Analysis of motor skill acquisition in novice jugglers by three-dimensional motion recording system Jun Ichikawa (firstname.lastname@example.com) Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Fro-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan Kazuhisa Miwa (firstname.lastname@example.com) Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Fro-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan Hitoshi Terai (firstname.lastname@example.com) Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University/ CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Fro-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan Abstract In the acquisition of skills requiring periodic body movements such as in cascade juggling, the establishment of stable body movements seems crucial. We investigated the processes of developing stable body movements in each of the three learning stages defined by the framework established by Beek and Van Santvoord (1992). We focused on two types of stability: stability of the body's physical center, representing global structure of body movements, and that of arm swing, representing local structure. The experimental results revealed that the skills for establishing local and global structures were acquired sequentially; in this case, first local and then global. In addition, the analysis of verbal reports suggested that stable body movements and conscious attention are mutually related. Keywords: recording Skill acquisition; three-dimensional Figure 1: Schematic of the temporal sequence of events in three-ball cascade juggling (Hashizume and Matsuo, 2004) motion into time loaded (TL), defined by time spent holding a ball, and time unloaded (TU), defined by time not spent holding a ball. On the basis of these three parameters, an index k is defined by the following equation. Introduction Empirical investigation of learning in various fields has indicated that as development progresses, performance not only increases in a continual way, but also changes noncontiguously through multiple stages of development. In each developmental stage, learners use specific strategies to perform a task (Delaney et al., 1998; Rickard, 2004). These findings suggest that for developing expertise through skill acquisition in sports and traditional art performances, individual characteristics of body movements emerge in each developmental stage when performing a task. As Handford et al. (1997) showed, one such factor determining each learning stage is the transition toward stability of body movements. In the current study, we investigate three-ball cascade juggling as an experimental task in which stability of periodic body movements is crucial for reaching a higher level of performance. Beek and Van Santvoord (1992) distinguished three stages of learning for skill acquisition in three-ball cascade juggling by focusing on schematic representations of the temporal sequence of events such as tosses and catches (Figure 1). They defined hand cycle time (HCT) as the time between one toss and the successive toss (or one catch and the successive catch) in a hand. Additionally, HCT is divided k = TL / (TL + TU) where HCT = TL + TU (1) In the initial stage of learning, Stage 1, the value of k is greater than 0.75, as learners discover how to perform three- ball cascade juggling through trial and error. In this stage, stability of body movements is not yet established. As the variability of HCT decreases, the learning stage moves to Stage 2, in which the value of k is maintained at almost 0.75, and does not decrease. Performers gradually learn to continue three-ball cascade juggling by establishing stable body movements. At this point, the value of k begins to decrease, and the learning stage shifts to Stage 3. Beyond Stage 3, performers have reached an expert level and are capable of performing five- and seven-ball cascade juggling. From the viewpoint of this analytical framework, Hashizume and Matsuo (2004) also showed that specific characteristics of body movements depend on the developmental stage; that is, the value of k and the variability of TU in body movements of those who reached Stage 3 are less than those still in Stage 2. In another analysis, Leroy, Thouvarecq and Gautier (2008) confirmed


The structure of the electrochemically deposited Pb monolayer on Cu(111) in 0.1M HClO{sub 4} was studied using {ital in situ} surface x-ray diffraction. The Pb monolayer forms an unrotated incommensurate hexagonal structure. The nearest-neighbor spacing of the Pb monolayer compresses continuously from 1.4{percent} to 3.2{percent} of the bulk spacing as the electrode potential is varied, with no apparent tendency to lock in. The measured isothermal two-dimensional (2D) compressibility of the Pb monolayer, 0.95{plus_minus}0.07 {Angstrom}{sup 2}/eV, is in good agreement with the value expected from the 2D free-electron gas model. The surface normal structure of the Pb monolayer on Cu(111) was studied using reflectivity measurements. Fitting analysis based on a layered model revealed a contracted Pb-Cu spacing and an expanded topmost Cu layer. Unlike the in-plane structure, the surface normal structure showed little potential dependence. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}


The announcement of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine success on 9 November 2020 led to a global stock market surge. But how did the general public respond to such good news? We report results of a nation-wide natural experiment in the US and the UK on how the vaccine news influenced citizens' government evaluations, anxiety, beliefs and elicited behaviors. While most outcomes were unaffected by the news, trust in government and elected politicians (and their competency) saw a significant decline in both countries. As the news did not concern the government, and the government did not have time to act on the news, our results suggest a dispositional response to positive news more likely to be explained by a form of the psychological mechanism of motivated reasoning. They also offer a novel insight regarding the association between trust in government and compliance with its policies: anxiety might explain both.


The purpose of the project was to design a lunar rover trailer for exploration missions. The trailer was designed to carry cargo such as lunar geological samples, mining equipment and personnel. It is designed to operate in both day and night lunar environments. It is also designed to operate with a maximum load of 7000 kilograms. The trailer has a ground clearance of 1.0 meters and can travel over obstacles 0.75 meters high at an incline of 45 degrees. It can be transported to the moon fully assembled using any heavy lift vehicle with a storage compartment diameter of 5.0 meters. The trailer has been designed to meet or exceed the performance of any perceivable lunar vehicle.


The unstoppable need and fast paced progress in the field of science and technology related trades has unlocked the door and set in new frontiers for researchers across the world, specifically those in the field of electronics. Out of many areas the one with a huge impact is the soldering technology.Ever since the birth of electronic era, soldering is seen as an important assembly having interconnectedness with technological and electronic products and this particular field is known to have a bright future over time. These solder joints have been seen as feeble associates of electronic products and the consistency of every single joint can be in charge of an electronic product's entire lifetime. To define soldering in simple terms, it encompasses the reaction of chemicals between the solder and the couple of surfaces combined together and subsequently the vitality of getting to know about the chemical reactions between the solders and bonding surfaces. Certain limitations towards the usage of hazardous substances (RoHs) that prohibits using lead-based solder because of safety and health issues have been important factors to uplift and develop new solder technology from lead-free solder. Trials are to overcome when the newly formed solder holds exactly analogous features with Sn-Pb solders. But then, these new solder alloys are said to have concerns with corrosion behavior. One of the main issues faced by a solder joint is corrosion and variety of procedures are taken up to reduce corrosion in solder joint. For this purpose, popularly SST (Salt Spray Test) is executed on the solder joints to check its corrosion effect. This study discusses the overview of corrosion in solder joints.


The main aim of this chapter is to investigate and analyse the necessity of formal and informal education in the field of the entrepreneurship and SMEs management in the Republic of Macedonia as a key factor for human resource upgrade. This phenomenon was investigated from two perspectives, the "demand side" and the "supply side" through the use of secondary and primary data. Two empirical studies based on parallel branches of research have been conducted concerning the current situation of the companies (SMEs) in the Republic of Macedonia in regards to their real need for different types of education. The findings presented in this chapter emphasize the existing necessity for entrepreneurship education. Moreover, we focus on the challenges and issues which need to be addressed in creating the favourable environment for students across all disciplines to develop the skills and mind-set of an entrepreneur.


Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 I The Long Arm of the Regulators: The Ubiquitous Regulatory State Chapter 3 II The Regulators: Who Makes the Rules, and How Much Power Do They Have? Chapter 4 III Special Interests: Bending the Will of the Regulators Chapter 5 IV The End of the Century Crucible of Reform: The Critical Testing Ground for Regulation Chapter 6 V The Price Tag of Regulation: The Cost-Benefit Equation Chapter 7 VI The Future of Regulation: From Enron and Homeland Security to Globalization


Summary form only given. Inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) are widely used for spectrochemical analysis and might be efficient light sources of the future. Knowledge on the properties of these type of plasmas car improve their applicability. For this aim, fundamental research is carried out on the diffusion and recombination processes in an argon ICP by studying the electron density and temperature behavior during power interruption.


"The New York Times", "Wall Street Journal", and "Business Week" bestseller reveals the leadership success behind Mary Kay Inc. "More Than a Pink Cadillac" reveals how extraordinary leadership and a value-based mindset launched Mary Kay Inc. into the stratosphere. Jim Underwood, the first author granted access to Mary Kay sales force and management, reveals a leadership style that has made the company an icon of success and empowerment around the globe. Featuring inspirational stories about Mary Kay sales force leaders, "More Than a Pink Cadillac" emphasizes that success is based on choices, not circumstances. You'll see how the choices you make - for yourself and your organization - can motivate your employees, impress your customers, and protect your company against pitfalls. If you have the desire to be a true leader, all you have to do is follow the nine key principles in this book, and open yourself to a new way of thinking that is guaranteed to inspire top performance from yourself and those around you. 'This book is filled with the inspirational tales of modest women with grand expectations. Their stories are proof that success is based on choices, not circumstances.' - Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. 'If you want to understand the true foundation of success, read this book. Then, take action and put [Mary Kay's] philosophy to work for you!' - Cheryl Richardson, author of "Life Makeovers".


A series of 15 cats were given intraperitoneal injections of nembutal (sodium iso-amytal, penta-barbital), the average dose being 60 mg. per kilo. Urine samples were collected at intervals after the injection and later analyzed for reducing substances by Sumner's method. 1 In certain instances the results thus obtained were checked by the use of Benedict's quantitative reagent. Simultaneously blood samples were taken and later analyzed for "blood sugar" by the Randle-Grigg modification of the Folin-Wu Micro Method. 2 These observations were made in the course of experiments to determine the effect of stimulation of the tuber cinereum upon carbohydrate metabolism. Rather extensive surgical procedures under deep nembutal anesthesia were required in the experiments. The bladder was exposed and emptied and the urethra cannulated from one to 2 hours after the injection of nembutal. The first sample of urine was taken about an hour after the urethra was cannulated and from 2 to 3 hours after the administration of nembutal. This sample always showed the presence of an abnormal quantity of reducing substance, usually the maximum obtained during the experiment, the concentration decreasing progressively in subsequent samples. This maximum reduction where the lowest maximum was obtained, was equivalent to that produced by 240 mg. % of glucose. In the experiment where the largest maximum was found, the reducing substance was equivalent to that produced by 1575 mg. % of glucose. An average maximum value, equivalent to that produced by 1045 mg. % of glucose, was obtained. The amount of reducing substance in the urine was definitely related to the time interval following the injection of nembutal and not to the "blood sugar" concentration. Often in the later stages of the experiment the reducing substance would be decreasing in amount while the blood sugar was increasing.


A widespread debate over the merits of conquering the North(北伐, Pukpeolron) emerged within Choseon society following the second Manchu Invasion of 1636(丙子胡亂, Pyeongja horan). Having ascended the throne amidst such circumstances, King Hyojong(孝宗) set about on a course of implementing the plans to conquer the North which he had first drawn up during his tenure as Crown Prince. In terms of his basic strategy, he adopted a stance that revolved around the initiation of an attack on Manchuria designed to sow internal chaos in Qing. In order to acquire the weaponry he would need to conquer the North, Hyojong undertook the reorganization and strengthening of the central military system; to this end, he carried out such measures as the strengthening of the Command of the Southern Approaches (守禦廳, Sueochong), the reorganization of the Royal Guards Command (御營廳, Eoyeongcheong), the establishment of the Mabyeoldae(馬別隊) and Pyeolpajin (別破陣), expansion of the Capital Army (Keumgun, 禁軍), and the increase of the Military Training Command (Hullyontogam, 訓練都監). In addition, measures such as the implementation of the military mobilization system, increase of military preparations along Kanghwa(江華) Island, and the reenlisting of slaves were also implemented. Meanwhile, Hyojong ensured a steady supply of finances for his military endeavors by implementing the Uniform Land Tax Law(大同法, Taedongbeop). However, as Hyojongs pukpeol policy was implemented solely with the support of the royal authority and forces friendly to the throne, and without the approval of the major political factions, his policy came in for severe criticism. The natural disasters which occurred during the process of increasing military readiness caused Hyojong to relinquish his leading role in politics during the latter period of his reign. This in turn, provided the rustic literati (sallim, 山林) faction with the opportunity to reenter politics. However, the pukpol policy put in place by the sallim branch of the Westerner (Seoin, 西人) faction, which drew its legitimacy from its links to the Zhou dynasty, differed from the Pukpeolron adopted by Hyojong. Thereafter, the pukpeolron reemerged during the outbreak of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in China during the reigns of King Hyojong and Sukchong(肅宗), only this time it was led by a man by the name of Yun Hyu(尹?). However, Yun Hyu's version of the pukpeolron was never put into practice due to strong objections by Heo Cheok(許積), and it was abandoned altogether when the Revolt of the Three Feudatories was eventually suppressed.


The helium ion temperature in a sheet plasma has been determined spectroscopically as the functions of experimental variables such as the gas flow rate and a discharged current in the discharged region of a DC discharge linear plasma machine, i.e., TPD-Sheet III. It is found from experimental results that the experimental variables selected out do not affect a rise in helium ion temperature within experimental errors. It is, thus, presumably true that the decrease in gas flow rate and/or the increase in the discharged current are associate with the increase in number density of helium ion in the sheet plasma unless the rise in helium ion temperature.


The article explores an alternative genealogy for Richardson's novel of sensibility, and looks at the practice of reading in sentimental novels. Richardson cannot be properly understood if one does not take into account the political culture of his time, including misrepresentation and manipulation of the public. The centre of the article is a discussion of the volte-face scene in Pamela (published in 1740), managed masterfully by Samuel Richardson as plotter. In that scene, the two protagonist bodies are brought to accord and harmony by a reciprocal activity of reading: the interaction of those bodies, in the theatre of reading, leads to an effusion of sentiment and sensibility, which is the decisive factor in moralizing the masculine character, redeemed from rake to model husband, and become the mouthpiece of a new ethos for the 18th century British gentry.


Abstract : The first hydrofoil launch NEVKA, built in Leningrad in 1967, has shown good results in trails. Subsequently, a second launch of this type was built which, with the first, underwent experimental operation on the Black Sea. The special feature of these launches is the fact that their hulls are made of glass fiber reinforced plastic, while the foils are made of a light alloy.


The sinicization of Marxism is a constant evolving process and Chinese Marxism is the result of the process.Chinese communists must uphold the party's correct leadership,emancipate the mind,advance with the times,grasp the patterns of development,and innovate theory when advancing the sinicization of Marxism and developing Chinese Marxism.


Myocardial infarction (MI) is a life‐threatening disease. In this study, we examined the anti‐mitochondrial damaging effects of sinapic acid (SA) in isoproterenol (ISO)‐induced myocardial infarcted rats. Myocardial infarcted rats were prepared by injecting ISO (100 mg/kg body weight) on the 9th and 10th day. Rats were pretreated and cotreated with SA (12 mg/kg body weight) orally, daily for 10 days. A considerable increase in serum lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, myoglobin, and cardiac troponin‐T was noticed in the ISO‐induced rats. ISO also significantly amplified lipid peroxidation and calcium ions, and depleted the antioxidant system and mitochondrial enzymes in rat's heart mitochondria. SA treatment improved the distorted above‐ mentioned biochemical parameters in ISO‐treated rats with its anti‐mitochondrial damaging effects. This ultrastructural study on heart mitochondria and in vitro studies also confirmed the effects of SA. The current findings are suggestive of SA's cardioprotective effects.


A study oIr the distribution pattern of underwater illuminance for squid net fisheries in Malaysiu rvas condueted fronr April to Septenrber, 1996 in sheltered waters of Kapas Island off the coast of Terengganu.


Concrete is a quasi-brittle material and shows different behavior in compression and tension. It shows elastic behavior at initial stage and damage-plasticity behavior beyond elastic limit. Therefore, development of material behavior model of concrete is a complex phenomenon. In this study, concrete damage plasticity theory has been described under experiment on concrete cylinder considering uni-axial compression loading and interpreted with analytical data calculated using CEB-FIP model code equation. The code has divided the stress-strain curve for concrete compression into three sections according to concrete's elastic and non-elastic behaviors. Those three sections have been considered to calculate analytical data. In experiment, concrete behavior has been observed in two phases. The damage value for different stresses at the various points on the stress strain curve has been calculated. According to analytical data, the concrete shows elastic behavior up to 8.3MPa stress point and no damage occur in the concrete within the limit. However, in experimental data, concrete shows elastic behavior up to only 2.28MPa and damage occurred beyond the stress. Finally, the percentage of damage of concrete due to compression obtained from analysis and experiment has been assessed and compared. Above 32 percent of concrete damage is found for 22.5 MPa in both cases.


Abstract : Employing a Conversational Modelling Language (CML), a special computer language has been implemented to allow the specification of mathematical programming models and their parameterization. The language has been designed to be 'natural' in the mathematical programming context and to include interfaces with computer routines such as MPSX for optimization. Features implemented include equation writing, preparation of computer input, automatic checking and removal of redundancies, plus the ability to display solutions of such models given sufficient specification of decision variables. The system can prompt the user for incomplete model specification. Examples of the use of the language in building interactive decision support systems are given. (Author)


The ESA PLATO mission will provide unprecedented data to study the diversity of planets orbiting up to the habitable zone of bright Sun-like stars. PLATO will detect and characterise exoplanets using the transit method combined with ground-based radial velocity measurements, and study the host stars with asteroseismology. PLATO’s core observing sample consists of Sun-like stars of V < 11. For statistical studies, PLATO will also monitor a large sample of Sun-like stars with V < 13 and cool late-type dwarfs with V < 16. To benefit from PLATO’s advanced photometric capabilities, the general community will be invited to submit proposals on complementary science topics in the framework of a guest observer’s programme. The PLATO payload consists of four groups of six cameras each that overlap covering a total field of about 2150 deg2 with four different sensitivities. Two additional cameras will observe the brightest stars (V < 8.5) in two-colours, and will be used as fine guidance sensor. PLATO is the third medium-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme, with a planned launch date in 2026. The satellite will operate in an orbit around the second Lagrange point, L2. We will present the status of the mission science definition and performance, and of the satellite and ground-segment developments.


Companies want to achieve a sustainable financial success through process and performance improvements. Increasing the company's performance is a good way for sustainable success. Typically, the success is measured by process output metrics. This output mirrors the performance of a company's processes in the end. It is obvious that for being able to cope with complex business network structures in a derivative supply-demand-structure as well as collaboration cooperation incentives, performance needs to be managed across the whole network to strengthen the own network centrality. The present paper contributes to the development of a new holistic Performance Management in business networks. Thus, a Network Performance Wheel - for a more network oriented approach, and a Process Management Balanced Scorecard - to close the gap between internal and external impacts, are introduced. Also, a PM-VICTORY model is launched for implementing the whole network directed Performance Management.


An interesting layered structure of multiple high density layers are formed when two counter-propagating circularly polarized laser pulses with the same polarization direction irradiate on an ultra-thin foil. This structure changes periodically. For light atoms most of which electrons may be fully ionized, this layered structure can keep for dozens of laser periods after the laser-foil interaction. This interesting structure may have potential applications.


Based on the analysis of the characteristics of nonlinearity and strong interference of traffic flow to the complex and uncertainty of time variance in real traffic system,a new approach was proposed for traffic flow prediction.First,wavelet transform is employed to eliminate the noise of original traffic data to reflect the essence and variation of traffic flow.According to the nonlinearity and predictability in short time of traffic flow,a chaotic time series model was applied to forecast traffic flow with the worked data was proposed.The test result indicates that the model based on wavelet denoising was an efficient method to the real-time dynamic traffic flow prediction.


The National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR) is a 20-MW research reactor operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It was designed with a 55-cm-diam beamport for the purpose of installing a D[sub 2]O-ice cold neutron source, completed in 1987. The success of the cold source led to the construction of the Cold Neutron Research Facility, an experimental hall ultimately to have 7 neutron guides and 15 instruments. A liquid-hydrogen cold neutron source is being developed to replace the D[sub 2]O ice in order to increase the cold neutron yield. A simple, passively safe system has been designed with multiple barriers that prevent air from mixing with hydrogen. A thermosiphon will be used to maintain the liquid-hydrogen inventory in the moderator chamber. The thermosiphon relies on natural circulation; no pumps or moving parts are required to adequately cool the moderator chamber. The hydrogen condenser is cooled by a 3.5-kW helium refrigerator. A ballast tank is connected to the condenser so the entire hydrogen inventory can expand freely into the tank, providing completely passive protection against refrigerator failures.


The oxygenation under the high 16 MPa oxygen pressure allows reducing the duration of oxygenation and in the case of thin-walled MT-YBCO ceramics (with drilled holes) leads to a decrease of the amount of macrocracks in the structure and to an increase in critical current density in the ab-planes. An increase in the twin density enhances the critical current density in the ab-planes of the Y123 textured structure of MT-YBCO. After oxygenation under different conditions the MT-YBCO ceramics produced from a mixture of Y123 with Y211 demonstrated a critical current density in magnetic fields above 2 T at 77 K higher in the ab-planes and lower in the perpendicular c-direction than the MT-YBCO produced from Y123 and Y2O3. Mechanical properties (hardness, fracture toughness, Young modulus) have been estimated for various types of MT-YBCO oxygenated under different conditions. Both traditional and thin-walled ceramics have a higher microhardness after oxygenation under high 16 MPa oxygen pressure.


Abstract Fidelity measurement has increasing significance when making claims of educational practices being effective in today's classrooms. This study explored the reliability, using multi-informants, and convergent validly, using multi-sources, for curriculum fidelity. There were significant differences between the outside observer and teacher and educational coordinator scores. Observer fidelity scores were moderately related to the observed classroom interactions.


Objective: To investigate the protective effect of 4-[2-(dimethylamino)ethoxy]-ginkgolide B methanesulfonate hydrate(RNGB) on rat brain microvessel endothelial cell(RBMEC) damage induced by glutamic acid.Methods: The protective effect was determined by the viability of RBMEC,LDH leakage,SOD activity and MDA content after lesion of glutamic acid.Results: Glutamic acid damaged RBMEC markedly at the concentration of 1 mmol·L-1.RNGB(10 μmol·L-1 group and 3 μmol·L-1 group) can improve cell viability,inhibit LDH leakage,increase the activity of SOD and decrease the content of MDA.Conclusion: The results implicated that RNGB can protect RBMEC damaged by glutamic acid.


This paper examines the relationship between performance and CEO turnovers using a sample of 81 turnovers and 81 matching companies listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. We find that poor performance increases the probability of management replacements and that forced layoffs are value-increasing events while voluntary resignations are value-decreasing events. Institutional investors as active monitors, or part of corporate control, are not exhibited in the analysis of CEO turnovers. If institutional investors have any influence on CEO turnovers, then it is not revealed in our data. But, the results suggest that institutional investors' equity holdings tend to protect managers from replacement.


The study is a comparative analysis of the dial-a-ride and user-side subsidy community transit service operations provided in Los Angeles. The study concentrates on two project areas, Venice and West Central, in which dial-a-ride services operated in 1980 were replaced with user-side subsidy operations in 1981. The dial-a-ride service, as operated in Los Angeles, requires a contractor to provide a specific number of vehicle hours of service per month; the contractor is compensated on that basis. The user pays a fixed fare regardless of the length of trip. The trip must be arranged at least 24 hr in advance and is provided between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. The user-side subsidy program requires the user to purchase coupons that are good for 24-hr service from any participating taxicab company of the user's choosing. The broker subcontracts with the taxicab operators to reimburse them for the coupons they receive. The user is allowed to use up to $5.00 in coupons for each one-way trip and must pay in cash any amount over the coupon limit. Three measures of comparison were used in the analysis: patronage, cost to the user, and cost per passenger. Under equal funding levels, more trips were provided by the user-side subsidy program. The user-side subsidy patronage exceeded the dial-a-ride patronage by 75 percent in Venice and 40 percent in West Central. Dial-a-ride fares were fixed at $0.15/trip in 1980, but a new state law adopted for 1981 financing would have required the city to raise the dial-a-ride fares to an average of $1.40/trip. The user-side subsidy service costs the user an average of $0.92/trip. Over two quarters of operation, the user-side subsidy patronage grew considerably, reducing the costs to an average of $5.63/passenger, approximately 60 percent of the dial-a-ride cost per passenger. The comparisons made in this study indicate that user-side subsidy service is superior to dial-a-ride service for Los Angeles.


Recently, photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal is widely adopted in health monitoring devices for automated assessment of different cardiovascular parameters. However, research in the area of computerized health analysis using PPG signal features is still lagging behind. In this paper, a robust, automated yet simple algorithm is proposed for accurate detection of characteristic points from the PPG signal and its derivatives. The methodology follows amplitude thresholding, slope-reversal, and an empirical formula based approach. Finally, Baseline modulation is removed from the PPG dataset and features are extracted from the amplitude normalized PPG signal and its derivatives. Performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated over MIMIC database as well as over real PPG data acquired from both healthy volunteers and cardiac patients. The algorithm exhibits high efficiency for all detected fiducial points with an average sensitivity, positive predictivity and detection accuracy of 99.80%, 99.84%, and 99.65%, respectively. Compared to the existing methods, the proposed algorithm offers complete characterization of the PPG signal and its derivatives.


1HOUGH Henry Reed recreates here the drone of a military drill instructor, not an English teacher, the lines have embarrassing aptness to a discussion of sequence in the English program. The speaker in the poem reminds his recruits that today's lesson, "the naming of parts," follows yesterday's "daily cleaning" and precedes tomorrow's "what to do after firing." But even this orderly presentation cannot compete with the real world outside the classroom window


The importance of historically underrepresented populations in transforming societies and economies cannot be understated. The variety, diversity, and idiosyncrasies that they present, when unveiled through research, cools the cauldron of societal ignorance and bias, and actually challenges us to tackle issues about serious and continuous disparities, discrimination, marginalization, and oppression.


Using analytical techniques and Langevin dynamics simulations, we investigate the dynamics of polymer translocation through a nanochannel embedded in two dimensions under an applied external field. We examine the translocation time for various ratio of the channel length L to the polymer length N. For short channels L ≪ N, the translocation time τ ∼ N1+ν under weak driving force F, while τ ∼ F−1L for long channels L ≫ N, independent of the chain length N. Moreover, we observe a minimum of translocation time as a function of L/N for different driving forces and channel widths. These results are interpreted by the waiting time of a single segment.


This transformer partial discharge analysis,briefly describes the present several common partial discharge of several types,how to locate and detection methods,and future trends thereby revealing the current transformer PD's research priorities.


To evaluate mangrove (Rhizophora sp) fruit extract effect on foam cell formation at the initiation stage of atherosclerosis. The study was conducted on 18 rats divided into 3 groups (n=6). Group 1 was given a standard diet, Group 2 was given a high cholesterol diet, and Group 3 was given a high cholesterol diet and mangrove fruit extract 500 mg/kg. The mangrove fruit extract effect on foam cell formation was assessed by histopathologic examination using hematoxylin eosin staining. The results showed that the number of foam cells was increased significantly in high cholesterol diet-fed rats compared to standard diet-fed rats (21.17 vs. 11.75). Mangrove fruit extract reduced this number remarkably (21.17 vs. 12.67). In conclusion, mangrove fruit extract inhibits the formation of foam cells at the initiation stage of atherosclerosis.


Based on the linear vibration theory,a finite element analysis(FEA) model is established for dynamic performance of front steering axles of heavy-duty trucks.Then the modal frequencies and modal shape of its vibration are analyzed.The dynamic stress is calculated under the fluctuating load of trigonometric sine,and the fatigue life is also calculated through Whler's cumulative damage theory and the strain life material properties in the form of a S/N curve.After that,a laboratory test on front axle fatigue life is carried out according to industry standard QC/ T 513—1999,and the dynamic stress is measured.The result shows the calculated stress is similar with the test,and the fatigue life is also close to the actual real test.This proves that FEA model is correct and can be applied to further study the strength quality under different loads.


Carr‐Purcell and Hahn spin‐echo (SE) measurements were used to estimate the apparent transverse relaxation time constant (T  †2 ) of water and metabolites in human brain at 4T and 7T. A significant reduction in the T  †2 values of proton resonances (water, N‐acetylaspartate, and creatine/phosphocreatine) was observed with increasing magnetic field strength and was attributed mainly to increased dynamic dephasing due to increased local susceptibility gradients. At high field, signal loss resulting from T  †2 decay can be substantially reduced using a Carr‐Purcell‐type SE sequence. Magn Reson Med 47:629–633, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


OCD is listed as an anxiety disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). It is characterized by repetitive thoughts, images, impulses, or actions that are distressing, that are timeconsuming, or that affect function. The condition is often kept a secret because of the shame associated with its peculiar symptoms. Symptoms experienced by OCD sufferers are diverse. Obsessions can focus on aggressive or sexually intrusive thoughts, religious scrupulosity, concerns about symmetry, hoarding, pathological doubt, or thoughts of contamination. Compulsions are also varied; they include washing, counting, checking, repeating, hoarding, ordering, and the conduct of mental rituals. More often than not, patients with OCD experience more than one type of symptom at any given time, and the symptoms change over the course of the illness. OCRDs are characterized by the presence of repetitive or excessively compulsive behaviors, some of which are preceded by increased tension and followed by a sense of relief. What constitutes an "OCD spectrum" or "OCD-related" disorder remains controversial. At present, prominent re searchers cannot agree on how broad the OCD spectrum should be. Thus, OCRDs discussed in this chapter are those that are most often considered in this category. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and hypochondriasis are classifi ed by the DSM-IV as somatoform disorders, and are characterized by repetitive, excessive worries and behaviors related to a slight or imagined physical defect or illness. Trichotillomania and pathological skin picking are classifi ed by the DSM-IV as impulse control disorders; in both conditions, affected individuals are unable to resist the urge to recurrently pull their hair or to pick their skin. Trichotillomania is the prototypical impulse control disorder that will be discussed in this chapter. Tic disorders (such as Tourette's disorder) are characterized by recurrent stereotyped motor or phonic tics that are resisted on occasion in the short term, but not in the long term. All of these OCRDs are debilitating and distressing; they adversely affect the quality of a person's life. CHAPTER


McDowell recently renounced the assumption that the content of any knowledgeable, perceptual judgement must be included in the content of the knowledge grounding experience. We argue that McDowell's introduction of a new category of non-inferential, perceptual knowledge is incompatible with the main line of argument in favour of conceptualism as presented in Mind and World [McDowell, John. 1996. Mind and World. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press]. We reconstruct the original line of argument and show that it rests on the assumption that a specific model of justification, the Comparison Model, must apply to all cases of non-inferential, perceptual knowledge. We then show that the Comparison Model cannot be applied to McDowell's new category of non-inferential, perceptual knowledge. As a consequence, McDowell is in need of an alternative model of justification and an alternative argument for conceptualism. We propose such an alternative model of justification based on McDowell's reading of Sellars, but argue that the model only serves to make the need for an alternative motivation for conceptualism more urgent.


A corner piece is provided for forming packaging elements. The corner piece includes an inner member and an outer member having respective apexes. A connecting member connects the inner and outer members and substantially aligns their apexes, while spacing the inner and outer members apart from one another. A securing element is provided in the outer member for securing an exterior edge protector along the outer member. The securing element includes substantially U-shaped retaining walls engageable with the exterior edge protector. In some embodiments, the spacing between the inner and outer members defines retaining cavities for securing adjacent sidewalls of a storage container.


Firstly, the fundamental equality of Darboux transformation of the differential operator H(u)=-∂^2+u is proved based on the Kupershmidt-Wilson factorization of the associated ∧-operator ∧(u)=∂^ ・(2^ u'+u∂-4^ ∂^3). Secondly, elementary algebraic properties of the Darboux transformation are studied with the aid of ∧-operator. Finally, as an application of the fundamental equality of Darboux transformation, solutions of the higher order KdV equation are constructed.


This action research study was designed aiming to increase the vocabulary of students in CLEI6 educational program for adults – through the use of the resources and the developing the activities designed in a Moodle platform, in a public institution in Medellin, Colombia. Data were collected through reflective logs and the use of different students' artifacts Analysis of data revealed that, the use this platform with its multiple resources and activities helped to increase the students' vocabulary, which contributed to improve their language learning process.


In this article, we present a new phase noise reduction structure for oscillators based on a six-port frequency discriminator (FD) using a multiplexer. In general, the FD for oscillators requires the inputs to be orthogonal, while the proposed FD circuit can operate at any phase condition. In this way, the circuit can be greatly simplified since no phase controls are needed. Unlike previously reported solutions where analog multipliers were used, the proposed FD uses a multiplexer to achieve an infinite phase extraction range. The replacement of multiplier by the multiplexer in FD benefits from a wider power detection range and lower power consumption, which makes it more suitable for integration. An experimental FD prototype for phase noise suppression of a 10.7 GHz dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) has been carried out and the results show that 30 dB phase noise suppression at close-in offset frequencies (30 Hz–3 kHz) has been achieved.


The concrete structure is widely used in construction engineering.Thus,its quality decides on the safety,reliability and durability of construction engineering.The article expounds the quality control of concrete structure from the quality control of raw materials,concrete mixing proportion and concrete pouring quality,analyzes the cracks in construction process, and proposes some preventive measures.


【Objective】To reveal the variation law of black soil enzyme of Songliao Plain and provide reference to establish an effective fertilization system. 【Method】Black soil under continuous maize cultivation was taken in the corn belt of Songliao Plain as materials. Enzyme activities in different areas and sections("plant type "and "wave type") were determined based on field surveys and sampling correlation analyses between enzyme activities and soil nutrient contents were obtained.【Result and conclusion】Soil enzyme acted as the biological catalyst in a soil cycle. The activities of different kinds of enzymes were significantly correlated with the soil nutrient,so enzyme activities could be used to indicate the soil fertility. Furthermore,urease could indicate the soil fertility well.


As advanced nanostructured materials, mesoporous materials are high-performance materials in the field of catalysis, separation and nanotechnology. Surfactants as templating species are very important in the process of synthesis of mesoporous. This article reviews the application of surfactant in the synthesis of mesoporous materials and the influences on the synthesis route structures and performances of the mesoporous materials.


One of the exciting discoveries made in neurobiology during the past decade has been the observation that ATP appears in the extracellular space surrounding a variety of neurones under physiological conditions. This has led to the inclusion of ATP and its metabolites, particularly adenosine, on a growing list of neurotransmitter or neuromodulator candidates. Many potential actions for this extracellular ATP have been proposed; these effects may be mediated through several classes of the ATP receptor, which are in turn coupled to a variety of intracellular signaling Many of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of extracellular ATP levels are poorly characterized, and this is true for the immediate intracellular origin of the ATP found extracellularly, and the mechanisms involved in its release. As for other neurotransmitters or neuromodulators, characterization of these processes involved in ATP release is essential for a complete understanding of the biological role of extracellular ATP. Potential sources of extracellular ATP within neuronal systems include 1 ) cytosol of the presynaptic and/or postsynaptic cell; 2) endothelial cells of nearby blood vessels; 3) adjacent supporting cells; and 4) synaptic vesicles of the nerve terminal (FIG. 1). In this discussion, the role of the ATP localized within neuroendocrine secretory vesicles will be reviewed.


The key theme of the presented volume are the mutual connections and relations between the migration processes and the city. The case studies collected herein aim not only at showing the parallels between the migration and urban processes, but above all they focus on two fundamental issues: first, they show the specificity of the city as a living environment for immigrants, together with the consequences of this presence for the transformation of urban space (both in the historical and the contemporary dimension); secondly, they describe various aspects of the presence, social organization and social practices of members of immigrant groups in the urban space. The history of migration processes basically overlaps with the history of the development of the cities and the formation and transformation of large metropolises. From the time of the first mass migrations, which we dealt with from the mid-nineteenth century, emigrants headed mainly to industrialized and urban areas, and the scientific literature emphasizes their important role in the transformation of urban space and the development of the cities (e.g Foner et al. 2014)3. The present days do not differ much from the past in this respect. Masses of migrants choose cities and large metropolises


A source encoding algorithm which is suitable for quantized data is presented. The algorithm is intuitive rather than rigorous and has good performance over a wide range of inputs with only one variable parameter. Consequently, it is applicable to situations in which the source statistics are only partially understood or are time varying. The algorithm is explained, and some of its properties and performance are explored.


Companion nanoparticle imaging merges with drug delivery technologies toward personalized nanomedicine (Miller et al., this issue). Companion nanoparticle imaging merges with drug delivery technologies toward personalized nanomedicine (Miller et al., this issue).


Abstract : The development of new geoacoustic inversion methods, their use in the analysis of shallow water experimental data, and evaluation of geoacoustic model and parameter uncertainties including the mapping of these uncertainties through to system performance uncertainties. Analysis of geoacoustic inversion data collected from various experiments. Of specific technical interest are: (1) development of methods to track the environmental parameters using sequential filtering, (2) use of ambient noise for estimation of seafloor structure parameters, and (3) the development of new inversion methods for use into the kHz frequency regime. In an ONR Graduate Traineeship Awards we address using Random Matrix Theory in ocean acoustics.


Scale testing is a common practice in many disciplines of civil engineering. However, in geotechnical engineering this technique is often inaccurate due to the non-linear material behavior of soils. As a result, corresponding stresses and strains of the reduced scale test will be quite small due to the incorrect stiffness of the soil. To correct the error, similarity of stress between model and prototype can be achieved by increasing the weight of each particle by an equivalent amount of gravities. This idea led to the development of model testing in a centrifuge. The principles of centrifuge modeling are now widely established and have been documented in detail. A set of scaling laws relates the observed behavior of the models to the prototype structures in the field. The scaling laws reveal some advantages of centrifuge modeling. For example, the scaling law for energy is 1/n. This suggests that by testing a model sand layer with a buried charge of 1 gram at 100 g's represents a blast event that corresponds to 1 million kg in a field event.


Interventions for parents are important during intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) for youth. Therapeutic art reinforces parent strengths and promotes healthy coping during their child's treatment. This study measured the feasibility of implementing a published, parent-only group-based therapeutic art intervention in an IIPT program, delivered by a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) with training in therapeutic art. While their child participated in IIPT, forty-two parents participated in at least one therapeutic art group. Content rotated through four modules designed to promote reflection on interpersonal relationships, cultivate support, identify values, acknowledge personal struggles and barriers, and increase artistic self-expression (Pielech et. al., 2013). Following each group, parents completed measures of perceived satisfaction and helpfulness as well as open-ended questions for qualitative analysis. The mixed method design was used to provide depth to the understanding of these parents' experiences. Supporting feasibility, the full intervention was replicated in a different setting with different providers. Parents attended 69% of sessions, reported little difficulty attending, and reported a high degree of satisfaction, helpfulness, and support. Following each group, parents completed measures of perceived satisfaction and helpfulness as well as open-ended questions. A mixed method design was used to provide depth to the understanding of these parents' experiences.


Recent trends of CMOS scaling and use of large last level caches (LLCs) have led to significant increase in the leakage energy consumption of LLCs and hence, managing their energy consumption has become extremely important in modern processor design. The conventional cache energy saving techniques require offline profiling or provide only coarse granularity of cache allocation. We present FlexiWay, a cache energy saving technique which uses dynamic cache reconfiguration. FlexiWay logically divides the cache sets into multiple (e.g. 16) modules and dynamically turns off suitable and possibly different number of cache ways in each module. FlexiWay has very small implementation overhead and it provides fine-grain cache allocation even with caches of typical associativity, e.g. an 8-way cache. Microarchitectural simulations have been performed using an x86-64 simulator and workloads from SPEC2006 suite. Also, FlexiWay has been compared with two conventional energy saving techniques. The results show that FlexiWay provides largest energy saving and incurs only small loss in performance. For single, dual and quad core systems, the average energy saving using FlexiWay are 26.2%, 25.7% and 22.4%, respectively.


A portable 8 channel joint angle recording unit is presented in this paper. This device allows 5 minutes of continuous recording from non-compensated bridge type transducers. The output from the analog data acquisition board is fed to the digital recording part of the device. The microcomputer samples the input data at 100 Hz, stores it into the 256K RAM memory and via RS-232 connects to a PC computer for further processing and analysis. The unit has a display and a keypad to interface the user.


Maize is a multipurpose cereal crop that provides food for human, feed for animals and raw material for the industries. In terms of production and yield maize is the most important crop in the country. But it is generally constrained by low productivity and lack of productivity due to inputs such as high yielding variety seeds and fertilizers poor extension services, shortage of traction power and declining fertility of farmlands. To solve these problems large numbers of technologies have been generated. However, the adoption of these technologies by small holder farmer is limited. This problem seems from different factors. Among these factors education level, extension service, credit access, distance from market, availability of improved maize seed, house hold size, off-farm income, farm size and farm This seminar has been done to review the factors affecting adoption of improved maize seed technology in Ethiopia. The objective of this seminar is to review the factors affecting adoption of improved maize seed technology and farmers' productivity in Ethiopia and to distribute improved maize seed for the society.


[Objective] The study aimed to explore the uprearing and bundling effect on lodged rice.[Method] The effects of uprearing and bundling on the yield and yield components of lodged rice were analyzed through uprearing and bundling experiments on the lodged rice in different periods.[Result] Compared with lodged rice without uprearing and bundling,on Sep.23rd,the seed setting rate of lodged rice with uprearing and bundling was 4.27 percent points lower,its 1000-seed weight was 2.58 g lower and its yield reduced 9.30%;on Sep.30th,its seed setting rate was 5.99 percent points higher,its 1000seed weight was 0.54 g and its yield increased 8.97%;on Oct.6th,its seed setting rate was 9.13~9.40 percent points higher,its 1000-seed weight was 0.54~1.00 g higher and its yield increased 12.79%~15.91%.On Sep.23rd,the total grain number of lodged Lian 6 with uprearing and bundling was 12.3 grains less and its filled grain number was 11.77 grains lower than that without uprearing and bundling.On Sep.30th,the filled grain number of lodged Lian 6 with uprearing and bundling was higher and its shrunken grain number was lower than that without uprearing and bundling.The filled grains of lodged Lian 9 without uprearing and bundling were least and its shrunken grains were most.[Conclusion] Compared with lodged rice without uprearing and bundling,the yield of lodged rice with uprearing and bundling in early filling period reduced and the effect of increasing yield on the lodged rice with uprearing and bundling in late filling period was significant.


This article will address the place of second language creative writing (L2CW) in EFL curricula by first providing an updated understanding of L2CW and the Japanese form shinhaiku—a nontraditional haiku. Shinhaiku differs from traditional haiku in that it does not utilize the 5-7-5 syllable form. Secondly, the article will consider misconceptions as well as pedagogical implications of L2CW and thirdly, offer a classroom approach to L2CW (poetry writing) utilizing Hanauer's (2012) meaningful literacy framework. The approach was developed from action research and teaching practices, underpinned by Spiro's (2014) reading-to-writing cycle where learners 1) choose L2CW poems that they admire from an EFL literary journal; 2) articulate reasons for appreciation of said poems; 3) apply these ideas to their L2CW; and 4) reflect on the process. The article will also provide examples from student work as well as present a case for why shinhaiku is an accessible form in the Japanese context.

この論文は、EFLの履修に於ける第二言語のクリエイティブライティング(L2CW)の位置付けについて述べたものである。第一に、L2CWの最新の解釈と日本語の形式として新俳句(従来型ではない俳句)を提示する。新俳句は形式として五七五の音節を使わないという点で、従来の伝統的な俳句とは異なる。次に、L2CWの誤認と教育法への影響について考察する。続いて、Hanauer (2012)による「意味を持つ読み書き能力の教育法」を通してL2CWの授業での取り組み(詩の創作)について述べる。この考え方はSpiro (2014) のreading-to-writing cycle (2014)に実証された行動研究と教育方法を発展したものである。その方法では、学習者は、1) EFL literary journal から彼らが良いと感じるL2CWの詩を選ぶ 2)前述の詩を良いと思う理由を明確化させる 3) その考えを自分のL2CWに応用させる 4)その過程を振り返り考察する。そして、学生の作品を例示し、新俳句が日本において利用し易い形式である理由を論証する。


During the DC voltage calibration of high-precision digital multimeter,for effectively reducing the measurement uncertainty purpose,DC reference voltage and DC voltage divider can be used as measurement standard,so as to make the measurement uncertainty greatly meets the 3 times requirement of the calibrated instruments and the chosen measurement standard.


The study compared the effectiveness of Learning-Cycle Approach (LCA) and Inquiry -Teaching Approach (ITA) in improving students' academic performance in Physics. It also determined the effectiveness of the instructional strategies in enhancing retention of Physics concepts; and established their effectiveness in improving students' attitude to Physics. These were with a view to improving students learning outcomes in Physics. The study adopted the non-equivalent pre-test, post-test control group design. The study sample consisted of 103 Senior Secondary School two (SSSII) students in intact Physics classes selected from Gbonyin Local Government Area in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The instruments used for data collection were "Physics Achievement and Retention Test" (PART) and "Physics Attitude Questionnaire" (PAQ). The reliability coefficients of 0.86 and 0.75 were obtained for PART and PAQ respectively. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Scheffe's Post Hoc analysis. The results showed that students in the experimental groups (LCA and ITA) gained higher scores than those in the control group, with the LCA being the most effective. Also, the result showed that LCA and ITA enhance students' retention of Physics concepts with the retention test mean score of students taught using LCA being the greatest. Finally, it was revealed that LCA and ITA showed relative effectiveness in improving the students' attitude to Physics with LCA as the most effective. The study concluded that the LCA produce significantly better performance and retention of Physics by students than ITA and TEA, this is an indication that LCA is an effective mode of instruction for Physics students. The study recommends that teacher education programmes should emphasize LCA and ITA when in Physics class; also teachers should be provided adequate training to enable them use LCA and ITA in Physics classroom so that learners would be guided to learn meaningfully and would be assisted to develop positive attitude towards Physics.


In order to examine high burnup fuel performance under power oscillation conditions, two tests of irradiated fuels under simulated power oscillation conditions were conducted in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR). Irradiated fuels at burnups of 56 and 25 GWd/tU were subjected to four to seven power oscillations, which peaked at 50 to 95 kW/m with intervals of 2 s. The power oscillations were caused by quick withdrawal and insertion of six regulating rods of the NSRR with a computerized control. Impacts of cyclic loads on the fuel performance under hypothetical unstable power oscillations arising during an anticipated transient without scram (ATWS) in boiling water reactors (BWRs) were examined in the tests. Deformation of the fuel cladding of the test rods was comparable to those observed in shorter transient tests, which simulated reactivity-initiated accidents (RIAs), at the same fuel enthalpy level up to 368 J/g. The fuel deformation was mainly caused by pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) and was roughly proportional to the fuel enthalpy. Enhanced cladding deformation due to ratcheting by the cyclic load was not observed. Fission gas release, on the other hand, was considerably smaller than in the RIA tests, suggesting different release mechanisms in the two types of transients.


Posterior-stabilized (PS) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) designs were introduced to compensate for the resected or deficient posterior cruciate ligament and to avoid paradoxical anterior sliding of the femur. Knee joint stability may differ among patients and, therefore, orthopaedic companies developed several solutions to compensate for these differences. In particular, conventional PS designs are used for conventional TKA and semi-constrained PS designs are mainly applied in revision surgery or in conventional surgery when there is a compromised soft tissue envelope. However, despite good functional long-term results, a better understanding of forces acting on the post of the polyethylene insert is needed to find an eventual correlation with the risk of post-cam failure or loosening of the tibial baseplate for the two PS solutions. To the authors' best knowledge, no literature data is currently available to compare the two solutions. In this paper, a validated numerical model was developed to analyse and compare the posterior of the post-cam mechanism of the same TKA design with conventional and semi-constrained inserts during several motor tasks. For each solution, different motor tasks show different values of maximum post-cam force. Comparing the two solutions, a general slightly higher force (range between 3 and 5%) is observed in the semi-constrained solution. The results concerning the conventional solution are in agreement with the literature. After this analysis, we can report that a semi-constrained design shows only slightly higher posterior post-cam contact force, and thus would not be expected to significantly increase the risk of failure of the post-cam mechanism, as compared to a conventional PS design.


Abstract This paper seeks to analyse the strategies of cognitive estrangement employed by the science fiction writer and literary scholar Kim Stanley Robinson in his New York 2140 (2017). I argue that the novel was written as a call to action to mitigate the effects of climate change, and rather than being merely a description of a particular vision of the future, provides a comment on the current ecological crisis, mechanisms of history, and human agency. Robinson's unusual position at the intersection of the field of literary production and literature studies allowed him to apply the ideas developed for the analysis of the genre of science fiction in his creative work. The three main thematic areas in the novel are ecology, politics, and history. In each of these, allusions to the present, the past, and literary tradition, characterisation, and narrative structure are used as a means to convey the author's message and sensitise the reader to issues connected with ecology and social justice, painting a realistic, yet hopeful vision where human civilisation carries on despite the consequences of global warming.


WiMedia UWB technology is a fully distributed data communication technology developed for the application demanding a high data transmission rate in the wireless PAN area. In general, devices can send data either by reserving time slots or by using prioritized CSMA/CA. If the PCA protocol of prioritized CSMA/CA is used, they are suffered congestion as the number of devices increases. In this paper, we propose a Deterministic Access Protocol(DAP) in WiMedia WPANs. A DAP is a method to transmit data in the non-reserved DRP period without competition as each device informs the beacon order information in the beacon period and the queue information. In addition, the problem that the devices with a lower beacon slot number have more transmission opportunities is addressed by introducing the reference point. Simulation results are given to demonstrate that a DAP can improve the throughput and reduce the packet loss rate.


Diet plays an important role in health and is a modifiable risk factor for chronic diseases. In men, sex steroid hormones influence, and are influenced by, a number of health states. Specific dietary patterns have been found to alter sex steroid hormone levels in observational and intervention studies. Thus, we hypothesized that dietary patterns captured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) are associated with serum concentrations of sex steroid hormones and sex hormone‐binding globulin (SHBG).


This paper reports on laser surface remelting experiments performed on a Zn–2wt.%Cu hypoperitectic alloy by employing a 5kW CW CO2 laser at scanning velocities between 6 and 1207mm/s. The growth velocities of the microstructures in the laser molten pool were accurately measured. The planar interface structure caused by the high velocity absolute stability was achieved at a growth velocity of 210 mm/s. An implicit expression of the critical solidification velocity for the cellular–planar transition was carried out by nonlinear stability analyses of the planar interface. The results showed a better agreement with the measured critical velocity than that predicted by M–S theory. Cell-free structures were observed throughout the whole molten pool at a scanning velocity of 652 mm/s and the calculated minimum temperature gradient in this molten pool was very close to the critical temperature gradient for high gradient absolute stability (HGAS) of the η phase. This indicates that HGAS was successfully achieved in the present experiments.


The control of sound and vibration in large systems with many actuators and sensors has conventionally been achieved using fully-coupled, centralised, control strategies. The complexity of such a fully coupled controller rises rapidly with the number of transducers, however, and its stability is vulnerable to individual failures. Distributed control systems, of which a decentralised controller, having only local loops, is an extreme example, are not so interconnected, and may not be so susceptible to individual failures. It is possible to design decentralised systems for the active control of sound in which the individual control loops do not significantly interact, but then only local, rather than global control is generally achieved. For active vibration control, however, decentralised controllers can be made stable, with the appropriate choices of actuators and sensors, despite strong interaction between individual control loops, and significant global performance can then be achieved. Examples are considered in active vibration isolation and active vibroacoustic control. Finally, the distributed nature of the active mechanism of hearing in the inner ear is briefly described. Although the mechanisms associated with the individual control loops are poorly understood, it is clear that they are tuned very close to instability in order to achieve the greatest sensitivity.


We designed an ultrahigh vacuum high-pressure (UHVHP) reaction system for in situ sum frequency generation studies. This system allows for pressure (10−9 Torr–1 atm), and temperature (150–1100 K) dependent investigation of adsorbates on single crystals or polycrystalline foils and of catalytic reactions. By combining two optical parametric systems, we are able to simultaneously detect CO and ethylene on Pt(111) surface. A gas chromatograph is used to monitor the kinetics of ethylene hydrogenation on Pt(111).


Background Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) has risen over the past two decades, with over 10 million Californians drinking one or more SSB per day. High SSB intake is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and coronary heart disease (CHD). Reduction of SSB intake and the potential impact on health outcomes in California and among racial, ethnic, and low-income sub-groups has not been quantified. Methods We projected the impact of reduced SSB consumption on health outcomes among all Californians and California subpopulations from 2013 to 2022. We used the CVD Policy Model – CA, an established computer simulation of diabetes and heart disease adapted to California. We modeled a reduction in SSB intake by 10–20% as has been projected to result from proposed penny-per-ounce excise tax on SSB and modeled varying effects of this reduction on health parameters including body mass index, blood pressure, and diabetes risk. We projected avoided cases of diabetes and CHD, and associated health care cost savings in 2012 US dollars. Results Over the next decade, a 10–20% SSB consumption reduction is projected to result in a 1.8–3.4% decline in the new cases of diabetes and an additional drop of 0.5–1% in incident CHD cases and 0.5–0.9% in total myocardial infarctions. The greatest reductions are expected in African Americans, Mexican Americans, and those with limited income regardless of race and ethnicity. This reduction in SSB consumption is projected to yield $320–620 million in medical cost savings associated with diabetes cases averted and an additional savings of $14–27 million in diabetes-related CHD costs avoided. Conclusions A reduction of SSB consumption could yield substantial population health benefits and cost savings for California. In particular, racial, ethnic, and low-income subgroups of California could reap the greatest health benefits.


Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation; Canada Foundation for Innovation; Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities


Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) has been commonly employed to evaluate the outgassing properties of both vacuum materials and thin films. Hydrogen, water, CO and CO2 —the most dominant gas species— can be easily detected and quantified by quadrupole mass spectrometry. This paper examines two calibration methods to convert ion current into outgassing rate: first, by using the standard leak of each gas and, second, by using an absolute pressure gauge. TDS is demonstrated for two different types of samples: stainless steel and amorphous Si (a-Si) film. In the case of stainless steel, samples blasted with glass beads were compared with chemically polished samples, and the TDS results' relationship to pumping down properties was investigated. The a-Si film examined was formed using a low temperature poly silicon process. Its hydrogen concentration as determined by TDS corresponded with that obtained by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The outgassing temperature characteristics obtained for both the stainless steel and a-Si samples provided valuable information.


Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have gathered evidence that challenges established views on the severity, etiology, and treatment of chronic active hepatitis (the more aggressive form of chronic hepatitis, as contrasted with chronic persistent hepatitis). Using computerized data from dozens of San Francisco Bay area physicians, a team led by gastroenterologist David Altman, MD, found that patients with chronic active hepatitis in the Bay Area are not as ill as those usually described. The team also identified far more cases that were apparently caused by hepatitis B viral infection than the literature would indicate. These findings may signal the need to reevaluate the standard treatments for chronic active hepatitis. Altman's team reported its findings at the recent meeting of the Association of American Physicians in Washington, DC. Striking more than 2,000 Americans each year, chronic active hepatitis can lead to the formation of fibrosis in the


A case of aneurysms of saphenous vein coronary artery bypass (CAB) grafts is presented with CT and echocardiography findings. Aneurysms of the bypass graft are rare complications of CAB surgery but many occur due to atherosclerosis, infection, surgical technique, or vasculitis.


The tradition of fairy tales has evolved drastically over the past five hundred years. At the beginning of the 20 century, fairy tale cartoons became widely popular as an independent medium, as well as introductions to larger films. In 1937, Walt Disney started the tradition of fairy tale cinema with the release of Snow White. Since that time, Disney has released and rereleased eleven princess fairy tale films. Critics and parents alike ridicule Disney for its depictions of women as submissive and subservient. Recent films have used fairy tale tropes, without referring to a specific classic tale, in order to ridicule and establish a new image of woman. By simply using the tropes of the tales, the new hybridization fairy tales attempt to rewrite the depiction of femininity as a whole, without the confines of a specific character. Despite the great strides that these films have made , there is still a persistent depiction of women as weak with a lack of agency. DreamWorks' creation of the Shrek quadrilogy provides an example to explore the progress of reworking female fairy tale stereotypes through Princess Fiona, Queen Lillian, Fairy Godmother, and other minor, female characters.


In the present study, 45 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers distributed throughout the 12 chromosomes of rice and a gene-specific co-dominant marker for the fragrance (fgr) gene of rice were used to characterize 13 landraces collected from the adjoining areas of Bhagalpur in Bihar and 3 released rice genotypes. The number of alleles generated by each marker ranged from 2 to 4 with an average of 2.41 alleles per locus. Marker RM 489 generated maximum number of alleles (4). Polymorphic information content (PIC) varied greatly for all SSR loci ranging from 0.08 to 0.49 with average of 0.25. The highest PIC value (0.49) was obtained for RM 431, which suggests the utility of this marker for analyzing genetic diversity in rice. The constructed dendrogram showed two distinct clusters, where the major cluster (cluster I) contained 14 out of the 16 rice genotypes under study. Dice similarity coefficient was maximum between Malida and Burma Bhusi and minimum between Kalanamak and Gutraj. By using gene-specific marker for grn gene, 11 genotypes showed amplification of fragrance allele-specific band. Thus, the present study suggests that there is scope for exploitation of genetic diversity of landraces available in Bihar for future rice breeding programmes.


The aims of the study are to explore personal, social and control factors that determined promoting ARH. To construct belief-basedof attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on intention to promoteadolescent's reproductive health (ARH) based on theory of planned behaviour. Participants were community health promoters in center of integrated service (kader pos pelayanan terpadu/ posyandu) of Tengger from 3 villages at Sukapura District, Probolinggo Regency, and East Java, Indonesia. The research conducted in two phases. Phase 1: conducted with 20 public health promoters (females; mean age= 34 years, SD=8.75). We used opened-ended question form and focused group discussion to elicit behavioral (advantages and disadvantages), normative (referents who have significant role for them) and control (certain personal or situational factors) beliefs related in promoting ARH. Based on content analysis, it was identified 15 beliefs from public health promoters. Phase 2: conducted with 14 public health promoters (females; mean age= 34 years, SD=8.75). By using two questionnaires to measure beliefs strength and evaluation toward the beliefs. The result has been identified that 10 salient beliefs from health promoters. Increasing knowledge, communication skills and self confidence in promoting ARH were the most salient behavioral beliefs for the two groups. Health officers and partner in organization were the significant referent who support them to promote ARH. The availability of media that can be used in promoting ARH was the most situational factor that facilitate them in performing promotion.Conclusions: Theory of planned behavior provided useful and systematic framework to explore salient beliefs in promotingARH. Identified salient beliefs is basis for constructing attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control as determinants of intention to promote ARH. The identified beliefs in this research can be used to develop and design program for health promoters in promoting ARH.


The present work was done to study qualitative investigation of extractability of the useful compounds from Aeglemarmelos leaves via supercritical fluid extraction technique (SFE) and to evaluate antihyperlipidemic activity of Aeglemarmelos(Am).The obtained extract and fractions were treated on Triton induced rat models and the results showed lowering the lipid profile levelin the experimental models by in-vivo methods. The fractions of Aeglemarmelos(AmF1) also exhibited excellent anti hyperlipedimic property at 3 rd week and also lowering the serum cholesterol, triglycerides in Triton induced rats. The most important ingredients present in plant communities turn out to be alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, phenols glycosides and tannins are responsible for monitoring the normal lipid profile in Triton induced rats due to LA of lecithin acetyl transferase (LCAT), which regulates lipids concentration. The LCAT plays a key role in the incorporation of free cholesterol into HDL (this may increase HDL) and transferring it back to VLDL and LDL which are taken back later in liver cells.The changes in the level of serum lipids in experimental rats areillustrated in (Table 1). The total Cholesterol, TG1, LDL and VLDC significantlydecreased (P<0.001) and simultensely there is increase in level of HDLs.Supercritical Fluid extraction of leaves of Aeglemarmelos(Am)possess significantantihyperlipidemic activity as compared to control group.


Dye penetrant indications on the heat-affected zone of 2014-T6 aluminum weldments have caused many rejections of production assemblies. An investigation of this problem has revealed that a large majority of these indicated defects were superficial in that they were less than 0.007 in. deep. Tests were conducted to determine the cause and nature of the surface defects. Procedures were developed to eliminate or minimize the occurrence of dye penetrant indications, and to discriminate between real weld defects and superficial surface defects. Also, procedures were developed for repairing weldments containing dye penetrant indications. Macroscopic and microscopic evaluations identified the following four types of superficial surface defects which caused dye penetrant indications: grain boundary melting and cracking, weld spatter, local arc-plasma inpingement (cast puddles in the surface of the heataffected zone) and grain boundaries which had been attacked by the caustic etch used in the dye penetrant inspection procedure. Methods for minimizing these superficial defects include (1) stabilization of the arc, (2) utilization of direct current "GTA" weld procedures, (3) reduction of caustic etch time and (4) utilization of fine grain material.


The traditional dispute settlement system is accepted by local inhabitants for its authority in Sichuan yi nationality areas.Ostensibly the authority derives from individual authority fascination of theirs and process technique of the dispute settlement.But the deep social sources are the community values such as ethics morals and religious belief and economy life shared by the yi nationality family community.


Fairfield and Yohn (2001) develop a simple and interesting model to predict the effects of profitability in the short term, based on current profitability and the components of Dupont. However, the importance and dissemination of this model has not been estudied in emerging economies. For this reason, document has as purpose to evaluate the predictive ability of the return on net operating assets, based on the above model in the Argentina capital market. The models checked show a strong process of mean reversion of returns, and only the rotation of the net operating assets allows the improvement in profitability in the next year. Instead, the profit margin increased rapidly reversed, determining a negative effect on profitability in the next year.


By searching the title, publisher, or authors of guide you in fact want, you can discover them rapidly. In the house, workplace, or perhaps in your method can be all best area within net connections. If you objective to download and install the transition metals in the synthesis of complex organic molecules pdf, it is certainly easy then, previously currently we extend the join to purchase and create bargains to download and install transition metals in the synthesis of complex organic molecules pdf fittingly simple!


In this paper we investigate the mechanism of singularity formation to Cauchy problem of quasi linear hyperbolic system. At the same time, we present two examples to show some significant problems.


The carrier has a bowl-like vessel (1) equipped with a centrally located tube (4) open at both ends passing through bottom, substantially extending to a level of an air-penetrating lid (2). The lid is equipped with a sleeve (5) extending from a lower surface of the lid, and includes an extending end, where outer diameter of the sleeve corresponds to an inner diameter of the tube with a fitting clearance. The sleeve is retained in the tube with a string holder (3). The string holder attaches flexible hooks (6) to notches (7) of an inner surface of the sleeve.


The mode of our country farmland manage was single and the agriculture,will face the rigorous international competition. Accompany with the adjustment of rural economics structure and the quicken of agriculture industrialization, the current of the contract land mode is diversified and the farmland conversion is obviously expedite. We should take advantage of it and accelerate its development in order to push the country economy forword.


The genesis of a dream. The Northern League and the Italian social movement alliances. Constructing the alternative. The issue of identity: the commitees between a movement and a party. The transition phase. The mayors' movement. The people's song. Public policies: the reformism. The end of the dream. Between the centre and the left. Interview to Giulio Santagata. Interview to Massimo D'Alema.


As concern over the environment grows, builders have the potential to fulfill a market niche by building homes that use fewer resources and have lower environmental impact than conventional construction. Builders can increase their marketability and customer satisfaction and, at the same time, reduce the environmental impact of their homes. However, it takes dedication to build environmentally sound homes along with a solid marketing approach to ensure that customers recognize the added value of energy and resource efficiency. This guide is intended for builders seeking suggestions on how to improve energy and resource efficiency in their new homes. It is a compilation of ideas and concepts for designing, building, and marketing energy- and resource-efficient homes based on the experience of recipients of the national Energy Value Housing Award (EVHA).


Soil structural stability often decreases as the intensity of cultivation increases. The effect of three different management systems (grass, no-till, and till) on soil aggregate stability and sizes were studied in six Ustolls and two Usterts on central South Dakota farms. Soil structure was morphologically described throughout the profile. Stability of dry and wet aggregates in the topsoil was tested by dry and wet sieving. Most structural changes were observed in the top 0 to 0.20 m. Granular structure was dominant under grass, whereas plates, blocks, and compacted layers were most common in conventionally tilled and no-till soils. The largest mean weight diameters (MWD) of dry aggregates were found in no-till soils (10 mm vs. 7 in till and 6 in grass). Wet aggregate stability was higher in grass (87%) than in cultivated soils (70%). After about 10 yr of no-till management, no-till soil aggregates were significantly more stable (5% for wet and 32% for dry aggregates) than till aggregates only in the top 0 to 0.05 m. The structural stability of cultivated soils was greater in Usterts than in Ustolls.


A lot of cross-country empirical studies indicate that the financial intermediation development has been playing very important role in economic growth by promoting the efficiency of allocation and technical efficiency.On the basis of panel data among provinces,the influence of financial intermediation development to technical efficiency gap across provinces will be measured quantitatively by using the model of stochastic frontier analysis in China.In whole,the empirical result indicates that the growth of scale of financial credit can't promote the technical efficiency.But on the view point of structure,the growth of loan to SOE will decrease the technical efficiency.On the contrast,the growth of loan to private sector will promote the technical efficiency.


The present article proposes a relay simulation test bench to reduce the steel manufacturer protection system misoperation. The focus of this article is the protection coordination sensitivity, due to variable consumption currents and inadequate protection relay settings/logic. Particularly, the identification of sensitive areas that may suffer from cascade tripping or a hidden fault is shown. An automation coordination process is performed following the identification of the sensitive area, so as to reduce the risk of misoperation trip.


Efficient power conversion systems are the major concerns of any industry. Thus BLDC motors gained higher priority in wide range of applications. Speed control of BLDC motors are very crucial in this attire .Many of the power electronic circuits used for this are subjected to very high switching losses ending up with reduced overall system efficiency. In this paper speed control of BLDC motor is achieved using a Class-E load resonant converter as the front end converter. Simulation of the proposed model was done in MATLAB/SIMULINK. Keywords—BLDC motor,Class E load resonant converter, Converter topologies.


Pollutants emitted by vehicles, noise pollution and other adverse effects on the environment can be measured in terms of the expected distance travelled. Various travel plans of vehicles going from a suburb to the city core or vice versa when each region is circular in nature and within these regions the starting and destination points are uniformly distributed have already been examined. In the present article the assumption of uniformity is relaxed and some general families of distributions are associated with the random points. Various travel plans and the expected distances are computed.


Wireless signals propagated along global positioning system (GPS) channel are affected by ionospheric electron density irregularities such that GPS signals may experience amplitude and phase fluctuations. The global navigation satellite system (GNSS), ionospheric scintillation, and total electron content (TEC) monitor (GISTM) receiver has been installed at UTeM, Malaysia (2.3139 ° N, 102.3183 ° E) for monitoring ionospheric scintillation at several frequencies. In this paper, the GPS ionospheric scintillations are concerned for the dual frequency L1 ( f L1 = 1.57542 GHz) and L2C ( f L2 = 1.2276 GHz).  Ionospheric scintillation data has been collected during solar maximum cycle 2013-2014 for six months October 2013–March 2014. Solar activities significantly impact the ionospheric GPS scintillation, especially in the equatorial region where Malaysia is located. The GPS link is analyzed to investigate how the scintillation increases during the solar maximum cycle. When the sun flux is maximum, the total of electrons is increased in the ionospheric layer and the scintillation values gradually become high. The ionospheric amplitude/phase scintillation, carrier-to-noise (C/No) ratio, and availability of GPS satellites are reported in the proposed experimental GPS model. Consequently, for Malaysia, typical threshold received C/No ratio is 43 dB-Hz, implying that C/No ratio should be greater than 43 dB-Hz to receive good signals at the GPS receiver.


By using the catalyst pyrolysis method,the carbon nanotube film was prepared on the different substrate materials.Seen from the SEM and TEM photo,the prepared carbon nanotube film possesses a better directing property,uniformity and a localization growth property.The effect of the process parameter on the preparation of the carbon nanotube film is discussed.With the carbon nanotube film as cathode materials,the field emission characteristics of the carbon nanotube film cathode are presented and analyzed.


Since the second half of the nineteenth century in the city of Valladolid, Spain, facades were built with exposed brick pressed together thin and sunken. This system facilitates the entry of rainwater in the masonry and therefore, its deterioration. However, these facades are in good condition, therefore bricks have been tested to know the characteristics of the ones that influence in the preservation of these facades. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of WMCAUS 2016.


Recognition of Handwritten Numerals Using Elastic Matching Patrice Scattolin Elastic matching has been used for the recognition of handwritten characters for two decades. It is usually only used for writer-dependent systems with on-line data. We attempt to use this method in a multi-writer environment for both on-line and o -line recognition of handwritten numerals. By its nature, elastic matching is best suited to single writer on-line systems. Two challenges present themselves to attain reasonable results under these conditions. First, the algorithm must be modi ed to better generalize the models, to recognize a wider variety of patterns with a given number of models. Secondly the o -line data is not in a suitable format as the patterns are not represented by a sequence of ordered points. We will apply two modi cations to the typical elastic matching system to adapt it to the multi-writer environment and for the o -line data. To process the o -line data, we use a stroke reconnection heuristic to create data nearly identical to typical on-line data. To adapt to a multiwriter environment, we modify the elastic matching algorithm to add weights to each point of the models. These weights allow portions of the characters that better discriminate between confusing classes to take on more importance. In so doing confusing classes are better separated, increasing the recognition rate. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Adam Krzyzak for his patience during all of the delays throughout this work and for showing con dence in me by giving me the latitude I enjoyed in this work. I am also grateful to Dr. C.Y. Suen for his support, guidance, and help throughout my studies, and for handling my thesis defense. My thanks to Dr. Louisa Lam for providing updated thinned patterns as well as all her help in dealing with them. Thanks also go to Raymond Legault for his exemplary patience in answering all my questions and putting up with me in the same o ce for so long; Steve Malowany for the on-line data, UNIX system programming tips, and allowing me the use of his countless hours of LaTEXprogramming; Dr. A.D. Preece for his knowledge of expert systems and good drinking habits; Christine Nadal for providing the original o -line thinned data as well as the original singular point marking program; Dr. Charles Tappert for the introduction to the method, as well as Tetsu Fujisaki and Hamed Hellozy for making my stay possible, and all the other members of the on-line writing recognition team at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Canter at the time of my stay; Didier Guillevic and Nick Strathy for being such good Tim Horton and Peel Pub buddies; also thanks to Mrs. Grace Williams and Carol Gordon for the proofreading. Finally Laurie, for the sacri ces, moral support and the patience to put up with my every whim during all this time. I am also grateful for the long hours she spent improving my writing abilities by a thorough reading of the work. iv


The synovial membrane is a specialized mesenchymal tissue that lines the diarthrodial joints surfaces, bursae, and tendon sheaths of the body. This article aims to provide an overview of the fundamentals of synovial tissue, with particular regard to the imaging findings of the main pathologic processes that can affect the synovia and the role of image-guided interventions. (www.actabiomedica.it)


The Portofino promontory is characterised by springs supplying Camogli, Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure towns. This research concerns a hydrogeological preliminary study of the Caselle springs, located in the San Fruttuoso valley at 325 m asl.Water circulation occurs in discontinuities of Portofino Conglomerate and has been investigated by scientific studies since the late Nineteenth Century. The flow of Caselle springs has been monitored, while the climatic parameters recorded in the Mount Portofino weather station have allowed a first comparison between rains and outflows.The hydrogeological water balance has allowed assessing a loss due to evapotranspiration of 627 mm and an outflow of 753 mm. The evaluation of the recharge area permitted to calculate outflows between 4 and 13 l/s: adopting an infiltration rate of 0.7, obtained infiltration values are comparable with the measured flow rates. The answer to the rains of hydrogeological parameters shows a ground-water velocity of 10-6 m/s; protecting the aquifer from potential sources of pollution is therefore deemed as essential, taking into account that over 80,000 hikers per year walk upon the recharge area.


: This report investigates noise current distribution in the switching operation of a silicon carbide (SiC) power module for optimization of the layout and packaging design. The noise current distribution is measured via the intensity of the near- fi eld magnetic fi eld, and the measurement methodology visualizes the noise current distribution on a wiring plane in the power module. The effect of a direct-current-link (DC-link) snubber capacitor on suppressing the voltage overshoot and ringing oscillation is evaluated using the proposed noise current identi fi cation method.


A facile method is presented for generating quasihexagonal two-dimensional arrays of nanoscale gold islands. The topological contrast intrinsic to Langmuir−Blodgett monolayer films of surface micelles, self-assembled from an amphiphilic diblock copolymer, was used as a stencil mask. Argon ion milling of gold-coated silicon and mica substrates, which had been covered with these ultrathin masks, resulted in arrays of ∼25-nm diameter gold islands supported on patterned silicon pillars or gold islands directly adhered to a mica substrate. The resulting arrays were characterized by atomic force microscopy and field emission gun scanning electron microscopy.


Abstract The potential of Indian propolis as a suitable therapeutic agent is still to be explored to the fullest. As variation in the chemical composition across different geographical regions has been a major concern, it is, therefore, worthwhile to systematically investigate, and assess the quality of Indian propolis and set nationalized standards. The propolis collected from three different regions were authenticated for the major plant source, followed by the evaluation of physicochemical properties. Different extraction methods were compared, with their influence on balsam content, polyphenol, and flavonoid content. The sample coded HAR using ultrasonication gave the highest extraction yield of 71.87%. Further, the process variables in the ultrasonication method (i.e. Amplitude, extraction time, the concentration of ethanol) at three levels were optimized using the Box-Behnken response design. The model was found significant with the concentration of ethanol having a maximum influence on the responses. The model was successfully verified by setting the amplitude at 48%, extraction time to 5.6 mins, and ethanol concentration to 87% v/v. The extraction efficiency of 83.86±1.17% was achieved with a substantial diminution of extraction time. The total phenolic, total flavonol, and total flavanone content of the optimized batch were 28.74±0.13 mgGAE/g, 4.66±0.78 mgQE/g, and 3.16±0.14 mgPE/g of propolis respectively. Further HPTLC fingerprint image of the optimized extract revealed the presence of quercetin, p-coumaric acid, kaempferol, chrysin, pinocembrin, and galangin. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT