Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) has attracted economic and scientific interests due to its sweetness and therapeutic properties present in leaves. The sweetening compounds found mainly in the leaves are Steviol glycosides (SGs), with Stevioside being the most abundant, followed by Rebaudioside A. These SGs are non-fermentative, low-calorific, non-toxic and flavor enhancing sweeteners. This shows the advantages of Stevia over other artificial sweeteners as an ingredient for the food industry, thereby making Stevia a more suitable substitute for saccharine in different drinks, beverages and bakery products. Stevia also offers therapeutic benefits having anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypertensive, and immuno-modulatory effects. These beneficial effects focused the importance of Stevia, however, plants raised through seeds varied widely due to its heterozygous nature, therefore, affecting the overall Stevioside content. To avoid such problems and to improve the yield of Stevioside, it is necessary to propagate a genetically homogeneous population from a selected elite plant of desirable characters. For this, plant tissue culture (PTC) is found to have potential alternative approach for the production of advantageous medicinal compounds from plants and cell culture. Keeping all these facts in consideration, the present study was conducted on "In vitro studies on Stevia rebaudiana for SGs production". The work was focused on; (1) to develop an efficient protocol for micropropagation using axillary branching (2) the development and optimization of culture conditions for callus and suspension culture (3) the effect of elicitors (NaCl, Na2CO3, Proline and Polyethylene glycol (PEG)) on in vitro cultured shoots, callus and suspension culture for their growth (biomass yield i.e., fresh weight and dry weight) and on SGs production (4) evaluation of Stevioside and Rebaudioside A in in vitro cultured shoots, callus and suspension culture using HPLC technique. For micropropagation studies, the application of growth regulators (cytokinin alone and in combination with auxin) showed a promoting effect on shoot multiplication and rooting. It was noticed that cytokinins especially kinetin (Kn) produced best results. Hence, a protocol was standardized taking different concentrations of Kn (1-10 mgl-1) and it was observed that nodal explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium + 4.0 mgl-1 Kn was the best medium for shoot multiplication. Also, for rooting V2 strength MS medium + 0.05 mgl-1 IBA + 0.05% activated charcoal produced best results. For hardening, mixture of soil and agropeat (3:1) was found to be best. Among different explants (leaves, nodes and in vitro raised roots) tested for callus induction, leaves explant showed better response. However, combination of auxins (0.75 mgl-1 NAA + 1.0 mgl-1 2,4-D) with MS media were found to be suitable for callus induction while for development and multiplication, MS medium with 2.0 mgl-1 NAA (i.e. maintenance media) showed superior results. Further, suspension culture developed through calli obtained from maintenance media demonstrated good growth followed by S-shaped growth curve. The effect of different elicitors (NaCl, Na2CO3, Proline and PEG) on in vitro cultured shoots, callus and suspension culture were studied. Stevia shoots showed maximum stress with PEG followed by Na2CO3. However, lower concentrations of NaCl and Proline could be tolerated by explants with shoot growth. A significant reduction in shoot growth (i.e., shoot length, number of shoots/node and multiplication fold) was noticed with increased concentrations of elicitors tested. Similarly, a significant reduction in callus biomass (i.e., fresh weight and dry weight) and growth index (GI) was observed with different concentrations of elicitors tested. However, in case of salts (NaCl, Na2CO3), continuous decline in biomass and GI was observed with their increased concentrations. In contrast, with optimum concentrations of Proline (5 mM) both biomass and GI were increased while at further higher concentrations (?7.5 mM) negative effect was seen. However, in case of PEG, only fresh weight content increased upto 5% PEG, whereas dry weight and GI reduced iv significantly at all concentrations of PEG. In case of suspension culture, all parameters studied (i.e., fresh weight, dry weight and moisture content) were affected with increased concentrations of salts (NaCI and Na2CO3). Proline upto 5 mM concentration increased the fresh weight, dry weight and moisture content and after that negatively affected the results. Similarly, fresh weight increased upto 5% PEG while at further higher concentrations significant reduction was observed. Also, with all concentrations of PEG moisture content increased while dry weight decreased. SGs analysis of in vivo and in vitro grown plants, callus and suspension culture (with and without elicitors) was done. In case of field grown plants, maximum production of total SGs (Stevioside and Rebaudioside A) were found in the cultivar procured from Maharashtra (9.26%) followed by Haryana A (8.74%), Haryana B (7.82%) and Uttarakhand (6.33%) plants. Leaves obtained from in vitro shoots showed maximum amount of SGs (2.60%) with 0.025% Na2CO3 followed by 5 mM Proline (1.65%), 0.10% NaCl (1.25%) and 5% PEG (1.15%), which were 3.3, 2, 1.6 and 1.5 times higher than control (0.79%), respectively. Further, in case of callus, optimum concentrations of each salt i.e., 0.10% NaCl and 0.025% Na2CO3 produced 5.3 and 5.6 times higher SGs (1.43% and 1.51%) while 2.5 mM Proline and 5% PEG produced 4.0 and 7.0 times higher SGs (1.09% and 1.83%) than control (0.27%), respectively. Similarly, in case of suspension culture, with optimum concentrations of each, 0.10% NaCl and 0.025% Na2CO3, 5 mM Proline and 5% PEG produced 2.61%, 5.14% 5.03% and 6.38% SGs respectively, which were 1.9, 3.8, 3.7 and 4.7 times higher than control, respectively. Hence, it can be concluded that protocol developed for mass propagation and callusing will be helpful for high frequency regeneration, somaclonal variation and genetic engineering experiments. Also, it was found that the application of abiotic elicitors and appropriate culture conditions can enhance the production of secondary metabolites in in vitro raised Stevia shoots, callus and suspension culture.


The electricity necessities of the world are increasing at alarming rate and the power demand has been running ahead of supply. It is also now widely recognized that the fossil fuels and other conventional resources, presently being used for generation of electrical energy, may not be either sufficient or suitable to keep pace with ever increasing demand of the electrical energy of the world. The recent severe energy crisis has forced the world to develop new and alternative methods of power generation. Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is a highly efficient and unique method for power generation, which is based on plasma physics and its working principle is based on Faraday's Law of electromagnetic induction. The electricity is directly extracted from thermal energy of plasma (ionized gas) which is passing through the strong magnetic field. The flow of conducting plasma (ionized gas) through a magnetic field at high velocity causes a voltage to be generated across the electrodes which are placed at suitable position in the stream of ionized gas and thus the electrical energy is generated directly through thermal energy. In this paper the processes and technology involved in MHD power generation with different type of MHD generators, their functions and by utilizing it for increasing the efficiency of existing conventional thermal power plants are discussed.


Laser cutting is a non-traditional cutting process and cutting of square blank in stainless steel-304 sheets cause heat affected zone (HAZ) and thermal stress. Formation of HAZ is undesirable and excessive stress cause surface defects. Thus, it is necessary to analyze them intensively. The process of laser cutting is a complex thermo-mechanical process. Hence, in this study a thermo-mechanical finite element model has been introduced by ANSYS to predict the temporal variation together with thermal stress and width of heat affected zone (HAZ). CO2 laser is used to cut 10 × 10 mm square blank in a 3 mm thick stainless steel-304 sheet. Optical microscope and SEM are used to analyse the parametric effect on surface quality at the cutting edge. The results showed that maximum temperature at the cutting edge is about to melting temperature and independent to laser power and cutting speed. Importantly, cutting speed has significant effect on rate of temperature variation. Moreover, the width of HAZ increases with the increase of laser power and decrease of cutting speed. However results of ANOVA suggested that laser power is the most significant parameter having 64.21% of contribution to width of HAZ. Furthermore, maximum stress is observed at the corner; which is supported by SEM analysis.


Using laser-accelerated Al flyers, we examined hyper-velocity impact tests of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) laminates as a simulation of orbital debris impact. A short-pulsed intense laser beam can accelerate a small flyer as fast as LEO (low earth orbit) satellite velocity. We succeeded in observing the deformation and fracture processes of the CFRP targets with a high-speed framing camera. When the pulsed laser was set the single shot energy of 26.4 J, corresponding to Al flyer velocity 8.3 km/s, we observed that the fiber breakage at the back surface of the CFRP target occurred at about 500 ns after the impact. After the impact experiments, we investigated damages of the CFRP target with an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The damage to the back surface of the target varied with the laser energy. In the case that the laser energy was 19.5 J, cracks along carbon fibers were found. When the laser energy was 26.4 J, interlaminar delaminations as well as cracks along carbon fibers were observed.


A series of tensile tests for pb-free solder material 95.5Sn4.0Ag0.5Cu are conducted under a wide range of temperatures and constant strain rates to obtain the required data for fitting the material parameters of the Anand model. Based on these test results, empirical equations of the tensile strength, elastic modulus and yield stress are fitted as a functions of temperature. It is found that the temperature and strain rate have demonstrated crucial effects on tensile and creep properties of SnAgCu solder material. The test results have also displayed certain viscoplastic behavior, temperature dependence, strain rate sensitivity and creep resistance. A procedure for the determination of Anand material parameters through data fitting is proposed. In order to capture experimental data accurately, a modified Anand model with certain parameters which are the functions of the temperature and strain rate with the quadratic polynomial formula is discussed. Good agreements between the modified model prediction and experimental data have been obtained.


The Politics of Pedagogical Reform (June, 1978) Michael M. Morris, B.S., University of Southern Mississippi Ed.D,, University of Massachusetts Directed by: Professor David Schuman This dissertation analyzes a wide range of issues relevant to altering conventional teaching-learning practices in American higher education. It sets out to determine the historical source for many of the 'new' ideas and discusses the re-articulation of these concepts during the 1960's and 1970' s. Various proposals for reform advocated during this period are analyzed from a critical perspective. In particular, the underlying assumptions about how change occurs are thoroughly


In this paper, the Legendre-Petrov-Galerkin method for the Generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation with nonperiodic boundary conditions is analyzed. The nonlinear term is computed with the Chebyshev collocation method. Crank-Nicolson scheme is applied to the time space, optimal error (estimates) in L~2-norm are obtained for semi-discrete and fully-discrete schemes.


A highly permeable composite hollow-fibre membrane developed for air separation was used in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR). The composite membrane consisted of a porous support layer covered with a thin dense film, which was responsible for oxygen enrichment of the permeate stream. Besides oxygen enrichment capability, dense membranes overcome major operational problems that occur when using porous membranes for oxygen transfer to biofilms. Air flow rate and oxygen partial pressure inside the fibres were the variables used to adjust the oxygen transfer rate. The membrane aerated biofilm reactor was operated with hydraulic retention times (HRT) ranging from 1 to 4 hours. High organic load removal rates, like 6.5 kg.m-3.d-1, were achieved due to oxygen transfer rates as high as 107 kg.m-3.d-1. High COD removals, with improved oxygen transfer efficiency, indicate that a MABR is a compact alternative to the conventional activated sludge process and that the selected membrane is suitable for further applications.


The invention discloses a method for detecting a traditional Chinese medicine product, belonging to the technical field of traditional Chinese medicine. The method includes the following steps: obtaining a fingerprint atlas of a target traditional Chinese medicine product; calculating the equality degree according to a formula I based on the obtained fingerprint atlas and the standard fingerprint atlas of the traditional Chinese medicine product; the traditional Chinese medicine product is detected according to the equality degree E. The formula for calculating the equality degree, provided by the method of the invention, is a comprehensive improvement for each similarity calculating method in the prior art, can compensate for a plurality of limitations of the present similarity calculating method in the practical application of the traditional Chinese medicine, has a plurality of advantages, is suitable in a plurality of complex circumstances existing in the actual present situation of traditional Chinese medicine, and has wide application value.


This paper presents the results of a study conducted to evaluate the effect of steel slag aging on acid resistance and rapid chloride permeability of high performance concrete (HPC). Effect of different aging periods (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 42 months) of steel slag aggregates (SSA) on acid resistance and rapid chloride permeability of concrete was studied. Water cement ratio and cement/cementious materials contents are kept constant as 0.32 and 584 Kg/m3, respectively. It was observed that the aging process of SSA improves the acid resistance and rapid chloride permeability of HPC made with SSA. A minimum of 30 to 36 months aging of SSA is required to achieve the acid resistance and rapid chloride permeability of HPC at par with conventional concrete.


K‐band single balanced mixer based on Gilbert type using 0.18 μm CMOS process is presented. For the circuit design, passive lumped elements such as a spiral inductor and a MIM capacitor are tested up 40 GHz. The designed mixer has a conversion gain of 2.3 dB and a P1dB of −3 dBm at 24 GHz. It dissipates the power of 30.6 mW with 1.8 V supply voltage and the overall size is 940 × 560 μm2. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 48: 2134–2137, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21864


Thicknesses and Vp/Vs ratios of sedimentary cover and crystalline crust are key parameters to study basin properties and evolution. In this paper, we develop a hi‐ki method of receiver functions to estimate the thickness (h) and Vp/Vs ratio (k) for each layer based on the arrival times of Ps converted and PpPs multiple phases of the layer, and apply the method to invert for h and k values of the sedimentary and bedrock layers in the Ordos Basin. S‐N and E‐W differences in structure across approximately 109°E are observed in both the sedimentary cover and crystalline crust. The sedimentary thickness generally increases from east to west and reaches 7.9 km on the southwestern edge. Vp/Vs ratios are complex with an average >1.9 and overall are lower than 1.75 in the northwestern part. The bedrock thickness and Vp/Vs ratio vary from 31.2 to 45.0 km and from 1.60 to 1.82, with average values of 39.62 km and 1.74, respectively. The crystalline crust still retains the long‐term cratonic stability and characteristics. The observed S‐N and E‐W differences in the sedimentary and bedrock layers may be the combined results of inhomogeneity in original nucleation and later complex and long‐term tectonic evolution.


As a mountainous people typical in"Ethnic Nanling Corridor",the Yao lives in an ecologically complex environment.In the course of adapting to the environment,they have accumulated rich ecologic knowledge,including the understanding of different ecosystems,the knowledge on biological species and their interactions,the rational use of biological resources and the list goes on.This indigenous ecological knowledge has been put into a full use in their compound living on forestry and farming,specifically their slash-and-burn cultivation.The current study focuses on such compound living of the Yao at Fengmuping in Mt.Dupang so as to bring to light the ecological skills and wisdom of the Yao.


A study on the correlation between electrical percolation and viscoelastic percolation for carbon black (CB) and carbon fiber (CF) filled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conductive composites was carried out through an examination of the filler concentration (ϕ) dependence of the volume resistivity (ρ) and dynamic viscoelastic functions. For CB/HDPE composites, when ϕ was higher than the modulus percolation threshold (ϕG ∼ 15 vol %), the dynamic storage modulus (G′) reached a plateau at low frequencies. The relationship between ρ and the normalized dynamic storage modulus (Gc′/Gp′, where Gc′ and Gp′ are the dynamic storage moduli of the composites and the polymer matrix, respectively) was studied. When ϕ approached a critical value (ϕr), a characteristic change in Gc′/Gp′ appeared. The critical value (Gc′/G′p)c was 9.80, and the corresponding ϕr value was 10 vol %. There also existed a ϕ dependence of the dynamic loss tangent (tan δ) and a peak in a plot of tan δ versus the frequency when ϕ approached a loss-angle percolation (ϕδ = 9 vol %). With parameter K substituted for A, a modified Kerner–Nielson equation was obtained and used to analyze the formation of the network structure. The viscoelastic percolation for CB/HDPE composites could be verified on the basis of the modified equation, whereas no similar percolation was found for CF/HDPE composites. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1199–1205, 2004


The categorization of inductive reasoning into largely automatic processes (heuristic reasoning) and controlled analytical processes (rule-based reasoning) put forward by dual-process approaches of judgment under uncertainty (e.g., Stanovich & West, 2000) has been primarily a matter of assumption with a scarcity of direct empirical findings supporting it. We used the process dissociation procedure (Jacoby, 1991) to provide convergent evidence validating a dual-process perspective to judgment under uncertainty based on the independent contributions of heuristic and rule-based reasoning. Process dissociations based on experimental manipulation of variables were derived from relevant theoretical properties typically used to contrast the two forms of reasoning. These included processing goals (Experiment 1) and priming (Experiment 2). Results consistently supported the present perspective. We conclude that judgment under uncertainty is not either an automatic or controlled process, but that it reflects both processes, with each making independent contributions.


Background . Capabilities of assessing functional condition of the respiratory system in young children, including patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, are extremely limited, as little children do not cooperate with doctors in the course of diagnostic procedures. Results of use of a modern instrumental diagnostic method in this group of patients is of doubtless interest. The study was aimed at tracking changes in functional condition of the respiratory system in children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia during follow-up. Methods . Quite breathing flowmetry during natural sleep. Results. The article presents the authors' data obtained by means of analyzing external respiratory function in children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia using a modern method of quiet breathing flowmetry; it is also reasonable to use relative parameters of the external respiratory function as diagnostic criteria of bronchoobstructive syndrome at bronchopulmonary dysplasia and criteria of effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine mucolytic therapy. Conclusion . Quiet breathing flowmetry may be used to diagnose bronchoobstructive syndrome and assess effectiveness of the treatment thereof in children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Key words : bronchopulmonary dysplasia, respiratory distress syndrome, extremely low birth weight, very low birth weight, artificial pulmonary ventilation, external respiratory function, quiet breathing flowmetry, respiratory pattern, bronchoobstructive syndrome, N-acetylcysteine.


The objective of this paper is to ponder over the importance of a proper training for university teachers, based on the results of PECD Programa de Estagio e Capacitacao Docente (University Teacher Training Program), carried out at UNICAMP from 1993 to 2000. We mention possible reasons why this training has been neglected along the history of higher education. We also attempt to demonstrate the aspects that point to the increasing necessity of developing these programs in a more systematic way, emphasizing, among other factors, changes that have occurred in the higher education system in Brazil, as well as transformations in the context of higher education. The analysis of PECD – comprehending its history, the evaluation of its organization and its impacts on personal and institutional level – was based on the concepts currently developed by the literature in this field. The analysis allowed us to conclude that: a) programs dedicated to offering pedagogical education for university teachers are necessary, possible of being achieved, and able to instigate more commitment to educational issues in young or experienced teachers engaged in them; b) the pedagogical education of university teachers should transcend the limits of the development of practical abilities, attempting to achieve an integration between teaching and research activities, as well as between moments of action and reflection; and c) post-graduate programs, especially doctoral programs, are a privileged moment for the implementation of programs devoted to this objective.


Trust is essential for our interactions with others but also with artificial intelligence (AI) based systems. To understand whether a user trusts an AI, researchers need reliable measurement tools. However, currently discussed markers mostly rely on expensive and invasive sensors, like electroencephalograms, which may cause discomfort. The analysis of mouse trajectory has been suggested as a convenient tool for trust assessment. However, the relationship between trust, confidence and mouse trajectory is not yet fully understood. To provide more insights into this relationship, we asked participants (n = 146) to rate whether several tweets were offensive while an AI suggested its assessment. Our results reveal which aspects of the mouse trajectory are affected by the users subjective trust and confidence ratings; yet they indicate that these measures might not explain sufficiently the variance to be used on their own. This work examines a potential low-cost trust assessment in AI systems.


Although the great majority of children with Hodgkin's disease survive with modern treatment strategies, the list of late sequelae is long, yet there is no published information on the comprehensive health status and health‐related quality of life (HRQL) in this population. In the experience of a single institution, survivors of Hodgkin's disease in childhood were invited to self‐report on their health status using a 15‐item questionnaire connected to the Health Utilities Index, a series of multi‐attribute health status classification systems that, in turn, are linked to preference functions which provide single‐attribute and global utility scores for HRQL. The mean global utility score was 0.85 (on a 0 = dead to 1.0 = perfect health scale), a figure less than that in survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) but comparable to that in survivors of brain tumors (0.84) or extremely low birthweight (ELBW 0.82). The burden of morbidity is emphasized by the ratio of the numbers of health states per patient:0.67 for survivors of Hodgkin's disease, 0.66 for survivors of brain tumors, 0.39 for survivors of ELBW, 0.47 for survivors of high‐risk ALL and 0.28 for survivors of standard‐risk ALL. In Hodgkin's disease survivors, the attributes affected most commonly and severely were pain, cognition and emotion. This experience demands exploration of the health status and HRQL in a much larger cohort of such survivors, perhaps in the context of co‐operative group studies. Int. J. Cancer Suppl. 12:32–38, 1999. ©1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Extensive high-resolution measurements have been made of the emission spectrum of P2. A vibrational scheme based on band origins is given for the visible system (3 Pi u-3 pi g) and relates the lower state to the upper state of the infra-red system. Rotational and vibrational constants are presented. Perturbations in the c 3 Pi u state are identified as being caused by the c 1 Sigma u+ state and enable the c 3 Pi u state and hence the other triplet states of P2 to be located on the energy-level diagram. The energies obtained are: a 3 Sigma u+, 18686.7+or-0.5 cm-1; b 3 Pi 1, 28128.9+or-0.5 cm-1; c 3 Pi 1, 46965.3+or-0.5 cm-1.


Me4N[Fe(py3COH)(NCS)3](H2O) showed an abrupt spin-crossover with thermal hysteresis, and temperature-scan rate dependence was recorded upon heating at 10–0.02 K min−1. At the slowest scan the product of magnetic susceptibility and temperature initially increased at 246 K, then decreased at around 250 K and finally increased again to reach the high-spin state at around 280 K. A polymorphic spin-crossover model is plausible.


The dreams in Psychology and Alchemy were important to Jung because they portray a natural process in the unconscious in which the mandala symbolism gradually takes form, with emphasis on a centre. The dreamer is led through a labyrinth of archetypal symbolism which lays in evidence the dynamic structure of the psyche.

Jung was obviously not permitted to reveal the identity of the man behind the dreams. This paper introduces the historical dreamer, Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958), together with a sample of his significant dreams as discussed by Jung. The intent is to bear witness to the suffering which hides behind the archetypal imagery, as well as the transformative power of the archetype, lending support to Jung's statement that 'behind every neurosis there is a religious problem'.

Pauli was a genius, who as a Nobel laureate ranked with the top physicists of this century. As a one-sided intellectual atheist alienated from his feelings, in his early thirties he met with an emotional crisis, which led him to Jung for treatment. The dreams that Pauli experienced at that time carried him through a depth experience, a nekyia, that transformed his attitude toward life. They were also a precursor to a dream life that stimulated his investigation of non-causal influences common to quantum physics and (analytical) psychology, i.e. the 'psychophysical problem', including synchronicity.

A legacy of Pauli's life was to show that the non-rational unconscious can give meaningful expression to the functioning of a scientific mind.


The determination of standard samples of COD is often affected by experimental water,reagents,glassware and titration operation and many other factors.Blank value must be strictly controlled in the determination,two-step titration used to titrate,so that the precision and accuracy of sample analysis could be geratly improved.


During the past two decades, a significant body of research has focused on students' understandings of the nature of science (NOS). That is for sure that the studies regarding the nature of science, which is one of the most important elements of scientific literacy that is determined as the main focus of the science education at all levels, should and will continue. However, understanding of our starting point, what we have done, what we have succeeded, and where we have failed is essential for the studies and attempts on this subject to be more effective and meaningful. In this regard, this study aimed at examining the subjects, samples, methods, and findings of the 134 studies conducted in Turkey between 1998 and 2012 through document analysis. Although there is many studies in this field, the results indicate that, students of all grades, preservice and inservice teachers have not attained the desired understanding of NOS.


Skyline and ranking queries are two popular, alternative ways of discovering interesting data in large datasets. Skyline queries are simple to specify, as they just return the set of all non-dominated tuples, thereby providing an overall view of potentially interesting results. However, they are not equipped with any means to accommodate user preferences or to control the cardinality of the result set. Ranking queries adopt, instead, a specific scoring function to rank tuples, and can easily control the output size. While specifying a scoring function allows one to give different importance to different attributes by means of, e.g., weight parameters, choosing the "right" weights to use is known to be a hard problem. In this article, we embrace the skyline approach by introducing an original framework able to capture user preferences by means of constraints on the weights used in a scoring function, which is typically much easier than specifying precise weight values. To this end, we introduce the novel concept of F-dominance, i.e., dominance with respect to a family of scoring functions F: a tuple t is said to F-dominate tuple s when t is always better than or equal to s according to all the functions in F. Based on F-dominance, we present two flexible skyline (F-skyline) operators, both returning a subset of the skyline: nd, characterizing the set of non-F-dominated tuples; po, referring to the tuples that are also potentially optimal, i.e., best according to some function in F. While nd and po coincide and reduce to the traditional skyline when F is the family of all monotone scoring functions, their behaviors differ when subsets thereof are considered. We discuss the formal properties of these new operators, show how to implement them efficiently, and evaluate them on both synthetic and real datasets.


Vigorously developing vocational education has become one of Chinese basic national policies. In the era of "Internet Plus", vocational education is also changing rapidly. Vocational education has the dual attributes of education and industry. The new era requires a deeper integration of vocational education with the Internet, which is a great challenge for vocational schools. Based on the background of the current "Internet Plus" era, this paper clarifies the necessity of the innovation of vocational education management model, and proposes strategies for the diversified development and innovation of this mode, aiming to better realize a deep integration of vocational education with the Internet.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from exposure to blast energy released by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) has been recognized as the "signature injury" of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Repeated exposure to mild blasts may produce subtle deficits that are difficult to detect and quantify. Several techniques have been used to detect subtle brain dysfunction including neuropsychological assessments, computerized function testing and neuroimaging. Another approach is based on measurement of biologic substances (e.g. proteins) that are released into the body after a TBI. Recent studies measuring biomarkers in CSF and serum from patients with severe TBI have demonstrated the diagnostic, prognostic, and monitoring potential. Advancement of the field will require 1) biochemical mining for new biomarker candidates, 2) clinical validation of utility, 3) technical advances for more sensitive, portable detectors, 4) novel statistical approach to evaluate multiple biomarkers, and 5) commercialization. Animal models have been developed to simulate elements of blast-relevant TBI including gas-driven shock tubes to generate pressure waves similar to those produced by explosives. These models can reproduce hallmark clinical neuropathological responses such as neuronal degeneration and inflammation, as well as behavioral impairments. An important application of these models is to screen novel therapies and conduct proteomic, genomic, and lipodomic studies to mine for new biomarker candidates specific to blast relevant TBI.


The stability of non-homogeneous, steady state solutions of a scalar, non-local reaction-diffusion equation is considered. Sufficient conditions are provided that guarantee that the relevant linear operator possesses a countable infinity of discrete eigenvalues. These eigenvalues are shown to interlace the eigenvalues of a related local Sturm-Liouville operator. An oscillation theorem for the corresponding non-local eigenfunctions also is established. These results are applied to assess the stability of n-pulse solutions of a model which describes hot spot formation in a microwave heated ceramic fiber. Each n-pulse solution contains n spatially localized regions of elevated temperature. It is shown that the 1-pulse solution is metastable in that the principal eigenvalue of the corresponding linear operator is exponentially small. For n > 2, all solutions are unstable with corresponding principal eigenvalues bounded away from the origin.


A sensitive and reproducible method for the detection of specific antibody production (or total immunoglobulin secretion) at the single cell level from isolated lamina propria lymphocytes was developed. The cells were prepared from mouse intestinal mucosa by enzyme extraction with collagenase, and antibody secretion was demonstrated with a solid phase enzyme‐linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. Oral immunizations with cholera toxin or keyhole limpet haemocyanin to mice gave high numbers of highly antigen‐specific spot‐forming cells (SFC) among isolated lamina propria lymphocytes. Spots were shown to result from active synthesis of immunoglobulin in vitro. The variation in SFC numbers between individual animals after a given protocol of oral immunizations was found to be 25% and between equal groups analysed on different occasions, 12%. Kinetics of primary as well as secondary immune responses after oral immunizations with cholera toxin were easily monitored. A single dose of cholera toxin gave rise to 230 antitoxin SFC/107 isolated lamina propria lymphocytes. Each additional dose stimulated to increasing numbers of specific SFC with roughly 7000 antitoxin SFC/107 cells after five immunizations. Monitoring of day‐by‐day responses after oral booster immunizations demonstrated peak SFC numbers on day 8 after antigen administration. The total number of immunoglobulin‐secreting (Ig) cells and the isotype distribution of specific SFC could also be determined. In the peak antitoxin response, 8% of the isolated total Ig‐secreting lamina propria cells were active against cholera toxin, and of these 80% were producing IgA. This method has also been successfully used in humans and rabbits to demonstrate specific antibody production by single lamina propria plasma cells.


The causes and indications of the linguistic transition of the people of Ngiyampaa descent from speaking Ngiyampaa to speaking English are discussed. They still retain a smattering of Ngiyampaa to express distinct meanings not available in English.


Supersymmetry does not dictate the way we should quantize the fields in the supermultiplets, and so we have the freedom to quantize the Standard Model (SM) particles and their superpartners differently. We propose a generalized quantization scheme under which a particle can only appear off-shell, while its contributions to quantum corrections are exactly the same as those in the usual quantum field theory. We apply this quantization scheme solely to the sparticles in the $R$-parity preserving Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). Thus sparticles can only appear off-shell. They could be light but would completely escape the direct detection at any experiments such as the LHC. However, our theory still retains the same desirable features of the usual MSSM at the quantum level. For instance, the gauge hierarchy problem is solved and the three MSSM gauge couplings are unified in the usual way. Although direct detection of sparticles is impossible, their existence can be revealed by precise measurements of some observables (such as the running QCD coupling) that may receive quantum corrections from them and have sizable deviations from the SM predictions. Also the experimental constraints from the indirect sparticle search are still applicable.


In the wake of different studies, the intention in this chapter is to perform a critical examination of the process of turning nature into heritage. Such a study, if used as a management tool, may help to yield broader debate on environmental governance. To do this we shall look at the two elements that lie at the heart of creating heritage, namely conserving and enhancing the value of a terroir particularly through ecotourism and other productive environmental activities under way in the two Biosphere Reserves of the Yucatan : Celestun and Ria Lagartos. It seems that a heritage creation process is taking place, as the sign at the entrance of the Ria Lagartos reserve and the management plans of each Reserve suggest. It is, however, rather discrete, as no other indication has so far been detected in the rhetoric of the different stakeholders on the Yucatan coast. Does it really point to the emergence of a heritage process ? Is this the starting point for such a process ? What are the potential social, economic and political implications of such a process ? Does it help to reduce unequal relations or does it exacerbate social and economic marginalisation ?


The paper deals with the fundamental research for the design of an electric drive system for a sailplane in cooperation with the oldest and one of the largest sailplane manufactures Alexander Schleicher1. The realizability of this purpose is checked by a system perspective of the electric drive system. Different approaches are considered, e.g. a system with a gear, a downsized motor or an air drag optimized sustainer system to reduce the sinking due to the sustainer system.


Objective: To prove the relation of the effect of hearing compensation when the deaf children fitting hearing aids and the speech discrimination rate,articulation of speech and speech expression ability .Method: Evaluates the rehabilitation of hearing and speech abilities of 201 deaf children of 4 to 10 years old, in accordance with the National Criteria for Evaluating Rehabilitation of Deaf children. Results:The author, after statistical analysis, finds that the speech discrimination rate, articulation of speech,and speech expression ability etc. have a positive correlation with the effect of hearing compensation when the deaf children fitting hearing aids(r 0.9, P 0.05). Furthermore, the speech expression ability also positively correlates with the length of rehabilitation training (r0.95,P0.01).Conclusion:Good hearing aids with excellent aiding effects, and long-term auditory and speech training are the pre-requisite for the deaf children to rehabilitate.


The "war on terror" of the United States and the United Kingdom has diverted the world's attention from human rights issues elsewhere, says Amnesty International's 2006 annual report.

The report on the state of the world's human rights describes, over more than 300 pages, human rights violations in 150 countries. These violations range from violence against women and human trafficking through to famine and displacement resulting from war or from countries' internal political agendas (such as Zimbabwe).

The countries most in crisis—yet largely ignored by the developed world—are the …


Global population trends are reviewed. The author rejects the idea that demographic factors exert a decisive affect on socioeconomic development, and maintains the Marxist-Leninist view that demographic trends are a reflection of socioeconomic systems. He suggests that the resources of the planet can support a larger population than it contains at present providing these resources are used rationally.


From the early years of 16th century in Calabria it was inaugurated the research of new model of fortresses. In most cases they were interventions on medieval fortifications in which the new structures were added, simply juxtaposed to the pre-existing structures with an operation of addition without covering the original forms. Instead, in other cases the medieval structure was incorporated and it disappeared completely in the new facies of the castle. This occurred, for example, in Oppido (RC), but also in Bovalino (RC) and in Monasterace (RC) in southern Calabria. These three cases will be presented; they are very interesting because the chosen typology was the square plan with bastions at the corners, that is the typology who enjoyed greater favour in all the Viceroyalty. The state of preservation of the three fortifications is not homogeneous. Oppido e Bovalino are just monumental ruins, while the castle of Monasterace is completely intact, although the continued use has transformed its original forms.


Many more consumers have tried organic food at least once, but despite higher consumer awareness, they still show a great concern about food quality and safety. Recent research showed that there is still little knowledge of how organic products are produced and processed and which characteristics are fundamental for the consumer with regard to quality and safety. In this scenario, primary producers, processors and other stakeholders in the organic supply-chain have the difficult task of understanding consumers' complex and sometimes contradictory wishes with regard to organic food. The aim of this study is to examine food quality and safety issues related to buying organic products. To provide a better insight on the safety and quality issues in a cross-cultural setting, the linkages among consumers personal values – as final expression of consumer product knowledge - are analysed, by means of laddering data 8 for EU countries.


This paper proposes a circuit design method for contactless interconnects using capacitive coupling. The capacitive coupling with air as a dielectric can provide a contactless interconnect applicable to vehicular communication environments. The coupler which composed with parallel plates is analyzed and modelled with equivalent circuits. The capacitive coupler has the characteristics of a high pass filter which blocks the low frequency range of digital signal and thus additional recovery circuits are needed. The half-duplex communication circuit using OOK modulation is proposed to overcome such limitations. The designed circuit is applied to practical automotive CAN communication environments and the feasibility of the proposed design is verified through circuit simulation.


The article reveals the problems of environmental pollution in the neighborhood of dumps and landfills for technical and domestic waste. It contains the results of the monitoring of the dump (landfill) influence on the environment.


This project is part of a line of work on the process of implementing an accounting information system in a commercial SME. In this work the complete implementation of the system will not be configured but certain specific processes will be addressed, which will be detailed later, this is because the space provided in a TFG is not broad enough to contain such extensive work. The company in which we will implement our system will be a fictitious company called EC provided by our tutors. In general, this company is dedicated to the commercialization of a series of Galician products in different national geographical areas. This commercialization will be carried out both in the company's own stores, as well as infranchised and third-party stores. The implementation of our system will aim to automate the most representative and frequent accounting events of our company, such as purchases and sales of merchandise, shipments from the warehouse to stores, etc. We will use office tools such as Excel and ContaSol to develop our system, programs that are widely used in the workplace. We will also propose a statement in which a manager of our company asks us for a series of reports about the sales in the different stores. For the realization of these reports we will use resources such as dynamic tables and Excel charts. These instruments will allow us to show the information required by our manager in a very simple and visual way.


The purpose of this paper is to describe the procedures for developing and validating an instrument to measure Malaysian in-service teachers' reported practices of actual curriculum development. Drawing from literature reviews in the areas of school curriculum, the variable of actual curriculum development practices (ACDP) was operationalised to enable an instrument can be developed and validated. The content validity of the instrument has attained after a three-round of content validation. A two-phase of instrument testing was performed to acquire data from 201 in-service teachers to identify and establish the underlying structure of ACDP, construct validity and reliability of the instrument. The exploratory factor analysis showed a single-factor comprised of four interrelated decision-making processes of ACDP: designing and planning, teaching, evaluating and organising. This result supported the hypothesised underlying structure of ACDP which is interconnected rather than fragmented. This paper has fulfiled an identified need for the development of an empirically validated instrument to measure teachers' ACDP. Moreover, the relatively holistic and pioneer findings of ACDP is significant to the future investigations of the school curriculum development.


Objective:Study the Mechanism of kiwifruit root polysaccharide anti-tumor injection on tumor.Methods:Using compatibility group experimental design research methods,statistical analysis different doses of the drug group and control group mice's inhibitory rate and PCNA expression,and observation the cell microstructure with electron microscope.Results:kiwifruit root polysaccharide anti-tumor injection obvious inhibition on H22 tumor cell.Inhibition rate is 68.5% in the best dose group with the lowest PCNA expression of 51.20%.There is cell apoptosis in every treatment group with kiwifruit root polysaccharide anti-tumor injection,and the mitochondrial swelling in the tumor cell.At the same time there are void in cell cytoplasm.Conclusion:kiwifruit root polysaccharide anti-tumor injection inhibition the liver cancer.The mechanism maybe is inhibition PCNA to slowing down the tumor cell proliferation,while have toxic effect of mitochondrial.


The determination of nitrogen oxides as well as of nitrites, nitrates, and nitric acid is one of the difficult tasks related to analytical control in industry to the analysis of pollutants of the environment. The conversion of oxygenated nitrogen compounds into nitrobenzene has been used for the gas chromatographic determination of these compounds in exhaust gases from diesel engines and gunpowder gases. The nitrogen oxides were trapped and preconcentrated from air by reaction and sorption, a procedure based on the preliminary removal of interfering impurities from the analyzed air (gas) by means of a reactor-precolumn packed with a sorbent. This approach has significantly improved the selectivity and accuracy of the analysis.


Six diets were formulated to contain corn starch, tapioca starch, or dextrin at 10% and 20% inclusion levels and fed to humpback grouper fingerlings to apparent satiation for 10 weeks. Growth and feed utilization efficiency of humpback grouper were not affected by dietary carbohydrate source and level. Only slightly higher growth was observed in fish fed 20% dietary carbohydrate compared to the fish fed 10% carbohydrate irrespective of carbohydrate source. Body indices and whole body proximate composition of fish in the present study were generally independent of diet, except that muscle lipid of fish fed diets with 7.6% lipid and 20% carbohydrate was significantly lower than the other groups. In view of the lower price and local availability of tapioca starch compared to corn starch and dextrin, tapioca starch is the preferred source of starch in practical diets for humpback grouper.


s:This paper summarized the most available researches of biological control on turfgrass diseases. At present, almost all the researches mainly focus their attention on the mechanism of biocontrol, and found out that there are four main mechanisms of biological control on turfgrass diseases:1) antibiotic production; 2)mycoparasitism or degrading activity; 3) induce resistance; 4) competition for nutrients.


The present invention discloses a dominated by thiodiglycol, 2-hydroxypropyl hydroxyethyl sulfide monomers synthesized thiol-terminated liquid rubber polythioamic ether, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and then resin as conversion agent, the terminal group into a mercapto epoxy end groups, the resulting epoxy-terminated liquid rubber poly thioether method. The advantage of this process are: the use of polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether resin as a terminal group conversion agent, epoxy-modified mercapto overcome the traditional process viscosity is too large, the need to add toluene, ketones such as diluting solvent, reaction exotherm violently, the disadvantage is prone to side effects. Smooth response, easy to control product quality, affordable generation of epoxy-terminated poly thioether liquid rubber viscosity, good stability. After transformation of the end groups to retain strength and toughness of epoxy resin and a poly thioether rubber, the heat resistance, improving the brittleness of epoxy resin, to improve the adhesion of the material.


Travel-time information is essential in Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATISs) and Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMSs). A key component of these systems is the prediction of the spatiotemporal evolution of roadway traffic state and travel time. From the perspective of travelers, such information can result in better traveler route choice and departure time decisions. From the transportation agency perspective, such data provide enhanced information with which to better manage and control the transportation system to reduce congestion, enhance safety, and reduce the carbon footprint of the transportation system. The objective of the research presented in this dissertation is to develop a framework that includes three major categories of methodologies to predict the spatiotemporal evolution of the traffic state. The proposed methodologies include macroscopic traffic modeling, computer vision and recursive probabilistic algorithms. Each developed method attempts to predict traffic state, including roadway travel times, for different prediction horizons. In total, the developed multi-tool framework produces traffic state prediction algorithms ranging from short – (0~5 minutes) to medium-term (1~4 hours) considering departure times up to an hour into the future. The dissertation first develops a particle filter approach for use in short-term traffic state prediction. The flow continuity equation is combined with the Van Aerde fundamental diagram to derive a time series model that can accurately describe the spatiotemporal evolution of traffic state. The developed model is applied within a particle filter approach to provide multi-step traffic state prediction. The testing of the algorithm on a simulated section of I-66 demonstrates that the proposed algorithm can accurately predict the propagation of shockwaves up to five minutes into the future. The developed algorithm is further improved by incorporating onand off-ramp effects and more realistic boundary conditions. Furthermore, the case study demonstrates that the improved algorithm produces a 50 percent reduction in the prediction error compared to the classic LWR density formulation. Considering the fact that the prediction accuracy deteriorates significantly for longer prediction horizons, historical data are integrated and considered in the measurement update in the developed particle filter approach to extend the prediction horizon up to half an hour into the future. The dissertation then develops a travel time prediction framework using pattern recognition techniques to match historical data with real-time traffic conditions. The Euclidean distance is initially used as the measure of similarity between current and historical traffic patterns. This method is further improved using a dynamic template matching technique developed as part of this research effort. Unlike previous approaches, which use fixed template sizes, the proposed method uses a dynamic template size that is


This paper applies the singular integral operators, singular quadrature operators and discretization matrices associated with singular integral equations with Cauchy kernels, which are established in [1], to give a unified framework for various collocation methods of numerical solutions of singular integral equations with Cauchy kernels. Under the framework, the coincidence of the direct quadrature method and the indirect quadrature method is very simple and obvious.


Recent recommendations for prevention and treatment of chronic diseases emphasize long-term modification of patient health activities. Thus far, the public has accepted these recommendations only moderately. In a schoolbased topical fluoride program, urban and suburban seventh-graders were offered three fluoride treatments at five-and-a-half-month intervals. During the program, students were exposed to one of three techniques for increasing motivation to take part in preventive treatment programs: 1) information-alone, 2) information-plus-small rewards, 3) information-plus-group-discussion. "Information" refers to a slide show/demonstration designed to communicate information about tooth decay, fluorides, and the treatment program. Results indicated that 62 per cent of eligible students received all three fluoride applications during the 11-month period. However, the reward technique achieved significantly greater participation than either group discussion or information-alone. The major difference between rewards and information-alone was in motivating children to obtain parental permission, while the difference between rewards and group discussion was both in motivating children to obtain permission and in motivating them to return for second topical treatment. There were few important differences between urban and suburban students in overall compliance or in response to the motivational techniques.


In 1977 Valene Smith published Hosts and Guests ,one of the most influential books in the theoretical treatment of tourism.Nearly twenty five years later,this new book,edited by her and maryann Brent revisits some of the previous topics and adds a number of new issues.The new book,however,according to the reviewer,deepens some of the flaws already present in the first volume.Most contributors profess a profound dislike for modernization and limit themselves to lament the deteriorating conditions that,according to them,tourism is creating worldwide.Such a narrow perspective can only provide tourism with shaky theoretical foundations and make more difficult the path of developing societies to economic and social wellbeing.


This article presents the application and comparison of two techniques for intelligent computing to perform the analysis of the structural integrity of an aircraft structure. In this context, a ARTMAP-Fuzzy neural network and immunological negative selection algorithm are used in the identification and characterization of structural failure. The main application of these methodologies is to assist in the inspection of aircraft structures aiming at detecting and characterize flaws and decision making. To evaluate the methodology was performed modeling and simulation of signals from a numerical model using an aluminum beam. We performed a comparative analysis of methodologies, proving the efficiency of intelligent methods in the analysis of structural integrity. The results obtained by the method show efficiency, robustness and accuracy. To Evaluate the methodology was Performed modeling and simulation of signals from the numerical model using an aluminum beam. We performed a comparative analysis of methodologies, proving the efficiency of intelligent methods in the analysis of structural integrity. The results Obtained by the methods show efficiency, robustness and accuracy.


I fully support the stance taken by Jane Brignall in 'Nurses' role may be cut to fit budgets' (Letters April 2). For many years I have promoted the expanded role of the nurse, but only as part of a total holistic approach.


graders being lost, sent to wrong rooms, missing buses, locked in lockers, and being intimidated by the big ninth graders. As incoming seventh graders participated in the orientation at the start of the school year, the halls were filled with wide eyes and anxious faces. It was not uncommon to have the guidance counselors, teachers, and the assistant principal assist students throughout the first few days of school in finding a room, helping with locker challenges, and calming emotionally distraught students who were overwhelmed with their new environment.


If a patient with a central venous catheter develops an unexplained fever then a first axiom is that the catheter should be removed. In surgical patients, however, where other causes of sepsis abound, there is only a 50O( probability that the catheter has caused the fever.'9 A systematic approach to each case is needed and can be achieved by using a simple logic chart,'1 which reduces significantly the unnecessary removal of a vital lifeline.


Predicting integrated circuit (IC) functionality based on process control monitoring (PCM) parameters without individual die testing is a major challenge for manufacturers due to the high cost of electrical die measurement on the wafer. Complex dependencies between individual PCM parameters can be used to explain certain patterns of dice failure using Deep learning (DL) algorithms. However, random failure patterns due to process defects cannot be detected by this method. Combining PCM and in-process defect inspection data can be an ultimate prediction technique. In some cases, however, the availability of defect inspection data is much lower than the availability of PCM data, so direct ensemble training is rather ambiguous. This paper shows how to efficiently utilize both defect and PCM data to train a model to predict IC functionality. Such a hybrid model outperforms PCM-only solutions, and in contrast to a defect-only model predicts also failure areas across the wafer. Graphical abstract


Purpose

Many factors influence entrepreneurs, some of which influence the level of innovation (i.e. innovative or imitative) of new products or services pursued. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the psychological motivations of the entrepreneurs and their institutional setting on the innovativeness of the new venture they pursue. Through this exploration, we can gain a better understanding of how innovative new ventures still occur in varying institutional environments.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to deliver the authors' propositions as they pertain to innovation, the authors review the literature on entrepreneurs' default regulatory focus (i.e. promotion or prevention seeking) and the strength of the institutions in which they are operating.

Findings

The authors theorize that promotion focus enhances innovativeness of ventures while prevention focus enhances imitativeness of ventures. The authors also provide a conceptual framework for the interplay among institutions and regulatory focus and provide a typology for how these varying combinations impact innovativeness or imitativeness of venture type.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors discuss and unpack the entrepreneurial mindset in order to bridge gaps between institutions and cognitive motivations of entrepreneurs as they pertain to innovativeness of venture type. By synthesizing several areas of research, the authors shed light on entrepreneurs' innovativeness by proposing how these factors work together in determining whether an entrepreneur's venture is more or less innovative based on regulatory disposition and in different institutional settings.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising cell source for tissue engineering applications, given their ease of isolation and multi-potential differentiation capacity [1]. Passive and active mechanical signals can direct MSC lineage commitment [2], however, the subcellular machinery that translates physical cues to biologic response remains unclear. Direct deformation of the nucleus may influence differentiation by inducing mechanical reorganization of nuclear chromatin. Because the nuclei of differentiated cells are stiffer than progenitor cells [3], it is possible that such mechanoregulatory mechanisms vary with differentiation state. Lamin A/C is a filamentous protein that largely defines nuclear shape, size and stiffness [3]. Recent work suggests that Lamin A/C also regulates chromatin organization and transcriptional activity [4]. Recently, we have developed an in vitro system to direct the functional differentiation of MSCs into fibrochondrocytes, using electrospun polymeric nanofiber substrates [5]. Alignment of nanofibers directs cell alignment, allowing external forces to be applied uniformly along the long axes of cells, emulating the mechanical microenvironment experienced by embryonic progenitors during fibrous tissue morphogenesis [6]. We have noted, however, that as MSCs undergo fibrochondrogenesis, translation of scaffold deformation to nuclear deformation is attenuated [7]. From those studies, it was not clear whether this was due to changes in cellular mechanics or to accretion of extracellular matrix during differentiation. Thus the objective of the present work was to specifically identify how fibrochondrogenesis of MSCs on aligned nanofibrous scaffolds alters nuclear mechanics and mechanoreception, and further to ascertain whether mechanical stimulation alone can elicit similar mechanoregulatory changes.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


The characteristics of oasis and its social functionx in China are summarized.The authors analyze the influence of the oasis regional development on ecology,discuss the correlation and interacting principle between the oasis regional development and ecological construction,in the end several key problems are put forward and analyzed.


The decline of the Roman Empire has been attributed, in part, to lead poisoning. Scholars have reported that Roman food, water and wine all contained excessive amounts of lead. Although Americans ingest considerably less lead than did the ancient Romans, lead poisoning still poses a significant public health threat in this country, particularly to children. The Federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported that more than four million children suffer from lead poisoning. The director of the CDC has stated that {open_quotes}lead poisoning is the No. 1 environmental problem facing America`s children.{close_quotes} In addition to threatening children, lead poisoning presents health dangers to adults and, ironically, to federal government officials themselves. For example, at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters, water samples at nineteen sources were found to contain excessive amounts of lead. Additionally, a survey of twelve Capitol Hill buildings found that twenty-one percent of the water sources tested contained excessive lead levels.


Graham Cassano calls on Louis Althusser's concept of interpellation to understand the relationship between audiences and the socially conscious films of the New Deal period. These films called forth a new kind of working-class audience while that audience was itself developing out of the trauma of the Great Depression, which made the films possible. Working-class filmgoers were able to recognize themselves in these films as part of a "class situation" even when those films deployed retrograde images of race or gender. Cassano's investigation of the work of John Ford is especially telling and evokes the arc of the New Deal from its early radical period through the period of national unity during wartime and the cold war and red scare that followed.


Peripheral pocket or contour milling in wood machining, using flat end milling tool, can be performed with different tool paths. Technology designers of multi axis CNC wood machining use their experience and intuition to choose some of the options offered by CAM systems that determine the final shape of tool path, thus the generated tool path largely depend on individual judgment. Minimum cutting force, maximum dynamic stability of the process and minimum tool wear are achieved, or some other technological requirements are met, by using optimal tool path. Tool path optimisation is based on analysis of possible tool paths and determination of cutting parameters which are dependable of chosen tool path and are affecting the main wood processing factors. Axial and radial depth of cut, engagement angle, feed and feed rate profile are identified as key parameters dependable of tool path, and their values and variations along the tool path influence the cutting speed, tool wear and cutting force. Knowledge of values and changes of those key machining parameters along the tool path is necessary for simulation and monitoring of the main cutting factors during the wood machining process. NC code transformation methodology and generation of tool path parameters necessary for calculating all elements needed for tool movement simulation from given NC programs are shown. Blank and tool mathematical description are used with tool movement information for simulation of wood machining process. Simulation of cutting parameters and their variation along the tool path, presented in this paper, can be used as bases for development of methodology for choosing the most adequate tool path for wood machining of given contour considering minimum cutting force and cutting force variation, minimum tool wear, maximum productivity or some other criteria.


SUMMARY There is concern that the usual analysis of crossover designs with more than two treatments is subject to bias due to correlations between the measurements on the same experimental units. It has been shown by Kunert in the special case of balanced Latin squares that this bias can be present but that it is limited. Extending the work of Kunert we show in the present paper that there is a constant X* which guarantees that the estimate for the variance of any treatment contrast from the usual model multiplied by X* has an expectation which is at least as big as the true variance. This result holds for any within-unit covariance structure and it is valid for a class of commonly applied designs, allowing for fewer periods than treatments. The constant X* depends on the number of units, periods and treatments but not on the data or the unknown covariance matrix. We also deal with the effect that our result can have on tests for hypotheses about treatment contrasts.


themselves be shoved, unnoticed, through the turnstile of everyday speech. Reading this book, I gained a renewed sense of how language is forever shifting and flowing, bearing the impress of who is around us, our origins and what we have read, heard and seen. I started to wonder what I would discover if I could have a day's-worth of a person's speech laid out in front of me. Which words would they fall back on most often? What currencies would get them through the day's turnstiles? And where would these words have come from? That a collection of poetry has provoked curiosity about these kinds of questions could be a mark of its success. The Irish dialect 'I'm just after eating' might ordinarily be passed over unconsidered (or, if considered at all, chalked up as an idiomatic oddity resulting from the intersection of English and Gaelic which, among other influences, has fed into today's Irish English). To O'Siadhail, however, the reality in experience that underlies this grammatical formulation is brought flashing to the surface through a description of eating a mango:


The object of the invention is a method and an apparatus for measuring the load of an elevator car, which elevator comprises at least a hoisting machine (10) plus shaft, said hoisting machine being provided with a motor, and a traction sheave (8) fitted onto the shaft, and also a brake (1), and in which solution the load of an elevator car is measured by the aid of a measuring means (16). The load of the elevator car is measured with the measuring means (16) from the shaft of the traction sheave (8) of the hoisting machine (10).


We have observed a sharp peak (100%) in the in-plane resistivity ? ab just above T c , in Bi-2212 crystals, in agreement with previous results from Han et al. who attributed this anomaly to the quasi-reentrant behaviour already observed for polycrystalline samples. This explanation is very likely unadapted to these crystals and we propose another one related to a model we had used to fit ? c (T) curves for Bi-2212 underdoped crystals, namely, an increase of the Fermi level (hole-filling) with decreasing temperature, above T c , probably due to a change in the Bi-O or Cu-O bonds. A previously reported c-axis lattice anomaly, occurring in the same temperature range, is most probably related to this bonding alteration.


This article presented results of reduction number of DA (dopamine) terminal varicosities and increases of DA content in DA terminal varicosities in caudatoputamen nucleus of old rats (26-27 months) compared with that of the adult ones (3-4 months). This suggested that there might be some compensatory function in the striatal DA system during aging. Its significance was discussed in this article.


Jean McDougall, PhD, MPH, is in the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program at the University of Washington, and Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington. Trained in epidemiology and health economics, Dr. McDougall's research focuses on access to cancer care, including pretreatment genomic testing, the economics of targeted therapy, and participation in clinical trials. She is specifically interested in designing interventions to reduce the patient-level financial burden of cancer care. Dr. McDougall is a postdoctoral fellow in the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program at the University of Washington and with the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. What Happens When Imatinib Goes Generic?


Deborah Easby looks back on three demanding but rewarding years as a nursing student and encourages those who are about to embark on their own journeys to embrace the challenges ahead.


Objective To study the methods of early vitreous surgery in treating severe rupture of the eyeballs,in which cornealb,roken and opacity,prolapse of eyeball content happened with anterior/posterior traumatic hemorrhage,to save the traumatic eyeballs. Methods 26 cases of complicated traumatic patients in the study were cured,by resuturing the corneal wound and using hypertonic saline to remain some transparency of the damaged cornea,by injecting some sodium hyaluronate or other viscoelastic into anterior chamber or into the vitreous cavity to raise the intraocular pressure so as to keep useful visual field for surgery,and by building safe intraocular irrigation,and then vitrectomy were carried out afterwards combining with other surgical procedures according to different posterior conditions. Results During operating,safe intraocular irrigation were built in all patients.After getting rid of the opaque corneal epithelium,three-tunnel pars plana vitrectomy were carried out via the undamaged part of the cornea.Postoperative eyeball saving rates(stable intraocular pressure and shape of the eyeballs) were 100%.3 to 6 months later,silicone oil was extracted out in 14 case(53.85%) in which the retina remained attached,and oil were still kept in 12 other eyes for safe of retinal attachment. Conclusions The secondary complicated vitreoretinal surgeries should be carried out earlier or even in the first rescuing surgery.Before the post-trauma inflammatory exudative reaction summit without corneal stromal edema or intraoculm fibrosis formation,the pathologically changed intraocular tissues were eliminated effectively,the aqueous block were relieved sufficiently,intraocular filling were done effectively as well,detached ciliary body and choroid body were reattached anatomically and functionally,the route leading to eyeball atrophy were blocked.So as to save the surviving visual function to its most extent and to provide an anatomic basis for the secondary surgery.


Dysregulation of insulin signaling in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain has been extensively reported. Serine racemase (SR) modulates insulin secretion in pancreatic islets. This study aimed to examine whether SR regulates insulin synthesis and secretion in neurons, thereby modulating insulin signaling in the AD brain. Srr‐knockout (Srr−/−) mice generated with the CRISPR/Cas9 technique were used. Using immunofluorescence and fluorescence in situ hybridization, levels of insulin protein and insulin(ins2) mRNA were significantly increased in the hippocampal but not in hypothalamic sections of Srr−/− mice compared with WT mice. Real‐time quantitative PCR revealed that ins2 mRNA from primary hippocampal neuronal cultures of Srr−/− mice was significantly increased compared with that from cultured neurons of WT mice. Notably, the secretion of proinsulin C‐peptide was increased in Srr−/− neurons relative to WT neurons. By examining membrane fractional proteins with immunoblotting, Srr−/− neurons retained ATP‐dependent potassium channels on plasmalemma and correspondingly contained higher levels of p‐AMPK. After treatment with Aβ42, the phosphorylation levels of insulin receptor substrate at serine 616 636 (p‐IRS1ser616,636) were significantly lower, whereas p‐AKT308 and p‐AKT473 were higher in Srr−/− neurons than in WT neurons, respectively. The phosphorylated form of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase decreased in the cultured Srr−/− neurons relative to the WT neurons upon Aβ42 treatment. In contrast, phosphorylated protein kinase R remained at the same levels. Further, reactive oxygen species were reduced in cultured Srr−/− neurons under Aβ42 treatment relative to the WT neurons. Collectively, our study indicated that Srr deletion promoted insulin synthesis and secretion of proinsulin C‐peptide, thereby reversing insulin resistance by Aβ42. This study suggests that targeting the neuronal SR may be utilized to enhance insulin signaling which is inhibited at the early stage of the AD brain.


Children are more vulnerable than adults and require special measures to protect and promote their needs and rights. Their vulnerability is distinguished between two types, inherent vulnerability and structural vulnerability. It is very important to ensure that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child plays a significant role in enabling the child to be a person and not merely an object of concern.


A multi-objective (smallest workshop area, optimal logistics and non-logistics costs) mathematical model is built for the system layout design. Based on this model, an improved genetic annealing algorithm is proposed. According to the constraints, initial population and adaptive parameters are introduced to dynamically adjust crossover and mutation probability, which can effectively prevent premature convergence and the destruction of best chromosome. Finally, the comparative analysis shows the improved land use efficiency as well as production efficiency after applying the results to layout design.


The presence of the uterus can influence ovarian function (Bland & Donovan, 1966; Anderson, 1968; Clemens, Minaguchi & Meites, 1968). Exogenous gonadotrophins can induce ovulation in both immature and mature rats but the number of ova released is much higher in 3to 5-week-old, than in older, animals (Zarrow & Wilson, 1961; France & Pincus, 1964). To test whether the presence of a functionally mature uterus is of significance in determining the number of ova shed in response to gonadotrophin treatment, ovulations


THE ISSUE. The Bering Sea supports one of the largest, most profitable food fisheries in the world. Commercial fisheries are the largest private-sector employer in Alaska. The extent, duration, and timing of sea ice advance and retreat are changing dramatically in the warming Arctic, and this accelerated transformation affects food webs on which commercially important fisheries depend. When sea ice is lacking, there are major shifts in where commercially important fish are found and in the food webs on which they depend.


Advances in both experimental and computational approaches to genome-wide analysis of RNA transcripts have dramatically expanded our understanding of the ubiquitous and diverse roles of regulatory non-coding RNAs. This conference session includes presentations exploring computational approaches for detecting regulatory RNAs in RNA-Seq data, for analyzing in vivo CLIP data on RNA-protein interactions, and for predicting interfacial residues involved in RNA-protein recognition in RNA-protein complexes and interaction networks.


A ladder-type unit thieno[3′,2′:3,4]isoquinolino[8,7-h]thieno[3,2-c]isoquinoline-6,13(7H,14H)-dione (TITI) was invented as an acceptor unit for constructing donor–acceptor (D–A) copolymers. Two polymers PThTITI and PSeTITI were developed by copolymerizing TITI with thiophene (Th) or selenophene (Se). Compared with PThTITI, PSeTITI possesses a lower bandgap and higher hole mobility. PThTITI:PC71BM and PSeTITI:PC71BM solar cells gave power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 5.53% and 6.17%, respectively.


We have developed an analytical model for the implosion of a heavy ion beam driven multilayered cylindrical target. The target consists of a thick metallic shell, typically made of lead which is filled with a low density material, for example frozen hydrogen, and it is axially irradiated with a heavy ion beam with an annular focal spot. The model describes the expansion of the absorption region, the implosion of the pusher, the trajectories of the incident and reflected shocks and the final quasi-isentropic compression. The model is expected to be very helpful to optimize detailed simulations of such problems which are of close relevance to the GSI plasma physics experimental program, planned for the future upgraded accelerator facilities.


The authors determined the elemental and phase composition of zinc oxide ceramic (ZOC) by emission spectral (ESA), x-ray phase (XPA), and micro x-ray spectral (MXSA) analysis as well as by the method of electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). They studied the microstructure on metallographic and scanning electron microscopes using MXSA and ESCA data. Samples of ZOC were synthesized in the system of oxides Zn, Bi, Sb, Co, Mn, Sn, Si, Ni, Mg, Cr and B. The authors found that several mechanisms are responsible for the changes in the parameters of varistors based on zinc oxide ceramic, each of whose contribution depends on the operating conditions of the varistor.


To describe contribution of the parent molecule rotation and the interfragment repulsive forces into the rotational excitation of molecular fragments produced through the photo-dissociation process, a simple model is proposed. The model is proved to be useful in estimating the magnitude of the additional angular momentum, that originates from the interfragment repulsive forces, by observation of the polarized fluorescence of photoproducts.


To design and develop anticipatory reasoning-reacting systems with three-dimensional moving objects, it is indispensable to decide the fundamental logic basis to underlie anticipatory reasoning about three-dimensional moving objects. This paper investigates the fundamental logic basis for anticipatory reasoning-reacting systems with three-dimensional moving objects. The paper presents some basic requirements for the fundamental logic basis and shows that three-dimensional spatio-temporal relevant logic is more suitable than classical mathematical logic and its various classical conservative extensions and various relevant logics to be the fundamental logic basis by two case studies.


Introduce concept of electron data exchange and the EDI′s system component,elaborateed traditional deal pattern together with EDI′s deal pattern difference, analysed the three core technique of realization EDI, and introduced the relationship of EDI together with Internet and implement the foreground of the beneficial result of EDI along with the application of EDI together with EDI


The article examines the key features of the organisation of physical culture and health-improving activities in the framework of physical training of students with impaired health. The considered research problem lies in the contradiction between the need to improve physical culture and health-improving activity in higher training and the lack in the modern training system of effective practices for organising physical training of students with impaired health. The study examines the main changes in recent years in the practice of organising physical culture and health-improving activities for students with impaired health, we reveal the mechanism for the formation of special medical groups, as well as their differentiation depending on the type of students' diseases. The importance of increasing the effectiveness of physical culture and health-improving activity in universities is noted, in view of the continuing growth in the number of students with impaired health. Based on the analysis of the current state of the system of physical training of university students, the main problems inherent in this area are highlighted, namely – the diversity of competences in the field of physical culture, the lack of balance between the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and the physical activity of students with impaired health, the lack of a motivational aspect in the system of physical training. The need for a qualitative modernisation of the practice of applying the competency approach to physical training of students and the introduction of a motivational component in the curriculum for physical culture is emphasised. For the further development of this direction, it is necessary to find and maintain a balance between theoretical work and obtaining practical skills in the process of physical culture and health-improving activities, as well as the ability to apply them in subsequent life.


The purpose of this paper is to discuss the architecture of distributed conceptual design system for electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers. It is a configuration management (CM) compliant architecture. The outputs from the CM-compliant distributed conceptual design system can be linked to a product data management system (PDM) and to optimize the design activities in supply chains.


Subtitle: Logistics and transportation companies were hit early and hard by the economic downturn. Those changes that survived had to adapt operations and adopt new ideas and strategies. Many of those will remain and provide competitive benefits as the recovery takes hold.


The active bias control circuit for an amplifier comprising: in response to a supply voltage switch for providing an input current to the amplifier input coupled to the switch for current measurements scaled down replica of the input current measuring amplifier circuit. A first amplifier circuit in response to control a current measuring circuit for measuring the input current in response to the scaled-down copy of the control voltage regulator to prepare a first amplifier input current amplifier. Also disclosed is a power-up sequencing of the active amplifier to a bias control circuit for the amplifier circuit.


This study focused on Jambi Province (Sumatera) which experienced a massive forest fire in 2015. It had destroyed 19,528 ha of land in including Berbak National Park. These fires directly lead to economic losses of the households near National Park and neighboring provinces. This study used a Social Accounting Matrix framework (simple version of a general equilibrium model) to simulate two scenarios if the government invest on reforestation and rehabilitation of forest and how it affected the household incomes for agriculture and non-agriculture groups in Jambi Province. The investment is estimated from the budget allocated for activities in the Berbak Region. From the simulation, the result showed rural and urban areas are positively affected under both scenarios due to the forestry investment. The positive impacts on the rural and urban households are relatively small in the first simulation, but more positively affected in the second simulation, however, it seems to intensify the income gap for workers and employers. The simulation results also indicated the absorption capacity of CO2 increases between 111 percent and 284 percent due to the investment in Berbak National Park.


We investigate the role of adjustment costs and other firm-specific variables like tangibility, growth opportunity, size of the company, profitability, volatility, nondebt tax shields and uniqueness of the company in the determination of capital structure in the case of 793 Indian manufacturing companies for the period 1995–1996 to 2006–2007. A dynamic partial adjustment model, more specifically the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) technique, is used to test the dynamics of capital structure. The results indicate that firms do have a target capital structure. The adjustment speed towards the target capital structure is reasonably high and it varies with the definition of leverage ratio. All these results are consistent with the tradeoff theory of corporate capital structure.


This work aims at investigating the impact of commonly used sweeteners- sugar and jaggery on 3D printability of rice flour (RF) paste. The physico-chemical characteristics of rice flour suitable for 3D food printing have been investigated. Three mixes, rice flour with water (M1 : RF- 50.86 %, Water- 49.14 %), rice flour with sugar and water (M2 : RF- 36.75 %, sugar- 14.10 %, Water-49.14 %) and rice flour with jaggery and water (M3 : RF- 36.75 %, Jaggery- 14.10 %, Water-49.14 %) were compared on 3D printability based on visual inspection and properties supporting 3D printability and shape retention. The effect of the three mixes were characterised on colour, rheological, thixotropic and handling properties. Out of the three mixes M3 is found to have the best printability characteristics with shear thinning behaviour, yield stress of 157 Pa, flow stress of 121 Pa and extrusion force of 6.62 kg. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Indonesia was astonished by the Constitutional Court ruling relating to the status of a child outside of a legal marriage. Although it is considered not the main intention of the Constitutional Court members to legalize adultery, many people predict this will lead to many wrong interpretations and lead to the opening of very wide space to the practice of adultery.  The main reason behind the verdict was to protect the status of children born out of legitimate marriages and their human rights because in truth they did not know what caused them to lose the rights that normal children should have. born into a legal marriage, and what befalls them is not in their power, but in their parents. So, if there is revocation of the right to a certain act, their parents' rights must be revoked. Muslims who are very opposed to the practice of adultery, and matters relating to it, driven by the scholars who are concerned with the verdict, raise their voices with their voices to reject decision No. 46 / PUU-VIII / 2010. Based on the principle of sadd-adz-dzari'ah, the majority of Muslims firmly reject the ruling, based on the aim of closing meetings for opportunities for the spread of adultery practices.


The purpose of this research to analyze the use of cloud computing in notary profession. This research used an empirical research. This research is done in Makassar at the Regional Office of Law and Human Rights of Makassar, the Regional Notary Supervisory Council of the Makassar and Notaries in Makassar. The source of data that is used is a primary and secondary data. The data collected through interviews, questionnaires, and literature study. The data analysis used in this research is descriptive-qualitative. According to the result of this research it is known the used of cloud computing on the notary profession is not right to do so. This because in principle, notaries work is based on the act of notary public, that explaining the deed is the original deed which is then stored as one of the notary protocols and the original of the deed that is scanned, cannot be an evidence. Notaries who are negligent in keeping the minimum deed using cloud computing will result in civil liability, namely actions against the law, administrative responsibility in the form of written warning sanctions and even disrespectful dismissal and responsibility in the code of ethics in the form of warning to disrespectful dismissal from the association.


In order to promote the visual quality of degraded underwater images, we develop an innovative variational model based on Retinex with a total generalized variation (TGV) prior on the illumination. The TGV prior is adopted to approximate piecewise smoothness and piecewise linear smoothness of the illumination, which combines the first-order and second-order total variation (TV) to model the variation of illumination. When adopting this illumination prior in the Retinex-based algorithm, the illumination and reflection are well separated, and underwater enhanced results appear more natural and their details and edges are better preserved. Then an efficient iterative optimization method is derived to settle the proposed model via alternately calculating the illumination and the reflection simultaneously. Numerous experiments on both visual results and objective metrics demonstrate the superiority of our method compared with several underwater enhancement methods. In addition, the proposed method can be extended for dehazing, sandstorm removal and low illumination image enhancement, which can illustrate better capacity of our model.


A comprehensive study of American fertility was undertaken in order to formulate population projections for the future. Projections were made on the basis of cohort groupings. This appendix explains the methods used to estimate various indices of births and population.


With the development of AI systems, services using them expand to various applications. The widespread adoption of AI systems relies substantially on the ability to trust their output. Therefore, it is becoming important for a client to be able to check whether the AI inference services have been correctly calculated. Since the weight value in a CNN model is an asset of service providers, the client should be able to check the correctness of the result without the weight value. Furthermore, when the result is checked by a third party, it should be possible to verify the correctness even without the user's input data. Fortunately, zeroknowledge Succinct Non-interactive ARguments of Knowledge (zk-SNARKs) allow to verify the result without input and weight values. However, the proving time in zk-SNARKs is too slow to be applied to real AI applications. This paper proposes a new efficient verifiable convolutional neural network (vCNN) framework which accelerates the proving performance tremendously. To increase the proving performance, we propose a new efficient relation representation for convolution equations. While the proving complexity of convolution is O(ln) in the existing zk-SNARK approaches, it reduces to O(l + n) in the proposed approach where l and n denote the size of kernel and the data in CNNs. Experimental results show that the proposed vCNN improves prove performance by 20 fold for a simple MNIST and 18000 fold for VGG16. The security of the proposed scheme is proven formally.


The paper deals with the method of value assessment for objects of digital cartographic heritage. The method is based on the system of the original cartographic object transformation into various analog or digital forms and formats. The formula linking the assessment of digital cartographic objects with the evaluation of the original one, as well as its analog copies, is presented. The method involves а variety of evaluation criteria


We study geometric properties of topological spaces called proper NCℬ-tameness,
proper PCℬ-tameness, and proper Nℬ-movability, where ℬ and C denote classes of spaces. They
are related to proper MCℬ-tameness and proper Mℬ-movability from [5] and could be regarded
as their dual forms. All three are invariants of a recently invented author's proper shape
theory and are described by the use of proper multi-valued functions. We explore their basic
properties and prove several results on their preservation under proper maps.


In this paper, we describe our protein folding research with the goal of improving protein model scoring by grouping of protein models and using an interpreter for machine learning (ML). The traditional approach is to use a handful of popular ML algorithms, such as Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest and Neural Networks that are trained on a whole set of models. Our approach is to group the protein models and train the ML algorithms on each group separately. Our framework can be generalized to other application of ML where there is a strong diversification of data set. In this paper, we describe results of comparison of traditional vs. our grouping approach showing that some improvement in the scoring of protein models can be achieved. To further improve the scoring, an interpreter for machine learning is used. The interpreter is based on Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) tool. In this paper it is used to determine feature vector for each group of protein models. Different feature vectors are then used for ML training on different groups of protein models allowing us to improve the ML algorithms. In addition, interpreter of ML can be used in the future to provide feedback for the process of protein models generation.


purpose of encouraging the others. Voltaire entertained the odd opinion that better ways of encouraging the survivors might have been found than that of shooting half of all the admirals on hand. He did not admire the purge, which has since become gruesomely popular. Leibniz, however, had not tried to prove that all men were morally perfect. He had recognized human sin, and had declined to blame God for it. He had insisted that


postural stress are more rewarding. If there seems to be an undue emphasis on posture, Corlett assures us in his chapter that it is not of minor importance but that many of the diseases of middle age are contributed to in a major way by postural inadequacies and mentions three low back pain, varicose veins and tenosynovitis which make the lives of large segments of the population uncomfortable. I think that he exaggerates to make his point, but agree that all the untoward consequences of work should be avoided if at all possible. There are five chapters in the section on psychosocial stress including an interesting review of some of the concepts of stress by Cox and Mackay. There is also the report of a study of stress in a steel works which showed that, under normal conditions, the levels of stress were no greater than in the general population but that a sharp and significant increase occurred when working conditions changed and when the future became uncertain, hardly a surprising observation. The objective of the final section is to show how stress can be eliminated from work by careful design. This section contains perhaps the most interesting chapter in the book: this gives an account of the design of a new press shop employing ergonomic principles and the improvements which resulted from the application of proper planning. In the new factory it was possible to hold a conversation without having to shout, a feat which cannot be achieved in the usual press shop. The final chapter makes the important point that the needs of the workers should be taken into account in the design of new factories, a premise which presumably reflects the philosophy of all the authors. As has probably become apparent, I found the book as a whole an unsatisfactory mixture: too many of the chapters were not sufficiently informative; the style of writing is uneven and suffers from under-editing. Some of the chapters would have benefited from a radical excision of jargon. Overall, I do not think that the book has achieved its objectives, and its target audience will not be better informed on the means by which stress can be measured or how work can be made less of a chore, although some of the individual chapters will prove of value.