The universities just like any other public institutions in Kenya are buyers of goods, services and works. Hence public procurement plays a critical role in the Kenyan economy and an important factor in economic growth. Sound and efficient use of scarce public resources is the responsibility of the government and every public entity. Despite the efforts made by the PPOA to strengthen the public procurement system in Kenya, a number of government funded construction projects in the public sector exceed the contract sum, time schedule or general gross inefficiency. The objective of this study is; to analyse the influence of procurement procedures on construction project implementation in public universities. Descriptive survey design was used in the study using questionnaires and an observation checklist as instruments which were validated by piloting in private universities. The sample size was purposive targeting a population of twenty university employees seconded to construction projects. The primary data was collected by administration of questionnaires.  Collected data was factor analysed by use of percentages, frequencies among others. Ordinal regression analysis was employed for quantitative data. The findings indicated that 80% of respondents agreed that procurement procedures greatly influenced implementation of construction projects in the Kenyan public universities, hence recommended that procedures should be strictly adhered to, for quality end products. Areas for further research; Analysis of value addition of strategic approaches in procurement activities on the implementation of construction projects in public universities, Determination of the influence of contextual factors on the relationship between procurement function activities and project implementation of construction projects in public universities. In conclusion findings of this study may assist the construction industry to embrace the procurement procedures for satisfactory end results that will satisfy the project sponsor, users and stakeholders.


In this chapter a general mathematical framework for probabilistic theories of operationally understood circuits is laid out. Circuits are comprised of operations and wires. An operation is one use of an apparatus and a wire is a diagrammatic device for showing how apertures on the apparatuses are placed next to each other. Mathematical objects are defined in terms of the circuit understood graphically. In particular, we do not think of the circuit as sitting in a background time. Circuits can be foliated by hypersurfaces comprised of sets of wires. Systems are defined to be associated with wires. A closable set of operations is defined to be one for which the probability associated with any circuit built from this set is independent both of choices on other circuits and of extra circuitry that may be added to outputs from this circuit. States can be associated with circuit fragments corresponding to preparations. These states evolve on passing through circuit fragments corresponding to transformations. The composition of transformations is treated. A number of theorems are proven including one which rules out quaternionic quantum theory. The case of locally tomographic theories (where local measurements on a systems components suffice to determine the global state) is considered. For such theories the probability can be calculated for a circuit from matrices pertaining the operations that comprise that circuit. Classical probability theory and quantum theory are exhibited as examples in this framework.


We consider a group of mobile agents operating in a given mission space with obstacles. We formulate a mission as a general reward collection problem where agents collaborate to maximize the total reward collected. The agents decide how they move but face constraints due to the geometry of the mission space, the presence of obstacles, and the need to avoid collisions with other agents. We discretize the mission space and model it as a graph. We then apply the distributed actor-critic method from [1] modified to benefit from least squares temporal difference learning. We present one concrete application: air vehicles flying below a forest's canopy. Our simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the policy produced by our algorithm.


Operating on the anterolateral midbrain is challenging due to limited surgical freedom provided by classic approaches and restraints imposed by the basilar artery apex and branches, their perforators, and the oculomotor nerve (Abla et al., 2011; Bricolo and Turazzi, 1995; Cavalcanti et al., 2016). This video demonstrates the benefits provided by the pretemporal approach for resection of an anterolateral mesencephalic cavernous malformation (Chaddad-Neto et al., 2014; de Oliveira et al., 1995). Four steps are well demonstrated in the video: 1) section of temporal pole veins to the sphenoparietal sinus; 2) division of arachnoid attaching the oculomotor nerve to the tentorial edge and uncus; 3) releasing the arachnoid between the anterior choroidal artery and uncus; and 4) following the oculomotor nerve to its origin. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/7ZuK-ewNo6w.


Objective: To investigate the pharmacokinetic diference of baicalin between hepatic precancerous model induced by diethylnitrosamine and control mice.Methods: Baicalin was administrated intragastrically to both control and model mice at three diferent doses,and the concentration of baicalin in plasma at deined time was determined by HPLC to calculate its pharmacokinetic parameters.Results: Values of area under the curve(AUC) in both control and model mice increased with the increasing doses,and signiicant diferences existed among diferent doses in model mice(P0.05),however,mean residence time(MRT) had no signiicant diference;when the mice were treated at the same dose,the AUC in model mice were signiicantly less than that in control ones(P0.05),while other parameters such as MRT and t 1/2 had no signiicant diference.Conclusion: Pharmacokinetics of baicalin in model mice is diferent from that in control ones.


Optoelectronic materials that allow on‐chip integrated light signal emitting, routing, modulation, and detection are crucial for the development of high‐speed and high‐throughput optical communication and computing technologies. Interlayer excitons in 2D van der Waals heterostructures, where electrons and holes are bounded by Coulomb interaction but spatially localized in different 2D layers, have recently attracted intense attention for their enticing properties and huge potential in device applications. Here, a general view of these 2D‐confined hydrogen‐like bosonic particles and the state‐of‐the‐art developments with respect to the frontier concepts and prototypes is presented. Staggered type‐II band alignment enables expansion of the interlayer direct bandgap from the intrinsic visible in monolayers up to the near‐ or even mid‐infrared spectrum. Owing to large exciton binding energy, together with ultralong lifetime, room‐temperature exciton devices and observation of quantum behaviors are demonstrated. With the rapid advances, it can be anticipated that future studies of interlayer excitons will not only allow the construction of all‐exciton information processing circuits but will also continue to enrich the panoply of ideas on quantum phenomena.


In this study, a self-constrained BaTiO3 material system, composed of a low-fire BaTiO3-based X7R (ΔC/C±15% within −55° to 125°C) MLCC dielectric and a high-fire, BaTiO3-based X7R MLCC dielectrics eliminated sintering aid that are laminated on both sides of the BaTiO3-based X7R MLCC, has been developed. The temperature dependence of capacitance of the BaTiO3-based X7R MLCC is significantly improved to satisfy X8R requirements over the entire temperature range studied (ΔC/C±15% within –55° to 150°C) using the self-constrained sintering. The curie temperature of BaTiO3-based X7R MLCC increases on increasing the thickness of the constraining layers. Compared with the specimen fired by free sintering, a substantial reduction in grain size, leading to a decrease in dielectric constant, was observed in the specimen fired by constrained sintering with the thickness of the constraining layer being 170 μm. The increase in Curie temperature and decrease in grain size of the specimen fired by constrained sintering can be explained in terms of the presence of in-plane tensile stress. The in-plane tensile stress that introduces a friction force between the multilayer matrix and the nonshrinkage constraining layers to suppress the in-plane shrinkage and to inhibit the rate of grain growth was formed during constrained sintering.


A ease of triphenyl phosphate allergy from spectacle frames is reported. Patch tests with analytical grade triphaenyl phosphate. tri‐m‐cresyl phosphate, and tri‐p‐cresyl phosphate in the concentrations 5%, 0.5% and 0.05% pet. showed positive reactions to 0.05% tripheny1 phosphate and 0.5% tri‐m cresyl phosphate, but on reaction to tri‐p‐cresyl phosphate. Gas chromatography of the tricresyl phosphate 5% pet. pitch lest material supplied from Trolab showed that it contained a mixture of a wide range of triaryl phosphates, including 0.08% triphenyl phosphate which is above the threshold for detecting Triphenyl phosphate allergy in our patient.


Beware: These notes are still being written! My plan is to give a presentation based on them at http://www.cle.unicamp.br/ebl2011/, but whether that it is going to be official or just to a few colleagues is something that depends on the goodwill of the organizers (yeah, I would give less rank-points to incomplete sumbissions, too!). You are not allowed to blame me too hard for holes & faults at this moment — please send comments instead!


Materials whose properties can be tuned by external parameters find extensive applications as sensors and actuators. Piezoelectric materials are one of this kind with their capability of converting mechanical energy to electrical energy and vice versa. Consciously or not we come across piezoelectric effect in our day to day life. The piezo igniter for cooking, ultrasonic parking sensors, piezo buzzer in alarm clocks and mobile phones etc. are a few to mention. Piezoelectric materials are broadly classified into naturally occurring and synthetic. Modelling of any device enables to predict its behavior based on the fundamental theory that drives it. Finite Element method is often used for the modelling of ultrasonic devices and commercial packages are available for this. In this paper we make use of the tool ANSYS 15.0 to model piezoelectric phenomenon in materials. Piezoelectric effect arises from the coupling between structural strain and internal electric fields. The coupled field analysis of ANSYS enables evaluation of interaction between two or more fields. Static, modal, harmonic and transient analyses are possible with regard to piezoelectric analysis. We present modal analysis of piezoelectric structures which enables to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the structure. The piezoelectric materials considered for analysis are PZT-4, a commonly used piezo- ceramic material, and BaTiO3, a lead- free piezoelectric ceramic material.


We analyzed the temporal evolution tendency characteristics of temperature,precipitation and soil moisture on the Loess Plateau of China and the response of soil moisture to climate change(mainly about temperature and precipitation) by using annual and monthly meteorological data of 91 meteorological stations within and around the Loess Plateau from 1961—2010 and the soil moisture data from 4 agricultural meteorological stations from 1992—2011.The major methods were linear trend analysis and correlation analysis.The results indicated that:(1) The precipitation on the Loess Plateau in recent 50 years declined gradually,while the temperature increased gradually.The geographical distribution characteristics of mean annual precipitation(temperature) was that the southern part was higher than northern part,the eastern part was higher than the southern part.The temperature and precipitation descended from southeast to northwest gradually,which was determined by altitude and terrain.Semiarid and semihumid area had overall southward trend.(2) The change of different year's climate,environment conditions leaded to the change of top 50 cm soil moisture condition in Xifeng,Changzhi,Yanan,Suide among different years.(3) Soil moisture had a negative feedback to temperature but it had a positive feedback to precipitation.Temperature and precipitation changes were the main reasons of variation of soil moisture on the Loess Plateau.(4) In a case study of Xifeng,the climate change trend and its effect on soil moisture,as well as the evolution of soil moisture were analyzed.During the period between 1991 and 2010,in terms of topsoil moisture,it negatively correlated with temperature but precipitation positively correlated with it.While in terms of the deep soil,the correlation relationship between soil moisture and temperature,precipitation varied depending on the seasons.On the scale of month,soil moisture had a response to climate.There was a negative correlation relationship between temperature and soil moisture,some of them had reached significant level.Actually soil moisture had no obvious response to precipitation,but reached significant level in some months.


The aim of this study was to examine whether the quality of driving performance could be predicted by psychophysiological variables. The study was conducted with sleep deprived subjects (n = 9) performing a simulated driving task for three hours. Driving performance was analyzed in 15.5 s epochs. Epochs were classified to represent accurate, unstable or deficient states of driving. These states of driving formed the dependent variable. Delta, theta, alpha, sigma and beta EEG band powers, eye blink rate and amplitude, and heart rate were each examined at four epochs before the epoch defined according to the driving quality, and formed the independent variables (altogether 8 × 4 = 32 variables). Differences in the averages of the variables in the driving quality states were analyzed across subjects with MANOVAs. The variable beta–4 differentiated significantly the quality states (p = 0.015 < 0.05), but in further analysis with paired samples t-tests it did not differentiated the states significantly. Logistic regression analyses were carried out at the subject level when accurate and unstable driving and accurate and deficient driving formed the dependent variable. Most of the independent variables (delta, alpha and sigma power, blink rate and amplitude, heart rate) predicted according to the hypotheses the change of driving from accurate to unstable or deficient states. The changes in theta and beta were, however, contrary to the hypotheses. The accurate classifications of correct driving quality states changed individually and were quite low for some subjects. The results show that further studies of the power of psychophysiological variables to predict changes in driving quality with validity and generalizability are needed.


This project paper concerns the design implementation and evaluation of a demonstration rural health system which the government of Mali can adopt as the basis for a national rural health system. The plan calls for basic health services and disease prevention at the village level integration of rural health activities with rural community development activities in other sectors and demonstration that such health services can be operated at very low cost. Background information on Mali and the project is followed by a detailed project description. The project analysis includes technical financial social and economic factors.


The electrocardiogram (ECG) was reconstructed from extracellular fields generated by action potentials propagating along a 2-cm linear cable comprising 200 myocardial cells coupled through gap junctions (GJs). Intrinsic APD was varied by altering the maximal conductance of the delayed rectifier (G/sub x/). A longer APD was simulated in the M region by a uniform decrease of G/sub x/. APD prolongation in the M region, no matter how great, failed to yield a distinct U wave in the ECG, as expected for a globally homogeneous medium. To account for the sharp APD transitions observed experimentally, the authors imposed a resistive barrier on either side of the M region by increasing GJ resistance to levels 3-30 times normal. Conduction was little affected under these conditions, yet a separate U wave was seen to follow the T wave. U wave amplitude was directly proportional to the size of the M region and displayed sigmoid dependence of the log of the barrier resistance.<<ETX>>


Summary 1.Repeated intravenous injections of egg white in rabbits whose right eye is inflamed by the introduction of glycerin into the anterior chamber, results in a specific local sensitization of the eye to egg white in 12 of 21 animals tested. 2.Control rabbits injected intravenously with egg white alone and other animals whose right eye is injured with glycerin alone do not develop the eye reaction when the test dose of egg white is injected intravenously. 3. Repeated injections of egg white intravenously in normal animals may produce a general reactivity such that later injections of egg white produce bilateral inflammation of the eyes.


The thermal distribution of 2D and 3D p-n photovoltaic diode structures with and without surface texturing has been studied. By analysis of the numerical simulation results of the I-V characteristics and lattice temperature distributions the effect of different texturing structures on the characteristics of silicon p-n photovoltaic devices has been studied systematically. The efficiency of the device having surface texturing shows more than ~2% enhancement compared to the reference devices which did not have texturing. In addition, the effect of the density of the texturing groove has been studied and it has been confirmed that the texturing structure not only improves the light trapping but also plays an important role in the heat radiation.


Whole blood samples are critical for disease prediction and diagnosis. The emerging field of personalized medicine has significantly increased the demand of researcher's usage of large volume of blood specimens from Biobanks. Our goal was to provide a scalable genomic DNA (gDNA) extraction method from whole blood suitable for downstream applications such as qPCR, microarray analysis and next generation sequencing (NGS). Here we present an automated, high-quality, research-ready DNA extraction from large volume blood from biobanks. GenFind V3 DNA Isolation Kit integrated on KingFisher Duo system, provides scalable and consistent system for gDNA extraction from 2 mL of whole blood. GenFind V3 DNA Isolation Kit uses SPRI (Solid Phase Reverse Immobilization) paramagnetic bead technology to isolate genomic DNA from fresh or frozen whole blood and serum containing Citrate, EDTA or Heparin anticoagulants. The combined automation and chemistry platform processing 24 samples within 2 hours. A comparison between manual extraction and automated extraction was done with multiple donors. Quality metrics for gDNA yield, purity and integrity were accessed by NanoDrop and gDNA TapeStation. The gDNA yield from 2 mL whole blood was between 40-80 µg. Recovered gDNA exhibited high purity with A260/A280 ratios greater than 1.8 and A260/A230 ratios about 1.6. DNA integrity as measured by DNA integrity number (DIN) was above 9.0. The extract gDNA using GenFind V3 and KingFisher Duo system was suitable for downstream applications such as PCR, Microarray and NGS.


Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play important roles in cardiovascular diseases by delivering their RNA cargos. However, the features and possible role of the lncRNAs and mRNAs in cardiac EVs during ischemia–reperfusion (IR) remain unclear. Therefore, we performed RNA sequencing analysis to profile the features of lncRNAs and mRNAs and predicted their potential functions. Here, we demonstrated that the severity of IR injury was significantly correlated with cardiac EV production. RNA sequencing identified 73 significantly differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs (39 upregulated and 34 downregulated) and 720 DE‐mRNAs (317 upregulated and 403 downregulated). Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway analysis were performed to predict the potential functions of the DE‐lncRNAs and mRNAs. The lncRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA ceRNA network showed the possible functions of DE‐lncRNAs with DE‐mRNAs which are enriched in the pathways of T cell receptor signalling pathway and cell adhesion molecules. Moreover, the expressions of ENSMUST00000146010 and ENSMUST00000180630 were negatively correlated with the severity of IR injury. A significant positive correlation was revealed between TCONS_00010866 expression and the severity of the cardiac injury. These findings revealed the lncRNA and mRNA profiles in the heart derived EVs and provided potential targets and pathways involved in cardiac IR injury.


The problem of forecasting market volatility is a difficult task for most fund managers. Volatility forecasts are used for risk management, alpha (risk) trading, and the reduction of trading friction. Improving the forecasts of future market volatility assists fund managers in adding or reducing risk in their portfolios as well as in increasing hedges to protect their portfolios in anticipation of a market sell-off event. Our analysis compares three existing financial models that forecast future market volatility using the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) to six machine/deep learning supervised regression methods. This analysis determines which models provide best market volatility forecast. Using VIX futures and options data along with other technical indicators, our analysis compares multiple forecasting models for estimating the 1-month VIX futures contract (UX1) both 3 and 5-days forward. This analysis finds that machine/deep learning methods of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) provide improved results over existing linear regression, principal components analysis (PCA) and ARIMA methods. Comparing estimated versus actual test data, both the RNN and LSTM methods show lower mean squared error (MSE), lower mean absolute error (MAE), higher explained variance, and higher correlation. Finally, an accuracy matrix was generated for each model, which showed RNN and LSTM had better overall accuracy due to high true positive and negative forecasts as well as much lower false positive forecasts.


Commission envisions larger post-Brexit budget On Wednesday, EU budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger revealed a plan to increase the EU budget for 2021-2027, despite the UK's departure from the…


This work introduces the Proficient Simulated Annealing Design Agent Model (PSADA), a cognitively inspired, agent-based model of engineering configuration design. PSADA models different proficiency agents using move selection heuristics and problem space search strategies, both of which are identified and extracted from prior human subject studies. The model is validated with two design problems. Agents are compared to human designers and show the accurate simulation of the behaviors of the different proficiency designers. These behavior differences lead to significantly different performance levels, matching the human performance levels with just one exception. These validated heterogeneous agents are placed into teams and confirmed previous findings that the most proficient member of a configuration design team has the largest impact (positive or negative) on team performance. The PSADA model is introduced as a scalable platform to further explore configuration design proficiency's role in design team performance and organizational behavior.


We engineered an effective GO/Ag substrate with a highly controlled and uniform bilayer structure. The substrate was obtained by fine-tuning in the Ag nanocubes (AgNCs) self-assembly, followed by a controlled adsorption of GO sheets on the silver layer. Here the GO coating supplies the signal with additional amplification. The developed GO/AgNCs assemblies show a highly uniform signal distribution, which is ascribed to a homogeneous and soft arrangement of GO sheets over the AgNCs surface. The above characteristics make the GO/AgNCs substrate a reliable tool for detecting different compounds ranging from small molecules to complex biomolecules.


Horses have their own unique status as therapy animals due to their function in both physical and psychotherapies. Current models of Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) utilize horses for a range of physical, psychological and learning therapies to benefit humans, often referring to horses as therapeutic "partners". To fulfill certification requirements for existing models of EAAT, practitioners are required to study equine behavior through the belief systems currently modeled in the natural horsemanship community. Despite requiring knowledge in horse behavior, studies and anecdotal evidence suggests that horses used in EAAT commonly display confusion or escape behaviors, "burn out" and/or display signs of depression. These behaviors could be a result of contradictions in the interpretation of equine behavior within the natural horsemanship practices or a lack of understanding and utilization of equine learning theory within the context of EAAT. This study looked at the use of horses for physical and psychotherapy in four leading models of EAAT: the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH), Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), Natural Lifemanship (NL) and Eponaquest. The study found that, although interpretation of horse behavior is considered critical in each model, there are no standards for understanding equine behavioral psychology within or between the models. Furthermore, the use of horses in physical therapy or as a rhythmic tool for psychotherapy suggests that there may be cause to develop mechanical horses that can produce the same physical benefits as horseback riding.


Deep neural networks have been widely applied in various machine learning applications for mobile data analytics in cloud. However, this approach introduces significant data challenges, because the cloud operator can perform deep inferences on the available data. Recent advances in edge computing have paved the way to more efficient and private data processing at the edge of the network for simple tasks and lightweight models, but challenges still remain in building efficient complex models (e.g., deep learning) for edge computing. To tackle these issues, we propose EdgeSanitizer, a deep inference framework-based edge computing with local differential privacy for mobile data analytics. EdgeSanitizer leverages deep learning model to conduct data minimization and obfuscates the learned features by adaptively injecting noise, thereby forming a new protection layer against sensitive inference. We evaluate its performance in terms of data privacy and utility through theoretical analysis and experimental evaluation. The theoretical analysis proves that EdgeSanitizer can provide provable privacy guarantees with a large improvement in utility. And the experimental results demonstrate the robustness of our approach against sensitive inference, as well as its applicability on resource-constrained edge devices.


Assessment personnel from the southern borderlands area of Texas participated in analyzing one of four different hypothetical cases. Respondents were expected to defer making eligibility decisions due to language proficiency, environment, culture, or lack of data. When data were lacking, the investigators proposed that respondents would recognize the need for additional information and defer making a decision. Differences in eligibility decisions were found when the respondents analyzed cases in which a significant discrepancy existed and in cases in which language proficiency information was provided. Experience in assessment was significant in the determination that additional information was needed to reach a decision, F(2, 87) = 3.99, p < .05. A majority of the respondents (83%) made an eligibility decision using insufficient data.


Transnational migration can generate strong emotions on the part of migrants and their families. These emotions are not only about desire for a new life and longing for one's homeland, but also about love and longing when families are separated by the migration process. While much of the literature has emphasized the emotional pain among migrants and their families to highlight the costs of globalization (e.g., Parrenas, 2004, 1997; Schmalzbauer, 2004), this paper develops the claim that the emotional pain expressed by children and parents in transnational families differs because of their varied positionality and sense of agency. In doing so, it draws on research which shows how emotional pain—for instance, among children with absent parents—is contingent on factors besides a migrant parent's physical absence, such as the meaning that the child makes of the separation (Suárez-Orozco, et al., 2002). Families are constructed differently in different communities, such that the physical presence of a parent in a child's life may be more or less significant or a marker of good parenting. Based on interviews with children of migrant mothers in the Caribbean, Karen Fog Olwig argued that it is not the absence of the mother in the household that causes pain for children but the mother's absence in the form of lack of remittances and visits, because the household is itself conceived of as a transnational and geographically dispersed unit. "None of the life stories [with children] gives the impression that the parents' physical absence in and of itself had been experienced as traumatic or problematic. It is apparent, however, that this absence was only acceptable so long as the parents maintained a strong economic and social presence in


History has marked a large number of man endeavours towards building machines that are capable of performing arithmetic operations more efficiently than he can do himself. These started with very primitive instruments but evolved over the course of time due to the accumulative knowledge of man kind. In the recent decades, many computer architectures exhibiting various design methodologies and computation models have been developed. One of the most widely accepted of which is von-Neumann architecture.


Abstract Archaeal diether-type analogues possessing one or two furanosyl polar head groups and methyl branched aliphatic moieties were synthesized by glycosylation of glycerolipids with pent-4-enyl 2,3,5,6-tetra-O-acetyl- d- glycofuranosides as the donors. The products were shown to form thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystalline mesophases, tubules and vesicles. The self-assembling properties of the compounds prepared were found to be similar to those of naturally occurring materials, in that they exhibited columnar thermotropic mesophases and hexagonal lyotropic phases.


Based on the time-varying suspen-domes model, a configuration-cable force dual control form-finding algorithm was proposed, taking the construction process and construction technology into consideration, according to the looped cable tensioning construction technique, especially in the practical project. The form-finding algorithm was complemented by inverse iteration method for controlling the structure configuration and the initial stress increment method for controlling the cable force. Furthermore, the influence of geometric nonlinearity, construction process, and other construction technology could be taken into consideration.


Pantaloons is India's leading fashion and lifestyle destination for men, women, children. The friendly and welcoming store staff coupled with fresh, vibrant and stylish merchandise make it a fashion hotspot that shoppers across India flock to. From contemporary ethnic's wear to stylish western wear, from cool casuals to smart formals, from bubbly kids wear to cute infant wear, Pantaloons has it all. In addition to fashionable and trendy apparel, it has range of handbags, footwear and accessories that make pantaloons one stop style destination. The research involved gathering wide information about company, its products, consumer preference and satisfaction level towards Pantaloons. From the information collected, various aspects were identified where the company needs to focus on customers preference and satisfaction level of pantaloons to increase sales. The research was conducted through primary and secondary data. Secondary data was collected through visiting various websites, and other reliable sources. Primary data was collected through a well framed questionnaire, of which later a detailed analysis was done using various statistical I.T tools MS Word and MS Excel. On the basis, the secondary data analysis and the extensive analysis of the primary data, interpretation were drawn for the questions and conclusion is drawn. Certain suggestions are also drawn from the analysis to help.


We present a review of the recent progress of theoretical models on the description of the formation of superheavy nuclei in collisions of heavy systems. Two sorts of reactions that are the fusion-evaporation mechanism and the massive damped collisions to produce superheavy nuclei are discussed. Problems and further improvements of the capture of colliding partners, the formation of compound nucleus and the de-excitation process are pointed out. Possible combinations in the synthesis of the gap of the cold fusion and $^{48}$Ca induced reactions are proposed by the calculations based on the dinuclear system model and also compared with other approaches. The synthesis of neutron-rich heavy isotopes near sub-shell closure N=162 via transfer reactions in the damped collisions of two actinides and the influence of shell closure on the production of heavy isotopes are investigated. Prospective possibility to reach superheavy nuclei near N=184 via neutron-rich radioactive beams of high intensity in the future is discussed.


joints were evaluated on the basis of surface appearance, To develop the practical use of high nitrogen-containing austenitic stainless steels (HNS), the possibility of using friction stir welding (FSW) of HNS was examined. In this report, butt-welding of 2 mm thick HNS steel plates was performed using a load-controlled FSW machine. Two types of welding tool materials were used in this study, namely, a Si 3 N 4 -based material and a WC-Co-based material. For FSW with Si 3 N 4 , full-penetrated and defect-free butt welding joints were successfully produced. On the other hand, for FSW with WC-Co, the tool was deformed and the stir zone did not completely reach the bottom. The stir zone produced by the Si 3 N 4 tool showed a Vicker's hardness higher than the base metal and displayed a fine microstructure due to recrystallization. The yield strength and the tensile strength of the welds produced by the Si 3 N 4 tool exceeded that of the base metal.


Problem-based learning (Skokauskas N, Psychiatr Bull 2009; 33 : 117) is used in 'new' curricula since the publication of Tomorrow's Doctors by the General Medical Council in 1993. It allows students to solve problems and can integrate teaching across specialties and between clinical and basic


Features of dynamics of cultivated area of agricultural crops during the crisis period of 1990–2012 are identified. Factors causing differently directed changes at the local level are shown on the case study of Kursk oblast. It is found that in contrast to the interregional scale at the intraregional level the leading role is played by the following factors: location of the district on the axis of "center-periphery", nearborder location, the presence of large developing industrial hubs.


College English Integrated Course has been highly valued in the educational circle since it was put to use as a textbook for college students, but with time, it shows certain defects, which is worthy of the attention of the compiler as well as the teacher.


A circuit model for the coupling of externally generated electromagnetic fields to coplanar stripline interconnections with resistive and geometric discontinuities on lossy integrated circuit substrates is presented. The simplicity and fast speed of the model enable computer-aided analysis of externally induced electromagnetic noise in integrated circuit interconnects to be carried out. A general CAD algorithm is developed based on this model, and is applied to realistic coplanar strip interconnect line prototypes which are selected from a practical microwave integrated circuit. The effects of dielectric losses in the integrated circuit substrates and the discontinuities in the conducting tracks on the wave coupling are investigated in isolation.


Background— Activated human eosinophils, as well as neutrophils, can release extracellular chromatin to form DNA traps through cytolytic extracellular trap cell death (ETosis). Although formations of neutrophil DNA traps are recognized in various inflammatory conditions, neither the presence of ETosis-derived eosinophil DNA traps in human allergic diseases nor the characteristics of these DNA traps have been studied. Objective— We investigated the presence of ETosis-derived DNA traps in eosinophil-rich sinus and ear secretions and the functional attributes of ETosis DNA traps. Methods— Eosinophil-rich secretions obtained from patients with eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) and eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) were studied microscopically. In vitro studies of ETosis and DNA trap formation used blood-derived eosinophils and neutrophils, and binding capacities of DNA traps used labeled bacteria and fluorescent microbeads. Stabilities of DNA traps were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy. Results— Abundant nuclear histone H1-bearing DNA traps had formed in vivo in the eosinophilic secretions and contributed to their increased viscosity. In vitro , following brief shear flow, eosinophil ETosis-elicited DNA traps assembled to form stable aggregates. Eosinophil DNA traps entrapped bacteria and fungi and by hydrophobic interactions microbeads. In comparison with neutrophil-derived DNA traps, eosinophil DNA traps ultrastructurally exhibited thicker fibers with globular structures and were less susceptible to leukocyte-derived proteolytic degradation, likely due to the lesser protease activities of eosinophils. Conclusions— In human allergic diseases, the local cytolysis of eosinophils not only releases free eosinophil granules but also generates nuclear-derived DNA traps that are major extracellular structural components within eosinophil-rich secretions.


Pulmonary hypertension is clinically defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of more than 25 mm Hg at rest or 30 mm Hg during exercise.With the development of the aetiology,the treatments for cellular hyperplasia and vascular remodeling have improved greatly prognosis of pulmonary hypertension patients.This paper reviews the application of endothelin-receptor antagonist in pulmonary hypertension.


FIELD: transport. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to aircraft engineering. Aircraft undercarriage comprises first and second wheels on common axle. Drive assembly can be engaged with first and second wheels to make them run so that drive longitudinal passage direction is located in plane perpendicular to common axle of wheels. Besides, drive assembly comprises first motor to be engaged with first wheel via first wheel drive gearing and second motor to be engaged with second wheel via second wheel drive gearing. Note here that first and second tandem motors are arranged in direction of drive assembly lengthwise passage. Drive assembly can comprises motor and differential gearing, first and second gears. Motor can be engaged with first and second wheels via said gearing to be driven thereby. Output stage first gear can be engaged with first wheel axial gear engaged with first wheel for it to be drive thereby. Output stage second gear can be engaged with second wheel axial gear engaged with second wheel for it to be drive thereby. Output stage first and second gears are fitted on output stage common axle perpendicular to drive assembly lengthwise direction. EFFECT: provision of required power for taxiing of large commercial aircraft. 30 cl, 7 dwg


A recent editorial in the "South African Medical Journal" called for the establishment of a working group to promote HIV vaccine research in Africa. A workshop at the March 1997 African Immunology Conference further addressed this goal. In attendance were researchers from 9 African countries (Tanzania South Africa Zimbabwe Nigeria Kenya Uganda Mozambique Ethiopia and Cameroon) and representatives from 3 international organizations with mandates for promotion of HIV vaccine research: the HIV Network for Prevention Trials the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. Although most candidate HIV-1 vaccines are based on the genetic subtype B subtypes A C D and E predominate in Africa. Laboratory-based research and efficacy trials on the possible protective efficacy of experimental vaccines in populations infected with different HIV-1 subtypes are needed. It is further necessary to strengthen capacity for laboratory clinical epidemiological and social-behavioral vaccine research in Africa including the establishment and follow-up of well-characterized cohorts of HIV-negative volunteers. To facilitate communication between AIDS researchers in southern Africa and other parts of the world a web site and electronic mailing list are being established by the South African Bio-Informatics Institute at the University of the Western Cape.


Objective To evaluate the veracity and reproducibility of quantitative measurement of hepatic blood flow with CT perfusion imaging.Methods Twenty-one healthy adult canines were selected to perform single-section hepatic CT perfusion imaging.The scanning plain simultaneously including liver, abdominal aorta and portal vein was selected to measure the blood flow parameters and the time-density curve was obtained from the region of interest.Individual hepatic arterial perfusion and portal venous perfusion parameters were calculated by the method of deconvolution and converted to hepatic arterial blood flow and portal venous blood flow.The hepatic artery and portal venous blood flow were measured by the electromagnetic flowmeter in order to evaluate the veracity of CT perfusion imaging.The reproducibility of CT perfusion imaging in humans was assessed by three observers in two sessions in the 18 healthy volunteers. Results The hepatic artery flow,portal venous flow and total liver flow measured by CT perfusion were (145±35),(611±161)and(755±179)ml/min,respectively.The hepatic artery flow,portal venous flow and total liver flow measured by electromagnetic flowmeter were(127±44),(637±165)and(764± 182)ml/min,respectively.The correlation coefficients of the three parameters measured by the two measurements were 0.671,0.828 and 0.899,respectively.Two-way ANOVA showed high concordance between the three observers or between the two measurements performed by each observer(ICC0.9). Conclusions CT perfusion imaging could quantify the hepatic blood flow.The accuracy is similar to electromagnetic flowmeter,and it could effectively reflect physiological or pathological hemodynamies of liver.CT perfusion is noninvasive,high reproducible and convenient,which could be widely used in clinical practice.


Therapeutic decisions based on ultrasonographic findings afford a high accuracy of the diagnosis. Adequate equipment in the department and appropriate training of the surgeon are essential prerequisites. It is desirable to have possibilities of application which go far beyond routine ultrasonography of the abdomen. It is possible to develop a highly specialized ultrasonography which, however, becomes unnecessary if the question can more definitely be decided by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.


This paper makes a research on how to modify flashpaper files,and provides a method for satisfying user's customized demand after loading swf files through flash and calling relevant API functions to modify associated attributes.


This article presents the project Gloffer (Global Offer). The project focuses on creating a universal solution for presentation, demanding and offering products and services in B2B and B2C environments. It describes the development of the whole project, from the initial idea to the testing and launching in trial operation. The article focuses on the description of target markets and implementations of the new sales model. The model is compared to the existing shopping and selling approaches and it debates about the options of practical application. The last part describes the marketing model, which targets on companies, the providers of content and offers, and the users, who look for the content and create the demands. Last but not least there is a model of project globalization, its expansion within Europe and then worldwide. In conclusion there can be found a description of possible wider cooperation and participation in the project, namely within the development and potential selling and promotional activities.


The photosynthetic performance of macroalgae isolated in Antarctica was studied in the laboratory. Species investigated were the brown algae Himantothallus grandifolius, Desmarestia anceps, Ascoseira mirabilis, the red algae Palmaria decipiens, Iridaea cordata, Gigartina skottsbergii, and the green algae Enteromorpha bulbosa, Acrosiphonia arcta, Ulothrix subflaccida and U. implexa. Unialgal cultures of the brown and red algae were maintained at 0°C, the green algae were cultivated at 10°C. IK values were between 18 and 53 μmol m−2 s−1 characteristic or low light adapted algae. Only the two Ulothrix species showed higher IK values between 70 and 74 μmol m−2 s−1. Photosynthesis compensated dark respiration at very low photon fluence rates between 1.6 and 10.6 μmol m−2 s−1. Values of α were high: between 0.4 and 1.1 μmol O2 g−1 FW h−1 (μmol m−2 s−1)−1 in the brown and red algae and between 2.1 and 4.9 μmol O2 g−1 FW h−1 (μmol m−2 s−1)−1 in the green algal species. At 0°C Pmax values of the brown and red algae ranged from 6.8 to 19.1 μmol O2 g−1 FW h−1 and were similarly high or higher than those of comparable Arctic-cold temperate species. Optimum temperatures for photosynthesis were 5 to 10°C in A. mirabilis, 10°C in H. grandifolius, 15°C in G. skottsbergii and 20°C or higher in D. anceps and I. cordata. P: R ratios strongly decreased in most brown and red algae with increasing temperatures due to different Q10 values for photosynthesis (1.4 to 2.5) and dark respiration (2.5 to 4.1). These features indicate considerable physiological adaptation to the prevailing low light conditions and temperatures of Antarctic waters. In this respect the lower depth distribution limits and the northern distribution boundaries of these species partly depend on the physiological properties described here.


The main objective of this study was to assess the possibility of a business model to crowdfund solar PV projects in Monterrey, Mexico. Factors (drivers and challenges) and actors affecting the likelihood of success of this business model were identified and analyzed. These were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. A literature review served as the foundations for the research. These secondary sources of data included scholarly articles and extensive reports by research and advisory firms & governmental agencies. Twenty different runs were performed using the System Advisor Model (SAM) by NREL as part of a robust solar techno-economic simulation. Sensitivity analysis of varying independent variables one at a time produced quantitative data that supported qualitative findings in the literature review. On the quantitative side, a hypothetical commercial system in Monterrey underperformed an identical one in CA primarily due to higher insurance payments (∆= + 62%) and a less competitive cost of capital (∆= + 52%). This lead to a higher LCOE ((∆= + 27%) and a lower scaled-NPV (∆= 20%). Electricity rates were confirmed as main drivers of industry development: at an 8.5% escalation rate, the scaled-NPV of the system in Monterrey was almost 50% higher than that of the system in California. Incentives were confirmed as another main driver for growth, discerning between different combinations of investment tax credits, production tax credits, and direct cash incentives to find the optimal instruments. For example, a standalone PTC at 0% escalation rate and a standalone 30% non-taxable cash grant both outperform the 30% ITC, the current de facto incentive. This finding supports the work of renowned economists in the subject. A holistic assessment of the simulation led to the recommendation for project developers in Monterrey to place strategic focus on reducing system costs on a "dollars-per-Watt-installed" basis and on


[Objective] To analyze and assess the meteorological conditions of radix hedysari cultivation district in Gansu Province.[Method]The weather conditions were analyzed based on the annual temperature,annual rainfall,annual humidity and their mean values on lighting months from 1961 to 2009,which were obtained from ten meteorological stations.[Result] Relative higher in temperature and lower in humidity,south Longnan mountain district and Chuanba were not suitable for the cultivation of radix hedysari,whereas Dingxi City with high humidity,low temperature and enough illumination was beneficial to the growth of radix hedysari.[Conclusion]The most suitable area in Gansu Province for the cultivation of radix hedysari was obtained in this study,which provided evidence for the scientific planning and enlarging of the radix hedysari cultivation area.


Prof Muller was a keynote speaker recently at the Water Security, Risk and Society conference in Oxford in the UK, where he shared the platform with a British Minister.


To the editor We report an infant with transfusion-dependent severe nondominant hereditary spherocytosis (ndHS) with a unique compound heterozygous combination of α-spectrinBugHill (αBH) in cis to αLEPRA (low expression Prague), both of which were in trans to a previously unreported frameshift in exon 3 of the SPTA-1 gene. A three-month-old male, with history of indirect hyperbilirubinemia at 24 hours of life presumed to be due to ABO incompatibility, presented with jaundice, lethargy, and poor feeding for three weeks. Physical exam noted an ill-appearing, pale yellow infant with hepatosplenomegaly. Labs and blood smear were consistent with severe hemolysis (Figure 1A and B). The patient received a total of 20 cc/kg transfusion in small aliquots over 24 hours (Figure 1C) with improvement in cardiorespiratory status. Osmotic fragility was significantly increased. The patient continues to require 20 ml/kg packed red blood cell transfusion every four to five weeks. Target gene mutation analysis for genes related to hereditary erythrocyte disorders performed on the patient revealed three heterozygous


Objective:To study the odontogenesis ablility of pig dental mesenchymal cells cultured in vitro.Method:Seeding pig mesenchymal cells of passage 4 into collagen materials.After 3 days culture,the cell-collagen compounds were implanted into nude mice to establish the odontogenesis ablility of the dental mesenchymal cells.6 weeks later,implants were excised for histological analysis.Result:Epithelium-like cells and fibroblast-like cells were concomitance in the primary culture,while epithelium-like cells disappeared after 3 passages culture in vitro.The results of the implants showed that dental-pulp complex structures formed in the place where cells had a high density.Conclusion:After a long time culture in vitro,dental mesenchymal cells can form dental-pulp complex structure after being seeded into collagen matrix.The results showed that after a long time culture in vitro,dental mesenchymal cells still have the odontogenesis ablility.Thus dental mesenchymal cells are ideal for tooth engineering.


Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2021 91 To the Editor: By May 10, 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) had been confirmed via PCR testing in 224,390 cases in Spain, reaching 26,621 deaths. Since then, we entered Phase 1 of the coronavirus deescalation process, including a relaxation of face-to-face consultations. However, from the first working day after the declaration of the state of alarm in our country (Monday, March 16, 2020) to the above-mentioned date, teleophthalmology was supposed to acquire a leading role, trying to attend to the strictly necessary patients, such as emergency ones, postsurgery, cases or those with ophthalmic tumors. As members of an Oculoplastics–Orbit Unit at a tertiary referral hospital in Andalusia, the most populated Spanish Autonomous Community, we followed our authorities' instructions with regard to consultations. During the period referred above, 138 Oculoplastics–Orbit consultations had been scheduled beforehand. About 80% of them were telematically attended, mainly via phone calls and in some cases using an official application that lets patients upload photographs from their mobile phones. Nevertheless, the majority of these "teleoculoplastics–teleorbit" consultations were postponed, reaching a resolution rate of 6.31% (Table 1). Regarding the chief complaints during the state of alarm at our Unit, anophthalmic sockets, postsurgery consultations, and lacrimal disorders took up the first 3 positions, encompassing 50% of the patients (Table 2). The main problem we found while performing telematic consultations was that our subspecialty is truly surgical, we need to "see and touch" the patient we are going to operate. This issue is very important in case of elderly patients, because they usually have limited access to technology, preferring face-to-face consultations in order to know their surgeon in person. Probably, an informed consent could be signed telematically without great difficulties, but the confidence we transmit during a visit could not be replaced by any electronic method. Evidently, "teleoculoplastics–teleorbit" consultations will never become the gold standard, but they could bring a considerable savings in visits, such as communicating Radiology or Pathology results. In conclusion, telematic attention to patients with oculoplastic or orbital diseases could be an interesting tool to implement at our units in this new era. Despite doctors' good purposes, technical support, funds, and real involvement of authorities must be essential to guarantee success and make it efficient. Antonio M. Garrido-Hermosilla, M.D. Javier Palenque-Sánchez, M.D. María Concepción Díaz-Ruiz, M.D.


............................................................................................................................. ii Preface ............................................................................................................................... iv Table of contents ............................................................................................................ viii List of tables.................................................................................................................... xiii List of figures .................................................................................................................. xiv List of abbreviations .................................................................................................... xviii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... xxii


Objective
To observe the effect of ATF6 on the apoptosis and proliferation of podocytes induced by palmitic acid (PA).

Methods
Podocytes were stimulated with different doses of PA for 24 h. The expression of cleaved-caspase3 was detected by Western blotting. The podocyte apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM), and the expression of ATF6 was tested by Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. After the transfection of adenovirus siRNA against ATF6, the proliferation, the cell cycle and apoptosis of potocytes stimulated with PA were tested by MTT or FCM.

Results
The levels of cleaved-caspase3 and ATF6 of podocytes stimulated with PA were significantly increased by a dose-dependent manner compared with the control group (P <0.05). The apoptosis of podocytes stimulated with PA was increased (P <0.05). Compared with the podocytes stimulated with PA, the apoptosis of podocytes transfected by adenovirus siRNA against ATF6 with PA stimulation was significantly reduced (P <0.05). The proliferation of podocytes transfected by adenovirus siRNA against ATF6 and stimulated with PA, however, was obviously increased compared with the podocytes stimulated with PA (P <0.05).

Conclusion
ATF6 mediated the apoptosis of podocytes induced by palmitate acid.

Key words:
Palmitic acid; Podocytes; Apoptosis; Activating transcription factors


AbstractThis paper presents the analysis of a failure involving the partial collapse of a masonry wall made of precast concrete blocks in an industrial building as a result of the action of the wind. A field survey was carried out to investigate the origin of the failure, which pointed to defective building practices as the possible cause. At the same time, complementary numerical modeling was performed to simulate the coupled fluidstructure behavior, as well as a parametric study and optimization based on Design of Experiments (DOE) to determine the influence of the principal variables in the wall behavior in the presence of wind loads. The lessons learned in the course of the study are explained in the final section.


The author outlines a programme for better support and development systems for staff. He deals specifically with the theory and practice of professional supervision where a group of clients is cared for or worked with by a group of staff.


To compare the efficacy and safety between leucocyte‐rich platelet‐rich plasma (LR‐PRP) and corticosteroid in fluoroscopically guided caudal epidural injection for patients with complex chronic lumbar spinal pain.


This paper presents mathematical modelling of joint lot sizing and scheduling problem in job shop environment under a set of working conditions. The main feature of the problem is to deal with flexible machines able to change their working speeds, known as process compressibility. Furthermore, produced items should be assembled together to make final products. In other words, the products have a multilevel structure, shown with bill of materials. As the problem is proved to be strongly NP-hard, it is solved by a memetic algorithm here. Computational experiences on the data of 'Mega Motor' company are reported. Also, further experiences on random test data confirm the performance of the proposed method with less than 5.02% optimality gap while solving the problems in very shorter times than CPLEX 12.0.


A new projection exposure method without using reticles was proposed, and the feasibility of printing arbitrary patterns was investigated. The preparation of expensive reticles is not favorable for the small-volume production of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), optomechanical systems, and their components. On the other hand, long turnaround time (TAT) becomes a fatal bottleneck preventing the rapid follow-up of various design changes. As a countermeasure, we previously proposed a new exposure method named optical-fiber-matrix exposure. In this method, patterns are delineated by superimposing light spots from an optical-fiber matrix, and expensive reticles are not necessary. Therefore, patterns are easily changeable by controlling the pattern delineation program. However, in the previous method, light rays from one intensive lamp were divided and switched using small mechanical shutters placed at each fiber entrance, and the shutters were not sufficiently reliable. For this reason, violet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were used in this research in place of the lamp source and mechanical shutters, and the light or dark state at each optical fiber end was controlled using a microcomputer that switched each LED attached to each fiber entrance one by one. Since the illuminance of each LED was different, LEDs with approximately the same illuminance were selectively used, and each illuminance was adjusted to be uniform by inserting an individual color filter. Thus, the widths of patterns printed by scanning different fiber elements were homogenized. Since line-and-space patterns and various alphabet patterns were successfully printed, the feasibility of fabricating a large-scale optical-fiber matrix was also investigated. An optical-fiber line matrix composed of more than 330 fibers was fabricated without including any gaps between neighbor fibers. There will probably be no fatal problems to enlarge the matrix scale. Although the exposure speed should be improved, the new matrix exposure technique using light-emitting diodes should be of practical use.


This article describes some of the rising barrier projects undertaken by the company Automatic Systems in Europe in the last thirty years. Designs can be put into two main groups: short, fast, rising barriers for turnpike roads and sturdy rising and swinging barriers for traffic control. Payment for road tolls is made increasingly by means of magnetic card or by electronic vehicle identification. Traffic management barriers are used to close off roads or tunnels for maintenance or for incident management. A case in point is the barrier system required for the new Soedra Laenken tunnel under Stockholm, Sweden. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118381.


In a material, micro-cracks can be progressively occurred, propagated and finally lead to failure when it is subjected to cyclic or periodic loading less than its ultimate strength. This phenomenon, fatigue, is usually considered in a metal, alloy and structures under repeated loading conditions. In underground structures, a static creep behavior rather than a dynamic fatigue behavior is mostly considered. However, when compressed air is stored in a rock cavern, an inner pressure is periodically changed due to repeated in- and-out process of compressed air. Therefore mechanical properties of surrounding rock mass and an inner lining system under cyclic loading/unloading conditions should be investigated. In this study, considering an underground lined rock cavern for compressed air energy storage (CAES), the mechanical properties of a lining system, that is, concrete lining and plug under periodic loading/unloading conditions were characterized through cyclic bending tests and shear tests. From these tests, the stability of the plug was evaluated and the S-N line of the concrete lining was obtained.


tication about causal processes in his discussion f the historical development of the political authority of the papacy; and despite oversimplifications a dinconsistencies, Petrarch's voluminous strictures on the papacy in Avignon, to be found in his letters, evince a mode of perception strikingly at variance with those which supposedly give to the period 1100 to 1400 its peculiar mediaeval character. The causal constructs of both these men have continued to dominate historical


A standardized design method of Planar Periodic Structure (PPS)-based 90° Linear Polarization converters is presented. This procedure enables standardized designs centered at an arbitrary frequency in either reflection or transmission at normal incidence, which may be achieved with no computational cost and can be used to obtain suitable designs at oblique incidence. It uses both Foster's equivalent circuits and the classic coupler synthesis, which allow the number of layers, the values of the lumped elements, and the lengths and impedances of the spacers needed to fulfill any prescribed requirements in terms of XP, insertion losses and bandwidth to be known. The selection of the PPS scatterer that provides the appropriate values of the circuit elements is also studied. Several designs are presented to validate the proposed method, one of which converts a vertical polarization into the horizontal in transmission, exhibiting simulated results of XP < -30 dB, insertion losses better than 0.1 dB and bandwidth that improves other rotators in the state of the art for the same number of layers. The designed device has been manufactured and experimentally tested, and the results validate the methodology.


Fig. 1 (a) Plots of Kinetic parameters (K, ve, kep, IAUC) vs. assumed baseline T1 when a true T1=800 ms with K trans = 0.5min, IAUC = 0.039 M⋅s, kep = 1.25 min , and ve = 0.4. (b) Plots of the normalized ratios (NR) of IAUC, kep, K trans and ve. True NRs are 0.77, 0.6, 0.5 and 0.125, respectively. The same true T1 (800 ms) was assumed for both preand post-treatment. Fig. 2. Effects caused by the change of baseline T1 due to the treatment. Plots of the normalized ratios (NR) of kep (a), K trans


Using sterile conditions, changes in total protein synthesis were followed. over an 8 day incubation period, in detached first seedling leaves of barley from 8 day old plants during senescence and after kinetin treatment. In senescing leaves, total 14C-alanine incorporation was enhanced by nearly 20% within 6 h of leaf detachment and by about 30 % after 24 h. Kinetin treatment stimulated protein synthesis even more, for total incorporation was promoted ca. 50 % after 6 h and by ca. 60 % after 24 h incubation. The leaf supernatant (30,000 ×g for 30 min) proteins were separated on DEAE-Sephadex (A-50) columns into approximately 14 fractions and changes in 14C labelling of these fractions were studied following leaf detachment and on incubation on water or kinetin for 6 days. In senescing leaves, 14C-incorporation into supernatant proteins was sustained, even as protein levels declined rapidly The varied stabilities of the different leaf proteins was suggested by the characteristically changing specific activities of the different protein fractions. Although kinetin greatly promoted incorporation into all protein fractions, no evidence was surmised of specific effects on individual leaf proteins.

Studies of changes in total protein synthesis in attached senescing first seedling leaves taken from plants aged 7 to 27 days revealed a relatively small increase in 14C-incorporation. However, incorporation could be greatly increased in leaves up to 15 days old by detaching and preincubating such leaves for up to 2 days on water, prior to measurement. The promotion of 14C-incorporation into protcins follwing leaf excision could result from early changes in permeability and precursor pool size.


The radiation-induced emulsion polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene was carried out with the use of ammonium perfluorooctanoate as an emulsifier at an initial pressure of ca. 30–35 Kg/cm2. The polymerization rate was shown to be proportinal to about the 0.8 power of the dose rate in the range of 2 × 104 to 105 R/hr and to be almost independent of emulsifier concentration. The molecular weight of the polymer lies in the range of 104 to 105, increases with reaction time at the initial stage, and decreases with emulsifier concentration, but is independent of the dose rate from 2 × 104 to 6 × 104 R/hr. If the emulsifier is not used, a polymer with a molecular weight as high as 1.8 × 106 to 2 × 107 is obtained. Apparently, the emulsifier and its radiolysis products act as chain transfer agents. Postirradiation polymerization was found to take place with the formation of products with increased molecular weight.


The orientation distribution of the platelets of the phyllosilicate minerals, including mica clays, significantly affects the elastic velocities and anisotropy of shales. Despite a substantial number of publications on shale elasticity in general and, more specifically, on the elastic properties of clay minerals (phyllosilicates) and clay mineral aggregates with varying degree of the platelet preferred orientation, our understanding of these properties is still rather limited. Elastic properties of mudrocks, influenced by the presence of variously oriented phyllosilicates, such as muscovite, illite, and illite/smectite platelets, can be well-constrained if not accurately estimated by a combination of microstructural observations and semiempirical rock-physics models for conventional shale. The orientation distribution data from published literature are used to relate the maximum platelet pole orientation density to the double median orientation angle [Formula: see text] with respect to the bedding plane, both of which relate to the platelet alignment strength. The [Formula: see text] angle is an equally intuitive orientation distribution parameter, which we rely upon in a heuristic approach to model bedding-normal anisotropic elastic moduli and P- and S-wave velocities of zero-porosity clay (matrix) aggregates as a function of the median orientation angle of clay platelets composing these aggregates. It is demonstrated that zero-porosity illite-dominated aggregates with perfect platelet alignment ([Formula: see text]) should have the platelet-normal elastic moduli of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and a [Formula: see text] ratio of approximately [Formula: see text]. The platelet-normal moduli and mineral density of muscovite are significantly greater than those of illite, whereas the respective moduli of the smectite-dominated clay composite are smaller (and the velocity ratio is greater) than those estimated for illite-dominated clays. Finally, it is also shown that the platelet-normal velocity ratio gradually decreases in the smectite, illite, and muscovite series.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the eye lens dose (3 mm dose equivalent [Hp(3)]) received by spine surgeons during myelography and evaluate the effectiveness of radiation-protective glasses and X-ray tube system positioning in reducing radiation exposure. Methods: This study included spine surgeons who performed myelography using over- or under-table X-ray tube systems. Hp(3) was measured for each examination using a radio-photoluminescence glass dosimeter (GD-352M) mounted on radiation-protective glass. Results: This study identified significantly high Hp(3) levels, especially in the right eye lens in spinal surgeons. The median Hp(3) values in the right eye were 524 (391-719) and 58 (42-83) μSv/examination for over- and under-table X-ray tube systems, respectively. Further, Hp(3)AK, which was obtained by dividing the cumulative air kerma from Hp(3), was 8.09 (6.69-10.21) and 5.11 (4.06-6.31) μSv/mGy for the over- and under-table X-ray tube systems, respectively. Implementing radiation-protective glasses resulted in dose reduction rates of 54% (50%-57%) and 54% (51%-60%) for the over- and under-table X-ray tube systems, respectively. Conclusion: The use of radiation protection glasses significantly reduced the radiation dose in the eye lens during myelography, with the most effective measures being the combination of using radiation protection glasses and an under-table X-ray tube system. Advances in knowledge: The study emphasises the importance of radiation protection for minimising eye lens exposure in spine surgeons during myelography; further, it highlights key protective factors, including controlling irradiation dose, optimising imaging sessions, under-table X-ray tube positioning, and using protective glasses. .


In this paper, we discuss the integration of systems such as multi-dimensional radiative transfer models (RTM) with deep learning (DL) algorithms to estimate plant biochemical, physiological, and morphological traits at canopy level using high-resolution hyperspectral imagery (361 bands in the 400-1000 nm spectral range). We applied the approaches to two case studies for dryland cropping in Australia (i.e., wheat and sorghum). Crop type averages for the early flight for leaf area index (LAI) varied between 2, for Canola, to as high as 4.3 for Lentils. Wheat and Barley had LAI of 4.1 and 3.8 (m2/m2), respectively. Chlorophyll a+b (C<inf>a+b</inf>) averages for emerged crops were 18, 41, 44, 51 and 59 μg/cm2 for Faba beans, Wheat, Canola, Barley and Oats, respectively. The pigment Anthocyanin varied from 4.9 to 15.9 μg/cm2 for Lentils and Canola, respectively. Similar patterns were observed in the Carotenoid (C<inf>x+c</inf>) levels (as high as 16.5 μg/cm2 for Oats). For sorghum plots, the integrated DL approaches showed significant high correlation in predicting sorghum LAI (R2 = 0.84, RMSE = 0.65 m2/m2) and C<inf>a+b</inf> (R2 = 0.94, RMSE = 4.94 µgcm-2). The maximum velocity carboxylation rates (Vcmax) varied between 45-75 µmol m-2s-1. For both studied periods, we yielded a R2 > 0.78 and RMSE <= 5.35 µmol m-2s-1, being the RMSE lower when using the modelled fluorescence emission for retrieving the Vcmax. In addition, we derived the solar induced fluorescence emission hyperspectral narrowband (5.8 nm) sensing and radiative transfer models (RTM).


I n s u r e r s a n d r e i n s u r e r s a r e not using ful ly integrated strategies combining weather index based insurance, catastrophe bonds and commodity market hedging to finance catastrophe, farmers' income and consumer food price stability risks. The integration of these strategies is possible in China. A New Scientifically Managed Catastrophe and Agriculture Risk Transfer Financing and Hedging Model With Chinese Characteristics can be used in the State Council authorized pilot projects and in Shanghai Free Trade Zone ("New Model"). Below is a diagram of a New Model for transferring, financing and hedging China's losses:


BACKGROUND: Although systemic sclerosis (SSc) with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is a serious condition and incurs a substantial clinical burden, the epidemiology has not been well characterized. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence and prevalence of SSc and SSc-ILD among commercially insured adults in the United States. METHODS: Adults with medical claims between 2011 and 2016 for SSc or SSc-ILD with and without high-resolution computed tomography scans were identified from the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart. Incidence and prevalence were calculated as rates per 100,000 person-years and 100,000 people, respectively. The crude and age- and sex-adjusted prevalence and incidence of SSc and SSc-ILD were estimated and stratified by year and geography. Sensitivity analyses were conducted based on different cohort identification algorithms. RESULTS: Overall, the crude incidence rates of SSc and SSc-ILD were 16.4 and 1.2 per 100,000 person-years, respectively, and the crude prevalence was 24.4 and 6.9 per 100,000 people, respectively. Patient characteristics were generally similar between the SSc and SSc-ILD groups. Mean age range was 59.2-59.9 years and 61.8-62.9 years in the SSc and SSc-ILD groups, respectively. SSc had an age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate of 15.1 per 100,000 person-years and an adjusted prevalence of 25.9 per 100,000 people. The adjusted incidence rate of SSc-ILD was 1.1 per 100,000 person-years and the adjusted prevalence was 7.3 per 100,000 people. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides current estimates of the national incidence and prevalence of SSc and SSc-ILD, which have not been previously well characterized. Further research in the future may help to support health management strategies and resource allocation for adults with SSc and SSc-ILD in the United States.


Studio-based teaching idea and practice provides a more desirable academic environment for technical college teachers and students. In contrast to the traditional approach, it helps learners to get individualized further and improve their hands-on learning better. Therefore, building up the studio system is just to the needs of the national Ministry of Education calling for educator/employer partnerships in technical colleges. The studio system is an effective way to practice the educator/employer partnership strategy, and accordingly it needs to be managed like a business.


In his pioneering article, "Body Techniques," Marcel Mauss (1) pointed to the relationship among body technique, function, and culture, emphasizing that "every body movement has its own form and style. The different ways of moving, the body techniques, vary not just between individuals but even more between societies, educations, proprieties and fashions and that different ways of moving mirror cultural ways of thinking." Classical and modem phenomenology also underline this relationship among movement, consciousness, and event (2-5). In phenomenology this condition of the interrelatedness and interdependency of body-mind-event is expressed as the situatedness and the incorporatedness of human existence. Individual, situational, and cultural differences are expressed through movement styles mirrored through body dynamics in everyday movements, in sport, and in dance; the ways we move and use our bodies influence the ways we experience and understand the world. According to the Danish philosopher Ole Fogh Kirkeby, the body is constantly giving form, that is, expressing the way the body-mind is connecting to the event. Our perceptual and experiential "styles" give us an important link to our ways of relating to the world. The new cognitive science has the embodiment of mind as the key to a new understanding of what it means to be a human being (6). Because our conceptual systems grow out of our bodies, meaning is grounded in and through our bodies. Our ways of experiencing are embodied in our body-mind "attunement," which is at the same time the key to individual and cultural ways of perceiving and experiencing life. The movement styles incorporated in our body-selves can be seen as a guide to different collective and individual ways of experiencing and expressing life (79). The consequence of this is that all body-techniques, whether everyday body movements, sports, or different dance techniques and styles, are manifestations of symbolic life forms and important dynamic metaphors for our way of experi-


Morgan begins his discussion by stating that "the Ardara pluton is probably the classic example of a ballooning pluton". However. it is only a "classic example" if the ballooning model is correct! We agree with Morgan that careful evaluation of the ballooning model is needed, but we disagree with most of his statements. We will address each of Morgan's points in the same order and using the same headings as in his discussion.


The crystal structure of a previously unsolved type of cypovirus polyhedrin has been determined from data collected directly from frozen live insect cells.


The need to shorten the development time for new engine and vehicles is leading to the increasing use of computational design and simulation methods in the automotive industry. In the last years 3D computational models have been used successfully in vehicle and engine development. It is clear that in this kind of simulation, the input complexity, the output data management and the computational time increase. On the other hand 3D simulations increase the details of the results and their link with the analyzed geometry. During a vehicle design several numerical techniques can be used (finite difference, finite volume, spectral methods, boundary elements, etc.) Often, in a complex simulation, that involves several different physical phenomena such as fluid flow and heat transfer only the use of different simulation techniques allows to obtain good results in a acceptable time. In several industrial applications the use of coupled codes, with different features (1D, 3D or different numerical schemes) could provide an optimal solution for the simulation approach. In this paper an example of a complex simulation of an Under Hood Cooling (UHC) of a vehicle is carried out using two different 3D codes with different numerical approaches with the objective to reduce the simulation time [1].© 2003 ASME


The mile Typhlodromus pyri is can, where it is conserved, provide complete biological control of European red mite. We released T. pyri into to vineyards on Long Island in 1996 and into an additional two vineyards in 1997. Typhlodromus pyri were recovered from all four release locations. Where the predators were released in 1996, T. pyri numbers were relatively high in early summer during 1997, but then declined in number. At one of these sites T. pyri apparently provided biological control of European red mite. Where T. pyri were released in 1997, the predators were moderately abundant during the entire season. At both of these locations T. pyri provided biological control of European red mite. Typhlodromus pyri were also recovered from plots where the predators were not released. This suggests that T. pyri are endemic to Long Island vineyards, but are probably not as resistant to certain pesticides as those predators from Geneva, NY. Introduction Spider mites [European red mite {Panonychus ulmi) and two spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae)] have become a serious pest of grapes on Long Island. Currently, chemical pesticides are relied on to control spider mites. This is ill-advised because spider mites develop resistance very rapidly to acaricides, pesticide use is highly regulated on Long Island and the future of chemical control there is highly tenuous, and most importantly, there is a cheaper and more reliable approach: biological control. Spider mites arc an induced pest caused by the absence of natural enemies that regulate pest mite numbers. To achieve spider mite biological control where it does not occur an effective natural enemy species must be present and these must be conserved by restricting pesticide use to materials that are not highly deleterious to the mite predators. A highly effective predator of European red mite in temperate grape plantings is the phyloseiid Typhlodromus pyri. When conserved, this predator has been shown to obviate the need for miticides. Unfortunately, T. pyri does not appealto be extant on Long Island. During 1997 we continued the work begun in 1996 by pursuing two objectives: Objective 1. Monitor the dynamics between T. pyri and European red mite in vineyards where these predators were released in 1996. Objective 2: Release T. pyri into two additional Long Island vineyards and determine their ability to reproduce and survive there. For a prin ted copy o f the entire report, please contact the NYS IPM office at: IPM House 630 W. North St. New York State Agricu ltura l Experiment Station Geneva NY 14456 315-878-2353


A planar device for absorbing substances, especially proteins, such as enzymes, from body fluids, especially from gingival crevicular fluid or lacrimal fluid, comprising a receptor element (10), a support element (20), characterized in that—said receptor element (10) is hydrophilic and has a pore size of from 0.22 μm to 5 μm, especially from 0.5 μm to 3 μm, and consists of a plastic material or mixture of plastic materials, especially of an inert plastic material or a mixture of inert plastic materials;—said support element (20) is hydrophobic and covers one surface of the receptor element (10) at least partially, and—wherein the device further comprises a discriminator element (40) which is situated at the opposing surface of the receptor element (10).


Innovations in technology have enabled novel circuits and systems for a wide range of applications including medical, security and power. A diverse set of technologies such as flexible electronics, embedded FeRAM, transformer integration, and nanogap sensors will be explored in this session. These technologies have feature sizes spanning the nm to µm range and voltage ratings up to 5kV.


This report explores the opportunity of 'an informal learning solution to support digitals in their personal development' in the context of KLM. The result is a platform that supports digitals in giving direction to their learning practices, resulting in purposeful development.The world is moving fast. Technologies are disrupting and customer needs are continuously changing. Companies must adapt to these developments and so do their employees. To gain competitive advantage, companies aim to establish a strong learning culture. However, building a learning culture is a complex undertaking. Theories on organizational learning and the learning organization contribute to solve the puzzle from an organizational perspective. In this study a different approach is taken by focusing on the individual employee.The employees that are targeted in this study are the digitals at KLM. These digitals experience a need for growth in their professional role and their personal competence. However, currently their learning is reactive and driven by incidental opportunities. A structural and purposeful approach to learning is lacking. Based on extensive literature review and practical research, a structural and purposeful approach to learning is proposed. The emphasis in this approach is on the development of learning ambitions to give direction to a purposeful and self-driven learning process. These learning ambitions are developed through a human-centered process. In this process digitals draw from their individual interests and competences and relate those to the work environment to shape learning ambitions. In this way the development of employees is driven by their strengths to exploit their full potential for company value. A platform has been designed to support digitals to guide and support digitals throughout this process. The platform entails three applications: a personal library, an ambition tool and a learner network. The personal library is a tool for storing and retrieving all your interesting content and evaluations. From the overview of contents and evaluations, digitals can derive their interests and competences.In the ambition tool these interests and competences are related to developments in the work environment to shape learning ambitions. For each learning ambition personal user stories are defined that can be integrated in a personal sprint planning to achieve integration in the work routine. The tool guides employees through the process and supports them along the way.A learner network connects digitals to inspire and sharpen each other's thinking and collaborate to realize their ambitions. In this way the knowledge and diversity of perspectives that are already present in the company are leveraged.Through the designed platform digitals are empowered to be in the driving seat of their own development. They are provided with a solution that helps giving direction to their development. This results in purposeful learning. Moreover, through integration of learning in the work routine it becomes part of the job. For the LaD department, the platform shows a new approach on how development can be supported. Through focusing on the process rather than the content employees can be supported in their informal learning. Moreover, the focus is shifted from the actualization of learning ambitions to the development of learning ambtions. This shift in perspective generates a spectrum of new opportunities for solutions the LaD department can provide.Also, the platform contributes to an aspired mindset change. This mindset change implies that learners are not passive recipients of learning provided by the LaD department, but are active owners of their own learning.In conclusion, this study shows a new direction on how learning can be supported by the Learning a Development department of KLM. Within this new direction a platform is designed that supports digitals in self-driven and purposeful personal development.


Abstract Statistics from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) state that the total number of motor vehicles and mopeds in Poland in 2019 was 31,989,313 units. According to the Central Register of Vehicles (CEPiK) maintained by the Ministry of Digitalisation, the number of motor vehicles registered in Poland in 2019 was 23,878.8 thousand units. Among them, 18,302.4 thousand passenger cars were registered. The constantly increasing number of vehicles on the road has a significant impact on the deterioration of road capacity and drivers' frustration with parking, especially during rush hours in the centres of large cities. Hence, urban logistics, including the country's parking policy, is extremely important to a significant proportion of citizens. Unfortunately, citizens have different perspectives on parking issues. Most drivers expect to be able to leave their car as close as possible to their destination, while some residents, especially non-motorised ones, are against the conversion of free city space into car parks. In response to the presented issues, a comparative analysis of selected types of car parks was carried out. This analysis was one of the stages of the project entitled: "Analysis of the environmental impact of a vertical parking solution using life cycle assessment at the design stage" carried out at the Silesian University of Technology.


In their engaging, highly readable article, Jon Binnie and Christian Klesse explore the effects of intergenerationality within Polish transnational sexual solidarity movements. Specifically, the authors examine how chronological age and people's histories and trajectories of political activism shape the interactions taking place between lesbian and gay activists from Poland and those from Western Europe.


Track-based flow management systems like transportation systems and traffic control systems play a crucial role in our daily life. Safety and performance are among the most important quality requirements for these systems. This paper presents AdaptiveFlow as a framework for modeling, safety checking and performance analysis of trackbased flow management systems. AdaptiveFlow is based on the Hewitt actors computation model. In particular, tracks are modeled as actors and moving objects as messages. Timed Rebeca is used for modeling, and the model checking tool Afra is used for safety verification and performance evaluation in AdaptiveFlow. To react to dynamic changes in the environment, AdaptiveFlow provides support for three adaptive policies, which can be examined and compared in different scenarios. To demonstrate the applicability of AdaptiveFlow, we consider the Electric Site Research Project of Volvo Construction Equipment as a case study. In this project, a fleet of autonomous haulers is utilized to transport materials in a quarry site. Furthermore, to show the reusability of the framework for other flow management scenarios, an experiment on an urban garbage collection system is presented.


The women empowerment through self help group (SHGS) becomes an important policy in the local bodies of Kerala. The panchayat villages  of Kerala is highly populated but no landed properties for cultivation, building factories, making house plots so to improve the socio economic conditions of the women through local bodies started encouraging them to SHG/ kudumbasree missions and providing financial assistance, training & time to time counselling. The missions aim is to help each other through co-operation basis and bring the empowerment of women and their living conditions. Each SHG of village panchayat have a minimum of 10 members and a maximum of 20 members each.   There is no restriction to choose the work of a SHG. They can select the job work which is suitable to them. Mainly the women are forming SHGs and working collectively.  Main production of the SHGs workers are candle making, chapel making, soap production, textile readymade and so on. Now these women through kudumbasree has started mini hostel, bakery, tea shops etc are earning good. The work of kudumbasree in Kerala has achieved national and international appreciation. It is proved, kudumbasree mission is more suitable for women empowerment socially, economically and politically in Kerala being an highly populated states.


Singing at a very high pitch is associated with vocal tract adjustments in
professional western operatic singing. However, as of yet there is an inadequate
amount of data available on the extent of the acoustic transformation the Hungarian
vowels undergo during singing. The author's purpose is to evaluate the acoustic and
articulatory changes of Hungarian vowel qualities, and examine the effect of these
changes on the intelligibility of sounds, which has not yet been done for Hungarian.
The paper contains a brief summary of formerly described tendencies for other
languages and data for Hungarian from pilot studies carried out by the author with
an adult soprano's and a child's sung vowels.


Contemporary cello technique has developed under the influence of such 20th century musical phenomena as serialism, sonoric music, microtonality, instrumental theater, aleatory music and electronic music. The immense possibilities of electronic modifications of the timbre and the emergence of the two-bow technique of performance are connected with the tendency of contemporary music towards the dehumanization of the instrument, i.e. its departure from its monophonic catilena nature of sound production and the associations of its timbre with that of the human voice. Gubaidulina actively employs in her cello music most of the 20th century musical innovations, but at the same time the most important trait of the instrument for her remains the ability of the cello to manifest the image of personality, which indicates at the connection with the classical interpretation of the role of the instrument from the 19th century. As the result, an inalienable feature of Gubaidulina's music is expressed in her directedness at the natural primacy of sound and the use of the laws of its acoustic nature. The evolution of the image of the main protagonist, expressed in the cello part, reflects the changes in the composer's worldviews: if in the composer's early works the main character is presented as a bearer of immutable spiritual values (a pasto r or preacher), in her later works it becomes an ordinary person with the doubts and fears intrinsic to him. Keywords: Sofia Gubaidulina, cello music, cello technique, composition technique


Electrostrictive materials, such as the ceramic PMN/PT/La, operating above Tmax with a DC bias field behave as a piezoelectric ceramic materials with CINF symmetry. The effective piezoelectric and electromechanical coupling coefficients are found to be linear as a function of the DC bias field up to about 0.5MV/m, while the elastic constant and the dielectric constant are found to have a quadratic dependence on the DC bias field. Above 0.5 MV/m the piezoelectric and the electromechanical coupling constants begin to saturate due to higher 4th order electrostriction. In essence these materials behave as tunable piezoelectric materials with the piezoelectric coefficient being directly proportional to the electrostrictive coefficient and the DC bias field up to saturation>. The properties of DC biased resonators of this material are derived from a non-linear theory based on the Taylor's series expansion of the thermodynamic potentials to 3rd and higher order terms in field and stress. The resonance equations for the DC biased length extensional resonator are presented and it is shown that DC biased resonance techniques can be used to measure the electrostrictive and other higher order coefficients at frequencies of interest to the ultrasonics community. The experimental apparatus used to measure these properties will be described and the limitations with regards to isolation of the measurement signal and the DC bias signal will be discussed. We will show that these materials, in conjunction with standard piezoelectric ceramics, offer the transducer design engineer an extra degree of freedom and the feasibility of unique transducer designs that will allow, for example, multiple beam patterns from the same circular/linear array using an adjustable DC bias profile on the array or the possible use of the field dependence of the compliance to fabricate electrically active backing materials. In conclusion we discuss how a better understanding of the macroscopic theory of piezoelectric and electrostrictive materials can benefit the transducer designer.


Mechanical Stability of Cementless Highly Porous Titanium Patellar Components Utilizing Micromotion and Vibration Analysis Methods R. Michael Meneghini5,2, R. Parker Eason1, Noah Ledford1, Tarisa Lerro1, Mohamed Soliman3, Philip Cornwell2, Arlen D. Hanssen4 1Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM; 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN; 3Styker Orthopaedics, Mahwah, NJ; 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; 5Joint Replacement Surgeons of Indiana Research Foundation, Indianapolis, IN email@example.com


The formation constant and absorption spectrum of the dimer and trimer of fluorescein dianion in aqueous solution are evaluated. The geometric structures of both aggregates are determined using the exciton theory. The nature of the association forces is also studied.


N,S-Doped activated carbon was directly prepared via a facile and cost-efficient hydrothermal reaction, followed by alkali activation of elm flower (EL)-derived biomass. The EL-derived activated carbon (ELAC) had N and S contents of 2.21 and 6.06 atom %, respectively, in addition to a high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 2048.6 m2 g–1 and moderate pore volume of 0.88 cm3 g–1. Owing to its high BET surface area and N/S functional groups, ELAC achieved a specific capacitance of 275 F g–1 at a current density of 1 A g–1 and retained a capacitance of 216 F g–1 at 20 A g–1. In addition, a symmetric supercapacitor based on N,S-self-doped ELAC electrode provided a capacitance of 62 F g–1 at a current density of 10 A g–1, with maximum energy and power densities of 16.8 Wh kg–1 and 600 W kg–1, respectively. The capacitance retention was also high, at 87.2%, at 4 A g–1 after 5000 cycles.