Traditional basis pursuit model is considered in the presence of additive Gaussian white noise.Eventually,there may be many kinds of noise circumstances in real application.Obviously,traditional basis pursuit model is not enough for non-Gaussian noise circumstances.Based on variable sparseness measure functions and error penalty functions,new extended Basis pursuit model is proposed.Statistical significance of extended basis pursuit model is analyzed,algorithm of a kind of extended basis pursuit model is also brought forward.Some typical signal denosing experiments results demonstrate that the extended Basis Pursuit model can provide better de-noising results than traditional Basis Pursuit model wherein the noise is impulse noise.


Building Finance vis-a-vis Office and Retail Space Constraints in the City Centre of Harare: A Study of Stakeholders Experiences and Perceptions. This is a piece of work that describes and gave a clear analysis of the status quo of the Zimbabwean Property Market soon after the introduction of the multi-currency system.It dwells much on the Commercial Office and Retail space provision and availability. It then went on to elaborate on the Stakeholders Experiences and Perceptions about the whole circus.The Stakeholders involved ranges from the Property Developers, Construction Companies, Banks as Financiers, the Government especially on Policy and Policy Reforms,and lastly but far from being least the Office and Retail Space Tenants as the consumers of the end product.Despite Harare being the economic harbor of this country, gone are the days when extensive investments and property development has been witnessed in Harare; cynical analysts used to say that there is no development outside Harare.Innocent questions like why there has not been any major commercial retail/office building construction in Harare CBD for the past decade have been addressed in this research.


Seen as an effective media for the dissemination of thoughts and ideas, the cover image of the journal in the Republic of China was a translation of the text style of a particular publication, which had a certain context in the framework of time and events. Based on the cover image of Monthly Magazine Literary's opening issue, this paper intends to further discuss this topic also with the consideration of Fiction Monthly Magazine(Vol.22, the December Issue) and Oriental Magazine(vol. 30, the First Issue). With the style analysis of the three magazines, this paper compares their culture orientation, the time and events of their fi rst and fi nal issues and their public images in order to further discuss and analysis the intentional information in the cover image of the publication by the leftwing intellectual and these factors affecting its formation. The paper also aims, through this approach, to recover relevant context of the publication events during 1920 s to 1930 s in the view of art history, concerning the visual expression pattern of thoughts under the specifi c era.


Background: Physiotherapy is one of the most referenced and effective conservative strategies for treating patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). This study aimed to characterize and analyze the self-knowledge of TMD of Portuguese physiotherapists. Methods: an online questionnaire was carried out, and the data collected were descriptively analyzed. Results: A total of 338 physiotherapists participated, of which only 142 treated patients with TMD. Seventy-six percent of the physiotherapists reported that they had not received training in the TMD area during the physiotherapy degree course. Only 11% of the physiotherapists reported that treating patients with TMD adequately identified all symptoms of TMD. Conclusions: the present study showed that it is necessary to integrate TMD-related content into the basic training of physiotherapists and promote an increase in evidence-based training.


Objective:To investigate the effect of prostaglandin E2(PGE2) on expression and enzyme activity of matrix metalloproteinase 2(MMP2) by EP1 receptor in cholangiocarcinoma cells HuCCT1 cells.Methods:HuCCT1 cells were treated with PGE2,EP1 receptor agonist,EP1 receptor antagonist,protein kinase C(PKC) inhibitor and Ca2+ chelating agent,RT-PCR and gelatin zymography were employed to detect the mRNA level and enzyme activity of MMP2 in HuCCT1 cells.Results:The mRNA levels of MMP2 increased 89.14%(P 0.01),163.89%(P 0.01);and the enzyme activity of MMP2 increased 69.11%(P 0.05),117.65(P 0.01) compared with the control group after treated with 5 μmol/L PGE2,5 μmol/L EP1 receptor agonist 17-PT-PGE2 respectively.The mRNA level and the enzyme activity of MMP2 in HuCCT1 cells treated with 10 μmol/L EP1 receptor antagonist sc-51322 decreased 47.74%(P 0.05),84.58%(P 0.01) compared with the cells treated with PGE2.After treated with 5 μmol/L PGE2 or 5μmol/L 17-PT-PGE2,the enzyme activity of MMP2 in EP1R-pcDNA3 transfected HEK293 cells increased 36.07%(P 0.05),61.59%(P 0.05) compared with the control group.When treated with 5 μmol/L PKC inhibitor BIS-1,10 μmol/L Ca2+ chelating agent BAPTA-AM,the mRNA levels of MMP2 decreased 44.17%(P 0.05),34.42%(P 0.05);and the enzyme activities of MMP2 decreased 70.95%(P 0.05),71.82%(P 0.05) compared with the cells treated with 17-PT-PGE2.Conclusion:PGE2 might up-regulate the mRNA level and the enzyme activity of MMP2 through EP1 receptor in cholangiocarcinoma HuCCT1 cells,which could be partly related to the Ca2+/PKC signaling pathway.


This paper introduces the status of research on deep treatment of injection water and experimental study on application of ceramic filtration unit in deep treatment of injection water and underground water.Experiment re-sults show that injection water and underground water,first treated with conventional filtrating methods and then with ceramic filtration unit,have an oil content below5mg /l and suspended solid(grain diameter1μm)content under1mg /l.The main indexes of water quality meet the requirements of Class A1standards in the″Proposed in-jection water quality indexes in clastic reservoirs and analytical methods″.


This paper studies how the speed of order submission – defined by the minimum time difference between the two orders by the same investor – affect investor behavior when submitting orders in an order-driven market. We show that our measure of speed is correlated with algorithm trading proxy measures such as order-to-trade ratio and cancel-to-trade ratio. We find that slow traders tend to use more market orders than fast traders and limit order further away from the market price, consistent with the previous theoretical literature. However, the relationship is not monotonic. We extend the theoretical model to explain this phenomenon.


As the world is going global, people have a lot to choose from when it comes to movies. There are different genres, cultures and languages to choose from in the world of movies. This arises the issue of recommending movies to users in automated systems. So far, a decent number of works has been done in this field. But there is always room for renovation. This paper proposed a machine learning approach to recommend movies to users using K-means clustering algorithm to separate similar users and creating a neural network for each cluster.


: In this paper, we present an architecture for the fault isolation by applying virtualization-based multi-stack technologies. We propose the simultaneous sharing and switching mechanism using virtualied serial communications. Each guest OS has its own virtual serial device. The distribution module provides communications between the guest OS's through the virtual serial devices and simultaneously detect the liveness of the guest OS. The suggested mechanism has been implemented in VirtualBox and shows satisfactory performance in transmission speed and data sharing capability with virtual RS232.


Institute of Botany, Žaliųjų ežerų 49, LT-08406 Vilnius, Lithuania E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Cells of Crepis capillaris root tips were irradiated with full sunlight, UVB, UV(B+A), or with artificial UVB. The modifying effect of ascorbic acid (AA) and salicylic acid (SA) on the genotoxic action of UV radiation expressed by chromosome aberration (CA) frequency has been studied. Both substances were shown to decrease CA frequency, but the effect was more pronounced if the artificial source of UVB was used. It was proposed that variations in microconditions on the day of UV irradiation as well as the different quality of seeds may be the main cause of variations in the results of investigations.


BMI1 is involved in the occurrence and development of many types of cancer through a variety of signaling pathways. BMI1, which is overexpressed in cancer, is often associated with chemo- and radiation resistance and poor prognosis in cancer patients. This article reviews the current understanding of the mechanism of BMI1 in maintaining tumor stemness, promoting metastasis, and inducing chemo- and radiation resistance, aiming at providing updated information supportive of targeting BMI1 in cancer treatment.


The Survey Research Data Archive (SRDA) is the largest data archive in Taiwan and in Asia. It collects not only survey data in social sciences but also raw data of major government statistics. These archived data have made significant contributions to research. Data and remote access service are provided without charge. In addition, an English website along with the English version of the data and their metadata will be available by mid-2013. To improve the search efficiency and promote itself among domestic researchers, SRDA began to launch a series of projects around June of 2011. These include the revision of abstracts, the construction of new search functions, and the compiling and circulating of a power point concerning the use of SRDA. This paper documents the endeavors, reports the current progress, and reflects on the experiences learned from the developments.


Editor—John A Summerfield and colleagues suggest that mutations in the mannose binding protein gene are associated with infections in children attending their hospital paediatric department.1 They also conclude that screening for such mutations should be included in the investigation of severe or frequent infections, but they fail to explain why. What is the point of screening? How can identifying such mutations in these children improve …


Learning outcomes
Using the case, students will learn about the following topics: identification of the right shareholder for a start-up. Need for a tech co-founder for an app-based start-up. Delay in building the right team at the right time. Lack of preparedness; a start-up's challenges in identifying the business model. What was the real pain point (problem identification)? Did the solution meet market expectations (solution quality)?; consumers' usual social habits. How do people's habits hinder a product's survival in the market? Why do consumers continue to behave the same way they have? Technology-related constraints.

Case overview/synopsis
KnoDues was a mobile application (app)-based start-up in the domain of split expenses. The business idea germinated in early 2015 and became a reality toward the end of 2015. In a developing country context, the case provides rich insights into lean vs traditional start-up formation, founders' knowledge, opportunity identification, product development and investment. India is a growing economy with ever-increasing smartphone users and internet consumers. Despite its deep-rooted rural-urban divide in the usage of modern technologies, India possesses a vast market opportunity in big cities. Rightly so, KnoDues intended to target the urban youth (between 15 and 35 years of age) population. Although KnoDues was not a unique product or the first of its kind, the founders perceived it to be the "first mover" in the Indian market. In its initial days, the product received an overwhelming response from accelerators and business-plan judges. Although KnoDues achieved more than 20,000 downloads by the end of 2016, customer retention and attracting investors became a difficult task. Founders felt that the difficulty was because of people's "usual social habits," and inadequate revenue model. Toward the end of 2017, KnoDues's founders contemplated on ceasing their business.

Complexity academic level
Undergraduate, postgraduate and executive.

Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email email@example.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.


A rare multiple congenital anomalies/dysmorphic syndrome characterized by auditory canal atresia (resulting in moderate conductive hearing loss) associated with intellectual disability, ventricular septal defect, umbilical hernia, anteriorly displaced anus, various skeletal anomalies (such as mild clubfoot, long fifth fingers, proximally placed thumbs), and craniofacial dysmorphism which includes brachycephaly, prominent forehead, flattened occiput, midface hypoplasia, anteverted nares, and low set, posteriorly rotated ears with overlapping superior helix. There have been no further descriptions in the literature since 1987.


A new estimation method is presented for network sampling designs, including Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) and Snowball (SB) sampling. These types of link-tracing designs are essential for studies of hidden populations, such as people at risk for HIV. The simple idea behind the new method is to run a fast-sampling process on the sample network data to estimate the inclusion probabilities of the actual survey, and incorporate those in unequal probability estimators of population means and proportions. Improved versions of the usual RDS and SB designs are also proposed, termed RDS+ and SB+, to obtain information on more of the within-sample links. In simulations using the network from the Colorado Springs study on the heterosexual spread of HIV, the new estimators produce in most cases lower bias and lower mean square than current methods. For the variables having the largest mean square errors with current estimators, the improvement with the new estimator is dramatic. The estimates are improved even more with the enhanced design versions. For estimating the population mean degree, the efficiency gains using he new method are 29 for RDS, 54 for RDS+, 26 for SB and 80 for SB+. This means for example, with the ordinary RDS design, the mean square error with the new estimator, same data, is 1/29 that of currently used estimators. The new method is computationally intricate but is fast and scales up well. The new estimation method can be used to re-analyze existing network survey data. For new network sampling studies, it is recommended to use the improved designs as well as the new estimators.


Cratis Williams's observations on language and speech communication were first published in Mountain Life & Work (1961-1967) and in The North Carolina Historical Review (1978). Here they have been collected and edited by Jim Wayne Miller and Loyal Jones, with appendixes, a bibliography, and a useful introduction. As Miller says, Williams was not a linguist. Moreover, his was a popular audience rather than a group of specialists. Nonetheless, "his work on Appalachian folk speech is remarkably free of misconceptions." It is also eclectic, touching upon phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, and dialect history. Williams's ten essays are good starting points for the study of Appalachian speech as well as for readers more casually interested in the people of the Southern Appalachian region. Miller's scholarly introduction to this volume offers keen perspective on the work of Cratis Williams and discusses it within the larger contexts of regional studies and linguistic theory. Since Williams was writing for general readers, Miller reminds us, his transcriptions and descriptions of mountain speech do not typically employ the terminology and symbology of linguistic specialists. Still, "his descriptions of various aspects ofAppalachian speech are not at variance with those of linguists. They are simply a different kind of description determined by his purpose and intended audience." Williams's emphasis on the Scotch-Irish contribution to Appalachian speech has, Miller comments, been "adduced by other students of language, history, and culture." His tendency to emphasize archaic "survivals" in Appalachian folk


The activities in progress in our laboratory for the development of new types of lithium batteries to be proposed for portable electronics and hybrid car application, are reviewed and discussed. The research has been mainly focused on the characterization of new electrode and electrolyte materials. Results related to improved, solvent-free , as well as gel-type, polymer electrolytes are particularly stressed. It is shown that the use of proper gel electrolytes in combination with suitable electrode couples, allows the development of new types of safe, reliable and low cost lithium ion batteries which appear very promising power sources for hybrid vehicles.


The association of vitamin C with tissue growth and physiologic activity raises the question of its relative importance in the growth and maintenance of neoplastic cells. A review of the previously reported observations on this subject has been made by Minor and Ramirez in connection with their studies in the utilization of vitamin C by cancer patients. They found that in 7 normal persons, in 1 patient with than in the normal tissues. Neither the concentration of this in the tumors nor their growth was affected by long continued injections of ascorbic acid. Sure, Theis, and Harrelson observed an appreciable decrease in the ascorbic acid content of adrenal, spleen, thymus, liver, kidney, and lung in rats after implantation and growth of the Walker carcinosarcoma 256. In a study to determine whether or not desoxy-


This paper deals with networking and knowledge base design to support researchers from various fields. The project is been implemented as a working prototype for investigating an integrated model for environmental research, which concentrates on the application spatial, and temporal analysis techniques to large-scale ecological data sets and includes satellite imagery and ground-based sensor data. The primary objective of the paper is to present the current state of the art for capturing and displaying live location information of a moving target in a wildlife environment as well as environmental parameters from static monitoring stations


Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes were used in a single-compartment electrochemical cell including the degradation of organic matter (OM) and the detection of lead in water. Using sulfuric acid as electrolyte, the mineralization step was almost complete after 20 min under galvanostatic electrolysis conditions whatever the OM (i.e. phenol or humic acid (HA)). Nevertheless, H2SO4 was not suitable for samples containing Pb(II) since it induces PbSO4 precipitation. On the another hand, the use of HNO3 resulted in a decrease in the HA degradation yield down to 30 % but still 90 % for phenol without any interference with respect to lead detection. Under these latter experimental conditions, the assay of Pb(II) was performed by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). The BDD electrode exhibited a linear response in the range 1 – 10 ppm with a normalized sensitivity of 2.66 nC ppm-1 min-1. Accurate results were obtained in solutions containing 20 ppm phenol, compared to reference technique analysis


Nearly all Americans now recognize that smoking causes lung cancer and other serious diseases; however, cigarette smoking has not yet been eradicated in this country. This might be taken as evidence that beliefs about the health risks of smoking do not influence smoking onset or quitting. In this paper, we report new evidence that perceiving smoking to entail greater health risks reduces the likelihood that a young person will begin to smoke. This evidence suggests that public health campaigns should continue to focus on this theme to bolster resistance to smoking onset among young people.


Summary Cortisone acetate depressed adrenal weight and reduced adrenal cholesterol concentration in male and female rats. Methylandrostenediol (MAD) depleted adrenal cholesterol in both sexes while not influencing adrenal weight. When cortisone acetate and MAD were injected concomitantly, normal adrenal weights were observed in male and female rats. However, adrenal cholesterol content was protected by MAD only in cortisone-treated males. MAD did not prevent adrenal weight loss due to thiouracil, but did deplete cholesterol by 67%.


A diffusion model for the fabrication of gradient-index aluminum oxynitride is developed. The deviation of the diffused profile from the design profile has a similar effect on imaging systems as mid-spatial frequency surface errors.


The present research investigated the impact assessment of modified rice bran as a heterogeneous catalyst and production of biodiesel from rice bran oil (RBO). Several variables including temperature, catalyst concentration, amount of methanol and reaction time were optimized in order to produce high quality RBO biodiesel with maximum yield. The results showed that obtained conditions for trans-esterification of RBO with methanol and carbon-based acidic heterogeneous catalyst were 65℃ reaction temperature, 6h reaction time, 10:1 molar ratio of RBO to methanol and 1.5%(w/w) catalyst. The produced rice bran oil methyl ester was suitable to be used as a fuel in engines. Considering the availability and renewability, methyl ester rice bran can be easily produced in large quantities as a sustainable and reliable energy resource for multi-functional applications.


This paper reconsiders the traditional model of Christian conversion in Viking-Age Sweden, which places Viking and medieval Scandinavia on the periphery of Christian Europe. Notions of Scandinavians as barbarians lingered and tainted outsiders' perception of them even after conversion, as seen in early medieval texts which portray Scandinavians' Christian beliefs and practices as trivial or unsophisticated. Swedish Viking-Age runestones provide evidence that challenges the assumption that Christianity was passively appropriated to Scandinavia from Europe. Instead, the runic material helps demonstrate the Scandinavians' originality and sophisticated understanding of the new religion by pointing to how they adopted and incorporated Christian beliefs and practices into their uniquely Scandinavian context. Scandinavian adoptions and applications of Christian concepts, such as the association of Purgatory with bridges and Christian deeds, are particularly examined.


Fouling (algae, slime, and barnacles) on the hull of large cargo vessels is undesirable because it increases their frictional drag, resulting in an increased fuel consumption. As a solution, Fleet Cleaner introduced a ship hull cleaning robot that maneuvers on the hull, using powered wheels and magnets. The robot is controlled by a human operator whose main responsibility is to ensure safe navigation over the hull, by avoiding sharply curved surfaces and irregularities on the hull. The operators are subjected to high levels of mental fatigue because constant vigilance is required. Fleet Cleaner aims to alleviate the operators from demanding missions, by shifting towards a semi-autonomous mode of operation. This thesis contributes to this transition, by developing an obstacle detection framework that is tailored to the primary imaging device of the robot: a forward looking sonar (FLS). This device provides an acoustic image that is characterized by a low signal to noise ratio, a nonuniform illumination, and its sensitivity to viewpoint changes. To the best of the author's knowledge, no research has been reported about FLS-based obstacle detection for the working environment of ship hull cleaning robots. Therefore, this thesis contributes to both the Fleet Cleaner robot and the research field of acoustic imaging. The thesis scope is delimited by defining two objectives. Firstly, an algorithm is proposed that detects the line parameters of the bilge, i.e., the rounded transition between the side and the bottom of a ship. Secondly, an algorithm is proposed that detects the boundaries of all obstacles that feature one distinct attribute: a grating pattern. The design process is guided by four working steps: task clarification, conceptual design, implementation, and a proof of concept (PoC). The task clarification phase defines metrics that measure the detection accuracy of both algorithms, with respect to hand-drawn ground truths. The conceptual design phase establishes candidate solutions for both objectives. For bilge detection, two edge detectors and three line detectors are selected. For grating detection, a supervised approach is preferred, resulting in six texture features, one segmentation algorithm, and two classifiers. The last two working steps employ the conceptual solutions on recorded FLS images, such that the detection accuracy can be computed. The detection accuracy is used to tune the parameters of all algorithms in the implementation phase and to select the final solution in the PoC. The PoC of the bilge detector demonstrates that a sufficiently high accuracy was attained by the Radon transformation (line detector), in combination with a first-order steerable filter (edge detector). The PoC of the grating detector shows that highest accuracy was obtained for a fused set of texture features (local binary patterns and Haralick's features), in combination with the support vector machine classifier. However, the achieved accuracy was not sufficiently high. It is believed that the lacking accuracy is due to the limited amount of training data that was available and the deficiency of the employed segmentation algorithm. By resolving these issues, and by repeating the four working steps for other obstacles on the hull, it is believed that a complete obstacle detection framework can be acquired in the future.


Background: A nurse must be able to think critically, learn how to synthesize information, and be an autonomous learner in today's demanding. Concept mapping method helps nurse educators give students the fundamental skills of critical thinking, inventive problem-solving, and decision-making. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using concept mapping methods on nursing students' critical thinking and independent knowledge acquisition. Methods: A quasi experimental pretest-posttest study design was adopted. The study was conducted at Technical Nursing Institution, Tanta University. Sample: A convenient sample consisted of 206 second-year undergraduate nursing students during the second semester of academic years 2022/2023, They were divided randomly into two groups: experimental group (n=103) and control group (n=103). Tools: Four tools were used for data collection: Concept Mapping Questionnaire Structure, Concept Mapping Assessment Rubric, Inventory of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Sheet, and Independent Learning Instrument. Results : The results showed a statistically significant difference between both pre and post awareness sessions among the study group regarding concept map knowledge. As well as an improvement in critical thinking scores and independent learning of the study group as compared to the control group. In addition, the results confirmed statistically significant correlations between concept mapping and the overall Inventory of the California Critical Thinking Disposition & independent learning. Conclusion: There were significant influences of concept mapping on nursing student's critical thinking and independent knowledge acquisition. Recommendation: Encourage using of a concept mapping strategy in nursing education that help students develop their critical thinking abilities and autonomous information acquisition while allowing them to take into account the concept of nursing practice in their conceptualization of patient problems.


One of the artistic features of White Deer Plain is its invasion of bodily privacy which has always been regarded as the forbidden territory in some parts of Chinese culture. In the narration of Tian Xiao'e's erotic love, Bai ling' s revolutionary narration, and Bai Jiaxuan's moral narration, body is given primary concern. Body is labeled or symbolized in the novel. Each signifier implies specified information. All the stories about body that are subjected to the test of desire and time are important organic components of the novel. It is just the existence of these components that makes the narrations of the novel colorful, its art peculiar and its stories more lasting.


Based on multi-mode resonator (MMR) and λ/4 resonators, a miniaturized microstrip quint-band bandpass filter (BPF) with mixed electric and magnetic coupling (MEMC) has been presented. The proposed MMR is employed to generate the 1st, 2nd, and 5th passbands, while the 3rd and 4th ones of close band proximity are achieved by using four coupled λ/4 uniform impedance resonators (UIRs). Due to MEMC cancelling effect, virtual grounds in feed lines, and source-load cross coupling, multiple transmission zeros (TZs) can be yielded to obtain sharp passband roll-off skirts. To verify the validity of the design approach, a quint-band BPF centering at 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.7, and 7.2 GHz (denoted as f1, f2, f3, f4, and f5) with respective 3 dB fractional bandwidths of 13.7%, 5.6%, 10.5%, 5.1%, and 2.9% has been designed and fabricated, whose measured results show good consistence with the predicted frequency responses.


A liquid nail polish which imparts improved flexural strength to the human nail and inhibits splitting when applied thereto as a coating. The nail polish formulation is characterized by the inclusion therein, as a dissolved component, of a small but effective amount of a terpolymer comprising a copolyamide consisting essentially of recurring units of equimolecular proportions of caprolactam, laurolactam and hexamethylene diamine adipate. Typically, said terpolymer is first dissolved in a mixture of trichloroethane and ethyl alcohol, and this liquid solution is added in a small quantity to a stock liquid nail polish formulation so that a final formulation containing a small but effective amount of said dissolved terpolymer is produced, e.g. a formulation containing in the range of about 0.001 to 0.1% by weight of said dissolved terpolymer.


Objective Severe preeclampsia/eclampsia is a multi-systemic disorder of pregnancy occurring after 20 weeks of gestation associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. The study`s objective was to assess factors associated with unfavorable maternal outcomes of severe preeclampsia/eclampsia, North West Ethiopian context, 2018. Methods Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among severe preeclamptic/Eclamptic mothers admitted in Amhara regional state referral Hospitals, Northern part of Ethiopia, 2018. All severe preeclamptic/Eclamptic mothers available during the data collection period were included as a census sampling technique. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model was employed. Variables with P-Value <0.05 at 95% CI level was taken as statistically significant. Data were collected with pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire, entered into Epi-info and exported to SPSS for analysis. Results The study shows that the overall unfavorable maternal outcomes of severe preeclampsia/eclampsia were found to be 37.7% which is tragically high when compared with different previous study findings mentioned in the discussion section. Variables which were positively associated with unfavorable maternal outcomes were: Maternal educational status (AOR= 4.5, 95% CI: 1.95, 12.31), Residence (AOR= 2.1, 95% CI: 1.17, 3.72), Monthly family income (AOR= 2.7 95% CI: 1.25, 6.12), Parity (AOR= 6.7, 95% CI: 1.55, 12.6), History of abortion perceived (AOR= 3.5, 95% CI: 1.63, 7.58),


Correlations between camera images and pre-defined templates collected for visual-inertial terrain relative navigation are largely dependent upon lighting conditions. When using template matching to identify the location of catalogued features in spacecraft images during flight, feature templates under expected lighting conditions must be stored onboard, though memory and computational limits inhibit the number of lighting conditions that can be included. The impact of using feature catalogs containing smaller sets of expected in-flight lighting conditions is investigated to inform a methodology for selecting a minimal set of lighting conditions. Several feature catalogs representing a variety of expected in-flight lighting conditions are built, tested, and analyzed for a simulated lunar orbit navigation scenario. Introduction. Terrain relative navigation (TRN) provides a means to improve estimates of vehicle state in a variety of contexts including applications in the space domain. Where inertial navigation systems may not have the amount of precision required for certain navigational tasks including precision landing, particularly in cases where lower-cost IMUs are employed, TRN can provide position and velocity measurements through various sensing modalities and methods that can augment and improve traditional inertial navigation methods. For visual-inertial navigation using passive monocular optical sensing, measurements can be provided as relative or absolute updates. Relative updates detect previously unknown features in a camera image and track those points from frame to frame to provide a relative state update. These relative methods have no prior information on the absolute location of feature points being tracked and can result in a drift in state over time, though they will generally improve upon any drift caused by lower-cost IMUs. A spacecraft can correct for this drift through the use absolute updates, which are performed as follows. 1.) Features are defined from existing, previously-mapped imagery where the 3D locations of the features are therefore known. 2.) These features are then searched for and detected in spacecraft camera images, providing the image pixel location of the features in a given camera image. 3.) Along with their associated 3D positions, the detected image pixel locations are used to provide an absolute spacecraft state update. Though both relative and absolute updates depend on adequate lighting conditions for natural surface features to be detected, absolute updates in particular face the challenge of matching previously defined features with those same image conditions in flight. This process is complicated by situations where the lighting conditions under which features were defined may not match the lighting conditions during flight. Previous work in this area has focused on characterizing the impact that variations in lighting have on the effectiveness of image template matching for absolute updates. The focus of this work is to further characterize these impacts, placing more emphasis on defining the minimal set of lighting conditions required for inclusion in a feature catalog to ensure this set of conditions will support a mission trajectory. This work is motivated by the use of image template matching as a means to register absolute updates in a lunar optical terrain-relative navigation scenario. A diagram illustrating the approach of this work is shown in Figure 1. In this work, "features" are defined as image patches called templates which are created either from pre-existing imagery or rendered terrain of the lunar surface. These pre-defined templates are matched with in-flight camera imagery to provide the spacecraft with absolute state updates given the known 3D position of the actual image template on the Moon.


The authors present an algorithm for delay estimation where no a priori knowledge of the delay or the process parameters is required. The algorithm requires minimum computation and can be easily applied to both offline and online delay estimation. In online delay estimation, the method represents a variable regression estimator that decouples the delay estimation from the parameter estimations. Computer simulation results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the method.<<ETX>>


The bacterial strain FE10 producing lipase was screened from deep sea bacteria,which isolated from deep-sea sediment of South Atlantic. The molecular identification of 16 S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that FE10 belonged to the genus Marinobacter. The results of preliminary study on the lipase characterization showed that optimal temperature of the lipase activity was 40℃ under laboratory conditions. The lipase activity was high at p H 7,and almost disappeared at p H 9.


Eight seed lots were collected from respective breeders in 2003 through Division Seed Science and Technology, IARI, New Delhi were used in the present study. These eight seed lots were used to evaluate the efficacy of chemical seed treatment against Bipolaris oryzae and other seedborne fungi in vivo, and efficacy of chemical seed treatment against Bipolaris oryzae in vitro. Seeds were treated at @ 2.5 g/kg with Mancozeb, Thiram, Bavistin and Vitavax, and at 1ml/ kg with Neem oil, Palmarosa oil, Polykote and Seedkare Orange. Treated seeds were then packed in polythene bags 700-gauge and kept under ambient condition in Division of Seed Science and Technology, IARI, New Delhi from October 2003 to April 2004. The observations were recorded at 2-month interval upto 6 moths of storage on treated seeds to see the effect of pre-storage treatments on germination and incidence of Bipolaris oryzae and other seedborne fungi. Beside, persistence of different fungicides after storage was also investigated. The results of the study showed that seeds treated with Vitavax, Thiram and Mancozeb maintained germination above MSCS ( � 80%) after six months of storage, while other chemicals could not retain germination above MSCS. Palmarosa oil caused deterioration in germination below MSCS, it was due to its phytotoxic nature. Seed dyes viz. Polykote and Seedkare Orange did not harm to germination. Most of the seedborne fungi viz. Bipolaris oryzae, Alternaria padwickii, Curvularia lunata and other seedborne fungi were eradicated by Vitavax, Thiram and Mancozeb. Whereas Bavistin was only effective slightly on Alternaria padwickii and Curvularia lunata , but similar to other chemicals did not affect on Bipolaris oryzae and other seedborne fungi. Field fungi decreased progressively, while storage fungi increased gradually during the increasing period of storage. In the inhibition zone test, only Vitavax, Thiram and Mancozeb produced inhibition zone areas; they maintained considerable chemical residues on individual seed after six months of storage by 87.5, 82.5% and 65.9% as compared to the initial quantity of 62.5 µg at seed treatment.


The complex informational analytical method of extracting transient amplitude, transient phase and transient frequency is introduced and is applied to the engineer case. After applied in the engineer case, the method shows that: (1) the accuracy of the Georadar interpretation can be improved by multi-parameter analytical method; (2) the transient amplitude section is clearer and more accurate than time section;(3) the topographic feature is clearer in the transient phase and frequency section than in the time section. The subsided region of the roadbed and the quantity of the sedimentation can be judged more accurately also by transient amplitude and frequency.


ABSTRACT This article considers the adaptive elastic net estimator for regularized mean regression from a Bayesian perspective. Representing the Laplace distribution as a mixture of Bartlett–Fejer kernels with a Gamma mixing density, a Gibbs sampling algorithm for the adaptive elastic net is developed. By introducing slice variables, it is shown that the mixture representation provides a Gibbs sampler that can be accomplished by sampling from either truncated normal or truncated Gamma distribution. The proposed method is illustrated using several simulation studies and analyzing a real dataset. Both simulation studies and real data analysis indicate that the proposed approach performs well.


In the framework of the AlpArray project (AlpArray Seismic Network, 2015), the complementary "Central Adriatic Seismic Experiment" (CASE; AlpArray Seismic Network, 2016) was established as a collaboration between ETH Zürich, University of Zagreb, INGV and Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Republic of Srpska. The CASE project consists of 10 temporary stations, installed in October 2016, working until October 2018, and located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Italy. Temporary broadband seismic stations, together with the permanent stations located in the region and shared by the Croatian Seismological Service, INGV and MedNet networks, make an almost continuous transect cutting the Central-Southern Apennines, the central Adriatic region, External and Internal Dinarides. The presence of the Apenninic and the Dinarides slabs, verging in opposite directions and plunging along the opposite sides of the Adriatic plate, makes this area a peculiar spot to understand the complexities of the region. Various tomographic images (e.g. Bijwaard and Spakman, 2000; Piromallo and Morelli, 2003) do not indicate continuous slabs under the Apennines and the Dinarides, suggesting the presence of slab-gaps right beneath the region covered by the CASE experiment. Here we present the results of the SKS splitting analysis performed on the data recorded by the temporary and permanent seismic stations included in the CASE project. These new results, in combination with the results obtained by previous work in the area, evidence the occurrence of a clear change in anisotropic properties moving from Italian to the Dinarides regions. The newest distribution of the seismic anisotropic parameters in combination with previous interpretations, provide us clues about depth connection between Northern and Southern Apennines and give us more details about how the slab rollback of the Apennines and Dinaric thrust belt acted. Together with the measurements from previous studies and from those coming by the AlpArray project, our new data will support the mapping of the seismic anisotropy deformation pattern from the Western Alps to the Pannonian region.


The techniques of high resolution moire photography and high speed photography have been combined to allow simultaneous measurement of both in-plane components of a transient displacement field with microsecond time resolution. A 150 lines mm-1 specimen grating is imaged onto a reference grating with a specially modified camera lens. The resulting real-time moire fringes are recorded with a high speed image converter camera. An automatic fringe analysis technique based on the 2-D Fourier transform method is used to extract the displacement information from the high speed sequences. The techniques are illustrated by the results of an investigation into the transient deformation of polymethyl methacrylate caused by solid particle impact.


In this paper, an attribute‐variable control chart, namely, M‐ATTRIVAR, is introduced to monitor possible shifts in a vector of means. The monitoring starts using an attribute chart (classifying the units as approved or not using a gauge) and continues in such a way until a warning signal is given, shifting the control to a variable chart for the next sampling. If the variable chart does not confirm the warning, the monitoring returns to an attribute control. Otherwise, the monitoring remains with the variable chart. Whenever any of the charts (attribute or variable) signals an alarm, the control scheme triggers an alarm. The main advantage of this new proposal is the possibility of judging the state of the process only by the attribute chart most of the time (normally more economical and faster). The performance of the M‐ATTRIVAR control chart is compared versus the main competitor (T2 control chart) in terms of performance detection (out‐of‐control average run length) but also economically (average sampling cost). The M‐ATTRIVAR is always cheaper than T2, and in many scenarios, it detects quicker process shifts than the T2 control chart. A numerical example illustrates a practical situation.


We consider the problem of scheduling orders on identical machines in parallel. Each order consists of one or more individual jobs. A job that belongs to an order can be processed by any one of the machines. Multiple machines can process the jobs of an order concurrently. No setup is required if a machine switches over from one job to another. Each order is released at time zero and has a positive weight. Preemptions are not allowed. The completion time of an order is the time at which all jobs of that order have been completed. The objective is to minimize the total weighted completion time of the orders. The problem is NP‐hard for any fixed number (≥2) of machines. Because of this, we focus our attention on two classes of heuristics, which we refer to as sequential two‐phase heuristics and dynamic two‐phase heuristics. We perform a worst case analysis as well as an empirical analysis of nine heuristics. Our analyses enable us to rank these heuristics according to their effectiveness, taking solution quality as well as running time into account. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006


It is important to be able to engineer the brightness of interior spaces. In addition to the amount of light delivered to and reflected from surfaces in the space, light spectrum influences apparent scene brightness. Specifically, spaces illuminated by 'cool white' sources will look brighter than those illuminated by 'warm white' sources for the same photopic light levels. A scale model residential space was used to obtain judgements of scene brightness where light levels, surface reflectances and light source correlated colour temperatures were parametrically varied. Subjective and radiometric data were used to extend a provisional model of scene brightness, which is intended to be useful for predicting scene brightness of interior spaces illuminated to different levels by 'white' light sources of different correlated colour temperatures.


Phagocytosis of urate crystals by polymorphynuclear leukocytes has previously been reported to be associated with the generation of a substance chemotactic for distant polymorphonuclear leukocytes. In the present studies, the chemotactic substance was not dialyzable and was not found after freeze-thawing normal cells. It was detectable approximately 11 min after crystals were added to polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and the amount generated was proportional to the phagocytosis of crystals. Colchicine suppressed the generation of this chemotactic substance.


This study dealt with the relationship between the survival of Macrobrachium nipponense larvae and feeding frequencies with Artemia nauplii in freshwater rearing condition. The materials were taken so as to represent three different environmental conditions of original distribution areas, i.e. a freshwater lake, Lake Suwa-ko, a brackish water lake, Lake Sanaru-ko, and a river flowing into the sea, River Ohta-gawa. Artemia nauplii were given once, twice or four times per day to the larvae. The survival rates of the larvae taken from Lake Suwa-ko and Lake Sanaru-ko fed once or twice per day were 0% or 5%. The survival rates of the larvae improved 5% to 25% when fed four times per day. On the other hand, the larvae taken from River Ohta-gawa did not survive to next zoeal stage irrespective of the increased feeding frequency of Artemia nauplii. It is noticeable that in freshwater rearing, the increase of feeding frequency raised the survival rates of the larvae from two lakes, which are freshwater and brackish water, but did not affect that of the larvae from the river.


Cannabinoids are a group of 21 carbon terpenophenolic compounds produced uniquely by Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica species.[1,2] These plant-derived compounds may be referred to as phytocannabinoids. Although delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive ingredient, other known compounds with biologic activity are cannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabichromene, cannabigerol, tetrahydrocannabivirin, and delta-8-THC. Cannabidiol, in particular, is thought to have significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity without the psychoactive effect (high) of delta-9-THC.


Evaluating News Bias in Agriculture: The Salmonella Outbreak of 2008. (December 2010) Charlsie Lauren Schroeder, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Tracy Rutherford Although the United States is considered to have one of the safest food supplies in the world, consumers have become increasingly alarmed with the subject of food safety as each crisis-related outbreak is scrutinized. With the onset of an agriculturalrelated food crisis, the media plays a vital role in publicizing both facts and opinions. Because of the relationship between agricultural risk communication and the media, it is essential to study the level of bias in the news reporting of these agricultural riskassociated events. The purpose of this study was to analyze the coverage and level of bias of the Salmonella outbreak associated with tomatoes in associated press (AP) newswires during a six-month period in 2008 through a descriptive content analysis. A comprehensive search yielded 57 usable articles written during a six-month period surrounding the outbreak; these articles were analyzed using the HayakawaLowry News Bias categories. A total of 1,444 sentences were coded into nine categories: (a) report attributed, (b) report unattributed, (c) inference labeled, (d) inference unlabeled, (e) judgment attributed favorable, (f) judgment attributed unfavorable, (g) judgment unattributed favorable, (h) judgment unattributed favorable, and (i) other.


In this paper, we propose a keyword-based passage retrieval algorithm for information extraction, trained by distant supervision. Our goal is to be able to extract attributes of people and organizations more quickly and accurately by first ranking all the potentially relevant passages according to their likelihood of containing the answer and then performing a traditional deeper, slower analysis of individual passages. Using Freebase as our source of known relation instances and Wikipedia as our text source, we collected a weighted set of


The metabolic syndrome (MetS) affects iron homeostasis in a many‐faceted fashion. On the one side, hyperferritinaemia with normal or mildly elevated transferrin saturation is observed in approximately one‐third of patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or the MetS. This constellation has been named the 'dysmetabolic iron overload syndrome (DIOS)'. Current evidence suggests that elevated body iron stores exert a detrimental effect on the clinical course of obesity‐related conditions and that iron removal improves insulin sensitivity and delays the onset of T2DM. On the other side, iron deficiency is a frequent finding in more progressed stages of obesity. The mechanisms underlying the DIOS and obesity‐related iron deficiency appear strikingly similar as elevated hepcidin concentrations, low expression of duodenal ferroportin (FPN) and impaired iron absorption are found in both conditions. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the dysregulation of iron homeostasis in the MetS and particularly in its hepatic manifestation NAFLD.


We study the interactions between aggregate growth and structural change. Our economy has many sectors characterized by different rates of total factor productivity growth and producing differentiated products. All sectors produce consumption goods but one sector, labelled manufacturing, also produces capital goods. We derive sufficient conditions for the coexistence of a balanced aggregate growth path, with all aggregates growing at the same rate, and structural change, characterized by sectoral labor reallocation. We show that the conditions needed for these outcomes are weak restrictions on the utility function: the intertemporal elasticity of substitution needs to be equal to one and the elasticity of substitution across consumption goods needs to be different from one. When these conditions are met the aggregate growth rate of our many-sector economy is the same as the labor-augmenting growth rate of the manufacturing sector (with all aggregates defined in value terms in terms of manufacturing which is used as the numeraire). We present evidence from sectoral US data that is consistent our conclusions, provided the cross-sectional consumption elasticity is less than one, i.e., provided the final products of our sectors are poor substitutes. We show that when this condition is met the sectors with high TFP growth shrink and the ones with low TFP growth expand, at least initially, but eventually, all sectors vanish except for the sector with the lowest TFP growth and manufacturing. The model makes strong predictions about the convergence paths for each sector and in the final part of the paper we use he model to study the dynamic adjustment paths for a three-sector economy, with agriculture, a consumption sector with high TFP growth, manufacturing, a sector that produces both consumption and capital goods and characterized by medium TFP growth, and services, a consumption-goods sector with low productivity growth. We show that our model captures well the shrinking of agricultural employment, the initial (mild) expansion and subsequent contraction of manufacturing employment and the expansion of services employment


The mechanism for inactivation of the KIP family cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) genes, the p21, p27, and p57 genes, in gastric cancer cells was tested by treating the cells with either the DNA demethylation agent, 5-aza-2*-deoxycytidine or the histone deacetylase inhibitor, n-butyric acid or trichostatin A. RNA expression of the gene was determined by reverse transcription PCR. Thep21gene was activated only by histone deacetylase inhibitor. Thep57 gene was activated by histone deacetylase inhibitors in all of the gastric cancer cell lines and by 5-aza2*-deoxycytidine in five of eight gastric cell lines. However, thep27 gene was not inactivated in gastric cancer cell lines. The methylation status of the promoter of the p21and p57genes was also tested by digestion with the methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes and a subsequent PCR. The promoter of the p21 gene has no methylation. The promoter of thep57 gene is, however, methylated in five of eight gastric cancer cell lines as expected from the result of the treatment with 5-aza-2*-deoxycytidine. Formation of the inactive chromatin through histone deacetylation seems to be the general mechanism for inactivation of both thep21and the p57 genes in gastric cancer cells. Hypermethylation of promoter region seems to be an alternative pathway for inactivation of the p57 gene.


Comparative experimental investigations of diamond/diamond-like thin films on unheated, unetched n-type silicon (100) substrates produced in methane, ethane, propane, and butane alkane plasmas are reported. For fixed Rf power and hydrogen flow rate, alkane flow rates were determined that give diamond/diamond-like indices of refraction. These parameters, along with alkane density, molecular mass and enthalphy of formation, were compared.


mysteries of faith. H. does focus the reader's attention to certain key creative uses of trinitarian imagination, namely, in the work of Balthasar "in relation to the paschal mystery and the understanding of the Trinity that emerges there" and in the work of Jacques Dupuis "in regard to a theology of the world religions, where Dupuis stretches Trinitarian thinking beyond its traditional boundaries, as classically understood, to a clearer appreciation of the roles of the Son and the Spirit throughout the history of the cosmos" (230). These references clearly indicate an important area of theological enquiry to be pursued. Though H. may not have achieved her bold desire to "awaken Trinitarian intuition and to foster an explicitly Trinitarian imagination that extends and enriches the entire theological enterprise," (4) she has produced a scholarly work that situates trinitarian doctrine in relation to other key doctrines and draws from a wide spectrum of authors.


Background Understanding the force profile of an exercise increases clinical confidence when assessing the benefits and potential risks of a prescribed exercise. This exploratory study presents the force profile of the hardstyle kettlebell swing in novice older adults and compares peak force with kettlebell deadlifts. These data will help inform healthcare providers and coaches who are considering prescribing kettlebell exercises for older adults. Methods Thirty-five community-dwelling males and females (59-79 years) were recruited, from applicants to participate in the BELL trial. Two-handed hardstyle swings were performed with 8-16 kg. Deadlifts were performed with 8-24 kg and 8-32 kg for females and males, respectively. Ground reaction force was obtained from a floor-mounted force platform. Pairwise comparisons of peak force, forward force, rate of force development, swing cadence, sex, and kettlebell mass, were investigated for the kettlebell swing, with representative force-time curves described. Pairwise comparisons of peak force, sex and kettlebell mass were investigated for the deadlift, with comparisons of peak force, kettlebell mass, and sex, between swings and deadlifts. Results For kettlebells up to 16 kg, paired samples T-tests show a large exercise effect (δ > 1.4) with peak force higher for swings than deadlifts. Data shows: (i) higher peak force during swings than deadlifts (δ = 1.77), reaching 4.5 (1.0) N.kg-1, (ii) peak force during an 8 kg swing was greater than a 32kg deadlift, (iii) negligible difference in normalised peak force between males and females performing kettlebell swings, but a moderately large effect size during deadlifts (males > females, δ = 0.69), (iv) mean rate of force development of 19.9 (4.7) N.s-1.kg-1 with a very weak, positive correlation with kettlebell mass (y = 14.4 + 0.32x), and trivial effect of sex, (v) mean forward force equal to 5.5% of vertical force during swings, increasing from 3.8 (1.6) % with 8 kg to 7.1 (2.6) % with 16 kg. Conclusion During kettlebell swings, there is negligible difference in normalised net peak force between novice males and females using the same absolute loads. Where ground reaction force is a therapeutic target, kettlebell swings with an 8 kg kettlebell could have similar effects to much heavier deadlifts (>24 kg). Kettlebell swings performed with lighter loads, could provider similar therapeutic value to much heavier deadlifts, and may be a more appealing, affordable, and convenient option for older adults.


A new type of deterioration involving sulfide attack was discovered in a thermoplastic polyethylene insulated control cable installed in a chemical plant.


This study aimed to examine the relationship between the technology competencies of special education undergraduate students and their views on distance education. This study employed the correlational research model. The study group is consists of 212 students who study at the special education department in various universities in Turkey during the academic year of 2020-2021. The study used the "Basic Technology Competencies for Educators Inventory" and the "The Distance Education Evaluation Scale." Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to determine the relationships among the dependent and independent variables. We implemented standard multiple regression analysis to predict distance education's views by the dimensions of technology competencies. Technology competencies inventory's word processing sub-dimension significantly and positively indicated the distance education scale's technical sub-dimension. There was no statistical significance for other sub-dimensions. Technology competencies inventory's basic computer operation skills and media communication sub-dimensions significantly and positively; networking sub-dimension significantly and negatively predicted the distance education scale's learning process sub-dimension. There was no statistical significance for other sub-dimensions


In this paper, an analytical model is derived for computation of the capillary force between AFM tip and sample surface. Several tip geometries are considered with the both symmetric and asymmetric liquid/solid interfaces. To investigate the validity and efficiency of the derived models, we have performed numerical analysis and the effect of various physical parameters including air humidity, the distance between AFM tip and sample surface, AFM tip geometry and contact angles on the meniscus force are investigated. Finally, the derived model for AFM blunt tip is compared with the experimental measurement and the accuracy and precision of the presented approach is summarized. Based on the analytic mathematical models presented in this paper, the analysis of realistic physical situations and the study of chemistry influence of different substrates on the capillary force have been possible.In this paper, an analytical model is derived for computation of the capillary force between AFM tip and sample surface. Several tip geometries are considered with the both symmetric and asymmetric liquid/solid interfaces. To investigate the validity and efficiency of the derived models, we have performed numerical analysis and the effect of various physical parameters including air humidity, the distance between AFM tip and sample surface, AFM tip geometry and contact angles on the meniscus force are investigated. Finally, the derived model for AFM blunt tip is compared with the experimental measurement and the accuracy and precision of the presented approach is summarized. Based on the analytic mathematical models presented in this paper, the analysis of realistic physical situations and the study of chemistry influence of different substrates on the capillary force have been possible.


Acid deposition has caused severe environmental pollution in Nanshan area of Chongqing.The effect and harm of acid deposition on soil and vegetation of forest ecosystem were studied according to guidelines and technical manuals for acid deposition monitoring network in East Asia.It was found by soil analysis that the pH values of soil were low at 5 sampling sites with average value of 3 74 in Layer A and average value of 4.20 in Layer B.The average value of base cation saturation(BS) was less than 10%.The effective cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 78.1 to 88.6 mmol/kg in Layer A and from 61.1 to 65.1 mmol/kg in Layer B.The high content of aluminum in soils of all the 5 sampling sites was possibly associated with the input of atmospheric S and N,which has led to acidification of soil and soil water.The C/N ration was low,at around 12.0 in Layer A and declining with the soil depth,which indicated that the organic matter was well decomposed under warm and rainy subtropical climate.According to vegetation analysis,acid deposition might do harm to fir and cryptomeria,both of which are acid sensitive.


The article analyzes the investigative and judicial practice of intellectual property crimes, on its basis the author has developed the provocation criteria in the inquiry agency officials' activities while implementing criminal procedures for this category of crimes, excluding the application of its results in the criminal case proving.


This paper describes a reconfigurable 4-way SIMD engine fabricated in 45 nm high-k/metal-gate CMOS, targeted for on-die acceleration of vector processing in power-constrained mobile microprocessors. The SIMD accelerator is reconfigured to perform 4-way 16b × 16b multiplies, 32b × 32b multiply, 4-way 16b additions, 2-way 32b additions or 72b addition with single-cycle throughput and wide supply voltage range of operation (1.3 V-230 mV). A reconfigurable 2 × 2 tile of signed 2's complement 16b multipliers, with conditional carry gating in the 72b sparse tree adder, dual-supplies for voltage hopping, and fine-grained power-gating enables peak energy efficiency of 494GOPS/W (measured at 300 mV, 50°C) with a dense layout occupying 0.081 mm2 while achieving: (i) scalable performance up to 2.8 GHz, 278 mW measured at 1.3 V; (ii) fast single-cycle switching between any operating/idle mode; (iii) configuration-dependent power reduction of up to 41% in total power and 6.5× in active leakage power; (iv) 10× standby leakage reduction during idle mode; (v) deep subthreshold operation measured at 230 mV, 8.8 MHz, 87 ¿W; and (vi) compensation for up to 3× performance variation in ultra-low voltage mode.


Innovation,which is one of the main themes in modern society,motives the growth of corporations,while the process of motiving is at present still a mystery. This article tries to prove the corporations will grow only under the condition of the endogenous coupling of innovation system,which guaranteed by the true belief of innovation,through a case study using grounded theory method and coupling degree measurement. Analysis shows that institutional innovation is of the equal importance as technological innovation to corporation operation and the glue、synergy、spillover effects resulting from the effective、efficient、smooth operation of the coupling mechanism between technological innovation and institutional innovation are the key secret to corporation growth.


OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Yisuo cream on the model and assess it's clinical efficacy in acne vulgaris. METHODS Use 0.025% tretinoin cream as control, the test was performed in adolescence male rabbits and acne vulgaris. RESULTS Yisuo cream could reduce the diameter of the sebaceous glands and the area of the hair follicles significantly( P 0.05 , P 0.01 ). The effective rate of the Yisuo cream and the tretinoin cream were 86.7% and 71.7% , and the difference at effective rate between the two groups was significant ( P 0.05 ). The ADRs rate of 11.7% and 10.0% in test group and control group was observed, and there was no significant difference between the two groups( P 0.05 ).CONCLUSION Yisuo cream can reduce the diameter of the sebaceous glands and the area of the hair follicles in the rabbit model. It's clinical efficacy is higher than 0.025% tretinoin cream for acne vulgaris.


ABSTRACT Mineral grains are mounted directly upon a special photographic plate, the plate exposed and developed, and the number of alpha tracks originating from each source grain counted The number of tracks developed around each mineral grain per unit of time is an index of the relative radioactivity of the grain.


Most investigations on domestic violence in family relationships have centered around men as the perpetrators of violence without exploring the context of violence occurrence from a gender lens and other social factors. This study explored the meanings associated with family violence, the contexts for its occurrence, and the indigenous approaches to managing such conflicts among the Yoruba ethnic subgroup in southwest Nigeria. This was an exploratory cross-sectional study guided by an interpretative constructivist approach in which 20 community stakeholders were recruited through purposive sampling. The data were collected via in-depth interview (IDI) and focus group discussion (FGD). Findings from the study showed that both men and women in family relationship contribute to the occurrence of family violence, although the forms perpetrated differ by gender. Religious leaders were identified as key indigenous structure for effective management of family violence among other indigenous structures (extended family mediation and community/royal father interventions). The study showed that these groups of people are also affected by societal male dominance belief which has contributed to occurrence of family violence. The study concluded that an indigenous intervention that will help control family violence among this group must focus on strengthening community structures; most importantly, the religious institutions on how to instill mutual respect among couples and train them on conflict resolution skills as family violence in the group is seen as issue that should not be taken out of the community structures.


Although there is an obvious virtue in a plot which moves directly through time and space, the final justification of form is how well it conveys the author's theme, his vision of life. Conrad experimented with form: we must keep in mind his habitual refusal, beginning with Lord Jim, to follow a straight time sequence. In Lord Jim, Marlow the narrator is responsible for the complexity of time shifts which characterizes both the Patna and Patusan episodes. And the fact that the plot does break into two discrete actions makes the form of Lord Jim a special problem. Thematically, this break is compensated by a myriad of small parallelisms in action and image. While enlightening, the binding quality of such parallelisms (much noted by critics recently) goes only part way toward remedying the split. A more satisfactory approach to the problem is to assume that the two episodes represent the necessary embodiment of Conrad's conception. I would say that, in Lord Jim, Conrad came the closest he ever did in his attempt "to render the highest kind of justice" not only "to the visible universe" as he affirms in the Preface to The Nigger of the "Narcissus," but also to the invisible universe within. In the same preface, Conrad asserts that "the artist descends within himself, and in that lonely region of stress and strife, if he be deserving and fortunate, he finds the terms of his appeal." And "his appeal is made ... to that part of our nature which . . . is . . . kept out of sight." In Lord Jim, Conrad's aim and his triumph was to explore the world of the imagination more thoroughly than he had in Heart of Darkness or ever would again.


Many safety-related applications in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks require fast and reliable emergency message dissemination through multi-hop broadcast. However, the conventional broadcast mechanism is neither efficient nor reliable because it results in serious contention and collisions, which is usually referred to as the broadcast storm problem. In this paper, we propose ERP, a two-phase broadcast protocol that improves both efficiency and reliability. The first phase, a "fast-propagation phase", is designed to improve efficiency. We explicitly designate forwarders to relay the message and thus ensure both collisionfree and quick propagation. The second phase, a "lossrecovery phase", enhances reliability. In this phase, nodes overhear the message and repeatedly broadcast it for the benefit of nodes which have not received the message in the first phase. We analytically show that using a density-aware power control mechanism in the second phase can efficiently improve the recovery rate. We also demonstrate how to find the optimal transmission power. Simulation results illustrate that our protocol outperforms probabilistic forwarding, which is currently the most widely studied solution, by a factor of 2 to 3.


Purpose: The purpose of this work is to show that megavoltage cone‐beam CT (MVCBCT) images can provide accurate dose recalculation and be used to verify the daily dose distribution received by patients treated for head‐and‐neck (H&N) and prostate cancers.Method and Materials: Corrections for the cupping and missing data artifacts seen on MVCBCT images were developed for both H&N and pelvic imaging. MVCBCT images of six H&N and two prostate patients were acquired weekly during the course of their treatment. Several regions of interest were contoured including: the prostate and rectum and for H&N cases the spinal cord and parotids. Dose calculation was performed with the corrected MVCBCT images using the planned treatment beams and variations from treatment plan dosimetric endpoints were analyzed.Results: MVCBCT image correction and calibration for the H&N (pelvic) region shows standard deviations in dose calculations between kVCT and MVCBCT images of 1.9% (0.6%). The mean dose to the right parotid of H&N patients had an average increase of 18% during treatment. Increases of up to 52% were observed. The maximum dose to 1% of the spinal cord went up by 2% on average, although increases of up to 10% were noted. For prostate patients on one fraction an undetected setup error caused the dose received by 95% of the prostate to diminish by 3%. One patient had an average increase of 3.6% of the maximum dose received by 1% of the rectum. Conclusion: MVCBCT was used succesfully to verify the daily dose distribution for H&N and prostate patients. A substantial increase in the mean dose to the parotid glands was observed during treatment. For prostate patients the impact of setup errors on the prostate dose coverage was observed, along with the dosimetric consequences of volume changes in normal tissues.Conflict of interest: Supported by Siemens.


A new HPLC method for determination of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid in Mentha haplocalyx was developed.The Kromasil C18(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm) was used as analytical column with methanol-water-phosphate(90∶10∶0.2) as mobile phase.The detection wavelength was set at 210 nm with photodiode array detector.The flow rate was 0.8 mL·min-1 and the column temperature was 28 ℃.The calibration curve of ursolic acid was linear over the range of 0.67-6.03 μg,and the correlation coefficient was 0.999 62.The calibration curve of oleanolic acid was linear over the range of 0.66-5.94 μg,and the correlation coefficient was 0.999 65.The average recoveries of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid were 97.6%(RSD=1.6%) and 99.8%(RSD=2.1%) respectively.The method is simple,accurate and reproducible.It has wide linear range and can be used for the simultaneous determination of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid in M.haplocalyx.


When the data is transferred over the network, a reliable end packet delivery is one of basic requirement of both user and network but there are many major causes that can result packet loss, such as Congestion over the network. Because of this there is requirement of some methodology that can reduce the packet loss and return reliable data transmission over the network. In this paper, the proposed work is representing the solution of the same problem as the major Hypothesis. The Proposed system is the advancement of existing PON- technology with the inclusion of bandwidth utilization as well improving the network throughput by utilizing the bandwidth in an effective way. The proposed system will benefit the higher reliability of data communication in a Private Network. The reliability is presented here in terms of lower packet loss than the existing system. The proposed approach will work dynamically. In first approach, the system will first detect the packet loss and then provide the solution of the problem by reducing the packet loss. Another approach is in aggregation based bottle-neck network where a secure system is implemented using SHA. Thus increase the capacity over network and reduced the packet delay.


A fault tolerant control strategy of SRM drives is presented. The mean rotor mechanical speed is sustained, under the absence of one motor phase, due to an increase in the electromagnetic torque reference and the consequent increase of the healthy phases current amplitudes. Dynamic problems as excessive pick phase current and electromagnetic torque overshoot, due to the lack of one motor phase, are avoided using appropriate changes in the phase current controller. The adopted SRM control strategy, based on the electromagnetic torque regulation, is clearly explained for normal and faulty operating conditions. Both dynamic operating conditions are analyzed. Time-domain waveforms of the phase currents, power converter supply current, electromagnetic torque and mechanical speed are presented and discussed as well as the spectral analysis of the power converter supply current and electromagnetic torque.


Drawing on literary, mythological, legal, and historical sources, Peter Berresford Ellis sets out to explore the reality behind the myriad images we hold today. His Celtic Women provides a balanced and informed perspective on the position of women in Celtic society and asks how much of this ancient culture has filtered down through the ages. Ellis examines the concept of the "Mother Goddess" origin of the Celts as well as the pantheon of women in Celtic mythology - from Etain and Emer, and Macha and Medb, to Rhiannon and Gwenhwyvar (Guinevere). He also discusses a wide range of important historical personalities. Although Boudicca (Boadicea) is often cited as the most powerful historical Celtic female figure - the one who led southern Britain in insurrection against the Romans - Ellis shows that she was by no means unique. The results of Ellis's engaging study show that Celtic society undoubtedly maintained an order in which women were harmoniously balanced in relation to men. Beside the repressive male dominance of classic Mediterranean society, the position of women in Celtic myth, law, and early history seems to have constituted an ideal. Celtic women could govern; took prominent - sometimes the highest - roles in political, religious, and artistic life; could own property; could divorce; and were even expected to fight alongside men in battles. It was not until the Celts' encounter and conflict with the alien values of the Roman and Germanic cultures and the arrival of Western Christianity that the rights of women began to erode.


Cell-to-cell communication during development and plasticity is controlled to a large extent by signaling events downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Most RTKs bind soluble ligands, which are often produced at a distance from the RTK-expressing cells, and therefore these interactions typically mediate long-range communication. Eph receptors (or Ephs), instead, bind membrane-bound ephrin ligands expressed by neighboring cells and mediate short-range cell-to-cell communication. The influence of ephrin–Eph interaction on cell behavior depends on the cell type, but can in most cases be interpreted as repulsion of neighboring cells or of cellular processes, such as the neuronal growth cone. However, in some cases ephrin–Eph activation can have the opposite effect, that is, increased adhesion/attraction. One subclass of ephrins, the ephrinB ligands, are transmembrane proteins with intrinsic (so-called reverse) signaling properties (for review, see Kullander and Klein 2002). This complicates the interpretation of functional assays and genetic phenotypes, because manipulations intended to eliminate forward receptor function often have consequences for reverse signaling as well. This review summarizes the diverse biological roles of ephrins and Ephs in embryonic development, including patterning and morphogenetic processes of the nervous and vascular systems, and in the adult, such as synaptic plasticity. We further touch upon more recent observations on ephrin functions in neurogenesis, nervous system regeneration, and tumorigenesis. Our focus is on, but is not restricted to, recent findings using genetically amenable systems.


A stepped circular plate radiator for its big radiating area and advantages of high radiation efficiency has been widely used in high-power ultrasonic field.Because of the frequency equations of a stepped circular plate containing special functions,in addition,picking out the optium solution by applying frequency equations from among the numerous solutions is very time-consuming.Through a lot of calculation concerning the basal flat circular plate,stepped circular plate and the flat plate which its thickness equates to basal thickness plus the one of the convex plate in this paper,we have discovered that the radius and the nodal radius of single stepped plate is very close to the flat plate which its thickness equates to basal thickness plus the one of the convex plate at the same resonant frequency.This will provide a method of determination of the initial parameter value in complex design program of a stepped circular plate.


The study of business history should not be restricted to investigating the development of internal administration in specific firms. The history of business is indivisibly linked to the history of mankind, and business historians should aim at understanding the interplay between the actions of individual companies and changes in the total society. This topic can be illuminated by studying a group of firms in the same industry, by studying business in a certain region, or by relating business policies and methods to such characteristics of the population as the American willingness to work hard in pursuit of a higher standard of consumption.


Although boundaries for large' and small' differences are needed to plan research and interpret results, the diverse indexes of descriptive contrast for the central indexes, A and B, of two groups, have not received intensive attention. For two means, the increment of | A - B | reflects the slope of a line showing the effect', but is altered by different units of measurement. Division of |A - B | by the common standard deviation produces the standardized increment (SI), which is sometimes called the 'effect size'. Despite many advantages, it does not contrast the relative magnitudes of A and B. For the latter contrast, the relative change or proportionate increment (|A - B|/B) is particularly easy to understand, and the relative translocation (|A - B|/[A + B]) produces a bounded range from - I to + 1. Nevertheless, all indexes of relative magnitude ablate the scales of measurement, thereby increasing difficulty in interpretation. Although seldom applied, proportionate reduction in overall system variance can be highly useful. Its square root leads to η, the analogue of a correlation coefficient, which corresponds to a standardized slope for the direct increment. The values of η usually approximate (SI)/2. Although arbitrary levels have been proposed for quantitative significance' of the SI, the proportionate reduction in overall system variance is often regarded as ineffectual unless ≥ 10 per cent. With this belief, minimum boundaries for quantitative significance can often be set at η ≥ 0.3 and SI ≥ 0.6. In indexes of relative magnitude for two proportions (or rates), p A and p B , confusion is produced if q A and q B are alternatively chosen for the denominators. The odds ratio, (p A q B /p B q A ), avoids these choices, but is often difficult to interpret. For easy understanding and communication, the preferred index is NNE, the number needed to produce one excess effect, calculated as the inverse of the direct increment, that is, 1/| p A - p B |. The standardized increment, I p A - p B |/√(PQ), (where P is the average of p A and p B and Q = 1 - P) could offer a single index applicable to both dimensional and binary data, but when P becomes quite small, that is, < 0.01, √(PQ) requires special calculations and also approaches the value of √P. Boundaries of quantitative significance' are particularly difficult to establish for comparisons of two rates, because of additional consequences in populational extrapolations and clinical implications. Nevertheless, the principles of quantitative significance can aid the ad hoc construction of boundaries that must be set for medical importance when sample sizes are calculated and when results are interpreted for studies of either efficacy or equivalence.


A fine group of sculptures in biscuit porcelain, unfortunately slightly damaged, bearing the mark of Niderviller and discovered by Antoine d'Albis, shows characteristics that made Emmanuel de Waresquiel, a historian, specialised in Joseph Fouché, about whom he recently wrote two books, think that the sculptures might be a representation of the " Republican Marriage" instituted by Fouché in 1793.


Let X be a real uniformly smooth Banach space and let T : D(T ) ⊆ X → X be a K-positive definite operator. Under suitable conditions we establish that the iterative method by Bai (1999) converges strongly to the unique solution of the equation Tx = f , f ∈ X. The results presented in this paper generalize the corresponding results of Bai (1999), Chidume and Aneke (1993), and Chidume and Osilike (1997).


Infrared difference spectroscopy was used to study how changes in the processing of Arabica coffee cherries into green beans affected the flavor of coffee brewed from roasted green beans. Paired samples of green beans, in which the drying step or fermentation/washing step in their processing was altered, were roasted and brewed in a standard manner and their ATR-FT-IR spectra obtained. Difference spectra of the 1800 to 1680 cm −1 carbonyl region of water-subtracted spectra of paired samples of these brewed coffees provided data which indicated differences in brewed coffee flavor due to changes in fermentation/washing steps and drying steps involved in the processing of coffee cherries. The role of acid, ketone, aldehyde, ester, lactone, and vinyl ester carbonyl components on the flavor of brewed coffee is proposed that is consistent with the flavors as perceived by the coffee tasters.


Abstract : In 2004, the four-micro-satellite Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) became operational. While the constellation currently utilizes visible and near-infrared (IR) imagers, a candidate instrument for future DMC satellites is one operating in the thermal-infrared (TIR). In this research program, a prototype TIR imaging radiometer compatible with the DMC imaging suite was engineered. The 2.5 kg prototype instrument uses a 2-dimensional, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) uncooled micro-bolometer array to collect data in any of several mid-wave and long-wave IR bands (3-5, 8-10, 10-12, and 8-14 micrometers). After characterizing the performance of the prototype, a computer model was created to predict its on-orbit performance. Analysis showed that a flight version of this instrument would yield around a 0.5 K noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) for a 300 K ground scene, a 300-meter ground sample distance (GSD), and a 185-kilometer ground swath. Its application in special niche, or currently ill-served mission areas, is proposed. One such application is autonomous global thermal change detection, dedicated to highly specialized user communities.


Before and after packaging of the opacification or secondary cataract intraocular lens to prevent the along the arcuate segments defined by coupling a plurality of haptics and visual portion of the attachment point, and adjacent to both the front and rear visual surface including a visual portion having a peripheral edge that includes a sharp slope that extends.


This work focuses on explorations into human magnetic resonance (MR) at ultrahigh magnetic fields (B0≥7.0 Tesla, f≥298 MHz). Current trends in enabling multi-channel radiofrequency (RF) technology tailored for MR in the low wavelength regime are presented with the ultimate goal to attain clinically acceptable image quality. Validation of RF coil performance, mapping and shimming of transmission fields together with RF power deposition considerations are presented. Early applications of cardiovascular MR at 7.0 T are provided and their clinical implications are discussed. A concluding section ventures a glance beyond the horizon and explores future directions of RF coil developments.


The major concern regarding organic emissions from hazardous waste incineration systems is the formation of products of incomplete combustion (PICs). The toxic and, possibly, mutagenic character of these compounds represents one of the major problems to public acceptance of incineration as a safe waste disposal technology. Ongoing studies at MIT, sponsored by the US EPA Northeast Hazardous Substance Research Center (NHSRC), have shed light on the mechanisms of formation and emission of PICs, showing that the formation of PICs is highly dependent upon the local ratio of fuel and oxidant, and their amount and composition are sensitive to both turbulent mixing and chemical kinetic constraints. A recent critical review on incineration science and technology, presented as a plenary lecture at the XXV International Symposium on Combustion by J.O.L. Wendt of University of Arizona, has clearly encouraged the scientific community to focus on turbulent mixing, rather than kinetics alone, in order to reach the goal of controlling and minimizing PIC emission from incinerators. Also, it has shown that PIC emissions are closely related to transient phenomena (as rogue droplets formation caused by poor atornization, formation of puffs in kilns, fluctuations in feed rate and composition, etc.) which lead to failure modesmore » tied to incomplete mixing. The current approach followed at MIT during the NHSRC-sponsored project thus seems to be very promising in giving a correct interpretation of the complex mechanisms involved in PIC formation, and in providing useful application of combustion science to incineration technology.« less


The invention discloses a low-noise dual-polarization interference optic fiber gyroscope belonging to the technical field of communication. The optic fiber gyroscope comprises a light source, two linear polarized light generating circuits, two circulators, a polarizing beam splitter/combiner, a 3 multiplied by 3 polarization-preserving coupler, two photoelectric detectors, a phase modulator and apolarization-preserving optical fiber ring, wherein the light source is connected with input ends of the two linear polarized light generating circuits through optical fiber; two output ends of the two linear polarized light generating circuits are respectively connected with the optical fiber of two ports at one side of the polarizing beam splitter/combiner through the circulator; the port at the other side of the polarizing beam splitter/combiner is connected with the polarization-preserving optical fiber ring through the 3 multiplied by 3 polarization-preserving coupler; and the polarization-preserving optical fiber ring and the polarization-preserving coupler are connected with the phase modulator through optical fiber. Compared with the prior art, the optic fiber gyroscope realizes the inhibition of noise sensitivity by using the symmetry of the 3 multiplied by 3 polarization-preserving coupler and meanwhile is characterized by simple structure, low cost, small volume, high sensitivity and wide application range.


This special volume brings together the latest advances in, and applications of, iron and steel, micro/nano materials, metal alloy materials, composites, earthquake-resistant structures, materials and design, tooling testing and evaluation of materials, waste engineering and management, etc. It will not only provide readers with a broad overview of the latest advances, but also constitute a handbook for use by researchers in this field.


$\mathsf{ZF + AD}$ proves that for all nontrivial forcings $\mathbb{P}$ on a wellorderable set of cardinality less than $\Theta$, $1_{\mathbb{P}} \Vdash_{\mathbb{P}} \neg\mathsf{AD}$. $\mathsf{ZF + AD} + \Theta$ is regular proves that for all nontrivial forcing $\mathbb{P}$ which is a surjective image of $\mathbb{R}$, $1_{\mathbb{P}} \Vdash_{\mathbb{P}} \neg\mathsf{AD}$. In particular, $\mathsf{ZF + AD + V = L(\mathbb{R})}$ proves that for every nontrivial forcing $\mathbb{P} \in L_\Theta(\mathbb{R})$, $1_{\mathbb{P}} \Vdash_{\mathbb{P}} \neg\mathsf{AD}$.


Inventory Warehouse Systems as the back-office application for dealing with a supplier is an essential application for supporting front office application which coping with daily customer transactions. To increase the inventory warehouse system performance, then business process as Online Transactional Processing (OLTP) should be separated from the reporting process as Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) application. Big Data as the current most alluring technology, is undoubtedly the top choice in intelligent application implementation. To understand what is "Big Data," then we should refer to previous technology and Big Data as a metamorphosis from last OLAP technology such as Data Warehouse, DSS, EIS, BI and so on. Thus, since Big Data as a metamorphosis from previous technology then we can apply Big Data for OLAP process to create an intelligent application which supports reporting for the decision-making process. This Big Data implementation was running on one single node/computer, where Hadoop for windows x64 was installed. The proposed Big Data application was split into two sub-processes such as Big Data process and Big Data result. Big Data process reads the OLTP database and export into an input text file, and the text file was processed with MapReduce algorithm and import into output text file. Meanwhile, Big Data result shows the summarization of Map and Reduce process from output text file.


With "Go Green" becoming a trend for many industries, investors are more aware of how the daily operations of companies have become more responsible. With increased stakeholder attention to Corporate Social Responsibility, several scholars, including the author of this paper, initiated research on how Corporate Social Responsibility will influence companies' financial performance. Will CSR be just be a name for more operating expenses or will it help companies outperform the market and add value to investors? The author's previous research found that there is a positive relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and many firms' financial performance. In this paper, the authors chose the automotive industry to dig deeper into how this sustainable trend influenced companies' financial performance especially when the fully electric Tesla became one of the hottest companies in recent years. The authors chose five American consumer goods companies and ten automakers around the world to examine their five years financial performance using ROE, stock return, and profitability ratio. Besides comparing these companies with the S&P 500, the authors also used Tesla as a leader for this new "Go Green" trend for the automotive industry and examined how this will influence automakers' financial performance.


To meet the requirements of regulations on exhaust emissions, the simultaneous reduction of NOx and soot emissions is the major challenges of the diesel engine development. Di-methyl ether (DME) is the one of the fuels that due to their properties so as high cetane number, low auto ignition temperature, lowest emissions and similar physical properties to the liquid petroleum gas (LPG), has been attracting attention as an alternative fuel. In this paper, combustion and emission characteristics of CIDI engines by use of DME as an alternative fuel has been investigated via numerical simulation and CFD procedure and the results have been compared to diesel fuelled engine. The results indicate the peak values of the in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate and temperature in the DME fuelled engine is lower than that of the diesel engine. Also NOx and soot emissions from DME fuelled engine are reduced in compared to diesel engine, obviously.


Mosquito control is necessary to improve the epidemic and, consequently, the sanitary and hygienic situation in human settlements. At the same time, the safest and more environmentally friendly way of controlling is not the fight against adult mosquitoes, but the treatment of reservoirs with microbiological larvicides based on entomopathogenic, aerobic, spore-forming, saprophytic bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (de Barjac) (Bti). A new serotype of the bacterium B. thuringiensis was found in Israel in the Negev desert. This serotype being more active against larvae of blood-sucking and non-blood-sucking mosquitoes and midges than previously known serotypes, was named israelensis. Bti endotoxin is a typical insecticide with intestinal type of action for different mosquito species. For example, Bti H14 is highly insecticidal to the larvae of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus at very low concentrations. The parasporal body (endotoxin crystal), a crystalline protein consisted of four main polypeptides and two minor polypeptides, possesses of a larvicidal action. Larvicidal activity is associated with a synergistic effect in a combination of four polypeptides. The possibility of development of resistance to products based on Bti and Bacillus sphaericus in populations of mosquitoes (Culicidae) was investigated. The use of domestic microbiological formulations based on Bti («Baktitsid», «Larviol-pasta», and «Antinat») was shown an eradication the larvae of bloodsucking mosquitoes and midges to be possible and rational, since they are not generated resistant populations of mosquitoes. This is confirmed by more than 30 years of the use of such formulations.


With the growing interest focused on the broadband network systems, optical fiber network for high speed telecommunication becomes more important in the premise network area. Silica base single mode fiber is an ideal medium for long distance communication because of its high transparency and high bandwidth, while its much low attenuation is minor advantage in the short distance network. As many data distributions and fiber connections are required in the premises wiring and LANs, low coupling and distribution losses must be maintained. Therefore, we have proposed a large-core, high-bandwidth graded-index polymer optical fiber (GI POF) for high speed data "transmission" medium, and we succeeded in several gigabit transmission in 100 m GI POF link. However, as the GI POF was composed of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), its high attenuation of transmission limited the GI POF link length to approximately 100 m. Recently we proposed the low-loss perfluorinated (PF) polymer base GI POF which enables more than 300-m transmission with maintaining high data rate.