TheEnvelope Elimination andRestoration (EER) features findapplication inmodemdigital modulations suchasin technique theoretically allows implementation oflinear highly EDGE andUMTS applications thatexhibit significant envelope efficient RF PowerAmplifiers, asrequired fornextgenerationmodulation, andarepotentially suited toRFpoweramplification for digital communications. Oneofthekeyremaining challenges for multistandard anddigital radio architectures asuccessful implementation oftheEER technique istheefficient e(t) implementation oftheswitching powerconverter incharge of e(t) >, amplifying thebaseband envelope signal, since bandwidths inthe f1f(t) 4 orderofseveral MHz areexpected fortheenvelopes tobe , tracked, hencerequiring veryhighswitching frequencies and J r thuscompromising efficiency. Thisworkinvestigates the


Intercellular Ca2+ waves in astrocytes are thought to serve as a pathway of long-range signaling. The waves can propagate by the diffusion of molecules through gap junctions and across the extracellular space. In rat striatal astrocytes, the gap-junctional route was shown to be dominant. To analyze the interplay of the processes involved in wave propagation, a mathematical model of this system has been developed. The kinetic description of Ca2+ signaling within a single cell accounts for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) generation, including its activation by cytoplasmic Ca2+, IP3-induced Ca2+ liberation from intracellular stores and various other Ca2+transports, and cytoplasmic diffusion of IP3 and Ca2+. When cells are coupled by gap junction channels in a two-dimensional array, IP3 generation in one cell triggers Ca2+ waves propagating across some tens of cells. The spatial range of wave propagation is limited, yet depends sensitively on the Ca2+-mediated regeneration of the IP3 signal. Accordingly, the term "limited regenerative signaling" is proposed. The gap-junctional permeability for IP3 is the crucial permissive factor for wave propagation, and heterogeneity of gap-junctional coupling yields preferential pathways of wave propagation. Processes involved in both signal initiation (activation of IP3 production caused by receptor agonist) and regeneration (activation of IP3production by Ca2+, loading of the Ca2+ stores) are found to exert the main control on the wave range. The refractory period of signaling strongly depends on the refilling kinetics of the Ca2+ stores. Thus the model identifies multiple steps that may be involved in the regulation of this intercellular signaling pathway.


To obtain the effect and quantitative information of water components in sweet corn by different blanching temperature,Statistical analysis system(SAS) was applied to deal with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance(LF-NMR) data of blanched sweet corn.Statistic analysis on batch raw data of LF-NMR was performed by SAS system,including exponential fitting,principal component analysis(PCA) and partial least squares regression(PLSR).The corresponding SAS codes were provided.The fitting result of multi-exponential model indicates that the percentages of two components with relaxation times(405-(750 ms)) and(50-70 ms) change distinctly.Three blanching temperature ranges: 20-40,50-70 and (80-100 °C) are roughly discriminated by PCA.PLSR does well in prediction of bound water in blanched sweet corn(determined coefficient is 0.974,root mean square error of cross-validation is 0.32%).From the whole data processing,SAS programming performs efficiently on data management and analysis and gives valuable reference for LN-NMR application.


The invention provides a method for moving seamlessly among different networks by a terminal user, a wireless local area network optimization gateway (WOG), a terminal, and a wireless local area network (WLAN) and cellular mobile network tight coupled system. The method comprises: a WOG receiving an access session notification message sent by a terminal, according to the access session notification message, obtaining the attribute information of a current session; and when the attribute information of the current session is cross-network switching access, the WOG selecting the same gateway general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (GGSN) for the current session. By adopting the method provided by the embodiments of the invention, the terminal can seamlessly move among multiple WLAN hot spots and 2/3G cellular internetworks conveniently, on-line data sessions are maintained uninterrupted, and the service experience of users is improved.


Different lettuces were planted in nutrient solution with different nitrate concentration in this study.The lettuces were studied on biomass yield and quality.The main results and conclusions were showed as follows.With the increasing of nitrate concentrate in nutrient solution,the content of nitrate was increase by degrees.And the biomass yield,the contents of soluble sugar,protein and amino acid increased,then decreased.But there was unapparent relativity between the content of nitrate and NRA in lettuce.


Medical dispute was focused by medical, media and public. But the increasing medical dispute was not mainly caused of technology reasons but lack of human based service. And human based service was the principal trend in 21st century and the demand of construction harmonious society. The article discussed both hospital and patient's demands in psychology view to promote hospital-patient relationship and improve human based service.


A distributed stochastic approximation algorithm with expanding truncations (DSAAWET) is proposed to estimate the unknown parameter linearly appearing in the sensor networks. Each agent updates its local estimate by averaging its neighbors' estimates with weights and by processing its local current observation. The estimates are shown to converge to the true parameter with probability one. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the obtained theoretic result.


The occurrence of planktonic prosobranch larvae identified during the summers of 1977, 1979 and 1981 off Beaufort, North Carolina is given. Forty-two species were recorded; 29 of these were found each summer. Observations and identifications were made on 12 newly described larvae: Lacuna sp, Epitonium sp. 1 (apiculatum), Epitonium sp. 2, Strombus alatus, Erato maugeriae, Simnia acicularis, Natica sp. 1, Natica sp, 2, Natica sp. 3, Natica sp. 4, Olivella adelae, Mangelia sp. and Sp.? Turridae. A key for the identification of planktonic prosobranch veligers occuring in summer months is included.


Atypical amyloid generation, folding, aggregation and impaired clearance are characteristic pathological features of human neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). What is generally not appreciated is that a major secretory product of microbes is amyloid, and that the contribution of microbial amyloid to the pathophysiology of the human central nervous system (CNS) is potentially substantial. While earlier findings suggested that these amyloids may serve some immune-evasive strategy, it has recently become evident that humans have a tremendously heavy systemic burden of amyloid which may contribute to the pathology of progressive neurological diseases with an amyloidogenic component. This perspective will highlight some recent inroads made into our understanding of the enigmatic role that microbial amyloids may play in the homeostasis and pathology of the CNS with particular reference to AD wherever possible.


This paper proposes Reduction to Uniprocessor Transformation (RUNT), which is an optimal multiprocessor real-time scheduling algorithm based on RUN with Real-Time Static Voltage and Frequency Scaling, called S-RUNT, and Real-Time Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling, called D-RUNT. D-RUNT uses Enhanced Cycle-Conserving Earliest Deadline First to make use of slack produced during execution. In addition, we prove the optimality and analyze the overhead of RUNT.


Cloretazine (VNP40101M) is a newly synthesized alkylating agent belonging to a novel class of alkylating agents called 1,2-bis(sulfonyl)hydrazines. Agents that belong to this class do not produce vinylating and chloroethylating species, and hence this class of alkylating agents is thought to have minimal systemic toxicity. Cloretazine produces two short-lived active species: 1,2-bis(methylsulfonyl)-1-(2-chloroethyl) hydrazine (a chloroethylating species) and a thiophilic carbamoylating methylisocyanate species. The chloroethylating species preferentially produces lesions at the O 6 position of guanine. The methylisocyanate species may inhibit O 6 -alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase, an important mechanism of resistance against alkylating agents. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and tolerabil-Phase


If the market is perfect and complete, ideally, the introduction of derivatives should not in any way affect the equilibrium conditions in the underlying market.  However, the presence of information asymmetry in the market ensures that introduction of a derivative alters the speed with which equilibrium is attained.  This may generally affect the underlying asset's price level and also its volatility. A study of a similar phenomenon is done in the case of the Indian bond market. The Indian Bond market which is predominantly G-sec saw the introduction of the interest rate futures recently.  The 10 year Interest rate futures contract based on a 10 year notional coupon bearing Government of India security, the 91 day T Bill futures which is based on 91 day T bills issued by the Government of India and the 2 and 5 year Interest rate Futures based on 2 and 5 year notional Gsec. The purpose of this paper is to understand their impact on the underlying market. The developments in the interest rate futures market can be attributed to the novelty of this market in India. In this paper we will try and understand whether there has been any change in the behavior of the markets for the underlying post the introduction of these derivatives. It is seen that both the short term interest rate and long term interest rate markets gets impacted on their turnover post the introduction of these derivatives. However, when it comes to volatility, it is only the short term interest rates which gets significantly impacted.


This paper proposes a Common Security and Control Framework(CSCF) for application security,network security,information security,and behavioral security in tri-network convergence.CSCF has an independent architecture and can be operated transparently across the whole network.It treats the network link as the control object and can perform functions such as link traffic identification and link traffic analysis.It can also check and control a security problem at one point and initiate a whole-system response.CSCF is based on a distributed security and control platform with high scalability.This paper discusses the development of techniques used to establish a security system that proactively defends against threats,flexibly reacts to and blocks threats as they occur,and traces threats.


With the development of the economy,vehicle population is increasing rapidly,it will not only reduce pollution but also get high added value of sideline products if the vehicle can fuel the ethanol gasoline in plateau.According to actual conditions of spreading use of ethanol gasoline,this paper analyzed the characteristics of ethanol gasoline and the effect to internal combustion engines performance in high altitude,and it showed that using ethanol gasoline is feasible in plateau.


The study examined the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship between depression and bullying among teenagers. The participants of the study were 242 teenagers aged 13 to 16 years, from selected secondary schools in Selangor, Malaysia. Self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, while teenage depression was measured with the Children Depression Inventory and bullying was measured using the Bully sub scale of the Peer Relationship Questionnaire. Findings of the study indicate no gender differences between males and females in self-esteem. The study further found a negative and medium correlation between depression and self- esteem, self-esteem and bullying and a positive and small correlation between depression and bullying. However, results of the study did not find self-esteem as a moderator. Recommendations of the study highlight the need to explore other variables such as religious and sports involvements as possible moderators in future studies.


Abstract : Students in a Southern Negro college ( N - 116) very much involved in the current social protest movement against segregation were used as subjects of a study of prediction of social action taking behavior. A forced choice test of a generalized attitude toward internal or external control of reinforcements, not specifically dealing with the issue studied, predicted the type and degree of commitment behavior manifested to effect social change. The social desirability motive and social class showed a weak trend, in the predicted direction, in the case of the former and a logically consistent one on an ad hoc basis in the case of the latter. These findings may serve as an impetus for much needed research in the important area of ongoing social action and social change.


volume of Reports on the progress of certain branches of natural history, and a large quiarto, forming one fasciculus of a monograph, bv Messrs. Alder and Hancock, on the British Nud(libranchiate Mollusca, illustrate(l by figures of-all the species. We believe another volume, (" Memorials of Johln Ray,") will be shortly ready for the suibscribers of the first year also. In a science like natural history, remnarkable at the present tiine for the large number of those engaged in original investigations in its various branches, it is not easy toituagine any means more certainily and generally usefsal than a periodical statement of progress tmade and results produced. In Germany and eleewhere on the Continent, muclh more frequently than in Enigland, sucht reports are from timue to timne prepared and published; bIit there are no means at present by which British. natnralists, especially those in the provinces, can profit by them, as they either appear in separate paimiphlets, which do not travel far, or in scientific journals, of whiclh only it few copies absolutely, and comparatively speaking scarcely any, reach England anid extend beyond the metropolis and the great public libraries. We hail, therefore, witlh satisfaction, this appearance of themi in an English form, and we are quite sure *hat erery one wlho is really in earnest in natural history pursuits will become a subscriber to the Ray Society, if only to obtain the information tlIus given. The reports in the present. volutne form three groups, and consist of-first, a Report of the actutal state of Zoology in Euirope, by Charles L. Buonaparte; secondly, a series of Reports on the progress of Zoology, in 1842, by Wagner Troschel and Siebold; and thirdly, a simoilar Report on Physiological Botany, by Dr. Link.


Using a predetermined framework on students' productive struggles, the purpose of this study is to explore high school students' productive struggles during the simplification of rational algebraic expressions in a high school mathematics classroom. This study is foregrounded in the anthropological theory of the didactic, and its central notion of a "praxeology" - a praxeology refers to the study of human action, based on the notion that humans engage in purposeful behavior of which the simplification of rational algebraic expressions is an example. The research methodology comprised a lesson study involving a sample of 28 students, and the productive struggle framework was used for data analysis. Findings show that the productive struggle framework is a useful tool that can be used to analyze students' thinking processes during the simplification of rational algebraic expressions. Further research is required on the roles that noticing and questioning can play for mathematics teachers to respond to and effectively support the students' struggles during teaching and learning.


Abstract : Three types of transducers were mathematically modeled to gain knowledge of the potentials and limitations of alternating lead- and ceramic-staved cylinder transducers, curved bender bar transducers, and ribbed-cylinder flextensional transducers. It was determined that bandwidth of alternating lead- and ceramic-staved cylinders can be maximized through careful choice of material composition, ceramic thickness, length-to-diameter ratio, and stave geometry. Analysis of the curved bender bar transducer showed that a small, light-weight, low-power output transducer could be built with an in-air resonance frequency between 100 and 500 Hz. A ribbed-cylinder flextensional transducer is basically a low-frequency narrowband device but modifications can be made to the current design which will lower its first in-air resonance frequency and improve its reliability. (Author)


Talk about impeaching President Donald Trump increases as the Democratic Party reclaims control of the House of representatives following the 2018 mid-term elections. The very next day Americans awake to learn of these developments and just hours later that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been fired, "replacing him with a loyalist who has echoed the president's complaints about the special counsel investigation into Russia's election interference and will now take charge of the inquiry."

As a Constitutional crisis looms large over the Trump Presidency, now is a good time to examine the history and role of impeachment in our constitutional system, how it works, and likely implication given what is now known about the Trump presidency. This Article proceeds in nine parts. First, is an examination of the Constitutional provision for impeachment. Second, is a look at the history of U.S. presidential impeachment proceedings in general. Third, a discussion about the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson is presented. Fourth, the unique situation in more recent history of Vice President Spiro Agnew is discussed. Fifth, President Richard Nixon and the impact of Watergate is offered. Sixth, the impact of President Bill Clinton's impeachment is examined. Seventh, is a look at the mechanics of impeachment in a contemporary setting. Eighth, given facts now known, I look at the potential for President Donald Trump's impeachment and removal, including arguments for nine currently identifiable impeachable offenses. And last, I conclude. I believe this Article comes at an important crossroads for the American democracy. The issues addressed here are timely and of profound importance to the United States, global community, and to the future of civilization. Seldom can these claims be made of a law review article.


Through the analysis of co-association reaction,an aero maintenance competency assessment method based on the co-association of the factors was determined.The application and advantages of the method were described through an example of competency assessment.


In this study, we attempt to develop a deep learning-based self-driving car system to deliver items (e.g., harvested onions, agri-tools, PET bottles) to agricultural (agri-) workers at an agri-workplace. The system is based around a car-shaped robot, JetBot, with an NVIDIA artificial intelligence (AI) oriented board. JetBot can find diverse objects and avoid them. We implemented experimental trials at a real warehouse where various items (glove, boot, sickle (falx), scissors, and hoe), called obstacles, were scattered. The assumed agri-worker was a man suspending dried onions on a beam. Specifically, we developed a system focusing on the function of precisely detecting obstacles with deep learning-based techniques (techs), self-avoidance, and automatic delivery of small items for manual agri-workers and managers. Both the car-shaped figure and the deep learning-based obstacles-avoidance function differ from existing mobile agri-machine techs and products with respect to their main aims and structural features. Their advantages are their low costs in comparison with past similar mechanical systems found in the literature and similar commercial goods. The robot is extremely agile and easily identifies and learns obstacles. Additionally, the JetBot kit is a minimal product and includes a feature allowing users to arbitrarily expand and change functions and mechanical settings.
This study consists of six phases: (1) designing and confirming the validity of the entire system, (2) constructing and tuning various minor system settings (e.g., programs and JetBot specifications), (3) accumulating obstacle picture data, (4) executing deep learning, (5) conducting experiments in an indoor warehouse to simulate a real agri-working situation, and (6) assessing and discussing the trial data quantitatively (presenting the success and error rates of the trials) and qualitatively. We consider that from the limited trials, the system can be judged as valid to some extent in certain situations. However, we were unable to perform more broad or generalizable experiments (e.g., execution at mud farmlands and running JetBot on non-flat floor). We present experimental ranges for the success ratio of these trials, particularly noting crashed obstacle types and other error types. We were also able to observe features of the system's practical operations. The novel achievements of this study lie in the fusion of recent deep learning-based agricultural informatics. In the future, agri-workers and their managers could use the proposed system in real agri-places as a common automatic delivering system. Furthermore, we believe, by combining this application with other existing systems, future agri-fields and other workplaces could become more comfortable and secure (e.g., delivering water bottles could avoid heat (stress) disorders).


This paper analyzes test data obtained by the authors and corresponding results of numerical simulation of transients in a high-power loop heat pipe (LHP) with a small-diameter condenser bypass. Th...


A multiyear regional risk programming model was used in evaluating the impacts of different environmental policies on cropping systems, input use, nonpoint source pollution, farm income, and risk. A direct expected utility maximizing problem (DEMP) objective with a Von Neuman Morgenstern utility function was used in deriving optimal cropping systems. A biophysical simulation model provided input for the optimization. Three types of policies—taxing, regulating the aggregate, and regulating the per acre level—were studied for two farm inputs—nitrogen and atrazine. It was observed that policies had varied and multiple cross-effects on pollutant loads, farm income, and risk. This information is crucial in developing successful policies toward improving water quality. If an appropriate input policy is chosen, both targeted and nontargeted pollutant loads can be managed. The three policies varied in their effects on pollutant loads and involved tradeoffs in water quality and economic attributes.


Before deciding to use a currency overlay program, pension plans need to understand why they should use one and what benefits and costs are involved. Once the decision has been made to use a currency overlay program, pension plans need to select a hedge ratio and a benchmark, neither of which is an easy decision. Finally, pension plans need to consider the technical issues involved with currency overlay programs. Effectively dealing with these issues makes for a smooth-running overlay program. This presentation comes from the Managing Currency Risks in Investment Portfolios conference held in New York, New York, on November 19-20, 1998.


In Rivers of the Sultan: The Tigris and Euphrates in the Ottoman Empire, Faisal H. Husain examines the early modern Ottoman state's management of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Building on the foundational works of Alan Mikhail and Sam White, Rivers of the Sultan is the latest book to enhance our understanding of the environmental history of the Ottoman Empire during the early modern period. Divided into three parts ('The Amphibious State,' 'The Water Wide Web,' and 'The Rumblings of Nature'), the book guides readers through the political developments and environmental factors that shaped Ottoman rule in the Tigris-Euphrates basin between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. The final product is an empirically rich and methodologically sophisticated study that makes high-stakes contributions to various historiographies.


Using 800 control sera and 55 from insulin-dependent diabetics we set out to determine if an increase in HLA-B15 in the diabetic population was associated with an increase in C22, the secon


A concatenated system is presented to achieve unequal error protection (UEP) on a channel with insertion/deletion/substitution (IDS) errors. By using a feedback-mapping encoder scheme, the path-pruning of a convolutional code is achieved to periodically generate a specific block code, which can be exploited to correct insertion or deletion errors. This paper presents a general means to obtain a path-pruned convolutional code with specific trellis structure by using the puncturing and pruning processes. One application combining the rate-compatible path-pruned convolutional code, partial interleaving, and Reed-Solomon code was implemented to evaluate its performance on the IDS channel.


An attempt has been made to study the influence of diet on occurrence of peptic ulcer. An experimental group of 100 diagnosed and proven peptic ulcer cases were selected from OPD, SKIMS. Another 100 subjects without any history of peptic ulcer formed control group. It is concluded that females were mostly affected with peptic ulcer. Prevalence of peptic ulcer was high in the age group of 40–45 years. Highest incidence of disease was seen among married individuals. The respondents used to take spicy foods while rice was their staple food. Salttea was consumed by the patients twice a day and the diet was deficient in fiber and other nutrients.


Objective:To study the therapeutic effect of Donepezil combination with Nimodipine on Patients with Vasculal Cognitive Impairment after Cerebral Infarction.Methods:One hundred and twenty-eight patients with Vasculal Cognitive Impairment after Cerebral Infarction were divided into randomly into 2 groups,the treating group was treated with Donepezil 5mg/d for 12 weeks,combined by Nimodipine 30mg tid for 12 weeks;the control group was only treated with Nimodipine 30mg tid for 12 weeks.The Efficacy was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination(MoCA).Results:The therapeutic outcomes were better in the treating group than the that in the control group obviously(P0.05).Conclusions:Donepezil combination with Nimodipine had an obvious therapeutic effect on Patients with Vasculal Cognitive Impairment after Cerebral Infarction,therefore it could prevent and delay Dementia occurring at the forepart.


Today, new technologies (distributed systems, networks communication) are more and more integrated for applications needing to fit real-time and critical constraints. It means that we require more and more to integrate these new technology-based components in systems or sub-systems dedicated to safety or dealing with a high level of criticality. Control systems are generally evaluated as a function of required performances (overshoot, rising time, response time) under the condition to respect a stability condition. Reliability evaluation of such systems is not trivial, because generally classical methods do not take into account time and dynamic properties which are the bases of control systems.


Abstract. Aeolus, launched on 22 August in 2018, is the
first ever satellite to directly observe wind information from the surface
up to 30 km on a global scale. An airborne prototype instrument called ALADIN airborne
demonstrator (A2D) was developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for
validating the Aeolus measurement principle based on realistic atmospheric
signals. To obtain accurate wind retrievals, the A2D uses a measured
Rayleigh response calibration (MRRC) to calibrate its Rayleigh channel
signals. However, differences exist between the respective atmospheric
temperature profiles that are present during the conduction of the MRRC and
the actual wind measurements. These differences are an important source of
wind bias since the atmospheric temperature has a direct effect on the
instrument response calibration. Furthermore, some experimental limitations
and requirements need to be considered carefully to achieve a reliable MRRC.
The atmospheric and instrumental variability thus currently limit the
reliability and repeatability of a MRRC. In this paper, a procedure for a
simulated Rayleigh response calibration (SRRC) is developed and presented in
order to resolve these limitations of the A2D MRRC. At first the
transmission functions of the A2D Rayleigh channel double-edge Fabry–Pérot
interferometers (FPIs) in the internal reference path and the atmospheric
path are characterized and optimized based on measurements performed during
different airborne and ground-based campaigns. The optimized FPI
transmission functions are then combined with the laser reference spectrum
and the temperature-dependent molecular Rayleigh backscatter spectrum to
derive an accurate A2D SRRC which can finally be implemented into the wind
retrieval. Using dropsonde data as a reference, a statistical analysis based
on a dataset from a flight campaign in 2016 reveals a bias and a standard
deviation of line-of-sight (LOS) wind speeds derived from a SRRC of only
0.05 and 2.52 m s−1, respectively. Compared to the result
derived from a MRRC with a bias of 0.23 m s−1 and a standard deviation
of 2.20 m s−1, the accuracy improved and the precision is considered
to be at the same level. Furthermore, it is shown that the SRRC allows for the
simulation of receiver responses over the whole altitude range from the
aircraft down to sea level, thus overcoming limitations due to high ground
elevation during the acquisition of an airborne instrument response
calibration.


The relationship between Finland and Hungary is little known by most Nordic and European citizens and can be difficult to understand. It has mostly been considered as a question of belonging to the same group of languages. However, Finns and Hungarians do not understand each other. Their relationship is studied mostly by linguists. Finland belongs to the Nordic family and the Baltic Sea Area. Hungary is a Central European state situated close to the Balkans. People belonging to this group oflanguages are more spread out than most people are aware of. They live in many areas of Eastern Europe and especially in Russia. Both Finns and Hungarians have felt they needed to find someone to share some of their cultural roots with. Both share the same feeling of not being understood by their near surroundings. One result today is that many Finns study Hungarian and go to Hungary mostly to study. Many Hungarians study Finnish and go to Finland in order to study and work. The book does not overestimate the meaning of the relationship between Finland and Hungary and does not try to create something that is not there. The ambition is modest: to compare two rather small states lying in a zone between East and West in the periphery of Europe in the so-called "Europe-Between" a zone from Finland to Greece and Bohemia to Moldavia. The contacts between Finnish and Hungarian historians have traditions going back to the nineteenth century. This book consists of articles from the conference on contemporary political and social history in Helsinki in 1998, the sixth such conference held since 1981. The conference included the themes of political development in Hungary and Finland during the inter-war period and their respective positions in international politics between 1945 and 1990. In one interesting article by the Finn Vesa Saarikoski, the author explains why there is no need to write a history of Finland and Hungary in the same way as books have been written about Finland and Sweden on one hand and Hungary and Austria on the other. The historical context is very different from the Baltic Sea Area to Central Europe and to the Balkans. The only thing missing in Saarikoski's article is that he forgets that Finland is also a Nordic country and that this dimension pulls Finland even further away.Saarikoski's explanation that even though Finns and Hungarians do not understand each other, the fact that nobody understands either of them is what pulls them together might, however, be an underestimation of the two countries' relationship. Saarikoski's article explains the most surprising omission in the book, given its title: there is no comparative study of Finland and Hungary. Unlike the book published after the third conference in 1989, this book is more about Finland or Hungary rather than Finland and Hungary. With the Cold War over, free opportunities exist to carry out comparative historiographical studies from economic, cultural, political and social perspectives. This is interesting also for other people in Europe because we are now dealing with two members of the Europe-


Following the rapid growth of the social media communication technology worldwide, WhatsApp (WA) becomes one of the most practical means to corelate students and lecturers. In fact, students are able to contact their lecturers anytime they need to confirm any other task and assigment. However, to contact the lecturers, students have frequently need the appropriate speech act strategy to convey thir intention. While several studies have addressed this issue by focusing on the use of hedgs to express politeness in WA to express politeness, and violations are found in approbation maxim. In an attempt to fill this gap, of the use of WA to express students confirming speech act strategy to the lecturers. The method of providing data was carried out by tapping method with recording technique. This tehcnique is screen shoot the written document of speech act used by students when communicating with lecturers by using WA. The investigation reveals that, the most widely strategy used by students in WA to lecturers was to seek an agreement and the lowest use was to imply or express reciprocity, give understanding, and cooperation with the lecturers. This study argues that students send WA to the lecturers with the various purposes.


Shannon/Nyquist theorem underlies most of the algorithms in signal processing and data acquisition in such a way that the required sampling rate is at least 2 times the frequency of the signal. However there are many cases in which most of the information covers at some particular components while the rest is worthless. Therefore it is very useful if those significant components can be directly collected instead of wasting bandwidth for the unnecessary ones. Compressive Sensing (CS) is an algorithm that minimizes the sampling rate of the signals while still retaining the necessary information for the reconstruction process. It bypasses the current algorithms in which large amount of data is collected and then remove in a consequent compression step. Every CS algorithms are the combination of random kernels and non parametric estimation techniques. In general, the reconstruction framework estimates an under determined linear system of solutions with an unknown compressible or sparse signals. CS is applied broadly and be a novel algorithm in signal processing including: Channel Coding, Inverse Problem, Data Compression, Data Acquisition and in some fields where hardware has limitation.


We present an advanced drift diffusion simulation of the joint opening effect (JOE) avalanche photodiode (APD). The joint opening effect APD is a new design for achieving edge breakdown suppression in planar avalanche photodiodes. It is a single growth process that achieves center breakdown dominance without the use of guard rings, partial charge sheets, or surface etches. The JOE APD only requires the diffusion of the primary well. Edge breakdown suppression is achieved by partially insulating the electric field growth in the active region from the geometry of the primary well. HE INTERNAL gain provided by avalanche photodiodes (APD's) allows for the reduction or elimination of noisier external amplifiers in optical detection systems. For this rea- son, APD's are an ideal choice for detection applications that require optical gain. Range finders (1), biomedical imagers, scintillation detectors (2), and telecommunications networks (3), (4) are among the applications which make use of APD's. Planar APD's are easier to passivate than mesa APD's (5). This leads to the improved reliability of planar APD's. For this reason, it is desirable to use planar APD's whenever possible. The location of avalanche breakdown is a major concern in the design of planar APD's. Breakdown location impacts such issues as device reliability, illuminated and dark current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, leakage current, gain, noise, and yield. The location of avalanche breakdown can be separated into two categories. Avalanche breakdown that occurs in the desired or active region is referred to as center breakdown and is located in the center of the APD. Avalanche breakdown that occurs outside of the active region is catego- rized as edge breakdown, owing to the fact that breakdown of this type arises from strong electric fields formed at the edge of the heavily doped well. The electric field distribution within an APD is of paramount importance, because impact ionization has an exponential dependence on electric field. The field dependence of the ionization coefficients, , is given by


Background: EPN was a rapidly progressive, fulminant, life threatening, necrotizing infection of kidneys and perinephric space. EPN was most commonly seen in patients with diabetes mellitus. Aim and Objective: To study the clinical features, radiological classification, risk factors, Prognostic factors and management Modalities of Emphysematous pyelonephritis. Methodology: 54 patients who were diagnosed to have Emphysematous pyelonephritis from various departments in Nizam's institute of medical sciences from December 2016 to November 2019 were included in the study. The diagnosis of EPN was confirmed by plain CT KUB scan. Results: Of the 54 patients 16 were male and 38 were female. 40 patients with EPN had diabetes mellitus (DM). There was 4 patients who was diagnosed to have DM after admission. Left kidney involved in 51.80% (28) of patients. Right kidney in 37.03% (20) of cases. Out of 54 patients, 14 patients who were presented to us with EPN had a pre-existing CKD. Only 14 out of 54 patients with EPN had normal renal parameters. Thrombocytopenia was seen in 32 of these patients and 4 of patients with thrombocytopenia required platelet transfusion. Urine culture was sterile in 3 patients. E.coli was grown in 42 patients and klebsiella in 3patients. There were 14 patients with dry EPN and 40 patients with wet EPN. 21.8% (12) patients has class 1 EPN. 43.75% (24) of patients had Class 2 EPN (Commonest class in our study), 25% (13) of patients had class 3A EPN, 3.1% (2) had class 3B EPN, 6.25% (3) has Class 4 EPN. The mean follow up was 8 months, ranging from 3 months to 24 months. 40 patients are under regular follow up. Conclusion: Pre-existing CKD status, shock at presentation and altered sensorium are the poor prognostic factors in this study.


The electronic structures of nonpolar short-period InN/GaN superlattices grown in the wurtzite a -direction, have been calculated and compared to earlier calculations for polar superlattices (grown in the c-direction). For the nonpolar superlattices it is found that the calculated band gaps and their pressure coefficients are quite similar to those of bulk InGaN alloys with an equivalent In/Ga composition ratio. Also, they are much closer than the values calculated for polar superlattices to the photolu-minescence emission energies and their pressure coefficients measured on polar structures. Possible explanations of the observed phenomena are suggested and discussed. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Rapidly growing building information modelling (BIM) in construction offers a number of advantages and new opportunities of improving efficiency and effectiveness of the construction process and enhancing the use of emerging technology throughout the project's lifecycle, not only in new buildings, but also in existing ones, including overall infrastructure. Recently, there has been a great number of publications discussing BIM advantages in construction. A number of review papers summarising BIM usage cases have been published. However, as the preliminary research shows, not all organizations use BIM because of its disadvantages. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to study the extent of available literature on BIM, to determine the current situation of BIM usage, and summarise publications related to the application of BIM. The current study is limited solely to papers available in SpringerLink, ScienceDirect and Thomson Reuters Web of Sciences scientific databases. The obtained results make it clear that BIM case studies and research in academic journals show high level of BIM implementation in practice, and advantages of BIM. However, there are some limitations of BIM usage in practice. Moreover, new trends in the evolving BIM are presented and discussed in this paper.


Аbstract .  Сlinical  and  immunocorrective  efficiency  of  Roncoleukin®  (IL-2)  monotherapy  applied  as subcutaneous injections versus inhalatory mode of treatment, was studied in patients with chronic recurrent infections. It was shown that administration of Roncoleukin® at a total dose of 1.5 mg was accompanied by increased activity of Th1 lymphocytes and reduced in vitro production of IL-10, and does not exert any adverse immunotropic effects associated with Treg expansion. In general, the positive clinical effect was registered in 65% (26/40) of the patients, and its duration ranged between 3 and 7 months (a mean of 4.4±0.2 months). Clinical  efficiency  of  Roncoleukin®  inhalations  proved  to  be  not  inferior  to  conventional  Roncoleukin® immunotherapy performed by subcutaneous injections (resp., 70 and 60% of positive responses), and allows a more significant prolongation of event-free remission. ( Med. Immunol., 2011, vol. 13, N 2-3, pp 227-236 )


The momentum and density dependence of mean fields in symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter are analysed using the simple density dependent finite range effective interaction containing a single Gaussian term alongwith the zero-range terms. Within the formalism developed, it is possible to reproduce the various diverging predictions on the momentum and density dependence of isovector part of the mean field in asymmetric matter. The finite nucleus calculation is formulated for the simple Gaussian interaction in the framework of quasilocal density functional theory. The prediction of energies and charge radii of the interaction for the spherical nuclei compares well with the results of other effective theories.


This article studies the multi-hoist cyclic scheduling problem in electroplating lines where the processing time of parts in each tank must be within given lower and upper limits and part moves between tanks are allowed in both directions along the line. The problem arises in electroplating lines such as those used in the production of printed circuit boards and has previously been modeled as a mixed-integer linear program. The possible relative positions of any pair of moves are analyzed and a set of linear constraints is derived that expresses the no-collision requirements for hoists. Based on the analysis, a new mixed-integer linear programming model is formulated for the multi-hoist scheduling problem. An efficient branch-and-bound strategy is proposed to solve the problem. Computational results show that the new model can be solved much more quickly than an existing model in the literature and that the proposed solution method is more efficient in solving the problem than a commercial software package.


As the federal government continues to narrow its scope of financial responsibility to cities, no doubt for some public managers the term coproduction will increasingly become the buzzword, especially among those cities that are facing fiscal stress. Indeed, coproduction is believed by its proponents to be the best alternative for municipal service delivery today. Understood to mean the joint production of municipal goods and services by the local municipal bureaucracy and the individual citizentaxpayer,' coproduction promises the city lower taxes while maintaining existing municipal service levels. At the same time, it promises to expand the role of the citizen from one of mere passive consumption of public services to one of active involvement with the responsibility for the selection, production, and delivery of public services. Presumably, the by-products of coproduction are four-fold. First, coproduction increases the citizen's sense of well-being as a result of greater participation. Second, coproduction should improve the political accountability of the urban bureaucracy. Third, it should stabilize the city's budget. Finally, coproduction should not only maintain but also actually enhance municipal service quality by the additional voluntary inputs from the citizen-taxpayer.2


The potential application of high-power UV lasers as an illumination source has stimulated the study and the development of new materials with high refractive index as constituents for optical devices. As a wide band gap and high refractive index material, Sc2O3 has been explored for UV optical coating applications. The physical and optical properties of Sc2O3 films are strongly dependent upon the deposition method, growth conditions and some postdeposition treatment. Plasma ion assisted deposition (PIAD) is a well-known advanced deposition technique to deposit dense dielectric films with superior optical properties such as smoothness, low scatter, and environmental stability. This research work is to apply PIAD process to obtain homogenous and UV transparent Sc2O3 layers to be paired with SiO2 to prepare UV 266nm antireflection coatings. Higher bandgap materials require higher photon energies when absorbed by a material and converted to electron excitation which promotes a valence electron to the conduction band. This would result in higher laser damage threshold. The coating performance and UV laser induced damage threshold of these AR coatings made with Sc2O3 layered with SiO2 are compared with the coatings made with HfO2-SiO2 paired AR coatings. The Sc2O3-SiO2 paired coatings demonstrate a comparable low reflectivity to AR coatings using HfO2 as high index materials. Furthermore, it shows a higher UV laser damage threshold than HfO2-SiO2 paired AR coatings. Sc2O3 demonstrates its potential application through this research work as optical interference coatings for high power UV laser devices.


The buildings of Xuanhuagang are the holy place for Chinese Islam, its overall structure and specific techniques shows the perfect unity of traditional Chinese architecture and Arabic-Islamic styles and a higher aesthetic level of architecture. It is a model of "Islam-Confucianism dialogue" crystallization and unity of China-Arab. It is necessary to re-study this architecture in terms of architecture itself, study of Hui Nationality and Chinese Islamic study.


A workshop on cladistic methods was held in Berkeley, 23-28 Mar 1981. It was unusual in that it emphasized analysis of data sets submitted by the participants. This focused attention on the construction of data sets and the differ- ences among computer algorithms rather than on issues of classification or historical biogeography. Like any approach to phylogeny reconstruction, cladistic methods depend heavily dn choice of characters and character states, as well as determination of evolutionary polarity and transformation series, and implicit or explicit character weighting. If the group being analyzed is not monophyletic or if it includes hybrids the cladistic relationships of the taxa may be misinterpreted. Minor changes in the choice of characters or the choice of taxa often produced major differences in clado- grams. Such problems may be magnified by computer analyses. Different algorithms produce different results because they are based on different assumptions about the likelihood of character state changes. Despite these problems, the great strength of cladistic methods is that they force careful consideration of the nature and distri- bution of taxonomic characters and in doing so provide us with our best estimates of phylogenetic history. Since the time of Darwin, systematists have attempted to reconstruct phylogenies by looking at the distributions of character states in organ- isms. In general they have assumed that those organisms with more char- acter states in common are more closely related and that overall similarity should reflect genealogy. It was not until 100 years after Darwin that Hennig (1950, 1966) emphasized that only synapomorphies (shared de- rived character states) provide information about phylogenetic relation- ships; at any one level, similarity based on symplesiomorphies (shared primitive character states) cannot be used to determine relationship. In our view, this is the core of what has come to be known as cladistics. For some workers, however, cladistics is merely the study of the number and sequence of character state changes in the evolution of a group, without regard for synapomorphy (for discussion of this approach see Eldredge


A series of synthetic analogues of prostacyclin (PGI2) have been compared for their ability to increase the formation of cyclic AMP and to inhibit the aggregation of human platelets, and for relaxation of isolated bovine coronary arteries and lowering of the blood pressure of concious rats. The most active inhibitors of aggregation were derivatives of PGI2 with a triple bond at C14:15. There was good aggreement between the inhibition of platelet aggregation and elevation of cyclic AMP in platelets, and both effects were enhanced by phosphodiesterase inhibitors. The most active compounds of the series were K13415 (14,15-didehydro 20-methyl PGI2), and a carbocyclic analog, FCE21258 (5e-14,15-didehydro carbo PGI2) which were both more active than PGI2 itself. In addition, the carbocyclic compounds were stable at neutral pH. Compounds K13817 (14,15-didehydro 16-methyl PGI2) and FCE21292 (5e-14,15 didehydro 20-methyl carbo PGI2) were similar in activity to PGI2 as platelet inhibitors, but had less vasodilator and depressor activity. The results show considerable differences in the structural specificities of the platelet and vascular activities of PGI2.


What did Guatemala do to deserve so much suffering? This question, like those so often posed to the indigenous victims of sexual violence committed during the Guatemalan internal conflict (who were accused of being somehow culpable for the attacks they suffered), drives at the heart of the problems addressed in this essay: how can artistic performance find new modes of representing violence that stop this practice of victim blaming, and how can it make this violence visible in a society that refuses to come to terms with its past? For centuries, the sexual abuse of women has been invisible in patriarchal societies due to the wide-spread belief that any woman not supported by a man is available for sexual satisfaction. This sentiment is even stronger in places with a long colonial history, where the indigenous population has been controlled and discriminated against in the process of imposing a European political and economic organization. The answer to the question what did Guatemala do is the same as that given by women conscious of the sexual crimes perpetrated against them: nothing. Neither Guatemala nor the women did anything to deserve so much suffering, the latter 'guilty' only of having been born female.


International coordinated the report. This report is intended as a basis for discussion only. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the material in this report, the authors, Liz David-Barrett, Transparency International, and the City of London, give no warranty in that regard and accept no liability for any loss or damage incurred through the use of, or reliance upon, this report or the information contained herein. A new Bribery Act received Royal Assent in April 2010. Many City businesses are unprepared for the impact this will have on their businesses, in particular the provisions for corporate liability and personal liability of directors. Companies need to put in place robust anti-corruption procedures as a matter of urgency to mitigate these risks. This report provides an overview of corruption risk for City businesses, focusing on the issues raised by the Bribery Act. It describes the Act and seeks to minimise uncertainty for City businesses about how it will be interpreted and enforced once it comes into effect. It also highlights the types of business activity which put City businesses at greatest risk in relation to bribery and prosecution. The Bribery Act is expected to reinforce the UK's international reputation for setting high standards in the regulation of economic activity and as a country that takes corruption seriously. A comparison with other leading international financial centres (see Table 3, page 41) indicates that UK regulation and enforcement are already among the best in the world, and around half of our survey respondents thought that London was less corrupt than other leading financial centres, while only 3% thought that it was more corrupt. However, the research conducted for this report also suggests that many City businesses engage in activities or operate in environments that expose them to risk of corruption, such as: • Operating in countries where corruption is perceived to be high. • Interacting with public officials. • Providing services to high-risk sectors such as construction. The drive to win new business can create pressures to cut corners, for example to skimp on due diligence or use local fixers about whom little is known. Businesses may also face strong pressures to pay facilitation payments to avoid delays in transactions. However, the new Bribery Act imposes strict penalties on individuals as well as companies if they bow to these pressures. Moreover, it puts the onus on companies …


Trajectory simulation is a tool to compute the flight path and flight parameters of the munition after them been launched. The paper presents an ontology-based methodology which could be used in trajectory simulation development. Domain engineering principles, knowledge and practices have been reused in build the trajectory simulation ontology and build a platform independent framework based on the ontology. As an illustration, an AG missile trajectory simulation is developed, the domain model represented by the ontology and the framework have been reused in the development.


The report discusses the architecture and the flight test results of a 3-Dimensional Cockpit Display of Traffic and terrain Information (3D-CDTI). The presented 3D-CDTI is a perspective display format that combines existing Synthetic Vision System (SVS) research and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology to improve the pilot's situational awareness. The goal of the 3D-CDTI is to contribute to the development of new display concepts for NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation System research program. Papers were presented at the PLANS 2002 meeting and the ION-GPS 2002 meeting. The contents of this report are derived from the results discussed in those papers.


NHS leaders have set the service an ambitious target to reduce long hospital stays by 25% as they strive to avoid a repeat of the "perfect storm" that gripped the NHS last winter.

The joint announcement by NHS England and NHS Improvement was made at the NHS Confederation conference in Manchester on 13 June.

Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said that hospitals and local councils had made progress in tackling delays in patients being discharged over the past year, but he warned that more action was needed.

"We've still got real problems with the way …


PURPOSE: A sealing structure for a highly moisture-sensitive electronic device element is provided to prevent early breakdown of the electronic device caused by moisture and early deterioration of the capacity of the electronic device by including an encapsulation enclosure and a sealing material located between a substrate and the encapsulation enclosure. CONSTITUTION: The encapsulation enclosure(30) encapsulates all of the highly moisture-sensitive electronic devices(12) on the substrate(10). The sealing material(20) is positioned between the substrate and the encapsulation enclosure to form a partial seal(later to be filled) between the substrate and the encapsulation enclosure around each highly moisture-sensitive electronic device or around groups of highly moisture-sensitive electronic devices.


Expanding knowledge and diverse courses in the global education seems to be as supplementary of alternative approach of ethics for resolving the problems that humankind feels under the lack of ethical codes. It is remarkable that global education is moving from ethical dimension to material development. As a common thought it has been accepted that the approach of ethics into the global education is required. Considering this requirement, this paper examines and analyses to apply that Buddhist ethics into the global education. The Buddhist ethics both Mahayana and Theravada, and their sub sects have played an important role in the field of oriental education within the period of past more than 2500 years, contributing to the ethical teachings for the survival of humankind in the eastern world. However, Buddhist ethics point out in the Pali canon can be approached as most apposite principles for this requirement. *** The combination of ethics with global education seems to be an emerging tendency for resolving the problems that humankind experiences because of the lack of a moral code. It is remarkable *. Prof. Dr., Head of Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Univrsity of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. BUDDHIST APPROACH TO GLOBAL EDUCATION IN ETHICS 606 that global education is moving from ethical dimension to material development. As a common thought it has been accepted that the approach of ethics into global education is required. The fundamental reason for emphasizing the need of ethics for global education is the serious disastrous nature in certain outcomes regarding human behavior which can eventually become harmful for the society. Moreover these unanticipated outcomes have been violently harming to the nature for centuries. Current education merely targets only the quality of education and vocational development in spite of the absence of ethics. Most secular curriculums aim for sensuous pleasures with material development. The learning process based on such curriculums will change our society, culture, economy, and environment. New interpretations about learning process differ from old ones and these interpretations don't necessarily focus on the ultimate purpose of studying1. According to Buddhist philosophy, the learning process should convey the welfare of all human kind as the ultimate aim of a proper education. Some denote that a set of ideas taught to enhance one's perception about the world is called global education2. Another interpretation conveys that the change in our society in learning process based on the universal values of tolerance, solidarity, equality and justice, co-operation, non-violence. Though there are diverse interpretations, the practical value of global education has not resulted until the complement of ethics. Although the conceptual development of global education is getting advanced, the ethical values and attitudes of students are not well developed. The rate of crimes, human problems, and environmental pollution are the unexpected outcomes of this prevailing education system on the absence of proper ethics. Considering this situation, this paper examines Buddhist ethics which helps to approach global education. Buddhist ethics in both Mahayana and Theravada, and their sub sects have played an important role in the field of oriental education more than 2500 years, while contributing to the ethical teachings in the eastern 1. Marvin D. Glock, 1971. p. 27 2. Ira J. Gordon. 1962. p. 143. THERAVADA BUDDHISM AND ITS APPROACH TO GLOBAL EDUCATION ON ETHICS 607 world. The Buddha's teaching considers morality and wisdom as the constituents on the way to resolve all sufferings of humankind. The ethical principles of Theravada Buddhism could be utilized as an approach to global education with practical values. The contemporary education system should find a mean of including Buddhist ethics into many subject fields offered by schools and higher educational sectors. The ways of integrating ethics with global education based on Theravada Buddhism are needed to be investigated. With conceptual development, the students must advance themselves in ethical values and attitudes. Buddhism does not accept the curricular principles giving more prominence to material development at the cost of one's moral development. In such an educational system there are no right thoughts (sammā saṅkappa). The attitudes and values of mankind are based on both ethical and conceptual development. Buddhism denotes that every concept which avoids morality causes our remorse. If curriculums are deprived of right views and thoughts (sammā diṭṭhi and sammā saṅkappa), human actions based on such curricular methods may harm oneself and others. Human actions are based on views and thoughts they have learned. Ambalaṭṭhika Rāhulovada sutta mentions that our actions should be done with a proper examination about their consequences. In this context global education needs to consider its consequences. Research indicates that in a certain stage of high school and college, youth might be in an immature stage of development3 In Buddhist perspective, the effectiveness of such curriculum should be investigated. Hence there is an urgent need for preparing curriculums of school and college to achieve material advance consistent with ethical teachings assimilated from traditions. Buddhism emphasizes that extreme sensuous pleasure gained from material phenomenon needs to be moderated. Earning and using of wealth must be based on ethics. Buddhism does not accept the adequacy of sensuous pleasure and acquisition of material passions as the appropriate happiness. 3. Ira. J. Gorden. 1962. p. 364. BUDDHIST APPROACH TO GLOBAL EDUCATION IN ETHICS 608 In the case of using natural resources and labor power, Buddhism applies the simile of absorbing nectar as a bee from a flower. As a bee gathers honey from the flower without injuring its colour or fragrance, even so the sage goes on his alms-round in the village4. Buddhism considers natural resources as common property of all beings. A simple and frugal life will conserve the other's rights regarding nature. Wealth should be used for one's welfare as well as that of others5. A modern curriculum with this concept may reduce one's selfishness. The perfection of giving is a practical ethic preserving the basic need of all beings. The integration of such Buddhist ethics with global education, hence, is a good approach to mental culture. Early Buddhist discourses mention the word "cariyā" which means behavior. The behavior of people depends on what they have learnt. Any ethical approach to global education should observe the impediments and traits of learners before applying relevant principles. The lack of relaxation causes mental tension and dissatisfaction in an unethical education system. This is a result of material development. The effort of Buddhist ethical education is to establish the satisfaction of life. There should be no competition with the expectation of material development encouraged by new technology. As Buddhism perceives, the goal of global education must target the benefit and happiness of all beings. To improve human performance, ethical guidance is needed to be added into education. The objective of education must be the production of good citizens and supporters of human beings. The combination of Buddhist ethical thoughts into education seems to be the most successful suggestion as we have experienced from traditional Buddhist education systems in Asia. In Buddhist culture others' welfare has been considered more important than that of individual life. Before launching his first mission, the Buddha exhorted the group of sixty Arahants "Go forth, O Bhikkhus, for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the goods, benefit, and happiness of gods, and men... 4. Acharya Buddharakkhita. Trans. 1985. p.10. 5. K. Sri Dhammananda. 1977. p. 0. THERAVADA BUDDHISM AND ITS APPROACH TO GLOBAL EDUCATION ON ETHICS 609 Preach, O Bhikkhus, the Dhamma, excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, excellent in the end, both in spirit and in the letter, proclaim the Holy Life, altogether perfect and pure."6 In Buddhist view, at the beginning, middle, and end of global education, ethics are necessary. Some harmful outcomes of these three steps of education indicate that there is a necessity of ethical approach into global education. The harmful incidents can be precluded by adding ten puñña-kammas or meritorious actions into education. There are also ten akusala-kammmas or evil actions to be avoided from global education. "Frequently mentioned educational objectives, pertaining to the acquiring of intellectual competence will ultimately fulfill a vocational aim."7 Vocational aim will not succeed beyond ethical values. Therefore ethics must be an important part of any curriculum as the most effective constituent in human behavior. Most social problems emerge from the unethical behavior of people. Some pointed out that the modern scientific education has contributed in creating more problems rather than promoting peace, happiness, and security.8 To resolve the increasing amount of social problems, there is no other way than the combination of ethics into global education. Buddhist ethics consider fundamental rights not only of humans but also of other beings. For this necessity Theravada Buddhism presents a moral code based on five precepts. i. Must not take the life of any living creature knowing. ii. Must not take anything not given. iii. Must refrain from lying and harsh frivolous speech. iv. Must guard against sexual misdemeanor. v. Must not take anything (like drugs and liquor) which causes to lose. These precepts are observed by Sri Lankan students at the commencement of schools. The practice of five precepts can be 6. Narada. p. 47. 7. Marvin D. Glock. 1971. p. 57. 8. K. Sri Dhammananda. p.192. BUDDHIST APPROACH TO GLOBAL EDUCATION


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of perceived risks, identify the main antecedents and outcomes of health risk perceptions and propose a conceptual model of health risk perceptions in tourism.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides a review of the literature on customer risk perceptions, along with their antecedents and outcomes, and proposes a conceptual model of health risk perceptions in tourism.

Findings
Key findings reveal that the main factors of health risk perceptions can be broadly classified into cognitive, affective, individual and contextual components. The proposed conceptual model of health risk perceptions provides a theoretically integrated overview of relationships between all groups of factors, tourists' risk perceptions and travel intentions.

Originality/value
The paper contributes to theory by offering a new approach to health risk perceptions in tourism, which remain underexplored in previous studies. The literature review adds to the body of knowledge by introducing four main groups of factors affecting tourists' health risk perceptions, while the conceptual model proposes relationships between these factors, tourists' risk perceptions and travel intentions.


OBJECTIVE
Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) is known as 1 of the important components of an effective response to public health emergencies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the preparedness of the Primary Health Care Network (PHCN) of Iran in terms of the ERC.

METHODS
This study was conducted in 136 Primary Health Care Facilities (PHCFs) affilated to Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran. Data in terms of ERC were collected using a checklist developed by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

RESULTS
The findings of the study revealed that 65.9% of the PHCFs had low preparedness in terms of the ERC, 33.3% had a moderate level and 0.8% had high preparedness in this regard. There was a significant difference between the level of ERC and the history of crisis in the past year, PHCF type, and the education level of the responsible employees in the crisis unit in the PHCF.

CONCLUSIONS
The results showed that the PHCFs studied need to increase their capacity and capability in the field of ERC. Further efforts to provide ERC components may increase the preparedness of PHCN in Iran in terms of the ERC.


The study examined gender influence on job performance amongst business studies teachers in junior secondary schools in Rivers State. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised of 39,560 business studies students drawn from 282 secondary schools across the 23 local government areas. A sample size of 1,329 was derived using simple random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire titled "Gender and Job Performance of Business Studies Teachers Questionnaire" (GJPBSTQ) was used as instrument for data collection. Three experts validated the instrument while Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was used to obtain the reliability coefficient of 0.78. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significant guided the study. A total of 1329 copies of the questionnaire was retrieved and used for the study. The items were rated on four (4) point rating scale; mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions while z-test was used in testing the formulated hypotheses. The findings revealed that gender has no influence on teachers' job performance. The researchers recommended that opportunities for training and retraining be given to business studies teachers irrespective of gender for efficient service delivery.

https://iiardjournals.org/get/IJEE/VOL. 8 NO. 7 2022/Gender Influence on Job.pdf


The goals of modern education go beyond mastering cognitive skills, competencies and knowledge. An equally important result of education is the child's school well-being, his/her positive attitude towards school, learning, teachers, and his/her own potential. This study is dedicated to the exploration of internal and external predictors of well-being in Russian elementary schoolchildren (N=1006).It assesses the impact of the learning system (developmental/traditional), satisfaction with relationships with teachers, and intrinsic and extrinsic types of academic motivation on school well-being and academic self-esteem. The results of the study show that the well-being of elementary schoolchildren is based on the positive impact of intrinsic and autonomous motivation and the negative impact of external motivation based on control and demands of teachers and parents. The results also show that the child's relationship with the teacher and perception of him/her as an interesting person, ready to help and support in the learning process, play an important role in the child's school well-being and intrinsic motivation. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) confirm that developmental education programs, in comparison with traditional ones, also contribute to school well-being and academic self-esteem of elementary schoolchildren. The practical significance of the study is to take into account the role of both pedagogical (the role of the teacher's personality and the teaching system) and psychological factors (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) in maintaining the well-being of elementary schoolchildren.


The magnetohydrodynamic linear stability with the localized bulk flow oriented parallel to the neutral sheet is investigated, by including the Hall effect and the guide magnetic field. We observe three different unstable modes: a "streaming tearing" mode at a slow flow speed, a "streaming sausage" mode at a medium flow speed, and a "streaming kink" mode at a fast flow speed. The streaming tearing and sausage modes have a standard tearing mode‐like structure with symmetric density fluctuations in the neutral sheet, while the kink mode has an asymmetric fluctuation. The growth rate of the streaming tearing mode decreases with increasing magnetic Reynolds number, while the growth rates of the sausage and kink modes do not depend strongly on the Reynolds number. The sausage and kink modes can be unstable for not only super‐Alfvénic flow but also sub‐Alfvénic flow when the lobe density is low. The wavelengths of these unstable modes are of the same order of magnitude as the thickness of the plasma sheet. Their maximum growth rates are higher than that of a standard tearing mode, and under a strong guide magnetic field, the growth rates of the sausage and kink modes are enhanced, while under a weak guide magnetic field, they are suppressed. For a thin plasma sheet with the Hall effect, the fluctuations of the streaming modes can exist over the plasma sheet. These unstable modes may be regarded as being one of the processes generating Alfvénic turbulence in the plasma sheet during magnetic reconnection.


In the present paper we report on the specific features of the dielectric properties of a MnZn ferrite/Al based composite. Previously, it has been shown that high-frequency magnetic losses in such hybrid composites (HCs) can be enhanced due to the formation of a core-shell-like structure of a composite, in which ferrite particles are immersed into a conducting medium formed by a continuous network of conducting particles that spans throughout the polymer matrix. Simultaneously, one can vary the dielectric properties of HCs by changing the type and the concentration of conducting particles. Dielectric constant and ac conductivity measurements of MnZn-based composites have been made over the frequency range of 10 Hz–100 kHz in temperature interval from −30 to 100 °C and at ambient temperature up to 3 GHz. The results obtained show that addition of aluminum into the MnZn ferrite/polyurethane composite leads to a decrease in the dc conductivity due to the insulating barrier of Al–Al2O3. On the other hand, ac ...


Vacuum electron devices (VED's) in THz regime require very high cathode current density. A cathode is made out of nano-powder, containing Yttria-scandia-tungsten and Ba-Ca-aluminates. Emission >70 A/cm2 achieved when tested in analytical chamber containing anode, AES and THEM. These results will be presented.


Given the scarcity and low spatial coverage of observations over the AIS, the regional climate modeling approach, which is not very common over Antarctica, is the adequate tool to gain insights in AIS SMB. In this respect, COSMO-CLM 5.0 was coupled to the Community Land Model (CLM4.5) and adapted for Antarctic conditions. ERA-Interim is used as initial and lateral boundaries for a time period of 30 year (1986-2016; excluding 3 years of spin-up time) at a resolution of 0.22◦ by 0.22◦ over the whole Antarctic continent. Lackings in the model representation of basic climatic variables such as temperature and wind speed were tackled by adapting the turbulence scheme, implementing a two-moment cloud microphysics parametrization, as well as several modifications to the Community Land Model (e.g. snow metamorphosis, wind dependent compaction,...).


As a special tool for communication between the authors and other researchers, readers,expressions of scientific discourse should be clear, accurate and objective. However, there are also many fuzzy phenomena, of which fuzzy hedges is typical. This paper, based on cooperative principle, analyses the pragmatic functions of Hedges in English for science and technology from the four aspects: quality, quantity, means and relationship.


On the basis of expounding the status of automobile traffic,this paper introduced the study status and main research methods of automobile passive safety.At present,the research contents about automobile passive safety include the test researches about vehicle and automotive components,the researches about the equipments for protecting human,the safety body and the automobile crashworthiness and others.In accordance with the road traffic characteristic in our country,this paper puts forward the research characteristic and direction in the field of automobile passive safety research in our country.


Abstract Correlations between Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 thin films with different Zr contents (x=0.55, 0.8) and buffer layers of ferroelectric-PbTiO3 (PT), ferro/antiferroelectric-(PbBa)ZrO3 (PBZ) and antiferroelectric-PbZrO3 (PZ) thin films have been investigated in terms of the crystal structure, microstructure and electric phase of both layers. PT layer improved the crystalline character and surface morphology of both PZT films, while PZ and PBZ layers were only effective in the PZT80 film. Increasing tendency of dielectric properties was more remarkable for the PZT80 film rather than the PZT55 when PT and PZ layers were inserted, respectively. The effect of compositions of PZT and buffer layer on the fatigue character was also investigated.


Educational constructivists maintain that knowledge is constructed by students as they learn. Sometimes this involves a weakening of the epistemological claim that knowledge involves discovering facts about an independent reality. In the terminology of Immanuel Kant, we are claimed to have access to phenomena or appearances, but not to things in themselves. This approach is closely linked to Husserl?s belief that objects must be ?for? some consciousness, and the early Wittgenstein?s view that the self is not part of the world. All of these views place a great deal of emphasis on the notion of a disembodied consciousness that somehow constructs the world it perceives. They tend to weaken our belief in an independent world about which we can have objective knowledge. Is this a mere philosophical quibble of no practical importance? Does it really matter?George Orwell, in his novel, 1984, introduces his unlikely hero, Winston Smith. He asks the question, ?If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable what then?? Smith?s tormentor, O?Brien, eventually supplies the answer. ?But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.? In short, the state engages in fabrications which are an extreme form of knowledge construction. Just once, Smith held in his hand absolute proof that the state had lied. He comes to see this mind-independent evidential challenge as the most radical kind of threat to a totalitarian state. Orwell outlines a situation where the distinction between constructing and discovering knowledge does matter. If important issues are at stake, we must take the greatest care before making claims that our knowledge is constructed. I shall argue that Kant, Husserl, and Wittgenstein conducted thought experiments with flawed research designs.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the underlying knowledge structure and evolution of industrial-buying research published between 1965 and 2015.Design/methodology/approachBibliometric analysis is performed on 357 relevant papers (using principal component analysis and natural language processing, using VantagePoint® tools, used to generate bubble maps, auto-correlation maps and Aduna cluster maps), demonstrating how various factors involved in industrial buying have evolved, their degree of correlation with each other and the interrelationships of multiple factors concerning their co-occurrences.FindingsThe systematic mapping of industrial-buying research would illustrate the development of the significant factors in industrial-buying research. This paper provides both a global perspective on the leading countries and journals in the field and a robust roadmap for further investigation in this field.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is limited to the data considered for analysis and may, therefore, overlook or underestimate some work that has not been captured while filtering databases related to industrial buying.Practical implicationsThis paper facilitates near-future projection and trend analysis in industrial-buying research.Originality/valueThe methodology used is unique to the field of business-to-business marketing.


Snorkelling surveys using a point abundance method revealed high levels of microhabitat differentiation among 14 fish species from a high-visibility site in the middle reaches of the Gambia River. Habitat segregation was most strongly related to the position in the water column, flow velocity, substratum composition and presence of submerged wood.


First, Find Fish While salmon, cod, and tuna fisheries are regularly monitored and assessed, this is not the case for about 80% of the fish species harvested throughout the world. Costello et al. (p. 517 published online 27 September; see the Perspective by Pikitch) used a model that integrates harvest, population, and ecological data to estimate the status of unassessed fisheries, based on ecologically analogous, regularly assessed fisheries. Generally, unassessed fisheries are in worse condition with declining fish stocks compared with regularly assessed fisheries. Poorly monitored, small-size fisheries are in decline, but few of them are near collapse. Recent reports suggest that many well-assessed fisheries in developed countries are moving toward sustainability. We examined whether the same conclusion holds for fisheries lacking formal assessment, which comprise >80% of global catch. We developed a method using species' life-history, catch, and fishery development data to estimate the status of thousands of unassessed fisheries worldwide. We found that small unassessed fisheries are in substantially worse condition than assessed fisheries, but that large unassessed fisheries may be performing nearly as well as their assessed counterparts. Both small and large stocks, however, continue to decline; 64% of unassessed stocks could provide increased sustainable harvest if rebuilt. Our results suggest that global fishery recovery would simultaneously create increases in abundance (56%) and fishery yields (8 to 40%).


In this work, a facile, metal-free and efficient protocol for the synthesis of thiazoloand benzothiazolo[3,2a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylate derivatives using onion peel as catalyst is described. For the first time, the onion peels are used for the synthesis of thiazoloand benzothiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylate derivatives. The current protocol has numerous advantages, including cost-effectiveness, avoiding the use of external acids and bases, and the high porosity of the natural catalyst has led to the desired products in good to excellent yields. We anticipate that this environmental friendly catalyst presented here will be of great utility in both research institution and industry.


The use of student-created expert systems to facilitate the learning of facts, heuristics, and procedures in tax accounting was investigated. Using case study methodology, this study examined student construction of expert systems, and the impact of this instructional experience on content area learning and problem-solving behavior.
Seven MBA students created expert systems to advise whether a single income or loss activity was passive. The task required knowledge of a narrow segment of tax accounting called passive activity limitations (PAL), a section of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which prohibited applying passive losses and credits against active and portfolio income as a tax shelter.
Before and after creating expert systems, the students took a test applying the PAL to a set of problems. Their tape-recorded concurrent protocols were transcribed and analyzed to provide two models of problem solving for each student: the student's initial knowledge and the student's knowledge after creating an expert system. A comparison of these models highlighted the extent to which creating an expert system affected student knowledge and problem-solving behavior.
Seven accounting professionals, identified by their colleagues as expert in PAL, were asked to solve the same problems as those given the students. Their recorded concurrent verbal protocols were analyzed to provide a model of the experts' decision-making process in this domain. Student performance subsequent to creating an expert system was compared to the experts' model to highlight similarities and differences between their problem-solving behavior and that of PAL experts.
The results indicated that students were able to create expert systems within an amount of time appropriate for class projects. The students' PAL knowledge base increased dramatically as a function of creating expert systems, and the quality of student problem solving closely mimicked that of real-world experts.
Results of this study validate student construction of expert systems to facilitate problem-solving ability within content areas. Furthermore, the results suggest factors important to classroom use of expert system construction, including: (a) student familiarity with concepts such as program modularity and debugging; and (b) narrowly defined expert system domains.


Today the EU and Canada experience a significant international migration inflow that requires a delicate treatment on the government side which would not contradict with these countries' adherence to a liberal nation-state idea. The non-ratification of the EU Constitution precluded the creation of a common immigration policy that could facilitate and level the social integration of immigrants within the EU member states that currently have different historically shaped strategies towards the newcomers. Even though the legal and economic barriers for immigration and naturalization have been reasonably decreased over the past decades across the EU, the legacies of nationalizing citizenship laws are still persistent and immigrants are expected to integrate into the host cultures. These path dependent repercussions contradict the idea of a liberal nation-state and erect the second level barriers (besides legal and economic ones) for integration of immigrants into the host societies. These cultural barriers are more persistent in the social consciousness than the institutionalized ones, which is a reason for why liberalizing laws are not the most effective means for facilitating the immigrants' integration into the host societies. This situation of intensive immigration combined with the low opportunities for social integration gives grounds to instability and dissatisfaction within certain social groups in the EU. This paper investigates how multiculturalism policy in Canada contributes to a higher level of immigrants' integration into Canadian society as compared to the EU memberstates. Moreover, the novel information from the Centre of Excellence for the Study of Immigration at Simon Fraser University suggests that maintenance of immigrant ethnicities contributes to the overall economic success of a country, which is another reason for the introducing multiculturalism and a common EU immigration policy.


In this study, a total of 328 oat grown in the conditions of Central Anatolia between 2012 and 2016 were used. It was aimed to determine the relationship between grain yield and the examined technological properties. Grain yield (kg/da), thousand kernel weight (g), hectoliter (kg), protein content (%), fat content (%), beta glucan (%), acid detergent fiber (ADF) (%), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (%), cellulose (%) of oat genotypes were determined. Correlations and regressions, which were found to be significant between grain yield and properties, examined. It was determined that the average grain yield of oat genotypes was 314.40 kg/da and the grain yield potential could be increased to 655 kg/da. Parallel to the increase in the grain yield, thousand kernel weight and beta glucan ratio were not affected, protein content, fat content, test weight, ADF amount decreased, NDF and cellulose content increased. The change intervals and average of examined properties; protein content 10.59-20.85 (15.02)%, fat content 3.23-8.09 (5.33)%, test weight 27.03-62.74 (44.83) kg, thousand kernel weight 13.55-43.22 (29.93) g, beta glucan 0.84-4.24 (2.84)%, ADF 8.52-25.43 (16.84)%, NDF 16.84-49.01 (31.91)%, cellulose 5.77-25.46 (12.82)% of oat genotypes were determined as.


ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of an ethnographic study of recruitment processes in the public service of a French city. It begins by engaging with the existing literature on representative bureaucracy and discrimination of members of minority groups and then surveys some of the existing literature on French exceptionalism in this domain. Based on an analysis of gate-keeping practices and recruitment, set off against the numerical under-representation of candidates with an immigration background, the paper argues that a series of seemingly minor mechanisms help to explain why so few of these candidates are being selected. It concludes by arguing that the empirical study of these mechanisms provides avenues for strategic interventions in selection processes aiming to create more genuine equal opportunities for members of minority groups.


Atmospheric aerosols are fine particulate matters suspended in
atmosphere, and vary in size distribution, geometrical shape, total
column content, and chemical composition. The Aerosol Robotic Network
(AERONET) comprised of hundreds of ground-based monitoring stations
all over the world aims to measure regularly and continuously the
aerosol optical properties, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) and
Angstrom exponent. AERONET has supported the international researches
on global, regional and local atmospheric environment issues including
aerosol pollution and haze episodes. However, the past researches
on China aerosol issues were mainly related with Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei
region, Yangtze River delta, and Cheng-Yu plain. It had been much
ignored in the Huaihai economic zone, which is also densely populated
and economically developed, locates in the north-to-south geographical
transition zone of China. An AERONET station was established in 2013
in the Nahu campus of China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT),
supported by the China MAESTRO (Mining Area Environment Synergic Observation
Proving Ground) program, and a CE318 sun photometer was installed
in this station to monitor continuously the characteristics of atmospheric
aerosol variations in Xuzhou. The CE318 provides ground measurements
on aerosol optical depth (AOD), Angstrom exponent, complex refractive
index, single scatter albedo, and some other important aerosol parameters.
In this paper, the AERONET CE318 measurements from July 2013 to April
2015 were systematically analyzed to reveal the daily, monthly, and
yearly variations of atmospheric aerosols in Xuzhou. Referring to
meteorological data including wind speed, relative humidity and total
rainy days, the aerosol properties were analyzed with mathematical
statistics and K -means cluster methods.


Yangtze Estuary Tidal Wetlands Environmental Information System (YETWEIS) is a comprehensive software system for environmental management and decision making in tidal wetlands of the Yangtze estuary. This software system was based on MapObjects COM technology, Data Mining technology, mathematics modeling method and Visual Basic language. It has many functions such as displaying, editing, querying, searching, spatial statistics and analysis, special decision map compiling, environmental qualitative evaluating. This paper outlined the system structure, implementation techniques, and facilities of YETWEIS at first. Then, it described the core modules of the software system--the special decision map compiling module and environmental qualitative evaluating model module in detail. At the same time it thoroughly discussed the environmental qualitative evaluation method, the method of calculating pollution indexes quality and environmental qualitative synthetic evaluation method based on information entropy. Finally, by using YETWEIS, this paper analyzed the heavy metal and persistent organic pollutants spatial distribution characteristics of the Yangtze estuary tidal wetlands in 2002, and provided a system assessment of Yangtze estuary environmental quality in 2003.


1) In 15 cases of ischemic heart disease (5 cases of type I of the WHO classification, 6 cases of type III and 4 cases of type IV), pyridinolcarbamate (Anginin) (750 to 2, 250mg./day) was given orally for 2 to 6 weeks to determine the effect. 2) In subjective symptoms, a positive effect was obtained in 9 of 11, while 4 of 14 showed a positive effect in ECG findings (cases without symptoms or findings before administration were excluded). In type I (WHO classification) subjective symptoms improved in all of the 5 cases, and ECG findings improved in 3 cases. In type III, on the other hand, subjective symptoms improved in 4 of 6 but ECG findings improved only in 1. No effect was seen in 4 cases of type IV. 3) As side effects, headache and a sensation of chest compression were seen in one case each. No other side effects were seen under the experimental conditions of the present study.


.............................................................................................................................. ii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: The μ-Opioid Receptor Agonist DAMGO Presynaptically Suppresses Solitary Tract-Evoked Input to Neurons in the Rostral Solitary Nucleus ....................................... 17 Chapter 3: A Mathematical Model of Gustatory Processing in the Rostral Nucleus of the Solitary tract ...................................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 4: Discussion ...................................................................................................... 101 References ....................................................................................................................... 108


Mangrove forests are important coastal ecosystems and are crucial for the equilibrium of the global carbon cycle. Monitoring and mapping of mangrove forests are essential for framing knowledge-based conservation policies and funding decisions by governments and managers. The purpose of this study was to monitor mangrove forest dynamics in the Quanzhou Bay Estuary Wetland Nature Reserve. To achieve this goal, we compared and analyzed the spectral discrimination among mangrove forests, mudflats and Spartina using multi-seasonal Landsat images from 1990, 1997, 2005, 2010, and 2017. We identified the spatio-temporal distribution of mangrove forests by combining an optimal segmentation scale model based on object-oriented classification, decision tree and visual interpretation. In addition, mangrove forest dynamics were determined by combining the annual land change area, centroid migration and overlay analysis. The results showed that there were advantages in the approaches used in this study for monitoring mangrove forests. From 1990 to 2017, the extent of mangrove forests increased by 2.48 km2, which was mostly converted from mudflats and Spartina. Environmental threats including climate change and sea-level rise, aquaculture development and Spartina invasion, pose potential and direct threats to the existence and expansion of mangrove forests. However, the implementation of reforestation projects and Spartina control plays a substantial role in the expansion of mangrove forests. It has been demonstrated that conservation activities can be beneficial for the restoration and succession of mangrove forests. This study provides an example of how the application of an optimal segmentation scale model and multi-seasonal images to mangrove forest monitoring can facilitate government policies that ensure the effective protection of mangrove forests.


Objective: To analyse how the social support of parents with children diagnosed with oncological disease influences stress perception and quality of life. Method: 112 parents whose children suffer oncological pathologies received treatment in Malaga. They belonged to an association of parents with children affected by this disease. Results: According to sources used, perception of family support decreases the stress frequency, friends support is also an important aid alleviating the stress. In addition, support from a partner improves parents' well-being. There are different types of support: firstly, instrumental support, which reduces the frequency of parents' stress; secondly, informational support reducing stress related to the effort that parents must exert; thirdly, the most important variable to get quality of life is emotional support. To conclude: The multidimensional analysis of social support allows us to analyse the complexity of social support taking place during oncological illnesses in children. Practical implications come as a result from this study.