The objectives of this study were to: 1) study impact factors of inequality and 2) compare the effects that contribute to inequality grouped by gender, age, nationality and country of residence by using a questionnaire to collect data from all 600 participants who were students of the following universities; Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University The objectives of this study were to: 1) study impact factors of inequality and 2) compare the effects that contribute to inequality grouped by gender, age, nationality and country of residence by using a questionnaire to collect data from all 600 participants who were students of the following universities; Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University (Thailand), Pakse Teacher Training College and Champasak University (Laos) and University of South-East Asia (Cambodia). Statistics used in data analysis were mean, standard deviation, t-test, and f-test.
The findings of the study indicated that;
1. Factors affecting inequality were educational opportunities (a mean of 3.85), career opportunities (a mean of 3.82), quality of life (a mean of 3.77), poverty / riches (a mean of 3.76) and health services (a mean of 3.52).
2. Gender differences resulted in inequality of educational opportunities, career opportunities and Poverty / Riches.
3. Differences in nationality affected inequalities of educational opportunities, career opportunities and poverty / riches. 4. Differences in the country of residence resulted in inequality of all factors.


Dense and large-aspect-ratio ZnO nanowires have been synthesized by thermal oxidation of a Zn foil under the flow of moist nitrogen. The effects of annealing temperature and time have been systematically studied in detail. It was observed that the length, diameter and number density increase with time and temperature before they saturate at the optimum synthesis condition of 600 °C annealing temperature and 16 h annealing time. The nanowires have been characterized by a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, UV–Vis absorption and room temperature photoluminescence. The nanowires grow uniquely along the [1 1 0] direction up to ∼14–16 µm length and are of good crystalline and optical quality. It was found that the formation of nanowires enhances greatly in the presence of water vapour. We have also shown by TEM observations that nanowires grow by surface diffusion of Zn ions from root to tip.


There has been a remarkable growth in many different real-time systems in the area of autonomous mobile robots. This paper focuses on the collaboration of efficient multi-sensor systems to create new optimal motion planning for mobile robots. A proposed algorithm is used based on a new model to produce the shortest and most energy-efficient path from a given initial point to a goal point. The distance and time traveled, in addition to the consumed energy, have an asymptotic complexity of O(nlogn), where n is the number of obstacles. Real time experiments are performed to demonstrate the accuracy and energy efficiency of the proposed motion planning algorithm.


This brief describes a novel integration strategy that aims at bringing adiabatic computation to large scale integration. The proposed design solution, built upon logic primitives packed into regular arrays, the quasi-adiabatic-logic-arrays (QALAs), is well suited not just for today's silicon transistors but also for emerging devices. QALAs are indeed a viable path toward the integration of ultra-low power ICs using devices with a gapless energy spectrum, graphene p-n junctions in particular. The design of QALA circuits is supported by a dedicated RTL-to-device design framework whose kernel consists of a new area/delay-driven logic synthesis and optimization engine. Simulation results conducted on several benchmarks mapped both onto silicon (using 40 nm MOSFETs) and graphene (using electrostatically controlled p-n junctions) show the proposed methodology provides adiabatic logic circuits with a power-delay-product that is one order of magnitude smaller than that of state-of-the-art adiabatic circuits implemented using pass-transistor logic and conventional logic synthesis flows.


Improving the quality of construction products is a natural process that reflects the objective trend in the development of social production. It is due to the essence of market relations, considering quality as the main measure in the general perception of supply. A significant impetus to this process is given by quality management, which directs participants in the construction industry to create products that meet all the requirements. The right choice of management methods and tools enables successful implementation of projects, which in turn directly affects their competitiveness. The quality of construction products, as well as the quality of building (finishing) materials, as well as construction technologies, including design and other engineering solutions, should be much higher than the average formed. The most important function of quality management of construction products is to encourage construction industry participants to improve the quality characteristics of the products created. The managerial influence not only promotes high quality construction, but also adequately responds to all developments in the investment and construction sphere: organizational, structural, financial, technical and other changes. The article considers such a parameter of the project as quality, compares the experience of implementing the quality management system in domestic construction organizations and construction organizations of some foreign countries. The focus is on the most common methods and programs aimed at improving product quality. A study of domestic and foreign quality management and control systems has shown that the quality management and control system in foreign countries is organized more clearly and effectively than in our country, and certainly positive experience should be taken into service by our construction (and not only) companies, which is only to increase their competitiveness. As a result, the winners will be all participants of the construction project: the consumer of the end result, the customer-developer, investor, insurance companies, authorities and others.


Performance and emissions from a constant speed single cylinder diesel engine was observed with different kinds of fuels blends like diesel-ethanol, and diesel-palm stearin methyl ester. The engine setup was modified to operate in different modes like naturally aspirated condition, supercharged condition and with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The air fuel ratio was predicted from exhaust emission data using correlations and the particulate matter (PM) was estimated from smoke data. Fuel air equivalence ratio values of the engine at different operating conditions have been compared. Engine is operated with higher fuel air equivalence ratios with EGR. Particulate matter emissions were considerably reduced with ethanol-diesel, biodiesel-diesel blends in comparison to pure diesel. With EGR rate the particulate matter emissions are increased. An EGR rate of 10% will be best for the present engine which can give better trade-off among HC, NOx and PM. Copyright © 2011 International Energy and Environment Foundation All rights reserved.


We review the concept of superfluidity and, based on real and thought experiments, we use the formalism of second quantization to derive expressions that allow the calculation of the superfluid density for general Hamiltonians with path-integral methods. It is well known that the superfluid density can be related to the response of the free energy to a boundary phase-twist, or to the fluctuations of the winding number. However, we show that this is true only for a particular class of Hamiltonians. In order to treat other classes, we derive general expressions of the superfluid density that are valid for various Hamiltonians. While the winding number is undefined when the number of particles is not conserved, our general expressions allow us to calculate the superfluid density in all cases. We also provide expressions of the superfluid densities associated to the individual components of multi-species Hamiltonians, which remain valid when inter-species conversions occur. The cases of continuous and discrete spaces are discussed, and we emphasize common mistakes that occur when considering lattices with non-orthonormal primitive vectors.


Ethical political leaders in public life are central to promote efficient, equitable, transparent, responsive and accountable governance. An analysis has been made here on the nature and pattern of ethical political leadership in India over the years with a view to understand its relation with the society and political parties. The important issl{es raised are: how ethical leaders' effect inclusive governance? What are the factors responsible for the decline of ethical leadership? To what extent, these factors can be attributed to society, which is responsible for socialisation and inculcation of values and selection of leaders? Or to what extent these factors can be attributed to political parties (ideologies, socialisation and internal democracy), electoral laws and ethical institutions.


We randomize advertising content motivated by the psychology literature on sympathy generation and framing effects in mailings to about 185,000 prospective new donors in India. We find significant impact on the number of donors and amounts donated consistent with sympathy biases such as the "identifiable victim," "in-group" and "reference dependence." A monthly reframing of the ask amount increases donors and amount donated relative to daily reframing. A second field experiment targeted to past donors, finds that the effect of sympathy bias on giving is smaller in percentage terms but statistically and economically highly significant in terms of the magnitude of additional dollars raised. Methodologically, the paper complements the work of behavioral scholars by adopting an empirical researchers' lens of measuring relative effect sizes and economic relevance of multiple behavioral theoretical constructs in the sympathy bias and charity domain within one field setting. Beyond the benefit of conceptual replications, the effect sizes provide guidance to managers on which behavioral theories are most managerially and economically relevant when developing advertising content.


The bright yellow wall lichen, Xanthoria parietina, is usually inhabited by oribatid mites (Acari) which do not only find shelter, but also graze on selected areas of the thallus. As X. parietina does not produce symbiotic vegetative propagules and its compatible photobiont, unicellular green algae of the genus Trebouxia, are rare outside lichen thalli, we tested the hypothesis of dispersal of viable Trebouxia cells via acarine faeces. The lichenivorous mites, Trhypochtonius tectorum and Trichoribates trimaculatus, were isolated from thalli of X. parietina and cultured in the laboratory on a lichen diet. Light microscopic investigations of faecal pellets from mites that had been feeding on X. parietina indicated gut passage of intact ascospores and photobiont cells. In a series of experiments, viable algal and fungal cells contained in such faecal pellets were cultured. The taxonomic affiliation of these isolates was identified using molecular techniques, i.e. comparative investigations of nuclear ribosomal gene data (ITS 1 and 2, 5.8S rDNA) in the algal and fungal partners, and of the species-specific hydrophobin gene sequence in the fungal partner. Our culturing experiments demonstrated that the faecal pellets of both lichenivorous mites, upon feeding on X. parietina, contain viable ascospores and photobiont cells (Trebouxia arboricola) and thus might be a common and successful mode of vegetative short- and long-distance dispersal of this and numerous other lichen-forming ascomycetes and their photobionts. Future studies will have to elucidate the evolutionary significance of invertebrate interactions with lichens.


We experimentally investigate the priming effect of modifier words in the news media by looking at how different formulation of news affects investor expectations and beliefs. We asked subjects to estimate the future stock price for twelve real (anonymous) listed companies. They received information about historical stock prices and extracts from real newspaper articles, published on the last month of each corresponding stock. Subjects were divided into two treatment groups that differed in the framing of the newspaper article. In the positive (negative) news frame condition, the positive (negative) news are accentuated with emphasizer and amplifier words, while the negative (positive) news are attenuated with downtoners. The factual information remained identical across treatment groups. We found that subjects were more likely to expect higher (lower) future stock prices, be optimistic (pessimistic) about the economy and the potential of a stock, perceive stock markets as more safe (risky), and decide to buy (sell) stocks after reading news that emphasized positive (negative) and attenuated negative (positive) content.


In what ways are speech and music subserved by domain‐specific mechanisms, and in what ways by common neural substrates? This issue is addressed with respect to absolute pitch, which has generally been considered to be a musical faculty accessible only to rare individuals. Based on several findings obtained from speakers of tone languages, it is argued that absolute pitch originally evolved to subserve speech, and that it may be acquired readily during the first year of life, if infants are given the opportunity to associate pitches with verbal labels. It is further conjectured, based on other findings, that the early acquisition of pitch accent languages, such as the Tokyo and Osaka dialects of Japanese and the Hamkyeng and Kyengsang dialects of Korean, might also be conducive to the acquisition of absolute pitch. Perceptual relationships between speech and song are next considered. These generally differ in their features; however, a spoken phrase can be perceptually transformed to appear as song rather...


In the present days milk is most important food for all categories and convenience drink to human life. This study has attempted to carry out as an investigative study in all level of respondents. A convenience sampling technique has been used to select 140 respondents as a sample size. To gather information from the respondents, questionnaire has been used as data collection tool. Opinion of respondents regarding demographic opinions and rank them their opinion about Aavin milk products. This paper highlights the opinion of the consumers. Percentage analysis, chi-square Test and garret ranking technique have been applied to test hypotheses framed in this study as well.


We demonstrate a high-efficiency and high-power quasi-three-level laser based on a trapezoidal composite slab architecture with a 270 μm-thick Yb-doping surface. The design of a surface-doped slab architecture, temperature effects, laser oscillator model, and laser oscillator experiments with a surface-doped slab as a laser host medium have been presented. By theoretical calculation, the temperature rise in the surface-doped slab is only one seventh of that in the bulk-doped slab at the same maximum pump power of 30 kW. Finally, in the laser oscillator experiments, an output energy of 21.6 J is obtained when the pump energy is 48 J with a repetition rate of 5 Hz and a pulse width of 1 ms. The optical-optical efficiency is 45%.


FIELD: radio engineering. SUBSTANCE: method and system of radio centre location are proposed, as well as a unit of data processing, in which location accuracy is improved by selection of minimum distance values measured according to time of radio signal spreading for the whole period of radio centre immobility. EFFECT: increased noise immunity of location method, reduced duration of measurement period, possibility to locate radio centres, which vary according to the applied method of motion detection. 30 cl, 11 dwg


Netherlandish painting of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries still has the power to astonish. Its seemingly impossible level of detail, fascination with the surface appearance of things, subtle depiction of light and an uncompromising attitude to rendering the idiosyncrasies of the human face, all contribute to an art of intense beauty and sophistication. In their day, Netherlandish artists were internationally renowned; their mastery of the medium of oil paint was emulated across Europe while their interest in landscape and depiction of everyday subjects gave rise to new genres of art. This film explores the richness of this art, its international impact - particularly on the art of Renaissance Italy - and discovers how a small corner of northern Europe gave rise to one of the most fertile periods of cultural production in the history of western art. It includes: exclusive location footage exploring the historic cities in which the art was made; interviews with leading experts in the field; insight into the artists' working methods revealed by the Gallery's Conservation and Scientific Departments; a demonstration of the preparation and use of oil paint; close examination of the works in the context of other Netherlandish art forms including book illumination and tapestry. It is approximately 40 minutes. It is region free. It includes widescreen. It provides English subtitles. Published alongside the exhibition Jan Gossaert's Renaissance, National Gallery, London, 23 February - 30 May 2011.


A method, based on the macroscopic population balance equation allowing the dynamic simulation of a multi stage adsorption plant given an arbitrary rate expression, is described. The partial differential equations resulting from this method are simplified using the method of characteristics. The simplified equations can then be solved using standard ODE integration techniques. The procedure is illustrated by means of data typical of a CIP application. Requirements for data structures which allow the incorporation of the carbon-in-pulp (CIP) model (and other unit models) into a general metallurgical simulator are described. Based on these considerations, it is concluded that more generality in the description of distributed quantities such as loading and particle size is provided by the use of mass density at fixed class boundaries, rather than discrete masses within fixed classes as has hitherto been used by ore-dressing simulators.


Introduction The major aim of any university library is to support teaching, learning and research activities of its parent institution. University library must therefore, make sure that their resources are well utilized as this is essential for educational development of the students (Onifade, Ogbuiyi and Omeluzor, 2013). These libraries exist to enhance the acquisition of knowledge by their clientele through the provision of reading materials--book and non-book for the purposes of teaching, learning and research. A university library, according to Mallaiah, Kumbar and Mudhol (2008) occupies the central and primary place in teaching and research, therefore, it has to meet the diverse and growing needs of educational programme at the undergraduate, post-graduate and research levels. Since academic libraries, according to Adetimirin (2007), are to acquire and organised both printed and electronic information for accessibility and use by its clientele. It is therefore necessary to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Nigerian University Libraries in the process of lending and borrowing its collections. The library today is a busy information centre, where information is packaged in various formats to the advantage of the users. The value of the library collection depends not only on the quantity of information sources but on the effective ways and means of providing and interpreting them to users. Some of the terms used in the library activities such as cataloguing, classification, charging and discharging, etc. are not common to the users; hence these should be interpreted in the easiest understandable ways (Mallaiah, Kumbar and Patil, 2008). The primary purpose of university libraries, according to Oyewusi and Oyeboade (2009) is to support teaching, learning and research, in ways consistence with, and supportive of, the institution's mission and goals. In addition, library resources and services should be sufficient in quality, depth, diversity, and currency to support the institution curriculum. As a result of this, university libraries are often considered as the most important resource centre of an academic institution. However, university education in Nigeria is facing a critical challenge in meeting new demand of 21st Century with its ever increasing population growth, inadequate library facilities and resources. Adequate library resources and services at the appropriate level for degrees offered should be available to support intellectual, cultural, and technical development of students enrolled in Nigerian universities. The growth of research in all fields of human endeavors is becoming increasingly detailed and sophisticated, faculty members and students have realized that the library has great role to play in the provision of information necessary for their day to day research and their academic work. According to Quadri, Adetimirin and Idowu (2014), the undergraduates of university need information to satisfy their social and psychological needs to promote and enhance their academic pursuit during their course of study in the university. The purpose of the university libraries is to provide adequate and relevant information resources both in print and non-print formats. The print information resources like journals, textbooks, magazines, newspapers and reference materials and non-print like CD-ROM, audio-visual materials, micro film, micro fiches, databases, and e-resources are to support assignments, projects work, term papers and seminar presentations by providing relevant information and services for effective and efficient achievement of academic excellent. However, one of the objectives of the study is to find out the perceptions of students on adequacy of the information resources in the library. Literature Review The basic function of any university is to conserve the existing knowledge, to transmit knowledge through teaching, and to create new knowledge through research. …


A touch-sensitive device (100) comprising a digital filter is provided. The touch-sensitive device (100) comprises a touch panel (110) and a touch sensor (120), which is configured to touch via the touch panel (110) to recognize. The touch sensor (120) has a plurality of detection units (S_1 to S_m), which are connected with the touch panel (110) via a plurality of detection lines (SL). Each of the plurality of detection units (S_1 to S_m) comprises a digital filter, which is configured to generate a valid filtered value at a time by performing an operation on a plurality of digital input samples and a plurality of filter coefficients (C0 to C),


Projectiles were regarded as rigid ones to simplify the mechanics principle of the perforation for concrete targets. According to the hydrodynamics model, the cracks were considered to increase astatically when they expanded to the back of the target under the impact of a projectile. This time was defined as the moment that the perforating action began. The critical distance to the back of the target was deduced by the energy dissipation mechanism for crack extension. After the cracks arrived at the backs of the targets, the penetration resistance was calculated by considering the relative velocity between the projectile and the plug. The calculated result indicates that the deceleration changes remarkably when the warhead is intruding the target and after the perforating action begins, whereas the deceleration changes weakly between the above two stages. Comparison between the calculated results and the existent experimental results shows the calculated results are credible.


Measurement uncertainty of sodium percarbonate, component of the product Stabilak, was estimated. This product is used to preserve raw milk without refrigeration. Two procedures were used to estimate the combined uncertainty. The first one used the step by step procedure to estimate the uncertainty of each stage of the measurement process. With these data, the combined and expanded uncertainties were determined. The second method evaluated the uncertainty globally, and the data were obtained from the validation process of the analytical method. The overall uncertainty was higher (U = 1.58%) than that obtained by the step by step procedure (U = 1.21%). This latter identified the assay precision under intermediate conditions followed by the buret volume variation as the major variation sources of the result. The result expressed as percarbonate concentration and the associated expanded uncertainty provides more information to the user, who can make use of a range of likely values for making decisions on the analytical result


A randomized crossover study of a combination of Targin® [oxycodone HCl and naloxone HCl controlled-release (CR) tablets] and CR oxycodone HCl tablets in patients with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) requiring high-dose opioids. P Arsenault, J Balon, P Bletcher, G Chouinard, C Cloutier, M Donworth, J Gillis, S Henein, A Kelly, P MacDougall, M Mille, W O'Mahony, P Rheault, G Schacter, J Eisenhoffer, Z Harsanyi, K Michalko, P Piraino, P Sadri


Beijing University of Chinese Medicine has always attached great importance to educational reform and innovation. By keeping up with the times and taking teaching as the center, we have established our own new curriculum system to conduct all-round reform of talent training projects. Credit system is promoted in teaching administration. A general platform is set up which includes compulsory courses for training mass quality, choice compulsory of major building, and selective courses for all candidates. Social practice is taken into credits. Curriculum building is stressed to improve teaching quality by doing subject conformity, setting up non-medicine educational platform, emphasizing differentiating thoughts, establishing clinical training system, paying attention to teaching effects etc.


In the atheistic context of modern times,Bei Cun,Zhang Cheng-zhi,Shi Tie-sheng and other writers managed to initiate supernatural writing style,fostering a special dimension for literature and religion,a dimension through which their creeds and religious affections were thoroughly erupted.In the identical context,their respectively different religious affections and value orientation,also tell of their own writing styles and features.


Brassica oleracea includes vegetables that are consumed as raw vegetables. The habit of eating raw vegetables in the form of fresh vegetables needs to be observed, especially if the method of washing them is not good so that there are still nematode eggs in the cabbage. This study aims to determine the type of intestinal nematode parasites found in raw cabbage sold at the MMTC market and at food stalls in Lau Dendang, Percut Sei Tuan District. This research method uses the Univariate Analysis method where the data that has been obtained is easy to simplify. Then the data can be made in tabular form according to laboratory standards. The results showed that there was contamination by intestinal nematode parasites based on the type of sampling location, namely at the MMTC market and at the food stalls in Lau Dendang. In the MMTC market, there were 5 positive samples (33%) containing hookworm larvae (Ancylostoma and Necator) on cabbage and 10 negative samples (66%) on cabbage. Meanwhile, at the food stall in Lau Dendang, there were 2 positive samples (13%) and 13 negative samples (86%) containing hookworm larvae (Ancylostoma and Necator) in cabbage which is a raw vegetable.


Disclosed is a pile knitted fabric containing a ground structure and pile fibers napped therefrom. The pile knitted fabric contains napped pile libers knitted in the stitches of the ground structure and stitches only of the ground structure, wherein the pile length of the pile knitted fabric is 6-25 nun, the continuation length at a portion of the napped pile fiber knitted in the stitches of the ground structure is or more, the width of a line of a stitch pattern consisting only of the ground structure is 1-, the continuation length of the line of a stitch pattern consisting only of the ground structure is or more, the ratio between the width of the line of a stitch pattern consisting only of the ground structure and the pile length is 0.09-0.30, and when the direction of the weft (lateral direction) of the pile knitted fabric is set in the horizontal direction, the acute angle between the direction of the well (lateral direction) of the pile knitted fabric and the line of a stitch pattern consisting only of the ground structure is 20-90°.


Simple methods of the estimation of that part of the frequency offset, which is a multiple of the subcarrier spacing in the OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) systems have been proposed. Described methods are aimed at burst transmission systems and take use of only one preamble symbol also required for the timing offset estimation. The methods are based on the frequency domain search for the unused subcarriers in the received signal spectrum. The proposed algorithms are immune to a constant phase shift (e.g. caused by timing errors). The estimation range depends on the algorithm but in general can be made as large as desired (but less than a half of the signal bandwidth). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms estimate an integer part of the frequency offset in the AWGN channel even in the presence of some amount of the intercarrier interference (ICI). Satisfactory performance has been obtained also for OFDM transmission on multipath channels.


Polyadenylated RNA pyrosequencing has helped reveal 75 additional genes in the genetically well-endowed Acanthamoeba–infecting mimivirus, according to Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Abergel at the Mediterranean Institute of Microbiology in Marseille and the Institut de Genomique in Evry, France, and their collaborators. In addition to raising the mimiviral gene count to almost 1,000, this use of deep mRNA sequencing in a large DNA virus also confirms the presence of 900 predicted protein-coding genes and maps their location with a 1-nucleotide resolution.


In this article, we analyze the way children read images in the children's book "Tibi and Joca - a two worlds adventure", that is built primarily by a sequence of illustrations and comics' features. Claudia Bisol authors the book, with illustrations by Marco Scene. The empirical material for the analyses comprises a transcription of 3 sessions of joint reading carried out by three groups of primary school students. We presented the plot with slides to the children, so that they could interpret the narrative. The analysis of their participation allowed us to perceive distinct ways of reading the images, which possibly occurs because the children have different levels of acquaintance with comics' features. Another reason is the multiplicity of meanings that images are able to convey, in comparison to words. We drew our analysis on recent reading studies, children's literature and comics theory.


Abstract : Ten sets of tires with nine different off-road tread patterns were tested on a paved surface using a towed, instrumented trailer to measure their cornering characteristics (wet and dry) and their braking performance (wet, full skid). The data obtained and a method for rank ordering is presented.


One hundred twenty‐five hematologic relapses of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were treated with a four‐drug reinduction regimen consisting of L‐asparaginase, vincristine, daunomycin, and prednisone (Asp‐VDP). Complete remission was achieved in 114 of 125 (91%) treatment courses. The regimen also proved to be highly effective in the management of multiple subsequent relapses which occurred in patients who had previously attained complete remissions with this regimen. The rates of remission induction for second and third reinduction attempts were 89% and 90%, respectively. Ten patients received this regimen for the treatment of four or more consecutive relapses and achieved complete remissions on each occasion. Toxicities related to therapy were not excessive. Although myelosuppression was the most frequently encountered toxicity, documented infection complicated only 14% of the treatment courses. These results constitute a considerable improvement in the management of recurrent ALL.


The present invention provides a breeding male rabbit feed, which comprises the following components: 10-14 parts of soybean cake, 18-22 parts of corn, 18-22 parts of bran, 12-18 parts of malt root, 10-15 parts of unite bran, 3-8 parts of pine needle powder, 12-18 parts of puerarialobata powder, and 1-2 parts of an inorganic salt and vitamin additive. The breeding male rabbit feed has the following technical effects that: nutrition is rich and comprehensive, and growth needs, sperm production, breeding actions and other actions requiring energy can be easily maintained.


Based on case engineering Runyang Bridge, the temperature gradient of flat steel box girder in suspension bridge was continuously observed. According to the analysis of measured datum, the temperature gradient on flat steel box girder was proposed. With three temperature gradient models (JTG D60-2004 specification, BS5400 specification and the temperature gradient which was proposed in this paper), the control sections stress was calculated by finite element program ANSYS. The calculated result indicates that the temperature gradient that was put forward in JTG D60-2004 specification and BS5400 specification for calculating stress of flat steel box girder was not suitable to apply to flat steel box girder and inclines to unsafe. The temperature gradient on flat steel box girder which was proposed in this paper was reasonable.


The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in efforts by both payors and governmental agencies to measure and publicly report patient outcomes to ensure that patients receive appropriate, high-quality care. As a result, terms such as outcomes, quality, report cards, and benchmarking have entered the lexicon of clinical medicine, and both physicians and hospitals are increasingly being held accountable for the outcomes of their patients. This movement shows no sign of slowing down. In May 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed increasing the total number of inpatient hospital measures from 40 to 73,1 and numerous physician measures are in various phases of development. In the current environment, it is likely that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death,2 will soon emerge as a high-priority target for the development of performance measures, given that the procedure is expensive, performed on severely ill patients, and associated with significant risk of complications.

Article see p 240

Accordingly, the findings published by Al-Khatib et al3 in this issue of Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology warrant consideration in the context of current efforts to publicly report patient outcomes using Medicare claims data. In this excellent article, the authors used data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services standard analytic files to determine the 90-day postprocedure complication rates and 1-year mortality rates of 8581 Medicare beneficiaries who had an ICD implanted by one of 1959 implanting physicians. The authors note that the complication rate declined from 18.8% in 2002 to 14.2% in 2005 and further identified specific factors associated with an increased risk of complication such as chronic lung disease, dementia, and renal disease. Of interest, physician experience as measured by procedure volume was not significantly associated with the risk of complication, although an earlier …


Daphnia magna (Straus) is a small planktonic crustacean which is widely distributed in ponds and lakes in Ontario, and is representative of filter-feeding zooplankton communities. This organism has been used in toxicity testing for over 100 years. As a test organism Daphnia has the advantages of being small (therefore only small amounts of effluent are required for each test), they are generally very sensitive, respond quickly to toxicants, and they are easily reared in large numbers In the laboratory. Proper culture conditions consist of moderately hard water (120 250 mg/L), with a pH between 6.5 and 8.5, and maintained at 20EC. Light intensity should not exceed 800 Lux at the water surface, and should follow a 16h:8h light:dark photoperiod. The toxicity test is a 48h static, acute test which uses only healthy neonate (1 Instar) D. magna less than 24h old. The test chambers can be any reasonable size, but must be constructed of glass and have a surface area to volume ratio (+ 10%) similar to that of a 25 x 150 mm test tube. Loading densities must not exceed 1 neonate per 15ml of test solution, and a minimum of ten Daphnia per concentration is required. Dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity must be measured for each test concentration before and after the test. Estimation of the LC50 values, 95% confidence intervals, and slope of the probit line can be calculated by any acceptable method with preference to probit analysis using the maximum likelihood method, where data permits. All data must be supplied as per the "toxicity test summary report sheet" in appendix three.


This essay examines how Salman Rushdie appropriates the colonial linguistic medium (English) in Midnight's Children and embeds resistance within its commonplace and seemingly innocent lexical interstices through the insertion of Hindi/Urdu terms in his wordplay. This lexical hybridity may be examined as a creative example of Homi Bhabha's exegetical "third space" that is postmodern in its disruption of semiotic stasis and postcolonial in its disruption of the primacy of English. This paper contextualizes Rushdie's code-mixing of English and Hindi/Urdu lexical registers to produce multiple meanings and puns, maps select examples through L.G. Heller's mode of linguistic diagramming, and provides an overview of the resultant ideological considerations.


This study aims to analyze the effect of institutional ownership, company diversification, and profitability as independent variables on firm value as the dependent variable. In addition, this study also uses company size as a control variable. This research is a causative research. The population of this study are all manufacturing companies listed on the IDX in 2014-2018. This research was conducted using a sampling technique based on purposive sampling technique, so a total sample of 206 was obtained. The data used in this research is secondary data obtained from www.idx.co.id and IDNFinance. The analysis technique used is multiple regression analysis. To test the hypothesis using the statistical t test with an α level of 0.05. The results of this study indicate that: (1) institutional ownership has a positive effect on the value of manufacturing companies with sig = 0.048, 0.043 (< 0.05), (2) company diversification (number of segments) has a positive effect on the value of manufacturing companies with sig = 0.029 (<0.05), (3) company diversification (HERFsales) has a positive effect on the value of manufacturing companies with sig = 0.077 (> 0.05), (4) profitability has a positive effect on the value of manufacturing companies with sig = 0.027, 0.041 (< 0.05), (5) firm size has a positive effect on firm value with sig = 0.000, 0.000 (< 0.05).


Abstract In this paper we introduce a new way of deforming convolution algebras and Fourier algebras on locally compact groups. We demonstrate that this new deformation allows us to reveal some information about the underlying groups by examining Banach algebra properties of deformed algebras. More precisely, we focus on representability as an operator algebra of deformed convolution algebras on compact connected Lie groups with connection to the real dimension of the underlying group. Similarly, we investigate complete representability as an operator algebra of deformed Fourier algebras on some finitely generated discrete groups with connection to the growth rate of the group.


The microstructure and the interface of VC particles precipitated from the matrix of the low alloy Cr-Mo-V steel tempered at various temperatures have been studied by TEM and HREM observations. The results show that the VC particles precipitated at lower temper temperatures are of disc-shap in nano-scale and of {100}. habit plane. There is a Baker-Nutting relationship at the interface of the VC precipitates and the matrix. With increasing the temper temperature, the discshaped Precipitates grow up; The coherency between VC particles and the matrix is partially lost, resulting in the decrease of elastic distortion energy along {100} plane of the matrix.


For one-dimensional nanomaterials, the performances are strongly related to the diameters, lengths, morphologies, and structures, implying that it is of great significance to understand the related growth mechanisms and thus to achieve the desired nanostructures. Thermal oxidation of copper has been widely used to fabricate CuO nanowires (NWs), whereas the growth mechanism still remains controversial in spite of the extensive investigations. Therefore, this review aims to offer a critical discussion about the growth mechanisms. First, the effects of different growth conditions on the growth of CuO NWs are introduced for basic understanding. Subsequently, the proposed mechanisms in different literature studies, i.e., the vapor–solid, self-catalyzed growth, stress-induced growth, stress grain boundary (GB) diffusion, and oxygen concentration gradient, are discussed and summarized. It seems that the combination of "stress GB diffusion" and "oxygen concentration gradient" mechanisms could be relevant for the growth of CuO NWs via thermal oxidation of copper.


The activity evaluates potential automatic-to-manual transition scenarios in terms of relative feasibility, safety, cost, and social implications. The check-out alternatives range from minimal testing of the operator and the vehicle to extensive testing of the operator and vehicle. The vehicle functions analysis presents a summary of functions that are critical to safe manual operation and proposes several options for validation. Two possible check-out processes are discussed, one intended for AHS lanes dedicated to automated traffic, and one intended for mixed mode lanes in which AHS and non-AHS vehicles are traveling. The transition to manual control will involve preparing the driver to resume manual operation prior to release of vehicle functions. Proposed tasks which could be used to determine that the driver is ready to receive control of the automated vehicle are examined.


Positron emission tomography (PET) images usually suffer from a noticeable amount of statistical noise. In order to reduce this noise, a post-filtering process is usually adopted. However, the performance of this approach is limited because the denoising process is mostly performed on the basis of the Gaussian random noise. It has been reported that in a PET image reconstructed by the expectation-maximization (EM), the noise variance of each voxel depends on its mean value, unlike in the case of Gaussian noise. In addition, we observe that the variance also varies with the spatial sensitivity distribution in a PET system, which reflects both the solid angle determined by a given scanner geometry and the attenuation information of a scanned object. Thus, if a post-filtering process based on the Gaussian random noise is applied to PET images without consideration of the noise characteristics along with the spatial sensitivity distribution, the spatially variant non-Gaussian noise cannot be reduced effectively. In the proposed framework, to effectively reduce the noise in PET images reconstructed by the 3-D ordinary Poisson ordered subset EM (3-D OP-OSEM), we first denormalize an image according to the sensitivity of each voxel so that the voxel mean value can represent its statistical properties reliably. Based on our observation that each noisy denormalized voxel has a linear relationship between the mean and variance, we try to convert this non-Gaussian noise image to a Gaussian noise image. We then apply a block matching 4-D algorithm that is optimized for noise reduction of the Gaussian noise image, and reconvert and renormalize the result to obtain a final denoised image. Using simulated phantom data and clinical patient data, we demonstrate that the proposed framework can effectively suppress the noise over the whole region of a PET image while minimizing degradation of the image resolution.


Traditional high performance computing (HPC) centers that operate a single large supercomputer cluster have not required sophisticated mechanisms to manage and enforce network policies. Recently, HPC centers have expanded to support a wide range of computational infrastructure, such as OpenStack-based private clouds and Ceph object stores, each with its own unique characteristics and network security requirements. Network security policies are becoming more complex and harder to manage. To address the challenge, this paper explores ways to define and manage the new network policies required by emerging HPC systems. As the first step, we identify the new types of policies that are required and the technical capabilities needed to support them. We present example policies and discuss ways to implement those policies using emerging programmable networks and intent-based networks. We describe our initial work toward automatically converting human readable network policies into network configurations and programmable network controllers that implement those policies using business rule management systems.


Introduction: Starting July 1, 2013, the ACGME guidelines for PRs had changed and with it, the time residents are required to spend in a Pediatric critical care (PCC) setting had changed from a minimum of 5 to 4 months. PCC training for pediatric residents (PR) may be decreased due to the new ACGME


Since its establishment in 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has primarily served as a regulatory agency with a significant science component. However, the agency's scientific practices and performance at times have been criticized by the U.S. General Accounting Office, the National Academies of Science (NAS), Congress, and EPA's own science advisory board, as well as in a number of lawsuits.

New legislation introduced by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.), chair of the House of Representatives' Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards, includes measures meant to improve the agency's science component. The legislation, H.R. 64, would require the president to appoint an EPA deputy administrator for science and technology This deputy administrator, who would rank higher than existing assistant administrators (AAs), would be responsible for the overall scientific and technical foundation of the agency's decisions, including ensuring that the agency's scientific endeavors use the best possible peer review and research planning practices.


In this paper we investigate how children of different age groups (8 and 12 years old) interact with a social robot (iCat) during a collaborative game play. We also analyze how these children subjectively experience a social relationship with the iCat. A simple number guessing game was used as a tool for inducing social interaction. Children either played the game alone or together with the iCat where iCat was the game partner. Results show that 8 year old children rated their subjective gaming experience significantly more positively than 12 years old. Furthermore, children who played the game with iCat reported having more fun than those who played the same game alone.


SU(2) gauge theory with one Dirac flavor in the adjoint representation is investigated on a lattice. Initial results for the gluonic and mesonic spectrum, static potential from Wilson and Polyakov loops, and the anomalous dimension of the fermionic condensate from the Dirac mode number are presented. The results found are not consistent with conventional confining behavior, pointing instead tentatively towards a theory lying within or very near the onset of the conformal window, with the anomalous dimension of the fermionic condensate in the range 0.9≲γ∗≲0.95. The implications of our work for building a viable theory of strongly interacting dynamics beyond the standard model are discussed.


This paper presents a method for evaluating the performance of a leaf spring suspension and an air spring suspension systems for trucks in terms of ride and handling. Leaf springs which generally have non-linear progressive force-deflection characteristics, are modeled using beam and contact elements. The leaf spring model shows good correlation with experimental data. Each component of an air spring suspension system. which is a single leaf, air spring, height control valve compressor and linkages is modeled appropriately. Non-linear characteristics of air spring are accounted for using the measured data, and pressure and volume relations for height control system is also considered. The wheel rate of the air suspension is taken lower but roll stiffness is taken higher than those of leaf springs to improve ride and handling performance, which is verified through driving simulations


The honest man is an athlete who loves to wrestle stark naked; he scorns all those vile trappings, which prevent the exertion of his strength, and were, for the most part, invented only to conceal some deformity. Before art moulded our behavior, and taught our passions to speak an artificial language, our morals were rude but natural; and the different ways in which we behaved proclaimed at the first glance the difference of our dispositions. Human nature was not at bottom better then than now; but men found their security in the ease with which they could see through one another, and this advantage, of which we no longer feel the value, prevented their having many vices. (Rousseau 1997: 6)


Sirtuins regulate a variety of biological pathways and inhibitors of sirtuins have been actively pursued as tool compounds to study sirtuin biology and as potential therapeutics. Here we demonstrate that thiomyristoyl peptides are potent and cell-permeable inhibitors of Sirt6, one of the seven human sirtuins, and will serve as the starting point for the development of more specific Sirt6 inhibitors.


In order for computers to continue their march into the mainstream of human activity, they must continue to improve their ability to interact with humans. This means that they need to discern human writing, understand human speech, and recognize human faces. My project deals with the recognition of human faces. One stage of recognizing a face is to figure out how the face is oriented, and to do this one needs to know where the facial features are in the image. For my project, I implemented a neural network to locate the eyes, nose, and mouth of facial images ("mug shots") taken from a particular high school yearbook.


Objecive to find a safe,convenient and effective method of venous blood collection by comparing the effections of the children's femoral venous blood collection by scalp acupuncture diagonal pricking with direct-vision positioning and the traditional femoral venous blood collection by direct pricking.Methods operated femoral venous blood collection by scalp acupuncture diagonal pricking with direct-vision positioning and traditional femoral venous blood collection by direct pricking on 220 sick children,compared their success rate of the single pricking,blood collection time,hemostasis time by compression,incidence rate of the patial petechia hematoma.Results the single pricking success rate,average blood collection time,average hemostasis time by compression after blood collection,incidence rate of patial petechia hematoma of the direct-vision diagonal pricking group was apparently better than the direct pricking group.Conclusion the children's femoral venous blood collection by scalp acupuncture diagonal pricking has high success rate of the sigle pricking,short operation time,low incidence rate of the patial petechia hematoma,it's a safe and reliable method of venous blood collection.


Supracondylar fracture is one of the most common elbow injuries in children. The most common type is extension-type (95%)(1). The commonly used classification system based on degree of displacement is Gartland classification (2) i.e. Type I- undisplaced, type IIdisplaced with intact posterior cortex, and type IIIdisplaced with no cortical contact. Every orthopaedician will be confronted with a supracondylar fracture with or without complication, during his clinical practice. The association of this fracture with neurovascular complications and deformity warrants an aggressive approach for management. Even an apparently uncomplicated fracture may lead to local swelling, deformity and neurovascular complications if not treated properly.(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) These fractures demand an accurate assessment and precise planning in the mode of treatment.(3)An anticipation of likely complications is mandatory to diagnose and manage them properly. Percutaneous pinning after closed reduction under fluoroscopic guidance is now the treatment of choice for most of the displaced supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children.(9)(10)(11) Commonly two pinning techniques have been used i.e. lateral and crossed medial and lateral pinning techniques. However, which pin configuration is better is a topic of debate. The purpose of our study was to evaluate and compare the two pinning techniques in terms of functional outcome and complications if any, in children with supracondylar fractures of humerus in a rural population.


In the EU Member States, over 30 million clinical operations are performed every year with an increasing tendency. Between 5% and 10% of them are accompanied by hospital infections, 5% of which develop dramatically, eventually leading to around 50.000 additional fatalities per year in Europe. 25% of all post-operative infections are caused by wound infections in operational theatres. Contaminated particles are a frequent cause of infection, by contact or airborne, between surgeon team and patient and/or across the patient surface. The transference of pathogens through body fluids has received much attention, especially in the last twenty years. The use of protective surgical apparel is essential to create a barrier to microbial transfer. Bacteria are believed to be transported from one location to another by carriers such as dust or liquids. In the operating theatre, fluids such as blood, perspiration and alcohol act as carriers transporting the bacteria through the fabric. Small particles such as skin cells and lint also may act as carriers. Therefore one must consider the barrier fabric's effectiveness in preventing transmission of the carrier and of the bacteria (Leonas and Junkins, 1997) Surgical gowns and drapes are used to minimize the spread of infective agents to and from patients' operating wounds, thereby helping to prevent post-operative wound infections. The use of surgical gowns with resistance to the penetration of liquids can also diminish the risk to the operating staff from infective agents carried in blood or body fluids. Microbial exchange is supported by surgical drapes and gowns with inadequate barrier functions, made of either reusable or disposable materials.


A 3D face modeling method based on a 3D transformable shape model is provided to generate a view independent 2D cylindrical coordinates texture from 2D face image sequences. By using the 3D face scan data obtained through a 3D scanner, a 3D transformable shape model is constructed. Feature points of a corresponding face are detected from the 2D image sequences of the face and are mutually matched. 3D vertex coordinates values of the corresponding feature points are obtained from the matched feature points. 3D vertexes are matched with the 3D transformable shape model. The 3D shape model of corresponding face is obtained.


Chiiyungkuan is an old barrier that is to the north-west of Pekin, China. It is situated in the spot where the road for Mongolian highland crosses the long wall. Now-a-days Pekin-Paot'ou railway passes here. The distance from the southern entrance to Pataling in the north is 15 kilometers long. Hills make a deep gorge here, and so it is well known as a fortress in military point of view. But the Stupa that surmounted the pass makes it more famous. It is a magnificent square foundation made of marble with a gateway pierced through in arch in many angles. It was built by Te cheng, priest of Paochissu monastery in Cheng-tu, Ssuch'uan province in 1349 in the period of Yuan dynasty praying for the safety of the traffic. It is supposed that the foundation was formerly surmounted with a Buddhist Stupa. Fantastic sculptures characteristic of the Lamiam cover both inside and outside of the square foundation. Buddhist dharanis are engraved with six kinds of scripts: Sanskrit, Tibetan, Paspa, Uigur, Hsia and Chinese in the center of the inner wall. Five mandalas in relief. The ceiling is in the shape of a belt that is 2. 75 meters wide. The belt is divided into 5 equal parts engraved with 5 mandalas in base relief. Each part is rectangular and one side is about 2. 70 meters long. The border is adorned alternately with three-pronged Vajra and six petalled round flower (a lotus) The center represents rectangular and circular mandalas of Tibetan types. The central divinities of the 3 mandalas counting from the north face southward and the remaining two face northward. In other words, all the mandalas face to the center of the gateway. Let me call the five mandalas no. 1 to 5 counting from the north. The names of the mandalas appear in the inscription of minor letters of Mongolian and Uigur languages: They are Aksobhya, Sarvavid, Va jrapani, Amitabha (or Amitayus), and Sakyamuni. But it is not clear which applies


The steady flow of a certain non‐Newtonian fluid in an annulus between two coaxial cylinders rotating with uniform angular velocities about the common axis is studied when there is suction at one wall and injection at the other. The stress matrix T for the non‐Newtonian fluid is given by T = ‐pI + α1A1 + α2A2, where p is the pressure, I is the unit matrix, α1, α2 are constants and A1, A2 are kinematic matrices. It is found that in the case of no suction and injection, the velocity field is not affected by the presence of the non‐Newtonian term α2A2, though the pressure field is affected. On the other hand, if there is suction and injection, however small, the non‐Newtonian term affects the velocity field and the nature of this effects is investigated for sufficiently small suction and injection velocities.


The peculiarities of sputtering processes at 0.5-5 keV Ne grazing ion bombardment of Si(001) and SiC(001) surfaces and their possible application for the surface modification have been studied by computer simulation. Sputtering yields in the primary knock-on recoil atoms regime versus the initial energy of incident ions (E0 = 0.5-5 keV) and angle of incidence (ψ = 0-30◦) counted from a target surface have been calculated. Comparative studies of layer-by-layer sputtering for Si(001) and SiC(001) surfaces versus the initial energy of incident ions as well as an effective sputtering and sputtering threshold are discussed.


ABSTRACT Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk is a problem of great concern. Current methods of detection require large instruments and need specific test sites. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a fast, convenient, and accurate detection method for AFM1. We established a system based on fluorescent microspheres containing a Eu3+ chelate named AFM1-POCT. These components comprised the AFM1-POCT kits. After refrigeration at 4°C for 12 months, the intra and inter assay coefficients of variability (CVs) for the kits were 4% and 5%, respectively. AFM1-POCT compared well with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) determination in the range 0.0121–2 μg/kg (paired samples test, P > 0.05). Aflatoxin B1 and G1 do not react with aflatoxin M1. By using the AFM1-POCT method, the detection time is shortened to 5 min, the accuracy is comparable to that of UHPLC, and convenience and range of application are improved.


The elevator door control system is a critical component in the whole elevator system,it relates to passenger′s using experience.In this thesis,an elevator door motor control system was designed,including AC motor,TMS320F28035 DSP and Mitsubishi Transistorized inverter.Combining these components with software designing,this system achieved functions such as door width self-learning,motor control and user-machine interface.The experimental result shows that the system performs well,and has practical value.


the 70th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association come to you in Diabetes 2010, a newsletter CME program that is being offered to you by Yale University School of Medicine. Fax or e-mail delivery to your office of Diabetes 2010 will be followed by a Diabetes 2010 booklet (ACC and ADA newsletters) in the mail. After successfully completing the quiz and evaluation therein contained, you will qualify for up to 5.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ to be issued by Yale University School of Medicine. Diabetes 2010 is being offered to physicians practicing in the United States. After successfully completing this program, participants will be able to: I Describe the mechanisms of ß-cell failure, the progression of diabetes, and its complications. I Implement strategies for the early diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. I Recognize the manifestations of the macrovas-cular and microvascular complications of diabetes and describe appropriate therapies. I Understand the interrelationship between insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and athero-sclerosis in patients with Type 2 diabetes. I Compare the mechanisms of action of diabetes therapies, their risks, benefits, and proper roles in disease management. I Identify evolving and emerging therapeutic strategies in diabetes care. I Describe the approach to managing dyslipi-demia, hypertension, and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes. Yale University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education to physicians. Yale University School of Medicine designates this continuing medical education activity for a maximum of 11 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (5.5 credit hours per test). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. It is understood that supporters will in no way control the content of this program. In January of 2010, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) endorsed new criteria for the identification of glycemic disorders, based upon glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) cut-points: ≥6.5% for diabetes and 5.7-6.4% for pre-diabetes (Table 1). The original criteria based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-hour glucose after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) remain valid tests as well— the ADA did not stipulate that one test is superior to another. Multiple presentations this week noted something that many clinicians across the country have observed—that HbA1c and FPG may not always necessarily agree. Furthermore, interesting differences in the characteristics of persons identified by the two tests are emerging. In a symposium dedicated to the …


Extending industry chain of coal enterprises has strong influence on improving benefit of coal enterprises,and helps them to realize sustainable development.With analyzing problems that existed in current coal industry chain model,a new extension model is reengineered.One chain is based on integrated gasification combined cycle that has low cost,high quality,and better benefit;and the other one is based on associated mineral resource,mine water and microcrystalline glass that is made of solid waste.


The 4CzTPN-Ph is mixed into YAG phosphors with the mass concentrations of 1%,1.3%,2%and 3%,respectively,then the powdering LED device is obtained.The influence of doping concentration on light efficiency of the device is researched.Through changing the driving current of the device,the influence of driving conditions on light efficiency is researched.Through testing light efficiency change of LED before and after silica gel filling,the influence of filling on light efficiency is researched.The experimental results show that with the increase of concentration of 4CzTPN-Ph,the light efficiency reduces,but when the concentration increases to a certain extent,the light efficiency increases conversely.This paper still find,that with the increase of the current,the light efficiency reduces,and the light efficiency will increase after silica gel filling.At last,the reason of the light efficiency change of the device,when the driving current is increased and after the silica gel is filled with is analysized.


Astrocytes, the third element of the tripartite synapse, are active players in neurotransmission. Up to now, theirinvolvement in neuronal functions has primarily been investigated at the single cell level. However, a key property ofastrocytes is that they communicate via extensive networks formed by gap junction channels. Recently, we have shownthat this networking modulates the moment to moment basal synaptic transmission and plasticity via the regulation ofextracellular potassium and glutamate levels. Here we show that astroglial gap junctional communication also regulatesneuronal network activity. We discuss these findings and their implications for brain information processing.


Background: Mental illness is common among the New Zealand population. Several roles have been identified for community pharmacists in providing care to people with mental illness; however, the specifics of these roles have not been studied in New Zealand. Objectives: To explore the services currently provided by community pharmacists, the barriers that may be encountered, and possible solutions when providing care to people with mental illness. Methods: Community pharmacists across the North Island of New Zealand, who expressed a special interest in mental health or had a clozapine-dispensing contract, were invited to participate. Eleven participants were interviewed using a semistructured format guided by principles of inductive analysis. Using a thematic approach, transcripts from the interviews were analyzed with the assistance of NVivo 7 (QSR International Pty Ltd 2007). Results: Four major themes were identified: provision of care, relationships, challenges within the health care system and resources, and future roles for pharmacists. Provision of care was associated with the type of services pharmacists provided, patient-focused care, family involvement, education, psychological support, referrals, and culturally appropriate practice. Building effective relationships was described by participants as adopting a nonjudgmental and culturally sensitive manner, respecting patient privacy, spending more time with patients, and using varied communication techniques. Significant challenges involved working at the end of the health care chain, inadequate patient information and contact time, prescription and payment issues, and difficulties ensuring compliance with medication. Participants


The natural occurrence of rice stripe virus(RSV)in Shanghai,being heavy in recent years,was effectively controlled through integrated prevention and control measures.However,it was heavy again in 2010 in some areas where the total area was 12 093.33 hm~2,average rate of diseased plants was 0.66%and the highest was over 20%.The major factors were a large number of Laodelphax striatellus,a high rate of media carrying the virus,mixed planting of wheat and green manure crops,and a quite long coincidence period between the migration peak of first generation L.striatellus adults and the rice seedling stage.According to the factor analysis,integrated control measures were proposed,including timely plowing and irrigation after wheat harvest,appropriately putting off seeding date,avoiding symbiosis of rice and wheat,etc.


Eosinophilic enteritis is now commonly diagnosed in northern Queensland, and cases have been seen elsewhere. The patients present with acute abdominal symptoms, which may mimic appendicitis, and many cases are managed by surgery. To facilitate the diagnosis of this unusual syndrome, six surgically treated cases are reported here. Blood eosinophilia may be a helpful diagnostic feature, but in some cases it does not develop until after the acute abdominal episode. Most cases resolve satisfactorily with conservative management.


Abstract Tetraethyl ethenylidene bis phosphonate can undergo facile Michael type addition reaction with amines, alcohols, water, aminoacid and spirophosphoranes bearing a P[sbnd]H bond. The stability of these compounds was investigated and the reversibility of the reaction was demonstrated in the case of methylamine.


In this article features of spectral analysis in geophysical data processing are discussed. It is shown the coupling a time-space functions with their spectral transforms. Special attention is paid not to mathematical aspects of the problem discussed in corresponding textbooks on mathematics but to physical interpretation of the basic principles and formulas.


Based on a consideration of patent loss at colleges and universities and referring to the advanced experiences abroad,the current status of patent protection at China's colleges and universities is analyzed,accordingly several countermeasures are proposed as follows.Alternative application to improve the quality of patent.Ownership should be made clear to bring about rational protection of patent.Disputes should be well-handled to prevent from torts.Transformation of achievements should be promoted to prevent patent from loss.


The Essential oil from leaf of Tagetes erecta were obtained by hydrodistilation process and application of Targets erecta oil to silica gel column chromatgraphy Produce three fractions with haxene. The fractions were applied on Drosophila melanogaster; it is a suitable model insect for these studies in laboratory at during year 2007. Drosophila is easy to culture with short life cycle 10days and global distribution. Drosophila melanogaster has been used to observe the sub lethal effect of Ist, IInd and IIIrd fractions of leaf oil of Tagetes erecta. The Lc50 of three fractions have been calculated as 63μl, 43μl and 69μl/100 ml of food. In which IInd fraction more effective as compared to Ist and IIIrd fractions. The IInd fraction has been used present investigation. The fractions were tested with organic solvent and test reagents. The fractions reveled Alkaloid, Flavonoid and Tennin respectively. Adult flies were fed 2days and prescribed food treated with sub lethal concentration is 43μl(1/10 th of calculated Lc50) of IInd fraction and allowed to fertilized for 3days and complete the pre-developmental stages. The IInd fraction(Flavonoid) produce toxicity against Drosophila melanogaster.


Rill erosion on unpaved roads is widespread and highly destructive on the Loess Plateau of China, but the exploration of its evolution mechanism is scarce. In this study, a multiphase runoff scour experiment was performed on an abandoned field road in the Loess Plateau, China. Using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS), scour experiments are used to evaluate the dynamic evolution of rill erosion and fill. The results show that soil erosion decreases significantly after the initial surge. During the first scouring, the depths of erosion and fill reached their maximum, which were 5.49 ± 7.62 mm and 5.72 ± 16.37 mm, respectively, and the fourth erosion and fill rates are only 24% and 35% of the first. Unlike the upstream and midstream, which are dominated by erosion, the downstream is mainly characterized by fill, and the downstream fill depth is 1.46 times the erosion depth; however, this ratio is 0.52 and 0.74 in the upstream and midstream, respectively. A comparison of the erosion raster with slope change revealed that rapid slope change due to erosion was mainly concentrated at 10–15°. In addition, a comparison of the fill raster with the slope found that slopes greater than 30° during the second scouring tended to flatten out most by filling, as the hydrodynamic forces of steep slopes were easily dissipated. The relationship between slope, erosion, and fill is complex and variable for each scouring. Orthophotos revealed that the U‐shaped bottom topography was conducive to concentrated overland flow, which significantly worsens the rill erosion on the road surface. This indicates that even if the slope is very gentle, the terrain easy to collect water will cause considerable erosion damage. Prevention of rill erosion on the unpaved loess road surface, therefore, requires focused drainage development. This study provides important further scientific insights into the evolution of loess road rill erosion and road erosion damage to inform erosion hazard management in the context of fragile loess landscapes.


Quantum algorithms are being extensively researched nowadays seeing thepotential of providing exponential speed up when compared to classical algorithmexecution. This speed-up can play a big role i ...


A modal analysis is presented to derive second-harmonic generation of shear horizontal modes in an elastic plate. Under second-order perturbation the second harmonics will generate along with shear horizontal mode propagation due to the bulk elastic nonlinearity of the plate material. The fields of the second harmonics are regarded as superpositions of fields of harmonic frequency Lamb modes. The analysis results show that the field component of harmonic frequency Lamb modes may have a cumulative growth effect as its phase velocity exactly or approximately equals that of shear horizontal modes. The exact solution to the second harmonics is obtained.


In this paper, using the theory of probability and random processes, analyzed the state and state-transferring of the dynamic system, and put forward a proper evaluation method which can be used to evaluate. The method is proved, by the examples, to be of good effect.


Abstract Wellness and medical area are today identified among the next big markets, and the associated roadmaps show a global trend from the benchtop to portable devices then to longer term wearable and implantable devices. For these last devices new packaging technologies need to be developed in order to satisfy both size reduction, important reliability constraints, and moderate/low costs. Two divergent identified markets have been identified: -Consumerist healthcare market associated to high volume and low cost manufacturing, -Professional healthcare market associated to low volume and high cost manufacturing. Based on these findings, we will present in this paper the main new packaging technologies developed at Leti to fit with the constraints of these markets: -In the field of wearable devices: an innovative package designed to be integrated in textiles offering low interaction with material structure and compatible with standard textile tooling and package-winding machines. A specific example of RFI...


A survey for sweet potato (Ipomoeabatatas L.) viruses was conducted in five commercial fields inCosta Rica from February to May 2002. High percentage ofplants showing virus-like symptoms were observed in threeof the five commercial fields. Graft-inoculations of fieldcollectedsamples to the virus indicator plant Ipomoea setosawere conducted. Foliar samples from inoculated plants weretested serologically for Sweet potato feathery mottle virus(SPFMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), by reversetranscription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Sweetpotato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV), and by molecularhybridization for Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV). Theaphid-transmitted SPFMV was the most common virusdetected. Other viruses detected included SPCSV andSPLCV. CMV was not detected in any of the samples tested.Mixed infections of SPFMV and SPCSV were detected in the3 commercial fields with a high percentage of plants showingvirus-like symptoms. The identity of SPCSV was confirmedby whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) transmissions and RNA analysisof selected RT-PCR positive samples.


This utility model relates to a wireless meter reading system used in water meter,which belongs to the area of manufacturing wireless meter system. It comprises of several wireless water meters, wireless collection repeater , M_BUS collection system, hand held collector and host computer management system.wireless collection repeater directly performs a meter reading on several wireless water meters via M_BUS and transmit data to the host computer management system, host computer management system set address and read data through M_BUS bus lcontrol wireless collection repeater, and input data into own databasef, carry out corresponding processing, display and print work. Wireless hand held collector directly performs a meter reading on several wireless water meters, or read relevant data from wireless collection repeater through infrared. Host computer may read meter reading data from wireless hand held collector.


This study examines the nature and characteristics of the literature on doctoral programs, dissertations, and graduates in library and information science in the United States. The majority of publications were nonquantitative. Although the Danton study, published in 1959, was quantitative, most quantitative studies emerged in the late 1960s. The pre-1959 literature focused on the question of whether degrees in other disciplines were likely to be of more value than the Ph.D. in library science; Danton 's study stressed two urgent issues: the need for financial support in doctoral programs and the low research productivity of doctoral students. The 1960-80 literature did not seem to have one or two overriding themes but was rather an extension of the Danton study, i.e., to examine and review the status of doctoral programs and their contribution to the library profession.


In recent years, studies on cyclic molecular nanomagnets have captivated the attention of researchers. These magnets are finite in size and contain very large spins. They are interesting because they possess macroscopic quantum tunneling of Néel vectors. For antiferromagnetic molecular nanomagnets with finite number of even-numbered coupled spins, tunneling involves two classical localized Néel ground states separated by a magnetic energy barrier. The question is: can such phenomena be observed in nanomagnets with odd number of magnetic ions? The answer is not directly obvious because cyclic chains with odd-numbered coupled spins are frustrated as one cannot obtain a perfect Néel order. These frustrated spins can indeed be observed experimentally, so they are of interest. In this letter, we theoretically investigate macroscopic quantum tunneling in this odd spin system with arbitrary spins s, in the presence of a magnetic field applied along the plane of the magnet. In contrast to systems with an even-numbered coupled spins, the ground state of the cyclic odd-spin system contains a topological soliton due to spin frustration. Thus, the classical ground state is 2N-fold degenerate as the soliton can be placed anywhere along the ring with total . Small quantum fluctuations delocalize the soliton with a formation of an energy band. We obtain this energy band using degenerate perturbation theory at order 2s. We show that the soliton ground state is chiral for half-odd integer spins and non-chiral for integer spins. From the structure of the energy band we infer that as the value of the spin increases the inelastic polarized neutron-scattering intensity may increase or decrease depending on the strengths of the parameters of the Hamiltonian.


© 2015 Johns Hopkins University Press DVD Chronicle: One Wonderful Sunday, directed by Akira Kurosawa, in Postwar Kurosawa (Eclipse Series from the Criterion Collection, 2008); The Woman on the Beach, directed by Jean Renoir (Warner Archive, 2011); Quai des orfèvres, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot (Criterion Collection, 2003); Lady in the Lake, directed by Robert Montgomery (Warner Home Video, 2006); Dark Passage, directed by Delmer Daves (Warner Home Video, 2006, and Amazon Instant Video); The Unsuspected, directed by Michael Curtiz (Warner Brothers, 2009); It Always Rains on Sunday, directed by Robert Hamer (out of print, but available on the used DVD market); Brighton Rock, directed by John Boulting (Lionsgate, 2012 and Amazon Instant Video); Black Narcissus, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (Criterion Collection, 2010); Down to Earth, directed by Alexander Hall (Sony Pictures, 2004).


This work presents a robust procedure to solve job shop scheduling problems with large number of more realistic constraints such as jobs with several subassembly levels, alternative processing plans for parts and alternative resources for operations, requirement of multiple resources to process an operation (e.g. machine, tools, fixtures, staff), resource calendars, batch overlap and sequence dependent setups. Also, the approach considers multi-objective evaluation functions. The system uses modified schedule generation algorithms to obtain a set of initial solutions. Each initial solution is enhanced by a local improvement procedure. Then a hybrid genetic algorithm, which incorporates a local hill climbing procedure, is applied to the set of local optimum schedules.


ABSTRACT Focusing on a long-running health campaign, this paper examines the UK government's use of a policy technique known as 'nudge', which draws on behavioral economics in order to shape civic behaviors toward more desirable ends. Public health campaigns tend to be immune to critique because of assumptions that their goals are laudable and that they are 'unproblematically' educational. Here, I argue that the use of 'nudge' tactics helps legitimate a narrowing of the sphere of governmental responsibility for this complex and classed social problem by pathologizing working class lifestyles as inherently 'irrational'. I use critical discourse analysis to explore the textual strategies through which a corpus of TV cartoon adverts enacts a 'biopedagogic' discourse and shapes 'self-disciplinary' subjectivities, targeting children in particular. Through subtle semiotic markers (register and regional accent) these adverts target a northern English, working class demographic, and shift responsibility onto certain individuals while glossing over the deeply entrenched and escalating forms of social inequality which lie behind the problem. In light of the increasing prominence of 'soft' governance techniques like nudge, I argue for a close dialog between detailed linguistic analytical methods and a Foucauldian analytics of power.


Summary: Correlations were sought among neuroendocrine, psychopathologic, neuropsychological, and seizure variables in 16 male patients with limbic epilepsy. Plasma prolactin and luteinizing hormone levels were directly correlated with seizure frequency. Plasma prolactin was inversely correlated with thought disorder. Post hoc findings included a strong direct correlation between total plasma testosterone levels and aggression. These relationships may help to elucidate mechanisms related to interictal symptomatology in patients with limbic epilepsy.


1. Many flowers produce ant‐repellent substances that prevent ants from discouraging pollinator visits. When a flower's most effective pollinator is unaffected by predatory ants, however, flowers should benefit from the presence of ants that deter less effective pollinators from consuming resources.


For n > 2, p 2 does there exist an n-dimensional Banach space different from Hilbert spaces which is isometric to subspaces of both Lp and Lq ? Generalizing the construction from the paper Zonoids whose polars are zonoids by R. Schneider (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 50 (1975), 365368) we give examples of such spaces. Moreover, for any compact subset Q of (0, oo)\{2k, k E N} we can construct a space isometric to subspaces of Lq for all q E Q simultaneously.


Special support for quickly finding the first-few answers of a query is already appearing in commercial database systems. This support is useful in active databases, when dealing with potentially unmanageable query results, and as a declarative alternative to navigational techniques. In this paper, we discuss query processing techniques for first-answer queries. We provide a method for predicting the cost of a first-answer query plan under an execution model that attempts to reduce wasted effort in join pipelining. We define new statistics necessary for accurate cost prediction, and discuss techniques for obtaining the statistics through traditional statistical measures (e.g. selectivity) and semantic data properties commonly specified through modern OODB and relational schemas. The proposed techniques also apply to all-answer query processing when optimizing for fast delivery of the initial query results. 1I ntroduction Traditional methods for query processing, primarily those based on the relational model, process queries with the goal of materializing the set of all answer tuples with minimal cost. Several applications instead require only the first answer or first-few answers to particular queries, or require the first answers of a query to be delivered as quickly as possible. This is evidenced by increasing support for first answer query optimization in modern relational systems [11, 16]. First-answer query support is also important in active databases based on production system models, where fast match algorithms lazily enumerate answers to a query one at a time [15]. Object-oriented database systems and knowledge-representation systems support complex structures allowing data to be retrieved through navigation as well as querying. Navigation is often preferable over querying for locating a single object since query engines, usually geared around set-oriented constructs, inevitably touch more data than necessary. A declarative query language with first-answer support can enable more understandable code than navigation, and potentially faster retrieval due to cost-based optimization. Finally, there will always be cases when producing the entire query result is simply too costly. Various search engines (including those for the world wide web) provide functionality for lazily enumerating answers in case of overly general search criteria. In this domain one might argue that all-answer query responses may take infinitely long or an input "table" may be a stream with no known end. Thus only depth first, first solution methods are applicable. This paper presents our work on query processing techniques specifically geared for optimizing and executing first-answer join queries. The techniques also apply to optimizing all-answer queries when the goal is to minimize latency of first-answer delivery instead of overall throughput. The analysis is independent of any storage model, and therefore applies should the database be disk resident, main memory resident, or distributed. We begin by providing a modified pipelined join algorithm that remedies performance problems sometimes exhibited by naive join pipelining. We then present a probabilistic technique for predicting query-plan cost under this modified pipelined join execution model. Though the costestimation technique requires database statistics not typically maintained by traditional centralized database systems, the statistics are derivable from those commonly maintained by distributed query processors. We also show how they can often be derived or estimated from selectivity information and semantic information often specified in the form of cardinality constraints (such as existence and functional dependencies) in modern relational, object-oriented, and knowledge-base systems.


Objective
To investigate the prognosis and predicators of successful blood pressure control outcomes of adrenalectomy in patients with primary aldosteronism(PA).

Methods
Patients with unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma or unilateral adrenal hyperplasia underwent adrenalectomy at Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School in the past 10 years were enrolled in this study. Clinical and biochemical data were reviewed retrospectively before and at least 3 month after surgery. Univariate and logistic analysis were conducted to investigate the predicators of complete hypertention cure after adrenalectomy.

Results
103 patients were included in the final analysis. Surgery abolished aldosterone hypersecretion(n=26)and cured hypokalemia in 98% of PA patients. The cure and improvement of hypertension were observed in 57(55.3%)and 38(36.9%)of patients respectively, whereas 8 patients(7.8%)were refractory after surgery. Multivariate regression analysis showed that negative family history of hypertension, body mass index less than 28 kg/m2, shorter duration of hypertension(≤5 years), and lower serum creatinine level(≤70 μmol/L)were the independent factors that predicted complete hypertension remission after surgery(P<0.05).

Conclusions
In patients with unilateral PA, unilateral adrenalectomy is the preferred and the most effective approach. In order to achieve complete hypertension control and the best prognosis, early diagnosis and treatment with the correction of metabolic disorders such as obesity are essential and pivotal. (Chin J Endocrinol Metab, 2016, 32: 201-205)

Key words:
Primary aldosteronism; Adrenalectomy; Hypertension


. A few affine invariant structures depending only on the second fundamental form relative to arbitrary transversal bundles on submanifolds of the standard affine spaces are introduced. A notion of "local strong convexity" is proposed for arbitrary codimensional submanifolds. In the case of n -dimensional submanifolds of 2 n -dimensional real affine spaces, complex structures on the ambient spaces are used as a tool for studying real affine invariants.


This work introduces the use of video data to calib rate a phase resolving model to be used in conjunct ion with standard calibration procedures. The key assumption s are that wave breaking has a distinguishable opti cal signature in the surf zone; and that a successful model should be capable to reproduce not only profiles of wave statistics but also the spatiotemporal distribution of breaking. For the model tested, results suggest that its current formulation is not capable to achieve both objectiv es simultaneously, but it is possible to find a par ameter space that maximizes correlation if they are treated inde pendently. This is interpreted as the model having the capability to model all the phenomena correctly, but with the relative weight between terms not being well addres sed. A simple reformulation of some model terms shows simultaneous improvement for both calibration approach.


To investigate responses of seed yield and quality of oilseed rape to nitrogen(N) application levels,and inspect relationship between N use efficiency and seed quality,the sand culture was conducted to study on changes of N efficiencies,seed yields and qualities of two oilseed rape cultivars with different N efficiencies under five N application levels,0.6,3,6,12 and 15 mmol/L(expressed with N1-N5 respectively).The results show that the seed yields,oil yields and protein contents are increased with the increasing of N application levels,while the N efficiencies and oil contents are decreased.The changes of fatty acids in seeds are small,the contents of erucic acid and arachidonic acid are slightly decreased with the increasing of the N application levels,and the contents of palmitic acid,stearic acid,oleic acid,linoleic acid and linolenic acid are not obviously changed.Compared with the low N efficiency cultivar,the changes of seed yield,contents of erucic acid and arachidonic acid of the high N efficiency cultivar are bigger with the increasing of the N application levels,while the changes of oil content are smaller.The seed yield,oil content and oil yield of the high N efficiency cultivar are higher than those of the low N efficiency cultivar under the 5 N application levels.The linoleic acid content of the high N efficiency cultivar is higher than that of the low N efficiency cultivar,while the linolenic acid content of the high N efficiency cultivar is lower than that of the low N efficiency cultivar.There are no significant differences of seed protein,palmitic acid,stearic acid and oleic acid contents between the two cultivars.It can be concluded that increasing N application level is advantage for increasing oil yield,especially for the high N efficiency cultivar,but composition of fatty acids is less influenced.Therefore,the oil content and seed quality of the high N efficiency cultivar are not be decreased by high N absorption and use efficiency.


Six ansamycin derivatives were isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. KCB17JA11, including four new hygrolansamycins A-D (1-4) and known congeners divergolide O (5) and hygrocin C (6). Compounds 1-5 featured an unusual six-membered O-heterocyclic moiety. The isolation workflow was guided by a Molecular Networking-based dereplication strategy. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated using NMR and HRESIMS experiments, and the absolute configuration was established by the Mosher's method. Compound 2 exhibited mild cytotoxicity against five cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 24.60 ± 3.37 μM to 49.93 ± 4.52 μM.


Seed bank, seed dispersal and historical disturbance are critical factors affecting plant population persistence. However, because of difficulties collecting data on these factors they are often ignored. We evaluated the roles of seed bank, seed dispersal and historical disturbance on metapopulation persistence of Hypericum cumulicola, a Florida endemic. We took advantage of long‐term demographic data of multiple populations (22 years; ~11 K individuals; 15 populations) and a wealth of information on burn history (1962–present), and habitat attributes (patch specific location, elevation, area and aggregation) of a system of 92 patches of Florida rosemary scrub. We used previously developed integral projection models to assess the relative ability of simulations with different levels of seed dormancy for recently produced and older seeds and different dispersal kernels (including no dispersal) to predict regional observed occupancy and plant abundance in patches in 2016–2018. We compared a simulation with this model using historical burn history to 500 model simulations with the same average fire regime (using a Weibull distribution to determine the probability of ignition) but with random ignition years. The most likely model had limited dispersal (mean = 0.5 m) and the highest dormancy (field estimates × 1.2 %) and its predictions were associated with observed occurrences (67% correct) and densities (20% of variance explained). Historical burn synchrony among neighbouring patches (skewness in the number of patches burned by year = 1.79) probably explains the higher densities predicted by the simulation with the historical fire regime compared with predicted abundances after simulations using random ignition years (skewness = 0.20 + SE = 0.01). Synthesis. Our findings demonstrate the pivotal role of seed dormancy, dispersal and fire history on population dynamics, distribution and abundance. Because of the prevalence of metapopulation dynamics, we should be aware of the significance of changes in the availability and configuration of suitable habitat associated with human or non‐human landscape changes. Decisions on prescribed fires (or other disturbances) will benefit from our knowledge of consequences of fire frequency, but also of location of ignition and the probability of fire spread.


Lu Xun and Zheng Zhenduo are two key figures in Chinese modern literature and cultural history.However,there are few researches on them from the perspective of humanity,time,and the method of introspection.Focusing on the characteristics of thoughts and culture of Zheng Zhenduo and Lu Xun,this paper looks into the diversed ways in the development of value and thoughts among Chinese intellectuals and the reasons,explores the inner association between intellectuals and era changes,and discusses the vacancy in the current study on humanity with the aid of a series of typical phenomena.


ABSTRACT This paper is a revised and updated version of the keynote speaker address for the Block 2 Session: "Data Acquisition in Surface Texture Analysis" for the Online Workshop on Quantitative Artifact Microwear Analysis (QAMA) organized by TraCEr–MONREPOS–RGZM (November 25, 2021) in Neuwied, Germany. It discusses a number of issues related to the acquisition of surface data for texture analysis, including the transition from experimentation to artifact analysis and the importance of standardization of methods. Specifically, the keynote address focuses on eight sub-topics in relation to method development and standardization: (1) Microscopes and operating systems, (2) Magnification, depth of field, working distance, and field of view, (3) Numerical aperture, (4) Cleaning methods, (5) Number and location of surface measurements, (6) Profile versus area measurements, (7) Multiple measurements in the same location, and (8) Surface replication: molds/casts, surface images, and microCT.