Motion estimation is critical for the localization of autonomous underwater vehicles. Current SONAR-based techniques exclusively utilize either Doppler or spatial measurements. However, these measurement domains are complementary to each other; Doppler measurements directly measure radial motion, whereas spatial measurements uniquely observe angular motion. Therefore, this article presents SONARODO (SONAR Odometry), a novel real-time motion estimation algorithm for 2-D forward-looking SONARs. It depends on a largely decoupled motion estimation process that better utilizes each measurement domain for their respective strengths. Specifically, it estimates translational motion from Doppler-azimuth images and rotational motion from range-azimuth images. While this method does require a SONAR that can provide both image types, it was designed to ensure robustness to featureless seafloor environments and low-resolution images. This article's validation with high-fidelity simulation data demonstrated that SONARODO offers accuracy and computational cost advantages over related motion estimation techniques.


The critical behavior of positionally disordered two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays in a transverse magnetic field is studied by Monte Carlo simulations. We consider a model in which each superconducting element is randomly displaced from its ideal position on a square lattice by a small amount. The effective strength of the disorder is changed by varying the magnitude of the transverse magnetic field. We consider those values of the magnetic field for which the parameter that measures the average flux through an elementary plaquette in units of the flux quantum is integral. For = 1 and = 3, we find Kosterlitz-Thouless-type phase transition from a normal to a superconducting phase. For = 5 and = 7, the results suggest a spin-glass-like freezing over the time scales of the simulations. We do not find any evidence for a low-temperature reentrant transition for any value of .


ABSTRACT In this study, I600 test results were compared with conventional drum indices. The I600 test is equivalent to the CSR I-drum test without pre-reaction of coke with CO2. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the results of the I600 test could provide a useful indicator of the results of the commonly used coke strength indices. It was found that I600 correlated best with indices which had most similar particle size and drum revolutions. Further, significant improvement of relationship between CSR and CRI was obtained by incorporating the I600 index into the regression. Moreover, it was found that charge bulk density not only affected the values for the conventional drum indices, but it also affected the relationship between them and I600. Thus, charge bulk density must be included in regression aiming to compare drum indices especially those comparing results from tests with different number of drum revolutions.


Numerous monographs and reviews have been devoted to the reactions of epoxides". Two types of reactionsaddition and isomerisation—are the most characteristic of epoxides. Until recently, the study of the chemistry of epoxides was confined in most cases to reactions in which nucleophilic agents added to them and to their acid-catalysed isomerisations to carbonyl compounds. Recently new reactions of epoxides catalysed by strong bases were discovered. This review is a first attempt at a systematic account of the data which have accumulated on the isomerisation of epoxides in the presence of strong bases, i.e. processes which are not accompanied by the intermolecular addition of any external agents to the epoxides. In a study of a base-catalysed isomerisation of the so called "non-functional" epoxides, Le: epoxides without any other functional groups, Crandall showed that, depending on the reaction conditions, strong bases abstract a proton from the ctor /3-position in relation to the oxygen atom of the epoxy-ring»:


We observe that the semiclassical Hall constant for a strongly correlated Fermi system is most directly related to the high frequency Hall conductivity. For the square lattice, the sign of the latter is found to be holelike (while the Fermi surface is electronlike) for fillings close to half, and electronlike for almost empty bands. For the t-J model on the square lattice in two dimensions the change of sign occurs at roughly 1/3 hole filling in good agreement with measurements on La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 compounds, and is weakly temperature dependent. We suggest that the high frequency Hall constant can be directly measured in a Faraday rotation experiment.


1 PG Resident, Dept of Community Medicine, SGT Medical College & Hospital, Gurgaon 2 Assistant Professor, Dept of Community Medicine, SGT Medical College & Hospital, Gurgaon Corresponding Author Dr Shalini Ray Assistant Professor, Dept of Community Medicine, SGT Medical College, Gurgaon, India Email: email@example.com, Contact no.9437312202 Abstract Introduction: Gender preferences are a well known feature of the society. Huge differences in gender preference is seen in the developed and developing countries. People in India exhibit a strong gender preference for male child .The preference for sons has been associated with preferential abortion of female fetuses. It has been estimated at 933 in India during the census of 2011. One of the most important preventable factor is the prevention of sex selective female abortions. Aims & Objectives: To explore the gender preference and its associated factors among antenatal women and to assess their awareness and perception regarding prenatal sex determination. Materials and Methods: Interviews were done among 109 antenatal women attending SGT tertiary care hospital ,Gurgaon using predesigned pretested proforma. The data were analysed by Epi Info 7.0 Results and Discussion: The mean age of marriage among study participants was found to be 20.24+2.05years. 39.45% antenatal mothers had preference for male child in their current pregnancy, 27.52% antenatal mothers had preference for female child and 33.03% had no gender preference. The main reason for male preference cited by subjects were socio ritual factors (47.50%) followed by to carry their family name (37.50%). 59.63% were of view that even if family is complete with female child then also they would prefer to go for male child. Reasons cited for the preference of female child, 51.35% felt that girls and boys should be given equal rights, 18.92% felt that female child is better care taker. Preference for male child was significantly associated with educational status, occupation and parity of the antenatal females. (p<0.05). Conclusion: Gender empowerment, women education and stringent implementation of PCPNDT Act can curb the social issue of female feticide.


of Dissertation PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was two-fold. was conducted to determine if the factors First, it identified as prerequisites for successful general team decision making are also the prerequisites for successful Student Study Team functioning. A secondary purpose was to determine the extent to which these compositional and operational variables_ are incorporated into current Student Study Team processes. PROCEDURE: A stratified random sample of 100 elementary schools located within seven counties was selected to participate in the study. Survey questionnaires were sent to each principal for dissemination to three Student Study Team members at each site. Agreement was obtained from 91% of the schools to participate. The data generated from the returned surveys were analyzed utilizing ANOVA's, Pearson Product Moment Correlations and Spearman Rho Correlations. The statistical treatments determined if overall differences in perceived success existed when compared according to role/gender, community, enrollment, compositional and operational variables. In addition, correlations were computed between the compositional and operational variables and the success factors to determine the extent to which the effectiveness of the decision making processes were influenced by the inclusion of these variables. FINDINGS: The study revealed that a significant difference in perceived effectiveness of Student Study Teams was not found between team members when compared according to u-l---ef-gel11.1-e~~-, -c--o-mm-u-n-i-t-y ... ---,----e-n-rL>-l-l-me-n-t----,-e-e-mp-e-s-i-t-i-e-n-a-1-, -a-1'1-d--------operational variables. Significant correlations were not found between the perceived importance of the compositional and operational .variables and the success factors. However, significant correlations were found between the implementation of many of these variables and the success factors. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between the importance and implementation of every compositional and operational variable. CONCLUSIONS: Student. Study Team members implement compositional and operational variables which they interpret as important. The most important compositional and operational variables necessary for success are the equal participation of team members, full participation by regular education teachers, the existence of interdisciplinary collaboration, emotional support, and trust between team members and the presence of special education members on the Student Study Teams.


A stable-isotope stratigraphy was established for planktonic and benthic foraminifers from upper Miocene-lower Pliocene pelagic sediments from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. A correlation of stable-isotope and biostratigraphic data with magnetostratigraphic age revealed the following: (1) the late Miocene carbon-isotope shift in the South Atlantic bottom waters was minute compared with the shift reported for other deep-sea locations (Haq et al., 1980), (2) a significant cooling or continental ice-volume increase occurred between 5.7 and 5.2 Ma, and (3) a period of warming or ice-volume decrease followed, with the rate of warming increasing beginning at 4.5 Ma and reaching a climax at 4.3 Ma. The timing of these paleoceanographic events is correlated with the onset and termination of the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean Sea.


Nickel-phosphorus composite coatings containing well-dispersed potassium titanate whiskers (PTWs) were prepared on Q235 steel sheet from an electroless plating bath comprising NiSO4·6H2O 25 g/L, NaH2PO2·2H2O 25 g/L, CH3COONa·3H2O 15 g/L, Na3C6H5O7·2H2O 35 g/L, lactic acid 20 mmol/L, lead acetate 10 μg/L, and PTWs with average length of 15 μm and average diameter of 1.5 μm. The oxidation resistance of the electroless composite coatings at high temperature was studied. The micrographs and structures of oxidation films were analyzed and the mechanism of oxidation resistance of the composite coatings was discussed. The results showed that the PTWs can improve the compactness of oxidation film and the composite coating has good oxidation resistance at high temperature.


Writer identification is one of the active areas of research. It is important to prepare a large number of characters of the same class to improve the accuracy of writer identification. However, it is not always possible to prepare enough characters of the same class. In this case, handwriting examiners compare different classes of characters and analyze using common handwriting parts for each character. However, this is very difficult. Therefore, we assume that handwriting characters written by the same writer have features independent of character classes. In this paper, we propose methods to extract features that are independent of character classes using deep neural networks. We used Conditional Variational AutoEncoder (CVAE) as a learning method. A writer identification experiment shows that these methods can extract independent features of character classes, and extracted features are useful in writer identification. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between human interpretation of character features and accuracy of writer identification by using character features extracted by disentangled feature extraction methods.


In Byumba, Rwanda, the Regional ONAP Office identified the principal elements of the population program needing more attention in 1991 to be information, education, and communication; the school program; unschooled youth groups; and integration of family planning programs into health settings. It hoped to increase the operational rate of Umukangurambaga 80%, to lead 50% of teachers to play a educator/promoter role for responsible parenting and family planning programs, and to inform 60% of unschooled youth about family planning and responsible parenting. Direct interventions in management and supervision of the Umukangurambaga increased recruitment of new family planning acceptors 120.9% in Buyoga commune for a contraceptive usage rate of 66.1%. Each school chose a married man and a married woman, both of whom use family planning, to be promoters. They held discussions and distributed educational material. The Regional Office reached 74% of its promoter goal. Only 12.6% of unschooled youth stuck to the program. Obstacles in the program were lack of permanent agents posted to the youth network at the commune level, inadequate knowledge of population and family planning among some youth supporters, and almost no integration of the supporters in daily activities. 12 of 18 health centers, 4 hospitals, 7 registered dispensaries, and a health post with 3 family planning service-oriented nurses had integrated family planning services into their activities. Even though some health facilities closed after the war in October, the number of family planning users increased. In Cyumba commune, the contraceptive use rate increased to more than 18.5%. During 1989-1991, contraceptive prevalence increased from 4.2% to about 16%. Injectables are the most common method used, followed by the pill. Administrative support has emerged in the population and family planning program (e.g., National Seminar on Population).


U.S. tech companies have played a critical role in the international effort to support and defend Ukraine against Russia. To better understand and envision how these companies can help U.S. strategic interests, CSET convened a group of industry experts and former government leaders to discuss lessons learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine and what those lessons might mean for the future. The workshop's discussion and this accompanying report expand on the themes explored in the October 2022 "Foreign Affairs" article "Big Tech Goes to War."


Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) methods have reached a significant level of maturity which has led to their incorporation into the analysis stage of industrial applications. However, optimising the structural and/or the aerodynamic performance in highly non-linear coupled FSI problems remains a challenging task, due to the high computational cost of evaluating the functions in this problem and their gradients. Adjoint methods have shown to be an efficient methodology for this latter task, as they can compute sensitivities with a computational cost independent of the number of design variables. On the other hand, their implementation is complex, particularly when the linearisation of the system equations is convoluted. In this thesis, we develop a novel technique for the evaluation of the coupled adjoint problem. It is based on the consistent application of Algorithmic Differentiation to the fixed-point iterators of the subproblems. This approach makes the computation of the adjoint independent from the solution methods employed for the primal problem, and overcomes the usual limitation for most realistic applications, which is the need for an explicit construction of the analytic Jacobian of the coupled problem. The method poses no restrictions to the non-linearity of the physics in either the fluid or structural field, and it is amenable to partitioned solution methods for the adjoint equations. We have implemented this method in the open-source SU2 suite, by incorporating structural analysis and FSI capabilities and combining them with the available AD tool for the solution of the coupled adjoint. Finally, the validity of the implementations is assessed through a number of studies. We test the structural and FSI solvers using commercial codes and benchmark cases. Then, we demonstrate the accuracy of the sensitivities obtained using the proposed method. The advantages of our adjoint method for gradient-based optimisation are finally shown for a range of cases, from structural-only to fully coupled optimal design problems.


Thermal rearrangement of mono-, di-, and triphenyl-substituted ketene ethylene acetals was studied. Pyrolysis of all of these acetals provided phenyl-substituted tetrahydro-2-furanones as a major product. The more phenyl groups substitute on the ketene acetal skeleton, the lower reaction temperature was required for the rearrangement. In the cases of the diphenylketene acetals at high temperatures, fragmentation products, such as fluorene and benzophenone, probably derived from dipheylcarbene via diphenylketene, were observed.


India is in an envious leading position as far as Information Technology (IT) development and related service is concerned. This has also lead to a boom in India for ecommerce and ebusiness, where the companies do all or most of its transactions through the Internet. However, understanding of Critical Success Factors (CSFs), for ebusiness which is vital, still seems to be inapt. CSFs, refers to greatest possible and important circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes for the correct or desired result of an attempt and it is one of the parts that make up a whole or the one that actively contributes to the production of a result or success or failure of something that is aimed to be achieved or attained. Through grounded theory approach, in depth literature review and deep observation, the core of this chapter is to identify the critical success factors for eBusiness in India and critically evaluate the identified critical factors.


Simultaneous intracellular depolymerization of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) and acetate fermentation by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae offers an advance towards more cost-effective second-generation (2G) ethanol production. As xylan is one of the most abundant polysaccharides present in lignocellulosic residues, the transport and breakdown of XOS in an intracellular environment might bring a competitive advantage for recombinant strains in competition with contaminating microbes, which are always present in fermentation tanks; furthermore, acetic acid is a ubiquitous toxic component in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, deriving from hemicellulose and lignin breakdown. In the present work, the previously engineered S. cerevisiae strain, SR8A6S3, expressing NADPH-linked xylose reductase (XR), NAD+-linked xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) (for xylose assimilation), as well as NADH-linked acetylating acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (AADH) and acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) (for an NADH-dependent acetate reduction pathway), was used as the host for expressing of two β-xylosidases, GH43-2 and GH43-7, and a xylodextrin transporter, CDT-2, from Neurospora crassa, yielding the engineered strain SR8A6S3-CDT2-GH432/7. Both β-xylosidases and the transporter were introduced by replacing two endogenous genes, GRE3 and SOR1, that encode aldose reductase and sorbitol (xylitol) dehydrogenase, respectively, which catalyse steps in xylitol production. Xylitol accumulation during xylose fermentation is a problem for 2G ethanol production since it reduces final ethanol yield. The engineered strain, SR8A6S3-CDT2-GH432/7, produced ethanol through simultaneous co-utilization of XOS, xylose, and acetate. The mutant strain produced 60% more ethanol and 12% less xylitol than the control strain when a hemicellulosic hydrolysate was used as a mono- and oligosaccharide source. Similarly, the ethanol yield was 84% higher for the engineered strain using hydrolysed xylan compared with the parental strain. The consumption of XOS, xylose, and acetate expands the capabilities of S. cerevisiae for utilization of all of the carbohydrate in lignocellulose, potentially increasing the efficiency of 2G biofuel production. Highlights Integration of XOS pathway in an acetate-xylose-consuming S. cerevisiae strain; Intracellular fermentation of XOS, acetate and xylose improved ethanol production; Deletion of both sor1Δ and gre3Δ reduced xylitol production.


This paper illustrates application of geophysical exploration in finding pyrite ores using direct current depth sounding and magnetic survey.Direct current depth sounding is a sensitive method for anomaly.It is proved that direct current depth sounding and magnetic survey is a good way to find concealed pyrite ores.


To increase energy density in order to meet increasing electricity demands, increasingly large-scale designs for wind turbines have been developed. Wind turbine towers of larger sizes can generate more electricity, but such large sizes also create higher costs in terms of development and maintenance. The present research sets up a wind turbine tower model, wherein the loads of towers are calculated by their relation to wind speed. The finite element method is used to analyze the stress distribution of towers under these loads. Impacts from different loads are compared as well. The wind speed distribution is derived from data collected in Penghu, Taiwan using statistical methods. Fatigue analysis of towers is then conducted using fatigue loads and wind speed distribution, and the mean time to failure (MTTF) of towers is calculated with quantitative reliability theory. The results show that the main loads of towers are the wind force acting on the rotation area of wind turbine blades and the moment caused by non-uniform wind speed. After comparing this research finding with loads calculated by a wind turbine design software, it is concluded that it is a feasible and conservative method to analyze a wind turbine tower structure with the loads calculated by its relation to wind speed. In addition, it is shown that both the average and maximum hourly wind speeds in Penghu can be fitted into Weibull distribution. In conclusion, the fatigue analysis shows that the probability is greater than 99.8% for the tower model's failure time to be above 331,416 cycles, and it further shows that the tower model in this research possesses appropriate fatigue durability and is considered a safe tower design for Penghu. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the National Tsing Hua University, Department of Power Mechanical Engineering.


Sometimes other illnesses can complicate the course of allergic rhinitis, making it difficult to recognise or treat. An example of this type of connection is described in our case report of a patient with allergic rhinitis and concomitant Lyme disease. Aim of the study was to present the case of 54-year-old woman with a severe form of chronic allergic rhinitis, given the diagnosis of Lyme disease coexisting with inflammation of multiple joints. A 54-year-old patient with severe chronic allergic rhinitis, given the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Based on our description of the case, it appears that allergic inflammation from immunity in which a number of cytokines have been activated could be a factor favourable for launch by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi arthritis. Maybe the same immune disorders have led to the development of allergies contributing to such a course of Lyme disease and arthritis development.


Purpose: No formal assessment of life expectancy in women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in these genes has been reported previously. We have evaluated life expectancy using actuarial analysis and assessed the effect of breast and ovarian cancers on premature death in >1,000 BRCA1/2 carriers. Methods: Families with pathogenic mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been ascertained in a 10-million population region of United Kingdom since 1996. Mutation carriers and their first-degree relatives were used in an analysis of breast and ovarian cancer incidence and mortality as well as to derive and compare an actuarial assessment of life expectancy. Results: Six hundred twelve BRCA1 and 482 BRCA2 female mutation carriers were identified from 482 families. Life expectancy was significantly reduced for BRCA1 carriers compared with BRCA2 (P = 0.0002). This effect was attributable to an increased death rate from ovarian cancer (P = 0.04). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a better long-term survival from early-stage ovarian cancer in BRCA2 carriers but no significant differences in deaths from breast cancer or from women presenting with late-stage ovarian cancer. There was no other major contributing cause to death other than breast/ovarian cancer in BRCA1/2 female carriers. Conclusion: Interventions to reduce ovarian cancer incidence are likely to have a greater effect on life expectancy in BRCA1 compared with BRCA2 carriers. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(6):1535–42)


Bladder cancer (BCa) is the second most common genitourinary malignancy with 81,190 estimated new diagnosis in the 2018 in the United States only (1). Radical cystectomy (RC) with bilateral pelvic node dissection (PLND) represents the gold standard for very recurrent high risk non-muscle invasive tumors and for muscle invasive BCa (2).


Objective To observe the effect of glycyrrhizin in preventing and curing diabetic nephropathy and to explore the influence of glycyrrhizin on expression of α-SMA of glomerulus.Meanwhile,to approach the effect and possible mechanisms of glycyrrhizin on preventing diabetic nephropathy.Methods The normal SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group,model group,diabetic rats treated with glycyrrhizin group.Models were established by intraperitoneal injection of STZ.Diabetic rats treated with glycyrrhizin group were filled with glycyrrhizin once a day(100 /kg).The kidney changes were observed on the 14th day,30th day,and 60th day by contrasting and the expression of glomerulus α-SMA were observed by immunohistochemistry,and the kidney structure changes were demonstrated by electronic microscope.Results Normal morphology were found in the control group in the light microscope and electronic microscope.Compared to the diabetic groups,the width of the glomerular mesangium of the glycyrrhizic treated group was significantly smaller and the pathological changes of mesentery and basilar membrane were alleviated.On the 60th day,compared with the diabetic groups(3.30±0.45),the relative amount of α-SMA in the glomerulus(2.65±0.20) was decreased(P0.05).Conclusion Glycyrrhizin is able to protect the glomerulus from diabetic nephropathies.Glycyrrhizin can inhibit the expression ofα-SMA in diabetes glomerular mesangium.


T 0 the east of the South Pacific region, the widely-scattered islands of French Oceania' jut from an ocean area roughly equal in extent to the whole of Europe. A hundred and twenty or so in number, they are divided into five groups: the Societies (Windward and Leeward Islands),2 the Tuamotus or Low Archipelago,3 the Mangareva group (formerly known as the Gambiers),4 the Marquesas5 and the Austral Islands.6 The Society Islands, and principally Tahiti,7 dominate the life of the group. Tahiti, with twenty-odd thousand inhabitants, supports nearly half of the total population of Oceania; the other Societies8 together contain about half of the remainder. With the exception of the phosphate island of Makatea in the Tuamotus, the islands outside the Societies are of little economic interest to the outer world. Papeete, the main centre of settlement on Tahiti and the only town deserving of the name in the southeastern Pacific, is the social, commercial and administrative centre of French Oceania. It has the most easterly of


I assume that semantic presuppositions are encoded in the semantic values of sentences, using truth value gaps or definedness of a file change potentials. 2 A pragmatic presupposition of an utterance is a proposition p such that in making the utterance, the speaker communicates that he takes p to follow from the current common ground of shared information. Typically, if a sentence S has a semantic presupposition p, and a speaker asserts S, then the speaker pragmatically presupposes p. Stalnaker (1 974) introduced the project of using the lexical representation (2a) without a semantic presupposition, and deriving the pragmatically presupposed status of the factive implication by conversational reasoning.3 I think this project is attractive for what I call soft triggers, which are presupposition triggers where the presuppositional behavior is weak and easily suspendable. Karttun en (1 971 ) mentioned that it is easy to suspend the factive implication of discover. In typical utterances, (3a) does not pragmatically presuppose that the speaker has not told the truth. The same holds for (3b) and (3c). (The examples are from Karttunen (1 971 ).)


This communication describes the architecture and development of link level evaluation platform intended to evaluate advanced signal processing schemes for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Up Link (UL) mode. It starts with the architecture design, then outlines the main aspects of the used advanced algorithms, and finally some numerical results are presented showing the effectiveness of the advanced schemes as a means to enhance the capacity of the UMTS.


Summary The paper discusses the principal elements of training the psychomotor adaptation, as a part of a modern concept of self-defence. Such training contains methods and means of a general as well as of a composite but specific preparation for hand-to-hand fights. General training consists of improving mental disposition and motor skills (fitness and co-ordination), or maintaining them at a certain level, the specific one consisting of applying physical and mental (including the intellectual ones) stimuli as part of the psychomotor adaptation training. The exercises used in that latter training were classified into 15 categories arranged so that the highest category numbers correspond to greatest concordance of given motor task to real situation (a defensive action). Thus, number 15 corresponds to simulated defensive fights of one against a group of attackers.


In 2007 in Yakutia 19500 thousand Gcal of thermal energy to the heating, ventilation and hot water supply of heat consumers was made, from them 13519.8 thousand Gcal was made by district heating supply system (69.3% from the general development of thermal energy), including on thermal power stations over 26% of thermal energy was made, and the distributed heating provides 30.7% of heat consumers from autonomous boilers and heating furnaces, that is equal 5987.2 thousand Gcal in a year. From this data it's visible that the distributed heating systems make the considerable part of the Republic's heat supply. The fuel consumer in autonomous sources of the heat supply makes more than third of all fuel spent for the heat supply that is caused by low technical characteristics of small boilers, especially on solid fuel.


To improve the traditional manual method of teaching video reservation and administration in university,a teaching video reservation system based on android is proposed to address the requirements of improving the teaching practice ability and classroom teaching effect,improving the work efficiency and saving labor costs.The system is based on the C/S framework and uses PC as a server to provide the underlying service,provides the user-interface for users by the client application in android mobile phones.The client cannot access the database server directly,but introduces the web service interface to the business logic layer.The experiment results show that the system can improve the defect of the traditional appointment method effectively,can improve work efficiency,can bring the convenience to the work among teachers and videotaping staffs,and can enhance information level of education work in colleges and universities greatly.


The University of Milan, Institute of Pharmacology, and the Italian Society for the Study of Oils and Fats have organized an International Course on Chromatographic Methods in Lipid Research to be held Sept. 17 to 29, 1962, in Milan, Italy.


Abstract Polarographic data show that tin(II) is stable in dimethylsulfoxide solutions. In dimethylformamide the concentration of electrochemically active tin(II) decreases with time until 200 min, when an equilibrium is established and part of the tin (II) is electroinactive. This reaction is shown to proceed with pseudo- first order kinetics and its rate constant is reported together with the tin (II) diffusion coefficient in both media.


Five cultivation methods of Bidan No.13 were studied,which was the first high starch maize cultivar in Guizhou Province.The results showed that there were differences in the yield,ear characters,economic characters,the distribution range and quantity of root,leaf area and green-keeping stage with different cultivation methods.Compared with other transplanting and direct-seeding methods,the yield was more higher with the transplanting method of double row-single plant in wide and narrow.


In article the questions connected with responsibility which comes at signing of the contracts are considered. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the concepts
"intended breach of contract", "deliberate violations of contracts".


A prolongation structure is determined for a single equation from which the Korteweg–de Vries and all of its higher order forms can be derived. As result, inverse scattering problems for all of the equations are determined simultaneously.


ZnTe:V thin cermet films (containing 0 to 10wt% V in ZnTe matrix) were prepared onto glass substrate by e-beam evaporation in vacuum at ~10-6 torr. The deposition rate of the films was at about 2.05 nms-1. The effects of various deposition conditions on the electrical and optical properties of the cermet films have been studied in detail. The structure analysis of the film was performed by X-ray diffraction technique and it was found that the films are amorphous in nature. The optical properties of both the as-deposited and annealed films were studied in the wavelength range 300<&lgr;<2500 nm, respectively. The special feature of transmittance spectra is that as the doping vanadium is increased to a concentration of 2.5wt% V, the transmittance value is increased in the entire visible & infra-red up to &lgr;=1600 nm and beyond that concentration value, the transmittance is decreased. Similar behavior has also been observed in annealed films. For both types of cermet sample, the values of Urbach tail, optical band gap, refractive index and dielectric constants were evaluated for different compositions and thicknesses, respectively. Evaluation of these parameters may help in view of their technological applications in selective surface as well as in optoelectronic devices.


To improve our Nation's mental health, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) supports a wide range of research related to the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders. The Institute's advisory body, the National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC), periodically surveys needs and opportunities in specific research areas relevant to the NIMH mission. In the recent past, NAhlHC reviews have mobilized NIMH resources to develop promising research initiatives in schizophrenia, in mental disorders of childhood and adolescence, in basic neuroscience, and in research on services for people with severe mental illness. In a similar vein, the report summarized here is expected to provide guidance for the Institute's basic research programs concerning behavioral and social factors that promote mental health or.contribute to mental disorders. I t offers an overview of progress and promising lines of basic behavioral science' research, and highlights aspects of that research requiring the Institute's special attention and stimulation. I t is important to note that NIMH encourages and supports a far broader range of behavioral science research


In the last decades, the growing concern about land consumption, together with the awareness about cultural heritage's key role for sustainable development, has led to greater attention to cultural property reuse as a conscious process of new values production. However, decisions about heritage bring a high degree of complexity, related to the need to preserve properties' values and fulfill protection legislation, thus bringing high cost, which discourages public and private investments for reuse interventions. In this context, it becomes urgent to support reuse decisions through proper evaluation methodologies that, dealing with the complexity of interests at stake, allow individuals to assess the financial sustainability of conscious cultural heritage reuse projects. For these reasons, the paper proposes a methodological framework that, grounded on the recognition of cultural properties' values and their possible integration in the local economic system, assesses reuse projects' financial sustainability. This methodology's application is discussed through a case study, represented by a project for a historical rural landscape in Pantelleria island. The application to the case study allows us to discuss the role of the proposed evaluation framework in supporting and promoting cultural heritage reuse and its possible room for improvement.


Saccharomyces cerevisiae maltases use maltose, maltulose, turanose and maltotriose as substrates, isomaltases use isomaltose, α‐methylglucoside and palatinose and both use sucrose. These enzymes are hypothesized to have evolved from a promiscuous α‐glucosidase ancMALS through duplication and mutation of the genes. We studied substrate specificity of the maltase protein MAL1 from an earlier diverged yeast, Ogataea polymorpha (Op), in the light of this hypothesis. MAL1 has extended substrate specificity and its properties are strikingly similar to those of resurrected ancMALS. Moreover, amino acids considered to determine selective substrate binding are highly conserved between Op MAL1 and ancMALS. Op MAL1 represents an α‐glucosidase in which both maltase and isomaltase activities are well optimized in a single enzyme. Substitution of Thr200 (corresponds to Val216 in S. cerevisiae isomaltase IMA1) with Val in MAL1 drastically reduced the hydrolysis of maltose‐like substrates (α‐1,4‐glucosides), confirming the requirement of Thr at the respective position for this function. Differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) of the catalytically inactive mutant Asp199Ala of MAL1 in the presence of its substrates and selected monosaccharides suggested that the substrate‐binding pocket of MAL1 has three subsites (–1, +1 and +2) and that binding is strongest at the –1 subsite. The DSF assay results were in good accordance with affinity (Km) and inhibition (Ki) data of the enzyme for tested substrates, indicating the power of the method to predict substrate binding. Deletion of either the maltase (MAL1) or α‐glucoside permease (MAL2) gene in Op abolished the growth of yeast on MAL1 substrates, confirming the requirement of both proteins for usage of these sugars. © 2016 The Authors. Yeast published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In this paper, we propose a novel multi-task multi-variate (MTMV) sparse representation method for multi-sensor classification, which takes into account correlations between sensors simultaneously while considering joint sparsity within each sensor's observations. This approach can be seen as the generalized model of multi-task and multivariate Lasso, where all the multi-sensor data are jointly represented by a sparse linear combination of training data. We further modify our MTMV model by including a clutter noise term that is also assume to be sparse in feature domain. An efficient algorithm based on alternative direction method is proposed for both models. Extensive experiments are conducted on real data set and the results are compared with the conventional discriminative classifiers to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.


This brief analyzes how macroeconomic policies can help accelerate the transition of carbon-intensive industries to a low-carbon future. Noting that the People's Republic China aims to be carbon neutral by 2060, it suggests how policymakers can provide clear guidance, boost industry knowledge and capacity, and improve risk management. Addressing how the shift could spark higher inflation and job losses, it underscores the need to promote carbon pricing and increase international competition to support an orderly transition to a greener economy.


Aim To examine G.Green′s two papers on water waves and their influence.Methods Using comprehensive analysis and comparing the original literatures and research materials.Results Green solved long wave problem practically,and gave the first mathematical explanation of solitary waves.Conclusion Green′s long-wave approximation,analysis of the effects of slow variations,and taking account of waves moving in one direction only gave exemplary models in the research of water waves,including solitary waves.


Genome-wise association studies (GWASs) have become popular approaches to identify genetic variants associated with human biological traits. In this study, we applied Structural Equation Models (SEMs) in order to model complex relationships between genetic networks and traits as risk factors. SEMs allow us to achieve a better understanding of biological mechanisms through identifying greater numbers of genes and pathways that are associated with a set of traits and the relationship among them. For efficient SEM analysis for GWASs, we developed a procedure, comprised of four stages. In the first stage, we conducted single-SNP analysis using regression models, where age, sex, and recruited area were included as adjusting covariates. In the second stage, Fisher' s combination test was conducted for each gene to detect significant genes using p-values obtained from the single-SNP analysis. In the third stage, Fisher's exact test was adopted to determine which biological pathways were enriched with significant SNPs. Finally, based on a pathway that was associated with the four traits in common, a SEM was fit to model a causal relationship among the genetic factors and traits. We applied our SEM model to GWAS data with four central obesity related traits: suprailiac and subscapular measures for upper body fat, BMI, and hypertension. Study subjects were collected from two Korean cohort regions. After quality control, 327,872 SNPs for 8842 individuals were included in the analysis. After comparing two SEMs, we concluded that suprailiac and subscapular measures may indirectly affect hypertension susceptibility by influencing BMI. In conclusion, our analysis demonstrates that SEMs provide a better understanding of biological mechanisms by identifying greater numbers of genes and pathways.


management of many patients, it is important if treatment with anticoagulants or carotid surgery is being considered. When such treatment is being considered it is vital that patients with primary intracerebral haemorrhage are correctly identified as anticoagulation is dangerous and carotid endarterectomy inappropriate. It may also be advisable to exclude primary intracerebral haemorrhage before treatment with aspirin is started, although whether aspirin predisposes to extension of the stroke or recurrence in cases of primary intracerebral haemorrhage is not known. Differentiating between haemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke on clinical grounds is not sufficiently reliable to allow these management decisions to be made2 and is not improved by examination of the cerebrospinal fluid.3 Clinical scoring systems, such as the recently described Allen score,3 improve the reliability of the clinical assessment but are insensitive in identifying mild strokes due to small intracerebral haemorrhages. It is the patients with mild strokes, however, who have most to gain from secondary preventive measures. In the weeks after a primary intracerebral haemorrhage the high density area on computed tomography is replaced by a smaller isodense or hyp?dense area. Sometimes these changes occur rapidly and may make primary intracerebral haemorrhage indistinguish? able from infarction if tomography is delayed. If this fact is not considered then inappropriate treatment may be given. Little has been written about the clinical implications of these rapid changes after primary intracerebral haemorrhage: several of the major medical and neurological textbooks do not mention the problem.4^ We present five cases of primary intracerebral haemorrhage that show how easy it is to misdiagnose the type of stroke if the timing of computed tomography is not taken into account.


Chiral separation of 19 pairs of amino acid (AA) enantiomers derivatized with 9‐fluorenylmethylchloroformate (FMOC) was successfully conducted by capillary electrophoresis using the mixture of β‐CD and sodium taurodeoxycholate (STDC) as selectors. Resolution was considerably superior to that obtained by using either β‐CD or STDC alone. After a systematic inspection, a buffer composed of 150 mM borate and 18% v/v isopropanol at pH 8.0, dissolved with 30 mM β‐CD and 30 mM STDC, was adopted and able to generate baseline resolution (>1.50) for 17 pairs of FMOC‐AA enantiomers and somewhat lower resolution for arginine (1.36) and alanine (1.18), respectively. Experimental data revealed that the addition of the second selector did not increase the mobility difference between a pair of enantiomers (Δμ = μD – μL and the number of theoretical plates (N), but decreased the summed apparent mobility of a pair of enantiomers (Σμ = μD − μL), which was mainly due to the decrease of the electroosmotic flow. The variation of Σμ was thus the major reason responsible for the improvement of chiral resolution in this study. The result demonstrated that not only the intrinsic selectivity of the selectors was the basis of the chiral separation, but also the non‐chiral effect of the selectors, the change of the electroosmotic flow, was an important factor in enhancing the enantioseparation resolution. This study could probably help to explain the reasons for resolution improvement in some dual selectors systems, which are not very clear at present.


We present the measurements of individual bound electron $g$ factors of $^{20}\text{Ne}^{9+}$ and $^{22}\text{Ne}^{9+}$ on the relative level of $0.1\,\text{parts}$ per billion. The comparison with theory represents the most stringent test of bound-state QED in strong electric fields. A dedicated mass measurement results in $m\left(^{20}\text{Ne}\right)=19.992\,440\,168\,77\,(9)\,\text{u}$, which improves the current literature value by a factor of nineteen, disagrees by $4$ standard deviations and represents the most precisely measured mass value in atomic mass units. Together, these measurements yield an electron mass on the relative level of $0.1\,\text{ppb}$ with $m_{\text{e}}=5.485\,799\,090\,99\,(59) \times 10^{-4}\,\text{u}$ as well as a factor of eight improved $m\left(^{22}\text{Ne}\right)=21.991\,385\,098\,2\,(26)\,\text{u}$.


A method based on dynamic strain signals for identifying damage of beam structures in time domain is presented.Dynamic strain signals are adopted since they are more sensitive than acceleration and displacement signals to structure damage. The strain signals are analyzed with wavelet packet transformation firstly.By calculating and analyzing the "average pseudo strain energy density"(APSED) and"average pseudo strain energy density rate"(APSEDR) indices proposed here,the characteristics of structure damages are expressed.Polynomial curve fitting with a least-square calculation is used to avoid difficulties for obtaining the structure information before damaged.Numerical simulation results show that this method possessing satisfactory noise robusticity can also effectively capture the damage location and quantify the damage severity without the structure information before damaged.


This is the first complete account, administrative, financial, political, social and cultural, of any court of the late Stuart period. It explains how and why an institution that had dominated each of these areas of national life under the Tudors and early Stuarts had, by the time of Queen Anne's death in 1714, largely abdicated that primacy and begun a long decline into respectable irrelevance. The author argues that Anne's court offered few of the opportunities - access to power, wealth, status and pleasure - that had made attendance at and allegiance to previous Tudor and Stuart courts so attractive.As a result, the power brokers chose to wield influence elsewhere,in industry and the professions. This study fills a gap not only in our understanding of the court, but in our understanding of loyalty and interest, government and politics, and society and culture during the Augustan age.


Although it is true that inmates in U.S. prisons are experiencing high rates of HIV disease, it also is true that incarceration affords a meaningful opportunity to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through education. Consequently, providing effective education programs for inmates is an important corrections and public health concern. In an attempt to assess our current efforts in this area, a survey of all 50 state departments of corrections was conducted. As part of that survey, descriptions of inmate AIDS education programs were obtained from 27 states. These programs were analyzed using themes garnered from a variety of published recommendations concerning effective AIDS education. The results of the content analysis for the 27 descriptions were then specifically compared with the National Commission on AIDS recommendations for AIDS education programs for inmates.


One of the most common causes for perioperative complications concerns the cardiac function. The risk of perioperative cardiac morbidity (PCM) is strongly associated with the presence of coronary artery disease. Patients with coronary artery disease are common in the surgical population, particularly in patients with peripheral vascular disease. Thus, the PCM rate in this risk group is among the highest. Preoperative assessment studies have focused on multivariate analysis of factors from patient history and physiological variables. From such data subsequent risk-scoring systems have been developed. Although these have been successful in identifying groups of patients at high risk, they have failed to differentiate on an individual basis. This leads to low specificity and low positive predictive values for the tests. Sophisticated cardiac functional tests have also been employed in trying to identify individuals at the greatest risk. However, it is still under debate whether these tests add more to the risk assessment than just the patient history and a resting 12-lead ECG. Thus, the functional tests also suffer from low predictive values. This indicates that new strategies must be employed by the use of sensitive perioperative on-line monitoring and active interventions when early signs of threatening PCM are revealed. This thesis concerns the perioperative use of a novel computerized application of an old electrocardiographic method for myocardial surveillance, vectorcardiography. The overall purpose of the present studies was to investigate the predictive capacity of computerized vectorcardiography (VCG) for subsequent PCM in high-risk patients. VCG is based on an eight body surface electrode model originally described by Frank. The orthogonal leads X, Y and Z are continuously recorded and displayed on-line using a personal computer. The development of spatial changes in QRS (QRSVD) and ST (STC-VM) as well as absolute ST changes (ST-VM) differing from the original reference complex are presented on the monitor screen as trend graphs. Limits for possible myocardial ischaemia by the use of these trend parameters have been defined. VCG has become well established for cardiac surveillance in the coronary care units. However, the perioperative use of VCG for ischaemia monitoring has not been evaluated previously The influence of anaesthesia, surgery and positional changes on the VCG recordings was investigated in healthy patients undergoing open cholecystectomy (n=9), laparoscopic cholecystectomy (n=12) and inguinal hernial repair (n=5). The ST variables remained almost unchanged throughout (1, 2), as were the QRS-VD in most situations. However, the QRS-VD was significantly increased in the left lateral and sitting positions (l), when changing from the Trendelenburg to the reversed Trendelenburg positions and during pneumoperitoneum for laparoscopic surgery (2). The scalar 12-lead ECG, which may be derived from the VCG (dECG), was compared with simultaneously recorded standard 12-lead ECGs (sECG) in patients after elective surgery of the abdominal aorta (n=17), and subjects with acute anterior (n=18) and inferior (n= 18) myocardial infarctions. Qualitative analysis showed good agreement between the methods, while the quantitative comparisons revealed some minor differences, mainly related to amplitude (3). It was concluded that the dECG seems reliable and, if desired, can be used clinically in these groups of patients during VCG recordings. The predictive value of VCG for subsequent PCM was determined in patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic surgery (n=38). The VCG changes were recorded during surgery and for 48 h postoperatively. The recordings were analysed off-line and related to the cardiac complications as detected on clinical grounds. A total of 13 patients suffered PCM. No patients without VCG signs of ischaemia suffered from PCM. Thirty patients had VCG signs of ischaemia, yielding a sensitivity of loo%, which was 50% more sensitive than a 3-lead ECG and almost 100% better than a single V5-lead. However, the specificity of VCG was only 32% (4). Calculations of the duration of cumulated ischaemia revealed that a critical limit of 260 min of VCGsigns of ischaemia during 2 h could be established. Applying this limit, the prediction of subsequent PCM could be made with a sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 80% and positive and negative predictive values of 69 and 91% respectively. If used on-line, this criterion would have identified 11 /13 patients subsequently suffering from PCM to be at risk. At least 10 of these patients would have been detected well ahead of the cardiac complication becoming clinically apparent (5). The dECG (12-lead) also showed high predictive values, but dECG signs of ischaemia appeared later than on the VCG (mean 78 min range 0-38 h) (4). The VCG signs of ischaemia were significantly increased in the patients with PCM already intraoperatively. The degree of intraoperative and postoperative ischaemic VCG signs was found to be significantly correlated. In conclusion, VCG was found to be a useful method for continuous perioperative ischaemia monitoring. In patients with a high risk of PCM, VCG showed the ability to predict the subsequent development of cardiac events with a high degree of


This research offers a fuel conversion from cylinder type to plate type for solving the operation problems as a solution when the TRIGA reactor fuel production run out. The research has been implemented utilizing MCNP6 software to model and simulate the core of the TRIGA 2000 reactor plate type fuel. The geometry of the simulated reactor consists of a reflector, a moderator and a reactor tank. The fuel was U3Si2Al with 19.75% enrichment and the density was 2.96 gU/cm3, the reflector was graphite and the control rod was AgInCd. The first criticality value with 15 fuel assemblies and the 4 control rods position at 11.97cm from the top surface of the reactor core was (1.00000 ± 0.00016) in agreement with the reference value for initial configuration of TRIGA reactor core was (1.00 ± 0.01).


The insufflation of heated and humidified high fresh gas flows via nasal cannulae, exceeding the inspiratory demand of a patient during spontaneous breathing or used during the apnoeic phase for intubation, has emerged as a novel addition to anaesthetic practice, particularly for patients with physiologically or anatomically challenging airways. There is increasing evidence for its therapeutic use in acute respiratory failure, as an aid to preoxygenation, in the management of the difficult airway and during bronchoscopy. This review explores the proposed mechanisms of action of nasal high flow (NHF) and transnasal humidified rapid insufflation (THRIVE) in the paediatric population, potential clinical applications, and outlines recommendations made on applied flow rates and use with total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA).


Abstract This study examined individual- and group-level effects of culture and cultural diversity on group interaction climate and satisfaction. Employees from 41 workgroups completed self-construal, face concern, interaction climate, and satisfaction questionnaires. Though analysis of ethnic diversity indicated that group diversity was positively related to perceptions of interaction climate, and had no association with satisfaction, multi-level analysis indicated that as ethnic diversity of the group increased, members of majority and minority ethnic groups had different perceptions of interaction climate and satisfaction. Results demonstrate the importance of considering individual-level manifestations of culture, group-level diversity, and the multi-level combination for workgroup analysis.


The oxidative decomposition of t-butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and the formation of its dimers during thermal oxidation of saturated and unsaturated triacylglycerols were studied in relation to the initial concentration of BHA.BHA was very stable toward oxidation in glycerol trilaurate and a small amount of BHA was oxidized to dimers, especially to the diphenyl ether-type dimer. A small amount of BHA was oxidized and the total amounts of its monomer and dimers decreased with decrease in its initial concentration. The quantities of the dimers formed in a reaction mixture at a low initial concentration of BHA were smaller than those at a high initial concentration.BHA is considerably unstable toward oxidation in glycerol trilinoleate. The stability of its monomer during thermal oxidation decreased with decrease in its initial concentration, and the yields of its dimers also decreased. When the initial concentration of BHA was 0. 1%, its monomer disappeared rapidly in the reaction mixture, and none of its dimers could be detected.The oxidative decomposition of BHA in a mixture of glycerol trilaurate and glycerol trilinoleate was also accelerated by a decrease in its initial concentration.


T HE ALLIANCE AGAINST ASBESTOS IS AN international coalition of environmental, health care, labor union, and asbestos victims advocacy groups and activists concerned about asbestos use in industrialized and developing nations. Its mission is to provide scientifically sound information to government leaders and policy makers to aid them in the development of worker safety and environmental regulations and to increase public awareness about the hazards of exposure to asbestos. Its goal is to end the tragic legacy of asbestos by creating asbestos hazard-free working and living conditions for the world's population. Contact the Alliance Against Asbestos, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 Tel: (202) 387-8030 Fax: (202) 234-5176. DOCUMENTS


Topography is a method giving a contour map as result of measurement describing three-dimensional shape of measured objects. The paper is focused to projection moire topography. The measurement model is compiled at first of all. The parameters of topography (accuracy, sensitivity, resolution, range) are introduced by virtue of this model. They are the great tool for description of measurement from the point of view of its quality. Some examples of topography of object are introduced to illustrate the theoretical principles at the end.


LLC resonant converters have been widely used in DC-DC conversion applications due to the advantages of high efficiency and high power density. There are many design methods of LLC resonant converters in former research. However, none of them take transformer parasitic capacitance into consideration. This paper proposes an optimal design method considering transformer parasitic capacitance. Firstly, a brief summary of design process is introduced. Next, a wire-wound transformer is designed and the transformer parasitic capacitance is measured. After that, the resonant parameters are selected aiming at reducing device conduction loss and satisfying gain requirement. Finally, experiments are conducted on a 400V-12V 200W GaN-based LLC resonant converter. Experimental results show that the optimal design method has good performance and the efficiency of the prototype is up to 94.2%.


The article analyzes some aspects of the esthetics of photography. Photography in everyday context is frequently considered in connection with captured object. Viewers often approach artistic photography from this very viewpoint. The authors introduce possibilities for the realization of denotative horizon in art and conclude on the possibility to depict an object in a photographic image.


Image restoration using Wiener and geometric mean filtering is one of the commonly used techniques in image processing applications. In this paper we propose the use of discrete fractional Fourier transform in place of conventional discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in the Wiener and geometric mean filters. The use of discrete fractional Fourier transform (DFrFT) provides us additional degree of freedom in terms of the angle parameter of the transforms which can be exploited for the purpose of image restoration. The proposed restoration filters are applied on both colored and grey images and the simulation results of the proposed technique are presented. The effect of variation of parameters of the transforms and filters are also studied under the presence of noise. It is observed that the results of the conventional Wiener and geometric mean filters are better than the filters using DFrFT except for a specific value of the angle parameter about 0.8.


Immigration detention is cementing into a permanent aspect of border and immigration control in the United Kingdom. This article uses a historical examination of internment to contribute to a larger literature that unsettles the official record of detention policy as a natural development in an otherwise functioning immigration and border control bureaucracy. In so doing, I present an original overview of the First World War, Second World War, and Gulf War internments. My research findings demonstrate that wartime powers legislated in times of national distress have been repackaged as seemingly quotidian tools of immigration and asylum control. The results of this normalisation have included the reinforcement of a false logic of differentiation between citizens and threats, and between "good" and "bad" migrants; and an instrumentalisation of national insecurity to curtail the movements and basic rights of all individuals.


We have examined In–GaAs(110) contacts fabricated in situ both by depositing In at room temperature followed with annealing and by depositing In on heated surfaces [n‐ and p‐type GaAs(110) surfaces (250 and 300 °C, respectively) using synchrotron radiation photoemission. It is found that In deposition on GaAs(110) surfaces with temperature below room temperature does not induce measurable reaction, whereas reaction takes place with InAs as product when the room‐temperature‐formed interface is annealed or when In is deposited on the heated substrate. However, there is no evidence of InxGa1−xAs graded heterojunction formation at the interface in either case. Outdiffusion of the excess As from the substrate is suggested to provide a source for InAs formation instead of the previously proposed In–GaAs replacement reaction. Electrical measurements were also performed on in situ In/n‐GaAs(110) contacts before and after annealing. Reproducible high‐barrier heights were recorded (1.02±0.02 eV) with good ideality ...


A new type dual-mode dual-band bandpass filter is proposed in this letter. This filter has two merits. First, the size of this dual-mode microstrip filter is smaller than the conventional dual-mode filters. The proposed structure of the filter is able to achieve 60% size reduction comparing to the traditional structure. In the second, there are a pair of transmission zeros closely to every pass band. Therefore, the selectivity of the filter can be improved. The transmit performance of this filter is simulated by a high frequency full-wave simulator (Ansoft HFSS). It is shown that this structure can generate two operating modes, i.e., the even mode and the odd mode. Finally an experimental filter was fabricated and measured to demonstrate the design. The measured results agree well with the simulated one.


To reduce costs, engineers in the industry wish to substitute laboratory-scale experiments for pilot-scale investigations. Thus mass-transfer experiments with single drops seem to be a first step toward the design of liquid-liquid extraction columns, along with other experiments needed, for example, for the estimation of coalescence parameters. In this article it is shown that it is possible to describe nonstationary mass transfer between single drops and a continuous phase with a single parameter, the instability constant C IP . The instability constant is independent of both drop diameter and contact time between drop and continuous phase. Thus in principle a single laboratory experiment allows the determination of C IP for a given combination of components. When mass transfer in an extraction column is calculated using the estimated value of C IP , an increase in mass transfer due to the concentration gradient in the continuous phase of the column has to be accounted for appropriately.


Resist (2) to form a structure for adjustment of an electron or ion beam (11) during exposure of a disc (1), comprising: - a polymer having anhydride groups and at least one acid-sensitive group consisting of: tert-butyl ester, tert-butoxycarbonyloxy, tetrahydrofuranyl or tetrahydropyranyl groups, - a photoreactive compound with ultraviolet light or electron or ion releases an acid when irradiated, - a solvent, - at least one scintillating material.


This thesis intends to identify the effects of climate change as it relates to the traditional activities of the Eastern James Bay Cree. Numerous studies have analysed climate change, however relatively few have studied its socioeconomic and socio-cultural effects on the subarctic populations of Quebec as does this one. Exploring the integration mechanisms between scientific knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), this combination of knowledge being presented by many researchers as the next step in TEK research, this thesis utilizes the various perceptions that the hunters of the Cree Trappers Association have of the impacts of climate change. Emphasis was placed on their traditional activities in connection with the Canada goose and the woodland caribou, two culturally important species The study uses an approach combining the theoretical aspects of ethnoecology with the practical aspects of case studies. Various methods of data collection were used: literary and cartography reviews, questionnaires and long and short interviews. The research demonstrates a variation in Cree observations of climate change and in their perceptions of the effects of these changes based on the location of the community in the James Bay region. Certain effects are perceived in all communities, for instance participants from all communities worried about the dangers associated with an increased fragility of the ice formed on lakes and rivers. However, it was primarily members of the coastal communities who worried over the Canada geese moving further inland. Members of the coastal communities were also the only ones to not notice a reduction in the numbers of woodland caribou on their traplines. Climate change seems to have an impact on the Cree's traditional way of life associated with the Canada goose and woodland caribou and to affect the transmission of their traditional knowledge to the newer generations as it pertains to the woodland caribou.


It is well known that in K-user constant single-antenna interference channels K/2 degrees of freedom (DoF) can be achieved for almost all channel matrices. Explicit conditions on the channel matrix to admit K/2 DoF are, however, not available. The purpose of this paper is to identify such explicit conditions, which are satisfied for almost all channel matrices. We also provide a construction of corresponding asymptotically DoF-optimal input distributions. The main technical tool used is a recent breakthrough result by Hochman in fractal geometry [1].


Pairwise testing is practical and effective for various types of software systems,and it is a key problem to generate test data for the pairwise coverage criterion.This paper represents all feasible test data as a solution space tree based on the combinatorial testing model,and suggests a backtrack approach to search a subset of paths in the tree for pairwise testing data generation.Then some test data may be added into the test data suite by a greedy algorithm to cover all the uncovered pairs.The authors have implemented a test generation tool based on the approach,and the empirical results show that the approach has some merits compared with the related works.


We report the use of bifunctional starting materials (ketoacids) in a diastereoselective Passerini three‐center‐two‐component reaction. Study of the reaction scope revealed the required structural features for stereoselectivity in the isocyanide addition. In this system, an interesting isomerization of the primary Passerini product – the α‐carboxamido lactone – into an atypical product, an α‐hydroxy imide, was found to occur under acidic conditions. Furthermore, enantioenriched Passerini products can be generated from an enantioenriched ketoacid obtained by chemoenzymatic synthesis.


Currently, it is widely accepted that CO2 emissions are required to reduce significantly in order to keep global warming under control. This has led to rapid development of renewable energy and sustainable technologies. In automotive industry, hybrid and pure electric vehicles are most popular for the customer vehicles. The main part of these vehicles is traction drive. An electric machines with reduced magnet mass or with no magnets are of extremely attractive. Due to the development in power electronics, the switched reluctance motors (SRM) have gained popularity as a good candidate for the application of electric vehicle. In this paper, the performance comparison a 3-phase 12/8 and a 6/4 switched reluctance machines have been studied through finite element analysis by using Infolytica Magnet software. The simulation results shows that, as the higher number of stator and rotor poles the smaller change in geometry of the stator and rotor lead to improved magnetic characteristics and the energy efficient in torque production. The SRMs are proven to be able to replace the permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM for hybrid and pure electric vehicles.


Charge sharing plays an important role in the performance of single-photon counting microstrip detectors, since the comparator threshold defines the effective pixel width. In this contribution, the PICASSO (Phase Imaging for Clinical Application with Silicon detector and Synchrotron radiatiOn) single-photon counting microstrip detector oriented in edge-on configuration has been used to study its spatial resolution as a function of the comparator threshold. The experiment was carried out with monochromatic x-rays at the SYRMEP beamline of the Elettra synchrotron radiation facility in Trieste (Italy). The Edge Spread Function (i.e. the integral of the Line spread Function, LSF) was measured by horizontally translating vertical slits from a bar-pattern test-object in front of the detector, at four different photon energies (19, 20, 22, and 25 keV) and for several different values of the comparator threshold. The effect of charge sharing between strips on the spatial resolution has been quantified by calculating the horizontal Modulation Transfer Function (MTF). Moreover, the composite LSF from neighboring pixels was obtained: this allowed estimating the optimal threshold for each photon energy by selecting the threshold at which the composite LSF would approach unity along the entire width of the pixel. The results show that at thresholds lower than half of the photon energy, charge sharing increases the effective pixel width, causing a drop of the MTF, and it is responsible for the appearance of peaks in the composite LSF. Conversely, at thresholds higher than half of the photon energy, the effective pixel width is reduced and the spatial resolution is increased, but the collection efficiency is compromised, as demonstrated by the presence of valleys in the composite LSF.


The transverse motion of beam halo particles is described by a particle-core model which uses the space-charge field of a continuous cylindrical oscillating beam core in a uniform linear focusing channel to provide the force that drives particles to large amplitudes. The model predicts a maximum amplitude for the resonantly-driven particles as a function of the initial mismatch. We have calculated these amplitude limits and have estimated the growth times for extended-halo formation as a function of both the space-charge tune-depression ratio and a mismatch parameter. We also present formulas for the scaling of the maximum amplitudes as a function of the beam parameters. The model results are compared with multiparticle simulations and we find very good agreement for a variety of initial particle distributions.


Graphene is a zero band gap semiconductor with exceptionally high thermal conductivity. The electronic properties having been studied, therole of phonon in contributing to thermal expansion, thermal conductivity and other thermodynamic properties, is required to be investigated. This paper focuses more on thermal expansion. Some others results like phonon dispersion, Gruneisenparameters and bulk modulus,which are essential to estimation of thermal expansion, are also presented. The dynamical matrix was calculated using VASP code using both DFT and DFPTand the phonon frequencies were calculated using phonopy code under harmonic approximation. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of graphene is found to be strongly dependent on temperature but remains negative upto 470 K and positive thereafter, with a room temperature value of −1.44×10−6. The negative expansion coefficient is very interesting and is found to be in conformity with experimental as well as with recent theoretical estimates. There is only ...


The field of automatic sleep stage classification based on EEG has enjoyed substantial attention during the last decade, which has resulted in several supervised classification algorithms with highly encouraging performance. Such supervised machine learning algorithms require large training sets that have been manually labelled, and are time- and resource-consuming to acquire. Here we present a semi-supervised approach that can learn to distinguish the sleep stages from a one-night data set where only a fraction has been manually labelled. We show that for fractions larger than 50%, our semi-supervised approach performs as good as a similar, fully-supervised model.


Aim: Papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) usually have good prognosis. In the presence of lymph node metastasis, capsular invasion and extra-thyroidal extension, some PTCs may display aggressive behavior. Early diagnosis of these cases is extremely important. Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is an important diagnostic procedure and may identify the PTC likely to behave aggressively. Our study aimed to examine the effects of FNAB on surgical strategy in patients with PTC.  Methods: The data of 269 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy were evaluated in our retrospective cohort study. FNAB had been performed in 188 (70%) patients. Patients with non-incidental diagnoses were compared with patients who had incidental diagnoses in terms of parameters likely to be related to aggressive PTC.  Results: Patients ≤ 45 years old were more common in the non-incidental group (P=0.041). Incidental diagnoses were common in females (P=0.014), those with nodules larger than 2 cm in diameter and in patients with ≥2 nodules (P=0.001). Postoperative remnant thyroid tissue was observed more commonly in incidental cases (P=0.008). Lymph node metastasis (P=0.044), capsular invasion (P=0.009), and extra-thyroidal extension (P=0.022) were more common in the non-incidental group.  Conclusion: It is difficult estimate the behavior of PTCs preoperatively. Only a small number of PTCs can be preoperatively diagnosed with ultrasound-guided FNAB. The extent of surgery generally is defined by FNAB results. Detailed examination of all suspicious nodules is of great importance for earlier detection of aggressive PTCs and avoiding surgical over-treatment.


In recent years, autonomous navigation has become of increasing prominence with companies like Uber, Google, and Tesla building their state-of-theart self-driving cars. There are other opportunities, however, for self-navigating vehicles in non-road settings, including social robots that can navigate crowded spaces. Examples include driving through malls, walking dogs through populated parks, or helping blind pedestrians navigate around others. In navigating crowded areas, autonomous agents must adopt a set of common sense rules and social conventions in interacting with other objects in the same proximity. For example, when humans are deciding how to walk on a crowded sidewalk, they plan where to move next by considering their immediate neighbors' personal spaces as well as understanding who has the right-of-way. Similarly, autonomous robots should also adopt a model of movement that fluidly circumvents humans by predicting their trajectories and roughly complying with the same common sense rules as those they share space with. Additionally, a good model should also capture that interactions between a biker and a cart-driver are different than between a biker and a pedestrian or another biker. Hence, the model should account for different "classes" of scene occupants. In this paper, we build a GRU, a recently explored RNN-variant that has been shown to be more computationally efficient and produce models comparable to that of LSTMs [10]. The GRU uses a gated architecture to solve problems that traditionally plague normal RNNs (namely the exploding and vanishing gradient problems). In the past decade, gated RNNvariants have championed sequence-learning problems and provide great promise for our approach to trajectory-learning. Our input to the neural network is a 25-frame sequence of an object's positions and it's neighbors' hidden states. The output is the object's position at the next frame. In our case, the hidden state of the GRU is equivalent to the object's past trajectory, hence the network's prediction is some function of the past trajectory. 2 Related Work


The aim of the present paper is to shed further light on studying the temperature effects on the static (I-V) and dynamic (C-V) characteristics of bipolar junction- and metal oxide field effect - transistors. In this concern, several parameters were plotted at different temperature levels. The experimental results showed that, for the bipolar junction transistor 2SC2120, a noticeable increase in the collector current and the current gain from 0.198 A and 0.14 up-to 0.25 A and 0.24 by increasing the temperature from 25oC and 135oC, respectively. Considering the threshold voltage, its value was shown to be decreased from 0.62 Volt to 0.42 Volt within the same temperature range. In addition, from the traced dynamic characteristics of the same BJT, the diffusion capacitance of the emitter-base junction, as an example, increased from 10.11 nF up-to 45.09 nF by increasing the temperature up-to 135 oC. On the other hand, for metal oxide field effect transistor 2N6660, the static characteristics showed that a noticeable decrease in the drain current and the forward trans-conductance from 1.2A and 5.0 Ω-1 down-to 0.79 A and 1.9 Ω-1, respectively, due to temperature increasing from 25 oC up-to 135 oC. While the threshold voltage was hold constant. Finally, the reverse capacitance of the gate-drain junction was shown to be increases from 41.48 pF up-to 47.31 pF within the same range of temperature.


This paper demonstrates and analyzes the main technical difficulties, precautions, proportion design and construction quality control for erosion resistant concrete of early strength under low temperature during construction. The principles of proprotion design, construction quality control and its evaluation standard are proposed based on the tests and research.


Abstract. In this paper seamless tubes hot manufacturing calibration rolling is studied by means of a finite element model, to improve product quality and process performance. Based on real data provided by an industrial partner, Tubos Reunidos Group, a finite element model of the process has been created and validated for the thermo-mechanical analysis of the process. The model has been used for the study of the wall thickness evolution and peripherical distribution during process, the eccentricity and the polygonization effects. Results show that the tube velocity in the process is one of the factors affecting wall thickness eccentricity, due to mass flow conservation. Regarding polygonization and eccentricity effect it has been found that both effects increase in the rolling stands with higher reduction ratio, and are corrected afterwards. These effects are mainly due to the ovality of the rolls. However, the effect the different sliding velocity along roll perimeter has implications in the local deformation of the material in contact with the roll, causing local compressive stress areas in addition to the predominant tension areas.


We show that stability of the equilibrium of a family of interconnected scalar systems can be proved by using a sum of monotonic ${\mathcal C}^0$ functions as Lyapunov function. We prove this result in the general framework of nonlinear systems and then in the special case of Kolmogorov systems. As an application, it is then used to show that intra-specific competition can explain coexistence of several species in a chemostat where they compete for a single substrate. This invalidates the Competitive Exclusion Principle, that states that in the classical case (without this intra-specific competition), it is indeed known that only one of the species will survive.


Palaeoanthropology, the study of the fossil evidence for human evolution, remains a highly contested field. New discoveries are continuously being used to promote alternative models as well as to propose new candidates for our ultimate ancestor. The fossil evidence has increased over the years, and has been supplemented (and often challenged) by molecular data drawn from living people and the great apes. As recently as the 1980s, palaeoanthropologists proposed that human roots stretched back into the Middle Miocene, between 17 and 8 million years ago. Then the earliest true hominids or human ancestors became the South African australopithecines, who are less than 5 million years old. Now there appears to be a tremendous variety of early humans at all stages of their evolution. Along with this new research on the basal hominids has been a renewed interest about what it means to be Homo sapiens. Molecular and fossil data shows that Africa was also our homeland, and that all people today are descended from a small founder population in existence there between 50,000 and 200,000 years ago.


The local media landscape has become more complicated as citizens increasingly get news from the local community in other ways than through traditional local news media. Simultaneously with the est ...


Path planning is a necessary component of any autonomous vehicle. The task is one of nding a course that takes the vehicle from its current location to a destination avoiding obstacles that might damage or divert the vehicle. There are many forms of path planning algorithms such as those that pregenerate a path versus those that perform reactive run-time planning. This paper presents a two-dimensional pregenerating path planning algorithm that models the path as a line and compares a list of obstacles to this line to determine any collisions. Collisions are processed by selecting a point outside of the obstacle and recursively generating two new paths that avoid the collision by going around the obstacle. This paper will rst describe the STESCA control architecture for autonomous vehicles and then consider path planning. A few other path planning algorithms are described. This is followed by details of the algorithm developed in this research. The paper then presents a number of examples.


Three different varieties of kidney beans (White speckled kidney beans, Red small kidney beans and Black kidney beans) were analysed in this study for their physical properties viz. dimensions (length, width, thickness), arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, square mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, aspect ratio, volume, surface area, shape factor, bulk density, true density, porosity, thousand kernel mass and angle of repose. It was observed that length, width, thickness varied between 1.04-1.7, 0.66-0.79, 0.49-0.58 cm for three varieties of kidney beans, respectively. While the arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, square mean diameter and equivalent diameter were 0.73-1.00, 0.70-0.96, 1.23-1.62, and 0.88-1.19 cm2, respectively. Sphericity and aspect ratio ranged between 0.56-0.67 and 0.45-0.64, respectively for the three varieties of kidney beans. Porosity (%) as a function of bulk density and true density were 2.21-9.07(%) respectively. Volume, surface area and shape Factor varied between 0.20-0.58, 1.53-3.47 and 0.88-1.015 cm, respectively. M1000 was lowest for red small kidney beans (240g) and highest for black kidney beans (499g). The angle of repose of three varieties of kidney bean ranged between 21.74-23.790.


A tilt rotor VTOL UAV in tri-copter configuration is developed. The vehicle is modeled using the blade element formulation for the propulsion system, and the aerodynamic properties are obtained from a 3D panel code. Linear quadratic regulators and linear quadratic tracking controllers are designed for the attitude control of the aircraft in vertical takeoff and hover flight conditions. The vehicle is built and hover flight tests are carried out. The results demonstrate the success of the modeling carried out and the controller designed.


Contents:PrefacePART I: INTRODUCTION1. The Continuing Challenge of Global Intellectual Property RightsSubhash C. Jain and Robert BirdPART II: DEVELOPED NATIONS IN A GLOBAL MARKET2. Unifying the International Law of Business Method and Software PatentsLarry A. DiMatteo and Robert E. Thomas3. Secondary Liability for Intellectual Property Law Infringement in the International Arena: Framing the DialogueLynda J. Oswald4. Coming Attractions: Opportunities and Challenges in Thwarting Global Movie PiracyLucille M. Ponte, J.D.PART III: INDIA AND CHINA5. Protecting Well Known Marks in China: Challenges for Foreign Mark HoldersStephanie M. Greene6. India: A Study in Patent-Law EffectsGeorge T. Haley and Usha C.V. Haley7. Employee Disclosures of Trade Secrets in China: Prevention StrategiesMarisa Anne Pagnattaro8. The Indian Patent Matrix-Issues in Patent Amendment 2005V.C. Vivekanandan9. Intellectual Property, Foreign Direct Investment and the China ExceptionPeter K. YuPART IV: VALUE CAPTURE AND RETENTION STRATEGIES10. Protecting Unconventional Trademarks in the European Union and the United StatesWillajeanne F. MacLean11. National IPR Policies and Multinational R&D Strategies: An Interactive PerspectiveMinyuan Zhao and Bernard YeungPART V: PERSPECTIVES OF EMERGING NATIONS12. The Vulnerability of Middle Developed Countries to Changes in Foreign Investment Arising from Intellectual Property Reform in Developing Countries: Trade and Investment DimensionsDouglas Lippoldt13. A Skeptic's View of Intellectual Property RightsDonald G. RichardsIndex


This paper introduces the construction and function of power system static simulation system.The fault control part including fault offered,circuit breaker operated and switch change showed is discussed.The design of hardware and software is also presented. The tests in laboratory verify the validity of this scheme in static simulation system of power system.


As one of the most important brain-computer interface (BCI) systems, P300-Speller has been extensively studied and is attracting much public attention. According to user's ability of eye movements, two kinds of P300-Speller are existed-overt attention speller and covert attention speller. P300-Speller depends on the difference between event-related potential (ERP) evoked by target stimulus and non-target stimulus to achieve character recognition and output. In practical applications of P300-Speller, users may inevitably encounter complex situations and various mental activities that have proved to affect users' ERP. Therefore, it is suspected that mental workload will also affect the performance of P300-Speller. In the current study, the effect of mental workload on overt and covert attention P300-Speller was studied. 3-back and mental arithmetic tasks were performed based on the classical Farewell paradigm. The results under workload condition and zero-load condition were comparatively analyzed. They showed that mental workload in the forms of 3-back task and arithmetic task will lead to obviously lower recognition accuracy in both overt and covert attention pattern, attributed to the effect of mental workload on amplitude and discriminability of ERP. The impaired performance of P300-Speller caused by mental workload may be a challenge in the practical applications of P300-Speller.


We measure the effect of radiation damage on an on-chip mid-infrared methane gas sensor made using a spiral chalcogenide glass waveguide. The sensor is fabricated using UV lithography and a lift-off process after deposition of chalcogenide glass using a thermal evaporator. We measure the transmittance change of the sensor at varying concentrations of methane after varying doses of irradiation.


1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCI10N SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND THE CYTOSKELETON THE CYTOSKELETON AND DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION MARCKS AND MacMARCKS INTEGRATE SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND THE ACTIN CYTOSKELETON 2 CHAPTER TWO: MATERIALS AND METHODS REAGENTS CELL CULTURE BIOCHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES FUNCTIONAL ASSAYS MOLECULAR BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES GENERATION OF LACZ TRANSGENIC MICE GENERATION OF MacMARCKS NULL MICE 25 CHAPTER THREE: CHARACfERIZATION OF MacMARCKS IN SYNAPTOSOMES AND PC12 CELLS INTRODUCTION RESULTS DISCUSSION 47


This is a report of an investigation into the performance of 7 low-calcium (ASTM Class F) fly ashes in the high-volume fly ash concrete system. Concrete specimens were tested for compressive strength, Young's modulus of elasticity, creep strain, and resistance to chloride ion diffusion at various ages up to 1 year. The paper describes the study and discusses the results.


Moral education in elementary schools faces austere challenges. Effective measures should be adapted to enhance the pertinence and practical results of moral education from such aspects as the ways, carrying-out methods and forms of moral education and from the improvement of teachers?qualification.


Three new inorganic–organic hybrid frameworks, [Mn 2(BPTCA)(phen) 2·H 2O] n ( 1), [Mn 4(BPTCA) 2(H 2O) 10·2.5H 2O] n ( 2), and [Mn 2(BPTCA)(μ 2-H 2O) 2] n ( 3) (BPTCA 4− = 4,4′-bipyridine-2,2′,6,6′-tetracarboxylate; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Complex 1 is a two-dimensional (2D) network constructed by infinite O−Mn−O−C−O−Mn- chains and BPTCA 4− ligands, and an intriguing slide fastener-like three-dimensional (3D) framework structure is formed by the π···π interactions between the phen molecules. Complex 2 crystallized in a chiral space group P2 1 has a 2D network structure formed by Mn 4 cluster units and BPTCA 4− linkers, while complex 3 obtained at higher temperature than 2 is a 3D porous architecture. The result implies that the hydrothermal reaction temperature has a great influence on the structure of the complexes in this system. The magnetic behaviors of the complexes have been investigated and 2 showed modest powder second harmonic generation a...


A cold-active a-amylase was purified from culture su- pernatants of the antarctic psychrophile Alteromonas haloplanctis A23 grown at 4 "C. In order to contribute to the understanding of the molecular basis of cold adaptations, crystallographic studies of this cold-adapted enzyme have been initiated because a three- dimensional structure of a mesophilic counterpart, pig pancreatic a-amylase, already exists. a-Amylase from A. haloplanctis, which shares 53% sequence identity with pig pancreatic a-amylase, has been crystallized and data to 1.85 A have been collected. The space group is found to be C222, with a = 71.40 A, b = 138.88 A, and c = 115.66 A. Until now, a three-dimensional structure of a psy- chrophilic enzyme is lacking.


This research reports the results of cointegration tests between natural gas spot prices at various production fields, pipeline hubs, and city markets. Cointegration between prices is evidence that spatial arbitrage is enforcing the law of one price across market locations. The results show that prices at certain city markets, Chicago and to a lesser extent California, are cointegrated with prices in field markets. However, the prices at most other locations do not move in step with gas prices in the field markets. Customer access to pipeline transportation, or competitive bypass, may explain why prices at some city markets are more responsive to production field prices than others. 15 refs., 2 tabs.


Nowadays situation assessment in various scenarios depends on communication networks, information stored in various data stores (information networks), and knowledge of the roles and relations that particular people are involved in (social networks). In order to come up with a high-fidelity situation assessment, information from these three networks must be integrated consistently into a coherent situation model. This is a difficult task for humans to perform due to various reasons, e.g., interruptions, stress (emergency, war) and complexities of social relationships (trust). A tool (Network Composer) that would support people in assessing situations is desirable, but non-existent. In this paper we analyze the behavior of a Network Composer on a scenario in which two types of network are involved. The scenario deals with organizing a "trusted meeting" (treated as a situation) over a communication network, following some rules of trust. Information about the status of the meeting and the various people is stored in data stores associated with communication nodes. In this scenario, Network Composer would support a human in answering the question whether the preconditions for such a meeting have been satisfied, i.e., whether it is possible that the meeting will happen. To assess the concept of Network Composer we represent information flowing though these networks in the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and rules, and emulate the inferential behavior of the tool using a generic inference engine. The tool is analyzed using various scenarios of information flow in the different types of network.


Introduction:
 It is unknown whether stroke risk is increased in the setting of large-artery atherosclerotic plaque that does not cause significant luminal stenosis.

 Hypothesis:
 We hypothesized that the prevalence of vulnerable, non-stenosing carotid artery plaque on the side ipsilateral to an acute brain infarction would be higher than on the contralateral side.

 Methods:
 Using a prospective stroke registry, we identified patients with acute infarction limited to the vascular territory of one internal carotid artery (ICA) and no large-vessel atherosclerosis based on the common criterion of greater than or equal to 50% luminal stenosis. We used magnetic resonance angiography to ascertain vulnerable ICA plaque, as defined by the presence of intraplaque high-intensity signal (IHIS). We used McNemar's test for correlated proportions to compare the prevalence of IHIS on the side ipsilateral to acute infarction versus the contralateral side within individual subjects.

 Results:
 We analyzed 218 arteries in 109 unique patients. IHIS-positive ICA plaque was found in 31 arteries (14.2%), with 22 IHIS-positive lesions occurring ipsilateral to the side of the patient's infarction versus 9 IHIS-positive lesions contralateral to the side of infarction (P = 0.01). When stratified by stroke subtype (See Figure which includes representative MRA images), IHIS was associated with infarctions that were classified as of unknown etiology (P < 0.001), but not in those due to cardioembolism (P = 0.76) or small-vessel occlusion (P = 0.49).

 Conclusion:
 We found an association between vulnerable, non-hemodynamically-significant ICA plaque and acute brain infarction. This association held true only in the subset of patients with stroke of undetermined etiology, suggesting that non-stenosing large-artery atherosclerotic lesions may explain some proportion of cryptogenic strokes.