Coarse spatial resolution monthly statistics of selected variables of the Consolidated Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) have been compared with Nimbus-7 satellite analyses and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analyses. Comparisons are made for the important cloud/climate variables of total cloudiness, surface air temperature and surface relative humidity. to ease these comparisons the COADS variances have been adjusted to account for small numbers of observations, and the COADS temperature and humidity data have been transformed to the 1000 mb level of the ECMWF analyses.

The results show that the Nimbus-7 cloud fractions tend to underestimate total cloudiness for much of the earth, especially in regions of substantial low cloud cover. After account has been made for the different observation heights, the COADS and the ECMWF annual mean temperature statistics are found to be in generally good agreement. However, the annual mean ECMWF relative humidities are significantly lower over large portions of the oceans.

The interrelations between the Nimbus-7 and the COADS total cloudiness and the ECMWF and the COADS lower-level temperature and relative humidity are compared. Significant regional correlation patterns are evident in all cloud-surface data pairs. On the other hand, some patterns of correlation using the Nimbus-7 and the COADS cloud data are quite different, with those of the COADS generally appearing to be the more realistic.


In order to study the epizootic situation of helminthic spread, 430 samples of feces and pathological material from small ruminants were taken from livestock farms of the Sheki-Zagatala region. The materials were send for research to the Department of Parasitology of the Scientific Research Veterinary Institute. The research results were analyzed for mountainous, foothill, flat areas and for the seasonality of the region.


This chapter considers the origin and significance of three terms widely used to characterize a decadent periodization in Britain, the United States, and France: fin de siècle, Gilded Age, and Belle Époque. While these terms were used loosely, and in some cases retrospectively, to describe the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, they also highlight dominant social narratives of the period. These decades witnessed unprecedented economic growth, rapid technological progress, and relative peace following such crises as the Franco-Prussian War in Europe and the Civil War in the United States. However, the cultural products of decadence were more likely to emphasize millennial doom, nervous exhaustion, sexual perversion, and scientific failure, while the decadent style was seen as a novel way of expressing how it felt to live in an era in which the pace of modern life brought with it febrile cultural, social, and political change.


While advances in game-based learning are already transforming educative practices globally, with tech giants like Microsoft, Apple and Google taking notice and investing in educational game initiatives, there is a concurrent and critically important development that focuses on 'game construction' pedagogy as a vehicle for enhancing computational literacy in middle and high school students. Essentially, game construction-based curriculum takes the central question "do children learn from playing games" to the next stage by asking "(what) can children learn from constructing games?" Founded on Seymour Papert's constructionist learning model, and developed over nearly two decades, there is compelling evidence that game construction can increase student confidence and build their capacity towards ongoing computing science involvement and other STEM subjects. Our study adds to the growing body of literature on school-based game construction through comprehensive empirical methodology and evidence-based guidelines for curriculum design. There is still debate as to the utility of different software tools for game construction, models of scaffolding knowledge, and evaluation of learning outcomes and knowledge transfer. In this paper, we present a study we conducted in a classroom environment with three groups of grade 6 students (60+ students) using Game Maker to construct their own games. Based on a quantitative analysis and a qualitative discussion we organize results around several core themes that speak to the field of inquiry: levels of computational literacy based on preand post-tests; gender-based attitutdes to computing science and programming based on a preand post-survey; and the relationship between existing media literacy and performance in programming as part of the game construction curriculum. Significant results include some gender differences in attitudes towards computers and programming with boys demonstrating slightly higher confidence and performance. We discuss the complex reasons potentially contributing to that, particulaly against a diverse ecology of overal media use, gameplay experience and access to technology at home. Finally, we theorize game construction as an educational tool that directly engages foundational literacy and numeracy, and connects to wider STEM-oriented learning objectives in ways that can benefit both boys and girls in the classroom. Keywords: game making, STEM, coding, Game Maker, digital literacy 1 In pursuit of "21 century skills" An ongoing challenge of the 21 century is ensuring everyone has the requisite skills to participate in a digital, knowledge-based economy. This is increasingly difficult under conditions of austerity in both K-12 and higher education, at a time when there is significant need for skilled labour in technology and computing fields in particular. Despite widespread enthusiasm for "21 century learning," researchers and policy makers around the globe are still trying to articulate exactly what constitutes this term (Media Awareness Network 2010), while public education generally is being criticized for not adopting it (Francis 2012; Lynch 2013). There is, for example, no specific curriculum provision regarding what 21 century learning should entail and how that should inform K-12 schooling, though there is widespread and growing agreement that digital games figure somewhere in that landscape (Gee 2005; Salen 2007; Squire 2011). Digital games are increasingly at the forefront of conversations about ways to address student disengagement (Gee 2003; Rieber, LP 1996; Rupp et al. 2010) and ways to foster 21 century learning and skills (Barab & Dede 2007; Steinkuehler 2008; Squire 2011). That research concentrates on playing digital games, whether those are commercially made or made especially for education. Less prominent has been research focused on the design and development of games as a means to support critical competencies like creative problem solving, collaboration, and programming skills (Carbonaro et al. 2010; Denner 2011; Denner & Wenner 2007; Papert 1993). Designing and making digital games, this prior research suggests, can provide an ideal framework for operationalizing 21 century learning: creating digital artifacts entails technical, computational and aesthetic forms of activity whose success depends on bridging between arts and sciences—an intersection increasingly characteristic of the contemporary job market and effective participation in social life. ISSN 1479-4403 111 ©ACPIL Reference this paper as Jenson J and Droumeva M, "Exploring Media Literacy and Computational Thinking: A Game Maker Curriculum Study" The Electronic Journal of e-Learning Volume 14 Issue 2 2016, (pp111-121) available online at www.ejel.org The Electronic Journal of e-Learning Volume 14 Issue 2 2016 One of the main motivations for bringing game design and development into the fold of STEM curriculum planning concerns the need to introduce and familiarize youth to the principles of computation, design thinking and procedural logic, from an earlier age than is currently practised. The context for this is a growing acknowledgement among educational researchers, computer scientists and teachers that 'computational thinking' and algorithmic logic ought to be considered a kind of 'core literacy' that needs to be incorporated into the school curriculum alongside numeracy, textual literacy and scientific thinking (diSessa 2000; Wing 2006). Computational thinking can also be located alongside a range of other competence-based technological 'literacies' discussed in popular education blogs, that include 'making' or tech prototyping, fostering of applied 'creativity,' as well as 'design thinking'. While Papert's work in the 1980s saw the emergence of the first useroriented Logo coding language developed specifically with educational goals in mind, it has only been in the last five to ten years that a plethora of drag-and-drop programming environments for children have become readily and easily available. During that time there have been numerous improvements to the user interface and functionality of these programs, targeting specific age groups and in many cases making tools available on the web as part of online sharing communities of practice. One of the most pertinent underpinnings of contemporary education research into using game construction software in the classroom is addressing the systemic problem of girls' impoverished representation in computing science and technical fields. Such studies aim to deliberately engage girls and other marginalized youth groups in coding activities, and counter negative associations and lack of confidence that might hold them back from approaching and benefiting from ongoing computer programming instruction. A central pedagogical concern with regard to teaching game construction as an entry-level form of computer programming centres around defining and operationalizing "computational thinking" as a core curricular concept, and identifying how and when to introduce it into the classroom. Additional concerns involve what type of instruction is required and which tools are best suited to achieve these cognitive objectives. 2 Definition and 'cognitive objectives' of computational thinking (CT) Wing (2006) defines CT as "reformulating a seemingly difficult problem into one we know how to solve, perhaps by reduction, embedding, transformation, or simulation." Yadav et al. (2014) define CT as a "mental activity for abstracting problems and formulating solutions that can be automated" while Cuny et al. (2010) define it as "the thought processes involved in formulating problems and their solutions so that the solutions are represented in a form that can be effectively carried out by an information-processing agent". According to Denner, Werner and Ortiz (2011), "algorithmic thinking involves defining a problem, breaking it into smaller yet solvable parts, and identifying the steps for solving the problem." As part of this, students must model the essential characteristics of the problem while suppressing unnecessary details. In the process, "finite sequences of instructions are coded to operationalize the modeled abstractions." From a review of the field in Grover and Pea (2013), the following is a standard list of learning objectives or computational constructs that ought to be covered in some form in instructional designs of entry-level computing:  Abstractions and pattern generalizations (including models and simulations)  Systematic processing of information (proceduralization)  Symbol systems and representations
  Structured problem decomposition (modularizing)
  Iterative, recursive, and parallel thinking
  Conditional logic
  Debugging and systematic error detection (pp. 39-40) A major challenge here is translating these constructs to both affordances of existing game development tools and to specific instructional designs and learning objectives. A number of contemporary studies, for instance, have published extensive breakdowns of tool-specific available actions, modifications, as well as procedural and conditional logic sequences that correspond to top-level computational constructs (Carbonaro et al. 2010; Denner 2011; Denner & Wenner 2007). However, less explicit are the particular pedagogical underpinnings of instructional design by which game construction is introduced and implemented in the classroom within the larger context of mathematics and science (STEM) instruction. Specifically, some of the concerns that need to 1 Arguably two of the oldest and most widely used drag-and-drop coding environments for early school education are Scratch https://scratch.mit.edu/ and Alice http://www.alice.org/ www.ejel.org 112 ©ACPIL Jennifer Jenson and Milena Droumeva addressed include the scaffolding, assessment and transfer of both computational terminology and applied coding skills. 3 Assessment, scaffolding and transfer of con


Abstract The structures of Cu(II) 3-furancarboxylate and Cu(II) 2-thiophenate denoted hereafter as Cu-3F and Cu-2T, respectively, were determined. The structures are dinuclear, bridged by bidentate ligands. The coordination about copper is square pyramidal. The pKa of the respective acids is a factor influencing changes in Cu-Cu distances. The differences in hydrogen bond patterns and packing are described.


This dissertation investigates the needs of professional translators regarding translation technologies with the aim of suggesting ways to improve these technologies from the users' point of view. It mostly covers the topics of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, machine translation and terminology management. In particular, the work presented here examines three main questions: 1) what kind of tools do translators need to increase their productivity and income, 2) do existing translation tools satisfy translators' needs, 3) how can translation tools be improved to cater to these needs. The dissertation is composed of nine previously published articles, which are included in the Appendix, while the methodology used and the results obtained in these studies are summarised in the main body of the dissertation. The task of identifying user needs was approached from three different perspectives: 1) eliciting translators' needs by means of a user survey, 2) evaluation of existing CAT systems, and 3) analysis of the process of post-editing of ma- chine translation. The data from the user survey was analysed using quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. The post-editing process was studied through quantitative measures of time and technical effort, as well as through the qualitative study of the actual edits. The survey results demonstrated that the two crucial characteristics of CAT software were usability and functionality. It also helped to distinguish the features translators find most useful in their software, such as support for many different document formats, concordance search, autopropagation and autosuggest functions. Based on these preferences, an evaluation scheme for CAT software was developed. Various ways of improving CAT software usability and functionality were proposed, including making better use of textual corpora techniques and providing different versions of software with respect to the required level of functionality. Another major concern of the survey respondents was the quality of machine translation and its usefulness for creating draft translations for post- editing. In this direction, a part of this dissertation is dedicated to evaluation of machine translation, and investigation of the post-editing process. The findings of these studies showed which machine translation errors are easier to post-edit, which can be of practical use for improving the post-editing workflow.


The steady-state drive of a longitudinal current in a tokamak by a packet of traveling electromagnetic waves is analyzed. A drift kinetic equation is used for a plasma with intermediate collision rates (the plateau regime). The magnitude of the rf current drive and the drive efficiency (the ratio of the current to the rf power absorbed by the plasma) are calculated.


Ensemble acoustic modeling can be used to model different factors that cause variability of acoustic space, and provide different combination to improve the performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR). One of the main concerns is how to partition the training data set to several subsets based on which ensemble models are trained. In this study, we focus on ensemble acoustic modeling concerned with acoustic variability caused by gender and accent for Chinese large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR). Considering that gender and accent information may be encoded in local acoustic realizations of a few specific phonetic classes rather than in a global acoustic distribution, we proposed a acoustic space partition method based on broad phonetic class (BPC) modeling of speaker for ensemble acoustic modeling. With the principal component analysis (PCA) of the BPC based speaker representation, we designed two level hierarchical data partitions in the low dimensional speaker factor space that concerned with gender and accent information. Ensemble acoustic models were trained on the partitioned data sets on both levels. Speech recognition results showed that using acoustic models trained based on the first level and second level partitions got 9.73% and 32.29% relative improvements in character error reduction rate, respectively.


1. It has been thought advisable to reserve an account of the general aims and scope of the following paper till a few preliminary matters have been disposed of. 2. Consider the following statement, of the truth of which probably no one will doubt. If a body on being moved from a position A to a position B were found thereby to have lost a charge of electricity, physicists would not be content to explain the circumstance on the mere ground that it had left its charge behind. They would hold that processes had gone on, precisely similar to such as would have been required to divest it of its charge, had it remained in its first position A.


Interview with Irina McClellan, author of the book "Of Love and Russia." In the interview, McClellan discusses her book, which tells the story of her marriage and life in Russia.


This article reviews the book "The Fiction of Enlightenment. Women of Reason in the French Eighteenth Century," by Heidi Bostic and published in 2010.


We investigated the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder among 2,448 middle-school students in Sichuan Province, China, soon after the Wenchuan earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008. We also tested the reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (Weathers, Litz, Huska, & Keane, 1994) with this group. PTSD occurred more frequently among females compared with males, and among those exposed directly, indirectly, or not at all to the earthquake, the highest incidence of PTSD was among the group exposed directly. Among 3 groups aged between 11 and 13, 14 and 15, and 16 and 18, the highest incidence of PTSD was in students aged 14 and 15. Compared with other groups those with the highest incidence of PTSD were students with low socioeconomic status, who witnessed the earthquake, had heavy loss of their houses and other possessions, and whose family members were casualties. Factor analysis showed that the 3-factor model of the PCL-C had good construct validity. The internal consistency of Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability was also satisfactory. Therefore, the PCL-C was determined to be a reliable instrument to detect PTSD among Chinese adolescents exposed to the earthquake.


GaAs thermal smoothing by annealing in conditions which are close to equilibrium between the surface and vapors of As and Ga was earlier proved to be effective for the step-terraced surface formation on epi-ready substrates with a small root-mean-square roughness (Rq ≤ 0.15 nm). In the present study, this technique is further developed in order to reduce the annealing duration and to smooth GaAs samples with a larger initial roughness. To this end, we proposed a two-stage anneal with the first high-temperature stage aimed at smoothing "coarse" relief features and the second stage focused on "fine" smoothing at a lower temperature. The optimal temperatures and durations of two-stage annealing are found by Monte Carlo simulations and adjusted after experimentation. It is proved that the temperature and duration of the first high-temperature stage are restricted by the surface roughening, which occurs due to deviations from equilibrium conditions.


Multiple resolution representations are often used in computer vision, as
they provide a natural way for describing an image by a hierarchy of
structures . However, because of the resampling process, the images they
provide are corrupted by an aliasing noise which makes difficult the
detection of structures, specially when the detection process implies the
computation of derivatives. Choosing the filtering kernel is thus essential .
Paradoxically, the importance of proper signal-to-noise analysis have
been widely neglected by the vision community . In this paper, we study
two commonly used algorithme from the point of view of the aliasing noise they create. Then we propose an optimum filtering kernel which
minimizes the aliasing noise, does not create new structures, has
interesting properties of rotational symmetry and reduced computation
cost . We also propose a fast algorithm for the computation of low-pass
and laplacian octave-spaced pyramids .


The consequences of lateral loads like earthquake loads, wind loads and blast forces are achieving utmost concern nowadays. Imparting sufficient strength and stability in counter to the lateral loads is one of the major challenges faced by every designer. Therefore Proper understanding of the Seismic performance of different types of shear walls is necessary for structural engineers so as to safeguard the structure against lateral loads. The present paper describes the comparison of the seismic performance of high rise buildings and optimizing the thickness of RCC shear wall, Steel Plate Shear Wall (SPSW) and composite shear wall for (G+20) stories. The design and analysis of the  building with RCC shear wall, steel plate shear wall and composite shear wall is carried out using software ETABS. Effect of varying thickness of shear panels and comparison of the results of story drift and story shear is presented.


UCLA Loneliness Scale,EPQ-RSC and Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS) are used to examine 281 femal impoverished students and 145 non-impoverished students.The results show:(1) There is no significant difference in loneliness between femal impoverished and non-impoverished students.(2) There is no significant grade difference in femal impoverished students' loneliness,but students majored in science score higher on loneliness than students majored in liberal arts.(3) Correlative analysis show significant negative correlation between social support,extraversion,lie and loneliness,while there is significant positive correlation between psychoticism,neuroticism and loneliness.(4) Regression analysis reveals that neuroticism can positively predict loneliness,while subjective support,extraversion and objective support can negatively predict loneliness.


This article describes the results of a two-year qualitative study of 13 students who use a variety of assistive devices in school. Field researchers observed students weekly over a one-year period and interviewed professionals, family members, and peers who were involved with these students in school and home settings. Key excerpts of the case studies prepared for each student are presented to highlight common themes and recurring issues that emerged across the diverse sample of students who participated in this research. The complexities associated with the introduction of assistive devices into the lives of children with disabilities and their families are revealed in the observational notes and comments of key participants. The results of this research may help educators and parents understand why technology sometimes fails to produce hoped-for outcomes. They also suggest improvements to school practices that may maximize the benefits of assistive technology for students with disabilities.


In this paper, we consider the (cid:13)ow of fresh and saltwater in a saturated porous medium in order to describe the seawater intrusion. Starting from a formulation with constant densities respectively of fresh and of saltwater, whose velocity is proportional to the gradient of pressure (Darcy's law), we consider the formal asymptotic shallow water limit as the ratio between the thickness and the horizontal length of the porous medium tends to zero. In this limit, we derive the Dupuit-Forchheimer condition and as a consequence reduced models of Boussinesq type both in the cases of uncon(cid:12)ned and con(cid:12)ned aquifers.


AGI-1067 is a derivative of probucol that is a promising new development for the treatment of restenosis and possibly atherosclerosis. In monkeys fed a high-fat diet for 1 year, AGI-1067 prevented the development of atherosclerosis. In these monkeys, AGI-1067 lowered plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and, in contrast to probucol, was capable of increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels. Although AGI1067 did not have marked lipid-lowering effects in two transgenic mouse models (the LDL-receptor-deficient and apolipoprotein-E-deficient models) fed a high-fat chow, it decreased the atherosclerotic lesion area in the aorta. In a mouse model of acute inflammation, the mRNA for the pro-inflammatory vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was upregulated and this was inhibited by AGI-1067. AGI-1067 inhibited the TNF-α induction of redox-sensitive inflammatory proteins, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and Eselectin, in cell culture. In addition, AGI-1067 is an antioxidant. In the Canadian Antioxidant Restenosis Trial (CART-1) of AGI-1067 in percutaneous coronary interventions, AGI-1067 had no effect on LDL-cholesterol but lowered HDL-cholesterol. At 6 months follow up, the lumen area of the percutaneous coronary interventions segments was greater in patients treated with AGI1067 than in untreated patients. Restenosis rates were 37.5% in the placebo group and 26% in the AGI-1067 group. The lumen area of reference segments was reduced in the placebo group but increased with the higher doses of AGI1067. Unlike probucol, AGI-1067 did not alter QTc interval.


In rational progressive transmission, the spatial orientation trees define the relationship on the pyramid that results from the wavelet transformation. Each tree is associated with one subregion of the original image. The trees may by grouped together into a reduced number of quantizers that convey structural information about the picture to the transmission system. We propose a quantizer formation that will give neither tree a cause for "reasonable regret" in rational progressive transmission. In this sense, we call it a "just" quantizer formation. We introduce the basic concept of "reasonable regret" for justice and give conditions for a just quantizer formation. We show that the definition of a priori importance of a spatial orientation tree is pivotal in the development of a theory for just quantizer formation. The estimation of the a priori importance of a tree must be solved using a large number of insignificant wavelet coefficients—as measured by their magnitudes—that are still effective via coalitions for the reconstruction of the tree. This problem falls into the realm of cooperative game theory with one exogenously given communication graph that results from the wavelet transformation. We provide a cooperative game in this particular communication situation, named after the "SOT-Restricted Game" that naturally induces a game-theoretic solution to the estimation problem: the "zerotree" solution of an SOT-restricted game. Experimental results illustrate the comparative performance of the rational progressive transmission with a just quantizer formation against the state of the art in progressive transmission.


3-chloro-2-butanone was synthesized by chlorination in situ with HC1-H2O2. The influences of reaction conditions such as mole ratio, reaction time, reaction temperature and some metal salts were examined in detail. The optimum preparation conditions were CuCl2 as catalyst, n(butanone):n(HCl):n(H2O2)=2:l:1.3, reaction temperature 78℃ and reaction time is 5h. the conversion of butanone amount to 52.43%, the selectivity of 3-chloro-2-butanone is over 76% and its purity is over 98%.


We propose to detect landmines and unexploded ordnance in forward-looking ground-penetrating radar imagery by applying a spatial multiple hypothesis testing method. Homogeneous regions in an investigation area are identified based on spatial proximity and similarity of the observed decision statistics in order to discriminate targets against clutter. The proposed method is designed to control the proportion of false alarms among all pixels declared to be associated with a target. The detection performance of the proposed method is evaluated using numerical data of shallow-buried targets and compared to existing approaches.


Hyperbranched unsaturated polyesteramide (HUPEA) irradiated by 60Co γ-rays was blended into polycarbonate (PC) and mechanical properties of the blends were compared of the controls, i.e. pristine PC and PC with non-irradiated HUPEA. The results showed that blending PC with non-irradiated HUPEA or HUPEA irradiated to 50kGy had decreased tensile and flexural modulus, while PC blended with HUPEA irradiated to 100kGy increased the tensile and flexural modulus by 31.7% and 7%, respectively. The mechanisms of the mechanical properties change were discussed.


For years a well known publication billed itself as "the newsmagazine that separates fact from opi n ion." Regardless of to what extent that publication spread the phrase "fact from opinion" into educated speech, there it is, a staple even more in education speech than in educated speech generally. In this meditation I try two things. First and much the longest I try to isolate strands of meaning masked by that phrase and its first cousins. Frequently I find not neat strands but instead illbraided or discontinuous bits masquerading as sound cordage. So my findings are not like a fisherman's backlash snarl, the kind which with patience may be unsnarled into usable line. They lead to the second thing I try-to give alternative expression to the educationally commendable goals which, by means of the attempted disti nction, we wanted to achieve. What does it mean to "distinguish fact from opinion?" Let me count the ways.


High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) technique in semi-preparative scale has been successfully applied to the separation of bioactive flavonoid compounds, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in one step from the crude extract of Glycyrrhiza uralensisRisch. The HSCCC was performed using a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–acetonitrile–water (2:2:1:0.6:2, v/v). Yields of liquiritigenin (98.9% purity) and isoliquiritigenin (98.3% purity) obtained were 0.52% and 0.32%. Chemical structures of the purified liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin were identified by electrospray ionization–MS (ESI–MS) and NMR analysis. © 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.


Background and Aim: Nowadays, patient safety culture is recognized as an important issue in providing high quality services for the patients around the world. Unsafe care and services can lead to mortality, disability, prolonged hospitalization and increased costs of treatment. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the errors associated with the labels of pathology samples in Qazvin hospitals. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was performed on the basis of a census sampling and included samples obtained from the operating rooms of five educational hospitals in Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2018. A standard checklist was used to collect information. Our professors and pathologists determined validity and reliability of the checklist by Cronbach's alpha of 0.89. Using SPSS 21 the results were analyzed by statistical indices. Results: Among 1164 biopsy samples, 6425 errors were detected. The highest error rates were related to lack of registration of the patient's age (564 cases; 48.4%), lack of registration of the name of the of the patients' fathers (562 cases; 48.2%), and lack of recording the number of biopsies (558; 47.9%) and the lowest rates of errors included empty container (10 cases; 0.86%), lack of recording the number of specimens (14 cases; 1.2%) and lack of using appropriate fixative (16; 1.37 %) respectively. Conclusion: Regarding the frequency of labeling errors in the pre-analytical phase in the pathology ward, use of bar code imprinted in the sample containers, lack of using paper applications, use of radio frequency chip technology, use of a re-checking system and improvement of communication in the operating rooms can result in reducing these errors.


1. Unilateralism: The Oldest Doctrine in American Policy 2. Eyeless In Iraq: The Bush Doctrine and Its Consequences 3. The Imperial Presidency Redux 4. Patriotism and Dissent in Wartime 5. How to Demcratize American Presidency 6. Has Democracy A Future? 7. The Inscrutability of History


Abstract 2916 Inhibition of the PI3K/mTOR pathway is a promising therapeutic strategy in targeting multiple myeloma (MM) cells in the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment, which abnormally activates PI3K/mTOR signaling cascade mediating proliferation, anti-apoptosis and drug resistance. Exploring the targeting of PI3K/mTOR pathway has led to the development of different therapeutic approaches; however, mTORC1 inhibitors (i.e., temsirolimus and everolimus) have demonstrated only modest activity as single agents. In this regard, several mechanisms underlying rapamycin resistance, including mTOR/S6K1-mediated feedback loops resulting in activation of PI3K/Akt and ERK signaling, have been proposed. Importantly, recent studies have identified mTOR kinase and the mTOR-DEPTOR counter-regulatory cascade as key mediators of mTORC1 and mTORC2 multi-protein complexes, with differential sensitivity to rapamycin. Indeed, targeting DEPTOR/mTORC1/mTORC2 signaling by inhibition of mTOR kinase proved an effective strategy to overcome some of the limitations of TORC1 inhibition in MM cells, evidenced in our studies of the novel dual mTORC1 and mTORC2 selective inhibitor AZD8055. Unlike rapamycin, AZD8055 induced apoptosis and inhibited MM cell growth even when co-cultured with cytokines (i.e., IL-6, IGF1) or BMSCs, presumably through simultaneous suppression of mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling including the rapamycin-resistant 4E-BP1 (downstream of mTORC1) and Akt as well as NDRG1 (effectors of mTORC2). We examined mRNA and protein level of DEPTOR in MM cell lines treated with AZD8055 versus rapamycin and observed no significant changes. To examine the functional significance of DEPTOR in response to mTOR inhibitors, we utilized lentiviral shRNA to knockdown DEPTOR in OPM1 MM cells. DEPTOR-knockdown cells acquired resistance to AZD8055 treatment, suggesting that DEPTOR is a key modulator of mTORC1/2 signaling. Moreover, DEPTOR knockdown triggered decrease in Akt phosphorylation (Ser473), associated with suppression of Rictor phosphorylation (Thr1135). DEPTOR co-immunoprecipitation with Rictor was also abrogated by both AZD8055 and rapamycin treatment. Taken together, our results indicate the role of DEPTOR, either alone or as an mTOR/Rictor interacting molecule, in mediating the anti-MM activity induced by mTOR kinase inhibitors in MM cells. These data therefore both provide insights into the molecular profiles that may predict sensitivity/resistance to second generation of mTOR inhibitors in MM, and may be useful to select MM patients for mTOR inhibitor therapy. Disclosures: Hideshima: Acetylon: Consultancy. Anderson: Celgene: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Millennium: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Onyx: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Merck: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Acetylon: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees. Guichard: AstraZeneca, UK: Employment, Shares from AstraZeneca, UK. Raje: Celgene: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Millenium: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astra Zeneca: Research Funding; Amgen: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Acetylon: Research Funding.


The Industrial clusters is a the phenomena of developed in cosmopolitan, it's a development stratagem of the industry and economy in the more and more country in the world. The Industrial clusters demand of the Liaoning traditional industry base development, competition ability upgrade of economy in the area.


on transformative learning and implores health profession institutions to enhance education for social justice' was inadvertently published as part of the article itself. It should appear on the issue e-TOC only. The succeeding paragraph after this commentary has also been removed as it is a duplicated entry. Here is the deleted paragraph: "Central to TL is the concept of frame of reference, which refers to one's ingrained assumptions and predispositions to perceive and act in the world. By contrast with informational learning, which is aimed at increasing knowledge, skills and cognitive capabilities within the existing frame of reference, 2 the goal of TL is to change one's frame of reference itself, 3 which helps to change one's world view permanently to be more inclusive. This occurs through the revised interpretation of the meaning of the experience." The online version has been corrected. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.


1 Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Chung-Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan 2 Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 3 Institute of Environmental Planning and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan 4 Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan


This article focuses on the distributed sampled-data consensus of a generally linear multi-agent system exposed to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. When DoS attacks happen, blocking the transmission of the sampled signals through the communication network, no signal can be received by systems. We consider DoS attacks allowed to occur randomly with limited duration time. For MASs in which agent states are sampled periodically, logical processors embedded in the distributed controllers that can receive sampled signals and obtain attack information are introduced. The original system is then reformulated into an aperiodic sampled-data control system(SDCS) affiliated with the minimum and maximum limits of DoS attacks duration time. A distributed sampled-data control law against Dos attacks is developed based on the looped-Lyapunov functional approach and the free weight matrix method. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed techniques is illustrated through a numerical example of a 4-agent system.


Summary Alyssum leucadeum Guss. is an endemic Apulian chamephyte, growing on rocks; material collected at Santa Maria di Leuca has been studied anatomically and the following observations have been made. In the basal thick woody stem the sclerenchimatic tissue is well developed, and is divided up, by parenchima, in many bands which are normally disposed in regular concentric rings while in some cases a single band can be separated by the parenchimatic tissue into «islands» forming tangential rows. A few tubes are to be found in the sclerenchimatic bands but in very small number compared with the tubes observed in the parenchima. At times a sclerenchimatic band can be connected to the next one towards the outside through radial sclerenchimatic strands, making the stem more resistant mechanically. The parenchimatic bands interposed between the sclerenchimatic ones are composed of parenchima cells rich in starch. Starch consumption proceeds from the inside towards the outside and the outer bands are richer i...


Commencement address given by Albert J. Kuhn, Provost of The Ohio State University, to the Winter 1979 graduating class of The Ohio State University, St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio, March 16, 1979.


Dominant perspectives of basic writers' self-sponsored literacies tend to overlook the important roles such activities can play in literate development. Drawn from texts, inter- views, and participant-observations collected during a five-year study, this article continues the examination of the relationship between one writer's curricular and extracurricular engage- ments begun in "Journalism, Poetry, Stand-Up Comedy, and Academic Literacy: Mapping the Interplay of Curricular and Extracurricular Literate Activities," which appeared in JBW 27.1. This article examines the writing-related knowledge the writer gained from extracurricular engagements with stand-up comedy, poetry, and sports journalism and argues that he draws upon this knowledge to enhance his performance in a writing-intensive upper-division kine- siology class. Based on my analysis of these "laminated" literacies, I argue for a perspective of basic writers' self-sponsored literate activities that acknowledges the positive contributions they can make to learners' academic engagements and to their literate lives more broadly.


In conclusion of the three-part consultation legs, the Assessment Based-National Dialogue (ABND) Island-wide Mindanao Consultation was conducted last April 27 to 28, 2015 at Cagayan De Oro City. It was attended by representatives from Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), Office of Social Security Commissioner (SSC) Ibarra Malonzo, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and their respective regional counterparts, Technical Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) RO X, Regional Tri-Partite Councils, sectoral representatives from National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), and non-government agencies and organizations such as Federation of Free Workers (FFW), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and International Labor Organization (ILO). It was also attended by Regional Planning Office of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).


The fretting behaviors of MoS_2-based, graphite-based (G-based), and polytetrafluoroethylene-based (PTFE-based) bonded solid lubricating coatings were comparatively investigated. The critical loads of the three kinds of coatings were determined on a scratch tester and correlated with the fretting behaviors of the coatings. Moreover, the original surfaces and the fretted surfaces and cross-sections of the coatings were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was found that all the three coatings were able to form transfer films on the counterpart steel surface in the presence of mild plastic deformation and flowing, which contributed to significantly decreasing the friction and wear during the fretting process. The three kinds of coatings were characterized by tangential preferential orientation during the early-stage fretting. The critical loads of the three kinds of coatings were ranked as MoS_2-based coatingPTFE-based coastingG-based coating, which was not all the same as that of the friction-reducing and antiwear abilities ranked as PTFE-based coastingMoS_2-based coatingG-based coating. This indicated that the fretting friction and wear behaviors of the coatings were not only dependent on their critical loads but also on their mechanical properties and microstructures. Moreover, the lubrication failure of the tested bonded solid lubricating coatings was attributed to the fretting-induced plastic deformation and flow, initiation and propagation of cracks, and the superficial peeling off in the presence of reciprocal cyclic fatigue stress.


he current VaR model based on the J.P. Morgan's RiskMetrics structurally can not reflect the future economic situation. In this study, we propose a One-factor model resulting from the Wiener stochastic process decomposed into a systematic risk factor and an idiosyncratic risk factor. Therefore, we are able to perform a preemptive risk management by means of reflecting the predicted common risk factors in the model. Stocks in the portfolio are satisfied with the independence to each other because the common factors are fixed by the predicted value. Therefore, we can easily determine the investment in each stock to minimize the variance of the portfolio. In addition, the portfolio VaR is decomposed into the sum of the individual VaR. So we can effectively implement the constitution of the portfolio to meet the target maximum losses.


Clamping force control is one of the key technologies in the algorithm design and implementation of electro-mechanical braking system, whose control effects directly affect the vehicle braking performance and safety performance. In order to improve the clamping force control performance of electro-mechanical braking (EMB) system, an EMB clamping force control method based on Variable universe adaptive fuzzy PID (VUF-PID) controller is proposed, and stretching factors are added to the fuzzy PID control. According to the operation of the controlled object, the fuzzy theory domain can be adjusted in real time to keep the system in the proper parameter value and improve the adaptive ability of the system. The response characteristics and effectiveness of clamping force under step braking condition, gear switching braking condition and sine braking condition are verified by simulation experiments using MATLAB/Simulink. The results show that the proposed VUF-PID control method has strong tracking characteristics and stability characteristics, and meet the braking requirements under different braking conditions.


• Except for restricting to deterministic algorithms, all the conditions above make a lower bound stronger: Any lower bound for synchronous algorithms certainly also holds for asynchronous ones. A lower bound that is true if message size and local computations are not restricted is clearly also valid if we require a bound on the maximal message size or the amount of local computations. Similarly, assuming that the ring is directed and that node labels are from 1 to n (instead of choosing IDs from a more general domain) also strengthens the lower bound.


Funded by Steve West VC UWE and Eric Thomas VC of University of Bristol The Intersection of Dreams is a research artefact which is part of a Practice as Research Portfolio - Output One. This is a 3 screen moving image triptych


An abinitio MO calculation is made on the H3S+(H2S)n cluster (n = 0–5). For n = 1, full thermodynamic data are reproduced theoretically, and for n = 1, 2, and 3 the effect of d functions on the structure and energies is investigated. On the basis of the present results, the accuracy of two conflicting experimental data is examined.


Some codes like BS8010 and DNV-OS-F101 distinguish between load controlled condition or displacement controlled (or strain based) condition. Even though the principles are clear, it is often hard to determine the difference in practice. A displacement controlled condition allows a higher utilization and is therefore beneficial, and can be applied provided that the condition can be classified as a displacement controlled condition. Many projects have had intense discussions on this matter during the last 15 years, however, without much progress. The objective of this paper is two-fold. First it will show that a discussion on load controlled versus displacement controlled is of limited value. The discussion should rather be on how to take benefit of a partially displacement controlled condition. Second, the paper gives a suggestion on how to allow for a partially displacement controlled condition, also determining the degree of displacement control. The suggestion is supported by specific FE-calculations.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The investigation and inspection on Stray Current Corrosion during repairing and building ships have been made. The cause for generating stray current being analyzed, the power line distribution map for Stray Current Corrosion is drawn. A proposel for solving the problem is suggested.


The primary processes in the mercury-photosensitized decomposition of propane and three deuterated propanes have been studied at low pressures. The primary radicals were trapped by methyl radicals,...


Laboratory measurements were carried out to explore the electrical properties of gabbroic and troctolitic samples from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1309D, in the Atlantis Massif, an oceanic core complex located at 30°N along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Oceanic core complexes are presumably localized in portions of heterogeneous oceanic crust that are relatively rich in igneous rocks and are the locus of significant hydrothermal activity. Electrical properties are used in igneous rocks to discuss their porosity structure as a function of mineralogy, alteration processes, and deformation. Electrical properties of the gabbroic suites sampled during IODP Expeditions 304 and 305 can contribute to the understanding of these processes in the Atlantis Massif. Electrical properties are obtained from a suite of resistivity measurements at variable salinity of the saturating fluid. We present the electrical data together with density and porosity measurements for 109 samples taken from the entire core recovered in IODP Hole U1309D. These include 7 oxide gabbros (oxide content > 2%), 72 gabbros and olivine gabbros, 14 troctolitic gabbros and troctolites, 16 olivine-rich troctolites (olivine > 70%). The linear decrease of the electrical formation factor, as well as an increase of surface conductivity with porosity, often observed for igneous rocks, is obtained here. However, this pattern is somewhat disturbed by samples that tend to have higher electrical surface conductivity and lower formation factor at fairly constant porosity (around 1 %). As a consequence, the electrical tortuosity tends to be more scattered, especially when abundant olivine and/or serpentine is present. Higher degrees of serpentinization do not significantly change the sample porosity, and tend to generate a simpler geometry of the porous network. 25 samples show a deflection at low pore fluid salinity, a behaviour ascribed to the occurrence of zeolites in previous studies. Small-scale downhole trends in electrical formation factor and electrical surface conductivity are larger than the calculated standard errors, and then correspond to actual downhole variations of some first-order controlling parameter(s) such as porosity or alteration.


Skeletal muscle exhibits remarkable plasticity in response to environmental cues, with stress-dependent effects on the fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibers. Although stress-induced gene expression underlies environmental adaptation, it is unclear how transcriptional and epigenetic factors regulate fiber type-specific responses in the muscle. Here, we show that flavin-dependent lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) differentially controls responses to glucocorticoid and exercise in postnatal skeletal muscle. Using skeletal muscle-specific LSD1 knockout mice and in vitro approaches, we found that LSD1 loss exacerbated glucocorticoid-induced atrophy in the fast fiber-dominant muscles, with reduced nuclear retention of Foxk1, an anti-autophagic transcription factor. Furthermore, LSD1 depletion enhanced endurance exercise-induced hypertrophy in the slow fiber-dominant muscles, by induced expression of ERRγ, a transcription factor that promotes oxidative metabolism genes. Thus, LSD1 serves as an "epigenetic barrier" that optimizes fiber type-specific responses and muscle mass under the stress conditions. Our results uncover that LSD1 modulators provide emerging therapeutic and preventive strategies against stress-induced myopathies such as sarcopenia, cachexia, and disuse atrophy. Graphical abstract. LSD1 serves as an "epigenetic barrier" that defines stress sensitivities in the skeletal muscle LSD1 attenuates glucocorticoid (GC)-induced atrophy in the fast fiber-dominant muscles, in collaboration with Foxk1, an anti-autophagic transcription factor. On the other hand, LSD1 attenuates endurance exercise-induced hypertrophy in the slow fiber-dominant muscles, by inhibiting ERRγ, a transcription factor that promotes oxidative metabolism genes. The loss of LSD1 remarkably sensitized the muscles to GC and endurance exercise.


Fault diagnosis and condition monitoring of electric machines using readily available drive sensors are highly critical in safety-critical applications. This article presents an accurate method to detect stator interturn short-circuit (ITSC) fault using the spatial inductance profile, which can be implemented both at start-up (standstill) or in real time. For this purpose, ac motor drive spatially scans the motor at each start-up in milliseconds by injecting high-frequency signals to obtain spatial inductance profile, analyze the fault status, and locate faulty phase. Using the start-up inductance profiling as reference, online detection version is implanted successfully, which is essential for real-time condition monitoring. This approach is highly sensitive ITSC faults, agnostic to temperature variations, and takes inverter nonlinearities into account caused by dead time and voltage drop across the power devices. To demonstrate the efficacy and practicability of the proposed algorithm, it is experimentally verified on two PMSMs, interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) and an induction motor, all rewounded to mimic ITSC faults. It is shown that the algorithm can detect ITSC faults very accurately in the order of milliseconds even if the number of shorted turns is very low.


The issue of students' difficulties in processing operations with percentages has been addressed in several international research studies from a qualitative perspective. In this study, we analyze students' difficulties on this topic, focusing on the transition from middle school to high school with a mixed methods research design. We focus on students' responses in a specific task belonging to the Italian large-scale assessment analyzed through the Rasch model, and we deepen the task analysis thanks to interviews, which enlightened image schemas and metaphors underlying students' reasoning. From the qualitative point of view, the Rasch model shows that students' difficulties in dealing with percentages is a macrophenomenon that involves the higher levels of competences. From the qualitative point of view, the metaphoric approach outlines the image schemas that foster the correct conceptualization of percentage and those that hinder their correct learning and can be one of the possible causes of the emerging aforementioned macrophenomenon.


Among observational studies, those with the best strength are cohort studies. These include different strategies witch evaluate a group of subjects in several occasions through a established period of time chosen by the researcher and specified by the prevalence as well as the natural history of the disease. Even when their results can be shadowed by the influence of both confusing parameters and different kind of bias, they represent a strategy of great relevance in finding about the factors involved in the causal chain of medical problems. This article is meant to be an introductory brush up to know the main characteristics of cohort studies and to provide a quick and brief reference of the main sources of bias in the medical application of these kinds of studies.


The inability of standard intertemporal economic models under resonable values of the key parameters to generate the observed equity premium is termed as the equity premium puzzle. In order to resolve the puzzle, we propose a new approach based on worst-case analysis where agents make decisions under risk and uncertainty. The consumption investment problem faced by agents is then posed as a continuous min-max model. The min-max strategy provides a guaranteed optimal performance in view of continuum of scenarios, varying between upper and lower bounds, of asset price and dividend. The worst-case performance will improve if any other scenario other than the worst-case is realised. Our preliminary results show that the worst-case approach allivates the equity premium puzzle


Morphological features of the two Korean Acrosorium species, A. flabellatum Yamada and A. venulosum (Zanardini) Kylin (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta) are described based on specimens collected from several localities along the coasts of Korea. Acrosorium flabellatum is easily distinguished from other Acrosorium species in lacking rhizoids in branchlets for attachment to substratum. The flabellate branching is also characteristic for this species. By contrast, Acrosorium venulosum is distinct from others in having the unique hooked branchlets. Taxonomic features found in the Korean Acrosorium species are compared, and a key to the species is provided based on this and previous data.


The report gives results of miscibility, solubility, viscosity, and density measurements for refrigerant R-236fa and two potential lubricants. (The data are needed to determine the suitability of refrigerant/lubricant combinations for use in refrigeration systems.) The tested oils were pentaerythritol ester mixed-acid (ISO68), hereafter SW-68 manufactured by Castrol, and polyol ester mixed-acid (ISO46), hereafter Arctic-46 manufactured by Mobil. Miscibility was measured in a series of miniature test cells submerged in a constant temperature bath, precisely controlled over a temperature range of -50 to 90 C. Solubility, viscosity, and density data were also obtained for R-236fa mixed with the two oils for a refrigerant concentration of 0 to 40 wt % refrigerant over a temperature range of 30 to 100 C. This research shows that: (1) solubility, viscosity, and density are functions of temperature and concentration, (2) solubility increases with increasing temperature and refrigerant concentration (i.e., mass fraction of refrigerant). (3) viscosity decreases with increasing temperature and refrigerant concentration, and (4) density decreases with increasing temperature but increases with increasing refrigerant concentration. R-114 and naphthenic mineral oil were also tested.


Erika James had been in academe for nine years and had gotten tenure as an associate professor at the Darden School when she was asked to be the Associate Dean for Diversity, a new position at the school. She discussed the offer with her colleagues and contemplated the matter thoroughly. The position would bring with it a sizeable increase in pay, much more responsibility, and many more administrative meetings, with a continued requirement to meet her teaching responsibilities. All in all, the job would mean more work. The job would likely cut into her available consulting time in the summer, and require her to create an initiative and strategy for the office from scratch. She was not yet a full professor, but she did have tenure. She had several research projects under way and was partway through her first book manuscript. She had a husband who was a busy executive and lived two hours away during the week—and who was likely to get more promotions. She had two small children full of energy and enthusiasm. She had a full-time au pair and a personal Pilates trainer. She had always been known for her cheerful, can-do attitude. Could she bear the additional strain? This case is an undisguised description of James's life and career and her views on several topics. A CD with video clips of interviews with James, her spouse, and several of her work associates accompanies the written case. The video clips include both pieces that could be assigned ahead of class and some that could be shown during class at the instructor's discretion. This case is intended to help management students explore the personal side of leadership and power, the nature of leadership development, how life events can shape leadership philosophies, the nature of success, how executives build and maintain business and personal relationships, and the way executives develop personal style throughout their professional careers.


A modified nine-quadrant importance–performance analysis is employed to assess the importance which Slovenian and Serbian tourism industry stakeholders attach to 48 nominated strategic activities to promote business and destination competitiveness. An important finding is that respondents in each country allocated the bulk of activities to the 'keep up the good work' strategy. In both destinations, this strategy was dominated by activities related to product development and innovation. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the identified priority activities require close examination to determine their 'enabling conditions' and the implications of an action based on them. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a large dosage urokinase(UK) in the treatment of acute cerebral infarctions 12 h from onset. Methods: Patients consistent with the inclusion criteria received UK 1.0 or 1.5 MU in normal saline(NS) 100-200 ml intravenously over 30 min. Then 500 ml of low molecular dextran was infused intravenously per day for 10 days. Results: 22 patients received UK 1.0 MU(group A), 25 patients were given UK 1.5 MU(group B) intravenously. There were no remarkable differences between the two groups both in the ESS scores and in the increased ESS scores at different time after thrombolysis; but the ESS scores and the increased ESS scores of group B were slightly higher than that of group A. There were 9 cases(40.9%) in group A; 13 cases(52%) in group B of the Barthel indexes≥95 points(full recovery and almost full recovery). The incidence of symptomatic hemorrhage and systemic hemorrhage was higher in group B than that in group B, there were 2 patients died in every group respectively. Conclusion: A large dosage UK intravenous thrombolysis is effective and relatively safe in treatment of acute cerebral infarctions within 12 h, the larger the dosage, the relatively better the effect, however, the higher the incidence of hemorrhage.


With the continuous increase in college graduates,unemployment becomes a social problem.Those unemployment hovering between society and the gate of the "school Sides"gradually emerged as a kind of cultural phenomenon.The article aims to way of life in this group,and take a cultural analysis of cultural identity,in order to find a more suitable solutions to the problems.


Dynamics of a BWR plant pressure control system were studied using stationary noise data for development of a plant diagnosis technique. A multivariate autoregressive (AR) modeling technique has been widely used for similar purposes. However, this cannot be applied to the pressure control system, since the system contains highly coherent signals and its partial transfer mechanism possesses a fast time constant. The present study solved these difficulties by introducing an associate matrix, which described a priori relationships between objective signals, into the conventional AR model. Using this modified AR model, internal (open loop) and closed loop transfer functions were identified. Their validity was confirmed by comparing with actual transient test data. These results show the effectiveness of noise data for evaluating not only partial component dynamics in the pressure control system but also whole system dynamics, such as a plant stability.


LANDA, F. de S.L. In vitro induction of callus on leafexplantes of pequizeiro (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.). Lavras: UFLA, 1999. 73p. (Dissertation Agronomy/Plant Physiology)* With the objective to determine a methodology for the in vitro establishment of pequizeiro, leaves were used as source of explantes for the induction of callus formation. The use of WPM médium supplemented with the combinations of 2.22 uM BAP + 10.74 uM NAA or 4.44 uM BAP + 10.74 uM NAA were able to induce callus formation on leaf explantes. Explantes maintained in the absence of hght showed higher callus formation. The formed callus presented white, yellowish or brown coloration. No formation of friable callus was observed The use of barley extract favored callus subculture which should be performed at each 45 days interval. The studies of genetic variability through RAPD indicated genetic proximity among the analised individuais suggesting that different explant behaviors observed in vitro were due to environmental and/orphysiological ratherthan genetic factors. Guidance: Renato Paiva UFLA


Academic involvement in language policy and planning in South Africa must be seen within the context of the country's sociolinguistic complexity and the relationship between language and a number of serious problems in the country. South Africa's sociolinguistic complexity (see Appendix) is a function of a number of factors: 1) a multiplicity of languages and cultures; 2) the overlapping demographical and geographical distribution of the country's major languages; and 3) the politicization of these languages and cultures due to both the colonial past and the policy of apartheid, and the differentiated linguistic manifestation of their politicization.


The tourist commodity resources of Nanning city enjoy great advantage but its development is still in primary stage. According to the principle of tourist commodity development and its advantage, the thesis designs a series of merchandise including national minority handicrafts, herbal medicine, green stuff, local flavor stuff and souvenirs of cultural and historic significance. On the layout of commercial network, it plans to develop national minority shopping area, delicacies street around the region of the Wind and Rain Bridge, and sell special tourist commodity in scenic spots. It also focuses on the governmental leadership on the production of tourist commodity, cooperation between functional departments and support and management of tourist commodity so as to advance sustainable, steady and healthy growth of Nanning′s tourism industry. It puts forward the strategies of famous brand, which aims to create brand products for China and the world,and the concept of the overall sales promotion, which combines modern promotional method with traditional ways.


We introduce Multi-Modal Utility Trees (MMU), an algorithm for autonomously learning decision treebased state abstractions in Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes with multi-modal observations. MMU builds the trees using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test. Additionally, MMU incorporates the ability to perform online tree restructuring, enabling it to build and maintain a compact state approximation. It then uses reinforcement learning over these abstractions to learn a control policy. We empirically evaluate the performance of MMU on the Tsume-Go subtask of Go, and show knowledge transfer from the single step Tsume-Go task to the multi-step Tsume-Go task. In the single step task MMU outperforms the best existing decision tree based methods and performs competitively with a Support Vector Machine method for solving Tsume-Go problems. We are unaware of existing work on multi-step Tsume-Go, but MMU reaches over 40% accuracy on subsequent gameplay steps. A random agent would achieve less than 9%, and thus there is a significant amount of knowledge transfer. The use of multi-modal observations allows us to use a variety of observation representations which are combined to form the abstractions learned by MMU. This provides flexibility in the choice of observation representation which is lacking in existing methods for the online learning of state abstractions.


The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of organizational culture and director's transformational leadership on the happiness and teacher efficacy of kindergarten teachers. Four research questions were posed to serve the purpose: 1. What is the awareness of kindergarten teachers about th...


Abstract:  The first mygalomorph spiders from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Lagerstätte of Cearà Province, north‐east Brazil, are described, from adult males and females, in two new genera and species: Cratadiplura ceara Selden, gen. et sp. nov. and Dinodiplura ambulacra Selden, gen. et sp. nov. They belong to the extant family Dipluridae, hitherto known as fossils only from Tertiary strata; thus this occurrence extends the family record by some 90 myr.


In his 1854 memoir Jail Journal Irish nationalist John Mitchel, having witnessed the devastating consequences of the Famine firsthand, constructs an acerbic critique of British colonial policy that at some points repels the reader. Stirring revulsion are the journal's advocacy of blood sacrifice and, even more, its overt racial supremacism. That racist strain likely explains why, until recently, scholars on both sides of the Atlantic have ignored Jail Journal. Yet, as area studies increasingly engages with a more comparative and transcultural approach, Mitchel's transnational narrative merits a second look. This article breaks ground by identifying startling parallels between this work by a vocal nineteenth-century supporter of slavery in the Americas, and leading slave narratives. It shows clearly the bitter irony that to tell his ultimately supremacist story of victimisation, Mitchel appropriated the slave narrative's tropes of kidnap, of Middle Passage dehumanisation and commodification, of escape, and of liberation. Illuminating needs of the nineteenth-century US and British racial states – needs fuelled by the flawed Eurocentric logic of the transnational intellectual elite – this analysis of John Mitchel's Jail Journal contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the global dimensions of racism.


Abstract : Measurements of the characteristic time spread L (in seconds) of surface forward scattering were made from the research platform FLIP in January 1992. These data were compared with a model for L and matched the model to within an average relative error of 30%. The inverse, L-1 (in hertz), is a measure of the coherence bandwidth of the channel and therefore important in both designing waveforms and determining signal-processing strategies. Using the model for L, simulators can assess realistic magnitudes of the coherence bandwidth of the surface channel as a function of source/receiver geometry and environmental conditions. Time spread, Frequency coherence, Sea surface slope, Environmental acoustics


Introduction: The growth rate of Brazilian teen population is decreasing. It is estimated that in 2040 there will be a reduction of approximately 14% of its quantitative. Despite the data, teenagers, even though they represent a low demand in health services, deserve special attention because they are the most exposed to vulnerabilities. The Health Promotion of these adolescents should not be restricted to health sector. General Objective: To analyze factions based on Health Promotion in accordance with active teaching methodologies influence the life and health of the teenagers who are part of the Acceleration Program of high school in a public school of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Specific objectives: 1) To characterize students from schools and their social contexts. 2) Develop Health Promotion based on active teaching methodologies in school. Methodology: This is a study with a qualitative approach. In order to gather information, during the first two weeks of research, an observation has occurred. Subsequently, two focal groups, one in each class of the Acceleration Program, had been implemented. After, with 60 students from both classes, Health Promotion Workshops were carried out in accordance with the active methodologies, based on the subjects: participation, food, violence and peace, physical activity, environment, sexuality and health. After the intervention, groups were repeated. The obtained data were transcribed and analyzed based on the thematic content analysis technique proposed by Bardin. Results: Most teenagers compare health to the absence of diseases and Health Promotion with healthy habits. In addition, only healthy professionals who work in hospitals would be able to promote it. The workshops were consistent in providing teenagers with a new paradigm on these concepts. In the end, most of teenagers were aware of the development of their autonomy, engagement to health protection, adoption of choices that lead to better health and an understanding of these services available for their guarantee. Conclusions: There are methodological possibilities of teaching which let all students at the center of learning, making them the protagonist of their own knowledge. The lack of curricular flexibility does not impede the inclusion and the protagonism of the Health Promotion. The mediation between the actors involved in school daily life, as well as the capacity of teenagers and their active participation, are no valuable practices for Health Promotion


【Objective】In urban road network,vehicles delay generally approaches 80% at the intersection.Survey and investigation of delay at the intersection play an important role in the practical significance for urban traffic management and control.【Methods】Compared to Australian delay model and Canadian delay model,an improved delay model was proposed in this paper.The delay was measured by the License Number Matching Method when the saturation was closed to 1.And then the measured results were compared with that of the three models【Results】The improved delay model is similar to Australian delay model and Canadian delay model in the case of lower and higher saturation,respectively.When the saturation is close to 1,the improved delay model is better agreement with the measured results and approaches high precision.Compared with Markov chain method proposed by Brilon and Wu,it is so simple,convenient and easy-to-operate for the improved delay model.【Conclusion】The improved model is suitable for analyzing the delay that the urban road intersections are mixing low speed.


Abstract:This essay analyzes Nambi E. Kelley's stage adaptation of 'Native Son to consider the ways that African American drama is vitalized by and constituted through acts of refiguration. It sharpens particular focus on how Kelley reinvigorates Wright's novel's searing social and racial critiques by actively refiguring the Du Boisian metaphor of double consciousness. In giving new form, meaning, and use to the metaphor, Kelley's Native Son extends the debates about "the problem of the color line" that Du Bois's writing helped engender at the beginning of the twentieth century into the twenty-first and, in so doing, opens critical space to reckon with the persistent and pernicious problem of anti-Black racism.


This article reviews research advances in etiology,epidemiology(geographical distribution,reservoir,transmission vector and susceptible humans),pathogenesis,clinical symptoms,diagnosis in etiology,serology and molecular biology,prevention and treatment of Lyme disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi worldwide,and the information present here will provide references for further studies on Lyme disease in China.


Single-stage reconstruction of the pharyngoesophagus with a free jejunal graft is considered standard surgical treatment for hypopharyngeal cancer. We reviewed postoperative cervical CTs in 72 of 136 consecutive patients (1982-2002) undergoing this therapy in our department. Of these, 29 (40%) showed mesenteric lymph node swelling (> 10mm) in grafts. Most swelling is considered reactive, but 1 patient showed pathological metastasis in fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNA). When metastasis is clinically suspected in imaging study and other examinations, FNA should be done carefully with guided ultrasound echo-imaging, to avoid damaging vascular grafts and necrosis of the jejunal graft.


The hydrogen abundances in DBA white dwarfs determined from optical or UV spectra have been reported to differ significantly in some studies. We revisit this problem using our own model atmospheres and synthetic spectra, and present a theoretical investigation of the Lyman-$\alpha$ line profile as a function of effective temperature and hydrogen abundance. We identify one possible solution to this discrepancy and show considerable improvement from a detailed analysis of optical and UV spectra of DBA stars.


Capturing stereophonic room impulse responses for simulation of spatial impression of an acoustic space, for example for music production, is time consuming and expensive, especially when large database of well-recognized music spaces is needed. However, these spaces are often measured by companies dealing with room acoustics in order to compare their objective listening quality. The paper presents method for obtaining stereophonic room impulse responses from room impulse responses captured in order to compute some criteria of objective evaluation of acoustic spaces.


Certain sulfonamidothiadiazoles, metal complexes thereof and solutions of said compounds in essentially water-immiscible, liquid hydrocarbon solvents are disclosed. The sulfonamidothiadiazoles have the general structural formula: wherein R and A are as defined in the specification and claims hereof. Particular metal values are recovered from their aqueous solutions by using sulfonamidothiadiazoles dissolved in essentially water-immiscible, liquid hydrocarbon solvents. The extraction process involves contacting the metal value containing aqueous solution with the solution of the sulfonamidothiadiazole in essentially water-immiscible, liquid hydrocarbon solvent and stripping the metal from the loaded organic phase.


The paper proposes a joint effort to build a research infrastructure for the area of reengineering. The main idea is to better share and build upon each other's results. The article presents some steps that the software community can take to address these issues and to leverage their efforts. Some of these are already underway, some are understood but need to be implemented, and some are themselves research questions that need to be examined. All of them need contributions from volunteer participants. These steps include increased interaction with industry, the development of a repository of research artifacts, and convergence of intermediate representations. The paper is a proposal that requires considerable discussion and consensus before it can be realized.


The aim of this study was to examine the effect of prolonged acclimation to cold on the acid‐base status of extra‐ and intracellular fluids in the land snail Helix lucorum. For this purpose, acid‐base parameters in the hemolymph and tissues were determined. In addition, the buffer values of hemolymph and tissues were determined in order to examine whether they change in the snails during acclimation to cold. According to the results presented, there is an inverse pH‐temperature relationship in the hemolymph within the first day of acclimation, which is consistent with alphastat regulation. The Pco2 decreased, and pH in the hemolymph (pHe) increased by 0.32 U within the first day of acclimation to cold, which corresponds to a change of 0.013 U °C−1. After the first day of acclimation, Pco2 increased in the hemolymph, resulting in a significant drop in pHe by 90 d of acclimation to cold. Acclimation of snails to low temperatures did not change the buffer value of the hemolymph. Also, intracellular pH (pHi) and intracellular buffer values remained stable during acclimation to cold for prolonged periods. The latter results in conjunction with those obtained by the in vitro determination of the passive component of intracellular fluids indicate an active regulation of pHi in H. lucorum during acclimation to cold.


Aims:  To determine whether Ha‐AP10, a member of the plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) family produces a direct cytotoxic effect on fungal cells mediated by membrane permeabilization. LTPs can inhibit fungal growth and are considered members of the ubiquitous class of antimicrobial peptides. However, the way they exert their effects on target cells is not yet understood.


The fundamental question that must be answered to address racial/ethnic differences in renal disease care and outcomes begins by defining ( 1 ) the degree to which these differences can be accounted for by disparities in access to and quality of care and ( 2 ) the extent to which these differences


Surgical treatment of Scheuermann's kyphosis is still subject to debate. Traditional treatment has included an anterior release associated to fusion of apical disk segments, followed by posterior instrumentation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the vertebral pedicle screw system yields a better stabilization and correction of the deformity, without a compressive procedure, thus decreasing the risk of complications. METHODS: 19 patients with Scheuermann's kyphosis were evaluated after being submitted to anterior release and fusion by open thoracotomy followed by posterior instrumentation with a vertebral pedicle screw system with the screws positioned with the free-hand technique. Before surgery, the patients were analyzed according to the visual analogical pain scale (EVA) and using X-rays. After surgery, analysis was made of the extension of the curve correction, complications, EVA for pain, and level of satisfaction with the surgery. Mean follow-up was 37.5 months (12.6 61.7 months). RESULTS: Pre-op kyphosis varied from 66° to 94°, with a mean of 77.6° and the mean EVA was 6.6. After surgery, the mean kyphosis was 35.8° (ranging from 23° to 50°), a mean correction of 53.8% being obtained. EVA was 0.6, and all patients but one, were pleased with the result of the surgery. Complications: two screws were detached in one patient and had to be reintroduced and instrumentation had to be expanded, one patient had superficial infection that was clinically solved, a screw broke asymptomatically, and one patient had late infection that was cured with the removal of the implant. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of Scheuermann's kyphosis using anterior release and fusion by open thoracotomy followed by posterior instrumentation with a vertebral pedicle screw system using the free hand technique showed, in this series, to be safe and efficient.


This article was motivated by a need to understand the academic strengths and weaknesses of engineering students entering first-year. The underlying impetus was the improvement of the educational process. At our institution, and perhaps in general, there is an anecdotal hypothesis that the mathematical skills, or more generally, the academic strengths of first-year engineering students have been significantly declining in the last two decades. To address this hypothesis, a longitudinal study of pre-engineering indicators for first year engineering students in a Canadian university transfer program was initiated almost a decade ago through the use of two assessment exams and by collection and consolidation of high school achievement data. It is not unusual to use these academic indicators as a measure of skill level. To this end, two assessment tools (Math Advisory and Engineering Assessment) were used to generate data with which to test this hypothesis. Simple statistical analyses and temporal trend plots were used to examine the data. The results of the data analysis gave rise to some interesting observations. The Math Advisory exam mean scores for engineering students considered in this study were consistently between 50-55% during the period considered, with little variation from year to year. The same trend was observed for the Engineering Assessment mean scores (Force Concept Inventory). In both cases, the changes in the mean scores over time were analyzed using a t-test, and the analysis indicated that the changes in the mean scores were not statistically significant. Overall high school achievement of these students entering first-year also showed little variation during this same time period. Comparison of the assessment exam mean scores to high school achievement data showed that performance on assessment exams was much poorer than high school achievement might have predicted. There was ~30% reduction in performance when the assessment indicators were compared to high school achievement. As a result of the overall poor performance on the assessment exams (50-55%), as well as inconsistency between results on the Math Advisory exam and high school achievement in math, the engineering program has regularly implemented weekly math and engineering tutorial sessions to supplement the course curricula. However, at this stage the success of these initiatives has not been verified. Although the data at first glance (10.89 compared to 10.6 for Math Advisory exam) might indicate a decline in the performance of engineering students on the math assessment exam, the data does not support the anecdotal hypothesis nor the quantitative evidence of markedly declining math skills in first-year engineering students at our institution, at least during the time period considered. Assessment tools are often used in a predictive way to gauge the overall skills of engineering students. They are also useful in setting engineering program directives. It is clear from this article that the academic averages obtained in high school, may not necessarily reflect the skill level of the students entering first-year, especially in mathematics. A further analysis of these assessment results in light of first-year academic achievement might reveal further information regarding the success or lack thereof in delivering the first year curriculum.


In designing and building extreme large optical telescopes of sizes above 10m main aperture diameter, the effort for protecting the telescope against environmental influences gets remarkable large in engineering efforts as well as in costs. Large radio telescopes of similar size are built in "exposed" design, which means, that the protections for the sensitive components are integrated into the telescope itself. Long ranging experience even for sub-millimeter wavelength radio telescopes is available. Why not thinking the unthinkable and design exposed extreme large optical telescopes? The paper describes methods to protect the optics, to protect the structures and mechanics, and to overcome the wind and temperature induced disturbances during operations. It shows also means to integrate large and comfortable rooms for the science instruments with free access during operations into the protected area of the telescope.


Abstract The accumulation, persistence and fate of systemic pesticide aldicarb was melencholy evaluated in orange crops. The concentration of this pesticide and its two toxic metabolites, aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone was determined in leaves, rind and pulp of three orange varieties (Satsuma, Navelina and Clemetina de Nules) and in the top soil of the orange groves. The groves were located in two different places in the Valencia Community (Spain). The analysis showed that the aldicarb concentration was lower than those of aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone. In all cases, the residues persisted at least 160 days in vegetable samples and between 157 and 227 days in soil samples. Residue concentrations measured in the soil samples were highly variable but a relation with the organic matter content can be observed. The residue levels found in vegetal products were higher in leaves than in rind, and in rind than in pulp. The maximum residue values were obtained between 47 and 70 days after the a...


0.06% Clothianidin mixed fertilizer was studied as control agent against Sugarcane Borers.The results showed that there was a positive relationship between control effect and application rate.The control effect was up 57.73%-78.33%、83.61%-89.84% and 86.80%-92.55%,when its application rate was a.i 180 g/ha,270 g/ha and 360 g/ha,respectively.The control effect of 0.06% Clothianidin mixed fertilizer was significantly better than that of conventional pesticides.


Insects have evolved a wide range of strategies to combat invading pathogens, including viruses. Genes that encode proteins involved in immune responses often evolve under positive selection due to their co-evolution with pathogens. Insect antiviral defense includes the RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism, which is triggered by recognition of non-self, virally produced, double-stranded RNAs. Indeed, insect RNAi genes (e.g., dicer and argonaute-2) are under high selective pressure. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are eusocial insects that respond to viral infections via both sequence specific RNAi and a non-sequence specific dsRNA triggered pathway, which is less well-characterized. A transcriptome-level study of virus-infected and/or dsRNA-treated honey bees revealed increased expression of a novel antiviral gene, GenBank: MF116383, and in vivo experiments confirmed its antiviral function. Due to in silico annotation and sequence similarity, MF116383 was originally annotated as a probable cyclin-dependent serine/threonine-protein kinase. In this study, we confirmed that MF116383 limits virus infection, and carried out further bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses to better characterize this important gene—which we renamed bee antiviral protein-1 (bap1). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that bap1 is taxonomically restricted to Hymenoptera and Blatella germanica (the German cockroach) and that the majority of bap1 amino acids are evolving under neutral selection. This is in-line with the results from structural prediction tools that indicate Bap1 is a highly disordered protein, which likely has relaxed structural constraints. Assessment of honey bee gene expression using a weighted gene correlation network analysis revealed that bap1 expression was highly correlated with several immune genes—most notably argonaute-2. The coexpression of bap1 and argonaute-2 was confirmed in an independent dataset that accounted for the effect of virus abundance. Together, these data demonstrate that bap1 is a taxonomically restricted, rapidly evolving antiviral immune gene. Future work will determine the role of bap1 in limiting replication of other viruses and examine the signal cascade responsible for regulating the expression of bap1 and other honey bee antiviral defense genes, including coexpressed ago-2, and determine whether the virus limiting function of bap1 acts in parallel or in tandem with RNAi.


The problems derived from the drug use constitute at the present time, one of the main social and health problems. In the last years an increasing interest exists from diverse disciplines in developing and validating procedures that improve the effectiveness of the interventions in the disorders by consumption of substances. In the area of the psychology of the addictive behaviour therapies of cognitive-behaviour direction, have been validated that have demonstrated their actually clinical utility. Between the procedures used by these therapies are diverse cognitive techniques. These techniques, although known by the clinical ones, are from more difficult application in patients with addictive problems. Next the procedure of application of some of these techniques is described and, the most opportune moment to do it throughout a process of treatment.


Background and objective: Rats were first used for experimental purposes in the mid-18th century. The availability of these rats and their survival rate for experimental purposes has been a major challenge throughout most research institutes and universities across Nigeria. Materials and methods: Twenty albino rats were separated in twos (male and female) into ten (10) groups. Each couple was allowed access to composite feed (1:1 vital feed and maize husk) and clean tap water ad libitum for 21 weeks. The different temperature conditions of the weather as well as the body weight of the animals, birth rate and death rate were monitored and computed averagely. Results: The temperature was numerically lower in the month of December (25.6°C) and higher in March (32.4°C). However, there was a progressive increase in the average temperature from December through April.The highest body weight was recorded in December (156.4 g) and subsequently falls as reproduction begins showing strong linear negative correlation (0.5884) between body weight and temperature. In another case, December and January recorded more births, 4.6% and 3.8% rates respectively; however, it dropped to 1.2% in April giving an overall indication of a weak linear negative correlation (0.3812) between birth rate temperatures. On the other hand, the death rate showed a strong positive correlation (0.9402) between the death rate and temperature. Conclusion: It was evident from the results that, increased temperature generates heat stress that was capable to depreciate the survival and reproductive rates of albino rats.


Current patient monitoring procedures in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) generate vast quantities of medical data, much of which is considered extemporaneous and not evaluated. Although sophisticated monitors to analyze individual types of patient data are routinely used in the hospital setting, this equipment lacks high order signal analysis tools for detecting long-term trends and correlations between different signals within a patient data set. Without the ability to continuously analyze disjoint sets of patient data, it is difficult to detect slow-forming complications. As a result, the early onset of conditions such as pneumonia or sepsis may not be apparent until the advanced stages. We report here on the development of a distributed software architecture test bed and software medical models to analyze both asynchronous and continuous patient data in real time. Hardware and software has been developed to support a multi-node distributed computer cluster capable of amassing data from multiple patient monitors and projecting near and long-term outcomes based upon the application of physiologic models to the incoming patient data stream. One computer acts as a central coordinating node; additional computers accommodate processing needs. A simple, non-clinical model for sepsis detection was implemented on the system for demonstration purposes. This work shows exceptional promise as a highly effective means to rapidly predict and thereby mitigate the effect of nosocomial infections.


A parallel‐plate Stark cell giving a very homogeneous electric field is described. It can be used either for Stark spectroscopy in the infrared and microwave ranges or in infrared–microwave double resonance experiments. Microwave absorption lines, 12.600 GHz frequency shifted, have been observed; it is more than 36 times as much as earlier displacements obtained with such cells. For pressures up to 30 mTorr, a suitable device keeps the breakdown voltage always above 10 kV, corresponding to an electric field of 50 kV/cm.


characteristics that reduce overlap in the use of resources. Ecologists have interpreted the differences in the body sizes, feeding structures, microhabitat specializations, and foraging behaviors of related and coexisting species as evidence for the importance of competition in structuring natural communities. The theoretical underpinnings of this comparative approach to the study of competition predict "limiting similarities" in characteristics relevant to allocation of searce resources (May and MacArthur 1972, and reviewed in Schoener 1974). A second approach to studying competition employs experimental manipulations of resources and/or competitive regimes. Because experimental methods do not depend on similarities of form and function between presumed competitors, this approach is more general and has proven especially useful in analyzing interactions between phylogenetically unrelated species. Such interactions are particularly common in space-limited systems; for example, organisms as distant taxonomically as plants and sessile animals compete for space on rocky ocean shores (Lubchenko and Menge 1978). Like competition for space, competition for food resources is not limited to closely related species. As investigations have expanded to include distantly related taxa, the inadequacies of the comparative approach have become increasingly apparent, and experimentation has gradually assumed a more prominent role in community-ecological research.


A 70MB SRAM chip is designed and fabricated in 65nm CMOS technology. A column-based dynamic multi-V, scheme is integrated into the design to improve cell read and write margins while reducing power consumption. The design operates at 3GHz with a 1.1V power supply.


Hg 2+ pollution poses a major threat to human health and the ecological environment, but there is still a lack of direct and sensitive Hg 2+ detection technology. In this study, Cu/CuO/ZnO wires were prepared by alkaline oxidation and hydrothermal methods. Polypyrrole (PPy) was covered on the surface of the material by electrochemical polymerization. Using the principle of electrochemical signal response driven by p-n junction barrier, the material was used for the direct electrochemical detection of Hg 2+ and was tested by differential pulse voltammetry. The composite has a good linear relationship in the Hg 2+ concentration range of 200–1600 nmol/L, and has ultra-high sensitivity (1,010.82 μ A ∙ L/(nmol ∙ cm 2 )) and ultra-low detection limit (2.1 pmol/L). The new sensing mode based on the interface barrier eliminates the interference of other ions. The recovery rate of Hg 2+ in tap water, river water and sea water is 97.3%– 105.0%, and the RSD is 1.8%–5.6%. This method using p-n junction barrier can be extended to the development and research of other sensors for detecting heavy metal ions.