Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controllers have recently become increasingly popular not only for off-grid PV applications. MPPT Charge Controllers not only promise to increase the energy yield of the PV generator, they also allow to use low cost PV modules designed for gridconnected applications (between 40-70 cells) which normally could not be used in off-grid installations due to their high MPP voltage. Therefore DC-DC converters (typically step-down converters) are used to match the output voltage of the PV generator to the battery voltage. Those products commonly use MPPT-algorithm to track the maximum power point (MPP) of the PV generator. According to recent estimtations, about 30 to 50 MW of MPPT Charge Controllers are installed per year. Among the variety of products 60 A MPPT charge controllers dominate the market? In the absence of standard testing procedure dedicated to DC battery charging MPP-trackers only part of grid connected PV-inverter tests can be applied 1 . However, due to expensive and complex test requirements it is not possible for customers to evaluate the actual performance and quality of a certain product. This paper summarizes the results of the TESCABI 2 project which is part of the EU DERri initiative (www.der-ri.net). Within the project, a set of test procedures for performance characterization of MPPT charge controllers have been defined. Using the procedures, extensive laboratory tests were made at the AIT PV inverter laboratory with a world-wide market representative set of 9 different MPPT devices. Based on the results, recommendations for manufacturers as well as customers have been formulated to select the appropriate product for a certain application. 1. DEVELOPMENT OF TEST PROCEDURES FOR MPPT CHARGE CONTROLLERS The developed test procedure takes into account the experience of testing PV-grid tied inverters and switching (non-MPPT) battery charge controllers. It is divided into 6 categories, which define the test procedure. 1.1 Installation and usage The first category deals with the construction of the product and checks the most important technical data. It evaluates the mechanical robustness of the enclosure and the ease of installation in terms of the design (e.g. if there is enough room for the cables, easy to reach terminals, etc). 1.2 Night-time and stand-by consumption The 2 nd category deals with the self consumption of the MPPT controller. In all off-grid systems it is of crucial importance to have extremely low self consumption during the night and periods of low irradiation. 1.3 DC-DC conversion efficiency Similar to grid connected inverters, the DC-DC conversion efficiency is one of the most relevant performance parameters of MPPT charge controllers. Today, manufacturers typically show only the maximum (peak) efficiency in their datasheets which however does not reflect the real operating conditions in field. In practice a number of external factors influence the conversion efficiency: Actual battery voltage, actual input voltage, temperature and the power output of the device. To characterize the conversion efficiency of MPPT charge controllers, the basic test procedure from the EN 50530 1 has been extended to take into account the additional aspects of the specific devices (e.g. influence of the battery voltage) To provide a realistic picture of the efficiency in field manufacturers shall provide any efficiency rating according to the EU efficiency 3 . The definition of the weighting of the European efficiency can be seen in table 2. Output power (% of rated) 5% 10% 20% 30% 50% 100% Weighting factor 3% 6% 13% 10% 48% 20% Table 2: Definition of EU efficiency The DC-DC conversion efficiency depends mainly on the voltage difference between input and output voltage. The higher the voltage difference the lower the efficiency. It has to be measured for each nominal battery voltage individually for all possible input voltages. Table 3 shows the combinations of battery output and module input voltages for the measurements. Battery Measured input voltage levels 12V 30,0V 60,0V 90,0V 120,0V 150,0V 24V 30,0V 60,0V 90,0V 120,0V 150,0V 48V 30,0V 60,0V 90,0V 120,0V 150,0V Table 3 : Voltage table for measurements For each test candidate those 15 measurements need to be done. Each measurement consists of 6 power set points of table 2. To characterize the efficiency 15 * 6 = 90 measurements need to be done. The EU-efficiency shall be calculated for each point. To find a representative overall efficiency the EU-weighted efficiency of all those 15 measurements have been weighted equally to provide a realistic picture of the typical field efficiency of the charger. As an example, Graph 1 shows the efficiency for an input MPP voltage of 60 V and a fix battery (output) voltage of 12 V of one of the test candidates. 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Output Power (% of rated) E ff ic ie n c y ( % ) Graph 1: Typical dependency of the conversion efficiency on the output power The test object reached a peak efficiency 93,3%. The European weighted efficiency is calculated to 90,9% for the given example. In graph 2 the full picture of the efficiency surface depending on the MPP input voltage (30 V/60 V/90 V) and the battery output voltage (12 V/24 V/48 V) can be seen. Each single measurement point is the EUweighted efficiency according to Graph 1 and table 2.


This paper provides a framework where autonomous vehicles (AV) enable better Smart Cities. Large amounts of data are constantly collected from AVs. To manage the constant influx of data, a real-time data model is proposed. To demonstrate how the database works, four use cases have been introduced as follows: (1) Detecting traffic congestion (2) Identifying empty parking spots (3) Determining weather conditions for a specific location, and (4) Detecting objects or dead animals on the road. The proposed data model will enable real-time data-driven decision-making. The framework can be easily expanded to include other use cases in the future.


Abstract Five-carbon dimethylallyl units, such as prenyl and reverse-prenyl, are widely distributed in natural indole alkaloids and terpenoids. In conventional methodologies, these valuable motifs are often derived from substrates bearing leaving groups, but these processes are accompanied by the generation of stoichiometric amounts of by-products. From an economical and environmental point of view, the basic industrial feedstock isoprene is an ideal alternative precursor. However, given that electronically unbiased isoprene might undergo six possible addition modes in the coupling reactions, it is difficult to control the selectivity. This article summarizes the strategies we have developed to achieve regioselective C–H functionalizations of isoprene under transition-metal and acid catalysis. 1 Introduction 2 Catalytic Coupling of Indoles with Isoprene 3 Catalytic Coupling of Formaldehyde, Arenes and Isoprene 4 Catalytic Coupling of 4-Hydroxycoumarins with Isoprene 5 Catalytic Coupling of Cyclic 1,3-Diketones with Isoprene 6 Conclusion and Outlook


Data from the 2002 Religion and Public Activism Survey were used to examine relationships among measures of religious orientation, embeddedness in social networks and the level of trust individuals direct toward others. Results from ordered logistic regression analysis demonstrate that Catholics and members of other denominations show significantly less trust in strangers than mainline Protestants, while older persons and those who are more trusting of acquaintances show greater trust. Although measures of personal religiosity and activity within a congregation show no statistically significant relationship to trust once important controls are taken into account, measures of embeddedness within secular social networks do.


The analysis of the early star formation history (SFH) of nearby galaxies, obtained from their resolved stellar populations is relevant as a test for cosmological models. However, the early time resolution of observationally derived SFHs is limited by several factors. Thus, direct comparison of observationally derived SFHs with those derived from theoretical models of galaxy formation is potentially biased. Here we investigate and quantify this effect. For this purpose, we analyze the duration of the early star formation activity in a sample of four Local Group dwarf galaxies and test whether they Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program #10505 Instituto de Astrof́ısica de Canarias. Vı́a Láctea s/n. E38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; email@example.com, email@example.com, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com Department of Astrophysics, University of La Laguna. Vı́a Láctea s/n. E38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Collurania, Teramo, Italy; firstname.lastname@example.com Intitut für Theoretische Physics, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland; email@example.com Department of Physics, Institut für Astronomie, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; firstname.lastname@example.com Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada; email@example.com Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; firstname.lastname@example.com School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; email@example.com Astronomy Department, Box 351580, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 92895, USA; email@example.com Department of Astronomy, University of California at Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA Hubble Fellow Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinbourgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinbourgh EH9 3HJ, UK; email@example.com Raytheon, 1151 East Hermans Road, Tucson, AZ 85706, USA; email@example.com Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, British Columbia V9E 2E7, Canada; email@example.com


Getting a life partner is a human partner in accordance with their nature. Living together must be carried out in an official way, namely through marriage. Marriage must be carried out with the provisions that have been set in Islam. In addition, the state also requires registration of marriages. This research is entitled Marriage Registration in Islamic Law. This study discusses how the views of Islamic law on marriage registration at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA) and the consequences of marriages that are not registered at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA). This research is library research. This type of research is a type of qualitative research with a normative approach that is descriptive-analytical. This research concludes thatIslamic law does not view marriage registration as a pillar or condition for a valid marriage. Marriage is still valid as long as the pillars and conditions are met. Marriages that are not registered with the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA) are considered a mistake in the view of Islamic law, because they do not obey Allah's orders in terms of obeying government regulations. Marriage registration is a must in juridical studies. The state does not declare illegitimate marriages that are not registered at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA). However, the marriage is not under the legal umbrella, so the state is not responsible for the impacts that occur from the marriage in the future.


A Rh(III)-catalyzed direct annulative coupling of 3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles with alkynes through coordination-assisted C–H activation is developed, providing a facile route to 1-(acylamino)isoquinolines. The oxadiazole ring acts as a directing group as well as an internal oxidant.


One of the great advantages of cold-formed steel (CFS) is the immense flexibility that the material affords in forming cross-sections. This flexibility would seem to readily lend itself to optimization of member cross-section shapes. Cold formed sections also having the great flexibility of cross-sectional profiles and sizes available to structural steel designers. Whereas, the low strength-to-weight ratio of hot rolled steel members leads to increase in overall load on structure as compared with cold-formed steel sections which is having high strength-to-weight ratio. In this paper focus is given on study of economic aspects of cold formed sections as purlins in comparison with traditionally used hot rolled sections for Industrial structures by using IS 800-1984 & IS 800-2007 with IS 801-1975. The most economical sections and cost comparison is presented in the paper for 5m, 6m and 8m spans with roof slopes of 10 0 , 15 0 and 20 0 . Similarly focus is given on the effect of sag rods in the design of


This paper studies on deformation parameters through plate loading test (PLT) of some different areas plate, Standard penetration test (SPT) and laboratory test in Dynamic Compaction (DC) desert foundation in Inner Mongolia based on engineering practice. According to the result of experiment, it established relationships between deformation modulus and SPT counts values, compression modulus and SPT counts values, compression modulus and dry density, that can gain experience for detection of DC in similar site.


This article reviews the current state of knowledge about the bestrophins, a newly identified family of proteins that can function both as Cl(-) channels and as regulators of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. The founding member, human bestrophin-1 (hBest1), was identified as the gene responsible for a dominantly inherited, juvenile-onset form of macular degeneration called Best vitelliform macular dystrophy. Mutations in hBest1 have also been associated with a small fraction of adult-onset macular dystrophies. It is proposed that dysfunction of bestrophin results in abnormal fluid and ion transport by the retinal pigment epithelium, resulting in a weakened interface between the retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors. There is compelling evidence that bestrophins are Cl(-) channels, but bestrophins remain enigmatic because it is not clear that the Cl(-) channel function can explain Best disease. In addition to functioning as a Cl(-) channel, hBest1 also is able to regulate voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. Some bestrophins are activated by increases in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, but whether bestrophins are the molecular counterpart of Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channels remains in doubt. Bestrophins are also regulated by cell volume and may be a member of the volume-regulated anion channel family.


Qishen Yiqi dripping pills (QSYQ) may be beneficial in patients with ischaemic heart failure (IHF). We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of QSYQ administered together with guideline‐directed medical therapy in patients with IHF.


Bilateral constriction of the carotid sinus area, the immediate arterial branches of the sinus, or (perhaps) the vertebral arteries, and bilateral resection of the carotid sinus produces a significant, persistent hypertension in dogs, the highest levels occurring in the carotid sinus area constricted dogs. Pathogenesis is still unsettled.


Model-Driven Software Product Line Engineering (MD-SPLE) is the combination of Model-Driven Software Development and Software Product Line Engineering. In this paradigm, there is a strong dependency relationship between meta-models, models, transformation specifications and traceability links. Moreover, there are also dependency relationships between core assets and product specific artifacts, which raise dependency complexity. Due to the pressure to release new product versions and the quantity of dependent elements, there is a probability that models and related artifacts are not updated at all and become inconsistent with each other. The proposal of this thesis is to keep MD-SPLE models, meta-models, transformation specifications and traceability links consistent.


Automatic extraction of wetland information in farming-pastoral regions is very difficult,because land use types are complex and etland area is small which lead to erious mixed pixel phenomenon.Aming at the characteristics and difficulties of wetland remote sensing information extraction in these regions,the NDVI(Normalized Different Vegetation Index) threshold method was used to extract water body first.Afterwards,the support vector machine(SVM) was selected to extract wetland information which has removed water.Finally,the meadow component which was decomposed by linear spectral mixture model was amended by the high-resolution satellite image to further extract high coverage,medium coverage and low coverage meadow.The experimental results showed that the overall accuracy was 88% and the Kappa coefficient was 0.83.This method can provide a reference of remote sensing information extraction of wetland for other regions with mixed spectral characteristics.


This paper presents the two generations of storage network stacks that reduced the average I/O latency of Alibaba Cloud's EBS service by 72% in the last five years: Luna, a user-space TCP stack that corresponds the latency of network to the speed of SSD; and Solar, a storage-oriented UDP stack that enables both storage and network hardware accelerations. Luna is our first step towards a high-speed compute-to-storage network in the "storage disaggregation" architecture. Besides the tremendous performance gains and CPU savings compared with the legacy kernel TCP stack, more importantly, it teaches us the necessity of offloading both network and storage into hardware and the importance of recovering instantaneously from network failures. Solar provides a highly reliable and performant storage network running on hardware. For avoiding hardware's resource limitations and offloading storage's entire data path, Solar eliminates the superfluous complexity and the overfull states from the traditional architecture of the storage network. The core design of Solar is unifying the concepts of network packet and storage data block - each network packet is a self-contained storage data block. There are three remarkable advantages to doing so. First, it merges the packet processing and storage virtualization pipelines to bypass the CPU and PCIe; Second, since the storage processes data blocks independently, the packets in Solar become independent. Therefore, the storage (in hardware) does not need to maintain receiving buffers for assembling packets into blocks or handling packet reordering. Finally, due to the low resource requirement and the resilience to packet reordering, Solar inherently supports large-scale multi-path transport for fast failure recovery. Facing the future, Solar demonstrates that we can formalize the storage virtualization procedure into a P4-compatible packet processing pipeline. Hence, SOLAR's design perfectly applies to commodity DPUs (data processing units).


South African welfare policy is influenced by global economic trends and has some indicators of neoliberal policy implementation. This paper discusses the indicators of neoliberalism before exploring the implications for child and family welfare services in post-apartheid South Africa, in relation to three key themes: the financing of welfare, structures and organisations, and the managing of clients. It is argued that the influence of neoliberalism has changed the way that child and welfare services are managed and services delivered, and that these influences should be debated within the profession and with civil society.


This paper presents an approach for developing Linux interface standards aimed to improve portability of applications among different Linux distributions. The approach is based on usage of database-driven informational system that simplifies creation and maintenance of interface standards by standardization committees and their usage by application and distribution developers. A logical model of interfaces between Linux applications and distributions is described which is used to design schema of the informational system's database.


We consider the extinction events of Galton-Watson processes with countably infinitely many types. In particular, we construct truncated and augmented Galton-Watson processes with finite but increasing sets of types. A pathwise approach is then used to show that, under some sufficient conditions, the corresponding sequence of extinction probability vectors converges to the global extinction probability vector of the Galton-Watson processes with countably infinitely many types. This gives rise to a number of iterative methods for the computation of the global extinction probability vector.


Edge (5, 3)-bicolorings of a (5, 3)-regular bipartite graph relating 5-cycles and vertices of the Petersen graph lead to solutions of the Great Circle Challenge puzzle. This takes for odd n = 2k + 1 > 1 to a one-to-one correspondence from the family C n of n-cycles of K n onto the family O k of n-cycles of the odd graph O k+1. It also takes for odd ℓ with 3 ≤ ℓ ≤ ⌊n/2⌋ to a graph having O k as vertex set and an edge between any two vertices if the symmetric difference of the n-cycles they represent is an ℓ-cycle. This yields a total of k − 1 such graphs possessing pairwise orthogonal 1-factorizations, so their union is a 1-factorable graph with n(k − 1) 1-factors. A generalization of the bicolorings above takes place over these graphs.


The USS Missouri (Figure 1) was the last battleship to serve with the US Navy. Entering service in 1944, she was finally decommissioned in 1992. Her service included hosting the signing of the Japanese surrender at the end of WW2 in 1945, as well as bombarding Iraqi positions during the first Gulf War in 1991. For those of us of a certain vintage, the Missouri may be more familiar as the setting of the video clip for Cher's 1989 hit If I could turn back time. The US Navy agreed to the use of the Missouri in a bid to boost recruitment, but were reportedly unhappy with the outfit Cher wore (the video was only shown on MTV after 9 pm). Although the influence of the video clip itself is debatable, the song did reach number one in Australia.


The purpose of the article is the scientific substantiation of the systemic aspects of the implementation of the competitive advantages of the economy of the regions of Ukraine, providing characteristics of the features of innovative development and competition of industries, according to which the strategic guidelines for ensuring and increasing the level of competitiveness of the region are agreed upon. In the article, scientific assumptions are made based on the existing trends in the economy of Ukraine and its regional character, which made it possible to systematically clarify the strategic orientations and expected results of the realization of the competitive advantages of the regions. The analysis of the latest research made it possible to conclude the existence of different approaches to realizing the competitive advantages of the regional economy, from which those that reveal the aspects of innovative development and regional competition of industries are highlighted. It is emphasized that the leveling of existing obstacles in the development of the regional economy of Ukraine requires the state authorities to stimulate structural transformational shifts and lay the technical, technological, and innovative foundations of a new model of growth of the national economy. Accordingly, the strategic priorities for the realization of the competitive advantages of the regions of Ukraine, which rationally reveal a new model of structuring the regional economy and clear guidelines for the innovative development of industries while not violating the principles of competition but, on the contrary, stimulating and strengthening it, need to be supplemented. A system of tools and expected results for realizing the competitive advantages of the economy of the regions of Ukraine has been formed. The distribution of tools was carried out based on the need to create and increase the scope of activities of local integrated systems and institutional elements of cross-functional and cross-industry cooperation. The regional features of Ukraine's economy are summarized based on available competitive advantages, namely the high level of industrial production development, the formation of cross-border transit and logistics potential, specialization in agro-industrial production, a high level of scientific and technological development, and the creation of IT services.
Keywords: competitive advantages of the regional economy, competitive potential, competition, regional economy.


Objective: To analyse the relationship between therapeutic method and walking ability in aged patients with hip fracture.Methods: One hundred and twenty-six aged patients with hip fracture were studied,there were 53 male and 73 female with the mean age of 72.6 years (ranging from 61 to 92).The clinical data of the patients including beginning sitting time and walking time,walking time and length at 5 weeks after operation were collected.The relationship between therapeutic method,walking ability and death rate was analyzed.Results: Five cases died during hospitalzatian,30 patients died during follow up period.There was significant correlation between therapeutic method and walking ability.There also was significant correlation between walking ability and death rate.Conclusion: Early recovery of motion after operation can obviously decrease the mortality,joint replacement may obtain the best result in recovery of motion for aged patients with hip fracture.


The present invention relates to a light guide plate and a backlight unit having the same pattern having a discontinuous concentric. A light guide plate of the present invention the upper and lower surfaces facing each other; And a plurality of the comprising a side formed between the light guide plate width the upper and lower surfaces in which the thickness of one of said upper and lower surfaces are drawn at the same intervals as the center circumference in parallel to the center of the reference line in the center or the one edge of the one side edge along a concentric circle of the plurality of patterns are formed, respectively, each of the concentric patterns are maintained a certain distance from each other, the size of the pattern is increased as the distance from the center. In this way, it is possible to to use a small number of LED, while securing excellent color reproducibility. A backlight, the light guide plate, pattern, concentric circles, LED


Abstract Semiconductor device simulations sometimes have to solve for large‐scale and small‐scale variables at the same time, especially with density‐gradient models and hydrodynamic models. The usual way is to use the scaling factors, but scaled variables are still not of the same order of magnitude. We propose a log‐scale method to make all variables of similar orders without scaling factors. All variables in similar orders of magnitude will help Newton‐Raphson iterations to easily converge in device simulations. We use the divergence theorem of Gauss to discretize Poisson's and continuity equations, using the element‐by‐element method and develop an equivalent circuit model. The electron and hole concentrations are presented for a diode and an MOS capacitor by using the log‐scale method and the equivalent circuit model. The numerical results show the great capability of the equivalent circuit model with log‐scale method.


By taking the Puba Bridge section of Xichang—Panzhihua Expressway as the object of study and starting from the design data,this paper analyzes and identifies the potential risk factors of this section from the aspects such as linear safety,pavement drainage performance and guardrail connecting segments,etc.by means of principle of road safety engineering,puts forward corresponding corrective measures with expectation for providing references for treatment of similar safety problems in other expressways.


Abstract An overall evaluation of the computational efficiency of two decentralized optimal control approaches, namely, the non-singular perturbation and the hierarchical control approaches, is performed in order to provide the grounds for a quantitative comparison between them. The linear-quadratic regulator problem is adopted as the vehicle to conduct the comparative study. Major conclusions drawn from this comparison are the computational superiority, wide applicability and potential flexibility of the hierarchical control approach over the non-singular perturbation approach.


In order to develop the application method of pig compost (PC) and liquid manure (LM) for whole crop barley cultivation, experiments were conducted at Munpo series (coarse loamy, mixed, nonacid, mesic family of Typic Fluvaquents) soil in Gyehwa-reclaimed land, six plots, a LM applied rate as N% ; non-application, chemical fertilizer (CF)100, 100, 50+50, 50+CF50 and (PC30+LM40)+LM50 as basal and additional fertilizer. -N content in soil was decreased as along with the growth of plant, highest in LM100% as basal fertilization at early growth stage and highest in (PC30%+LM40%)+LM40% and CF100% at last growth stage. Amount of -N and -N in soil was high in (PC30%+LM40%)+LM40% and CF100% of top soil but in subsoil significant difference was little in all treatment. Amount of OM, , T-N, exchangeable Ca and Na in soil was higher (PC30%+LM40%)+LM40% than non-application after harvest. Amount of nutrient uptake in plant was higher in CF100% and split application of LM than LM 100% application. Nitrogen utilization rate was in the order of CF100% >LM50%+LM50%=LM50%+CF50%>(PC30%+LM40%)+LM40% >LM100%. The yield of whole crop barley in (PC30%+LM40%)+LM40% and CF100% was 3.2 times more than in non-application (). Feed values such as crude protein and TDN was increased 1.0% ~ 1.4% in LM as split application than basal 100% treatment. Accordingly, in order to increase yield of a whole crop barley with application PC+LM in reclaimed land treat split application rather than to treat LM 100% into the land.


The article concerns the questions of forming of the modified Coon's surfaces with inclined plane or space curved support lines on four angle plan. Using the inclined curved lines as support lines for construction of modified Coon's surfaces allows to receive many new forms of space constructions. There regards questions of erecting of the space lines on given curved four angle plan. There shown drawings of modified Coon's surfaces made with the help of 'MathCad' system.


This article considers the problem has been in the interpretation of the concept of "crisis management" as the international experience, and in the works of Ukrainian scientists who reviewed this term in his works. Today, in modern literature not reflect differences between bail and normal controls. The authors focus not on measures to resolve the crisis, and the events of his early prevention mechanisms or bankruptcy. To achieve this aim almost all management theory and practice, while the special sense of crisis management remains unsolved. The issue of crisis management actively investigated and continue investigated both foreign and domestic scholars. Due to the fairly large number of scientists who have their own vision of crisis management issues, and there are many different approaches to the interpretation of this concept. It was also found distinctive features between normal controls and anti-crisis and eventually it was formulated specific definition and understanding of the term.


One of the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the outbreak of several conflicts in the post-Soviet area and the emergence of the so-called para-states. Based on the systemic method of treating parastates as a system, internal and external influence factors will be indicated. The article aims to present the reasons for creating para-states and analyze internal and external determinants, i.e. attributes of their statehood as factors that guarantee their operation and ensure continued survival. In this context, the thesis was made that Russian political, economic, and military support for para-states ensures their functioning. Moreover, the article indicates the role of para-states in the Russian Federation's foreign policy towards the post- Soviet area, with which the central thesis of the article is related. It says that supporting para-states politically, financially, and militarily is one of the instruments of Russia's policy towards the post-Soviet area and is intended to keep it within the Russian sphere of influence.


PURPOSE
To investigate the difference, if any, in the quality of life at specified intervals in patients undergoing same day discharge (Ambulatory) versus next day discharge following robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP).

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Two hundred consecutive patients underwent RALP with either same day or next day discharge. They completed validated pain and health related quality of life questionnaires at pre-defined intervals postoperatively and results were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS
Pearson's coefficient revealed significant correlations between the time of discharge and PWB (r = -0.139; p=0.005), EWB (r = -0.71; p<0.001), FACT-G (r = -0.367; p<0.001), FACT-P (r = -0.273; p<0.001), PSS (r = 0.237; p<0.001) and PIS (r = 0.214; p<0.001). Student t-test revealed significant (p<0.001) difference in the means of PSS, PIS, EWB, FACT-G and FACT-P between both groups. Time of discharge was found to be an independent significant predictor (p<0.01) of PSS and PIS. Pearson's coefficients revealed that PSS had significant correlations with age (r = -0.60; p<0.001), BMI (r = 0.87; p<0.001), and console time (r = 0.63; p<0.001). Console time also correlated with the EBL (r = 0.65; p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients who were discharged the same day as their RALP had lesser pain and interference in general activity scores 2 days after discharge and had better perceived overall health vis-a-vis patients who were discharged on postoperative day 1.


The effect of the plasma pretreatment using a biased sample holder on amino group introduction onto a polyethylene (PE) surface is reported. Ar or N2 plasma was used for the pretreatment and was followed by ammonia plasma treatment for 30 s. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and chemical derivatization were used in order to estimate the concentration of the introduced amino group. In both cases of plasma pretreatment, the reactivity of the surface increased, and the overall nitrogen concentration on the PE surface increased. In the case of Ar pretreatment, we observed no significant change in amino group introduction compared with that without pretreatment, whereas in the case of N2 pretreatment, the concentration of amino groups decreased by about 40%.


Background Atrial �brillation (AF) is at least partially heritable, affecting 2-3% of the population in Europe and the USA. However, a substantial proportion of heritability is still lacking. In the present study, we aim to identify potential crucial genes associated with AF through bioinformatic analyses of public datasets. Methods Microarray data sets of GSE115574, GSE31821, GSE79768, GSE41177 and GSE14975 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were retrieved. After merging all microarray data and adjusting batch effect, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identi�ed. Functional enrichment analyses based on Gene Ontology (GO) resource, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) resource, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Reactome Pathway Database and Disease Ontology (DO) were carried out. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database. Combined with aforementioned signi�cant bioinformatics information, potential crucial genes were subsequently selected. The comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD) was carried out to explore the interaction between potential crucial genes and AF.


The main object of this paper is to introduce the concept of weak∗ statistical convergence of sequence of functionals in a normed space. It is shown that in a reflexive space, weak∗ statistically convergent sequences of functionals are the same as weakly statistically convergent sequences of functionals. AMS Subject Classification: 40A05, 40H05, 46B99


Abstract:Civil society organizations (CSOs) are a cornerstone of democracy in Europe. Nonetheless, "civil society" and "political society" should not be equated as membership-based organizations are not necessarily politically engaged. This paper theorizes and empirically examines which membership-based CSOs engage in interest representation through sustained advocacy activity. We propose an incentive-theoretical framework on CSO investments in advocacy activities—a collective, nonexclusive incentive from which also non-members can profit—by organizations fundamentally dependent on member support. Theorizing how CSOs' own structural characteristics, resource dependencies, and government demand for CSO input affect how CSOs reconcile selective and collective incentive provision, we test our hypotheses using new data from four recent surveys conducted in four European democracies. In line with our framework, CSOs organizing individual citizens rather than corporate actors and those pursuing member interests are less likely to engage in advocacy, while CSO professionalization and state funding access enhance CSOs' propensities to do so. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the former structural CSO characteristics are similarly relevant for CSO advocacy across distinct country settings, while the role of resource variables is mediated by institutional context revealing an important source of inequality in democratic interest representation.


In this work, we present STOPNet, a framework for 6-DoF object suction detection on production lines, with a focus on but not limited to transparent objects, which is an important and challenging problem in robotic systems and modern industry. Current methods requiring depth input fail on transparent objects due to depth cameras' deficiency in sensing their geometry, while we proposed a novel framework to reconstruct the scene on the production line depending only on RGB input, based on multiview stereo. Compared to existing works, our method not only reconstructs the whole 3D scene in order to obtain high-quality 6-DoF suction poses in real time but also generalizes to novel environments, novel arrangements and novel objects, including challenging transparent objects, both in simulation and the real world. Extensive experiments in simulation and the real world show that our method significantly surpasses the baselines and has better generalizability, which caters to practical industrial needs.


Fine oxide particles, 50-600 A (0.005-0.06 /j.m) in diameter, the existence of which has been hitherto disputed, have been found as genuine features on carbon extraction replicas of mild steel COs weld metal. These particles are distinct from the usual nonmetallic inclusions which are 0.4-2 ^m in diameter. Clear electron diffraction patterns were obtained from the fine oxide particles, and the interplanar spacings computed agreed relatively well with the cubic spinel MnO*Fe203. Introduction Irvine and Pickering observed fine precipitates of 100-400 A (0.01-0.04 ,u,m) diameter in the electron microscope on carbon extraction replicas obtained from basic MMA (manual metal arc) mild steel weld metal. These authors found it difficult to obtain clear electron diffraction patterns which could be readily identified, and they tentatively assumed the precipitates to be Fe 3 0 4 spinel. Wheatley and Baker observed similar effects on the replicas but they could not obtain any diffraction patterns at all. In thin foils, perhaps because of the large dislocation density typical of the MMA weld metal, no particles corresponding with the replica effects have been seen. Therefore, it has been concluded that the replicas showed no particles but etching effects, perhaps associated with local microsegregation. Hrivnak has carried out oxidizing and reducing experiments with various irons and has argued that these experiments show the occurrence of genuine microparticles. He could obtain no diffraction patterns, apparently because the particles were only 20-50 A (0.002-0.005 inn) thick. He argued that the linear dimension of 200-300 T. BONISZEWSKI is with the Research and Development Dept. of the Central Electricity Generating Board, Marchwood Engineering Laboratories, Marchwood, Southampton Hampshire, England. A (0.02-0.03 ,u.m) taken sometimes for the particle size is that of an etch pit around the particle. This note gives observations and electron diffraction data for particles similar to those described by all the previous authors, but found in mild steel weld metal deposited by the COo-shielded metal arc process. At this stage it would be convenient to define the microscopic appearance of the various particles found in this and other mild steel weld metals deposited by the various metal arc processes. In addition to the usual microstructure of ferrite, retained austenite and carbides, the weld metals contain globular non-metallic inclusions. These inclusions are best observed under the light microscope on the aspolished m i c r o s e c t i o n s . Figure 1 shows such inclusions in the mild steel C 0 2 weld metal examined in this work. The majority of these inclusions are 0.4-2 itm in diameter. In this weld metal the globular non-metallic inclusions are glassy manganese silicates. In other metal arc weld metals, nonmetallic inclusions can incorporate other metal oxides and the incidence of large inclusions (about 10 yu,m diameter) can increase with oxygen content. The fine particles considered in this note are quite distinct from the nonmetallic inclusions and they cannot be seen in the light microscope. Figure 2 shows an electron micrograph of these Fig. 1—Non-metallic inclusions in mild steel C02 weld metal. As polished; light micrograph; X1000 W E L D I N G R E S E A R C H S U P P L E M E N T [ 19-s Fig. 2—Fine particles and non-metallic inclusions on carbon extraction replica of mild steel CO= weld metal. 2% Nital etch. Electron micrograph; X5000 3HK &r : ( * •


Part 1 Introduction Chapter 2 1. Earth Hanging in Infinity: Janusz Korczak's King Matt the First Chapter 3 2. The Taming of the Two: Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Little Prince Chapter 4 3. A Misunderstood Tragedy: Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking Books Chapter 5 4. Creating the Eternal Farewell: Tove Jansson's Moomin Novels Chapter 6 5. Blue Train, Red Flag, Rainbow World: Gianni Rodari's The Befana's Toyshop Chapter 7 6. Modernism for Children? Cecil Bodker's Silas and the Black Mare Chapter 8 7. Michel Tournier Retells the Robinson Crusoe Myth: Friday and Robinson: Life on Speranza Island Chapter 9 8. About a Factory-Made Boy: Christine Noestlinger's Story about Conrad Chapter 10 9. A Neverending Success Story? Michael Ende's Return Trip to Fantastica Chapter 11 10. "We Were a Pair": Peter Pohl's Johnny, My Friend Chapter 12 11. Philosophical Homework or Universal Amazement? Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World Chapter 13 12. What Do We Translate When We Translate Children's Literature? Part 14 Bibliography Part 15 Index Part 16 About the Contributors


As a light single-class-single-server-multi-stations polling system,MS/TP protocol(master-slave/token-passing) is used for ceramic process monitoring.A mathematical model is built for MS/TP protocol based on queue theory,and makes a series numerical value analyses on model with respect to network performance parameter and service styles.Then process monitoring experiment is used for further model evaluation.The results show that the error of this model is round 10~20% when traffic load is lower than 60%.The results argue that the analysis of model is used to rationally optimize MS/TP data link layer parameter that influence the performance of network,and to give recommendations for designing MS/TP control network system.


Abstract Monocrystalline natural diamond, L‐amino acid oxidase (L‐AAOD), D‐amino acid oxidase (D‐AAOD), and paraffin oil were used for the design of the modified diamond paste. The technique used for the direct voltammetric assay was differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with applied potential pulse amplitude of 25 mV vs. Ag/AgCl. Using the new amperometric biosensors L‐pipecolic acid (L‐PA) and D‐pipecolic acid (D‐PA) were determined reliably from serum samples at 700 and 200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively, with low limits of detection.


Aniridia is a rare congenital disorder distinguished by the complete or partial absence of the iris. This panocular condition presents with a range of eye abnormalities, each to differing extents, such as cataract formation, keratopathy, and foveal and/or optic nerve hypoplasia [1,2]. Common symptoms such as cataracts may be clinically addressed by topical medication or surgical intervention [2]. However, there are no treatments available to reverse neural loss, which is most critical for vision [1-3]. Of particular importance are retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), neurons that project axons to form the optic nerve, and transmit visual information from the eye to central brain structures [4]. About 90% of aniridia patients were found to have underdeveloped fovea, the portion of the retina responsible for acute central vision, and recent data also suggests nerve fiber reduction throughout the retina [5,6]. Similarly, in a rodent model of aniridia, flat-mounted retinas show one-third fewer Brn3a-expressing RGCs than wildtype controls [7]. Optic nerve hypoplasia and associated retinal nerve fiber layer thinning have also been reported in approximately 10% of aniridia patients and may occur independently of foveal hypoplasia [8,9]. In both instances, patients suffer from varying degrees of vision loss [10].


FIELD: medicine, pharmacy. SUBSTANCE: proliposomal powder has monophase discrete particles of biologically active component and lipid of lipids mixture and crystalline hydrophilic pharmacologically acceptable carrier also. Temperature transient point of lipids is below 37 C. Lipids are taken among natural and synthetic phosphoglycerolipids, sphingolipids and digalactosylglycero-lipids. Proliposomal powders are used for inhalation, they are stable under conditions of prolonged storage and provide high biological availability of active component. EFFECT: improved quality and properties of powders. 41 cl, 4 ex


Social media consists of many tweets. These tweets consist of emotions like positive, negative. Many people use the bilingual sentences it means using two languages in a sentence. The main aim of the project is to develop a classification algorithm that can be used on social media data to classify it as positive or negative. Social media consists of code-mixed data which means more than one language has been used by the users. To classify the code-mixed data, we use classifiers to produce the emotions for the bilingual sentences. This project involves natural language processing, deep learning and machine learning algorithms. By mixing different classifying algorithms output we are going to increase the accuracy. The datasets are available for the linguistic languages. There are classifiers like CNN, LSTM and other machine learning classifiers like Adaptive boost are used to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the model.


In today′s world businesses function in a marketing environment. The banking industry is no exception. However, the changing world situation always requires bankers to reassess their strategies in order to stay competitive. As part of the banking establishment, bank branch managers play a very important role. This article examines the new roles and functions of bank branch managers through their own experiences in this ever‐changing marketing environment. The research results shed some new light on how to successfully manage these full‐service branch offices in today′s marketing era.


Accurate control each component content in the roughening solution of ABS plastics electroplating contributes to adjust and maintain the roughening solution, and the traditional analytical method has disadvantages of long time and low accuracy. A kind of method for analyzing the sulfate content in the roughening solution with high chromic acid content was determined. The principles, analytical procedures and calculation of the method were introduced. The accuracy of this method was compared with that of the traditional method (weight method). The results show that this method is simple, fast and has high accuracy, and has good effects in practical production.


The transfer learning (TL) method represented by domain adaptation (DA) can effectively improve the prediction accuracy of rolling bearings' remaining useful life (RUL) under different working conditions. However, the difference in the bearing degradation process under the same working conditions limits the reliability and generalization of the transfer RUL prediction model. Owing to the aforementioned problems, this study proposed an RUL transfer predicting method for rolling bearings based on working conditions' common benchmark. An attention mechanism autoencoder (AMAE) is proposed to extract the common benchmark under each working condition and improve the commonness between deep features. The dynamic benchmark constraint (DBC) under the same working conditions was proposed to ensure the reliability of a common benchmark and improve the prediction accuracy in the process of benchmark transfer under different working conditions. Verified by Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) and the Changxing Sumyoung Technology Co., Ltd. (SY) bearing datasets, the proposed method can effectively obtain a common benchmark that can be used for DA under various working conditions. In the experimental design of six sets of RUL prediction tests under different working conditions, more than 50% of the experimental tasks have better prediction results using the proposed method. The proposed approach increases the overall prediction accuracy to 11.74% compared with the method without DA. Experimental results show that the proposed method can better meet the needs of intelligent operation and maintenance in practical engineering


Hg0.2Cd0.8Te nanorods were synthesized via solvothermal route using an air-stable Na2Te-O-3. The structural and morphological studies were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The diameters of the nanorods were found to be 20-50 nm. The growth of the nanorods were facilitated due to the use of CTAB as surfactant. The temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) studies between 10-300 K show three prominent PL bands in 0.5-0.7 eV and are attributed to defect centers. The features like temperature independent peak energy and quite sensitive PL intensity which shows a thermal quenching behavior indicate that the defects are related to the compositional disorder.


This article attempts to show the formation of the legal system in China. Author aims to give the answer to the question whether the Chinese legal system tends to codification of the law, or is rather more similar to the common law systems. The article presents the process of formation of the PRC legal system in historical perspective, identifies the main foundations of the current Chinese legal system, sources of law, and the rules governing the legal system of China. Later in the article author presents the genesis of the reception of Western model of law and attempts to indicate the scope of the discretionary power of judges in applying the law. In conclusion the author states that the PRC legal system is a hybrid system, referring to both the positive law, as well as the common law system. The author, however, is inclined towards the concept that currently in practice, the predominant role is played by law in action-an interpretation of law made by judges resolving the individual case.


Shrink-fitting, a common bonding technique in metal assemblies, was used for mortise and tenon wood joints. The joints had considerable strength. Shrink-fitting yielded joint strengths comparable to those obtained by using several welded dowels. Increasing the number of welded dowels, however, produced joints of higher strength than those bonded just by shrink-fitting. Combining in the same joint both dowel welding and shrink-fitting yielded joint strengths higher than those obtained by the individual techniques alone, and at the same time allowing decreasing the number of welded dowels needed.


To analyze the annual variation of CO2 absorption and release in Caotang River of Three Gorges Reservoir, this paper selected six sections from the Yangtze River and Caotang River between July 2017 and June 2018, and monitored CO2 emission at the water-gas interface using static closed chamber. The results are as follows: during the investigation, the variation rate of CO2 averaged 0.66-2.05 ppm/Min in Caotang River, and the number was 1.02 ppm/Min and 2.67 ppm/Min in Yangtze River. In November, CO2 in Caotang River experienced dramatic variation as it was released from the water body to the atmosphere. The highest release rate occurred at the CT02 section, which was up to 42.58ppm/min. From July to October of 2017, most sections of the river absorbed CO2 without a fixed pattern in space. From January to March of 2018, the absorption and release rate of CO2 slowed down, with its absolute value between 0.20-2.28 ppm/min. The release or absorption rate of CO2 from April to June was slightly higher than that from January to March.


A new two‐step air cooling (TSAC) process following finish rolling is developed for producing a multiphase (ferrite–bainite–martensite [FBM]) microstructure in a medium carbon V‐microalloyed steel without any post‐forming heat treatment. In TSAC, step 1, designated as natural air cooling (NAC − 4.2 and 5.1 °C s−1); step 2, representing two different cooling methods, namely, forced air cooling (FAC − 7 and 7.71 °C s−1) and controlled air cooling (CAC − 1.63 and 1.75 °C s−1), are adopted from two critical transformation temperatures. Both cooling methods result in multiphase (FBM) microstructures which consist of polygonal ferrite (PF), bainite (B), martensite (M), retained austenite (RA), and vanadium carbonitride (V (C, N)) precipitates. In both steels, the fraction of RA lies in the range of 8–11%. The FAC steel exhibits a tensile strength (TS) in the range of 1652–1671 MPa and ≈4–7% of total elongation, whereas the CAC steel displays a maximum TS of 1100 MPa and 17% elongation at fracture. The FAC steel exhibits a higher work‐hardening rate compared to a CAC steel. A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of tested samples reveals that stable RA plays a crucial role in improving the work‐hardening capability of these multiphase steels.


IV. Ovid ex Ponto in. vii. 21, 22. spem iuuat amplecti quae non iuuat irrita semper et fieri cupias siqua futura putes. In 21 the second iuuat seems to be a mistake, by assimilation, for a subjunctive such as rudt or cadat (not iuuet). In 22 the comma after siqua, suggested by Heinsius and printed in recent texts, ruins the sense, which is not ' Let the wish be father to the belief,' but ' Let the belief be father to the wish.'


Members of the two professions also use different styles in presenting evidence. Lawyers marshal evidence in the form of a brief and become advocates of a particular position. Sociologists, in contrast, weaken their case by pointing out methodological limitations of the study or the need to collect additional data before being ready to act. The authors agree that it is time for change. "Sociologists," Mack proclaims, "do have a point of view, a frame of reference, a way of looking at social life" that can be useful to society. The argument that commissions co-opt scholars and "cool out" those intensely interested in an issue should be turned around. Sociologists need not be those courted and co-opted. They may be able to co-opt the commissioners with whom they are serving, and they should attempt to do so. According to Short, "we can do more, and do it more effectively. Failure to participate can lead only to less impact." Short admits that he was naive and unprepared for many aspects of his experience as a commissioner. Lazarsfeld and Jaeckel believe that graduate training does not adequately prepare students for working for various kinds of public agencies, let alone presidential commissions. The University of Pittsburgh has developed a special program in applied sociology. Students are required to engage in practical work that is designed to be useful in the formulation of public policy. This program is similar to one described twentyfive years ago at Columbia University in a document entitled "Professional School for Training in Social Research." Lazarsfeld and Jaeckel's goal is "not to develop leaders but to train expert sociologists who can understand all phases of applied research and be on an equal plane in their relations with lawyers, consulting engineers, and other professionals.... " Lastly, Merton suggests a program of future study that takes note of differences in the types of evidence preferred by lawyers and sociologists:


The purpose of the research reported in this article was to examine how team mem-bers' affective well-being influences creativity in teams. Furthermore, the impact of diversity in gender, age and education on affective well-being and team creativity was investigated. Twenty-nine project teams with 173 team members, involved in projects for 20 weeks as a part of a project management course, participated in the study. In terms of diversity dimensions, age and education were found to have no significant in-fluence either on affective well-being or team creativity. Diversity in gender had a sig-nificant positive impact on contentment. Team member enthusiasm was found to have a strong direct impact on team creativity, while contentment had an indirect effect. The results support the integration of affects into creativity theory. In addition, the result suggests managers to focus more on the feelings of the team members and the interaction in the team in order to facilitate well-being and creativity.


Stress is defined as a state during which the organism reacts to endogenous and exogenous threats and focuses its energies on coping with the situation of danger [28]. Stress can cause a wide variety of physiological and psychological health issues in canines, including increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, increased release of catecholamine, and increased blood pressure [28]. The physiological effects of stress on the dog are poorly understood and therefore most likely under-reported. It is important to understand the level of stress working dogs can handle before experiencing physiological consequences in order to prevent negative impacts on job performance.


To investigate the mechanism of preconditioned neuroprotection of cerebellar fastigial nucleus (FN) electrical stimulation, the effect of electrical stimulation at FN on expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) in somatosensory cortex and basal ganglia of rats was observed. The FN stimulationmodels for rats were established. Brain tissue containing somatosensory cortex and basal ganglia was removed at 0 h, 1 d,3 d,7 d,10 d after FN stimulation and 20 μm coronal sections were obtained by using a sliding cryo microtome. Two sections of each rat were processed for immunocytochemical analysis of HSP70 and the intensity of immunostaining was quantified by a computer assisted image analysis system. The pseudo stimulated rats and the cerebral dentate nucleus(DN) stimulation rats were taken as control. In 0 h after FN stimulaition, the expression of HSP70 in contralateral somatosensory cortex and basal ganglia was not changed. But it elevated much significantly in 1d and persisted for 3 d. In 7 d it decreased to basal level of pseudo stimulaion control group.The expression of HSP70 in ipsilateral somatosensory cortex and basal ganglia was also elevated in 1 d after FNstimulation but its elevation was significantly less than that in contralateral ones and persisted for a shorter time (about 1 d). There was no change of HSP70 expression in pseudo stimulation and DN stimulation groups. It is suggested that the elevation of HSP70 expression in somatosensory cortex and basal ganglia induced by FN electrical stimulation may participate in preconditioned neuroprotection of FN stimulation. \[


In Sept. 1798, eight years after the publication of his three famous critiques, the oid Kant complains, in a letter to his friend Christian Gane, that he is tortured by a "tantalic pain", because he had not found yet any insight of the "whole of philosophy". The aim of this - study is to "diagnose" this pain and to reveal an efficacious "therapy". It is explicated that Kant's project of an "a priori judging reason" suffers from Ihe unsolvable difficulty of application, caused by the total abstrac tion of empirical contents. ln order to break up this difficulty, the rehabi litation of sentiments seems to be necessary. Thus it becomes possible to comprehend the processua.l wholeness of the kantian critiques: the - mutual relationship of feeling ("Critique of judgement"), thinking ("Critique of pure reason") and willing ("Ctitique of practical reason"). By means of Uds onto-logo-ellzi cal dimension the basic desire of kantian criticism becomes apparent in its positivity: the "renovation of metaphy sics by refutation of scepticism and indifferentism".


Surgical treatment of chronic maxillary sinusitis may be either radical or conservative; definite and rigid rules cannot be laid down, for treatment must be suited to the individual patient. There are patients for whom only a radical operation will suffice, but usually, conservative measures will restore the antrum to a normal state. To determine the type of operation to be used, a careful preoperative study of the maxillary sinus should be made. This examination is not complete without the use of an antroscope. By means of this instrument, the presence of polyps, cysts and tumors, as well as the condition of the lining mucous membrane, often can be determined. To estimate the benefits derived from the conservative treatment of chronic maxillary sinusitis, I1studied in 1927 the histories of 385 patients so treated. An effort was made to determine the causative background and thereby to ascertain whether certain types of


The development of the lA packages was funded by a grant from the Science Based Archaeology Committee of the SERC (GR/D08937). Although designed initially for cemetery data, they attempt to provide analytical programs for most archaeological contexts. Some of the incorporated procedures {e.g. Principal Components, Canonical Variâtes and Cluster Analysis) are already available in standard packages such as SPSS, CLUSTAN or, more especially, GENSTAT. Other procedures {e.g. for Seriation) are absent from general packages, but have been previously programmed for archaeological use {e.g. Goldmann 1972, Kendall 1971 or Scollar 1988). However, a special purpose archaeological package is still required for the following reasons:


T he normal throat flora (predominantly alpha-hemolytic streptococcus) shows an inhibitory effect on the growth of a diverse group of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. They serve as a barrier against pathogenic bacteria, such as gram-negative bacilli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes (group A beta-hemolytic strep), and interfere with beta-lactamase production by Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis.' The normal flora prevents colonization of the oropharynx by pathogenic bacteria. Its balance may be altered by antibiotic use, resulting in a greater number of throat infections and upper respiratory infections (URIs).2 Penicillin has been the antibiotic of choice for treating group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis.3 In the early 1970s, this therapy was quite effective with a bacteriologic failure rate of 2% to 10%.4 However, since the late 1970s, bacteriologic and clinical failures have been increasing and are now reported to be approximately 30%.5 Some experts have suggested that now is the time to reevaluate the use of penicillin in the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis.3 It may be time to use other antibiotics that may prove to be more effective in treating group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal illness and to preserve the normal throat flora. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of amoxicillin-clavulanate, azithromycin, and cefixime on normal throat flora, and to further determine subsequent illness pattern and efficacy in treating group A streptococcal throat infections. Methods


less expense from certain plants than from animal products has stimulated an active re search for the best botanical sources of the drug. The earliest and still considered the most likely possibility is a West African arrow poison vine with the scientific name of Stroph anthus sarmentosus. This and related species of the same genus have long been known to medicine as yielding an important heart stim ulant, Strophanthin, extracted from seeds gathered in the native home of the plants. Of the 50 or more known species of Strophanthus only one or two from West Africa have been investigated for Cortisone production and of those that have, usually only the parts of the plants used by drug manufacturing companies for extraction of strophanthin have been avail able. Thus many parts of the plants of some species and all parts of others remain to be tested for cortisone content. Variations in yield of cortisone from different samples from the same species indicate that much is to be learned as to the proper growing conditions for the plants and the best time to harvest and cure the productive part or parts of the plant. Thus it will be seen that a vast amount of investigational work must be done before it can be determined which are the best species for planting, where these are likely to grow well, and the methods to effect yields of corti sone that may eventually justify commercial plantings. The species of the genus Strophanthus, of the family Apocynaceae, are represented as trees, shrubs and rank-growing vines occurring in tropical Africa, Southern Asia, Malaya and the Philippines. S. sarmentosus is one of the better-known species and is a tropical liana or vine climbing to the tops of the trees in its native home, but under cultivation behav ing either as a vine, if given proper support, or as a sprawling shrub when grown without support in the open. In full bloom the vine is very spectacular with innumerable funnelshaped, white or pale cream flowers with a deep purple throat. The petals terminate in striking, long, pendant streamers. The paired pods are 6 or 7 inches long containing the flattened seeds, each of which has a downy tuft of silky hairs at one end much like the common milkweed. It is from these seeds that both strophanthin and cortisone have been extracted.


The experimental studies for the etch properties of the oxide grown on silicon substrate, which is in diluted hydrogen fluoride (HF) solution, are presented. Using different ion implantation dosages, dopants and energies, silicon substrate was implanted. The wet etching in diluted HF solution is used as a mean of wafer cleaning at various steps of VLSI processing. It is shown that the wet etch rate of oxide grown on various implanted silicon substrates is a strong function of ion implantation dopants, dosages and energies. This phenomenon has never been reported before. This paper shows that the difference of wet etch rate of oxide by ion implantation conditions is attributed to the kinds and volumes of dopants which was diffused out into from implanted silicon during thermal oxidation.


Wideband FMBEM codes are challenging to implement since there are problems at both very low and high frequencies. Substantially different schemes for function representation and translation are efficient for low and high frequency ranges. We present a method which is suitable for solution both high and low frequency problems since it implements a switch between different representations and uses fast translation methods appropriate to each representation. For a high frequency problem the switch between representations may occur at some intermediate levels of hierarchical space subdivision of the FMM. We also present an FMM‐based preconditioner used in the flexible GMRES iterative solver for scattering problems and discuss example problems computed in range 0.001<kD<200, where k is the wave number and D is the size of the computational domain. The theoretical and experimental computational complexity of our algorithm is approximately O((kD)3) at large kD with relatively small asymptotic constant and the al...


An ultra-precision register control method in a continuous roll-to-roll printing process for manufacturing electronic devices via a feedforward register control logic, which compensates for and eliminates additional register errors attributable to variations in the speed of upstream printing cylinders. When used in combination with a conventional feedback register control logic, the feedforward register control logic accomplishes a register control with ultra-precision in a continuous roll-to-roll printing process, and enables implementation of a continuous roll-to-roll printing process for manufacturing electronic devices, for which a roll-to-roll printing process was formerly unavailable.


The key to acceptance of PCS in the OFS band (1850-1990 MHz) is compatibility with existing point to point microwave users, particularly utility companies employing FDM/FM transmissions for multichannel voice. The paper examines the Hata and related propagation models and gives results of a series of experiments to determine the accuracy of the models for time division multiplexed direct sequence spread spectrum signals in the OFS band in order to asses the potential for interference to OFS users. Propagation constants derived both from straight line and piecewise linear regression are used to compare results to Hata and free space models.<<ETX>>


Most domestic studies aim at clarifying misunderstandings of the relation between humanism and Luther's Reformation but fail to make a profound study of the relation.This author holds that Christian humanists provide not only grounds for Lutherans' new presentation of theology through Biblical translation and study in advanced linguistic terms with textual criticism methods,but an important foundation of "sola scripture" in Lutheranism for Lutherans' new realization of Bible in the humanist trend on the Christian grounds.Humanism conspicuous in Christian humanism of that time provides for the formation and presentation of Luther's Reformation precedent social theme and direct ideological source,while Lutheranism with "justification by faith" as theoretical support inherits and transcends Christian humanism.


This paper presents a cluster analysis method which automatically finds the number of clusters as well as the partitioning of a data set without any type of interaction with the user. The data clustering is made using the self-organizing (or Kohonen) map (SOM). Different partitions of the trained SOM are obtained from different segmentations of the U-matrix (a neuron-distance image) that are generated by means of mathematical morphology techniques. The different partitions of the trained SOM produce different partitions for the data set which are evaluated by cluster validity indexes. To reduce the computational cost of the cluster analysis process this work also proposes the simplification of cluster validity indexes using the statistical properties of the SOM. The proposed methodology is applied in the cluster analysis of remotely sensed images.


Peripheral nerve recording interfaces are a new frontier in neuroprosthetic applications. Nevertheless, an integrated medical device offering both electroneurographic (ENG) signal sensing and decoding is still missing. This paper aims to summarize the process of integrating existing technologies into a full-stack recording device. To this end, the system requirements are provided, together with a description of the building blocks that compose a recording interface: electrode, acquisition system, classification algorithm, power and communication units. The core of our contribution is a detailed analysis of the unsolved conflicts which arise during the assembling process, followed by the proposal of a few compromise solutions.


There was executed comprehensive set of engineering surveys on existing sludge tank "Beloye More" and assessment of impact on environment during stage of operation, building and conservation of sludge tank. As result was developed design and working documentation "Conservation of sludge tank "Beloye More" OJSC "Sibur-Neftekhim". Project of sludge tank "Beloye More" conservation was developed for the purpose of environmental safety object increasing.


Guided by a human-centered design focus on users' needs, Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) research and practice have increasingly explored how to address the multiple inequities affecting historically marginalized groups. A growing body of CSCW and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research, building upon education and community development literature, argues that centering on needs dismisses marginalized users' capacity for driving change. Needs-based views often lead to designs for the "here and now,'' further marginalizing populations and perpetuating stereotypes. In contrast, an assets-based approach that puts users' knowledge, strengths, and capacities---\textitassets ---at the core of design can better promote sustained impact. Translating assets into meaningful designs that interact with intersecting systems of oppression, however, raises critical questions:What are assets? Whose assets are privileged? What ethical considerations surface when facilitating assets-based reflections? How can an assets-based design tackle systems-level problems? In this workshop, we will bring together researchers and industry actors to explore the implications of assets-based perspectives across domains, including Education, Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD), and Participatory Design (PD). Specifically, we will work to develop guidelines and methodologies for CSCW researchers and designers to identify when and how to pursue an assets-based approach, navigating issues of power to translate assets into design effectively.


The paper presents the effect of traffic interval on the buffering in Go-Back-2 network. The paper represents behavior of Go-Back-2 network when different traffic intervals are used with different buffering capacities. The simulation is done and results are produced in the NS2 simulator. It is concluded that the increase in the traffic interval increases buffer size otherwise it degrades the performance in multi path, multi hop networks like Go-Back-2 network. Ihe performance can be improved by taking account of appropriate buffer for available traffic interval at each link node and thus reduces the packet drops and increases the performance in the network.


AbstractSingle-level systems have been considered in redundancy allocation problems. Traditionally, we assume typical structures, for example, series, k-out-of-n, series-parallel, and determine how many redundant units should be assigned to each unit in the system structure. In regard to system reliability, it is most effective to duplicate the lowest level objects, because parallel-series systems are more reliable than series-parallel systems. However, it may not be the most cost effective way. In this paper, redundancy is considered at all levels in a series system with multi-levels, and a mixed integer programming model is formulated. Some meta-heuristics (genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, and ant colony algorithm) are considered to solve the problem and some examples are studied.


This thesis establishes a proposal for energy use, coming from non-conventional energy sources; solar energy and wind energy as electrical energy in the ecotourism complex "Laguna de Conache". For this, the variability of available resources, such as solar radiation, wind speed during the months of July and August, was studied. Empirical values were measured in situ with an automated system and a meteorological station; the RETScreen Software was also consulted, resulting in 3.74 kWh/m2d and 3.99 kWh/m2d of average solar irradiation for the months of July and August, respectively. Similarly, the average wind speed values were obtained, 4.72 and 5.01 m/s for those months, respectively, followed, the sizing of the photovoltaic and wind systems was determined, delivering an average daily energy potential of 34.79 kWh, and 25.97 kWh, respectively, to satisfy the demand of 25.22 kWh required by the ecotourism complex, the costs of each system were also evaluated in case one of them was implemented, obtaining $ 32,370 for the photovoltaic system and $ 33,850 for the wind system. Finally, the benefit to the environment was determined with the reduction of 4.97 tons of CO2 per year


In this paper we first consider a singular timelike spherical hypersurface embedded in a $D$-dimensional spherically symmetric bulk space-time. We analyze the different possibilities regarding the orientation of the gradient of the standard $r$ coordinate in relation to the shell. The matter content of the shell is described by a number of non-interacting spherically symmetric matter fields. We analyze the dynamics according to Einstein's equations for matter satisfying certain energy conditions. Then we show that, under some circumstances, the system at a given proper time becomes unstable against an infinitesimal separation of non-interacting constituents. In particular, we consider the case where the shell is filled with collisionless particles that move in trajectories of constant angular momentum, and show that, for shells whose angular momentum distribution is discrete, the instability that we described before takes place. We also find this instability when the components are fluids with certain equations of state. We give explicit examples and construct solutions that represent a shell that splits into two shells. Then we extend those results for 5-dimensional Schwarzschild-AdS bulk space-times, which is a typical scenario for brane-world models, and show that the same kind of stability analysis and splitting solution can be constructed. We find that a widely proposed family of brane-world models are extremely unstable in this sense. Finally, we discuss possible interpretations of these features and their relation to the initial value problem with concentrated sources.


The traditional image of the Japanese woman is that of a dependent deferential housewife. Iwao argues that this image conceals the influence that Japanese woman exercise in the home, and does not reckon with recent socioeconomic developments that have brought more women into industry. Japanese woman are intensely involved in the education of their children. It is this involvement, Iwao argues, that accounts for excellent academic record. They also have a subtle but powerful influence over the conduct of their husbands. Indeed, according to Iwao, American women could learn much form Japanese women about how to exercise control in the household. The shortage of labour in Japan is drawing more and more women into the workforce. This is beginning to have a decisive effect on the role of Japanese women both inside and outside the home, with women becoming increasingly powerful and important to Japan's economic future.


Cross-cultural communication is a skill worth learning. For the busy clinician, using this skill during the patient encounter will enhance the quality of care by improving the doctor-patient relationship, and will perhaps even increase the efficiency of the encounter.


Background:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with chronic inflammation; yet studies show greater interleukin (IL)-6, but lower C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. We determined whether liver fibrosis severity and HCV replication affect the ability of IL-6 to stimulate the production of CRP from the liver. Methods:We used multivariable generalized linear regression to examine the association of HIV, HCV and transient elastography-measured liver stiffness with IL-6 and CRP in participants (164 HIV-monoinfected; 10 HCV-monoinfected; 73 HIV/HCV-coinfected; 59 neither infection) of the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Significant fibrosis was defined as liver stiffness greater than 7.1 kPa. Results:IL-6 was positively correlated with CRP levels in all women, but CRP levels were lower in HCV-infected women (with and without HIV infection) at all levels of IL-6. HCV-infected women with fibrosis had nearly 2.7-fold higher IL-6 levels compared to controls [95% confidence interval (CI 146%, 447%]; HCV-infected women without fibrosis had IL-6 levels that were similar to controls. By contrast, CRP was 28% lower in HCV-infected women with fibrosis (95% CI −55%, 15%) and 47% lower in HCV-infected women without fibrosis (95% CI −68%, −12%). Among the HCV-infected women, higher HCV-RNA levels were associated with 9% lower CRP levels per doubling (95% CI −18%, 0%). Conclusion:Liver fibrosis severity is associated with greater IL-6 levels, but the stimulatory effect of IL-6 on CRP appears to be blunted by HCV replication rather than by liver fibrosis severity. Investigation of the potential CRP rebound after HCV-RNA eradication and persistent liver fibrosis on organ injury is needed.


While many historical approaches equate the arts with aesthetics, I see the arts far more broadly than that. In addition, aesthetic emotions themselves need to be grounded in a general theory of human emotion. Along these lines, this chapter presents a communication model of emotion that covers the full gamut of processes from the production to the perception of emotion in the arts. The production side includes compositional processes for imbuing an artwork with emotions, as well as performance processes for conveying the emotions contained in an artwork. The perceptual mechanisms include recognition of the emotional content of an artwork, as well as the experience of felt emotions by people in response to such a work. The latter is where aesthetic emotions are situated in the model.


A brief review of some problems of the so-called "functional" psychoses with a discussion of the psychiatric point of view in general, and of the necessity of formulating the symptoms and course of these disorders with due appreciation of the individual constitution, the cultural background, the concrete life situation.


To identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on chlamydia infection in South Korea, we assessed the incidence rate ratio (IRR) for three different periods (epidemiological weeks 4–19, 20–33 and 34–46) using the weekly number of chlamydia infections between January 2018 and December 2020 from Korean national surveillance (figure 1).1

Figure 1
The 2018/2019–2020 incidence rate ratios (IRR) for chlamydia infections in different genders, age groups and regions in South Korea. Error bars represent the 95% CIs of the estimated coefficients …


The role of parents is one of the roles not only as the head of the family, earning a living but the function of parents is also to educate, by instilling moral values, and parents exemplify positive behavior to adolescents. Good citizens must have good citizenship in the formation of positive young people's behavior, starting from the family implementing the religious guidance of parents in dealing with the moral crisis of adolescents. "The factors causing the moral crisis of youth in Wairbleler Village include family, economic, social environment and peer factors. So, with the moral crisis experienced by adolescents, the role of parents is needed. "Because the role of parents is the first and main guide in the family who are always closely related to teenagers, so they have a very big influence on teenagers. The life of today's youth is far from being touched by religion; this is also one of the factors in the occurrence of a teenage moral crisis. Therefore, the role of parents is very necessary in overcoming various crises, one of which is a moral crisis that occurs due to weak parental supervision. So, the role of parents is very important in guiding children, caring for children, and protecting children. The role of parents, especially in the Wairbeler village community, is to instill moral values, provide religious values, provide education and control oversight


The purpose of the CEIDEN Technology Platform is to coordinate and
support R&D&I activities in the field of Nuclear Fission Energy in Spain.
The platform is a channel for proposing and jointly undertaking projects
between companies, research centers and universities. All the sectors
related to R&D&I are represented in CEIDEN. In the European arena,
there is a close relationship between the CEIDEN platform and its
European counterpart, the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology
Platform, SNE-TP.
The Platform functions on the basis of the disinterested work of many
collaborators who, with their efforts, contribute content to the CEIDEN
activities. The coordinators of the different CEIDEN programs, the
members of the Platform Management Council, the people from
the Administration who support and help convey messages all of
them have helped the platform become, in recent years, the leading
reference for Nuclear Fission R&D&I in our country and the coordinator
and driver of R&D&I in the Spanish nuclear sector.


This paper presents a stabilized mixed finite element method for advection-diffusion-reaction phenomena that involve an anisotropic viscous fluid diffusing and chemically reacting with an anisotropic elastic solid. The reactive fluid–solid mixture theory of Hall and Rajagopal (Diffusion of a fluid through an anisotropically chemically reacting thermoelastic body within the context of mixture theory. Math Mech Solid 2012; 17: 131–164) is employed wherein energy and entropy production relations are captured via an equation describing the Lagrange multiplier that results from imposing the constraint of maximum rate of entropy production. The primary partial differential equations are thus reduced to the balance of mass and balance of linear momentum equations for the fluid and the solid, together with an equation for the Lagrange multiplier. Present implementation considers a simplification of the full system of governing equations in the context of isothermal problems, although anisothermal studies are being investigated. The method is applied to problems involving Fickian diffusion, oxidation of PMR-15 polyimide resin, and slurry infiltration, within a one-dimensional finite element context. Results of the oxidation modeling of Tandon et al. (Modeling of oxidative development in PMR-15 resin. Polym Degrad Stab 2006; 91: 1861–1869) are recovered by employing the reaction kinetics model and properties assumed there; the only additional assumed properties are two constants describing coupled chemomechanical and purely chemical dissipation, and standard values for viscosity of air and PMR-15 stiffness properties. The present model provides the individual constituent kinematic and kinetic behaviors, thus adding rich detail to the interpretation of the process in comparison to the original treatment. The last problem considered is slurry infiltration that demonstrates the applicability of the model to account for the imposed mass deposition process and consequent effects on the kinematic and kinetic behaviors of the constituents.


Abstract The solid-solid and solid-liquid equilibria of the system carbon tetrachloride-cyclohexanone1 were investigated with an adiabatic calorimeter. The corresponding phase diagram is more complex than the diagram published earlier by Pariaud.2 Compound formation in the solid state at the mole fraction X =0.5 and solid solution formation in restricted areas of the phase diagram are shown. The result of a model calculation is given.


In recent years,the number of cars in families has been showing a geometric growth,with the rapidly increasing of the urban citizens' income and the constantly expanding of cities,though garages and parking-sets in urban residential have been built relatively slowly.That makes garages and parking-sets rare resources.Meanwhile,the ownership of garages and parking-sets in the commercial residential becomes the focus of the dispute and conflict between the real estate developers and the property owners.After the Property Law promulgated,Article 74 immediately gathers the attentions of people.It seems to provide certain legal basis for solving the dispute and conflict,but many hidden problems stay in the stipulations of Article 74.The analysis of these stipulations shows that the ownership of the garages and parking-sets in the commercial residential will be confirmed completely by the further improvement of Property Law.


The innovative idea of this research is changing the focus from valuation based customer segmentation into segmenting customers in base of their travel plans, and using price information of flights that are likely to be considered by passengers as pairs, in forecasting models. This improves forecasting models precision, supports better management of the demand among a set of potential related flights, and results in revenue increase. Finite regression mixture models were tested to identify linked traffic in the two directions and potentially connected flights on a route in reverse directions; Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is applied to develop comparative models for studying sales effect between one-way versus round-trip models. The RTM demonstrated 5% error reduction, comparing with one-way model by entering only one linked flight. This empirical study is performed on a database with 22,900 flights which was obtained from a major North American passenger airline.


Abstract A controlled, reproducible, gram‐scale method is reported for the covalent functionalization of graphene sheets by a one‐pot nitrene [2+1] cycloaddition reaction under mild conditions. The reaction between commercially available 2,4,6‐trichloro‐1,3,5‐triazine and sodium azide with thermally reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) results in defined dichlorotriazine‐functionalized sheets. The different reactivities of the chlorine substituents on the functionalized graphene allow stepwise post‐modification by manipulating the temperature. This new method provides unique access to defined bifunctional 2D nanomaterials, as exemplified by chiral surfaces and multifunctional hybrid architectures.


As the core of FM-index and compressed suffix array, the Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT) plays a key role in indexing genomic sequence data for pattern search. It is more space-efficient than suffix tree and suffix array and also has good searching performance. However, computing a BWT from a sequence in efficient space and time is challenging. In this article, we present a fast algorithm for computing BWT which leverages the computing power of graphics processing unit (GPU). It is based on a blockwise suffix sorting method which builds BWT block-by-block and uses a GPU to accelerate the suffix sorting procedures. Our GPU-accelerated algorithm only needs small memory space and experiments show that it is about 16 times faster than the original CPU implementation for computing BWT of human whole genome.


A novel buffering mechanism for IP packets over WDM links is proposed by exploiting the packet nature. ACK packets which do not carry any payload can be singled out to be processed and stored purely in the electronic control plane without getting through the optical path which consists of the switching matrix and optical delay line buffers. An optical path is then reserved at the output for these ACK packets by extending the optical delay lines to be integral of ACK packets. Simulation results have shown an improvement both in the packet loss probability and the mean delay for using this scheme.


Confined masonry construction is made up of masonry walls and confining ties, which are built on all four sides of each wall. This system is a conventional form for constructing houses as well as a good alternative for post-disaster reconstruction of the seismically damaged and/or collapsed buildings in many countries. Window and door openings appear in many panels of confined masonry buildings, but many codes do not consider the effect of these openings in the strength and the stiffness of confined masonry panels. In this study, the influence of area of openings on the stiffness and the strength of confined masonry walls is investigated. An experimental program is used to investigate the strength and stiffness of confined masonry walls; four specimens were used:-confined masonry wall without opening, confined masonry wall with opening of 20% wall area, confined masonry wall with opening of 25% wall area, and confined masonry wall with opening of 30% wall area. The results show that openings significantly reduce the lateral load resistant properties of the confined masonry.


The nine events of short-lived particle decay observed in an emulsion bombarded with 400-GeV/c protons are interpreted as decays of charmed particles (mainly baryons). An estimate of the lifetime yielded a value 1.2 x 10/sup -14/ sec. The cross section for the production of charmed particles was found to be approx.100 ..mu..b/nucleon.


The embodiment of the invention provides a method for quickly broadcasting a live channel applied to an eMBMS (Evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service) direct broadcasting service. The method comprises the following steps: when user equipment is accessed to a certain live channel multicast group and receives a live channel content of a multicast, acquiring a unicast address of the live channel; acquiring an identification of a multicasting media fragmentation of the live channel that is currently being multicasted according to the received live channel media data; and acquiring the media fragmentation and broadcasting from a service provider according to the fragmentation identification and based on a unicast manner. The scheme of the invention avoids the disadvantage that current partial fragmentation data acquired by the user equipment by means of multicasting cannot be broadcasted and the current partial fragmentation data can only be broadcasted by acquiring next fragmentation of the media fragmentation by means of multicasting, shortens the buffer time of broadcasting or switching the live channel and improves the user experience.


INTRODUCTION: The interrelationship between Orthodontics and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) has attracted an increasing interest in Dentistry in the last years, becoming subject of discussion and controversy. In a recent past, occlusion was considered the main etiological factor of TMD and orthodontic treatment a primary therapeutical measure for a physiological reestablishment of the stomatognathic system. Thus, the role of Orthodontics in the prevention, development and treatment of TMD started to be investigated. With the accomplishment of scientific studies with more rigorous and precise methodology, the relationship between orthodontic treatment and TMD could be evaluated and questioned in a context based on scientific evidences. OBJECTIVES: This study, through a systematic literature review had the purpose of analyzing the interrelationship between Orthodontics and TMD, verifying if the orthodontic treatment is a contributing factor for TMD development. METHODS: It was conducted a survey in research bases (MED-LINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, Pubmed, Lilacs and BBO) between the years of 1966 and 2009, with focus in randomized clinical trials, longitudinal prospective non-randomized studies, systematic reviews and meta-analysis. RESULTS: After application of the inclusion criteria 18 articles were used, which were 12 longitudinal prospective non-randomized studies, 4 systematic reviews, 1 randomized clinical trial and 1 meta-analysis, which evaluated the relationship between orthodontic treatment and TMD. CONCLUSIONS: According to the literature, the data concludes that orthodontic treatment cannot be considered a contributing factor for the development of temporomandibular disorders.


Force output of a hydraulic cylinder can be controlled by using either load cell or cylinder pressure feedback. Both forms of feedback have good features: load cells usually give more sensitive and accurate response to the external loads while pressure cells respond faster to changes in valve input and are much easier to install. Pressure feedback can easily be used also with rotary actuators but torque sensors are not widely available. In this study, force based motion controller design for 3-DOF water hydraulic manipulator is implemented. The target of this study is to compare the performance of load-cell feedback that is almost ideal feedback for force in terms of high sensitivity and accuracy to more practical and cost affective pressure feedback. Measured results with 3-DOF water hydraulic manipulator are presented in order to verify the findings.


Abstract A 23 factorial design has been used in an isocratic HPLC system to study the effect of methanol and acetonitrile composition of the eluents as well as different columns on the retention and resolution of steroids. By factorial design and computer simulation, six steroids of sex hormones and contraceptives were simultaneously separated within 18 min and 28 min using RP-8 column and RP-18 column, respectively.