This article summarizes the findings of the majority of Iraqi studies and lists the most common zoonotic and non-zoonotic parasites. As a result of the proper reporting of protozoa, helminthes, hard and soft ticks, a large number of parasites have been described and distributed throughout Iraq. Toxoplasma, Theileria, Babesia, plasmodium, Anaplasma, Microfilaria, cryptosporidium, giardia, Eimeria, Balantidium, and Entamoeba were among the protozoa that were frequently recorded. Helminths of the genera Dicrocoelium, Habronema, Echinococcus, Dictyocaulus, Trichostrongylus, Parascaris, Oxyuris, Cyathostomum, Anoplocephala, Setaria , and Fasciola have been reported to affect all types of horses, whether they are on grass or in stalls. Hard and soft ticks, as well as Sarcoptes, were the only ectoparasites that were frequently observed. Parasitic fly species from the Gasterophilus genus were also discovered. In Iraq, parasitic infections in horses are common and caused by a variety of parasites, posing a health risk and causing significant economic losses. Emaciation, fever, pale mucosal membranes, jaundice, colic, and diarrhoea are all symptoms of infected equines with piroplasms, which are also accompanied by anemia, leukocytosis, and hyperbilirubinemia. Parasitic infections are linked to a number of risk factors (age, gender, activity, location, and season), and zoonotic parasites pose a greater risk to horsemen. All parasitic infections should be treated intramuscularly, with the exception of ivermectin, which should be taken orally. Not only are coprological examinations to identify distributed species and chronic infections, but also modern methods are used to control vectors and conduct further research.


We present an architecture for programmable nanophotonic processors capable of arbitrary discrete transformations for quantum and classical applications. A method to combat fabrication imperfections with high fidelity is discussed along with initial experimental results.


This paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning algorithm for autonomous robotics, in which we modify twin delay deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) to adapt for autonomous robots with higher degree freedom in movement. To provide a robot with free movement in the 2D space without collisions against some obstacles, such as wall, a robot is equipped with three cameras. The images captured by camera are used to train Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to understand environment with collisions or not-collisions. We added two additional parameters, observation' O', which are images obtained from cameras, and degrees of turns' deg' into the original TD3' s parameters composed of four values: [state's', reward 'r', action 'a' and next-state's' ']. To determine a next action with higher reward from the observation, two additional Neural Networks are constructed, being the first one determines an action from observation and the second one determines degree of turn from the observation and the action. The simulation results under three environments constructed by CoppeliaSim show a good performance of the proposed algorithm, reaching the target with higher rewards, even though the environments are unknown by robots.


A general analytical framework for the determination of the mean field states at arbitrary rational filling factors for the 2DEG in FQHE regime is given. Its use allows to obtain analytic expressions for the solutions at filling factors of the form � = 1/q for arbitrary odd q. The analysis can be performed for two general classes of states characterized by = 1 or = 1 particles per unit cell. Instead of the periodic peaks of the Wigner solid solution, the new states show electron densities forming percolating ridges that may favor an energy decrease through correlated ring of exchange contributions. Therefore, we estimate that they can realize mean field versions of the so called Hall Crystal (HC) states. The obtained analytic HC solution shows the same crystalline symmetry that the corresponding WC state in its class = 1, but a qualitatively different charge density distribution. The energy dependence of the corresponding HC and WC states on the filling factor is also evaluated here for the class = 1/2. The results show a crossover between HC state and the Wigner crystal, close to filling 1/7. Therefore, transitions may occur from one to the other as the electron density is varied. This result is consistent with recent experimental findings. PACS numbers: 73.43.Cd, 73.43.-f


We report on an adaptive mirror system that allows generating thermo-optically controlled wavefront corrections. The influence of the wavefront is based on the thermal dependence of the refractive index in a thin active layer. The thermal pattern in the active layer is generated by irradiation with a diode laser emitting at 805 nm. The active layer consists of a diluted aqueous solution of NdCl3. A Michelson interferometer is used to measure the wavefront distortions. A phase shift of 6π with a lateral resolution of better than 1 mm and a temporal rise/fall time of a few seconds can be achieved with an absorbed power of only 150 mW at an intensity of about 10 W/cm2.


As optical lithography advances into the 65nm technology node and beyond, minimum feature size outpaces the lithography wavelength. As a result, mask/wafer manufacturing yield improvement and cost reduction have been widely accepted as key factors for aggressive technology scaling. This thesis is concerned with the following four manufacturability/manufacturing problems.
Fracturing. Mask manufacturing for the 90nm and 65nm nodes increasingly deploys variable shaped-beam mask writing machines. The pervasive use of OPC leads to dramatic increase in the number of thin trapezoids, which significantly decrease the mask manufacturing yield. This thesis suggests an optimal integer linear programming based fracturing approach and fast heuristics which substantially reduce sliver count in comparison to leading commercial fracturing tools.
MPW. Multi-project wafers (MPW) provide an attractive mask manufacturing cost reduction solution for low-volume production designs by sharing the cost of mask tooling among up to tens of designs. This thesis proposes a comprehensive MPW flow aimed at minimizing manufacturing cost through (1) multi-project reticle floorplanning, and (2) wafer shot-map and dicing plan definition.
PSM. In the context of wafer manufacturing, Alternating-Aperture Phase Shift Masking (AAPSM) will be used to image critical features on the polysilicon layer at advanced technology nodes. This technology imposes additional constraints on IC layouts, beyond traditional design rules. Phase conflicts must be detected and removed to enable the use of AAPSM. This thesis makes two key contributions: (1) a new, computationally efficient approach to detect a minimal set of phase conflicts, which when corrected will produce a phase-assignable layout; and (2) a novel layout modification scheme for correcting phase conflicts in standard-cell blocks.
Redundant vias. Finally, a large part of wafer manufacturing yield loss is due to via voids, which can be relieved by redundant via insertion or via doubling. This thesis proposes perfect matching based post-route via doubling which achieves optimum yield improvement. Redundant interconnects or "short loops" are also applied to maximize the number of doubled vias. Experimental results show that near 100% via doubling coverage can be achieved with simultaneously optimal redundant via and short loop insertion in the post-route stage.


A novel technique to significantly increase the brightness of 4.5 keV Xe(L) hard xray pulses from optimized stable ultra-powerful relativistic channels has been developed and experimentally verified. The relativistic channel formation in plasmas with an appropriate gradient in the longitudinal electron density profile optimizes the stability of the self-channeling, the power compression, and the x-ray source brightness. The experimental measurements of Xe(L) 4.5 keV pulses from optimized ultra-powerful stable relativistic channels have produced the first direct single-pulse observation of strong multi-keV amplification of Xe 35+ (2p q 3d) transition at n B 2.86 A and demonstrated a solid correlation between the strong amplification of Xe 35+ line and the formation of long stable ultra-intense relativistic channels. The relativistic and ponderomotive self-channeling [1-10] is the first rank method for the controlled power compression of ultrashort multi-TW and PW laser pulses in plasmas. The performed detailed analysis of the transverse stability of relativistic channel formation in initially uniform plasmas [5] has revealed three main stability modes of the relativistic self-channeling: (1) the stable mode resulting in the formation of the single stable ultrapowerful channel, (2) the highly unstable mode of the small-scale filamentation resulting in the formation of multiple peripheral channels containing power in the order of one critical power, and (3) the bifurcation mode of relativistic self-channeling characterized by the splitting of the beam into two or more ultrapowerful channels. The developed stability maps [5,8-10] indicating the ranges of the laser and plasma parameters corresponding to stable, highly unstable, and bifurcation modes of the self-channeling have demonstrated that simultaneous increase of laser power and electron density results in deep penetration into the zone of highly unstable self-channeling. It has been demonstrated that the unstable mode of the relativistic self-channelling of ultra-powerful laser pulses in highdensity plasmas can be converted into the formation of single stable channels using a twostage process of the self-channelling, with the initial phase involving an appropriate gradient in the longitudinal electron density profile [8-10]. The resulting stable channels


Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a pandemic due to a high rate of infection by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). People with comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, Type II diabetes, and COPD have been having acute symptoms and higher rate of mortality. Further, increased severity and lethality of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been observed among men than in women. SARSCoV-2 infects human cells by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) through its spike protein (S-Protein). ACE2 is a critical transmembrane protein of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system which modulates the cardiovascular system and fluid homeostasis. This article reviews the current knowledge about the mechanisms of sex-based differences that may cause variations in COVID-19 susceptibility and outcomes among males and females. Males have been shown to have a delayed viral clearance due to increased retention of coronavirus as compared to females. Recent studies indicate that a severe infection with SARS-CoV-2 impairs spermatogenesis in males, however, the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 damages testicular cells need more studies. We discuss here the distinctive features such as sex hormone milieu, receptor biology, and immunology that may be responsible for the gender-based differences in the outcome of COVID-19.


An efficient implementation of a three-dimensional audio rendering system (3D-ARS) system over headphones is presented and its ability to render natural spatial sound is analyzed. In its most straightforward implementation spatial rendering is achieved by convolving a monophonic signal with the Head related transfer function (HRTF). Several methods were proposed in the literature to improve the naturalness of the spatial sound and the ability of the headphones' wearer to localize sound sources. Among these methods, externalization, by incorporation of room reflections, personalization to the anthropometric attributes of the user, and the introduction of head movements, are known to yield improved performance. This work provides a unified and flexible platform incorporating the various optional components together with software tools to statistically analyze their contribution. Preliminary statistical analysis suggests that the additional components indeed contribute to the overall localization ability of the user.


Absolute cross sections for electron-impact dissociation of CH_x^+ (x=1,2,3) producing CH_y^+ (y=0,1,2) fragment ions were measured in the 3-100 eV range using a crossed electron-ion beams technique with total uncertainties of about 11% near the cross section peaks. For CH^+ dissociation, although the measured energy dependence agrees well with two sets of storage ring measurements, the magnitude of the present results lies about 15% to 25% below the other results at the cross section peak near 40 eV. For dissociation of CH_2^+, the cross sections are nearly identical for energies above 15 eV, but they are dramatically different at lower energies. The CH^+ channel exhibits a strong peak rising from an observed threshold of about 6 eV; the C^+ channel is relatively flat down to the lowest measured energy. For dissociation of CH_3^+ and CD_3^+, good agreement is found with other results reported for the CH^+ fragment, but some differences are found for the CD_2^+ and C^+ fragments. A pilot study has also been undertaken to assess the feasibility of applying a molecular dynamics approach to treat the full range of electron-hydrocarbon dissociation processes, especially for energies above a few eV, in order to provide an overarching theoretical model thatmore » can be readily applied. Comparison with the experimental data for CH^+ shows favorable agreement.« less


Toxic strong and the weak and curve of medicine metabolism and influence to kidney function of sulfation pachymaran was discussed.Worked out the LD50 by ig;determined on the determination of sulfation pachymaran in plasma of the rabbit by spectro-photometric method;Investigated the effect of sulfated pachymaran(SP) in rats with chronic renal failure(CRF) induced by adenine.The LD50 of the sulfation pachymaran was 7.358 g·kg-1,and 95% of LD50 within the average of(7.358±0.894)g·kg-1,after the sulfation pachymaran was given to the rabbit by ig,in the range of 0.33-8 hours,the sulfation pachymaran was found in the in plasma of the rabbit and the concentration reached the peak at 1.5 h.,after 30 days treatment,SP significantly increased the volume of urine and the contents of urinary creatinine,serum TP and ALB,while declined the contents of urinary protein,serum Scr and BUN(P0.01).The level of serum TP was nearly equivalent to that of normal control group.Also,SP alleviated the injury of the kidneys.Whose toxicity was very low,Medicine metabolism appears the peak to be appropriate,SP appeared to have a preventive and therapeutic activity against chronic renal failure.


The article is devoted to the study of the nature, approaches to classification and fundamental factors of the investment attracti-veness of the enterprise. A prerequisite for ensuring a sustainable and competitive development of enterprises is the access to invest-ment resources and the ability to attract them, taking into account the investment attractiveness of enterprises.
The purpose of the paper is to determine the essence of the investment attractiveness of the enterprise and its features from the standpoint of assessing the investment attractiveness of the enterprise in the current economic conditions in Ukraine.
It is grounded that investment attractiveness is a complex concept because it reflects the opinion of a certain group of investors regarding the risk ratio, profitability ratio and value of financial resources of the enterprise, as well as represents a set of certain objective features, properties, means and capabilities of the economic system that determines the potential payment demand for investment. The main classification features of the investment attractiveness of an enterprise are the following: the position of the valuation entities, the type of investor, time horizon, the approach to the valuation and the purpose of the valuation. An important condition for the existence of the enterprise is the ability to determine a number of qualitative characteristics of the influence of the internal and external environment on the overall level of financial condition of enterprises and the efficiency of use of enterprise resources. Analysis of existing methodological approaches to the analysis of the assessment of the investment attractiveness of the enterprise indicates the feasibility of applying the methodology of integrated assessment of investment attractiveness of enterprises, taking into account the type of activity, the main risks of a particular industry, cost structure and features of formation of profit of the enterprise.


The nervous system is composed of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system, and constitutes a very complex neural network. The central nervous system, known as the headquarter of our body, not only is responsible for consciousness, memory, language and other advanced cognitive functions, determining individual behaviors, but also plays an important regulatory role in the functions and activities of peripheral organs. As one of the most basic characteristics of life, energy metabolism is precisely regulated by the nervous system. Food intake is an important part of energy metabolism. Normal food intake behavior is very important to maintain metabolic homeostasis and health. This paper focuses on the neural regulation mechanism underlying feeding behaviors, discusses how the nervous system perceives and integrates the internal and external information of the body, and how to form the neural network of appetite regulation, and eventually sends commands to control feeding behaviors and gastrointestinal activities. hypothalamus, gut-brain axis,


This paper presents a step-by-step procedure which, when followed, should ensure a Load Line Assignment on or before the vessel is ready to go to work. The appendix contains an explanation of the different types of stability information requried by the United States Coast Guard and sample form letters used by the Coast Guard and ABS, which illustrate the various factors that affect load line assignment for different types of vessels. Also contined in the appendix for information purposes are samples of standard forms used by ABS, a list of countries which have authorized ABS to act on their behalf, a list of countries which are signatory to the 1966 Load Line Convention, an outline of the U.S. Coast Guard position with respect to Load Line Certification on Foreign Vessels, and, finally, Including Experimental Guidelines.


Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Other. Main funding source(s): Cardiac Risk in the Young Background Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is defined as natural unexpected death in witnessed cases occurring <1 hour and in unwitnessed cases as last seen alive <24hours. SCD due to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is frequent in older age groups, in younger people genetic cardiac causes including channelopathies and cardiomyopathies are more frequent. Purpose To present the causes of SCD from a large pathology registry. Methods Cases were examined macroscopically and microscopically by two expert cardiac pathologists. Criteria used are presented in figure 1. Results The hearts from 7214 SCD cases were examined between 1994-2021. Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), a morphologically normal heart, which can be underlain by the channelopathies, is most common (3821, 53%) followed by the cardiomyopathies (1558, 22%), then IHD (670, 9%). Valve disease (225, 3%), congenital heart disease (213, 3%) and myocarditis/sarcoidosis (206, 3%) are the next most common. Hypertensive heart disease (185, 3%), aortic disease (129, 2%), vascular disease (97, 1%) and conduction disease (40, 1%) are smaller proportions (figure 2). Discussion This is the largest SCD cohort with autopsy findings ever reported from one country. SADS and cardiomyopathies predominate. This study highlights the importance of the autopsy in SCD which is a significant public health concern in all age groups. Knowing the true incidence in our population will improve risk stratification and develop preventative strategies for family members. There is now a national pilot study integrating molecular autopsy into the assessment of SCD victims.


In this article I will firstly argue that genocide and wars are gendered but also often feminised via the positioning of women not only as sexual trophies exchangeable between male enemies, not only as markers of collective boundaries, but also as the symbolic representations of national and ethnic collectivities. I will then interrogate the centrality of rape as a component of ethno-sexual identities and an instrument of war, focusing on the difficulties we have ëas womení but also as social scientists, to theorise wartime rape. Finally I will propose that creating a forum for women war victims to narrativise their traumatic experiences is a vital feminist strategy of beginning to close the gap between genocide and gender and between trauma and the discourses available to narrate it.


A long stride can enable a humanoid robot achieve fast and stable walking. For a long stride, the kinematics of the robot should be fully utilized, and walking with pelvic rotation can be a solution. A rotational trajectory of pelvis considering kinematic limitations is needed for pelvis-rotation walking. When the robot walks with a long stride while rotating the pelvis, the yaw momentum may be larger than that when walks with the pelvis fixed. This is caused by the rotation of the pelvis and leg motion, and hence, walking with pelvic rotation may become unstable. In this paper, we propose to control the lower body of a robot as a redundant system with leg joints and a waist joint for walking with pelvic rotation. The position of the base frame to implement the redundant system for the lower body of the robot is also proposed. In addition, the a quadratic programming (QP) controller is formulated to enable arm swing for yaw momentum compensation while controlling the lower body. The feasibility of the proposed control method was verified using a simulation and an experiment of walking with a long stride while rotating the pelvis using a QP controller and compensating the yaw momentum by means of arm swing.


Based on the theory of Fractal, both the accuracy of AutoCAD drawing and the flexibility of Visual-Lisp are utilized to construct Pythagoras Tree's basic model and multilevel tree shape,then it can be realized to immediately zoom and get arrow diagram. If the basic model is modified, perfectly solving simple and similar fractal problems is possible in AutoCAD.


Ten patients with histologically proved aggressive hepatitis, a history of liver disease for more than three months, and an aspartate aminotransferase (AST; GOT) concentration greater than 150 IU/I (normal < 50 IU/1) entered the trial. None had carried hepatitis virus B, and eight had positive titres of antinuclear factor or smooth muscle antibody, or both. The disease activity was first brought under "control" (AST concentration < 100 IU/1) for four weeks with prednisolone, which was then reduced every two weeks by 2 mg/day until "relapse" (AST concentration > 150 IUl1). The prednisolone dose was then increased fortnightly by 4 mg/day until control had been regained for four weeks. The patients were then randomly allocated to receive either cyclophosphamide 3 mg/kg in a single morning dose or placebo for 12 weeks, and the prednisolone dose was reduced. After relapse the prednisolone dose was increased, and after four weeks' control the patients were crossed over. Patients were seen fortnightly, when blood counts and gonadotrophin concentrations were estimated and liver function tests carried out. In the single male patient testosterone concentrations and sperm counts were also measured.


An easy way to produce several metal nitrides and metal carbides at relatively low temperature (800 °C) using simple and mainly nontoxic precursor is presented. The procedure has been shown to be rather general and it was possible to synthesize TiN, VN, NbN, GaN, Mo2N, W2N, CrN, NbC(N), TiC(N), WC, Mo2C, and Cr3C2 nanoparticles using urea or close derivatives as both nitrogen or carbon source and the growth controlling system. In every case, a homogeneous gel-like starting product has been formed that is converted by calcination into the corresponding metal nitride or metal carbide (including mixed species), without any preliminary treatments or further purifications. Samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, EA, and BET, and the products were shown to be well-defined and rather homogeneous.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the changes of biological characters of normal human epithelial cells treated chronicly with carcinogens.

METHOD
At picomolar concentrations of NNK and B [ a ] P carcinogens, noncancerous MCF10A cells were repeatedly treated. Properties of biological target endpoint were studied in cells after 20 cycle's treatment.

RESULTS
It was found that the treatment can induce cell acquisition of properties of reduced dependence on growth factors, anchorage-independent growth,and acinar-conformational disruption.

CONCLUSION
MCF10A cells can acquire cancer-related properties after long-term,low-concentration treatment with carcinogens.


FIELD: chemistry. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to use of the Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-2116 strain to treat irritable bowel syndrome. A probiotic includes dead Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-2116 bacteria, a fermentation substrate and/or material made from Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-2116. EFFECT: invention provides the capacity to normalise post-infection hyper-contractible state of intestinal muscles. 2 cl, 4 dwg, 2 ex


A preliminary study on the existence and behaviour of saline water in S' Albufera wetland aquifer system is presented. The wetland is currently a 1200 ha Natural Park in which groundwater contribution is essential to its existence. The goal of the study is to know groundwater conditions and the possible impact of present and future groundwater exploitation in the tributary basin. The work comprises preliminary chemical and environmental isotope analyses, water electrical and temperature logging, as well as the provisional interpretation of some previous work and of some deep boreholes drilled early in the 70's. The area is geologically and hydrogeologically complex due to extensive tectonic effects and a series of sea transgre~sions and regressions, with build up of reef and dune belts. Saline groundwater extends far inland, further than the Natural Park boundaries. Diffusion from deep saline water and the effect of local sea spray and airborne salinity explain the existence of slightly brackish shallow groundwater in the surroundings. This water has fairly to very high nitrate content due to agricultural fertilizer leaching. Most groundwater discharges along the wetland boundary, both as diffuse and concentrated flow. But the springs ("ullals") seem to contain a regional groundwater component as well. This component is also suspected in some boreholes, where a thick freshwater-saltwater mixing zone forms. In this case the saline groundwater seems almost stagnant and shows cation exchange and some reducing environment effects. Also high vertical temperature gradients are found in some boreholes. They are interpreted as an upward displacement of deep saline water, induced by abstraction wells in the nearby Messozoic carbonates. In the wetland and coastal area, vertical temperature gradients are very small, indicating that there is a marine water inflow into the aquifer, where it mixes with freshwater and discharges into the wetland.


The transient receptor potential ion channels (TRPC) are non-selective Ca+ 2 permeable cation channels and are widely expressed in the tissues of vertebrates. They become active in response to signal transduction pathways associated with phospholipase C stimulation. TRPC6 is expressed in podocytes and is a component of the slit diaphragm. In genetic and acquired glomerular kidney diseases, TRPC6 overactivation causes podocyte damage by pathological Ca+ 2 entry. TRPC1, TRPC2, TRPC4, and TRPC5 interact with a protein called stromal-interacting molecule 1 (STIM 1), which is susceptible to intracellular calcium storage content. As a result of binding with this protein, TRPC channels bind to calcium-releasing zone in endosomes. The aim of the study was to investigate different expression profiles of TRPC family members in renal biopsy specimens in patients with clinically considered glomerulonephritis.

 This study was conducted with 108 patients admitted to Ege University Faculty of Medicine Nephrology Clinic who underwent a kidney biopsy with a preliminary diagnosis of glomerulonephritis and 37 patients who underwent a nephrectomy in urology clinic with a diagnosis of primary kidney tumour as a control case. PKD2, NPHS2, TRPC1, TRPC3, TRPC6, STIM-1 and Orai-1 mRNA levels were studied in the biopsy samples.

 When we compared the patient and the control group, the gender distribution of both groups was similar. The frequency of diabetes and hypertension was similar. The control group was statistically significantly older and glomerular filtration rates were higher than the patient group. In pathological examination, glomerulonephritis (57.5%) was diagnosed in the majority of patients. The most common etiologic factors were membranous nephropathy 23.1%, IgA nephropathy 13%, Amyloidosis 11.2%, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis 7.1%, proliferative glomerulonephritis 4.6%, minimal change disease 2.8% and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis was 1.9%. 7.4% of the patients were diagnosed with diabetic nephropathy by renal biopsy.
 When we compared the TRPC expression profiles of the patient and the control group, the TRPC1, TRPC6, PKD2, NPHS2, STIM-1 and ORAi-1 mRNA levels of the patient group were statistically significantly higher than those of the control group (Figure). In contrast, TRPC3 mRNA levels were significantly lower in the patient group compared to the control group. When we performed subgroup analysis, the TRPC1, TRPC6 and STIM1 levels of the diabetic group were statistically significantly higher compared to the non-diabetic group of patients. We could not find any difference between TRPC expression profiles between the patients according to pathological diagnosis. Similarly, there was no difference between the amount of proteinuria (nephrotic level versus nephritic level). In correlation analysis, there was a negative correlation with TRPC6 and STIM1 levels with positive C4d staining of glomeruli in renal biopsy. Positive correlation was found between ORAI and glomerular sclerosis rate.

 As a result, we found that other than TRPC3 mRNA level, other TRPC and related protein channels mRNA levels were statistically significantly increased in proteinuric kidney patients compared to healthy kidney tissue. We did not find a positive relationship between proteinuria severity and TRPC expression profiles. We found that TRPC6 and STIM1 expression levels were increased in diabetic patients, which supports the knowledge that intracellular calcium pathways were activated in podocyte damage. In our study, there were significantly increased STIM1 and ORAi-1 expression levels in proteinuric patients compared to the control group and their increase was closely related to TRPC6. From this we can conclude that these proteins play an important role in proteinuric kidney damage.


This article explores performance-centred efforts to remediate the erasure of Romanies from public Holocaust narratives. First, the French play Samudaripen uses aesthetic strategies that emphasize themes of violence and rupture in order to evoke the brutality of Romani persecution under Nazi and Vichy regimes. With its performative elisions between Romani experiences in internment camps in France and concentration camps abroad, Samudaripen connects both historically-specific and fictionalized instances of Romani trauma to broader patterns of anti-Romani persecution past and present. Second, the Romanian-Romani language theatre piece Kali Traš ('Black Fear') relays the story of the Romani deportations to camps in Romania in the region of Transnistria under the rule of Romanian fascist dictator Ion Antonescu. Kali Traš pushes back against the silencing of the Romani genocide by reinvigorating the counter-history of the Romani Holocaust in both informative and affectively compelling ways. Each play proclaims Romani agency in commemorative contexts through its narrative and aesthetic strategies. This article shows how Romani artists have engaged in public-facing projects that criticize mainstream Holocaust historiographies and anti-Romani racism more broadly, assessing the extent to which such works constitute valuable additions to Romani struggles for recognition and reparations.


The business scenario is focusing more on e-business intelligence to perform transaction with customers needs for enhanced value and improvement in asset management. Such prognostic business requir ...


In view of the recent terror attacks by some groups in Nigeria, and the recent bomb blasts, kidnappings, militancy, assassinations, and other religious extremist activities such as bombing of churches, mosque, this study investigated the influence of trait aggression, and religiosity on inclination to terrorism. Utilizing a cross- sectional survey design and purposeful sampling technique, 368 undergraduates with mean age of 22.92 from two Universities in South Eastern Nigeria of who responded to battery of questionnaires designed to measure the variables involved. Two way (ANOVA) result showed that trait aggression significantly influenced the inclination to terrorism, F=49.1, t = (6.76) p<.01 religiosity was also found to significantly influence inclination to terrorism, F=5.46, t=(3.89), p<.05. Interaction effect was not significant, F=0.04, t = (49.1), p<.05. In general, the results showed that trait aggression and religiosity have significant influence on inclination to terrorism. Implications of the study were discussed, and suggestions for further studies made.


The first results from global mapping of the neutron albedo from Mars by HEND instrument have shown the noticeable deficit of both the epithermal (EN) and the fast (FN) neutrons counts rate in the high latitudes regions of both hemispheres of the planet. The deficit is indicative for high enriching of the surface regolith by hydrogen, which may correspond to amount of any water phases and forms. The objectives of our study are the spatial and temporal variations of the free water (ice) signature in the Martian surface layer on the base of HEND/ODYSSEY data and their correlation with spatial spreading of some permafrost features, mapped on the base of MOC images. For the study we used the results of the global mapping (pixel 5 x5 ) of EN and FN albedo, realized by HEND/ODYSSEY in the period from 17 February to 10 December 2002 year.


We show how perceptual embeddings of the visual system can be constructed at inference-time with no training data or deep neural network features. Our perceptual embeddings are solutions to a weighted least squares (WLS) problem, defined at the pixel-level, and solved at inference-time, that can capture global and local image characteristics. The distance in embedding space is used to define a perceptual similarity metric which we call LASI: Linear Autoregressive Similarity Index. Experiments on full-reference image quality assessment datasets show LASI performs competitively with learned deep feature based methods like LPIPS (Zhang et al., 2018) and PIM (Bhardwaj et al., 2020), at a similar computational cost to hand-crafted methods such as MS-SSIM (Wang et al., 2003). We found that increasing the dimensionality of the embedding space consistently reduces the WLS loss while increasing performance on perceptual tasks, at the cost of increasing the computational complexity. LASI is fully differentiable, scales cubically with the number of embedding dimensions, and can be parallelized at the pixel-level. A Maximum Differentiation (MAD) competition (Wang&Simoncelli, 2008) between LASI and LPIPS shows that both methods are capable of finding failure points for the other, suggesting these metrics can be combined.


State Dependent Algebraic Riccati Equation (SDRE) technique is rapidly emerging as a design method, which provides a systematic and effective means of designing nonlinear controllers, observers and filters. This paper describes a new method of integrating the SDRE technique with the Dynamic Inversion control law that is frequently used in the design of aircraft control systems. This technique when applied to the design of a control system for a flight vehicle is shown to improve the stability and performance characteristics. Nomenclature ( φ θ ψ ) = Euler Angles of Rotation ( p q r ) = Angular Velocities ( U V W ) = Linear Velocities ( L M N ) = Generalized Moments ( Fx Fy Fz ) = Generalized Forces ( Jx Jy Jz Jxz ) = Moments of Inertia


Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, XXIII, 6–10 Henry VI, 1427–32 (Boydell and National Archives. £170) is the second volume in the new series of IPMs. Editorial conventions are carefully described, and there follow detailed lists of references and escheators. In all, 730 inquisitions are calendared and presented in an admirably clear form, which facilitates use. This volume (like others in the series), with its references to innumerable places in the North and to numerous property holders there — with many familiar names — is indispensable to research in the period; scholars will be greatly assisted by the indexes of jurors, personal names, place-names, and subjects which occupy almost 200 pages.


Several computationally extra-efficient versions of the Levinson algorithm are presented. The new versions require half the number of multiplications and the same number of additions as the conventional form of the Levinson algorithm. The saving is achieved by using three- (rather than two) term recursions and propagating them in an Impedance/Admittance domain rather than the conventional scattering domain. Our result apply both to Toeplitz and to close to Toeplitz systems. Moreover they provide a general method for reducing computational requirements in various recursive algorithm, e.g. adaptive least-square lattice algorithms.


OBJECTIVE
To establish methods for quantitative determination of ginseng saponins, ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1 and polysaccarides and compare the qualities of Tongrentang Red Ginseng and Korean Red Ginseng.

METHOD
Macroreticular resin-colorimetric method was developed to determine ginseng saponins and a new HPLC method with gradient eluents was established for determination of ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1. For ginseng polysaccharides, phenol-oil of vitriol colorimetric method was developed and some factors were also optimized.

RESULT
The content of ginseng saponins in Tongrentang Red Ginseng was not lower than that of Korean Red Ginseng. Ginsenoside Rg1 and Rb1 in Tongrentang Red Ginseng were higher than those in Korean Red Ginseng, while Ginsenoside Re was slightly lower than that of Korean Red Ginseng. However, the amount of Ginseng Polysaccharides in Tongrentang Red Ginseng was greater than those in Korean Red Ginseng.

CONCLUSION
The contents of ginseng saponins and ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1 in Tongrentang Red Ginseng were not lower than that in Korean Red Ginseng. The methods for determination of ginsenosides and ginseng polysaccharides were quite accurate and reliable to the quality control of Ginseng.


The paramagnetic resonance of Fe in hydrogenated and unhydrogenated Pd has been observed. A suitable explanation for the g-factor is found if one assumes the ionic ground state to be 3+ rather than 2+. Measurements of the demagnetization fields in the paramagnetic regime suggest that giant moments are present in the demagnetization field.


ABSTRACT This article utilizes an artificial neural network model to examine the hypothesis of weak-form market efficiency for the monthly Brazilian exchange rate from 1999 to 2013. The method of partial derivatives suggested by Racine and White (2001) is used. The first step is to choose network architecture, second, weights estimation, and, at last, testing according to the suggested procedure. The results suggest that the Brazilian foreign exchange market is not efficient informally; thus, agents can obtain unusual profits through arbitrage.


The study applied the pathways approach, Survey Monkey and Snowballing techniques to ascertain the employability status of the 2012 graduates of Makerere University. The majority of the graduates were employed in the public sector on full time basis. The young graduates, however, favorably competed for entry job opportunities with the mature graduates. A reasonable number of the 2012 Makerere University graduates were engaged in self-employment as an avenue for addressing the problem of graduate unemployment in Uganda. Key words: Graduate unemployment, Makerere University, Tracer studies, Pathways DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-6-11


According to situation that current college education quality evaluation and feedback mechanism is not yet mature,teaching how to give full play to the Steering Group is one of the important elements which directly related to the promotion of deepening educational reform,and improving the quality of teaching.In this thesis,based on the condition in her college,author makes a dissertation on how to play a supervisory role on teaching,which makes it possible to promote teaching quality there.


Summary Qualitative observation of spontaneous mo- tility, and particularly of general move- ments, is a promising approach to the neu- rological assessment of newborns and young infants. Data on the prognostic value of abnormal spontaneous movements in the first months of life for the later development of neurological handicaps are reported. In normal awake infants, fidgety movements (FMs) occur during the age period of 6 to 20 weeks and consist of a sequence of small and round movements in all parts of the body. The presence of normal and ab- normal quality of these FMs were studied in 130 infants observed in 5 European Cen- tres (Graz, Groningen, Heidelberg, Mode- na and Pisa) and compared with the neuro- logical outcome at the age of 2 years. The results showed that normal FMs lead in 96% of the infants to a normal outcome, while abnormal quality or total absence of FMs was followed by neurological abnor- malities in 97% of the infants. The new as- sessment technique of spontaneous motor activity is simple, totally non-intrusive, relia- ble and quick. At fidgety age it can identify those infants who need other exams or early intervention from those who do not.


The electric plant construction projects evaluation is a complex, multi-factor, multi-index decision-making problem. In order to evaluate the construction projects scientifically and accurately, this paper proposes the evaluating model based on the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The ANFIS avoids the fuzziness characteristic of the projects information itself and the circumstances of the neural network cannot express the fuzzy language. The evaluation of 10 electric plant construction projects in National Electric Company shows that the emulation results given by this model are effective and feasible.


The upper atmosphere wind distribution is calculated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with models of upper atmospheric densities and ion distribution. All non-linear terms and viscous terms are included. It is found that the velocities from the non-linear solutions are smaller than those obtained from a linear treatment and that in the equatorial region the magnitude of the average meridional velocity is strongly dependent upon the latitudinal coupling. No appreciable super-rotation is obtained by the inclusion of the nonlinear terms; the small value of the average zonal velocity is mainly due to the ion distribution.


The electrical machinery course is difficult for the students to understand and learn,because the theories of the course are highly complicated.To solve this problem,The feedback comparison method and embedded animation method are applied in the theory teaching and the the production practice is enhanced,which stimulates the students' learning interest and achieves good results.


The invention discloses an intelligent feeding bottle cover and a control circuit. The control circuit comprises a temperature detecting module for detecting temperature of liquid in a feeding bottle, a weighting detecting module for detecting the weight of the liquid in the feeding bottle, a turbidity detecting module for determining whether water or milk is in the feeding bottle, a display module for displaying the detection results of the temperature detecting module, the weighting detecting module and the turbidity detecting module, and a control module for controlling the work of the temperature detecting module, the weighting detecting module, the turbidity detecting module and display module. According to the control circuit, the temperature detecting module can detect the temperature of the liquid in the feeding bottle, the weighting detecting module can detect the weight of the liquid in the feeding bottle, the turbidity detecting module can determine whether water or milk in the feeding bottle as well as determining the water or milk drinking quantity of a baby, and the display module can display the water or milk drinking quantity; the functions of temperature detection, weighting, liquid type distinguishing and display are provided, so that the intelligence degree of the intelligent feeding bottle cover can be increased.


Controlled ripening or conditioning of peaches and nectarines is an increasingly important component of the Australian stonefruit industry. This process involves monitoring fruit firmness during a postharvest conditioning period at 20 °C. This destructive monitoring currently uses a penetrometer (7.9 mm tip) and must be done at regular intervals during the ripening process. This is not only time consuming but also costly. Two commercial nondestructive measures of fruit firmness (Acoustic firmness sensor and the Sinclair iQ system) were assessed as an alternative to the manual penetrometer for the determination of fruit firmness in two peach and two nectarine cultivars. The results revealed large variations in firmness among the fruit of each cultivar as measured by all instruments. We modeled fruit softening data from the Sinclair iQ system and destructive penetrometer to predict when the fruit were ready for retail distribution. This model needs to be further evaluated and refined, but its commercial application would be a significant benefit for the peach and nectarine fruit conditioning programs. This would save labour costs and reduce the amount of fruit required for destructive testing.


The paper looks for co-evolutionary policy responses to carbon lock-in – a persistent state that creates systemic market and policy barriers to carbon low technological alternatives. We address the coordination role for authorities rather than the corrective optimisation and analyse experiences from environmental voluntary agreements and foresight activities. The paper argues that combining the virtues of these tools into a new policy tool, named Prospective Voluntary Agreement (PVA), can help facilitate an escape from carbon lock-in and provide policy resources for addressing lock-in related issues. The merit of PVA lies with the enhancement of collaborative policy culture and inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary stakeholder learning that creates commitment to desired action for escaping lock-in.


In this paper, a compact and low cost conformal continuous transverse stub antenna based on SIW technology for 5G applications is presented. The antenna is designed on a substrate integrated waveguide structure. This antenna is designed to work for the next generation 5G wireless communication systems. The proposed antenna is printed on a microstrip layers topology in order to make the design easy and more compact. This antenna is able to provide a good levels of gain (12dBi) with a good result in terms of return and insertion losses. Moreover, with the use of the SIW technology, the proposed CTS antenna has low cost and can be used as self-packaged.


In this paper, a Hardware in The Loop (HIL) platform was developed for the implementation of control techniques applied to static power converters. With this methodology, linear and nonlinear control techniques can be designed and compared — with low resources and available development time — to different types of power converters, such as Buck-Boost and Flyback. The converters, methods and control laws will be shown in detailed block diagrams, so that any student or engineer can reproduce the results. In addition, the HIL method became essential to dynamize and obtain experimental results, also presented in the dedicated section for both converters.


Optimizing a motion estimator (ME) for picture rate conversion is challenging. This is because there are many types of MEs and, within each type, many parameters, which makes subjective assessment of all the alternatives impractical. To solve this problem, we propose an automatic design methodology that provides `well-performing MEs' from the multitude of options. Moreover, we prove that applying this methodology results in subjectively pleasing quality of the upconverted video, even while our objective performance metrics are necessarily suboptimal. This proof involved a user rating of 93 MEs in 3 video sequences. The 93 MEs were systematically selected from a total of 7000 ME alternatives. The proposed methodology may provide an inspiration for similar tough multi-dimensional optimization tasks with unreliable metrics .


The aim of the article is to approach the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in the theological concept of the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. First, we approach the sources of inspiration for his theology. We analyze the analogy of being, transcendentals, the relationship between reason and faith. Then we reflect on theological aesthetics, the relationship of God as good to human freedom, and the relationship between God and truth. The trinitological concept of Hans Urs von Balthasar is still relevant not only for theology, but also for Christian philosophy.


The impact of totally chlorine-free (TCF) bleaching chemicals on the composition and behavior of detrimental lipophilic wood extractives in a mixed hardwood sulfite pulp was studied to determine th...


.2005). Xeric seminatural grassland on calcareous massifs ofsouthern Tuscany is currently disappearing and the remainingareas have become increasingly fragmented due to reducedgrazing pressure, changes in management practices andreforestation with fast-growing, exotic species (Maccheriniand De Dominicis 2003; Rocchini


WATER MANAGEMENT SIMULATOR PRESENTATIONS One o f the la rg e r stumbling blocks to comprehensive w ater manage ment is the lack o f pub lic understanding o f the m u ltitu de of variab les th a t operate a t the same tim e w ith in the hydrologic cyc le . With more public understanding, there is g rea te r pub lic support fo r various water p ro jec ts . Dr. John R. Amend from Montana S ta te U n ive rs ity developed a water management s im ulator which could handle a large number o f variab les sim ultaneously o f natural surface and groundwater flow plus a number o f water use variab les on an accelerated time sequence. By using several remote control devices, p a rtic ip a n ts can "control" th e ir water use but have no contro l over o ther p a rtic ip a n ts compet ing fo r the same w ater molecule. The purpose o f th is in form ation tra n s fe r p ro jec t was to demonstrate the use o f the water management sim ulator and to begin to develop experienced teams o f people from government agencies and academia to exp la in i t s operation to loca l professional and c iv ic groups. The in te re s t leve l is very high fo r the team members to learn about the operation o f the water management s im u la to r. The sim ulator demonstrations have been w ell received by various audiences.


Telecommunication companies, such as Internet and cellular service providers, are seeing rapid and uncertain growth of amount of traffic routed through their networks. It has become a challenge for these companies to make optimal decisions for equipment purchase that simultaneously satisfy the uncertain future demand while minimizing investment cost. This paper presents a decision-making framework for installing the required equipment into the networks while in the uncertain environment. The framework is based on new multi-stage stochastic programming mathematical models that capture the complexity of the individual Central Office (CO) decision-making process. The models are solved using the online NEOS server. Two examples are presented to illustrate the procedure. The optimization model also addresses the equipment pricing problem, i.e., what premium is worth paying for shorter installation times.


. The study aims to see the differences of the effect of physical activity before school and after school on physical health and social ability in Gajahmada elementary school students in Medan. The analysis technique used the T Test with a significance level of ∝ = o, o5. Obtained: (1) Physical activity before school affect the physical health of students, (2) Physical activity before school affect students 'social ability, (3) Physical activity after school had an effect on students' physical health, (4) Physical activity after school affects students 'social ability (5) Physical activity before school was better than physical activity after school towards physical health of students, (6) Physical activity before school had the same effect as physical activity after school on students' social skills


The paper examines whether television enriches a child's imagination, leads to distortions of reality, and whether adult mediation while a child views a program or immediately after can evoke constructive changes or stimulate make‐believe play.


We survey the connection between two results from rather different areas: failure of the 3-space property for local convexity (and other properties) within the category of quasiBanach spaces, and the irreducibility (in the sense of Minkowski difference) of large families of finite dimensional polytopes. Mathematics subject classification (2010): 46A16, 46B03, 52B15..


This paper describes the essential spectrum and index function of the operator X -* AXB, where A, B, and X are Hilbert space operators. Analogous results are given for the restriction of this operator to a norm ideal and partial analogues are given for sums of such operators and for the case when the operators act on a Banach space.


—The success of deep learning depends on large datasets, but in deformable object manipulation collecting these datasets is time-consuming, and therefore learning from small datasets is an important open problem. Data augmentation is a common solution to this problem, but most existing methods focus only on computer vision tasks. We propose an optimization-based approach to data augmentation for manipulation of deformable objects. The proposed method solves for rigid body transformations to trajectories of geometric state and action data that maximize validity, relevance, and diversity objectives. We test our method on the previously studied problem of learning a classifier of model accuracy [1]. We evaluate on a bimanual rope manipulation task both in simulation and in the real world, and we find that training with augmentations significantly increases the task success rate.


The resources of users and merchandise are vital part in business networks. The relationship that among user and merchandise gives a reflection of user interest and its habits that user tends to select some merchandise. The analysis of user critical interests plays an important role in E-business recommendation system. The paper introduces a shortest-path algorithm. It looks at user's attribute as a root and user's interests as a series of nodes. It puts forwards an Improved Shortest Root Tree algorithm to calculate path lengths which from root node to each objective node. Path lengths are used to analyze the most interested merchandise nodes of user. The experimentation shows that the algorithm can well describe user's interest and it has both nicer performances in precision and less time costs.


Participants from various ethnic groups were included in a study of the effects of collective self-esteem (CSE) on construal of racism. It was hypothesized that low CSE participants are more likely than high CSE participants to construe ambiguous behavior targeted at their group members as racist. Personal self-esteem was hypothesized to not predict construal of racism. It was further hypothesized that low CSE participants are more likely than high CSE participants to attribute higher degrees of racism to the same incident when the victim is an in-group member. Participants interpreted scenarios in which an 'Active Agent' was reported to exhibit ambiguous behavior to the disadvantage of a 'Passive Agent.' Group membership of passive agents were manipulated to create in-group (same as the subject) and out-group (different group) conditions. Results supported the original hypotheses.


The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 10-week sensomotor exercise programme on body balance and agility in a group of adolescent athletes. Initially, 120 adolescent football players were included in the study. In the final analysis, 90 athletes aged 10–17 years participated. The study was designed as a single-blinded, randomised controlled trial. Healthy athletes who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into two comparative groups: experimental and control groups. Sensomotor exercises were conducted twice weekly for 10 weeks in the experimental group. The adolescent footballers were subjected to the following tests: a COP (Centre of Pressure) test on a stabilometric platform, a Y balance test (Y-BT), and an agility test. The experimental group showed improvement with respect to the following variables: COP-based path length, with eyes open, for 30 s duration—improved by 5.3 cm (mean: 20.0; 95% CI 15.3–24.8); area, with eyes open, for 30 s duration—improved by 1 cm2 (mean 2.1; 95% CI 0.6–3.5); area, with eyes closed, for 30 s duration—improved by 0.4 cm2 (mean 2.2; 95% CI 1.6–2.8). The Y-BT was significantly improved in terms of the final score for the following variables: left leg anterior by 2.1% (mean 73.1; 95% CI 70.7–75.2); right leg posterolateral by 3.8% (mean 112.3; 95% CI 109.3–115.3); right and left leg posteromedial by 5.6% (mean 111.7; 95% CI 108.6–114.9) and 5.7% (mean 112.3; 95% CI 109.7–115.1), respectively; medium posterolateral by 3.2% (mean 111.8; 95% CI 109.0–114.7); medium posteromedial by 6.0% (mean 112.0; 95% CI 109.2–115.0); and Y total score by 3.5% (mean 98.8; 95% CI 96.6–100.9). The agility test in the experimental group was improved by 1.6 s (mean 13.2; 95% CI 12.6–14.0). A 10-week programme of additional sensomotor exercises improved selected parameters determining balance and agility in the young football players.


The soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) has been proposed as a biomarker for the risk stratification of patients presenting with acute infections. However, most studies evaluating suPAR have used platform-based assays, the diagnostic accuracy of which may differ from point-of-care tests capable of informing timely patient triage in settings without established laboratory capacity. Using samples and data collected during a prospective cohort study of 425 patients presenting with moderate Covid-19 to two hospitals in India, we evaluated the analytical performance and diagnostic accuracy of a commercially-available rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for suPAR, using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) as the reference standard. Although agreement between the two tests was limited (bias = -2.46 ng/mL [95% CI = -2.65 to -2.27 ng/mL]), diagnostic accuracy to predict progression to supplemental oxygen requirement was comparable, whether suPAR was used alone (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] of RDT = 0.73 [95% CI = 0.68 to 0.79] vs. AUC of ELISA = 0.70 [95% CI = 0.63 to 0.76]; p = 0.12) or as part of a previously published multivariable clinical prediction model (AUC of RDT-based model = 0.74 [95% CI = 0.66 to 0.83] vs. AUC of ELISA-based model = 0.72 [95% CI = 0.64 to 0.81]; p = 0.78). Lack of agreement between the suPAR RDT and ELISA in our cohort warrants further investigation and highlights the importance of assessing candidate point-of-care tests to ensure management algorithms reflect the assay that will ultimately be used to inform patient care. The availability of a quantitative point-of-care test for suPAR opens the door to suPAR-guided risk stratification of patients with Covid-19 and other acute infections in settings with limited laboratory capacity.


It is a fact that the Spanish population is getting older and older. This social transformation has, and will continue to have, social, political and economical consequences, both in personal as well as social dynamics. The present article deals with this new social situation, and focuses on the differences within the group of senior citizens, and on becoming acquainted with the speech used by the recently retired. The various contents of their conversations will be analyzed with regard to the social position they occupied, and that which they now occupy; this allows us to distinguish the new personal and social identity of the senior citizens, and also their new role in present-day society, based on the set of social strategies they employ in order to adapt to their new social situation, which is a result of their retirement. Other areas dealt with are those of the importance of the volunteer work done by the aged, and the role of the family in the context of their social interactions.


Universal design is a design philosophy couched in a public discourse of social inclusion. Spurred by disability civil rights legislation, growth of the older population, the information revolution, and markets, universal design has become a global design paradigm. This article reviews global dimensions of the paradigm and implementation strategies related to public transportation. Given universal design's overall inclusionary values beyond American Disability Act standards, the article asks, What is universal design's potential for redressing sociospatial exclusion among mobility-disadvantaged populations? Using a multitiered social exclusion/accessibility framework, the article addresses this question and draws conclusions about universal design applied to transit in the United States.


NETL envisions that the gasification of carbonaceous feedstocks may be the near- to mid-term sources of hydrogen for the transition to a renewable, hydrogen-based economy. However, the environmental impacts associated with the generation and emission of greenhouses gases from the gasification process remains a substantial concern. Therefore, NETL has devoted substantial resources towards the identification of efficient hydrogen separation and carbon capture/sequestration technologies. Hydrogen membranes integrated into a water-gas shift membrane reactor have been identified as a promising means of maximizing the production of pure hydrogen while simultaneously yielding a high-pressure, concentrated CO2 containing stream ready for sequestration.


In this study, the idea of training before peer feedback sessions was taken as a base. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether training before the feedback procedure helps students to provide effective written comments or not. 36 first year students from the ELT Department of Faculty of Education at Anadolu University were chosen as the study subjects to form the control and experimental groups. During the study, the experimental group was exposed to training through numerous activities devoted to practicing strategies for effective written feedback on peer writing, whereas students in the control group received no systematic training for written peer feedback. All the subjects were asked to provide written comments on each other's writings and to revise their compositions after having given written feedback. The written comments on the first drafts were collected and analyzed by three scorers by using the Coding Scheme for Students' Written Comments and the Rating Scale for Students' Written Comments. The outcomes of this study yielded that training students for written peer feedback had a significant impact on both the quantity and quality of feedback that students provided on peer writing. According to the findings, the experimental group provided significantly more qualified feedback, and significantly more specific and relevant feedback on global features of writing compared to the control group.


Palmprint recognition has now become an important identity recognition technique. Palmprint image contains abundant texture features, especially the orientation and scale features of palm lines. Existing palmprint recognition methods using texture features can be roughly categorized into two classes: coding based and local descriptor based methods. As compared with the latter class, the former one can make full use of the palmprint specific features and acquire fast matching speed. However, most existing coding based methods utilize the competitive coding scheme, which doesn't exploit the scale features of palmprint in their coding schemes. In this paper, we propose a discriminant orientation and scale features learning (DOSFL) for palmprint recognition. By introducing the idea of discriminant analysis into palmprint coding, DOSFL can extract the orientation and scale features with the most favorable discriminability. Then, DOSFL utilizes four code bits to represent both the orientation and scale features of palmprint, and employ the Hamming distance for code matching. Experiments on the commonly-used HK PolyU palmprint database demonstrate that our proposed approach can achieve better recognition results than several representative methods.


Purpose
This study aims to investigate outcomes of multisystemic therapy (MST) using the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) – part I.

Design/methodology/approach
This study, using a pre-post design, included a sample of 2,123 Norwegian youths (mean age = 14.7, SD = 1.34). The MST team supervisors assessed the YLS/CMI risk factors in addition to five behavioral treatment goals (Lives at home, Attends school/work, No violence/threats, Law-abiding and Drug-free) before and after treatment. In addition, data included responses from parent interviews six months post treatment.

Findings
Significant correlations were found between the total and dynamic YLS/CMI change scores and the additive index of behavioral treatment goals. In addition, the YLS/CMI change scores predicted the five treatment goals at the termination of treatment and at six-month follow-up.

Research limitations/implications
The results indicate that the YLS/CMI is a valuable assessment tool for predicting the achievement of MST behavioral goals in adolescents with serious problem behavior.

Practical implications
This study provides an evaluation of the YLS/CMI in a Norwegian context and adds support for continued use of the YLS/CMI in MST.

Originality/value
This paper provides new insights about the YLS/CMI inventory as a tool for examining treatment change in MST. Results show that the YLS/CMI captures relevant risk factors in the youths' environment.


As one of the representative caves of the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang,Mogao Cave 45 has an Avalokitesvara Sutra Illustration that is a masterpiece of Tang Dynasty artworks.The wall painting was not finished during the High Tang period,instead being completed during the Middle Tang period.Generally,this Avalokitesvara Sutra illustration is regarded to date back to the High Tang period,contemporary with the other High Tang wall paintings.But an investigation of the cave construction suggests that,this illustration was not finished during the High Tang period and was completed in the Middle Tang when construction of the cave stopped,just like the images of Avalokitesrava and Ksitigarbha bodhisattvas.A comparison of this illustration with the High Tang and Middle Tang paintings in other caves also suggests it is indeed different from the High Tang murals,associated instead with the Middle Tang murals.Furthermore,the creation of this illustration is consistent with the unique popularity of belief in Avalokitesvara at that time.Therefore,this illustration would have been painted after cave construction stopped with the invasion of the Tibetans,and it thus might be in the High Tang period,prior to the Tibetan occupation(786 CE),no earlier than the date of the standing Avalokiestrava image on the south side of the entrance wall,but possibly as late as in the Middle Tang period after the Tibetan Occupation. Nonetheless,it is certain to have been done after construction of this cave stopped.This does not mean the artistic,historical,and academic values of this illustration should be denied or belittled.


The first experimental observation of NEEC was reported in 2018 with a measured excitation probability of 1.0 (3)%, which is about nine orders of magnitude larger than the theoretical expectation. Later, researchers pointed out a possible overestimation owing to contamination from the heavy gamma background. This comment and the corresponding response induced a lively debate on the validity of the reported NEEC observation, calling for verification from another independent measurement. The debate was focused on whether the researchers sufficiently considered the effect of the heavy gamma background.


Recent literature on trade in fisheries products and in factors of production for fishing can be used to ask when it might be welfare increasing to encourage government financial transfers (GFTs) in the fisheries. Using numerical techniques and assuming a small open one factor 2 good economy with production inefficiencies in the resource sector, welfare gains from GFTs that encourage productive efficiency can be seen over a wide range of prices, depending upon the costs of implementing the policies. GFTs that fail to sufficiently induce efficient production can be welfare-reducing. However, other economic behavior engendered by GFT policy may favor the latter result. The groundfish crisis in Eastern Canada is discussed as a possible case in point. When the assumption of factor immobility and competitive factor markets are relaxed, comparative advantage arguments for trade in fishing services are also weakened. In these cases, the internal validity of trade models is not at issue, but rather their application to situations where the assumed conditions are at odds with economic realities. New International Trade Theory has heretofore mainly dealt with trade effects under assumptions that diverge from perfect competition. In that regard, the study of trade involving exhaustible resources and common pool behavior contributes to that research agenda.


ABSTRACT Objective To determine whether metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components are risk factors for breast cancer among postmenopausal women in China. Methods Based on the baseline data of the Jinchang Cohort, a case–control study was carried out among postmenopausal women, including 43 cases and 86 controls. Both MetS and its components were evaluated. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association were estimated by conditional logistic regression analysis. Results The odds ratio of postmenopausal breast cancer was 3.505 (95% CI 1.282–9.583) for MetS, 3.016 (95% CI 1.044–8.715) for body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2, and 3.191 (95% CI 1.253–8.125) for dyslipidemia. There was no significant association between postmenopausal breast cancer and hypertension as well as diabetes. Women with four metabolic factors showed greater risk for postmenopausal breast cancer (ptrend < 0.05). Dyslipidemia and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 showed most significant interaction on breast cancer (odds ratio = 11.359; 95% CI 2.663–48.450). With BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, the interaction of dyslipidemia and other metabolic factors on breast cancer was higher than that without BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Conclusion This case–control study suggested that MetS was associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women in north-west China. Overweight and dyslipidemia had the strongest adverse effects on postmenopausal breast cancer.


Simple procedures are presented for separating the enantiomers of α-methyldopa, 5-hydroxytryptophan, tryptophan, triiodothyronine and thyroxine, which require neither special sorbents nor difficult-to-obtain or unstable reagents.

The method for α-methyldopa, 5-hydroxytryptophan and tryptophan is based on the use of L-phenylalanine copper complex as the chiral constituent of the mobile phase; LiChrosorb® RP-18 serves as the stationary phase. The procedure for triiodothyronine and thyroxine is grounded on the L-proline copper complex as the chiral reagent and LiChrosorb® Si 60 as the stationary phase.

In all observed cases, the D-enantiomer is eluted prior to the respective L-enantiomer. Chirality inversion of the mobile phase (application of the D-phenylalanine copper complex) reverses the order of elution; a racemic eluent (DL-phenylalanine copper complex) leads to no separation. In addition to the enantiomers of α-amino acids, the enantiomers of α-hydroxy acids (mandelic acid) can be separated.


Empty container drayage trips are considered to be a major problem for port metropolitan areas, they add to traffic congestion, increase emissions and are considered to be an inefficient equipment interchange. A Virtual Container Yard (VCY) is an Internet based information sharing platform, aiming at permitting empty container interchange and other processes to take place without moving the container back to the marine terminal or an empty container depot Using a VCY system as a platform for sharing and providing information among the different port players (ocean carriers, trucking operators etc.) to make freight logistics more efficient by means of street-turns (direct empty container moves from a consignee to the next consignor) is increasingly considered as a viable solution in reducing empty Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and associated congestion and emissions. This paper describes a modeling approach and a simulation model that captures the process of matching empty containers and the essential features of implementing a VCY. The anticipated benefits from VCY implementation, in terms of VMT reduction and the economic conditions for the successful operation of the system are quantified. The results for different scenarios of input parameters, system environments and practical constraints, in order to make the system feasible, are presented and analyzed. The paper concludes with recommendations to achieve favorable conditions for practical implementation of the system.


Recent standardization efforts in Europe have led to the publication of the ECSS Control Performance Standard and the ESA Pointing Error Engineering Handbook, which are instrumental in defining a clear pointing error engineering methodology for ESA projects. To complement and support dissemination of this pointing error engineering methodology, the prototype of a software tool called Pointing Error Engineering Tool has been developed and released under the ESA Software Community License. This paper describes the mathemathical framework and the steps of the methodology for pointing error budgeting that is implemented in the Pointing Error Engineering Tool and highlights the benefits that this tool can provide with respect to traditional conservative approaches, particularly for high pointing accuracy missions. An application example of the use of the Pointing Error Engineering Tool for a representative high pointing accuracy mission is provided to discuss the specific practical issues that may arise during the pointing error engineering process. Finally, the perspective activities to be promoted by ESA in the area of tools for pointing error engineering are outlined.


The method and apparatus used are supplied for sorting the preforms of a device for blow molding containers. In the area of the device for blow molding containers, the preforms are stretched to a thermal conditioning within a blowing mold of at least one stretching rod and shaped by blowing pressure in the container. The preforms are acted upon during a sorting operation in the vicinity of a mouth portion for applying a feeding force having at least a first gas flow flows out of the outflow openings in a guide device. The preforms are also acted upon by at least one second gas flow such that a flow is oblique to a longitudinal axis of the preforms and a propagation component in the direction of a mouth portion of the preforms.


The turning of straight micropins with a diameter smaller than 10 µm, which has not been reported so far, was carried out using micro turning tools made of cemented tungsten carbide. Tools of 50 µm diameter were fabricated by electrical discharge machining, which is suitable for fabricating micro cutting tools because it can deal with hard materials and carry out micromachining. A turning machine designed especially for micro turning tools was used in the experiments. A brass workpiece was turned using a tool with a length of cut of 100 µm at a feed speed of 3.0 µm/s, feed per revolution of 0.06 µm and depth of cut of 10–11 µm. As a result, a straight micropin of 7.5 µm diameter and 80 µm length was successfully turned. Furthermore, turning was also performed using a tool with a length of cut of 50 µm at a feed speed of 3.0 µm/s, feed per revolution of 0.06 µm and depth of cut of 8.5–20 µm to fabricate a straight micropin of 3 µm diameter and 30 µm length. This micropin is the pin with the smallest ever diameter fabricated by turning, to the best of our knowledge, indicating the possibility of further minimization of the machinable size in turning. Turning properties were also investigated to determine the maximum depth of cut and feed speed that can be employed without tool breakage.


Nanostructures of semiconductors and metals show novel optical and transport properties, and offer the perspective of designing materials properties with unprecedented flexibility and control. This has motivated research in the synthesis and characterization of new materials. This 2004 book brings together scientists with various levels of expertise in the growth, characterization and applications of inorganic nanostructures, such as quantum dots, nanowires and nanorods, to discuss and share developments in the field. Reports focus on techniques to prepare and characterize novel materials, investigations of novel optical and electronic properties, and novel applications, such as those that are biologically inspired. Topics include: synthesis and characterization of semiconductor quantum dots, nanoparticles and nanowires using wet chemistry and molecular beam approaches; synthesis, characterization and novel properties of metallic nanostructures; optical properties of neutral and charged excitons and exciton complexes in self-assembled quantum dots; nanoscale devices and sensors based on nanostructures and their properties; and design and characterization of quantum dot-bioconjugates and their use in assay developments.


International human rights standard-setting continues to evolve at the macro-level as a result of new challenges and shifting perceptions. Nevertheless, it is the implementation of human rights at the micro-level that can meaningfully change the lives of individuals. Julie Fraser's Social Institutions and International Human Rights Law Implementation: Every Organ of Society follows this rationale and successfully illustrates what is effectively needed for the enjoyment of human rights at the micro-level. Advocating for culturally sensitive approaches to human rights, the book critiques the 'Western model' of state-centric and legalistic approaches to implementation and instead advocates for making rights more graspable for communities (7–12, 269, 279). Fraser hereby examines the potential of local and culturally legitimate social institutions using non-legislative methods (12). The term 'social institutions' originates from social sciences and includes concepts like kinship groups and religion (14–5). Culturally sensitive approaches to international human rights law (hereafter IHRL) implementation have been advocated differently in legal scholarship by scholars like AnNa'im, Nyamu, Merry, Zwart, and Donders, whom Fraser often refers to and agrees with. In these approaches, social institutions typically are central (22). In contrast, literature on the improvement of human rights implementation generally gives more attention to other non-state actors, such as armed groups or transnational enterprises (115). The first theoretical part of the book is based on doctrinal legal research combined with socio-legal insights. Fraser's contribution to existing scholarship mainly lies with the methodology undertaken in the second part of the book that takes an empirical approach. Fraser analyses how social institutions can contribute to the implementation of human rights through a case study. It is this element of the book which makes it stand out from earlier research concerning culturally sensitive approaches. While much has been written on a theoretical level, this book adds knowledge on the improvement of rights implementation that is substantiated by considerable practical experience and concrete examples. The current body of scholarship lacks such knowledge. The case study examines the role of the religion of Islam as a social institution in the implementation of family planning programmes in Indonesia. The book practices what it preaches. As opposed to purely theorising, the book pinpoints both limitations and benefits of a culturally sensitive approach when applied on the ground. To illustrate, one


In this paper, the specific wear rate (SWR) and the coefficient of friction (CoF) of steel embedded glass/epoxy hybrid composites were examined and compared. Experiments were carried on the pin-on-disc machine on different types of composite materials like plain composite (steel volume 0%) and hybrid composites (steel volume 5% and 10%) pressed against a rotating steel disc (EN 31). Composites were fabricated using the hand-lay-up method. The volume percentage of steel pin/pipe varied from 0 to 10% and glass fiber from 50 to 60%, while the percentage of epoxy was kept 40% stable. The experiments were carried out on a group of samples for duration 20 minutes for different loads of 70N, 80N, 90N, 100N, and 110N with a varying sliding distance of 1000 m, 1250 m, 1500 m, 1750 m, and 2000 m. The results show that the SWR and CoF vary with different load and sliding distance. In general, CoF rises for some time of rubbing, and then it remains constant for the rest of the testing time. The results obtained show that the SWR and CoF increase with increasing sliding distance and load for all the composites. However, SWR and CoF decrease as an increase in the volume percentage of steel. An SWR of hybrid composite is observed to be reduced by 28.02% and 45.98% with an increasing percentage of steel by 5% and 10% respectively. CoF of hybrid composite is observed to be reduced by 14.11% and 24.02% with an increasing percentage of steel by 5% and 10% respectively. At last, the worn surfaces of the hybrid composites were studied through a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Shallow and fine grooves appeared on the worn surfaces of hybrid composites at low loads and cracks were found in large quantities at high load which increased weight loss.


Polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, HCBs and p, p'-DDE were determined in soil and sediment samples from selected sites in Czecho-Slovakia. for the first three groups of chemicals soil pollution in Czecho-Slovakia is very high. in general, The pollution is higher in the Elbe than in the Danube catchment sediments.


MICROFACIES DEVELOPMENT IN THE MAIN DOLOMITE IN NORTHERN PART OF THE FORE-SUDETIC MONOCLINE

Summary
The paper presents results of studies on the microfacies of the Main Dolomite and the main features of paleogeography and sedimentary environment of northern parts of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline It appeared possible to trace here two main paleogeographic units highly differing from one another in microfacies development, i.e. those of deep and shallow shelf. The former is characterized by the presence of transgressive sedimentary cycle which, under the conditions of repeated lack of compensation of subsidence by sedimentation resulted in a marked increase in depth of reservoir during sedimentation of Main Dolomite deposits. The shallow shelf is characterized by regressive cycle of sedimentation, especially well-developed in the area of the Lubuska barrier which, in turn, resulted in the onset of supralitoral conditions at the end of sedimentation of Main Dolomite deposits. Attention should be paid to the existence of mud banks stabilized by non-stromatolite blue-green algae in shallow shelf plains stretching east of the Lubuska barrier.


Abstract Students' opinion and assessment of the quality of teaching presents an important segment of the evaluation of the quality of teaching at university level in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Process. In this study, we have examined opinion of students at the Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade on the pedagogical benefits of fieldwork, which presents an important determinant of geographers' education. A total of 215 students evaluated pedagogical benefits of fieldwork in relation to didactic-methodical aspects such as: immediate contact with objects of knowledge; interdisciplinary study of a problem; application of various methods of teaching; enhancement of motivation for learning; improvement of social relations, and development of skills necessary for fieldwork. Research results indicate that students recognize and positively evaluate benefits of fieldwork. Final-year students as well as students who had more days of fieldwork evaluate benefits of fieldwork in a more positive way. Research results indicate the need to improve the quality of fieldwork and increase its share in the curriculum of the Faculty of Geography in accordance with the constructivist paradigm in education, which places a student at the centre of educational process, and fundamental principles of the Bologna Process.


: The impact of urban migration on ethnic politics is the subject of long-standing debate. "First-generation" mod-ernization theories predict that urban migration should reduce ethnic identification and increase trust between groups. "Second-generation" modernization perspectives argue the opposite: Urban migration may amplify ethnic identification and reduce trust. We test these competing expectations with a three-wave panel survey following more than 8,000 Kenyans over a 15-year period, providing novel evidence on the impact of urban migration. Using individual fixed effects regressions, we show that urban migration leads to reductions in ethnic identification; ethnicity's importance to the individual diminishes after migrating. Yet urban migration also reduces trust between ethnic groups, and trust in people generally. Urban migrants become less attached to their ethnicity but more suspicious. The results advance the literature on urbanization and politics and have implications for the potential consequences of ongoing urbanization processes around the world.


Text image super-resolution is a unique and important task to enhance readability of text images to humans. It is widely used as pre-processing in scene text recognition. However, due to the complex degradation in natural scenes, recovering high-resolution texts from the low-resolution inputs is ambiguous and challenging. Existing methods mainly leverage deep neural networks trained with pixel-wise losses designed for natural image reconstruction, which ignore the unique character characteristics of texts. A few works proposed content-based losses. However, they only focus on text recognizers' accuracy, while the reconstructed images may still be ambiguous to humans. Further, they often have weak generalizability to handle cross languages. To this end, we present TATSR, a Text-Aware Text Super-Resolution framework, which effectively learns the unique text characteristics using Criss-Cross Transformer Blocks (CCTBs) and a novel Content Perceptual (CP) Loss. The CCTB extracts vertical and horizontal content information from text images by two orthogonal transformers, respectively. The CP Loss supervises the text reconstruction with content semantics by multi-scale text recognition features, which effectively incorporates content awareness into the framework. Extensive experiments on various language datasets demonstrate that TATSR outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of both recognition accuracy and human perception.


ApaxiLa tyohcpa Xcv<p[o\cv€ 8e£o ft* ev au]Aou I am a drachma: white-armed Hera, accept me in the court. If this is adopted, a reason appears for the removal of the dedication from its place of honour in the temple and the use of the stone as building material within a few years of its original erection. This is stated to have taken place about 650 B.C.; and this is the date assigned by Ravel to the first issue of coinage on the Corinthian standard. As this standard gave only about half as much silver to the drachma as the Aeginetan, a revision of the definition of a drachma, so far as Corinth was concerned, was necessary; and the old exhibit was scrapped. J. G. MILNE.


Abstract The 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy has been used to study the liquid crystalline disubstituted derivatives of ferrocene (FLCn). Characteristic Debye temperatures, order parameters, intramolecualar and lattice contributions to the nuclear vibrational anisotropy have been obtained for these compounds and 7% (weight) solution FLCIO in the nematic LC H8.


History of Participatory Media: Politics and Publics, 1750-2000. Anders Ekstrom, Solveig Julich, Frans Lundgren, and Per Wisselgren, eds. New York: Routledge, 2010. 192 pp. $125.00 hbk.This unusual edited collection may be a stronger contributor to our understanding of concepts of public participation than of media or of what media scholarship, perhaps too simplistically, tends to regard as media. The editors critique mainstream media history's neglect of a participatory media "prehistory," although most of the chapters correspond with periods in which mainstream media were well established. A frontal effort to outline participatory media "prehistories" would likely cover a much broader range of phenomena.The volume is strongly influenced by the Swedish affiliations of most, if not all, of its contributors. Several chapters deal with exhibitions or the use of exhibitions by missionaries. The collection is a valuable historical resource for interrogation of concepts of audience "activity" and "passivity," and of well-intended, engineered "participatory" strategies or codes of conduct, sometimes amounting to "social experiments," that vary according to the "sociotechnical arrangements" that facilitate them.The editors-all of whom teach at Swedish universities-provide predictable references to Habermasian theory in their introduction, but the relevance of Habermas to succeeding chapters is slight to nonexistent. Actual references to Habermas are sparse. Habermas was principally concerned with mainstream media inasmuch as he was concerned with media at all, and he argued that industrialization of the media reduced their capacity as authentically participatory, communicative forums. Patrik Lundell's chapter here on Swedish newspapers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries seems, if anything, to reinforce that view. I doubt that Habermasian scholars would find public sphere theory significantly challenged by this volume, although they might be persuaded by the editors' argument that the dualism of empowermentversus- incorporation models of the relationship between media and publics is better substituted by a complementary view.Among the chapters on traditional media is Lundell's, which notes not just the extent of participation in the early Swedish press but also the idea of participation as a civic duty. He traces a trend from "truth-seeking" conversation within the pages of local monopoly papers to competitive "debate between newspapers, or rather between newspaper editors." In his chapter, coeditor Per Wisselgren examines reality television as an interaction among reality, participation, and social experiment. Acknowledging an extensive prehistory, he refers to Peter Weir's film The Truman Show, which presciently captured tendencies toward "the changing relationships between the private and the public, surveillance and visuality, authenticity and performativity . . . [and] social experiment", while questioning whether media participation can be meaningfully equated with political citizenship. One of Sweden's first reality TV shows, Expedition Robinson, helped introduce a "conscious hybridization of genres" and changed the relationship among producers, viewers, and participants. For viewers, watching was about reflecting on and learning about self, more than it was about regarding objectified people. The series' value as "social experiment" lay in its combination of popular culture, social science, and naturalized social surveillance.In his chapter, Bodil Axelsson examines and contrasts two websites, the homepage of the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities and the online discussion forum Historical Worlds. …


This paper presents an approach to model melodies (and music pieces in general) as networks. Notes of a melody can be seen as nodes of a network that are connected whenever these are played in sequence. This creates a directed graph. By using complex network theory, it is possible to extract some main metrics, typical of networks, that characterize the piece. Using this framework, we provide an analysis on a set of guitar solos performed by main musicians. The results of this study indicate that this model can have an impact on multimedia applications such as music classification, identification, and automatic music generation.


THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS THE FOURTH and final excerpt from Julius Stockhausens A Method of Singing that will be offered here. Stockhausen issued what seems to be a condensed version of his book (published in 1884) serially in Edgar S. Werner's The Voice, a journal published in the United States between 1879 and 1902. This was the sixth article in the series and was published in June, 1888. A Method of Singing by Julius Stockhausen IV. Legato Singing-Aspirated Vocalization-Ornaments ("Grace" Notes or Passages) The most important and most beautiful style of vocalization is the legato. It forms the basis of vocal technique, embracing, as it does, all diatonic, chromatic and broken runs, arpeggios and ornaments, and must be studied both with and without words. Triplets, groups of four notes, and all kind of runs are much more difficult to execute evenly when broken by syllables than when sung on one vowel alone. They require special study, and peculiar dexterity of the articulating muscles. In words like volpa soprafina, the hard consonant p on the unaccented part of the bar can hardly be formed quickly enough. It generally destroys the distinctness of the four successive notes. In this kind of vocalization the object should be to produce on one vowel the sudden contractions and expansions of the vocal chink from note to note in ascending and descending sequences with increasing or decreasing power, sometimes in strict time, sometimes ad libitum, but always firmly and clearly. In order to achieve this, the pupil must first of all learn to control his breath, and especially to hold it back, in order not to impede by too great a gush of air the action of the ring-shield muscle, which, in this instance, plays a most important part. The lungs must work without jerking and without the aid of the diaphragm, and must at first give forth only a small quantity of air. The greatest activity is therefore required from the larynx. It is advisable at the beginning to make use of a decrescendo, especially in the ascending scale. The pupil will, by this means, succeed in avoiding a "synergy," or simultaneous action of two different groups of muscles of the larynx, which might prove fatal to the voice and to a perfect delivery. Finally, the vowel must keep its characteristic form through the whole duration of a passage. The legato style, therefore, requires, in runs which are to be performed on a single vowel only, a quiet action of the lungs, great activity of the muscles of the vocal cords, and a uniform position of the articulating-cavity. If a sustained melody is to be sung with words, the chief condition is that each note and each syllable shall receive its full value. The effect of legato delivery is totally destroyed by detaching the notes, by unduly prolonging a consonant, or doubling it when single. As regards the pitch, the working of the larynx is exactly the same as in vocalizing and solfeggio. The well-known fact that for beginners the production of a note is easier with the help of the Spiritus asper (h) than without, has induced many masters to prescribe this aspiration (that is, a slight escape of air between each note) even for legato passages, and to teach a style of vocalization resembling solfeggio. Instead of practicing on a vowel the pupils have to sing ha, ha, ha, he, he, he, hi, hi, hi. This is not only ugly, but quite wrong, for it destroys all legato. It is quite a different thing to employ the Spiritus asper for aspirated vocalization. In this case, two notes of the same pitch have to be distinctly repeated, and this can be only achieved by an almost inaudible aspiration. Of course, the intonation must not be endangered by the insertion of the aspirate in repeating the note; many allow it to fall too much. To most of our modern singers this kind of vocalization is unknown. They try, as a rule, to get over the difficulty by a syncopation, or by marking, or by emphasizing the second note. …