The region Capim Grosso has semiarid climate and scarce surface drainage. This article presents the results of hydrochemistry of groundwater these Bahia State area taking up the potability of groundwater for human and agriculture use. To achieve these objective water samples were collected from wells and conducted in situ measurements the physico-chemical parameters such as pH, eH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and analysis measures in laboratories of the following components HCO3, SO4 2, NO3-, F , PO4 3, Cl , Mg2 + , Na + , Ca2 + , K + , Ba2 + , Pb2 + , Zn2 + , Fe2 + , Mn2 + , Al3 + , Cu + , using of fluorimetric techniques, titrimetric and espectrofométricos. The results indicate that groundwater is classified generally as magnesian and calcic chlorinated, highly salinated, with high hardness and exceptionally high risk of salinization of soils. From the point of view for potability, only the elements iron, zinc, copper and fluoride showed no impediment to domestic supply, all other elements exceeded the limits established by Brazilian law, so they are considered unfit for human consumption. Before all the results it is apparent that from a qualitative point of view, groundwater Capim Grosso has not appropriate hydrochemical characteristics for human consumption and agriculture, suggesting the state agencies of the State of Bahia management study from other sources catchment water to this region of the Brazilian semi-arid region.


ABSTRACTJung explained the possible plagiaristic relationship between Henry Rider Haggard's She and Pierre Benoit's L'Atlantide as either cryptomnesia or archetypal inspiration, but he was misinformed about the case and unfamiliar with Benoit's life. This essay critiques Jung's statements about Benoit and then considers the case for plagiarism that was published in The French Quarterly in 1919–1920. Neither the typical reply – that L'Atlantide reflects the author's African experience and historical knowledge – nor the reading of the novel that arose from Jung's 1925 seminar adequately refutes the plagiarism charge. A depth-psychological reading of L'Atlantide shows the danger of seeking the anima archetype itself rather than experiencing the anima in a relationship with an available woman. But even if literary analogies, including the Circe myth, suggest that Haggard and Benoit may have tapped into the same archetypal vein, the novels' similarities and verbal echoes cannot be dismissed outright.


Glucose, galactose and pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) bind to lens protein amino groups causing changes in absorbance and fluorescence spectra and inducing aggregation. Sugars and PLP simultaneously cause an increase in fluorophore and chromophore formation, but a decreased aggregation, compared to PLP alone. PLP binds to lens protein amino groups decreasing the sugar binding, but in preventing glycation by PLP attention should be paid to the consequences of its own binding to proteins in diabetes.


Abstract INCREASED air movement facilitates convective heat exchange between the surface of the body and the surrounding air (Whittow, 1965; Siegel and Drury, 1968). Thus, if ambient temperatures remain below body temperature, increasing the air movement helps to alleviate some of the deleterious effects of high environmental temperatures (Lee et al., 1945; Wilson et al., 1957). The growth rates of broilers raised in diurnally cycling hot environments have been shown to be related to air velocity (Drury, 1966). Respiratory evaporation becomes more important as a means of heat loss in birds as the ambient temperature approaches body temperature. In chickens, panting commences when the core temperature reaches approximately 42°C. (Whittow, 1965), and a rapid increase in body temperature results in an increased heart rate (Linsley and Burger, 1964). Our previous studies with young chickens provided evidence that in environmental temperatures up to 40°C., the enhancement of convective heat loss by increased . . .


8 ASUBTITLE: INSIDE JOBS?: UNDERWRITERS SAY CLAIMS FOR LOST CONTAINERS SEEM TO COME FROM THE SAME COMPANIES TIME AND TIME AGAIN -- LOW-PAID DRAYMEN ARE EASY PREY.


Objective To evaluate the prognoses associated with psychosocial deprivation in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Design Observational study considering the 1498 multiethnic women with GDM who gave birth between January 2009 and February 2012. Setting Four largest maternity units in the northeastern suburban area of Paris. Participants The 994 women who completed the Evaluation of Precarity and Inequalities in Health Examination Centers (EPICES) questionnaire. Main outcome measure Main complications of GDM (large infant for gestational age (LGA), shoulder dystocia, caesarean section, pre-eclampsia). Results Psychosocial deprivation (EPICES score ≥30.17) affected 577 women (56%) and was positively associated with overweight/obesity, parity and non-European origin, and negatively associated with family history of diabetes, fruit and vegetable consumption and working status. The psychosocially deprived women were diagnosed with GDM earlier, received insulin treatment during pregnancy more often and were more likely to have LGA infants (15.1% vs 10.6%, OR=1.5 (95% CI 1.02 to 2.2), p<0.05) and shoulder dystocia (3.1% vs 1.2%, OR=2.7 (0.97 to 7.2), p<0.05). In addition to psychosocial deprivation, LGA was associated with greater parity, obesity, history of GDM, ethnicity, excessive gestational weight gain and insulin therapy. A multivariate analysis using these covariates revealed that the EPICES score was independently associated with LGA infants (per 10 units, OR=1.12 (1.03 to 1.20), p<0.01). Conclusions In our area, psychosocial deprivation is common in women with GDM and is associated with earlier GDM diagnoses and greater insulin treatment, an increased likelihood of shoulder dystocia and, independently of obesity, gestational weight gain and other confounders with LGA infants.


BACKGROUND Primary tracheobronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), derived from salivary mucus glands, is an Core Tip: At present, surgery is still the mainstay of treatment for primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), although it will cause significant trauma and loss of lung function. We report a case with MEC in the bronchus intermedius who received interventional bronchoscopy to remove the mass successfully. Our results indicate the effectiveness and safety of the interventional bronchoscopic therapy in the treatment of low-grade bronchial MEC.


This article describes the process of developing an academic and community participatory action research partnership on Inuit youth and violence prevention through social media. Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada chose the topic, defined the research goals, co-developed the first draft of the project and its methodology, established and chaired an Inuit advisory committee, spearheaded consultations with other Inuit organizations to refine the methodology, and co-facilitated a focus group. The "action" part of the project involved using the research results to develop with Inuit youth an outreach strategy to prevent violence and promote health via social media. The article discusses the research process, which was guided by Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional values) and which used a methodology redesigned by Inuit, including youth and elders. The result was a violence prevention focus group for Inuit aged 18 to 25, co-led by the Mamisarvik Healing Centre, and an online survey of social media use among Inuit aged 18 to 25. This participatory action research process is presented as a potential model for academic-community partnerships.


Purpose of the Study. The purpose of this study was to determine factors which effectively predict success in a first course for computer science majors. A secondary goal was to provide a model of the successful computer science student in order to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. Procedures. The sample consisted of 58 students enrolled in all three sections of Computer Science I , during Spring semester# 1985. Student characteristics selected included age# sex, previous high school and college grades, number of high school and college mathematics classes, number of hours worked, and whether the job was computer-related or involved programming. A measure of Piagetian cognitive development developed by Kurtz, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and the Myers— Briggs Personality Index (MBTI) were administered early in the semester. These measures were correlated with the student's letter grade in the class using both Chi Square and Pearson's Product Moment Coefficient statistical tests. FindingsSignificant relationships were found between grade and the students' previous college grades and the number of high school mathematics classes (p<-05). The correlation between grade, and both number of hours worked and working as a programmer, approached significance (p<-10). Both the Group Embedded Figures Test (p<-01) and the measure of Piagetian Intellectual Development stages (p<-05) were also significantly correlated with grade in this rigorous Pascal programming c l ass. While there was no relationship between the personality type and grade, the Myers-Briggs results provided an interesting profile of the computer science major. On the Extroversion-Introversion, Sensing-Intuitive, and Thinking-Feeling indices, the students were considerably more introverted, intuitive and thinking than the population as a whole, though they were close to national norms on the Perception-Judging index. While computer science students were somewhat like engineering students, they more strongly resembled chess players, when these results were compared with other studies.


The implementation of project teaching method in bartender courses can enable students learn practice skills and operational rules as well as understand and enhance theoretical knowledge.In teaching,teachers should focus on the changing role,highlight the subjective role of students,pay attention to the creation of situations,build effective cooperative learning groups,establish a new teacher-student relationship and pay attention to display and evaluation of projects to enable students acquire learning satisfaction and a sense of achievement,so as to stimulate students to learn continuously.At the same time,it is also important to improve teachers' educational level and practice teaching ability and enhance the level of hardware construction.


Recently, different algorithms for identification of several uncertain nonlinear models, referred to as Volterra-type models, were introduced in the literature. This work deals with the development of a suitable model-based control algorithm able to cope with the uncertain characterization of those types of models. Particularly, a robust model predictive control (MPC) scheme for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) Volterra-type models is presented. A MPC paradigm is used to control the process under the presence of uncertainties and constraints on the manipulated and controlled variables. A simulation example is given to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed control methodology.


Exercise intolerance is the primary manifestation in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); however, the pathophysiologic mechanism(s) remains incompletely understood. Excess cardiac adiposity may physically constrain the myocardium, resulting in adverse Cardio-Mechanical Interaction (i.e., greater left ventricular eccentricity); a phenomenon only expected to worsen during exercise, with increased respiratory excursion and hemodynamic load. Evidence for this hypothesis, however, remains limited to a small number of observations, from a single group, made only under resting conditions using transthoracic echocardiography.

 To evaluate the relationship between pericardial fat and cardio-mechanical interaction in HFpEF at rest and during exercise using high resolution cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI).

 We performed real-time (ungated), free-breathing cinematic imaging of the left ventricular (LV) short axis in 11 individuals with HFpEF (4M/7F, BMI: 36±6, age: 69±4 years). Imaging was performed at rest and during dynamic leg exercise (30 Watts) using an MRI-compatible ergometer (Ergospect, Austria). Epicardial and paracardial fat area were measured using high resolution cine images in the horizontal long axis imaging plane, with epicardial fat defined as the adipose tissue within the pericardium and paracardial fat defined as the adipose tissue outside of the pericardium (Figure 1A); the sum of which defined pericardial fat area. The LV eccentricity index was calculated as the ratio of LV short axis diameter parallel to the septum (anteroposterior dimension, AP) to the LV short axis diameter perpendicular to the septum (septolateral dimension, SL, Figure 1A) at mid-ventricular level, during inspiration at end-diastole.

 At rest, adverse cardio-mechanical interaction (i.e., AP/SL >1.0) was observed in 5 of the 11 cases. In those with adverse cardio-mechanical interaction both epicardial and paracardial fat area were significantly higher, resulting in greater pericardial fat area (Figure 1B). While epicardial fat area was not related to LV eccentricity index (R2=0.19, P=0.18), we observed a strong correlation between paracardial fat area and LV eccentricity index (R2=0.93, P<0.01), and pericardial fat area and LV eccentricity index (R2=0.86, P<0.01, Figure 1C). In contrast to our hypothesis, however, supine exercise did not exacerbate cardio-mechanical interaction, with LV eccentricity index remaining elevated in 4 of the 5 original cases, improving the fifth case (1.1 to 0.9, rest to exercise).

 Taken together, these data extend prior reports of adverse cardio-mechanical interaction in HFpEF, showing greater contribution from paracardial fat versus epicardial fat. Future studies are needed to examine cardio-mechanical interaction during upright exercise in HFpEF patients.

 Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): National Institutes of Health


A new method is proposed to compare the sensitivity of uncooled metal bolometers. This method allows us to conduct a comparative analysis for the sensitivity of uncooled bolometers with metal and metal alloy resistive elements. The experiments showed a twofold superiority in the sensitivity of the TiNi alloy-based bolometer with a resistive element less than 10 Ω in resistance over the identical bolometers based on technologically applicable metals due to improved electrophysical properties. The Ti50.5Ni49.5 bolometer developed to measure the total solar radiation has a higher sensitivity, a higher measuring efficiency, a smaller weight, and size compared with a serial CMP-11 pyranometer, as well as the best environmental protection. The highly sensitive uncooled metal bolometers are shown to be used as an integral part of the optical absorption gas analyzer to provide the control of background mercury vapors in the atmosphere.


Comlanvi Adjamagbo, Akim Adekunle Salami, Yao Bokovi, Djamil Gado and Ayite Senah Akoda Ajavon ResearchLaboratory in Engineering Sciences (Larsi), Regional Center of Excellence for the Control of Electricity (CERME), Department of Electrical Engineering of the National Superior School of Engineers (ENSI), University of Lome (UL), BP 1515, Lome, Togo. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 05 August 2020 Final Accepted: 10 September 2020 Published: October 2020


ICT has become prevalent in our everyday business and personal lives. As such, users and organizations must know how to protect themselves against human errors that lead to more companies losing or sharing information that should not be shared. The issue emanates from lack of ICT security culture both in individuals and organizations. The research study relies on a wide literature review that is centered around proposing a conceptual model of technological, environmental and organizational factors that influence the adoption of ICT security culture and implementation. In this paper, factors or determinants that influence the adoption of the ICT security culture in SMMEs in the Gauteng province were investigated. A total number of 21 item questionnaire was distributed to examine the perception of ICT security culture adoption among SMMEs in the Gauteng province South Africa. A sample of 647 individuals from different SMMEs in the Gauteng province was used. The results of the research study shows that determinants such as the technological context (perceived benefits), environmental context (government regulations) and organizational context (management support) have direct influence related to ICT security culture adoption.


Stock prices tend to move with the state of the economy. This fact is both familiar--it describes the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other national markets in the postwar period, the interwar period, and the 19th Century(1)--and surprisingly hard to explain. My most recent work, with John H. Cochrane, proposes a simple model that accounts for this and other aspects of aggregate stock market behavior. Financial theorists describe asset prices as expected present values of future payments, discounted to adjust for time and risk. This can be seen as a matter of accounting: if an asset's price is high today, then either its price must be even higher tomorrow, or its dividend must be high tomorrow, or its rate of return between today and tomorrow (the ratio of price plus dividend tomorrow to price today) must be low. If prices cannot grow explosively forever, then an asset with a high price today must have some combination of high dividends and low returns over the indefinite future. Furthermore, investors must recognize this fact in forming their expectations, so when an asset price is high, investors must expect some combination of high future dividends and low future returns. In a series of papers, some written jointly with Robert J. Shiller, I have developed this simple insight into a quantitative framework for analyzing the variation of asset prices. As a matter of accounting, price movements must be driven by some combination of changing expectations ("news") about future dividends and changing expectations about future returns; the latter in turn can be broken into news about future riskless real interest rates and news about future excess returns on risky assets over riskless ones.(2) Until the early 1980s, most financial economists believed that there was very little predictable variation in stock returns and that dividend news was by far the most important factor driving stock market fluctuations. The first challenge to this orthodoxy came from Stephen F. LeRoy and Richard Porter, and from Shiller.(3) These authors pointed out that dividends, and plausible measures of expectations about future dividends, are far less volatile than stock prices. A few years later, Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French studied the predictability of stock returns from past returns and dividend-price ratios. They pointed out that the predictable variation in stock returns becomes increasingly impressive--in the sense that it accounts for an increasing share of the overall variation of returns--as one lengthens the horizon over which returns are measured.(4) In several papers, some written with Shiller and one with John M. Ammer, I have shown that these observations are intimately related. When the expected return on an asset changes slowly over time, any change in today's expected return has a large effect on the asset price. This increases the volatility of prices; it also may increase the volatility of short-horizon returns relative to the volatility of long-horizon returns, so that the predictable variation of returns is a more important component of the variation of total returns at long horizons. The dividend-price ratio reflects the underlying variation in the expected stock return, and therefore is a good forecasting variable for long-horizon stock returns. The message of this research is that changing expectations of future stock returns are a powerful force driving movements in stock prices.(5) None of this work addresses the important question of what economic factors cause the expected return on the aggregate stock market to change over time. As a matter of logic, the expected stock return can change only if the short term riskless real interest rate changes, or if the expected excess return on stock over short-term debt changes. The expected excess return may change if the riskiness of stock changes, or if the "price of risk" (the extra return demanded by investors for bearing risk) changes. …


Background: There are many studies on the impact of frailty on postoperative complications; however, there are few studies focusing on stepwise propensity score matching (PSM) to offset the influence of age. Methods: We gathered data for patients undergoing short-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion from January to December 2021. According to the Fried frailty phenotype, we categorized patients into non-frail, pre-frail, and frail groups, then, stepwise PSM for age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and fusion levels were performed to keep comparable clinical data between groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine the impact of clinical demographics on postoperative complications. Results: A total of 559 consecutive patients with complete medical records were enrolled (237 males and 322 females; mean age 72.55 ± 5.86 years). After PSM, we found that pre-frail patients were more vulnerable to develop urinary retention (p = 0.031) and surgical site infections (p = 0.021) than non-frail patients. Longer length of stay (LOS), delayed ambulation and removal of urinary catheter times were observed in pre-frail patients. However, there was a significant difference only in LOS between pre-frail and frail patients. Binary logistic regression revealed that C-reactive protein (CRP) and frail status were independently associated with postoperative complications between non-frail and pre-frail patients, while only CRP was independently correlated with complications between pre-frail and frail patients. Conclusion: After PSM, we found higher rates of urinary retention and surgical site infections in pre-frail patients than in non-frail patients. CRP was independently related to postoperative complications, while frail status was only independently associated with postoperative complications between pre-frail and non-frail patients. Pre-frail/frail patients tended to have more severe stress responses than non-frail patients. Clinical Interventions in Aging is an international, peer-reviewed journal focusing on evidence-based reports on the value or lack thereof of treatments intended to prevent or delay the onset of maladaptive correlates of aging in human beings. This journal is indexed on PubMed Central, MedLine, CAS, Scopus and the Elsevier Bibliographic databases. The manuscript management system is completely online and includes a very quick and fair peer-review system, which all easy to use. Visit to read real quotes from published


PurposeAcademic innovation strives to benefit from an ample talent pool, and entrepreneurship and research competitions constitute an integral part of the effort. This prompts discussions about how to optimize the impact of interdisciplinary learning, especially for less-traditional participants. The main purpose of this article is to describe how synergies between research and business plan competitions can facilitate inclusive engagement and enhanced development of transferable skills.Design/methodology/approachA case illustration addresses the following questions: (1) what skills can be enhanced through a single project toward parallel participation in research and business plan competitions? (2) How can synergies between research and business plan competitions support more inclusive student development? The case illustration outlines the process and outcomes of an initiative with three first-gen business students, two female and two international.FindingsThe case illustration describes how synergies and alignments of deadliness between research and business plan competitions enhanced the learning process by facilitating more opportunities to showcase learning and receive feedback. In addition, the parallel preparation facilitated student inclusion by providing purposeful authentic practice in a project envisioned by the students. As a result of the 2019 learning experience, students and their employers continue to value in 2021 the effective development of transferable skills.Originality/valuePrevious studies examine independently entrepreneurship initiatives, science technology engineering arts and mathematics (STEAM) initiatives, transferable skills and pedagogy that support inclusive education. This manuscript describes the option of synergies between research and entrepreneurship competitions to support more inclusive student development. In addition, it provides recommendations for impact when scaling-up synergies.


The advancement of a constructive Aboriginal agenda in the form of rights-based litigation since the recognition and affirmation of Aboriginal and treaty rights in the Constitution Act, 1982 has led to the creation of the legal doctrine of the duty to consult and accommodate. As a discipline on Crown decision-making, the legal doctrine of the duty to consult and accommodate presents a prospective pathway for the reconciliation of Crown and Aboriginal interests in resource development. While maintaining promise as a framework to provide for the full and fair consideration of Aboriginal interests in regulatory reviews, administrative decision-makers representing the Crown have made the management of legal liabilities the principal policy objective of consultation and accommodation. As a result, there is minimal incentive for administrative decision-makers to deviate from highly legalistic interpretations of common law. This standard operating procedure is steadily reinforced, as the Crown, able to efficiently reduce the risk of litigation by First Nations, permits projects without consideration of the continued and incremental diminishment of Aboriginal interests in lands and resources. The purpose of this thesis is to deconstruct processes of consultation and accommodation embedded in environmental assessment processes associated with major resource projects as a means to identify institutional arrangements that promote and provide for the full and fair consideration of Aboriginal interests in Crown decision-making.


Objective To discuss how to use CT scan technique exactly and reasonably and make diagnosis of acute pancreatitis and its complication. Methods 500ml of 20% urografin was intaken orally before scanning and 200ml of 20% urografin was intaken orally at start of scanning. Every layer was less than 25mm with 2~5mm per each. The routine scan was performed and then enhanced scan. Results The pancreas was widespread enlarged with low density, unclear contour and clouding margin when pancreatitis happened. Conclusion CT scan when pancreatitis and its complication happened had its own characteristics and it might have great value for its diagnosis.


between therapist and patient) are used throughout to illustrate concepts and the practicalities of modified CBT. This book is not written for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists or mental health nurse therapists. The stated aim is to encourage clinicians within general healthcare settings to provide CBTinformed interventions to patients with health anxiety. While accepting the arguments for this approach, it is uncertain that clinicians untrained in CBT would find the book sufficiently detailed to successfully deliver modified CBT; failure to mention clinical supervision of therapists is surprising. The explicit rejection of psychoanalytic mechanisms as having any role in the aetiology of health anxiety may be undermined by clinical examples that appear to show symptom resolution after 'catharsis'. It was disappointing that the concept of pathologically low anxiety about one's health (e.g. in people engaging in high-risk behaviours), mentioned in the introduction, is not developed. Little evidence is presented to support the clinical efficacy of the intervention or its tolerability to patients. A few errors of editing and proof-reading persist. Nevertheless, there is much to recommend here. The patient group will be familiar to most psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and psychiatric nurses. The writing is clear, readable and memorable with suitably detailed and easily generalised examples. The useful descriptions of therapeutic strategies make them widely and immediately applicable; pitfalls or sticking points in therapy are anticipated, with strategies for tackling them clearly laid out. Various patients I have seen were brought vividly to mind while reading and I am hopeful that my approach to similar individuals in the future will be positively enhanced by this book and more efficacious.


Optical burst data switching using photonic MPLS routers controlled by GMPLS is demonstrated for the first time. Optical burst data is transmitted at a bit rate of 10 Gbit/s without burst data loss, and high network throughput is achieved.


The evolution of Blockchain has given way to a Smart World where there is improved security and integration of devices, systems, and processes with humans through all-pervasive connectivity. There are numerous secure applications using Blockchain like smart cities, Cloud Computing, Smart Management of the Environment and Healthcare, etc.A decentralized voting system is an option for the paper ballot system and EVM (Electronic Voting Machines). Democracies need a decentralized voting system that offers security, integrity, immutability, transparency, and privacy to voters. Blockchain is an emerging technology that offers integrity, immutability, and decentralization of data. Moving our traditional voting system to Blockchain technology can increase voter confidence. This paper describes an attempt to influence the advantages of Blockchain, such as cryptography and transparency, to accomplish an efficient scheme for a decentralized voting system using the Ethereum network. Smart contracts are profound chunks of codes, which are included in the Blockchain and then execute written code as planned in each stage of Blockchain updates. Decentralized voting is one of the trending topics, but is yet to be significant, compared to the other e-services.


Today we are living in an Information and Communication Technology. All over the world, there is a trend to use ICT in the teaching-learning process. The teacher and learner must gain access to technology for improving learning outcomes. ICT is a new paradigm of the teaching-learning process widely accepted as a necessary tool for attainment of developmental goals. Particularly higher education plays an important role for achieving society. In the process of education teacher plays vital role for promoting quality education. In order to development of teacher's professional efficiency, gaining update knowledge and promoting quality education ICT is very much necessary in the present knowledge and information explosion age. Application of Digital Technologies in classroom Instruction is widely accepted and it can be rich and as valuable as the classroom teaching. it is more useful in educational research. In the circumstance, Digital Technologies plays an important role for creating awareness among Teacher Educators. In the present study the investigator made an attempt to study the Application of Digital Technologies in classroom Instruction among Teacher Educators in B.Ed colleges from Trichy District. Sixty Teacher Educators Teaching in B.Ed College were taken as representative sample of the whole population. The Tools Based an Application of Digital Technologies in Classroom Instruction among Teacher Educators was used for collecting the data. The means of both groups were tested for the significance of difference by using 't' test. The difference in the groups were statistically significant and the application of digital Technologies was more favorable for Teacher Educators among B.Ed colleges of Trichy District in Tamilnadu. INTRODUCTION Science and technology play an important role in the new millennium. Tremendous explosion of knowledge in science and technology has changed the life style of people. Without science and technology we cannot go forward. Now a day's science and technology is as essential as our basic needs. Today's technology leads the way to productivity and the internet has become the vehicle of choice for markets and educational institutions. Digital Technologies is the changing trend in education. The modern technologies particularly the internet made education no longer limited to the four walls of the class room. Application of Digital Technologies comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked or not serve as specific media to implement the learning process. The term will still most likely be utilized to reference out-of classroom and in-classroom educational experiences via technology, even as advances continue in regard to devices and curriculum. Application of Digital Technologies may include the use of web-based teaching materials and hypermedia in general, multimedia CD-ROMs, websites, discussion boards, collaborative software, e-mail, blogs, wakes, test chat, computer aided assessment, educational animation, simulations, games, learning management software, electronic voting systems and more, with possibly a combination of different methods being used. Digital Technology is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in conjunction with face to face teaching, in which case the term blended learning is commonly used. Digital Technology is a means of education that incorporates self-motivation, communication, efficiency, and technology. Because there is limited social interaction, students most keep themselves motivated. Application of Digital Technology is a flexible term used to describing a means of teaching through technology. Digital Technology refers to the use of Internet technologies to deliver a broad array of solutions that enhance knowledge and performance (Rosenberg, 2001). In general, Digital Technology is the expression broadly used to describe "instructional content or learning experience delivered or enabled by electronic technologies". Therefore, proper understanding of the Applications of Digital Technology in which the man lives is inevitable. Since the college level is the crucial stage of the present educational system in our country, it needs special attention. Therefore, the necessity of getting the teachers well acquainted with Application of Digital Technology in college stage can never be minimized. Computer knowledge and Application of Digital Technology should spread all over the world. It is found that there are different reasonable opinions in this regards. It is an urgent need for developing certain strategies which can improve their knowledge, attitude and skills on Application of Digital Technology in Classroom Instruction. The investigator intends to restrict his research work to Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The problem for the present study may be specifically stated as "Application of Digital Technologies in Classroom Instruction among Teacher Educators in B.Ed Colleges". NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY In the last decades, the global economy has been to what so called ''knowledge based economy '' where knowledge is created, acquired, disseminated, and utilized more efficiently and effectively by enterprises, organizations, individuals and communities for greater socio-economic development and global competitiveness. The new knowledge economy puts a premium on intellectual capital making lifelong education more important than ever. However, the education constrains are becoming more present. Accordingly, Application of Digital Technologies in classroom instruction is a vital asset for all employees in the new knowledge economy. Technology offers tremendous opportunities for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of education in the future. Students, faculty, staff and administrators now use technol-


The results of evaluation of the quality of life of 40 CHD patients with severe left ventricular myocardial dysfunction after coronary bypass surgery are presented. Their quality of life was assessed at baseline, at 1, 3, 5 and 7 years by means of SF-36 questionnaire. The data obtained show that these patients' quality of life significantly drops at baseline, and the lower the quality of life, the higher the patients' functional class of angina and heart failure. It was found out that coronary bypass surgery contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of patients with CHD and low myocardial contractility of the left ventricle.


On the island of Bornholm, just northwest of Akirkeby, the only institution where lepers could receive care and lodging was established in the thirteenth century. The place is referred to for the first time in written sources in 1334 by the Latin name domui leprosorum (the lepers' house); later it was referred to as Sct. Jorgensgard, just like most of the other leper hospitals in the country. In 1918 Poul Norlund (1888-1951) from the National Museum excavated the institution's chapel, which lay in ruins, exposing the preserved brickwork. In 1960 and 1961 the churchyard outside the chapel was excavated and c. 170 burials examined. In 1962 the burials inside the chapel were exposed. This time Dr Vilhelm Moller-Christensen (1903-1988) carried out the study, ascertaining several cases of leprosy and a number of skeletons showing evidence of syphilis. The planned scientific examination of the excavated skeletal material was never accomplished. It has not been possible to obtain a large portion of the documentation from the last three campaigns in the relevant museums and archives. On the basis of the highly fragmentary archival material, the article aims to outline the main features of the centuries-long history of the place, concluding with a discussion of the find of two coins from the times of Valdemar Atterdag (1340-1375) in 1997. They may be regarded as the preliminary to renewed archaeological activity surrounding one of Bornholm's most mysterious buildings.


The image that most readily comes to mind in connection with the university and its attempts, in professional design schools, to comprehend and cope with the problems of the bio-social and physical environment, is that of the five blind men who discovered an elephant and respectively conceived it as very much like a tree, a rope, a wall, a fan and a spear.


The aim of this research was to produce bread from composite flours (fermented cashew kernel/wheat), determine their physicochemical and sensory properties. The Hagberg falling number (FN) and rheological properties of wheat flour replaced with fermented cashew kernel flour at 10, 20 30 and 40% were evaluated. The physical properties and proximate composition of loaves were determined. Also sensory characteristics of breads were evaluated. Results showed that the substitution of wheat flour with fermented cashew kernel flour negatively impacted the rheological properties and increased the falling number. Thereby, composite flours obtained from wheat flour substitution with fermented cashew kernel flour at 10 and 20 percent levels were retained for bread production. The weight, volume and specific volume of loaves varied from 208 to 229 g, 433 to 657 cm3 and 1.80 to 3.20 cm3/g respectively. The crude protein, fat, crude fibre, moisture and ash contents of the composite breads increased significantly (P<0.05) with increase in the proportion of fermented cashew kernel flour. The carbohydrate contents were observed to decrease significantly (P<0.05) from 38.08 to 56.18% with increase in the percentage of the cashew kernel flour incorporation. Sensory evaluation of the bread samples showed that substitution level of 10% fermented cashew kernel flour produced bread that was acceptable to the consumers whereas at 20% were neither like nor dislike. Therefore, it is recommended to use a level of substitution of wheat flour with fermented cashew kernel flour not exceeding 20% for bread production.


This is a research about how the factors individual attitude, normative conceptions, motivation and organizational climate is influencing factors of encoded explicit knowledge sharing. The flow of sharing means that an employee has knowledge and share it with others in an IT-system as stored information which will be available to others to use. This thesis has been examined in a small to medium sized company in Sweden. Qualitative interviews have been performed with employees in a company, where the employees are responsible to share explicit knowledge in an IT-system. Some researchers believe that if the information is already encoded and acquired it can be used. However, it has been demonstrated that this does not have to be the case. In small and medium sized companies' information is stored in multiple locations, which makes it difficult for the employees to use the knowledge. The framework Theory of Reasoned Action [TRA] has been used to understand the individual behavior based on the individual attitude, which has been developed with previous research in knowledge sharing where TRA has been used. Our result shows that the factors have an influencing effect on the behavior of sharing encoded explicit knowledge. The internal motivation proved to be an important element to motivate the behavior to share knowledge. Another aspect was the structure in the IT-system for knowledge sharing. The structure had an influencing effect on the behavior, which was not raised in the framework TRA. These factors have been identified from the employee's perspective in the company, to be the deciding factors that affect sharing of encoded explicit knowledge.


Large airports have become to be built far in the distance of cities in Japan. In such cases, the noise duration increases because of the increases of aircraft altitude in residual areas although the noise level is reduced. Therefore it possibly provides some problems to evaluate the aircraft noise independently of environmental noise when the frequency of flight is large.The purpose of this study is to find the way to evaluate the effect of aircraft noise on the environmental noise level considering the flight frequency on the basis of quantitative relationship between the noisiness and loudness of environmental noise clarified as well as that of aircraft noise in the distance.


Jean Jaques Weber is quite right in saying that in the chapter he refers to I argue (as I have argued elsewhere, in Widdowson, 1992, 1994, for example) that there is something distinctive about literature and that this calls for a different mode of interpretation and a different kind of critical practice from those relevant to other kinds of language use. Such a view does not square with the current orthodoxy that Weber espouses. This holds that there is no such distinction and that the purpose of critical practice is to reveal the social significance of texts of all kinds, whether they are deemed to be literary or not. My view, Weber says, 'seems outdated, untouched by the developments in literary theory of the last few decades' (p. 153). This may be so, but that does not of itself invalidate the view. The fact that certain ideas are in vogue does not make them valid, and the cogency of an argument (as distinct from its appeal) has nothing to do with the references to cognate contemporary work that are cited in its support. What, then, is the argument for my position? Most readers of Language and Literature are likely to have only the Weber version to go by, and this, I feel (predictably enough), does less than justice to it. He selects the following extract as expressing my definition of literature:


Clarification is presented of the property that adaptive blind equalization algorithms may not always result in desired convergence. Those algorithms that can always converge (perhaps with the aid of a special initialization strategy) to desired equilibria offering an open eye pattern are classified as admissible. Various classes of existing blind equalization algorithms are described and the possibility of ill-convergence for these algorithms is illustrated. The general inadmissibility and the reason for earlier misconception regarding their admissibility development of new, admissible algorithms and certain initialization guidelines that can prevent weakly admissible algorithms from converging to undesirable equilibria is established.<<ETX>>


Seedlings of three species with different tolerance to shade and drought, Acer saccharum, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Quercus alba, were planted on the hillslope site of the Walker Branch Throughfall Displacement Experiment during the winter of 1993-1994, and their growth measured during the following growing season. Volumetric soil moisture in the upper 35cm of soil was measured twice monthly, and relative light availability above each seedling was measured in August. The most shade tolerant species, sugar maple, leafed out earlier and by the beginning of April had produced 80% of its total leaf area, compared with only 16% for tulip poplar and 39% for white oak. Leaf area and stem growth of sugar maple were positively correlated with soil moisture, but not with light, while stem growth of tulip poplar and white oak were positively correlated with light, but not with soil moisture. Tulip poplar had the highest mortality (15%) followed by sugar maple (3%). Mortality was higher in dry locations, but was not related to growth during the season.


Acknowledgments The authors express their gratitude to the staff of the Illinois State Cancer Registry and to all of the staff members at reporting facilities for providing the data that made the study of Hispanic identification in the Illinois State Cancer Registry possible. Special thanks to Mr. David Word with the United States Bureau of the Census and senior author of the working paper, Building a Spanish Surname List for the 1990's–A New Approach to An Old Problem, for providing guidance in the application of the approach to cancer registry data in Illinois. Executive Summary A comprehensive study of Hispanic identification in the Illinois State Cancer Registry (ISCR) was conducted for the purpose of establishing a policy that defines the reporting of Hispanic cancer incidence in Illinois. In 1989, an Hispanic origin data element was introduced on the ISCR incidence report form as a requirement for data acquisition by cancer registrars in Illinois. It was found that cancer registrars were able to identify approximately 75 percent to 80 percent of Hispanic cancer cases using resources available to them. Indirect identifiers including birthplace and surname were examined to determine if development of an algorithm that used both direct and indirect information on Hispanics could improve case ascertainment on ISCR. evaluation of cases born in Hispanic non-U.S. birthplaces indicated that the use of birthplace information could enhance Hispanic casefinding on ISCR. In addition, Spanish surnames are known to be predictors of Hispanic status. In March 1996, a Spanish surname list developed through special study of 1990 census surnames and Hispanic origin responses, became available to facilitate Hispanic identification in the U.S. Evaluation of the census Spanish surname approach indicated that it was applicable to the Hispanic population in Illinois and was suitable for indirect Hispanic identification of cases on the ISCR database. It was determined that a combination of direct and indirect Hispanic identification was necessary to produce the most complete ascertainment of Hispanic cancer cases. An algorithm was created using both direct (ISCR Hispanic origin) and indirect (Hispanic non-U.S. birthplace and heavily Hispanic surname as classified according to the census bureau Spanish surname study) identifiers that maximized the probability of correct Hispanic identification of ISCR cases. Hispanic cancer incidence will be reported using the established algorithm for reports and special studies in the Division of Epidemiologic Studies. More valid and reliable cancer incidence data on the Hispanic population residing in Illinois …


The views of residents on the area they live in were surveyed in relation to urban, suburban and rural areas. The more urban the area the more likely the residents are to be dissatisfied, to report problems and to live in poor quality neighbourhoods. The major concerns of people in rural and suburban areas were access to public transport and opportunities and facilities for young people. Urban areas were more likely to have serious problems with air quality, heavy traffic, and nuisance from street parking and litter/rubbish dumping. There was a perception that if local areas had changed, it was generally for the worse. Reasons given for house moves are tabulated.


Information captured in software execution profiles can benefit verification activities by supporting more cost-effective fault localization and execution classification. This paper proposes an experimental design which utilizes execution information to quantify the effect of factors such as different programs and fault inclusions on the distinction between passed and failed execution profiles. For this controlled experiment we use well-known, benchmark-like programs. In addition to experimentation, our empirical evaluation includes case studies of open source programs having more complex fault models. The results show that metrics reflecting distinction between failing and passing executions are affected more by program than by faults included.


The invention relates to an arrangement in connection with a massaging apparatus, and a massaging apparatus. The massaging apparatus includes a treatment head (2), a low-pressure chamber (6) arranged at the treatment head, element (5) for producing low pressure in the low-pressure chamber, and a nozzle part (3), one end of which is arranged to be in connection with the low-pressure chamber and the other end of which is arranged to be pressed against a skin tissue to direct low-pressure suction to the skin tissue, thus producing a bulge in the skin tissue. The nozzle part (3) is arranged to form a suction opening with two main axes, which are substantially perpendicular to one another and are of the same or a different length. The arrangement includes a sealing part (4) made of a flexible material and arranged to adapt to the shape of the suction opening formed by the nozzle part and to seal the gap between the end of the nozzle part and the skin tissue when the end of the nozzle part is pressed against the skin tissue. The surface of the sealing part (4) to be pressed against the skin tissue is arranged to be concave in the direction of at least one of the main axes of the suction opening formed by the nozzle part (3).


Judge Robert Carter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) argued that White supremacy is the leading cause of de facto segregation. However, White supremacy is still undertheorized in educational leadership. Through the lens of Charles Mills' racial contract, this article interprets a controversy surrounding White teachers' expectations in a racially integrated high school. White supremacy operates in schools in the following ways: (a) meritocracy as property, (b) institutional violence as colonialism, and (c) racial othering as racial selfing. This article calls upon school leaders to "manage" Whiteness and disrupt the racial contract as a strategy to confront structural racism in urban schooling.


SEM and light microscopic studies on the larvae of the rhizocephalan barnacles Peltogasterella gracilis and P. sulcata reared in the laboratory revealed the presence of 5 naupliar instars, the newly found stage being instar 3. It resembles instar 2 but is larger and has a body slightly tapering towards the posterior end, a reduced subapical (preaxial) seta on the antennule, and both transverse grooves and a specific denticle ornamentation on the hind body of female larvae. In cultures, the larvae of both species develop into cyprids within 4-5 days after release. Peltogasterella nauplii have a size comparable to that seen in Sacculina and Peltogaster, but they are much smaller than the larvae of the cold-water Briarosaccus. The nauplii of Peltogasterella are lecitotrophic and have limb setation and other feeding structures highly reduced. Peltogasterella nauplii have a cuticular flotation collar encircling the body, but it is very small, delicate, and almost smooth. It therefore differs from the homolo- gous, but much larger, and heavily ornamented flotation collars seen in nauplii of Peltogaster and Briarosaccus. A characteristic feature in Peltogasterella nauplii is the single subterminal seta at the distal end of each frontolateral horn, whereas nauplii of Briarosaccus and Peltogaster have two such setae. The antennulary basipod carries a short additional seta, which represents the only remaining rudiment of gnathobases. Nauplii of Briarosaccus and Peltogaster have a homologous, but significantly longer seta, whereas Sacculina nauplii lack this seta altogether. The nauplii of P. gracilis and P. sulcata are very similar in size and morphology, but those of P. sulcata differ by somewhat longer frontolateral horns and furcal spines. Another distinctive feature of P. gracilis nauplii is the ven- tral ornamentation of the hind body that shows different pattern at different stages of development and reflects an internal development of segments. This ornamentation is only weakly pronounced in P. sulcata nauplii. Compari- son with larval development in Briarosaccus tenellusleads to the conclusion that the rhizocephalan ground pattern comprises six naupliar stages just as in other cirripedes (e.g., Thoracica). Comparison of lattice organ morphology indicates a sister group relationship between the families Peltogastridae and Lernaeodiscidae. Our study highlights the value of SEM revealed larval characters and of characters other than appendage setation as being important in rhizocephalan phylogeny.


Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common metabolic and endocrine disorder affecting 6 to 21% of reproductive aged women depending on population, mean body mass index and diagnostic criteria used. High prevalence is rates seen in women whom are overweight or have an Indigenous or Asian background. Xenin is a peptide hormone produced by a subpopulation of chromogranin A-positive endocrine cells in the mucous membrane of the duodenum. In humans, xenin circulates in the blood plasma. Aim of the study: To determine the role of xenopsin level in polycystic ovarian syndrome. Patients and methods: Observational case control study, conducted in Salah Aldin general hospital in Obstetrics and gynecological department, from (the first of Fab 2018 to the end of Dec. 2018). 40 patients with PCOS and 40 healthy women were included in the study. Results: the mean age of PCOS group was 29±2.30 years and 28±7.20 years for control group. Sensitivity of the test to diagnose the PCOS were (88.0%), the specificity (89.0%), positive predictive value (86.0%), negative predictive value (84.0%) and the accuracy of the test to diagnose the PCOS was (88.6%). Conclusion: Highly significant increase in Xenopsin level in PCOS group than that in control group.


The invention discloses a pulse laser distance measuring method. A laser emission system, a laser echo receiving system and a data receiving and processing system are adopted for measurement, and the method is characterized in that the laser emission system comprises a pulse laser, a beam splitter and a PIN (personal identification number) photoelectric detector, the laser echo receiving system comprises an optical receiving subsystem, an APD (avalanche photo diode) photoelectric detector, the data receiving and processing system comprises a signal transmission converting subsystem, a time measuring subsystem and a data processing subsystem, the pulse laser is used for emitting laser pulses to be subjected to proportion beam splitting via the beam splitter, most of laser energy is emitted to a target, a small amount of the laser energy is received by the PIN photoelectric detector, the optical receiving subsystem is used for collecting laser echo onto the APD photoelectric detector, the signal transmission converting subsystem is used for receiving electric signals output by the PIN photoelectric detector and the APD photoelectric detector, the electric signals are transmitted to the time measuring subsystem after being subjected to signal processing, and the data processing subsystem is used for processing measurement data output by the time measuring subsystem and computing to obtain distance information of the target.


The main aim of the paper is to present a methodology for recognition of destructive processes induced by voids and loosening zone in rock mass by geophysical methods. That recognition has a particular meaning in the estimation of sinkhole threat in the areas of post-mining exploitation of different deposits. Presence of a non back-filled void or discontinuity induced by mining creates unspecified in time risk for the surface area. Discontinuous deformations occur not always over the area where shallow deposit exploitation took place. Time and place of their occurrence are difficult to predict. Deformations observed till now in areas of shallow exploitation in GZW (Upper Silesian Coal Basin) and Olkusz region occurred shortly after mining activities closing and, as late as, over hundred years after. 39


This paper locates the endogenous money approach in a circuitist framework. It argues for the significance of the credit creation process for the evolution of the economy and the absence of any notion of 'neutrality of money'. Clearing banks are distinguished from other financial institutions as the providers of initial finance in a circuit whereas other financial institutions operate in a final finance circuit. Financialization is here viewed in terms of the growth of financial assets and liabilities, of non-bank financial institutions and changes in the predominant flow of funds between firms, households and rentiers. Some of the issues for the way in which the circuit analysis is developed are considered. This paper reflects research being conducted within the project Financialisation, Economy, Society and Sustainable Development (FESSUD) (www.fessud.eu) which is a 5-year project funded by the European Commission Framework Programme 7 (contract number 266800). Discussions with Marco Passarella have informed the work here though without implicating him in the use to which I have put those discussions. I am grateful to Phillip Arestis for comments on an earlier draft.


Determination of moisture content of soil is crucial and must be performed as frequently as necessary to ensure the quality of construction work. In order to address the limitations and inaccuracies of existing methods, a new concept has been implemented. An artificial neural network and state-of-the-art electronic circuitry are embedded to realise an automatic measurement system based on a low-cost computing platform. Also, to facilitate user interaction with the system, a sophisticated graphical user interface was created. This system, from both a hardware and a software perspective, brings new ideas not only to the moisture content determination test but also to the geotechnical laboratory and field instrumentation in terms of accuracy, automation and machine intelligence. This work shows that hardware and software embedded in test equipment can automate the test procedures in geotechnical engineering, using an appropriate sensor and a data acquisition and processing routine. This paper presents the te...


Energy storage system (ESS) plays a critical role in maintaining the reliability of microgrids. ESS selection for microgrids depends on energy density, specific power, specific energy, and economics. This paper analyses the economic benefits of various combinations of short-, medium-, and long-term ESS, i.e., multi-energy storage systems (MESS) in a microgrid. The economic feasibility of the system is analyzed using Homer software. The net present cost (NPC), the Levelized cost of energy (LCOE), and pollutant gas emission are chosen as parameters for analyzing the economic feasibility of the microgrids. The results show that amongst all the scenarios, the system with Hydrogen Storage System (HSS) with Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and electrolyzer is the most feasible solution with the lowest LCOE and pollutant emission.


Nonlinear partial differential equations appear in many domains of physics, and we study here a typical equation which one finds in effective field theories originated from cosmological studies. In particular, we are interested in the equation ∂t2u(x,t)=α(∂xu(x,t))2+β∂x2u(x,t) in 1+1 dimensions. It has been known for quite some time that solutions to this equation diverge in finite time, when α > 0. We study the nature of this divergence as a function of the parameters α > 0 and β⩾0 . The divergence does not disappear even when β is very large contrary to what one might believe (note that since we consider fixed initial data, α and β cannot be scaled away). But it will take longer to appear as β increases when α is fixed. We note that there are two types of divergence and we discuss the transition between these two as a function of parameter choices. The blowup is unavoidable unless the corresponding equations are modified. Our results extend to 3+1 dimensions.


In order to facing an increasingly competitive world of manufacturing industry, it is necessary to select appropriate suppliers to produce quality products at competitive prices. This requires producers to make efficiency. Supplier selection is one way to make efficiency by considering several factors. In this research, the ideal supplier selection is made on rubber component using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method with three criteria factors that are considered important by the company such as, production factor (48%), quality (40%), and price (12%). Furthermore, this study shows The TRHI as suppliers with the largest value of 51.6% compared to other suppliers such as IKP (24.8%) and IRC (23.6%).


The inhabitants produce the sump waters and accumulate temporarily in the sumps. This is sewage that must be treated before it is discharged to surface waters. Slovak legislation does not allow the discharge of such waters into the soil. The possibilities of sump water treatment are given by the water management equipment of the given locality where sewage water is produced. The most common treatment method is transported at municipal wastewater treatment plants, which are, however, largely congested. In many cases, the sump water is no longer able to receive in WWTP. Another way is domestic wastewater treatment plants, and also they are wastewater treatment plants exclusively for sump waters. Sump waters have a predominantly high organic content and therefore their quality needs to be constantly monitored. The most important monitored characteristics of sump waters are COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and BOD5 (Biological Oxygen Demand). The high concentration of these substances in the sump water can adversely affect the processes at the municipal wastewater treatment plant.
Due to the rapid development of rural settlements without a functioning sewerage system, it is necessary to intensify or adapt the existing wastewater treatment plants. However, many engineers see the solution to this problem in the construction of separate wastewater treatment plants for sump waters.


Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science CE-MS-2017-05 Running quantum algorithms in a quantum machine may solve some complex problems that are intractable for even the most powerful classical computers. Quantum algorithms can be described by quantum circuits consisting of a set of qubits and a sequence of gates operating on those qubits when the quantum circuit model of computation is adopted. This circuit description on an algorithm usually assumes that any kind of interaction between qubits is possible. However, in real experiments, qubits are placed on a specific physical qubit layout, which constraints the possible interactions between qubits due to its limited connectivity. One possible layout for arranging qubits is a 2D array with 4 neighbours per qubit, which corresponds with the topology of surface code, one of the most promising quantum correction codes. In such 2D nearest-neighbour (NN) arrangement of qubits not all pairs of qubits that have to interact during computation can be directly connected (be neighbours). This means that non-adjacent qubits or qubit states need to be moved or routed (by e.g. SWAP operations) and be placed close to each other when required. In this thesis, we applied different routing algorithms used in Network on Chip (NoC) for defining the routing paths when quantum states are moved. After investigating 7 different NoC routing algorithms, we redesign and adapt them to the quantum scenario. We use the quantum plane simulation platform for comparing the routing overhead and the success rate of such routing algorithms when running 4 different quantum algorithms. We conclude that the routing algorithm which has the best overall routing performance is the one called Hot Potato. It is deadlock and livelock free in perfect qubit lattices, and shows the best fault-tolerance when faulty qubits are considered. Routing of Quantum States in 2D Lattices Routing Algorithm Design


The purpose of this paper is to improve the evacuation stability of residents in apartment fire. For this purpose, the actual condition survey about the obstacles was conducted on 3,056 escape stairs in the 183 apartments. In addition, the questionnaire investigation was carried out a survey targeting the residents of apartments about their experience of fire safety education, perception on safety management of escape stairs, and perception on fire safety. As a result of investigation, we confirmed that the obstacles were formed in the 1,916 escape stairs among the 3,056 escape stairs of the 183 apartments (percent of barricades in escape stairs: 62.70%). Furthermore, it showed that fire safety education experience was found to be 83.10% of subject. The perception on safety management of the subjects in the escape step and the perception on fire safety were 3.84±0.75%, and 3.49±0.61, respectively. In the results, most of the subjects had a fire safety education and knew how to safety management the escape stairs but, the practice of the safety management action was low. Based on the results in the paper, the policy proposal is that the fire safety education is emphasized to change from the perception to action.


Speech recognition, as one of the key artificial intelligence technologies in modern development, plays an important role in any aspect. However, there are still problems in practical application, such as poor anti-interference and low degree of perfection. Therefore, this paper aims at the content of existing computer speech recognition technology, grasps fuzzy mathematical algorithm, and analyzes how to use this algorithm to better study computer speech recognition.


The sixth Plenary Session of the 17th passed"The central committee of the communist party of China to further the reform of cultural system to promote great prosperity of socialist culture development decision several major issues".It makes the strategic target of insisting socialism and building powerful cultural country from the height of socialism entiredistribution.Cultural education is the key point to raise the quality,promote profileand work.Public security colleges are developing policeman resource.It takes the burden of educate qualified policemen.


The detection of biosignatures on a planetary surface is of high scientific interest, and enantiomeric excesses of organic molecules are one such signature. Enantiomeric excesses can be detected by their polarizing effects on transmitted light. As part of instrument development work for a microscopic imager, the Cold Lightweight Imager for Europa (C-LIFE), we assess the potential of polarization measurements to quantify enantiomeric excesses. We investigated the optical rotation of the amino acids serine and phenylalanine for a range of enantiomeric abundances. Measurements were made with mixtures of serine and phenylalanine as well as Europa-relevant salts to determine how well these combinations can be detected. We also conducted a small number of measurements on samples of bacteria taken from glacial environments. We found that concentrations greater than 10−3 M are needed to detect serine and concentrations greater than 10−4 M are needed to detect phenylalanine, with larger concentrations needed for smaller enantiomeric excesses. Salts do not have a significant effect on the optical rotation. Optical rotation of bacterial samples were detected at concentrations >106 cells ml−1. Systematic errors in our polarization detector limited our sensitivity to optical activity changes of ∼0.008°, leading to an inability to distinguish enantiomeric abundances separated by 5%, but tests show that improvements to our laboratory technique can yield a factor of 20 improvement in sensitivity.


This thesis investigates gender and performance in the GCE A level examination. It
attempts to acquire deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to differential
performance at 18+. It identifies a 'cross-over' in gender related patterns of performance in
examinations between 16+ and 18+, uses a multi-method approach and a number of
sources of data to explain the complex patterns observed. This thesis aims to identify the
various factors that contribute to differential performance in examinations and to assess the
extent of their influence.
The impetus for the research stemmed from a concern that the A level examination has been
relatively under-researched in relation to gender-equity issues in examination attainment.
Previously, the focus of gender-related differences in examination performance had tended
to concentrate on the compulsory stage of schooling. Little is known, therefore, about
gender-related performance issues at 18+.
In this questions specifically focus on the A level examination and are asked in
relation to: how we account for gender-related differences in performance; the contribution
of the assessment techniques used to these differences and whether there are content,
contexts and tasks types used in these examinations that benefit one gender more than
another. Data has been collected, analysed and interpreted from over 3,000 examination
scripts, 200 questionnaire responses from secondary school teachers and nine school case
studies. Teachers' and students' attitudes to, and perceptions of, gender-related attainment
at 18+ are explored for their contribution to differential performance. Three subjects -
English literature, mathematics and physics - are used to illustrate the issues that are being
considered.
This thesis contributes knowledge to the gender-equity debate at one of the most significant
stages of examining in the UK. The debate is a complex one and the findings of this thesis
reflect this. In this thesis, evidence from the data suggests that any future consideration of
equity in relation to examination performance must concern itself not only with the
assessment techniques used in the examination system, but also with the expectations,
experiences and perceptions of teachers and students who are involved in these
examinations.


Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to examine factors influencing Audit Committee (AC) meeting frequency in the Kuwaiti market. In particular, this study aims at investigating whether AC meeting frequency is significantly related to ownership concentration, board ownership, board characteristics, AC characteristics, and certain firm organizational characteristics. A regression model is used to examine the research questions of interest using data related to firms listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). The study's results show that AC meeting frequency is positively related to ownership concentration, the audit firm type, and firm's affiliation to the finance industry, but is negatively related to board independence and firm's financial leverage. The results, however, reveals no significant relationship between AC meeting frequency and board size, or any of the AC characteristics examined.


Because of the precarious condition of small cetacean species and subpopulations listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN, use of captive breeding for conserva- tion has been suggested for some of them, and will likely be suggested for others. A successful captive breeding program for a new species cannot be implemented until reliable capture and husbandry techniques have been developed. Techniques for assisted reproduction and reintro- duction may also be needed. We review attempts to capture, maintain, and breed poorly known small cetaceans and discuss assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that have been used to enhance captive breeding efforts for other small cetaceans. We conclude that the techniques required for successful captive breeding of most Endangered or Critically Endangered small cetacean species have not been sufficiently developed. Development of these techniques should begin before a species or population is Critically Endangered. In particular, ARTs tend to be spe- cies specific, necessitating considerable time, money, and research to develop for each species of concern. Critically Endangered populations cannot afford to lose the individuals needed for tech- nique development. The fairly large captive population sizes necessary (to avoid loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic adaptation to captivity), limited space available in aquariums, and high costs of captive breeding and reintroduction programs make it unlikely that captive breeding will play a major role in the conservation of most small cetaceans. The substantive con- servation measures needed to prevent extinction of Critically Endangered small cetaceans is reduction or elimination of their primary threats, which are usually by-catch and habitat loss.


We prove quantitative stability of isometries on the first Heisenberg group with sub-Riemannian geometry: every $ (1+ \varepsilon)$-quasi-isometry of the John domain of the Heisenberg group $ \mathbb {H} $ is close to some isometry with order of closeness $ \sqrt{\varepsilon} + \varepsilon $ in the uniform norm and with order of closeness $ \varepsilon $ in the Sobolev norm $L_2^1$. Homogeneous dilations show the asymptotic sharpness of the results.


Presents the bivariate material classification (BMC) technique for ultrasound imaging of the breast. The BMC technique is used in conjunction with the conjugate gradient (CG) method to solve the inverse problem. Results are shown for a one-quarter scale, 2D model of the breast. It is found that the CG-BMC technique increases convergence and, in addition, gives more accurate results. Approximately 30% fewer iterations are required, significantly reducing the computational cost. The CG-BMC algorithm appears to be robust to noise, achieving good results for a signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB.


The first records of Clitocybula familia from the Czech and
Slovak Republics were studied and compared with the type
specimen of C. familia var. compressa and several
North-American collections of var. familia using macro- and
microscopic characters as well as molecular data (LSU rDNA).
All the collections were identical. Therefore, there is no need
to recognise var. familia and var. compressa, as they represent
the same taxon. Detailed macro- and microscopic descriptions
are given. In Europe, the species grows on strongly decayed
fallen trunks of Abies alba and Picea abies. All four
Central-European localities represent valuable old-growth
forests. Therefore, this species may be a bioindicator of such
environments.


The aim of this paper is to design of optimal sizing of photo voltaic/ wind hybrid energy based power system for rural electrification in the key area (Jamny Ven Barwani) Madhya Pradesh India where utility supply cost is real high due to limited consumer and higher transportation cost. The chosen case study presents a power demand 111 kWh/d. The system is designed and optimized as hybrid energy base power system in parliamentary procedure to fulfill the existing user's power require at a minimum price of energy. Wind speed and solar radiation data obtained from Indian Meteorological Division (IMD) for optimization software, Electric Renewable (HOMER) through hybrid optimization model has been used in the simulation process. The simulation based optimization generates the best optimized sizing of wind and PV array with diesel generators for rural hybrid base power system. This system is more Productive relative to the cost and environmental pleasant over the common sources of dynamism. It brings down the whole net current price, Operating charge, and running charge and also cuts the output of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other hazardous gases. It is anticipated that if the penalty cost of CO2and other gases, consider, the hybrid scheme is friendlier for environmental aspect.


A method for detecting the presence of a microorganism in a fluid sample, comprising the steps of: i) passing said sample through the orifice sample inlet of a filter device comprising a plurality of filter membranes of hollow fiber to which is fixed a first member of a specific binding pair, wherein said microorganism has the second member of said specific binding pair, wherein said membranes have a first and second ends, an outer surface and an inner surface defining a channel center, wherein said first end of each of said membranes being open and communicating with said inlet sample and the flow through said second end of each of said membranes is limited for said flow occurs only through said first end and the pores of said membranes, and wherein the sample mixture is filtered through by os said membranes to leave a filtrate in said central channel of said membranes; ii) washing off the unbound portion of said filtrate from said central channel of said membranes; iii) detecting the presence of any of said specific binding pairs attached to said membranes; and iv) correlating the results of step (iii) detecting the presence of said microorganism in said fluid sample; wherein said membanas have been treated with at least one agent of the group consisting of a wetting agent and a detergent agent before said first member of said specific binding pair is fixed to them.


This research uses qualitative research methods.  This research was conducted in Serongga Village, Kelumpang Hilir District, Kotabaru Regency, South Kalimantan Province.  Informants from the implementation of this study are apparatus of Serongga Village, operational executor of Bina Sejahtera Village-Owned Enterprises, as well as business observers in Serongga Village.  Data collection uses observation, interview, and documentation techniques. Data analysis techniques using model interactive analysis. Result research shows that the Serongga Village Government is  categorized as an active role, participatory role, and passive role inthe realm of developing Business Entity Owned by Bina Sejahtera Village, which includes aspects, namely: m emberi advice, advice  and opinions, considerations, supervision, appointing and dismissing operational implementers, providing problem solving, and delivering financial analysis, activity plans and capital increase planning needs, assimilating developmen, protecting village businesses from political attacks, accommodate the aspirations of the people.


In this paper we investigate first the choice of an appropriate index of body mass. The traditional indices weight/heighl (W/m, W/IP and ll'/IF are compared, as well as an approach due to cole (1986) making the index w/IIn age-dependent, i.e. by allowing the power p to depend on age. While there may be no perfect index reflecting overand underweight-irrespeitive of height and width-the Quetelet index WI12 turned out to be a reasonible indei from childhood to adulthood. Second, we study the development of the body mass index W/IP longitudinally from birth onwards, based on structural average disiance, velocity and acceleration curves. As a third topic, transformations for obtaining an approximate normal distribution for 14/IP, weight and skinfolds are compa."d. The usual log-transformation tulned out to be unsatisfactory. While for height and arm skinfolds a trinsformation -l/.1 x performs rather well across age and sex, a transformation 1/x is more appropriate for trunk skinfolds and W/FP'


A preliminary analysis, by means of the gut content, of the diet of Sagitta friderid and Sagitta enflata occurring in Guanabara Bay was carried out. The samples were collected at different times over a 4 day period in September 1995, during vertical tows with a conical net of 200 um mesh size at a fixed station (30 m depth). In total, 1000 individuals were examined. Copepoda were the numerically dominant group of prey of S.friderici and S.enflata (67.2 and 74.6%, respectively); both species behave as opportunistic carnivores, feeding mainly on the more abundant copepod species throughout the water column. Adult individuals of S.friderici and S.enflata (stages III and IV) seem to have food requirements different from juveniles: adults fed on other items (chaetognaths, crus- tacean larvae, hydromedusae and luciferidae), and the food containing ratio (FCR) was higher in indi- viduals of stage III. In general, only one prey per gut was registered. Chaetognaths may have chosen their prey in relation to their size, since the size of the prey was proportional to the size of their preda- tors. Feeding intensity (NPC) was higher in individuals collected during the night periods.


The sections in this article are:

1
Upper Respiratory Tract as a Conducting Airway

2
Oronasal Breathing

3
Nasal Cycle

4
Effects of Nasal Breathing on Breathing Mechanics

5
Larynx

6
Patency and Obstruction of the Airways


The sorption equilibriums of phosphate and thiocyanate anions on isomorphic substituted Mg/Zn-Al-type hydrotalcites were investigated in this study. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to interpret the equili- brium data for phosphate. The sorption equilibriums of phosphate on Mg3Al, Mg2ZnAl and Mg1.5Zn1.5Al hydrotalcites were well described by the Langmuir isotherm. The highest maximum sorption capacities for these adsorbents were as follows: 111, 101 and 95 mg g -1 . The equilibrium constant and standard Gibbs energy changes were also calculated from the sorption data. Standard Gibbs energy changes of about -20 kJ mol -1 indicated that the process might be consi- dered as physical adsorption. The sorption equilibriums of phosphate on iso- morphic substituted samples of MgZn2Al and Zn3Al were well described by the Freundlich isotherm. Thiocyanate showed a relative low affinity for the stu- died materials, as indicated by both the "S"-shaped isotherms and low sorption capacities. The sorption of phosphate and thiocyanate on the investigated hy- drotalcites showed a continuous decrease of the sorption capacity in the follow- ing order: Mg3Al > Mg2ZnAl > Mg1.5Zn1.5Al > MgZn2Al > Zn3Al.


The authors present the basic characteristics of the fish production in the Republic of Serbia. In the case of the fishpond "OZZ Despotovo", in the municipality of Bačka Palanka, the main economic indicators achieved in the production of freshwater fish (carp, grass carp, silver carp, catfish) are analyzed. The observed production requires very high investment per unit area (€ 4,381.39 ha). Despite significant investment, achieved economic results are relatively modest (the contribution margin € 892.15 ha; the cost-effectiveness ratio 1.09; the profit rate 8.10%). System support of country in the modernization of existing fishponds and raising the new ones, it can significantly contribute to the improvement of production and economic results in the fish production on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.


The effect of heat input on the structure and mechanical properties of the welded joint in a new generation SOOMPa grade structural steel (RPC steel)has heen investigated. The results show that using the ultra low carbon hainitic welding wire to weld the SOOMPa grade RPC steel, the welded joints with the combination of high strength and good toughness rould be achieved. With the increase of the heat input, the width of the dendrite increased. The primary ferrite and sideplate ferrite are almost removed completely in the secondary structure of the weld metal, and the lath bainite,acicular ferrite (AF) and granular bainite are the main mi-costructure components. When the heat input is increased, the tensile strength decreases gradually, but the low temperature impact toughness initially increases and then decreases. The peak of low temperature impact toughness at heat input of 20kJ/o,m is related to the fine and dense of AF obtained in the weld metal.


We developed a tandem type (serial arrangement type) full color printer engine, which is suitable for high-speed printing, utilizing the compact features of an LED (Light Emitting Diode) head. Our development included a position adjustment system to insure the accuracy of a printing position, paper feeding mechanism, electrophotographic process and fusing technology including toner to insure color stability, a control circuit for driving multiple light sources and its electrophotographic process simultaneously, and firmware. As a result, we implemented a printing speed of 8 ppm, which is the fastest in the world for 600 dpi desktop type full color printer engines.


This investigation treats the static response of a single elastic cable which is suspended between two points that are not necessarily at the same level. The cable is loaded by its self-weight and any number of concentrated vertical loads which may be arbitrarily placed along its length. The analysis presented uses a lagrangian approach. For the strained cable profile, the tension and displacements are given as functions of a single lagrangian co-ordinate. A specific application of the general analysis is made and compared with a simple experiment. (A) /TRRL/


Chapter Seven theorizes how Joseph Smith composed the Book of Mormon. Through a process of "revelatory translation," Smith spent several years crafting story outlines for the Book of Mormon, while simultaneously seeking spiritual confirmation of the historical authenticity of the narratives. Whether using a notebook of story outlines or simply his memory, Smith reviewed each of the story outlines prior to dictation, and then dictated the stories without the use of notes or manuscripts. The chapter contextualizes Smith's process within the western esoteric tradition of using seer stones and a biblical-style Urim and Thummim, with attention to the esotericism of John Dee and his scryer Edward Kelly (aka "Kelley"), who used a seer stone ("shew-stone") to translate angelic texts. The chapter further suggests the influence of biblical commentator Adam Clarke and his discussion of Paul's New Testament reference to the "tongue of angels." The chapter then reviews historical accounts by eyewitnesses to Smith's process of dictation and challenges apologetic interpretations. The chapter concludes with the theory that Smith composed the Book of Mormon by formulating the narratives in the work, after which he sought spiritual confirmation of their accuracy in a collaborative, spiritual co-authorship with the divine.


We investigate whether the geographic determinants of growth extend to natural amenities. We combine data on spatial and temporal variation in the quality of over 5000 surf breaks globally with data on local economic performance, proxied by night-time lights. We document a strong association between natural amenity quality and local economic development. Economic activity grows faster near good surf breaks; following the discovery of new breaks, or the technology needed to ride them; and during El Nino events that generate high-quality waves. The effects are concentrated in nearby towns and emerging economies, and population changes are consistent with tourism.


1. The intermolt cycle of Petrolisthes cinctipes is described and morphologic criteria are proposed for designating the physiologic stages of the cycle. The key for staging the animal is provided in Table I.2. The chronological changes in the derivation of new epidermis and bristles in the uropods furnish a reliable identification of the various stages even without recourse to palpation of the exoskeleton. The characteristics described by Drach (1939, 1944) and Scheer (1960) for certain species of crabs and prawns are found useful in staging a wide variety of Brachyura and Macrura; likewise, the diagnostic features in the stages of the porcellanid might be helpful in staging other Anomura as well.3. In the porcelain crab the duration between two successive molts is unusually long (about 115 to 130 days), especially in view of the small body size of the animal. This might mean that the growth rate of this crab is relatively higher. It would be equally interesting to know of a possible seasonal shortening o...


In this paper we present a novel fast method to solve Poisson equation in an arbitrary two dimensional region with Neumann boundary condition. The basic idea is to solve the original Poisson problem by a two-step procedure: the first one finds the electric displacement field $\mathbf{D}$ and the second one involves the solution of potential $\phi$. The first step exploits loop-tree decomposition technique that has been applied widely in integral equations within the computational electromagnetics (CEM) community. We expand the electric displacement field in terms of a tree basis. Then, coefficients of the tree basis can be found by the fast tree solver in O(N) operations. Such obtained solution, however, fails to expand the exact field because the tree basis is not completely curl free. Despite of this, the accurate field could be retrieved by carrying out a procedure of divergence free field removal. Subsequently, potential distribution $\phi$ can be found rapidly at the second stage with another fast approach of O(N) complexity. As a result, the method dramatically reduces solution time comparing with traditional FEM with iterative method. Numerical examples including electrostatic simulations are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.


An experiment with two layer porous asphalt pavements was started on an urban road in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1999.The noise reduction was optimised by the use of small aggregate size in the top-layer and rather great thickness of the porous layers.Three different two-layer porous pavements as well as a dense asphalt concrete as a reference pavement were laid on a road.The goal of the project was to follow the pavements in their structural lifetime. Noise and permeability has been measured every year.When the pavements were new the noise reduction was 4 to 6 dB compared to the reference pavement of dense asphalt concrete with 8 mm max. aggre-gate.Both the noise reduction and the permeability have decreased over the years, probably due to clogging of the pores of the open pavement.The results over a 6 years period are presented in this paper. In 2004 a new re-search project was started as a co-operation between the Danish Road Institute/Road Directorate (DRI) and Road and Hydraulic Engineering Institute in the Netherlands (DWW) called the DRI-DWW noise abatement programme.The project is focussing on investigation in the clogging process, and the goal is to develop concepts and methods that can reduce the clogging of porous pavements.


For children of all ages Initially, insulin pump therapy was offered predominantly to adolescents who appeared to be competent enough to handle such a technically advanced therapy. However, nowadays young children also benefit from CSII.2 Their very low basal insulin rate during the first years of life can be programmed in very small steps in response to requirements that change hourly during the day and especially at night. The risk of severe night-time hypoglycaemia has been shown to be reduced. This may enable parents to be less anxious and have a better and quieter night's sleep. During the day, the opportunity to conveniently give an extra dose of rapid-acting insulin may help children to follow their appetite spontaneously and learn how to eat and drink without restrictions. During the last decade, insulin pump therapy has gained widespread acceptance in the treatment of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. In some of the European and North American paediatric diabetes centres, more than half of the young people with diabetes try to simulate a normal pattern of insulin secretion by means of an insulin pump (continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion). Karin Lange and Thomas Danne look at the use of insulin pumps among young people of a range of ages, and outline its advantages, potential risks and shortcomings, as well as educational requirements for children – and their parents – initiating this type of intensive therapy. Insulin pump therapy in children and adolescents: risks and benefits


PURPOSE The 80-gene molecular subtyping signature (80-GS) reclassifies a proportion of immunohistochemistry (IHC)-defined luminal breast cancers (estrogen receptor–positive [ER+], human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative [HER2–]) as Basal-Type. We report the association of 80-GS reclassification with neoadjuvant treatment response and 5-year outcome in patients with breast cancer. METHODS Neoadjuvant Breast Registry Symphony Trial (NBRST; NCT01479101) is an observational, prospective study that included 1,069 patients with early-stage breast cancer age 18-90 years who received neoadjuvant therapy. Pathologic complete response (pCR) and 5-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed in 477 patients with IHC-defined ER+, HER2– tumors and in a reference group of 229 patients with IHC-defined triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). RESULTS 80-GS reclassified 15% of ER+, HER2– tumors (n = 73) as Basal-Type (ER+/Basal), which had similar pCR compared with TNBC/Basal tumors (34% v 38%; P = .52), and significantly higher pCR than ER+/Luminal A (2%; P < .001) and ER+/Luminal B (6%; P < .001) tumors. The 5-year DMFS (%, [95% CI]) was significantly lower for patients with ER+/Basal tumors (66% [52.6 to 77.3]), compared with those with ER+/Luminal A tumors (92.3% [85.2 to 96.1]) and ER+/Luminal B tumors (73.5% [44.5 to 79.3]). Importantly, patients with ER+/Basal or TNBC/Basal tumors that had a pCR exhibited significantly improved DMFS and OS compared with those with residual disease. By contrast, patients with ER+/Luminal B tumors had comparable 5-year DMFS and OS whether or not they achieved pCR. CONCLUSION Significant differences in chemosensitivity and 5-year outcome suggest patients with ER+/Basal molecular subtype may benefit from neoadjuvant regimens optimized for patients with TNBC/Basal tumors compared with patients with ER+/Luminal subtype. These data highlight the importance of identifying this subset of patients to improve treatment planning and long-term survival. Identity exposed: genomic assay unmasks TNBC-like breast cancer tumors disguised as HR+ #NBRST


Given the diversity of the objectives of the programming courses in the Cuban educational system and the training of teachers, it is not easy to decide the language to be used in each case. The intention of this article is to bring to debate to our context a trend that has been growing in the last decade: Python as a first programming language. The aim of this study is to compile some inter national experiences in the use of Python in introductory programming courses, also analyzing their advantages and disadvantages.


Doppler broadening of the positron annihilation lineshape has been measured for 99.995 wt % pure niobium in the temperature range 300 to 2581/sup 0/K. It was found that the effect of the equilibrium vacancies upon the Doppler-broadened lineshape in pure niobium is much smaller than that normally found for other metals, in agreement with an earlier study. Furthermore, the addition of 100 at. ppM oxygen to the niobium produced no measurable effects on the lineshape, within the experimental uncertainties, either within or below the vacancy-sensitive temperature region. The results are discussed in relation to previous investigations of positron trapping at vacancies in niobium, as well as to studies of vacancy migration in metals.