Oxidation of glucose through aerobic pathways is ~15X more efficient than is anaerobic metabolism. Pupfish of the genus Cyprinodon experience variable periods of up to nearly 5h of virtually no oxygen consumption. This paradoxical anaerobism occurs in the presence of oxygen. The longest continuous bout was 149 min although more typical bouts are only a few minutes in length. Fish randomly cycle between periods of paradoxical anaerobism and stable oxygen consumption patterns suggesting no long‐term damage or alternations to mitochondria. There is no evidence for compensatory oxygen use. Fish produce ethanol as an apparent alternate end product of anaerobic metabolism. Exposure to exogenous ethanol induces rapid onset of paradoxical anaerobism.


Jefferson Laboratory has the potential to make a dramatically improved measurement of parity violation in Moeller scattering (e + e â e + e). In the context of the Standard Model, the measurement would yield the best determination of sin2  W at low energy ( sin2  W = ±0.00025), and one of the best at any energy scale. As a new physics search via the running of the weak mixing angle, the experiment would have unparalleled sensitivity to new parity-violating e ? e interactions, probing electron substructure to 29 TeV (95% CL). In terms of specific models, pulls of 6A are allowed in R-parity violating SUSY, about 5A in E6 Z2, and almost 3A in R-parity conserving SUSY. The latter makes an improved Moeller measurement complementary to searches for SUSY loop-induced Electric Dipole Moments. Interpretability limits are well below the projected experimental error. A conceptual design for a 12 GeV JLab experiment is presented.


Aim: To observe the changes of renal hemodynamics in type 2 diabetes with early diabetic nephropathy before and after treatment. Methods:Renal hemodynamics were measured with color Doppler flow imaging(CDFI) in 64 cases with early diabetic nephropathy before and after treatment. Results: In those type 2 diabetes with early diabetic nephropathy, RI and PSV of arcuate artery flow increased obviously, indicating high perfusion and resistance hemodynamic changes. RI and PSV of acuate artery flow were decreased after treatment. Conclusion: CDFI is an effective method to evaluate early renal hemodynamic changes in patients with diabetic nephropathy.Main changes are in RI and PSV of arcuate artery flow for type 2 diabetes with early diabetic nephropathy.


Objective To explore the clinical effects of ureteroscopic lithotripsy and post-operative care.Methods 30 cases of ureteral calculi underwent ureteroscopic lithotripsy,preoperative and postoperative nursing care was performed and guidance was given after discharge.Results Successful ureteroscopy lithotripsy was got in 28 cases,2 cases got renal stone,successful removal of stones was got in one case and the total curative rate was 93.33%.Conclusion Ureteroscopic lithotripsy can be effective in the treatment of ureteral stones.


Acute kidney injury (AKI) is among most dangerous and common complications after oper-heart cardiosurgical operations. Therefore, a search is carried out for biological markers which could timely detect this condition. The article presents dynamics of TGF-1, TGF-2, TGF-3 in blood serum prior and after a coronary artery bypass (CAB). The study included 120 patients with multivascular affection of coronary blood flow , and 50 conventionally healthy persons of similar age. The 1st group included 50 patients without evidence of AKI, the 2nd group consisted of 70 patients with AKI. Serum TGF-1, TGF-2, TGF-3 was determined by ELISA technique in the main groups before (1) and after surgery (2) as well as on day 2 after operation (3), on day 7 after surgery (4), and once tested in the control group.. The results were expressed in ng/mL or pg/mL, as median values, upper and lower quartiles. Significance levels were determined by the Wilcoxon criterion. We have revealed dynamic changes of TGF- levels in serum of the patients before and after CAB. Initially, before operation, we have found normal TGF-1 levels and low TGF-3 levels in the both main groups. Meanwhile, increased TGF-2 levels are found only in the subgroup with subsequent AKI development. The dynamics of TGF-1 showed a decrease just after surgery and 2 days later, being increased over initial level on day 7, and there were no significant differences for the groups with versus without complications. No dynamic differences were revealed for TGF-2 in the patients of group 1 after surgery. Meanwhile, the group 2 after CAB displayed higher TGF-2 values compared with controls during the entire follow-up period, neing, however, higher that in the group on the 2nd day following surgery. The TGF-3 levels were increased just after surgery in both groups followed by subsequent decrease in group 1. In the 2nd group after CAB, the initial deficiency of TGF-3 was changes in wave-like mode, over 2nd and 3rd period of monitoring. It was increased on day 7, becoming higher than in group1 but did not reach reference values. Further studies in the AKI group after CAB which depend on their severity and outcomes may detect new features of TGF- system in the patients with this disorder.


For improving product quality and minimizing energy consumption during drying, intermittent drying is often recommended. The mathematical models that are used to describe intermittent drying are usually transport phenomena based, complex models. In this study, the lumped reaction engineering approach (L-REA) is implemented to model wood drying under rapid periodically changed drying air temperature and humidity with high number of cycles of intermittency. The equilibrium activation energy (ΔE v,b ), an important parameter for REA approach, is evaluated according to the corresponding drying air temperature and humidity in each drying section. The results of modeling suggest the L-REA works well with the experimental data. The simplicity of the L-REA is obvious and is hoped to be used in an industrial setting more readily. The L-REA can be used for sustainable processing in industries to assist in energy audit and management.


OBJECTIVE To establish a method for determination of atractylodin in Huoxiang Zhengqi Capsules by RP-HPLC.METHODS Separation was performed by HPLC on a RP-C18 analytical column with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water as gradient eluent,and the UV detection was set at 336 nm.RESULTS A good linear relationship for atractylodin was found in the range of 0.01019~0.25475μg(r=0.9999,n=6).The mean recoveries for atractylidin was 99.1%(RSD=1.96%).CONCLUSION The method is rapid and accurate for quality control of atractylodin in Huoxiang Zhengqi Capsules.


Using Malaysia TIMSS 2015 data, this study examined the association between eighth grade students' science achievement and mathematics score and the determining factors of science achievement. A total of 9,726 students participated in TIMSS 2015 with an average score of 508.60 with standard deviation of 89.86 for science and 501.57 with standard deviation of 86.46 for mathematics. Correlation coefficient between composite science and mathematics score is 0.88. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that being a male, always speaking the language of test at home, having educated parents, students liking and valuing science and mathematics scores had a significant positive effect on science achievement. In contrast, having access to an internet connection and having confidence in science were found to have a negative influence on science achievement.


Showing young people what a career in engineering is really about is the best way of tackling a gender imbalance that is contributing to skills shortages.


The primary responsibility of schools is to provide students with the essential skills that are necessary for full participation in society. Teachers and administrators know children's basic health and social service needs must first be resolved before the learning needs of high-risk children can be successfully addressed. Since schools cannot be expected to solve every student need by themselves, school officials need to reach out to other agencies that serve children and actively seek ways to collaborate and share resources.


A numerical investigation of the macromixing effect on the bistable ClO−2+I− reaction based on the global fluid flow field was undertaken in this work. Results obtained in this study indicated that the mixing intensity has a significant effect on the location and transition point of the thermodynamic branch, but has nearly no effect on the flow branch.


Enclosure design is the most important stage of product development. A proprietary enclosure has many advantages as well as disadvantages. The most important part of the design of an electronic device enclosure is the preliminary research stage. Each device has its own technological peculiarities, which are taken into account during the development of concepts. This article presents the peculiarities of the development of enclosure for wireless sensor for monitoring of reinforced concrete structures, discusses the important aspects of each stage.


To be successful as prime movers, a gas-turbine plant must have good part-load characteristics and efficiencies. Several cycle arrangements and methods of control are mentioned for particular applications. The purpose of the paper, however, is to present the results of an investigation of the part-load performance of two different cycle arrangements and to indicate the best method of control for a given set of operating conditions.


Founder of the American Negro Academy, Alexander Crummell (1819 1898) played a pivotal role in later nineteenth-century debates over race and black intellect. Yet compared with the work of Du Bois and Washington, his speeches and publications have remained relatively inaccessible until now. Here are eighteen texts, along with a thorough biography and valuable source list. As this collection makes clear, Crummell's writings speak of a transitional figure who bridged two radically different worlds separated by the bloodshed and upheaval of the Civil War."


Elongate non-metallic, non-corrosive compressor mounting the base plate structure, (I) a top surface and a base plate (40) segment having a bottom surface, the base plate segments are arranged perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the base plate base plate segments and further comprising an integral four vertical side walls 54, and a vertical side wall are disposed along the perimeter of the top surface of the base plate segments on each of the four sides of the base plate segments to form the base plate tray member, the base plate segments of four vertical side walls to the base plate is configured to accommodate the compressor on the top surface of the base plate segments in the areas of the segments, the base plate with the segment, (II) to accommodate the compressor base plate surrounded by the segment upper It means for removably attached to the surface 56 and, (III), as the base plate segments and integral reinforcing means, the reinforcing means is integral with the base plate segments , Including one traverse reinforcing segments of at least two elongate lateral reinforcement segments of each lateral side of the base plate segments, and wherein the reinforcing means is a compressor equipped with a base plate structure can withstand the deformation load from the weight of the compressor so that sufficient strength and rigidity mounting a compressor including a reinforcing means is configured to provide to the base plate structure, and the compressor equipped with the base plate structure comprises a non-metallic, non-corrosive structures. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the compressor mounting the base plate structure (IV) at least one load-bearing / load distribution structure, (V) dropwise tray members that can be attached to enable any or removed in the base plate equipped with the compressor, and / or it may include repositioning means, such as (VI) wheel member.


Results are presented from the U.S. Army-Aerostructures Directorate/NASA-Langley Research Center joint research program on helicopter crashworthiness. Through the on-going research program an in-depth understanding was developed on the cause/effect relationships between material and architectural variables and the energy-absorption capability of composite material and structure. Composite materials were found to be efficient energy absorbers. Graphite/epoxy subfloor structures were more efficient energy absorbers than comparable structures fabricated from Kevlar or aluminum. An accurate method predicting the energy-absorption capability of beams was developed.


Segmentation of computed tomography (CT) head images is required by many image analysis procedures for quantitative measurements of human spontaneous intracerebral brain hemorrhage (ICH). In this work we describe a stochastic method for segmentation of CT head images based on simulated annealing (SA). In the proposed method, the segmentation problem is defined as the pixel labeling problem with labels for this particular application set to: background, skull and ICH, and brain tissue. The proposed method is based on the Maximum A-Posteriori (MAP) estimation of the unknown pixel labels. A Markov random field (MRF) model has been used for the posterior distribution. The MAP estimation of the segmented image has been determined using the simulated annealing algorithm. Experimental results have demonstrated good results and proved the usability of the method.


This PhD thesis investigates the potential for small district heating (DH) plants with combined heat and power (CHP) to participate in electricity balancing markets. The subject is highly important since a transition of energy systems is occurring worldwide. This transition includes efforts to improve energy efficiency and increase integration of variable renewable energy sources (RES) in the electricity system. On the one hand, increased production from variable RES results in reduced electricity production by CHP units, thereby reducing their feasibility. On the other hand, society relies on CHP capacity to produce electricity when variable RES does not. Consequently, it is essential for society that the existing CHP capacity be maintained in the system. But, how can these units survive economically if they are going to produce substantially less? This thesis investigates the potential for such plants to increase their earnings by being more active on the new electricity balancing markets. The focus is on the potential in Denmark and Germany. It is found that participation in electricity balancing markets increases the feasibility of these plants, but that the increase is limited and is unlikely to provide sufficient incentives needed to keep the existing CHP capacity at small DH plants in operation. As such, other options for securing sufficient CHP capacity at small DH plants should be investigated. Due to the inherent production nature of variable RES, the transition of energy systems that incorporate a higher proportion of variable RES require increased flexibility throughout the remaining energy system. Increased flexibility can be achieved by enhanced integration among the different parts of the energy system, the so-called smart energy system approach, allowing some energy to be transferred from one type to another as needed. This increases both flexibility and overall energy system efficiency, while keeping the cost of integrating variable RES low. A consequence of this is also that units have to be more active in the balancing of the electricity system, which in some countries is handled through markets. One technology that allows for this increased interaction between different parts of the energy system is CHP, which has traditionally been used primarily to increase overall energy system efficiency. Small DH plants with CHP units and thermal storage systems can play an important role in both increasing energy efficiency and facilitating the integration of variable RES. As such, it is the hypothesis of this PhD thesis that a transition should be initiated from an understanding in which CHP only helps to reduce fuel use through its high system efficiency – towards an understanding in which CHP maintains this high system efficiency while simultaneously helps to reduce the costs associated with the integration of variable RES. It is found that the CHP capacity at small DH plants is relevant when variable RES does not produce sufficiently to cover the electricity demand and in order to handle imbalances due to forecast errors for variable RES production. However, a substantial decrease in hours of operation for these CHP units should be expected, partly due to a lower demand for the CHP electricity production, but also due to an increase in the number of different heat producing units at small DH plants. These new units, alongside large thermal storage facilities, allow for the flexible operation of CHP units at small DH plants. This shift towards more flexible operational capabilities and increased participation on balancing markets effects the daily operations planning at small DH plants with CHP. The nature and scope of this effect has been analysed in this thesis for Denmark and Germany, which are two of the frontrunners in the integration of variable RES. Small Danish DH plants with CHP are already dealing with a number of different heat producing units in their daily operation planning, where especially solar thermal panels and electric boilers have seen significant implementation, and it is expected that compression heat pumps will see increased integration as well. The CHP capacity at small DH plants in Denmark is expected to decrease in the coming years, due primarily to problems associated with keeping these units economically feasible. It is found that in Denmark it is relatively easy for small DH plants to participate in the main electricity balancing market, though some issues are identified regarding the organisation and utilisation of the main balancing market. In Germany, small DH plants with CHP are not as common as in Denmark, though the German government has set a goal of increasing overall CHP capacity. In Germany, most of the electricity system balancing is done through a market where participation poses some challenges for small DH plants; these challenges introduce additional costs for DH plants that are not experienced by traditional power plants. Based on the analyses herein, several policy recommendations for facilitating the participation of small DH plants in the balancing reserves are presented. It is found that the more flexible the conditions for participation in the market are, the easier it is for small DH plants to participate. Participation in the balancing markets is found to increase the feasibility of the examined CHP capacity. However, as the anticipated gain is small, it is unlikely that this gain will be sufficient to keep the existing CHP capacity at small DH plants in operation, especially considering the expected decrease in hours of operation. As society relies on CHP capacity to produce electricity when variable RES does not produce sufficient amounts, it is relevant to investigate other possibilities to maintain a sufficient level of CHP capacity in the energy system. Publication overview The following publications have been produced during the thesis period.


A sound attenuating system is provided which allows a relatively unobstructed airflow conduit to be associated with chambers that reflect various frequencies of sound back towards the source of the sound. The chambers are arranged in a coaxial association with the primary airflow conduit and are sized to reflect a certain range of frequencies of sound. Holes extend through the airflow conduit, in a radial direction, to place the airflow conduit in fluid communication with the chambers which surround portions of the conduit.


Techniques of identifying the location of silence periods in the binary data of prerecorded telephone messages from Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) encoders are discussed. Two algorithms for detecting and replacing such periods by absolute silence are investigated. In the first method one or two words (each 16 bits long) spanning one or two msecs, respectively, at a 16 kHz ADM-sampling frequency, are searched. They are either replaced or not in their entirety by a perfect silence sequence based upon a computed decision. In the second method, blocks of any prespecified number (1 to 512) of words spanning 1 to 512 msec at 16 kHz are searched to detect the authenticity of a silence period within a smaller block (typically between 1 to 31 words) spanning 1 to 31 msec embedded within the larger block. The first method has yielded unsatisfactory results, and the second method with larger window scan of 80-200 msecs and a smaller window duration of 1 to 5 msec has yielded nearly perfect results by eliminating all of the idle channel noise without degrading the quality of the message. This technique of locating the silence periods in ADM encoded speech is compared with that for ADPCM encoded speech. Also the optimized parameters (for making the computed decision) are shown to be satisfactory for preventing false silence clues for genuine speech data over the wide variations of frequencies and amplitudes. Further, these parameters may be converted for different clock rates, and some are traced back to the specifics of the encoder and the others to the character of speech.


Burnout can lead towards challenge in social interaction and physical ailments. This study sought to determine the relationship of physical activity with faculty burnout. A total of 254 faculty members were surveyed from three public sector universities of southern Punjab region of Pakistan. Physical activity and burnout were assessed using IPAQ short version and OLBI, respectively. Findings indicated a significantly negative relationship of total score of physical activity with disengagement, exhaustion, and total burnout score. Physical activity level (low, medium, high) was significantly negatively correlated with total burnout score and subscale of exhaustion. The negative relationship remained evident between total physical activity and burnout after controlling for age, gender, experience, and academic qualification in partial correlation analysis. In addition, it was observed that burnout increased and physical activity decreased with increased age and job experience. These findings suggest that the interventions dealing with faculty burnout may consider physical exercise as a priority to prevent faculty burnout. More priority needs to be given to the faculty members with higher age and job experience.


Background: Adherence to routine practices (RP) in infection control can be influenced by a number of barriers, which can potentially be dealt with using problem solving (PS) as a new approach. Aim: This study examined the effects of a problem-solving educational program (PSEDP) on nursing students' adherence, confidence, and application of PS to address the three identified common barriers to RP adherence. Method: A controlled before and after study was conducted at two nursing schools in Eastern Canada. A total of 94 nursing students participated, with 62 students in the intervention group and 32 in the control group. Students in the intervention group received the PSEDP, while the control group received no intervention. Data from both groups were collected using a problem-solving questionnaire. Results: Overall, no significant differences were found between the intervention and control groups in their adherence to RP (P = 0.580), confidence in using PS (P = 0.602), and application of PS (baseline P = 0.161, post-program P = 0.618) to deal with the three identified barriers to RP adherence. However, we found significant differences in the subscale analysis of student confidence to deal with the barrier of high nursing workload (P = 0.032) and student adherence to some of the RP components (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The educational program provided an opportunity for the students to learn about PS to address the three identified barriers. Some improvements were found but they were smaller than expected, possibly due to limited time for practice in the clinical setting following the intervention.


This work combines three paradigms of image processing: i) the total variation approach to denoising, ii) the superior structure of hexagonal lattices, and iii) fast and exact graph cut optimization techniques. Although isotropic in theory, numerical implementations of the $BV$ seminorm invariably show anisotropic behaviour. Discretization of the image domain into a hexagonal grid seems perfectly suitable to mitigate this undesirable effect. To this end, we recast the continuous problem as a finite-dimensional one on an arbitrary lattice, before focussing on the comparison of Cartesian and hexagonal structures. Minimization is performed with well-established graph cut algorithms, which are easily adapted to new spatial discretizations. Apart from producing minimizers that are closer in the $\ell^1$ sense to the clean image for sufficiently high degrees of regularization, our experiments suggest that the hexagonal lattice also allows for a more effective reduction of two major drawbacks of existing techniques: metrication artefacts and staircasing. For the sake of practical relevance we address the difficulties that naturally arise when dealing with non-standard images.


TW ^ rE LIVE IN A CULTURE of the spectacular and of the specular: a culture which theatricalizes everything, turns life into mirror effects and performance situations where attention and significance are timed and framed so that what seems to matter most one moment has become trivial the next, expendable; a culture which would seem to value surfaces and appearances yet pursues hysterically a quest for the real. The performative mode is a symptom of such contradictions. It has become prevalent not only in our world but in the different types of discourse which attempt to analyze it, thereby creating the illusion of an adequation and a continuity (if not identity) between experience and theory, between the real and the symbolic.1 It is this particular point of suture/fracture which I attempt to address in the following observations.


Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a serions pest of many crops, including soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. This study was conducted to determine whether or not plant pubescence could be used to enhance predator activity. The influence of plant pubescence or insect resistance of soybean on predation of corn earworm eggs by the bigeyed bug, Geocoris punctipes (Say), was investigated in the laboratory. Bigeyed bug adults were allowed to feed on corn earworm eggs that were placed on foliage of soybean genotypes isogenic for dense, normal, or no pubescence, and on genotypes susceptible or resistant to foliar feeding insects. Percent egg puncture by males was similar on all foliage types whether or not choices were offered (.)


The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the world's "forgotten war," according to the cover story of Time, June 5,2006. Time tallied the death count from the war and its after effects of starvation and disease at 3.9 million people — a number often heard. The popular media has rarely covered the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, so this story in Time and a series of stories in the New York Times Magazine are significant. The dearth of media coverage has been much despaired by Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, the United Methodist Bishop in the North Katanga Annual Conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a lecture at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in 1998 during the war in Bosnia he said, "The Bosnian are the lucky ones because they have the world's attention." The Congolese repeat his refrain: "Tell the world our story" they say, "and tell the world we are caring for our people." I offer a history of this little known war and the church's significant involvement in peace making efforts. After sharing with you the way that I became interested in the war in the DRC, I will offer some basic information to help an American readership understand the context of the Congolese war: geography, history, political organization, ethnic tensions, and natural resources. Then, I will recount the peacemaking efforts of the church. A companion piece, "Theological Responses to the Mai-Mai Conflict" offers a theology of conflict resolution in the DRC from a thesis written by a Congolese student at Africa University, Guy Mande.


The notion of impedance boundary condition is generalized and illustrated by the discussion of the electromagnetic field arising from a magnetic line dipole source located above a plane structure. The generalized impedance boundary condition contains a set of parameters whose totality offers a physical description of the configuration. By suitably selecting these parameters, the configuration may be made to correspond to a structure that supports surface waves. We give an exact solution for a plane structure that supports one, two and three surface waves. The magnitudes of the surface waves are obtained and simple formulas for the radiated far field patterns are given. We also show how the methods employed can be extended to the case of any number of surface waves. This involves an nth order mixed boundary condition for a second order partial differential equation.


We discuss the analogy between topological entanglement and quantum entanglement, particularly for tripartite quantum systems.We illustrate our approach by first discussing two clearly (topologically) inequivalent systems of three-ring links: The Borromean rings, in which the removal of any one link leaves the remaining two non-linked (or, by analogy, non-entangled); and an inequivalent system (which we call the NUS link) for which the removal of any one link leaves the remaining two linked (or, entangled in our analogy).We introduce unitary representations for the appropriate Braid Group (B3) which produce the related quantum entangled systems. We finally remark that these two quantum systems, which clearly possess inequivalent entanglement properties, are locally unitarily equivalent.


A new version of the Catalogue of Eclipsing Variables is presented. The catalogue contains parameters and morphological types of light curves for some 7200 stars. Spectral classification is also given when available. Recently published information about classification of 1352 systems is also included in the catalogue. Thus, the catalogue represents the largest list of eclipsing binaries classified from observations. The analysis of stellar parameter distributions of catalogued eclipsing systems has been performed, and an algorithm of eclipsing-variable classification has been developed. Classification of some systems is troublesome or contradictory due to lack of modern observational data or their possible rare evolutionary class.


Increasing the sugar content in silage corn stalk will improve the forage quality and palatability,and its inheritance has been rarely studied yet,the study on its inheritance can provide valuable information for silage corn breeding on stalk with high sugar.Seven corn inbred lines varying in stalk sugar content(Brix varying from 5.9 to 13.9) were used as the parents for making 21 crosses by Griffing diallel crossing modelⅡ,and genetic effects on stalk sugar content were evaluated.The results showed that inbred lines Y53-164,YXD053-646 and 98A-04 had the higher General Combining Ability(GCA) in stalk sugar content than the other four inbred lines,therefore,it is possible to increase stalk sugar content in their progenies.However,Special Combining Ability(SCA) significantly varied among combinations in stalk sugar content.The inheritance mode of stalk sugar content was in agreement with the additive-dominance-epistasis model,Furthermore,compared with the additive genetic effect,the dominant and epistatic genetic effects played a more important role.The alleles increasing stalk sugar content were recessive,and the alleles decreasing stalk sugar content were dominant;71% of the variation in stalk sugar content was contributed by genetic factors,however the narrow sense heritability of stalk sugar content was relatively low(40.11%).This characteristics cannot be used for selection in the early generations,inbred lines with high stalk sugar content being widely crossed might be usefor in inbreeding of hybrids with high stalk sugar content in corn.


Phase I experiments to produce thin films of various niobium aluminide compositions by chemical vapor deposition and supporting process models are described.


In the 21st century, life science exerts significant effect on human being. In medical ed-ucation field, macro medical education conception should be set up to foster stem cell-typed undergradu-ates, which based on interdisciplinary, synthesized and opened curriculum reform and general education.

Key words:
Front fields of life science; Stem cell-typed candidates; Curriculum reform; Strategy


Plasma catalysis has been utilized in many environmental applications for removal of various hydrocarbons including tars. The aim of this work was to study the tars removal process by atmospheric pressure DBD non-thermal plasma generated in combination with packing materials of various composition and catalytic activity (TiO2, Pt/γAl2O3, BaTiO3, γAl2O3, ZrO2, glass beads), dielectric constant (5–4000), shape (spherical and cylindrical pellets and beads), size (3–5 mm in diameter, 3–8 mm in length), and specific surface area (37–150 m2/g). Naphthalene was chosen as a model tar compound. The experiments were performed at a temperature of 100 °C and a naphthalene initial concentration of approx. 3000 ppm, i.e., under conditions that are usually less favorable to achieve high removal efficiencies. For a given specific input energy of 320 J/L, naphthalene removal efficiency followed a sequence: TiO2 > Pt/γAl2O3 > ZrO2 > γAl2O3 > glass beads > BaTiO3 > plasma only. The efficiency increased with the increasing specific surface area of a given packing material, while its shape and size were also found to be important. By-products of naphthalene decomposition were analyzed by means of FTIR spectrometry and surface of packing materials by SEM analysis.


Building of the disciplines and degree pointis foundation of higher education, especially the developmentof postgraduate education, is also importantsymbol of strength and level of colleges and universities.Building experience of degree points of doctor and master was shallowly discussed in three aspects of full attention and supportof school party and governmentleaders and various functional departments, integration of resources, highlighting the characteristics and extruding strength.


The gas counter-pressure casting (CPC) method has been developed by the Bulgarian scientists Academician Angel Balevski and Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Ivan Dimov. Operating the gas pressure during the casting process significantly extend the casting capabilities in the production of aluminum alloys parts considerably improving mechanical, physical and service properties. The main advantage of this method consists in the precise regulation of the pressure of the technological gas as the third thermodynamic parameter for control of the casting process especially regarding the structure of the castings. These special features of the method determined its fast progress in research, design and technological respect.


The rapidly accumulating genome sequence data from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana allows more detailed analysis of genome content and organisation than ever before possible in plants. The genome shows a surprisingly high level of genetic redundancy, with as many as 75% of gene products showing significant homology to another protein of A. thaliana. Many duplicated genes occur in arrays of conserved order and indicate that A. thaliana is likely to have had a tetraploid ancestor. Analysis of the divergence of duplicated genome segments leads to the prediction of two major modes of plant genome evolution: macro‒scale duplication and rearrangement of chromosomes and micro‒scale translocations, duplication and loss of individual genes or small groups of genes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper introduces the present situation of domestic and foreign part -time translators, analyzes the features of part -time translators, and from three levels of translators'human resource management, translators'quality management and translators'communication management, probes into the effectiveness of improving the management of part-time translators, especially through the systematic research on the ability of part-time translators, puts forward the quality management evaluation system for part-time translators.


Abstract The time evolution of models for an isolated disk of highly flattened galaxies of stars is investigated by direct integration of the Newtonian equations of motion of N = 30000 identical stars over a time span of many galactic rotations. Certain astronomical implications of the simulations to actual disk-shaped (i.e. rapidly rotating) galaxies are explored as well.


This paper presents an approach to using noisy and incomplete depth-camera datasets to detect reliable surface features for use in map construction for a caterpillar-inspired climbing robot. The approach uses a combination of plane extraction, clustering and template matching techniques to infer from the restricted dataset a usable map. This approach has been tested in both laboratory and real-world steel bridge tunnel datasets generated by a climbing robot, with the results showing that the generated maps are accurate enough for use in localisation and step trajectory planning.


Electron spin resonance investigations on a γ-irradiated single crystal of succinic acid have confirmed and extended the findings of Heller and McConnell on the hyperfine couplings in the radical (CO2H)ĊH-CH2 (CO2H). Complete coupling tensors, and the g tensor, are given in the table. These confirm that the radical has almost the same orientation as the unchanged molecules. The plane of the free radical carbon is twisted 5° from the original carbon skeleton plane and this leads to appreciable non-equivalence of the hydrogen atoms of the CH2 group.


............................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS .......................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. 8 1 ASPECTS OF USING PHYSICAL TRAINING ON PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE AND ADDITIONAL MENTAL DISTRESS ....................................... 10 1.1 Substance dependence .................................................................................................................................. 10 1.2 Prevalence and co-morbidity ......................................................................................................................... 11 1.3 Public health finances and treatment costs related to chemical abuse and dependence ......................... 12 1.4 Physical training and cardio-respiratory fitness ........................................................................................ 13 1.5 Improvement of aerobic power after training ............................................................................................ 16 1.6 The use of physical activity/training for mental distress ........................................................................... 17 1.7 Adherence and drop-out ............................................................................................................................... 19 2 AIMS OF THE DISSERTATION............................................................................. 21 3 MATERIAL AND METHODS ................................................................................. 22 3.1 Participants .................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.2 The Førde Project ......................................................................................................................................... 24 3.2.1 Training partners ..................................................................................................................................... 25 3.2.2 My involvement in the project ................................................................................................................ 26 3.3 Data collection ............................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.1 Assessment of mental distress ................................................................................................................. 26 3.3.2 Physical training ...................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.3 Evaluation of the training partner ............................................................................................................ 28 3.3.4 Rating of perceived exertion ................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.5 Physiological measurements ................................................................................................................... 29 3.3.6 Responders and non-responders .............................................................................................................. 30 3.4 Ethical considerations ................................................................................................................................... 30


The original carbon fiber expansion program of carbon fiber enterprises in developed countries and region are recovering,while carbon fiber production capacities in large scale will be built up both in china and new developing countries surrounding china.So competition among carbon fiber companies must further be intensified, but the demand of carbon fiber will increase in more than 15% of year's increasing ratio,from 30 kt/a in 2010 to 50 kt/a and 70 kt/a in 2013 and 2015 respectively,while the downstream products of carbon fiber will be more diversified.


The changes increasingly accentuated in recent years in the global economy, in the context of globalization, have created an environment in which transport sector must adapt continuously. This adaptation process acts especially at intercontinental level, involving that transport and distribution of goods and raw materials on long distances to be as efficient in terms of duration and costs of transport and, at the same time, with reduced negative implications on the environment. The achievement of transport processes, in equilibrium conditions between demand and supply, in relation to limitations mentioned above, is possible by promoting intermodal transport, which requires a very good connection between continental modes (road and rail transport) and shipping. According to European Commission, about 90% of total import / export trades at the level of European Union are done by maritime transport. This paper aims at identifying potentials of generation / attraction of travels made on road transport at the level of intermodal node represented by seaport of Constanta. These trips generation / attraction potentials may be further used as input data in dimensioning processes of intermodal logistics facilities (handling, storage and internal transport) between road and sea transport modes. In the frame of the study are processed and analyzed data obtained through origin - destination surveys conducted during general traffic census carried out in 2010, on the network of European, national and county roads of Romania. Also, were processed data regarding types and volumes of goods transited through this port in the period 2005-2010, and the types of ships used to load these goods. Statistically analyzing these two types of data, it was revealed that grain represents 34% and petroleum products 57% of all goods (in terms of weight) handled in the seaport of Constanta, and also that the continental transport mode predominantly used to move these categories of goods is road transport. The results of performed analyzes, that describe the current situation regarding the trade flows in the port unit, constitute the starting point in traffic modeling for the purpose of freight transport planning at future time moments. Models for traffic estimation in ports take into account the predictions about economic development in influence area on short, medium and long terms.


Published as part of I.B. Tauris' 'Who Watching' series, these books are distinct from each other in scope and style, indicating an encouragingly promiscuous approach to the 'argumentative dialogue' that the publisher promotes in relation to the fifty-year-old television programme. Sleight's premise is clear and uncontroversial – 'that monstrosity stands for something' (p. 1) – and, to some extent, this is a book that every Doctor Who fan has probably written in her or his head at some point. There will be an eager readership for it, but not necessarily a sympathetic one, since every fan would inevitably write it differently. In terms of inclusiveness alone, Sleight evidently recognises this, noting at the outset that he 'won't be able to cover everyone's favourite creatures' (p. 6). It would have been a courageous author who chose to overlook the Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors or Sontarans, but one of the intriguing aspects of the book is its selection beyond the usual suspects. Sleight discusses twenty-eight monsters in total, many of which would be on any fan's list. The Weeping Angels are surely, by now, an essential presence within the pantheon of monsters. The Adipose, though, might just look like padding. Where Sleight is most subtle and compelling is in his sequencing of chapters. This can appear random at first glance, but there is a rhetorical logic that links monster to monster in often unexpected ways. So, a chapter on the Primords ('Inferno', 1970) leads into a discussion of the Borad ('Timelash', 1985), a celebrated story connected to a reviled one through themes of possession and 'bad science'. The Borad then ushers in a reflection on tropes of beauty and ugliness in the Axons ('The Claws of Axos', 1971). This supple form of narrative is underpinned by a punctuating chronology of chapters dedicated to the evolutions of the Daleks and the Cybermen. Sleight is good at the light-touch linking of Doctor Who's monsters with wider modern mythologies: C. L. Moore's No Woman Born (1944) is invoked in relation to the Cybermen, for instance. There are some insightful analyses too, with reminders about aspects of monstrous impact that are easily lost through over-familiarity. The fundamental strangeness of the Daleks is rightly emphasised, together with their disturbing childishness. Unfortunately, there is also a tendency to drift into banality – monsters 'act in an evil way and look in some fashion abnormal' (p. 5) – and to state the obvious: 'The Daleks now are not so much monsters as a brand' (p. 194). Too many of Sleight's words are spent on the retreading of well-worn territory and on unnecessary plot synopses. Some of the writing is awkward – 'patronising paternalism' (p. 65) – and the book is troubled by proofing errors and niggling inaccuracies. The


This study aims to see the effect of the gallery walk method application to the attitudes and activeness of the students. The research data was obtained through quasi-experimental research by using randomized subjects posttest only controlled group design. This research was conducted at VIII grade students of MTsS Darussalam Sitiung 1 Islamic Boarding School Dharmasraya Regency which consisted of 2 classes with a population of 50 students. Samples were selected by simple total sampling technique, where the experimental and the controlled class were selected by lotting method. Data collection was carried out using observation and data analysis techniques through statistical tests consisting of normality, homogeneity and hypothesis tests with a significance level of 5%. Data from the hypothesis using the t test shows that the t counted for the formation of attitudes, and activeness is 3.21 and 2.16, respectively with v = 48. Based on these values it is known that t counted > t table for the attitudes and activeness of students, namely (3.21> 1.677), and ( 2.16> 1,677) at the 5% significance level. Thus the hypothesis H o is rejected and H 1 is accepted, where the formation of the attitudes and activeness of students using the gallery walk method is better than using conventional learning with a certainty of 95%.


Many innovations in Samuel Richardson's final novel, Sir Charles Grandison, set it apart. I argue that the ways in which Richardson innovated in the final volume in particular altered his attitude toward closure. Richardson carried this modified way of thinking into the work of his late life, as self-editor and anthologizer. Grandison is a vital key to understanding his didactic project as a whole—and is, in many ways, the conclusion of that project. Moreover, Richardson's moves are far from unique, and examining the form of Richardson's ending begins to show us a more comprehensive understanding of the history of the novel.


This paper presents a novel unified image fusion framework based on an application-adaptive importance measure. In the proposed method, an important area is selected pixel-by-pixel using the importance measure which is designed for each image type in each application. Then, the fused intensity is generated by a Poisson image editing. The main contribution is to provide a generalized image fusion framework enables us to deal with various different types of images for many applications. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective for various applications including depth-perceptible image enhancement, temperature-preserving image fusion, optical flow fusion, and haze removal.


This paper analyzes Chinese Indonesian high school students, their language and cultural preservation, and also their motivation to keep learning Chinese. By related survey, this paper tries to find out more about how far the young generation of Chinese Indonesian retains their language and culture as well as their motivation to learn Chinese. The contents particularly concern the subjects of Chinese learning experience, motivation, mother-tongue language and religion backgrounds, Chinese festivals and customs and other topics. Survey results indicate that the post-90s young generation of Chinese Indonesian, in terms of the language recognition, has generally assimilated culture in Indonesia. In addition, in cultural preservation aspect, the students still retain several Chinese major folk customs.


In this article, we have studied the concept, property and interrelationship of being T1-space, discrete space, metrizable space, separable space and topologically totally bounded space with finite, infinite and countable underlying set. With some additional conditions we have established equivalence between T1-space, discrete space, metrizable space, separable space and topologically totally bounded space. At the end we have extended the same to a disjoint (free) union.


This paper discusses the design of the transmission-ratio control for a power-split continuously variable transmission (CVT) used in agricultural tractors. In particular, we focus on transmission ratio control, highlighting the issues related to the computation of the controlled variable in presence of significant sensor quantization errors, which are particularly significant in the power-zero condition, where the tractor has to be kept still independently of the input engine speed. The validity of the design procedure is assessed on an experimental system.


A high power class-E power amplifier (PA) using a Silicon Carbide (SiC) Metal-Semiconductor Field Effects Transistors (MESFET) is presented in this paper, which is designed and implemented at 1 GHz. To improve output power and efficiency by suppressing harmonic powers, the output matching network is consisted of an asymmetrical spurline resonator (ASR). This resonator can provide dual-bandgap characteristics, and be designed to suppress the second harmonic 2 GHz and the third harmonic 3 GHz. At 35 V drain bias and −9 V gate bias voltages, the measured maximum output power of 45.8 dBm with a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 64.6% is achieved at 1 GHz.


With the development of urbanization and industrialization in China, the output of municipal sewage gradually increase, which imposes great pressure to the sustainable development of environment. Effective microorganisms (EM) technique has been considered as cheap and effective technique to apply in sewage treatment and gradually attracted scientists much attention also due to its environmentally friendly nature. This paper is aimed to draw a conclusion about the applications of EM technique in municipal sewage treatment and offer proposals to promote the intensive development of EM technique.


A novel supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 )-assisted low-temperature assembly approach to fabricate cyclic olefi n copolymer (COC) ferroelectrets is reported. The process takes advantage of the strong COC–CO 2 interaction and associated severe depression of both bulk and surface glass transition temperature. Using a multilayer structural design to implement a bending mechanism in the ferroelectrets, the apparent compression modulus can be greatly reduced and tailored, leading to COC ferroelectrets with excellent piezoelectric activity. The COC ferroelectrets exhibit excellent thermal stability. The study presents a viable low-cost technology to mass produce COC ferroelectrets with high piezoelectric activity that can be used in structurally and thermally demanding conditions.


Primitive meteorites contain presolar grains that are considered to have traces of the nucleosynthesis at their birth as large isotopic anomalies. The isotopic signatures are important to identify the origin of the grains. Supernova-originating presolar grains, such as SiC type X and low-density graphite, have also been identified by the excesses of 28Si with respect to the solar Si isotopic ratios. At the same time, most of them are depleted in 30Si rather than in 29Si compared to the solar Si ratios. A small number of them show 29Si deficits. We investigate the Si isotopic ratios of supernova ejecta with different-mass progenitors considering inhomogeneous mixing. The mixture components consist of four layers of the supernova ejecta: the Ni, Si/S, He/C, and He/N layers. Detailed nucleosynthesis during stellar evolution and supernova explosion is calculated using 3.3, 4, 6, and 8 M☉ He star models. Supernova explosions for all of the stellar models and a hypernova explosion for the 8 M☉ He star model are considered. The 30Si deficits with respect to solar ratios found in most grains are explained by the mixtures of the 3.3 and 4 M☉ supernova models and the 8 M☉ hypernova model. The 29Si deficits are explained by the mixtures of the 6 and 8 M☉ supernova models. Although the Si abundance in the Ni layer is small, the Ni layer is important to reproduce the Si isotopic ratios of the grains. The Si isotopic ratios in the Ni layer largely depend on the stellar mass, because a shorter explosion timescale is more favorable to the production of 29Si than 30Si. Most presolar grains from supernovae with deficits of 30Si rather than of 29Si compared to the solar Si isotopic ratios would be from less massive supernovae whose progenitor masses are smaller than ~15 M☉ and hypernovae whose progenitor masses are heavier than ~20 M☉.


This paper presents the results of a scientific study that focused on the consequences of psychic reorganizations induced by pregnancy among drug addicts. Based on data from interviews and from the Rorschach test distributed among female drug addicts, the study highlights how psychodynamic upheavals induced by pregnancy make it possible to revive the psychic deadlock at play in drug addiction. These observations are consistent with the results of existing literature, which have found that psychoanalytic aspects in pregnancy can transform drug addiction problems. However, our study underscores that these results are neither linear, nor do they hold true for all women. Moreover, this transformation remains highly fragile.


The concept of legal socialization is that the process through which individuals acquire attitudes and beliefs about the law. At this point, These classic theories are admitted generally such as Cognitive Development(Piaget), Moral Development(Kohlberg), Legal Development(Tapp & Levine). In gender aspect, main ideas of these theories are masculine gender is prior to feminine gender in; learning legal knowledges, acquiring legal skills and attitudes etc. Legal developmental theory, however, has been pointed out the faults by some feminism critics such as Chodorow, Gilligan, Noddings. As applying these critics` view, this study was going to clarify the defects of legal socialization theories. the defects of the legal socialization theories can be conceptualized as followings. In gender equality perspective, Legal socialization theories have some limitations; of backgrounds, of applicable coverages, of conceptualizing ``citizenship``, of conceptualizing ``public sphere``, of consistent judgement. It is anticipated that legal socialization theories will be reinforced up and adequate more, thereby being made up the defects the above.


While commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) perform well for most home electronic applications, current available LIB technology does not satisfy some of the performance goals for hybrid electric vehicles or plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) because of potential safety concerns. The electrolytes used in commercial LIBs are composed of LiPF6 dissolved in organic carbonates or esters. 1, 2 The organic solvents present in lithium-ion battery electrolytes are flammable and can be ignite under abusive conditions such as overcharge. If the battery was abused, a numerous of highly exothermic reactions of electrolyte decomposition may take place, accompanied by decomposition of cathode materials and gas evolution, this definitely causes severe safety problems especially in the application of large-scale lithium-ion battery.


Aim.  Determination of most frequently cut-wounded internal organs and injury infliction causes.  Material and methods.  The article reports the results of a retrospective statistical assay of forensic medical reports of corpse examination conducted at the Khabarovsk Inter-District Forensic Examination Department of the Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise, Ministry of Health of the Khabarovsk Region, in the years 2014–2018.  Results.  The study identified the frequency of sharp force injuries, the most frequently wounded internal organs and the average lengths of wound tracks in the entire body and particular internal organs.


Abstract This report discusses the first 615 patient-mokera who have been treated with a single 45-minute session of psychotherapy reinforced by hypnosis. Technique of treatment, including rationale of approach, induction procedure, assessment of hypnotizability, and training instructions to stop smoking are presented in detail. & month follow-up study results are discussed. Of 271 (44%) patients who returned a questionnaire, 121 (20%) hard-core smokers (who had repeatedly tried and failed to stop smoking before) were able to stop for a t least 6 months. Another 120 (20%) persons reduced their smoking to varying degrees. These results of a l-session treatment compare favorably with, and often are significantly better than, other longer-term methods reported in the literature. They suggest that every habitual smoker who is motivated to stop be exposed to the impact of this procedure, or its equivalent, so that at least 1 of 5 smokers can be salvaged.


From 2006 to 2014, the Ministry of Public Education of Costa Rica implemented four strategic actions to reduce high school dropout rates. The main purpose of these actions was to promote student participation and student identification with their school. Studies prepared by the Ministry of Education and the Comptroller of the Republic were revised to assess the impact of these actions. The result of these actions does not show an actual decrease in the number of students who leave high school. Therefore, a more holistic view is necessary to ensure the students' stay. This review suggests using use the concept of student engagement and applying a three tier system-wide dropout preventive actions: universal, targeted and intensive.


System analysis of some hormonal effects on insulin sensitivity in adolescent boys of 11-17 ages was done. It was determined that insulin resistance index HOMA-IR=3.9 divides sample on sensitive and resistant to insulin individuals. It was shown selective effects of some hormones on insulin stimulated glucose disposal by target tissues: cortisol increases threshold of hepatocytes sensitivity; high concentration of leptin inhibites postprandial glucose uptake by muscles and adipose tissue.


People in motion - bridging the local and global : Book of abstracts: The 8th European Association for Sociology of Sport Conference, May 18-22, 2011.


A novel setup based on electron paramagnetic resonance is used for the investigation of the hydroxyl radical driven degradation on contact of gaseous hydrogen peroxide with sulfonated polyetherketones. This method is more sensitive than mass loss investigations and allows obtaining results 300 times faster and with higher accuracy. Furthermore, it reveals detailed information about the character and amount of paramagnetic intermediates formed during degradation. The spectra are composed of three signals which are attributed to sulfonyl, phenyl, and phenoxy type radicals. Drying the membranes in the absence of hydrogen peroxide leads to internal tension of the ionomer material and to bond breakage, and therefore also to a small amount of radical defects. The presence of the peroxide at first leads to a linear increase in radical concentration. The kinetics is compatible with a dissociative Langmuir type chemisorption process. With progressing degradation time, a steady state is reached due to saturation of...


SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) works in developing countries worldwide, providing free veterinary care to working animals.


This paper presents the results of a collaborative research project which developed and applied an assessment methodology for determining whether a robotic assistive work device would significantly decrease the number of times an able-bodied co-worker or attendant was required to provide assistance. The assessment methodology developed in this project may be useful for future evaluations of this technology. The results showed that a significant reduction in attendant time per unit of work does occur when using the device. A decrease in productivity, however, also occurred when the device was used. Further investigation of this decrease in productivity and quantitative data on the cost of disrupting a co-worker is required before any firm conclusion can be made regarding the effectiveness of the device.


Abstract The activities of Mg and Al in solid Pd have been measured in the temperature range 1425 to 1725 K using metal-oxide equilibration technique under controlled oxygen partial pressures. Thin foils of Pd were sandwiched between pellets of either MgO or Al2O3. Oxygen partial pressures were established using H2 + CO2 gas mixtures and measured using a solid state cell based on yttria-doped thoria as the electrolyte. The concentration of Mg or Al in solid Pd was determined using inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The activity of Mg or Al was computed from the standard Gibbs energy of formation of MgO or Al2O3 and the oxygen potential established by the gas phase. The very small values for the activity coefficients (2.3 · 10–7 γMgo $ \gamma _{Mg}^o $ < 7.4 · 10–5 and 2.2 · 10–10 γAlo $ \gamma _{Al}^o $ < 3.6 · 10–8) indicate unusually strong interaction between the solute and the solvent, caused primarily by charge transfer from the solute to the solvent, with a smaller contribution from hybridization and covalent bonding involving s, p and d electrons.


In recent days, the accidents have happened at experimental laboratories in universities or institutes. In order to improve safety assurance of workers in laboratories, it is required to carry out systematic study concerned with evaluation of safety and health level. The safety and health inspection checklists were developed and conducted the case study. The case study was carried out laboratory safety inspection with 5 inspectors by the checklists to become aware of safety and health level. From the evaluation results of the inspection, we could be made quantification of laboratory through evaluation of safety and health level in laboratory. It was found that was recognized present states of the laboratory and established a plan for improvements in laboratory safety facilities from the case study. The safety inspection checklists can be used as basic data to establish evaluation criteria of safety and health level.


One of the major challenge of environmental ethics in present day is to make possible an extension of the ethical field to other living beings. However, the fundamental obstacle which shows up here is the problem of specisism. To understand the meaning and sense of this term, fundamental in environmental ethics, will allow to probe-among other means of resistance- the role of the imaginary casuistry of fear in order to apply an ethical motive anti-specisism.


This paper discusses the fabrication and characterization of electrospun nanofiber scaffolds made of polystyrene (PS). The scaffolds were characterized in terms of their basis material molecular weight, fiber diameter distribution, contact angles, contact angle hysteresis, and transmittance. We propose an aligned electrospun fiber scaffold using an alignment tool (alignment jig) for the fabrication of highly hydrophobic (θW > 125°) and highly transparent (T > 80.0%) films. We fabricated the alignment jig to align the electrospun fibers parallel to each other. The correlation between the water contact angles and surface roughness of the aligned electrospun fibers was investigated. We found that the water contact angle increased as the surface roughness was increased. Therefore, the hydrophobic properties of the aligned electrospun fibers were enhanced by increasing the surface roughness. With the change in the electrospinning mode to produce aligned fibers rather than randomly distributed fibers, the transmittance of the aligned electrospun fibers increased. The increase in the porous area, leading to better light transmittance in comparison to randomly distributed light scattering through the aligned electrospun fibers increased with the fibers. Through the above investigation of electrospinning parameters, we obtained the simultaneous transparent (>80%) and hydrophobic (θW > 140°) electrospun fiber scaffold. The aligned electrospun fibers of PS had a maximum transmittance of 91.8% at the electrospinning time of 10 s. The water contact angle (WCA) of the aligned electrospun fibers increased from 77° to 141° as the deposition time increased from 10 s to 40 s. The aligned fibers deposited at 40 s showed highly hydrophobic characteristics (θW > 140°).


The purpose of this study was to identify the methods of processing and preserving of local milk within the area of Liptako-Gourma in Niger. A survey was conducted and data were collected from 600 people involved in dairy sector, comprising of 59% producers, 28.7% collectors and 12.3% processors. The study also revealed two main methods of milk processing that is pasteurization and fermentation comprising of natural/spontaneous fermentation done by 42.9% and fermentation method by backslopping practiced by 57.10% of processors. In addition, four methods of preserving milk were identified, including the cooling of raw milk, pasteurized or fermented milk, the pasteurization of raw milk itself for sale or for processing, the fermentation of raw milk or pasteurized milk and the addition of guinea pepper pods to fermented milk. Milk processing and preserving technology remains traditional with no compliance to hygiene good practices and the use of old material being limited most often to the strict minimum. Due to these results, attention should be paid to the training of the processors on hygiene and good practices at all levels of the local milk industry in order to improve traditional methods related to the processing and preserving of local milk and thus raising the quality of the dairy products in terms of microbiological safety.


This study was carried out to investigate foreign language anxiety of EFL junior secondary school students at the 7th grade of SMPN 3 Muara Bungo. Specifically, it sought to identify what factors that may contribute to anxiety in English learning environment based on the students' perspectives. The method was used in this study was qualitative method with case study approach. Fifteen anxious students were selected as the participants. The data were gathered through structured interviews and classroom observations. The result of the study showed that speaking in front of the class, being laughed at by others, incomprehensible input, students' beliefs about language learning, teacher personality, and lack of preparation were the six factors that may contribute to the students' anxiety in learning English.


IntroductionThis review highlights how a relatively novel online platform - VoiceThread - can serve several roles in the advertising classroom for not only content delivery, but for submitting work, receiving feedback in a variety of formats, and engaging in dynamic discussions. While primarily a tool for asynchronous discussions, VoiceThread can be used to achieve a range of student learning outcomes. The following emphasizes the unique opportunities the platform holds for advertising education specifically by allowing for submission of visual, textual and audio content, as well as visual, textual and audio feedback from both peers and instructors. While there are some technological and student considerations which must be weighed by instructors, VoiceThread is generally flexible enough to accommodate a range of learning activities and student needs.VoiceThread OverviewThe VoiceThread platform is a cloud application for conducting asynchronous, media-rich online communication and discussions. A VoiceThread is an interactive, multimedia slideshow in which the creator (instructor or student) posts a slideshow (of one or more slides, or files) and shares it with a group for review or discussion. When creating a VoiceThread post a variety of media can be uploaded as the primary content: video files, documents, PowerPoint presentations, webcam videos and links to online media provided by VoiceThread partners such as the New York Public Library. A single VoiceThread may contain a mix of these media to communicate information with others. Documents and PowerPoint slides conveniently upload with each page or slide displaying as a single VoiceThread slide. The creator can then use the VoiceThread Comment features to narrate the slides or provide instructions for discussion or collaboration.Once the VoiceThread is created, the owner can then share the VoiceThread with others by making it publicly available or privately sharing with specific VoiceThread users (generally students). Members of this group can then create comments on the VoiceThread via typed text, video or audio responses.The real power of VoiceThread is in the ability to construct an interactive activity focused around the central media that allow for peerto-peer interaction and collaboration without requiring the instructor and students to be active at the same time. It offers flexibility in format to users - if they do not have a webcam, they can still contribute via audio-only or text comments. The video comment option in VoiceThread provides an opportunity for nonverbal cues to enhance users' spoken responses and foster greater social presence. In addition VoiceThread now offers threaded comments, so users can reply directly to another person's comment. The opportunity for rich and varied feedback is particularly valuable, as it has been linked to greater student learning (see Yuan & Kim, 2015).VoiceThread offers both free and paid accounts. The free account is very limited in functionality, especially storage and sharing, but enables instructors to use the platform to determine how VoiceThread can enhance the social presence in a course and engage students in more focused, meaningful discussions. The paid instructor accounts are affordable and students do not have to pay to comment on VoiceThreads that are shared with them. VoiceThread also offers a site license option, which integrates in many learning management sites (LMS) to increase capabilities further and provide single sign-on and automated class group creation and management. Users can visit voicethread.com to register for a free account and browse publicly available VoiceThreads for a wide range of working examples, or click the Products tab to purchase a particular license. While large group pricing requires contacting a representative, Table 1 below reflects costs described on voicethread.com.Applications of VoiceThread in the Advertising ClassroomWhile at its core VoiceThread is a simple tool that allows for asynchronous conversations about a media text (e. …


We evaluated the unique effects of depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction on dating college students' exposure and reactivity to daily romantic relationship (RR) events. Students completed initial measures of depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction, followed by Internet-based measures of state affect, state relationship satisfaction, and daily life events for 10 consecutive nights. Individuals who were initially higher in depressive symptoms experienced greater decreases in positive affect (PA) and relationship satisfaction in response to RR stressors than individuals who were initially lower in depressive symptoms. Initial relationship satisfaction was associated with fewer RR stressors and more RR positive events. Individuals who were initially more satisfied with their relationship experienced greater decreases in PA in response to RR stressors, and weaker increases in their relationship satisfaction in response to RR positive events, compared to initially less satisfied individuals. These findings highlight the value of a daily process methodology to study the daily lives of individuals in romantic relationships.


Aware on the importance of upgrading and maintaining the safety level of existing road network, several attempts on localizing problematic road areas have been made. In current practice, the identification of those problematic sections was recognized based on the road's safety level and one of the most common and acceptable method is by using crash data of the particular road network as a starting point for further actions. However, the information provided by crash data is far from providing good and broad pictures of the factors leading to crash. These circumstances have bringing out the needs to have another road safety indicator that can extensively describes actual situations at problematic road areas as well as can be used as a basis for further maintenance works. By focusing on the environment aspect of the roads, fourteen road environment indicators were chosen based on their abilities to portrayed current road environment conditions and its potential in triggering road traffic crashes. Data of these indicators were collected by means of naturalistic driving method within 80 km length road of Federal Road 2 connecting Kuantan and Maran Town in Pahang State. Composite road environment risk index was developed using these data where combination of risk generated from these environments aspects were evaluated and used in localizing problematic road sections. Apart from that, the outcomes were also used as basis in planning for road improvement plans. The development of composite road environment risk index as a proactive method in defining poor sections has proved to be very useful in identifications of problematic road sections requiring urgent road improvement works especially when crash data is not available or in poor quality.


OF THE DISSERTATION Social Preferences, Occupational Choice and Labor Market Performance By EBRU ISGIN Dissertation Director: Professor Barry Sopher The first essay analyzes the role of information transparency on fairness and reciprocity in long-term labor market relationships. The main finding of the second chapter is that transparency serves as an effective mechanism to both improve worker welfare and total market efficiency. Fairness, which means that an increase in the generosity of a contract offer is reciprocated by an increase in the effort level, is a prominent concern under information transparency. When workers are fully informed about firms' productivity levels and potential profits, firms propose higher wages that represent a relatively more fair division of total surplus. Workers respond to generous offers with high effort levels. However, workers' response to wages is not constant and depends on the following factors. First of all, it is elevated with information transparency. That is, for given wages, workers provide more effort under full information. Secondly, it depends on whether a wage offer represents a fair share of the final surplus. The second essay analyzes the role of information transparency and communication in short-term labor market relationships. The experimental evidence shows that the level of trust and reciprocity is significantly reduced if there is no contract renewal. While information transparency was critical int the first essay with long-term relationships, it


We present a scalable set of universal and multiply controlled gates in a qudit basis through a bijective mapping from N qubits to qudits with 𝐷 = 2 𝑁 levels via rotations in 𝑈(2) . For each of the universal gates ( H , CNOT , and T ), as well as the NOT gate and multiply-controlled- Z gates, we describe a systematic approach to identifying the set of 𝑈(2) rotations required to implement each gate for any qudit of size D and with minimal use of an ancilla level. The qudit gates are analyzed in terms of the total rotation count and gate depth as the system scales with 𝑁 . We apply the qudit-basis gates to Grover's Algorithm and compare the circuit depth vs. system size to a qubit-based circuit. The results show that there is a dramatic reduction in circuit depth as the size of the system increases for the qudit circuit compared to qubit circuit. In particular, multiply controlled gates are the driving factor in the reduction of circuit complexity for qudit-based circuits since the gate depth remains constant as the system scales with D.


An image encryption scheme that combines a hyperchaotic system with standard weighted fractional Fourier transform theory is proposed. Simulation results showed that grayscale distribution of the encrypted image was balanced, correlation coefficients of adjacent pixels were highly irrelevant, and the encrypted image was highly sensitive to the secret key, offering good robustness against attacks and a larger key space.


The theory of symbolic politics, which posits that political acts are viewed as symbols conveying a political meaning that are an end unto themselves, is used to examine the elements of criminal justice policy in third political party platforms. It is hypothesized that third political parties use their political platforms to make symbolic, rather than substantive, statements. Data were collected from a variety of sources presenting third party platforms to assess the political language used from 1872 to 2004. A content analysis of these platforms offers some support for the use of symbolic language by third political parties.


A Conference Paper Presented at the First Annual Management Research Conference at the Chandaria School of Business in July 2014


MedDRA is improved by ICH (international conference on hormonisation). It is defined as clinically validated international terminology for medical products used by regulatory authorities. It is a dictionary of adverse events. It is classified into 5 levels totaling over 81, 000 terms. When compared with the world health organization-adverse reaction terminology (WHO-ART) MedDRA is much larger dictionary. The main purpose of MedDRA is to provide uniform consistent, reliable methodology. Between the process of premarketing to the post marketing MedDRA terminologies are used. ICH recognized the different terminologies at different stages to make easy to analyze data. MedDRA was developed based on UK earlier version drug regulatory agency. For monitoring, product evaluation, electronic records exchange, communication, and oversight Medical dictionary for regulatory activities (MedDRA) became an important tool. In the MedDRA terms for diseases, signs, indications, medication errors, investigations, some terms for social medical history and some quality term procedures are included. In MedDRA drugs, advanced therapies and some device information was covered. To handle the information regarding clinical about biologics, pharmaceuticals, drug-device combinations and vaccines for entire life span of products MedDRA was created. Hardware or software are not required for MedDRA. specific functional system or version of a functional system is not required. Finally, MedDRA went live in early 1999.


PurposeThe author augments an otherwise standard business cycle model with a richer government sector and adds money-in-utility (MIU) considerations to study economic fluctuations.Design/methodology/approachMore specifically, real money balances enter in a non-separable way with consumption and leisure. This specification is then calibrated to Bulgarian data after the introduction of the currency board (1999–2020) gives a role to money in accentuating economic fluctuations.FindingsThis novel mechanism allows the framework to reproduce – better than the real business cycle (RBC) model – the observed variability and correlations among model variables, and those characterizing the labor market in particular. In addition, money is non-neutral and affects aggregate economic activity.Originality/valueThis is the first micro-founded monetary-DSGE (dynamic stochastic general equilibrium) model on Bulgaria trying to explain the role of money for economic fluctuations.


Operations in modern service systems entail complex interactions between customers, service providers, and resources. In particular, we identify patient treatment, handling, and flow across the departments of hospitals as a rich representative problem setting that encompasses intricate interdependencies among activities and requires responsive services corresponding to uncertain patient needs. Although health information technology (HIT) is being broadly adopted in hospitals along with lean and six-sigma programs to improve the quality and safety of care, current HIT systems mostly support clinical/operational processes in a reactive manner. In this paper, we discuss an early task initiation strategy, the proactive use of HIT, empowered by predictive analytics to enhance near real-time operational intelligence. Especially, we show that, when used properly, the future information (disposition decision prediction and LOS estimation) of ED patients can enable proactive inpatient bed reservations for ED patients to significantly expedite the interdepartmental operations between the ED and inpatient units, reducing the boarding delay.


We introduce the Anisotropic Diffusion Pyramid (ADP), a structure for multiresolution image processing. We also develop the ADP for use in region-based segmentation. The pyramid is constructed using the anisotropic diffusion equations, creating an efficient scale-space representation. Segmentation is accomplished using pyramid node linking. Since anisotropic diffusion preserves edge localization as the scale is increased, the region boundaries in the coarse-to-fine ADP segmentation are accurately delineated. An application to segmentation of remotely sensed data is provided. The results of ADP segmentation are compared to Gaussian-based pyramidal segmentation. The examples show that the ADP has a superior ability to subdivide the image into integral groupings, minimizing the error in boundary localization and in pixel intensity.<<ETX>>


In this paper the author presents an argument in favor of minimal dualism — thesis, according to which conscious agents are able to exist without bodies. Author demonstrates the advantages of this argument. Firstly, he shows that this argument is invulnerable to the epistemic strategy of criticizing the conceivability argument. Secondly, the epistemic approach restricts the conceivability of creatures, the possibility of which is incompatible with the minimal dualism


Multimedia becomes the most important element on the Internet and starts attracting mobile users to utilize it. Watching movie or television program on the mobile device became trends among the mobile users. Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) offers a seamless roaming in order to provide mobile multimedia services. One of the challenges in MIPv6 technology is security. Hackers catch the attention to hijack multimedia content with intention to do illegal distribution, and they always try to hijack the content from the weak point on the MIPv6, which is Binding Update process. This paper proposes a new secure Binding Update mechanism to optimize the security with shorter latency. Simulation results show the proposed mechanism performs better compare to Improved Bombing Resistant Protocol (IBRP)


The main objective of this present work is to study about the wear characteristics, microstructure and the mechanical properties of cast silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced aluminum matrix composites (AMCs). AMCs of varying SiC content with weight of SiC 0%, 3% and 7% was prepared by stir casting process. Wear performance, microstructure, hardness and tensile strength of the prepared composites were analyzed. The results were analyzed and it showed that adding SiC reinforcements in aluminum (Al) matrix increased wear resistance and tensile strength. AMC's reinforced with 7% SiC added in Aluminium matrix showed maximum wear resistance and tensile strength. Micro-structural observation revealed clustering and non-homogeneous distribution of SiC particles in the Al matrix. Pin-on-disc wear test indicated that reinforcing Al matrix with SiC particles increased wear resistance.


This paper highlights the investigation on the strength and corrosion study of glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRP) column in sea water environmental condition. Specimen of size 600 mm length x 150 mm wide x 300 mm deep columns were cast. Totally 8 columns were cast. Out of which, 4 columns were cured using potable water and 4 columns were cured using in artificial sea water. Among 8 reinforced concrete columns, two concrete columns were used, as the reference column containing steel rods both in longitudinal and horizontal ties and were cured both in potable and artificial sea water. For the corrosion study, 2 concrete columns reinforced by GFRP bars in the longitudinal direction and steel rods as horizontal ties and were cured using artificial sea water. Rebound hammer and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity tests were performed on columns to evaluate the strength characteristics at the end of 7, 14, 28, 56 and 90 days of curing. The results will also be validated using destructive methods. Corrosion study was also performed by single Cu-CuSo4 Half-Cell equipment. Based on the observation, it was found that the compressive strength in artificial sea water curing exhibited better performance than in potable water curing.


Review(s) of: Marion mahony reconsidered, by David Van Zanten ed., Chicago Architecture and Urbanism Series, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2011.


The previous instructions or early wills have been an object of a wide legislative development in our juridical classification in the last years. Provided that the art. 148.1.21 of the Spanish Constitution determines that the Autonomous Communities will be able to assume the competition in health and hygiene; nowadays there exists an extensive state and autonomous legislation on this matter. In the present work, a brief exhibition of the regulation comes closer in effect; it is necessary indicate that the differences in the regulation of the different aspects of this institution are notable, which provokes that nowadays a legislative heterogeneity exists in relation to this juridical figure.


(57) Abstract: The preferred system and method in accordance with an embodiment enables interworking object from two or more heterogeneous object system in a digital computer, a larger object-oriented software projects combination thereof it can be generated. Moreover, given the use of such systems and methods. Objects from external object system is not changed, it appears to be native to the object system in which they are used or accessed. Constituting the native proxy object (distinguished from other native objects is impossible) relative to the real external object. The identifier proxy object for the real object, or to be operated and to how to access the object, for example, calls and how the method, whether set by how its properties, how to handle the exception and a pointer to the software description. When the proxy object is manipulated, it so follows the instructions in the software description, as a result, are operated correspondingly also external objects.


This work reports on research undertaken to evaluate the suitability of potential materials for the handling and support of mass standards in vacuum/inert gas apparatus. Primary mass artefacts are currently stored in air at atmospheric pressure and the chamois leather and tissue paper used to support and handle them are not compatible with use in a vacuum. Aluminium, titanium, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyether ether ketone and polyamide-imide materials were selected as potential materials suitable for use in a vacuum/inert gas environment. The suitability of these materials was evaluated by assessing the thermal desorption properties of the polymeric materials and assessing the effect that all of the materials have on the surface of stainless steel artefacts through repeated contact.

All of the materials were found to mark the stainless steel artefacts through contact. Polyether ether ketone, aluminium and polyamide-imide did similar amounts of damage to the surface of the artefacts. The results from the Mittatekniikan Keskus laboratory showed that the polytetrafluoroethylene material caused the least amount of damage to the surface of the artefacts but did transfer some material to the surface. However, this was in contrast with the data obtained by the National Physical Laboratory which showed that the polytetrafluoroethylene material did similar levels of damage as the other polymer materials. The titanium material appeared to cause the next least amount of damage and did not transfer any significant amount of material. The results of the thermal desorption measurements showed that polyamide-imide desorbed much higher levels of water in vacuum compared with both polytetrafluoroethylene and polyether ether ketone.


International trends suggest that corruption is prevalent in every country (Enste & Heldman, 2017). For instance, Sohail, Arslan and Zaman (2014) contended that corruption is increasingly having negative implications for governments and organisations worldwide. Therefore, this study explores the approaches for curbing corruption in emerging economies. An exploratory research design was conducted. The qualitative research method was adopted to investigate the subject matter. Interviews were conducted among 12 participants in the selected municipalities located in KwaZulu-Natal. Data quality was determined through trustworthiness. The data was analysed using NVivo, version 12.0. Thematic analysis was conducted to observe, organise, describe, and report the patterns obtained from the data set. The overall findings identified key approaches to curbing corruption in the KwaZulu-Natal municipalities, including resource availability, anti-corruption agencies, community involvement and participation, legal frameworks, non-political interference, and accountability. The study provides adequate explanations of the approaches to curbing corruption in emerging economies. The study will help South African public organisations to detect different forms of corruption and take appropriate measures to mitigate them. The study will help accountability, transparency, and good governance in the South African public sector


A combined polyether was prepared by using polyether polyol,foam stabilizer,tertary amines catalyst,cyclopentane,water,and so on as raw materials,and it can be used for producing 4 min fast-demoulding refrigerator blends.The effects of polyether polyol,catalyst,foam stabilizer,cyclopentane,etc.on fast-demoulding were discussed.The results show that the combined polyether possesses good storage stability,and the properties of the obtained foam are excellent,and it can meet the need for producing 4 min fast-demoulding refrigerator blends.


Total and elemental mass size distributions from about 10 to 0.04 m were obtained for the fly ash aerosol at the outlet of a pulverised coal utility boiler and upstream of the particulate control device. Elemental data were obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence analysis of cascade impactor samples. Submicrometer measurements were also made with an electrical aerosol analyser. INAA results showed that the fly ash between about 0.5 and 8 m was fairly uniform in composition and that the micrometer fume composition was quite different. The fume was highly enriched in volatile elements such as Ga, As, Sb and Se and depleted in refractory elements such as Al, Hf and Sc.


E-Governance in India is fast progressing to the era of digital opportunities. Digital opportunities in India have shown the paths of collaborative governance and mission 2007 recognizes the role of women to be more important. Role of women in overall development of society needs no debate. In India, women who constitute almost half of the population are integral part of overall development of the nation and policies are abundant to support the cause though a lot is still needed to be accomplished. One of the major challenges at the hands of policy makers and implementers is to empower the women and especially in rural India. Rural India is still under the grip of digital divides, though overall India as a nation has shown the promises of digital inclusion and digital opportunities. However, these opportunities are yet to have its outreach in rural areas. National Informatics Centre, a national agency in India is striving towards supporting the digital inclusion strategies of India with active deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enabled services. In this paper, it is argued that digital inclusion outreach is better achieved through collaborative and group based approaches and thus Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) show these promises. This paper presents the success story of some women WSHGs in Ganjam district of Odisha province by introducing web-based applications for better dissemination of information regarding their products and performance.


This study examines the theories in international relations dealing with the relationship between power distribution among major powers and peace and stability in the international system―namely, power transition theory, hegemonic stability theory, and balance of power theory. The study empirically...


The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation of the Al-Husna method in increasing motivation and learning outcomes to read the Qur'an. The subject of this research is MIN 1 Sukoharjo. This research is aqualitative research. Observations, interviews and documentation are tools for data collection. Meanwhile, data analysis uses data reduction, data presentation and data verification. The result of this study is that the implementation of the Al-Husna method in increasing motivation and learning outcomes to read the Qur'an is by using the Al-Husna method book media. In order to make it easier for teachers to guide students, the teacher divides them into several groups. Then the Al-Husna method that was applied was very effective with an average of students reaching the target of 90% of the 29 total students. In addition to the Al-Husna method that can be said to be effective, it can also be seen that the motivation of students has increased, which can be proven by the enthusiasm of students who do not give up easily and are enthusiastic in participating in learning