Department of Economics University of Crete Athens, Greece The research was funded by the Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and The European Centre for Economic and Technical Studies, EKOM. This paper applies a structural approach to hedonic equilibrium models to derive a quality of life ranking of six cities in Southern Ontario, Canada, namely, Guelph, Kitchener, London, Sarnia, St. Catharines, and Windsor. Unlike previous work in the area (for example, Gyourko and Tracy (1991), Blomquist et al. (1985, 1988), Roback (1982, 1988), and Rosen (1979)) the method employed in this paper allows researchers to investigate how ranking will be affected by changes in the distribution of housing characteristics and/or the distribution of local or city amenities. The previous work in this area defines the quality of life index to be a linear function of local and/or city amenities and uses that index to rank urban areas. The contention is that the well being of economic agents depends (among other factors) on neighbourhood and city characteristics. The weights assigned to these amenities are linear functions of their implicit prices from the housing and/or labour market. To derive these weights, the features of the hedonic housing price and/or wage functions are empirically approximated using fitting criteria. This provides the flexibility of letting the data determine the price and/or wage equations at the cost of not being able to test whether the assumed functional forms are consistent among themselves and with the underlying economic structure. This method, unlike the one followed in this paper, does not provide the equilibrium hedonic price and/or wage equations and it cannot predict the changes in the implicit prices of amenities that are implied by changes in exogenous parameters. The latter implies, for example, that a researcher would not be able to find how a ranking of urban areas is affected by changes in the mean of the air quality distribution. The closed-form approach adopted by this paper was first pursued by Epple (1984, 1987), who acknowledged that a series of articles by Tinbergen (1959), contributed to his work. This approach makes prior assumptions about the characteristics of the economic agents interacting to form the hedonic equilibrium, such as assumptions about the functional form of the utility function, and uses them to derive and estimate the form of the equilibrium hedonic function. Rosen (1974) examined ways to extract information on the underlying preferences and technologies from the hedonic equation for a situation with only one product characteristic. Even for this simplified case, the calculations required were quite complex. The complexity led Rosen to propose a methodology for estimating the demands and supplies of characteristics in a second stage rather then using the hedonic equation directly. Epple (1984, 1987) took a differentiated product with an arbitrary number of characteristics and assumed the following: * a quadratic utility function in each of the characteristics but additively separable between them; * all consumers have the same utility function except for a differing taste parameter that was normally distributed with a diagonal covariance matrix; and, * supply of the differentiated product is exogenous and also distributed normally with no covariance. Giannias (1989) relaxes these assumptions by having the utility function depend on an index of the characteristics instead of on the characteristics themselves and he modified the model to examine Houston residents' willingness to pay for better air quality. The ability of the closed form approach in applied work is restricted by prior assumptions, for example, particular forms of quadratic utility functions as in Epple (1984, 1987) and Giannias (1989). This paper uses the closed form approach to estimate quality of life variations in Southern Ontario assuming that the quality of life is a scalar index and a linear function of housing, neighbourhood, and city characteristics. …


The chapter tackles the key remedies in merger operation at European and Italian level. On the basis of the 2008 Notice on remedies, the writers analyses the pros and cons of each remedy on the basis of the recurrent praxis of the European Commission and of the Italian competition authority, also with respect to appeals launched at the European or Italian administrative courts. The A. make reference to the Italian civil law contract remedies as well as to the responsibility regime try to outline the point of contact between the European legal system and the national civil law system.


On the basis of professional analysis of the mechanical engineering college, the importance of profession education has been put forward in traditional practice teaching; though research of profession education status at home and abroad, how to introduce profession education has been put forward in mechanical specialty, professional education how to integration with the traditional practice teaching, and the corresponding reform measures have been put forward. The application of these measures was conducive for students to understand theoretical knowledge and enhancement of practical ability and employment ability.


AbstractThe so-called "old paradigm of development" had advocated the use of mass media for motivating change. Experiences in past years showed that with illiteracy, financial and technical problems, there was very limited success with the "big media" strategies. Attention now is being focused on low cost "little media" such as radio, and also the existing indigenous communication channels. Georgette Wang and Wimal Dissanayake examine the feasibility of using indigenous communication channels such as folk media and meeting places for development purposes, and the importance of further studies in this area.


Beautifully reprinted in a facsimile edition, and compiled and edited by Schinkel himself, this book is a summation of his life-long search for the timeless values of utility and beauty in architecture.Princeton Architectural Press's Reprint Series was established in 1981 to make rare volumes on architecture available to a wider audience. The books' beautiful reproductions and finest quality printing and binding match those of the originals, while their 9-by-12-inch format makes them accessible and affordable. New introductions bring a modern voice to these classic texts, updating them to become invaluable contemporary resources. These critically acclaimed books are an essential addition to any library.


The main idea of of this text is to show the degree of participation of the major state-owned banks, the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank (until 1934 Bulgarian Agricultural Bank), the Bulgarian Central Cooperative Bank (until 1934) in the economic development of Bulgaria during the interwar period (1919-1939), as well as their role in the formation and implementation of the state economic policy. The aim is to define more precisely the nature and content of this policy and the type of economy that is imposed in the country in the 1930s.


For this investigation, selected were some coin samples of several important phases in the coin's developing procedure, and the microstructure and composition of coin alloy were studied by using optical microscope, scanning electric microscope, and X-rays energy spectrum instrument. The data reveal the characters of coin alloys during various historical periods and indicate that there are identical results with chemical method. The tin content of Qi knife-coins was high in the early periods, but at the same time the lead content increases and was higher than tin, and the alloy component became more stable. It indicates that coin alloy composition had been unified at that time. With the historical evolution, the brass coin alloy contained tin in the early periods changed gradually to the ones without tin. Lead content tended to decrease, and zinc content increased gradually, the brass coin alloy microstructure changed from [alpha] phase brass to [alpha]+[beta] phase brass, and there after finished the changing procedure from lead-tin bronze to brass alloy and matured brass alloy.


The goal of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of video-occlusion testing of batters' pitch recognition skills in professional baseball organizations. A highly valued perceptual attribute of modern batters, pitch recognition can be measured without batters amassing hundreds of plate appearances. Pitch Recognition testing, triangulated with analytics, can improve player evaluation, development, and even opponent preparation at the major league level. This paper merges decades of sport science research using video-occlusion methods with recent "micro-studies" applying video-occlusion testing of pitch recognition in minor league baseball, college baseball, and the Cape Cod Baseball League in order to address issues germane to the field testing that widespread implementation requires.


Spherical hollow epoxy particles (HEPs) that can serve as advanced reinforcing fillers for vinyl ester thermosets were prepared using the water-based emulsion method. The HEP fillers were incorporated into the vinyl ester matrices at different loading amounts, ranging from 0 to 9 wt %, to reinforce and toughen the vinyl ester composite. The optimum mechanical properties of the HEP-toughened epoxy composite can be achieved by the addition of 5 wt % HEP filler into the vinyl ester matrices. The toughening and strengthening of the epoxy composites involved the interlocking of vinyl ester resins into the pore regions on the HEP fillers. The toughening and interlocking mechanisms of HEP-toughened vinyl ester composites were also proposed and discussed. The addition of HEP fillers into vinyl ester matrices increased the glass transition temperature (Tg) and thermal stability of the composites. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012


The diseases of rice are estimated to cause annually about 10 per cent. loss in rice production. The more important diseases are "blast," "helminthosporiose," "stem rot" and "foot rot". Of these "foot rot" can be checked successfully by treating the seeds with organo-mercurial fungicides and this method is now widely adopted whenever foot rot is prevalent in the country. "Blast" is the most destructive of the diseases and is of widespread occurrence. Research on the control of the diseases is directed towards evolution of highly resistant varieties, development of economic spraying and dusting schedules and the study of the factors favourable for disease development. There is need to intensify the programme of breeding resistant varieties in the country, as the cultivation of resistant varieties is the most economical method of control of the diseases. But since many resistant varieties are not presently available, plant protection by fungicidal spraying and dusting has to be resorted to, to save the crop against the damage caused by diseases. Economic spraying and dusting schedules have already been worked out for blast disease and they have to be popularised. For successful and large-scale adoption of plant protection measures, it is necessary to link the same with an efficient forecasting service. This has still to be organised in India.


Abstract Boundary value problems where resonance phenomena are studied are most often transformable to parameter dependent Sturm-Liouville (SL) eigenproblems with interior singularities. The parameter dependent Sturm-Liouville eigenproblem with interior poles is examined. Asymptotic approximations to the solutions are obtained using an extended Langer's method to take care of the resulting complex eigenvalues and eigenfunctions.


Abstract : The initiation of crazes in glassy polymers is accounted for by a single criterion according to which crazing occurs when the maximum stress at the tip of a flaw (sigma sub max) reaches a critical value. This criterion can explain the initiation of crazes in polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene tested in tension under superposed hydrostatic pressure. A single value of sigma sub max for each of the two polymers has been calculated max and found to be independent of the applied hydrostatic pressure whether or not the polymer was exposed to the pressure-transmitting fluid. Our analysis predicts that relatively small stress-concentrations suffice for craze initiation even under remote compressive stress states (negative first stress invariant). The predicted stress concentrations are in reasonable agreement with experimentally determined values. (MM)


The paper considers the algorithmic basis of the developed application, which allows the user to select image fragments for viewing not only in enlarged form, but also with increased detail distinctness through brightness-contrast transformations. There has been proposed an algorithm of upsizing and processing the selected image fragment according to the required parameters of average brightness and contrast. The advantages of the proposed method of image processing in comparison with global methods for processing the entire image are investigated. The considered approach develops the advantages when marking low-contrast fragments that are close to monotone in images with fragments of different brightness. The experiments on processing various fragments of images were carried out using a specially developed program. The examples of results have been presented. The behavior of two types of fragments on simplified models of pixel brightness distribution has been analyzed, and for this reason there was made a conclusion about further improving the approach.


Osteoclasts are giant multinucleated cells responsible for the dissolution and absorption of bone during the process of bone remodeling.They are formed and activated by two regulation mechanisms: the RANKL(receptor activator of NF-κB ligand)/RANK(receptor activator of NF-κB)/OPG(osteoprotegerin),and TNFα(tumor necrosis factor alpha)/IL-1(interleukin 1).1,25-(OH)2-D3,an active metabolite of vitamin D,stimulates the formation and activation of osteoclasts by promoting the expression of RANKL on osteoblasts.Osteoprotegerin,a RANK homolog,works by binding to the RANK-ligand on osteoblast,thus blocking the osteoclastogenesis and resorption mediated by RANKL.High concentrations of calcium and phosphorus inhibit the formation and activation of osteoclasts.


To track people successfully in multiple cameras, one needs to establish correspondence between objects captured in each camera. In this paper, a framework for tracking human motions from sequences of color images in a fixed uncalibrated multi-camera setup is presented. We propose a novel scheme based on artificial positioning data (APD) to find the relationship between individuals in each camera scene by determining the valid positions of people. Thus, the system is independent of the fields of view (FOVs) and yet able to identify each individual consistently throughout the scenes. The proposed approach is fast and computationally efficient.


• The dollar extended its losses Wednesday following gloomy ADP data suggesting December was the worst month in job losses since records began in 2001. The Canadian and Australian dollars declined as commodities fell and oil prices dropped the most in seven years. Sterling rose against the euro on decelerating eurozone producer-price inflation increasing speculation for a further European Central Bank interest-rate cut.


Power semiconductors are the most important and enabling components in power converters, similar to the "muscle" in a living body. However, they are controlled by the central control unit, which is similar to the "brain"in a living body. Power semiconductors in power electronic systems process and control power flow. Largely different from their electronic counterpart used in signal processing, power semiconductor devices handle much higher voltages and currents for power flow control. In order to improve the system efficiency, power semiconductor devices are operated in a switching mode (On/Off).


The clinical utility of multi-dimensional MRI applications like multi-parameter mapping and 3D dynamic lung imaging is limited by long acquisition times. Quantification of multiple tissue MRI parameters has been shown to be useful for early detection and diagnosis of various neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. They also provide useful information about disease progression and treatment efficacy. Dynamic lung imaging enables the diagnosis of abnormalities in respiratory mechanics in dyspnea and regional lung function in pulmonary diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma etc. However, the need for acquisition of multiple contrast weighted images as in case of multi-parameter mapping or multiple time points as in case of pulmonary imaging, makes it less applicable in the clinical setting as it increases the scan time considerably. In order to achieve reasonable scan times, there is often tradeoffs between SNR and resolution. Since, most MRI images are sparse in known transform domain; they can be recovered from fewer samples. Several compressed sensing schemes have been proposed which exploit the sparsity of the signal in pre-determined transform domains (eg. Fourier transform) or exploit the low rank characteristic of the data. However, these methods perform sub-optimally in the presence of inter-frame motion since the pre-determined dictionary does not account for the motion and the rank of the data is considerably higher. These methods rely on two step approach where they first estimate the dictionary from the low resolution data and using these basis functions they estimate the coefficients by fitting the measured data to the signal model.


Historians have recently started listening to the past, contributing to what David Howes has described as a "sensorial revolution in the humanities and social sciences." In the same way that all five senses are relevant to our daily understanding of the world around us, they should be vital to our understanding of historical events. Interpreting how peoples of the past sensorially experienced their world makes possible a richer, more comprehensive grasp of historical events. A sensorially grounded historical narrative is an embodied history that is connected to everyday people and lives. Historians of the Middle East, however, with few exceptions, are still largely producing soundproof, devocalized narratives of the past.


. The objective of this research is to establish a connection between social regulation mechanisms and the trajectory of access to social networks among Cameroonian adolescents. The study explores the various normative indications that influence social media users. It is evident that the normative and regulatory framework for accessing social networks and the internet, in general, is not sufficiently coercive and dissuasive to encourage appropriate behavior among young people in cyberspace. Strengthening adolescent security should involve stricter behavioral control, both autonomously and in negotiation with public authorities.


This paper analyses the distribution of employee earnings in Slovenia in the period 1991–2009. The analysis is based on large samples from the personal income tax (PIT) files. According to the Gini coefficient, increases in earnings inequality were moderate; however, relatively large increases in the shares accruing to the top 5% and top 1% of employees did occur. Inequality of employees' after- tax earnings (i.e. net of employee social contributions and PIT) remained fairly stable in this time period, due to the increasing progressivity of PIT, as shown by the Kakwani index of progressivity. Increases in progressivity of the personal income tax came in leaps, following the introduction of new income tax legislation. Institutional settings and the introduction of minimum wage legislation in 1995 also appear to have moderated inequality increases, which were quite large in the early years of the transition.


Various studies show that students experience difficulties in understanding specific concepts of differential calculus. Some studies point to the obstacles represented by having to integrate different concepts into solving specific problems, including the writing of functions. The current study analyzes the responses of a group of students as they solve such problems by using implicative and cohesive statistics as an analytical tool. The results show the importance of understanding the second derivative and the intervals into which the domain is subdivided, due to the function's properties for successfully solving problems. It is evident that the use of this tool in such studies is not only pertinent but also highly useful. Palabras clave: enseñanza de las matemáticas, educación superior, análisis estadístico, solución de problemas, México.


In recent years,tilted fiber Bragg gratings have attracted much attention as a kind of particular structure fiber Bragg gratings.Based on mode coupling theory,the effect of grating period on transmission spectrum of tilted fiber Bragg grating(TFBG)were investigated by means of simulation method.The results show that the shift of wavelength displays a good linear relationship with period.The conclusion is very useful in improving the sensitivity and measurement accuracy in strain measurement.In addition,a single fiber could be used to measure multiple sets of data.


This thesis addresses three different topics in wind power plant operation. Most of the research is focused on controlling a wind farm that is required to meet a power set-point. In this mode of operation, the wind turbines are able to vary their power production as long as the total power demand is met. The research investigates how this freedom can be used in order to reduce the fatigue loads experienced by the wind turbines. The problem is studied in a linear-quadratic control setting where the objective is to minimize the total fatigue load experienced by the turbines, while satisfying a requirement on their joint power production. It is shown that, under certain assumptions, the design problem can be drastically simplified. In particular, the computational effort needed to obtain the solution is independent of the number of wind turbines and the only centralized operation required to implement the optimal control law is a single summation. The research also explains the mechanisms that make power allocation schemes useful for load reduction. Part of the research addresses wake effects in wind farms by developing a low-complexity model of the aerodynamic interaction between wind turbines. The model is used in a series of examples, where the wind turbines coordinate their power productions in order to maximize the power production of the wind farm. The examples indicate that the benefit of power coordination increases with the number of turbines in the wind farm. They also identify the underlying mechanisms behind this effect. The last topic of the thesis is to investigate the benefits of using preview of the incoming wind speed in order to reduce structural loads on the wind turbine tower. The main focus is to understand how measurement distortion influences the achievable load reduction as well as the required length of preview. Results from high-fidelity simulations based on real wind turbine measurements indicate that the use of preview can lead to a significant reduction of tower fatigue loads and that the length of preview needed to attain the reduction does not exceed a few seconds. (Less)


The general aim of this empirical research was to examine the
phenomenological perceptions of both asset managers and support or
ancillary staff using qualitative and quantitative analysis for the purpose of
assessing efficiency of information technology in a public sector building
construction maintenance management environment, particularly to develop
a framework technique that will be useful to investigate such fundamental
phenomenological facets as efficiency of training and information
technology, the effect of information technology on human relations within
the workplace, the perceived impact of information technology on the
efficiency of occupational performance, and a summative evaluation of
information technology in the asset management environment. Empirical
investigation by structured interview with both management and support
staff within a public sector asset management organisation was undertaken.
The data was analysed through unpaired t-tests between asset managers and
support staff, and dichotomous questions for experienced versus
inexperienced employees and employees as differentiated by age. The
results of the analysis revealed that both asset managers and support staff
perceive information technology as beneficial in terms of both qualitative
and quantitative outcomes. Further it would appear that individually at all
levels within the maintenance management sphere exhibited
phenomenological perceptions of information technology that were
particularly favourable and overall were consistent with the conclusions of
researchers who had observed information technology's benefits in terms of
other quantitative and qualitative outcomes, in industry. Further research is
suggested in the areas of customer satisfaction both prior to and subsequent
to the implementation of more sophisticated information technology
systems in addition to investigating the interaction between actual
productivity levels and phenomenological perceptions of beneficial
outcomes as a function of information technology.


The invention discloses method for preparing testing questions graded automatically based on HTML pages. The method includes reading out pages of testing questions; picking up all controls in the pages; generating names including of all above said controls, and forms for other grading information; setting up grading information in the said forms; adding up grading information into pages of testing questions; adding up automatic grading program. The invention is also discloses grading system including server, client end, and device for connecting them. In the system, based on the said method, the server obtains testing questions suitable to grading system, and provides them for client end. Based on solution given by user, the client end calculates out scores, which are sent to server end. Current testing questions can be utilized by adding automatic grading function to the method and system quickly and effectively.


Taking Shenyang city as an example,the public sector performance and its implementation in China are evaluated by using the customer satisfaction method.A sample of 423 citizens in Shenyang is used to assess the performance of China's public administration with the questionnaire way,so as to get the citizen satisfaction and trust indices.Based on the analysis of structure equation model,the public service satisfaction and trust index is built with the structure variables of organization image,Perceived quality,citizen satisfactory,and citizen trust.The model can effectively reflect the citizen advices,strengthening the democratic structures and nurturing citizen-government relationship.


We report the evaluation of water film on a contact lens using an improved optical reflectometry technique. A galvanometer scanner is added to an optical reflectometry system for fast measurement beam alignment. Light from a Tungsten Halogen light source travel down a 2×1 fiber coupler, go through the focusing lens and the galvanometer scanner, and light up the water film on the contact lens. The air/water and water/contact lens interfaces reflect the light back to the fiber, where the spectral dependent reflection data is acquired by the fiber coupled spectrometer for analysis. From the reflective spectra, the water film thickness can be calculated using predictor-corrector curve fitting method. In the scanning selection and the curve fitting calculation, a band stop filter is applied to the reflectance spectrum to eliminate data noise.


This paper describes how container terminals are open systems of material flow with two external interfaces: the quayside for loading and unloading of the ships and the landside where containers are loaded either to trucks or trains. Three systems can be differentiated: the landside, the seaside, and the container handling/storage system, all of which interact with each other, while each of these systems can be further broken down into subsystems. The seaside system consists of the ship berthing operations (berth planning and quay crane scheduling), and the loading and unloading of containers onto the ship. This paper focuses on the first component of the seaside system, the berth planning. A few published papers have focused on reviewing marine terminal operations, including berth planning related literature within that context. These review papers, however, do not exclusively and extensively cover the berth planning literature. This paper presents a comparative and analytical, up-to-date, review of existing research efforts that relate to berth planning. Existing models have been critically reviewed based on their efficiency in addressing key operational and tactical questions relating to vessel service, and their relevance and applicability to different berth planning marine terminal operator strategies and contractual service arrangements between terminal operators and shipping lines. Strengths and deficiencies of the existing models to address real world problems in a systematic and coherent manner are being discussed. The paper concludes with a critical overview of issues to be addressed to make these models more relevant to real world applications.


The study aimed to establish the aspects of management, which have led to the survival, and success of the small-scale businesses in Botswana- a case of Star Learning Centre. The questions explored were 1) What is the role of management in the survival or success of Star Learning Centre? 2) What management styles, systems and practices are appropriate for Star Learning Centre and other small scale businesses in the Botswana? 3) What work culture is appropriate for business success? 4) What factors have enabled the Star Learning Centre to succeed? The study used a convenience sample comprising 31 staff members of Star Learning Centre. The probability sampling approach was applied because the number sampled was known. Questionnaires, observation and interview methods were used as the main instruments. Findings revealed that Star Learning Centre success can be attributed to effective management, team work, timely communication, conducive working environment. The problems/challenges faced by the Centre were: shortage of capital, shortage of land, lack of open discussion between staff and management, and an unsatisfactory remuneration system. The study recommends further research that may capture more and bigger businesses.


In the article is considering the innovative approach to the problem of consciousness" enrichment of the educational activity subjects (the students and the teacher) in the process of their self-knowledge.


The article considers new approaches to logical analysis of metaphors and presuppositions. Arguments are given in favor of the necessity for a contradiction to be present in metaphors. It is established that logical model of presuppositions also contains a contradiction, but, unlike in metaphors, here it can be eliminated without distortion the meaning of the phrase.


Abstract A stereotaxic guide (the Todd-Wells apparatus) has been modified for use with a mobile X-ray image intensifier to allow rapid and precise positioning of a cannula within the pituitary fossa. The sagittal plane of the sella is determined in relation to external, radio-opaque skin markers by preliminary radiographs. The C-arm of the image intensifier is aligned with the sagittal plane of the hemicircular sighting arc of the stereotaxic frame. The patient's skull is fixed to the frame and rotated beneath the sighting arc until the sagittal planes of the sella and arc coincide. The intensifier C-arm is then linked in the horizontal position to the sighting arc by an extension bar and electromagnetic brakes. The patient's head and lateral sighting assembly are moved during screening until the centering mark lies at the chosen point within the sella. A surgical cannula represents a radius of the sighting arc and is passed through the nasal cavity and across the sphenoid bone to this point within the se...


This article presents a low-latency speaker diarization system ("who is speaking now?") based on a hybrid approach that combines a traditional offline speaker diarization system ("who spoke when?") with an online speaker identification system. The system fulfills all requirements of the diarization task, i.e. it does not need any a-priori information about the input, including no specific speaker models. After an initialization phase the approach allows a low-latency decision on the current speaker with an accuracy that is close to the underlying offline diarization system. The article describes the approach, evaluates the robustness of the system, and analyzes the latency/accuracy trade-off. Index Terms :S peaker Diarization, online, incremental, hybrid


The effects of antimony (Sb) doping on solution‐processed indium oxide (InOx) thin film transistors (TFTs) were examined. The Sb‐doped InSbO TFT exhibited a high mobility, low gate swing, threshold voltage, and high ION/OFF ratio of 4.6 cm2/V s, 0.29 V/decade, 1.9 V, and 3 × 107, respectively. The gate bias and photobias stability of the InSbO TFTs were also improved by Sb doping compared to those of InOx TFTs. This improvement was attributed to the reduction of oxygen‐related defects and/or the existence of the lone‐pair s‐electron of Sb3+ in amorphous InSbO films. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This study aims to determine the effect of corporate governance and finance on mergers and acquisitions and to use human capital efficiency as a moderating variable. This research theoretically uses the theory of corporate control. The research sample is companies that carry out merger and acquisition activities and have been listed on the IDX in 2017-2021. The analytical method used was logistic regression and moderated regression analysis (MRA). The results showed that the size of the board of directors, institutional shareholders, and foreign ownership had a significant positive effect on mergers and acquisitions. Human capital efficiency is able to moderate the relationship between institutional shareholders and cash dividends on mergers and acquisitions.
Keywords: Merger and Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Human Capital Efficiency


We present a novel haptic and audio feedback device that allows blind and visually impaired (BVI) users to understand circuit diagrams. TangibleCircuits allows users to interact with a 3D printed tangible model of a circuit which provides audio tutorial directions while being touched. Our system comprises an automated parsing algorithm which extracts 3D printable models as well as an audio interfaces from a Fritzing diagram. To better understand the requirements of designing technology to assist BVI users in learning hardware computing, we conducted a series of formative inquiries into the accessibility limitations of current circuit tutorial technologies. In addition, we derived insights and design considerations gleaned from conducting a formal comparative user study to understand the effectiveness of TangibleCircuits as a tutorial system. We found that BVI users were better able to understand the geometric, spatial and structural circuit information using TangibleCircuits, as well as enjoyed learning with our tool.


Extraction of randomness from random binary sources is considered for cryptographic purposes. A quality measure is suggested for comparison of the performance of extractors. Practical problems are pointed out with the accuracy of entropy estimation, which estimate is a basic input parameter of ex-tractors. Deterministic hashing as an extractor is shown to be eeective on average, where the average is taken over all input distributions. Example designs are also presented.


Nowadays, many games are transformed into adaptation works. One of them is Mortal Kombat Game, adapted into Film Mortal Kombat Reboot 2021. Using these objects, the Mortal Kombat Game and its film adaptations Mortal Kombat Reboot 2021, this research analyzes the movie adaptation process since it contains some changes and omissions. The changes are inevitable because the media is transformed, which was originally in the form of game and adapted into a version with a shorter duration, a movie. This is in accordance with Hutcheon's adaptation theory in the Interacting to Showing section, which is also used as the main theory to analyze the object of this research. There are also differences in terms of audiovisual and interaction with the audience. There are two problem formulations to be discussed in this research. First, what changes are made in the movie adaptation, and second, the consequences of differences in media of the stories in the games and films. To conduct this research, we use the descriptive comparative method to explain the differences. This method supports written information and pictures, which is important to study this article. The results of the research reveal that there are two changes that occur in this film adaptation. First, there are five different character visualizations and one additional character, and second, four plot changes. The researchers conclude that the adaptation made by the film production team is not much different from the appearance of the characters and the plot of the original game. Thus, the adapter does not completely change it from the original game but only expands it as a new story made for the film, but keeps the game as the main reference.


© Arnold 1999 0267–6591(99)PM209ED The study to understand prognoses and preferences for outcomes and risks of treatment (SUPPORT) was carried out over nearly a decade, with the goal of improving outcomes and decision making for seriously ill, hospitalized adults, the majority of whom were hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) with multiple organ failure or had a serious, progressive illness such as cancer or congestive heart failure. In the United States of America (USA), the general public and many professionals believe that medical care at the end of life is too aggressive.1 There is a pervasive fear that dying persons are alone and are shackled to unwanted technology in ICUs. The SUPPORT study attempted to address these concerns through an intervention that provided physicians with patient-specific information on prognosis, patients' preferences based on a standardized interview, and a specially trained nurse to facilitate communication at the request of the physician. This block, randomized-controlled trial enrolled over 9000 patients, tracking them for six months, reviewed nearly half a million charts and conducted over 50 000 interviews. The intervention did not enhance communication or physician understanding of patient preferences, change the timing of 'do not resuscitate' (DNR) orders, improve pain control, change the number of days spent in an undesirable state prior to death or improve resource utilization.2 In this failure, there are important lessons learned and not yet learned.


A super-secondary structural motif comprising two orthogonally oriented B-strands connected by short linking segments of 5 5 residues has been identified from a data set of 65 independent protein crystal structures. Of the 42 examples from 14 proteins, a vast majority have only a single residue as the linking element. Analysis of the conformational angles at the junction reveals that the recently described type VIII /?-turn occurs frequently at the connecting hinge, while the type II /?-turn is also fairly common.


Information value of the regulatory reporting of the universal postal services provider For strategic, economic or social reasons, some areas of business activity in the market economy are organized under the so-called regulated markets. The regulation of a given part of the market is most often subject to additional reporting requirements. The aim of this article is to try to assess the cognitive value of reporting from the regulatory accounting of an operator designated to provide universal postal services. The paper reviews regulatory conditions for the operation of the designated operator and outlines the scope of disclosed information in regulatory reporting, on the example of the universal postal services market. The analysis was based on regulatory reports submitted by the designated operator, i.e. Polish Post. The study uses such research methods as: literature studies, analysis of legal acts regulating the postal services market, interviews and action research. Conclusions suggest that regulatory reporting, in spite of its specificity, is an important source of information for the market regulator to assess the effectiveness of the services provided. At the same time, it has very dubious cognitive value for external  Dr Leszek Borowiec, Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Zarządzania w Warszawie, Wydział Zarządzania i Finansów, email@example.com


Curitiba will host games of the World Championship of Soccer 2014. The city is, therefore, target of great urban interventions, especially the construction of new transport routes seeking to improve the urban mobility, to promote the densification, the verticalization and the diversification of the use of buildings along the respective road axes. The important alterations that, this way, will be produced in the urban form will provoke transformations in the urban climatic conditions and in the thermal comfort. Like this, this text presents relative results to the conformation of the climatic conditions and of thermal comfort of this city, as well it points as future sceneries of their amendment as consequence of the urban transformations designed. The methodology of the research is the Urban Climate System - UCS (MONTEIRO 2003) and it is structured in the following steps: 1) modelling of the form and urban function; 2) survey data of temperature and relative humidity of the air in places previously defined with base in the built typology and urban zoning; 3) construction of sceneries for the urban climate and thermal comfort considering the future urban transformations. For development of the study were accomplished experiments on specific points of two main structural axes of the traffic circulation in execution in the city: 1) the Green Line; and 2) the Axis of the Subway. This study aims to contribute for the public policy planning and urban management in Curitiba, to guarantee the thermal comfort for the urban life.


In recent decades, novel magnetism of d- and f-electron compounds has been discussed very intensively both in experimental and theoretical research fields of condensed matter physics. It has been recognized that these material groups are in the same category of strongly correlated electron systems, while the low-energy physics of d- and f-electron compounds has been separately investigated in rather different manners. One of the common features of both d- and f-electron systems is certainly the existence of active orbital degree of freedom, but in f-electron materials, due to the strong spin–orbit interaction in rare-earth and actinide ions, the physics seems to be quite different from that of d-electron systems. In general, when the number of internal degrees of freedom and relevant interactions is increased, it is possible to obtain a rich phase diagram including large varieties of magnetic phases by using several kinds of theoretical techniques. However, we should not be simply satisfied with the reproduction of a rich phase diagram. It is believed that the more essential point is to seek a simple principle penetrating complicated phenomena in common with d- and f-electron materials, which opens the door to a new stage in orbital physics. In this sense, it is considered to be an important task of this paper to explain common features of magnetism in d- and f-electron systems from a microscopic viewpoint, using a key concept of orbital ordering, in addition to the review of the complex phase diagram of each material group. As a typical d-electron complex material exhibiting orbital order, we first focus on perovskite manganites, in which remarkable colossal magneto-resistance effect has been intensively studied. The manganites provide us with a good platform to understand that a simple mechanism works for the formation of complex spin, charge and orbital ordering. We also explain intriguing striped charge ordering on the orbital-ordered background in nickelates and the effect of orbital ordering to resolve spin frustration in geometrically frustrated eg electron systems. Note that orbital ordering phenomena are also found in t2g electron systems. Here we review recent advances in the understanding of orbital ordering phenomenon in Ca2RuO4. Next we discuss another spin–charge–orbital complex system such as the f-electron compound. After detailed explanation of the construction of microscopic models on the basis of a j–j coupling scheme, we introduce a d-electron-like scenario to understand novel magnetism in some actinide compounds with the HoCoGa5-type tetragonal crystal structure. Finally, we show that complicated multipole order can be understood from the spin–orbital model on the basis of the j–j coupling scheme. As a typical material with multipole order, we pick up NpO2 which has been believed to exhibit peculiar octupole order. Throughout this review, it is emphasized that the same orbital physics works both in d- and f-electron complex materials in spite of the difference between d and f orbitals.


Objective:To investigate the changes of plasma monocyte chemotactic protein 1(MCP-1)and tissue factor(TF) of patients with acute cerebral infarction and it's clinical significance.Methods:The plasma level of MCP-1 and TF were measured by sandwich ELISA in 56 patients with cerebral infarction and 30 normal healthy subjects.Results:Compared with MCP-1(49.21±29.36 ng/L) and TF(109.25±42.98 ng/L) in healthy control group,patients with cerebral infarction had higher levels of MCP-1(128.49±76.97 ng/L) and TF(424.23±189.87 ng/L),and there were distinctly difference(P0.01).The severer the patient's degrees was,the MCP-1 and TF higher were.Conclusions:Plasma MCP-1 and TF level are increased at early stage in patients with cerebral infarction.The MCP-1 and TF level is helpful to evaluate the severity of the patients with cerebral infarction.


Abstract This paper examines lay-investment in financial markets (investment by members of the general public) as a practice performed by marketing knowledge. It follows the market studies programme to examine a problem that puzzles researchers in finance: Why do lay-investors remain in the market despite their poor returns? Using a qualitative study of lay-investors in the United Kingdom, it considers the devices, 'agencements' and discourses that structure investment behaviour. It uses Foucault's writing on governance under neo-liberalism to suggest that investors are constituted as self-entrepreneurs, sustained by antagonism to professional investors, heterodox market beliefs and a consumer allegiance to investment styles and products. Marketing knowledge is inscribed in market devices and structures market relations. Finally, it suggests that self-discipline and confession are normalising technologies that help investors cope with difficulties and losses in the market. The paper develops theoretical linkages between the literatures of performativity and governmentality.


Since 2003, care for patients with oesophageal cancer has been centralized in a few dedicated centres in Denmark. The aim of this study was to assess changes in the treatment and outcome of patients registered in a nationwide database.


The VIISta 810 is Varian's new 200 mm/300 mm serial medium current ion implanter. Scanning of the beam in the horizontal direction over the required distance is achieved through the use of an electrostatic deflector operating at 1 kHz. Horizontal uniformity is achieved by iterative adjustment of the scanning waveform. A 45/spl deg/ angle corrector magnet then makes the beam parallel. Vertical uniformity is achieved by a mechanical scan of the wafer. Data presented in this paper illustrate the machine's 300 mm performance as measured by a travelling Faraday cup in the plane of the wafer. Low energy beams can be focused by the scanner, improving beam transmission to the wafer. Enhancements in low energy beam current by applying a negative DC offset voltage to the scan plates are described.


This paper describes how a Cyclic Softened Membrane Model (CSMM) was developed to rationally predict the cyclic shear responses of reinforced concrete (RC) elements, including the pinching effect in the hysteretic loops, the shear stiffness, the shear ductility and the energy dissipation capacities. This CSMM model was verified by the tests of fifteen RC panels at the University of Houston. The test results confirmed that the orientation of the steel bars and the percentage of steel in a panel are the two most important variables that influence the cyclic response of RC panel elements. Using OpenSees as a framework, the concept of the CSMM was simplified from a 2-D model into a 1-D model and implemented into a finite fiber element program for the prediction of concrete frame structures subjected to cyclic or dynamic loading. The developed program is validated by the reversed cyclic load tests of a reinforced concrete column and by the shake table tests of a prestressed concrete frame. The CSMM has recently been implemented into an OpenSees-based finite element program for a 2-D RC element that will allow structural engineers to predict the monotonic, cyclic and dynamic responses of structures containing walls. This 2-D RC element is validated in this paper by the prediction of the monotonic responses of two RC panels subjected to shear stresses.


ABSTRACT The current study applied 2-(4-methoxyphenoxy) propionic acid (HPMP) to prepare its alkylated and esterified derivatives and then investigated their corresponding sweetness inhibitory effect. The structure of these substituted derivatives were characterized by NMR and IR for ensuring their individual modification. The electronic tongue was used to predict the sweetness inhibitory effect of the derivatives, and a sweet prediction model was established via a three-dimensional measurement in term of sweetener type, sweetener and derivative concentrations. Furthermore, the interaction of sweetness inhibition with other taste properties was also studied. The current results indicated that, for alkylated derivatives, the sweetness inhibition rate of methyl-modified derivatives was higher than that of ethyl and propyl derivatives, and the inhibition rate of para-substituted derivatives was greater than that of ortho- and meta-positions. Interestingly, this study revealed that the esterification led to a minor sweetness inhibitory effect. Based on the current results, it is proposed that the ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups on the HPMP molecules plays the key role in regulating their corresponding sweetness inhibition via a binding capacity with the active site of sweet taste receptors. Graphical Abstract


With the advent of human in vitro fertilization (IVF), the role of the tube has become less important. Many of these functions have been replicated and replaced by the laboratory. However, the events leading to the pickup of the ovulated egg by the tube remain poorly understood and are probably the least studied in human reproduction. From a clinician's prospective, tubal function is evaluated with a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) or during laparoscopy combined with chromopertubation. The HSG can document if the tubes are open or closed but provides little or no information regarding the distal fimbria. Laparoscopy gives more information but requires surgery and is more invasive than a HSG. Even if both of these diagnostic tests are completely normal, there is no assurance that after ovulation, the released egg has journeyed into the tube. Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) is highly successful. Simply by placing eggs and sperm directly into the tubes, there is a one in 3 chance of getting pregnant. In a prospective, randomized, crossover study comparing GIFT with superovulation combined with intrauterine inseminations (SO/IUI) of couples with unexplained infertility, the pregnancy rate was 3 times higher whether GIFTwas used in the first cycle initially or subsequently after an unsuccessful SO/IUI cycle. This suggests the major reason why many couples fail to conceive is a mechanical problem with egg pickup. The first successful GIFT procedure in the human was reported in 1984. Compared with IVF, the success rate of GIFTwas twice as high back in the 1980s. In 1988, the first year in which substantial national results in the United States are available, the delivery rate was 12% with IVF compared with 21% Correspondence: Bill Yee, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, University of California, Irvine, 510 North Prospect Avenue, Redondo Beach, CA 90277. E: mail: email@example.com


We participated in the SemEval-2010 Japanese Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) task (Task 16) and focused on the following: (1) investigating domain differences, (2) incorporating topic features, and (3) predicting new unknown senses. We experimented with Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Maximum Entropy (MEM) classifiers. We achieved 80.1% accuracy in our experiments.


Some embodiments is provided with a device comprising a decoder for receiving a compressed bit stream based on the coding standards. The decoder includes a hardware accelerator for decoding a portion of the compressed bitstream based on the common operation on multiple coding standards that includes the coding standard. Furthermore, the decoder comprises a programmable elements for decoding a portion of the compressed bit stream based on the specific operation on the coding standard.


Wedding invitation, in script, no envelope from Mrs. Data Nickerson to the wedding of her daughter, Emily and Mr. Almond S. Lewis. Emily S. Nickerson, b. South Dennis, 29 Apr 1850, d/o Gorham Nickersson (1811-1884) by his 2nd wife Data (Hall). Almond S. Lewis was born in Brewster, the son of Remegio & Eliza G. Lewis.


Let $K/F$ be a quadratic extension of $p$-adic fields, $\sigma$ the nontrivial element of the Galois group of $K$ over $F$, and $\Delta$ a quasi-square-integrable representation of $GL(n,K)$. Denoting by $\Delta^{\vee}$ the smooth contragredient of $\Delta$, and by $\Delta^{\sigma}$ the representation $\Delta\circ \sigma$, we show that representation of $GL(2n, K)$ obtained by normalized parabolic induction of the representation $\Delta^\vee \otimes \Delta^\sigma$, is distinguished with respect to $GL(2n,F)$. This is a step towards the classification of distinguished generic representations of general linear groups over $p$-adic fields.


Working as a freelancer, Brecht thought he could work Hollywood so that itwould provide him with both a living and a platform for his ideas. But only oneof his more than screenplays made it into production—the ill-fated collaborationwith Fritz Lang, Hangmen Also Die. Die beste Schule fur Dialektik ist die Emigration. Die schrfsten Dialektiker sind die Flchtlinge. —Bertolt Brecht, Fluchtlingsgesprache (1967, 14:1462)


Effects of photo-excitation and spin-wave scattering on magnetization of the diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) (Ga, Mn)As are theoretically studied. Green function formalism is used to find expression for magnetization and ferromagnetic transition temperature TC starting with a model Hamiltonian consisting of magnons, photons and an interaction of magnons with photons. According to our calculation, there is TC in the absence of magnetic impurity, x = 0, indicating that there could be electronically unpaired influential carriers/holes induced by photon irradiation resulting in residual itinerant band magnetization which can be revealed by experiments. Unusual upturn in magnetization near 0 K temperature values for larger magnon–photon coupling constant is also indicated. Moreover, enhancement of magnetization is established with increase in impurity concentration and even further in the presence of photon–magnon coupling which however decreases due to spin-wave scattering. This leads to the conclusion t...


The present invention relates to a push-pull closure A drinking container, comprising: a belt through hole and a nozzle portion secured to a drinking vessel holder means; plug extending into the through hole, there is a gap between the plug and the through hole ; the other through hole portion having a mouth for beverages, it can move axially loaded sealing gap;; retention strip member connected to the lower connector and the upper stopper in the mouth stopper portion disposed about the plug and a sealing member between the other through-hole, the sealing element locking through hole of another liquid passage in the closed position of the mouth portion, the liquid is released via the other through-hole in the mouth open position; on the periphery of the mouth portion of the axial ribs, there is a gap between the ribs, when the mouth portion is loaded, the slats embedded in the gap, the gap between the slats embedded in the rib, the rib stop surface rests on the mouth portion in the upper position holding the mouth portion side of the lower member, at the mouth portion is rotated, so that the rib strip is bent toward the mouth portion and the void with a small force can be drawn out from the through hole.


Most flexible pavements are expected to need some rehabilitation after about 20 years of trafficking. After that time they are typically rutted, contain excessive numbers of small repairs and are rough to drive on. They can also be a hazard to road users if the condition is really poor. Based on this approximate 20-year cycle, Queensland Transport needs to rehabilitate some 800 km of roadway per year yet current funding levels only allow 300 km to be treated annually. Of the approximate $600 million spent by Queensland Transport in 1993/94, nearly $100 million will be spent on rehabilitation. It is not expected that the funding situation will improve so the significant challenge is to redress the inequality through improvements in design, technology and processes. The pursuit of new technologies involves some risk since it represents a departure from tried and proven methods. However, recycling is a particularly attractive option for the following reasons: (1) increasing cost of production of new paving materials; (2) shortage of quality paving material in some areas; (3) haulage costs involved in importing new materials; (4) ecological and environmental concerns regarding new quarries and the conservation of natural resources; (5) energy conservation; (6) geometric limitation of existing roads making increased depth of pavements a difficult and costly option. The depth and quality of existing paving materials and the geometric configuration of the particular site has a considerable bearing on the site candidacy for recycling. Such considerations relate to pavement maturity and are dictated by past network development strategies.


It is significant to study heat and mass transfer between bubble and emulsion phases during ultra-low concentration coal bed methane combustion in a fluidized bed.A mathematic model based on heat and mass balance was established.The characteristic of heat and mass transfer was studied combining with the model and kinetic experiments.The effects of bed temperature,particle size,bubble diameter and inlet methane concentration on inter-phase heat and mass transfer were analyzed.The results show that increasing either the bed temperature or particle size result in the heat transfer coefficient decreasing,mass transfer coefficient increasing and dimensionless methane concentration decreasing at the outlet.The critical bubble diameter,at which the heat transfer coefficient reaches the maximum,was decreasing with particle size growing.The dimensionless methane concentration at the outlet increases when the particle size is added.The inlet methane concentration has little influence on heat and mass transfer.


The solid-phase synthesis of 7-fluoro-1,4-2H-benzoxazine 3(4H)-ones on Wang resin via esterification,etherification,reduction,cyclization and cleavage reactions was studied,and the reaction conditions were optimized after analyzing the reaction kinetics according to the IR spectrum.


An arc in a tournament T with n ≥ 3 vertices is called k-pancyclic, if it belongs to a cycle of length l for all k ≤ l ≤ n. In this paper, the result that each s-strong (s ≥ 3) tournament T contains at least s +2 out-arc 5-pancyclic vertices is obtained. Furthermore, our proof yields a polynomial algorithm to find s + 2 out-arc 5-pancyclic vertices of T.


Closed expressions are derived for the quantum measurement statistics of pre- and postselected Gaussian particle beams. The weakness of the preselection step is shown to compete with the nonorthogonality of postselection in a transparent way. The approach is shown to be useful in analyzing postselection-based signal amplification, allowing measurements to be extended far beyond the range of validity of the well-known Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman limit. Additionally, the present treatment connects postselected weak measurement to the topic of phase-contrast microscopy.


AbstractBased on the world bank report, the level of effectiveness of the Indonesian government is in the 62nd position in the world. To increase the ranking, the State Civil Apparatus (SCA) has a very important role. In managing and improving the performance of SCA in serving the community, the Made Artama adalah seorang tenaga pendidik di SMA Negeri 1 Sukasada government has issued various policies and legal products aimed at forming SCA who have integrity, are professional, neutral and free from political intervention, free from corruption, collusion and nepotism practices, and are able to provide public services for the community and are able to carry out its role as an adhesive element for the unity and integrity of the nation. However, based on several community satisfaction survey reports, most SCA behavior received low ratings. Corruption, collusion and nepotism, political intervention, the practice of buying and selling positions to the development of radical understanding among SCA are examples of SCA behavior that needs to be corrected. Several studies in the field of education prove that increased awareness can increase learning ability, increase mind-body coordination, increase organizational ability and efficiency, increase energy and dynamism, better personality integration, reduce negative personality, and growth of ideal social behavior. This study aimed at finding out how the relationship between awareness and SCA work behavior. The results of the study showed that awareness had a positive correlation with SCA behavior. The higher the level of awareness, the better SCA behavior will be.Keywords: government effectiveness, community satisfaction, awareness, work behavior


Based on the model in an incomplete contract environment,the authors analyze the problem how to incentive the specific investment,which will give the state-owned commercial bank more valuable help for the improving of its corporate governance,made by multinational consultation firm.We find that the partial ownership of multinational consultation firm owned by the state-owned commercial bank can make it,which support the policy of state-owned commercial bank's equity participation to the multinational consultation firm.


In cuprates, as doping $p$ is reduced from the overdoped side through the quantum critical point $p^*$, a transition in Hall number density of carriers is observed, in which this number of carriers reduces from $1+p$ holes per copper site to $p$ holes per copper site. The connection of this $1+p$ to $p$ transition with pseudogap and with superconductivity is discussed. A"panoramic"view or a"broad-brush"discussion is presented in which Anderson's"unhappy"electrons take on a central stage.


5.0 Introduction This chapter is devoted to major findings, educational implications and suggestions for further studies. Every research has its findings and implication which are valuable and relevant for the different fields of education and society. On the basis of analysis and interpretation of data and discussion of results given in the previous chapter the important findings have emerged out of the present study. The findings of this study are useful for principals of schools and colleges, teachers and students. The major findings of this study are categorised into three parts which are described here:


Objective To investigate serum C-reactive protein,serum ferritin and its relationship with the severity of diabetic retinopathy.Methods According to the fundus examination,hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly chosen and divided into three groups,including no diabetic retinopathy group(NDR group,n=21),non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy group(NPDR group,n=20) and proliferative diabetic ertinopathy group(PDR group,n=19).The differences in the level of C-reactive protein and serum ferritin were analyzed.Results Total C-reactive protein,serum ferritin in NDR group,NPDR group and PDR group gradually increased,and the differences among three groups were statistically significant(P0.05).Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that C-reactive protein and serum ferritin were independent risk factors of diabetic retinopathy.Conclusion The levels of C-reactive protein and serum ferritin which have some certain relationship with the severity of diabetic retinopathy should be monitored as early as possible.


While science is trying to find solutions to human problems in this modern era, scholars are trying with all their might to find alternative methods of science and new technology, which can provide solutions to the problems of mankind in this modern era. Along with the rapid progress of science and technology in the West, religious values slowly began to shift and contradict science. Currently, Muslims only rely on science discovered and innovated by western scientists, causing Islamic civilization to be increasingly marginalized in the midst of the progress of Western countries that adopt a secular system. Seeing the decline of science in the Islamic world, Muslim scholars, especially those in the world of education, gave rise to the idea of "Islamization of Science", namely knowledge that came from western culture and was then adopted after previously going through the process of Islamization.


Through the discussion on the location for base station, antenna application, and signal weakening, the calculation for the loss of the electromagnetic wave in the mountainous highway region was presented, the necessity and general idea of mountainous highway communication system construction by combining the advantages of several mobile communication systems were put forward. Based on the relationship between network construction and investment, the general concerns in the course of setting up the mobile communication system in mountainous highway region was analyzed, a workable solutions was developed.


Minimal invasive surgery demands for utmost precise and reliable camera control to prevent any harm to the patient during operations. We therefore introduce a robot-driven camera that can be controlled either manually by a joystick, or by speech to ensure free hands and feet, and reduced cognitive workload of the surgeon. Speech control is chosen as simple, yet highly robust command and control application. However, due to high stress, and partially fatigue, emotional factors can play a life decisive role in the operational situation. As any misunderstanding of the surgeonpsilas intent can easily lead to patient injuries by mis-movement of the camera, emotional factors are integrated in the human-robot interaction. In this work we therefore discuss the recording of a 3,035 turns database of spontaneous emotional speech in real life surgical operations. Known to be a challenge, we employ a high dimensional acoustic feature space, and subset optimization for recognition of positive versus negative emotion for interaction adaptation, surgeon self-monitoring, and potential adaptation of acoustic models within speech recognition. Promising 75.5% mean accuracy can be reported in a cross-operation recognition task given the severe condition of usage in real medical operations.


The author gives a brief description of the NRL protocol analysis tool, and contrasts its approach with other approaches. The NRL protocol analysis tool was developed in order to assist in security proofs for protocols. However, it has also proved to be useful in pointing out previously undiscovered flaws in already published protocols. The successes using the protocol analysis tool suggests, that in many cases a hybrid approach, relying upon human intuition when possible, and providing mechanical assistance when necessary, will provide the most practical advantage.<<ETX>>


Through the development of the web parts library system, this paper intensively studies the secondary development technology of Pro/E in asynchronous mode on the .NET platform, using C # programming language, dynamically browsing three-dimensional parts technology on line and on-line parameterized driving technology, and with ADO.NET network programming technology, achieves on-line connecting database. With all the key technologies researched above, it demonstrates the feasibility of achieving each function and process of web parts library system.


Several authors claim that legal knowledge is eminently practical: one who knows the law knows how to exercise certain intellectual faculties, or how to perform certain activities. I present some arguments to the effect that legal knowledge is not practical, being rather propositional in nature, even though such activities like interpretation and argumentation are extremely important in the legal domain.


If I am a healthy person, do I need vaccines? Vaccines can help you stay healthy and avoid certain diseases. For example, a yearly flu shot can help keep you from catching the flu or greatly decrease the effect of the flu if you do catch it. Even though you are healthy, your work, travel, or life in general may expose you to serious illnesses like hepatitis. Vaccines can help you avoid illness, great expense, or even death.


Atmospheric particulate pollutants are prone to deposit in aero-engine turbines due to high-temperature and high-velocity gas flows. The resulting deposition changes the blade profile, leading to a degradation of aerodynamic performance, increase in surface roughness, and blockage of film cooling holes and internal cooling channels, which further reduces cooling performance of the blade. Therefore, the blades are easily ablated, especially for the rotating parts as they have high rotating speed. In present study, unsteady simulations on the effects of particle deposition were carried out by demonstrating the migration trajectories and deposition distributions of particles in turbine rotor passages of an aero-engine that operates at real engine conditions. The effects of rotating speed, blade tip clearance and its cavity depth on the deposition and migration of contaminant particulates were examined. Results reveal that the deposition on the blade surfaces varies with the rotating speeds and the rotor tip clearances. The deposits are mainly concentrated on the pressure side of the blade where multiple rebounds of the particles are observed under a cruise operating condition. At a larger tip clearance, more particles flow into the tip clearance due to stronger leakage flow, and the squealer tip increases the capture efficiency of the particles on the blade tip.


The small layer oscillating in front of a radio frequency (rf) biased electrode in an asymmetric rf plasma discharge without a magnetic field is diagnosed using an rf compensated cylindrical probe. Thanks to this probe (0.15 mm in diameter), the floating potential is measured in this area. Radio frequency plasmas and sheath properties are then derived from the I-V characteristics measured by the probe at different rf power levels in both capacitive and direct couplings. In direct coupling, the plasma biasing is, as expected, nearly equal to the applied rf potential except at high power levels for which the current collected by the electrode saturates and the sheath potential gap is reversed. In capacitive coupling, the self-biasing of the electrode is strongly negative due to the matching box used. From the difference between the plasma potential and the floating potential, we found a sheath thickness of about 3 λDe. Within the rf power scan performed, the sheath thicknesses deduced from the potential and density profiles are 3 times higher than those from the Child–Langmuir law both in direct and capacitive coupling in a low collisional helium plasma.The small layer oscillating in front of a radio frequency (rf) biased electrode in an asymmetric rf plasma discharge without a magnetic field is diagnosed using an rf compensated cylindrical probe. Thanks to this probe (0.15 mm in diameter), the floating potential is measured in this area. Radio frequency plasmas and sheath properties are then derived from the I-V characteristics measured by the probe at different rf power levels in both capacitive and direct couplings. In direct coupling, the plasma biasing is, as expected, nearly equal to the applied rf potential except at high power levels for which the current collected by the electrode saturates and the sheath potential gap is reversed. In capacitive coupling, the self-biasing of the electrode is strongly negative due to the matching box used. From the difference between the plasma potential and the floating potential, we found a sheath thickness of about 3 λDe. Within the rf power scan performed, the sheath thicknesses deduced from the potential and...


Insulin resistance (IR) increases with advancing age, yet the underlying mechanism is not well established. Anthropometric and body composition indicators are alternative tools for assessing insulin resistance in a fast, non-invasive and inexpensive way. This study aimed to evaluate the association between anthropometric indicators and insulin resistance in older men. This cross-sectional study included 62 men aged between 60 and 92 years. We evaluated waist circumference (WC), sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), body mass index (BMI), sagittal index (SI), conicity index (CI), body fat percentage (BF%), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist-to-thigh ratio (WTR). IR was determined by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). Statistical analysis consisted of correlation coefficient. All anthropometric indicators correlated with HOMA-IR, highlighting the SAD (r = 0.680), BF% (r = 0.651) and WC (r = 0.591), which showed the highest correlations with the index. All measurements showed significant differences and progressive increase with increasing HOMA-IR. The differences between quartiles of HOMA-IR were even more pronounced for WC, SAD and BF%. BF% was a significant predictor for insulin resistance. Thus, obesity indicators correlated with the HOMA-IR index. We emphasize the stronger relationship between measures of central adiposity and insulin resistance, suggesting the usefulness of SAD in evaluating elderly subjects.


According to ACI's survey, the growth of global air cargo from years 2010 to 2012 is only one million tons. The growth rate is just 0.2% in 2011, lower than the growth rate in the past. The air cargo market faces a short saturation. When airlines do not expect an optimistic air cargo market in the near future, they tend to allocate more resources to maintain existing customers rather than to develop new markets. Therefore, it is essential for airlines to understand their customers' preferences toward air cargo services. This study will survey air cargo forwarders who are operating in five major regions (China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe) to elicit their preferences toward air cargo services provided by one major airline based in East Asia. Five items (fare, space, flight stability, services and network) are used to represent forwarders' preferences. Respondents are clustered by their regions to investigate any differences and similarity among different clusters. Additionally, the reason that forwarders would like to continue cooperating with the airline is cross-tabled with their preferences to get insight into how preferences affect forwarders' purchasing behavior.


Focus in this discussion of fundamental research in the population sciences and institutional support is on the important new discoveries in reproductive biology; structure and action of gonadotropins and their releasing hormone(s); central regulation of reproductive function; reproductive hormone biosynthesis metabolism and mechanisms of action; ovarian function; testicular structure and function; gamete maturation transport and fertilization; immunological approaches to fertility regulation; the consequences of vasectomy; pheromones and puberty; prostaglandins and reproduction; family planning and fertility regulation; effects of crowding density and growth; demographic techniques; economic factors in fertility; and migration. The institutional programs in interdisciplinary population research are summarized.


Incidents of heavy metal pollution in farmland soil occur frequently throughout the country.Special topography,fragile ecological environment and unreasonable human activities lead to serious heavy metal pollution in soil of the karst areas.This paper reviews the current situation of heavy metal pollution in agricultural soil of the karst region,analyzes it's risk to human health,proposes to strengthen legislation and law enforcement,and strengthens cleaner production audit for industrial and mining enterprises to prevent and reduce contamination.Several soil bioremediation methods are suggested for heavy metal polluted soils for the recover.


This paper deals with a quadrature oscillator (QO)-based demodulation technique algorithm to improve the power quality of a grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) system in the distribution network for power factor correction, load balancing, and harmonics mitigation. The QO algorithm rejects the second harmonic generated by the demodulated load current. The improved incremental conductance-based maximum power point tracking scheme is utilized to extract maximum power from a solar PV array. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of QO algorithm for steady state and dynamic conditions to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Test results show reliable, robust performance, and accurate estimation under steady state, variable insolation, load unbalancing, PV to distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) mode and DSTATCOM to PV mode. The total harmonic distortion of grid current and grid voltage lies within the limits of the IEEE 519 standard.


(161). Conversely, Kowal suggests that Dafora's precarious footing in the New York dance scene spotlights tensions between Africanist racial and ethnic identities among Black peoples of African heritage living in 1940s America (161–62). Returning to the 1948 International Dance Festival, Kowal discusses several ways in which, amidst growing anti-Communist sentiment, the festival stages American globalist multiculturalism as it simultaneously reinforces nationalism and American superiority. Of note is Kowal's close reading of how dance critics frame artists Serge Lifar and Ram Gopal as 'foils' to American dancer Charles Weidman. Kowal discusses how Weidman's deployment of populism and 'virile dance' were common strategies used by white male dancers to play up their heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity to prevent their being perceived as sexually deviant and, therefore, un-American (195–96). In short, Kowal demonstrates that staging the global or 'dancing the world smaller' was not always successful in fostering greater intercultural understanding or equity. Paradoxically, through bodies and cultures seen as other, the United States was able to define itself as a democratic, capitalist superpower. Nevertheless, Kowal shows how ethnic dancers worked within the grain of emerging ideologies of globalist multiculturalism and pluralism. They achieved varying degrees of agency for themselves, their fellow artists, and their communities and elevated their status in the New York dance scene. Kowal reminds us of the artists' contributions to American post-war dance and how their energies continue to resonate in the present. Even though she is writing about dance in the 1940s, Kowal's monograph is a haunting reminder, eighty years later, amidst the contagion of the coronavirus pandemic, racial violence, and xenophobia, that staging globalism involves 'looking beyond the borders of the United States and attuning a consciousness to the inclusion of cultural others. These are opposing views of America, Americans, and Americanness' (8). With great humility towards the artists she studies, Kowal reminds us of dance's power to imagine the world otherwise. For researchers who work in and across the disciplines of historiography, globalism, and critical race studies, to name but a few, Dancing the World Smaller looms large as a tremendous contribution to critical dance studies.


Three entomopathogenic fungi isolates, i. e., Beauveria bassiana, Paecilomyces fumosoroseus and Metarhizium anisopliae were used as biological control agents against the Egyptain cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.), which represent the most severe destructive cotton pest in Egypt and many other countries. The entomopathogenic fungi were inoculated YES medium, incubation period was carried out for 19 days at pH 5.4 and 28 – 30oC. After incubation period, the mats of the fungi were removed and YES broth was mixed individually with chloroform/methanol (2:1, v/v). The mixture was shaken vigorously in a separating funnel and left to settle down forming a dense lower aqueous layer containing the secondary metabolites. Extracted metabolites were then concentrated by using a speed vacuum device (Maxi Dry Plus) to a volume of 1 ml. Virulence of B. bassiana, M. anisopliae and P. fumosoroseus was investigated against 1st instar larvae of the cotton leaf worm S. littoralis. Results obtained revealed that the three metabolites (toxins) were toxic to the 1st instar larvae of S. littoralis. The most effective toxin was M. anisopliae (84.92 %) followed by P. fumosoroseus (66.32%) and B. bassiana (62.65 %). On the other hand, LT50 values in days for M. anisopliae were 8.5414, 6.4808, 4.7721, 3.7211, while for P. fumosoroseus they were 11.0488, 7.7757, 6.4998, 5.1703 and for B. bassiana they were 10.4380, 8.3415, 6.8299, 5.6922 in relation to the concentrations 25, 50, 75, 100% respectively. Treatment of S. littoralis 4th instars with LC50 of the metabolic fungal toxins caused complete disruption of endocuticle of the resulting late 6th instars. Meanwhile, it caused exfoliation of the mid gut epithelium from the underlying circular muscle fibers, leaving a large vacuole or space, disruption of both the peritrophic membrane and columnar cells, beside high vacuolization and collapsing of the fat body.


This study investigates key cultural differences in teaching between Korean and "western" teachers, and analyses these via questionnaires given to 35 Korean teachers and 36 non-Korean teachers followed by selected interviews. A significant finding was the emphasis Korean teachers place on testing compared to the "Western" teachers. The relevant literature explains this through Korea's socio-cultural Confucian context. This study also shows that verbal immediacy, power-distance, uncertainty avoidance and face saving are key elements in Korea's educational culture compared with western approaches to education.
Finally, qualitative data shows a strong preference by Korean teachers to move away from more traditional aspects of the classroom environment toward an approach where creative and critical thinking can be enabled.


With the high-throughput detection techniques,metabonomics takes qualitative and quantitative analysis for all the low molecular weight metabolites in an organism,to determine the metabolic state by pattern recognition and combination with data processing and information modeling method.As an important part of systems biology,metabonomics has become one of the new hottest international issues in scientific research fields.It has played a more and more significant role in the field of drug development,disease research,drug toxicology,etc.Meanwhile,it has also showed a great application space and research value in the field of basic veterinary medicine.Based on the relevant research strategy of metabonomics,and its application in the field of animal drug metabolism,development in Chinese veterinary drugs,and animal disease,this paper mainly expounded an overview to metabonomics,and it's recent development situation and future trends.


Objectives : Ropivacaine has been used, either alone or with local anesthetics, for  epidural analgesia. This study was undertaken to compare quality and safety of two combinations of epidural ropivacaine with fentanyl  for providing postoperative analgesia for 48 hours after umblical and lower abdominal surgeries . Methodology:  In a prospective randomized, controlled study, 70 patients age group between 20-60 years, of either gender, scheduled for routine umblical and lower abdominal surgeries were randomly distributed into two groups of 35 patients each. Postoperatively, two combinations of ropivacaine and fentanyl[group 1 ropivacaine .2% and fentanyl 4 µg and group 2 ropivacaine .1% and fentanyl 2 µg ]  for postoperative pain relief, diluted in 10 ml of normal saline was injected in the  epidural space (between L 2 –L 3 space) through the catheter and then repeated 6 hourly. Pain intensity score, onset of analgesia,number of top-ups required andoverall patient satisfaction score were recorded. Results:  Mean onset of analgesia was 10.31 ± 1.5 min with  group 1 as against 11.23 ± 1.2 min with  group 2 . Pain Intensity (PPI) score ≤ 1 was observed in 68.21% observations belonging to  group 1 and in 60 % observations belonging to  group 2. Twenty five patients (71.4%) from  group 1 and 30 patients (85.7%) from f group 2 required rescue analgesia. The patient's feedback on pain relief was graded as very good or good by 78.5% of the patients in Group-1 and 69% patients in Group-2. Conclusion:  Though both drug combinations  are equally safe,  group 1 concentration is faster acting, more potent and efficient analgesic than group 2 when used for postoperative pain relief in umblical and lower abdominal surgeries.Howevermotor power was better preserved in group 2


Aim: In the wake of the latest epidemic of Ebola, it has become important for healthcare personnel around the world to be very cautious regarding the contagious nature of the disease. This study was conducted among undergraduate dental students to assess the baseline knowledge and awareness about different aspects of Ebola. Methodology: A total of 212 students from third-year, final-year and internship were selected for the study. A pre-designed, structured and self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The first part had questions related to knowledge, epidemiology and transmission of Ebola. Second part was concerned with the symptoms, treatment and prevention aspect. Questions were close-ended with multiple-answer type. Results: Of the total sample, 78 (36.8%) participants were from third-year, 74 (34.9%) from final-year and 60 (28.3%) from internship. The overall success rate was just 48.58%. It was seen that the interns answered more number of questions correctly as compared to final-year and third-year students. Conclusion: Level of knowledge of Indian dental students about Ebola was generally acceptable considering the fact that it is not part of their curriculum. Dental school curriculum must also be updated in this regard.


A procedure is described for estimating unperturbed molecular dimensions from data obtained in "nonideal" solvents. A knowledge of [η], M, and A2 is required. This should be particularly useful for high melting crystalline polymers, since for these polymers a direct determination by light scattering measurements performed under Flory θ conditions is complicated by the tendency of the polymer to crystallize from solution as the solvent becomes thermodynamically poorer. The intrinsic viscosity at θ, [η]θ, is calculated from the semi-empirical relation:

where Γ2 = A2M. The unperturbed dimensions are then calculated through use of the relations appearing in Flory's treatment of intrinsic viscosity:

Unperturbed dimensions calculated in this manner for polyisobutylene and polystyrene compare favorably with values directly measured by light scattering. This procedure is used to estimate the unperturbed dimensions of polyethylene, 6,6-nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyacrylonitrile. A comparison of the relative chain stiffness of these polymers allows some interesting correlations with Flory's theoretical treatment of semi-flexible chain molecules.


A novel motion estimation method is presented which significantly reduces the computational complexity of overlapped block motion estimation (OBME). To eliminate the computationally intensive multiplications of OBME, the proposed method uses a predetermined pattern in selecting matched pixels within a window support. Simulation results show that the proposed method achieves about the same prediction performance as the conventional approach.


Prior to the discovery of the tubercle bacillus, the observation that tuberculosis frequently occurred in many members of the same family convinced physicians that it was a hereditary disease.1 However, in 1882 when Robert Koch demonstrated that tuberculosis was caused by a microorganism,2attention turned to the importance of the pathogen and the genetic constitution of the host was largely ignored. It is estimated that only 10% of those who become infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis will ever develop clinical disease,3 and in only a few cases is there an obvious identifiable risk factor such as diabetes, advanced age, alcohol abuse, HIV infection, or corticosteroid usage. Why then do some people succumb to the disease when most of the population can successfully fight off the tubercle bacillus? Clearly, although M tuberculosis is necessary, it is not sufficient. Determining why only some individuals are susceptible to tuberculosis is important as this will give us insight into which components of disease pathogenesis are important and hopefully assist the development of new treatment or prevention strategies.

It is a common misapprehension that death from multifactorial diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular problems are influenced by genetic factors, but that death from infection is due to a bad environment or simply bad luck. In fact, a study of 960 adoptees in Denmark concluded that the genetic component of susceptibility to premature death from infectious diseases is greater than for cancer or cardiovascular causes.4 In 1949 the pioneering geneticist J B S Haldane recognised that infectious diseases have been the main agent of natural selection during the past 5000 years.5 Organisms which are widespread in the human population and which exert a high mortality will exert the most pronounced evolutionary effects.6 In the early part of the 19th century it …


Remembrance Day Concert in support of the Royal British Legion and Harrogate International Partnerships. Contributions from some of Harrogates finest ...


Ensuring the sustainable development of motor transport, whose emission of greenhouse gases and other contaminants is one of the main sources of air pollution, requires informed decision-making on the implementation of effective environmental protection measures. A simplified methodological approach to a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of these environmental protection measures has been developed. The offered approach has been approved at estimating application for motor fuels of the multipurpose additive, which increases both the energy efficiency and environmental safety of motor transport.


Occupational health and safety organization in this thesis are discussed. In this context, official and workplace organization have been examined. Official organizations are public institutions. Occupational safety and health workplace organization consist of occupational physician, occupational safety specialist, technician, occupational nurse, worker's representative and occupational health and safety committee and unit. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 6331, the employer shall have a duty to ensure the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to the work. In this context, employers are obliged to create occupational health and safety organization.


Objective To investigate the correlation analysis of depression and cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease(PD).Methods Depression and cognitive function in 71 patients with PD and 64 normal controls were evaluated, the relation of examination results was analyzed.Results Depression in PD HAMD(16.8±0.6) was significantly higher than that in normal controls HAMD(7.2±2.8).Cognitive function in PD[MMSE(28.7±1.2),VFT(19.1±5.6), TOL(11.4±3.7)]was obviously degraded than that in normal controls[MMSE(27.5±2.3),VFT(14.9±5.1),TOL (9.5±3.2)].Cognitive function in PD was significant differences in two groups(P0.05).Conclusion.Depression and cognitive impairment exist in patients with Parkinson's disease(PD) and depression may result in cognitive impairment.


All general-purpose operating systems (GPOSs) use periodi c clock interrupts called "ticks" to regain control and measu re the passage of time. On each tick the kernel performs administra tive tasks like accounting the CPU time used by the current proces s, designating it for preemption if needed, waking processes w ith pending signals, etc. This mechanism has been in use since th e late 1960s. However, due to the rapidly growing applicabili ty of GPOSs (ranging from as little as mobile phones and PDAs to as large as supercomputers), drawbacks of periodic timing acc umulate into a critical mass, suggesting it's time for a change. Indeed, we have identified quite a few mainstream system domains that inherently conflict with the polling nature of ticks: Mobile and embedded devices waste power on unnecessary ticks that happen even if the machine is otherwise idle; powe r is also wasted even if the machine is busy, as tasks run longer th an necessary due to the indirect overhead of ticks (see below). We show an idle "crippled" laptop (disconnected from its scree n and hard disk) consumes 4W due to ticks, and more, for increased tick rates. This is the result of ticks continuously prevent ing he processor from maintaining a power save mode [1]. Virtual machine settings suffer from excessive overhead. The base overhead of ticks is intensified when a VMM/hypervisor i positioned between the ticking OS and the hardware. Further , VM servers can be overwhelmed by ticking guest OSs. One example is an S/390 mainframe for which servicing clock interrupts of multiple idle VMs (running Linux) led to 100% utiliz ation of the physical processor [2]. Ticks enable denial-of-service attacks.CPU consumption accounting is done in tick resolution. We show that any unprivi leged "cheater" process can take advantage of this to monopo lize the machine, by sleeping when ticks take place and systemati cally avoiding being billed. The fact cheaters appear to con sume no CPU makes their priority very high and allows them to run whenever they choose while starving "honest" processes [3] . Ticks are a security breach. A side-effect of being able not to be billed is that monitoring applications like the UNIX 't op' utility report such cheater processes as consuming 0% CPU, e ssentially making them "invisible". We show that cheaters ca n get as much or as little CPU cycles as they want, without this info rmation showing up on monitors [3]. Knowing about an attack is essential to stopping it, and so the fact offending proces ses do not appear on CPU monitors constitute a serious security bre ach. Parallel applications suffer from "noise" (OS activity unrelated to the application), where one late process holds up hu ndreds to thousands of peers with which it synchronizes, leav ing the entire parallel machine idle until the late process catc hes up. We analytically quantify the effect and empirically show ti cks'


In this paper, we propose an energy efficient index scheme for Nearest Neighbor queries, specially designed for mobile P2P environments. we propose a PMBR (P2P Minimum Boundary Rectangle) index that provides the client with the ability of selective contacting and tuning from other nodes. The mobile client is able to identify whether or not the neighbor nodes have the desired information by accessing PMBR. Thus, the client immediately switches to change to another node's broadcast channel if the index does not contain the desired information. Furthermore, the client is able to predict the arrival time of the desired data items and only needs to tune into the broadcast channel when the requested data items arrives, by first accessing PMBR. Thus, the mobile client can stay in power save mode most of time, and tune into the broadcast channel only when the requested data items arrive. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. Comprehensive experiments illustrate that the proposed scheme is more efficient than the previous techniques in terms of energy consumption.


When I was invited to give this paper I was initially somewhat hesitant. This was not because of the subject, which is one in which I am intensely interested, but because of the sponsoring organization. There are, after all, many excellent physics teachers who might have spoken instead of me, and perhaps they would have been more at home in this Institute.