Peer assisted learning (PAL) is an educational format in which 'people from similar social groupings who are not professional teachers help each other to learn, and learn themselves by teaching' (Topping 1996). This definition is used in the AMEE Guide 30-'Peer assisted learning: a planning and implementation framework'. PAL is a broad concept, has many synonyms – one of which is 'peer teaching' – and it is widely applied in medical education (Ten Cate & Durning 2007; Pasquinelli & Greenberg 2008). This review examines the usefulness and suitability of this AMEE guide. To write an AMEE guide that is practical, widely useful, theoretically underpinned and has an international perspective (Gibbs 2007) on a topic like PAL is a demanding task and to review it requires a structured approach. Reviewing guidelines for medical practice has become a well structured enterprise with established criteria (AGREE 2001); we have no such review procedures for guidelines in education yet. So I started out by asking myself questions such as: is it a relevant topic, who is the target group, is it well written, intelligible, well funded, is it complete but concise, does it explain costs and benefits and does it expand on issues of implementation? This AMEE guide has several clear strengths. It brings together a mass of literature on the topic and a wide range of adjoining issues. It is a practical tool, as it leads one in 24 steps through a planning process of the design and implementation of a peer assisted learning arrangement. It is specifically useful if the institution aims to implement a format of PAL that resembles the example that the authors provide in the Appendix 1. This description shows PAL as an extracurricular addition to the regular programme, for students who wish to receive additional guided practice of clinical skills. Here is where we come to some limitations of the guide. Many of the issues raised are perfectly applicable to this particular PAL arrangement, but may be less suitable for other forms of PAL. In my view, the strongest form is where the peer teaching is part of the regular mandatory programme and is applied to all students. Such 'strong' forms need not be as costly in terms of staff time and facilities as the authors suggest in Question 20. If peer teaching is part of the regular curriculum, it may save resources and staff time that should partly be returned as supervision of teaching students, but could still leave a net benefit. Question 20 and some other warnings give the guide a slightly heavy nature that may turn off some readers. Not necessary. I believe that, when properly applied, peer teaching can add much to the quality of medical training at limited costs. Another point is its length. It takes a long time to read through it carefully and it risks losing some readers along the way. The guide is not meant to be a comprehensive literature review, but it does impress as one. I believe the authors could have skipped many references without harming the purpose of the guide. As an example, Question 14 'What would be a typical plan of activities during the PAL interaction' promises concrete suggestions, but actually provides a paragraph with 50 references and considerations rather than targeted advice. I do understand the authors' hesitation to give only one or a few recommendations, as this may disregard a wealth of information, but I believe that in a practical guide like this, that would be exactly what readers expect. The authors could have helped them by selecting only the most appropriate literature. When I finished reading this guide, my conclusion was that it could be an excellent help for a consultant to guide a process of transformation towards adding an extracurricular PAL programme to the curriculum. If we look at the guide as a practical resource for teachers on how to design and implement PAL in general, I found some issues useful, but some others rather descriptive and lengthy, and somewhat limited in scope. Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.


Based on the changing data of land utilization from 1996 to 2004 in Nan'an district,Chongqingcity,the characteristics and driving forces of dynamic changes of land utilization are analyzed.The result indicates that population and economy growth,agricultural structure and policy driving are the main driving forces of dynamics change of land utilization in Nan'an district.Moreover,the land utilization optimization strategy,which is likely to provide the scientific basis for the sustainable development and environment protection,is put forward.


As prominent groups in U.S. health care ramp up use of cost-effectiveness analysis to measure and communicate the value of new drugs and other interventions, an expert panel has released updated guidelines for such analysis.


Abstract Echiniscoides sigismundi verrucariae and E. sigismundi porphyrae, two new subspecies of Echiniscoides sigismundi sensu lato, from the intertidal zone of sub‐Antarctic Macaroni Bay in Marion Island are described. The two subspecies show important peculiarities in cuticle structure, claw number, and male and female gonopores.


In recent years, flexible multi-layered materials with very high performance are used to establish cost-effective processing with regard to long-term performance and reliability. Therefore, Young's modulus of these materials is very important to predict large deformation. In this study, an innovative mechanical testing method (Circular Ring Method) is provided for measuring Young's modulus of each layer in a flexible multi-layered material. By just measuring the vertical or the horizontal displacement of the ring, Young's modulus of each layer can be easily obtained for thin multi-layered materials. Measurements were carried out on a two-layered wire (Cu: an electrodeposited material + SWPA: a spring steel material). The method is based on a nonlinear large deformation theory. Exact analytical solutions are obtained in terms of elliptic integrals. Besides the Circular Ring Method for a flexible multi-layered material studied here, the Circular Ring Method [1], [2], the Axial Compression Method [3] for a flexible single-layered material and the Cantilever Method [4] for a flexible multi-layered material have already been developed, based on the nonlinear large deformation theory.


We present a model for the disk of the classical Be star $\zeta$ Tauri. The model consists of a Keplerian rotating disk with a power-law surface density and a vertical density distribution that follows from the balance between the thermal gas pressure and the z-component of the stellar gravitation. The opening angle of such a disk is not a fixed value but increases with the distance to the star (flared disk). We use a Monte Carlo code that solves simultaneously the thermal equilibrium, the statistical equilibrium and the hydrostatic equilibrium equations. The result is a self-consistent solution for the electron temperature, level populations and gas density distribution. It follows from this model that the only free parameter is the disk density. All other parameters (e.g. shape of the disk surface) are self-consistently calculated given the disk density. In this paper we present a successful fit for $\zeta$ Tauri data using this model.


Beyond the use of 2D images, the analysis of 3D images is also necessary for analyzing the phenomics of crop plants. In this study, we configured a system and implemented an algorithm for the 3D image reconstruction of red pepper plant (Capsicum annuum L.), as well as its automatic analysis. A Kinect v2 with a depth sensor and a high-resolution RGB camera were used to obtain more accurate reconstructed 3D images. The reconstructed 3D images were compared with conventional reconstructed images, and the data of the reconstructed images were analyzed with respect to their directly measured features and accuracy, such as leaf number, width, and plant height. Several algorithms for image extraction and segmentation were applied for automatic analysis. The results showed that the proposed method showed an error of about 5 mm or less when reconstructing and analyzing 3D images, and was suitable for phenotypic analysis. The images and analysis algorithms obtained by the 3D reconstruction method are expected to be applied to various image processing studies.


Very deep near-infrared observations in the Faint InfraRed Extragalactic Survey (FIRES) have recently uncovered a significant population of red galaxies at redshifts z > 2. These distant red galaxies (DRGs) are efficiently selected by the criterion Js - Ks > 2.3. We use Chandra data to examine the X-ray emission from DRGs in the 5′ × 5′ FIRES MS 1054-03 field. Two of 40 DRGs with Ks < 22 are detected by Chandra, and we infer that 5% of DRGs host active nuclei with LX > 1.2 × 1043 ergs s-1. This fraction is smaller than that inferred from optical and near-IR spectroscopy, probably largely owing to strong spectroscopic selection biases. By stacking all undetected DRGs, we find that their average X-ray flux in the 0.5-8 keV band is ≈4.6 × 10-17 ergs s-1 cm-2. The detection is only significant in the soft (0.5-2 keV; 3.4 σ) and full (0.5-8 keV; 3.2 σ) energy bands. The mean detection may result from star formation, the presence of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or a combination of both. Assuming the detection is due exclusively to star formation, we find an average instantaneous star formation rate of 214 ± 68(random) ± 73(systematic) M☉ yr-1, in excellent agreement with previous results from spectral energy distribution fitting when constant star formation histories are assumed. These results may imply that DRGs contribute significantly to the cosmic star formation rate at z ≈ 2.5. However, the mean X-ray flux strictly provides only an upper limit to the star formation rate owing to the uncertain contribution of low-luminosity, possibly obscured AGNs. Observations at other wavelengths are needed to provide independent estimates of the star formation rate of DRGs.


The article examines the legal situation of non-stationary trade objects, considers aspects of reforming the legal status of non-stationary trade in the Russian Federation, as well as the implementation of state policy in the field of non-stationary trade in the Samara Region. The author concludes that the current legislation places in unequal conditions the owners of non-stationary trading facilities that have concluded land lease agreements at different periods of time, namely: before March 1, 2015 and after this date. In addition, the article draws attention to the insufficient certainty of the legal status of non-stationary trading facilities in the Russian Federation as a whole and the formation of various law enforcement practices that do not always protect the interests of business entities. It is noted that the formation of a legal certainty regime is an important guarantee for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation. The author proposes measures aimed at establishing the equality of owners of non-stationary trading facilities and restoring competition.


The timing accuracy offered by optical atomic clocks makes the mind boggle, far surpassing many other timekeeping techniques. Now, Andrew Ludlow and co-workers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado have overcome the limitations in measuring the accuracy of these devices. The only way to get an idea of the accuracy of one clock is by comparing it to another. But when just a single device requires a large amount of expensive, complicated and stable optics, the chance of having two in the same laboratory is very slim. The alternative is to compare two remote setups. However, conventional ways of doing this, for example the use of global-positioning satellites or microwave-frequency networks, are simply not stable enough to transfer the phenomenal accuracy of optical clocks. Ludlow et al. have now shown how an optical link can be used to compare two optical atomic clocks. Their aim was to assess the accuracy of a clock at the University of Colorado, which uses an ensemble of neutral strontium atoms, using a calcium-atom-based clock at NIST, 4 km away. Optical frequency combs are the key: each optical clock can be phase-locked to a frequency comb. The comb at the University of Colorado can in turn be locked to a 1,064-nm laser beam, which is sent to NIST along an optical-fibre link, enabling a comparison. In this way, the team show that the uncertainty of their strontium-based clock now surpasses that of the caesium clocks used as the primary standard. High dielectric loss and conduction in metals have been troublesome for the design of optical-fibre and metal-waveguide systems at terahertz frequencies. To overcome these problems, a collaboration of scientists in Taiwan has proposed the use of terahertz air-core microstructure fibres. The researchers fabricated fibres comprising a hollow core surrounded by a cladding layer formed from periodic arrangements of flexible, commercially available polytetrafluorethylene tubes. They made four different fibres with inner and outer diameters varying between 0.81 mm and 1.68 mm, and between 1.11 mm and 2.08 mm, respectively. They also varied the centre-to-centre distance between the cladding tubes. The combined coupling and propagation losses of the fibres were measured to be much less than 0.01 cm –1 , and the band of frequencies across which each fibre operated could be adjusted by linear scaling of the fibre size. At 770 GHz, an attenuation as low as 0.002 …


As with so much of our city, when crime was brought down, new residents and shopkeepers moved in. Today, the Lower East Side has a remarkable blend of public housing, middle-income housing, old-law tenements and new condos and hotels. The south side of Houston Street between Allen and Chrystie streets alone holds three new hotels. And the Department of City Planning has proposed an intelligent rezoning to guide future growth to those corridors where it is most appropriate.


Process flow of flue gas desulphurization and gas duct bypass in the coal- fired boiler power plant are described.Influence of cancelling gas duct bypass on design and operation of existing and new desulphurization plants is analyzed and compared.Main advantages of cancelling gas duct bypass and technical difficulties of the original stable operation of desulfurization device are pesented.In order to make sure safe and steady operation of the plant in which bypass gas duct is cancelled,it must be properly designed to control flue gas temperature at the inlet of absorption tower and reduce greasy dirt and dust.


Regimes involving very high strains (e 900%) and high strain rates (e 10 4 to 10 7 s −1 ) provide intriguing and often systematic examples of low-energy dislocation structures (IEDS). In this broad study, microstructure evolution in plane-wave shock-loaded Ni and Cu is compared with microstructures observed in starting Cu and To shaped charge liner cones, and recovered jet fragments and slugs. These microstructures, in turn, are compared with corresponding end-point microstructures in a Ta explosively formed penetrator (EFP) utilizing TEM techniques. In addition, microstructures associated with a hypervelocity impact crater in Cu are compared with the Cu shaped charge microstructures. Dynamically induced grain refinement (subgrain formation) and recovery play varying and important roles in the evolution and features of observed LEDS, and are a manifestation of adiabatic heating due to high strain and strain-rate effects ( (e) (e)). LEDS, which are characteristic of high strain and ultra-high strain-rate deformation, cause an inversion in hardness and flow stress profiles since as these microstructures decrease in size, hardness will decrease. By contrast when low-temperature LEDS decrease in size hardness increases


Employee benefits represent a sizeable portion of total employee compensation and are increasingly costly for employers to provide. Despite the increasing costs of benefits, researchers are just beginning to examine factors that predict employee perceptions of and satisfaction with employer-provided benefits. The present study examined employee knowledge of and reactions to a benefits package before and after the introduction of personalized benefits statements. Knowledge of specific benefits and satisfaction with benefits administration was higher after the introduction of personalized benefits statements. Further, there were numerous significant relationships between knowledge of benefits and affective reactions to benefits at Time 2.


Ohno, Masanori Fujii, Atsushi Taniguchi, Tomokazu Hamatani, Yoshitaka Nozato, Ken Masaru Hayashi, Takayoshi Tsutamoto, Atsuyuki Wada, Takashi Tsutsui, Chitose Ishii, Keijin Myocardial Infarction Marker of Myocardial Collagen Synthesis in Patients With First Anterior Acute Prevents Post-Infarct Left Ventricular Remodeling Associated With Suppression of a Immediate Administration of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist Spironolactone Print ISSN: 0009-7322. Online ISSN: 1524-4539 Copyright © 2003 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 Circulation doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000068340.96506.0F 2003;107:2559-2565; originally published online May 5, 2003; Circulation. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/107/20/2559 World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the


In the production of solid white spirit, when braising the raw materials with heat resisting α amylase, dextrinization was carried out. This can provide favourable conditions for saccharification with zymolyte during the process of zymosis. And, together with the use of a stable special alcohol maltogenic amylase, the content of amylum in the chucking trough can be effectively reduced; and the utilization rafe of amylum as well as the distillation yield of the spirit are increased. Furthermore, the original taste of the white spirit can be maintained. The technique is simple, both the quality and yield of the product are ensured.


Since May 1993, the Space Station Program has undergone major restructuring, primarily due to budgeting constraints, as a result of the new presidential administration. Thus far, significant changes have been made to the program which have already resulted in considerable improvements in the management, scheduling and budgeting of the program. This paper will focus on the major management changes of selecting a single Prime contractor and the effectiveness of the NASA and the Prime contractor at transitioning from a Functional Organization to Integrated Product Teams (IPTs). The Space Station program is an example of how the transformation of a functional organization to IPTs can be implemented successfully, despite failure rates of up to 65-85%. The characteristics of Tom Peters' Simple Form/Lean Structure and Autonomy and Entrprenuership, which are two of the eight attributes of Excellent Organizations, as well as Peter Senge's 5th Discipline of Systems Thinking will be extended to include the implementation of the theories on a functional organization transitioning to IPTs. In addition, the overall transition will be evaluated based on customer satisfaction, productivity, schedule, communication, employee moral and costs. Finally, conclusions will be made and recommendations to improve the transition process will be discussed.


Machine-learning algorithms can provide fast surrogate models when trained on sampled predictions from physics-based numerical models. However, it is unknown whether surrogate data generated from propagation through single realizations of atmospheric turbulence, or from an ensemble of multiple realizations of turbulence, is most suitable for machine-learning models. This study examines the use of a Crank-Nicholson parabolic equation (CNPE) for generating surrogate data, and Latin hypercube sampling for the CNPE input. Two separate datasets are generated for 5000 samples of governing parameters. In the first dataset, each transmission loss field is computed for a single realization of turbulence, whereas the second uses transmission loss from an ensemble of 64 realizations. Errors for various machine learning approaches are evaluated against experimental observations of long-range (out to 8 km) sound propagation. Between experimental and surrogate differences in transmission loss at four ranges, the average deviation from zero relative entropy was quantified. As a measure of dissimilarity between two distributions it is 0.17 for single realizations of turbulence, and 0.29 for 64 realizations of turbulence. Surrogate data generated from single realizations of turbulence agree better with experimental data.


Introduces the reformation of teaching practices of project-oriented, contextual interpretation based on the many years' premise of teaching experience of Network Design and Engineering Construction. Combines with the flow of project construction of comprehensive wiring system to establish the knowledge hierarchy of wiring technology. Develops students' basic skills of practice operation and vocational-technical during the process of practice education, pays attention to train students' inner quality, makes sure that students can be competent for almost every task of the projects.


The present study was undertaken to evolutes the effect of irrigation schedule and nitrogen fertilizations on growth, yield and quality of multi cut fodder oat var. kent under Southern Rajasthan. A field experiment was conducted during rabi 2013-14 at Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur. The experiment comprised combinations of four irrigations and three nitrogen levels. Thus, 12 treatments; all were evaluated in split-plot design with three replications keeping irrigation in main and nitrogen in sub plots. The results indicated that application of irrigations did not significantly affect plant height and dry matter accumulation at 30 DAS while, five irrigations recorded significantly higher plant height, dry matter accumulation at 90 DAS whereas number of tillers m row length at both first and second cuttings and total green and dry fodder yield. Five irrigations produced significantly higher crude protein, crude fat, mineral matter and total digestible nutrients but there was no significantly difference found in crude fibre, nitrogen free extract and total digestible nutrient content at first cutting whereas, minimum were noted with two irrigations in all the above parameters. In case of plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of tillers m row length and total green and dry fodder yield significantly produced with an application 110 kg N ha during year of experiment.


Abstract: Although we are fairly well informed about the general organization and important events of the dramatic competitions in Athens, there remain significant gaps in our knowledge on many points of detail. In no place is this more true than with regard to the epinikian celebration honouring members of the victorious performance, about which scarcely any unambiguous testimony has come down to us. This study aims to provide new insights into the problem by demonstrating a connection between the iconography preserved in several sculpted reliefs of the Roman period commonly referred to as Dionysos' visit to Ikarios and the representation of a celebration for poetic victory in Plato's Symposium. Central to the combined testimony of these sources is the ideal of Dionysos' epiphany to the poet in order to acknowledge and honour his victory in person. So identified as an element of victory celebration, related articulations of this imagined moment can then be detected in several additional representations on vases and in Aristophanic comedy, in both of which other independent elements likewise suggest the activation of an epinikian syntax. Practical matters about the celebration still elude us; what we gain, however, is a clearer sense of the religious ideals that were conveyed through these celebrations in connection with the worship of Dionysos, which formed a nucleus for the dramatic festivals.


Objective To assess the value of high-frequency ultrasound guided core needle biopsy in diagnosing small breast cancer and precancer.Methods A total of 92 patients with breast small masses underwent high-frequency ultrasound guided core needle biopsy,and the results were compared with post-operation pathological diagnosis.Results The results of core needle biopsy included breast cancer in 56 patients,precancer in 7 patients with and benign breast lesion in 29 patients.One patient was diagnosed mastopathy by needle biopsy,but was confirmed to be breast intraductal carcinoma in situ by post op- eration pathological examination.The sensibility,specificity and accuracy of the ultrasound guided puncture and biopsy was 100%,96.6% and 98.9%,respectively.Conclusion High-frequency ultrasound guided core needle biopsy is a safe and re- liable diagnostic method for breast small mass before operation.It plays an important role in early diagnosis of breast cancer.


The caterpillar Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous insect pest that causes considerable damages in rice crop, such as...


147 Background: Oncology outreach is a common strategy for extending cancer care to rural patient populations. Several rural states consistently rely on oncology outreach arrangements and maintain specialized cancer registries to monitor physician travel. However, the nationwide characterization of the traveling oncology workforce is currently lacking, and the extent to which their outreach provides access and minimizes travel burden for rural patients remains unclear. Methods: A 100% fee-for-service sample of Medicare beneficiaries with incident breast, colorectal, and lung cancer from 2016-2018 was used in this cross-sectional study. Oncologists were linked to the patient cohort using Part B professional claims. Traveling oncologists were identified annually by observing hospital service area (HSA) transition patterns and partitioned into travel frequency bins. Encounters associated with a traveling oncologist were considered as "outreach" if they occurred outside of the oncologist's primary HSA. Hierarchical models were used to examine the separate associations between outreach encounters and log-transformed travel time to first chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery for rural patients. Results: On average, 4,333 of 30,069 oncologists engaged in annual outreach. Of this workforce, 49.5% traveled across HSA borders 1-3 times per year (low), 26.9% 4-12 times per year (medium), and 23.6% >12 times per year (high). The low travel workforce consisted of 52.3% surgeons, 34.2% medical oncologists, and 13.5% radiation oncologists, whereas the high travel workforce consisted of 15.0% surgeons, 52.0% medical oncologists, and 33.0% radiation oncologists. Collectively, traveling oncologists administered 6,677 counts of first radiotherapy, 4,681 counts of first surgery, and 1,623 counts of first chemotherapy for rural patients, of which 22.5%, 16.8%, and 15.0% were completed at outreach locations. In adjusted models, oncology outreach was associated with a 14% reduction (95% CI: 0.82-0.89) in travel time to first radiotherapy and a 13% reduction (95% CI: 0.79-0.95) in travel time to first chemotherapy for rural patients. Conclusions: Our study uses a novel claims-based approach for characterizing the nationwide traveling oncology workforce and supports oncology outreach as an effective means for improving rural access to care. These results provide conservative estimates of the influence of oncology outreach on rural access to care, as our analysis is limited to Medicare beneficiaries and does not consider patients who bypass available outreach services.


This paper attempts a sympathetic comparison between John Dewey and Richard Rorty. In particular I establish the ways in which both Dewey's and Rorty's aesthetical modes require qualitative starting points (or some indeterminate-event trajectory) as a condition for any poetic/novel movement into the future. I show how Dewey's notions of "indeterminate situation," highlighted in his event-metaphysics, resonates with Rorty's notion of metaphor, and that finally Rorty does in fact (wittingly or not) harbor a place for the noncognitive and nonlinguistic via, interestingly enough, a linguistic device. How Rorty uses his notion of metaphor (inspired by Donald Davidson's groundbreaking work) starts very much to take on the feel of what Dewey meant by "primary experience." My emphasis, then, falls on the necessity to both of their respective pragmatic positions of a qualitative starting point (QSP). In this way, the troubling dualism that has developed between experience and language starts to dissolve.


Summary

The neutral polymer, polyvinyl alcohol, has been shown to be adsorbed by the hydrated oxides gibbsite and goethite. A reduction in adsorption on gibbsite is observed when it is dried prior to the adsorption measurements. Evidence from electron microscopy suggests that this is caused by a reduction in the accessible surface area due to aggregate formation, rather than a change in the surface properties of the substrate. Changes in either the pH or the ionic strength of the medium do not significantly alter the amount of PVA adsorbed. Electrophoretic data indicate that the thickness of the adsorbed layer on both clays and oxides is in excess of 10 nm at high concentrations of polymer.


myo-Inositol (also called meso-inositol) is generally considered a member of the B vitamin complex and is required for growth by a number of yeasts (1) and fungi (2). An exogenous inositol requirement has, however, not been demonstrated in any bacterial species, and, although deficiency symptoms have been produced in animals, evidence for its vitamin function in man remains inconclusive. Inositol deficiency has been found to produce alopecia in rats (3, 4) and mice (5) and decreased growth in mice, rats, cotton rats, and hamsters (3, 6, 7). Several investigators have, however, been unable to confirm this growth-promoting effect (8, 9) and the role of inositol in the production or cure of experimental alopecia has also been questioned (9, 10). An interrelationship between inositol and a number of other vitamins in the production of deficiency symptoms (6, 11) is a complicating factor. A lipotropic effect in rats, independent of that of choline, has been reported by several investigators (12). Although a similar lipotropic effect has been found in man (13), there has been no demonstration of a deficiency syndrome resulting from lack of inositol. In the light of these results, it is of interest that myo-inositol has proved essential for the survival and growth of every cultured human cell examined, whether normal or malignant, as well as of a mouse sarcoma. With every one of eighteen cultured human strains, growth ceased in inositoldeficient media, there was cytopathogenic evidence of cell injury, and the cells eventually died. The quantitative aspects of that requirement and the degree to which myo-inositol could be replaced by its isomers and by related compounds are described here.


A technique that quantifies the in-plane flow properties of fibrous networks is pre sented. A radial flow geometry allows the simultaneous study of more than one in- plane flow direction. The shape and position of a radially advancing fluid front define directional permeabilities in the plane, which can be used to compare structurally different fibrous networks. Confirmatory studies reinforce the method of data analysis and show that the directional permeabilities are independent of driving pressure, fluid viscosity, and fiber surface wettability properties. The methodology was applied to the study of multilayer assemblies. The in-plane flow of fluids in heterogeneous multilayer constructions is governed by the high permeability layer. A transverse flow mechanism is proposed as being responsible for filling the low permeability layers and, therefore, the transverse permeability is coupled into this flow process.


Urban farming is a potential economic activities because of increasing demand
for urban farm products for urban population. This research aimed to document urban
farming practices in Singkawang Municipality, and to study factors influencing such
activities. This was an exploratory research using qualitative descriptive approach.
Data were collected from field observations and interviews with respondents. Data
were then classified into three types of farming businesses, including traditional, semicommercial,
and commercial business types.
The research shows that urban farming practices in Singkawang Municipality
is increasing. It is indicated by increasingly number of livestock population and
production. The semi-commercial and commercial farming are reliable business, and
the margin produced is considered to sufficiently meet family needs. The farming
business in Singkawang Municipality belong to conventional in type. The farming
activities in Singkawang Municipality are productive business to perform as main or
sideline business providing work opportunity, and increasing incomes. The farming
activities in Singkawang Municipality are influenced by two factors, namely internal
factors involving physical or environmental aspects, farming business actors, and the
government role, while external factors consisting of environmental effects (avian
flu), strategic position, transportation and communication as well as supervising and
elucidation. Internal factors supporting farming activities in Singkawang
Municipality involve water resources and its availability, land, age and education
level of business actors, knowledge and skills, technology, business experience,
worker, government policy, strategic position, and transportation networks. While the
supporting factors involve employment status, business motivation, capital,
government programs, facilities and infrastructure supporting farming activities,
budget and avian flu as well as supervision and elucidation.
The research recommends that farmers needs to consider the selection of farm
patterns, location of farming, and appropriate livestock commodities. It is necessary
for the Local government to provide attention and intervention on the pattern of
farming business, farming business location, and types of commodities.


As to the problems of the loading increase of the cylinder card clothing with poor carding effeciency resulting from the increase of the production,details introduction is made to the cylinder card clothing with T Profile wires as to the design thinking,specifications,process requirement,and the performance.Comprehensive approach is made into the carding process effect of the cylinder card clothing with T profile wires equipped with varieties of card clothings of takers-in,flats and doffers in spinning of the long-staple cotton and fine staple cotton as to the quality of the card sliver.Conclusion is made that application of the cylinder card clothing with T profile wires can significantly reduce impurities of the card sliver with good impurity removal rate,consequently with marked reduction of the short fiber increase and with good CV value of the card sliver,cotton web clearance and fiber striaghtness.


Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the progression of Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), however, the functions of miR-6742-5p in LUAD remains unknown, thereby this study was carried on. Methods: The mRNA and miRNA expression data from the LUAD and normal control were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, TargetScan and mirDIP were applied to predict the relationship between miR-6742-5p and FGF8.Q-PCR, western blot, dual-luciferase, wound Healing and transwell assays were performed to test the functions of miR-6742-5p in LUAD. Results: Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase identified FGF8 is the target-gene of miR-6742-5p, which is declined in LUAD of human tissues and cell lines, and miR-6742-5P OE suppressed the progression of LUAD in nude mice. MiR-6742-5p OE and KD suppressed or increased the abilities of LUAD' metastasis tested by wound healing and transwell assays H522 and PC-9 cells, these effects about miR-6742-5p OE were reversed by FGF8; miR-6742-5p OE, KD inhibited and increased the expression of FGF8 as its downstream p-ERK1/2, MMP-2/-9, these results were corrected by ERK1/2 inhibitor: Ro 67-7476; the miR-6742-5p KD increased the migrated and invaded cells and suppressed by MMPs inhibitor: S3304. These results identified the negative correlation of miR-6742-5p with FGF8-ERK1/2 signal pathway in LUAD progression. Conclusions: We conclude that miR-6742-5p might be a regulator of LUAD progression by targeting FGF8/ERK1/2/MMPs signaling pathway, which provides a novel therapeutic target for LUAD.


The objective of the present study is to develop a sustained release matrix tablet formulation contain ing Diltiazem Hydrochloride (DTZ).DTZ, calcium channel blocker widely used to treat angina. Decreasing the total peripheral resistance, it helps to decrea se both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. HPMC & PVP used in this study for developing the formulati on. K15M and K30M grades of HPMC and PVP were used in this study respectively. Formulations are optimized statistically by using Response surfac e methodology with the help of Design Expert (Design Expert trial version 7.1.4 State-Ease Inc, Minneapolis, MN) software. The statistically optimi zed was then validated. Statistically optimized formulation is further studied to evaluate tablet p roperties, release kinetics, stability of the formu lation, scanning electron microscopy etc. The analysis of v ariance (ANOVA) was determined as per the provision of Design expert software to estimate the significance of the model. Overall the results of the study clearly shows that the developed final formul ation exhibits ideal properties of a sustained rele ase tablet formulation which passes the stability study also.


PET/MRI systems require specialized PET detectors that can function inside of an MRI bore without interfering with MRI functionality. Ideally such a detector would be physically compact, low power, immune to interference from the MRI, and with minimal interference to the MRI, while preserving all PET timing, energy, and position information. Electro-optically coupled PET detectors, where the detector signal is transmitted out of the MRI bore optically, have been proposed to construct compact, low power PET detectors with minimal interference to and from the MRI. This work demonstrates that an analog electro-optically coupled PET detector can achieve excellent, ToF-capable, timing resolution. Timing resolution measurements were made with SiPMs coupled electrically, electro-optically with a pre-amp, and electro-optically without a pre-amp. The best FWHM coincident timing resolution achieved with 3mm × 3mm × 5mm LYSO crystals was 143ps +/- 3ps in electrical mode, 149ps +/- 4ps in electro-optical with preamp mode, and 181 +/- 3ps in electro-optical without preamp mode. With 3mm × 3mm × 20mm LYSO crystals the best timing achieved was 220 +/- 3ps in electrical mode, 231 +/- 2ps in electro-optical with preamp mode, and 253 +/- 2ps in electro-optical without preamp mode. This work shows that SiPM timing information can be preserved after analog optical transmission. This readout strategy could drastically simplify the design of high performance ToF PET/MRI systems.


Cleaved forms of soluble urokinase-receptor (c-suPAR) have been detected in body fluids from patients affected by various tumors. We reported increased c-suPAR levels in sera of healthy donors during granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced mobilization of CD34+hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Then, we investigated the effects of uPAR84–95, a c-suPAR-derived chemotactic peptide, on mobilization of mouse CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSCs/HPCs). We first demonstrated that uPAR84–95 stimulated in vitro dose-dependent migration of mouse CD34+ M1 leukemia cells and inactivated CXCR4, the chemokine receptor primarily responsible for HSC retention in bone marrow (BM). uPAR84–95 intraperitoneal administration induced rapid leukocytosis, which was associated with an increase in peripheral blood CD34+ HSCs/HPCs. In vitro colony assays confirmed that uPAR84–95 mobilized hematopoietic progenitors, showing an absolute increase in circulating colony-forming cells. uPAR84–95 mobilizing activity was comparable to that of G-CSF; however, neither synergistic nor additive effect was observed combining the two molecules. These findings demonstrate for the first time in vivo biological effects of c-suPAR. Its capability to mobilize HSCs suggests potential clinical applications in HSC transplantation.


Objective To explore the regularity and characteristics of violence-related injury. Method Data from the injury surveillance in the Emergency Medicine department of Nan-shan hospital was used in this study. Data of all injured patients, who admitied to the emergency department between 1 January 2004 to 31 November 2005, was analysed. Results During the study period, 25376 injured patients were collected and 12280 (48.4%) were violence-related injury patients. The male to female ratio was 2.4: 1. Most of patients were aged 15~44 years old, accouting for 79.9%. The majority of the violence-related patients were wonters, accounting for 59%, most injuries were open wounds and occurred in working places, injuries occurred most during 13 pm to 18 pm. Conclusions Analysis of data from the violence injury surveillance in emergency department can be an aid for the depiction of the overall severe injury profile in area and, in this way, it will be essential for the implementation of properly preventive and controlling measures, despite some limitation. It is urgent to explore and develop an violence injury surveillance system to cope China's milieu.


Many theoretical investigations have been made of the Townsend–Huxley lateral diffusion experiment but only the most recent have included the spatial variation of the energy distribution function and anisotropic diffusion. Nevertheless, almost without exception, self-consistent and apparently accurate experimental results have been obtained using formulae resulting from these earlier analyses even though, as is now known, these analyses were based on inadequate theoretical foundations. This paradoxical situation has been further confused by the fact that some of the analyses have been based on apparently unrealistic boundary conditions while others have contained an error or a fallacy. A review of the development of the theory up to the present time is given here with the aim of clarifying the position and demonstrating the validity of the data published from a number of laboratories.


The main goals of the education system are the formation of a versatile, creative personality with a high level of cognitive interest. At present, it is important for society to follow global information processes on the basis of their informational nature. Therefore, the attitude to the types and methods of Education began to change. Informatization of education and the use of information technologies in the educational process are becoming one of the most important issues in the education system. As you know, one of the biggest tasks of today is to master modern technologies. In the article, the authors give an overview of the history of distance learning of the educational process in universities due to the suppression of the epidemic around the world. According to international organizations, the views of Western scientists on online education were studied. In the process of Distance Learning, Microsoft has made sure that it is possible to increase the activity of students in a wide audience using various methods on the platforms «Teams», «Bandecam», «Canva Com», «LMS». When using the Microsoft Teams platform in the learning process, you can name its advantages and disadvantages. The university was able to use various methodological approaches to teaching using information technologies. The effectiveness of distance learning is determined and explained by the pedagogical meaning embedded in it. Distance learning technologies are designed to create an educational space that promotes students' self-determination by organizing elective courses, information work, and profile orientation.


In this article, we investigate the impact of bank liquidity level on the relationship between bank concentration and efficiency using a panel dataset of 60 banks across 7 WAEMU countries over the period 2005-2016. Our empirical methodology is based on the 2SLS IV estimator and non-linear analysis. Our results show that the concentration of the banking sector and the bank liquidity are negatively correlated with cost efficiency in the WAEMU. This is consistent with the Quiet Life Hypothesis which established that concentrated market incites suboptimal behaviors damaging to the banking profitability. However, the effects of concentration on cost efficiency are reduced for banks with lower levels of excess liquidity. This result shows that the holding of excess liquidity reinforces the effects of the Quiet Life Hypothesis.


In this paper, we aim to study the detection of vehicles from WorldView-2 satellite imagery. For this purpose, accurate modeling of vehicle features and signatures and efficient learning of vehicle hypotheses are critical. We present a joint Gaussian and maximum likelihood based modeling and machine learning approach using SVM and neural network algorithms to describe the local appearance densities and classify vehicles from non-vehicle buildings, objects, and backgrounds. Vehicle hypotheses are fitted by elliptical Gaussians and the bottom-up features are grouped by Gabor orientation filtering based on multi-scale analysis and distance transform. Global contextual information such as road networks and vehicle distributions can be used to enhance the recognition. In consideration of the problem complexity the practical vehicle detection task faces due to dense and overlapping vehicle distributions, partial occlusion and clutters by building, shadows, and trees, we employ a spectral clustering strategy jointly combined with bootstrapped learning to estimate the parameters of centroid, orientation, and extents for local densities. We demonstrate a high detection rate 94.8%,with a missing rate 5.2% and a false alarm rate 5.3% on the WorldView-2 satellite imagery. Experimental results show that our method is quite effective to model and detect vehicles.


Automated container terminals have been operating in Europe for several years. The APMT terminal in Portsmouth, Virginia, is the first automated terminal to begin operations in the United States. At this time, there are several automated terminals in the design and construction phases in the United States. Automated terminals are bringing new levels of technology to use, many of which need to be integrated into the design of the buildings located there. Terminal operators want to utilize the latest equipment, computer hardware, and software in order to optimize their operational efficiency. However, the rate of change of technology that applies to container terminals is proceeding at a rapid pace. Operators are concerned about making important decisions that may limit their ability to adapt to future technological opportunities. This can introduce a level of uncertainty that can make the design decision process more difficult. For this reason, it is important for the design of new buildings at automated terminals to incorporate adequate flexibility in order to allow changes to alternate systems as technological advances dictate through the operational life of the terminal. This paper will provide an overview of the various operational elements of new technology that are having an influence on the design of terminal buildings in automated terminals. This will include a review of automatic container handling equipment and how their traditional means of operating is transitioning from "on the machine" to a remote location, now frequently placed in buildings. Additionally, a look at flexible work bays in maintenance facilities will show how operators can keep their options open and make changes in their equipment fleet without being limited by building space. There will also be discussion on how operational buildings are being configured to allow significant revamping of communications cabling to adapt to new systems without incurring significant renovation costs. It will conclude with a review of the newly designed and constructed operational buildings at the Middle Harbor Terminal at Pier E at the Port of Long Beach for Long Beach Container Terminal and OOCL. This will be one of the first automated terminals on the United States West Coast and the buildings incorporate many of the elements discussed in the paper.


Two main and complementary functions within the competence of the teacher in his daily practice. A didactic function of structuring and regulating the content taught and a pedagogical function of management, relational and communicative regulation of life in the classroom. In addition to the pedagogical and didactic management of the session, there is the emotional management and the movements and placements of the physical education (PE) teacher during his educational intervention. Through this study, this study seeks to clarify the influence of PE teacher gender on teaching practice during the dynamics of gymnastics sessions. Thirty PE teachers were involved in this study, divided into 15 men and 15 women. Gymnastics sessions were filmed and self-confrontation interviews were conducted with the participants. MB-Ruler software was used to measure teacher-student interpersonal distance. The results show that the gender of the PE teacher impacts his teaching practice. The female teacher is involved and invests more physically and mentally than the male teacher during the educational intervention.


In this paper we extend the standard Folk Theorems of Friedman (1971) and Fudenberg and Maskin (1986) to infinitely repeated games which are played by many groups simultaneously and in which players have the option to quit or to maintain the relationship with their current group of opponents. We establish a structural dierence between models with finitely and infinitely many agents: While with finitely many players any individual rational average payo can be reached under certain restrictions this is not possible with infinitely many agents in games of conflicting interests. Nevertheless it is possible to establish a Folk Theorem for the latter case. Further we investigate the structure of supporting strategies and proof their optimality for certain stage games.


This paper gives a systematic comparison between the digital implementations of two current state-of-the-art control techniques for Brushless DC Motors (BLDC) with trapezoidal back-emf, namely Six-Step-Commutation (6SC) and Modified Field Oriented Control (MFOC). Ideally, both techniques are able to produce ripple-free torque. However, due to several real-world factors, including discrete implementation and requirements on fundamental-to-sampling frequency ratio, this is not possible in reality. Based on continuous PI-controllers and their discrete approximations, including a delayed version, we compare the performance of 6SC and MFOC based on the torque ripple and the mean torque error. Conclusively, with the use of the continuous PI controllers and MFOC it is indeed possible to generate smooth torque also over high dynamic ranges, which so far was only clear for low speeds. Still, for the discrete PI control case, ripple-free torque is not achievable, though it is apparent that the generated ripple is significantly lower than those of 6SC with continuous or discrete implementation. For torque tracking, the error increases disproportionally for 6SC compared to MFOC.


Abstract : An analysis is developed for predicting the near zone fields scattered by perfectly-conducting, open-ended, semi-infinite circular and rectangular waveguides (or ducts) which are excited by an external electromagnetic (EM) plane wave. These waveguides are terminated inside by various structures such as a planar impedance surface, or a disk/blade structure with and without a hemispherical or a conical hub. The analysis is based on a combination of asymptotic high frequency techniques such as ray methods, the equivalent current approach, and the physical theory of diffraction, with the usual modal techniques, all of which are used in conjunction with the multiple scattering method (MSM). Basically, the scattering matrices in the MSM, which account for the multiple wave interactions between the open end and the interior termination are found efficiently via the asymptotic high frequency techniques. The latter techniques provide relatively simple expressions not only for the fields scattered from the rim edge at the open-end of the ducts, but also for the amplitudes of the modes coupled into the duct by the incident plane wave as well as the reflection coefficients of the modes at the open end. Some numerical results are provided for the near and far field bistatic scattering. (RH)


Soil erosion and deposition of sediments are natural processes caused, in CZ conditions, by water and wind. However, these processes are also increasingly affected by human activity in the countryside. Research in the cadastral area of Cejkovice in South Moravia, CZ, where typical chernozem is the dominant soil type, showed problems typical for large areas of such soil type and similar farming intensity. To evaluate the extent of erosion two alternative methods were used – digital visual image interpretation and classification of areas of erosion from aerial photographs, as well as measuring radionuclide Cs in soil samples. Before using these methods a model of potential erosion within the area was created, using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The outputs of the research were compared in terms of exactness, general suitability and dis/advantages of different approaches. The application of remote sensing data, together with a field survey, seems to be very prospective and effective.


We establish the existence and uniqueness of viscosity solutions tothe Dirichlet problem $$\displaylines{ \Delta_\infty^h u=f(x,u), \quad \hbox{in } \Omega,\cr u=q, \quad\hbox{on }\partial\Omega,}$$ where \(q\in C(\partial\Omega)\), \(h>1\), \(\Delta_\infty^h u=|Du|^{h-3}\Delta_\infty u\). The operator \(\Delta_\infty u=\langle D^2uDu,Du \rangle\) is the infinity Laplacian which is strongly degenerate, quasilinear and it is associated with the absolutely minimizing Lipschitz extension. When the nonhomogeneous term \(f(x,t)\) is non-decreasing in \(t\), we prove the existence of the viscosity solution via Perron's method. We also establish a uniqueness result based on the perturbation analysis of the viscosity solutions. If the function \(f(x,t)\) is nonpositive (nonnegative) and non-increasing in \(t\), we also give the existence of viscosity solutions by an iteration technique under the condition that the domain has small diameter. Furthermore, we investigate the existence and uniqueness of viscosity solutions to the boundary-value problem with singularity $$\displaylines{ \Delta_\infty^h u=-b(x)g(u), \quad \hbox{in } \Omega, \cr u>0, \quad \hbox{in } \Omega, \cr u=0, \quad \hbox{on }\partial\Omega, }$$ when the domain satisfies some regular condition. We analyze asymptotic estimates for the viscosity solution near the boundary.


Increases in immigrant children to U.S. preschools have introduced unique challenges to teachers. An awareness of disconnections between a homogeneous teaching population and the increasingly diverse student population calls for additional exploration of enhancing connections to facilitate the young immigrants' learning process in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to explore how photo narrations in which preschool teachers listened to immigrant children talk about their photos of their context outside of school would provide opportunities for enhanced connections between teachers and immigrant children. The findings revealed that by using the familiar tools of photos and stories, the immigrant children were given space for their voice to be heard, the teachers found their awareness of the cultural connections and disconnections they used during their interaction with the immigrant children heightened, and connection opportunities with immigrant parents were enhanced. In essence, the teachers were given the opportunity to enter the previously unfamiliar context of the child through the bridge the photo narrations constructed between the teachers' and immigrant children's worlds.


Globe valves also known as ball or gate valves are used to control fluid flow in a vast number of applications. Most of the existing applications use them because of their simplicity and very low cost. However, these valves are known for their poor precision for controlling the flow and the lack of electromechanical means for their actuation. Moreover, because of their low linearity their use in closed loop control applications make them nearly unusable. The goal of this research project was to investigate means for redesigning the metering area of a ball valve in such a manner that the pressure vs. flow characteristic would be close to a linear trend. Two different profiles where designed and tested experimentally and modelled using CFD techniques for the estimation of their valve flow coefficients. The model was able to accurately predict the behaviour of the valve with less than a 10% error when fully open. The model can be used for scaling the size of the ball for larger applications and for tuning controlling strategies for flow dispensation in real life applications.


Abstract-Increasing complexity and the reliability evolution of SoCs, MPSoCs are becoming more sensitive to phenomena that generate permanent, transient, or intermittent faults. These faults may generate data packet errors and might even crash the router. The project is concentrated on the Design and develop architecture for intelligent independent reliable routers like reliable router RKTswitch for implementation on FPGA.The work is carried on a new reliable dynamic NoC .The proposed NoC is a mesh structure of routers able to detect routing errors for adaptive routing based on the XY algorithm. The enhanced work is done in the project is to investigate the shortfalls of the different methods and the present technology and to find out the advancements of new system and also to analyze the scope for performance enhancements with respect to present system. New architecture will be simulated, implemented on FPGA and tested to reduce the delay/power consumption and area on chip for the given system.Coded using HDL Verilog language analyzed by synthesis using Xilinx ISE v14.5 and verified Simulation using Modelsim. Keyword: Architecture of the reliable router RKT-switch, ECC, XY Routing Algorithm, Hamming Codes.


The utility model discloses automatic oiling machine for motorcycle engine comprising a compressor gun, a gasoline pump and an oil controller which makes the compressor gun and the gasoline pump connect together. The utility model is also provided with a machine frame, an oiling cylinder, a promoting cylinder, an oiling bracket, an inductor which inducts the engine and a control box. The promoting cylinder is fixedly connected with the machine frame, the piston end of the promoting cylinder is provided with the oiling bracket, the oiling cylinder is fixedly arranged on the oiling bracket, and the compressor gun is fixedly connected with the piston end of the oiling cylinder. The control box is electrically connected with the inductor, and the control box is respectively connected with a gasoline pump, the oiling cylinder, the promoting cylinder through electromagnetic valve switches. The automatic oiling machine for motorcycle engine with the accurate targeting of the compressor gun can exactly control the oil mass of a filling machine through the an oil controller with entire automation of charging process.


The paper deals with the problem of cutting edge smooth tuning of multilayer periodic systems under conditions of a finite set of on of the layers thickness. It is shown that surrender to keep layers quarterwave allows to shift the cutting edge within some range without significant deterio-ration of spectrum characteristics. The method developed is used to synthesis a polymer-crystalline multilayer interference system based on polyethylene and germanium which is to be used as cutting-off filter for far infrared spectral region.


Tourism, as a social event, brings a transformation in the society, due to long guest, host association but many times, tourist destinations remain as image unique cultural identity. Goa, a beach tourist destination in India, is one of the most preferred tourist destination that has witnessed the pros and cons of tourism. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the perceptions of cultural change at selected tourist destinations of South Goa district, GoaIndia. The following study is purely field based, where in 337 responded were surveyed through a questionnaire at six coastal tourist destination, where tourism is the prime activity. The analysis reveals that majority of the respondents agree that there is positive as well as negative impacts due to tourism. Further, Factor analysis resulted in four tourism-related factors: Cultural Enhancement, Adverse Effects and Economic Developments & Threat to the local culture.


We prove the following theorem: If K is a 1-complex topologically embedded in S4, and if K has mapping cylinder neighborhoods in S4 at almost all of its points, then K is tame. The proof uses engulfing and the theory of proper, one-acyclic mappings of 3-manifolds onto the real line. Suppose Mm is a (topological) manifold (without boundary) in the manifold N n, x e Mm. We say that Mm has a mapping cylinder neighborhood in Nt at x if there exist (i) an open neighborhood V of x in Mm; (ii) an open (n 1)-manifold U; (iii) a proper mapping q of U onto V; and (iv) a homeomorphism , of Z, onto a neighborhood of V in N such that +(v) = v for each v E V. The requirement that the image of 0 be a neighborhood of V forces U to have two components when m = n -1 (and V is small). In the above definition, Z, denotes the mapping cylinder of 4, with U and V identified as subsets of Z, as is customary. A proper map is one under which inverse images of compact sets are compact. We use Rn to denote euclidean n-space, Bt is the closed unit ball centered at 0 in Rtm and St =Bd Bt+l. The symbol "~" means "is homeomorphic to". It has been conjectured that an m-manifold Mm is locally flat in an n-manifold Ntn if and only if Mm has mapping cylinder neighborhoods in Ntn at each point. When n 5, the cases n m =$ 2 remain open. The truth of the above mapping cylinder conjecture in case n = k + 1, m = 1-I implies the truth of the following well-known conjecture: If the i-fold suspension Received by the editors December 21, 1970. AMS 1970 subject classifications. Primary 55A99, 57A30, 57A35, 57A40, 57A50.


Individuals with chronic lower extremity pain or lifestyle limiting claudication often undergo angiography prior to intervention. Occasionally initial angiographic findings are not indicative of a true pathologic process. Described below are two such cases. Both of the patients described had iliofemoral atherosclerotic disease with arteriographic suggestion of popliteal artery occlusion. However, their medical histories, noninvasive vascular studies, and arteriograms were not consistent with chronic popliteal artery occlusion. On subsequent arteriogram with knee flexion, the occlusions were found to be positional or pseudooccluded.


Objective
To explore the effect of ebselen pretreatment on phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (P13K/Akt) signal pathway and the endoplasmic reticulum stress following ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.

Methods
A total of 30 rats were divided into the control group, model group and ebselen group, 10 rats in each group. Rats in the control group were only threaded about 0.5 cm left lower limb at left ventricle coronary artery and recevied 2 ml normal saline intraperitoneal injection. Rats in the model group and ebselen group all established I/R models, and rats in the model group were injected 2 ml normal saline intraperitoneally on 30 min before I/R, while rats in the ebselen group were injected 5 mg/kg ebselen intraperitoneally on 30 min before I/R. Eight rats in each group were used in experiments. The levels of high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), malonaldehyde, superoxide dismutase (SOD), aspartate transaminase (AST) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The apoptotic index was measured by Tunel method. The expression of glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) protein and phosphorylation of P13K/Akt pathway were detected by Western-blotting.

Results
The levels of HMGB1, malonaldehyde, SOD, AST and LDH all showed significant differences among the three groups (F = 63.755, 73.023, 99.220, 110.439, 120.557, all P< 0.05), and the levels of HMGB1 [(9.2 ± 2.7), (5.5 ± 1.1), (2.2 ± 0.3) U/L], malonaldehyde [(7.2 ± 0.4), (5.6 ± 0.7), (4.1 ± 0.9) μmol/L], AST [(1 011 ± 226), (813 ± 82), (671 ± 60) U/L], and LDH [(2 783 ± 674), (2 043 ± 489), (1 528 ± 524) U/L] in the model group and ebselen group were higher, however the SOD [(249 ± 28), (149 ± 10), (172 ± 17) kU/L] were lower than those in the control group (all P< 0.05). Meanwhile, the apoptostic index (F = 139.942, P < 0.001), GRP78 protein (F = 177.846, P < 0.001) and P13K/Akt phosphorylation (F = 86.286, P < 0.001) also had significant differences among the three groups. And the apoptotic index [(38.1 ± 4.6), (25.4 ± 3.9), (8.2 ± 1.5)%] in the model group and ebselen group were higher than that in the control group, and was the highest in the model group (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion
Ebselen pretreatment can inhibit endoplasmic reticulum stress in rats, which may be related to the regulation of P13K/Akt signaling pathway phosphorylation.

Key words:
Ebselen; Reperfusion injury; Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B


Complete distributions of the light and intermediate mass fragments ({ital Z}=1--6) produced within the polar angular range 1{sup {circ}}{le}{Theta}{sub lab}{le}30{sup {circ}} in highly central collisions of 250{ital A} MeV Au+Au are presented. The results of this measurement and a model analysis are used to study the expansion and clustering of the hot and compressed transient state formed in central collisions of such a heavy system. The influence of the initial conditions on the final observables is discussed.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify reported barriers to benchmarking and strategies to surmount these barriers.Design/methodology/approach – The study is a qualitative meta‐analysis of 32 peer‐reviewed sources from January 2005‐July 2010. The authors sought recently published authoritative information on the topic of benchmarking reluctance to formulate an up‐to‐date framework explaining this phenomenon. Content analysis was used to identify reasons for benchmarking reluctance and ways to overcome reluctance.Findings – The study concludes that organizational leadership best practices have been found to counter each of the four major benchmarking reluctance concerns: soundness of benchmarking theory/practices; lack of resources for benchmarking; inertia impeding pursuit of new practices; and specific impacts of implementing new practices.Practical implications – The findings of this literature review may assist leaders to anticipate potential benchmarking barriers and to follow best practic...


The effect of breeder age on long bone development was studied in chicken embryos from 12 days of incubation until hatching. Fertile eggs were incubated and randomly assigned in a 2 x 6 factorial arrangement (two breeder ages 38 and 60 weeks and six incubation days 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 21). Enzymatic activity of acid and alkaline phosphatases in tibial epiphyses and weights as well as length and width in tibias and femurs of the embryos were determined. Tartrate-resistant acid and alkaline phosphatases activity in epiphyses was not affected by breeder age. Absolute weight and width of femur and tibia were larger in 60-week-old embryos compared to 38-week-old. Enzymatic activity and morphometric measurements increased with incubation day, independently of breeder age. The results showed that the process of endochondral ossification during the last two thirds of embryo development was not influenced by the age of the breeders. Although, in terms of absolute weight, the long bones of embryos from older breeders were heavier, which was associated with the larger width of the bones, but and not with their length.


Using a nationally representative sample of individuals across all fifty United States from the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS), this research explores differences in the incidence and predictors of health insurance status across region (i.e. West, Midwest, South, and Northeast) for individuals age 18 and older. The data suggests that: 1) Individuals from the Northeast are the most likely to have some form of health insurance, while individuals from the South are the least likely; 2) The factors which influence health insurance status are relatively similar across all regions, though they often differ substantially in magnitude; 3) In some cases region can play a significant role in determining the type of insurance an individual has (i.e. Public versus Private). Policy makers will find these results useful to target specific factors within regions that may prove to increase the number of insured individuals. Furthermore, researchers may choose to use this paper as a current reference and starting point for further in-depth analysis on targeted factors within specific regions. Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or noncommercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.


We describe the approach taken to improve mission-relevant fidelity of the rover system in support of resource modeling, contingency sequencing, and added rover functionality as proposed for the actual mission.


For a family of functionals in a Banach space, which are possibly non-smooth and depend also on a positive real parameter, the existence of a sequence of critical points (according to Motreanu and Panagiotopoulos (''Minimax Theorems and Qualitative Properties of the Solutions of Hemivariational Inequalities,'' Nonconvex Optimization Applications, Vol. 29; Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1998, Chap. 3)) is established by mainly adapting a new technique due to Ricceri (2000, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 113, 401–410). Two applications are then presented. Both of them treat the Neumann problem for an elliptic variational–hemivariational inequality with p-Laplacian. # 2002 Elsevier Science (USA)


Penaeid shrimp culture in Australia is a relatively new industry and occurs mainly in the eastern states of Queensland and New South Wales. The major species cultured are Penaeus monodon and Penaeus japonicus, but other penaeids, including Metapenaeus macleayi, Penaeus esculentus, and Penaeus plebejus, have been cultured in small quantities. Research with Australian penaeids has described the mechanisms of food location, feeding, and digestion (Dall, 1992). The composition of natural prey items of penaeids in the wild has been proposed as a guide to nutritional requirements, and indeed successful diets have some similarities with natural food. The major differences between natural prey for shrimp in the wild and commercial diets is that prey items are higher in ash, while commercial diets have more carbohydrate. Predation on natural food present within farming ponds has been shown to lower requirements for formulated diets during the early stages of pond culture when shrimp biomass is relatively low. More...


Most higher education institutions have embraced emergency remote teaching (ERT) as a response to school and university closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We used a cross-sectional survey design to examine teachers' views on the implementation of e-learning for ERT due to Covid-19 in Omani higher education. We examined four barrier categories: teacher-related, institutional-related, curriculum-related and student-related. We also assessed the relationship between these barrier levels and measured the differences between e-learning and teachers' gender, academic qualifications, teaching experience and prior experience in e-learning. Through an investigation of 856 university faculty members, we found that student-level barriers had the strongest impact on the implementation of e-learning for ERT during Covid-19. Furthermore, teachers' academic qualifications and prior experience influenced the success of e-learning practices. Based on these results, we presented some implications with respect to student preparedness, curriculum modifications and institutional readiness for the successful implementation of ERT during Covid-19 or any similar future pandemics.


Recent advances have shown that the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{2}$</tex-math></inline-formula> -gain of positive systems is fully determined by the static gain matrix, and hence the linear matrix inequality (LMI) characterizing their <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H_\infty$</tex-math></inline-formula> performance admits a diagonal Lyapunov matrix variable. In this technical note, we aim to extend this property for systems with input, state and output defined on general cones. Although it is known that the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{2}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-gain is no longer governed by the static gain matrix for systems defined on general proper cones, we show that this property is still valid when the cone in the state space is symmetric, and the cones in the input and output spaces are self-dual. Meanwhile, it is proved that the Lyapunov matrix appearing in the LMI characterization for the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H_{\infty}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> performance can be constructed by the quadratic representation of the Jordan algebra asso-ciated with the symmetric cone in the state space. Finally, the established results are illustrated via a linear system defined on second-order cones.


Nowadays most of the people in India depend on ration items to run their family. Because of the word most the queue outside ration shops increased while issuing items on demand. Through our country is developing throughout technological innovations in various sectors and having a large number of engineers, we aren't thinking of developing technologies for the sale of our own people's day to day life.

So, on taking account of that, we are developing a model project to automate the ration shops to eradicate corruption in ration shops, bring the usage of technology in front of all sorts of people and to simplify the ration distribution system and reduce the burden of issuing new ration cards. The overview of this project is to design a system which consist of the system for the automatic entry of products distribution in an smart card and to distribute products at accurate quantity without human interaction except for loading products.


A solid grasp of basic concepts and their relationships can stimulate learning motivation, improve teaching quality, and help students to build a body of knowledge in a discipline. Most of the previous studies have considered one chemistry topic amongst many others. To date, no studies have been conducted to explore the conceptual structures of teachers and students based on chemical concepts. Experts, teachers, and students (N=2348) from three public universities and ten upper-secondary schools in China participated in the studies. In Study 1, personal interviews, material evaluation, and importance rating questionnaires were conducted to determine the core concepts. In Study 2, the multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis (CA) were conducted to explore the conceptual structures of upper-secondary school teachers and students. Then the structural differences between high- and low-achieving students were compared. The results showed that the three-dimensional solutions were appropriate for the conceptual structures of teachers and students, respectively. The high-achieving students have a more scientific and organized conceptual structure than those of low-achieving students. This study is the first to explore core concepts and their structure with a large sample size, and the reliable results help students understand abstract chemical concepts and improve their interest in scientific disciplines in the future.
Keywords: conceptual structure, core concepts in chemistry, multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, upper-secondary school students


This paper documents modal analysis of seven solid body electric basses. The basses are modeled in one dimension of motion normal to the face of the instrument in both free‐free state and with boundary conditions imposed by a musician. The results are compared and analyzed in terms of bending and torsion. Analysis is done regarding open string harmonic content of the electromagnetic output over time versus the resonant frequencies of the instruments. Results of finite element analysis modeling of a simplified bass guitar structure will be presented, and significance of damping effects on harmonic output will be considered in terms of the listener.


New methods for the preparation of inherently chiral calix[4]arenes have been developed. The molecular asymmetry in these calix[4]arenes is created by an asymmetrical disposition of naphthalene rings on the upper rim. In compound 1, monoformylcalix[4]arene 5 was transformed into naphthalene-containing calix[4]arene by ring closure. In compound 2, p-chloromethyl groups are intramolecularly cross-linked with 3-hydroxymethyl-2-naphthol. This 'stapling reaction' results in a syn isomer 2a and an anti isomer 2b, the latter being classified into an inherently chiral calix[4]arene. Racemic anti 2 could be 'perfectly' optically resolved by an HPLC method with a chiral-packed column. The chiral products were thoroughly characterized by various spectroscopic methods. These results indicate that the naphthalene skeleton is very useful for creating molecular asymmetry in calix[4]arenes.


The duchy of Bukovina has experienced a great development after obtaining its autonomy. The new status and the internal organization allowed Bukovina to significantly reduce the gap in development with other provinces of the Empire. Unfortunately, the autonomy of the province of Bukovina in the Empire was a short one and the reduction of the gap in economic development was not enough to surpass other provinces. The great conflict at the beginning of the XX th century changed everything as the industry of the province was mostly destroyed and the union with Romania led to the loss of its autonomy.


Modern publishing industry in Shanghai is interacting and integrating itself with the metropolis while carrying out transformation of its own structure. Along with the establishment of its position as a key national publishing center, it is becoming increasingly obvious that modern publishing industry in Shanghai is actively interacting and dynamically integrating with the metropolis. This paper throws light on the interactive relationship between the publishing industry in Shanghai and the metropolitan development by analyzing the function of absorption and integration of urban population by the modern publishing industry in Shanghai , which has been developed in the course of building Shanghai into a metropolitan city.


With the limitation of the principle of fault-based liability, which is not effective in the implementation of the responsibility for activities with high risk, Law No. 23 of 1997 concerning Environmental Management and Law no. 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management which adheres to the principle of absolute responsibility or strict liability. The regulation regarding the principle of strict liability is clarified in Article 88 of Law no. 32 of 2009 (UU PLH). However, with the passing of the Omnibus Law, which changed Article 88 of Law no. 32 of 2009 becomes article 88 of the Omnibus Law, which eliminates the principle of strict liability. This writing uses a normative approach, a statutory approach. The data analysis used is a qualitative analysis. The elimination of strict liability in resolving environmental disputes is considered a shift, which in the provisions of Article 88 of the Job Creation Law seems to provide an opportunity for corporations to pollute the environment without firm accountability. The government seems to protect the sustainability of a corporation more than the interests of the community. The type of research used in this study is using normative legal research methods using a statutory approach and literature study.


Incremental satisfiability (SAT) solving is an extension of classic SAT solving that allows users to efficiently solve a set of related SAT problems by identifying and exploiting shared terms. However, using incremental solvers effectively is hard since performance is sensitive to a problem's structure and the order sub-terms are fed to the solver, and the burden to track results is placed on the end user. For analyses that generate sets of related SAT problems, such as those in software product lines, incremental SAT solvers are either not used at all, used but not explicitly stated so in the literature, or used but suffer from the aforementioned usability problems. This paper translates the ordering problem to an encoding problem and automates the use of incremental SAT solving. We introduce variational SAT solving, which differs from incremental SAT solving by accepting all related problems as a single variational input and returning all results as a single variational output. Our central idea is to make explicit the operations of incremental SAT solving, thereby encoding differences between related SAT problems as local points of variation. Our approach automates the interaction with the incremental solver and enables methods to automatically optimize sharing of the input. To evaluate our methods we construct a prototype variational SAT solver and perform an empirical analysis on two real-world datasets that applied incremental solvers to software evolution scenarios. We show, assuming a variational input, that the prototype solver scales better for these problems than naive incremental solving while also removing the need to track individual results.


In chronic kidney disease (CKD) the risk of organ failure is correlated with the severity of proteinuria, which, in its turns, depends on the number of lost podocytes and on the consequent glomerular fibrosis. Nevertheless, several experimental and clinical evidences suggest the possibility of remission of kidney diseases, and in some cases even of regression of the damage, at least if the histology of the organ is not totally compromised. Particularly, these results can be achieved by employing antiproteinuric pharmacological modulators. New experimental evidences suggest why blocking the leakage of proteins in urine is able to allow the remission of CKD. In a recent paper, Peired et al documented for the first time how albuminuria can halt the regenerative process via the sequestration of retinoic acid (RA) by albumin itself. RA is, in fact, a well-know differentiative agent for stem cells' and progenitor cells' populations located in various organs. The consequent urinary loss of RA bound to albumin prevents the activation of renal progenitors resident along the Bowman's capsule, blocking in its first phases the regenerative response, and thus allowing the progression of the CKD.


Return migration flow to Bulgaria is constant but not high, except for the past two years. Here, we argue that subjective and objective reasons should both be considered in line to explain life prospects of young returnees at home. An innovative approach to balancing the subjective-objective dichotomy in return migration phenomena is measuring sustainability of return through re-emigration, captured by and tested through a re-emigration index based on a national representative survey of returning Bulgarian migrants. The main hypothesis is that the sustainability of the return of young people depends on a complex group of factors, including social and emotional motives. The main findings are about the magnitude of the return migration flow and its sustainability: The factors for the return of young Bulgarians in the pre-Covid research show strong non-economic character, which intensifies in times of crisis. There are no significantly different tendencies for re-emigration/return among young people compared with all returnees.


Objective To remove ocular artifacts in EEG by using independent component analysis(ICA) with joint approximate diagonalization of eigenmatrice(JADE) algorithm.Methods The nine channels of EEGs were recorded from three young healthy subjects with additional VEOG and HEOG channels in blinking and saccade conditions respectively.Seven channel EEG records were selected for artifacts removal tests with two EOG records indicating the possible interference.The raw EEG signals were separated into several independent components by JADE algorithm.According to these scalp topography,the components being judged as eye artifacts were eliminated.Results By using the time domain and frequency domain analysis of the raw data and the result data,the peaks caused by eye movements on the frontal channels were mostly removed and the original details of EEG information were preserved.Conclusion ICA method can remove more artifacts produced by eye blinking than that by saccade.This study demonstrates that JADE algorithm may be an effective tool in correcting EOG interference with multichannel EEG recordings.


Variations of elastic constants and density with strain and the introduction of stresses can significantly affect the propagation velocity of surface acoustic waves. Digital computation using iterative methods is employed to obtain the variations of propagation velocity with strain. It is found that while the individual contributions of the initial stresses, changes in elastic constants, and changes in density with strain can be considerable, their combined effect in some materials may be reduced by mutual cancellation. Computed results for YX quartz YZ LiNbO3 are compared with experimentally measured values.Variations of elastic constants and density with strain and the introduction of stresses can significantly affect the propagation velocity of surface acoustic waves. Digital computation using iterative methods is employed to obtain the variations of propagation velocity with strain. It is found that while the individual contributions of the initial stresses, changes in elastic constants, and changes in density with strain can be considerable, their combined effect in some materials may be reduced by mutual cancellation. Computed results for YX quartz YZ LiNbO3 are compared with experimentally measured values.


By using Frobenius maps and F-stable representations, we give a q-analogue of the Weyl–Kac denominator formulas of types $\widetilde{F}_{41}$ and $\widetilde{G}_{21}$.


Abstract
Purpose
To investigate consumer responses to conditional (CRM) versus unconditional (corporate philanthropy) corporate giving initiatives in advertising. Cross-cultural approach to investigate whether Dutch and Germans differ in their responses.

Design/methodology/approach
2×3, between-subjects experiment, involving 178 Dutch and German consumers (convenience samples). Nationality and type of corporate giving initiative were the independent variables. Type of corporate giving initiative was manipulated in a product advertisement. Attitude to company, attitude to product and purchasing intent were measured in a written questionnaire.

Findings
Main effect for type of corporate giving initiative: participants exposed to the conditional (CRM) or the unconditional (corporate philanthropy) giving initiatives displayed significantly more positive attitudes to company than participants in the control condition. Main effect for nationality: German participants were significantly more positive about the product and the company than the Dutch. No effects on purchasing intent, and no interaction between nationality and type of corporate giving initiative.

Practical implications
Communicating about corporate giving (in advertising) can contribute to positive consumer outcomes, with respect to attitude to the company. The two nationalities studied did not differ in their response to the two types of corporate giving initiative, suggesting that both types could be effective in boosting corporate reputation in these countries.

Originality/value
Cross-cultural research on consumer response to CSR initiatives is underrepresented, as are studies that investigate the relative effects of different types of corporate giving. This study regionally expands research on the efficacy of corporate giving to Germany and the Netherlands.


I-Naphthylglycine is a representative example of the arylglycines, an interesting and important class of ilOn-proteinogenic amino acids'. Arylglycines are present in many biologically active compounds such as cephalosporins2, nocardicins and vancomycins4 and are used as chiral ligands for asymmetric synthesis. Another interesting application of naphthylglycine is in the field of chiral separation. 1Naphthylglycine was used as chiral stationary phase for the separation of enantiomers by HPLC. Most of the methods reported in the literature for the synthesis of naphthylglycine are either not stereoselective or based on chiral auxiliary approach? in which the chiral inductor cannot be recovered. Recently, Riera and co-workerss reported the synthesis of naphthylglycine using Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation. Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation is the most efficient method in recent years for the synthesis of aminoalcohols. We report herein a short synthesis of (S)-Ntosyl-I-naphthylglycine using Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation as the key step (Scheme I).


In the first chapter, after a presentation of institutional settings, I will focus on the use of sector-level agreements by large firms to reduce competition. Indeed, wage floors are binding for all firms of the industry, whether they sit at the negotiating table or not. This chapter provides a theoretical framework showing that such agreements can be used by dominant firms to reduce competition. In this framework, the higher the over-representation of large firms in employers' federations, the larger the bargained wage floors. This leads to the eviction of small firms. This prediction is tested on French administrative data. I document the domination of large firms within federations and devise an instrumental strategy to show that when the bargaining firms are relatively large compared to the industry standard - ie the lower the federation's representativeness, the higher are wage floors.In the second chapter, I look at the effect of sector-level agreements on innovation. It is based on a model with monopolistic competition between products of an industry on the one hand, and between industries on the other hand. First, I find that when the bargaining process occurs at the industry level, negotiating parties take into account that a wage increase will deter investments of competitors. Indeed, when the wage negotiated at the industry-level increases, the labor cost increase implies that the reward for innovations decrease. As this will reduce the probability to be outperformed, this will generate a wage surplus when the bargaining takes place at the industry-level, reducing both production and employment. Furthermore, it will decrease the research effort of the industry reducing the productivity growth.In the final chapter, I find that international competition mitigates the previous effects. Indeed, collective wage bargaining allows firms of a given industry to coordinate. However, international competition makes this collusive equilibrium unsustainable. Indeed, domestic firms face competition from foreign competitors which are not bound by those agreements. To support this argument, a Melitz-type model is developed and its implications tested on French data using the China Shock as a source of exogenous variation. The rent extracted during sector-level agreements no longer exist when domestic firms face Chinese competition.


The reason behind this research is because XY company  faces  low productivity and low employee motivation problems. The purpose of this research is to give solutions towards XY's problem. Respondent of this research is employee of production division of  XY Makassar.  Sampling method that has been used for this research is stratified sampling method on all division inside production division in XY Makassar. The method being used  is  multiple  linear  regression analysis and this research also  use work motivations factor as the independent variables and job satisfaction as the dependent variable. Results of the research has shown that simultaneously work motivations factor have significant influence on job satisfaction while individually, only salary and job security are the factors that have significant influence on job satisfaction. Researcher has made several suggestions to XY in order for them to improve job satisfaction. Keywords: Work Motivation, Job satisfaction, Herzberg Theory, Hygiene Theory


Despite the fact that the otolaryngologist's horizon is constantly broadening and that daily attention is being given to various diseases of infancy and childhood and to many systemic conditions in the adult, all of which have a more or less direct bearing on pathologic conditions of the ear, nose and throat, comparatively little notice has been taken of the r81e played in diseases of these same organs by the glands of internal secretion. Of the various endocrine dyscrasias, those of the thyroid gland are of particular importance in our field. It is amazing to find the number of these patients who have been under treatment for years, and often in competent hands, without this fundamental cause ever having been discovered.


A peristaltic micropump with lightweight piezo-composite actuator (LIPCA) membrane valves is presented. The micropump contained three cylinder chambers that were connected by microchannels and two active membrane valves. A circular miniature LIPCA was developed and manufactured to be used as actuating diaphragms. The LIPCA diaphragm acted as an active membrane valve that alternate between open and closed positions at the inlet and outlet in order to produce high pumping pressure. In this LIPCA, a lead zirconium titanate ceramic with a thickness of 0.1 mm was used as an active layer. The results confirmed that the actuator produced a large out-of-plane deflection. During the design process, a coupled field analysis was conducted in order to predict the actuating behavior of the LIPCA diaphragm; the behavior of the actuator was investigated from both a theoretical and experimental perspective. The active membrane valve concept was introduced as a means for increasing pumping pressure, and microelectromechanical system techniques were used to fabricate the peristaltic micropump. The pumping performance was analyzed experimentally in terms of the flow rate, pumping pressure and power consumption.


In the Critique of So-called Practical Knowledge Alf Ross wishes to show that ethical judgments are nonsensical. He begins by asserting that when people speak about practical knowledge they mean knowledge which contains an unconditional command to the will, and this, he points out, involves a confusion between knowledge and volition. Thus, since all ethical theories are forms of practical knowledge, they are doomed to failure. All ethical theories can be classified into two types: they all belong to the ethics of value or the ethics of duty. These differ very radically, since the one takes value and the other duty as its fundamental concept; but they are inadequate for the same reasons. Both value and duty are self-contradictory concepts, and both awareness of value and awareness of duty are quite different from what ethical theories suppose.


In the present study, a poly(isoprene-block-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate) diblock copolymer (PI-b-PDMAEMA) is used to structure-direct a polysilazane pre-ceramic polymer, commercially known as Ceraset. To the polymer was added a 2-fold excess in weight of the silazane oligomer (Ceraset). The resulting composite was cast into films, and after cooperative self-assembly of block copolymer and Ceraset, the structure was permanently set in the hexagonal columnar morphology, as evidenced by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cross-linking of the silazane oligomer was achieved with a radical initiator at 120 °C. Upon heating of the composite to 1500 °C under nitrogen, the structure is preserved and a mesoporous ceramic material is obtained, as demonstrated by SAXS and TEM. The pores are open and accessible, as evidenced by nitrogen sorption/desorption measurements indicating a surface area of about 51 m2 g-1 and a pore diameter of 13 nm, consistent with TEM analys...


Nowadays, more and more audio visual information is available from many sources around the world. How to quickly and effectively acquire interested audio-visual information is mainly concerned by most people. The frameworks, aims and application domains of MPEG-7 are presented in this paper. And the effect on modern educational technology of MPEG-7 is introduced in detail. [