Objective To discuss carotid artery ultrasound method to diagnose early atherosclerosis of obese adolescents.Methods Choose 47 moderate and severe obese adolescents and 36 natural adolescents randomly in Dandong city in July 2006,and they were checked in carotid artery with ultrasound.Results In obese adolescents,the internal membranes were rough and unslick,with bad continuity and locational incrassation.The thickness of internal membrane(IMT) in common carotid artery was higher in obese adolescents than in natural ones(P0.05),and the early atherosclerosis change of common carotid artery had positive correlation with obese degree (P0.05).Conclusion Obese adolescents may subsequently have atherosclerosis,and carotid artery ultrasound can be a preferred method to diagnose atherosclerosis.


This paper describes the preliminary design, structural layout, detailed sizing and manufacturing of an uninhabited air vehicle (UAV) that will primarily be used to measure changes in glacial conditions in Antarctica and Greenland. This includes a brief description of the requirements definition and preliminary configuration design. Preliminary component weight estimations are created using empirical formulas then compared to the results of structural sizing using finite element analyses. The goal of this effort is to design an aircraft capable of autonomous operation in extreme climates that can carry various sensors including radar depth sounders and magnetometers.


A novel methodology for the evaluation of the response of coated substrates to mechanical contact is presented which is based on the combination of a new theoretical method and high-accuracy indentation experiments using a spherical diamond indenter, The concept may be extended in many respects and will be illustrated here only with few special examples: Using low loads, i.e. staying completely in the elastic region, the elastic parameters of film and substrate can be measured with high accuracy. When the indentation experiments is extended until failure of the coating substrate compound, the full stress and strain fields in three dimensions in the very moment of failure can be calculated. The knowledge of those fields enables one to draw conclusions on the relevant mechanisms. Once the failure mode has been identified, layer systems with optimum resistance to that failure mechanism can be found by theoretical simulations.


Faults and fracture networks within the oceanic crust influence the pattern of hydrothermal circulation. This circulation changes the primary composition and structure of the crust as it evolves, particularly the upper crust (layer 2), through the secondary alteration of minerals and the infilling and 'sealing' of cracks. Processes influencing the extent and depth within the crust of these changes are not currently well known. Alteration can be investigated by observing changes in the seismic velocity structure of the crust, while analysis of seismic anisotropy within the upper crust reveals the nature of aligned faults and fractures acting as fluid pathways.


Objective To discuss the effects of benign breast tumor surgery curved incision through the areola.Methods All of 90 cases with benign breast tumor were randomly divided into study and control group(each with 45 cases).Control group were treated by traditional surgery,and study group were treated by curved incision through the areola.Results The average surgery time,amount of bleeding and wound infection of two groups had no significance(P 0.05).The scar unacceptable rate of study group was lower than control group(P 0.05).Satisfaction rate of study group was higher than control group(P 0.05).Conclusion The effects and safety of curved incision through areola and traditional surgery are the same,but curved incision through areola could reduce the scar and contain the breast beauty.


A novel solid phase microextraction(SPME) fiber coated with open chain crown ether( α,ω diallyltriethlene glycol, DATEG)/hydroxy terminated silicone oil(OH TSO) was prepared by sol gel approach and cross linking step. The adsorption and desorption properties of the new SPME fiber to polar compounds such as aromatic amines, non polar compounds such as benzene homologue and high boiling compound such as phthalate esters were investigated by SPME coupled with GC FID, and the results were compared with those of commercially available fibers. The new coating provided a better extraction efficiency and possessed a significantly stable performance at a high temperature(300 ℃) in solvents, as well as long life span(200 times). Under the experimental conditions used, the detection limits were 0 1-1 5 μg/L for aromatic amines and 0 03-0 3 μg/L for benzene homologue, and the precisions were below 8%( n =5).


Audio classification based on statistical learning has attracted widespread attention and been widely put into some commercial application, because of better theoretical foundation and simple implementation mechanisms. Based on exploration the theory of the classical logistic regression (LR) and kernel logistic regression (KLR), a novel approach for audio classifier is put forward with the help of KLR in this paper. It is used to handle music from the same type of musical instruments. Music signals are collected with violin, viola and cello, and all the signals are preprocessed to extract features. The processed samples are used in experiments, while the classification performances are compared with 3 different kernel functions. Simulation results show that KLR performs better than traditional LR on classification accuracy and has better non-linear processing ability. Furthermore, KLR model with RBF kernel function can have a better stability besides good prediction performances.


Session JA5 includes short reports concerning: (1) NASA/NIH Neurolab Collaborations; (2) Neurolab Mission: An Example of International Cooperation; (3) Neurolab: An Overview of the Planned Scientific Investigations; (4) EDEN: A Payload for NEUROLAB, dedicated to Neuro Vestibular Research; (5) Neurolab Experiments on the Role of Visual Cues in Microgravity Spatial Orientation; and (6) The Role of Space in the Exploration of the Mammalian Vestibular System.


A binocular camera module is provided with a lens array that has a plurality of lenses arranged on the same plane, wherein an image picking-up unit the lens array covers a plurality of image picking-up regions to which a plurality of object images formed by the plurality of the lenses are projected with one-to-one relation and converts the plurality of the projected images to electric signals, a plurality of optical stops corresponding to the plurality of the lenses with one-to-one relation, and an optical stop positioned opposite to the image picking-up unit with respect to the lens array, wherein an absolute difference value between the line expansion rates of a material composing the lens array and a material composing the optical stop is equal to or less than 0.7 x 10-5/ C.


We are developing a set of software applications that simulate and animate physical systems such as traffic at an intersection, and monorail and elevator systems. We call the software applications "virtual experiments," and use them to teach digital controller design. These software applications run on a PC or a Macintosh to provide real-time simulations and animation which interact with an external controller via the computer's IO port. The students design different problems in which the controller receives information about the state of the system and sends the control signals to the virtual experiment software application. The students can solve these control problems using software solutions, e.g., via a microcontroller, and hardware/firmware solutions via Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The courses that can use this teaching tool include design with microcontroller and digital systems (FPGA) design.


chapter 1 General Introduction chapter 2 General Planning for Data Collection chapter 3 Macro Policies on Agriculture in Nigeria chapter 4 Decentralization and Agricultural Policies of Nigeria chapter 5 The Effect of Decentralization on Agricultural Policies and Output chapter 6 Summary and Policy Recommendations chapter 7 Appendices chapter 8 Bibliography


Modeling of active power filter (APF) is important in knowing about the process of power converting and designing controller with good performance. The equivalent voltage-source circuit model was constructed based on shunt voltage-source APF, which was studied widely now. A point of view in frequency-domain energy-converting was presented and the corresponding model was constructed by analyzing the energy and power exchanges between APF and the power system. The mathematic analysis of the model based on state space showed the harmonic-damping feature of the fundamental control component. APF is with passive character in frequency-domain and the operation principle of APF was explained. On the base of the frequency-domain energy- converting model, an iterative learning control strategy was presented. The voltage of DC-side capacitor was controlled by an additional PI close-loop. Simulation and experimental results show the view and the model are correct and the controller designed based on the model is valid.


Abstract In quantum computing and quantum control, the investigation of the C-numerical range is of great importance. One relevant optimization problem can be represented as maximizing the trace function ℜ(tr (UA†U†C)) subject to the unitary matrix conditions U†U = In,UU† = In. To solve this NP-hard problem, the Positivstellensatz from the real algebraic geometry is used to construct a dual relaxation problem, which is represented with a linear objective function subject to some matrix inequalities constraints. In general this results in some bilinear terms with respect to the decision variables in the matrix constraints. Instead of further relaxation to those bilinear terms, so that a pure linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) optimization problem is derived, we reformulate this dual structure as a generalized eigenvalue problem (GEVP) with some LMIs constraints and some linear-fractional LMIs conditions. The GEVP dual relaxation provides a tractable approach for finding high quality bounds to the hard primal problem under acceptable computational effort. Numerical results of a benchmark example from quantum computing are presented and demonstrate that the improved approach yields much more competitive bound of the C-numerical range in comparison with other methods.


We presented a comprehensive study of optimized loading of ultracold Cs atoms in a magnetic levitated crossed dipole trap. Moreover, we analyzed the optimized experimental parameters of the dipole laser for the opening time and the power intensity prior to switching on the magnetic field which formed the magnetically levitated dipole trap. The number of atoms as the function of sweep time from distinct laser power intensity to a fixed one is measured. And beyond that, the variation of atoms with the dipole laser power intensity per beam was studied experimentally ranging from 0 W cm−2 to a fixed one for loading the dipole trap, and the number of atoms can be increased up to a maximum of ∼1.67 × 106. Our research demonstrates that the 'pre-loading process' plays a crucial role in enhancing the loading efficiency of an optical dipole trap.


Objectives. The Little Owl is the most common owl in the Western Palearctic and its population is declining significantly in Europe. Therefore, conservation and study of this owl is an important issue in most European countries. Analysis of trophic patterns at the local level provides interesting and valuable information about the predator's eating habits. The owl's diet investigation allows us to analyze their potential adaptations to habitats with different levels of environmental transformation. Materials and Methods. We studied nutrition of the Little Owl Athene noctua, in agricultural lands of Berehove district of Transcarpathian region in Ukraine. In total, 1446 pellets were collected at 15 pellet stations in 2002–2020 and 2506 prey items were identified. The prey items represented 18 vertebrate species (16 species of small mammals of three orders Rodentia, Soricomorpha, Carnivora, as well as reptiles of the family Lacertidae and birds of the order Passeriformes and arthropods. Results. Vertebrates play a major role in feeding the Little Owl (over 99 % of total prey biomass in all of the studied sites). The common vole is the most common prey in the owl's diet (52.1 % of the total prey number and 67.5 % of the biomass of the prey caught), as well as a high proportion of mice of the genus Apodemus and Sylvaemus. The contribution of invertebrates to total prey biomass is insignificant (0.3 %). A large number of invertebrates were observed in the diet of the Owl in summer and were almost completely absent in winter. Conclusions. According to our data, the Little Owl is a typical predator generalist in Transcarpathia. The 28 taxa found in the pellets show a wide range of food objects in a relatively small area, and high level adaptations to habitats with different levels of environmental transformation (agrosystems and anthropogenic areas).


AbstractFree-form grid structures have been widely used in various public buildings, and many are bounded by complex curves including internal voids. Modern computational design software enables th...


Report discussing the philosophy of measurement assurance and the three levels of measurement assurance programs. The measurement assurance programs are outlined to show how control over the measurement process can be maintained and how the offset (or systematic error) from the unit of length maintained by the National Bureau of Standards ban be made negligible. This monograph is intended for those who need to know on a continuing basis the uncertainty of their gage block calibration procedure.


: In the present communication ionophoretic technique has been used for the study of Feiii, Cu 11, Ni 11, Co 11-cystine binary and Felli, Cu 11, Ni 11, Coli-cystine-NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid) mixed complexes. The stability constants of metal-cystine binary complexes are found to be 107.80, 106.90, 105.10, 104.66 and the stability constants of metal-cystine NTA mixed complexes have been found to be 105.18, 104.88, 104.76, 104.10 for Fem, Cu 11, Ni 11 and Co 11 complexes respectively at~ = 0.1 M (HCI0 4) and 25 •c.


Ultrafiltration (UF) represents an important option for the advanced wastewater treatment as it offers good performances from both technical and economical points of view, for the removal of suspended solids, colloids and some of the organic compounds present in different effluents. The occurrence of priority organic pollutants in wastewaters streams and the environment has raised intensive scientific debates about their effects and the possible abatement technologies. As part of a broader study regarding the use of advanced treatment technologies for the removal of priority organic pollutants from wastewaters, this paper presents some results on the performance of ultrafiltration for the removal of 4-chlorophenol and colloids from synthetic wastewaters. A laboratory scale ultrafiltration set-up fitted with 6000 MWCO polyethersulfone membranes was used for the study of UF parameters influence (pressure, mode of operation and cleaning conditions) on the removal efficiencies of two components (4chlorophenol and colloids) present in synthetic wastewaters at different concentrations, simulating various qualities for recycling industrial effluents. The results have shown that, depending on process parameters like pressure, membrane cleaning status and initial pollutant load, it is possible to achieve removal efficiencies of up 90% for 4-chlorophenol and 100% for colloids.


As we study and reflect on "Religious Education for Peace and Justice," we want to get somewhere, but not just anywhere. The last thing we want or can afford is for the Religious Education Association to be "full of sound and fury signifying nothing." REA was founded to be a voice not only among a broad range of practitioners, scholars, and administrators in religious education, but also to the international public sector. Our topic is vital to all and should be heard by all those audiences. Further, as an international and ecumenical organization, REA is in a unique position to address matters of peace and justice in a world in conflict at every level, from domestic violence to international conflicts based on economics, resources, and religious differences. I harbor no illusions (nor delusions) that, as a result of our considerations in our meeting last November or in this issue of our journal, we will awake within the next few months to a utopia in which all is peace and harmony and where (to paraphrase Isaiah and Micah of the Jewish and Christian canon) all swords have been beaten into plowshares and all spears into pruning hooks. Rather, my hope is that each of us will find ways in which—step by step, person by person, congregation by congregation, classroom by classroom—our service as religious educators will open the hearts and minds of those whom we teach and serve, to


Establish a method,in which active carbon adsorbs carbon bisulfide desorption-gas chromatography analyses micro benzene series.The method is simple and highly sensitive,which can meet the needs of actual work,and facilitate the rapid analysis.


The Northern Song Dynasty has been militarily weak and fragile in border defence due to the implementation of ill-conceived policies such as focusing on the minor and belittling the important.After transferred to be the general on north-western forefront,FAN Zhong-yan establishes a system called "Ying Tian(Camp Field)",which is aimed to solve the army's logistic problems.In addition,he also sets up a system called "Shi Bing(Soldier)" with a view to selecting best generals and soldiers out of the recruits from the local places.He also proposes to mount local offensive attacks as a proactive defence strategy,thus perfecting the system of defence.The result of his efforts is that peace accord has been reached between the Song Dynasty and the Xia Dynasty and a new detente prevails on the north-western front.


This paper considers the problem of stabilizing amulti-inputmulti-output linear time varying system using a singularly perturbed controller and a model matching controller. The closed loop is a linear singularly perturbed system with uniform asymptotic stability behavior. We calculate bounds ε ∈ (0, ε*) as in the book of Kokotović, Khalil and O'Reilly, such that the uniform asymptotic stability of the singularly perturbed system is guaranteed.


The directed and elliptic flow of protons and charged pions has been observed from the semi-central collisions of a 158 GeV/nucleon Pb beam with a Pb target. The rapidity and transverse momentum dependence of the flow has been measured. The directed flow of the pions is opposite to that of the protons but both exhibit negative flow at low p t . The elliptic flow of both is fairly independent of rapidity but rises with p t . The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particle emission from the interaction of a 158 GeV/nucleon Pb beam with a Pb target has been studied in the two main Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) of CERN SPS experiment NA49. 1 The TPCs, situated downstream of two large dipole magnets, cover a large region of phase space forward of mid-rapidity. Identification of protons and pions is performed by measurements of energy loss of the detected particles in the gas of the TPCs. The large phase-space acceptance allows event-by-event study of the angular correlations of the particles from the interaction. It is thought that angular correlations generated by collective flow retain some signature of the effective pressure achieved at maximum compression in the interaction. 2, 3 This is the first study of directed and elliptic flow as a function of rapidity and transverse momentum for collisions of the heaviest nuclei at the highest bombarding energy presently available. Usually three kinds of flow in the plane transverse to the beam are considered: radial transverse flow, directed flow, and elliptic flow. For central collisions which are azimuthally isotropic, only radial transverse flow is allowed. One of its effects is to raise the apparent temperature of the single-particle transverse momentum spectra. For non-central collisions, a plane can be determined for each event describing the azimuthal anisotropy of the event, and directed and elliptic flow can be identified from the azimuthal anisotropy of the particles with respect to this plane. In a Fourier expansion 4-6 of the azimuthal distribution of the particles with respect to this plane the amplitude of the first harmonic of the distribution corresponds to the directed flow which was discovered at the Bevalac. 7 One of the 4 to 6, and transverse momenta from 0.05 to 1.0 GeV/c were used to determine the orientation of the event plane. They had a mean observed multiplicity of about 170. They were also used for the results which are integrated over rapidity and p t . The sample identified as pions had momenta between 3 and 50 GeV/c and was thought to be highly enriched in pions based on fits of four Gaussian distributions (p, K, p , e) to the energy-loss spectra. This pion sample had an observed rapidity distribution peaked around 4 and a observed mean multiplicity of about 120. This pion sample was used for the results to be presented as a function of rapidity and p t .


Potential transmitting materials for the STIS mission are being considered for order sorters, in-flight calibration filters, detector windows and calibration lamps. In this paper we examine the changes in spectral transmission characteristics with radiation dosage during a mission lifetime. A radiation environment for a 593 km altitude, 28 degree inclination orbit, for solar minimum and solar maximum, assuming a spherical shielding of 2 gms/cm2 has been assumed. The dosage for protons is 0.392 Krad (Al)/Yr. and 0.217 Krad (Al)/Yr. for solar minimum and solar maximum respectively. To simulate the mission radiation environment Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory (HCL) has been used. Spectral transmission was measured between 210 nm and 3200 nm using a Perkin Elmer Lambda 9 monochromator. Below 210 nm a one meter McPherson vacuum monochromator was used. Transmission curves for all samples were obtained before irradiation and compared for equality in transmission.


The Supreme Court has staked out new legal ground by ruling that a judge has the right to deny a patient with schizophrenia (or anyone with a mental illness) the right to represent himself or herself in a trial—even though the court deemed him mentally qualified to stand trial.


Recently, the Talbot-Lau interferometer based multi-contrast x-ray imaging method has attracted a lot of research interests. From the same image acquisition, this new imaging method can provide three sets of images with three endogenous contrast mechanisms: absorption contrast, differential phase contrast (DPC), and dark-field contrast. Studies have shown that the DPC imaging may provide superior contrast sensitivity for certain types of soft tissues, and dark-field imaging is particularly sensitive to certain fine structures such as microcalcifications in the breast. Therefore, multi-contrast x-ray imaging provides a potential opportunity to address some of the inherent limitations of the conventional x-ray absorption contrast imaging, for example, the relatively low soft tissue contrast sensitivity. However, the current implementation methods of multi-contrast xray imaging also have several technical challenges that need to be addressed before its full clinical potential can be demonstrated. The main challenges include the prolonged imaging time and the relatively low radiation dose efficiency for the absorption contrast imaging.


Spin-lattice relaxation times T 1 and T 1ρ for protons in solid 2-methyl-2-propanethiol are presented. The relaxation measurements corroborate the existence of three solid-solid transitions and give some insight into their nature. The motions occurring in the respective phase modifications are discussed and their activation parameters derived.


Synchronized Phasor measurement units (PMUs) are of prime necessity in the Smart Electric Grid Architecture. Knowledge on voltage and current Phasor helps in power system state estimation, monitoring and control. This paper deals with the development of a laboratory prototype of PMU. Synchrophasor estimation algorithms are modelled using LabVIEW. The model is burned into FPGA based controller to achieve an online Phasor measurement system. The developed prototype is used against a dynamic transmission system model consisting of single phase voltage source connected to a load by a transmission line. The paper also studies the effect of the line impedance on the Phasor estimates. Finally, the accuracy of the Phasor estimate from the developed model is verified.


DNA and proteins have long been viewed as the movers and shakers in genomic studies, with RNA sometimes seen as no more than mere messengers shuttling information between the two. This view, however, dramatically changed when the key roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in gene expression were gradually disclosed over the last decade.1,2


The squeezing properties of the fluorescence field emitted by a two-level atom driven by a coherent laser field in a squeezed vacuum are calculated. We show that in the region of the anomalous resonance fluorescence the emitted field exhibits squeezing that is much larger than that in the input squeezed vacuum. The squeezing spectrum attains a minimum value that corresponds to 75% squeezing. We also find that, in the total fluorescence field, squeezing attains an optimum achievable value in the fluorescence field emitted by a two-level atom. The optimum squeezing is associated with the collapse of the system into a pure state.


Cox regression model has an important and glaring place in survival analysis. The key assumption is proportional hazards and violation of this assumption can invalidate outcomes of a study. Our approach will be to use Cox regression model with weighted estimation for a survival data set that includes both proportional and nonproportional hazards.  We carried out a simulation study, considering different censoring rates, sample sizes, and tied observations. Simulation results are interpreted and discussed with the results obtained by traditional Cox regression model. Cox regression model with N-Prentice weighting function serves as a better model under all simulation scenarios


We are developing a system of interferometers to measure relative motion between two objects (for example, the two final focus quadrupoles of a linear collider) to a few nanometers. Two instruments are under developmentin the John Adams Institute at the University of Oxford : A distance meter to measure length changes and a straightness monitor to measure perpendicular shifts. We will present the technique, results and resolutions of our distance meter prototype. We also examine the applications of interferometers at the ILC.


A number of studies to-date suggest that poor sleep quality and short sleep duration are associated with development of glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes in the general population.Moreover, studies in pregnant women have found associations between sleep disturbance and development of impaired glucose tolerance and gestational diabetes (GDM). However, there remains limited research on the relationship between sleep quality, sleep duration and glucose control in pregnant women with established GDM. The present study therefore aimed to determine whether sleep quality and sleep duration is associated with glycemic control in pregnant women with GDM during the third trimester. Sixty five women with GDM were recruited from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Data were collected at 30–32 weeks gestation. Glucose control was assessed using 6 days of blinded continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) using an iPro2 device (Medtronic). Sleep was assessed using a validated sleep questionnaire (the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI). Linear regression (adjusted for pre-pregnancy BMI and age) was performed to assess the association between total PSQI score, self-reported sleep duration and CGM measures of glucose control including: percentage of time in pregnancy target glucose range 3·5–7·8 mmol/l; area under the curve (AUC) >7·8 mmol/l; standard deviation (SD) of glucose values; average glucose level; and total number of glucose excursions. Our results show that a higher PSQI score (indicating poorer sleep quality) was associated with: a lower proportion of time in glucose target (β −0·69; 95 % CI −1·22 to −0·15); a greater AUC above target (β 0·01; 95 % CI 0·002 to 0·017); a higher SD glucose signifying higher variability in glucose levels (β 0·02; 95 % CI 0·004 to 0·04) ; a higher average glucose levels (β 0·04; 95 % CI 0·007 to 0·079); and a greater number of glucose excursions (β 0·46; 95 % CI 0·066 to 0·852). On the other hand longer sleep duration was associated with: a higher proportion of time within glucose target (β 1·33; 95 % CI 0·086 to 2·58); a smaller AUC above target (β −0·02; 95 % CI −0·033 to 0·002); and a lower SD glucose (β −0·05; 95 % CI −0·097 to −0·008).


A novel method for the characterization of metal containing biological compounds has been developed which utilizes both nuclear activation [e.g., 12C(aHe, t~)ltC] and atomic activations (X-ray emission) induced by 8 MeV a He bombardment. Detection limits for carbon (~ 1 pg), oxygen (~ 1 pg), and metals (1 to 10 ng for elements between P and Zn) were obtained under routine experimental conditions. The metal stoichiometty of six different compounds (alkaline phosphatase, amylase, carbonic anhydrase, diamine oxidase, myoglobin, vitamin B t 2) were determined with typical relative precisions of +25% for a 40 pg sample. A comparison of these ratios with carbon and metal measurements obtained by other methods showed a relative accuracy of 1 to 20%.


Piper is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Traditionally, this
plant is used for medicinal purposes.This study aims to determine the relationship
between the content of the antioxidant compound with the highest antioxidant
activity in Piper leaves methanol and chloroform extracts. Piper leaves were dried
and macerated using chloroform and methanol. Obtained extract was tested by
DPPH antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and total flavonoid content.
Species with highest antioxidant activity was tested the ability of the extract to
inhibit the oxidation by hydroxyl radicals on DNA. Antioxidant activity was
analyzed using ANOVA. The results show that the highest antioxidant activity
was P. acutilimbum leaves methanol extract with inhibition values 70.81 %,and
quersetin by 94,17 %. The highest total phenol content was the P. acutilimbum
leaves methanol extract 39.46 mgGAE/g. The highest total flavonoid content was
P. majusculum leaf chloroform extract 46.62 mgQE/g. Good relationships
between phenolic content and radical DPPH scavenging activity (R= 0,6882) was
found. Comparison of antioxidant activity between P. acutilimbum stems and
leaves obtained that the leaves have higher antioxidant activity than the stem with
each value is 70.81 % and 9.24 %. Methanol extract of P. acutilimbum leaves with
concentrations of 150 I¼g/mL and 150 I¼g/mL of quersetin were able to inhibit the
oxidation reaction caused by hydroxyl radicals on the plasmid. From these results,
it can be concluded that Piper leaves have a potential source as the antioxidant
compounds, especially P. acutilimbum leaves.


Cu/GaAs(110) and Cu/InP(110) interfaces prepared at room temperature and 80 K low temperature have been studied using photoelectron spectroscopy. The temperature effect on the interface reactivity and the Fermi level pinning is quite different at these two interfaces despite the fact that the Cu overlayer morphology changes in the same way. For Cu/GaAs, the interfacial chemical reaction is suppressed at low temperature and the Fermi level pinning pattern varies significantly. In contrast, little change in the reaction for InP at low temperature, and consequently lack of temperature dependence of the Fermi level pinning is observed. The results provide insight into the Schottky barrier formation.


The production of electricity by nuclear power plants is an important and essential source of electricity in the world. Nuclear energy has had its ups and downs throughout history. The question emerges: what is the role of nuclear energy in today's energy transition? The production of electricity by nuclear power plants would have likely been a dominant source of energy had it not been for nuclear catastrophes (such as Chernobyl and Fukushima), which have had an impact on the public's negative perception regarding the safety of nuclear power plants. There are many reasons which confirm this thesis. Nuclear power plants do not produce greenhouse gases, require less space to operate in comparison with other non-carbon and carbon-neutral energy options, safety measures have been perfected etc. The aim of this thesis is to describe the current situation in the production of electricity from nuclear capacities, the position of the Croatia with regard to nuclear energy, with an analysis of the nuclear power plant Krsko, its positive and negative influence on the environment, but also its comparative advantages in the production of electricity in the future. This thesis analyses whether nuclear energy has a future with regard to a gradual replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.


During the entire course of this study, 87 samples of raw milk were collected from nine different dairy farms in the State of Kuwait. Later, 267 samples of pasteurized milk samples were collected and analyzed for physico-chemical and sensory parameters. The pH of raw milk collected from different dairy farms ranged between 6.80 to 7.03 and 6.14 to 6.99 during summer and winter seasons, respectively. The titrable acidity values for these milk samples ranged between 0.147 to 0.190% and 0.150 to 0.180% for summer and winter seasons, respectively. As expected, all raw milk samples gave a positive Rutger's phosphatase test. The clot-on-boiling test was negative on these milk samples. The pH and acidity values for the pasteurized milk samples collected from both the local dairy plants and one importer ranged between 6.57 to 6.98 and 0.150 to 0.170%, respectively. Thus, the pasteurized milk from both the local dairy plants and the importer were found to be within the acceptable limits of processed milk quality. The panels did not observe any difference in sensory quality attributes of pasteurized milk samples collected from different cooperative markets and the dairy plants. The pasteurized milk being sold by both these local dairy plants has good sensory acceptance, as these milk samples compared well with those studies reported in the literature from around the world.


The aim of this article is to identify relationships between crime rate and some socio-economic, demographic and environmental factors in the poviats of Poland. There were analysed cross – sectional data using regression tree. The following factors were found to significantly explain the intensity of crime rate: urbanisation, percentage of single-person households, provided accommodation per 1000 population, divorce's coefficient and the intensity of crime in the neighboring areas. Then the random forest was used to improve prediction's accuracy and generate rank of variable importance.


We consider a sheet bunch represented by a random sample ofN simulation particles moving in a 4D phase space. The mean field (='self field') of the bunch is computed from Maxwell's equations in the lab frame with a smoothed charge/current density. The particles are tracked in the beam frame, thus requiring a transformation of densities from lab to beam frame. We seek improvements in speed and practicality in two directions: (a) choice of integration variables and quadrature rules for the field calculation; and (b) finding smooth densities from scattered data. For item (a) we compare our singularity-free formula with the retarded time as integration variable, which we currently use, with a formula based on Frenet-Serret coordinates. The latter suggests good approximations in different regions of the retardation distance which could save both time and storage. For item (b) we discuss Fourier vs. kernel density estimation and mention quasi vs. pseudo-random sampling.


Based on lithofacies, petrology and geochemistry in the Yingou massive sulfide deposit, it is pointed out that indicating minerals for ore mineralization are assemblage of barite, quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite, indicating elements are Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, As, Sb, W, Mo and Ba. Vertical and horizontal zonations of indicating minerals and elements are discussed. Barite veins or caps and pyritization belt are prospecting criteria. Geological environment and forming condition of massive sulfide deposit caused by Er'langping group marine volcanic rocks are analyzed, and mineralization perspectives and prospecting direction in the area are pointed out.


This paper empirically investigates the role of established country-to-country trade networks as an important consideration in exploring evidence for the income convergence across countries. Using the ,6-convergence criterion we demonstrate that within trading networks, poorer economies grow faster than richer ones so that they converge in per capita income. To validate this result we estimate Monte Carlo models that simulate the characterization on ,6-convergence in randomly created trading networks of 8 to 23 member countries. We find that it is less likely to find income convergence in our randomly created trading networks than in the trading networks that are formed as part of existing trade relationships. This result reaffirms the argument that countries who have established trade relationships within a trade network are more likely to experience Income convergence. TRIDE NETWORKS AND P,;,CONVERGENCE OF PER CAPITA INCOME WITIDN THE NETWORK.


Based on the basic principle of the vibration control for structures,the branch-and-bound Hrovat optimal control algorithm is employed in the study of the semi-active variable damping control for large aqueduct structures.The dynamic model and motion equations of the large aqueduct are set up,and the active variable damping algorithm of semi-active control is introduced here.The differences of longitudinal seismic response under no control,semi-active control and active control are compared and calculated.It is concluded from the study results that the active variable damping control device can effectively control the response of longitudinal virations.The Hrovat optimal control algorithm can track and achieve the avtive control for the target effectively.


In this paper I is an element of Z8, S is a non empty 1-sorted structure, t is an element of the carrier of S, and x is a set. Let R be a good ring. The functor SCM(R) yields a strict AMI over {the carrier of R} and is defined by the conditions (Def. 1). (Def. 1)(i) The objects of SCM(R) = N, (ii) the instruction counter of SCM(R) = 0, (iii) the instruction locations of SCM(R) = Instr-LocSCM, (iv) the instruction codes of SCM(R) = Z8, (v) the instructions of SCM(R) = InstrSCM(R), (vi) the object kind of SCM(R) = OKSCM(R), and (vii) the execution of SCM(R) = ExecSCM(R). Let R be a good ring, let s be a state of SCM(R), and let a be an element of Data-LocSCM. Then s(a) is an element of R. Let R be a good ring. An object of SCM(R) is called a Data-Location of R if: (Def. 2) It ∈ (the objects of SCM(R)) \ (Instr-LocSCM ∪ {0}). For simplicity, we use the following convention: R is a good ring, r is an element of the carrier of R, a, b, c, d1, d2 are Data-Location of R, and i1 is an instruction-location of SCM(R). Next we state the proposition


Thank you for reading weaver of dreams the girlhood of charlotte bronte. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their chosen novels like this weaver of dreams the girlhood of charlotte bronte, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious virus inside their desktop computer.


This article examines the emergency election campaign launched by the Haredi parties in anticipation of the 2013 general elections in Israel, in order to attract the votes of those generally perceived as their automatic supporters – the Haredim. The 2013 campaign was a struggle for the 'converted' – the Haredi vote – amongst UTJ and Shas supporters alike. The battle was fought openly and assertively. The intensive efforts ultimately achieved what may be described as an uneasy electoral stability. The reasons for this situation, and how the Haredi parties addressed it, is the subject of this article.


The article below contains the calculation analysis of the overpressure (of the direct and reflected waves) in closed space and its particular analysis. The work observes the method of assessing the consequences of the baric impact on the people who turned out to be in the affected area.


This study examines the effect of role of accountants on the use of strategic management accounting, and the effect of role of accountants, use of strategic management accounting on integrated performance. This study uses primary data through surveys of General Manager (Leader of Hotel) star hotels in the region of Southern Sumatera. 134 questionnaires were submitted to the General Manager (Leader of Hotel). The questionnaire used in this study a number of 118 (88.06 %). Data were analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Partial Least Squares (PLS), using WarpPLS software version 5.0. The results indicate that the role of accountants has a positive effect on the use of strategic management accounting, the role of accountants and the use of strategic management accounting has a positive affects on integrated performance.


Over the past 15 years or so, Clinical Ethics Committees (CECs) have been established in many healthcare settings in the UK. How do they work, who sits on them, and what do they discuss? How formal should they be? Should their decisions be binding on clinicians, or purely advisory? Should they offer their services to patients and their families too? Are they valuable additions to clinical support, or simply intellectual talking-shops for their members? Should other countries set up CECs as part of their own approach to Clinical Ethics?


The synthesis by microwave irradiation and the biological results of novel benzotriazinone and saccharine derivatives with potential antidiarrhoeal activity is described. Conventional and microwave heatings were compared for the reactions. Good yields and short reaction times are the main advantages of our synthetic route. Among the tested compounds, compound 12 inhibited motility both in in‐vitro and in‐vivo tests.


Collaborating the perspectives of socialization and self regulation of learning in peer group, the research examines the practical mechanism of students' self regulation in learning at university. Individuals' self regulation in learning and the influence from the ambient of peer group were explored through the lens of regulation in different aspects of individuals' metacognition, which are monitoring and self-regulation. Based on specific background of course learning, representing students' transacting from pre-tertiary courses to professional degree courses, the findings of research showed that deficiency in knowledge at level of metacognition limited students' abilities of self regulation in learning when facing with novel and high level knowledge. It might be the blind spot of present higher education and its impaction might be extending and sprawling.


[Author Affiliation]Alan Ravitz. Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Child Mind Institute, New York, New York.ISBN: 978-0195393309. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, 272 pages.Address correspondence to: Alan Ravitz, MD, Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Child Mind Institute, 445 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com the preface to Juvenile Sex Offenders: A Guide To Evaluation And Treatment For Mental Health Professionals, Drs. Ryan, Hunter, and Murrie explain that their emphasis will be on practicality and utility. They "anticipate that this book will provide a much-needed sensible and functional guide to experienced mental health clinicians who are involved in evaluating and treating sexually abusive youth." They note that juvenile sexual offenders are extremely heterogeneous, having more in common with other conduct-disordered youth than with adult sex offenders. This finding, backed by a great deal of evidence, should moderate the strong emotional response that "sexual offending" evokes in even the most experienced clinicians.Ryan, Hunter, and Murrie are all experienced experts in the field, and their expertise shows. They address a highly emotionally fraught issue with balance and objectivity. They utilize a general systems approach to the problem, with an equal emphasis on biology, psychology, and environmental influences. The authors cite Uri Bronfenbrenner at one point, and Dante Cicchetti at another, both of whom have written extensively about ecological explanations of normal development as well as psychopathology. The chapters are uniformly well written and accessible, and I found little variation in the high quality of exposition, despite the fact that there are three authors.The book begins by placing sexual offending in a social and legal context. It notes that between one third and one half of adult sex offenders began their sexual offending as adolescents, and individuals The second chapter of the book addresses normal sexual behavior in childhood. I found it somewhat frustrating, not because it was poorly written; rather, there simply is not a lot of good information on this topic. I came away with the idea that children of all ages are sexual, but as they get older, they tend to hide their sexual behaviors from adults.Chapters Three and Four specifically address risk factors for juvenile offending, patterns of this behavior, and the complex interaction between psychopathology and sexuality. The authors note that the study of risk factors is in its infancy, but that there are certain "endogenous" risk factors including psychopathy, deviant sexual interests, and distorted sexual cognitions. This is one of two places in the book where the authors discuss psychopathy. These discussions are of general interest to both forensic psychiatrists and mental health practitioners in general. There are also a number of "exogenous" risk factors, including having been the victim of sexual abuse. The risk conferred by victimhood, however, is complicated. Having been a victim increases the risk for the emergence of sexually abusive behavior, but it is not a very strong predictor of sexual recidivism. …


Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a PCT or SHA or indeed, even what these terms mean? In the year of the sixtieth anniversary of the foundation of the NHS this article aims to make its structure and function a little clearer.


A photomask technology, Fresnel diffraction mask (FDM) is developed in order to extend the usable depth of focus (DOF) in optical lithography on topographic substrates. By using FDM, a focal plane can be controlled. The Fresnel diffraction image near the photomask is reconstructed on a wafer through a projection lens. The ring-shaped aperture is used as a FDM to form a bright spot. The focal plane of the spot images can be successfully shifted more than 1 μm from the nominal focal plane of the optical system. The FDM produces two light intensity maxima at both sides of the nominal focal plane in the optical axis. By replacing the mask patterns on the highest and/or lowest wafer topography with FDM, the usable DOF on a topographic substrate can be extended because the original mask and FDM have different optimum focal planes.


Interferential current therapy is a method of transcutaneous stimulation of deep tissues in which the undesirable activation of cutaneous nerves is minimized. While it is a well-known method in physiotherapy and diagnostic medicine, its selective property has been only described qualitatively in the literature. In this study, the effect of interferential stimulation on neural tissue was simulated to describe the exact mechanism of its selectivity. Two channel high frequency sinusoidal currents were applied to a spherical volume conductor model, and the responses of different neural fibers inside the sphere were analyzed. The results provided a quantitative description of the mechanism of selectivity by interferential currents based on high frequency block of neural fibers.


Tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) are short-period gratings for which the refractive index modulation of the fiber core is angled by a few degrees with respect to the perpendicular to the propagation axis. They induce two kinds of light coupling: the self-backward coupling of the core mode at the Bragg wavelength and the backward coupling between the core mode and several tens of cladding modes, each with its own effective refractive index and mode field shape. The information contained in their spectral content is such that they inherently provide novel sensing modalities and improve the sensitivity in comparison to uniform fiber Bragg gratings. In particular, TFBGs are intrinsically temperature- insensitive by referencing spectral measurements to the wavelength and power level of the core mode resonance. As the tilt angle breaks the circular symmetry of the optical fiber cross-section, TFBGs are strongly dependent on light polariza- tion effects, which can be advantageously used when they are coated with nanoscale metal coatings or thin films. In this review, we report the latest achievements obtained with bare and coated TFBGs used for high-resolution refractometry and biochemical sensing through surface Plasmon wave generation.


Gravitational mass flows, such as avalanches, debris flows and rockfalls are common events in alpine regions with high impact on transport routes. Within the last few decades, hazard zone maps have been developed to systematically approach this threat. These maps mark vulnerable zones in habitable areas to allow effective planning of hazard mitigation measures and development of settlements. Hazard zone maps have shown to be an effective tool to reduce fatalities during extreme events. They are created in a complex process, based on experience, empirical models, physical simulations and historical data. The generation of such maps is therefore expensive and limited to crucially important regions, e.g. permanently inhabited areas.
In this work we interpret the task of hazard zone mapping as a classification problem. Every point in a specific area has to be classified according to its vulnerability. On a regional scale this leads to a segmentation problem, where the total area has to be divided in the respective hazard zones. The recent developments in artificial intelligence, namely convolutional neuronal networks, have led to major improvement in a very similar task, image classification and semantic segmentation, i.e. computer vision. We use a convolutional neuronal network to identify terrain formations with the potential for catastrophic snow avalanches and label points in their reach as vulnerable. Repeating this procedure for all points allows us to generate an artificial hazard zone map. We demonstrate that the approach is feasible and promising based on the hazard zone map of the Tirolean Oberland. However, more training data and further improvement of the method is required before such techniques can be applied reliably.


This paper reports on the results of the experiment PULSAR (Pulsating and Rotating Instabilities in Oscillatory Marangoni Flows), performed on the MAXUS 4 sounding rocket launched in April 2001 from the Swedish base in Kiruna. Aim of the experiment was the analysis of the three-dimensional and time-dependent flow regimes arising in a liquid bridge of Silicone oil when the temperature difference between the disks is increased. Pulsating and rotating oscillatory regimes have been established during the microgravity time at different temperature differences across the liquid bridge. The oscillatoy flow has been detected by visual observation of the flow field organization (using a CCD camera and silver-coated tracers), by the behaviour of the temperatures, measured by thin thermocouples at different azimuthal coordinates, and by the evolution of the surface temperature distribution, measured by an infrared camera.


This book emphasises a practical approach to composition, with the aim of enabling _students of writing to understand what is involved in the creation of a text and to learn from the practice of other writers. Extensively rewritten and updated from Nash's earlier volume Designs in Prose, attention is paid to the general theory of composition, in both traditional and original terms, so as to familiarise students with the basic recources of composition, in grammar and in the lexicon. The essence of each chapter is the discussion of examples of text which are mainly drawn from the work of authors writing in diverse styles in English. This practical approach is most evident in the final section of the book where detailed suggestions for projects and exercises seek to reinforce the connection between theory and practice, and to encourage students to develop their creative sense and adapt their style of writing to fit the particular audience and context. This section is cross-referenced to the main text to allow easy consultation of relevant chapters. The authors also discuss writing and composition on the Internet, giving students the opportunity to learn a new format and to incorporate the new rhetoric demanded by the conventions of the Internet into the conceptual framework of traditional rhetoric. The book is aimed at students of English, Communication Studies and Creative Writing, and Media Studies and Journalism, as well as at post-16 students studying introductory, intermediate and advanced college composition courses.


This paper follows up on some of the phonetic assumptions underlying earlier discussions in the phonological literature of the vowel reduction in Brazilian Portuguese such as Crosswhite (2004) and Flemming (2004), among others. We investigated various reflexes of prosodic prominence across four positions: tonic, pretonic, posttonic, and word-final. The height of the low vowel /a/ in these contexts was also determined. We found that while duration readily distinguished among the first three positions (tonic > pretonic > posttonic), it failed to differentiate posttonic from final. Intensity was a better discriminator across all four positions. We also documented a height harmony between pretonic mid vowels and the following tonic resulting in a seven-vowel pretonic inventory that parallels the tonic*. The implications of these findings for metrical prominence and dispersion accounts of vowel reduction are considered.


Conventional self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) presents a certain number of limits. In particular, it cannot provide information on events occurring some time before the self-monitoring. Various systems for the continuous monitoring of glucose levels have therefore been developed for use in outpatient clinics or at home. When being used at home, nursing staff must pay particular attention to the therapeutic education of the patient.


The Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to study the phase diagrams of a two-dimensional spin-1 Ising model with bilinear and biquadratic nearest-neighbor pair interactions and a single-ion potential. A staggered quadrupolar phase appears at low temperatures with the competing bilinear and biquadratic interactions. The phase boundary line of the staggered quadrupolar phase and that of the ferromagnetic phase are extremely close to each other at low temperatures. An argument is used to distinguish the most probable phase diagram from the several possible ones based on the Monte Carlo data.


Mouse of AKR strain received in their diet, 50% of wheat flour irradiated at 75000 rads or 50% of non irradiated flour during their lifetime. In this part, were analyzed data obtained through 7 consecutive mating : size of litters, weight and growth of pups, lethality in the first days, number of still-born, sex ratio. It was any significant difference between the two groups although many data were better in the test group.


Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) rates have declined significantly in the United States (US) as a result of the "Back to Sleep" campaign. Despite this and many state and local risk reduction campaigns, rates still remain high in the African American and American Indian/Alaska Native populations. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released (2016) updated guidelines and recommendations for a safe sleep environment (12). However, certain recommendations, especially the advice against infant bed sharing, continue to be controversial and are not followed by some groups. Further research on the reasons for non-adherence and identification of culturally acceptable and safe alternatives that address parental concerns are needed to help in targeting educational interventions in high-risk populations. In this chapter, we will address SIDS from a US perspective, covering rates and trends, interventions to reduce risk, the bed-sharing controversy, and current laws and regulations in the US.


With the rapid development of location-acquisition techniques, massive trajectories are continuously generated. Many urban applications rely heavily on the data mining/analysis results of massive trajectory data. This demo presents a holistic data management system for both historical and real-time trajectory records based on a cloud platform, such as Microsoft Azure. The proposed system is able to efficiently support a variety of trajectory queries, including ID-Temporal query, Spatio-Temporal query, and Path-Temporal query. With these queries, we demonstrate that different urban applications can be realized in a much easier way.


Meshfree analysis methods, on a per degree of freedom basis, are typically more computationally expensive and yet more accurate than finite element methods. For very large models, whether meshfree or finite element, the memory and computational effort associated with direct equation solvers makes them prohibitively expensive. In this work, the performance of different linear equation solvers with meshfree analysis methods is explored. In particular, parallel conjugate gradient solvers with both Jacobi diagonal preconditioning and incomplete Cholesky factorization preconditioning are tested on a number of different meshfree analysis applications and compared against the performance of a fast direct sparse equation solver. It is found in these exploratory computations that as the support size of meshfree shape functions increases, the condition number of the associated stiffness matrices increases, and the relative efficiency of iterative solvers suffers somewhat. Nevertheless, for normalized support sizes between one and two, the performance of both conjugate gradient solvers compares very favorably with that of the sparse direct solver for intermediate ( ) 10 ( 5 O N ≈ ) and large problems.


Lignocellulosic materials have been used as bioadsorbents for contaminants removal from industrial effluents due to their physical-chemical properties, renewable source, low-cost and efficiency that make them competitive to commercial activated carbon. The objective of this work is to develop an efficient and low cost bioadsorbent reusing the cashew nut shell (Anarcadium accidentale L), CNS, for the removal of metal ions (Cu2+ and Cr3+). The CNS was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the point of zero charge (pHpzc) and the Boehm titration. The kinetics and adsorption equilibrium experiments were carried out in a monoelementary system, in batch runs at room temperature. The adsorption kinetics was evaluated by the mathematical models of pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order and intraparticle diffusion, while the adsorption isotherm was adjusted according to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Redlich-Peterson models. The removal percentage was 91% (Cu2+) and 96% (Cr3+) and adsorption kinetics was better adjusted to the pseudo second-order model, suggesting the predominance of chemisorption. The fit of the Langmuir isotherm was better for the experimental data of Cu2+ and Cr3+ ions, indicating adsorption in monolayers. It is concluded that the bioabsorbent produced from the cashew nut shell has a high potential for the removal of metals, in addition to being an abundant product in nature, is renewable and biodegradable and its reuse contributes to the reduction of environmental pollution, the production of waste and improves the local circular economy through the valorization of the byproduct.


This paper is not a survey of the wreckage, but, instead, locates those dimensions in Marxian thought which are of enduring value.


Research suggests gender and personality differences are predictive of general Internet use. Specifically, people high in openness and women high in neuroticism are more likely to keep a blog. Given the rapidity of change owing to technological advances, the authors sought to re-examine the validity of these findings in an era where other forms of online interaction are prevalent. Specifically, the authors sought to replicate and expand on these findings and to examine other individual difference factors that may predict who is likely to maintain a blog. Participants filled out multiple personality measures, demographic characteristics, and reported on their blogging behavior e.g., writing blog entries and reading blogs. Results replicated the prior research, indicating that openness predicted blogging to a greater degree than any other personality trait. Moreover, results also revealed that individuals high in self-consciousness and those who saw more of their "true self" on the Internet were more likely to blog. These findings suggest that in addition to openness, individual differences, such as self-focus and personality, predict who is likely to blog.


We explore the properties of the host galaxies of X-ray selected AGN in the COSMOS field using the Chandra Legacy sample and the LEGA-C survey VLT optical spectra. Our main goal is to compare the relative ages of the host galaxies of the obscured and unobscured AGN by means of the calcium break Dn(4000) and the Hdelta Balmer line. The host galaxy ages are examined in conjunction with other properties such as the galaxy stellar mass, and star-formation rate as well as the AGN Eddington ratio. Our sample consists of 50 unobscured or mildly obscured (logN_H (cm-2)<23) and 23 heavily obscured AGN (log N_H (cm-2)>23) in the redshift range z=0.6-1. We take specific caution to create control samples in order to match the exact luminosity and redshift distributions for the obscured and unobscured AGN. The majority of unobscured AGN appear to live in young galaxies in contrast to the obscured AGN which appear to live in galaxies located between the young and old galaxy populations. This finding may be in contrast to those evolutionary AGN unification models which postulate that the AGN begin their life in a heavy obscuration phase. The host galaxies of the obscured AGN have significantly lower levels of specific star-formation. At the same time the obscured AGN have lower Eddington ratios indicating a link between the star-formation and the black hole accretion. We find that the distribution of the stellar masses of the host galaxies of obscured AGN is skewed towards higher stellar masses in agreement with previous findings. Our results on the relative age of obscured AGN are valid when we match our obscured and unobscured AGN samples according to the stellar mass of their host galaxies. All the above results become less conspicuous when a lower column density (log N_H(cm-2)= 21.5 or 22) is used to separate the obscured and unobscured AGN populations.


Purpose
This study aims to identify effective ways to promote plant-based foods in quick-service restaurants by considering customers' food-related health involvement.

Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a 2 (message format: myth/fact or fact-only) × 2 (message focus: benefit- or attribute-focused) × 2 (health involvement: high or low) quasi-experimental design via a scenario-based online survey. A multivariate analysis of covariance and a bootstrapping approach were used to test the hypotheses (N = 365).

Findings
The results indicated that message format and focus jointly influenced customers' perceived health consequences of plant-based foods and purchase intentions; customers' health involvement altered the two-way interaction between message format and focus; and perceived health consequences mediated the effects of message format and focus as and customers' health involvement on purchase intentions.

Research limitations/implications
This study identifies the effectiveness of message format and focus in promoting plant-based foods and extends the sustainable product promotion literature by using resource matching theory and the elaboration likelihood model. Future studies should use field studies to examine how can message framing influence customers' actual behaviors when purchasing plant-based foods.

Practical implications
This study can help quick-service restaurants better promote plant-based foods considering message format and focus and customers' food-related health involvement.

Originality/value
This is one of only a few studies that have tested how messages containing both negative and positive information about a product could help promote plant-based foods.


human life in the final analysis,there are two requirements:demand for the material and spiritual needs.People living things in demand is no more than two.When the materials are the basic technology under the premise of balance,how to meet the spiritual needs of people in the vehicle design is especially important. Brand provided the source of semantics,semantics are now brands to shape the bounden duty of the designer.


Abstract Aim: This study aims to design the benefit–package composition of health insurance benefits in accordance with the priority of the needs of the participants of BPJS and the amount of their willingness to pay the premium rate. Background: This design aimed at ensuring the relevance of the benefit packages to beneficiary communities, so the implementation of the design is expected to increase peoples' contributions in joining BPJS for health program. Method: This study use Choosing Health plans All Together (CHAT) as a method for design the benefit–package composition. The CHAT exercise enabled participants to choose from nine benefit type and for each benefit type, the participants could choose three coverage levels, i.e. basic, medium, and high. There were 246 participants as a sample for CHAT exercise. The sample size was calculated as optimal based on a 5% margin of error and a 95% confidence interval and randomly selected based on two-stage cluster sampling method. Result: According to their willingness to pay, a sample size of 246 participants was divided into three groups. A total of 72 (29.3%) participants chose a premium rate at IDR 59 500 and called group 1 participants, 84 (34.1%) participants chose a premium rate at 42 500 IDR and called group 2 participants, and 90 (36.6%) participants chose a premium rate at 25 500 IDR and called group 3 participants. Basically, the CHAT experiment results for group 1 until group 3 of the participants can be divided into two types of package, i.e. package with maternity benefit and package without maternity benefit. As example, for group 1 of participant, package with maternity benefit consists of hospitalization (medium), ICU (high), surgery (high), doctor (high), and maternity (high), whereas package without maternity benefit for group 1 of participant consists of hospitalization (high), ICU (high), surgery (high), doctor (high), tests (high) and dental care (high). Conclusion: This study resulted that CHAT experiment can help groups of individuals to identify their preferred health insurance package under cost constraints to demonstrate various managed care insurance packages that are likely to be acceptable to uninsured individuals.


Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of lycopene from freeze-dried tomato pomace(peels and seeds) with CO2 was explored. The effect of different technical parameters, such as temperature (40°C, 50°C, 60°C), pressure (35MPa, 40MPa, 45MPa) and particle size (three degree index), on the extraction yield and the content of lycopene in extracts was determined with statistical analysis.The product obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction at over 35MPa contained the highest concentration of lycopene, while the product rich in β-carotene and lutein was obtained at below 30MPa.The product obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction at 40MPa and 60°C contains the highest concentration lycopene of 32.52±1.02g/100g dry material.


This work examines the problem of learning a network graph from signals emitted by the network nodes, according to a diffusion model ruled by a Laplacian combination policy. The challenging regime of partial observability is considered, where signals are collected from a limited subset of nodes, and we wish to estimate the subgraph of connections between these probed nodes. For the static setting where the network graph is fixed during the estimation process, we examine the sample complexity (number of time samples necessary to achieve consistent learning as the network size grows) of Erdős-Rényi and Bollobás-Riordan graphs. This complexity is almost quadratic for the former and almost linear for the latter class of graphs. We then examine the dynamic graph setting where the graph of latent nodes grows over time, while the probed subset remains fixed. We show that in this case the sample complexity can be reduced, implying the unexpected conclusion that dynamic graphs might help topology inference under partial observability.


During sporulation in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the spindle poles serve as sites for the de novo assembly of new intracellular membranes termed prospore membranes. Prospore membranes engulf daughter nuclei produced by the meiotic divisions and ultimately serve as plasma membranes for the newly formed spores. The initial fusion of precursor vesicles to create prospore membranes occurs on the surface of the spindle pole body. Translocation of the phospholipase D Spo14 from its endosomal/cytoplasmic localization in vegetative cells to these precursor vesicles and the catalytic activity of the enzyme are essential for precursor vesicle fusion.


The experimental results obtained with the use of the method of cooling curves of model specimens are presented for clays with a polymineral composition. The method makes it possible to determine rather accurately the thermal effects and the temperature characteristics in the region of the appearance of phase and chemical transformations. The data ~ be used for estimating the kinetics and dynamics of these processes and determining the optimum regime for firing clay materials.


A new approach to the generation structure of fermions is proposed. We consider a brane configuration in which the brane intersection yields a two-torus in the extra space. It is assumed that the two-torus is discretized and is given by the torsion points of the elliptic curve over Q . We direct our attention to the arithmetic structure of the elliptic curve with complex multiplication (CM). In our approach the flavor symmetry including the R-parity has its origin in the Galois group of elliptic curves with CM. We study the possible types of the Galois group. The Galois group is shown to be an extension of Z_2 by some abelian group. A phenomenologically viable example of the Galois group is presented, in which the characteristic texture of fermion masses and mixings is reproduced and the mixed-anomaly conditions are satisfied.


Ecological Risk Assessment is used to evaluate the potential hazards to the environment that are attributable to emissions of pollutants from industries. There is guidance available regarding the general ecological risk assessment process including problem formulation, exposure and effect analyses, and risk characterization. In a first step, the Screening-Level Ecological Risk Assessment (SLERA) is used to evaluate whether the emissions can put the receptor ecosystems at risk or not. Concerning releases from nuclear facilities under authorization, any SLERA is a challenging task because of (1) the large number of substances, (2) the various quantities that may be emitted to the aquatic ecosystems and (3) the various environmental situations to be considered. This task must be performed for two categories of pollutants, radionuclides and chemicals, each exhibiting specificities in terms of concentration in media or dose-effect relationships. Since these relationships for radioactive substances are based on the tissue-absorbed dose in Gray, the first step is to express critical exposure values to radionuclides in a consistent way with the critical concentration used for chemicals. We describe here the screening and ranking method that was developed and an application to the electronuclear sites along the Rhone River.


Abstract Smallholder livelihoods in the Peruvian Altiplanoare frequently threatened by weather extremes, includingdroughts, frosts and heavy rainfall. Given the persistence ofsignificant undernourishment despite regional developmentefforts,weproposeaclusterapproachtoevaluatesmallholders'vulnerability to weather extremes with regard to food security.We applied this approach to 268 smallholder households usinginformation from two existing regional assessments and fromour own household survey. The cluster analysis revealed fourvulnerability patterns that depict typical combinations ofhousehold attributes, including their harvest failure risk, agri-culturalresources,educationlevelandnon-agriculturalincome.We validated the identified vulnerability patterns by demon-strating the correlation between them and an independentlyreported damage: the purchase of food and fodder resultingfrom exposure to weather extremes. The vulnerability patternswere then ranked according to the different amounts of pur-chase. A second validation aspect accounted for independentlyreported mechanisms explaining smallholders' sensitivity andadaptive capacity. Based on the similarities among the house-holds, our study contributes to the understanding of vulnera-bility beyond individual cases. In particular, the validationstrengthens the credibility and suitability of our findings fordecision-making pertaining to the reduction of vulnerability.Keywords Climate vulnerability Pattern approach Cluster analysis Tropical high mountains Drylands Altiplano PeruIntroductionAs part of an Andean high plateau, the Peruvian Altiplanoranges from 3,800 to over 4,500 m in altitude. Its highlyvariable, semi-arid climate is closely linked to weatherextremes, such as droughts, frosts and heavy rainfall, whichfrequently challenge people's livelihoods. In 2007, severaldistricts in the Peruvian Altiplano declared a state of emer-gencycausedbyfrosts,hailandtransientdroughtsinthemidstof the agricultural season (INDECI 2009). Despite regionaldevelopment programmes to improve the smallholder sys-tems, poverty and undernourishment remain significant(FONCODES 2006). This situation is particularly precarioussincetheprimarysectorconstitutesthemostimportantareaofeconomicactivity(INEI2006).Giventhissituation,weaimtoenhance the debate on interlinkages between climate vulne-rability and food security as a prerequisite for an adequatediscussionofregionaldevelopment.Therefore,weinvestigateas to whether there are typical characteristics of smallholderhouseholds that help to explain the causal structure of theirvulnerability to weather extremes in relation to food security.Reference is made to smallholders in the administrativeRegion of Puno.The smallholders living in the Peruvian Altiplano cannotbe understood as one homogeneous social group. Produc-tive resources are heterogeneously distributed and liveli-hood options differ among the smallholders which requiresthat the respective vulnerability-creating mechanisms betackled appropriately. Addressing the heterogeneity ofhuman–nature interactions at an intermediate functional


This paper probes impacts of partial chaining upon the cost structures of not only the chained and independent distributors under spatial competition, but also the monopolistic producer who manages differentiated distribution channels for heterogeneous retailers simultaneously. We assume vertically related but decentralized markets in upstream and downstream stages. Upon chaining, market areas of each chained (independent) store increase (decrease), the related retail prices decline (rise) and profits increase (decrease). Chaining also tends to lower the wholesale prices for the chain stores generally. While aggregate consumer surplus increases, profit for the producer not even directly chained also increases. Social surplus increases with chaining at the expense, however, of not only the remaining independent stores and their customers, but also the chain store's own customers partly at the market periphery.


Egyptian scholar priests of the Graeco-Roman period developed for the indigenous temples a highly intellectual, very artificial language and a vastly expanded writing system. The tem ple walls were decorated on an unprecedented scale with scenes and inscriptions that pro vide manifold insights into the religious thinking of the priests, cult topography, mythology, religious festivals, daily cults, the ruler cult, and building history, as well as the function of various rooms.


The motive for agriculture has changed over the years. As land, water and farm labour become scarce agricultural productivity must be urgently reconfigured to meet demands of population increase and quest for a better life. Climate uncertainty has compounded the problem and necessitated the need for development of resilient crops through genetic improvement. Consequently, new breeding techniques that emerged from advances in crops genomics must be deployed with good agronomic practices. With the new breeding techniques, genetic drag or unintended mutations may not occur throughout the genome as is the case for other techniques traditionally used for crop improvement. DNA engineering technology is used but the resulting organism would not differ from products obtained through conventional breeding. Yet fears associated with GMOs are insidiously tainting new plant breeding techniques with negative perceptions from the general public and regulators, the focus being on the process and not the product per se. Such fears could extend to biological seed priming with endophytic or exophytic symbionts. New approaches for addressing legitimate public concerns and modernization of regulatory frameworks in seeds and seed systems need to be developed.


With the present invention a compact, universal friction stir welding tool and a method and an arrangement for online control of a Ruhrreibschweisprozesses to be provided, so that a quality-oriented joining seam in its result without necessary post, wherein the loads of the friction stir welding can be minimized. According to the invention this object is achieved in that the vibrations of Ruhrreibschweiswerkzeuges in x-, y- and z-directions, the machining forces and acting by friction stir welding tool from the working temperatures that occur immediately at the welding point can be detected during the Ruhrreibschweisprozesses with suitable sensors which are telemetrically transmitted captured data to an evaluation unit and a computer-aided prepared therefrom, and the process parameters of processing speed, processing power and operating temperature are controlled by a control unit.


The Hawleyville, Conn. epidote occurs in a prochlorite-apatite-orthoclase pegmatite along nearly horizontal fracture planes of a mediumto coarse-grained diorite. The occurrence is unusual since the epidote is colorless to yellow brown with a radiating prismatic habit. Optical and r-ray data are presented and the material is compared with the structurally and chemically similar zoisite and clinozoisite, The distinguishing features of the members of the epidote group are reviewed. ft is suggested that the mineral name ,,epidote" be restricted to material which is optically negative. fndices of refraction are presented for stilbite which appear to represent a high Ca variety.


We report the synthesis and characterization of a new thiazolothiazole (TzTz)-based semiconducting polymer incorporating the alkoxythiazole unit in the polymer backbone (PTzTTz-BOoHD). The introduction of the alkoxythiazole unit in a thiophene – TzTz polymer (PTzBT-BOHD) lowered the LUMO energy level while keeping the HOMO energy level, resulting in a narrower bandgap. The solar cell with PTzTTz-BOoHD showed photoresponse in a wider spectral range (~740nm) compared to that with PTzBT-BOHD and with a thiophene – TzTz polymer having the alkoxy thiophene unit (PTzBT-BOoHD). Although the fi ll factor (FF) of the cell based on PTzTTz-BOoHD was lower than the cell based on PTzBT-BOHD and -BOoHD, the maximum PCE of the cell based on PTzTTz-BOoHD resulted in 6.2%, which was comparable to and higher than the cell based on PTzBT-BOHD and -BOoHD, respectively. While PTzTTz-BOoHD showed good crystallinity in the polymer fi lm, it was reduced in the fi lm blended with PC 61 BM, which is likely an origin of the drop of FF. As PTzTTz-BOoHD has more suitable electronic structures for solar cells such as a deep HOMO level and a narrow bandgap, compared to the other two polymers, we expect that PTzTTz-BOoHD would demonstrate higher PCE by further device optimization.


A complete Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes solution of supersonic aircraft is conducted to study the nozzle plume effects on the external aerodynamics of the supersonic vehicle. Different nozzle pressure ratios are used to simulate the supersonic flow for detail study of supersonic flow behavior around vehicle in the presence of jet plume. It is found that Plume at different nozzle pressure ratio changed the flow structure around vehicle and its sonic boom signature strength. The strength of sonic boom signature is varied with the change of nozzle pressure ratios. It is observed that highly under-expanded jet plume of nozzle produces very steeper shock which reduces the dip of sonic boom N-wave signature. In this effort structure of plumes for different nozzle pressure ratios are also investigated. It is observed that higher order schemes of minimum second order are to be used to capture the free shear layers, shock train and mixing layers.


In this paper we explain how program budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) can be used to assist decisions about resource allocation at a local level, leading to improvements in the health of the population. We review overseas experience with PBMA, and outline a proposed application of PBMA in NSW.


In this paper we study collective additive tree spanners for families of graphs that either contain or are contained in AT-free graphs. We say that a graph G=(V,E) admits a system of μcollective additive tree r-spanners if there is a system ${\cal T}(G)$ of at most μ spanning trees of G such that for any two vertices x,y of G a spanning tree $T\in {\cal T}(G)$ exists such that dT(x,y)≤ dG(x,y)+r. Among other results, we show that AT-free graphs have a system of two collective additive tree 2-spanners (whereas there are trapezoid graphs that do not admit any additive tree 2-spanner). Furthermore, based on this collection of trees, we derive a compact and efficient routing scheme for those graphs. Also, any DSP-graph (there exists a dominating shortest path) admits one additive tree 4-spanner, a system of two collective additive tree 3-spanners and a system of five collective additive tree 2-spanners.


Computer games, with the speed advancements of graphical processors, are coming closer to the quality of cinema industry. Contrary to offline rendering of the scenes in a motion picture, computer games should be able to render at 30 frames per second. Therefore, CPU and memory performance are sought by using various techniques. This paper is about using instancing feature of contemporary graphical processors along with level of detail techniques which has been in use for a very long time. Using instancing, 15,000 instances were successfully rendered at 30 frames per second using a very low %10 CPU usage. The application can render 40,000 instances at 13 frames per second.


Prospective and retrospective study design refers to the time period in which the study is to be carried. In this perspective these are longitudinal studies encompassing a time span either from point of start of study to future (prospective) or to past (retrospective). These two approaches, due to the limitation of their scope of observation and access into various types of data, can answer only to some specific research questions and not the all.


A method for instilling a two-component fibrin adhesive into the prostatic cavity after transurethral resection of the prostate is described. In a prospective, controlled study, 30 consecutive patients undergoing transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) were randomised either to receive treatment with the local instillation of fibrin adhesive into the prostatic cavity or to a control group that received no special treatment post-operatively. There were no complications either during application of the fibrin adhesive or in the follow-up period. Post-operative blood loss was significantly reduced in the fibrin group (P less than 0.01).


72 In many higher plants, seed oil accumulation is precisely controlled by intricate 73 multi-level regulatory networks, among which transcriptional regulation mainly 74 www.plantphysiol.org on July 9, 2020 Published by Downloaded from Copyright © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. 4 influences oil biosynthesis. In Arabidopsis, the master positive transcription 75 factors, WRINKLED1 (WRI1) and LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE (L1L), are 76 important for seed oil accumulation. We found that an R2R3-MYB transcription 77 factor, MYB89, was predominantly expressed in developing seeds during 78 maturation. Oil and major fatty acid biosynthesis in seeds was significantly 79 promoted by myb89-1 mutation and MYB89 knockdown; MYB89 was thus an 80 important repressor during seed oil accumulation. RNA sequencing revealed 81 remarkable upregulation of numerous genes involved in seed oil accumulation 82 in myb89 seeds at 12 days after pollination. Posttranslational activation of a 83 MYB89glucocorticoid receptor fusion protein and chromatin 84 immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that MYB89 inhibited seed oil 85 accumulation by directly repressing WRI1 and five key genes and by indirectly 86 suppressing L1L and 11 key genes involved in oil biosynthesis during seed 87 maturation. These results help us to understand the novel function of MYB89 88 and provide new insights into the regulatory network of transcriptional factors 89 controlling seed oil accumulation in Arabidopsis. 90 www.plantphysiol.org on July 9, 2020 Published by Downloaded from Copyright © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.


Faced with the PAN 2016's problem of having an unknown number of authors writing an unknown number of documents that might but do not necessarily have the same topic, we came up with a pipeline of a K-Means clustering algorithm informing a neural network to establish document similarity, which then informs a Meanshift algorithm to output the final clusters (each cluster representing an author and enveloping one or more documents). The data provided by PAN consists of 18 problems that each consist of 50-100 documents from various authors. Every problem has either news articles or reviews, and is written in English, Dutch or Greek. Document length differs from 130 to 1000 words. This is not enough training data for a neural network, so character based features were created for training. Also, the task itself limited feature selection to character-only as well; if words or word n-grams would have been used, the initial assumption was that the system would be tricked easily into clustering on topic instead of author. As all documents within a problem have one genre, it is not unimaginable that documents from different authors have the same topic, and are therefore grouped together. Preventing the system from topic clustering and aiming it at author clustering was one of the biggest challenges in this task. The most promising feature for this task were character based skipgrams (Mikolov, Chen, Corrado, & Dean, 2013), pairing every character with either a neighboring one (positive sample) or one further away (negative sample). The embeddings thus created informed the neural network with underlying information regarding character sequences and structures. Although the task is to cluster all documents of a single author, the chosen approach was to train the neural network with every possible document pair, like the PAN 2015 task for author identification. The baseline thus created was very high (94%), resulting in a default decision to most frequent class (negative) for all samples. The K-Means clusterer was added to see if the number of pairs could be cut back, as a set of 50 documents already results in over 1200 possible pairs. KMeans was run with an iterative setting of [1:n-1] clusters, after which the total of document clusters was counted. If two documents were never clustered together, they were stripped from the input for the neural network. This lead to a 50% reduction in document pairs, but also a 25% reduction of correct pairs. Although this improved the baseline slightly, the data was still to biased for the neural network to be able to detect correct pairs in the training data, creating useless output of the network, which gave the Meanshift no additional features to work with. During development and tweaking of the neural network, the initial deadline for the shared task expired without submitting a working system. When the overview paper was published, the used method (on development set) could still be compared to the test set results of the other teams. Based on only character based preprocessed data, as this lead to the best result in the PAN task of 2015 (Stamatatos et al.), Meanshift output had a precision of 0.12 on average. Using a Scikit-learn Countvectorizer for preprocessing the data with both word Ngram counts and normal word counts, the BCubed precision was 0.256, with a BCubed F-score of 0.376. This measure was also applied by the task committee and although the system was not submitted, results of the experiment on the development set could be compared with other participants's results on the test set afterwards (Stamatatos et al., 2016). Of course, this comparison must be interpreted with the difference between the two sets in mind. The second part of the task, the ranking of links within clusters resulted in a mean average precision of 0.014.


curs not only in persons of inferior intelligence but also in those of normal and superior intelligence. It affords no support to the hypothesis that there is an association between mental deficiency and specific dyslexia, when the latter is defined according to the criteria laid down in the present study. My material is not, however, a random sample of the normal population. It therefore permits no generally applicable conclusions on this matter.


In this article Uzbek holidays and their names that have very long history, their linguistic features, particularly, the materialization and receiving the names from other languages during the stages of the development of our language are illustrated. Special traditions, past experience of the Uzbeks, the names of holidays during the independence and their role in Uzbek dictionary, their effect to other languages and their future, the linguistic notations, the authors' approaches of investigating these notations are also implied in this article.


In a powerful escalation of the global campaign against Indian mining company Adani's proposed Abbot Point and Galilee Basin coal projects, more than 120 people peacefully protested on June 22 at the Abbot Point port. The protest was organised by 350 .org and the Reef Defenders Alliance.


Following a long period of increase, the number of drug users in the United States has decreased sharply during the last decade. As it is not clear what caused the change, advocates of different policies are likely to claim credit. This study, simulating major segments of the drug system with a computer model of a sociological theory of patterned deviance, shows that the theory fits the case of drug abuse. Applying the theory to the reported trends, it is concluded that enforcement was not the cause of the reversal, education may well have been a facilitating factor, but there must have been some exogenous force, such as the AIDS scare of the early 1980s, to have triggered the abrupt change.


This chapter turns to Huayan Buddhism, and the thought of Fazang. Huayan has a distinctive view of the nature of the interpenetration between conventional and ultimate reality. The notion of interpenetration draws on both Indian and Daoist thought. The chapter shows how to make precise sense of the notion of interpenetration with some simple graph-theoretic techniques.


This article presents a series of scientific events carried out during 2018 within the program "Exceptional ethics and academic integrity in scientific research and didactic act", implemented by: Stefan cel Mare University in Suceava, with financial support from FDI2018, Domain 5, Improving the quality of didactic activity, including respecting academic deontology and ethics, project code: CNFIS-FDI-2018-0545. We refer at the event organized by Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava (USV), Romania, in partnership with Lumen Conference Center, Lumen Publishing House, Lumen Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences, Lumen Consultancy and Training Center in Iasi, Romania, the International Scientific Conference "Ethical Values in Education, Research and Innovation", Suceava, Romania, 19-20 October 2018, and the publication of the collective volume entitled "Ethics and Integrity in Education and Research ", coordinated by prof. PhD Antonio Sandu and associate prof. PhD Bogdan Popoveniuc.


. We study the contribution of surface strain gradient elasticity to the anti-plane deformations of an elastically isotropic bimaterial containing a mode III interface crack. The surface strain gradient elasticity is incorporated using an enriched version of the continuum-based sur- face/interface model of Gurtin and Murdoch. We obtain a complete semi-analytic solution valid everywhere in the solid (including at the crack tips) by reducing the boundary value problem to two coupled hyper-singular integro-di(cid:11)erential equations which are solved numerically using Chebyshev polynomials and a collocation method. Our solution demon- strates that the presence of surface strain gradient elasticity on the crack faces leads to bounded stresses at the crack tips.