To investigate the effects of rumen-protected cysteine on the carcass traits of housing-feeding mutton sheep,different concentrations of rumen-protected cysteine(0,0.20%,0.40%,0.80%)were added in the fodder of Tan× Han hybrid sheep F1.After 70 days feeding,slaughter performance,meat performance and fat deposition were evaluated and analyzed.The results indicated that slaughter performance,meat performance and fat deposition of Tan× Han hybrid sheep F1 were affected by adding different concentrations of rumen-protected cysteine.Dressing percentage was improved by 4.66%,3.91%,10.51% respectively in the experiment groups compared with that of control group and the group added 0.80% cysteine improve the dressing percentage significantly(P 0.05).Meat percentage was improved by 0.39%,6.49%,5.43% respectively compared with that of control group and the group added 0.40%cysteine improve the meat percentage significantly(P 0.05).GR was improved by 8.39%,13.03%,11.76% respectively compared with that of control group(P 0.05)and there were no significant difference among control and experimental group.These results suggested that Tan × Han hybrid sheep carcass characters was improved by adding 0.40% cysteine in fodder.


Sexuality in ageing process: a new guideline ‐ transcultural comparison. Access to new drugs (tibolona, sildenafil, tadalafil) revealed an increasing demand of seniors about their sexual health. However, prejudices about older people's sexuality remain prevalent in our culture. Sociological and psychoanalytical theories combined allow understanding the double nature of this phenomenon, in which intrapsychic repression results of internalized cultural ideals. This article presents a transcultural survey comparing two samples, Brazilian and Portuguese, to verify knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices about sexuality of 187 healthy people, 52 to 90 years old.


The sinking pipe technoigue for solving inadequate buried depth of an active pipeline is widely used in China. The features and application range of this technique as well as the design parameter calculations including minimum length of pipeline ditch, pipeline settlement, permitted span are presented in this paper. Also, the concrete construction process, construction techniques and safety measures are illustrated.


We developed an image-guided robot system to achieve highly accurate placement of thin needles and probes into in-vivo rodent tumor tissue in a predefined pattern of about 1 mm granularity that is specified on a preoperative image. This development is part of a collaborative project between Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). This paper presents a design update and validation results for the robot system that we constructed and delivered to MSKCC.


Hypericum perforatum is an important medicinal plant that its essence such as hypericine urrA nypJ.zuin has properties such as anti-depressant, antiviral and antibacterial' In this research the effect of different levels of growth regulators (IAA and BAP) and explants tlpe (root, shoot, leaf) on callus induction and organogenesis of Hypericum perforatumwere studied through factorial experiment with completely randomized design *iit frrr. replications and five samples per experimental unit' Explants such as roots' stems and leaves from sterilized seedlir€s were cultured on MS medium containing different concentrations of IAA (0.0, 0.5, 1., mg/l) and BAP (0.0, 0.4, 0'8 mg/l)' We incubated the samples in the dark at 23"C fo,t ZS days. After this q.1t-9d, traits including callus weight' number of roots and number of shoots were measured. Highly significant differences were observed for all the measured traits. For the root explants, the highest number of shoots' callus weight and number of roots were observed with 1'0 mg/lIAA, 1'0 mg/l.IAA and also with 0.8 mgll BAP, and 2.0 mg/l IAA, respectively. For stem explants, the highest number of shoots, callus *.ig"-i and nuitber of rooti were induced with 0.8 mg/l BAP, 2'0 mg/l IAA and also 0.4 mgil BAP, and 0.4 mg/l BAP, respectively. whereas, for leaf explants' the highest number of shoots, callus weight anln.rryle1 of roots were observed in the treatments with 0.5 mg/l IAA and also o.a mg/t BAP, 2.0 mgll IAA and also 0'4 mg/lBAP, and2.0 mg/l IAA, resPectivelY. Study of the Critical Period of Weed Control in Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) A. Kordenaeel'*1, H. Habibil, M.H. Fotokianl and M.I{hazaie2 t college of Agriculture and Medicinal plants Research center. Shahed University, Tehran, Iran, p.O.box: 18151-159 'Department of Agronomy, Shahed University Tehran, kan *Corresponding author: Kordenaeej@shahed .ac.ir, kordenaeej email@example.com Keyrvords: Thymus vulgaris,logistic and Weibull model, weed critical period, yield Abstract The critical period for weed control (CPWC) is a key component of an integrated weed management (IWM) program. During this period of crop growth, weeds must be controlled to prevent yield losses. Therefore, to determine the critical period of weed control in ThSrme, an experiment was carried out in a randomized complete Utoct design with 1g treatments and three replications in 2008 -2009 at the experimental field of Shahed University Research Instifute. Two series of the treatments including weed-free and weedinfested fields were applied in the regular intervals of 15, 30, 45, 66,15,90, 105 and 120 days right after the beginning of thyne growth at spring. Two check treatments including full and no control of weed during the whole season were also included. The logisti" urd Weibull models were applied to determine the critical period of weed control. The results showed that periods of weed-free and weed-infested significantly affected the dry weight and number of weeds in all treatments (p<0.01). Considering 5% ind l0% of the expectable yield loss in the models, critical periods of weed control were between 4l-90 days and 5476 days for fresh weight, 12-94 days and 29-78 days for dry weights, and 20-105 days and 30-86 days for essence yield after the beginning of growth at spring.The critical period for weed control (CPWC) is a key component of an integrated weed management (IWM) program. During this period of crop growth, weeds must be controlled to prevent yield losses. Therefore, to determine the critical period of weed control in ThSrme, an experiment was carried out in a randomized complete Utoct design with 1g treatments and three replications in 2008 -2009 at the experimental field of Shahed University Research Instifute. Two series of the treatments including weed-free and weedinfested fields were applied in the regular intervals of 15, 30, 45, 66,15,90, 105 and 120 days right after the beginning of thyne growth at spring. Two check treatments including full and no control of weed during the whole season were also included. The logisti" urd Weibull models were applied to determine the critical period of weed control. The results showed that periods of weed-free and weed-infested significantly affected the dry weight and number of weeds in all treatments (p<0.01). Considering 5% ind l0% of the expectable yield loss in the models, critical periods of weed control were between 4l-90 days and 5476 days for fresh weight, 12-94 days and 29-78 days for dry weights, and 20-105 days and 30-86 days for essence yield after the beginning of growth at spring.


Abstract Bed moisture Contents range from c. 64% to 41% in eastern Southland lignite fields, being lowest in the northwest. The rates of decrease of moisture with depth in drillholes vary, being greatest in the higher moisture areas. The rates are generalised from 19 drillhole sequences and extrapolated to 90% moisture in the original surface peat. This leads to estimated former maximum depths of burial of an Early Miocene pollen zone boundary ranging from 160–200 m in the south to 700–800 m in the northwest. Where subsidence was greatest, possibly towards the faulted margin ofafault-angle depression, subsequent uplift was also greatest. For lignites of average type, the ASTM Lignite A/Lignite B boundary in eastern Southland is estimated to have been reached at an original depth of burial of c. 650 m.


The effects of plastic film variety (including OPP, CPP, PP6, PP12, PO, HDPE and LDPE) on the changing of O2 and CO2 content were investigated during the preservation storage of kyoho grape with modified atmosphere package (MAP). The gas composition was mainly affected by grape respiration rate and the permeability of packaging film. The results showed that OPP, CPP, and PP12 could be better for maintaining the desired atmosphere composition of O2, CO2 and N2 on grape preservation. OPP, CPP, and PP12 contributed greatly to restrain grape respiration rate and extend the shelf life of grape and would be more suitable for grape preservation as modified atmosphere package.


THERE are several reasons for low conception rates in cows. The calving to conception interval is a critical target of performance and depends on the voluntary waiting period, the efficiency of oestrus detection and the first-service conception rate (Heersche and Nebel 1994). Abnormal values for any of these variables are rarely the result of genetic factors, but are commonly caused by inadequate general management and nutritional inadequacies. Approximately 20 per cent of cows presented for artificial insemination (AI) have suboestrus (Bostedt and Fleischmann 1988). Because oestrus can be diagnosed with some degree of certainty after thorough examination of the reproductive tract in up to 22 per cent of these cows, the conception rate of a suboestrous cow is not always poor (Bostedt and Fleischmann 1988). This short communication describes a study to establish a method for examining suboestrous cows, and to identify the signs of suboestrous of greatest clinical usefulness. A total of 148 cows (17 nulliparous and 131 multiparous) that originated from 72 dairy farms and were presented for AI were used. Four cows gave birth twice within the study period. Twenty-nine cows were presented a second time and two cows a third time, giving a total of 179 cases. No more than two cows were included from any given farm and therefore farm effects were not considered. A case was defined as a cow presented with suboestrus as recognised by the farmer. AI was carried out in 168 cases, regardless of whether oestrus was confirmed during the examination described below. In the remaining 11 cases, AI was not carried out because the cow was pregnant (n=4), had cystic ovaries (n=3), or was in dioestrus (n=3) or metoestrus (n=1). The cows were between 1·5 and 12 years of age (mean five years) and belonged to the Swiss Braunvieh (n=114), Holstein (n=12) and Simmental/ red Holstein (n=22) breeds. Clinical examination, AI and pregnancy evaluation were carried out by M. W. An electronic device for the detection of oestrus in cows (Estral; Provet), measuring the impedance of the cervical mucus, was used on the day of AI in all the cows. In addition, the milk progesterone concentration was measured in all lactating cows using a semiquantitative cowside test (Hormonost; SVKB). A blood sample was collected in all cases for the measurement of the plasma progesterone concentration. The blood was collected from the coccygeal vessels into lithium-heparinised evacuated glass tubes and centrifuged. The plasma was stored at –20°C until analysed. When a cow was presented for AI, the owner reported the observed clinical signs of oestrus. The internal reproductive organs were palpated transrectally. A total of 35 parameters were considered (Table 1). All cows were clinically classified as 'oestrus' (score 1) or 'no oestrus' (score 0) by the same investigator (M. W.). Season was not considered in the study. No season dependency was found between cows with or without fertile suboestrus. Cows that did not return to oestrus were examined for pregnancy by manual transrectal palpation at least six weeks after AI. For a final analysis, cows were classified as 'pregnant' (score 1) or 'open' (score 0). The data were evaluated using StatView 5.0 (SAS). For all signs of oestrus that were evaluated, a chi-squared test for association was carried out. In all cows, each variable was scored as 1 for the presence of the sign or 0 for the absence of the sign. The odds ratio (OR) for conception was calculated for each sign. A multivariate stepwise (step-back) logistic regression was carried out according to Smith (1995). Statistical evaluation of the signs of oestrus of the 168 inseminated cows (cases) revealed that 68 (40 per cent) were ready for insemination and 100 (60 per cent) were not. Thirty-eight (56 per cent) of the cows in the 'oestrus' group conceived, whereas none conceived in the 'no oestrus' group. The presence of a Graafian follicle, copious amounts of clear vulvar mucus and a plasma progesterone concentration of less than 0·1 ng/ml were significantly associated (chi-squared test) with conception when considered independently of other signs. For each individual sign of oestrus, the OR for a favourable finding resulting in pregnancy was calculated. A ranking order of the P value of individual signs of oestrus with regard to conception is shown in Table 1. In a stepwise logistic regression, starting with 'copious amounts of mucus draining from cervical opening', no further variable could be entered into the model for a better explanation of the dependent variable 'oestrus'. Therefore, this sign (OR=5·23; P=0·02) remains the single most important explanatory variable for oestrus with regard to conception following insemination. A Graafian follicle has a higher OR value (10·24) but a lower P value (P=0·03) due to its lesser sensitivity (data not shown). The present study confirms the clinical usefulness of trans rectal examination of the uterus and ovaries, accompanied by vaginoscopy and assessment of the quality and quantity of cervical mucus, for the diagnosis of oestrus in cows (Roberts 1986). The assessment of cervical mucus, including its spontaneous discharge from the vulva, during transrectal examination, and a relaxed cervical opening, were found to be the most reliable criteria for diagnosing Detected by Signs and tests Herdsman Investigator OR P


Abstract Business is daily becoming more and more highly mechanized, and if commercial courses are to prove practical, they must parallel office conditions. The selection of equipment for office practice courses should be predicated upon the extent to which the machines are used in business, the numbers of operators required, and the type of student capable of mastering their use.


In this paper, we classify three-dimensional complex Abelian varieties isogenous to a product $A_1 \times A_2$, where one of the factors admits real multiplication by a real quadratic order $\mathcal{O}_D$ of discriminant $D$. We show that the moduli space $X_D^{(3)}$ of these varieties essentially is the disjoint union of certain Hilbert modular varieties $X_{\mathfrak{a}}$, each component depending on the choice of an ideal $\mathfrak{a}$ of $\mathcal{O}_D$. We give an explicit construction of these varieties.
We show that the boundary of the eigenform locus for pseudo-real multiplication by an order $\mathcal{O}$ in $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{D}) \oplus \mathbb{Q}$ over geometric genus zero stable curves is contained in the union of subvarieties defined by equations involving cross-ratios of projective coordinates. Moreover, restricted to certain topological types of stable curves relevant to the classification of primitive Teichm\"uller curves, we show that the boundary of the eigenform locus coincides with the subspace cut out by these cross-ratio equations. We compute these equations for the example of genus three Prym Teichm\"uller curves.


After the appearance of pitting corrosion, the corrosion rate reaches very high values, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of the product in a short time. It may happen that the pitting does not continue its penetrating effect: if there are no necessary conditions for its growth, a pitting of greater activity is not formed, which will absorb all the current supplied from the area surrounding the cathode. Results of potenciodynamic investigations of four Ni‐base alloys are presented. The tests were conducted in 1 percent sulphuric acid, containing 0.2 percent chlorides at temperature 353K. Gravimetric test, performed in the same conditions, revealed excellent properties of alloy signed A3. Pitting corrosion of alloy A4 at the test conditions after long exposure at 353K was observed and was confirmed by the applied tests. The multiple anodic polarization (MAP) method is proposed to control alloys' susceptibility to pitting corrosion.


The present study investigated the toxicity of photoreactive nanoparticles (NPs) on the development of Oryzias latipes. Buoyant fish embryos are potentially vulnerable to sunlight‐derived ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs in surface water easily absorb UV irradiation from transmitted solar light. In the present study, O. latipes were exposed to ZnO NPs under irradiation with UV or visible light. The ZnO NPs exhibited considerable toxicity toward embryos and sac fry following UV irradiation, and these toxic effects resulted in increased mortality and abnormalities. The UV irradiation induced more serious effects on embryos than did visible light irradiation, and embryonic exposure resulted in irreversible developmental impairment or death of sac fry. The adverse effects of ZnO NPs may result from Zn ions released from photoreactive ZnO NPs. The present study demonstrates photo‐dependent developmental impairment of O. latipes embryos as a result of exposure to ZnO NPs. The results demonstrate that the toxicity of photoreactive ZnO NPs could vary under environmentally relevant UV irradiation. These data could serve as a guide for evaluation of the toxicity of photo‐activated NPs in natural surface waters and could be useful for the ecological risk assessment of photoreactive NPs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1195–1200. © 2015 SETAC


AIM: To study the role of polymorphonuclear neutrophile(PMN) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced acute lung injury (ALI) and the protective effect of interleukin - 10(IL - 10) on ALI. METHODS: LPS alone (100 μg) or LPS+ IL-10 (l ug) was instilled intratracheally into rats. PMN numbers, protein content and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured. Histological change of lung was also observed. RESULTS: LPS increased significantly PMN numbers, protein content and MDA content in BALF. Histological finding shows PMN accumulation in lung. IL - 10+LPS reduced remarkably PMN numbers ,pro- tein content and MDA content in BALF than those caused by LPS. PMN decreasing was also identified by light microscopy. CONCLUSION: LPS instilled intratracheally causes PMN accumulation in lung and ALI, while IL - 10 could alleviate ALI through reducing PMN accumulation.


Investigates the effects of two‐phase instability on finite element (FE) solutions for porous hypoelastic solids saturated with an insterstitial fluid. Demonstrates that two‐phase instability creates definite problems to the FE computations of coupled solid‐fluid systems. The eigenvectors of the tangential finite element matrices which are responsible for problems are not artificial, but are the bifurcating modes of physical solutions. The investigation, although limited to the plane strain undrained compression of hypoelastic models, is relevant to the investigation of the two‐phase instability of other materials and boundary value problems, and may lead towards an explanation for numerical problems in soil liquefaction analysis.


The present invention relates to a turbine module for motor gas turbine comprising at least one disc (3) and a turbine component (5) disk-like mounted on the turbine disk upstream relative to the flow of gas, said module comprising a means of assembly to the compressor of said engine, characterized in that the component (5) is pre-assembled to the disc (3) power turbine, before assembly of the compressor to the module, by bolting to a flange ( 31) integral with the disc holder (3) turbine.


The invention discloses ultraviolet curing digital printing ink which is characterized by being prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 1-3 parts of organic pigments, 1-2 parts of nano carbon powder, 2-3 parts of high bauxite, 1-2 parts of magnesium oxide, 3-6 parts of tri(2-hydroxyethyl) isocyanurate, 23-26 parts of acrylic resin, 12-14 parts of urethane acrylate, 4-6 parts of a 184 photoinitiator, 20-24 parts of polyester resin, 10-12 parts of vinyl propionate, 6-9 parts of trimethylolpropane triacrylate, 3-4 parts of benzidine and 4-5 parts of aids. The ultraviolet curing digital printing ink is good in storage stability, cannot be layered and settled after long-term storage, and is better in adhesion force and high in curing speed; a process is simple and easy to control; a toxic solvent cannot be discharged in the production process; an environment-friendly effect is achieved.


The authors reply: Pessey and colleagues as well as Sahutoglu and Sahutoglu raise the issue of personalized fluid management in major surgery. The RELIEF trial allowed clinicians to use goal-directed hemodynamic devices according to local practices, as well to modify fluid administration in either group if there was clinical evidence of hypovolemia during or after surgery. Restrictive f luid therapy had similar effects in patients treated with or without a goal-directed device (P value for interaction, 0.83 and 0.63 in Fig. 2, and in Fig. S7 in the Supplementary Appendix [available with the full text of our article at NEJM.org], respectively). Moreover, the application of numerous Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) principles to perioperative care did not modify the trial findings (Figs. S6 and S8 in the Supplementary Appendix of our article). Bowen and Shankar express concern about the effect of fasting times, the use of bowel preparation, or both on intravascular volume status. However, as shown in Figures S6 and S8 in the Supplementary Appendix of our article, there was no significant differential effect of bowel preparation and preoperative fasting of varying durations between patients who underwent these regimens and the rest of the trial population (all P values for interaction, >0.05). We agree with Bowen and Shankar that the use of vasopressors, low blood pressure, and the degree of dehydration probably contributed to acute kidney injury in the restrictive fluid group. Indeed, a quarter of the patients for whom weight data were available had a weight loss of greater than 1 kg at 24 hours after surgery. That is precisely one of the key findings of the RELIEF trial, that a restrictive fluid strategy aiming for zero balance has such consequences. Strachan notes the slightly greater use of intraoperative transfusion in the liberal f luid group than in the restrictive f luid group. We agree that this is probably related to the degree of hemodilution, but given the better renal outcomes, lower rate of surgical-site infection, and lower rate of adverse outcomes in the liberal fluid group than in the restrictive fluid group, it is unlikely that a small increase in the rate of blood transfusion is clinically important. Sahutoglu and Sahutoglu suggest the potential usefulness of ultrasonographic assessment of the inferior vena cava and lungs in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. These and other techniques were widely available to anesthesiologists during the trial, should they have wished to use them. Specifically, treatment according to ERAS principles, avoidance of bowel preparation, ultrasonography, goal-directed therapy, and so-called personalization of fluid management were all permitted, available, and possible for clinicians involved in the RELIEF trial, the findings of which must be seen within such a real-world context. Paul S. Myles, M.P.H., D.Sc.


The majority of real-time PCR applications in microbiology are for qualitative (resulting in a yes or no answer) detection of a virus, bacterium, fungus or parasite of disease relevance, the importance of quantitative PCR (qPCR) to microbiology has been proven, however it is less clear just how punctilious the clinical microbiology laboratory must be to produce relevant quantitative results. Despite a decade of qPCR experience, commercial development of applications is limited and many approaches remain entrenched among the PCR techniques used to monitor human mRNA levels rather than addressing adequately the diverse needs of the microbiology field. Real-time PCR has permeated every aspect of microbiology, but its applications have particular value in the clinical microbiology laboratory where speed, sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy of this tool help to produce robust data in a, clinically relevant timeframe. Other areas within microbiology have also gained from the use of real-time PCR; gene therapy has found benefit from qPCR applications that monitor the production, replication and administration of viral vector: transport therapeutic genes into host cells or tissues. Studies of the host's response to microbial replication suggest a vision of the future wherein patient specimens may be used to provide an indication not only of the type of micro-organism present and its replicative status, but the stage of disease and the type of immune response underway. To make such vision reality, we must first discuss and reach consensus on the best, microbiology-specific qPCR approaches to permit the production comparable microbial load data. This process must include the development of clear definitions associating microbial load with clinical outcome, the production (reference materials, the development of more quality assessment schemes and of commercial kits. It may be that we find the perfect estimate of micro-organism numbers is not as important as reproducible and clinically relevant data. The increased identification of newly emergent or previously unknown endemic pathogens demands that we must strive harder than ever to expand our understanding of infectious diseases, and for that we need reliable results from reliable tools.


Absorbance difference measurements and chromatographic analyses indicate that bilirubin-IXα and its dimethyl ester rapidly form less stable, more polar (5E,15Z), (5Z,15E), and (5E,15E)-configurational isomers on irradiation with visible light.


In response to the large number of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Europe in 2015, the devolved Welsh government committed that Wales should become the world's first Nation of Sanctuary through building a 'culture of welcome and hospitality'. This article compares the discursive responses of the sovereign British and devolved Welsh government to this summer of migration in 2015. It argues that such a comparison provides new theoretical ways of revisiting the metaphor of hospitality and its role in discursive framings of the phenomenon of migration. While the literature on migration and the sanctuary movement has explored the limits of hospitality as a frame and response to the exclusionary politics of asylum, this article argues that this new sanctuary discourse is also used to challenge the sovereign nation state on the expectations of what moral responsibilities it entails to be a 'host' to refugees and asylum seekers. Drawing on interview material and official documents from the Welsh and British administrations on the 'Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme', this article argues that while this challenge on moral expectations is still entangled with uneven relations to migrants, it creates a double othering. There, a subnational and devolved territorial unit constructs national self-imaginaries against the sovereign nation state, through a discursive politics of differentiation aimed at the exclusionary politics of asylum.


This compilation of essential information on 100 superheroes from comic book issues, various print and online references, and scholarly analyses provides readers all of the relevant material on superheroes in one place.
 The American Superhero: Encyclopedia of Caped Crusaders in History covers the history of superheroes and superheroines in America from approximately 1938–2010 in an intentionally inclusive manner. The book features a chronology of important dates in superhero history, five thematic essays covering the overall history of superheroes, and 100 A–Z entries on various superheroes. Complementing the entries are sidebars of important figures or events and a glossary of terms in superhero research.
 Designed for anyone beginning to research superheroes and superheroines, The American Superhero contains a wide variety of facts, figures, and features about caped crusaders and shows their importance in American history. Further, it collects and verifies information that otherwise would require hours of looking through multiple books and websites to find.


BACKGROUND
The dural venous sinuses (DVS) in general are frequently asymmetrical and display far more anatomical variations than arterial systems. A comprehensive study of the anatomy and variants of the DVS can help surgeons in the preoperative evaluation and management as well as minimizing possible complications in the following treatment.

METHODS
The current review was designed to provide a general overview of the normal anatomy and notable variants of the cerebral venous system as surveyed from the available literatures. The pros and cons of different multimodal imaging methods for investigating DVS are also outlined. Finally, cases of variously pathological entities are illustrated from our clinical practice.

CONCLUSION
There are many anatomical variations and lesions involving the DVS. Radiological examination can provide essential information both on anatomical variation and morphological or functional change of the offending DVS in the most circumstances. Multimodal non-invasive venography protocols may become a feasible alternative to the classical digital subtraction angiography and would improve the diagnostic accuracy in the future studies.


By questionnaire investigation and literature review, we investigated the speciality quality of two hundred and ninety eight physical education teachers in fourteen areas of Liaoning Province. The physical education teachers in the middle schools hav different attitude of improving the speciality quality. Improving the speciality knowledge is firstly by 38.75% of the teachers, improving the speciality technical ability by 30.50% and improving the speciality sentiment by 15.25%. Meanwhile, their requirement is different in the degree and the content of speciality knowledge and technical ability. It is different that the teachers of different length of teaching pay attention to requirement of the particular content and degree of the speciality knowledge and speciality technical ability. The physical education teachers in the middle schools are lack of requirement of the speciality sentiment.


Investigations were made into profiles of plasma androgens (combined testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone) in green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles inhabiting waters off Queensland, Australia. First, we documented the occurrence of sex-based and ontogenetic changes in plasma androgen of immature green and hawksbill turtles occurring in wild populations. Specifically, androgen levels are increased in pubescent individuals and adults of both species and sexes. Second, we measured seasonal variation in plasma androgen profiles of adult male green and hawksbill turtles. Third, we compared plasma androgens of post-nesting green and hawksbill turtles. As for previous studies on captive green turtles, our data indicate that wild populations of green turtles also show a prenuptial spermatogenic pattern, in which plasma androgen levels rise and peak prior to migration and courtship. However, our data from male hawksbill turtles are in contrast to this pattern and provide some evidence to suggest that a delayed phase shift may occur in this population. Unlike male green turtles, male hawksbill turtles in this study all showed signs of physiological preparation for breeding.


Monitoring of secondary prevention in 1368 hypertensive patients was performed using special quality indicators of medical care with Internet technology paying attention to National Guidelines on Hypertension. Better blood pressure control was achieved, and positive dynamics of medical care in hypertensive patients was demonstrated.


In this short paper, we propose a new multi-fractal flow model, aiming to provide a possible explanation for the crossover phenomena that appear in the estimation of Hurst exponent for network traffic. It is shown that crossover occurs if the network flow consists of several components with different Hurst components. Our results indicate that this model might be useful in network traffic modeling and simulation.


Agnes Arber (1879–1960) was a British botanist who was a leading plant morphologist during the first half of the 20th century. She also wrote on the history and philosophy of botany. I argue in this article that her philosophical work on form and on how the work of the mind and the eye relate to each other in morphological research are relevant to the science of today. Arber's unusual blend of interests—in botany, history, philosophy, and art—put her in a unique position to examine issues of form. Even her unorthodox ideas on evolution can now be seen as fitting in well with discussions of natural selection as the predominant engine of evolutionary change. Arber's views also throw light on present work dealing with developmental plant genetics and with the study of protein form. I will further argue that her marginal position relative to institutional science, while it may have left her vulnerable to criticism, also made possible her deep philosophical reflections on morphology.


The response of some common fouling organisms to increased predation by scraping and decreased predation by caging is described. Substrate coverage by many colonial forms such as Perophora viridis and Diplosoma macdonaldi was not affected by changes in predation intensity whereas coverage by many solitary forms such as Spirorbis sp. and Styela plicata increased when predation was reduced. These differences in responses of colonial and solitary species may be because solitary species reproduce sexually and resettle newly opened space whereas colonial species can rapidly expand adjacent colonies into newly cleared space.


The paper propose panel data spatial error components model(SEC model in short),and using feasible generalized least square method based on generalized method of moments(GMM) method,this paper studies the influence factors of Chinese provincial carbon dioxide emissions(CO2) from 1997 to 2007.The empirical results show that,Chinese provincial CO2 emission has obvious positive spatial correlation.Provinces with more CO2 emissions will influence CO2 emissions of surrounding regions.CO2 emissions and per capita GDP present an inverted "N" Environment Kuznets Curve(EKC).The emission turning point of CO2 emission is 51 730 Yuan(RMB) per capita GDP when ignoring spatial correlation,Chinese CO2 emissions doesn't reach that point at the moment:Using panel data SEC model,we find that the falling turning point is 53 237 Yuan(RMB) per capita GDP,and spatial correlation between regions will increase the falling point.At the same time,increasing coal consumption proportion and population will reduce Chinese CO2 emissions,so adjusting energy structure and population control are important for reducing CO2 emissions.


This paper deals with extracting and learning patterns of assonance as a stylistic feature for author attribution of historical texts. We describe an assonance extraction algorithm and consider results from an extensive set of machine learning experiments based on a historical corpus of 18 th century American and British texts. The results are compared with those obtained from the use of other prosodic and traditional stylistic features.


PURPOSE: To effectively eliminate an odor generated from the inside of a toilet at the time of using the toilet by disposing a nozzle for spreading and atomizing water or liquid toward the almost entire area of the inner wall surface of a toilet main body at a part near the opening edge part of an upper opening part on the inner surface side of the toilet main body. CONSTITUTION: The nozzle 5 of this deodorization device (a) atomizes the water or the liquid forcibly fed from a pressurization supply source 7 through a pipe 6 to the almost entire area of the inner surface of the toilet main body 1 by being disposed at a position near the opening edge part 100 of the upper opening part on the inner surface side of the toilet main body 1. Also, the pipe 6 forms a thin pipe freely insertable to a clearance formed between the upper surface of the opening edge part 100 of the upper opening part of the toilet main body 1 and the lower surface of a toilet seat 2 mounted on it. At the time of using the toilet, a user sitting on the toilet seat 2 pushes in an operation piece 71 and turns a valve mechanism to an opened state and aromatic liquid inside a small-sized cylinder 7a is forcibly fed through the pipe 6 to the nozzle 5 and atomized toward the almost entire area of the inner surface of the toilet main body 1. COPYRIGHT: (C)1989,JPO


The kinetics of deoxidation of coal-bed gas over the sulfur-tolerant non-noble metal catalyst developed by SWRDICI was studied.The activation energy was determined to be 105.212kJ.mol-1.The temperature sensitivity of deoxidation reaction was calculated and the related kinetic parameters were obtained.


This paper explores the weaknesses in university faculty development efforts when compared with corporate professional development practices. Suggestions are offered to think of faculty development as a process rather than as isolated development activities.


When asked, "How far do you regard the present constitutional system of the Empire final?" Bismarck is said to have replied, "Final it is not. Doubtless we shall pass through the stages which you in England have passed through. But it will be a slow, gradual process, and we cannot foresee the direction which development will take." That judgment expresses a strong belief in the evolution of constitutional government,—an evolution, moreover, which in general must follow the course of English political development, but which will doubtless unfold very slowly and reflect in its details the influences of special circumstances and local tendencies. To the general propositions which the Iion Chancellor stated, the student of comparative political institutions must give assent. Ever more clearly are we coming to see that the changes in the forms and organization of governments follow an orderly, developmental sequence. The belated evolution of parliamentary government in Germany is entirely explicable from the peculiar centrifugal forces which prevented absolutism, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, from accomplishing its great mission of national unity. That work was left to the nineteenth century. The results of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era were; first, the widespread acceptance of the most advanced doctrines of constitutionalism and the adoption, in most of the smaller states of Germany, of constitutions more or less closely modeled on the French Charte; and, second, the dissemination of the idea of German national unity as the only secure protection against foreign aggression.


Introduction: Pregnancy-associated cancers are malignant neoplasms (MNs) diagnosed during pregnancy or within 12 months after delivery. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of pregnancy-associated cancers at the population level.Materials and methods: The population database was created from databases of two regional systems: the automated system Pregnancy Monitoring Program and the ONCOR system.Results: Overall, 357 female patients with pregnancy-associated cancers were identified. The incidence rate was 1.659 per 1,000 pregnancies. The most common MN localizations were cervix, breast, thyroid, and ovary. Most female patients were between 45 and 49 years of age. Stage IV breast cancer was identified in a large proportion of women undergoing delivery. Conversely, cervical and ovarian cancers were commonly diagnosed at early stages. The 1-year survival rate of patients with pregnancy-associated cancers was higher than in the entire cancer population.Conclusions: Pregnancy-associated cancers are still a complex and poorly understood issue that requires additional studies, disease-specific monitoring and treatment protocols.


In the treatment of Heisenberg Hamiltonian containing single-ion anisotropy by means of many-body Green's function method, the decoupling of the anisotropy term in higher order Green's functions usually takes an Anderson-Callen (AC) form. In this paper, possible improvement schemes of AC decoupling are discussed by comparison of the results with those of quantum Monte Carlo and frame rotation methods. We choose one scheme with a factor concerning the effect of the external field. Next, we discuss a possible difficulty of the frame rotation method in treating systems with single-ion anisotropies in more than one direction. Then we extended our method [Phys. Rev. B 70, 134424 (2004)] to treat magnetic films. Some magnetic properties of ultrathin ferromagnetic films with thicknesses up to 16 monolayers are studied. The properties investigated include transition point, effective anisotropy coefficient, field-induced magnetization reorientation, and hysteresis loop. Several cases are investigated for uniaxial anisotropy and external field along different directions. The transition point, the effective anisotropy coefficient, the coercivity, and the loop area increase with increasing film thickness. The coercivity decreases and the loop area reduces with increasing temperature. The hysteresis loop along field direction is different from that along easy-axis direction. The coercivity and the area of the loop obtained in the former case are larger than the latter case. The reasons are analyzed by investigation of the trajectory of magnetization in detail. The influence of dipole interaction on the magnetic properties is discussed.


A modern trend in the development of laser based analytical instruments is to integrate more functions in a single device. This approach could be useful for two purposes. The elimination of redundancies could reduce the global cost of the instruments and reduce the maintenance and operators training cost. Besides, the avalaibility of different analytical tools in a single instrument could simplify the application in situ of the methods and could improve the accuracy in the identification of different components, thanks to the possible cross-correlation of the results of different spectral markers.


A new kind of photocatalytic materials based on bismuth oxychloride(BiOCl) has received much attention owing to its inherent layer structure and particular electronic characteristics,and BiOCl-based materials exhibit the excellent photocatalytic activities and potential practical prospects in energy utilization,environmental protection,chemical application,material fields,and so on. The crystal and electronic structures of BiOCl semiconductor were first investigated. Then recent research and development in the preparation methods,structure morphologies,visible-light response and immobilization of BiOCl-based materials have been comprehensively reviewed and analyzed; meanwhile the obtained correlative photocatalytic mechanisms for certain BiOCl-based catalysts based on first-principles calculations were also summarized. The promising research trends of BiOCl-based photocatalytic materials,such as the relative deposition on suitable substrate surface,the effect mechanism between catalysts and absorbable organics on the surface, photocatalytic reaction mechanism,have been prospected.


An analysis of species composition of the zooplankton, macrobenthos (two stations) and demersal fish from Northumberland (north-west North Sea) are reported. The four time-series show synchronous changes in species composition. While some of these changes coincide with changes in climateological variables, others do not. The degree of synchrony implies that either all the time-series are responding to a single set of extraneous forcing factors, or that food chain links, rapidly translate the signal through all ecosystem components.


For the present problem of automotive parts supplier evaluation,according to characters of index weights method of automotive supplier evaluation,the TOPSIS model based on combination weighting is built. In this process,we propose a combination algorithm which combines subjective and objective weights,namely Kullback algorithm,and the combined weight reflects information in both of subjective and objective,and make the result of evaluation more reliable and credible. A case study is given,which shows that the method introduced in this paper is feasible.


In the present work using a systematic analysis of the proposed structural diagram of ship power plants (SPP) with the ranking of the objects in the levels to create a computer model of diagnosing the technical condition of SPP. The proposed numerical assessment of the SPP obtained by the system synthesis. Method is implemented by "convolution" at each hierarchical level the numerical values of estimates of technical condition of structural parts of the subsystem of lower level. To solve this problem we used a multiplicative strategy convolution of partial indicators. This method allowed the objective function to represent as a product of partial indices. The weight of each criterion is ranked with weighting factors, are presented as indicators of the degree of individual criteria. According to the results of a survey of experts determined the ranked indicators of the technical state of all selected (recorded) objects of SPP. This paper has presented a mathematical model for estimating the technical condition of the SPP implemented in the form of a computer program. Developed a computer model of diagnosis allows us to obtain a numerical estimate of the technical condition of objects of SPP and SPP in general, to install suitable or unsuitable technical condition of the appropriate object of SPP, and to analyze the dynamics of state changes of those objects over time to identify the prerequisites and conditions, the consequence of which potential failure. It is shown that knowledge of the patterns of change in the technical condition is of great practical importance because it allows to determine not only the optimal timing of maintenance and repair, but use them in organizations for the classification of ships.


Among the pesticides evaluated against the jute pests under field conditions, endosulfan 35 EC at 350 g a.i./ha was found to be the most effective insecticide for controlling semilooper, Bihar hairy caterpillar and myllocerus weevil. Endosulfan and fenpropathrin provided good control of yellow mite as well. Even, endosulfan-treated plots gave maximum fibre and stick yield with greater benefit–cost ratio (BCR) over others. Next to endosulfan and chlorpyriphos, neemazal (azadirachtin 50,000 ppm) are useful and safer options against semilooper, Bihar having caterpillar, myllocerus and yellow mite. Methoxyfenocide 10 EC at 200g a.i./ha provided good control (70.60%) of S. obliqua even after 14 days of spraying, but it was not effective against other pests of jute. Further, almost similar efficacy of neemazal and chlorpyriphos was found against the pest complex of jute and based on BCR, neemazal could be an alternative choice over chlorpyriphos.


CITATION: Sharma, P. R., Choudhary, S. & Makinde, O. D. 2017. MHD slip flow and heat transfer over an exponentially stretching permeable sheet embedded in a porous medium with heat source. Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, 9:1-7, doi:10.5098/hmt.9.18


A novel approach to the design of smart spatially-aware sensing and actuation networks is presented, which promises benefits in a wide range of applications with significantly reduced infrastructure cost, and increases in distributed functionality and capability, both at first fit and for in-service upgrade and modification. The approach is set in the context of a range of exemplars: wide area monitoring systems; and building and plant monitoring and control systems. Foundational features are described that provide the key properties of spatial awareness and spatial diffusion; and resulting network organizations and messaging. Test results illustrate operational benefits in terms of increased network efficiency, and application benefits in terms of several smart distributed operations.


This article provides an overview and history, as well as outlining the aims, objectives and organizational structure of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (DENOSA).  The role and responsibility of DENOSA as a professional association is delineated in relation to social policy development, service and practice affairs, nursing education and professional advancement, research, socio-economic welfare and its trade union wing. The history of the national nursing association in the country since 1944 leading to the establishment of DENOSA in 1996 is also briefly described. The objectives and structures are outlined, and the national, regional and international networks to which the organization belongs, identified. The roles and responsibilities of the organisation are then critically analyzed and illustrated with regard to current projects. In conclusion, the challenges faced by the organization are mentioned.


Introduction: Ecological Crisis, Relationality and PeaceRenowned peace activist, sociologist and Quaker, Elise Boulding observes that "the human need for bonding can now be understood as including the need for bonding with nature itself, and the human need for autonomy and space can now be extended to a respecting of the need for space of all living things" (2000, p. 257). As peoples from different traditions around the world awaken to the dangers of ecological degradation and destruction and, perhaps particularly, reflect upon the implications of climate change and species loss, such shifts in consciousness are leading to the emergence of an ecological ethic. A groundswell of deep care for the planet and concomitant concern about the Earth entering a crisis phase is becoming more prominent in Western consciousness. Yet, in light of this prominence, philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek warns against underestimating the radical quality of ecological crisis:The crisis is radical not only because of its effective danger, i.e., it is not just that what is at stake is the very survival of humankind. What is at stake is our most unquestionable presuppositions, the very horizon of our meaning, our everyday understanding of 'nature' as a regular, rhythmic process ... the ecological crisis bites into 'objective certainty' - into the domain of self-evident certitudes about which, within our established 'form of life,' it is simply meaningless to have doubts. (1992, pp. 34-35)This "socio-ecological crisis" challenges the horizons of human meaning and understanding (Eaton, 2013), including in the field of peace and conflict studies. Despite increased human understanding about the social and ecological effects of planetary crisis, there is much reluctance and resistance to substantively address the base causes of the problem. Issues such as environmental degradation and climate change continue to persistently take lower priority than economic decline and intra-human conflict-the latter tension can be understood to constitute part of what Zizek (above) terms 'objective certainty.' For example, while some Palestinian and Israeli non-governmental organisations began working together on environmental issues in the late 1990s, their joint projects almost completely stopped during the 2001 Intifada (Chaitin et al., 2002). Furthermore, at the height of the 'economic crisis' in 2008, efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and climate change stalled around the world (Cappiello, 2008). There remains too little momentum for binding and effective legislation to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions today. With economies around the world once again worried about slipping (or tumbling further) into recession, not only are we faced with pressures to address ailing ecological systems around the planet, we also face daily and competing moral imperatives to heal troubled economic and social systems, both locally and globally. Indeed, the ecological crisis too often seems to be taking on less importance compared to "the economic situation," as individuals, corporations, and governments argue that environmental degradation is worthwhile if it leads to economic growth and stability. As a result, concern for the socio-ecological crisis seems to be slipping away from a priority placement in our mass consciousness. This shift is reflected in mass media reports of manifestations of planetary crisis. For instance, news coverage of climate change declined 42 percent between 2009 and 2011, despite a global increase in severe weather in recent years (Fischer, 2012). Further, academic analysis by the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism found that nearly one third of 602 articles on the topic of climate change analyzed from samples taken in 2011 and 2012 question or dismiss the scientific consensus that human activity was contributing measurably to shifting climatic patterns (Millman, 2013).However, most climate scientists would concur with the sentiment expressed by ecologist William Rees that "a stable productive ecosphere remains prerequisite to everything else" (2006, p. …


RussCasp is a user oriented research programme on the future of Russia and the Caspian region as arenas and actors in oil and gas, aimed primarily at policy makers and business strategists in the Norwegian oil and gas sector. User orientation requires an element of simplification, while the complexity of the subject matter poses clear limits to the value of simple answers and the study of simple causal relationships. Therefore, the research programme includes a separate work package on crossdisciplinary knowledge integration. In this paper we argue for why a conscious approach to knowledge integration is needed in this program, and what knowledge integration methodologies we aim to apply at different stages to shed light on the main over-arching questions that motivate the research. The proposed activities cover knowledge integration across themes from the short to the long term, as well as covering Russia as an energy investment arena, energy supply actor, and overall developments in broader terms. At the end of the research period, we thus aim to have a solid understanding of the complexities around Russia's role as energy actor and arena, and a comprehensive toolbox for knowledge integration in complex country studies for short, medium and long term analysis.


An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate bar size factors used for the calculation of required lap splice lengths according to US and Canadian codes for concrete block masonry walls subjected to out-of-plane loads. Wall splice specimens were constructed in running bond with all cells fully grouted, and were tested under monotonically increasing four-point loading. Specimens were longitudinally reinforced with either No. 15, 20, or 25 reinforcing bars with varying lap splice lengths that were sufficiently short to ensure that a bond failure would precede a failure in flexure. Modifications to the bar size factors included in both codes were derived from the resulting test data. The evaluation of the test data shows that decreases to lap splice lengths could be considered for walls subjected to out-of-plane loads, which would facilitate construction.


We provide a full description for the joint fluctuations of current and occupation time in the one-dimensional nonequilibrium simple symmetric exclusion process, furnishing explicit formulas for the covariances of the limiting Gaussian process. The main novelties consist of a proof of the tightness of the nonequilibrium current based on new correlation estimates, refined estimates on the discrete gradient of the transition probabilities of the SSEP, and a nonequilibrium Kipnis-Varadhan Lemma based on a Fourier approach.


The extent of corruption in Iceland is highly contested. International corruption measures indicate a relatively small amount of corruption, while domestic public opinion suggest a serious corrupti ...


Mental illnesses in patients with sepsis occur in 23—32% of cases and are an unfavorable prognostic sign. At present, the causes of these disorders are adequately explained by the theory of neuroinflammation that takes into account the pathogenic influence of the systemic inflammatory reaction and related endothelial dysfunction on the central nervous system function. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relevance of the severity of the systemic inflammatory response, the intensity of oxidative stress and the severity of patient's general state to prediction of the duration of delirium and therapy outcomes in patients with sepsis-associated delirium. Materials and methods. A pilot, single-center, prospective, cohort study was performed in 187 adult patients diagnosed with sepsis who were treated in the intensive care unit of L. A.Vorokhobov Municipal Clinical Hospital No. 67. The following tests and examinations were performed: Vasoactive-Inotropic Score (VIS), Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment score (SOFA), Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC); plasma levels of carbonylated peptides, procalcitonin (PCT), and neuromarkers were monitored; and a correlation analysis with the severity of the sepsis, its duration and therapy outcomes was performed. Results. A moderate correlation (R=0.68; P<0.05) between the plasma concentration of carbonylated peptides and the duration of delirium was found. The S100b protein level, a marker of neuronal damage, also closely correlated (R=0.75; P<0.05) with the duration of delirium. In the group of ICDSC, SOFA, and VIS, the latter turned out to be the most significant predictor of the delirium duration (P=0.02). In the group in which SOFA, carbonylated peptides and PCT levels monitored, the organ failure scale was the leading one (P=0.02). Conclusion . The vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) is a more relevant predictor of the delirium duration than ICDSC and SOFA; the organ failure scale assessment has a greater correlation with the delirium duration than carbonylated peptides and PCT level monitoring; the VIS is the best predictor of the mortality in patients with sepsis.


There are several attempts to model rainfall time series which have been explored by members of the hydrological research communities. Rainfall, being one of the defining factors for a flooding event, is rarely modeled singularly in deep learning, as it is usually performed in multivariate analysis. This study will attempt to explore a time series modeling method in four subcatchments located in Samar, Philippines. In this study, the rainfall time series was treated as a signal and was reconstructed into a combination of a 'smoothened' or 'denoised' signal, and a 'detailed' or noise signal. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) method was used as a reconstruction technique, in combination with the univariate long short-term memory (LSTM) network method. The combination of the two methods showed consistently high values of performance indicators, such as Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), correlation coefficient (CC), Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), index of agreement (IA), and Legates–McCabe index (LMI), with mean average percentage error (MAPE) values at almost zero, and consistently low values for both residual mean square error (RMSE) and RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR). The authors believe that the proposed method can give efficient, time-bound results to flood-prone countries such as the Philippines, where hydrological data are deficient.


The study investigated the distinct environmental impacts and economic viability of domestic biogas technology in the countryside of Bangladesh. The study was carried out by a survey through personal interviews with biogas users. Seventy households were selected purposively and interviews were conducted through semi-structured questionnaires. The study mainly highlighted the potential reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and economic benefits of biogas utilization which were evaluated considering the substitution of traditional biomass fuels, by saving Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and cost of chemical fertilizer, and carbon trading. The economic benefits are addressed using some well-known economic indicators like Net Present Value (NPV), Payback Period (PBP), and Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR). The results of the study revealed that a small-scale household anaerobic cow dung biogas digester not only exhibited the potential to cut carbon emissions on average by about 7.8 tons of CO2 equivalents yearly, but it also demonstrated the economic feasibility of doing so as the value of NPV and BCR was positive. This study recommends that the government approach, awareness program, and continuous and proper performing of the biogas technology are needed to intensify the multiples environmental benefits of the technology.


To address the contextual bandit problem, we propose online decision tree algorithms. The analysis of proposed algorithms is based on the sample complexity needed to find the optimal decision stump. Then, the decision stumps are assembled in a decision tree, KMDTree, and in a random collection of decision trees, KMD-Forest. We show that the proposed algorithms are optimal up to a logarithmic factor. The dependence of the sample complexity upon the number of contextual variables is logarithmic. The computational cost of the proposed algorithm with respect to the time horizon is linear. These analytical results allow the proposed algorithms to be efficient in real applications, where the number of events to process is huge, and where we expect that some contextual variables, chosen from a large set, have potentially non-linear dependencies with the rewards. When KMDTrees are assembled into a KMD-Forest, the analysis is done against a strong reference, the Random Forest built knowing the joint distribution of contexts and rewards. We show that the expected dependent regret bound against this strong reference is logarithmic with respect to the time horizon. In the experiments done to illustrate the theoretical analysis, KMD-Tree and KMD-Forest obtain promising results in comparison with state-of-theart algorithms.


The reflection made here is wrapped in a symbiosis of systemic issues that has been gradually compromising the health of socio-biodiversity. The objective was to reflect on the connections between the dominant food system and COVID-19, in line with this, there is an alert to the challenges to Food and Nutrition Security now and after the pandemic. The new coronavirus is spreading like the hunger virus in an already hungry world, which tends to increase food and nutritional insecurity, as in the Brazilian case. It became evident that this agroindustrial system is exposing more and more people to risks, especially those most vulnerable to hunger.


The main objective of this research was to identify the level of academic stress to students of Higher Technology in Finance of a public higher education institution of the city of Guayaquil-Ecuador. The research design was non-experimental cross-sectional, with a non-probabilistic sample for convenience of 210 students, who have a stay in the institution greater than six months. The process of authorizing, surveying and analyzing information was carried out in the third quarter of 2017. The tool used was the SISCO Academic Stress Inventory designed by Dr. Barraza Macías Arturo of the Universidad Pedagógica de Durango in Mexico. In this investigation, the instrument obtained a high level of reliability with a score of 0.894 according to Cronbach's Alpha. In conclusion, academic stress is present in the middle level, with the demands of the environment such as overload, the major triggers of psychological reactions.


SUMMARY

Sieve tube exudate was obtained from Ricinus communis plants grown on nutrient solutions with varying K: Ca ratio. The K: Ca ratio of the leaves and that of the exudate both appeared to be correlated with the ratio of the nutrient solution. The observed correlations explain the generally observed linkage between the Ca-level in transpiring green plant parts and the degree of severity of Ca-deficiency disorders sometimes observed in fruits, seeds or other carbohydrate sink regions.


Traditional studies on mechanism diagnoses have been based on the "single failure" assumption even though multiple failures are main concerns in the real world. In this research, we concentrate on a subclass of multiple failures, called dependent failures, where a primary failure may induce subsequent secondary failure(s). The dependent-failure case is important because the probability of its occurrence is the same as that of single failure, yet it leads to multiple failures with potentially catastrophic results.
While a straightforward rule-based expert system exhibits impressive performance owing to its ability to heuristically initiate failure hypotheses, it can not further disambiguate among failure possibilities for lack of deep-level domain knowledge. The adopted expert diagnosis approach is founded on a reasoning process, called the predictive analysis, which enables the computer to understand time-elapsed mechanism behaviors through deep-level mechanism models. By incorporating explicit time-related knowledge about failure causalities into component state-transition models, our approach is able to justify or dispute each failure hypothesis by qualitatively analyzing its time-elapsed multiple-failure consequence.
Our approach is unique in three aspects. First, owing to the explicit failure knowledge in state-transition models, this approach allows dependent failures to be treated as rationalizable consequences of a single failure rather than just a case of multiple failures, and thus reduces the computational complexity involved in performing diagnoses. Second, the approach adopts the concept of qualitative diagnosis under which quantitative time-observations of sensory inputs are abstracted into sequences of symptom-events. By matching symptoms with model-predictions at qualitative-event level, the diagnosis system is relieved of its total dependency on the quantitative precisions of mechanism models as well as sensor data. Third, the time nature of this approach enables the transient behaviors of a post-failure mechanism to be used as diagnostic symptoms, and allows predictions of failure-consequences before the full development of the symptoms.


Engaging students actively in assessment, using a range of formative activities, consistently over sustained periods is a common recommendation in the assessment for learning literature. Despite this, practice still lags...


The crystal and molecular structures of three R 2 Sn(O 2 CR 1 )Cl compounds [R=Me, tBu and Ph; - O 2 CR 1 = o-(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenylazo)benzoate] have been determined at room temperature. Brown crystals of Me 2 Sn(O 2 CR 1 )Cl (1), C 16 H 17 ClN 2 O 3 Sn, are triclinic, space group P1 with unit cell dimensions a = 10.649(4) A, b = 12.292(3) A, c = 7.236(2) A, a = 96.68(3)°, β = 104.03(3)°; γ =109.12(3)°, Z = 2 and D x = 1.662 Mg m -3 . Red crystals of tBu 2 Sn(O 2 CR 1 )Cl (2), C 22 H 29 ClN 2 O 3 Sn, are monoclinic space group P2 1 /n with unit cell dimensions a = 8.323(5) A, b = 24.990(5) A, c = 12.403(5) A, β = 107.94(3)°, Z = 4 and D x = 1.417 Mg m -3 . Red crystals of Ph 2 Sn(O 2 CR 1 )Cl (3), C 26 H 21 ClN 2 O 3 Sn, are also monoclinic with space group P2 1 /c and unit cell dimensions a = 14.416(3 ) A, b = 16.373 (6) A, c = 10.489(4) A, β = 97.10(3)°, Z = 4 and D x = 1.524 Mg m -3 . The structures were solved by Patterson (1 and 2) or direct methods (3) and each refined by a full-matrix least-squares procedure to final R = 0.039 using 2933 reflections for 1, R = 0.039 for 2935 reflections for 2, and R = 0.037 using 2863 reflections for 3. The structure of 1 is dimeric with the two tin atoms being bridged by two - O 2 CR 1 anions each of which coordinates a tin atom via one of the carboxylate oxygen atom and the second tin atom via the phenoxide oxygen atom; this result indicates that the - O 2 CR 1 anion exists as a Zwitterion. The tin atom geometry is trigonal bipyramidal, trans-O 2 SnC 2 Cl. By contrast to the dimeric structure for 1, the structures of 2 and 3 are monomeric with the tin atoms in cis-O 2 SnC 2 Cl trigonal bipyramidal geometries. The - O 2 CR 1 anion coordinates the tin atom in each of 2 and 3 via the carboxylate oxygen atoms only.


This paper briefly introduces a state-of-the-art timeof- travel sensor that enables application of acoustic tomography for measuring range-averaged current velocity in extremely shallow waters. The system is called Fluvial Acoustic Tomography and has been developed in Hiroshima University. The paper presents two experiments, the first of which aims at evaluating FAT accuracy in measuring mean flow direction and velocity in an estuarine environment characterized by strong stratification. Second study investigates the applicability of FAT for long-term continuous monitoring of tidal currents in a narrow strait, where is a potential site for installation of a small tidal turbine. During each experiment a set of reference data was collected using a moving-boat ADCP. The results obtained in the first campaign indicate remarkable consistency between FAT and ADCP. It was found that the relative error in the mean flow directions reported by FAT and ADCP did not exceed 10%. The results obtained in the second experiment indicate the agreement between tomographically derived velocities with ADCP in coastal areas. The results also signify the importance of angularity error involved in recovering flow velocity when FAT with only one raypath is used.


In these days, many different techniques are implemented for generating distributions. The core aim in generating distribution, is better modeling capability. With generating new distribution more reliable and appropriate models are available for data sets. In this paper, a new distribution is gained by evaluating the conditional diagonal section of the bivariate Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern distribution with exponential marginals. Specifications and characteristics of this new distribution are studied. The statistical assessment and some reliability analyzes are carried out. The success of the new distribution on statistical modeling is detected by using data sets in literature. It is concluded that this new distribution suggests a model that can be used effectively in many different lifetime data sets.


Taking 330 MW unit in Huaneng Jiaxiang power plant as an example,according to the problem of choosing auxiliary variables and the establishment of furnace temperature soft measurement model by using LSSVM analysis process of thermal power plant,fully integrated with Shanghai Xinhua,Shandong Luneng DCS,establish the furnace temperature softmeasurement system. The measured data of the field operation shows that,the system without increasing the cost of investment of equipment,the use of the soft monitoring effect is good,not only completely overcome the adverse influence on production in the temperature measurement element is damaged,also for the prediction of platen superheater inlet temperature and the safety of the heating surface provides basis and lay the foundation for subsequent combustion optimization work.


We have proposed and demonstrated a cylindrical vector mode (CVMs) based Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) in a vortex fiber (VF) for strain sensing. The VF has a coaxial structure supporting the fundamental mode of the HE11 mode in the center core and the first-order CVMs of TE01, HE21, and TM01 modes in the ring core, respectively. By applying a pair of separated microbend long period gratings (MLPGs), the HE11 mode is partially coupled to the CVMs and then combined for constructing an in-fiber MZI. Three separated interference spectra are observed distinctly corresponding to TE01, HE21, and TM01 modes, which exhibit a good linear response to the strain change. Among these three CVMs, the TE01 mode demonstrates the highest sensitivity of −2.41 nm/me and temperature insensitivity feature. The low cross-sensitivity from temperature benefits the CVMs based MZI to be an ideal strain sensor without compensation, having potential applications of next-generation sensors in smart engineering structures.We have proposed and demonstrated a cylindrical vector mode (CVMs) based Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) in a vortex fiber (VF) for strain sensing. The VF has a coaxial structure supporting the fundamental mode of the HE11 mode in the center core and the first-order CVMs of TE01, HE21, and TM01 modes in the ring core, respectively. By applying a pair of separated microbend long period gratings (MLPGs), the HE11 mode is partially coupled to the CVMs and then combined for constructing an in-fiber MZI. Three separated interference spectra are observed distinctly corresponding to TE01, HE21, and TM01 modes, which exhibit a good linear response to the strain change. Among these three CVMs, the TE01 mode demonstrates the highest sensitivity of −2.41 nm/me and temperature insensitivity feature. The low cross-sensitivity from temperature benefits the CVMs based MZI to be an ideal strain sensor without compensation, having potential applications of next-generation sensors in smart engineering structures.


Based on the relationship of Grand Cannel and Hangzhou City in history and the future, this paper probes into the functions and developing ways of the areas along Grand Cannel from the angle of space development of the city, and puts forward the developing measures.


We propose in this work doing a semiotic description with three types of captions that belong to the scientific speech of astrophysical field. The purpose is to develop the analysis with the tools proposed by tensive semiotics, developed by Claude Zilberberg and Jacques Fontanille, in order to establish the background in which we could make a generic differentiation of these speeches.


Citation: Caballero-García J, Aparicio-García C, López-Sánchez M, Benavides JL, Juanca-Amaru J (2020) Management Options in Patients with Trapped Temporal Horn: Case Report and Critical Review. Neurosurg Cases Rev 3:032. doi.org/10.23937/2643-4474/1710032 Accepted: April 16, 2020; Published: April 18, 2020 Copyright: © 2020 Caballero-García J, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Open Access Neurosurgery Cases and Reviews


A new approach to parameter estimation in groundwater hydrology is developed using hybrid ant colony system with simulated annealing. Based on the information from the observed water heads and calculated water heads, an objective function for inverse problem is proposed. The inverse problem of parameter identification is formulated as an optimization problem. Simulated annealing has the ability of probabilistic hill-climbing and is combined with ant colony system to produce an adaptive algorithm. A hybrid ant colony optimization is presented to identify the transmissivity and storage coefficient for a two-dimensional, unsteady state groundwater flow model. The ill-posedness of the inverse problem as characterized by instability and non-uniqueness is overcome by using computational intelligence. As compared with the gradient-based optimization methods, hybrid ant colony system is a global search algorithm which can find parameter set in a stable manner. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the efficiency of hybrid ant colony system.


Objective: To assess the pharmacodynamic effects of furosemide in pregnancy. Methods: Twenty-one pregnant women who received furosemide 20 mg daily had cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) measured by Doppler technique before and after treatment. Results: Furosemide was initiated at 22.4 ± 6.0 weeks gestation. CO and SV decreased (mean ± SD: 1.2 ± 0.2 L/min and 17±3 mL, respectively), whereas TPR increased (101±26 dyne·sec·cm−5; p < 0.001 for all) after 2.9±1.4 weeks. Hemodynamics did not approach the expected mean for pregnancy. Conclusions: While furosemide improved the hyperdynamic circulation in pregnancy, it did not lower blood pressure or cause clinically significant vasoconstriction.


This paper introduces the Criminisi algorithm in the texture synthesis technology,and presents an improved algorithm for computing the priority values on the boundary.The improved algorithm takes the boundary information into account when computing the priority values while the Criminisi algorithm only considers the confidence term and the data term.The results gained by the improved algorithm are much better than those of the traditional ones.And different parameters in the improved algorithm can be set to process different types of images,which makes the algorithm flexible and have a wide range of application.The examples show that the improved algorithm is reasonable and can offer effective and stable treatment of image information for damaged area.


The present thesis reviews Chinese scholarship on Northrop Frye since 1980s in the context of China's overall reception of the 20th century western critical theories.Frye Studies in 1980s marked the beginning of Chinese scholarship on Frye and reflected the transformation of the paradigm of Chinese research on literary theory from a political discourse to an academic one.As Chinese researchers' understanding of western critical theories deepened,Frye Studies in 1990s underwent a rapid development in terms of critical approach and vision.The potentials of Frye's theory are further explored in the 21st century due to the influence of postmodernism,post-colonialism and cultural studies;meanwhile,as a result of the combination with Chinese critical context,Frye's theory and thoughts are becoming an important frame of reference for Chinese researchers to explore ways to construct a literary"critical path" with Chinese characteristics.


THE intrinsic muscles met with in the marsupial hand have recently been invested with more than ordinary interest, from the fact that, by reason of their peculiar disposition in the Thylacine, Cuscus, and Phascogale into definite layers or groups, they have suggested an actual type of arrangement to which the similar structures both in the hand and foot of all mammals are said to conform,' deviations from it being ascribed " either to suppression or fusion of certain of the elements of the different layers." Such a generalization must necessarily be rendered more valuable by the augmentation of evidence upon which it is founded, hence I have thought a description of the hand muscles in marsupials, other than the above mentioned, would not be without interest and value, and this more especially, seeing that in three of the animals referred to,-viz., the Opossum, the Wallaby, and the Yellow-footed Rock Kangaroo,-the very symmetrical character of the manus promised a close adherence to a definite type. The animals selected for dissection included the Opossum (Didelphys virginiana), Wallaby (Halnatutrus ualabatus), Yellow-footed Rock Kangaroo (Petrogale xanthcpus), Wombat


Objective
To evaluate the safety and feasibility of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-guided dehydrated ethanol lavage on treatment of pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCN).

Methods
The data of 15 patients with PCN treated by EUS-guided dehydrated ethanol lavage in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from April 2014 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients underwent EUS-guided fine needle aspiration, and then the cyst cavity was lavaged with dehydrated ethanol. The curative effects and complications were evaluated after the procedure.

Results
Each patient had one operation and all the operations were successful. No operation-related intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred. Patients were followed up for a median time of 15 months (range from 3-30 months). Twelve patients finished a long term follow-up, including 6 cases of complete remission and 6 cases of partly remission. None of the patients underwent surgical resection.

Conclusion
Dehydrated ethanol lavage is safe and feasible for treatment of PCN.

Key words:
Endoscopic ultrasonography; Dehydrated ethanol lavage; Pancreatic cystic neoplasms; Efficiency; Safety


ing adw are found in genotypes A–C, F, and G, while the genomes encoding both adr and ayr occur in genotype C alongside with adw. Most of the HBV subtypes or genotypes have distinct geographic distributions. Similarly, genotypic classification of other hepatotropic viruses such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) is also well documented. However, the relationship between HCV or HDV genotypes and severity of liver disease remains controversial. HCV genotype 1b and HDV genotype I have been reported to be more pathogenic than other genotypes. By contrast, the influence of HCV genotypes on the response to treatment with interferon alone or in combination with ribavirin is clearly established; sustained response to antiviral therapy is significantly lower in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection. Although serological and genotypic classifications of HBV have been confirmed, the clinical relevance of HBV subtypes or genotypes in terms of clinical outcomes and therapeutic response to antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infection is infrequently mentioned, until very recently. Several studies, most from Taiwan and Japan, have shown that HBV genotype C is associated with the development of HCC, and has a lower response rate to interferon therapy as compared to genotype B. Whether these interesting observations hold true in other parts of the world, particularly the countries where HBV genotypes A and D prevail, awaits further studies. In this issue of the Journal,Thakur et al. prospectively studied the prevalence and clinical significance of HBV genotypes in 130 histologically proven chronic HBV infected Indian patients. Their results showed that HBV genotypes A and D were prevalent in Indian patients with HBV-related chronic liver disease; however, genotype D was more common in incidentally detected asymptomatic HBsAg-positive subjects (IDAHS) with See article on page 165


Fabry-Perot interferometers have been applied in a focal reducer to observe radiation from atoms and molecules in comets and in the Io torus. Tunable Fabry-Perot interferometers have been used as narrowband filters, and an etalon with fixed airgap in classical arrangement was employed for the measurement of Doppler shifts and for narrow-line photometry.


The paper presents an overview of the results of the authors investigations into the turbulence on the laser beam parameters propagating along double-passage of the correlated (monostatic) and uncorrelated (bistatic) paths. For the conditions of weak fluctuations we considered a variance and mean intensity on an axis of a wave by reflected from a diffraction- limited mirror when illuminating it by a quasi-spherical laser beam. The paper describes the results of the investigations of the turbulence affects on the formation by the receiving optical system of the image of a limited mirror reflector illuminated by a laser beam under conditions of strong fluctuations.


This study investigated how a trichotomy of relationships styles—self-focused autonomy, other-focused connection, and mutuality (Harter et al., 1997) are communicated in romantic relationships through seven temporal enactments of time—linearity, pace, punctuality, delay, separation, scheduling, and flexibility (Ballard & Seibold, 2004). Twenty in-depth interviews with New Zealand college students indicated that individuals experience all seven enactments of time in their romantic relationships when attempting to find a balance between interdependent desires of autonomy and connection. Results revealed that people integrated most temporal dimensions with multiple relationship styles; however, some temporal enactments tended to exhibit more singularity towards specific relationship styles. Participants used self-focused autonomy to describe performances of linearity, pace, and delay in their relationships. Mutuality was most commonly represented in terms of scheduling and flexibility. Findings also identified two relationship styles (i.e., other-focused autonomy and self-focused connection) not mentioned by extant literature. Other-focused autonomy was portrayed by individuals to create a sense of independence from their partner despite a desire to interact. The second new relationship style that emerged was self-focused connection. Participants described using deception and urgent excuses to get their partner's physical presence, when their partner communicated that they wanted more time apart. This paper is the first step toward understanding the complex relationship between temporality, relationships styles, and interpersonal communication.


Organizational crisis, scandals, and stigmas are not new. We continue to witness major ethical and moral shortcomings as scandals unfold in corporations, churches, and not-for-profit organizations. Despite the preponderance of these crises, however, most go unstudied by organizational scholars, in large part because access is so difficult. For those that do, the vast majority have been studied by outsiders – as scholars enter a troubled organization and attempt to document and diagnose the crises. In contrast, we take an insider approach as we showcase research projects undertaken in the wake of the Sandusky child sexual abuse case and the ensuing crises at our own place of employment – Penn State University. In particular, the symposium highlights the perspectives and reactions of organizational insiders (both current and former) to these dramatic events that challenged reputations, ethics, and identity at both the personal and organizational levels. Overall, we take an autoethnographic approach to the s...


Sliding control offers a straightforward approach to robust control of nonlinear as well as linear systems. This control technique has been applied to a wide variety of hardware including robotic manipulators, electric motor drives, and automotive transmissions. This paper describes how the sliding control theory developed by Jean-Jacques Slotine can be applied to trajectory control of a single-axis steering mirror. An introduction to sliding control is presented along with an overview of the steps involved in creating the controller. Hardware is described and implementation issues are addressed.


Abstract: Heat pipes are a unique type of heat transfer device that can transport large amounts of heat through a small crosssectional area, with minimal temperature differences. They offer high thermal conductance and low thermal impedance. In this study, we analyzed the impact of operating parameters on heat pipe performance and predicted optimal values for parameters such as temperature input, thermal expansion coefficient, and thermal conductivity. Our results demonstrate that these parameters have a significant impact on the performance of heat pipes. The material used here for the analysis is Copper alloy. The parameters were calculated and have done its Thermal analysis using ANSYS software


Biopolitics—the strategies and mechanisms through which human life processes are managed and regulated under regimes of authority—is ordinary currency in society, and ruling political systems exercise surveillance, incarceration and killings to a great extent in this regard. Michel Foucault's work on the regulation of human beings through the production of power serves as an initial medium of investigation into biopolitics. Yet, Giorgio Agamben probes the covert and overt presence of biopolitical violence in society, particularly through his concepts of state of exception and bare life. The Indian playwright Mahasweta Devi's Anglophone play-text Mother of 1084 (1973) enables scholars to participate in a critical forum on biopolitical praxis, because of its pervasive and explicit representation of state violence and rebels. Nonetheless, the play-text is often renowned for its reference to feminist ideology and mother-son relationship. Existing scholarship has overlooked the manifestation of torture and dead bodies on-stage represented in it. The play is also on the periphery of the mainstream literary criticism. By engaging with a textual portrayal of the play through Foucauldian and Agambenian critical lenses, this article interrogates the ways in which biopolitics coerces populations within the contemporary socio-political milieu. The analysis implies a potential to understand the biopolitical logic more meaningfully, and to be resistant to its stratagems of coercion. It adds to the existing body of literature on biopolitics by creating a specific account of life-politics as characterised in postcolonial theatre, provides a supplemental standpoint to debates on biopolitical subjugation and specifically contributes to current discussions of the play.


Abstract:David Copperfield is a novel that has been heavily normalized by critics to support generalizations about the progressivism of Victorian fiction. Without contending that the major strand in the narrative seeks to establish David's story as that of an emerging modern self, putting both personal and more broadly historical subjugations definitively in the past, this essay tries to achieve both a better understanding of the terms in which the novel prosecutes its major case and a due measure of attentiveness to the "minority report" in the novel, the body of evidence contesting or complicating the progressivist narrative. It asks how much weight we should attach to a body of evidence not preponderant but memorable and radically critical of the preponderant one. The essay suggests that attentiveness to the counternarrative should make the door to the past seem much less definitively locked and that other temporalities than the unidirectional progressivist one remain active in the pages of David Copperfield.


Zircon U Pb age of a carbonatite dyke from the Bayan Obo giant REE Fe Nb deposit is presented in this study and its geological implications are discussed. Five zircon fractions from this dyke well define a discordia giving an upper intercept model age of 2070±33 Ma. This Paleoproterozoic model age is interpreted as crystallisation time of the carbonatite dyke. Similar U Pb zircon ages were reported for syenites and tonalites from the same area. Based on the geochronological data, it is considered that these Paleoproterozoic rocks from the Bayan Obo deposit as an alkaline rock carbonatite complex were probably formed in a rift environment.


In this chapter, we have mainly discussed STT-based classical devices. However, the promise of spin-based computing extends far beyond the devices discussed in this chapter. Some of the other promising technologies that can be employed for spin-based classical computation include quantum dots, quantum Hall bars, spins trapped in nitrogen vacancy centers, etc. Such technologies are still in their infancy and a lot of progress need to be made before such technologies may be incorporated in consumer level systems.


When researching the integration of corporate and operations strategies, an exhaustive number of academic articles appear. As such, filtering and selecting the most relevant articles related to Industrial Engineering becomes an arduous task. Bibliometrics, which includes a set of methods to analyze scientific literature, was the research methodology chosen for this study, in order to choose and evaluate publications dealing with the integration of corporate and operations strategies. Starting with a keyword tree, 1174 scientific papers were analyzed with Refviz® software, and, ultimately, 270 papers were chosen. Using several indicators, such as the conclusions from the principal authors, economic sectors and publication channels, the institutions and countries that have published were inferred, allowing a consistent evaluation of this important topic.


This paper discussed about input conditions,objectives and several basic principles related to gearbox design,and outlined six major characteristics of gearbox design,which may provide some help for designers.


The Q/U Imaging Experiment (QUIET) is an experimental program to make very sensitive measurements of the Cosmic Background Radiation (CMB) polarization from the ground. A key component of this project is the ability to produce large numbers of detectors in order to achieve the required sensitivity. Using a breakthrough in mm-wave packaging at JPL, a polarimeter-on-a-chip has been developed which lends itself to the mass-production techniques used in the semiconductor industry. We describe the design, implementation and performance of these polarimeter modules for QUIET Phase I and briefly discuss the plans for further module development.


The most commonly available filter system for rainwater harvesting consists of sand and gravel media placed in a container. They are usually made of ferrocement casing and are fitted to the top of the storage tank. In Kerala, the most important impurity to be removed from rooftop rain water is the organic impurities such as mosses and other small vegetation. The type of micro mesh filters used in this system has proved to be an alternative to sand and gravel media filter. They also facilitate very ease of periodic cleaning besides having good cleaning efficiency. At the same time, micromesh filters require further modifications and improvisations to make it more efficient and user friendly. One of the major limitations of this filter system is its requirement of very high periodic cleaning (preferably on a daily basis), in order to avoid the foul smell developed due to decomposition of organic impurities in the stagnant water on the inlet side of the micro mesh filter. Hence, an automatic cleaning system for the micro mesh filter system was an immediate necessity. Also, testing of smaller size micro mesh filters were required to evaluate their filtration efficiency and discharge capacity.


THERE are two classes of techniques for obtaining fluorescence time decay datacorrelation methods in which the response to modulated exciting light is measured [ 1-51, and pulse methods in which the response to a discrete flash is observed[6-151. At the present time the monophoton method appears to have advantages in obtaining data that represents more than one relaxation time. However, for the measurement of very short lifetimes, say 1 nsec or less, the use of a modulation fluorometer has, up to now, appeared to be the only reasonable method that could be used. Thus, Scott et a1.[16] measured decays of a number of sub-nanosecond lifetimes with a cross correlation technique, including that of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), for which they reported a lifetime of 0.40 nsec. This paper describes the measurement of sub-nanosecond lifetimes using the monophoton fluorometer described recently [ 151. It will be seen that such measurements may be made even though the flashlamp has a half-width which is an order of magnitude longer than the lifetime of the excited chromophore. (The lamp that we used had a width at half maximum of 3.3 nsec.). The observed fluorescence, F ( r ) , is the convolution of the excitation, E ( I ) , and the response to a delta function excitationf ( t )


As the technology decreases beyond the 28nm node, the area of VLSI elements and supply voltage level reduce significantly, and the level of integration increases. This leads to new effects such as crosstalk, voltage drop at power supply rails (IR-drop effect), the substrate noise and others. The peak current becomes one of the most important factors affecting the combinational CMOS circuits design flow. The maximum current value of CMOS IC is used to find IR-drop value and supply buses width. The existing methods of upper bound estimate do not provide the required accuracy for the peak current value estimation problem. The aim of this paper is to improve the accuracy and validity of the peak current upper bounds based on the resolution method. The proposed approach finds the maximal subset of gates that can switch at the same time thus providing the peak current. The hypergraph of logical restrictions is constructed with the help of the resolution method. The vertices of the hypergraph correspond to the outputs of the gates. Several vertices of the hypergraph can be connected by the only edge. The edge determines the simultaneous switching prohibition for the gates outputs belongs to this edge. A hypergraph is solved by the branch and bound method to find out the maximum IC current consumption. A comparison of branch and bound method with a standard worst-case IC peak current estimation method is made.


At the Rocky Flats site, the building 889 decommissioning project was the first large-scale decommissioning project of a radiologically contaminated facility at Rocky Flats. The scope consisted of removal of all equipment and utility systems from the interior of the building, decontamination of interior building surfaces, and the demolition of the facility to ground level. Details of the project management plan, including schedule, engineering, cost, characterization methodologies, decontamination techniques, radiological control requirements, and demolition methods, are provided in this article. 1 fig., 3 tabs.