The Great Plains Environment for Network Innovation – GpENI is an international programmable network testbed centered on a regional network between The University of Kansas (KU), University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC), Kansas State University (KSU), University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL), supported with Brocade OpenFlow switches and Ciena CoreDirectors, in collaboration with the Kansas Research and Education Network (KanREN). GpENI is funded in part by National Science Foundation GENI (Global Environment for Network Innovations) program and the EU FIRE (Future Internet Research and Experimentation) programme. International topology is anchored on Lancaster University in the UK, ETH Zurich and Uni-Bern in Switzerland, G-Lab at Kaiserslautern in Germany, and NorNet at Simula in Norway.


The aim of this project was to examine the relationship between the accuracy in the identification of persons and the response time, by means of two experiments. In the experiment 1 the subjects were presented a photographic image of an unknown person and then they were asked to perform a distracting task. Subsequently they tried to identify the target person in a new photography placed among a set of five images of persons of a sim- ilar appearance. The results showed that there is a large variability in the response time between correct identifications and false alarms. In the experiment 2 the subjects were asked to identify the target person in a forced choice assignment. In this test significant differences in the response time were found in relation to the right answer. The subjects that gave cor- rect responses took less time in answering than the subjects that gave false alarms by choos- ing one of the foils in the lineup. In most cases the response time was higher than the 10-12 sec proposed by Dunning and Perretta (2002) as the time limit needed to predict the correct identifications. The results will be examined considering the possible implications regard- ing the evaluation of the eyewitnesses' exactitude in the suspects' recognition assignments.


The goal of this study is to determine the effect of the transparency level on the reputation of governments worldwide. Documentary research was performed with 35 countries ranked as having the best worldwide image according to the Reputation Institute ranking of 2010. In the data analysis the focus was on the application of multiple linear regression. The survey results indicate a positive association between transparency level and government reputation of the country. It was concluded that countries with higher transparency level present higher reputation than nations with lower transparency level. It was also found that the most indebted countries have higher reputation than countries are less indebted.


Overlapping features among aortitides are relatively common although the underlining etiologies may differ. Thus, the clinical classification of aortitides is rather difficult and often misleading. Furthermore, morphologic characterizations of these vascular disorders are frequently overlapping and therefore additional clinical and radiologic information is usually required. The greater challenge is aortitides is whether the initiation is due to an exogenous stimulus or due to an autoantigen.


We study interaction effects on transport through a small metallic cluster connected to two ferromagnetic leads (a single-electron spin-valve transistor) in the "orthodox model" for the Coulomb blockade. The nonlocal exchange between the spin accumulation on the island and the ferromagnetic leads is shown to affect the transport properties such as the electric current and spin-transfer torque as a function of the magnetic configuration, gate voltage, and applied magnetic field.


Wireless systems under design today promise to deliver high-bandwidth applications to mobile users in dynamic channel environments. The protocol used to control the network in a wireless system may not necessarily be able to control bit errors in its payload. Therefore, it is important to assess the impact of bit errors in a delivered data stream. This paper concentrates on the effects of bit errors on an MPEG-2 digital video sequence. A basic decoupling between bit error rate (BER) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) was shown on previously published papers, signaling a loss of confidence on BER as a basic metric of digital system performance. This paper introduces a statistical approach to predicting video quality based solely on physical layer parameters. The mean error event length, /spl lambda//sub distance/, is a metric derived from the physical layer that can be used to predict the expected video quality across systems with different channel coding algorithms. This metric proved to be uniformly consistent in predicting video quality for sequences corrupted by additive white Gaussian noise and protected by convolutional, Reed-Solomon (RS), and concatenated (convolutional and RS) codes.


Results. The survey results demonstrated that vast majority (95.9%) of students possess at least one type of mobile handheld device. Most of these students (90.1%) used their handheld device while learning. Students used these devices in different contexts, varying between Lectures, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) sessions, Hospitals and other contexts were identified (32.4%, 30.1%, 20% and 13% respectively). Majority of students (83.2%) use their handhelds when learning individually on their own time, whereas about half of them (48.3%) use it in learning with friends i.e. collaboratively.


Bitter gourd is the fruit of a tropical vine in Asia, Africa, and South America where it is commonly used in traditional medicine. Our study tested the effects of a fermented extract of the bitter gourd on the inflammatory activities of the human monocytic leukemia cell line, THP-1. Treatment with the extract resulted in the suppression of phagocytic as well as lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced adhesion activity. Interestingly, the LPS-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was suppressed by the extract while the expression of Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was upregulated. The extract inhibited the LPS-induced activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), both of which are well known to be required for the expression of MMP-9 and TNF-α. In contrast, the expression of interferon regulatory factor (IRF) 1, a transcription factor involved in the expression of IL-8, but not TNF-α, was enhanced by the extract. Suppression of IRF-1 expression resulted in the elimination of the extract's interleukin-8 (IL-8) enhancing effect. These results indicate that the fermented bitter gourd extract has general anti-inflammatory effects, with a differential effect on the expression of cytokines through modulation of NF-κB and IRF-1 activities.


Flavonoids, which are bioactive materials from propolis, were immobilized on chemically modified PET fabric by using a crosslinking agent. FT-IR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, optical microscope images, mechanical tests


Multilayer coatings make it possible to create soft x-ray (0.25 keV) optics with large graze angles which are necessary for designing efficient polarimeters. If the detector is placed out of focus, then stellar images will take the shape of the front aperture, which would show intensity variations if the source is polarized. Two basic designs are considered. The first uses a single parabolic optic with graze angles from 25 degree(s) to 40 degree(s) and the second uses a Cassegrain telescope with angles centered at 45 degree(s). The former gives higher reflectivity at the expense of wide-field imaging, which may be sacrificed when the source region is not crowded, while the second telescope allows for off-axis use as a spectropolarimeter but has reduced throughput. A simple imaging proportional counter would be used as a detector and the overall sensitivity of the first design would be high enough to measure the polarization of the bright BL Lac object, PKS 2155-304, to an accuracy of 3% during a rocket flight. A small satellite would be capable of measuring several hundred polarizations with an uncertainty of 1% per year.


IN the application of the Zimmermann method for the assay of 17-ketosteroids (Zimmermann, 1935; 1936) various modifications of the general procedure have come into use. These modifications involve variations in the concentrations of and the solvents for potassium hydroxide, the concentrations of m-di-nitrobenzene, duration and temperature of heating for the development of the color, and additional factors. Those who have used alcoholic potash have found that the calibration curves of androsterone and dehydroisoandrosterone are identical (Callow, et al., 1938; Langstroth and Talbot, 1939; Talbot, et al., 1940), but others, who have used aqueous potassium hydroxide, have found varying degrees of difference (Neustadt, 1938; Friedgood and Whjdden, 1939; Holtorff and Koch, 1940; Saier, et al., 1941). These differences in procedure and in assay values, together with our own experience with the chromogenic effects obtained with different hormones and extracts of biological material, prompted us to study the effe...


OGi, Haruo and Tokimi TsuJiTA(Fac. Fish., Hokkaido Univ. Hakodate) Preliminary examination Qf stomach contents of rnurres {Un'a spp.) from the eastern Bering Sea and Bristol Bay, June-August, 1970 and 1971, Jap. J. Ecol. 23, 201-209 (1973) To clarify the food relationship between seabirds and juvenile sockeye salmon (OncoF ltynchzas neiha) the stomach contents of 163 murres captured in the eastern Bering Sea and Bri$tol Bay during June-August, 1970 and 1971 were examined, Food organisms were mainly composecl of larval and juvenile fishes and euphausiids followed by amphipods and squicls. The fish identified to species included ; walleye pollock {7)tenzgra chalcqgr,amma), Pacific  sandlance


This paper introduces two new frequency domain overdetermined blind source separation (BSS) algorithms: Inter-frequency Correlation with Microphone Diversity (ICMD), and ICA with Triggered Principal component analysis (ITP). In the first, we consider different sets of microphones, where in each set the number of microphones and sources are equal. In the second, we extract principal components from an overdetermined mixture to form a determined mixture for separation. Both techniques utilize inter-frequency correlation to align permutations via energy profiles. Both monitor the condition number of an inter-frequency cross-correlation matrix of the normalized de-mixed signals' envelopes to determine if separation has failed for the current ICA input configuration; if so, the input configuration is revised and efficiently realigned to produce a better mixture for separation. The complexities and performances of these algorithms are examined in both simulations and a real-room measurement, with three and five sources. They are also compared to other recent frequency domain BSS algorithms for benchmarking purposes. Results show that generally, ICMD and ITP show similar performance with each other and with one of the benchmarking algorithms. However, ICMD is more computationally efficient.


• The reported hemoglobin oxygen carrying capacity coefficients (mLO2/g) vary quite surprisingly from 1.32 to 1.36 or 1.39; this reflects the different molecular weights attributed to hemoglobin (from 64,000 to 67,000 Da). • These hemoglobin oxygen-carrying capacity coefficients are used to compute other variables such as: oxygen transport (DO2), the arterial–venous difference (ΔavO2), oxygen consumption by reverse Fick's method (VO2 = ΔavO2*CO, where CO is cardiac output in L/min × 10) and the Riley's shunt fraction [Qs/Qt = (CcO2−CaO2)/(CcO2−CvO2)] [1]. The use of different coefficients may primarily affect the ΔavO2 and the VO2 if measured by reverse Fick's method [2]. • The total CO2 given by the blood gas machines refers to the CO2 content of plasma and not to the whole blood, which is lower by 5–10 mmol/L. Indeed, the CO2 content in the red blood cells is lower than in plasma due to the lower pH in the red cells. • Different blood gas machines, for the same pH and PCO2, provide different values of HCO3 up to 2 mmol/L in cases of severe acidosis or alkalosis, due to differences in the implemented algorithms. • The base excess (BE), i.e., the difference between the actual and the ideal buffer base (i.e., the sum of HCO3, dissociated proteins, and HPO4, measured at PCO2 40 mmHg, pH 7.40 and proteins 70 g/L) is equal to the strong ion difference (SID). In the venous blood, the base excess is always higher than in the arterial blood by 1.5–2 mmol/L due to the lower pH and higher PCO2 (leading to higher HCO3).


Buying and selling gold and gemstones is a lot happening in every gold shop, because one of the ways someone invests for the future is to buy gold. In this discussion, the author aims to review the practice of buying and selling rings and their stones at the Sami Gold Shop Jl. Ahmad Dahlan 168 Purworejo District. The writing of this thesis uses qualitative research using a normative approach, namely approaching investment problems with Islamic law. The research method used is field research (Field Research) in order to obtain data obtained from the field. Based on the results of this study it can be concluded that the implementation of buying and selling gold and gemstones at the Sami Gold Shop Jl Kh Ahmad Dahlan 168 Purworejo is not legal under Islamic law, because it is detrimental to one of the parties, gharar and also the seller does not want to know because the buyer does not agree. by selling like that to the detriment of the buyer.

Keyword : Gold Buying and Selling, Jewelry, Islamic Law


Lipase activity was monitored during malting and mashing of sorghum grains. All three sorghum varieties contained detectable lipase activity in the ungerminated form. Lipase activity changed only slightly during steeping for 24 hours but increased several fold in the course of germination. Between 24% and 60% of the lipase activity of the green malt was retained after kilning at 48°C but no activity was detected in the wort after mashing at 65°C. About 68% of the lipase activity of 72 hours old malt was detected in the plumule, while 29% and 3% were detected in the endosperm and radicle, respectively. Optimum activity was observed at pH 7.0.


This article describes a qualitative focus group research study designed to evaluate the role of an advocacy organization in assisting individuals with spinal cord injury to meet their goals in the community. The importance of basing health services and policy decisions on rigorous research that involves the intended service recipients will be discussed. The findings reinforce the importance of environmental factors, support from family and peers, adequate financial support and access to resources, living life with purpose, and social involvement in contributing to community participation and reintegration. Recommendations are made for ongoing program and service planning.


Let $\mathbb N_0$ be the set of non-negative integers, and let $P(n,l)$ denote the set of all weak compositions of $n$ with $l$ parts, i.e., $P(n,l)=\{ (x_1,x_2,\dots, x_l)\in\mathbb N_0^l\ :\ x_1+x_2+\cdots+x_l=n\}$. For any element $\mathbf u=(u_1,u_2,\dots, u_l)\in P(n,l)$, denote its $i$th-coordinate by $\mathbf u(i)$, i.e., $\mathbf u(i)=u_i$. A family $\mathcal A\subseteq P(n,l)$ is said to be $t$-intersecting if $\vert \{ i \ :\ \mathbf u(i)=\mathbf v(i)\} \vert\geq t$ for all $\mathbf u,\mathbf v\in \mathcal A$. A family $\mathcal A\subseteq P(n,l)$ is said to be trivially $t$-intersecting if there is a $t$-set $T$ of $\{1,2,\dots,l\}$ and elements $y_s\in \mathbb N_0$ ($s\in T$) such that $\mathcal{A}= \{\mathbf u\in P(n,l)\ :\ \mathbf u(j)=y_j\ {\rm for all}\ j\in T\}$. We prove that given any positive integers $l,t$ with $l\geq 2t+3$, there exists a constant $n_0(l,t)$ depending only on $l$ and $t$, such that for all $n\geq n_0(l,t)$, if $\mathcal{A} \subseteq P(n,l)$ is non-trivially $t$-intersecting then \begin{equation} \vert \mathcal{A} \vert\leq {n+l-t-1 \choose l-t-1}-{n-1 \choose l-t-1}+t.\notag \end{equation} Moreover, equality holds if and only if there is a $t$-set $T$ of $\{1,2,\dots,l\}$ such that \begin{equation} \mathcal A=\bigcup_{s\in \{1,2,\dots, l\}\setminus T} \mathcal A_s\cup \left\{ \mathbf q_i\ :\ i\in T \right\},\notag \end{equation} where \begin{align} \mathcal{A}_s & =\{\mathbf u\in P(n,l)\ :\ \mathbf u(j)=0\ {\rm for all}\ j\in T\ {\rm and}\ \mathbf u(s)=0\}\notag \end{align} and $\mathbf q_i\in P(n,l)$ with $\mathbf q_i(j)=0$ for all $j\in \{1,2,\dots, l\}\setminus \{i\}$ and $\mathbf q_i(i)=n$.


Hasan Hanafi's Occidentalism hinted at an epistemological framework for the development of Islamic studies. The birth of identityism is based on his ideals to establish a shared position between Islam and the West in a constructive-proportional dialogue of knowledge. The three agendas offered in the form of our attitude towards old traditions, our attitude towards Western traditions, and our attitude towards reality, are an epistemological construct of the development of systemically intertwined Islamic studies. Our attitude towards the old tradition with its steps tries to provide innovation in Islamic studies which basically has a strong historical footprint, our attitude towards Western traditions tries to arouse Muslims' awareness that addressing the West must be more proportional in its historical framework, while our attitude towards reality directs Islamic studies as a study that is not separated from the reality that surrounds it.


On the basis of chronic anxiousness (anxious expectation) on the one hand, and a tendency to anxiety attacks accompanied by vertigo on the other, two groups of typical phobias develop, the first relating to general physiological dangers, the second relating to locomotion. To the first group belong fear of snakes, thunderstorms, darkness, vermin, and so on, as well as the typical moral over-scrupulousness and forms of doubting mania. Here the available anxiety is simply employed to reinforce aversions which are instinctively implanted in everyone. But as a rule a phobia which acts in an obsessional manner is only formed if there is added to this the recollection of an experience in which the anxiety was able to find expression as, for instance, after the patient has experienced a thunderstorm in the open. It is a mistake to try to explain such cases as being simply a persistence of strong impressions; what makes them lasting is, after all, only the anxiety which was able to emerge at the time (of the experience) and which can similarly emerge now. In other words, such impressions remain powerful only in people with 'anxious expectation'. The other group includes agoraphobia with all its accessory forms, the whole of them characterized by their relation to locomotion. We frequently find that this phobia is based on an attack of vertigo that has preceded it; but I do not think that one can postulate such an attack in every case. Occasionally we see that after a first attack of vertigo without anxiety, locomotion, although henceforward constantly accompanied by a sensation of vertigo, still continues to be possible without restriction; but that, under certain conditions such as being alone or in a narrow street when once anxiety is added to the attack of vertigo, locomotion breaks down. The relation of these phobias to the phobias of obsessional neurosis, whose mechanism I made clear in an earlier paper in this periodical, is of the following kind. What they have in common is that in both an idea becomes obsessional as a result of being attached to an available affect. The mechanism of transposition of affect thus holds good for both kinds of phobia. But in the phobias of anxiety neurosis (1) this affect always has the same colour, which is that of anxiety; and (2) the affect does not originate in a repressed idea, but turns out to be not further reducible by psychological analysis nor amenable to psychotherapy. The mechanism of substitution, therefore, does not hold good for the phobias of anxiety neurosis. Both kinds of phobias (and also obsessions) often appear side by side; although the atypical phobias, which are based on obsessions, need not necessarily spring from the soil of anxiety neurosis. A very frequent and apparently complicated mechanism makes its appearance if, in what was originally a simple phobia belonging to an anxiety neurosis, the content of the phobia is replaced by another idea, so that the substitute is subsequent to the phobia. What are most often employed as substitutes are the ' protective measures' that were originally used to combat the phobia. Thus, for instance,' brooding mania' arises from the subject's endeavours to disprove that he is mad, as his hypochondriacal phobia maintains; the hesitations and doubt, and still more the repetitions, offolie du doute [doubting mania] arise from a justifiable doubt about the certainty of one's own train of thought, since one is conscious of its persistent disturbance by ideas of an obsessional sort, and so on. We can therefore assert that many syndromes, too, of obsessional neurosis, such as folie du doute and the like, are also to be reckoned clinically if not conceptually, as belonging to anxiety neurosis.


— The conditions for the existence of Feynman integrals in a sense of analytic continuation of the exponential functionals with a fourth-power polynomial in the index are studied, their presentations by Gaussian integrals are constructed in the paper. It is shown that the Schrodinger-type equation in the infinite-dimensional space in the case of fourth-power polynomial potential has a solution which is described by the Feynman path integral in configuration space.


A decentralized architecture of integration of task scheduling with replication placement was put forward in advance.Based on this architecture,a game theory based decentralized replication placement model and related algorithm,Best-Reply algorithm,were proposed.At last,four compositions of task scheduling and replica placement algorithms were compared by simulations in terms of average job completion time and average network load.The result shows that though the integration of decentralized online task scheduling algorithm with best-reply algorithm,against centralized in-tegration algorithms,is a little worse in average job completion time,its average network load changes a little and it can be substituted for the centralized integration algorithms whatever the size of disk space of storage resources is.


In this paper, we present a combined experimental and computational study of the thermomechanical reliability of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC's). We focus on residual stresses introduced into the components during the cooling down step of the sintering process. The technique of microindentation turned out to be a useful method to measure the stresses locally. The computations were done with three-dimensional finite element simulations. We find that the cooling step introduces compressive in-plane stresses in the ceramic layers. There is reasonably good overall agreement between the residual stresses obtained from the indentation experiments and the numerical simulations. Some discrepancies do exist, though, for measurements on cross-sectioned MLCC's. Possible reasons for the differences are discussed.@DOI: 10.1115/1.1604151# The basic structure of a multilayer ceramic capacitor ~MLCC! consists of alternating thin layers of dielectric ceramic material and metal electrodes, as shown schematically in Fig. 1. Two metal end terminations function as electrical contacts and are used to solder the MLCC on a printed circuit board. The trend for these components is a reduction in overall size and in layer thickness, accompanied by an increase in the number of layers. The reliability of multilayer ceramic capacitors is related directly to their thermomechanical integrity; for a review see Ref. @1#. Therefore each MLCC must meet certain standard requirements with respect to its thermomechanical integrity, and these requirements become more and more stringent. Tests such as the flex test, the temperature cycling test, the temperature shock test or resistance to solder heat ~RSH! test are used to assess the thermomechanical reliability of the components. The behavior of the components during these tests is determined by many factors. First, material parameters such as the elastic modulus, the fracture toughness, and the thermal expansion coefficient play a role. Second, residual stresses present in the components due to processing are important. Finally, it is obvious that the stress distribution generated in the components during testing is a key factor. The present study focuses on residual stresses introduced into the MLCC during the cooling traject after sintering of the component. The manufacturing of MLCC's consists of many process steps, see, e.g., Ref. @2#. One important step is sintering. At this stage, the component consists only of a stack of ceramic and metal layers, so the end terminations visible in Fig. 1 have not been applied yet ~this happens at a later stage in manufacturing!. This geometry is called a ''brick.'' The brick is sintered at a temperature of about 1300°C, during which the ceramic material densifies and obtains properties critical for a proper functioning of the final MLCC. After sintering the component is cooled down to room temperature. During the cooling down, the metal electrodes solidify. Moreover, both the metal and the ceramic layers decrease in volume. However, due to the differences in thermal expansion between metal and ceramic, residual stresses are introduced after the metal has solidified. These resididual stress may play a crucial role in the mechanical integrity of the final components; see, e.g., Ref. @1#. We have carried out full three-dimensional finite element simulations of this process step to compute these stresses. The material properties needed as input parameters have been measured with various experimental techniques. At the same time, we have carried out dedicated experiments to measure the residual stresses to be able to validate the simulation results. The technique we have used is microindentation. 2 Description of the Experiments


The accumulation and distribution dynamic of airborne 14C in different parts of quail was studied by using isotope-tracer technology.The results showed that: a little airborne 14C into quail via breathing,sedimentation and ingestion transferred to all pats of organism.The accumulation effect of 14C in endothelium of stomach and liver was evidence.Their specific activity of 14C increased linearly along with immitting of airborne 14C by equally dose and time distance,which accorded with linear equations y = 4.6321x + 3.7747(R2 = 0.9838) and y = 3.6703x + 6.3317(R2 = 0.9957) respectively.Radioactivity percent of 14C in meat and born are higher than other parts of quail and goes to 30%~45% and 20%~30% respectively.


Abstract Background Occidozygashiwandashaensis was recently discovered from Guangxi Province of China. Hylaranalatouchii is a widespread species in southern China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. Both species are expected to be found in the border areas between Vietnam and China; however, no records of these frogs have been documented from Vietnam so far. New information We record two species of amphibians for the first time from Vietnam, namely Occidozygashiwandashaensis from Bac Giang Province and Hylaranalatouchii from Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. Morphologically, the Vietnamese representatives of O.shiwandashanensis resemble the type series from China. The specimens of H.latouchii from Vietnam slightly differ from the type series from China by having a larger size (SVL 48.6–51.7 mm in males, SVL 58.4 mm in the females vs. 36.0–40.0 mm in males, 42.0–53.0 mm in females). Genetic distances between the Vietnamese records and the type specimens of O.shiwandashanensis from China varied from 0 to 1.5% (16S gene). Genetic divergences between the Vietnamese records and H.latouchii from the type locality were 2.0–2.6% (16S gene). In addition, morphological data and natural history notes of the aforementioned species are provided, based on the new records from Vietnam.


The above article from FEBS Letters, published online on 19 April 2017 in Wiley Online Library (http://wileyon linelibrary.com), has been withdrawn by agreement between the authors, the Journal Managing Editor, Felix Wieland, and John Wiley & Sons Ltd., on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. The withdrawal has been agreed following a communication from the Corresponding Author, Chunsun Fan, who found signs of data manipulation, and requested the retraction of the article.


Thin BNfilms of about IOOnm were deposited on 25~ thickpoi'ycrystalline diamond by laser ablation. The films were then annealed with a 25pec pulse @om an excimer laser at 0.U Current densities of about lA/cm2 are obtained with an extraction electrode probe area of 2x1 0-3cm2(500p diameter). Emission is governed by F-N behavior with some deviation at higher currents due to the voltage dependency of the BN resistance. Emission currents are stable and independent of pressure to about Torr. At current densities above IA/cm2, restructuring of the emission area tookplace at some locations of the 0.5cm x Icm sample leaving craters in the diamond substrate. Based on these initial results, BN has the potential for creating very rzagged, IOW noise, high current density cold electron suurces. There is a need for rugged, high current density, uniform, and stable cold electron sources for microwave amplifiers, e-beam induced light sources, flat displays, sensors and others. At present, this need is only partially hlfilled with Spindt-type emitters fabricated from metals and semiconductors. Uniformity of emission, extreme sensitivity to vacuum flashovers, and the necessity to operate these emitters at pressures below Torr call for improved emitters. Attractive alternatives are wide bandgap materials such as monocrystalline diamond, diamond-like films, and other wide bandgap materials. BN, in its cubic form, shows very promising initial results. In this paper, the performance in terms of I-V characteristics, pressure dependency, noise, and surface restructuring of a 100nm, laser ablated and laser annealed BN film deposited on a 25p.m thick polycrystalline diamond film will be presented. 2. Sample Preparation and Testing The BN samples were deposited on n-type, 25pm thick polycrystalline diamond by laser ablation and subsequent laser annealing. The diamond film was deposited on an n-type silicon wafer. The sample size is approximately 0.5cm x lcm. Detailed film deposition conditions are given in [1,2]. Testing was performed in a custom vacuum probe station using a Ta probe with a probe diameter of 500p.m (probe area cm'). The bottom of the probe is polished flat. The top merges into a 0.635cm Ta cylinder. The distance between the probe and the sample is about 1OOpm. Initial I-V measurements of these samples are reported in [3,4]. Figure 1 shows the SEM micrograph of a typical sample, revealing the polycrystalline structure of the diamond and the conformal coverage of the BN film on top of it.


Applying the reverse logistics management is the effective means for dealing with the more and more strict demand of environment protection and enhancing the enterprise's competitiveness. We analyze the meaning and the main content of reverse logistics, and discuss the value of application of reverse logistics in domestic agricultural machinery enterprises. In the last part of the paper, we provide the measures of applying the reverse logistics.


The pedigrees of 99 Japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties released between 1940 and 1987 were traced back to 65 ancestors, of which 44 were plant introductions from Japan and only 11 from Taiwan, Japanese introductions collectively contributed more than 85% of the parentage of the varieties. Although more ancestors were integrated into recent breeding programs, as few as 10 ancestors comprised 66% of the genetic background. Extensive use of superior genotypes from the same sources explained why the in- tegration of new germplasm did not result in the diversification of the released varieties. The 10 most important ancestral contributors of the 99 varieties were from Japan except 'Oloan-chu' from Taiwan. Two introductions, 'Sinriki' and 'Kameji', had the highest mean relative genetic contributions of the genes with 21.3% and 16.7%, respectively. Shinriki was the most frequently used ancestor and occurred in 83 of the 99 pedigrees. These results clearly revealed the narrow genetic base in current Japonica rice varieties of Taiwan.


. Working from home (WFH) has been associated with increased levels of job burnout; a psycho-physiological outcome of experiencing intense or extended periods of work-related stress. Individuals with higher levels of self-compassion have been shown to mitigate the effects of stress by reducing the negative affect associated with stressful situations. The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of self-compassion on job burnout and number of working hours in full time employees WFH. Fifty-eight full time WFH participants (37 females, 21 males; age M = 34, SD = 8 years) completed online self-report questionnaires. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that SC did not predict job burnout and number of working hours for this sample of WFH employees. The obtained evidence suggests that self-compassion was not enough to mitigate job burnout or number of working hours, therefore employers should not rely on employees to manage workloads and hours effectively but assist in developing schedules to reduce the negative impact of job burnout on their mental health.


The authors conducted a retrospective study over a period of 6 months in a hypertensive population in order to determine the correlation between serum uric acid on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and estimated serum potassium with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and obesity. This study enrolled 122 patients including 63 women (51.6%). The mean age was 55.9 ± 10.6 years (range 30 to 74 years). Obesity weight was found in 38 cases (31.1%) of which 20 were men (33.9%) and 18 women (28.6%). Abdominal obesity was found in 104 cases (85.2%). The average serum uric acid in patients with obesity weight was 63.3 ± 18.9 mg/L vs 62.4 ± 14.2 mg/L for no-obese patients (p = 0.63). The average serum potassium in obese patients was 4.06 ± 0.42 mEq/L vs 4.02 ± 0.46 mEq/L for no-obese (p = 0.65). The average GFR was 73.4 ± 21.4 ml/L in obese patients vs 66.6 ± 22.6 ml/min in no-obese (p = 0.03). The LVH was found in 81 cases (66.4%). The LVH was found in 65 (62.5%) obese patients vs 16 (88%) non-obese patients (OR = 4.8, 95% 1.04 - 22 p = 0.02). Only abdominal obesity has been correlated with left ventricular hypertrophy after multivariate analysis. Emphasis must be focused on public health actions for effective and appropriate measures against obesity and hypertension, whose prevalence is increasing in our region.


Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of hematopoiesis, with at least 11 complementation groups. FANCA, a gene for group A, accounts for the majority of FA patients. Previous studies of FANCA mutations revealed high allelic heterogeneity, frequent occurrence of large deletions, and interpopulation differences. However, systematic mutational analysis, including gene dosage assay to detect large deletions, has not been documented for Asian populations. A newly developed TaqMan™ quantitative PCR‐based gene dosage assay, combined with sequencing of exons and cDNA fragments, allowed for detection of 48 mutant alleles of FANCA in 27 (77%) of 35 unrelated Japanese FA families with no detectable mutations in FANCC or FANCG. We identified 29 different mutations (21 nucleotide substitutions or small deletions/insertions and eight large deletions), at least 20 of which were novel. The FANCA mutational spectrum of the Japanese was different from that of other ethnic groups so far studied. This is the largest scale of mutation analysis of FANCA in the Japanese population. Characterization of these mutations provided new information regarding the mutagenesis mechanisms and structure–function relationship of FANCA. Specifically, our data suggest that diverse mechanisms including nonhomologous recombination as well as Alu‐mediated homologous recombination are involved in the generation of large deletions in FANCA. Hum Mutat 24:481–490, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Trastuzumab is one of many monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAA) that have markedly improved cancer outcomes. Trastuzumab targets epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2). While it has long been considered the standard-of-care for HER2+ breast cancer treatment, differential response between patients suggests that host genetic background may contribute to an effective response to therapy. We utilize genetically heterogeneous Diversity Outbred (DO) mice to identify genetic elements that influence host response to TAA-mAb therapy. In a cohort of (DOxBALB/c)F1 mice bearing established BALB/c-syngeneic Neu+ (a HER2 homolog) TUBO mammary tumors, we find a divergent response to αNeu mAb therapy (clone 7.16.4). Several phenotypes were collected to compare immunological function to projected tumor doubling time (TDT). These include activation of peripheral anti-tumor T cells and IgG, natural killer cell ADCC competence, bone marrow derived macrophage ADCP/trogocytosis efficacy, and tumor immune cell infiltrate proportions. Contrary to the prospective mechanism of action of trastuzumab, we show that neither capacity for ADCC or ADCP correlate with a robust response to therapy. Following genetic linkage analysis, we identify a locus on Chr 10 that associates with TDT. To verify this locus, we use recombinant inbred collaborative cross (CC) mouse strains (CCxBALB/c) F1 mice that contain or lack this driver genotype. We find pooled survivorship between prospective responder/non-responder strains 2 months post tumor implantation differs by ~8%. This locus alone can't fully account for a durable response to mAb therapy highlighting the multigenic nature of host immune response.


The entropy generation rate in a laminar flow through a channel filled with saturated porous media is investigated. The upper surface of the channel is adiabatic and the lower wall is assumed to have a constant heat flux. The Brinkman model is employed. Velocity and temperature profiles are obtained for large Darcy number (Da) and used to obtain the entropy generation number and the irreversibility ratio. Generally, our result shows that heat transfer irreversibility dominates over fluid friction irreversibility (i.e. 0 < o < 1), and viscous dissipation has no effect on the entropy generation rate at the centerline of the channel.


Several reforms in the public procurement have been taken such as the PPA, 2011, PPR, 2013, and the Budget Act No. 11 of 2015 in Tanzania. Generally, public procurement plays a key role in service delivery where inventory management in public sector raises a great concern in terms of good governance and professionalism (Dzuke and Naude 2015).This study examined factors affecting inventory management in Tanzania Police Force, a case study of Arusha Central Police Station. The study used a descriptive case study design by a sample size of 60 respondents selected through probability sampling technique. Data were collected through questionnaire and document review. Data analysis showed that there were no adequate storage facilities and skilled procurement staff at Arusha Central Police Station with a significant relationship r (60) = 0.75, p =.462 between influence of resources and inventory management. The study also revealed noncompliance with procurement laws by a positive relationship r (60) = 0.70, p = .305 between the influence of legal frameworks and inventory management. Likewise, involvement of top management influences inventory management, revealed a positive correlation r (60) = 0.92, p = .305 between involvement of top management and inventory management. Similarly, ICT was not applied in inventory management, showing a positive correlation r (60) = 0.86, p = .241 between application of ICT and inventory management. It was concluded that inventory management in Tanzania Police Force is affected by several factors such as inadequate resources and skilled staff, noncompliance of laws, little involvement of top management as well as lack of application of ICT in inventory management. The study recommends the government to ensure that resources are adequately supplied and skilled staff recruited; compliance with public procurement legislation abided by allocating enough budgets to the police force. It is also recommended that further research be conducted to determine the influence of good governance on inventory management in defence and security organs in Tanzania.


P(St-MMA) spheres were synthesized in emulsifier-free system with solvothermal method.Silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the copolymer spheres,then penicillin acylase was coupled on the spheres with covalent linkage.Effect of some factors,such as diameters of copolymer spheres,content of silver,ratio of enzyme to copolymer spheres,was studied.Results showed that coupled yield and activity of the immobilized enzyme increased with the decrease of diameter of spheres;silver nanoparticles could improve the coupled yield and activity of immobilized enzyme by 42% and 72% respectively,the maximum of activity of immobilized enzyme was up to 1869 u/g,which was better than the enzyme coupled on the polymer spheres;it was also confirmed that silver nanoparticles had no catalysis in the hydrolysis of penicillin G potassium salt,but could improve the catalysis of immobilized penicillin acylase greatly.


The modern era of emerging intelligent technologies necessitates the development of technologyspecific design methods. Artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and autonomous systems are expected to replace humans in many intelligent information-processing tasks. To develop such systems, however, designers need to understand what happens in the minds of the people completing such tasks today. Designers also need methods to develop intelligent technological solutions. In the present paper, we discuss cognitive mimetics as a possible tool for designers of intelligent technologies. Like biomimetics, cognitive mimetics is an analogy-based method; however, instead of looking for structural and material analogies between natural and technological solutions, cognitive mimetics searches for analogies and similarities between existent human and animal information processes and technical solutions. Thus, cognitive mimetics can be useful as an idea-generating method for designers developing intelligent technological solutions.


McLaren, Brian. Finding our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008. In the past decade much has been written about reviving ancient disciplines of the faith. This volume is the first of several books written by various authors for the Ancient Practices Series that explore how following disciplines such as keeping Sabbath, fasting, and tithing are able to provide solid ways of encountering communally shared values in the context of daily life.


Siloxane-based polycarbone polyurethanes (PCUs) with varying [PDMS]/([PDMS]+[PCDL]) were synthesised by a two-step solution polymerisation method. As potential blood-contacting biomaterials, their biocompatibility was further improved by inserting sulfobetaine via three synthetic...


Purpose – This study aims to combine the patron perception of the interlibrary loan services offered in three libraries: an ARL campus, a small private liberal arts campus, and a large state public library. The goal was to have a vehicle for gathering both satisfaction and value information for each of the services provided by a resource-sharing operation to cross-analyze patron perceptions, satisfaction and value placed on resource sharing at each institution. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was created to gather the information desired, and it was designed to be completed in less than 15 minutes. The survey wording was adjusted depending on the individual participating organization to provide appropriate text for the local patrons. However, the basic content was similar for each library. The survey included an optional field where the patron could enter their name to allow follow-up as desired. It also included an open question to capture anything else the previous questions did not. Findings – T...


In this paper, the asymmetric and nonlinear effects of the real exchange rate shocks on different export-oriented businesses, i.e. Petrochemical, Basic Metal, and Mining industries stock indexes, in Tehran Stock Exchange is examined. From the policymakers' perspective, this idea is theoretically interpreted as a "fear of appreciation" hypothesis that refers to the intervention of central banks in foreign exchange markets to restrict currency appreciation rather than depreciation to defend export competitiveness. To this aim, in addition to the main variables, the monthly time series data of the control variables, i.e. inflation, OPEC oil price, and international sanctions, from 2012:01 to 2020:01 are used. Our findings based on the NARDL approach illustrate that not only have exchange rate shocks significant effects on different stock indexes, but these relationships are asymmetric and nonlinear. Moreover, the results have confirmed the fear of depreciations hypothesis in the export-oriented industries, that means the central bank of Iran tends to pursue the "leaning-against-the-depreciation-wind" policy rather than "leaning-against-the-appreciation-wind" one.


Method for manufacturing a piezoelectric element, an ink jet recording head and the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element, a vibration plate, a lower electrode, a piezoelectric film and an upper electrode are sequentially laminated, wherein: the lower electrode, the upper electrode and the piezoelectric film composed of a perovskite type oxide the vibration plate composed of a metal oxide, between the diaphragm and the lower electrode between the lower electrode and said piezoelectric film, and substantially no engagement between the piezoelectric film and the upper electrode interface.


What have modern Buddhist ethicists to say about abortion and is there anything to be learned from it? A number of writers have suggested that Buddhism (particularly Japanese Buddhism) does indeed have something important to offer here: a response to the dilemma of abortion that is a 'middle way' between the pro-choice and pro-life extremes that have polarised the western debate. I discuss what this suggestion might amount to and present a defence of its plausibility.


Developing countries' manufactured exports increased from 1960 through 1976 at rates around 15 percent per year. This paper is concerned with the changing structural features of these exports and how they relate to world manufacturing output and markets, which have expanded much more slowly. Numerous relationships are explored, with speculative interpretations as well as tables. Here are examples of findings: the share of manufacturing output traded internationally in market economies has risen rapidly, but remains less than one sixth, and is lower in developing countries. The share of LDC exports in manufactures in developed countries has recently passed one percent, and ranges in individual countries from about 0.5 to 2 percent; but examples are given of much higher penetration in narrow product lines. Even these exports come mainly from a few countries and consist predominantly of labor-intensive goods such as clothing and electronic assembly products; rapid export growth has also taken place in a wide range of other products and in many other LDCs, and has extended to trade in manufactures among developing countries themselves, which has quite a different composition.


Abstract The ion exchange capacities of Whatman No. 1 and Whatman CM81 chromatographic papers, with and without pre-washing, were determined chromatographically using lead nitrate and lead chloride. Mean values with standard deviations are reported. Statistical analysis indicates that pre-washing with acetic acid, perchloric acid, and disodium dihydrogen ethylene, diaminetetraacetate affects the capacity by the same amount at the 95% confidence limit.


There are several protocols in the Electroencephalography (EEG) recording scenarios which produce various types of event-related potentials (ERP). P300 pattern is a well-known ERP which produced by auditory and visual oddball paradigm and BCI speller system. In this study, P300 and non-P300 separability are investigated in two scenarios including image recognition paradigm and BCI speller. Image recognition scenario is an experiment that examines the participants, knowledge about an image that shown to them before by analyzing the EEG signal recorded during the observing of that image as visual stimulation. To do this, three types of famous classifiers (SVM, Bayes LDA, and sparse logistic regression) were used to classify EEG recordings in six classes problem. Filtered and down-sampled (temporal samples) of EEG recording were considered as features in classification P300 pattern. Also, different sets of EEG recording including 4, 8 and 16 channels and different trial numbers were used to considering various situations in comparison. The accuracy was increased by increasing the number of trials and channels. The results prove that better accuracy is observed in the case of the image recognition scenario for the different sets of channels and by using the different number of trials. So it can be concluded that P300 pattern which produced in image recognition paradigm is more separable than BCI (matrix speller).


This draft describes a possible optimization to Duplicate Address
Detection (DAD) which can be used to successfully terminate DAD early.
The method is based on a positive RA message sent by an Neighbor
Discovery Relay Agent that knows all the IPv6 addresses of the nodes
currently attached to it.


This paper concentrates on the development and evaluation of linear characteristics of a complex flexure hinge with high accuracy and large stiffness. The flexure hinge mechanism is used to clamp the shaft of a micropositioning stage based on the inchworm principle. Six key parameters of the flexure hinge are optimized by using finite element method. Developed flexure hinge has very good effects on the clamping and resilience that are accurate and reasonable. The evaluation result shows that the flexure hinge has excellent linear charac-teristic.


Includes: Aley, Robert J. Graphic Methods in Elementary Mathematics. Knipp, Charles T. The Automatic Temperature Regulator. Waldo, C. A. and Newlin, John A. The Cayleyan Cubic. Knipp, Charles T. The Use of the Bicycle Wheel in Illustrating the Principles of the Gyroscope.


In this paper a thermodynamic and kinetic study of the deposition of tungsten on silicon (100) from tungsten hexafluoride (WF6) and germane (GeH4) is presented. Thermodynamic calculations, as well as experiments with a closed reactor, indicate that the reaction occurring during deposition is WF6+3GeH4→W+3GeF2+6H2. The growth rate as a function of process parameters is obtained for depositions in the temperature range from 600 to 800 K and a total pressure range from 150 to 1000 mTorr. Experiments show that the germane reduction of tungsten hexafluoride is of 0.9 order in WF6, −0.2 order in GeH4, and zero order in H2. The activation energy is 34 kJ/mol. The deposition rate does not change when SiH4 is added to the GeH4/WF6 mixture, while, on the contrary, a small amount of GeH4 reduces the growth rate from a SiH4/WF6 mixture considerably. The kinetic data indicate that the formation of GeF2 might be the rate‐limiting step.


This report presents a comparative assessment of the world's four major research efforts on magnetic confinement fusion, including a comparison of the capabilities in the Soviet Union, the European Community (Western Europe), Japan, and the United States. A comparative evaluation is provided in six areas: tokamak confinement; alternate confinement approaches; plasma technology and engineering; and fusion computations. The panel members are involved actively in fusion-related research, and have extensive experience in previous assessments and reviews of the world's four major fusion programs. Although the world's four major fusion efforts are roughly comparable in overall capabilities, two conclusions of this report are inescapable. First, the Soviet fusion effort is presently the weakest of the four programs in most areas of the assessment. Second, if present trends continue, the United States, once unambiguously the world leader in fusion research, will soon lose its position of leadership to the West European and Japanese fusion programs. Indeed, before the middle 1990s, the upgraded large-tokamak facilities, JT-60U (Japan) and JET (Western Europe), are likely to explore plasma conditions and operating regimes well beyond the capabilities of the TFTR tokamak (United States). In addition, if present trends continue in the areas of fusion nuclear technology andmore » materials, and plasma technology and materials, and plasma technology development, the capabilities of Japan and Western Europe in these areas (both with regard to test facilities and fusion-specific industrial capabilities) will surpass those of the United States by a substantial margin before the middle 1990s.« less


Although demonstrations are a recurring and key feature of Canadian and other societies, law often has negative and unacknowledged larger impacts on demonstrations while they occur when one examines how courts and police practically use and apply law on the ground. By pragmatically analyzing the experiences in Canada of Ipperwash, the Toronto G20, the Occupy movement, and "Idle No More," this article illustrates patterns of how injunctions and criminal law processes negatively interacted with those demonstrations while they happened. The article begins by reviewing law's usually detrimental impact on demonstrations-in-progress in the context of interlocutory and statutory injunctions (unless rare circumstances arise). For example, given the prior status quo focus of such injunctions, demonstrators have an uphill battle to practically win such motions. As well, using Hohfeldian conceptions, specific "rights" (such as property rights or regulated property use) usually prevail over more general aspirational "privileges" (such as freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly) when they come into conflict. Law also does not usually act in prospective (or ex ante) manner for specific future or current situations. The article then examines how the police can use criminal powers and processes to effectively shut down or undermine demonstrations in the heat of the moment, notably because any after-the-fact (or ex post) reviews or accountability for misuse come much later, if at all. Finally, the conclusion explores some practical implications as a result and potential mitigation methods, such as more pragmatic understanding and balancing, better articulating some of the specific rights associated with demonstrations and dissent, and implementing more holistic and nuanced solutions, including trying to practically minimize and avoid raising tensions in such situations.


A two-step synthesis of meso-substituted [28]hexa-phyrins in an aqueous medium was developed and optimized, and scrambling processes are avoided despite the use of a high acid concentration. The efficiency of this procedure relies on the nature of the starting material, and it can be extended to the straightforward preparation of unprecedented AB2C2D-[28]hexaphyrins bearing up to four different kinds of meso-appended aryl group.


Lameness is a serious animal welfare and production issue in the modern dairy herds. The development of a scoring system that is able to categorize the farm on the basis of its hazard risk level may help clinicians and farmers to identify potential issues and to reduce costs caused by lameness. The aim of this study was to develop an easy and fast score for evaluation of the structural and managerial factors potentially involved in the pathogenesis of foot lesions, and categorization of dairy farms. A total of six free-stall dairy farms were evaluated during a 3 month-period. The score developed in this study was composed of evaluation of the housing system, flooring, the farm design, the use of footbaths, the frequency of hoof trimming, and the continuing education of the employers. For each parameter, a score of 0 to 2 was assigned where the score 0 meant the least appropriate condition, the score 2 represented the best. The Farm Score showed a significant correlation with foot lesion prevalence (P = 0.0011, R2 0.94) and with the theoretical assessment of additional cost per animal (P = 0.001, R2 0.95). The significant correlation between the Farm Score, the foot lesion prevalence and the theoretical assessment of additional costs per animal may underline the potential usefulness of the score designed in this study. The Farm Score may be considered as a cheap and fast way to evaluate the hazard risk level for claw health on a dairy farm.


Using the concept of the importance of the rates of the individual stages in the rate of formation of the product, a new approach was developed for predicting the selective effect on chain reactions to increase the selectivity of the process with respect to the target product. The law of the optimum effect on the system was determined with the principle of the Pontryagin maximum


In the era of globalization is the development of Information Technology (IT) is growing very rapidly. Information Technology (IT) can be used in various elds, such as government, educa- tion, health, and other elds. Therefore, Scienti c Writing will discuss about learning about the history of Indonesia, which can be introduced by using a computer plus the me- dia with an attractive display applications such as animation and video images of the material presented. As you know the history at this present moment is increasingly forgotten. Because, that's what the author is interested in making an application to the study of history can be more desirable. Thus, the authors make an interactive learning about the history of Indonesia desktop applications using the Java pro- gramming language category of the Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE). Advantages of Java programming language as com- pared to the other is a multiplatform programming language which can run on multiple platforms / operating system computer, as well as a pure object-based is easier for pro- grammers to design, create, develop and allocate the fault of a Java program with a base quickly, accurately, easily and organized. Desktop application programming has facilities not only in the form of presentation of course material, but provides additional facilities in the form of a video that is expected to assist in covering the understanding as a result of learning. Penamaan File: 50407252


&NA; Older patients who are about to undergo cataract removal should be asked to provide a complete medication history, one that includes drugs no longer being taken.


In this thesis we develop a multi-component multi-phase reactive transport simulator to facilitate the investigation of a large variety of phenomena in porous media including component transport, diffusion, microbiological growth and decay, cell attachment and detachment and phase exchange. The coupled problem is solved using operator splitting approach. This approach enables us to use higher-order schemes and reduce numerical diffusion, which can result in an overestimation of phase exchange and reaction processes. Furthermore, this approach allows a flexible adaptation of the solution strategy to the concrete
problem. We conduct an in-depth comparison of the fully-coupled and splitting approaches in order to derive criteria for the most efficient scheme depending on the relative importance of advection, diffusion and reaction.


One of the most shared content in Social Media (SM) is text, making it vulnerable to copy and authorship misappropriation. Due to the low data noise, watermark embedding is very hard. This problem is exacerbated in the context of SM, where the amount of data in a single message can be extremely small, like in Twitter. Firstly, in this paper we investigate whether SM do applies watermarks on the texts. Then, we propose a text watermarking method able to work on all the SM platforms considered, while ensuring visual indistinguishability and length preservation of the original text and robustness to copy and paste. We conduct an extended evaluation on eighteen different SM platforms by using 6,000 posts from six public figures' profiles.


Silica sulfuric acid was used as the catalyst for synthesis of 2,4-D butyl ester from 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid(2,4-D) and n-butyl alcohol.The effects of catalyst amounts,molar ratio of alcohol to acid and reaction time on the product yield was investigated.The optimum conditions were as follows:1.4% catalyst based on 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid,molar ratio of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid to n-butyl alcohol 1∶ 10,and reaction time 1.0 h.Under the optimum conditions,the yield of 2,4-D butyl ester was 98.7%.


In this paper the flow properties and influence on the joint at downstream are studied.First,by analyzing on the development of boundary layer in the shallow supercritical flow and aeration properties,we find the character of energy dissipation that the resistance loss of shallow flow in the wide-steep channel is more than that of the flow in the general steep channel,and get its range value of the velocity coefficient.Then,according to the different flow and boundary condition,we analyze the flow momentum distribution in wide steep channel,and find that when the ratio B/H40 and the discharge is larger,the flow momentum lateral distribution in the end of steep channel shows a saddle profile which has stronger stability and anti-disturbance;but when the ratio B/H40 and the discharge is smaller,the momentum lateral distribution shows a elliptical profile which has bad stability and can't restrain the outside disturbance.Based on analyzing the we attains that the instability of shallow flow in the end of steep channel originates from lack of stronger both wings control in momentum lateral distribution,which brings about accumulation and increase progressively of minor disturbance and leads to instability of the end hydraulic jump and insufficiency of the energy dissipation.In order to improve stability of join flow at downstream,a measure adjusting of momentum lateral distribution is put forward in this paper.


Abstract We study orbit spaces of generalized gradient vector fields for Morse functions. Typically, these orbit spaces are non-Hausdorff. Nevertheless, they are quite structured topologically and are amenable to study. We show that these orbit spaces are locally contractible. We also show that the quotient map associated to each such orbit space is a weak homotopy equivalence and has the path lifting property.


The City of Edmonton operates and maintains over 5,000 km of sewer pipes. The collection system is made up of about 42% storm sewers, 39% sanitary sewers and 1…


To clarify endosperm development between wheat cultivars for different uses,Wanmai 38 and Yangmai 9 responsible for strong-and weak-gluten types,respectively,were used to study division of endosperm free nucleus,proliferation and volume changes of endosperm cells,the development of amyloplast,protein body and aleuronic layer.The main results were as follows:(1) The divisions of the free nucleus in Wanmai 38 endosperm was mainly the mitosis,while those in Yangmai9 mainly the amitosis,which were affected by temperature;(2)The changes of endosperm cells presented S-curve during the endosperm development,the endosperm cells of Wanmai 38 divided more rapidly,cell volume was larger,grain weight was higher;(3) Wanmai 38 had greater large starch granules but fewer small starch granules,while Yanmai 9 was on the contrary;(4) The aleurone layer appeared at about 9 days after anthesis,the cell wall of the aleurone layer in Wanmai 38 was thicker and dyed more denser than that in Yanmai 9;(5) There were three kinds of starch granules in endosperm cells,which was cake-,ellipsoid-,ball shape,respectively.There were more starch granules of cake-and ellipsoid shape in Wanmai38,but more starch granules of cake-and ball shape in Yangmai9.The starch granules distribution in Wanmai 38 was closer than that in Yangmai 9.


Foreign Workers and the Emergence of Minimum International Standards for the Compensation of Workplace Accidents, 1880–1914 This essay examines the politics behind creating international norms for the compensation of workplace accidents in the period from the 1880s to the outbreak of the First World War. It focuses on a case study about the treatment of foreign workers in Britain, Germany and Italy in order to illuminate these developments. One of the leading motivations for advocates of international law at this time was the creation and implementation of socially-orientated standards in a range of fields, including social policy. The issue of migrant workers tested whether governments would adopt such a standard for accident compensation. The essay argues that transnational and international communication about workplace accidents during this period facilitated the creation of an international minimum legal standard for the compensation of accidents at work. Yet, the international convergence of policies for accident compensation was limited during the period under consideration. Instead, observations and communication across borders went hand-in-hand with the strengthening of national social security systems.


This article looks back at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s standard for protecting construction workers from lead exposure (29 CFR 1926.62), on the occasion of the standard's 20th anniversary. The author reports statistics on violations of the standard among painting and other construction trades, reports on health risks posed by lead exposure, summarizes findings on blood lead levels, and reviews 1926.62 and related regulations affecting lead exposure. In addition, the article offers recommendations and questions for those involved with lead paint removal on bridges and other structure.


Sugarcane is one of the estate crops that has been cultivated in Indonesia for a long time. Sugarcane farmers must be more adaptable and adjust their current field management as a result of water shortage caused by climate change. rip irrigation has been one of the prospectus alternatives to be implemented by farmers by altering their furrow irrigation. Before being implemented in the field, the AquaCrop model is useful to simulate the advisability of particular farm management such as irrigation. The AquaCrop model was used to simulate and analyse the water balance, crop yields, and water productivity of sugarcane in Pasuruan under two alternative field managements, i.e. conventional and enhanced practices. Results confirmed that drip irrigation requires less water for irrigation than furrow irrigation. In comparison to no mulching procedures in conventional method, improved field management decreased surface run-off by up to 95%. Farmers obtained higher crop yield and water productivity by shifting the farm management, i.e. 7-8% and 12-16%, respectively. However, there are several constraints on this analysis. Thus, advanced studies on conducting AquaCrop for more realistic conditions are still promising in future.


The new improved technique of steelmaking-continuous casting brought about the changes from fixed furnace counts to a fixed time for evaluation mode of tundish lifetime and a corresponding optimization model for tundish plan was constructed.The effects of steel grade,casting width and draw-speed to casting time were taken into account in the model.And then,an optimization method combining heuristic algorithm and DNA evolutionary algorithm was proposed to solve the model.Three heuristic algorithms were designed and detailed steps of DNA evolution process were given based on heuristic algorithm.By simulating on the real production data,the result shows that the proposed optimization method may improve the utilization rate of tundish and is effective.


The article analyzes the fatigue season, shift and working time of driver, and discusses safety management measures of anti fatigue driving. Combining the actual production, the article formulates effective safety management measures to prevent driver from fatigue driving and ensure safety production in open-pit mine.


Experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary protein level on growth and nutrient utilization by angel fish (Pterophyllum scalare) juveniles. Fifty-four juveniles (average wt. 2-2.5 g) were equally divided in three treatments with each of three replicates. Three formulated diets with graded protein levels, T1 (35% CP), T2 (40% CP) and T3 (45% CP) were fed to juveniles for 45 days. A trend of higher weight gain %, SGR, FER and PER was found with the increased CP level in the feed. Feed intake was similar in all the groups. T3 group fed with 45% CP registered highest weight gain % (43.26 ± 2.07), SGR (0.78 ± 0.04), FER (0.29 ± 0.01), which were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the T1 and T2 groups. Protein digestibility of T2 and T3 groups was significantly higher than the T1 group. Survival was similar in all the experimental groups. Diet with 45% CP with protein energy ratio of 112.62 mg protein/K cal. is ideal for juvenile angel fish for indoor rearing.


Organic and hybrid thermoelectric (OHT) materials have attracted increasing research interest over the past decade. Thermal conductivity measurement plays a critical role in evaluating and improving the thermoelectric performance of various types of these novel materials, ranging from bulks to low‐dimensional structures. Commonly used and newly developed techniques for thermal conductivity measurement, most of which have been applied to OHT materials in recent years, are reviewed. They are categorized as steady‐state methods, time‐domain methods, or frequency‐domain methods. The operating principles, merits and limitations, technical issues, and application examples for each technique are also discussed.


A general approach to the problem of designing structurally constrained receivers for signal detection and estimation is proposed. The approach is based on the constrained Bayesian methodology wherein risk-minimizing inference (or decision) rules are modified (constrained) by replacement of true posterior probabilities with estimated posterior probabilities. The estimators are structurally constrained minimum-mean-squared-error (MMSE) estimators for random posterior probabilities. This methodology is, in essence, an extension and generalization of the well-known linear MMSE estimation methodology. The approach is employed to design linearly constrained coherent receivers for signals in additive and multiplicative noise, and quadratically constrained noncoherent receivers for signals in additive noise. An analysis of these receivers shows that they are very similar to those that are optimum for additive Gaussian noise. The methodology provides a unified theory of receiver design based on the constrained MMSE criterion. This unification yields new insight into this old approach, clarifying both strengths and weaknesses of the approach.


The use of atracurium in caesarean section was studied in 50 women at term; a dosage of 0.3-0.4 mg/kg body weight caused no significant change in arterial blood pressure and pulse rate. On delivery, r


Imperfect osteogenesis (Lobstein disease, Wrolick disease, etc.) is a hereditary disease transmitted both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive and characterized by impaired bone formation. It is clinically manifested by blue sclerae, discolored tooth enamel ("amber" teeth), loose joints, muscle atrophy, and increased bone fragility. Subcostal fractures with little local pain and swelling are predominantly seen in this disease. They can be complete and incomplete, often fused at an angle, which leads to deformities of limbs and thorax in the form of disproportionately short arms and legs while the head, trunk, and feet are normal in size. The phalanges of the fingers are never broken. The configuration of the skull is characterized by a broad forehead bulging forward and steeply upward, the temporal bones overhanging the ear canals; the ears are protruding downward and outward.


The origin of the Craniata (hagfish + Vertebrata [Vertebrata = lamprey + Gnathostoma]—Janvier, 1981), one of the three subphyla of the Phylum Chordata, has generated more controversy in terms of numbers of likely ancestors than the origin of any other metazoan group. The primary difficulty with the origin of craniates, as opposed to the origin of birds, for example, is the bauplan dichotomy that separates craniates from all other "invertebrates." This dichotomy results in the almost equal plausibility of deriving craniates from any "invertebrate" ancestor. The first attempt at trying to understand the bauplan differences between "invertebrates" and craniates was by Geoffroy St. Hilaire in 1822, who envisioned craniates as arthropods lying on their backs. Since then, many bilaterian phyla have been hypothesized as either direct ancestors or sister groups to the craniates with some recent notable examples being: arthropods (Raw, 1960); nemertines (Willmer, 1975); molluscs (Sillman, 1960; Lovtrup, 1977); urochordates (Jefferies, 1986); and cephalochordates (Gans and Northcutt, 1983).


ABSTRACT The Beat Within is a writing and art program and publication based in San Francisco that gives a voice to incarcerated youth in various locations across the country. This article recounts the experience of the partnership between a community-based learning course at Portland State University and juvenile detention in Multnomah County, Oregon, using The Beat Within as the means for prosocial interaction between university students and incarcerated youth. Included within the article are reflections from youth participants, university students, and the author about the power of the partnership.


The paper deals with the possibilities of using information and communication technologies in the educational process, electronic and mobile learning technologies in particular. The paper defines and presents the content of the initial concepts of the research. Special attention is paid to a mobile application as a modern and effective learning tool. Mobile apps have a number of specialized capabilities which can be used in the educational process. The paper reveals positive and negative aspects of their use. It carries out a comparative analysis of existing mobile applications used in teaching the Russian language and written business communication and presents the prospects for their use. The authors come to the conclusion about the insufficient number and quality of mobile applications that could be used in developing business writing skills. The material of the paper can be helpful for teachers of universities, technical and secondary schools for the purpose of self-education and increasing the efficiency of the educational process.


Though the early church practiced almsgiving as a normative act of piety its role as a formative spiritual discipline has been largely ignored in contemporary evangelical works on the disciplines. In this article, I argue that intentional and real care for the poor, though rarely mentioned today as a formative practice in evangelical circles, ought to be included in normative discussions of the spiritual disciplines.


Even about 70% of our planet is covered by water, lack of access to clean water is still a pervasive problem disturbing people all over the world. Water problems are deemed to be worse in future, given the rapidly growing population. To solve these problems calls out for a tremendous amount of research to be conducted to develop new methods/technologies of economically purifying water and harvesting water, as well as reducing associated negative impact on the environment. In this study, we investigated water condensation at a cooled surface and the impacts of the surface property and temperature. A device was designed and developed to collect the water condensation rate in a controlled environment. The Alumina surface was used as a substrate to collect water condensation under various cooling levels of the surface. Experiment data show that the water condensation rate rapidly decreases as the difference between the surface and environmental temperature goes down. Graphene is 2D carbon materials and It is a sheet of single-atom-layer thickness which consist of sp2-hydridized carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal honeycomb structure. It offers many super properties including high electrical and thermal conductivities, great mechanical properties. To investigate its presence's impacts on water condensation rate, the Al surface randomly dispersed with graphenes was tested under the same condition to study the impact of the graphene presence on the water condensation rate. No obvious influence was identified. The study is important to investigate the surface's enhancement of phase change and water harvest from ambient air.


Abstract This paper expounds the effect of horizontal spacing between two horizontally aligned circular cylinders on laminar natural convection to non-Newtonian power-law fluids. Numerical computations have been carried out for the following range of conditions: Grashof number (10 to 105), Prandtl number (0.71 to 100), horizontal spacing (0 to 20 times the cylinder diameter), and power-law index (0.4 to 1.6). The flow, pressure, and thermal fields are pictorially visualized in terms of streamlines, pressure contours, and temperature contours, respectively. The average Nusselt number shows a positive reliance on both Grashof and Prandtl numbers, whereas an adverse dependence is observed on power-law index. Irrespective of all other parameters, shear-thinning fluid behavior is seen to promote the convection, whereas shear-thickening behavior impedes it with reference to the Newtonian fluid. With decrease in the horizontal spacing, the average Nusselt number increases and attains a maximum value corresponding to the optimal spacing, however, it diminishes greatly with further reduction in spacing. Furthermore, the average Nusselt number is in excess of 21-89% at the optimal spacing compared to no-spacing. Finally, this paper is concluded with producing a new correlation for the average Nusselt number.


A 45deg oblique polarized 3:1 bandwidth ±30deg scan antenna array is designed. The antenna is the printed log-periodic antenna made by dielectric substrate, and feed by a semirigid coaxial line. It has some advantages such as little weight, easy manufacture, high accuracy and consistency. Some antenna cells are made and measured. Accord to the VSWR measured results, some research and improvement is done with the antenna. After be measured, the VSWRs of the antenna at 3:1 bandwidth with ±30° scan angle are blew 2.5. The lobe diagrams of the antenna shows the antenna array can achieve ±30° scan at horizontal direction.


The basic accountant principle is the basic request for accounting.The basic definitions under the traditional accountant system,of cost principle,income confirming principle,expense allocating principle, power and responsibility principle, fully disclosing principle and accountant supposition and so on must change correspondingly to adapt to the new economic form.There exist problems with the basic accountant principles in the actual operation.Through studying the elementary theories,it is to propose the relevant measures to the problems based on the practice and the economical environment.


Abstract The paper shows solution of a T-shaped frame, strength- ened with two linear springs, regarding critical and post-critical analysis. The solution is exact using the Euler elastic approach and the frame of reference, originated in the point of column axis inflexion. The derived Numerical results show the effect of the springs strengthening for the crit- ical and the post-critical system behaviour. The influence of the geometry change is analyzed, as well.


Purpose: To describe intubation success and the device manipulations needed to obtain adequate glottic views to facilitate successful first attempt tracheal tube passage with the Airtraq.Methods: Retrospective audit of anonymously collected prospective data from a departmental equipment purchasing committee sponsored device trial. Descriptive data is provided. The odds of successful passage of the tracheal tube on the first attempt without repositioning when the posterior arytenoids cleft was in the left lower quadrant of the view from the Airtraq was compared to its location in any of the other quadrants using a contingency table and presented as OR (95% CI).Results: All patients were successfully intubated with the Airtraq (median time 28 seconds). Device repositioning to attain adequate view of the glottis occurred in 30-48% of insertions depending on whether it was a back-up or rotational motion. The odds of successful intubation on first attempt was thirty times higher when the posterior interarytenoid cleft was in the lower left quadrant of the operators view (95% CI [4-300], p<.0001.Conclusions: Our results support the ease of use and attainment of skills of the Airtraq in inexperienced users. More importantly, our results suggest that maneuvering the device to obtain a view of the glottic structures in the lower left quadrant of operator's view leads to the highest likelihood of first attempt intubations success.


The micellar properties of N,N,N,N′, N′,N′-hexamethyl-1,20-icosanediyldiammonium, or the corresponding di(1-pyridinium)alkanedioates −OOC(CH2)nCOO− (n = 2—10), were studied by conductivity and pyrene fluorescence measurements. In both systems, the critical micelle concentration (cmc) varied little up to n = 4, but decreased rapidly with a further increase in n. The binding degree (β) of the alkanedioate counter ion was virtually independent of the type of surfactant ion head group and gradually increased from 0.69 at n = 2 to 0.91 at n = 10. The observed n dependences of cmc and β were similar to those of the conventional ionic surfactants with an α,ω-type counter ion, indicating the importance of the hydrophobic interaction between the hydrocarbon part of the counter ion and the micellar core. On the basis of a phase-separation model, the transfer free energy per methylene group of the counter ion from aqueous-to-micellar environments was estimated to be about −1.0 RT. The fluorescence measurements sugge...


Incidence of facial nerve stimulation (FNS) was 2.8% (32 out of 1151) and higher in ears with cochlear anomaly (6.4%, 25 out of 391) than without cochlear anomaly (0.9%, 7 out of 760). FNS occurred at various current levels and locations of electrodes by different mechanisms related to incomplete insertion of electrodes, cochleo-facial dehiscence, and types of cochlear anomalies. FNS at apical electrodes related to cochleo-facial dehiscence with low current levels, and FNS at basal electrodes with high current levels and partial insertion of electrodes. FNS at most electrodes with high current levels was the most common type in patients with a common cavity or narrowing of the bony cochlear nerve canal. Understanding the mechanisms of FNS might provide insight for preventing FNS when performing CI surgeries. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Acoustic assessment of voice impairment is commonly performed by subjective perceptual evaluation of continuous speech based on a grading system such as the roughness, breathiness, hoarseness (RBH) scale. Here, we present an automatic approach to objectively quantify hoarseness severity based on sustained vowels. For this study, a total of 635 recordings of the sustained vowel /a/ were collected. Temporal, spectral and cepstral features were extracted from one second of each recording. All recordings have an assigned RBH value, which was determined subjectively by an expert based on continuous speech of the respective subject. In order to account for the label noise introduced by different valuation bases, subjects were divided into two levels of hoarseness H < 2 and H ≥ 2. Logistic Regression was employed as classification model, using the resulting output probabilities as continuous severity rating. Relevant features were selected using a sequence of filter methods and backward elimination. The original feature set was reduced from 50 to 5 features. A classification accuracy of 86.73% was achieved on the test set. Detailed evaluation of output probabilities shows strong correlation (r = 0.81) with H values, allowing to capture and quantify individual improvement, deterioration or no change of hoarseness at different points in time, e.g. before and after voice therapy. The presented method describes a promising approach for objective evaluation of hoarseness, allowing to quantify treatment progress for patients with voice disorders.


Hamilton Mack Laing, a hunter-naturalist, taught in rural schools in southwestern Manitoba, Canada, from 1901 to 1911. He collected a whooping crane ( Grus americana) near Whitewater Lake in 1905, which he later regretted when the species's decline and rarity were becoming recognized. Although suggested otherwise, there is no evidence that Laing collected more than one whooping crane.


The project objective was to demonstrate the capabilities of the high-performance multi-staged IEC technology and its ability to enhance energy efficiency and interior comfort in dry climates, while substantially reducing electric-peak demand. The project was designed to test 24 cooling units in five commercial building types at Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


The goal of the paper is to show how external situations (cultural, institutional, social) of the suicide note genre and its component speech acts (especially: Last Will Instructions, Saying 'I love you' and Thanking) impact the choice of the strategies of apologizing. The results of the research conducted using Polish Corpus of Suicide Notes were compared to the description of apologizing as found in the Polish part of project Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns. Natural communicative situation reflected in the analyzed texts reveal a complex structure of the apologizing speech act with its overlapping strategies. The most noticeabledifferences between everyday apologizing and apologizing in the suicide note emerge in the strategy of Taking of Responsibility whose form depends not only on the type of the offense but also on the recipients. In suicide notes,the author knows the rules of apologizing but he adjusts them to his situation and he subordinatesthe text to his goals. The most important person in the sender-recipient relationship appears to be the author himself and the injured party remains in the shadow. In the sender's mind, both the acceptance of the apologyand the direct contact arenot necessary.


The capacity-voltage fade phenomenon in lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) LIB cathodes is not understood. We provide its first atomic-scale description, employing advanced TEM combined with electroanalysis and first principles simulations. Cycling causes near-surface (~ 30 nm) amorphization of the Olivine crystal structure, with isolated amorphous regions being also present deeper into the bulk crystal. Within this amorphous shell, some of the Fe2+ is transformed to Fe3+. Simulations predict that amorphization significantly impedes ion diffusion in LiFePO4 and even more severely in FePO4. The most significant barrier for ion transfer will be in the partially delithiated state due to the presence of FePO4, resulting in the inability to extract the remaining Li+ and the observed capacity fade. The pyrrole (PPy) coating suppresses the dissolution of Fe and allows for extended retention of the Olivine structure. It also reduces the iron cross-over to the metal anode and stabilizes its solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), thus also contributing to the half-cell cycling stability.


Preface Alternative Methodological Procedures in Sex Determination of Commingled & Fragmentary Human Remains: An Example from Argentine Pampean Region Cytokine Modulation or Regulation: Monocytes Exposed to a Complex Homeopathic Medicine (CHM) that is a Possible Immunomodulator Age & Sex Influences on Aggregate Upper Limb Asymmetry in a Central California Skeletal Population: Activity Patterns & Ontogeny Femoral Neck-Shaft Angle & Climate: Preliminary Report on a Global Study Estimate of Divergence Times for Modern Human Populations Based on Craniometric Variation Self Selection of Athletes into Sports via Skeletal Ratios Index.


PURPOSE: A negative electrode material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, a manufacturing method thereof, and a lithium ion secondary battery are provided to secure the low volume expansion of silicon oxide and the high battery capacity. CONSTITUTION: A negative electrode material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery contains a composite particle with a silicon nano particle dispersed to silicon oxide. The size of the silicon nano particle is 1~100 nanometers. The molar rate of oxygen for silicon is 0~1.0. The negative electrode material is manufactured by etching the silicon oxide including the silicon nano particle under the acidic condition.


Let p be a prime. We obtain good bounds for the p-adic sizes of the coefficients of the divided universal Bernoulli number Bn/n when n is divisible by p - 1. As an application, we give a simple proof of Clarke's 1989 universal von Staudt theorem. We also establish the universal Kummer congruences modulo p for the divided universal Bernoulli numbers for the case (p-1)|n, which is a new result.


1. Real Numbers. 2. Variables, Expressions, Equations, and Formulas. 3. Relations, Functions, and Graphs. 4. Linear Equations in One Variable. 5. Linear Equations and Functions in Two Variables. 6. Systems of Linear Equations in Two Variables. 7. Inequalities. 8. Polynomial Functions. 9. Working with Polynomial Expressions. 10. Solving Polynomial Equations in One Variable.


0indices) and d 18 O of planktonic foraminifer calcite (d 18 Ofc) across late Pleistocene sapropel intervals show that d 18 Ofc decreased (between 1 and 4.6%) and SST increased (between 0.7� and 6.7� C). Maximal d 18 Oseawater depletion of eastern Mediterranean surface waters at the transition is between 0.5 and 3.0%, and in all but one case exceeded the depletion seen in a western Mediterranean core. The depletion in d 18 Oseawater is most pronounced at sapropel bases, in agreement with an initial sudden input of monsoon-derived freshwater. Most sapropels coincide with warming trends of SST. The density decrease by initial freshwater input and continued warming of the sea surface pooled fresh water in the surface layer and prohibited deep convection down to ageing deep water emplaced during cold and arid glacial conditions. An exception to this pattern is ''glacial'' sapropel S6; its largest d 18 Oseawater depletion (3%) is almost matched by the depletion in the western Mediterranean Sea, and it is accompanied by surface water cooling following an initially rapid warming phase. A second period of significant isotopic depletion is in isotope stage 6 at the 150 kyr insolation maximum. While not expressed as a sapropel due to cold SST, it is in accord with a strengthened monsoon in the southern catchment. INDEX TERMS: 1055 Geochemistry: Organic geochemistry; 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 4267 Oceanography: General: Paleoceanography; 9604 Information Related to Geologic Time: Cenozoic; KEYWORDS: Mediterranean Sea, sapropels, sea surface temperatures, oxygen isotopes, Quaternary Citation: Emeis, K.-C., et al., Eastern Mediterranean surface water temperatures and d 18 O composition during deposition of sapropels


The risk of drought impacting the drinking water and agricultural production is worrying in the developed countries, especially in a changing climate context. To manage and prevent this phenomenon, real-time monitoring and predictive systems are emerging as the key solutions. In the field of artificial intelligence, neural networks are one of these predictive systems. This family of parameterized models is a composition of neuronal functions, which apply a non-linear transformation from their inputs to their outputs. These networks are able to learn a hydro(geo)logical system behaviour using a database composed of observed inputs (rainfall, evapotranspiration, etc.) and outputs (groundwater level, discharge, etc.), thanks to an algorithm minimizing a cost function between observed and simulated outputs. However, it remains difficult to assess the uncertainty generated by these models, possibly leading to misinterpretations by the end users. These uncertainties are mainly of three types. The first is related to the input data. Indeed, hydrosystems are surface elements whereas meteorological inputs are punctual elements. The interpolation error can, therefore, be significant because of the lack of knowledge between gauging stations. The second is the neural network model architecture itself. It is possible to deal with this source of uncertainty using regularization methods. Finally, the neural networks are submitted to uncertainties related to parameter initialization, before the training step. The initial parameters may have an important impact on the results. In this paper, we address the prediction of the Blavet groundwater level (Bretagne, France). In order to assess uncertainties, we will first focus on the parameters initialization of the model. Neuronal models are optimized using cross-validation and early stopping. Then, an ensemble model is realized, in which each member is the result of a unique set of parameters initialization. The purpose of the study is to define how many initializations are necessary to obtain a reasonable confidence interval for forecasts, with the smallest interval and the higher rate of observed points inside this interval. The best model will be determined using cross-validation scores thereby ensuring optimal robustness. We show that, in this case study, an ensemble model of 20 different initializations is sufficient to estimate uncertainty while preserving quality. In the second part, the resulting ensemble model will be used to estimate the global model uncertainty using probability density functions (pdf) applied to the distribution of groundwater level data and cross-validation scores of forecasts. It reveals that the groundwater level predictions are composed of two mixed distributions. Therefore, we will use the expectation-maximization algorithm (EM) to obtain parameters of mixed models. Mixed normal and mixed Gumbel laws, among five mixed distributions assessed, give the best groundwater distribution and are able to generate an abacus drawing uncertainty of model.


A significant reason for the success of Portland's LRT system is often tagged to the fact that it operates on the surface in reserved lanes through the heart of downtown Portland. The embedded trackwork system which makes this possible however, is one of the most expensive, yet least appreciated elements of a completed surface LRT system. It influences the acceptability of the system to the general public, adjacent utility owners, and most importantly to transit system operators. Portland's Banfield LRT Project began revenue service in September 1986. In the downtown section, development of the embedded track system especially focused on the need to electrically isolate the rails from the adjacent ground because of utility owner concerns. Girder rail embedded in an elastomeric material was used. Construction was difficult and weather dependant. Also, maintenance costs have been high, with some locations including tight radius curves soon to require replacement. The extension of LRT in Portland to the west, scheduled to open in 1998, has created an opportunity to evolve and improve the design of the embedded track system. Two 1-mile segments of embedded trackwork are included in the Westside Corridor Project, one designed early on in downtown Portland and the other, designed late in the project in downtown Hillsboro at the western terminus of the system. BRW's track designers approached the design with these objectives: Make the system easier to construct and maintain; Reduce cost and; Develop a more flexible system which would be less subject to rail corrugation and which would reduce vibrations. The resulting system in the downtown Portland segment largely achieved these goals. Further innovation was achieved in the design of the downtown Hillsboro segment resulting in another significant increment of cost reduction. Key elements of these systems which are described in this paper include the application of direct-fixation fasteners and use of extruded rubber inserts between the faces of rail and adjacent pavement section. Future LRT extensions in Portland and elsewhere provide additional opportunities for further evolution and improvement in the design of this important element of a successful LRT system.


Temperature dependence of magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe60Co18Cu1B15Nb6−xZrx (x=0, 3, 6) alloys has been studied at different stages of devitrification. Transmission electron microscopy shows nanocrystals of the size ∼5 nm, which remains almost constant along the nanocrystallization process. Curie temperature of the residual amorphous phase decreases as nanocrystallization progresses for all the studied alloys. Thermal dependence of the exchange stiffness constant is obtained from the measurement of specific magnetization and coercivity as a function of crystalline fraction and temperature for the three studied alloys.