It has become recently known that cracks have a very high acoustic nonlinearity and it is used in nonlinear acoustic nondestructive evaluation (NANDE). One of the important applications of NANDE techniques can be inspection of civil engineering structures, and this paper presents results of NANDE feasibility tests for concrete beams. Several series of experiments were conducted with concrete engineering construction beams containing cracks. The modulation of high-frequency (∼5 kHz) longitudinal waves by low-frequency (less than 300 Hz) flexural vibrations in samples was investigated. It was found that the relative amplitude of the modulation signal depends on the number and sizes of cracks and can be up to −20 dB. Multiharmonic modulation spectra were also observed. Filling of cracks with water caused a decrease of modulation by 3–4 dB. The experiments demonstrate high sensitivity of the suggested technique, promising to be a novel tool for concrete inspection.


This study investigated the relationship between the self/partner cooperation reputation, the starting condition of a cooperation, payoff structure, and the willingness to cooperate of alliance partners in the context of real business settings. An experimental study was conducted with 816 private-sector professionals and a comparison group of 169 public-sector managers. It was hypothesized that cooperation reputation would reduce the impact of payoff structure. Results indicated that perceived reputation of the alliance partner had a significant impact on participants' willingness to cooperate. These results challenge the perceived importance of payoff structure and further support Parkhe's (1993a) suggestions that perceived reputation is an important aspect of alliances, seldom included in empirical studies. It was also demonstrated that, for both public and private sectors, maintaining a good cooperation image as well as maintaining effective relations throughout the alliance were associated with participant willingness to cooperate. Implications for both sectors are discussed. Nowadays, alliances play a relevant role in the corporate strategies of many organizations. The discussion about motives and objectives of such alliances, however, goes back to the 1950s and was initiated by Fusfeld (1958) who focused the exercise of monopoly power. West (1959) identified further motives such as diversification, government influence with regard to foreign direct investment, and pooling of resources. Other motives for alliances are, for example, time-to-market advantages, reduction of production and/or transaction costs, economies of scale and learning, risk reduction or risk diversification, access to knowledge, and shaping competition (e.g., Bronder 1993; Porter and Fuller 1985; Rupprecht-Däullary 1994). The formation of cooperative 200 International Public Management Journal Vol. 6, No. 2, 2003 arrangements is seen as increasingly relevant to be successful in a business world that increasingly requires flexibility (e.g., Picot, Reichwald, and Wigand 2001). In empirical studies, however, the failure rates of alliances were found to lie between 30 percent and 70 percent (e.g., Nilsson 1997; Devlin and Bleackley 1988; Grunberg 1981; Killing 1983; Reynolds 1984; Porter 1987; Schaan 1988). In 1993, Parkhe commented on the high mortality rate of alliances and argued that greater emphasis on factors that perpetuate stable cooperation was needed. Parkhe argued that game theoretic work could potentially contribute to the field by identifying relevant factors (structural or otherwise) that influence the relationship between partners in an alliance in a positive way. There are still many issues to address. During the period 1993 to 2000 only a handful of studies have been conducted into the relevance of game theory for alliance structuring (e.g., Parkhe 1993a, 1993b; Fulton, Popp, and Gary 1996). Furthermore, although the rate of newly established alliances appears to be growing (e.g., Rao and Schmidt 1998) the rate of alliance failure is still very high (e.g., Duysters, Kok, and Vaandrager 1999). The wide divergence in the above mentioned failure rates (i.e., 30 percent to 70 percent) indicates substantial variations in the definitions of failure. Regardless of the long-term success of alliances there is little doubt that the incidence of alliance formations are increasing as time goes on, giving credence to further research into the nature of alliances in the private sector. However, public-sector institutions, due to global economic slowdowns, also have to cope with scarcity of financial and other available resources. Cooperation (e.g., cooperative projects of universities, hospitals or state employment agencies) is one possible solution of the adherent problems in the public sector. With regard to the increasing number of alliances it has to be questioned how such nets of incomplete contracts and bundles of diluted property rights are held together. Considerations of corporate identity, culture, and constitution are relevant for theory and practice in this area (e.g., Wagner 1994). Alliances between organizations are partly dependent on the ability and willingness of participating employees to cooperate. In literature, a fit between cooperating parties is seen as important for alliance success (e.g., Håkanson 1982, 281). Interaction processes between organizations are rather successful if cooperating organizations are similar (e.g., Håkanson 1982, 289). Schaan (1988, 7) explains that "incompatibilities in personalities" can lead to the failure of alliances. Strategic positioning and available resources often do not explain lack of alliance success. Bleicher and Hermann (1991, 40) show that in such cases social processes and emotional positions are most often responsible for failure. Gugler and Pasquier (1997, 140) in an empirical study come to the conclusion that "when partners lack compatible culture and values, expectations and trust between partner employees may not materialize and may lead to conflict." Thus, employees involved in alliances are a central success factor of alliance building. Their cooperative (or noncooperative) behavior is an interesting point of departure for a study that aims to elaborate relevant aspects of cooperative behavior in the private as well as in the public sector. The employees as stakeholders of an organization and their behavior with regard to cooperation are relevant facets contributing to the success (or failure) of alliances. Thus, they are the unit of analysis in this research. The focus of this article will be to deal with a number of issues relating to 201 International Public Management Journal Vol. 6, No. 2, 2003 the interaction between reputation, starting condition of a cooperation, and willingness to participate in cooperation as well as the different impacts of these concepts for alliances in the public and private sectors. Generally speaking, how reputation influences the actual creation of alliances and how reputation influences the failure of such alliances in the public sector as opposed to the private sector will be investigated. In this study reputation is defined as "the estimation of the consistency over time of an attribute or entity . . . This estimation is based upon the entity's willingness and ability to repeatedly perform an activity in a similar fashion" (Herbig, Milewicz, and Golden 1994, 23). Reputation can be interpreted as public information on the previous trustworthiness of an actor. At the same time, reputation of being a fair cooperation partner or the fear of losing this reputation by behaving opportunistically (which would result in decreasing future gains) can work as effective safeguards in a trust-based relationship. Therefore, in relation to cooperation reputation, we refer to consistency to cooperate. For the purposes of this research, partner cooperation reputation was defined as the perceived history of cooperation associated with a potential alliance partner. Self cooperation reputation was defined as the perceived history of cooperation by the organization the individual represents. These definitions can be interpreted as the ability to predict the likelihood of cooperation or non-cooperation, translating reputation into a cost-reducing attribute of rational decision making. Payoff structure is defined as the reward structure associated with a particular pattern of cooperation by alliance partners. Willingness to cooperate is defined as the attitude to work together as opposed to not being ready to engage in a common project. GAME THEORY AND ALLIANCES The classic prisoner's dilemma research finds that expectations of partner's behavior (i.e., cooperation or defection) impact the focal players' decisions (e.g., Kelley and Stahelski 1970; Dawes, McTavish, and Shaklee 1977). Several models have also been developed which incorporate expectations of the partner (e.g., Levine 1998; Rabin 1993). Alliances from this point of view are typically self-regulatory and vulnerable to selfish manipulation by one or more parties to ensure individual gain versus mutual benefit (e.g., Parkhe 1993a). Initial investigation of single instance games such as prisoner's dilemma identified the likelihood of self-interested orientations by participants, bearing out this argument in the experimental setting. Investigations of other types of games such as the stag hunt, chain store, and deadlock identified a similar orientation towards maximization of returns to the self over the selection of the mutual benefits of an alliance (e.g., Oye 1986). These findings were extended by Axelrod (1984) who investigated games where events were extended beyond a single instance to multiple instances. Axelrod found that instead of choosing to focus on a self-oriented agenda, a higher tendency towards alliances was noticed. While this was argued to be a natural by-product of the pattern of payoff, the results identified another key aspect of the alliance phenomena: the shadow of the future. This shadow refers to the potential for future losses (or unrealized profit) based on current actions. For example, Heide and Miner (1992) found support for the relationship between cooperation and a long shadow of the future. To prolong the 202 International Public Management Journal Vol. 6, No. 2, 2003 shadow of the future, frequent interaction between partners and/or accurate and reliable information exchanged between the partners have been found to be important factors. Put together, the findings have been insightful in that various authors have extrapolated the results and outcomes of such research as being relevant to alliance structuring. It has been argued that potential alliance partners consider the payoff of cooperation versus defection as well as the shadow of the future associated with such a decision. Yet these comments only form part of the picture. The findings from the research hav


Since 2008, the high school dropout rate, which continues to be substantially higher for Latinos than their Caucasian counterparts (Wright, 2015), has decreased significantly from 32% in 2000 to 12% in 2014 (Fry, 2014). Conversely, university enrollment of Latino students has steadily increased nationwide. Statistics show that merely about 18% of Latinos in the United States have a bachelor's or higher degree according to the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau report. I first became aware of this significant achievement gap between Latinos and the rest of the American population in my first year as a doctoral student in a bilingual education program. I instantly became curious about the explanations behind the noteworthy breach. To understand the causes, I read through scholarly literature, which provided some evidence to satisfy my curiosity. Nevertheless, I decided to find out, firsthand, about the lived experiences of Latinas living in Michigan. Consequently, the primary purpose of this qualitative research project was to describe the university experiences of six bilingual Latinas who earned 4-year degrees in universities where I currently live. It was my desire that through their stories I can share a positive perspective of what seemingly goes on in academia, yet is not usually highlighted in scholarly literature. It is not my intention to undermine the existing discriminatory status quo of racism toward Latinas in America (Murillo, 2010). I just hope an optimistic view inspires teachers and students to remember there are exceptions in the documentations regarding racism in this world.


Foreign investment in Canada is likely to be a major economic and political issue in this decade. It is natural, in a period of rising national consciousness, that Canadians should question the role of foreign capital in their economy. It is probably true that most Canadians would agree that they would feel better off if their dependence upon foreign capital could be reduced and, at the same time, their growth and their standard of living could be sustained. Put another way, capital self-sufficiency is a good thing for all kinds of reasons, and we should achieve it if it does not cost us anything. Economists have no special competency in assessing the strength of public opinion in these matters, but they can contribute to an understanding of the costs associated with policies aimed at reducing foreign ownership and control of capital resident in Canada. Such policies already exist in the fields of communications and banking. Moreover, Ottawa has taken ad hoc measures in instances of foreign takeover in petroleum and mining. What price will Canadians pay if restrictive policies spread to other areas of economic activity? There is already a special withholding tax on the earnings of foreign capital. How would extensions of this tax with respect to coverage, and increases in its rate, affect our economic development? Specifically, how would reduction of foreign investment impinge on the economy of British Columbia? Melvin Watkins, leader of the Waffle wing of the NDP, has asserted that capital independence (autarchy) would be virtually costless. The prevailing view on Bay Street seems to have it that even minor restrictions on international capital flows would trigger an economic disaster. Neither of these extreme views are likely to be correct. My task, along with John Helliwell and Jillian Broadbent in the next paper, is to lend quantitative substance to the debate. This is but a probing first attempt and much more work needs to be done. Nevertheless, I can predict with some confidence that even strong measures to restrict capital flows into Canada


Ritual 'Merti Dusun' has been practiced by people of Celengan, far before Islam becomes the part of their daily lives. After the coming of Islam to Java Island, this ritual experienced acculturation with Islamic culture. The ritual which initially was meant to refuse disaster and ask of benediction to The Creator (God), by giving offerings to certain place and request permit to the Prophet, and Danyang of certain place, has shifted in the term of its meaning. This study found out that this 'merti dusun' ritual has experienced meaning shift, either individually or communally. There are altering meanings: from addressing the ritual and prayer to danyang shifted to all of Islamic missionaries; to an assumption that the ritual has deviated from the religious teaching; and there is also person who simply assumed it just as social obligation.


Abstract The persuasive potential of influencer advertising (IAd) has become a relevant field in academia. Followers see influencers as a source of inspiration, and inspiration can play a crucial role in purchase decisions. In the present study, we examined how factors related to the message, source, and audience interactions in influencer communication relate to the persuasive effectiveness of IAd, with a particular focus on the role of inspiration. Results from a quantitative survey (n = 311) indicate that followers' inspiration and para-social interaction with the influencer are highly relevant to reported purchase behaviors. Moreover, the inspiration followers experience from IAd varies with the frequency of advertising posts in influencers' feeds and followers' persuasion knowledge.


Most of the letter writers concur with Yu et al regarding the need for a prospective randomized trial to definitely assess the comparative efficacy and patient-reported health-related quality of life of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) versus intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the management of prostate cancer (PC) before treating a man with SBRT in routine clinical practice. Fortunately, such a trial has been completed in Sweden (International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register 45905321), and toxicity data will be available in 2015. One remaining caution is to note that interpretation of results from single-arm prospective studies of SBRT and nonrandomized comparisons of SBRT and IMRT are limited because they are subject to multiple biases that are mentioned in the original article by Yu et al, the accompanying editorial and directly discussed or inferred in all six letters. Specifically, these biases include patient selection factors such as baseline GI and genitourinary function, medication usage such as anticoagulants, prostate gland volume, patient age, and comorbid illness such as diabetes mellitus that can affect toxicity rates. In addition, temporal and technical factors such as the median follow-up intervals for each modality; dose-fractionation schemes, dose volume constraints, and whether these were achieved or violated; the expertise of the physics staff involved in quality assurance of treatment delivery; and the toxicity reporting metric used can all effect estimates of cancer control and/or quality of life outcomes. Finally, unknown confounders remain that can also effect these estimates. As a result, even the best of such nonrandomized comparative or single-arm prospective SBRT studies are hypothesis generating with respect to what can be concluded from the results. Therefore, such studies do not assure a patient that SBRT is as clinically efficacious or as minimally toxic as IMRT in the management of PC.


The topic of my bachelor thesis is the issue of internal audit, the U. S. Sarbanes-Oxley law and foreign travel expenses. The first part of my work deals with the definition of basic terms of internal audit. I have also focused on the U. S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which helps to detect the commission of fraud an economic crime. According my opinion, the most important part of this act is Section 404, which deals with internal controls. The analytical part deals with the basic information about OTIS company, corporate policy and the performance of internal audit. I try to uncover deficiencies provide suggestions and recommendations that would lead to an improvement.


It is important to teach students with intellectual disability about earthquake mitigation because they belong to vulnerable groups of earthquake threats. Qualified learning media is needed to train the earthquake mitigation ability of students with intellectual disability. This study aims to determine the improvement of earthquake mitigation ability using Earthquake Safety Tips mobile game of students with intellectual disability in Special School. The research design used a pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design and used Wilcoxon matched pairs as an analysis method. The results showed there is increasing score from pre-test to post-test on each aspects of earthquake mitigation ability, which are cognitive, affective, and psychomotor ability. The hypothesis test shows that there is significant difference in cognitive ability which is 0,027 < 0,05, affective ability obtained 0,011 < 0,05, and psychomotor ability obtained 0,012 < 0,05. In conclusion, earthquake mitigation drill using Earthquake Safety Tips mobile game could improve the earthquake mitigation ability of students with intellectual disability in Special School.


The crop of arracacha ( Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancr.) is part of the Andean culinary culture and economy of Colombia, its importance lies in being a primary source in the peasant diet and nutrition. The low technification of the crop, associated with inadequate soil management practices, has generated stagnation in regional yields, which has generated an increase in the technological knowledge gap among producers. For this reason, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the chemical properties of the soil, under the production system of arracacha ( Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancr.) and identify the main chemical limitations of the soil that affect the yield in the crop, in the municipality of Cajamarca, Tolima. Soil samples were taken during the dry-rainy transition period in 50 farms distributed in 17 villages of the municipality, on which the chemical parameters of soils were evaluated, likewise, the production of tuberous roots was estimated based on the average sowing density of the region, 16 666 plants ha -1 . It was observed that 81% of the farms evaluated presented an acid reaction (5.25 ±0.15 to 6.6 ±1.1), organic matter (OM) content in the medium range (>3%) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) with low values (3.31 ±0.64 to 15.35 ±10.25 cmol kg -1 ). The yield of fresh tuberous roots was conditioned to the presence of the contents of OM, interchangeable calcium (Ca) and potassium (K) in the soil. The results obtained showed processes of chemical degradation of the soil associated with fertilization implemented by producers in the region.


Improving numerical weather prediction systems depends critically on the ability to transition innovations from research to operations (R2O) and to provide feedback from operations to research (O2R). This R2O2R cycle, sometimes referred to as "crossing the valley of death", has long been identified as a major challenge for the U.S. weather enterprise.

As part of a broader effort to bridge this gap and advance U.S. weather prediction capabilities, the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) with staff at NOAA and NCAR has developed the Common Community Physics Package (CCPP) for application in NOAA's Unified Forecasting System (UFS). The CCPP consists of a library of physical parameterizations and a framework, which interfaces the physics with atmospheric models based on metadata information and standardized interfaces. The CCPP physics library contains physical parameterizations from the current operational U.S. global, mesoscale and high-resolution models, future implementation candidates, and additional physics from NOAA, NCAR and other organizations. The range of physics options in the CCPP physics library enables the application of the UFS - as well as every other model using the CCPP - across scales, from now-casting to seasonal and from high-resolution regional to global ensembles.

While the initial development of the CCPP was centered around the FV3 (Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere) dynamical core of the UFS, its focus has since widened. The CCPP is also used by the DTC Single Column Model to support a hierarchical testing strategy, and by the next generation NEPTUNE (Navy Environmental Prediction sysTem Utilizing the Numa corE) model of the Naval Research Laboratory. Further, and most importantly, NOAA and NCAR recently signed an agreement to jointly develop the CCPP framework as a single, standardized way to interface physics with their models of the atmosphere (and other compartments of the Earth system). This places the CCPP in the heart of several of the U.S. flagship models and opens the door for bringing innovations from a large research community into operations.

In this contribution, we will present a brief overview of the concept of the CCPP, its technical design and the requirements for parameterizations to be considered as CCPP-compliant. We will describe the integration of CCPP in the UFS and touch upon the challenges in creating a flexible modeling framework while maintaining high computational performance. We will also provide information on how to obtain, use and contribute to the CCPP, as well as on the future development of the CCPP framework and upcoming additions to the CCPP physics library.


To date, it is no longer necessary to demonstrate the contribution and the usefulness of field evaporation simulation to understand and to interpret atom probe tomography (APT) analyses [1, 2]. In addition, recently, simulation has been also used to perform APT data reconstruction [3]. There are many commonly used simulation models, from sub-atomic scale [4,5] up to atomic scale [2], according to the specific studied phenomena. Nevertheless, it appears today a need to have simulation models at lower scale (i.e. mesoscopic scale), such as level set methods [6]. Even if, these models show qualitative agreement with experimental data in 2D simulation [7], it is no completely the case in 3D, where some improvements remain to be performed [8]. In this paper, a new field evaporation simulation in 3D at the mesoscopic scale is presented. The aptitude of this new approach to reproduce APT experimental observations, while maintaining low computational and memory resources, is demonstrated through the simulation of analyses of complex microstructures under laser irradiation.


Clothes are the outcome of the times and reflect aesthetic standards and inclinations of the times. It can be indirectly considered as a culture expressing universal emotion and ideology of the times. Fashion in the modern times is the formative expression of the desire which is deeply embedded in human beings. As the desire to show off the sensual attraction of women is increasing, modern fashion is being expressed with selective exposure, hiding and emphasis of a certain body part. Recently, body form itself is exposed through transparent material. See-through style which has been popular continuously as an important element to show sensual attraction of women has been developed as a method to express internal beauty of humans. This study tried to understand the concept of see-through which has been diversely expressed in modern fashion, reviewed changes of see-through style through previous studies and references, and empirically analyzed see-through style shown from S/S in 2000 to F/W in 2013 by classifying them according to material, color, pattern, item, silhouette, expression techniques and details. Additionally, by presenting see-through style applied works based on the study on aesthetic characteristics of see-through, we tried to understand see-through fashion properly and show the right vision for see-through fashion. See-through in modern fashion is a new way to express sexual desire hidden deep down in human mind and we may be able to develop diversified designs through new vision of see-through clothes.


Approaches available for estimating the ecological impacts of climate change on aquatic communities in river networks range from detailed mechanistic models applicable locally to correlative approaches applicable globally. Among them, hydraulic habitat models (HABMs) link hydraulic models of streams with biological models that reflect how organisms select microhabitat hydraulics. Coarser but more general species distribution models (SDMs) predict changes in geographic distributions; they generally involve coarse predictors such as air temperature or distance to source but neglect proximate habitat descriptors such as microhabitat hydraulics. We propose an original application of HABM for predicting the ecological impacts of climate change at large scales, a comparison of their predictions with those of SDM and a linkage of the two modelling approaches. We showcase our approach in a large catchment (Rhône River) where an available distributed hydrological model estimates present and future unregulated daily flows over the whole river network. Despite large local uncertainties, simulations showed that climate change may strongly reduce low flow percentiles (e.g., a median reduction of 38.6% for a pessimistic climate scenario), inducing important alteration of fish hydraulic habitat suitability (e.g., a median loss of 3.9%–18.7% for three modelled fish species with contrasting habitat use: brown trout, barbel and sculpin). The HABM and SDM individually predicted consistent or opposite fish responses to climate change, depending on the species and their habitat requirements. Our results illustrate that accounting for ecological responses to proximate habitat variables such as hydraulics can strongly modify projections related to climate change.


Space plasmas and their unpredictable effects are objects of intensive study by NASA, the armed services, and participants in the International Geophysical Year investigations. There seems to be a direct correlation between solar hyperactivity and geomagnetic, as well as magnetotelluric, field fluctuations. Cosmic rays increase in intensity; and radio communications suffer. Various agencies are predicting an unusual increase in solar activity by the end of this year. What, if any, will be the observable result?


The thesis held in hand discusses the post-metamorphic palaeofluid evolution of the crystalline metamorphic rocks of the Mecsekalja Zone, near Ofalu village, south Hungary. The rocks of the study area now observable at surface outcrops were metamorphosed ca. 300 ma ago. During its uplift history a complex stress evolution must have worked upon the rock mass, the most momenta of which can hardly be recognized, and the most phases of which possibly did not leave an inquirable clue. Crystalline rocks can be considered impermeable, and it is the deformation of the rock that enhances the efficiency of fluid flow, both at the micro- and the mesoscale. The stress activated microscale porosity is testified by fluid inclusion planes in granites and also by rock mechanic experiments. Veins of different configurations are the mesoscale product of deformation and subsequent fluid flow in the newly grown fracture porosity. The above considerations suggest that the uplift history of the Ofalu metamorphic complex is also a complex palaeofluid history, the momenta of which are determined by the obscure stress history of the Mecsekalja Zone. These momenta can be reconstructed by minerals that were precipitated from fluids, i.e. vein minerals or minerals that are obviously not part of the original mineral assemblage and the hydrothermal origin of which can be reasonably assumed, e.g. microcrack calcite in a quartzofeldspathic gneiss.
The present thesis is an attempt to reconstruct the phases of the fluid evolution during the post-metamorphic history of the Mecsekalja Zone metamorphic zone and to extract the nexus of these with the application of the available methods and data, i.e. textural analysis (augmented with cathodoluminescence microscopy), fluid inclusion microthermometry and stable isotope measurements.


During a time when the disciplines of education and communication have been waging lively and far‐reaching debates about models of instruction, theories of communication, and methods of inquiry, the sub‐discipline of instructional communication has remained insulated from these discussions. As a result, the research has not fully addressed many of the most compelling practical and theoretical questions about communication in education. Six questions are identified that have been insufficiently explored by instructional communication researchers. The analysis reveals that the limited approach to inquiry has had the effect of privileging existing social and political arrangements. Alternative perspectives, largely informed by critical approaches to pedagogy, suggest a rich research agenda for instructional communication scholars.


This paper presents an automatic traffic surveillance system which is utilized to monitor the traffic intersections. Moving vehicles are extracted accurately from video sequences based on improved background modeling and object tracking method. In this paper, 16 types of general traffic behaviors at intersections are specifically defined and the traffic information collected from the tracking results is used to monitor them. The obtained information of the traffic flow at intersections can be utilized in intelligent traffic management to increase the efficiency and optimize spatial resources of urban road traffic infrastructures.


The radiation response to acute I3'Cs radiationwas tested in wild-trapped opossums, raccoons, gray foxes and bobcats collected on the AEC Savannah River Plant, Aiken, South Carolina. The LD,,,,, for the raccoons and gray foxes was 580 and 710 R respectively. Data were insufficient to determine the LD,,,,,, for the opossums and bobcats; however, the relationship between average survival and dose indicated that the opossum appeared to be the least sensitive species tested and the bobcat the least resistant. In general, decedent wild mammals did not exhibit symptoms of radiation sickness, other than anorexia, until several days before death. Lethality in these wild species was within reported limits for domesticated or laboratory mammals of approximately the same body weight.


Abstract The unbalanced voltage and the current problem in an electric power system are one of the electric power quality problems that concern is increasing by both demand and supply side against the background of electric power liberalization etc., and research is done about the measure method. Moreover, the measure using the self-commutated Static Var Compensator which is one of the power electronics device is considered for the purpose of improvement and maintenance of electric power quality. Then, this paper considers the control principle of the self-commutated SVC in consideration of unbalanced compensation, and this simulation .


Background Immunocompromised patients may be at higher risk of mortality if hospitalised with COVID-19 compared with immunocompetent patients. However, previous studies have been contradictory. We aimed to determine whether immunocompromised patients were at greater risk of in-hospital death, and how this risk changed over the pandemic. Methods We included patients >=19yrs with symptomatic community-acquired COVID-19 recruited to the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK. We defined immunocompromise as: immunosuppressant medication preadmission, cancer treatment, organ transplant, HIV, or congenital immunodeficiency. We used logistic regression to compare the risk of death in both groups, adjusting for age, sex, deprivation, ethnicity, vaccination and co-morbidities. We used Bayesian logistic regression to explore mortality over time. Findings Between 17/01/2020 and 28/02/2022 we recruited 156,552 eligible patients, of whom 21,954 (14%) were immunocompromised. 29% (n=6,499) of immunocompromised and 21% (n=28,608) of immunocompetent patients died in hospital. The odds of inhospital mortality were elevated for immunocompromised patients (adjOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.39-1.50, p<0.001). As the pandemic progressed, in-hospital mortality reduced more slowly for immunocompromised patients than for immunocompetent patients. This was particularly evident with increasing age: the probability of the reduction in hospital mortality being less for immunocompromised patients aged 50-69yrs was 88% for men and 83% for women, and for those >80yrs was 99% for men, and 98% for women. Conclusions Immunocompromised patients remain at elevated risk of death from COVID-19. Targeted measures such as additional vaccine doses and monoclonal antibodies should be considered for this group.


IT industry is a certain area with high-risk of IPR dispute.At present,the IPR litigation has exceeded the limit of "struggle for right",and it has been regarded as a kind of effective means for commercial competition by more and more enterprises.In the field of flash memory market,the upstream enterprises mutually take legal action against their rivals,such as section 337 investigation,while the Chinese enterprises have been got into trouble due to their market position of downstream companies.Therefore,to ensure the sustainable and healthy development of domestic IT industry the Chinese companies should enhance their consciousness and ability of dealing with the IPR risk.


Silk habotai was treated by ultrasonic and microbial transglutaminase(MTG) to improve its crease-resistance.After ultrasonic pretreatments with different frequency,proper treating condition was selected by according to crease recovery angle from MTG treatments with different time,concentration and temperature.Other performances such as breaking strength,elongation at break,whiteness and moisture absorption were also examined.Moreover,discussion and analysis were also undertaken theoretically.It is shown that silk fabric with synergic treatment of ultrasonic and MTG shows better crease-resistance and other performances.


This study aims to investigate the effect of anxiety and self-efficacy on the students' English monologue speaking skill. Partial and simultaneous effects of both variables are also examined. The population of the study (n=150) is all eleventh graders at a state senior Islamic high school in Medan, Indonesia, and fifty three of them are involved in the subject of the study. Data are obtained from a rubric of speaking test, a set of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) tests, and a questionnaire on students' self-efficacy in speaking. All the instruments are expert validated and tried out. In the interest of the findings, a linier multiple regression design is employed, and is analyzed by using SPSS 18 software program. It turns out that there is a negative significant effect of anxiety on the students' English monologue speaking skill, and a positive significant effect of self-efficacy on it. Both anxiety and self-efficacy contribute 63.2% to the students' English monologue speaking skill. However, the contribution of anxiety (40.9%) is higher than that of selfefficacy (22.3%), thus it is suggested to the English teachers to promote warm exposure to the English class, and be the role model in speaking.


Reservoir connectivity analysis plays an essential role in controlling water cut in the middle and later stages of reservoir development. The traditional analysis methods, such as well test and tracer, may result in interruption and high reservoir development costs. Analyzing connectivity through history data is an advisable alternative method because the fluctuation of data reflects interwell interference. However, most of the former data-driven methods, such as capacitance and resistance model (CRM), estimate connectivity using formulas in relatively simple forms, leading to inadequate expression for underground interwell flow. In this paper, an interpretable recurrent graph neural network (GNN) is proposed to construct an interacting process imitating the real interwell flow regularity and overcoming the weakness in previous methods. In contrast, it is formed by a deep enough neural network structure with a relatively larger number of parameters when compared with the CRM model. In detail, this method makes the first use of both rate information and bottomhole pressure (BHP) to completely describe the hidden state of wells and the energy information exchanged among them, which are then continually updated in spatial and temporal ways.
 Meanwhile, a self-defined recurrent structure deals with the time lag and attenuation phenomenon as it records the residual energy from past timestamps. Finally, it calculates BHP for each production well with the manually specified production rate as extra input data. Detailed results are presented in two examples. Our proposed method shows significant advantages to other methods due to its reasonable structure and great ability to fit nonlinear mapping.


To the Editor: We read with interest the article of Rabinstein et al.1 reporting the usefulness of bilevel positive pressure ventilation (BiPAP) in myasthenic patients. We value the attempts to use noninvasive ventilation in patients with myasthenic crisis and agree with the suggestion that ventilation with BiPAP could prevent intubation, thus avoiding potential complications. However, we would like to comment on several aspects of the article. There is not a general consensus on how to define myasthenic crisis. In a recent effort to standardize this concept, it was proposed that myasthenic crisis be defined as weakness from acquired MG that is severe enough to require intubation,2 a situation that corresponds to class V of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America classification.3 However, the patients reported in the article by Rabinstein et al. were class IVb. Fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) values had not been included. For this reason, it is not possible to determine the presence and severity of respiratory (hypoxemia) or ventilatory (hypercapnia) failure. It seems that the oxygen requirements were elevated, considering patients with isolated ventilatory failure without lung injury. The high oxygen requirements used to maintain adequate arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) suggest ventilation/perfusion relationship inequalities, lung injury, and respiratory failure. Additionally, SaO2 was erroneously expressed in millimeters of mercury instead in percentage of oxygen of inspired air. The inspiratory positive airway pressures delivered may not have been high enough, especially when hypoxemic respiratory failure was present. The reported failure to improve the PaCO2 values in the hypercapnic patients may be related to the low inspiratory pressures used. This article gives a new therapeutic approach to treat severe compromised myasthenic patients. However, it would be important to provide a better definition of the characteristics of the population, such as the clinical classification, the degree of respiratory or ventilatory failure, and the clinical conditions to decide the BiPAP trial. Finally, we propose that a multivariate analysis should be done prior to concluding that BiPAP should not be attempted in patients with overt hypercapnia.


Oracle brought its long-standing but COVID-19-interrupted premier user conference back live in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October 2022. With more than 1,000 learning workshops (100 of which were hands-on) and free technology certification for attendees on tap at Oracle CloudWorld (OCW) 2022, the vendor reentered the live trade show market with a reminder that it has not lost its technical prowess. This was particularly evident in many of the announcements made by the vendor that espoused a unique approach to the challenge of integrating artificial intelligence (AI), data, and analytics both across business software and between premises, cloud, and multicloud.


After implementing new land management policy,it's difficult for logistics enterprises to obtain land,the costs of new-ly-built warehouses and rented warehouses rise,therefore logistics enterprises should stress the land resource utilization rate,make use of the advantages of integrated utilization land of logistics parks,rationally carry out warehouse location in order to lower the land costs and increase the economic efficiency of the enterprises.


Enhancement of the nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting of (MPC&A) at the Elektrostal Machine-Building Plant (ELEMASH) has proceeded in two phases. Initially, Elektrostal served as the model facility at which to test US/Russian collaboration and to demonstrate MPC&A technologies available for safeguards enhancements at Russian facilities. This phase addressed material control and accounting (MC&A) in the low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel-fabrication processes and the physical protection (PP) of part of the (higher-enrichment) breeder-fuel process. The second phase, identified later in the broader US/Russian agreement for expanded MPC&A cooperation. includes implementation of appropriate MC&A and PP systems in the breeder-fuel fabrication processes. Within the past year, an automated physical protection system has been installed and demonstrated in building 274, and an automated MC&A system has been designed and is being installed and will be tested in the LEU process. Attention has now turned to assuring longterm sustainability for the first phase and beginning MPC&A upgrades for the second phase. Sustainability measures establish the infrastructure for operation, maintenance, and repair of the installed systems-with US support for the lifetime of the US/Russian Agreement, but evolving toward full Russian operation of the system over the long term. For phase 2, which will addressmore » higher enrichments, projects have been identified to characterize the facilities, design MPC&A systems, procure appropriate equipment, and install and test final systems. One goal in phase 2 will be to build on initial work to create shared, plant-wide MPC&A assets for operation, maintenance, and evaluation of all safeguards systems.« less


To study the effects of nitrogen in MS medium on neem(Azadirachta indica A. Juss)tissue culture,we determined the biomass,soluble protein content,azadirachtin and limonoid contents of neem callus and suspension cells in the end of their cultures by changing the ratio between nitrate and ammonium. The results indicate,that while culturing callus,the four measurement indicators reached the maximum accumulation when the ratio of nitrate to ammonium was 4∶1;while culturing suspension cells,the soluble protein contain,azadirachtin and limonoids contains got their maximum when the ratio of nitrate to ammonium was 3∶1,but the maximum biomass was obtained when the ratio was 2∶1. In conclusion,the ratio between nitrate and ammonium in the MS medium should be corresponded with the objects being cultured at different periods.Only in this way,can we get the best target cultures.


Purpose To evaluate three methods for upper digestive tract examination and their diagnostic value. Methods In a total of 86 patients barium X-ray examinations coupled with gastroscopy and biopsy were performed by the administration of basium meal by mouth under ultrasonic diagnosis B with intervals less than half a month. Results In this group of patients, a correct diagnosis was obtained by ultrasonic diagnosis B before surgery in 75 patients (87.21 %), by barium X-ray examination in 70 (81.4 %), by gastroscopy in conjunction with biopsy in 79 (91.86 %). Conclusion B mode ultrasound is easy to manipulate and to accept, but it has some limitations. Jointly using the three methods, however, can apparently improve the accuracy for the diagnosis of upper digestive tract lesions, especially for stomach tumour, approaching a precision rate of 95.74 %.


High resolution in-situ microscopy of moving particles in moving suspensions is now established by applying a short (about 1 s) exposure pulses in a flow-through sample volume, which is defined only by the contactless optical depth of field. However, a significant practical problem is the ongoing adjustment effort during operation, because the high-resolution lens (which functions as a cover glass) in micrometer-accurate distance to the optical window of the suspension must be maintained. Added to this is the practical difficulty in continuous operation that an immersion must be maintained. This invention shows that any manual or opto-mechanical adjustment in operation of an in-situ microscope case where a plane-parallel window is replaced to the suspension (Solid immersion lens, SIL) by an upstream the lens solid immersion lens. SIL are plan sanded glass spheres having a high refractive index, which are fitted in place of an immersion liquid to increase the resolution on the object. The distance of the lens for SIL can be constructively fixed with 30 micron precision. Thereby, the position of the object plane is set to about 3 microns, an adequate precision for reproducible conditions in the in-situ microscopy. Here, the tolerance of the image planes even in the millimeter range. Once set up, this overall optical design requires no more adjustment during operation and is suitable as a robust microscope sensor with long service lives.


The speed control system of hot metal pretreatment desulfurization stirrer was studied.The hydraulic system of hot metal desulfurization stirrer and its control strategy were introduced.The speed controller and fuzzy control rules for the system were designed based on self-tuning fuzzy PID.The step response curves of traditional PID control,self-tuning fuzzy control and self-tuning fuzzy PID control were compared by simulation.The simulation results show that self-tuning fuzzy PID control has quicker response speed and smaller steady-state error.


Malaria is a parasitic disease that is often the cause of death, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. One way to eradicate malaria is to break the chain of disease transmission in order to control the mosquito vector of malaria. The use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets can be used as an alternative in controlling malaria vectors for people who refuse to use the Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) method. The review articles were obtained through a search using the Pubmed, Google Scholar, Garuda, and ScienceDirect databases. The keywords used were (LLINs OR "Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets") AND Malaria. 1843 articles were obtained, and extraction was carried out based on the restriction criteria so that 13 articles were obtained. In conclusion, the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets LLIN is effective in killing mosquito vectors so that it has the potential to prevent malaria.


1. A method for operation control of the crane to prevent operation of the crane in an undesired condition, said crane comprises a boom, arranged to raise or lower the boom by adjusting the angular position relative to the carrier of the crane, wherein: monitor the crane operation, including a track, at least, the position of the boom relative to the support of the crane; and! prohibit or permit a selective manner the crane boom lifting operation, when the valve is in an undesirable state, depending on the cause of this condition. ! 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the undesired condition is caused by finding crane boom in a position in which the load on the boom is at too great a radius from the base of the crane. ! 3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the boom allow operation if the undesired condition is caused by lowering the boom that occurred immediately before the occurrence of said condition. ! 4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the further boom prohibit operation when the undesired condition is caused by an attempt to lift the load located on the ground. ! 5. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the further boom prohibit operation when the undesired condition is caused by execution of any other operation immediately preceding the occurrence of the condition. ! 6. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that permit the boom operation only if the undesired condition is caused by lowering the boom that occurred immediately before the occurrence of said condition. ! 7. The method of claim 4, wherein those


This paper reviews recent arguments that support a new location (or relocation) of a few communities that ancient sources assign to the coast of Thrace. In particular, this paper considers the community of Orthagoreia known through the testimonies of Strabo and Pliny, which contradict each other, and from numismatic evidence. The author argues in favor of the traditional view that Orthagoreia is located 'east' of Maroneia and presents an assessment of current knowledge on the subject.


Vanadium oxide (V2O5) is a material that can be fabricated as a thin film of only a few atomic layers thick during mechanical exfoliation due to the weak interlayer interactions, much like how graphene is created. During this project we looked at the band structure of both the bulk and mono-layered V2O5. We used computer software called ABINIT, which is installed on the high performance computer cluster (HPCC), to do all of our calculations. We used the projector augmented wave (PAW) method in our band structure calculations. The construction of the PAW potentials for vanadium was studied during our project and we found that the 3s and 3p bands of vanadium needed to be treated as valence bands in order to avoid ghost bands from appearing in our calculations. We tested the convergence of the plane wave energy cut-off parameter and its accuracy first with metallic body centered cubic (BCC) vanadium and then with rock salt structured vanadium monoxide (VO). The band structure of V2O5 can be characterized as oxygen 2s and 2p like bands separated by a gap from the vanadium 3d like conduction bands. The band gap between them is indirect. There are two narrow bands that fall just below the conduction band called intermediate bands. Many interesting properties can arise from these intermediate bands such as transport phenomena or mediating optical transitions from the valence bands to higher conduction bands.


The aim of this study is to measure objectively and quantitatively different speech parameters in PSP for four years. The present investigation performed an acoustic analysis of sustained vowel phonation /a/, maximum phonatory time, numbers sentence (1,2,3,4) and rapid syllable repetition (/pa/, /ta/, /ka/ and /pataka/). Various parameters were considered: F0, intensity, formants, shimmer, jitter, harmonic-to-noise ratio (NHR), the mean number of syllables, the median syllable duration, voice onset time (VOT), speech rate, silence rate and prosodic elements. Alterations in voice and speech evolve towards articulatory imprecision, poor vocal quality, reduced TMF, reduced speech rate, decreased intonation variability and prolonged pauses in diadochokinesia. This analysis revealed a coincidence in time between progressive global speech impairment and highly percentage of incomplete clousures in VOT, with progressive dysphagia.


The Lack of Reproducibility in Research. How Statistics Can Endorse Results. Scientifi c research is validated by reproduction of the results, but efforts to reproduce spurious claims drain resources. We focus on one cause of such failure: false positive statistical test results caused by random variability. Classical statistical methods rely on p-values to measure the evidence against null hypotheses, but Bayesian hypothesis testing produces more easily understood results, provided one can specify prior distributions under the alternative hypothesis. We describe new tests, UMPBTs, which are Bayesian tests that provide default specifi cation of alternative priors, and show that these tests also maximize statistical power.


Public information service is a kind of public service, in its providing process there being inequity between urban and rural, among regions, and among social groups. And the inequity is a barrier to building harmonious society. The inequity enables the public to divide into the information-rich group and the information-poor group when they access and use public information service. This paper puts forward measures and plans to deal with inequity on the basis of analyzing these three inequity styles status and causes, according to the research on the spot.


The criteria of portability and long life, when applied to limit the field of small batteries, result in the elimination of all but solar, chemical and nuclear prime energy sources. This review outlines the theory, present state of the art and future prospects for batteries delivering up to a few kilowatts from these prime sources. In considering nuclear converters, which include thermoelectric, thermionic, beta voltaic and the Stirling, Rankine and Brayton cycles, consideration is given not only to the possible isotopes but also to the safety aspects of the designs. The inherent simplicity of the fuel cell is outlined in the theory and contrasted in the practical realization where, unlike the solar cells described, the control systems required have resulted in a slowing of progress


Cao Yu's play Beijinger was published in 1941.Although it doesn't directly involve the Anti-Japanese War this mainstream topic of the age,it contains thoughts for the source of power of reviving the Chinese nation in its potential level.From this perspective,it directs itself to the Anti-Japanese War.Besides,the play shows the multidimension of traditional culture,as well as examines and criticizes it in a modern sense.However,the playwright's potential identification of Chinese traditional poetic culture weakens the vigor of criticism,and at the same time renders the interpretation of the play multiple and ambiguous.The play also concerns with the common people and their tragic existence,so it can be said that it witnesses the humane care of existentialism in the 1940's.


Research purposes: By discussion and analysis on brand implantation of railway survey and design(enterprises),this paper explores the main methods on upgrade of enterprise permanent core competition by good brand implantation.Research methods:Using strategic management theory,marketing theory and enterprise cultural shaping theory in(modern) enterprise management for reference,and combining the developing stage and environment of railway survey and design enterprises in China,this paper analyzes the significance of upgrading enterprise core competition by brand(implantation) and puts forward several methods to realize the goal of brand implantation.Research results:After analysis and study,this paper considers there are 6 main methods to promote the brand(implantation) of railway survey and design enterprises,namely target market plan,brand orientation,core value(abstraction) of brand,(visual) identification construction,enterprise cultural environment building and exterior(communication).Research conclusions:An outstanding brand is the organic integrity of public impression and internal connotation.Once possessing a strong brand,the enterprise will hold the imitative and take the leadership in the market.Because of the important strategic function and the systematicness and complexity on brand implantation in railway survey and design enterprises,it should be built solidly as a systematic engineering in upgrading comprehensive strength for one enterprise.


This book by Tobin is an explorationof how older persons attempt to preserve their inner self amidst the many challenges and vicissitudes of life that they encounter as they age. Tobin's 1991 book on personhood of the oldest old sets the stage for this work and could be considered an extension of the primary thesis of his studies: preservation of self as a method of continuity of being, and presumably, successful aging. The book consists of ® ve parts and 11 chapters, starting with a life cycle perspective of preserving the self and concluding with a look at the near and distant future of the oldest old. Throughout the book Tobin maintains the theme of the importance of preservation of the self in aging. Many examples and case reports are offered to clarify concepts and to guide the reader through the many studies that provide the argument for the thesis of the author. A married couple, the Sampsons, are introduced in the ® rst chapter who exemplify an aaura of survivorshipo among the oldest old cohort. Excerpts from their life experiences are continually reintroduced in subsequent chapters to illustrate concepts related to aging and survival that maintain self-hood preservation. Such examples add clarity and colorfulness to the text and add to the readability of the content.


Backplane connector signal terminals are edge for differential signal transmission - comprises a shield designs having a wafer supported as coupled-port. A ground shield provides a U- channel that is mounted on each wafer, partially shielded by each of the terminal pairs. Wafer may be omitted to the ground terminal between the pairs of adjacent terminals. It may be provided to help the body is inserted to connect to the shield portion U- ground shield in order to provide the U- shaped shield structure substantially throughout the up from the tail portion.


The present study included psychiatric outpatients. There was predominance of males. Depressive illness was the commonest psychiatric diagnosis in suicide ideators.


IT-driven innovation is an enormous factor in the worldwide economic leadership of the United States. It is larger than finance, construction, or transportation, and it employs nearly 6% of the US workforce. The top three companies, as measured by market capitalization, are IT companies - Apple, Google (now Alphabet), and Microsoft. Facebook, a relatively recent entry in the top 10 list by market capitalization has surpassed Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, and the largest employer in the world. The net income of just the top three exceeds $80 billion - roughly 100 times the total budget of the NSF CISE directorate which funds 87% of computing research. In short, the direct return on federal research investments in IT research has been enormously profitable to the nation.
The IT industry ecosystem is also evolving. The time from conception to market of successful products has been cut from years to months. Product life cycles are increasingly a year or less. This change has pressured companies to focus industrial R&D on a pipeline or portfolio of technologies that bring immediate, or almost immediate, value to the companies. To defeat the competition and stay ahead of the pack, a company must devote resources to realizing gains that are shorter term, and must remain agile to respond quickly to market changes driven by new technologies, new startups, evolving user experience expectations, and the continuous consumer demand for new and exciting products.
Amidst this landscape, the Computing Community Consortium convened a round-table of industry and academic participants to better understand the landscape of industry-academic interaction, and to discuss possible actions that might be taken to enhance those interactions. We close with some recommendations for actions that could expand the lively conversation we experienced at the round-table to a national scale.


The overall objective of the present work is to determine the factors that hinder students to recognise and produce some classroom language expressions to talk in class.


ABSTRACT We evaluated the performance of the rapid C. diff Quik Chek Complete's glutamate dehydrogenase antigen (GDH) and toxin A/B (CDT) tests in two algorithmic approaches for a tertiary pediatric population: algorithm 1 entailed initial testing with GDH/CDT followed by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and algorithm 2 entailed GDH/CDT followed by cytotoxicity neutralization assay (CCNA) for adjudication of discrepant GDH-positive/CDT-negative results. A true positive (TP) was defined as positivity by CCNA or positivity by LAMP plus another test (GDH, CDT, or the Premier C. difficile toxin A and B enzyme immunoassay [P-EIA]). A total of 141 specimens from 141 patients yielded 27 TPs and 19% prevalence. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 56%, 100%, 100%, and 90% for P-EIA and 81%, 100%, 100%, and 96% for both algorithm 1 and algorithm 2. In summary, GDH-based algorithms detected C. difficile infections with superior sensitivity compared to P-EIA. The algorithms allowed immediate reporting of half of all TPs, but LAMP or CCNA was required to confirm the presence or absence of toxigenic C. difficile in GDH-positive/CDT-negative specimens.


The present research work is structured according to the requirements and regulations of the National University of Loja, prior to obtaining the degree of Accounting and Audit Engineer, at the same time, will allow to inform its owner an adequate accounting control of its economic activities, in relation to the legal regulations.

During the investigation process, the proposed objectives were fulfilled, beginning with the preparation of the inventory of assets, rights and obligations, followed by the Plan and Manual of accounts and the verification of the supporting documents that were the basis for initiating the registration. accounting until obtaining the Financial Statements that provide information on the resources it has, the results it has obtained, the generated profit and the inflows and outflows of cash that it has derived, among other financial aspects.

It concludes with the results obtained after having completed the investigative process it is possible to determine that with the elaboration of the accounting records the Financial Statements that provided information of the different accounting movements of the company are presented, recommending to continue with the Application of the Accounting that it will be an effective tool to organize the business accounting and in this way make decisions and alternative solutions for the different problems that affect the hardware store.


Though World Trade Organization's anti-dumping agreement has provisions on public interests,but it remains the more obvious defects of legislating.We should perfect the public interests clause of anti-dumping agreement further,expand the rele-vant stake in the square range,and put emphasis on dumping the interests of the industrial user of the products.


Compared to the voltage source inverter, the current source inverter (CSI) can boost voltage and improve filtering performance. However, the DC side of CSI is not a real current source, and the DC input current comprises a DC power supply and an inductor. In the switching process, the DC-link inductor is charged or discharged and is in an uncontrollable state. This paper proposes a novel CSI topology containing five switching tubes and a modulation strategy based on the hysteresis control strategy of the DC-link current. Due to the conduction and switching loss being positive to the DC-link current, the calculation method for the least reference value of the DC-link current is derived to meet power requirements. By constructing a virtual axis, we then present the control strategy of the output voltage in a two-phase rotating reference frame. Finally, we carry out the simulation and experiment are to validate the proposed topology, modulation, and control strategy.


Lithium abundances for red giants in the GALAH DR3 survey are studied. The rare examples of Li-enriched stars with abundances A(Li) $\geq 1.5$ are confirmed to be He-core burning stars belonging to or evolved from the red clump with similar masses and metallicity: $M\simeq 1.1\pm0.2{\rm M_\odot}$ and [Fe/H] $\simeq-0.3\pm0.3$. Li enrichment over the Li abundance present in a star's predecessor at the tip of the red giant branch likely occurs in all these red clump stars. Examination of the elemental abundances (C to Eu) in the GALAH catalogue shows no anomalous abundances in red clump giants and, in particular, no dependence on the Li abundance, which ranges over at least five dex. Lithium synthesis is attributed to the He-core flash occurring in stars at the tip of the red giant branch. Models from the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) match the observed evolution of these stars along the red giant branch and to the red clump but only at the low effective temperature end of the observed spread of red clump giants. Run of Li abundance on the red giant branch is fairly well reproduced by MESA models. A speculation is presented that the series of He-core flashes not only leads to $^7$Li synthesis from a star's internal reservoir of $^3$He but also may lead to internal restructuring leading to the observed effective temperature spread of red clump stars at about a constant luminosity. Giants exhibiting marked Li enrichments are not found at other evolutionary phases and, in particular, not directly associated with the luminosity bump on the red giant branch for which the Li abundance increase does not exceed 0.3 dex.


Although in modern democracies political representatives are chosen to serve the interests of the population, often the political platform adopted by them is influenced and biased in favor of groups that have provided support, financial or otherwise, in their election campaigns. Furthermore, one must consider that the competition for these elected positions influences the policies for social improvements. This paper seeks to examine the relationship between political competition, interest groups and the provision of public services. It is intended to identify how the alternation and political alignment in the municipalities can affect the provision of public goods and services, and in addition, determine whether the action of some groups can influence it. Moreover, they also try to verify the effect of these two components, interest groups and political competition, the results of such provision. Interest groups were denoted by donors, Physical and Legal Entities People campaign mayors and elected councilors and the provision of public services was measured by the Index of Social Development Offering (IDS's). Assembled a panel with the years 2005 and 2009 for all 184 municipalities of Ceará. Estimated a panel with random effects. Two estimations, one of them was excluded from the city of Fortaleza by this stand out from others in terms of economic performance were made. No significant differences were found in the two estimates. The results show that municipalities that have lower levels of competition are those with higher IDS-O. Regarding the action of interest groups, the groups formed by Corporations, provided they are not cohesive, are preferable in that positively impact the provision of public services. The group formed by individuals adversely affects both the efficacy as provision of those goods and services.


This study was designed to identify the individual and employment factors that influence highly frequent, less severe self‐reported musculoskeletal disorder pain incidences among welders. A self‐reporting questionnaire to measure two individual factors (age and experience), six employment factors (physical workload, working hours, shift work, nature of employment, mode of apprenticeship training, and association with present employer), along with a modified Nordic questionnaire response sheet was used to collect data. The survey was conducted among welders employed in a fabrication cluster in a southern part of India. A total of 987 completed questionnaires (response rate: 66%) were analyzed using the SPSS program. The analysis showed that two employment factors, "shift work" and "mode of apprenticeship training" significantly influence self‐reported musculoskeletal disorder pain. The mode of apprenticeship training was found to influence musculoskeletal disorder pain in the neck region for annual prevalence and causes annual disability in neck and upper back regions. Similarly, shift work was found to influence musculoskeletal disorder pain in the shoulder and neck regions for weekly and annual prevalence and causes annual disability in shoulder, wrist/hands, upper back, and hip/thigh/buttock regions among welders. These factors can be considered as points for targeting intervention efforts.


We have performed first-principles calculations on quasicubic MgO clusters for sizes up to 64 atoms. The results of these calculations have been used to determine a generalized environmentally dependent shell model (EDSM). In addition to reproducing the results from the first-principles calculations we suggest that the resulting EDSM parameters are more physical and more transferable than previous parametrizations based on bulk properties. First, we show that the force-constant matrix derived from the EDSM leads to an efficient approach to preconditioning. A full geometrical optimization of the quasicubic 64-atom MgO cluster is accomplished with a total of four first-principles force evaluations which is significantly less than what is required from a conjugate-gradient algorithm. Second, we use the shell-model parameters to study the relaxation and rumpling of an infinite (001) surface. The agreement between the EDSM and recent medium-energy scattering results is excellent and is significantly better than the agreement between conventional shell-model results and experiment. We show that these improvements are due to a more accurate accounting of the appropriate atomic polarizabilities: not only are these insensitively determined by previous methods, but also those for surface atoms are quite different from their counterparts for bulk atoms.


In this research work, aluminum matrix composite (AMC) plates were welded using friction stir welding (FSW). AMCs contain AA6061 as a base metal with silicon carbide (SiC) and fly ash particles as ...


Aim: To study the effects of Banxia Houpu Soup and Guizhi Gancao Longgu Muli Soup on the behaviors and HPA axis of chronic psychological stress rats. Methods: SD rats were divided into 5 groups: normal group, model groups I and II, Banxia Houpu Soup group and Guizhi Gancao Longgu Muli Soup group. The behavior, the hypothalamus CRH, plasma ACTH and serum CORT(radio-immunity method) of all the rats were observed. Results: On the 11th day, the crossing times of model group I and the crossing times and struggle time of model group II changed obviously compared with those of normal group. On the 19th day, the crossing times and still time of model group I and II had remarkable differences, while the contents of CRH, ACTH of model group I and the contents of CRH, ACTH and CORT of model group II increased obviously compared with those of normal group. Compared with those of model group I and II, the crossing times on the 11th and19th days and the struggle times on the 11th day of Banxia Houpu Soup group increased obviously, while the contents of CRH and ACTH decreased; the crossing times on the 19th day increased, but the still time on the 19th day shortened and thecontents of ACTH and CRH decreased in Guizhi Longgu Muli Soup. Conclusion: Banxia Houpu Soup and Guizhi Longgu Muli Soup can affect the behavior and the endocrinal system of the chronic psychological stress rats in a certain level by through the action on the different sectors of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal gland axis.


The tragedy occurred to the prisoners of war in World War I had the scale of a humanitarian disaster. Millions of people belonged to different nationalities lived under the hardest physical and psychological living conditions. The study devoted to this page of world history methodologically comprises an
intersection of disciplines: it is necessary to study and comprehend mental, legal, economic, cultural aspects of the humanitarian crisis which had significant effect on the course of political processes in Europe. The article studies activities
of government and public organizations involved in humanitarian assistance to the Russian prisoners of war who were in the European camps. In this case a special role was played by a spiritual and cultural support of the compatriots in captivity. Acute «cultural hunger» in the prisoners of war
camps was intended to be filled by the Russian book, which became a significant factor that impeded the prisoners' marginalization and denationalization.
The growth of nationalism in a public discourse of different countries around the world which were involved in isolation and marginalization of ethnic minorities and diasporas, their loss of national and cultural identity, customs
and language make the study of the historical analogies connected with the fate of prisoners of war in World War I appropriate and of current interest. The history
of preservation by the Russian people in captivity and exile their own cultural identity allows the author to predict the course of these processes at the present stage, as well as to develop state policy of support provided to compatriots
abroad.


With the continuous promotion of the rural revitalisation strategy, the planning and organisation of individual villages can hardly adapt to the current development needs of rural areas, causing synergistic development among villages to become a critical goal in promoting the sustainable development of rural areas. Reconstructing the development space of traditional village clusters can reduce their development gaps and promote coordinated development. Understanding the connections between traditional village units can support adaptive reconstructions of village spatial network structures and offer scientific and reasonable development planning strategies. Based on geographical and economic data publicly released in 2022, this study takes the traditional villages of the Fuchun River Basin in China as an example and uses village development quality and the shortest traffic time crawled in real time by Python to construct a spatial connection model of traditional villages in the Fuchun River Basin. The study also uses social network analysis to analyse the characteristics of the spatial network structure. The results show that (1) the intensity of spatial connections in these traditional villages is severely polarised and imbalanced. (2) The spatial network structure is in the development stage; few villages act as intermediaries, and the networks have poor connectivity and integrity. (3) The connection density within cohesive subgroups varies considerably. No complete transmission path exists among the subgroups, and the path of collaborative development is imperfect. These findings can optimise and reconstruct the selected spatial network of traditional villages to integrate and upgrade their development. The framework system also holds reference significance for other similar rural traditional villages.


Molecular dynamics simulation of a sympathetically-cooled 113Cd+ ion crystal system is achieved. Moreover, the relationship between ions' axial temperature and different electric parameters, including radio frequency voltage and end-cap voltage is depicted. Under stable trapping condition, optimum radio frequency voltage, corresponding to minimum temperature and the highest cooling efficiency, is obtained. The temperature is positively correlated with end-cap voltage. The relationship is also confirmed by a sympathetically-cooled 113Cd+ microwave clock. The pseudo-potential model is used to illustrate the relationship and influence mechanism. A reasonable index, indicating ions' temperature, is proposed to quickly estimate the relative ions' temperature. The investigation is helpful for ion crystal investigation, such as spatial configuration manipulation, sympathetic cooling efficiency enhancement, and temporal evolution.


The emergency management for urban district is an integral part of the whole region emergency system.The basal works of district emergency management are to find out the weaknesses of emergency management system and to promote the capability of prevention and emergency management of disaster by taking some efficacious and targeted approaches.In this paper,based on the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation,some frailty factors influencing the emergency management of urban district are considered in terms of the following four aspects: demographic and social characteristics,political and economic factors,geographical and environmental factors and public management factors.The identification of the frailty of urban district emergency management is analyzed.Therefore,the study can offer some consultation for laying down efficacious emergency plan.


This article attributes early twentieth century Maasai conservatism to the Maasai social structure and in particular to the warrior (moran) age-grade. Modernizing changes meant different things to different groups. To some Maasai elders they meant increased political power and wealth. But to the warriors they constituted a threat to their already declining status and entailed new and onerous obligations like road work. Governmental efforts to transform and modernize the Maasai were met by small-scale warrior rebellions. There were three such uprisings–in 1918, 1922 and 1935. All three were carried out by the warriors in defiance of the wishes of the elders and occurred at times when the government was seeking to alter Maasai society. The 1918 rebellion was over the recruitment of children for school; that of 1922 over attempts to do away with essential features of the moran system; and that of 1935 in opposition to road work. The Maasai warriors were effective resisters of change because of their considerable autonomy within their society and their esprit de corps.


Dipeptide syntheses starting from Ac-L-Tyr-OEt or Z-L-X-OMe (X: Asp, Tyr, Phe, Arg, Lys or Thr) and glycine amide in biphasic reaction media were achieved using two commercially available porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) preparations (crude (cPPL) and purified PPL (pPPL)). Under the mild conditions employed, α-chymotrypsin, a pancreatic protease that also presents esterase activity, catalyzed Ac-L-Tyr-Gly-NH2 synthesis with high productivity. Product hydrolysis also occurred in most of the syntheses studied. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, enzymatic assays employing specific chromogenic substrates and size-exclusion chromatography revealed that cPPL and pPPL contain contaminant proteases and, therefore, exhibit esterase and amidase activities. Overall, these data indicate that those contaminants may be the main catalysts of peptide bond synthesis when Nα-blocked-L-amino acid esters and the commercial PPL preparations are used. On the other hand, such data do not contest the possibility of using such enzyme preparations as an inexpensive source of catalysts for dipeptide synthesis under soft conditions.


In vehicular communication, roadside infrastructure, such as WiFi APs, often requires a large amount of investment. In this paper, we propose the idea of Mobile Vehicular Offloading (MoVeOff), which doesn't require extra investment, but allows data transfer from on-board devices to mobile devices of drivers and passengers, for uploading to the Internet in the future. When they arrive at their homes, offices, or other places where WiFi connection is available, vehicular data will be offloaded in a delay-tolerant manner, by the ferrying of mobile devices. We build a realistic system to investigate the regularities in people's daily travelling and WiFi usage, analyze individual mobility, and establish a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) model to predict one's future WiFi connectivity. Moreover, a mobility-aware routing scheme is developed for inter-vehicle communication. Each vehicle broadcasts its expected offloading probability and delay, so that messages are dynamically delivered to the nodes, whose offloading can guarantee delay and delivery ratio bounds required by applications. Thus, our scheme overcomes traditional opportunistic forwarding, and introduces predictable ferrying guaranteed by individual mobility. Through system running and simulations, we demonstrate that our scheme provides extra and stable offloading service for delay-tolerant data in the areas with sparse roadside infrastructures.


In silico toxicology tools, steps to generate prediction models, and categories of prediction models. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of existing modeling methods and algorithms for toxicity prediction (element D above), with a particular (but not exclusive) emphasis on computational tools that can implement these methods (element E), and expert systems that deploy the prediction models (element F). Due to the nature of this expanding field, this study cannot provide an exhaustive overview of all the seven in silico components mentioned above. Prediction of Toxicity-associated properties of new chemicals is a big challenge. In admetSAR, probabilistic, regression as well as qualitative classification models were implemented for 'Human Ether-a-go-goRelated Gene Inhibition', 'AMES Toxicity', Carcinogenecity', 'Fish Toxicity', 'Tetrahymena Pyriformis Toxicity', 'Honey Bee Toxicity'.Among all the synthesized Pyrimidine derivatives (P1 to P5) , Pyrimidine derivatives P4 and P5 shows lesser toxicity.


A synthetic and a runs‐rules X¯ charts that are combined with a basic X¯ chart are called a Synthetic‐ X¯ and an improved runs‐rules X¯ charts, respectively. This paper gives the zero‐state and steady‐state theoretical results of the Synthetic‐ X¯ and improved runs‐rules X¯ monitoring schemes. The Synthetic‐ X¯ and improved runs‐rules schemes can each be classified into four different categories, that is, (i) non‐side‐sensitive, (ii) standard side‐sensitive, (iii) revised side‐sensitive, and (iv) modified side‐sensitive. In this paper, we first give the operation and, secondly, the general form of the transition probability matrices for each of the categories. Thirdly, in steady‐state, we show that for each of the categories, the three methods that are widely used in the literature to compute the initial probability vectors result in different probability expressions (or values). Fourthly, we derive the closed‐form expressions of the average run‐length (ARL) vectors for each of the categories, so that, by multiplying each of these ARL vectors with the zero‐state and steady‐state initial probability vectors, yield the zero‐state and steady‐state ARL expressions. Finally, we formulate the closed‐form expressions of the extra quadratic loss function for each of the categories. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Abstract : This report presents the results of an intensive archeological survey of 5625 acres located within nine parcels of land on the Fort Sill Military Reservation, Comanche County, Oklahoma. The survey resulted in the identification of one paleontological site, 23 archeological sites, and 62 localities. Of the cultural resource properties, 12 site components and 20 localities date to the prehistoric period; 11 site components and 41 localities reflect historic period activities; and one locality is multicomponent in nature. The cultural resource assessments presented represent one phase of the efforts of the Fort Sill Military Reservation to meet its legal responsibilities for the identification, evaluation, and treatment of cultural resource properties under its jurisdiction.


If one is concerned merely with the magnitude of the bending moment or the shear, the sign convention to be adopted is of minor importance. When, however, the question of deflection arises, it is essential to obtain the correct sign for the moment and it is therefore desirable to use a convention which not only inspires confidence in obtaining the correct sign but which is also simple to apply. Among many engineers at the present time the hogging moment is taken as the positive moment. There is much to be said for adopting this convention. It fulfils the conditions mentioned above and provides an easy, and, from the students' point of view, a natural approach to the subject.


Typically, Hadamard-Walsh (HW) codes are employed as spreading codes in MC-CDMA to maintain the orthogonality between different users. However, after transmission through frequency selective fading channels, the orthogonality is lost and MAI is observed at the MC-CDMA receiver. We demonstrate how novel complex spreading codes known as carrier interferometry codes achieve lower crosscorrelations than Hadamard-Walsh codes after transmission over a frequency selective channel. This lower crosscorrelation property leads to higher SIR at the MC-CDMA receiver, and, as a direct result, better performances in term of probability-of-error are observed.


Echocardiography performed in the emergency department must adapt to this new setting for noninvasive diagnostic testing. Emergency physicians require echocardiography to provide rapid diagnosis in life‐threatening emergencies. New initiatives are being proposed by emergency physicians in the delivery of this test. Cardiologists now use echocardiography in the emergency‐department to make the diagnosis of heart disease earlier and with greater accuracy.


A new method is proposed for preparing silicon P -N junctions. The first consists in fixing a transparent plastic film coated with a thin layer of a conventional dopant on the surface of the wafer, then illuminating this sandwich with a higher power Q switched laser. Two successive pulses are used, the first being able to transfer the dopant from the film to the silicon surface, the second to induce a liquid phase diffusion incorporating the dopant into the silicon lattice. Solar cells have been prepared by using this process, implying several attractive features.


About 27% of the eligible respondents reported having experienced some form of dental problems in the preceding one year prior to the interview. Female respondents (57.1%) were more likely to have encountered a dental problem as compared to male respondents (22.6%). Of the various nationalities, the Thais (60.7%) and the Pakistanis were the most and least likely respectively to have encountered a dental problem in the preceding one year. This pattern among the Thais was consistent for both the male (48.4%) and female (70.6%) population.Toothache (85.0%) was reportedly the most prevalent dental problems encountered regardless of gender and nationality, followed by sensitivity to hot and cold drinks (34.4%). About 1 in 4 subjects who had dental problem reported having bleeding gums.About 1 in 4 subjects who had dental problems had consulted the doctor or dentists regarding their dental problem and one more than one-half had self-medicated. Overall the majority (84.4%) of the respondents have never visited the dentists in Malaysia. Lack of perceived need was cited as the main reason for this.


This paper aims to compare the similarities and differences of Chinese and foreign research on social media. Cluster analysis, co-word analysis and social network analysis have been used to compare the research trends, content relevance and network structure of research on social media. (1) Similarities: Social media is a hot topic for scholars both in China and foreign countries; the development of social network technology leads to many new areas; social media research tends to study privacy, commerciality and service; hotspots of social media research in China and foreign countries both include social media, platform and social network. (2) Difference: Chinese research mainly focuses on big data, Wechat and Weibo, while foreign research mainly focuses on Facebook, Twitter and other kinds of social network media; Chinese research is clustered while foreign research is extensive; Chinese research pays more attention on macroscopic perspectives, such as media convergence, big data and libraries; foreign research tends to microcosmic perspectives, such as emotional analysis, crisis information dissemination, social media marketing.


Research summary: Recent research rooted in the resource-based view of the firm suggests that resources are more likely to create value if they are effectively managed. An underlying assumption of the literature is that firms manage their resources on their own. However, many firms hire consultants to help them do so. In this study, I develop and test hypotheses regarding the impact of technical consultants on the quality of their clients' products. Using data from the Bordeaux wine industry, I find evidence that the use of technical consultants has a positive impact on relative product quality and a negative impact on the extremeness of relative product quality. Moreover, the positive impact of technical consultants on relative product quality is stronger at lower levels of relative resource quality.

Managerial summary: Findings from a study in the Bordeaux wine industry indicate that the decision to hire consultants should depend on a firm's strategy. If a firm wants to improve its performance, it should hire consultants. Indeed, the "best practices" of technical consultants are generally more valuable than internally generated knowledge. If a firm wants to achieve outstanding performance, hiring consultants may not be the right decision. Because the "best practices" of technical consultants have more certain performance implications than internally generated knowledge, they decrease the likelihood of extremely low performance. However, their lack of uniqueness also decreases the likelihood of extremely high performance. Finally, the decision to hire consultants should depend on the quality of a firm's resources. Firms with low-quality resources tend to benefit more from the "best practices" of technical consultants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Effect of Charge Density Wave on Reflectance Spectra of TaS_3 and NbSe_3(EXPERIMENTS ON MX_3 COMPOUNDS, International Symposium on NONLINEAR TRANSPORT AND RELATED PHENOMENA IN INORGANIC QUASI ONE DIMENSIONAL CONDUCTORS) Author(s) Nakahara, J.; Taguchi, T.; Araki, T.; Ido, M. Citation 物性研究 (1984), 41(4): 179-187 Issue Date 1984-01-20 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/91170 Right Type Departmental Bulletin Paper Textversion publisher


In this article, cyclic loading results of structures, such as cylindrical and spherical vessels are investigated. The structure's material is assumed to be isotropic and homogeneous and obey a nonlinear strain hardening law in the plastic range. Two general plasticity theories, namely the isotropic and kinematic hardening theories with the von Mises associated flow rules are used to evaluate the cyclic results of these structures under various types of mechanical and thermal loads. Prager and Armstrong-Frederick kinematic hardening models are used to simulate the transformation of the yield surface in the stress space, due to imposed loads. A new iterative method is proposed and used to analyze the structural behavior under cyclic loading conditions. The results are verified with the known data given in the literature.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


Reducing fuel nitrogen release in coal water slurry(CWS) combustion can reduce the release of NO_(x).The traditional single drop combustion experiment couldn't reflect actualatomization and suspension combustionof CWS.An atomization suspension combustion test device(ASFTD)was proposed and adopted to studycharacteristicsof fuel nitrogen release inShenmu CWS suspension combustion.A model of Shenmu CWS nitrogenrelease rate was also proposed under this experimental conditions.The results show that fuel nitrogen release rate gradually increases with the increasing of time in CWS combustion under different temperatures,and differenttemperatures results in different fuel nitrogen release rates.It is helpful for reducing fuelnitrogen release by lowering combustion temperature or time.


The number of poisonings caused by an atypical neuroleptic clozapine has recently increased. They are characterized by severe symptoms and high mortality (15-30% according to different authors). Traditionally, forensic medical examination is performed in almost all the cases, when combined clozapine is suspected. In case of clozapine poisonings the morphological changes are non-specific. These are dyscirculatory disturbances and dystrophic changes in parenchymatous organs. The changes observed in histological examination of kidneys of rats, that were treated with clozapine, can be used along with the results of forensic chemical analysis to establish the fact of poisoning and the exact time of poisoning.


OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Vaccination for COVID-19 is a primary public health strategy to control the pandemic. In this study, we examined how various sociodemographic variables influence rural residents intentions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We also examined the role of distrust in healthcare organizations in these intentions. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: sing the electronic medical records of an academic healthcare institution in central Pennsylvania, we obtained names and addresses of patients who had been an inpatient or outpatient within the prior three years, were 18 years or older, and who resided in a community defined as rural by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The survey included three statements about the intent to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, an open-ended question about concerns regarding the vaccine, and validated scales for general trust and for distrust in healthcare organizations. All study variables were summarized to determine their distributions, and then bivariate binomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. Responses to the open-ended question were coded and used as variables in the bivariate analysis. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Respondents reporting conservative political views were more likely (compared to those liberal political views) to never want to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Those who expressed distrust in healthcare organizations were less likely to want to be vaccinated soon. Conversely those who were more trusting said they were more likely to want to be vaccinated soon. Respondents dominant concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine were that it was new and that the process for its development was rushed. Respondents who believed that COVID-19 was a hoax were unlikely to ever want to be vaccinated, while those who distrusted the process in some way (new vaccine or rushed vaccine) were more likely to want to wait to be vaccinated. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings confirm the impact of political orientation on COVID-19 vaccination intention and suggest that distrust in healthcare organizations may prevent people from being vaccinated. These data provide evidence that people delaying vaccination hold different beliefs than those who will never vaccinate.


This paper proposes three different adaptive schemes corresponding to three different kinds of time-delayed chaotic systems with unknown parameters or unknown structures. All of the adaptive control laws guarantee that the master and slave systems are synchronization. Finally, two examples are demonstrated to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed synchronization methods.