Unsignalized intersections are widely used in Switzerland, especially where traffic volumes are relatively low. This paper presents a capacity analysis procedure for unsignalized intersections, including yield- or stop-controlled intersections and roundabouts. A method of estimating queue length and delays that accounts for traffic variations at unsiganlized intersections is also proposed. Roundabout Operations Analysis Program (ROAP), a software program for analyzing roundabout capacity, queues, and delays is presented, and some aspects of development of unsignalized intersection design are briefly discussed.


Physicians in practice try in many ways to keep up with the rapidly expanding body of pediatric knowledge. We read the current literature to learn what researchers all over the world are doing. We attend national conferences, meeting colleagues from all parts of the United States. We attend lectures and staff conferences at local teaching hospitals and medical societies, to confer with and to listen to other physicians to whom we at times may refer patients. Thus, we keep abreast in a general way of what may be termed the principles of prac tice in all parts of the world; but do we know anything at all about what's going on in the office down the street, the one around the corner or in any other office similar to ours in communities much like ours? How do our colleagues in practice handle certain prob lems ? Do they see the same kind of patients that we do? Are we prescribing too many antibiotics? Are we going overboard with drugs? Clinical Pediatrics, a journal specifically oriented toward men and women engaged in the private practice type care of children, shares this curiosity. Articles about private practice are frequently featured. The following solicited study is an example. R. G. Arnhold and Alan R. Freedman have individually contributed analytic articles in the past two years about their clinical observations.1 Inasmuch as prescription writ ing by doctors is a topic of perennial interest, Clinical Pediatrics asked these pediatricians at opposite ends of the country to survey and prepare a comparison of their prescription writing habits. This article presents a revealing synthesis of both sets of data.—Editor.


Study investigated the ability of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) alone and in combination with gamma‐tocotrienol (γT3) to eliminate aldehyde dehydrogenase positive (ALDH+) cells and to inhibit mammosphere formation, biomarker and functional assay for tumor initiating cells (TICs), respectively, in human triple negative breast cancer cells (TNBCs), and investigated possible mechanisms of action. DHA upregulated Src homology region 2 domain‐containing protein tyrosine phosphatase‐1 (SHP‐1) protein levels and suppressed levels of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription‐3 (pStat3) and its downstream mediators c‐Myc, and cyclin D1. siRNA to SHP‐1 enhanced the percentage of ALDH+ cells and Stat‐3 signaling, as well as inhibited, in part, the ability of DHA to reduce the percentage of ALDH+ cells and Stat‐3 signaling. γT3 alone and in combination with DHA reduced ALDH+ TNBCs, up‐regulated SHP‐1 protein levels, and suppressed Stat‐3 signaling. Taken together, data demonstrate the anti‐TIC potential of achievable concentrations of DHA alone as well as in combination with γT3. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


rU I 1l0tl ' l('r 1 "\Ve'lrlf'sday [rom the or· pact "lie our best hopos fOl' a better flro N I~Nl ll Paul C, Pa c l,e,·, dlrec. c1vlllzatlon," Prof. C, El, Payno told tor or the s unlln. ,' oe5810l1, nearly 200 l)er80US WIIO attcnue,l yes· Pl'esl ' l~nt Br)'all's speech w111 be terday'. hlst()rlcal conference In the on~ ()f the fealure. of Ihe eonl'oeil., IM!nate chamber of Old Capllol. tlon July 17 whiCh mal'lls tho c los," Becau.e decisions by the league's of ' h ~ Aum mel' se8slon's fh'st tel'm, executive council must be unanimous, For 25 years a college pl'esldent, acceptance by the United States of a l,e hH~ s rved succcRslvely •• chief permanent Beat as rtfteenth council l' x"C'utive at ,F'ranklln co ll ege of member would In cur no danger ot [nnlann, Colgato un(vel'slty of New anything's being "put over" on lhls YOl'k, <In'l Ohio university, He has nation by the (Ive othel' major pow· comrleterl nine yeurs of service at er8 and ntne representatives of the .A genl:'l'al vi.ew showing the start of the twentieth national 'fex, l"i [teen balloons started the race,


Estimating the tail index of a heavy-tailed distribution depends on the choice of the number k of upper order statistics used in the estimation. In this paper, we reviewed estimating tail index of the heavy-tailed distribution historic course. We summarized selecting k from the heavy-tailed index to the research state and discussed the sum-plot method and bootstrap method of selecting k from heavy-tailed index estimating in detail. And improved the bootstrap method which proposed by Hall, which is called the M-bootstrap method. And we used the above three methods to carry on the Monte-Carlo simulation to the known heavy-tailed distribution, studied their feasibility, compared them with their robust. The results of these three methods are satisfied. Sum-plot method and M-bootstrap method arenpsilat impacted by outliers. Afterwards we made empirical analysis based on Shanghai Stock Index and Shenzhen Component Index data, the computed result indicated that Shanghai Stock Index and Shenzhen Component Index returns ratio is thick-tailed and expose right skew, right tail heavier on left tail.


A multigaps gas switch (MGS) with corona discharge for voltage balance is developed. The self-breakdown characteristics of the switch under different gas pressures and the volt-ampere characteristics of corona discharge are studied. The experiment results show that to increase the shot times can improve the self-breakdown voltage stability of the switch. After conditioning the switch self-breakdown voltage relative standard deviation is less than 2%, the voltage balance has a good effect; the volt-ampere characteristics of multigaps corona discharge is similar to single gap. The delay time and jitter of the MGS with corona discharge for voltage balance in different conditions have been tested. The trigger stability is fine when switch charging at ±100 kV.


Abstract : The Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) Mission System (JMS) program will provide a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and net-centric collaborative information environment at the Unclassified, Secret, Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information, and Special Access Program levels. Efforts incorporate net-centric enterprise services and integrated incremental space mission applications services. The effort integrates components of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) mission applications and Command and Control (C2) capabilities into the JSpOC to create timely, actionable knowledge necessary for maintaining space superiority and exercising C2 of space forces. Mission applications will provide space services to enhance the accuracy, sustainability, and responsiveness of spaces surveillance capabilities by providing the knowledge environment necessary to enable the Commander, Joint Functional Component Command (JFCC) Space, to make rapid, responsive decisions for the protection of space assets from proliferating threats (adversary as well as orbiting debris).


Abstract A rapid HPLC method is described for benziodarone assay in human plasma using a LiChrosorb RP-18 column and UV detection at 240 nm. Protein precipitation is followed by extraction of benziodarone and khellin (internal standard). Extraction of the active substances with diethyl ether at pH ca. 4.8 ensures fairly good recovery (91.04%, mean). Detection limit for this method of determination is 20 ng using a 1 ml sample. The method is specific and can also be used for the determination of benziodarone in Pharmaceuticals (tablets).


INTRODUCTION
Using microprocessor-control to dynamically adapt hydraulic ankles, by changing the resistances to dorsiflexion and plantarflexion (DF/PF) movements, has been shown to have beneficial biomechanical effects during slope descent1. Another, more recent case study also showed that the level walking biomechanical effects of microprocessor-feet (MPF) persist, and the same trends can be observed in repeated gait analysis sessions, over a year apart2. This work looks to expand on both of these concepts, analysing repeated gait analysis sessions to see if the biomechanical changes of MPF during slope descent are reproducible over time.
Abstract PDF  Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32013/24432
How to cite: McGrath M, Stech N, Laszczak P, Kercher A, Zahedi S, Moser D. HOW REPRODUCIBLE ARE THE EFFECTS OF A MICROPROCESSOR FOOT? CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA'S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32013
Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) 101st National Assembly Scientific Committee.
http://www.aopanet.org/


The present invention relates to novel crystalline forms of bosentan and processes for their preparation. Further, the invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said crystalline forms and use of said compositions in the treatment of patients suffering from endothelin receptor mediated disorders, for example, cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, ischemia, vasospasm and angina pectoris.


[Excerpt] With Trade Conditions and Labor Rights, Henry J. Frundt makes a signal contribution to the debate on workers' rights in a rapidly globalizing economy. Can economic pressure by the United States compel poor countries to enhance workers' rights and improve institutions to enforce those rights? Does labor rights "conditionally"—more bluntly, the threat of diminished access to the U.S. market for countries and companies that violate workers' rights—promote labor rights and labor standards? Or does conditionality hurt the very workers it is supposed to help by keeping products out of the U.S. market and slowing economic growth and investment in developing countries?


This chapter defines the four C's in practical terms, based on their applications in the literature. Building on the definitions, each of the four C's are examined in terms of their challenges in implementation for teachers, with ideas for overcoming the challenges provided. The role of technology in teaching the four C's is analyzed and connected with practical methods for educators to incorporate technology, especially social media, into their teaching practice. The author shares detailed examples from professional teaching practice to make the concepts relatable to fellow educators. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research, as well as a brief discussion on the importance of the four C's and the ever-changing nature of technology.


3-O-Methyl-6-[18F]fluorodopa was synthesized in 20% radiochemical yield in 60 min, with a specific activity of 500 mCi/mmol, by the fluorination of a stannylated dopa precursor with [18F]-acetyl hypofluorite.


The integrated financial performances of listed steel companies in 2006 are studied by using principal component analysis(PCA) and the reasons to influence the performances are also carefully discussed in this paper.It is shown that the integrated financial performances of listed steel companies in 2006 are good as a whole,while those of few companies are not satisfied.The core financial abilities of the most listed steel companies are similar,while the differences are often found between the two ends.The financial management objectives of listed steel companies are polarized.At the same time,the countermeasures to improve their financial performances for listed steel companies are also investigated.


It has been known for a long time that many mathematical objects can be naturally decomposed into a 'pseudorandom', chaotic part and/or a highly organized 'periodic' component. Theorems or heuristics of this type have been used in combinatorics, harmonic analysis, dynamical systems and other parts of mathematics for many years, but a number of results related to such 'structural' theorems emerged only in the last decades. A seminal example of such a structural theorem in discrete mathematics is Szeméredi's Regularity Lemma, which was discovered by Szeméredi in the mid-seventies when he proved his famous result on arithmetic progressions in dense subsets of natural numbers. It states that the set of edges of any dense graph can be 'nearly decomposed' into 'pseudorandom' bipartite graphs. The Regularity Lemma has long been recognised as one of the most powerful tools of modern graph theory. The aim of the meeting was to follow this structural theme and investigate structural results for sparse combinatorial objects. The meeting brought together a number of experts in the area together with several junior researchers and PhD students.


This paper presents an analytical study of the effect of model predictive control (MPC) tunable parameters over a wide range, on the closed-loop performance quantified in terms of the location(s) of closed-loop eigenvalue(s) of a large set of widely common, single-input single-output, linear plants whose constraints are inactive. Symbolic manipulation capabilities of MATHEMATICA are used to obtain analytical expressions describing the dependence of closed-loop eigenvalues on the tunable parameters. This work is first to investigate how MPC tuning-parameters affect the location of the eigenvalues of the closed-loop system of a plant in the discrete-time setting. It is to provide theoretical basis/justification for many of the existing qualitative MPC tuning rules and propose new tuning guidelines for MPC. For example, as the prediction horizon is increased while other tunable parameters remain constant, a subset of the closed-loop eigenvalues (poles) move non-monotonically towards the open-loop eigenvalues (poles) of the plant. If a prediction horizon much longer than the reference-trajectory time-constant is used, the value of reference-trajectory time-constant has little effect on the closed- loop performance. As the weights on the magnitude or the rate of change of the manipulated input are increased, the closed- loop eigenvalues move towards the open-loop eigenvalues. As the control horizon is increased from one, the dominant eigenvalue of the closed-loop system initially moves towards the origin and then away from the origin to a location that does not change with a further increase in the control horizon.


Computer Assisted Learning and Self-esteem at a City Technology College by Rosi Cross An investigation of computer assisted learning (CAL) and the self-esteem of students at a city technology college (CTC). This paper explores the student's previous micro experiences, their attitude responses to micros and their knowledge and usage of micros.1t goes on to examine the effect CAL had on student self-esteem between two samples of high IQ and specific learning difficulties (sld) students; and looks at the differing learning situations and the uses of micros at the erc. The final piece of research compares the information technology (m provision and practice at the erc with that of a Le.a. maintained school (soon to become a grant maintained school) and a grant-maintained school. The data suggests that there are four positive indicators of the value and effectiveness of equipping a secondary school with information technology hardware and software on a scale more extensive than is normal in the maintained sector, namely: • higher than average frequency of micro use by the students • the majority of students were confident and positive about using micros • the CTC is better equipped in non-teaching, information technology dedicated, specialist staff as well as hardware and software terms than the other two surveyed schools • the CTC is more successful at internally and externally assessing its students' IT competence than the other two surveyed schools There were two negative indicators: • a limited understanding of the potential applications of IT by the students • a failure to teach a whole year group the necessary skills to competently use newly purchased (and different) micros Therefore the value of the extra hardware and software is questionable. The short-term effects have been minimal. However, certain alterations have taken place which have improved the situation. The study on the effect of computer-assisted learning (CAL) on student self-esteem between two samples of students showed two main indicators: • the high IQ students showed an increase in feelings of self-esteem when working with micros between the two years whereas the specific learning difficulties (sld) did not • the 1991 combined student levels showed a correlation between high self-worth and high self-esteem when working with micros The major conclusion from this study is that computer-assisted learning (CAL) can help raise· the self-esteem of all students but only when part of a well-thought out, effectively taught and adequately resourced educational programme. Computer Assisted Learning and Self-esteem at a City Technology College


The invention provides a dual-mode car rear wheel driving device which comprises rear wheels, rear wheel axles and two sets of transmission universal joints, wherein the two sets of the transmission universal joints are arranged between the rear wheels, one end of a connecting rod of each set of the universal joints is connected with an automatic clutch, and the other end of the connecting rod of each set of the universal joints is connected with the rear wheel axles through a bearing seat. The dual-mode car rear wheel driving device further comprises a motor control unit connected with a car speed control pedal, a battery combination connected with the motor control unit, a driving motor connected with the battery combination, a transmission rod connected with the driving motor in a gearing mode, differential mechanisms which are connected with the transmission rod through universal transmission shafts and arranged on the rear wheel axles, and the automatic clutches arranged on the rear wheel axles on the two sides of the differential mechanisms. By the adoption of the structure, the dual-mode car rear wheel driving device is simple in structure, low in cost, easy to control and convenient to maintain. The problem of energy crisis at present is solved, waste gas emission is reduced, the goal of low carbon travel is achieved, and car using cost of car owners is saved, so that a large number of citizens and the car owners can use cars at will when going out.


Progress is described toward the development of pulse generators required for injection and extraction of the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER). The geometry, described elsewhere, employs a fast ironless dipole at the junction of a Y-shaped section of the ring. The dipole as developed has an inductance of 600nH. The required +21 A long pulse generator for multi-turn operation is installed. The first prototype pulse generator, providing –42 A for deflection of the beam in the opposite sense, has been installed on the beam line and tested. Successful multiple beam laps have been observed.


Introduction: PGE-2 is constitutively produced by many non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and its immunosuppressive effects have been linked to altered immune responses in lung cancer. We asked whether elevated levels of plasma PGE-2 correlated with monocyte IL10 production in the NSCLC environment. Looking for correlation in NSCLC patient blood we assayed plasma from NSCLC patients for PGE2 and IL10; we further evaluated production of IL10 by adherent mononuclear cells from a subset of these patients looking for an altered cytokine profile. Results: Our initial in vitro experiments show that monocyte IL10 induction correlates with tumor cell PGE-2 production, confirming similar reports in the literature. Data show plasma PGE-2 levels in 38 NSCLC patients are elevated compared to normal controls. Plasma IL10 levels were not significantly elevated; however, adherent monocytes derived from NSCLC patient blood did produce significantly more IL10 in 24 hr primary culture than those from normal controls (p < 0.01). The association of elevated plasma PGE-2 and monocyte derived IL-10 was not significant. Conclusions: Elevated plasma PGE-2 and monocyte IL10 production are associated with NSCLC. The biological significance to elevated PGE-2 levels in NSCLC are unclear. Further investigation of each as a nonspecific marker for NSCLC tumor is warranted. Background One mechanism by which tumors evade immune destruction is through cytokine production or induction [1]. Prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2), constitutively produced by many NSCLC has been identified as one factor that has direct immunosuppressive properties and is known to induce IL10 in mononuclear cells [2–7]. IL10 is a dominant immunosuppressive cytokine found in the NSCLC environment known to directly affect T cell-mediated immunity [2–12]. Both PGE-2 and IL10 have been shown to suppress antigen presentation, to suppress cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses, and to inhibit cytokine production by T Published: 12 November 2002 Molecular Cancer 2002, 1:5 Received: 29 October 2002 Accepted: 12 November 2002 This article is available from: http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/1/1/5 © 2002 Hidalgo et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This article is published in Open Access: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL. Molecular Cancer 2002, 1 http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/1/1/5


Abstract In a recent paper in this Journal, Rothenberg, Fisher and Tilanus [1] discuss a class of estimators of the location parameter of the Cauchy distribution, taking the form of the arithmetic average of a central subset of the sample order statistics. They show that the average of roughly the middle quarter of the ordered sample has minimum asymptotic variance within this class, and that asymptotically it eliminates about 36 per cent of the efficiency loss of the median (the most commonly used estimator) in comparison to the maximum likelihood estimator (m.l.e.). Of course both the m.l.e. and the best linear unbiased estimator based on the order statistics (BLUE) achieve full asymptotic efficiency in the Cramer-Rao sense and there can be no dispute about the relative merits of the three estimators asymptotically, or about the inferiority of the median (with asymptotic efficiency 8/π2 ė 0.8 compared with about 0.88 for the estimator of Rothenberg et al.). In any practical situation however, we will be...


A pilot test was conducted at the Hanford site in Washington State using soil vapor extraction technology, to test the vapor extraction technology under Hanford Site conditions, and to provide data for designing a large-scale vapor extraction system that will be used to stabilize an existing vadose zone CCl[sub 4] vapor plume. Testing was performed at the 216-Z-lA tile field where over 5 million liters of water, 245 metric tons of CCl[sub 4] and 58 kilograms of plutonium and americium were disposed in the 1960s. The test objectives were to determine the distribution of CCl[sub 4] beneath the tile field, estimate soil permeabilities, observe trends in CCl[sub 4] concentrations during soil vapor extraction, and determine the behavior of radionuclides during the extraction process. The presence of the radionuclides required the use of a high efficiency particulate filter mounded in-line with the conventional vapor extraction equipment. Gas and filter samples were collected for laboratory analysis using a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. Real-time monitoring was performed using on-line flame-ionization and photo-ionization detectors for CCl[sub 4] and continuous alpha-radiation and beta-radiation air monitors for radionuclides.


This research examines the problems of automatic scientific articles classification according to Universal Decimal Classifier. To reveal the structure of the train data its visualization was obtained using the recursive feature elimination algorithm. Further; the study provides a comparison of TF-IDF and Weirdness – two statistic-based metrics of keyword significance. The most efficient classification methods are explained: cosine similarity method, naïve Bayesian classifier and artificial neural network. This research explores the most effective for text categorization structure of the multi-layer perceptron and derives appropriate conclusions.


Objective: To analyze the transferring and using of rural appropriate health care technology in Zhejiang to provide reference for it. Methods: The questionnaire is used to get the information of the appropriate health technology transferring to country in Zhejiang. Results: The appropriate health technology transferring is economical by CEA. Conclusions: The function of the government and NGO in the application of the health care technology should be strengthened.


What to simulate? Inferring the right direction for mental rotation Jessica B. Hamrick (firstname.lastname@example.com) Thomas L. Griffiths (tom email@example.com) Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA Abstract experiment with each of the models. We conclude with a dis- cussion of the strengths and weaknesses of each model, and lay out directions for future work. When people use mental imagery, how do they decide which images to generate? To answer this question, we explored how mental simulation should be used in the classic psychological task of determining if two images depict the same object in different orientations (Shepard & Metzler, 1971). Through a rational analysis of mental rotation, we formalized four mod- els and compared them to human performance. We found that three models based on previous hypotheses in the literature were unable to account for several aspects of human behavior. The fourth is based on the idea active sampling (e.g., Gureckis & Markant, 2012), which is a strategy of choosing actions that will provide the most information. This last model provides a plausible account of how people use mental rotation, where the other models do not. Based on these results, we suggest that the question of "what to simulate?" is more difficult than has previously been assumed, and that an active learning approach holds promise for uncovering the answer. Modeling mental rotation Previous models of mental rotation have largely focused on the representation of mental images, rather than how peo- ple decide which mental images to generate. Kosslyn and Shwartz (1977) proposed a model of the mental imagery buffer, but did not say how it should be used. Similarly, Julstrom and Baron (1985) and Glasgow and Papadias (1992) were mostly concerned with modeling the representational format underlying imagery. Although Anderson (1978) em- phasized the importance of considering both representation and process, he dismissed the problem of determining the di- rection of rotation as a "technical difficulty". The only models (of which the authors are aware) that se- riously attempted to address the decision of what to simu- late are those by Funt (1983) and Just and Carpenter (1985). In both of these models, the axis and direction of rotation are computed prior to performing the rotation. One object is then rotated through the target rotation, and is checked against the other object for congruency. However, this approach as- sumes that the corresponding points on the two objects can be easily identified, which is not necessarily the case. Indeed, the state-of-the-art in computer vision suggests that there is more to this problem than checking for congruency, partic- ularly when the shapes are complex or not exactly the same (e.g., Belongie, Malik, & Puzicha, 2002; Sebastian, Klein, & Kimia, 2003). Additionally, recent research shows that when performing physical rotations, people do not rotate until con- gruency is reached; they may even rotate away from near per- fect matches (Gardony, Taylor, & Brunye, 2014). If people are not computing the rotation beforehand, what might they be doing? To answer this question, we perform a rational analysis of the problem of mental rotation (Marr, 1983; Anderson, 1990; Shepard, 1987). At the computa- tional level, we can say that the problem is to determine which spatial transformations an object has undergone based on two images of that object (which do not include informa- tion about point correspondences). At the algorithmic level, we are constrained by the notion that mental images must be transformed in an analog manner (or in a way that is approx- imately analog), and that mental images are time-consuming and effortful to generate. Thus, the goal is to make this de- termination while performing a minimum amount of compu- tation (i.e., as few rotations as possible). The original "congruency" hypothesis (Shepard & Met- zler, 1971) is a rational solution to this problem, in the sense Keywords: mental rotation, computational modeling Introduction One of the most astonishing cognitive feats is our ability to envision, manipulate, and plan with objects—all without actually perceiving them. This mental simulation has been widely studied, including an intense debate about the under- lying representation of mental images (e.g., Kosslyn, Thomp- son, & Ganis, 2009; Pylyshyn, 2002). But this debate hasn't addressed one of the most fundamental questions about men- tal simulation: how people decide what to simulate. Mental rotation provides a simple example of the decision problem posed by simulation. In the classic experiment by Shepard and Metzler (1971), participants viewed images of three-dimensional objects and had to determine whether the images depicted the same object (which differed by a rota- tion) or two separate objects (which differed by a reflection and a rotation). They found that people's response times (RTs) had a strong linear correlation with the minimum an- gle of rotation, a result which led to the conclusion that peo- ple solve this task by "mentally rotating" the objects until they are congruent. However, this explanation leaves several questions unanswered. How do people know the axis around which to rotate the objects? If the axis is known, how do peo- ple know which direction to rotate the objects? And finally, how do people know how long to rotate? In this paper, we explore these questions through rational analysis (Marr, 1983; Anderson, 1990; Shepard, 1987) and compare four models of mental rotation. We begin the pa- per by discussing the previous literature on mental imagery. Next, we outline computational- and algorithmic-level anal- yses of the problem of mental rotation. We then describe a behavioral experiment based on the classic mental rotation studies (e.g., Cooper, 1975), and compare the results of our


According to satellite communication, a novel parameter estimation method based on spectrum feature analysis is proposed. For the satellite communication signals shaped by raised cosine, the scheme enhance the efficiency of power spectrum and the square power spectrum of signals. The proposed method can estimate symbol rate and carrier frequency exactly in the satellite channel without any prior knowledge.


Objective:To explore the change of hemodynamics and bispectral index(BIS) during different target concen-tration of sufentanil and propofol in the patients with breast cancer.Methods:60 patients undergoing selective surgery of breast cancer under general anesthesia were randomly divided into three groups with 20 cases each,in which patients re-ceived target controlled infusion(TCI) of sufentanil with target concentrations of 0.2,0.4 and 0.8 ng/ml(group R1,R2 and R3 respectively).The propofol was maintained at a target plasma concentration of 3 μg/ml.Changes in mean arterial pres-sure(MAP),heart rate(HR) and BIS were recorded before anestresia(T0),at equilibration of blood-effect site concentration of sufentanil(T1),during intubation(T2),at 1 minute(T3),3 minutes(T4) and 5 minutes after intubation(T5).Results:MAP and HR in group R1 and R2 at T3 and T4 were much higher than those at T1(P0.01),while no significant differences were recorded at different times in group R3 at T3-T5(P0.05);BIS was much lower in group R3 after intubation than that in group R1 and R2(P0.05).Conclusion:TCI of sufentanil with target concentrations of 0.8 ng/ml is more beneficial to maintain stable hemodynamics and enhance the sedation of propofol.


This application station using a non-Unicode service set identification information is related to a system and method for enabling to connect to a wireless hotspot. The present teachings, especially, a wireless router or other WiFi access point for enabling a specific character set used to broadcast the service set available to wireless devices within the scope of this access point involved in the technology and platforms. A problem of the prior art is, android-based phones, in the scan window of the phone for WiFi router that is configured by the language of the SSID data other than English, to show the exact service set identifier SSID name for the wireless router it is that it can not be. Cause of the display of "junk" character about the Chinese or other languages, android graphical user interface is not because does not support Chinese characters. Rather, an important part of this problem lies in a method of treatment of the SSID information is addressed in the current Android operating system. More specifically, since the SSID information is always assumed to be encoded in Unicode / UTF-8 code format, the said Android operating system, the coding format notification SSID name is coded not. This problem, SSIE information element IE (106) the character set formatting is used to broadcast or the type of coding, show, or coding, character set information (120) beacon information (104 ) by an application incorporated in itself, it is solved. Thus, each smart phones, whether SSID IE is coded in either different character set encoding scheme is encoded in Unicode format, receiving information about the access point, decoding, and displaying it can.


How to anticipate governance crises. This article proposes an approach and operational tools to help the stakeholders of microfinance institutions reinforce governance. This approach is exemplified with a study in Mexico.JEL Classification – G21, G30, O54.


With the higher education popularizing and the lack of teachers, universities can carry out the complete teaching- quality evaluation by using the idea of complete quality management in enterprise so that the teaching quality can be improved obviously by evaluating frequently the desired teaching aim and quality in action and making the continuous improvement of teaching.


HR Practices have been considered as major tool to enhance employee performance. This research study identifies major practices of HR lead to enhanced Employee Performance (EP) at banks operating in Lahore, Pakistan. Four HR Practices have been selected for this research study that includes Merit based Recruitment & Selection; Performance based Compensation, Organizational Commitment and Training & Development. Results support the proposed theoretical model that link HR Practices and EP in three banks located in Lahore, Pakistan. This study concludes that all testable variables have positive relation with employee performance, Pakistani banks are therefore recommended to adopt the stated HR practices to enhance EP which in turn can enhance Company's Performance


Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide, by Bat Ye'or. Cranbury, NJ: Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 2002. 400 pages, Appends. to p. 422. Notes to p. 269. Gloss. to p. 271. Bibl. to p. 507. Index to p. 528. $60 cloth; $19.95 paper. No matter how much dispassion and objectivity scholars of Islam strive to maintain, their works often tend either to romanticize or to impugn their subject. Bat Ye'or's work in this volume, while meticulously substantiated and carefully presented, inclines toward the latter tendency. In this book, the third in a trilogy of works examining what the author has termed "dhimmitude," i.e., the social, economic, and political experience of Jews and Christians under Muslim domination, Bat Ye'or covers much of the same material she introduced in The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam (1985) and The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam (1996). Here, however, she is much more concerned with the dynamics of dhimmitude in the modern period and what kind of future these dynamics threaten to create, not only in the Islamic world but in the West as well. Throughout this work, Bat Ye'or holds two perspectives in tension. On the one hand, she maintains that the experience of dhimmitude has evolved in response to historical vicisstudes; after all, dhimmitude has been around for more than a millennium and has manifested itself on three continents! On the other, she stresses that because dhimmitude is also a reality fixed by Islamic theology and law, certain of its characteristics cannot be compromised. While painstakingly marshaling evidence pertinent to the former perspective, the second features more prominently in her presentation. She wants the reader to recognize that wherever a specific incidence of dhimmitude can be situated on a spectrum ranging from utter malignity to relative benignity, dhimmitude is a relational reality based on war, and as such must be recognized for the threat that it is. Bat Ye'or therefore takes exception to the description of dhimmitude typical of many Western scholars, a discussion which focuses on the "tolerance" shown by Muslims toward "religious minorities" under their dominion, supposedly epitomized by the society of the "Andalusian Golden Age." She finds such discussion both inaccurate and naive. The tolerance of the dhimmi relationship cannot be equated, she argues, with tolerance in the modern sense; dhimmis are clearly subordinates who are to be humiliated by their Muslim overlords. Similarly, to speak of dhimmis as "minorities" (as understood in the modern sense) is also misleading; in some cases, Christian dhimmis were a numerical majority in the population but still subordinates in accordance with the requirements of the dhimma. Bat Ye'or is thorough in her discussion of the various levels of this covenant. After providing a summary overview of the rise of the Islamic state and the central role jihad played in its emergence (ch. 1), she turns to a systematic discussion of dhimmitude's political, economic, religious, and social aspects (chs. …


Measurements have been obtained to determine the extent to which the shape of the inlet duct affects the directivity pattern of forward radiated noise from aircraft gas turbine engines. The test program was conducted using a model fan to which were attached any of three inlet ducts with each designed to cause a particular noise directivity pattern. Existing information on the effects of wave refraction in inlet-type flow fields was used to design the duct contours. Results indicated that the shape of the inlet duct strongly influenced the radiated noise field but that wave refraction was not the dominant factor in controlling the noise directivity pattern.


The concept of autonomy can help secondary reading teachers help their students to become better readers and users of text. Research indicates that many students in content areas do not know how metacognitive strategies can be implemented so that students can become autonomous. Practical suggestions for helping readers become autonomous include modeling, risk-taking, time allotment, and purpose for reading. Reading educators need to realize that not only can autonomy be facilitated, but they can act on the effectiveness of autonomy and help their students become truly autonomous. (Contains 11 references.) (RS) *;:*************************k************A***************************** Repruductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


ABSTRACT In 2006, the aging population in Iran had increased to about four million, representing about 7 per cent of the total population. We examined marital status and the living arrangements of this growing population based on a public use sample of the 2006 census and published data from the 1976 census. We observed a gender-based transition in living arrangements of the elderly; men continued to live with a spouse, perhaps through remarriage, continuing to be the head of household. The living pattern for women was noticeably different: about 20 per cent were unmarried and living alone but otherwise living with married children, predominantly sons. This analysis revealed a decline from the traditional pattern of co-residence with married children between 1976 and 2006 and an increase in solitary living among women. However, it raised several questions that need extensive research concerning the social, economic, and health status of the elderly in relation to their living arrangement.


Estimation of battery charge state is important in two aspects: First, to increase the economic life of the battery and therefore, decreasing the annual costs of the device maintenance, and second, to display the remaining charge to the consumer of the operator for the purpose of deciding whether to recharge the battery or to connect or disconnect the hybrid automobile to the power grid. One of the battery SOC estimation methods is using the Kalman filter which is a profitable regression filter. This filter estimates the state of a dynamic system through some measuring along with errors. It solves the control problems with a linear first-order regulator. This paper focuses on estimating the battery charge state by precisely setting the parameters of this filter using the Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA). Comparing the results of CSA and GA algorithms suggests significant usefulness of the CSA algorithm.


Child protection is probably one of the most difficult walks of medical life. A quick look at the career of paediatrician David Southall would certainly suggest so. Removed from his academic post in 1997 after complaints about the ethics of his research into "Munchausen syndrome by proxy", banned from child protection work in 2004 for alerting the police to his suspicions about the deaths of Sally Clark's two sons, and struck off the medical register in 2007 for allegedly accusing a mother of killing her son, Southall's high profile battle could alone explain why paediatricians shun child protection work and why courts struggle …


High quality infrared spectra of active galaxies including the stellar absorption features of Si at 1.59 um, CO(6,3) at 1.62 um, and CO(2,0) at 2.29 um are used to measure the stellar mass to light ratio at 1.65 um (M_H/L) and investigate the occurrence circum--nuclear starbursts. We find that old and powerful starbursts are relatively common in obscured AGNs (5 objects out of 13) while absent in genuine Seyfert 1's (0 objects out of 8).
The data are also used to derive the non-stellar continuum which is very red and compatible with emission from warm (~1000 K) dust even in bare Sy1's, thus indicating that the near IR nuclear continuum is reprocessed radiation. Hot dust (~800 K) emission is also detected in a few obscured AGNs, including the Seyfert 2 prototype NGC1068. The observed non-stellar flux is too high to be accounted for by scattered light and therefore indicates that the material obscuring the AGN must have a quite small (<~1 pc) projected size.


The de Gennes free energy functional of an infinite smectic-A liquid crystal at the dual point is shown to be topological and to depend only on the number of screw dislocations and the anisotropy. This result generalizes the existence of a Bogomol'nyi bound to an anisotropic system. The role of the boundary of a finite mesoscopic smectic is to provide a mechanism for the existence of thermodynamically stable screw dislocations. We obtain a closed expression for the corresponding free energy and a relation between the applied twist and the number of screw dislocations.


Abstract: AI-based tools and technologies have emerged as successful solutions for a variety of business problems, including sales and marketing optimization. Although social media marketing is widely used today, it requires domain expertise and human effort, making it expensive, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). To tackle this problem, we recommend an AI-powered system and approach for automated advertising campaign generation, making use of a data-driven approach. Our Lead Gen tool allows for the tracking and management of every lead based on campaign specifications. With advanced automation, leads are captured, qualified, and instantly distributed to sales reps to ensure no leads are lost. The Lead Gen tool is divided into modules, with roles defined by department, enabling department heads to track campaign behaviour. In addition, our system includes an inbuilt HRMS management system for leave management at the user level, with admin rights to approve or reject requests. As a web-based campaign management tool, it is efficient and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. We have also incorporated a Chat Bot, built using Artificial Intelligence, to address user queries. Our system is flexible, scalable, and offers data protection through the use of cloud computing. With fully redundant and replicated servers, downtime is prevented in case of a disaster.


Purpose: We report a case of retinopathy and uveitis associated with sofosbuvir therapy for hepatitis C infection. Methods: Case report. Results: A 57-year-old-male developed ocular inflammation and retinopathy four weeks after the administration of sofosbuvir for a hepatitis C infection. Hearing loss, rheumatologic disease, and essential tremor were also noted. The ophthalmic findings resolved with discontinuation of the drug. Conclusion: The authors report a case of sofosbuvir induced retinopathy and uveitis, the first associated with this emerging therapy for hepatitis C. Ophthalmologists and other treating physicians should be aware of the ophthalmic side effects of this drug.


For electron optics in graphene, the propagation effect has so far been the only physical mechanism available. The resulting electron-optics-based components are large in size and operate at low temperatures to avoid violating the ballistic transport limits. In this paper, Dirac fermion metasurfaces, electronic counterparts of optical metasurfaces, are introduced for graphene electronics. By a metasurface, formally a linear array of gate-bias-controlled circular quantum dots, the wavefront of electron beams can be shaped within a one-quantum-dot-diameter distance, far below the ballistic limits at room temperature. This provides opportunities to create electron-optics-based devices that operate under ambient conditions. Moreover, unlike optical metasurfaces, Dirac fermion metasurfaces have near-perfect operating efficiencies and their high tunability allows for free and fast switching among functionalities. The concept of metasurface electron optics might open up a promising avenue for improving the performance of quantum devices in Dirac fermion materials.


Background: The entire plant of Eleusine indica is used in Cameroonian folk medicine to treat several diseases including renal problems. We investigated the preventive effects of Eleusine indica aqueous extract (EIAE) against L-NAME induced renal damages in rats. Methods: Animals were divided into a control group (0.9 % saline, 10 mL/kg, ip) and 4 experimental groups. The rats in the negative control group received L-NAME (30 mg/kg, ip). The positive group was treated with losartan (12.5 mg/kg, per os) and L-NAME while the two last groups received EIAE (100 mg/kg or 200 mg/kg, per os) and LNAME injection. After 60 days of treatment, blood pressure was measured; lipid profile, kidney and some oxidative stress parameters were evaluated. Results: Intraperitoneal injection of L-NAME induced a significant elevation in blood pressure, of total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-c, with a significant reduction of HDL-c levels as compared to the control groups. Nephrotoxicity was evidenced by significant elevation in serum levels of creatinine, urea and K, accompanied by a significant reduction of Na and GFR as compared to controls. Catalase, GSH and nitrites were significantly decreased in L-NAME injected group. L-NAME solution gave simultaneously with Eleusine indica prevented the rise of blood pressure, improve lipid profile, kidney function and antioxidant defenses. Conclusion: These results confirm the nephroprotective effects of Eleusine indica aqueous extract and highlight its protective properties in L-NAME-induced renal failure and its antioxidant capacities against kidney damages.


Objective: To determine the adequate frequency of empirical antibiotic treatment in an intensive care unit in Colombia. Methodology: Observational, analytic study. Data was collected from the clinical and microbiological history of the intensive care unit (ICU) at Clinica de Tunja. Data was collected from the empirical antibiotic regimen, antibiograms, and percentage of adjustment according to culture results. The percentage of adequate empirical therapy was determined based on the cultures and antibiograms. Results: We studied 198 cases of infection in ICU between July 2008 and September 2011. Seventy-five percent of infections was documented by microbiological media, which corresponds to 148 patients with 165 microorganisms. In 94 of 148 patients with infection documented by cultures, empirical treatment was adequate (64%). In cases of infection not documented by cultures, empirical therapy was adequate in 36 of 50 patients (72%). In 128 (65%) of cases, empirical treatment was changed. Empirical treatment was adequate in 100% of cases that received imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam and amikacin, compared to 68% when imipenem/amikacin was used (p <0.001) and 29% when only imipenem was used (p <0.001). Conclusions: The percentage of adequate empirical therapy was low (65.6%) and increased with the combination of three antimicrobials in populations with high probability of infection by multi-resistant germs.


Few individuals have positioned their work more controversially or consequently than Richard Schechner within the pivotal debates that define performance studies. This is the first collection of essays to critically examine the profound contributions that Schechner has made to performance studies as a discipline


Introduction Internet addiction (IA) is reported to cause significant negative psychosocial consequences. The gender specificity of psychological characteristics that are potentially significant for the formation of IA remains understudied. Objectives To identify gender-related differences in the psychological characteristics of people with IA. Methods 100 subjects aged 16-34 years who scored 65 points or more on the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) were identified and divided into 2 groups by gender: group 1 (54 men) and group 2 (46 women). The individual psychological characteristics were assessed with: the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS); the Bass-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ); the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ); the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ); a short version of the Five-factor Personality Questionnaire (TIPI-RU) and the Cloninger Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-125). Results Women were significantly more likely to experience fear of situations of interpersonal contact and action in public places (p=0.027). They experienced significantly more sexual violence in childhood (p=0.032) and were more likely to have personality traits such as "reward dependence" (p=0.002), "persistence" (p = 0.046), and "self-transcendence" (p=0.002). Men demonstrated physical aggression (p=0.009), suppressed emotions (p=0.019) significantly more often than women and characterized themselves as emotionally stable (p=0.048). Conclusions The gender differences identified in the cohort of individuals with IA can potentially be considered specific for this contingent, although such gender relationships can be observed in other forms of addiction and in the general population. The specificity of gender differences may reflect individual psychological markers of increased vulnerability to developing IA. Disclosure The study was financially supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research within the framework of scientific project No 18-29-22079.


AbstractThe U.S. Geological Survey Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model was applied to basins in 14 different hydroclimatic regions to determine the sensitivity and variability of the freshwater resources of the United States in the face of current climate-change projections. Rather than attempting to choose a most likely scenario from the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an ensemble of climate simulations from five models under three emissions scenarios each was used to drive the basin models.Climate-change scenarios were generated for PRMS by modifying historical precipitation and temperature inputs; mean monthly climate change was derived by calculating changes in mean climates from current to various future decades in the ensemble of climate projections. Empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) were fitted to the PRMS model output driven by the ensemble of climate projections and provided a basis for randomly (but representatively) generating realizations of hydrolog...


In a 360-degree holographic display that provides three-dimensional (3D) hologram images, it is an important issue to consider a height and angle of an observer. We propose a continuous viewing window forming method in consideration of the height and angle of the viewing position for the observer. Furthermore, we present a synchronization method for the 360-degree holographic display implemented by a time division multiplexing technique. The size and location of a viewing window and viewing point for the 360-degree holographic display are calculated by the proposed methods. The proposed methods can be applied to various type of the 360-degree holographic display systems.


Networking is a fundamental aspect in developing a strong professional identity and furthering professional development. This opinion piece asserts that networking is an essential activity for occupational therapists, and that many of the challenges involved in creating an effective network can be ameliorated by harnessing the power of the online environment. By sharing the experience of using Facebook, an online social networking platform, with the specific aim of furthering professional development, clear and tangible outcomes of this being achieved are shown in order to inspire more occupational therapists to connect online for the benefit of the profession.


For energy saving, waste utilization and environmental protection, development on effects of aqueous medium and alkali on the disposal of solid wastes via the subcritical hydrothermal reaction was reviewed. The aqueous medium is the indispensable media environment and reaction carrier in the hydrothermal reaction. The ion product of aqueous medium increases with increasing temperature and pressure under the subcritical hydrothermal condition. There is no significant relationship between pressure and degree of filling aqueous medium. The density of aqueous medium changes with temperature rather than pressure. The correlation between the aqueous medium and the product follows a so-called "growth units" model of hydrothermal reaction. Alkali can improve the solubility of solid waste in the hydrothermal solution and increase the temperature coefficient of solubility. The cationic type and alkali concentration both have important impacts on the progress of the reaction and the reaction products. The aqueous medium and alkali are the basis of hydrothermal reaction of solid wastes under the subcritical hydrothermal condition, which have a positive effect on the improvement of the reclamation process of solid waste under the hydrothermal condition.


Excerpt Although coronary arterial lesions can be precisely defined by angiographic techniques, their functional significance remains difficult to determine. To evaluate the physiologic consequence...


The effect of soil compaction on nodulation, nodule efficiency, and growth of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was investigated in a controlled environment. There was an inverse relationship between soil compaction and root biomass, shoot growth and total leaf area of plant. Fresh weight and number of nodules per plant, nitrogenase activity, and leghemoglobin content per unit weight of nodule decreased in both soybean and white bean as bulk density of soil increased from 1.2 to 1.6 g·cm–3.


During Feb to Jun in 2003, the author took part in the second guidance minesweeping training for the aid of Chinese government. The China group 18 experts and Eritrea 60 sapper use Chinese equipment and methods to clean out min-field 104 thousand sq m in short time. No casualty and accident happened. It has been attentioned and certificated by Eritrea government and international society. The methods can give some references for similar engineering.


Combined with the defect of college sporadic engineering bidding,this paper discusses the necessity and feasibility about electronic bidding system of college sporadic engineering,proposes the system structure diagram and application process of electronic bidding system of university sporadic engineering,analyzes the key points in the system construction and looks into its future application.


Laser metal deposition (LMD) process has been widely used in many industrial applications such as automotive, defense, aerospace, and so on. Modeling has to address physical phenomena like laser-powder interaction, heat transfer, fusion, solidification, and track formation. LMD induces a complex thermal stress field that results in residual stress distributions. Depending on its magnitude and nature (i.e., whether tensile or compressive), the residual stresses can cause unpredicted in-service failures. Therefore, the prediction of its distribution in the deposited structure as a function of the process strategy is essential to improve the process and the part quality. LMD represents mathematically a free boundary value problem. This means that the track geometry is part of the solution. The authors developed a three-dimensional time-dependent finite element model for LMD with coaxial powder feeding supply. The model encompasses the powder stream, its interaction with the laser radiation, and the melt pool computation. The model was validated by a comparison of the experimental and computed shapes of the melt pool surfaces concerning cross section, longitudinal section and high-speed photographs [Pirch et al., in Proceedings of the ICALEO Conference, 16–20 October 2016]. In this paper, the model was applied to overlapping tracks for single and multilayer processing for different process strategies. The simulation allows us to analyze the time- and space-resolved evolution of temperature and stresses. The influence of the powder feed rate on the residual stresses is investigated.Laser metal deposition (LMD) process has been widely used in many industrial applications such as automotive, defense, aerospace, and so on. Modeling has to address physical phenomena like laser-powder interaction, heat transfer, fusion, solidification, and track formation. LMD induces a complex thermal stress field that results in residual stress distributions. Depending on its magnitude and nature (i.e., whether tensile or compressive), the residual stresses can cause unpredicted in-service failures. Therefore, the prediction of its distribution in the deposited structure as a function of the process strategy is essential to improve the process and the part quality. LMD represents mathematically a free boundary value problem. This means that the track geometry is part of the solution. The authors developed a three-dimensional time-dependent finite element model for LMD with coaxial powder feeding supply. The model encompasses the powder stream, its interaction with the laser radiation, and the melt pool...


An approach for accurate calculation of the capacitance coefficient matrix in electrostatic transducer applications is presented in this article. We consider transducers consisting of a fixed and a moving set of metal strips where strong fringing field effects may occur. The calculation method is based on an expansion of the surface charge distribution on each metal finger in terms of orthogonal functions that capture the singularity effects at the edge of the fingers. We analyze the errors both due to neglect of end effects and due to truncation of the series expansion. The complexity of the capacitance matrix calculation is significantly reduced by truncation to the first three terms of the expansion, giving errors below 1%. An example capacitance structure is analyzed in detail. The capacitance/induction coefficients roughly vary as a cosine function of the horizontal relative displacement between two electrodes. This motivates a simple approximation formula that can be used to calculate the capacitance coefficient matrix of electrostatic transducers. It gives a maximum error of 1.5% compared to the full calculation for a gap g = 5 µm and a microstrip width a = 50 µm in the example structure.


Small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a group of one of the largest economic actors in the Indonesian economy and have proven to be a safeguard for the national economy in times of crisis and also create sizable job opportunities for domestic workers, thus greatly assisting efforts to reduce unemployment caused by difficulties looking for jobs. This research is classified into qualitative research. Respondents were taken using purposive sampling technique. The method used is analysis using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). The results of research with SWOT analysis show that in managing finances, they still use traditional records, in products they still use recipes for the taste and quality of food and beverages, in promotions they are passive in waiting for consumers, strategic locations and neatly arranged.


The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the U.S. government's recent harsh restrictions on immigrants and refugees and the ramped-up anti-immigrant sentiments. The strict borderlands politics, the militarized police at the border zones, family separations and other tactics of fear, silencing, and oppression reinforced within public spheres and institutions (e.g., racialized policies of control, the constant threat of deportation) have greatly impacted the lives of immigrant and refugee families and children ( Gándara & Ee, 2018 ; Zayas et al., 2015 ). Providing sociopolitical, educational, and emotional support for immigrant/refugee students and their families has never become so urgent during this extraordinary time.


It is shown that the usual quantum field theory leads to an ultraviolet divergence in the vacuum energies and an infrared divergence in the two-point functions of the massive and massless vector fields. Using a new method of quantization it is shown that the vacuum energies converge, and the normal ordering procedure is not necessary. Also the propagators are calculated, which are automatically renormalied.


Received Signal Strength (RSS) propagation measurements were made in a vehicular environment (Intra-Car) atUHF range (433/868/915/2400 MHz)utilizing RF equipment and Matlab simulations. Pathloss and Pathloss Exponent values were deduced from the measured RSS from various positions in a Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV). The research work reported in this paper is predominately focuses on characterizing radio link for Wireless Sensor Communications/Networks for vehicular environments at very short-range.


Aiming at students training objective in major of Pharmaceutics in secondary occupation education and combining the character of pharmaceutical analysis course and major need,autonomous cooperative learning strategy in pharmaceutical analysis was used.Autonomous,cooperative and open-ended learning strategy was sparkplugged actively.Problems that should be noticed in teaching practice were put forward.The aim was to training autonomous learning ability,team cooperative ability,express and communicative competence,and to improve teaching effect and the quality of education.


To improve performance, fuel economy, and emissions of automotive engines, automakers have introduced a number of devices intended to vary a previously fixed engine parameter with operating condition. Such devices include variable cam timing and valve lift, variable compression ratio, intake manifold tuning, etc. Combining these devices in an engine promises improved fuel economy, but raises the issue of scheduling and coordination to achieve the benefit and prevent undesirable failure modes. This paper introduces the problem of controlling a fully variable valvetrain configuration, and shows an algorithm for synchronizing variables that have different rates of response with the goal of preventing potential piston-valve interference in mechanically unprotected engines.


Lipiodol is an oily contrast medium widely used as an embolizing material for transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) therapy, an effective method for treating unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. We investigated the acute toxicity and deposition in the liver of lipiodol water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsion encapsulating epirubicin hydrochloride after hepatic arterial administration to rats, and compared results with those of the oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion conventionally used for TAE therapy. Deposition was detected by means of an X-ray CT scanner. It was, therefore, suggested that the dose of the emulsions would be controllable by monitoring them during the surgical operation.

The concentration of epirubicin hydrochloride in the liver was increased and its residence was prolonged by encapsulating it in the w/o/w emulsion membranes. The toxic effects of epirubicin hydrochloride and lipiodol on the normal hepatic cells were reduced, resulting in a decrease in both glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) activity. Consequently, an enhanced therapeutic effect of w/o/w emulsion would be expected compared with the conventional o/w emulsion, owing to the sustained release of the agent and the targeting property of lipiodol to the malignant cells.

It was concluded that the w/o/w emulsion is a suitable formulation for chemoembolization therapy.


A classical problem in control theory is to impose, via feedback, a prescribed steady-state response to every external command in a given family. This may include, for instance, the problem of having the output of a controlled plant asymptotically track any prescribed reference signal in a certain class of functions of time, as well as the problem of having this output asymptotically reject any undesired disturbance in a certain class of disturbances. In both cases, the issue is to force a suitably defined tracking error to zero, as time tends to infinity, for every reference output and every undesired disturbance ranging over prescribed families of functions of time. Generally speaking, the problem can be cast as follows. Consider a finite-dimensional, time-invariant, nonlinear system modeled by equations of the form


Systems and methods for improving the operation of a hybrid vehicle are presented. In one example, a driveline may selectively enter a sailing mode to provide a fast driveline torque response with reduced fuel consumption impact.


The article analyzes the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement content, reveals the economic and legal advantages and risks in case of the possible implementation of its provisions in Donbass, provides argumentation for making balanced decisions in favor of one or another integration level, promoting state's interests.


We present a mechanized metatheoretic development of two presentations of LF: the Canonical presentation (in which only beta-short, eta-long terms are well-formed) and the original version based on definitional equivalence. We prove the standard metatheory, i.e. that type checking is decidable and canonical forms exist uniquely. We do so by translating structures from the original formulation to the canonical formulation, establishing that definitional equivalence corresponds to syntactic equivalence of canonical forms. This particular approach represents the first syntactic proof of the metatheory of LF, thus the first that can be mechanized in Twelf. It is also the first proof formally addressing the correspondence between hereditary substitution in Canonical LF and definitional equivalence in the traditional version, justifying the body of recent work that takes Canonical LF as primary.


In recent years, the development of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) has attracted the attention of academics, practitioners and policy-makers. In a first step, these OS initiatives have been primarily launched by communities of motivated " user-developers ". Whatever their exact motivations (technical as well ideological , among others), these communities formed original social networks and organisations. Those proved efficient to develop an alternative model of software production relying on an alternative definition of property rights. For FLOSS to sustain, a second step is now to diffuse to new populations of users (individuals, businesses, government agencies). The motivations of these populations to adopt FLOSS may however differ from those of initial user-developers. Besides, such step questions the whole architecture of the whole software industry and the cooperation and competition between the FLOSS model and the traditional model of Software production and development. The objective of this project is to study the consequences of the transition towards Guest editorial Preface this second step. This study has been broadly organised along three lines of research: A first concern is about the internal production process of FLOSS software: how are OSS projects organised? What type of innovation network do these projects generate? How are roles distributed inside this network and what are the incentives for individuals to play a specific role? Finally, are these types of communities suitable for even larger communities? A second dimension is about the uses of FLOSS software. Based on specific case studies , there is a need to better identify what makes this type of software different from proprietary software (quality? reliability? ability to generate customised features?) from users' point of view. Grounding on that, what are the key determinants for FLOSS adoption? A third issue encompasses the two previous dimensions and relates to the articulation of FLOSS software inside the whole software industry. One should then better understand why in some cases FLOSS and proprietary software are competing while in others, they do cooperate. By the way, this question raises legal issues such as the type and level of property rights desirable to protect present innovations without harming the development of future ones on the one hand; and the attitude of policy makers towards standards on the other hand.


This research was conducted to study the effect of additional nitrogen fertilization on carbohydrate dynamics of Pinus palustris Mill. Biweekly application...


Oil India Limited (OIL), a national oil company, has its existence for over last five decade not only in logistically difficult and geologically complex areas in North East of India but also beyond. Most of its reservoirs of Naharkatia and Moran oil fields in Assam, discovered in early sixties are in their advanced stage of depletion . Few reservoirs are much below the hydrostatic pressure . Work over operations in depleted formation is often associated with mud loss. Mud losses in permeable depleted reservoir damages the reservoir due to fluid invasion defeating the core purpose of work over. To select a appropriate work over fluid to carry out various work over job has become a challenge. The choices are not many too. For normal pressured wells OIL uses clear brine, however, OIL is using a polymeric viscosifier imparted by Xanvis to combat loss circulation in depleted reservoir to certain extent of success during work over operations. However, for highly depleted reservoirs having reservoir pressure 40- 200kg / cm² below hydrostatic, OIL experienced much difficulties to carry out work over jobs till a micro bubble based Invasion Control System (MB-ICS) was introduced. This paper discusses the merits and demerits of this system over other systems available in the market as well as the out come of using this system in OIL's four depleted wells,


This paper describes the Swedish spoken dialogue system August. This system has been used to collect spontaneous speech data, largely from people with no previous experience of speech technology or computers. The aim was to be able to analyse how novice users interact with a multi-modal information kiosk, placed without supervision in a public location. The system described in this paper featured an animated talking agent, August. Speech data was collected during the six months that the system was exposed to the general public. The system and its components are briefly described, with references to more detailed papers.


The effects of Cu,Mg,Zn,Ni and Fe on the mechanical properties of Al-18 Si alloys at room temperature and 350 ℃ have been studied by orthorhombic experimental and the single factor experiment analysis.The micro-structures mainly composed of rich Cu and Fe in the alloys have also been analyzed by optical microscope(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy spectrum analyzer(EDX).The results show that Cu and Mg are the most important factors for improving the tensile strength of hypereutectic Al-18 Si alloy at room temperature and high temperature.Increasing of Zn content reduces the strength of the alloy at 350℃ obviously,and improves the elongation rate at room temperature and 350 ℃.With the increase of Fe concentration from 0.8% to 1.2%,the strength of the alloy reduces at room temperature,however,improves significantly at 350 ℃.Under the condition of Cr∶Fe=0.35∶1 and Mn∶Cr=2∶1,the best tensile properties of Al-18Si-4.0Cu-0.7Mg-0.2Zn-1.0Ni-Mn-Cr-(0.8~1.2) Fe alloy are obtained,i.e.σb(25 ℃)310 MPa,δ5(25 ℃)≥0.75%,σb(350 ℃)130 MPa and δ5(350 ℃)1.5%.The copper-rich phases are mainly existed in the massive Al2Cu phase and the white with gray flowers like Al5Si6Cu2Mg8 phase in the alloy,while the iron-rich phase existed mainly in the clover-like,dendritic or rod Al5Si(Cr,Mn,Fe)phase.


Introduction Paraphilias constitute a set of psychiatric conditions that are often chronic and require a combination of treatment approaches, such as pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Sexual interest toward prepubescents and pubescents (pedophilia and hebephilia) is frequently identified in criminal settings, within numerous child sexual abuse and child pornography offenses. The high prevalence rates and negative consequences of these acts, causing distress in multiple important areas of health and functioning, reveal the importance of preventing these offenses as a clinical and social matter. Secondary prevention programs, which provide treatment and support for those with paraphilia disorders before sexually abusive behaviors and legal system involvement, show as ethically and socially necessary. Objectives We aim to discuss and bring insights into the knowledge on pedophilia and hebephilia treatments and prevention programs, in the fields of psychotherapy as well as pharmacologic strategies. Methods We present a non-systematic review of the updated literature on this subject from the data found on the PubMed and PsycInfo databases. Results Preliminary results of recent works show that at-risk individuals with paraphilia disorders are often willing to seek treatment without external pressure from the legal system, and report benefits from early treatments. Most studies found that gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists reduce the risk of child sexual abuse in men with pedophilia. An injectable form has shown to lower this risk 2 weeks after the initial injection, suggesting its use as a rapid-onset treatment option. Cyproterone acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate are other anti-androgen drugs that inhibit hypersexual behavior, with important side effects to be considered. The combination of androgen deprivation treatment and psychotherapy has a greater effect on preventing fantasies, urges, and behaviours in paraphilic patients. Cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy shows the best results and should soon be initiated in all patients. Biomolecular studies revealed that serotonin and prolactin inhibit sexual arousal, being SSRIs used as first treatment in younger patients, particularly in less severe cases. Conclusions Evidence-based treatments from randomized clinical trials for paedophilic and hebephilic disorders are lacking. These current numbers reveal the need for widespread implementation of primary and secondary prevention initiatives, that go beyond the prevention of a repeated offense. There is a need for further research using controlled, randomized trials to examine the effectiveness of sexual offender treatment including psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic interventions. The development of more specific, more effective, and better-tolerated medications for these disorders should be recognized as a program worthy of greater support from government and pharmaceutical industry sources. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Today, the growth of software industry leads to e quantitative expansion of software package products. Due to this rapid increase of software package products, qualify certification has been required fur software products which users select. Unlike the quality certification of industrial products, the history of software product certification has not been so long. For this reason, software quality evaluation and certification methods have not matured yet. When certifying software products, one of most important factors is the systematic generation of evaluation sets. The evaluation sets include checklists with metrics, and criteria for the software quality certification according to the classification of software product type. This paper presents a metamodel for the systematic generation and maintenance of the evaluation sets. Then, we construct prototype level evaluation sets to show the validity of the metamodel.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Tobacco use among school children is becoming a serious problem in developing countries. The early age of initiation underscores the urgent need to intervene and protect this vulnerable group from falling prey to this addiction. The present study was thus undertaken to estimate the prevalence, pattern and correlates of tobacco use amongst the 10-16 year olds in schools of rural area Bhopal. METHODS: Data on tobacco use were collected from 960 students of class 7 to 12 (age: 10-16 yrs) studying in rural blocks of Bhopal city during June 2011 to August 2012, through PPS and random sampling using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Point prevalence of ever user of tobacco' amongst '10-16 year old was 8.7 %. Almost half of current tobacco users (48.8%) purchased tobacco product in a store and most of them (23.2%) used it at home. Nearly half of the never smokers (54%) were exposed to tobacco smoke outside home and 90 % favored a ban on smoking in public places. A male tobacco user was perceived to have more friends and was reported to make them look attractive. Print media was a predominant source of message. Only one-third (33.6%) reported that the reasons of tobacco usage amongst youth was discussed in formal school settings. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of tobacco use among the adolescents. The focus in schools should be to make them tobacco-free. The school authorities should be included in stricter implementation and monitoring of the implementation of legislation.


Despite the security issues it has, DHCP is one of the most used protocols because it facilitates the automatic allocation of the configuration information in a network. While the number of mobile devices connected to Internet is increasing exponentially, the widespread adoption of IPv6 will take a lot of time. In this context, the need for good security mechanisms that prevents the known attacks against DHCP raises. In this paper we present an overview of the previous solutions to secure the protocol and, in the same time, we identify the reasons why each of these attempts failed. Based on the previous work missteps, we define a set of requirements for a practical and efficient authentication module for DHCP. Then we introduce a simple and flexible module that allows authentication of DHCP messages using two different trust models: PKI and PGP. We implemented and evaluated the proposed authentication module using different key types and sizes in the two trust models. The comprehensive results show that the proposed authentication module does not affect the protocol operation, but provides the so necessary security that DHCP lacks.


This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of firm size, profitability, sales growth, and good corporate governance on firm value with social responsibility as a moderating variable in plantation companies listed on the stock exchange. The data collection method used is secondary data with the population in this study being plantation companies listed on the stock exchange. The study sample was 14 companies from 2013 2017 with a total of 70 observations (5 years). The data analysis model is used to test the hypothesis of multiple linear regression models and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). The results showed that firm size had a negative effect on firm value, profitability had a positive effect on firm value, sales growth and good corporate governance were not significant to firm value. Corporate social responsibility is able to moderate the firm size and good corporate governance towards firm value. Corporate social responsibility is not able to moderate profitability and sales growth towards firm value.


The article aims to address international migration processes when they intersect with the condition of transsexuality in childhood and youth. The purpose is to make visible the material and immaterial frontiers through which transsexual people transit, both geographically and corporally. The methodology is based on a qualitative framework in which we have used biographical narrative as an ethnographic technique. The technique has resulted in the construction of a story from interviews held over several years with a young Moroccan migrant to Spain who has experienced sex change to a woman. The approach to this case uses intersectionality as a method of analysis. The conclusions highlight the difficulties experienced by transsexual migrants who arrive in the country, as well as their coping strategies, sometimes outside the institutional social services. We emphasize the importance of this type of methodological and analytical technique to know the realities of migrants, from which it is possible to improve or develop appropriate intervention programs.


This study takes the cami-i Kebir Quarter of Bahcesaray, then capital of the Crimean Khanate, as a sample case to examine 'mahalle' (quarter), the basic administrative division of the Ottoman cities. The authors observes, in the light of the court notebooks with no 71 and 72, how the stare used to get relation with the mahalle, an habitation area, and how relations were among inhabitants of the mahalle, and how they used to live.


1 Chapter 1: Context 2 Chapter 2: The Ghana Education System 5 Chapter 3: Costs and Finance 11 Chapter 4: The Teacher Education System 14 Chapter 5: Teacher Supply and Demand 20 Chapter 6: Emerging Policy Issues 25 6.1 Increased Allocation of Resources to Initial Teacher Education 25 6.2 Increased Internal Efficiency 26 6.3 Reflections on the Proposed In-In-Out System 32 Chapter 7: Some More Radical Alternatives 35 Chapter 8: Concluding Remarks 37


The motivations behind Multinational Retailing were probably a combination of the author's wanderlust and his perception of a gap in the retailing textbook literature. Research support emanated from complex circumstances. Thirty years later, more personnel‐oriented research and more study of the global retailer in a world of changing nation‐states are still needed.


The invention relates to a computing method of unbalancedness of multi-circuit power transmission lines on the same tower. The method comprises the steps of computing the initial impedance and admittance matrix of each line according to the conductor type, conductor division method, pole and tower type and lightning conductor connecting method of each power transmission line; selecting electric parameters and building a model of the multi-circuit power transmission lines on the same tower based on computing results in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment; setting a short circuit and an open circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line, computing the current value of the short circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line and the current value of the open circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line, and obtaining sequence components of the current of the short circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line and the open circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line by means of the symmetrical component method through conversion; computing the electromagnetism and static electricity unbalancedness of the multi-circuit power transmission lines on the same tower based on the sequence components of the current of the short circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line and the open circuit of the tail end of each power transmission line. The computing method of the unbalancedness of the multi-circuit power transmission lines on the same tower is capable of computing the unbalancedness of the multi-circuit power transmission lines on the same tower comprehensively, accurately and conveniently and provides theoretical guidance for optimal design and operation of the multi-circuit power transmission lines on the same tower with different voltage classes, different pole and tower types and different phase sequence arrangement methods.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate quality in Danish preschools and to establish whether disadvantaged children benefit from preschool attendance in an inclusive perspective? The conceptual framework of the research project rests on bio-eco-systems theory [Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006. The Bioecological model of human development. Damon & Lerner (Eds.). Theoretical models of human development. Volume one of the handbook of child psychology (pp. 793–828). New York: Wiley. In: Siraj-Blatchford I & Mayo A (eds). (2012). Early childhood education. London: Sage Library of Educational Thought and Practice. (Vol. 1, pp. 201–262)]. In total, this theory includes quality of orientation, structure, process (measured with the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, third edition [ECERS-3, Harms et al., 2015. Early childhood environment rating scale, Third Edition (ECERS-3). New York, NY: Teachers College Press] and family and network – with a specific focus on disadvantaged children. Quality aspects were analysed by exploring four dimensions of pedagogical quality, as proposed by Swedish researcher Sonja Sheridan [Sheridan, 2007. Dimensions of pedagogical quality in preschool. International Journal of Early Years Education, 15(2), 197–217; 2009. Discerning pedagogical quality in preschool. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 53(3), 245–261. London: Routledge]. In this article, the concept of quality represented in the ECERS-3, is compared with the Danish curriculum and discussed from an inclusive perspective based on the inclusion matrix.


To investigate nucleation area and transport dynamics of Si nanoparticles, nanocrystalline silicon films were prepared by pulsed laser ablation. Subsequently, the additional laser beam as energy source was introduced, which crossed vertically the plasma plume from the top down in front of the target at a distance of 0.5 cm under same experiment condition. In this region, due to collision between the photon and the plasma plume, the transport of Si nanoparticles was impacted by the cross-laser beam. The Raman and x-ray diffraction spectra (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the films showed that Si nanoparticles were formed in a certain range, and the average size of Si nanoparticles monotonically decreases with the increase of distance. Obviously, the range of Si nanoparticles deposited in substrates became narrower due to the influence of additional laser beam. Experimental results were analyzed in terms of the nucleation area model.


This is an account of India by some of the earliest Englishmen who visited her. The scope of this work is between the years 1579 to 1589, during the rule of the Mugal King Akbar. The accounts are in the form of letters written by them to their contact in England. Included in the book are two letters written by Queen Elizabeth to Akbar and to the king of China. Other writers are Stevens (10 November, 1579), Newbery (1583-84) Eldred and Shales (1583-84), Ralph Fitch (1584), Linschoten and Peter Frey (1589). The book has 8 illustrations and 3 maps of: the territory of Goa; fitch's routes between Tripoli's and Hormuz; and, Fitch's Indian voyages and Journeys. This book is a reprint of the 1930 edition.


Income smoothing has been the subject of extensive accounting and financial research over the past three decades. In this article we use the variables proposed by Eckel (1981) and Leuz, Nanda and Wysocki (2003) as proxies to measure income smoothing and find that Brazilian companies that engage in this behavior receive better ratings from the risk agencies in their public bond issues. The importance of bonds rating has led to extensive research on the determination of ratings. Among economic determinants, the reporting accounting numbers are probably the most important. Few papers have examined the effects of smoothing on the bond market. This paper aims to contribute to the literature by focusing on the role of accounting accruals, and especially the income-smoothing role of accruals, in bond ratings. We focus on managing earnings smoothness as a means to manage credit ratings not only because earnings smoothness is believed to be an important input into the rating methodology, but also because income smoothing can be viewed as a useful device for signaling firms´ superior performance. Using data obtained from the National Bond Registration System and the Economatica database, we evaluated public bond offerings by listed Brazilian corporations in the period from 2005 to 2007. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses and robustness tests show the significance of the income smoothing factor, regardless of the rating agency (Fitch, Moody's or S&P). The results support the notion that income smoothing in Brazil is an information-signaling mechanism and has an impact on the respective bond ratings. These findings from the bond market complement an extensive literature on the equity market indicating that income smoothing has a positive effect on stock prices. Among the main implications of this study, the most important is the evidence that this type of earnings management can have positive effects (beneficial smoothing), by reducing the cost of debt capital because of better ratings. A word of caution is in order, since less volatile reported earnings affect the ratings given by risk agencies, the practice of pernicious income smoothing can arise, where in a market with asymmetric information, a pooling equilibrium (in the sense of game theory signaling) can occur. This means that firms can practice pernicious smoothing, trying to mimic other firms with genuinely smooth earnings. In this scenario, we believe that it is important to have regulatory instruments to monitor and prevent this type of manipulation from abusively altering the risk perception of the agencies and consequently of bond investors. In the final analysis, the conclusions of this paper are important to shed light on the factors that explain the cost of debt capital and the ratings received by firms in their public bond offerings.


The invention relates to a charging indication circuit comprising a charging control unit, a charging indication unit, a battery unit and a microprocessor unit which are electrically connected in sequence, wherein the battery unit and the microprocessor are electrically connected with the charging control unit. The charging indication unit is used for indicating the charging state of the battery unit; the charging control unit comprises a transistor Q2 electrically connected with the charging indication unit; and when the voltage of the battery unit is larger than or equal to the starting voltage of a portable electronic device, the microprocessor unit controls the transistor Q2 to switch on or off, thereby controlling the charging indication unit to be in different states to indicate thecharging states of the charging unit.


According to Jung's preconscious psyche,the seventh(Manas),the eighth(Alaya),the Seeds,and the prior six consciousnesses in the theory of consciousness-only(Vijānamātra),all belong to the unconscious.Jung's psyche unconsciousness,which becomes the cause of an abnormal personality,is mostly not related to the conscious.The conscious in Vijānamātra is the actuality of Seeds,while the seeds of attachments to egocentrism and dharma in the seventh consciousness and the eighth consciousness decide the contaminated nature and the worldling nature of the sentient beings.The critical difference of the two theories lies in Jung's psyche realism in which myth and religion are the product of mental activities of unconscious archetypes,and Vijānamātra's actuality in which both cycle of rebirth(Samsara) and liberation(Mukta) can be realized.From the viewpoint of Vijānamātra,Jung's theory is hypothesis including the archetypes and own ego,and its aim of curing abnormal personality is valuable,but hard to realize.


A series of different sequence structure containing stearyl acrylate (SA) and hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) copolymer were synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The crystallization property of PHEA-b-PSA, PHEA-b-PSA-b-PHEA, PSA-b-PHEA-b-PSA, PHEA-co-PSA, and PHEA-grad-b-PSA were characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The condensed structure of different sequence copolymers were investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). A series of copolymers with different sequence structure were coated on the surface of polyester fabric, which can be found that PHEA-b-PSA-b-PHEA block copolymer has good water repellency.


Covid-19 continues to increase the number of patients who are positive for Covid-19. Indonesia is a risky country to visit, while the National Data for South Sumatra is the number one province on Sumatra Island with the highest number of Covid-19 patients. Government policy allows regions or regions with yellow zones to open schools offline. Banyuasin Regency is included in the yellow zone of Covid patients, so teaching and learning has been carried out offline with strict implementation of health protocols. To support offline teaching and learning activities, it is necessary to educate students about the 3M movement (maintaining distance, using masks, washing hands with soap). This activity aims to train students to apply the 3M health protocol correctly. The results of the service show that there is an increase in knowledge and changes in student behaviour after receiving training and counselling about health protocols at school. Optimization of health protocols needs to be carried out on an ongoing basis to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in elementary schools.


The study provides the opportunity to see the peculiarities and contradictions in the current state of the system of higher engineering education as a sub-system and integrative part of Russian and global system of higher professional education. It reveals and classifies the challenges that may be considered and hopefully solved on various levels: international, federal, institutional, and on the micro-level (specific discipline, educational technology or even a separate lesson). On the university level understanding of the mentioned trends will help administration and faculty in their search for the new innovative educational models and in solving their everyday problems. The goal of the research is to reveal specific characters of higher engineering education development in terms of global and domestic trends in the higher professional education.


In this paper, a pattern recognition method is used to provide the tracking and the diagnosis of a system. To illustrate it, we used as application, an asynchronous motor 5.5 kW with squirrel-cage, in particular for the detection of broken bars, under any level of load. From measurements carried out on the system, parameters are calculated. These parameters are used to build up a pattern vector which is considered as the system signature. To determine this pattern vector, two methods are applied. One, well-known, sequential backward selection (SBS) and the other, which we developed, based on a genetic approach, with the advantage to determine the optimal dimension of the representation space and to give better results (value of criterion) than SBS. The determination of the decision space is carried out using a method of automatic classification called clustering. The decision phase is based on the ldquok-nearest neighborsrdquo rule, associated with an evolution tracking of system using trajectory allowing a diagnosis not only of states defined in the training set, but also of the intermediate states. The appearance of a new operating mode is taken into account in order to enrich the initial knowledge base and thus to improve the diagnosis.