Gainen, Joanne and Eleanor W. Williemsen, eds. Fostering Student Success in Quantitative Gateway Courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. New Directions for Teaching and Learning Series, No. 61.108 pp. For the last quarter century, journalism educators have argued about the need to move away from so-called trade school journalism models to a more theory-driven model. It has been the focus of numerous articles and spawned the "green eyeshade! theory-based education" debate. The premise has been that the discipline cannot be fully integrated or accepted into the university academy until its focus is on the cognitive rather than skills structure of the discipline. Now comes a book which many journalism educators should find an interesting addition to the debate. Fostering Student Success in Quantitative Gateway Courses is designed for educators in mathematics and the hard sciences, but its message transcends those areas and contributes squarely to our teaching notions in mass communication. The book is a compendium which evaluates the success students achieve through various teaching methods in quantitative courses. Each chapter outlines a specific methodology and discusses its strengths and weaknesses in teaching quantitative courses. The authors then pose their own alternative to conventional teaching techniques. Termed the "cognitive apprenticeship," the authors define a teaching method which combines rigorous development under the guise of "just plain folks" (JPFs) learning techniques. JPFs, according to the authors, learn through enculturation into a community as well as through formal instruction. "Task-oriented, everyday situations are a rich source of learning in which people become part of a community by observing, practicing, and getting help with the activities of that community." The authors divide the learning technique into three parts: authentic activity, cognitive scaffolding, and expert practice. At each level the focus is on development and advancement to the next level. For instance. the learner's participation in "authentic" activity is part of the "ordinary practices of the culture." Statistics students perform tasks in the same manner as working statisticians, chemistry students investigate the nature of their science. The focus is on providing students with an opportunity to solve genuine problems. The theory is that once the students are involved in real-world problems and solutions, they will become more motivated to seek answers thereby learning as they search for those answers. Cognitive scaffolding includes modeling the targeted task, coaching, and encouraging increasingly independent performance by gradually reducing the "learning" supports of the scaffold provided by the instructor. …


Image fusion is a technique of merging two or more images of the same location to find better results which may not be possible with one image. In this when different images are combined then with wavelet transformation it gives better spatial results. But problem in image fusion is that it is time consuming process when we have to combine high resolution images. In this paper different fusion techniques has been compared and a new technique on the basis of blocking has been proposed. By applying blocking algorithm we will be able to reduce image fusion computational time by ten time than the existing techniques.


Summary

A study was conducted to compare growth and survival of Hucho taimen larvae from 21 to 76 days after hatch (DAH) fed one of three diets: formulated feed alone (group F); a co-feeding diet of water fleas, tubifex and formulated feed (group C); or live food of water fleas and tubifex (group L), and to investigate the potential use of dietary L-alanyl-L-glutamine (L-AG) in larval taimen for a more nutritious starter diet. Triplicate groups of 5000 fish were randomly assigned to each aquarium provided with water from a flow-through system, and fed to apparent satiation. The results show that larvae can feed efficiently on floating crumbled particles of formulated feed. Weight gain of larvae fed only formulated feed was significantly lower than other groups at 34 DAH (P   0.05). In conclusion, H. taimen larvae can be fed formulated feed alone and L-AG may be used as a feeding attractant during the weaning process, which should lead to a better understanding in the rearing improvement in the feeding of larvae.


Several prospective and retrospective epidemiological studies have demonstrated a protective effect for antiinflammatory drugs in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, despite this evidence therapeutic studies investigating nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including cyclooxygenase (COX)‐1 and COX‐2 inhibitors and steroids, do not support this hypothesis. This discrepancy may be due to the fact that the bulk of epidemiological evidence has examined the likely incidence of AD prior to the onset of clinical symptoms of disease. In contrast, in therapeutic studies NSAIDs are administered to patients with illnesses severe enough to exceed the clinical detection threshold, suggesting that NSAID therapy administered following the onset of AD may not be optimally effective. Thus, patients at high risk for AD, e.g., those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), may be more suitable for study in clinical trials of NSAIDs. Indeed, recent evidence suggests that different indices of classical inflammatory cascades have distinct associations with different phases of the clinical progression of AD. In this review, I discuss the potential role of inflammation in the clinical progression of AD and how this evidence relates to preventive use of antiinflammatory drugs for AD treatment. I then examine the importance of evidence for the potential role of inflammation in amyloidosis in the AD brain and experimental models. I consider the implications of inflammation in AD and recent evidence potentially supporting a negative role of inflammation in vaccination therapy trials. In conclusion, I examine cutting‐edge clinical studies investigating NSAID therapy for AD. Drug Dev. Res. 56:438–445, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


To characterize the face and the malocclusion type of children treated at a dental school. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical ...


In this report, we propose a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) /ZnO nanorod hybrid structure, which benefits from high photosensitivity and piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanorods, beside excellent carrier mobility, high optical transparency and mechanical flexibility of the reduced graphene oxide sheets. Comparing with the pristine ZnO nanorod based structure; it is shown that the proposed hybrid photodetector exhibits improved output sensitivity to UV-illumination (ΔI/I=424). Also, by taking advantage of the coupled semiconducting/piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanorods, we demonstrate the application of the proposed hybrid rGO/ZnO nanorod structure as a photosensitive piezoelectric nanogenerator. In this regard, we have achieved enhanced open circuit voltage (1.5 V) and open circuit sensitivity (ΔVoc/Voc=-0.66 %), beside a faster photoresponse, for the realized rGO/ZnO hybrid structure in comparison with ZnO nanorod based counterpart. The observed enhancements are attributed to the presence of underlying reduced graphene oxide sheet, as an efficient carrier transport layer in the proposed hybrid structure.


As you all know we, celebrate SAMA's 60th birthday this year. SAMA has through the years grown from a small organisation, established by a handful of enthusiastic museum people, to the leading organization of its kind in the whole of Africa. Half of Africa's museums are in South Africa. In South Africa alone there are most probably more museologists than in the rest of Africa and South Africa can proudly look back on this impressive track record. For this we today have to give credit to those women and men who through many years have given voluntary time to drive the organisation through good and bad times.


The FDA has found, in its own direct comparison, that generic Budeprion XL 300 mg is not therapeutically equivalent to brand-name Wellbutrin XL 300 mg. The agency is therefore changing its bioequivalence recommendations for extended-release bupropion products.


Aim This study explores the medicines management role undertaken by mental health nurses (MHNs) in a variety of clinical specialisms and contexts. Method Ten MHNs were interviewed and audiotaped. Qualitative content analysis of the transcribed interviews was undertaken. Results The findings evidence the wide-ranging skills and knowledge MHNS demonstrate when prescribing psychotropic medication, and how they engage with service users and other health professionals. Four themes emerged that illustrated how the participants undertook these interventions: medicines management in context; managing time; knowledge and skill used; and collaboration with other health professionals. Medicines management therefore needs a greater emphasis for service users to achieve optimum outcomes from the drugs they are prescribed.


The problems of professional development of social work specialists on the basis of the competence approach are considered. The main operational goals of environmental training in a continuing education institution are identified, which are to master the knowledge that natural resources are interconnected and limited; natural resources affect the standard of living in society, they are unevenly distributed on Earth; man is actively changing the processes that occur in nature; urgent measures must be taken in this regard to preserve the relevant values of nature resources for future generations; proper use of natural resources requires a significant amount of knowledge from various fields of science and technology; the development of society and technology is causing changes in the way natural resources are used, and so on.
The article presents the formulation of the purpose and means of development of ecological competence of social work specialists in continuing education institutions. The essence of the necessary changes in the content-procedural aspects of professional development of a specialist in social work in ecology has been clarified. In particular, it is necessary to supplement the content of environmental training with information on environmentally balanced consumption, opportunities and the need to regulate needs, positive examples of solving environmental problems at regional and local levels, including everyday life examples. The importance of encouraging, organizing and supporting activities aimed at the collection and processing of secondary raw materials, economical use of heat, electricity and water in everyday life was emphasized.
It is concluded that only by understanding and realizing from personal experience the content of advanced training in ecology, social workers can be psychologically ready to carry out environmental activities. Social workers should not only teach others the principles of environmental thinking, but also be an example of environmental activity on these principles. This task is difficult and controversial, because it requires a change in their views and behavior, conscious limitation of needs and the education of new resource-saving habits.
The actual tasks that need further solution are outlined: updating the content and process of professional development of social work specialists; development of appropriate integrated training courses, which would not be limited to the transfer of information, but involve a change of position, patterns of behavior, stereotypes; development of various necessary educational and methodological literature sources for specialists in social work devoted to ecological thinking.


The main reasons why the crack is easy to cause in the large thickness of HT300 cylinder are analyzed in the melting condition of intermediate frequency furnace.It is thought that the lower sulfur in the raw iron causes the poor inoculation effect,thus leads to large amount of D and E undercooled graphite and ferrite,coarse grain and low strength.The method how to use incremental suphur agent is introduced,the practical results with and without incremental sulfur agent are compared and the appropriate sulfur content is pointed out.


The main objective of this article is to study how central banks and fiscal authorities interact when they conduct the economic policy. Specially, it seems very helpful to specify if this two policymakers act under complementary or substitutability strategy. Our methodology is based on a simple model of policy-mix that is estimated by panel data method. Our main results show that for seven OECD countries and during the period 1975-1997, the two policy instruments seem to be complementary. Moreover, even if the central banks become more and more independent during this period, the estimates underline that the reaction functions of central banks depend on output and the governments have continued to care about inflation rate.


On 15 September 2016, the Lancet published a new series of six papers on maternal survival, 1 bringing together current epidemiology, successes and failures in this subject area, all within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Audrey Ceschia and Richard Horton 2 of the Lancet stated in an editorial, "The lesson … is that progress in maternal health is fragile and non-linear. The gains that have been made … during the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) —must never be taken for granted. Constant vigilance is essential."


A series of N-cinnamoyl aryl hydrazones 2a-2i were synthesized in good yields by microwave irradiation technique. The title compounds were formed by nucleophilic condensation of various N 1 - substituted benzylidene-2-cyano aceto hydrazides with N,N-dimethyl amino benzaldehyde. The intermediate N 1 - substituted benzylidene-2-cyano aceto hydrazide was obtained by condensing various substituted benzaldehydes with cyanoacetohydrazide. The structures of the compounds were characterized by IR, 1H NMR and Mass spectra. The antioxidant activity was studied by reduction of DPPH, scavenging of nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide methods with ascorbic acid as the standard drug. The compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activity by BSLT method and their ED50 values were compared the standard podophyllotoxin. Among the compounds evaluated, N 1 - benzylidene-2cyano-3-(4-dimethylamino) phenyl acrylo hydrazide (2a) and N 1 - (4-methoxy-benzylidene)-2-cyano3-(4-dimethylamino) phenyl acrylohydrazide (2e) showed good antioxidant activity towards all the three models .The compounds 2a and 2e showed ED 50 values 3.07 µg/ml and 3.7 µg/ml respectively which were compared against the standard podophyllotoxin (1.64 µg/ml).


In this issue van der Bijl et al. demonstrate that evidence of echocardiographic reverse remodelling after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) was substantially stronger among patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) compared with patients with non-LBBB morphology. The findings were similar when comparing patients with a QRS width of ≥150 ms vs. <150 ms with greater volume reductions and improvements in ejection fraction in the patients with the wider QRS complexes.1 These are encouraging findings for clinicians and further confirm and extend our established knowledge concerning selection of appropriate patients for CRT. The interpretation of the available data accumulated during the last two decades is consistent: CRT works best in patients with LBBB morphology combined with a wide QRS complex. The favourable response includes both echocardiographic indices of functional improvement (reverse remodelling)2,3 and improvement in terms of major clinical outcomes.4–6 This knowledge was established by a large number of randomized clinical trials, and subgroupand meta-analyses, and forms the basis for the strong indications for CRT in the 2016 ESC guidelines,7 which emphasize the importance of QRS morphology and duration in the selection of patients. The present, retrospective, observational study was performed on a large, 'real world' clinical registry at an institution with recognized expertise in echocardiography as well as long-term experience in CRT. The cohort consisted of 1467 patients with heart failure and a wide range of QRS durations and morphologies.


The paper considers the ways of migration and transformation of pharmaceutical substances in the aquatic environment. It is shown that the main source of pollution is insufficiently treated domestic wastewater. The occurrence of pharmaceutical substances is characterized by spatial and temporal variability. Some correlations in the distribution of certain groups of pharmaceuticals in water, sediments and suspensions are presented.


This paper introduces a new method, SummVD, for automatic unsupervised extractive summarization. This method is based on singular value decomposition, a linear method in the number of words, in order to reduce the dimensionality of word embeddings and propose a representation of words on a small number of dimensions, each representing a hidden topic. It also uses word clustering to reduce the vocabulary size. This representation, specific to one document, reduces the noise brought by several dimensions of the embeddings that are useless in a restricted context. It is followed by a linear sentence extraction heuristic. This makes SummVD an efficient method for text summarization. We evaluate SummVD using several corpora of different nature (news, scientific articles, social network). Our method outperforms in effectiveness recent extractive approaches. Moreover, SummVD requires low resources, in terms of data and computing power. So it can be run on long single documents such as scientific papers as much as large multi-document corpora and is fast enough to be used in live summarization systems.


Implementation of "Two loops,one belt" strategy is the critical and c ore content of the 12th Five-year Program in Hubei Province,and how to move for ward the implementation of this strategy is the main task of the next developmen t stage in Hubei Province.The topics of development and livelihood of the people are two important propositions of the"Two loops,one belt" strategic planning.Under the command of the global view,it is the basic meaning of development th at adjusting and improving the new strategic of the regional economic developmen t in Hubei province.Attention to people's livelihood and construction of the s ocial security system in the region Co-ordinate are the fundamental driving forc e of achieving overall strategic planning.This article explains that the basic principles of the social security system in urban and rural areas within the "T wo loops,one belt",and proposed the concept of overall design and the difficul t of system by step by step to promote the establish the social security system in urban and rural areas under the guidance of the concept to improve the liveli hood.


Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of severe diarrhea and diarrheal-related death in children worldwide. As an obligate intracellular parasite, Cryptosporidium relies on intestinal epithelial cells to provide a niche for its growth and survival, but little is known about the contributions that the infected cell makes to this relationship. Here we conducted a genome wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen to discover host genes required for Cryptosporidium parvum infection and/or host cell survival. Gene enrichment analysis indicated that the host interferon response, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis are important determinants of susceptibility to C. parvum infection. Several of these pathways are linked to parasite attachment and invasion and C-type lectins on the surface of the parasite. Evaluation of transcript and protein induction of innate interferons revealed a pronounced type III interferon response to Cryptosporidium in human cells as well as in mice. Treatment of mice with IFNλ reduced infection burden and protected immunocompromised mice from severe outcomes including death, with effects that required STAT1 signaling in the enterocyte. Initiation of this type III interferon response was dependent on sustained intracellular growth and mediated by the pattern recognition receptor TLR3. We conclude that host cell intrinsic recognition of Cryptosporidium results in IFNλ production critical to early protection against this infection. Author Summary Cryptosporidium infection is an important contributor to global childhood mortality. There are currently no vaccines available, and the only drug has limited efficacy in immunocompromised individuals and malnourished children who need it most. To discover which host proteins are essential for Cryptosporidium infection, we conducted a genome wide knockout screen in human host cells. Our results confirm the importance of glycosaminoglycans on the surface of epithelial cells for attachment and invasion of the parasite. We also found that host GPI anchor biosynthesis and interferon signaling pathways were enriched by our screen. Examining the role of interferon signaling further we found a type III interferon response, IFNλ, was generated in response to infection and shown to be initiated in the infected cell. Utilizing mouse models of infection, we found that the type III interferon response was important early during infection with its induction likely preceding IFNγ, a key cytokine for the control of this infection. We also determined that TLR3 was the pattern recognition receptor responsible for IFNλ production during Cryptosporidium infection. Our work shows that IFNλ acts directly on the enterocyte and its use in treating immunocompromised mice produced striking reductions in infection.


This work aims at studying different green spaces' experiences in developed countries and extrapolates the experiences to Oromia cities in Ethiopia; in order to investigate and promote greenery infrastructure in selected cities. To do that greenery practice performance data were collected in four cities, which were classified into two groups as good and weak performers. As a result, Adama and Bishoftu cities were good urban greenery performers whereas Burayu and Sebeta were weak performers. The cities were also selected non-randomly to investigate the current urban greenery practice and different green areas in each city. Eight green areas were taken as samples for observation, where qualitative and quantitative data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The assessment of data confirmed that green areas along the roadside, recreational parks, open areas, and nursery sites existed in most cities. The urban plan of some cities does exclude most green area components. Greenery sites in Bishoftu and Adama are relatively better, while in Burayu and Sebeta urban greenery are highly abused for changing to another type of land use, e.g., residential and institutional areas. The technical skills of tree planting, care, protection, and management were also observed as a collective resource.


Forestry best management practices (BMPs) are used to reduce sedimentation from forest stream crossings. Three BMP treatments (BMP−, BMP-std, and BMP+) were applied to three forest road stream crossings (bridge, culvert, and ford). BMP− did not meet existing BMP guidelines, BMP-std met standard recommendations, and BMP+ treatments exceeded recommendations. Following BMP applications, three simulated rainfall intensities (low, medium, and high) were applied in order to evaluate sediment delivery from crossing type and BMP level. During rainfall simulation, sediment concentrations (mg/L) were collected with automated samplers and discharge (L/s) was estimated to calculate total sediment loading. Costs of stream crossings and BMP levels were also quantified. Mean sediment associated with the three stream crossings were 3.38, 1.87, and 0.64 Mg for the BMP−, BMP-std, and BMP+ levels, respectively. Ford, culvert, and bridge crossings produced 13.04, 12.95, and 0.17 Mg of sediment during construction, respectively. BMP enhancement was more critical for sediment control at the culvert and ford crossings than at the bridge. Respective costs for BMP−, BMP-std, and BMP+ levels were $5,368, $5,658, and $5,858 for the bridge; $3,568, $4,166 and $4,595 for the culvert; and $180, $420 and $1,903 for the ford. Costs and sediment values suggest that current standard BMP levels effectively reduce stream sediment while minimizing costs.


Geographic information systems are increasingly used by historians dealing with urban studies. The aim of our paper is to present the possibilities of using these tools to analyse the spatial development of Warsaw in the 18th century. Issues related to the integration of data derived from cartographic and written sources will be discussed, including calibration of old maps, records of city plots and drawing up of borders between them. An example visualization of source data will be presented.


Since the invention of Precession Electron Diffraction (PED) in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) by Vincent & Midgley [1] in 1994 and mainly after the introduction of dedicated PED devices to different TEM, the structure of various nano-sized crystals have been solved by Electron Crystalography. The most popular technique that was recently developed based on beam precession is the 3D Precession Diffraction Tomography (PEDT) [2]. A series of ED patterns are collected every 1° while the sample is tilted around the goniometer axis. By the automatic measurement of ED intensities (ADT 3D software), the unit cell, crystal symmetry and the detailed crystal structure can be determined. A large number of crystal structures, such as complex metals, alloys, organic pigments, MOF, catalysts etc., have been solved by the 3D PEDT technique. A drawback of 3D PEDT (especially for beam sensitive materials) is the long acquisition times (45–120 min), due to the time consuming step of tracking the crystal under the beam during tilting. To deal with this problem, we have developed two novel approaches: the Random Electron Diffraction Tomography (rPEDT) technique and the UltraFast 3D diffraction tomography (UF PEDT) [3]. By rPEDT technique, a sample area (few microns), where several crystals in different (random) orientations are present, is scanned rapidly using an ASTAR precession device (NanoMEGAS SPRL). PED patterns of all scanned crystals are collected by a fast speed CCD camera (up to 120 frames/sec; 8/12 bit). Concerning UF PEDT, the data acquisition time can be 10-20 times faster compared to hitherto 3D PEDT procedure. UF PEDT can be applied when the crystal shift is stable and reproducible during tilting the sample for a specific tilt range. Thus, such crystals can be tracked by shifting the beam following the crystal displacement during tilting (using ASTAR beam scanning). Obtained PED patterns can be recorded with a fast CCD camera, while crystal is tilted. As a conclusion, rPEDT and UF-PEDT can be considered as breakthrough techniques in electron crystallography as they can be performed in any commercial TEM. Both techniques reduce considerable 3D intensity data acquisition time, and allow the analysis of unknown compounds, including beam sensitive organic crystals, as fast techniques prevents crystal beam damage. The authors acknowledge financial support from EU ESTEEM-2 project (European Network for Electron Microscopy www.esteem2.eu).


In recent years, acquired immunodeficiency Syndrome has emerged as the biggest ever threat to humanity all over world. Rapid spread of this dreaded killer viral disease has inflicted great terror in the minds of people all over the world. HIV, the etiological agent of AIDS, belongs to the lentivirus subgroup of the family retroviridae & has no cure as yet.


The hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of carbazole on the nitrided 12.5% MoO3/Al2O3 catalysts over a temperature range of 280-360°C and at a total pressure range of 5-15MPa was studied. The 12.5% MoO3/Al2O3 was nitrided at various nitriding temperatures (500, 700 and 900°C), NH3 pressures (0.1 and 0.5MPa), and NH3 flow rates (4 and 15l h-1), following after the temperature-programmed reaction with NH3. After nitriding, the nitrided catalysts were cooled to room temperature in flowing NH3 and passivated with 1% O2/He for 12h. It was difficult to remove nitrogen from the catalysts nitrided at 700 and 900°C, even though the catalysts were evacuated at 700°C. The catalyst nitrided at 900°C showed the highest activity among all catalysts in the HDN of carbazole, and that nitrided at 700°C displayed the second highest activity. The activities of the catalysts nitrided and reduced at 500°C showed similar values. Nitriding the MoO3/Al2O3 catalyst enhanced the C-N hydrogenolysis selectivity more than reducing the catalyst. The external mass transfer was negligible in the reaction. The formation of the denitrogenated compounds was on the order of 0.9 and 0.7 with respect to hydrogen in the range of 3-9MPa pressure and initial carbazole concentration of 0.023 to 0.35%, respectively. The sulfur compound inhibited the HDN of carbazole depending on its proton affinity. The XPS study showed that the molybdenum species between Mo4+ to Mo6+ ion were widely distributed and many nitrogen species, such as nitride-nitrogen, adsorbed NH3, and NHx, were present on the surface.


Extreme weather has an adverse effect on the stable operation of power system. In order to improve the power grid balance problem considering extreme weather in the medium /long-term time scale, this paper proposes an electrical power and electrical energy balance method considering extreme weather. Firstly, considering the influence of extreme weather on hydropower and renewable energy, the random multi-scenario method is adopted to model hydropower and renewble energy. On this basis, the medium/long-term electrical power and electrical energy balance model of power system is established. At the same time, IEEERTS-79 system is taken as an example to verify the feasibility of the proposed model and method. The results of the example show that the model considering extreme weather can better cope with the weather change and guarantee the medium/long-term electrical power and electrical energy balance of the power grid.


ABOP, an Automatic optimizer for Patient Information Leaflets (PILs), aims to improve the readability of Dutch PILs by tackling three of the issues that make a PIL hard to read: the scientific terminology used, the redundancy which makes a PIL needlessly lengthy and the overlap between illocutionary acts which often make no distinction between an instruction, a warning and mere informative text. ABOP combines a highly accurate learning-based terminology extraction web service with an application that can be plugged into Microsoft Word and easily used by PIL authors.


The present invention relates to the manufacture use of its dental moldings electrodeposition bath of gold and gold alloys. In this bath, the gold in the form of a gold sulfite complex. Usage by the bath and / or the present invention according to the present invention, characterized by the fact that at least one bismuth compound in addition to further optionally present metal and standard additives for this type of gold sulfite bath is present It is. The bismuth compound is preferably, in particular NTA, HEDTA, TEPA, DTPA, EDNTA or complex compounds containing a complexing agent such as EDTA. The present invention has various advantages associated therewith. One of the features to be emphasized is the ability to add bismuth in the bath as early as possible during the preparation of the bath. This can be run a long time, and a further additive bath is not necessary to add before the electrodeposition, it means that the user has.


We introduce methods to estimate infinite-dimensional Region Covariance Descriptors (RCovDs) by exploiting two feature mappings, namely random Fourier features and the Nyström method. In general, infinite-dimensional RCovDs offer better discriminatory power over their low-dimensional counterparts. However, the underlying Riemannian structure, i.e., the manifold of Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) matrices, is out of reach to great extent for infinite-dimensional RCovDs. To overcome this difficulty, we propose to approximate the infinite-dimensional RCovDs by making use of the aforementioned explicit mappings. We will empirically show that the proposed finite-dimensional approximations of infinite-dimensional RCovDs consistently outperform the low-dimensional RCovDs for image classification task, while enjoying the Riemannian structure of the SPD manifolds. Moreover, our methods achieve the state-of-the-art performance on three different image classification tasks.


It analyses the company's strength,weakness,opportunity and threat based on SWOT and orientates its developing strategy.It puts forward functional strategies which adapt to the development of the company according to the orientation.


During dynamic testing & evaluation of different armaments stores, recording of different parameters related to internal, external and terminal ballistics precisely plays a crucial role for the qualitative assessment of the different ammunitions and ordnances. This paper deals with design and simulation of MEMS based pressure sensor which will be used to measure shockwave pressure. Shockwave pressure is used to compute the velocity of the projectile. Three different configurations such as I. Single turn piezoresistor, II. Four turn meander shaped piezoresistor and III. Bossed diaphragm structure have been presented here to design the pressure sensor. The simulation has been performed using FEM based CoventorWare tool. The measurement range of the pressure sensor is up to 10 psi.


The tradition of fibre composite materials in energy absorbing tube applications has gained interest in structural
collisions in the composite materials industry. Thus, the subject of this work is the experimental investigation to understand
the effects of the failure initiator at the specimen's edge, causing the increase in the specific absorbed energy
(SEA), as well as the influence of the cellular structure composed of cells with small hexagonal angle exhibited high
energy absorption capability. An extensive experimental investigation of an in plane crashing behavior of the composite
hexagonal cellular structure between platen has been carried out. The cellular structure composed of hexagonal cells
with angles varying between 45 and 60°. The materials used to accomplish the study are the plain weave E-glass
fabric as a reinforcement and the epoxy resin system as a matrix. Furthermore, the specific energy absorption increases
as the hexagonal angle increases.


Structural performance of reinforced concrete member is based on bond strength between concrete and reinforcement,and adequate end anchorage at supports.However,environmental attacks,chloride contamination and carbonation of concrete cover for example,may lead to corrosion of reinforcing bar in concrete. Further,an increasing expansion of corrosion products will result in longitudinal cracking of cover concrete.Thus,weakening of the bond which directly affects the load carrying capacity and serviceability for concrete members within structures is induced.In this paper,the mechanism of deterioration in bond between corroded bars and concrete,and effects of loss in bond on structural performance of member are summarized.


Abstract:Early modern English explorers and settlers in New England and elsewhere routinely mistook indigenous American dogs for wolves. This repeated misidentification arose in part from aspects of indigenous dog morphology, but it also served to denigrate Native American cultures by denying their possession of domesticated animals. Modern environmental historians have unconsciously reproduced these prejudices against indigenous dogs without critically assessing their accuracy or their function as part of the rhetoric of colonialism. Indigenous dogs have been presented as incompletely domesticated, "semiwild" creatures when in reality they were just as domesticated as their European cousins. Indigenous dogs were the most numerous nonhuman large predators in early New England, but their misidentification as wolves has caused them to be largely overlooked in the historical record. Their population plummeted over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the Native communities to which they belonged suffered from introduced disease and English aggression. English efforts both to protect livestock through a war on wolves and to control loose dogs increased pressure on dogs of indigenous heritage. In the end, the English cultural prejudice against wolfish-looking dogs that erased indigenous dogs from the historical record largely erased living indigenous dogs from the New England landscape.


The paper analyzes the impact of industrial structure on carbon intensity,by modeling from the perspective of both horizontally and vertically. The empirical results show that the industrial structure and energy consumption structure have a greater impact on the changes of carbon emissions; The provinces,whose proportion of secondary industry in the economy is high or coal consumption accounts for a large proportion,usually have a higher carbon intensity,and by adjusting and optimizing industrial structure and energy consumption structure,it could reduce the carbon intensity effectively; The second industry has big contributions to the whole community's carbon intensity,and changes in the internal structure of the second industry that has a greater impact on carbon intensity. Therefore,this paper points out that our research on the carbon intensity should focus on the implementation of structural energy saving,from adjusting industrial structure,eliminating backward production capacity of the industry,actively carrying out industrial transfer,and improving the energy structure in order to achieve national objectives of carbon emission reduction.


Fly ash was obtained from the point source at Kasimpur Thermal Power Plant source and was used to dust over the plant in different concentrations. The experiment was carried out in clay pots and during fly ash dusting the soil was covered with polyethylene sheets. From the data it was found that the fly ash resulted in reducing all the considered parameters. In T1 and T2 plants the reductions were non-significant. Significant (P=0.05) reductions were observed from T3 plants but highest reduction was recorded in T5 plants, on which fly ash was dusted in the highest concentration. From T1 to T5 the level of reduction exhibited a gradual increase. The reductions were significantly (P=0.01) higher in T4 and T5 plants. The results indicated that fly ash, at any concentration, produced harmful effects on the plants.


Introduction: The dental professionals are exposed to many risks of development of occupational diseases and the musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs are the most common disease. This problem may result in lower productivity and / or early retirement. Therefore, early diagnosis should be done through a reliable and valid system of risk assessment. Because of that, this study set out to conduct a review of the literature on methods of risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs in dental professionals. Conclusion: It was concluded that the available methods for assessing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in dentistry are self-reports, observational and direct. Among these methods, the self-reports were frequently used to detect the risk of musculoskeletal disorders among dentists, dental students and professionals from the dental team. Further studies should be performed in dentistry using observational and direct methods. DESCRIPTORS: Occupational diseases Human engineering Dentistry. *** Professora Adjunta do Departamento de Odontologia Social, Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara, UNESP. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com *** Cirurgiã-dentista graduada pela Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara, UNESP. E-mail: email@example.com *** Pós-graduanda (nível doutorado) do Departamento de Clínica Infantil, Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara, UNESP. •• 106 •• Garcia PPNS Moretto CM Oliveira ALBM Métodos de avaliação de risco de desordens músculoesqueléticas nos membros superiores voltados para a odontologia Rev. Odontol. Univ. Cid. São Paulo 2012; 24(2): 10513, maio-ago ISSN 1983-5183


The response of bank voles Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780) toward a new source of food and its later withdrawal was studied in a forest environment. Oat grain was used as a kind of food new to rodents in this natural habitat. The process of finding such new supply of food was studied in five groups of stations (23 in each) where oat grain was offered in 1 to 5-day periods. The response of voles toward withdrawal of the food source was studied in four groups of stations (again 23 in each) with variable time passing between food withdrawal and subsequent removal of rodents by snap traps. In the control group of 23 stations no oat grain was offered. The numbers of voles assessed by a regression line for subsequent days of trapping in stations without oat grain and in those where oat 'meals' were offered 1 to 4 days did not differ. It suggested rather rapid location of new food source. In 5th day there was an increase in numbers of voles coming to the sites with food offered. In the second part of experiment, i.e. this designed to assess the response of voles toward withdrawal of food source, the regression analysis revealed variable numbers of voles: the longer time passing from food withdrawal, the lower number of voles frequenting the site compared with the control sites, i.e. some voles avoided, for couple of days, the sites where new food had been withdrawn.


Mindfulness is a promising method, based on ideas of eastern culture, used in behavioural and cognitive therapy. These ideas emphasise the health role of meditation in a person's life. An application of mindfulness intervention by western therapists triggered an avalanche of scientific research concerning its effects in the context of physical and mental health. Due to the fact that mindfulness trains a conscious regulation of attention processes researchers became interested in the influence of such trainings on the improvement of functioning of various aspects of attention, measured with neuropsychological tests. The article aims at outlining a theoretical model of the relationship between mindfulness and attention pro cesses. Moreover, a body of research will be presented, which looked for connection between the use of meditation techniques, mainly mindfulness intervention, and an improve ment of functioning with regard to attention observed in neuropsychological tests. The question of relationship between mindfulness and performance of tasks based on the effect of Stroop interference will be discussed in more detail.


Equality, freedom, and the security of a free state were key formative tenets that the founders of our nation sought to enshrine in its founding documents. Now it is once again time to act in the pursuit of these goals to address the profound impact of firearms. More than ever, we need open lines of discussion and communication that draw people together and help us find collective solutions that build on the ideals on which America was founded. The articles in this edition of the NCMJ demonstrate the breadth and depth of approaches to addressing the firearm injury and death crisis we all face.


This thesis was conducted to investigate the cyber area of organized crime - cyber-crime, as it represents a potential growing threat to public and private organisations. The ongoing development of the internet and creation of new opportunities for doing business internationally through e-commerce makes more businesses operating in the cyber space vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This thesis investigates the impact of ransomware cyber-attacks "WannaCry" and "Petya" on stock prices of publicly traded companies in the EU. This dissertation also analyses a set of case studies related to largest recent cyber-crime events which happened in the first half of 2017. The goal of this thesis is to address these questions:1. Is the cyber-crime a threat to companies?2. How does cyber-crime announcements and publications affect stock prices?


Abiotic stresses caused by changing climatic conditions affect plants not only physiologically but also at the molecular level. This study, Triticum aestivum L. cv. Dağdaş-94 and Doğankent were divided into four groups at the end of the sixth day. The seedlings were exposed to flood, drought, and salt stress and harvested at the end of the twelfth day. Increased catalase enzyme, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activities were noted in Doğankent cultivar under drought stress conditions. Proline accumulation was mostly observed in Dağdaş-94 variety, exposed to drought stress. The chlorothricin (CHL) gene has been investigated in many plants and was examined first in Triticum aestivum in this study. Triticum aestivum salt-related hypothetical protein (TaSRHP) increased in both wheat varieties. This gene is dependent on salinity. Although the exact mechanism is not known exactly, the absence of amplification in Triticum aestivum zinc finger protein (TaZnFP) – which is known to occur under stress – suggests that it may be the result of reading on the twelfth day of the study, and this protein may appear as the first response to stress. It can be stated through this study; Dağdaş-94 variety is more drought-resistant than


The diagnostic criteria of gestational diabetes mellitus has being changed continuously. Based on the hyperglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcome study, most international academic organizations including World Health Orgnization and Ministry Heath of China published new criteria, while there are still some arguments. After introduced the development of the diagnostic criteria and risk factors, the article presented the study of metformin in gestational diabetes the offspring followup and proposed to adopt comprehensive intervention to face the challenges to our clinical management in China.


There is a long tradition in the history of philosophy, art or science that regards creativity as extraordinary and in that sense exceptional. Looked at closely, the exceptionalist attitude comes in two varieties: creativity as realized by exceptional people or by exceptional cognitive processes. It is often combined with a second attitude, namely that creativity is a mystery that cannot be explained. It is inexplicable from a naturalistic point of view. Because of the latter, creativity is often regarded as the 'last frontier' of a science of the mind. Consequently, computers are denied the potential to be creative; computers might exhibit cognition, but they are not creative, or so the argument goes. The first attitude assumes (what I call) an exceptionalist concept of creativity and the second (what I call) an obscurantist concept of creativity. These two attitudes towards creativity are distinct but historically connected. In this paper, I will directly criticize only the obscurantist concept of creativity. The results, however, shall cast doubt on the exceptionalist concept too. I will defend two claims to demystify creativity: (1) the claim that creativity cannot be explained at all wrongly identifies creativity with what I shall call metaphysical freedom (i.e., libertarian freedom presupposing the falsity of determinism); (2) the Darwinian approach to creativity, a prominent naturalistic account of creativity, fails to give an explanation of creativity because it confuses description (and the concept of creativity which rests on it) with giving an explanation of the respective phenomenon. I will close with some remarks about the philosophical status of and differences in explanations available in contemporary cognitive science.


Neuroscience aims to understand brain function and its influence on conscious behavior. Some neuroscientific findings suggest that decisionmaking processes are caused by neurobiological. These findings are used to put forward the hypothesis that brain is the real causal agent of our actions. In order to argue against the so-called classical model of rationality, some neuroscientists state that rationality and consciousness would be illusions created by the brain. But the argumentation is based on little experimentation and it does not seem sufficiently robust to count as surrogate for the classical model of rationality. This paper addresses some questions to neuroscience and it aims to survey the plausibility of such an argumentation by means of a critical analysis of three paradigmatic cases from neuroscientific literature. It argues for a philosophical discussion on neuroscience by advancing philosophy of neuroscience as discipline.


patient samples. Results: Luminex array profiling of the dermal blister fluid showed increased inflammatory cytokines (mean IL-6 in SSc-77.2 pg/ml, HC17.8 pg/ml, P1⁄40.009, mean IL-17 in SSc-0.61 pg/ml, HC0 pg/ml, P1⁄40.03),and vascular growth factors (VEGF21.7 pg/ml in SSc, HC13.5 pg/ml (P1⁄40.26), PDGF-aa 16.4 pg/ml in SSc, HC-0.97 pg/ml, P1⁄40.049). Additionally MCP-3(CCL7), IL-15 and IFN-g were all significantly increased in SSc compared with HC (P<0.05). Within the serum, Luminex array profiling highlighted a significant increase in mean IL-12p40 (SSc-31.7 pg/ml, HC-2.05 pg/ml, P1⁄40.012) and mean IL-1a (SSc-21.15 pg/ml, HC-2.25 pg/ml, P1⁄4 0.029) in SSc compared with controls. There was no significant difference for other cytokines. Comparing the luminex array profiling of the dermal blister fluid from those with SSc, with the paired serum samples, the only significant correlation was in MCP-3 (r1⁄40.31, P1⁄40.013). Other proinflammatory cytokines [IL-6 (r1⁄40.083, P1⁄40.23), IL-17 (r1⁄40.02, P1⁄40.56)] and growth factors [VEGF (r1⁄40.03, P1⁄40.47), PDGF (r1⁄40.08, P1⁄4 0.22)] showed no correlation between serum samples and dermal blister fluid. Interestingly, the healthy controls showed greater correlation between the Luminex array results from the dermal blister fluid and serum samples, with many reaching significance (IL-10, MCP-3, IL1ra, FGF-2). Conclusion: Our results confirm the potential utility of dermal blister fluid to define local biological processes in SSc, and identifies profibrotic, angiogenic and T-cell derived factors expressed locally within the skin lesions. In contrast, analysis plasma samples revealed elevation of monocyte derived inflammatory proteins. Absence of correlation between the interstitial fluid samples and paired serum samples suggests that the dermal blister sampling method reflects local dermal protein expression rather than exudates from the plasma into the skin. This dermal suction method offers an opportunity to profile the local inflammatory process occurring within the skin and has potential to complement clinical and gene expression based classification to facilitate targeted therapy, as well as providing potential markers of disease activity or treatment effect. Disclosure statement: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


The super conducting (s.c.) accelerator models of the XFEL consist of eight s.c. resonators, one s.c. quadrupol magnet and one beam position monitor. These components are connected to a so called cavity string under the guidance of the XFEL WP 09 activities inside ISO 4 cleanrooms. String assembly is done at CEA IRFU while the beamposition monitor and Quadrupol units (BQU) are cleaned and pre-assembled to the "ready for installation " status inside the cleanroom at DESY. The cleaning and assembly of components requires cleanliness of ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) conditions as well as condition of particle free surfaces. The setup of infrastructure, the qualification of processes and transport as well as the ramp up to a delivery rate of 1 BQU per week will be presented. INTRODUCTION For the XFEL project activities of the linear accelerator consortium, the assembly of the accelerator module units takes place at CEA Saclay France [1].The Quadrupole Beam position monitor Units (BQU) cleaning and completion is done in a DESY cleanroom. The complete BQU ́s are sealed in the DESY ISO 4 cleanroom and send to CEA. For this task activities new improved infrastructure of cleaning and completion of BQU assemblies are developed in the last years. For the XFEL accelerator 102 modules will be installed in the tunnel. Out of the 102 units 70 will be equipped with beam position monitors (BPM) designed by DESY [2], 32 modules will be equipped with a bpm [3] designed and produced by CEA Saclay. PARTS OVERVIEW The different parts for the Quadrupole Units are manufactured by collaborating partners and under control of different work packages of the linac consortium. Before handed over to the DESY cleanroom for assembly to a BQU all parts are tested and pre-cleaned by the responsible groups at DESY. The Quadrupoles (QP) produced by TRINOS VACUUM PROJECTS S.L. [4] and ANTEC S.A. [5], and tested for magnetic properties at room temperature and at 2 K by DESY group MKS-4 [6]. After copper plating of the beam tube they are cleaned by ultra-sonic cleaning, rinsed by ultra-pure water rinsing and controlled by vacuum leak check and RGA by DESY group MVS before hand over for installation to the BQU. PREPARATION OF BQU SUB UNITS All beam position monitors (BPM) are ultrasonic cleaned, rinsed by ultra-pure water and controlled by vacuum leak check and RGA by DESY group MDI [7]. The gate valves (GV) and vacuum control units (VC) are cleaned and leak checked by DESY MVS group before hand over [8, 9]. At DESY ISO 4 cleanroom there is no additional incoming inspection installed because all parts are prepared and handed over in status "ready for installation". To ensure that quality of cleaning is preserved during internal transports and handling different transport test are made before starting the serial production. For the internal transport at DESY the smaller parts (bpm, gate valve) are double wrapped into cleanroom foil applicable for ISO 4 cleanrooms [10]. The XFEL Cryomodul assembly takes place at CEA Saclay in France, about 1000 km away from the DESY cleanroom. For the quadrupole and the complete BQU (Fig. 1) a platform is designed and tested which allows the transport from cleanroom class ISO 4 to ISO 4 over long distances. Figure: 1 View on the completed BQU in ISO 4 Cleanroom DESY. TRANSPORT ACCESSORY The transport of the BQU is done with a transport system which consists of an inner box for the unit and an outer frame which is able to absorb shocks during the transportation. For the development of the system the most important point was to keep the cleanroom requirements of ISO 4 air quality. The inner box (weight: 250 kg) is made for transport under ISO 4 conditions. Different tests on particle contamination and cleanliness conservation have been done before the first unit was transported. Inner box: Before usage the inner surface is cleaned and a particle quality control is done. MOP047 Proceedings of SRF2013, Paris, France ISBN 978-3-95450-143-4 224 C op yr ig ht c ○ 20 13 by th e re sp ec tiv e au th or s 09 Cavity preparation and production K. Technical R&D Large scale fabrication Table 1: Test Sequences for Qualification of Inner Transport Box 1. Store in class ISO 6 for one week. 2. Store in production hall for one week. 3. Cleaning the outer surface with car wash (high pressure cleaning with ca. 60bar ultra-pure water). 4. Load into a transporter, short tour. 5. Transport to CEA Saclay and back. With the tests sequences (table 2) it is shown that the transport could not influence ISO 4 cleanliness over the whole distance until BQU is unpacked inside the ISO 4 cleanroom at CEA. The total weight of the transport system including the BQU installed is about 500 kg. It has to be handled by a fork lifter or cranes. Crane hooks and fork lifter connections are installed on the transport unit. For transport and handling inside the cleanrooms a special carrier is set up (Fig. 2). Figure 2: View on the completed BQU in ISO 4 Cleanroom at DESY. The assembly rate for modules at CEA is one module / week, requesting an assembly and delivery rate of more than one BQU to ensure a minimum hand over rate of one BQU per week and a safety margin in case of transport problems. The assembly sequence and timetable set up for the assembly rate is given in table 2. During all assembling steps the ISO 4 cleanness and the alignment conditions could be preserved even though the high weight of the BQU and the used fixture with the risk of particle contamination during handling. A careful handing is essential. Particle check of the beam tube during the final assembly step at DESY, the documentation of the acceleration sensor during transportation and the experiences of the first module assemblies at CEA Saclay have shown that no significant change of cleanness during assembling and transportation occurs. Up to now 12 units are assembled. A production rate of up to 2 units per week in steady state assembly processes is reached. Table 2: Time Table of the most Relevant Assembly Steps of BQU Assembly inside ISO 4 Cleanroom at DESY Step Description Time 1. Alignment and fixation of Quad time 2. Alignment of BPM in respect to Quad dowel pin first day 3. Connect BPM and Quadrupol first day 4. High pressure rinsing of unit first day 5. Drying of unit first day 6. Alignment of the UHV Feedthrough over night 7. Leak check of unit second day 8. Alignment of gate valve to BPM third day 9. Connect BPM/Quad and gate valve third day 10. Leak check of unit third day 11. Final leak check and transportation fifth day 12. EDMS documentation fifth day 13. Prepare components for the next assembly fifth day FIRST EXPERIENCES ON BQU ASSEMBLY Up to now 12 units are assembled. It is proven that only four major assembly tools (table 3) are need for a reproducible and successfully work flow. Table 3: Fixtures and Tooling Applied for BQU Assembly 1. Horizontal assembly device 2. Turn device for changing the orientation (necessary to change the orientation for high pressure rinsing) 3. Wear frame for the HPR system 4. Transport device to move the different components TRANSPORTATION OF BQU In order to ensure that one accelerator module could be assembled per week, it is foreseen that one BQU will be shipped per week. In addition a stock of units will be installed at CEA Saclay. The stock consists of a unit with a Button bpm [7] and a BQU unit with a Reentrant bpm installed to it [10]. Therefore five inner transport boxes and four outer frames are produced (Fig. 3). Proceedings of SRF2013, Paris, France MOP047 09 Cavity preparation and production K. Technical R&D Large scale fabrication ISBN 978-3-95450-143-4 225 C op yr ig ht c ○ 20 13 by th e re sp ec tiv e au th or s Figure 3: View on the Transport Accessories. The weekly transfer is done by a commercial truckage company. For highest flexibility and short hand transport the transport frame is designed that it could be shipped by a normal van over night as well (Figure 4). Figure: 4 View to the Transport Frame for the Transport of BQU ́s. During each transport the vibration to the unit is monitored by a programmable Accelerometer [10]. The same type of accelerometer will be attached to the cavities which are transported with the same truck at the same time. It is currently under investigation, if it is necessary to provide all transported components with individual accelerometers or if monitoring the truck is sufficient. The wake up point (start of data storage) of the shock logger is set to 1,5g. Maximum allowed g force at the BQU is 3g. Above the wake up point data are stored in time resolution of 0,5 sec. Until now during 6 transports none of the data sets are recorded showed values above 4g, below 3g it is foreseen that the transported components can be used at it is, without any restrictions, only the origin of the shock has to be identified by the GPS control of the truck. OPEN ITEMS Vacuum shows reduction from 1*10 mbar as installed at DESY to 1*10 mbar when unit is checked at CEA. Leak test at CEA showed same leak rate of <= 1*10 mbarl/min as detected at DESY. To find origin of degradation of total pressure studies are on the way to see if out gassing of copper plating or commissioning of the multi range gauges are responsible for the reduction of total pressure. CONCLUSION Twelve BQU units are assembled in the ramp up phase of BQU assembly at DESY until now. No major problem of the pre-cleaning and hand over of subcomponents at DESY is found. A production rate of more than one BQU per week is shown. Six units are successfully transported to CEA. Three Units BQU 001_C, 005_C and 004_R are assembled to Module XM-3, XM-2 and XM-1. REFERENCES [1] CEA-Saclay/DSM/Irfu, Gif sur Yvette, France. [2] E.Vogel Integration of the European XFEL Accelerating Modules, Proceedings of LINAC2012, Tel-Aviv, Israel. [3] C. Simon, CEA, Status of the re-entrant cavity beam position monitor for the European XFEL project. [4] TRINOS VACUUM PROJECTS S.L.


Species diversity is one of the most important indices was used to evaluate the sustainability of forest communities. In this study, the effect of complete protection (non-grazed) on plant species diversity was investigated in Bagh-e- Shadi Forest (Irano-Turanian Forest), Yazd province, central of Iran. For this purpose, sampling designed the randomized-systematic method with rectangular plots that were 40×50 meters in the 100×200 Net, Shrub species in the 100 square (10×10 meter) and Herb species in the 25m2 (5×5 meter) were sampled in the center of net inventory. In the total 60 sample plots (30 plots in the grazed and 30 plots in the non-grazed area) were sampled. In every sample plot recorded plant species and number of this plant. In order to analyze biodiversity indicators of Shannon-Wiener and Simpson as well as Margaleff evenness indices was applied. Results indicated that Gramineae, Compositae, Labiatae, Rosacae and Anacariaceae families have the highest number of species. Pistacia atlantica and Amygdalus communis were the most dominant woody plants for class of tree and Acantholimon sp. and Astragalus spp were the most dominant Shrub plants, respectively. Bromus tectorum and poa sinacia were dominant herbaceous species. Herbaceous layer had the highest richness, evenness and diversity. The differences between biodiversity indexes in the two areas were statistically significant in the tree, shrub and herbaceous layer. So the grazed and non-grazed increase tree, shrub and herbaceous diversity in Irano-Turanian forest, and complete protection (non-grazed) area have higher plant diversity compered the grazed region. Therefore, prevention of livestock grazing and irregular tree cutting in the degraded forest stands can be suggested as a suitable approach for natural restoration and increasing plant diversity.


Most of the literature on pronival (protalus) ramparts deals with supposed fossil examples with very few studies devoted to active features and/or observed processes. Not surprisingly, this has led to circular reasoning and assumptions about typical rampart form, constituent material and genesis that have been shown to be inadequate or spurious from the few detailed investigations of actively forming ramparts so far carried out. Nevertheless, reliance continues to be placed on the characteristics of fossil features in the search for previously unidentified fossil examples. This article provides a critical review of rampart terminology, morphology and sedimentology, mechanisms, 'diagnostic' criteria, position in a continuum of talus-derived landforms and palaeoclimatic significance. It is suggested that the descriptor pronival is preferable to the widely used protalus, as the latter is misleadingly restrictive in terms of the known range of possible locations. Greater variability in terms of form and mechanisms of formation than most workers assume is indicated by recent studies of active features, with multiple as well as single ridges, fines and edge-worn as well as coarse angular clasts being found, and a variety of supranival and also subnival processes regarded as possibly contributing to rampart formation. It is concluded that only when further investigations of actively forming ramparts have been carried out, will it be possible to compile a reliable list of criteria for dist inguishing ramparts from moraines, protalus rock glaciers and other bedrock cliff-foot deposi tional forms. Correct identification of fossil ramparts may then lead to a better understanding of 1) their place in a continuum of talus-derived landforms; and 2) their potential as palaeoclimatic indicators.


Background: How can we anticipate the progression of the ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? As a measure of transmissibility, we aimed to estimate concurrently the time-varying reproduction number, R0(t), over time during the COVID-19 pandemic for each of the following 12 heavily-attacked countries: Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, United Kingdom, the United States of America, and South Africa. Methods: We downloaded the publicly available COVID-19 pandemic data from the WHO COVID-19 Dashboard website (https://covid19.who.int/) for the duration of January 11, 2020 and May 1, 2020. Then, we specified two plausible distributions of serial interval to apply the novel estimation method implemented in the incidence and EpiEstim packages to the data of daily new confirmed cases for robustly estimating R0(t) in the R software. Results: We plotted the epidemic curves of daily new confirmed cases for the 12 selected countries. A clear peak of the epidemic curve appeared in 10 of the 12 selected countries at various time points, and then the epidemic curve declined gradually. However, the United States of America and South Africa happened to have two or more peaks and their epidemic curves either reached a plateau or still climbed up. Almost all curves of the estimated R0(t) monotonically went down to be less than or close to 1.0 up to April 30, 2020 except Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Iran, and South Africa, of which the curves surprisingly went up and down at various time periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the United States of America and South Africa were the two countries with the approximate R0(t) [≥] 1.0 at the end of April, and thus they were now facing the harshest battles against the coronavirus among the 12 selected countries. By contrast, Spain, Germany, and France with smaller values of the estimated R0(t) were relatively better than the other 9 countries. Conclusion: Seeing the estimated R0(t) going downhill speedily is more informative than looking for the drops in the daily number of new confirmed cases during an ongoing epidemic of infectious disease. We urge public health authorities and scientists to estimate R0(t) routinely during an epidemic of infectious disease and to report R0(t) daily to the public until the end of the epidemic.


This case study is aimed to establish design and construction methods to establish Korean-type plus energy house. First of all, this study made a literature survey on the standards and performance requirements of Passive House established in Germany and introduced design and construction process of plus energy house that is being constructed. Unlike general process of building design in Korea, passive house planning includes energy performance of each factors and analysis of various design factors to achieve an energy-efficient building. To meet the standards and requirements of the passive house, we have to consider design factors such as not only the layout, shape, and facade of a building but also the performances of building envelops including its insulation types and window systems.


Advertising effectiveness analysis system for analyzing advertising effectiveness for the advertising screen via on-line is the first visitor installed can run simultaneously be downloaded to the connected built-in web page advertising publishers web server together with an analysis target advertising screen your computer information processor, and a and a second visitor information processor with a built-in web page of the advertiser's web server, which has an Internet address access installed can run simultaneously be downloaded to your computer, corresponding to the advertising screen, sent by the execution of a visitor information processor as you can check the relevant and non-relevant to the connection of the web pages of the advertiser's web server from exposure to advertising screens on your computer, visit kind of collecting the check information, and by using the collected visit type check information about advertising publishers server by the advertising effectiveness of the advertisement screen on the set analysis system And a database to be processed by the analysis processing Lift analysis server and the advertisement effect analysis server that data is stored. According to the online advertising effectiveness analysis system and method, and then exposed to the analyte advertising screen can be more precisely calculate the data for pure Visitors connected to the advertiser's website offers the advantage of being able to improve the accuracy of the analysis of advertising effectiveness do.


Estimates were made of copepod production, based on estimates of recruitment, mortality. development times and individual weight data, and the methodological approach given earlier by Sonntag & Parslow is further developed. In addition to estimates of cohort production, the present approach includes estimation of daily production in depth and time. The estimation method is applied to abundance data of the copepodids of Pseudocalanus elongatus, Paracalanus parvus, Temora longicornis and Centropages hamatus obtained in LindAspollene in 1981. Production during June was estimated as 446, 252, 231 and 63 mg ash-free dry weight m-' respectively. Production of P. parvus and C. hamatus was primarily concentrated in the upper 5 m, while that of T. longicornis and P. elongatus was located below 5 m depth. The cohort P/B ratios were estimated in the range 2.5 to 6.8. The daily P/B ratios (including data for Calanus finmarchicus) were strongly dependent on the stage of development within the populations, but did not seem to differ much between species.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of UTI by Gram-positive bacteria and to evaluate the most frequent resistance in these microorganisms. Methods: It was a retrospective analytical study, performed from the data of patients attended by the Clinical Laboratory of the Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás, from November 2016 to November 2017. From the urine samples, the results were selected cultures for Grampositive bacteria. The data were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel program (2013). Results: Of the 3.381 urine samples evaluated, 384 (11,4%) presented positivity for UTI, where 10,9% were associated with the presence of Gram-positive cocci as a pathogen. Of these, the most prevalent were: Staphylococcus aureus (23,8%) and S. haemolyticus (23,8%), both of which presented resistance of 80% for both ampicillin and penicillin and were identified as beta-lactamase producers. Conclusion: Considerations: S. aureus was the most prevalent microorganism, and resistance in this population was higher in the antimicrobial class of beta-lactams. Although the lower frequency of UTI is related to Gram-positive bacteria, this group plays an important role as a pathogenic agent of this infection, due to the ability to present resistance to broad-spectrum antimicrobials.


The results of comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic methods applied to correct the structural and functional state of vascular endothelium in 40 rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis are presented.


Mounting device between a tube (2) high pressure and a common rail (1) fuel supply, the tube having a channel (20) feeding whose axis corresponds substantially to the channel axis of a head (3) connection of the ramp (1) common, wherein the head end (3) connection has a protrusion (31) having a flange (32) annular ensures constant contact (15) with the tube (2) high pressure.


The purpose of this essay reflective nature is to analyze the advantages of NTC Standards ISO 9001:2008 and 6001:2008 NTC for MSMEs to enable them to offer competitive products against TLC. It thus aims to highlight the importance of implementing a quality management system for the development of their activities, based on NTC NTC 9001:2008 and 6001:2008 Standards.


been investigated. The morphological changes in the cuticle and surface of the cuticle-removed cortex were observed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). When human hair was treated with dehydrated 5% KOH/1-butanol at 50oC, the boundary between the exo- and endocuticles in a few outer layers became obscure at first, and the thickness of a layer decreased with the simultaneous dissolution of the outermost layer. The obscurity of boundary was also observed even in the inner layers with the thickness kept unchanged. The dissolution proceeded from the outer to inner cuticle layer successively, with the complete disappearance of the boundary between exo- and endocuticles in the inner layer. The surface of the untreated and descaled hair was examined by means of FT-IR in diffuse reflectance measurements. FT-IR microspectroscopy was also employed to measure inside the cortical cells. The appreciable changes in spectrum were observed for the surface of the descaled hair in the region from 1000 cm- to 1100 cm-. There was no change in the spectrum inside the cortex. These findings indicated that longer treatment with KOH/1-butanol led to some modification of disulfide and SH groups on the surface of the cortex, but that it did not penetrate deeply into the cortex.


Previous research shows a somewhat inconsistent relationship between symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and disclosing combat events to others. The current work details the results of two studies of combat event disclosure in veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In the first study, an Internet sample of OEF/OIF veteran service members (n = 71) completed self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, social support, combat exposure, and whether or not specific combat events had been discussed with another person. In the second study, OEF/OIF veteran service members from the Utah National Guard and Reserves (n = 85) completed the same measures but specified with whom they had discussed each combat event. In both cases, service members reported that they had discussed the majority of combat events with another person. Results from both studies further showed that event-specific disclosures interact with levels of social support in predicting PTSD symptoms. Greater event-specific disclosures were associated with lower symptoms of PTSD, primarily among service members reporting higher levels of social support. These findings suggest the utility of event-specific disclosures as a protective factor against the development of PTSD symptoms, particularly for service members who already have well-established social support.


Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) is an attractive noble-metal-free electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution (HER) in acids. Tremendous effort has been made to engineer MoS2 catalysts with either more active sites or higher conductivity to enhance their HER activity. However, little attention has been paid to synergistically structural and electronic modulations of MoS2. Herein, 2D hydrogenated graphene (HG) is introduced into MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets for the construction of a highly efficient and stable catalyst for HER. Owing to synergistic modulations of both structural and electronic benefits to MoS2 nanosheets via HG support, such a catalyst has improved conductivity, more accessible catalytic active sites, and moderate hydrogen adsorption energy. On the optimized MoS2/HG hybrid catalyst, HER occurs with an overpotential of 124 mV at 10 mA cm–2, a Tafel slope of 41 mV dec–1, and a stable durability for 24 h continuous operation at 30 mA cm–2 without observable fading. The high performance...


The low solvus high refractory (LSHR) nickel base superalloy was chosen as a candidate for a dual microstructure heat treatment (DMHT) turbine disk, with fine grains in the bore and coarser grains in the rim. In between those two regions, there is a transition in grain size and γ′ precipitation. In this study, the mechanical performance of the coarse grain region was evaluated by room temperature tensile testing in the un-aged and dual aged conditions. Optical digital image correlation (DIC) was used to detect the localized strains evolving from the tensile testing. Strain maps from the DIC successfully detected localized strains in both of the microstructural conditions of interest. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy was use to analyze the deformed regions to assess grain misorientation and dislocation activity within each microstructure. While dislocations appeared to accumulate in the gamma channels in both microstructures, there appeared to more grain misorientation in the unaged condition of LSHR.


Heavy crude oil consists of thousands of compounds, a significant fraction of which have fairly large molecular weights and complex structures. Our work aims at constructing a meso-scale platform to explore this complex fluid in terms of microstructure, phase behavior, stability and rheology. In the present study, we focus on the treatment of the structures of fused aromatic rings as rigid body fragments in fractions such as asphaltenes and resins. To derive the rotational motion of rigid bodies in a non-conservative force field, we conduct a comparison of three rigid body rotational algorithms integrated into a standard dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation. The simulation results confirm the superiority of the Quaternion method. To ease any doubt concerning the introduction of rigid bodies into DPD, the performance of the Quaternion method was tested carefully. Finally, the aggregation dynamics of asphaltene in very diluted toluene was investigated. The nanoaggregates are found to experience forming, breaking up and reforming. The sizes of the asphaltene monomer and nanoaggregate are identified. The diffusion coefficient of diluted asphaltene in toluene is similar to that found experimentally. All these results verify the rotational algorithm and encourage us to extend this platform to study the rheological and colloidal characteristics of heavy crude oils in the future.


Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis, previously known as secondary or reactive amyloidosis, is a long-recognized severe complication of some chronic inflammatory diseases. The pathogenesis and risk factors for amyloidosis in Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) remain partially understood (1). The development of AA amyloidosis is dependent on ethnicity and country of residence (2). In the pre-colchicine era, renal AA-amyloidosis was largely reported patients of Turkish (67%) and Sephardic Jewish ancestry (26.5%) (2,3). Currently it's well known that the MEFV M694V variant associated with high risk of amyloidosis however, mutations on exon 2, specifically E148Q variant remained controversial.To evaluate the E148Q mutation variant and concomitant AA Amyloidosis secondary to FMF after adjusted clinical-demographic characteristics.Patients were recruited from the renal unit at Epigenetic Health Center outpatient clinic in Turkey between September 2003 and February 2020. Patients who had biopsy confirmed FMF related AA amyloidosis were included the study. Tel-Hashomer criteria were applied in the diagnosis of FMF. The clinical characteristics of FMF patients and medication history were recorded by the physician at the time of registry entry. All patients had detailed baseline assessment of clinical features, renal functions, genetic testing, histopathological diagnosis of amyloidosis, and treatment received. We performed multiple comparisons according to the age of diagnosis, demographic features, disease phenotype, allele frequency, type of mutation and mortality. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) for Windows, version 15.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL).Our registry consists of 195 patients with a diagnosis of AA amyloidosis. Complete information on 169 patients (lost to follow up, n=26) were included. The median age was 36 (19-49) years; male/female ratio was 1.6 (104/65). The median follow-up duration was 15.0 years (4-17 years). There were 101 patients diagnosed with FMF <18 years of age and 68 patients diagnosed ≥18 years of age. All participants developed renal amyloidosis before the age of 32 years. Family history of FMF was documented in 56 patients (33.1%) and family history of amyloidosis was present in 41 patients (24.3%). The three most common clinical symptoms were fever (84,6%), abdominal pain (71.6%) and arthritis (66.9%). During the follow-up, 5 patients started dialysis treatment and 9 patients had kidney transplantation. The most common allele frequency across patients was M694V (60.6%), E148Q (21.4%) and M680I (10.3%). The most frequent mutations were M694V/M694V (63.3%), M694V/E148Q (20.8%) and E148Q/E148Q (15.8%). During the follow up period, 15 patients (10 male, 5 female) died. In those that died, the mutations in 14 had M694V/M694Vand one demonstrated E148Q/E148Q.Patients with FMF related AA amyloidosis have an increased risk for mortality. This study confirmed the association between M694V and FMF-associated AA amyloidosis, which has been reported in many studies. Close clinical follow-up and further evaluation of patients with the E148Q mutation is warranted specifically if residing in FMF endemic areas. The possible relationship between E148Q and AA amyloidosis need to be confirmed in other cohorts.[1]Erer B, Demirkaya E, Ozen S, Kallinich T. What is the best acute phase reactant for familial Mediterranean fever follow-up and its role in the prediction of complications? A systematic review. Rheumatology international. 2016;36(4):483-7.[2]Touitou I, Sarkisian T, Medlej-Hashim M, Tunca M, Livneh A, Cattan D, et al. Country as the primary risk factor for renal amyloidosis in familial Mediterranean fever. Arthritis and rheumatism. 2007;56(5):1706-12.[3]Pras M, Bronshpigel N, Zemer D, Gafni J. Variable incidence of amyloidosis in familial Mediterranean fever among different ethnic groups. Johns Hopkins Med J. 1982;150(1):22-6.None declared


In this paper,a variety of industrial objects are systematically analyzed.Ten methods for industrial measurement are summarized.For each method,its nature,advantages,disadvantages and adaptability are briefly given.The basic principles to choose the right industrial method are indicated.


Weimar Republic era in Germany(1919-1933) is the times between the end of World War I and the Nazi"s period. At that time there were various tendencies such as Dada and Neue Sachlichkeit and several unique subjects had emerged as an object of concern. Lustmord(Sex murder), one of those unique theme is the subject of this research. Artists such as Otto Dix, George Grosz, Rudolf Schlichter, Heinrich Maria Darvringhausen started to focus their attention to Lustmord theme in the First World War, and showed diverse variations of them in Weimar era. The Theme of Lustmord has not formed the important category in French and English art, but the significant one in Weimar German art. The theme of Lustmord was associated with the environment of the metropolitan city, especially Berlin, the capital of Weimar Republic, which was the result of the World War I. A lot of newspapers which is published in Berlin reported Lustmord cases that were associated with the increase of prostitutes and the urban poor. The works of the Lustmord theme were motivated by that kind of report of journals. But dealing with Lustmord, the artists had expressed their own views on the social structure behind that cases. To the more detailed analysis, I divided the elements of the works to place and figures. The places in which Lustmord is happened are public spaces of metropolis or indoor spaces. The aspects of metropolis emphasizes the harmful consequences of the anonymity and apathy among urban people, because the target of Lustmord is the people of low status who have no one to take care. Also the women who seem to be killed indoor space are seen like the stuff that be used and discarded. These aspects is stressed by the killers who are mostly showed as the bourgeois. The works that treat the theme of Lustmord didn'"t attract art critic'"s attention at that time, and furthermore had to go through suffering on account of Nazi'"s cultural policy. Accordingly, many of those works were lost and destructed in Nazi era. In 1990s, femminist analysis on the Lustmord image in Weimar era asserted that conflicts of the sexes and mysogynism of the artists caused the works. But the artists modified the elements of Lustmord strongly and contained the critical view on that peroid.


We show that if T is any geometric theory having the NTP2 then the corresponding theories of lovely pairs of models of T and of H‐structures associated to T also have the NTP2. We also prove that if T is strong then the same two expansions of T are also strong.


【This paper describes optimizing fabrication methods for 2-axis electrically levitated MEMS gyroscope. Electrostatically levitated gyroscope has very high potential of performance due to the fact that its proof mass is not mechanically bound to any other structures, but its complex structure and difficulty of fabrication holds back the research that only a few researches have been reported. In this work, fabrication method for glass-silicon-glass 3-floor structure for 2-axis electrically levitated MEMS gyroscope is presented, including simplified multi-level glass etch method utilizing photoresist attack, preventing metal diffusion by adding middle layer of metal electrode, overcoming Deep RIE limitation by separate fabrication of silicon structures and keeping the electrode safe from dicing debris.】


A great deal of attention is being paid to the plight of immigrants in the United States, particularly those who are undocumented and gain entry to the United States on our southern border. If undocumented immigrants become ill in the United States, there is a dilemma and often, difference of


Objective To investigate the curative effects of Tweed technique on class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion. Methods Since 2009 total 50 cases with class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion were selected from orthodontics department of Taihe hospital. The treatment schedule was selected according to the results of clinical examination of patients,model analysis,cephalometric analysis and Tweed analysis. The maxillary two first premolars and mandibular two second premolars were extracted and then Tweed-Merrifield fixed technology was used. The cephalometric changes of hard and soft tissue,and facial profile were compared before and after treatment. Results After treatment the bilateral upper and lower dentition of 48 cases were nearly the normal overbite coverage,the bilateral molar relationships was neutral and the cephalometric and facial profile was improved. The patients and their parents were satisfied with the curative effects. Conclusion The edgewise is an effective fixed appliance for orthodontic treatment of class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion,and proper attention is paid to the control of strength and anchorage during the application of Tweed technology.


The invention relates to a residual heat heating device for an evaporator. The residual heat heating device for the evaporator comprises three groups of every-effect heater heating devices, sequentially including a heater I heating device, a heater II heating device and a heater III heating device. The utilization efficiency of high-temperature condensation water and high-temperature waste gas can be greatly increased, heat exchange pipes on heaters can be effectively prevented from plugging, the service life of equipment is prolonged, the heat loss caused during conveying waste gas by adopting a large pipeline in the prior art can be prevented.


Hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface properties are needed according to the industry field usage area such as medical, transport and energy sector. Depending on surface modification technique, surface wettability angles can be modified with changing surfaces chemistry, physical structures and energies. In this current study, HA/β-TCP blasting and anodization processes applied to Ti6Al4V ELI disc specimen. Also these specimen groups contact angles were measured for autoclaved and non-autoclaved conditions. Surface topographies were characterized with SEM-EDS, contact, stylus profilometer and optic profilometer. Moreover after blasting procedure the blasting media characterized with XRD in order to understand blasting procedure mechanism effect on abrasive and base material. Disc specimen roughness values increased to 1,92 μm value after blasting and decreased to 1,73 μm value after anodization process. The most hydrophilic surface determined as anodized surfaces for non-autoclaved condition. The most hydrophobic surface was characterized as the autoclaved blasted surfaces with the highest wettability angle.


T/NK "nasal type" lymphoma is a neoplasm that shows a peculiar geographical distribution. In fact most of the reported cases come from Far Eastern countries such as Hong Kong, and Central America, particularly from Mexico; this kind of lymphoma occurrs rarely in western countries. Between 1997 and 2004, 19 new cases of T/NK nasal type lymphoma were diagnosed in 7 Italian Hematology Division. Patients characteristics were as follows: all caucasian; 14 men and 5 women; median age 53 years (range 20–80). The presentation at the onset was in the nasal cavity or adjacent structures in 15 cases, who presented symptoms like nasal obstruction, dysphagia, orbital edema; in 2 cases, skin lesions were the first sign of disease, followed by oropharingeal involvement; in 1 case, the patient was studied because of migrating bone pain, and in the last patient lymphoma presented as a right leg tumor. Considering the stage of disease, 10 patients presented a I stage (in 8 cases IA, 1 IB, and 1 IE); 3 patients were in stage II (2 IIB, 1 IIE); 6 patients presented an advanced stage disease (3 IVA, 3 IVB). Thus, early stage patients were 13, while advanced stages were 6. The median time from the onset of signs, as skin lesions, or symptoms, as nasal obstruction to diagnosis was 3 months, ranging between 1 and 24. Diagnosis was based on the finding of a T/NK phenotype by the histological examination of oropharingeal or cutaneous lesions in 17 cases, bioptical examination of the leg tumor in another patient, and by a bone marrow biopsy in the patient who presented bone pain. All patients were treated with chemotherapy alone (8 cases), or associated to radiotherapy (10 cases); 1 patient underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Chemotherapy regimens usually adopted contained anthracyclines (11 cases); in the other cases patients were treated with CVP (2 cases), low dosages of cyclophosphamide (1), cyclophosphamide-vinblastine-mithoxantrone-bleomicine (1), DHAP (3). Radiation dosages ranged between 27.5 and 47.5 Gy, with a median dosage of 40 Gy. Eight patients reached a clinical improvement, while 11 patients resulted refractory or presented a limited response to therapy The overall median survival time was 5 months (range from 1 to 48): Eleven patients died within 14 months from diagnosis, and the median survival time of this group was 6 months. At last follow-up (June 2004) 8 patients are still alive, with a time from diagnosis ranging beteween 2 and 48 months. The preliminary results of this retrospective survey confirmed that T/NK nasal type lymphoma is a very rare lymphoma in italian population, and it is characterized by a very bad prognosis. The rarity of this disease cause a lacking of a standardized therapeutic approaches. More data are needed to know the epidemiology of this kind of lymphoma in Europe.


A robust control procedure for precision pointing and tracking of fast moving elastic structures is proposed. Based on a combination of the sliding manifold approach with the theory of optimal interpolation, this design procedure generates a control effort capable of insuring high pointing and tracking performance in the presence of induced disturbances and modelling uncertainties. The uncertainties are handled by sliding control and estimation of the nonlinearly excited elastic elastic dynamics by an interpolator of the structure dynamic response. Chattering behaviour of the controller is avoided at the expense of tolerating a known tracking error. It is shown through analysis that a trade-off has to be set, by taking into account the main requirements of a given mission and the system hardware capabilities. For illustration purposes, a set of numerical simulations is then run to assess the system dynamical performance.


Generally, for some solar simulator manufactures, the measurement of irradiation non-uniformity is made by placing a PV cell artificially and point by point on each measuring point on the solar module. It records each corresponding output voltage of PV cell. It is time-consuming and easy to produce measurement error. If either an XY table or a multi-axis robot is applied in this case, it is ot only expensive but also difficult to carry and setup. Hence, an innovative and automated measurement system, which consists of both a self-developed smart robot and a monitoring and control system, is proposed in this paper to solve aforementioned problems. The monitoring and control system, i.e., constructed by a PC and a self-developed LabVIEW-based application program, plays the role of remotely commanding the operation mode of a robot, receiving the irradiance data being transmitted from the robot and calculating the irradiation non-uniformity. Once the irradiation non-uniformity is calculated, some operations are made to adjust the irradiation parameters of the solar simulator such that the irradiation non-uniformity can meet the specification, i.e., 2%, 5%, 10% for class A, B or C of solar module, respectively.


For decades, much effort has been made to establish test systems for the determination of magnetic losses of electric steels. However, presently available systems are still associated with considerable deficiencies. Meanwhile, increased awareness of preservation of energy enforces the need to determine losses with absolute accuracy. Furthermore, modern drives yield demand for multi-frequency testing. This paper summarizes a multi-frequency test system that avoids the major physical compromises of conventional methodologies. The paper describes the overall design of "physically consistent magnetic loss testing" (CLT) with preferred sample size of 500 × 170 mm2. Specific emphasis is placed on four crucial features: (i) Practical independency of sample state from an extra-thin yoke. (ii) Effective field detection with consideration of demagnetizing field components. (iii) Effective induction detection with advanced air flux compensation, based on true-field conditions. (iv) Complete suppression of harmonics for unique results. Results for time-averaged losses and for instantaneous power functions of grain-oriented steels are presented for frequencies ranging from 162/3 Hz to 10 kHz. For thermal and practical reasons, loss determination is restricted to a maximum of 100 W/kg. The design of CLT claims to be the first loss test concept with an assessed absolute accuracy of about 2.5%. Considering the benefits of the presented system, the method is proposed as a base for international standardization.


Considering that the role of leadership is still essential for a corporate organization to grow and develop continuously, self-leadership based on a sense of ownership is emerging as the ideal leadership required of organizational members. However, despite the great efforts of academia in investigating the effectiveness of self-leadership in various industrial fields, prior literature on self-leadership in the context of sports center organizations seems to be limited. The objective of the present study was to examine the influence of sports center employees' self-leadership on leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational commitment and the mediation role of LMX in the relationship between self-leadership and organizational commitment. A total of 172 Korean sports center employees participated in the present study. The results indicated that sports center employees' self-leadership significantly impacted LMX and organizational commitment, and LMX positively affected organizational commitment. Additionally, sports center employees' LMX had an important partial mediation role in the relationship between self-leadership and organizational commitment. Consequently, the current study's findings provide sports center organizations with practical implications for enhancing organizational effectiveness.


Evergreening, also known as patent life-cycle management, refers to the use of multiple patents that cover various aspects of a product for extending patent exclusivity periods. Evergreening has been viewed as an important strategy for maximizing profits and prevalently adopted by firms. Nevertheless, little is known regarding sources of and antecedents to evergreening. This paper explores two different sources of evergreening (internal and external) and investigates how knowledge breadth and depth influence internal and external evergreening. We build hypotheses and empirically examine them in the biopharmaceutical industry.


Results of a study published in 1998 showed that at 1 center in Boston an aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) ratio ≥1.0 had


Photograph of Elenor Duckens performing at the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio, Texas. Elenor wears a red dress with red glasses as she sings at the Gospel Jubilee, the final performance of the three-day festival.


The Family Empowerment Post (POSDAYA) Kebumen Gemilang Sejahtera is one of the Posdaya groups in Palembang that is engaged in horticultural agriculture (managed by the Women Farmers Group) and waste recycling processing (managed by the Garbage Bank unit). have an inventory application (stock) that can help managers in seeing and controlling the current stock.