. 21 f.), but Hercules was a special case.


List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xii Introduction 1 1. Film Policy and Film Aesthetics as Cultural Archives 13 Part One. Imperial Governmentality 2. Acts of Transition: The British Cinematographic Films Acts of 1927 and 1938 41 3. Empire and Embarassment: Colonial Forms of Knowledge about Cinema 65 Part Two. Imperial Redemption 4. Realism and Empire 107 5. Romance and Empire 135 6. Modernism and Empire 165 Part Three. Colonial Autonomy 7. Historical Romances and Modernist Myths in Indian Cinema 195 Notes 239 Bibliography 289 Index of Films 309 General Index 313


This paper completely introduces the basic idea of the EFP (Equivalent Frame Photo) aerial triangulation, EFP image point coordinate calculation and the function model of adjustment as well as the digital simulation of the satellite photogrammetry. Then, the free framework + the control points adjustment, the adjustment with the observations of the exterior orientation element, detection the constant error of the observations of the exterior orientation element and the block adjustment are calculated and analysed using the simulated data.Through experiment and analysis, the conclusions are: -The strip length of the three baselengths can be built up a stable model of the three-line array CCD image strip adjustment; -The control points can be arranged on the start and the end of the strip. The elevation accuracy of the twofold area is lower about a factor of 1.4 than the threefold area; -The observations of the exterior orientation element are the necessary data for the three-line array CCD image bundle adjustment. By the adjustment, the elevation accuracy can be improved in variant levels. Even if the accuracy of the observations of the exterior orientation elements are so high now, the elevation accuracy of the bundle adjustment is higher than the only forward intersection, so the three-line array CCD camera is more advantageous than single-line and double-line cameras in global satellite photogrammetry without control points or the exterior planet photogrammetry.


Heavy metal contamination in aqueous environment from natural processes and human's activities including pesticides usage, mining, factories discharging and leaking irritation shows an extreme threat to environment and human health. The control of rising amount of heavy metal in environment not only requires critical observations at their original sources but also demands efficient removal methods. However, each conventional method is only suitable in a certain range of use. For example, inexpensive materials and convenient techniques are necessary for large scale heavy meal treatment, while high performance system to remove almost trace amount of heavy metals are critically required for drinking water treatment. On the other hands, heavy metal treatments must be applicable in some crucial environment conditions. Among solutions for environmental heavy metal control, polymeric materials have showed many advantages to enhance the performance of conventional heavy metal adsorbents. Possessing functional chemical moieties on their side chains and backbones, polymers can act as main metal ion adsorption component and/or effective supports for the adsorption property. In addition, the utilization of polymeric components can result in a low corrosion, selectivity, controllability, and recyclability of absorbents when operated in real environment conditions. This article summarizes the preparation techniques and desirable properties of polymer for removal of toxic heavy metal ion as well as the possibility of polymers in collecting some rare noble metal ions.


Summary form only given. An approach for finding boundary conditions for the Darwin model, which is commonly used as an approximation of Maxwell equations in electron beam simulations, has been developed. These conditions guarantee the uniqueness of the decomposition and are compatible with the perfectly conducting wall boundary condition for the overall electric field. Furthermore, it can be proved, on rigorous mathematical grounds, that the resulting Darwin model is well posed (i.e., its solution exists and is unique) and that, under suitable compatibility conditions on the initial data, it approximates the Maxwell system up to the order (V/C)3, where V is the characteristic velocity scale in the problem. The same approach can also be used for the quasielectrostatic model


The author analyzed the practice of general jurisdiction courts and commercial (arbitrazh) procedure courts in cases related to acquiring property rights by way of acquisitive prescription heard in 2020–2021. The aim of the study is to determine the degree of influence of legal positions that have been developed in domestic judicial practice on the project of reforming the institution of acquisitive prescription in Russia. The analysis of the array of court decisions resulted in the determination of the content of the acquisitive prescription criteria in law enforcement practice of Russian courts, identification of the problems related to the procedure for recognizing the right of ownership of real estate in the order of acquisitive prescription in court, and proposals for solving them. The author makes conclusions about the preparation of a draft Russian reform of the institution of acquisitive prescription without taking into account the legal positions developed in the practice of courts of general jurisdiction and commercial (arbitrazh) courts in cases of acquiring property rights by way of acquisitive prescription.


In recent years, the rapid development of the national economy has brought rapid growth in electricity demand; the power grid construction has entered a period of rapid development. Construction of power transmission line project is an important part of power grid construction,the cost management of construction stage, it is of great significance for the entire project cost management, improve the efficiency of construction enterprises. In this paper, based on the theory of cost management in construction stage, from the three aspects of social and economic factors, human factors and natural factors, analyzed the current situation and problems of transmission line engineering construction cost management and to the actual engineering data are discussed. Finally, in view of the present situation and problems of the construction cost management, this paper puts forward some suggestions.


Among the alternatives that can be used to control the production of acid mine drainage generated by reactive tailings (milling wastes), the use of so-called dry covers appears to be one of the most practical. The purpose of such covers is to limit the flow of water and/or oxygen to the tailings, so that reactions leading to acid generation can be stopped. Various types of materials have been considered to build such covers, including geomembranes and fine-grained soils. Because these materials are not always economically available, the authors have proposed the use of fine tailings that do not contain sulfide as a capillary material in a multilayer cover system. To investigate the potential efficiency of milling wastes, a research project is presently underway. It includes different types of tests on homogenized tailings to determine some of their hydrogeological properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, capillary curves, and effective diffusion coefficient. In this paper, the authors briefly review the basic principles behind the design of multilayer cover systems to control acid production. Then some of the main components of an ongoing laboratory investigation are presented. The emphasis is placed upon column tests procedures used to evaluate various cover configurations. Some analytical and numerical solutions to specific problems related to cover design are finally given.


The invention discloses a rail traffic comprehensive monitoring system and a method thereof, comprising a collecting platform, a comprehensive monitoring supporting platform and a monitoring control module which are sequentially connected through application interfaces. The invention also comprises a maintenance management module which is connected with the comprehensive monitoring supporting platform through the application interface. The method comprises online detection, filtration and malfunction grade judgement. The disposal is carried out according to different grades and different situations; a preparedness disposal is carried out if the disposal belongs to the first grade and, for the residual disposals, the maintenance strategy is determined and the expert database sub-module is updated according to the decision of experts; the equipment which is required to be maintained at once is maintained or waits to be maintained; a nominal disposal is firstly carried out during the maintenance and then malfunctions are isolated; the maintenance result is detected finally and the malfunction and maintenance condition are recorded. The invention can effectively reflects the healthy condition of equipment and gives out maintenance strategy in the comprehensive monitoring system, which leads the maintenance and operation scheduling to be integrated for management, implements high integration, transparence and informationization of maintenance operation, and effectively reduces construction cost.


By the towel roll salt stress method,the germination rate and seedling length of 14 cotton varieties were determined under the stress of 0,0.3%,0.45% and 0.6% NaCl.The salt tolerance of cotton varieties was evaluated by calculating the salt injury rate of germination rate.The results showed that the suitable NaCl concentration was 0.6% to evaluate the salt tolerance of cotton varieties.Under 0.6% NaCl stress,the salt tolerance of 08-73,Hengmian 1698,Hengmian No.6 and Hengyou 12 was the best,Wu 536,HD004,Hengmian No.4,HD006,08-489,Jimian 958 and Zhongmian 44 were tolerant to salt,the salt tolerance of 08-936 was worse,and Hengmian No.3 and Hengmian 187 were not tolerant to salt.The towel roll salt stress method could be used as an easy way of evaluating the salt tolerance of cotton during germination period.


The cover of this book features an open penknife with an impressive range of attachments, set against a bright yellow background. So why did we pick this as the image to capture what we think Criminology Skills is all about? Without turning this into a media studies lesson, the cover says several things to us. First, by its very nature, much crime is hidden. Criminals tend not to want their activities to be made public. Criminology aims to bring criminality into the light: to explore issues such as why people start to offend, the causes and consequences of crime, methods of crime prevention, public perceptions and reactions to crime, measuring and quantifying crime, how the criminal justice system, the police, the courts, the probation and prison service, should deal with offenders, and methods that the state uses, especially the criminal law, in response to crime. Secondly, a penknife is quite capable of causing harm: stabbing or merely cutting someone with a knife could give rise to criminal liability for a range of different offences. Simply waving it at someone could be criminal. What about possession of the penknife in a public place? Or selling one to someone under the age of 16? Is it an offensive weapon or a weapon of offence? These have distinct meanings in the criminal law of England and Wales. Knife crime is a topic that is always of concern in the media. Thirdly, and perhaps, most importantly, a penknife contains a whole selection of different tools that can be used in different situations to make life easier. Several years ago, one of us was asked the question: 'Why do you make such a fuss about skills? These students are at university. They ought to know how to study by now.' Our answer is that, yes, perhaps students ...


A background reconstruction algorithm based on pixel intensity classification is presented in this paper. Assumption that background pixel intensity appears in image sequence with the maximum probability is adopted. The pixel intensity values are classified based on the calculated pixel intensity difference between inter-frame, finally, the intensity value with the maximum frequency is selected as the background pixel intensity value. In proposed algorithm, the pre-training of no-moving object in background and the models of background and target aren't needed, and only one parameter is adjusted. Simulation results to real video surveillance sequences show that background can be reconstructed correctly, so target can be extracted perfectly and tracked successfully.


A controller/observer pair is presented, on the basis of sliding mode ideas, which provides robust output tracking of a reference signal using only measured output information. Closed-loop analysis indicates that asymptotic tracking of a constant reference signal will be achieved despite the presence of a class of matched uncertainty. Furthermore, a form of 'separation principle' is shown to hold for this class of controller and observer, in the sense that they can be designed independently apart from a scalar function of the uncertainty bounds.


Commercial beers which recorded the same colours by either the European Brewery Convention (EBC) Recommended Method or by visual comparison against standard colour discs in a Lovibond Comparator, exhibited qualitative differences in their visible spectra. These differences, in turn, translated into measurable differences in colour, expressed as ΔEa,b, when described by the CIELAB colour system.

Visual difference tests revealed that, in some cases, beers with the same EBC colour could be discriminated by observers under ideal viewing conditions. A threshold value for ΔEa,b, (which varied with EBC colour), below which no significant difference in beer colour could be detected by visual comparison, was determined by consideration of the corresponding ΔEa,b, values for these beers.

This threshold was used to assess the accuracy of a rapid method for colour analysis which uses transmittance values at five selected wavelengths. This new method was shown to give ΔEa,b values, with respect to a reference method, which were within the limit of visually detectable colour differences. This, therefore, provides a valuable yardstick for assessing the worth of new tristimulus-based colour measurement techniques and instrumentation.


This paper brings selected results of the recent survey targeted on adoption and utilization of advanced manufacturing technology in the Czech Republic. The main focus is on the phase of advanced manufacturing technology realized benefits in the companies. Chosen findings ascertained in the Czech Republic are compared with the outcomes of analogous surveys that were carried out earlier in the Great Britain. There will be presented the most often referred technologies and gained benefits and also there will be connected the two most often reported technologies with the gained benefits from its utilization in the article. Mentioned benefits and results were gained from the prepared check questions and open question in the questionnaire investigation that was made by the research team at the University of Hradec Kralove on the Faculty of Informatics and Management. This article has been supported by specific project Advanced technology used for support of the business management at the University mentioned above.

Despite of some anticipated singularities there are many problems of advanced manufacturing technology benefits justification. A lot of managers and owners have problems with identification of benefits in the companies. That is why we believe that technology specialists as well as managers worldwide could learn from the issues presented and discussed here.


Sour water strippers are common in gas processing facilities, sulfur recovery units, wellhead facilities, and refinery applications. Understanding the variables allows engineers to better optimize the initial design and operation. This paper reviews options for sour water stripper configuration and presents a method to optimize stripper operation by finding the most efficient operating parameters. Options investigated include: single or double column for increased product purity; addition of acid or caustic for improved performance; refluxed or non-refluxed columns to mitigate water in the overhead gases; condenser or pump-around and their effects on overhead composition; reboiler, direct steam injection, or a combination of these and the effect they have on corrosion concerns. In addition, optimization of the steam rate is investigated. Overall stage efficiency for trayed strippers, HETP for packed strippers and individual component efficiencies are discussed based on available sour water stripper operating data.


Over the past few years, questions have been raised concerning the use of laser communications links between sciencecraft to transmit phase information crucial to the reduction of laser frequency noise in the LISA science measurement. The concern is that applying medium frequency phase modulations to the laser carrier could compromise the phase stability of the LISA fringe signal. We have modified the table-top interferometer presented in Pollack and Stebbins (2006 Demonstration of the zero-crossing phasemeter with a LISA test-bed interferometer Class. Quantum Grav.) by applying phase modulations to the laser beams in order to evaluate the effects of such modulations on the LISA science fringe signal. We have demonstrated that the phase resolution of the science signal is not degraded by the presence of medium frequency phase modulations.