: Graduate teaching assistants are important supplement to the undergraduate teaching resources. Many new practices based on GB/T 19028 − 2018 were introduced to improve teaching performance of graduate teaching assistants for laboratory teaching at universities. The quality management system was used to enhance the training, guidance, management and evaluation of the graduate teaching assistants. Laboratory managers were advised to transform their ideas with the guidelines on people involvement and competence.


A gas chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometric(GC-QqQ-MS/MS) method was presented for the determination of cyanuric acid and melamine in milk powder.Samples were extracted with methanol and derivatized with a mixed system composed of BSTFA and TMCS(99:1,V/V) prior to GC-QqQ-MS/MS analysis in multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode.The optimal values of crucial instrument parameters and matrix effects were investigated.Cyanuric acid was qualified using the ion pairs of m/z 345 215 and m/z 345 330 and quantified using the ion pair of m/z 345 215.Melamine was qualified using the ion pairs of m/z 345 171 and m/z 342 327 and quantified using the ion pair of m/z 342 327.The developed method exhibited good linearity within the range of 0.010 to 0.500 mg/L.Limit of detection was 0.016 for cyanuric acid and 0.003 mg/kg for melamine(RSN =3).Precision RSDs for determining cyanuric acid and melamine were within the ranges of 4.5%-8.6% and 3.9%-6.2%,respectively.Recoveries of cyanuric acid and melamine in an infant formula milk power sample spiked at two levels were ranged from 84.0% to 102.0% and from 88.5% to 104.0%,respectively.


TITLE t Developing Learning Objectives for a Model Course To'' 'Prepare Adul'ts for the Assessment of Prior, Non-Sponsored Learning, by Portfolio Evaluation AUTHOR/ Mary A, Stevens Sinpe 1972, Slack Hawk College, Moline, Illinois, has had,a commitment .to assess students' prior, non-sponsored learning. Procedures to do-so have included, use of, the College Level Exami^ nation Program fCLEP3, The Sulde. local pro'ficiency examinations, and the evaluation of a-portfolio'compiled by the studeht. H6wever, suoh assessment, especially that involving portfolio evaluation, has caused frustration and difficulty among students and faculty alike because no formal assistance .in portfolioconstruetion is provided.' 'This e,tudy determined that the bast way to pro-' vide such assistance .was through the development of a formal course to prepare the student for the assessment of prior, non-sponsored learning. It began developmental work for .such a course by a survey of' the learnl-og objectives and activities of similar courses .elsewhere, by an analysis of'portfolio requirements at,other institutions, by an analysis of the requirements suggested by CAEL hand books, and, because the course would be intended primarily For adults, by a consideration of the*'adult' learning process. As a result of this survey and analysis, "the study recommended specific types of 'learning for theJproposed Course organized by means of Bloom's Taxonomy, learning objectives tetated following recommendations by Magar,' and a list of the. learning problems end-preferences of. adult students,'It recommended that a collage-credit course be developed base,d upon these learning objectives and reflecting those adult learning problems and preferences.


This paper discusses the significance and instructions on challenge and reform for Horticulture major. The focus of theoretical exploration is on the proper knowledge construction, building up intellectural confidence and analytical abilities, creative thinking and practical competence. It summaries the reform of the discipline construction , teaching plan, curriculum arrangement and teaching process. Simulate Gardening as an example offers a new approach to the practical teaching and the development of students applied and comprehensive competences . And suggestions are given on the deep reform of Horticulture major.


Simple Summary Dry needling, used by physical therapists, is a treatment modality used for the management of musculoskeletal pain. It is a technique in which a fine needle is used to penetrate the skin, subcutaneous tissues and muscles, with the aim of mechanically disrupting the inner tissues. This technique is called dry needling as the procedure does not involve the injection of any substance. Subacromial syndrome is defined as any kind of non-traumatic, usually unilateral, shoulder problem that causes pain around the acromion, that usually gets worse during or after lifting the arm. It should not be treated with surgical methods as the first option, but with different physiotherapy techniques. In this review, an overview of the effects of dry needling combined with conventional physiotherapy in patients with subacromial syndrome is presented. One of the key focal points is that dry needling combined with physiotherapy is effective and safe in reducing the pain and disability caused by this pathology. Abstract Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of dry needling (DN) combined with conventional physiotherapy in the recovery of patients with subacromial syndrome (SAS). A search was made of the main open access health science databases. The publication date was not limited for systematic reviews but was for randomized clinical trials (RCTs), which were limited to the last five years (from 2016) in English or in Spanish. Ninety-four studies were selected. In order to assess the quality of the studies, the JADAD scale or Oxford quality scoring system was used. A total of 402 patients were analyzed in all the studies in which the application of conventional physiotherapy was compared to the DN, either in a combination or in isolation. Improvements were obtained in pain intensity (Visual Analogic Scale—VAS), Range of Movement (ROM), Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT), functionality with Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), and in the cost–benefit ratio. DN is effective and safe in reducing the pain and disability produced by SAS, with the best combination of treatment turning out to be conventional physiotherapy together with DN, obtaining more stable and longer-lasting benefits than merely applying the techniques in isolation.


Structural design of mechanical components is an iterative process that involves multiple stress analysis runs; this can be
time consuming and expensive. Significant improvements in the eciency of this process can be made by increasing the
level of interactivity. One approach is through real-time re-analysis of models with continuously updating geometry. Three
primary areas need to be considered to accelerate the re-solution of boundary element problems. These are re-meshing
the model, updating the boundary element system of equations and re-solution of the system.
Once the initial model has been constructed and solved, the user may apply geometric perturbations to parts of the
model. The re-meshing algorithm must accommodate these changes in geometry whilst retaining as much of the existing
mesh as possible. This allows the majority of the previous boundary element system of equations to be re-used for the
new analysis. For this problem, a GMRES solver has been shown to provide the fastest convergence rate. Further time
savings can be made by preconditioning the updated system with the LU decomposition of the original system. Using
these techniques, near real-time analysis can be achieved for 3D simulations; for 2D models such real-time performance
has already been demonstrated.


The superactivation effect has its roots in the extreme violation of additivity of the channel capacity and enables to reliably transmit quantum information over zero-capacity quantum channels. In this work we demonstrate a similar effect for the classical capacity of a quantum channel which previously was thought to be impossible.


This paper describes a progenitor B cell stimulating factor which promotes the formation of pre -B cells. This article also discloses the production and purification of the factor and a DNA sequence encoding the factor. This factor may be used for treatment of hematopoietic disorders and in bone marrow transplantation.


This paper introduces a new hexapod legged robot that can autonomously adapt to a variety of terrain; its wheel leg designs specially to make it has a good obstacle surmounting capacity. This robot uses the modularized design method, using the interrupt to detect the position of the wheel leg, PWM to control motor speed, Bus to control motor, gait program to control the robot motion, wireless data transmission to control the robot's gait, host computer to real-time monitor the robot status. The host computer or user handheld devices can regulate the state of the robot, at the same time the host computer can monitor the state of the robot. Finally, the principle demonstrator verifies the feasibility of the software design and hardware design method, thus ensuring the validity and reliability of the robot design.


where T\(x —y) stands for the total variation of x(t) —y(t) onO^/^ 1. Until recently the few writersf who have considered the space (BV) of functions of bounded variation have simply carried over to this larger space the metric of (AC). Although with this metric (BV) is a Banach space, it is not separable; perhaps it is partly on that account that (BV) was so little studied. In I Adams introduced for (BV) the new metric


A number of recent attempts to reconfigure comparative literature have been concerned with upgrading the role played by translation in the drawing and re-drawing of the literary world map.1 In one way or another this is a basic premise at the heart of Susan Bassnett's Comparative Literature: A Critical Introduction, Franco Moretti's Atlas of the European Novel: 1800–1900, David Damrosch's What is World Literature?, and Emily Apter's The Translation Zone.2 The present article is meant as a small contribution to this ongoing debate. Specifically, I want to focus on the role that translation played in the œuvre of the man who is today considered the greatest Dutch modernist poet, Martinus Nijhoff (1894–1953). As with his fellow Modernists Adriaan Roland Holst (1888–1976) and J. J. Slauerhoff (1898–1936), Nijhoff 's translational activities have been consistently construed as merely ancillary to his 'creative' activities. In reality, I think their translational activities functioned as agents of change for the latter. Of the three Dutch authors mentioned, Roland Holst stayed within the narrowest translational bounds, translating from English only, and exclusively from the works of W. B. Yeats. His case is also clearest as regards the relationship between his activities as a translator and his creative work.3 Estimations of the precise impact of Slauerhoff' s translations from the French, Spanish, and classical Chinese on his own creative practice vary considerably.4 Nijhoff translated a lot, mostly from the French, German and English. Wiljan van den Akker and Gillis Dorleijn, when discussing Nijhoff 's working methods in


Demographic profiling has been an important basis of segmenting consumers. But the demographic variables provide a compartmentalised view of consumer behaviour. Purchase and consumption behaviour are in fact the result of influence of many variables operating simultaneously in the background. In order, to provide a holistic view of the 'why and how' of consumers purchase decision, lifestyle analysis has been considered a superior basis of customer profiling in recent research. Lifestyle study focuses on activities, interests and opinions of consumers and their role in formulating consumers' purchase decision. Past researches in India do provide an insight into the segmentation of Indian consumers on demographic and geographic basis. However, not much has been emphasised on the use of lifestyle for segmenting Indian consumers. The present research, therefore, tries to fill this void by providing the lifestyle profiling of the Indian consumers using factor analysis and cluster analysis. This study can help the marketers in segmenting their prospective and present customers using the suggested lifestyle dimensions.


Otodectosis of cats is one of the most spread diseases of animals of this species from the group of arachnoentomoses. The lack or non-compliance with therapeutic and preventive measures in case of otodectosis contributes to massive spread of the disease. A comparative assessment of the effectiveness of two acaricidal medications, such as Insakar Total K, developed at Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Scientific Center - All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine of the RAS (Moscow), and Acaromectin for cats' otodectosis was carried out. Insacar Total K is a complex acaricidal medication containing imidocloprid, pyriproxyfen and moxidectin, providing high therapeutic efficacy against ecto- and endoparasites both in imaginal and preimaginal stages of development. It is recommended for treatment of arkhanoentomoses, nematodes of the gastrointestinal tract of cats. Acaromectin is a medication from the group of macrocyclic lactones. The active ingredient of the drug is ivermectin, which has a destructive effect on acariform ticks. The drug is active against sarcoptic mites at different stages of ontogenesis (Sarcoptes canis, Sarcoptes vulpis, Notoedres cinotis, Psoroptes cuniculi), demodectic mites (Demodex canis), as well as insects (Ctenocephalides canis, Telotdecephalides) parasitizing on dogs and cats. The object of the study was the cats of "Lapa Pomoshchi" shelter for homeless animals at Ulyanovsk State Agrarian University, spontaneously infested with Otodectes cynotis ticks. In the course of the experiment, it was found that both tested medications show outstanding efficacy for treatment of otodectosis of cats. Insakar Total K has a more pronounced therapeutic effect, extension efficiency was 100 %. The extension efficiency of Acaromectin was slightly lower and amounted to 80 %.


Item 2 of the new, 5-year action plan to revitalize clinical trials comprises 'fostering and securing personnel to conduct clinical trials and research' . Accordingly, the fostering and securing of clinical research coordinators, biostatisticians and data managers are being promoted comparatively proactively; however, the situation regarding doctors remains unsatisfactory. Herein, we introduce initiatives taken by Ehime University Hospital to tackle this. Ehime University has constructed 1)an internal hospital medical team based on inter-departmental collaboration within the University Hospital to conduct identical clinical trials, and 2)a clinical trial medical group including local institutions, as a way of creating an internationally competitive structure. The process of creating this structure makes it possible to find doctors to proactively conduct clinical trials. The results of an attitude survey conducted to assist with creating an environment to foster doctor involvement revealed that 1)few doctors thought it would increase their self-evaluation, 2)many doctors were not using their research budgets, and 3)many doctors thought that clinical trials take time and effort and so did not want to conduct them. In accordance with these requests, we introduce initiatives already undertaken to improve the image surrounding clinical trials. Our goal is to further promote the creation of an environment that motivates doctors to conduct clinical trials.


The present invention relates to a light having a uniform function of the solar module, the solar module is the main assembly of the roof parts of the building, it can be used as a roof, which substantially comprises a transparent substrate, a solar wafers, hot melt adhesive film through light cover, wherein between the transparent substrate and the solar wafer with a diffusion membrane; hence, when the sunlight is incident on the light transmitting regions, the light diffused by the diffusion film opaque areas to the solar wafer, so as to achieve a uniform surface illumination effect.


The MULTEQ computer program has become an industry wide tool which can be used to calculate the chemical composition in a flow occluded region as the solution within concentrates due to a local boiling process. These results can be used to assess corrosion concerns in plant equipment such as steam generators. Corrosion modeling attempts to quantify corrosion assessments by accounting for the mass transport processes involved in the corrosion mechanism. MULTEQ has played an ever increasing role in defining the local chemistry for such corrosion models. This paper will outline how the integration of corrosion modeling with the analysis of corrosion films and deposits can lead to the development of a useful modeling tool, wherein MULTEQ is interactively linked to a diffusion and migration transport process. This would provide a capability to make detailed inferences of the local crack chemistry based on the analyses of the local corrosion films and deposits inside a crack and thus provide guidance for chemical fixes to avoid cracking. This methodology is demonstrated for a simple example of a cracked tube. This application points out the utility of coupling MULTEQ with a mass transport process and the feasibility of an option in a future version of MULTEQ that would permit relating film and deposit analyses to the local chemical environment. This would increase the amount of information obtained from removed tube analyses and laboratory testing that can contribute to an overall program for mitigating tubing and crevice corrosion.


IT IS A DELIGHT AND HONOR for me to respond to Professor Michael Fishbane's magisterial work, Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking and, additionally, to do so within the pages of The Jewish Quarterly Review. Anyone who cracks the covers of his book will be humbled and also ennobled by Fishbane's breadth of learning and depth of insight. Of course, this also means that any response, especially a relatively short one, will never plumb the wealth of his work. What is more, I am not a biblical scholar or a scholar of Jewish thought and tradition, so the distinct pleasure of response brings with it special trepidation. Happily, given the richness of his work there is sufficient intellectual overlap to allow a theological ethicist like myself to isolate topics of common concern. Rather than storming disciplinary gates, my interest is to learn from and to engage this fascinating book and also, hopefully, make some addition to its scholarly assessment. The structure of Fishbane's book is clear enough. The three parts of the volume move from myth in the Hebrew Bible, through rabbinic mythmaking as a kind of exegetical activity, to, finally, the Zohar and mythmaking in the Middle Ages. Through this massive historical sweep, Fishbane traces a set of ''myths'' of God's action and personality, like God's struggle with primordial waters and the divine pathos for the suffering of Israel. These paradigmatic myths provide a template upon which the author charts permutations in mythmaking across periods of Jewish


We cloned the Bombina orientalis adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase subunit b gene from a B. orientalis oviduct cDNA library. The transcript was 997 bp long and encoded 250 amino acid residues. It showed high similarity to amphibian (84-85%), mammalian (56-62%) and invertebrate (46-50%) sequences. In phylogenetic analyses, it clustered with other amphibian sequences. This gene was highly expressed in brain, intestine and oviduct but not in muscle and liver. In this paper, we report the basic characteristics of B. orientalis ATP synthase subunit b gene.


To make strong brand is not only the necessity of the self-development of tourism,but also the essential requirement for its sustainable development.Reviewing the development and current situation of tourism all around the world,it is obvious that the tourism of China meet serious challenges including the deficiency in brand awareness while carrying out brand marketing,poor brand management,unscientific brand positioning,single marketing tool and innovative products.To remain unconquerable in the competition,tourism industry should effectively manage tourism with scientific brand-marketing strategies including strengthening its brand awareness.With the research done during these two years on the tourism industries in the Peal River Delta area and the analysis of the current situation and issues,this paper suggests the implement path on shaping and management of brands.


[Objective] To investigate the effects of biofeedback therapy on neurosis. [Methods] 64 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. The patients were treated by biofeedback and controls by traditional medicine. The two groups were evaluated by SCL-90 before and after treatment. [Results] The effective rate of the treatment group was 84.78%, and that in control group was 59.39%. Except for the psychiatric symptoms, all the factors of the treatment group were higher than those of the control group (P﹤0.01). [Conclusion] Biofeedback therapy is effective for neurosis, and can relieve the nervous, anxiety, compulsion and depression symptoms and improve the treatment effect on the neurosis. It is worth to be popularized.


Injection molding is a very mature technology, but the growth of layer‐build, additive, manufacturing technologies (rapid prototypying) has the potential of expanding injection molding into areas not commercially feasible with traditional molds and molding techniques. This integration of injection molding with rapid prototyping has undergone many demonstrations of potential. What is missing is the fundamental understanding of how the modifications to the mold material and mold manufacturing process impact both the mold design and the injection molding process. This work expanded on an approach to utilize current numerical simulation programs and created a tool for optimizing the creation and use of non‐metal molds for injection molding. Verification and validation work is presented. The model was exercised by studying the effect of varying the thermal conductivity on final‐part distortions. This work clearly showed that one could not obtain reasonable results by simply changing a few input parameters in the current simulations. Although the approach did produce more realistic results, more work will be required for a tool capable of accurate, quantitative predictions.


BACKGROUND: PCOS is a disorder characterized by an amalgamation of symptoms rather than a single pathognomonic symptom and is of uncertain etiology. Although no single symptom is specific, still a collection of symptoms taken together can make a great contribution in its diagnosis. AIM: To study the value of clinical parameters in the diagnosis of PCOS. SETTINGS & DESIGN: This's a prospective observational study. MATERIALS & METHODS: The present study carried out among female patients attending Gynecologic outpatient department KIMS Medical College Amalapuram between October 2013 and august 2014. Fifty women with PCOS diagnosed on the basis of clinical, hormonal and ultrasound parameters using the Rotterdam criteria .women without PCOS , having regular cycles which were selected randomly comprised the control group (n = 50) taken all from the patient attending OPD. A detailed history was taken of each case and a thorough clinical examination was done. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: All the data were analyzed by statistical software spss16. RESULT: Mean age of the women in PCOS cases was 24.061 ± 3.84 years as compared to 26.89 ± 5.62years in control. The mean BMI in the women was: 25.533 ± 4.27 kg/m 2 compared to 22.64 ± 2.12 kg/m 2 which is statistically significant. 38%of cases are overweight, and 20% are obese. The mean waist hip ratio was 0.94±0.081, whereas that of control was 0.90 ± 0.091.66% (n=33) of the PCOS cases presents with oligomenorrhoea.16 % (n=8) of women had clinical manifestations of Acanthosis in PCOS cases as compared to 4% (n=2) in control .30% (n=15) of PCOS cases have acne compared to 8% (n=16) in control. 64% (n=32) of the PCOS cases have hirsutism compared to only 4% (n=2) in control. 16 % (n=8) of the PCOS cases are concerned about infertility (primary and secondary) compared to 4% (n=2) in controls. CONCLUSION: The study justifies the elaborate evaluation of clinical parameters like age, body mass index (BMI), waist hip ratio (whr), menstrual pattern, acanthosis nigricans, acne, hirsutism; infertility can make a great


A novel Ni/La2O3 catalyst which exhibits high activity and excellent long-term stability for carbon dioxide reforming of methane to synthesis gas is developed.


The basic purpose of this article is to survey the visions of America embodied in a number of American long poems from different literary periods. Since there have been a considerable number of long poems written in America during its almost 350-year history, it has been necessary to make some stringent selections. The texts used here have been chosen for their literary-historical importance. Starting with Michael Wigglesworth's 1662 poem, The Day of Doom , the article proceeds to the work of Joel Barlow and, to a lesser extent, Philip Freneau from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries before approaching Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass from the late nineteenth century, and Alien Ginsberg's poem. Howl , from the mid-twentieth century.


In this study, we proposed to search for new electrode catalyst for the electrolysis of brine using a combinatorial method. The evaluation substrate consisting of 72 catalyst samples and 9 Pt reference electrodes was designed and fabricated by micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) techniques. The thin film electrode catalyst library on the evaluation substrate was prepared by a combinatorial multi target sputtering system. To evaluation the characteristics of catalyst samples, the polarization curves (current density/potential curves) of catalyst samples were measured by the potential sweep method. Surface poisoning and elution of catalysis samples were observed by an optical microscopy. Finally, we confirmed that the proposed combinatorial method was useful to search for new electrode catalytic materials.


Objective To evaluate the effects and safety of Beyond cold light tooth whitening kit on bleaching tetracycline teeth. Methods 712 tetracycline teeth in 50 patients were bleached with Beyond cold light tooth whitening kit, and 717 tetracycline teeth in 50 patients were bleached with 10% carbamide peroride as control group. The changes of teeth color were evaluated by VITA shade guide matching, and the sensitivity of teeth were recorded. Results The effective rate (86.5%) of the experimental group was significantly higher than that (58.7%) of the control group (P0.05). 6 of 50 patients(12.0%)had slight tooth aches in the experimental group, and 11 of 50 patients(22.0%)had different degree tooth aches in the control group. There was significant difference between the two groups (P0.05). Conclusion Beyond cold light tooth whitening kit is proved to be an effective, safe and quick method of bleaching tetracycline teeth.


In the modern city life,high-rise buildings appear constantly,while urban landscaping area is decreasing step by step,and this is the the present situation of the urban environment in the modern city life,so the roof garden become the most powerful way of greening,it is significant to develop green space,and improve the ecological effects.This paper details some problems of the load and waterproof in the design of the roof garden,combining a real example,and it can provide reference to engineers.


This artide argues that the system of principal's being in charge led by CPC university committee is the assurance of leading system in universities and it expounds some relationship which needs dealing with and some tasks which needs implementing.


The functional state of the cardiovascular system in women with rheumatic heart defect in conjunction with the activity of rheumatic process has been studied thoroughly. The results have revealed a higher frequency of heart contractions, the prevalence of ectopic activity in pregnant women with active rheumatic process. The activity and effectiveness of rheumatic process has also caused the slowing of the pulse conducts in myocardium of atria and ventricles, increasing of both linear and volumetric parameters of heart.


Transformation of science by embracing the concepts of open science presents a very attractive strategy to enhance the reliability of science. Open science policies embody the concepts of open data and open access that encompass sharing of resources, dissemination of ideas, and synergizing the collaborative forums of research. Despite the opportunities in openness, however, there are grave ethical concerns too, and they present a dual-use dilemma. Access to sensitive information is seen as a security risk, and it also possesses other concerns such as confidentiality, privacy, and affordability. There are arguments that open science can be harmful to marginalized groups. Through this study, we aim to discuss the opportunities of open science, as well as the ethical and security aspects, which require further deliberation before full-fledged acceptance in the science community.


Purpose: While ART has been studied for years, the specific quantitative implementation details have not. In order for this new scheme of radiation therapy to reach its potential, an effective ART planning strategy capable of taking into account the dosedelivery history and patient's on‐treatment geometric model must be in place. This work performs a study of dynamic closed‐loop control algorithms for ART and demonstrates their utilities with data from phantom and clinical cases with on‐treatment cone‐beam CTimages.Method: In closed‐loop control, the controller is not run just once but repeatedly, each time receiving the current state of the system as its input. To meet the requirements of different clinical applications, two classes of algorithms are developed: those Adapting to Changing Geometry (ACG) and those Adapting to Geometry and DeliveredDose (AGDD). The former takes into account organ deformations found just before treatment. The latter optimizes the dose distribution accumulated over the entire course of treatment by adapting at each fraction not only to the anatomic information just before treatment but also to the dosedelivery history. The closed‐loop algorithms are showcased by phantom and clinical cases. Results: A comparison of the approaches with conventional open‐loop IMRT without adaptively incorporating feedback information indicates that closed‐loop ART may significantly improve the current practice. In both phantom and clinical studies, AGDD outperforms ACG algorithms in three aspects: target dose coverage, sensitive‐structure sparing, and steeper gradients around the tumor. Within the AGDD formalism, it is beneficial not to correct all the previous dosimetric errors at once right after the information is available but over a number of fractions until next set of feedback data is available. Conclusion:ART with closed‐loop dynamic algorithms substantially improve the dose distribution. In addition, the differing performance of the specific implementations shows that the algorithmic details matter.


Status-quo and Countermeasure of Human Capital Failure in China Using human capital reasonably is the basic power to promote economic growth and social progress in China. However,the human capital failure in China blocked the effective configuration and reasonable use of human capital.This paper analyzed the cause of human capital failure in China from two aspects inherent cause and exterior cause,and then put forward some suggestions to revise human capital failure,such as investing human capital reasonably,developing psychological capital,perfecting the functions of government and so on.


Children in rural farming households are often vulnerable to a multitude of risks, including health risks associated with climate change and variability. Cognizant of this, this study empirically traced the relationship between climate variability and nutritional health outcomes in rural children, while identifying the cause-and-effect transmission mechanisms. We combined four waves of the rich Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS), part of the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Studies (LSMS) for the period 2009-2014, with long-term gridded and high frequency rainfall, and temperature datasets. In particular, rainfall and temperature datasets were from Climate Hazards group Infrared Precipitation Station (CHIRPS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products respectively. Self-reported drought and flood shock variables were further used in separate regressions for triangulation purposes and robustness checks. Panel fixed effects regressions were applied in the empirical analysis, accounting for a variety of causal identification issues. The results showed significant negative outcomes for children's anthropometric measurements due to the impacts of moderate and extreme droughts, extreme wet spells and heat waves. On the contrary, moderate wet spells were positively linked with nutritional measures. Agricultural production and child diarrhea were the main transmission channels, with heat waves, droughts and high rainfall variability negatively affecting crop output. Probability of diarrhea was positively related to increases in temperature and dry spells. Results further revealed that children in households who engaged in ex-ante or anticipatory risk reducing strategies such as savings had better health outcomes as opposed to those engaged in ex-post coping such as involuntary change of diet. These results highlight the importance of adaptation in smoothing the harmful effects of climate variability on health of rural households and children in Uganda.


The main idea for this research is based on the assumptions of social interactionism. Adolescents representations of how they parents and friends see them are examined on the sample of 499 adolescents (12/13 i 16/17 years). In the structure of these representations EFA extracted five (for parents) and four dimensions (for friends): 1. prosociality, 2. sociability, 3. character and ambitiosness, 4. bed temper, and 5. maturity. First four dimensions have the same meaning in the booth structures, and they are equivalent to the dimensions of adolescents self-concept. Structures of these representations do not change between two examined ages. Canonical correlation showed that adolescents representations of how significant others see them, have influence on their self-concept, and that during the period of middle adolescence, information from peers are more significant.


In this paper, infinite-dimensional version of various simultaneous invariant subspaces are introduced, and their properties are investigated. Further, a robust disturbance-rejection problem with dynamic compensator is discussed, and under certain assumptions its solvability conditions are obtained.


components of the diabetic nephropathy disease process has remained virtually unexplored. An efficacious, inexpensive, carefully targeted dietary approach to decrease or delay diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients is highly possible and merited. Development of targeted intervention tools requires an appreciation of the underlying mechanism (s) of the pathology related to diabetic nephropathy. Because the pathophysiology is complex and involves many factors, the mechanisms involved in the development of diabetic nephropathy have not been fully characterized. However, increased cellular oxidative stress and alterations in the nitric oxide (NO) pathway have been shown to be involved in diabetic nephropathy. Hence, our laboratory has studied the effectiveness of effectiveness of L-arginine supplementation, the effectiveness of antioxidant (AO) diets and the role of oxidative stress, and administration a niacinbound chromium diet (NBC) on obesity-related Type 2 diabetic rats to determine the effects on renal function and on alterations of the NO pathway.1,2


A displaceable road traffic barrier comprises a block (1) preferably made of neoprene, having a hollow interior (11) of which the top is provided with a hole (12) through which the interior can communicate with the outside atmosphere. When said block is collided by a car or the like the air contained in the hollow interior will be smoothly discharged to the outside through the hole thereof thus reducing the violent collision therebetween and providing a significant anti-collision effect. The block may be suitably positioned between a post and a crash barrier or positioned against a kerb edge to give protection thereto.


Abstract A relay based on-line tuning method for PID controllers is presented. Due to a new structure to use the relay for identification reasons the method is well appropriate for a large class of linear and non-linear processes which may have load and noise disturbances. The new structure inserts a relay in parallel to a conventional P, PI or PID controller inducing limit cycle oscillations of small amplitude around the process value. With the limit cycle measurements, a transfer function model of the process dynamics is obtained by a robust identification method. Using a model based tuning algorithm the controller settings are retuned to achieve enhanced performance without disrupting the closed-loop control. The performance of the proposed scheme is discussed by different simulations to show the benefits of the new method.


Low flow statistics of various duration such as 1, 7, 15 and 30 days are often used to make decisions in water resources planning, management and water quality studies. Most locations where such low flow statistics are required do not coincide with streamflow gauging stations or do not have long streamflow records. Therefore an accurate estimate of low flow statistics at ungauged sites is a fundamental and widespread problem. Rainfall runoff water balance models can be used to generate streamflow records. However, daily water balance models are more complex than monthly water balance models as daily models need more information to model the catchment behaviour. Hence, the objective of this study was to explore possible links between d-day sustained low flows (eg. d =1, 7, 15 etc.) and monthly water balance model outputs. Consequently, regression models which relate low flow statistics to water balance model outputs were developed to predict low flows. The results indicates that over 80% efficiency in the monthly water balance model application and over 60% efficiency in the low flow prediction models. This study concludes that an appropriate monthly water balance model can be used effectively to predict low flows of shorter duration.


Smolyanov has introduced1 the term "Feynman formula" (in the configuration space) for the representation of a solution of a Cauchy problem by limit of integrals over finite Cartesian products of the domain of the solution when the number of multipliers tends to infinity. In this paper, such formulas (first written by Smolyanov, Shamarov and Kpekpassi in a short note2) are proved for a family of heat type equations where the spatial variable runs over 𝔭-adic space of countable sequences. Equations with 𝔭-adic variables describe, for example, the dynamics of proteins.


Sarma introduced the concept of (i, j)-bI-compact spaces with respect to an ideal in a bitopological space. In this paper, our aim is to present several characterizations of these spaces. Also, the class of (i, j)-bI-countably compact spaces is introduced with some of its properties. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 54E55.


Abstract The purpose of this study was to find out how leisure educator´s reason about children's learning and development, and their view of their own role in the process. Four leisure educators w ...


With a synthetical comparison of two kinds of deposits in Budunhua copper mine region, the paper con- clud that Jinjiling deposit and Kongqueshan deposit bear similarities in genesis, because they are both formed in a background of minerlization-fluid moving up, filling and replacing the wall rock. Based on the analysis of dominat- ing structure and magmatic activities, the author puts for- ward the concept of mineralization series of Budunhua copper mine and discusses possible model of wineraliza- tion.


The a i m of th is experiment is t o find  the properties o f cassia ve ra and , br eadfruit c har co al and char co al briquette. The kiln  us ed was the typical size  of 200 liter o il dr u m w ith specie L  design  in co rp o rating 12 h o l e s of  13 mm in d i amete r a t differe n t e l evations. The kil n also had a s h o rt c himney of 3 0 c m h ig h a t the top w i th 10 c m in diameter . Th e r es ul t showed t h at charc o al yield wer e 24 . 74 % fo r c as si a v era and 23.01 % for br e adfruit . V o latile matter was 18 . 6 1 %, fixed ca rb o n was 78.3 1 % and calorific value was 70 3 5 .03 cal/g  fo r cass ia ve r a ch arco a l and vo latil e matter was 14 . 27 %, fixed  carbo n was 73 . 1 0 % and calorifi c val u e wa s 6320 . 12 c al/ g for  br e adfru it c h a r coa l The mois tu re  content of char c oal brique t t e r a nge s from  8.41 to 5. 92 % ash co nt e nt fro m  4 . 65 to 5 . 0 3 % ,  vo l atile matter from 2 8 .87 t o 2 9 . 4 8 %, fixed ca rb on from  65 . 87 to 66.10 %, den s ity fro m  O . 11  t o 0 . 64 g/c m 3 ,  co mpr ess in g st r en g t h fr o m 275 t o 450 kg/c m 2 a nd t he calo r ific va l ue from  5684. 59 to 679 2. 58 cal/g. B ased o n t h e phy s ica l and c h e m i c al pr o perti e s, c a ss i a - ve r a a nd br e adfruit c har c oa l briqu e tte c an b e used as s ources of e n ergy .


The aim of this work is to survey and reflect on the various ways to integrate visualization and data mining techniques toward a mixed-initiative knowledge discovery taking the best of human and machine capabilities. Following a bottom-up bibliographic research approach, the article categorizes the observed techniques in classes, highlighting current trends, gaps, and potential future directions for research. In particular it looks at strengths and weaknesses of information visualization and data mining, and for which purposes researchers in infovis use data mining techniques and reversely how researchers in data mining employ infovis techniques. The article further uses this information to analyze the discovery process by comparing the analysis steps from the perspective of information visualization and data mining. The comparison permits to bring to light new perspectives on how mining and visualization can best employ human and machine skills.


3D wall panels are used in the construction of exterior and interior bearing and non-load bearing walls and floors of building of all types of construction. This system consists of a welded wire space frame integrated with a polystyrene insulation core and two layers of concrete on both sides. In this paper, attention is focused on the experimental measurements of the seismic response of 3D wall panels surrounded by a steel bending frame. The approach of quasi-static cyclic loading is employed using horizontal actuators to the combined system. The vertical, lateral and horizontal displacements are measured by LVDT equipment. The failure mechanism of 3D wall panels is described in detail. The evaluation of strength and stiffness degradation of the whole system is presented based on the envelope force-displacement curve of actual specimens under cyclic loads. The results of the current study are shown in the form of ductility factors, hysteresis loops and load-displacement envelope curves. The comparison between the ductility of sole steel frames, 3D shear walls and the combined system as the main theme of the current research is presented. Finally, this work clarifies the benefits of using 3D wall panels as a strengthening method for existing steel frame buildings and confirms the feasibility resistance of such combined systems.


In August 1945, Wendell Clark Bennett submitted his history and appraisal of the activities of the Ethnogeographic Board to its sponsors. Established in 1942 under the joint auspices of the National Research Council, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Social Sciences Research Council, and the Smithsonian Institute, the board was "a sample of broader activities" on the part of the scholarly community to establish bodies that would mediate between academic institutions and government agencies to aid in a "successful execution of the war."2 Bennett, a member of the board, noted and applauded the "marked increase in area consciousness on the part of academic institutions"3 since the beginning of World War 11. He emphasized the


Abstract The study aimed at investigating the rumen microbiome composition and functional activity in mid lactating cows of Italian Holstein (IH) and Italian Simmental (IS) breeds. Eight IH and eight IS pluriparous cows with days in milking (DIM) ranging from 90 to 180 were selected and rumen contents were sampled with oesophageal tube. Rumen metagenome was analysed using a whole shotgun sequencing. Data were analysed for taxonomic classification and microbial genes. The relative abundance of Archaea, the Archaea to Bacteria ratio and the Archaea to Eukarya ratio were higher (p < .05) in IS than IH cows. The comparison between IH and IS underlined differences for the abundances of Bacteria, being Bactroidaceae, Bacteroides, Prevotellaceae and Prevotella lower (p < .05) in IS than in IH cows. The IS cows showed higher abundances of Euryarchaeota (p < .05), Methanosphera (p < .01) and Methanothermobacter (p < .05) than IH cows. The annotation of sequences to KEGG revealed that 170 genes were differentially abundant between IS and IH cows and among these, 20% were involved in protein biosynthesis, 8.8% in one-carbon metabolism, as methyl coenzyme M reductase associated protein and of six isoforms of methyl coenzyme M reductase. The present results suggest a genetic link between breed and microbiome, although this interaction can be influenced by several biological factors. Considering that there are still a low number of whole genome shotgun sequencing analysis of rumen communities, these data can provide further information to scientific community.


ABSTRACT The paper reports on the experimental results of a vertical slot fishway (VSF) study. Particle image velocimetry and Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry were used to estimate the effects of a supplementary cylinder, appropriately positioned inside existing VSFs, on the hydraulic parameters and the instantaneous flow patterns. Special attention was paid to the analysis of the spatial flow distribution and to the instantaneous flow dynamics initiated by the addition of a cylinder. Modifications of velocity amplitudes, flow fluctuations and vorticity values were quantified for two dimensions of VSF. The contribution of a supplementary cylinder has been quantified in order to "smooth" the effects of turbulence and to facilitate the passage of the largest number of fish irrespective of their size or swimming capacity. The results provided insights on the control of the fishway turbulence, which might help engineers to develop effective systems for the passage of fish with low swimming capabilities.


adult-onset motor neuron disease characterized by a progressive paralysis and death, usually within 3–5 years of diagnosis. Mutations in the gene of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are the cause for a subset of familial variants, whereby most cases are so-called sporadic with still enigmatic etiologies. Transgenic mice expressing mutant versions of SOD1 develop an ALS-like phenotype characterized by the specific loss of motor neurons resulting in a paralyzed animal. So far, no effective treatment is available. Despite significant advances on the scientific level including genetics followed by the establishment of additional animal models, as well as an increasing number of internationally coordinated efforts to develop and perform clinical trials, promising pre-clinical data could not be translated into effective human therapies. The reasons are multifold, but two aspects might be the altered blood–brain barrier capabilities in mice and humans and the lack of multifunctional agents. In the current issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry, Shin and colleagues now present a new drug, AAD-2004, as a potential treatment for ALS that was developed from sulfasalazine as a lead compound to inhibit microglia activation and to act as a potent antioxidant based on its spin-trapping properties. (Shin et al. 2012). Both, oxidative stress and glia cells, have been postulated to be part of the detrimental cascade resulting in motor neuron loss. Oxidative damage to DNA, lipids, and proteins has been detected early during disease progression in mutantSOD1 mice as well as in patients, and is thus a prime candidate for the initiation of the disease process. Recent evidence suggests that this might not only be linked to SOD1-mediated disease, but also applies to TDP-43-mediated disorders: an altered redox signaling-induced TDP-43 disulfide cross-linking resulting in a pathologic cellular distribution and aggregation (Cohen et al. 2012). An increased production of superoxide radicals (O2 ) caused by mitochondrial damage in combination with the generation of nitric oxide (NO) results in the production of highly reactive peroxynitrate (ONOO), which might not only damage neurons directly, but could also affect glial–neuron communication (reviewed in Drechsel et al. 2012). Overwhelming evidence from animal and cellular studies shows that glia cells, in particular microglia, contribute to the pathogenesis of ALS in a mutant SOD1-dependent manner. Depletion of mutant SOD1 specifically in microglia (Boillee et al. 2006) or the substitution of mutant microglia by wildtype microglia (Beers et al. 2006) significantly extended mouse survival. In addition, anti-inflammatory drugs like minocycline or Cox2-inhibitors extend the life of transgenic mutant-SOD1 mice. In this context, microglial NADPH oxidase 2 has been identified as a source of detrimental superoxide production (Marden et al. 2007; Harraz et al. 2008) that might not only harm neighboring neurons, but also contribute to an increased inflammation reaction (Choi et al. 2012). The newly designed compound AAD-2004 now combines two properties that might directly intervene with the progression of disease. AAD-2004 is an effective spin-trap molecule to reduce oxidative burden (Shin et al. 2012). This might not only prevent direct oxidative damage to cells by the reduction of oxidatively modified proteins and their subsequent aggregation, but might also interrupt the vicious cycle


A ferrite/ bainite dual-phase low-carbon microalloying steel has been obtained by special microal-loying design and optimum thermo-mechanical control process(TMCP). The microstructure shows that there are some amounts of ferrite/quasi-polygonal ferrite on the prior-austenite boundary and/or within the grains, and the rest of matrix is ultra-fine lath-like bainitic ferrite. The ferrite grain size is also very fine (about several microns ). The mechanical properties of this kind of dual-phase steel show that the yield strength do not decrease obviously comparing with the ultra-fine bainitic steel, but the elongation increases. For a 700 MPa grade dual-phase steel (tempering at 680C for 1h), the elongation is more than 25%. This kind of dual-phase low-carbon microalloying steel has the advantages of more than 700 MPa grade strength and good ductility.


In this paper, we consider an analogue of the Lehmer's totient problem. Let p be a prime, n > 1 an integer. Let f(x) = a0 + a1x + · · · + at−1x + x ∈ Z/pZ[x] and φ(p, f(x)) be the Euler's totient function of f(x) over Z/pZ[x]. We obtain some results on φ(p, f(x))|p(n−1)t(pt − 1), which generalizes and solves the related Lehmer's totient problem in Z/pZ[x].


Through the survey result of the word "a few" in different roles in the process of its functions, this paper presents the semantic features of "a few" in Vietnamese on the semantic aspect from the perspective of functional linguistics. Also, compare the ways how to translate "a few" into English and modern Chinese rely on a corpus from To Hoai's work "Diary of a Cricket". Based on the results, summarize translation methods of "a few" into the same and different types of language, and propose recommendations and appropriate solutions to translation and related work.


The study revealed that the investment in agriculture of sample adopter groups increases from low group ('394835) to high group ('601814) and it was '476324.67 at the overall level. The area under summer groundnut crop was maximum (9.20 percent) in low adopters followed by medium (8.03 percent) and high adopter group (7.27 percent). Among the low, medium and high adopters, the use of seed has varied from 58.60 to 85.39 kg per ha. The wide difference in the use of seed was attributed due to various factors like variety, method of planting, spacing, etc. A very negligible quantity of manure was used by the low adopters (0.09 tonne), while it was 2.59 and 2.95 tonne in medium and high adopters. The total yield difference in summer groundnut was observed to 27.83 (low adapter), 26.63 (medium adapter) and 24.94 (high adapter) quintals per ha, respectively. The profit at Cost A, B and C was 42.29, 30.03 and 16.66 per cent of the gross income, respectively and the input: output ratio was observed to be 1.12. Among the different level of adoption groups, the maximum profit at Cost C was observed in high adoption group (19.06 percent) followed by medium (18.69 percent) and low (15.78 percent) adoption group.


Diastolic dysfunction increases left ventricular (LV) filling pressure and is the primary mechanism responsible for clinical findingsof heart failure. Currently, doppler echocardiography is the most valuable tool for noninvasive evaluation of diastolic function.Several approaches on basis of new doppler modalities (color M-mode Doppler and Doppler tissue imaging) have been recentlyproposed as useful methods for evaluation of LV relaxation. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between E/Vpand E/E in LV filling pressure measurement among patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. This study was an observational analyticstudy using cross sectional approach. Population were dilated cardiomyopathy patients who underwent echocardiographyexamination at the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases Dr.Soetomo during March-June 2011. The result showed there were 36patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, 14 women and 22 men who participated in this study. Nine patients with hypertension, 7diabetes, 7 coronary heart disease and 13 patients with other diseases (chronic kidney disease, stroke, peripartum cardiomyopathy).The mean ratio E/Vp was increased 2.28, but filling pressure had not incresed. The mean E/E' showed increasing results 23.82.Statistical test result showed that there is a weak positive correlation but not significant between E/Vp and E/E in LV filling pressuremeasurement among patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. In conclusion there is a weak positive correlation but not significantbetween E/Vp and E/E in LV filling pressure measurement among patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. (FMI 2014;50 30-33)


The Operations Assistant is an interactive decision support system designed to help manage a manufacturing facility. A material management version is described which analyzes the operation of gathering raw materials in a complex storeroom in order to insure that downstream assembly lines have the right material when they need it. The tool described has a user friendly interface and offers the necessary information for making decisions on the product entry sequences and work-in-progress reduction schemes. It can be applied to assembly shops, test areas, and storerooms. The general architecture of the Operations Assistant and how that architecture applies to material storage management are described.<<ETX>>


'Karla', 'Klages', 'Morex', and 'Steptoe' cultivars of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) differed in susceptibility to postemergence recommended application rates of diclofop {(±)-2-[4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenoxy] propanoic acid}, difenzoquat [1,2-dimethyl-3,5-diphenyl-1H-pyrazolium], chlorsulfuron {2-chloro-N-[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino] carbonyl] benzenesulfonamide}, and metribuzin [4-amino-6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-(methylthio)-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one] in 1981 and 1982. Metribuzin injured Morex, and difenzoquat injured all cultivars within 2 weeks after herbicide application. Metribuzin reduced height and crop biomass compared to the hand-weeded control. Herbicide treatments did not affect grain yield at Moscow, ID, in either year. However, metribuzin reduced yield of Karla and Morex, and diclofop reduced yield of Karla compared to the hand-weeded control at Pullman, WA, in 1982. Barley injury and grain yield loss depended on herbicide treatment and cultivar. Early season herbicide injury to barley did not indicate grain yield response at harvest.


s n r Background. Severe pulmonary graft failure (PGF) is he most common cause of death within the first 30 days fter lung transplantation. Extracorporeal membrane oxyenation (ECMO) may provide lifesaving temporary suport; however, its longer-term efficacy is controversial. Methods. We reviewed the use of ECMO for severe GF after lung transplantation, and compared the outomes between our early (1990 to 1999) and recent (2000 o 2003) experience utilizing improved initiation timing, xygenator technology, and surgical technique. Results. Ten transplant recipients from a total of 481 2.1%) were managed for PGF on ECMO by a multidisiplinary team at The Alfred Hospital. Four single-lung, bilateral single-lung, and 3 heart-lung recipients were upported for a mean of 96 hours (range 14 to 212 hours). n the early group (operation from 1990 to 1999, n 4) CMO was initiated 21 days (range 7 to 40 days) after


Zn(O 3 PC 6 H 5 )•H 2 O and Co(O 3 PC 6 H 5 )•H 2 O can be easily dehydrated to yield structures that are isomorphous with the corresponding monohydrate. The dehydration is reversible since both derivatives quickly reabsorb moisture from the atmosphere. The dehydration reaction leaves an open coordination site on the metal allowing both anhydrous zinc and cobalt phenylphosphonates to intercalate ammonia upon exposure to a flow of ammonia gas, as evidenced by FTIR, elemental analysis, and TGA data


A thick ceramic disk of 0.7Pb(Mg1/3(Nb0.9Ta0.1)2/3)O3-0.3PbTiO3 (PMNT-PT) was prepared by columbite precursor method with PbO powder buffer surrounding the disk during the sintering process. The dielectric and piezoelectric properties and the microstructure of PMNT-PT samples cut from the different depths of the disk are studied. The phase purity is homogenous in the whole disk within our x-ray diffraction resolution. The dielectric constants, and the piezoelectric effect, d33, vary with different samples. The samples cut from the middle parts of the disk have the higher d33. It is believed that the sample processes, especially the Pb volatilization is responsible for these results.


The bulk of developmental work on transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) has been somewhat empirical. This statement applies both to more familiar materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and to less-well-known materials that have emerged in recent years. In this article, we place a greater emphasis on more fundamental research. Our eventual goal is to gain a thorough understanding of these materials, their potential for further improvement, whether or not they suggest new and potentially superior materials, and the way their properties are influenced by structural and other issues. We also hope to provide guidelines to other researchers working in this area. We have investigated films of cadmium oxide (CdO), cadmium stannate (Cd2SnO4 or CTO), and zinc stannate [Zn2SnO4 (ZTO)]. The CdO was prepared by chemical-vapor deposition, whereas the stannates were prepared by rf sputtering. In both cases, Corning 7059 glass substrates were used. However, some depositions were also made onto tin oxide, which had a pro...


The WTO dispute resolution panel said that China's quotas were "designed to achieve industrial policy goals rather than conservation [of natural resources]" and were inconsistent with the rules established by the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) in 1994, also acknowledged by China.

The WTO's verdict was welcomed by the US, the EU and Japan, which complained about China's rare earths exports restrictions in 2012, following a surge in rare earths prices in 2011 as a consequence of the Chinese quotas.

"Regardless of the appeal's outcome, China's policy objectives to protect the environment and natural resources will not change," [Shen Danyang] added.


In order to improve the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, which is a popular metaheuristic method for global optimization, we already proposed a PSO exploiting a chaotic dynamical system with sinusoidal perturbations, where chaotic and standard particles search for solutions cooperatively. In this paper, we propose multi-type swarms for the chaotic PSO which has three kinds of particles, the standard, chaotic and PS particles, and two kinds of best solutions, the global best and promising solutions: The chaotic particle searches for solutions chaotically and extensively in the feasible region to update the promising solution, while the standard particle executes the detail search around the global best solution which is updated by all particles. Moreover, PS particle searches for solutions in detail around the promising solution in the same way of the standard particle to inform the promising region found by the chaotic particles to the standard particles. Through computational experiments, we verify the performance of the proposed model by applying it to some global optimization problems.


This study investigates the possibility of achieving unity energy response using the very sensitive CaSO4:Dy/Teflon thermoluminescent detector at photon energies below 100 keV. Accurate measurements for the energy responses were carried-out using ultra thin, 3 micron thick, TLD discs with average grain size of about 3μm. The present work shows that the experimental reduction factor for the 15 % phosphor loading with average grain size of 3 μm is in good agreement with the calculation based on the cavity theory but at grain size of 1.0 μm. This indicates that the cavity theory is underestimating the real experimental reduction factor in the energy response. The present work expect that unity energy response can be achieved with grain size of about 1 μm.


Deployment of direct grid feeding solar Photovoltaic (PV) inverters are increasing. With the increase in PV penetration, fluctuation in Point of Common Coupling (PCC) voltage occurs more frequently. This happens due to weather dependent active power generation characteristics of PV inverters. Voltage variation might also violate ANSI C84.1 standard. On Load Tap Changing (OLTC) transformers are installed at Medium Voltage level to maintain the PCC voltage to its nominal value. OLTC experiences increased number of tap changing operations due to voltage fluctuations causing reduced life span of the transformer and OLTC components. To address this issue, a scheme is proposed to optimally inject reactive power through PV inverter which ensures minimal number of tap changing operations along with minimum losses in line. To validate this scheme, simulation is carried out with grid connected PV inverters at the distribution level with different levels of reactive power compensation. It is shown that optimal level of reactive power compensation can be chosen to achieve good compromise between the number of tap changes and losses in the line.


The iterative algorithm presented in this paper partitions an image into piecewise-constant regions. Each iteration consists of three steps. The first step extracts edges from the image. The extracted edges, which must exhibit high connectivity, are computed using a Laplacian- like morphological edge detector in the first iteration and a simple gradient thresholding in subsequent iterations. After the first iteration, the edge detector operates on a piecewise- constant image for which the edge detection problem is well defined and well posed. In the second step, a fast one-pass averaging of connected pixels within closed boundaries defines the regions in the image. Finally, edge pixels (both true and spurious edge pixels) are each assigned to an underlying region. The advantages of this algorithm are: (1) both local and region-based information are incorporated, (2) convergence occurs in a few iterations, and (3) the component operations are relatively simple.


In this work we present a novel genetic programming based iterative improvement approach for hardware/software cosynthesis of distributed embedded systems. The approach starts from a ready solution which is an embryo of a genotype. Other nodes in the genotypes are chromosomes. The chromosomes contain system refinement options. The final solution is obtained after evolution process and mapping genotype to phenotype. Unlike existing genetic programming iterative improvement methodologies our algorithm starts from randomly generated system. Therefore the search space is not constrained by any initial condition. It is also easier for the algorithm to escape local minima of optimizing parameters.


By identifying sheep with a genetic or environmentally-induced propensity for stress, it is possible to manage or select against those sheep to minimise stress and improve the welfare and ease of handling of the entire flock. In this study we used established behavioural measures, including flight speed and agitation scores. However, behavioural measurements can be difficult and time consuming. Therefore we also assessed the possibility of using facial wool cover, a subjective score already used by industry, as an indicator for behavioural reactivity in sheep. This study investigated the 2008-2010 cohorts of the Information Nucleus. Eight flocks totaling 11,047 lambs were tested. Flight speed and agitation were measured at 2-6 weeks postweaning. Lambs were assigned face cover scores at 8 months of age. Low to moderate heritability estimates of flight speed (0.11±0.02) and agitation (0.20±0.02) indicate that while there is an inherent component to behaviour as measured in these tests, that component is small. A moderate genetic correlation was found between flight speed and agitation (0.19±0.10), though the phenotypic correlation was low. Heavier and female lambs were more reactive than lighter and male lambs in both behavioural tests. Terminal sire x Merino cross lambs were faster in the flight speed test than other types (pure Merino or second cross). In one flock, younger lambs were more reactive in the agitation test. The two behavioural traits varied independently such that flocks with high average flight speeds did not necessarily have high average agitation scores. Face cover score was highly heritable (0.39±0.03), similar to earlier work. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between behaviours and face cover were low, indicating face cover will not be a useful indicator for these behavioural tests.


An in-house, lipid-based, microbubble ultrasound contrast agent has been successfully targeted to a streptavidin coated agar surface and SK-Hep-1 cells. Initial investigations assessed the strength of attachment of the agent to an agar surface via a streptavidin-biotin bond. The strength of this bond was found to be 75 times stronger than a control investigation in which the biotinylated agent was 'attached' to an uncoated agar surface. The in-house agent was then targeted to SK-Hep-1 cells using a streptavidin-biotin bridge. Streptavidin was found to attach to over 90% of the microbubble population with antibodies successfully attaching to 75.4% of the microbubble population. Adhesion of SK-Hep-1 cells under low wall shear stress has also been assessed.


The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 34 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to coordinate domestic and international policies. This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and the arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. No translation of this document may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to email@example.com.


Diabetic patients show hemobiological abnormalities such as increased platelet adhesiveness, platelet hyperaggregability, decreased platelet half life, hemorheological abnormalities and altered fibrinolysis, perhaps contributing to a procoagulative state. Gliclazide, a novel sulfonylurea in routine clinical use, was thought to have effects on prostanoid release and platelet function. We studied thromboxane A 2 metabolite; serum thomboxane B 2 (TXB 2 ) and the prostacyclin metabolite, 6-keto-PGF 1α to assess the efficacy of gliclazide on these parameters. Two groups of age and sex matched type II diabetics were examined in the study. There were 16 subjects in each group (F:M= 10/6). The study period was 12 weeks. Gliclazide was given to the first group and insulin to the second. Following parameters were


In Worldwide Interoperability of Microwave Access(WiMAX) Mesh network,resource allocation can be handled by centralized schedule scheme and distributed schedule scheme,but most QoS researches focus on one of the schemes.This paper proposes a QoS guarantee mechanism named CDCSQ(Combined Distributed and Centralized Schedule QoS),which combines the two schedule schemes.QoS is improved by adopting different schedule schemes for different services.Centralized schedule is used to guarantee real-time services and distributed schedule is used to enable direct communication between two nodes in Mesh network.Simulation results show that the service delay of the mechanism is less than that of IEEE 802.16 standard.


The purpose of this paper is to develop a general framework for supply contracts in which portfolios of contracts can be analyzed and optimized. We focus on a multi-period environment with convex supply contracts, convex spot market costs and convex inventory holding costs. We characterize the optimal replenishment policy for a portfolio consisting of long-term and option contracts and show that this policy has a simple structure. Specifically, we show that every source of supply is managed using a modified base-stock policy. We also provide structural properties that allow to efficiently design an optimal portfolio. In particular, we derive conditions to identify dominated contracts, and show the relationship between the amount of capacity reserved and the base-stock levels. Finally, we present computational results, that illustrate the sensitivity of the optimal portfolio to several of the parameters involved in the model. Our experiments also indicate that portfolio contracts not only increase the manufacturer's expected profit but can also reduce its financial risk.


In one embodiment, there is provided an arrangement for providing a mobile IP-CAN gateway function, said arrangement comprising: - a first interface between the gateway node, the second node and the first gateway and the second gateway node, - an interface link by said first gateway node and the second, for the mobile IP-CAN and presenting an external IP network is a mobile IP-CAN gateway, the IP-CAN to the mobile IP network interface connection, - the said first gateway node, located in the mobile IP-CAN, providing those traffic handling functions of the mobile IP-CAN gateway, referred to as first traffic handling functions, the function of the mobile IP-CAN gateway towards said mobile IP-CAN interface termination of related, - the second gateway node, the fixed IP-CAN, there is provided a mobile traffic handling IP-CAN gateway, referred to as second flow processing function, the function does not said mobile IP-CAN gateway towards said mobile IP-CAN interface terminates related.


This paper is concerned about detection and estimation of malicious attacks on the network and the linear physical system of a networked control system (NCS) by using linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based technique. Certain class of attacks on the communication network impacts the traffic flow causing network delays and packet losses to increase which in turn affects the stability of the NCS. Therefore in this paper, a novel observer-based scheme is proposed to capture the abnormal traffic flow at the bottleneck node of the communication network via the attack detection residual. An LMI-based design is proposed that ensures both system stability and H-infinity performance and also detects attacks on the network as well as on the physical system. Upon detection, the physical system is stabilised by adjusting the controller gains provided certain conditions are met. Both simulation and hardware implementation results are included to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed scheme.


This report is one of a series of preliminary reports describing the laws and regulatory programs of the United States and each of the 50 states affecting the siting and operation of energy generating facilities likely to be used in Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES). Public utility regulatory statutes, energy facility siting programs, and municipal franchising authority are examined to identify how they may impact on the ability of an organization, whether or not it be a regulated utility, to construct and operate an ICES. This report describes laws and regulatory programs in Arizona. The Arizona state constitution establishes the Arizona Corporation Commission to regulate public service corporations. Within the area of its jurisdiction, the Commission has exclusive power and may not be interfered with by the legislature except in one narrow instance as described in the case Corporation Commission v. Pacific Greyhound Lines.


The current proliferation and ubiquity of electronic applications and services has motivated the need for user authentication means, which must be convenient and reliable at the same time. Nowadays, access control and user authentication are common tasks that are usually performed with tokens or passwords. In the case of handheld devices, user authentication is performed in most cases with passwords that are provided through keypad-based monomodal interfaces. Biometric-based systems represent an alternative to traditional user validation methods, as they rely on anatomical (e.g. fingerprint, iris) or behavioral (e.g. voice, signature) traits to authenticate a user (Jain, Ross & Pankanti, 2006). AbsTRACT


The aim of this article is to understand how the philosophy contributes to decision making in organizations. An exploratory literature research to classic authors of philosophy was conducted to conceptualize such thoughts and relate them to the decisions taken in the day-to-day business. Furthermore, a case study of the company Bovespa was conducted, from 2001 to 2007, when the president was Raymundo Magliano Filho, philosophy and policy's scholar more than forty years, who became known as a "Bolsas's revolutionary", for using his knowledge in the process of democratization and popularization of Bovespa. Based on the literature concepts that were studied and on the case study mentioned above, it is possible to conclude that philosophy is present in the daily life of organizations, implicitly or explicitly, and that it is through philosophical thinking and critical reflection of events that changes that have a positive impact in organizations can happen.


In [GM1], we defined a G_R-K_C invariant subset C(S) of G_C for each K_C-orbit S on every flag manifold G_C/P and conjectured that the connected component C(S)_0 of the identity would be equal to the Akhiezer-Gindikin domain D if S is of nonholomorphic type by computing many examples. In this paper, we first prove (in Theorem 1.3 and Corollary 1.4) this conjecture for the open K_C-orbit S on an ``arbitrary'' flag manifold generalizing the result of Barchini. This conjecture for closed S was solved in [WZ1], [WZ2] (Hermitian cases) and [FH] (non-Hermitian cases). We also deduce an alternative proof of this result for non-Hermitian cases from Theorem 1.3.


To the Editor. —Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) is an agent mostly used for in vitro testing of lymphocyte transformation. Less attention has been paid to its possible use as a nonspecific skin antigen for the in vivo assessment of delayed-type hypersensitivity.1,2Similarly to the common recall antigens, ie, PPD, streptokinase-streptodornase, candidin, and others, the intradermal inoculation of PHA causes perivascular cell infiltration consisting of both polynuclear and mononuclear cells, with some lymphocytes developing to blastlike cells.1 In the FebruaryArchives(1982; 142:291-293), Burke et al, in an article entitled "Immune Responses to Varicella-Zoster in the Aged," comment on the skin reactions to intradermal injections of PHA in healthy volunteers and in immunologically compromised patients. As far as the healthy aged subjects are concerned, their results are fully in agreement with our investigation,3carried out in a nursing home for the elderly. We have observed normal PHA skin responses even


Abstract It is now a communis opinio that Newton's metaphysics was highly theologically inspired. I will refer to this intertwinement by using the word "onto-theology," i.e. a metaphysical system that is mainly derived from some fundamental theological assumptions. I will present the constituents of Newton's onto-theology. One important, but often neglected stratum of Newton's metaphysics is the "secularization of God." Newton, then, was not only a reformer in science, he also was a defender of a more rationalized, i.e. secularized, conception of God. As we will see, God and all other existing entities exist on the same ontological level. Newtonian metaphysics can thus be seen as the expression of how religious attitudes adapted themselves to or secularized themselves in a world of growing complexity wherein the scientific outlook became more and more central. This analysis has implications for the secularization-debate. It will be argued that the secularization-process not only involved differentiating tendencies between the profane and the secular (as is widely accepted by the differentiation-thesis), but that unifying tendencies (exemplified by Newton's unified onto-theology) were equally important.


Abstract In typical stress management programmes, working adults acquire various coping skills for managing work stress. In addition to building coping skills, we propose the inclusion of a "meta skill" of coping flexibility, which helps individuals to recognize the distinctions among the coping requirements of diverse stressful events and to facilitate employment of appropriate skills for handling the specific demands of those events. Our study tested this proposal by comparing the efficacy of a new coping flexibility intervention with that of a commonly adopted cognitive-behavioural intervention in reducing depression. We randomly assigned 161 healthy Chinese working adults (55 men, 106 women, M age=32 years) to (1) attend a coping flexibility intervention for acquiring both coping skills and coping flexibility, (2) attend a cognitive-behavioural intervention for acquiring coping skills only, or (3) a waiting list to receive an intervention after the study had been completed. Participants were followed up four months later. Those who had attended the coping flexibility intervention reported the largest increase in levels of coping flexibility, and such an increase corresponded to a reduction in depression immediately and four months after the intervention. These results indicate the value of teaching individuals to adapt their coping strategies to specific requirements of stressful situations.


1. A medicament for the treatment of autoimmune inflammatory syndrome in a patient in need thereof, wherein the medicament comprises IL-1 beta binding human antibody, wherein the antibody comprises: a first domain having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, and a second domain having an amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 2, and wherein said inflammatory autoimmune syndrome is periodic syndrome associated with tumor necrosis factor receptor (TRAPS) .2. A medicament according to claim 1, wherein the antibody is ACZ885.3. A method for treating periodic syndrome associated with tumor necrosis factor receptor (TRAPS), comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of IL-1beta binding antibody as defined in claim 1 or p.2.4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said antibody is parenterally administered in a dosage between 0.1-50 mg of antibody per kg of body weight patsienta.5. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said antibody is administered at a dose of between 0.5-20 mg antibody per kg body weight patsienta.6. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said antibody is administered at a dose between 1-10 mg of said antibody per kg body weight patsienta.7. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said antibody is administered once every week or less chastotoy.8. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said antibody is administered once every month or less chastotoy.9. A method according to claim 3, wherein said antibody is administered to a patient podkozhno.10. A method according to claim 3, wherein said antibody is administered to a patient vnutrivenno.11. A pharmaceutical composition for treating periodic syndrome associated with tumor necrosis factor receptor (TRAPS), including IL-1 beta binding human antibody, wherein


The main purpose of the study was to revalidate and generate a progress report of the Timken India Limited, Jamshedpur, after having introduced and implemented Lean Six-sigma Culture for a year in the company and also suggest a few recommendations to improve the current score status as obtained.


In order to measure the bubble departure frequency, a flow visualization system was set up on a vertical annulus test section with a heater rod by using a high-speed camera. In this study, we developed an efficient methodology of image processing for obtaining the bubble departure frequency data. Bubble nucleation was investigated under various thermal hydraulic conditions of water, which correspond to pressures from 167 to 346 kPa, mass fluxes from 214 to 1869 kg/m2s, heat fluxes from 61 to 238 kW/m2, and subcooling degrees from 7.5 to 23.4 K. The characteristics of bubble departure frequency were analyzed with the present data. The measured data was compared with models available in existing literature and a more plausible model was proposed.


The recent scandals related to failure of several companies have developed a sense of negligence in the role of the auditor. That person has been blamed directly or indirectly for the lack of continuity of an entity's activity. Even though an auditor has the ability and technical capacity to anticipate business failure in much broader context, the auditors duty is to issue formal statement based strictly on accounting figures.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a new view on the issue of emitting going opinion by an auditor. The classical perspective on this subject, represented by Altman among others, included the going concern as a step forward in the auditor's task. The approach in this article evaluates the process of emitting a going concern opinion and concludes that this task is not contemplated in the elaboration of a traditional auditing report, but a complementary activity. Furthermore, as the opinion is released to the public, it should be understood as a warning not as an actual failure with consequence of liquidation.

Proposed here is not a solution to the problem but a change in focus in order to arrive at a proper way of focusing on that problem. If this can be achieved, we may all be on the road to a satisfactory solution.


The burden of self-reported arthritis on BMI, self-reported mobility and timed gait speed among adults aged 50+ in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa : Results from WHO SAGE WAVE 1


This article uses citation analysis to identify important scholars and influential recent contributions in personality and social psychology. The number of pages on which scholars were cited in seven current social psychology texts was used as a measure of individual eminence. A list was compiled of all the articles (N=841) and chapters (N=38) published between 1977 and 1981 in JPSP and Berkowitz's Advances in Experimental Social Pyschology. The impact of these items was assessed by counting (via the Social Science Citation Index) the number of times each item was cited in 1982. The 50 most eminent scholars are listed and compared with those who were most eminent approximately six years earlier. The 31 most frequently cited articles and chapters are also presented. This list suggests that the field's attention is focused on cognitive processes, androgyny, self-monitoring and learned helplessness.


During the last decade, several molecules regulating tooth development have been identified (http://bite-it.helsinki.fi/). Especially members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) supergene family, structurally relates cytokines, are essential for teeth to develop. These include TGF-βs, activin A, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), and their cell surface receptors. In addition, follistatin, an extracellular protein that interacts with activin and BMP signalling, appears to be an important mediator of associated inductive signals. Enhanced or impaired TGF-β/BMP signalling may play a role in odontogenic tumorigenesis. This review focuses on findings of our studies on the roles played by of TGF-β receptors, their ligands and extracellular modifiers during tooth development and in odontogenic tumours.


The influence of the injection system on combustion instabilities is investigated in this work by making use of systematic experiments with three swirlers having similar geometries, but different pressure losses and swirl numbers. The swirling injectors are tested in a laboratory-scale swirl-stabilized combustor called SICCA-spray that represents one segment of the MICCA-spray annular combustor. Measurements are performed with liquid heptane fuel, delivered as a hollow cone spray by a pressure atomizer. Self-sustained oscillations are examined for the different swirlers by varying the chamber length. Test results show differences in oscillation frequency and oscillation amplitude between the different swirlers. Acoustic damping estimated for each swirler under cold flow conditions reveal their distinct behavior. This, however, is not enough to explain the differences observed in the unstable behavior of the various systems. .


In this paper, a Hamiltonian formulation of the Cosserat rod model is proposed. The model, based on the Cossert rod theory incorporates shear, elongation, flexure and twist deformation, is of multi-symplectic structure. A multi-symplectic algorithm is employed to discretize the equation and a numerical example is giving.


This paper empirically examines the determinants of margins for a unique dataset of 8,120 mortgage loans with fixed interest rates of a medium-sized Swiss bank over the period from 2000 to 2009. Our margin determinants include loan-specific factors, as well as external and bank-specific characteristics, some of which have not been considered in previous studies. Our results reveal that loan-specific factors explain a substantial part of our dependent variable. Furthermore, external factors such as GDP growth and inflation also significantly affect mortgage loan margins. The declining mortgage loan margins can be further explained by means of increasing operational efficiency and a growth strategy of the bank.


T he survey results reported here were part of a presentation at a conference on "Seri als: Problems and Prospects" sponsored by the College of Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky held in February 1990. The author's experience with periodicals in college li braries suggested that the problems which smaller predominantly undergraduate institutions face are different than those of larger universities which serve graduate students and a large community of research faculty.1 Specifically, the author believed that the escalating costs of serials which confront


Digital image correlation is a new experimental method for measuring full-field displacement and strain.In this method,the correlation function and the size of the subset are the key factors for calculating accuracy.In this paper,the influence of two factors on the accuracy of strain measurement under normal light and the Gaussian uneven lighting conditions respectively is studied by using speckle images of the known strain deformation.The optimal correlation function and subset size are obtained for various measurement requirements.Finally,the measuring accuracy of this method is verified and analyzed with the tensile experiments.


SUBTITLE: MIDLANDS METRO LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IS ESPECIALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE OF THE RECENT PROPOSAL FOR A NEW PASSENGER RAIL SYSTEM BETWEEN JOHANNESBURG AND PRETORIA.


The steel turning AISI 52100 has been gaining prominence in industry in recent years, as it allows machined parts to have better quality without the need for furthers processes. However, to ensure the final product quality, it is important that the turning for machining procedure is well planned and prepared, so that the cutting tools have their wear minimized in the process, while putting good productivity rates and zero occurrences of reworked parts. Thus, this article will study the quality of the machined surface in the turning process using interchangeable PCBN inserts. The aim is to identify the optimal combination of the input parameters that are cutting speed (Vc), feed (f) and machining depth (ap). The response measured is the roughness parameter Ra, under the influence of cutting fluid and tool wear.


Storm surge in the Chengshantou sea area is simulated by the advanced circulation (ADCIRC) model. The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) wind model is used to simulate wind parameters used to be wind force of storm surge model. The comparison results of storm surges show good agreement between simulations and observations. The storm surge is caused by typhoon in summer but extratropical cyclone in winter. By statistical analysis of storm surge in 20 years, it is found that the annual max negative storm surge are all caused by extratropical cyclone while the frequency of annual max positive storm surge caused by tropical cyclone is about 20%. The extreme parameters are estimated by Gumbel distribution. The positive extreme storm surge of 100 year return period is determined as 95 cm and the negative is -124 cm.


A method is performed by two or more devices of a group of devices in a distributed data replication system. The method includes receiving, at the two or more devices, a group of chunks having a same unique temporary identifier, where the group of chunks comprises an object to be uploaded; creating an entry for the object in a replicated index, where the entry is keyed by the unique temporary identifier, and where the replicated index is replicated at each of the two or more devices; and determining, by an initiating device of the two or more devices, that a union of the group of chunks contains all data of the object. The method also includes calculating a content-based identifier to the object; creating another entry for the object in the replicated index, where the other entry is keyed by the content-based identifier; and updating the replicated index to point from the unique temporary identifier to the content-based identifier.


This work was funded through the Beaufort Marine Research Award, which is carried out under the Sea Change Strategy and the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (2006-2013), with the support of the Marine Institute, funded under the Marine Research Sub-Programme of the National Development Plan 2007–2013.


The physics of phase transitions can be modeled by an arrangement of sites in a d-dimensional lattice known as the Ising model, in which each site is assigned either a positive or negative spin. In this paper, we will rst provide an introduction to the Ising model. We will dene the partition function of an Ising system, and present the problem of its computation. In 1993, Jerrum and Sinclair developed a revolutionary new approximation algorithm for the partition function of an arbitrary ferromagnetic Ising system. The key innovation Jerrum and Sinclair presented is a new Markov chain known as the Subgraphs-world model from which we can sample random states of the Ising system. The Subgraphsworld chain proves to be rapidly mixing, which allows us to eciently approximate the partition function through sampling. We will introduce the chain, and show that it is rapidly mixing.


The agricultural and natural resources industries are increasingly faced with remarks and skepticism from consumers and activists alike. Equipping those in industry as well as college graduates with skills to effectively share agriculture's story through a variety of mediums continues to increase in importance. This qualitative study sought to explore learning objectives and curriculum goals that agricultural advocates have for an undergraduate agricultural advocacy course. Phone interviews with individuals involved in agricultural advocacy revealed two-way communication skills were important when communicating with the public. Active listening, communicating with an open mind, communicating at a level of understanding, and equipping oneself with an arsenal of industry knowledge and contacts were found to be key learning outcomes for a course such as this. Further, role-playing activities, professional experiences, and online media communication abilities were also found to be important class assignments, activities, and skills that would allow students to perfect these two-way communication skills. From the findings of this study, undergraduate educators may have a better understanding of the importance of incorporating two-way communications into their curriculum as well as have a guideline for developing a course for agricultural advocacy within their agricultural education, communications, and leadership programs. The findings of this study may also help communications practitioners and Extension personnel as they prepare for agricultural advocacy efforts within their organizations.


This thesis reports a study that investigated the effects of pre-task planning and online planning on L2 writing performance and L2 writing development. Learners' pre-task planning and while-writing processes were also examined. It aimed to produce findings that would contribute to the theoretical issues of how allocation of attenional resources affects learners' language use and how practicing in different task conditions influences L2 development as well as pedagogical issues of how tasks can be manipulated in L2 classrooms to promote L2 learning. It attempted to fill the research gaps in task planning literature in terms of the longer-term effects of planning, which has been lacking, the effects of planning on written production, which is scanty, and how pre-task planning affects during-task attentional allocation. The study was conducted in a Chinese university and seventy-five non-English major freshmen participated in the study. At the beginning of the study, the participants all completed a writing task in 25 minutes, which served as a pre-test. They were then assigned into three groups for treatment: a no planning group (NP), which had 15 minutes to complete each writing task; an online planning group (OLP), which had 25 minutes to complete each task, and a pre-task planning group (PTP), which had 10 minutes to plan before completing the task in 15 minutes. They completed four experimental writing tasks under different task conditions on a weekly basis. The four experimental tasks were all compare/contrast type of essays but with different topics. A week after the last experimental task, participants wrote another writing task all under the same writing condition, which served as a posttest. In the following week, a post-task questionnaire survey and an interview were administered to collect data on participants' pre-task planning and while-writing processes. Ten weeks later, a delayed posttest was administered in the same way as the posttest. Learners' written production was measured in terms of accuracy, complexity, fluency, and organization. Results revealed that neither pre-task planning nor online planning affectedL2 writing performance in terms of accuracy, syntactic complexity, or organization of the


This article introduces the special issue of Science Communication on "nanotechnology and the public." It argues that studies of "nanotechnology and the public" are important not for themselves, but for their ability to shed light on more general social theories, especially those that help illuminate the interweaving of science and society.


Vacchagotta, whose questions about the immortality of the soul and the eternality of the world the Buddha famously refused to answer, would nevertheless later say that the Buddha 'has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark'. In the Milinda-pañhā, the Greek King Menander challenges the Buddhist monk Nāgasena to explain how it could be that the Buddha was willing to remain silent and yet also assert that he had nothing to hide; that unlike other teachers he did not keep some things 'in his fist':