Over-exploitation and fragmentation are serious problems for tropical forests. Most sustainable forest management practices avoid clear-cuts and apply selective logging systems focused on a few commercial species. We applied a simulation model to estimate the impact of such selective logging scenarios on the genetic diversity and demography of four tropical tree species from French Guiana. The simulations used data on genetic and demographic composition, growth, phenology and pollen and seed dispersal obtained for Dicorynia guianensis, Sextonia rubra, Symphonia globulifera and Vouacapoua americana at the experimental site in Paracou. Whereas Symphonia globulifera serves as a model for a species with low logging pressure, the other three species represent the most exploited tree species in French Guiana. In simulations with moderate logging, typical for French Guiana, with large cutting diameter (>60 cm diameter) and long cutting cycles (65 years), the two species V. americana and Sextonia rubra were not able to recover their initial stock at the end of the rotation period, with a large decrease in the number of individuals and in basal area. Under a more intensive logging system (cutting diameter >45 cm diameter, cutting cycles of 30 years) that is common practice in the Brazilian Amazon, only Symphonia globulifera showed no negative impact. Generally, the differences between the genetic parameters in the control scenarios without logging and the logging scenarios were surprisingly small. The main reasons for this were the overlapping of generations and the effective dispersal ability of gene vectors in all species, which guarantee relative homogeneity of the genetic structure in different age classes. Nevertheless, decreasing the population size by logging reduced the number of genotypes and caused higher genetic distances between the original population and the population at the end of the logging cycles. Sensitivity analysis showed that genetic changes in the logging scenarios were principally determined by the growth, densities and cutting diameter of each species, and only to a very small extent by the reproductive system including factors such as pollen and seed dispersal and flowering phenology. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. er Ltd. All rights reserved. 1; fax: +49 4102 696 200. rg.de (B. Degen). B I O L O G I C A L C O N S E R V A T I O N 1 3 1 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 3 8 6 – 4 0 1 387


English for tourism needs to be learned since travel and tourism is a dynamic engine of economic development and job creation throughout the world. In 2016, statistics showed that the travel and tourism industry is one of the highest contributors in global economic development. This significant development of travel and tourism can influence the English language which is the most widely used and spoken language around the world. Not only as a community tool, English for tourism has a role in the delivery of quality service. This research focuses on one aspect of ESP. That is textbook analysis. Textbook has an essential role in ESP since it facilitated learner to keep focus on learning English based on their relevant topics and language function related to their field. Textbooks represent a key element in almost every language programme. Textbooks also serve to provide a structured lesson outline which can be beneficial for both teachers and students. Three different textbooks are discussed in this paper and being analysed using Tomlinson's theory of well-designed textbook. Those are English for Tourism and Hospitality in Higher Education Studies by Hans Mol and Terry Philips; Flash on English for Tourism by Catrin E. Morris; and Oxford English for Careers: Tourism 2 by Robin Walker and Keith Harding. Keywords— English for tourism, ESP, textbook


The occurrence speciation of uranium of a sandstone uranium deposit in the Yili Basin was quantitatively analyzed by using the method of sequential chemical extraction.The proportion of uranium chemical speciation was divided into carbonates(mean of 44.58%),the Fe-Mn oxides(mean of 28.46%),the exchangeable(mean of 12.51%),the residual(mean of 7.90%),and the sulfide-organic matter speciation(mean of 6.52%).The analysis verified that the characteristics of uranium speciation distribution is beneficial to cost reduction on in-situ leaching of uranium and environmental protection.The active uranium(which can be extracted using the technique of in-situ leaching)includes 4chemical speciations except for the residual speciation was principal(mean of 92.08%),which suggests that the uranium leaching rate of the sandstone uranium deposit is high.The sample with high proportion of active uranium is of high grade,and vice versa,which indicates that the ratio of total uranium extracted/reserves should be relatively high.Hence,the sandstone uranium deposit could be exploited suitably using the in-situ leaching technique based on analysis of uranium chemical speciations.


In the historical development from static to dynamic perception of space, there are concomitant changes in the concept of architectural style. Materials become lighter, structures more kinetic and spaces less bounded and more energetic. This paper is an attempt to examine the expression of movement in architecture, advanced concepts of equilibrium, and a new sense of weight, that would finally lead to a new concept of space expressing the essence of movement. Energy, is the basic element of this new language, since it is capable of articulating the emerging concepts of force and dynamic space in a new architectural form. This language will be an abstract element behind every design, where typical themes from static compositions, arranged on the basis of tectonic principles are significantly altered to become new themes for a new dynamic composition. It is an attempt to predict a new architecture for the future. Axes at right angles, that provided orientation in the modern movement, must now be altered. Architecture, will no longer be the play of masses under light, it is a new kind of freedom, where mobility and immateriality are its main tendencies. "A new architecture, which will take us out of the sterility of the past and the servility of copying, is what everybody demands, and what the public wants." Cesar Denis Daly.


: Medical device development is often understood as a linear process with design stages occurring sequentially. First stages are usually performed in order to specify the future device definition through interviews/meetings of the end-users, researchers and manufacturers. Because the medical device is original, these first stages mainly involve end-users and researcher. However, regulation constraints and economic reality sometimes makes manufacturers hesitant to base the industrial development on this initial basis. Functional analysis, well known by manufacturers, is a method used to accurately define the final functions of a medical device. In this conference, we estimate that the functional analysis can be put to profit in a more efficient way if researchers and end-users get familiar with it prior to the interview/meeting stages. Although the results of such knowledge democratisation is not demonstrated here, we present the function analysis conducted on a lithium monitoring device according to this multidisciplinary approach. We also show that function analysis can be used not only to drive research actions but also to identify regulation requirements.


A category of linear programming,which has important applications in both portfolio investment and determining the criteria-weight of multiple criteria decision making,has been studied in this paper. A sufficient and necessary condition,which the category of linear programming has a feasible solution,is obtained. And a rapid method is proposed to find the optimal solution to the category of linear programming while its feasible solution exists.


A new approach to H ∞ multi-step prediction is developed by applying the innovation analysis theory. Although the predictor is derived by resorting to state augmentation, nevertheless, it is completely different from the previous works with state augmentation. The augmented state here is considered just as a theoretical mathematic tool for deriving the estimator. A distributed algorithm for the Riccati equation of the augmented system is presented. By using the reorganized innovation analysis, calculation of the estimator does not require any augmentation. A numerical example demonstrates the effect in reducing computing burden.


Since 1 st of September 2005 the individual roughage intake has been measured with a computerized scale system at the dairy research farm Karkendamm, where the individual performance test of the bull dams of a German breeding company is located. In conjunction with the routinely collected data of the established individual performance test the daily energy balance has been calculated as the difference between energy intake and calculated energy requirements for lactation and maintenance. Several criteria of energy balance have been defined over different lactation stages: mean daily energy balance during the first 50 and 100 days of lactation, duration of negative energy balance and total energy deficits in the early stage of lactation. The dataset is not yet great enough for a calculation of genetic parameters. The present data set has been used preliminary to estimate repeatabilities and correlations between cow effects and to show tendential differences in energy balance traits between heifers with or without medical treatments.


The article represents a brief analysis of the main theoretical approaches to the problem of defining the level-based nature of personality self-realisation in the context of system determination. Therefore, self-realisation is considered to be a form of a person"s self-organisation as an open system. The article deals with casual and non-casual determination of two qualitatively different levels of personality self-realisation.


When subjects are exposed to intense sound fields, subharmonics radiated from the subjects eardrum are heard. The frequency of the subharmonic is exactly one‐half of the frequency of the stimulating signal. Whereas these observations on humans are only possible at intensities above 140 db, subharmonics are found at the guinea pigs ear at an exposure level of about 95 db. These subharmonics will be demonstrated on guinea pigs and discussed.


The European Union aims to be climate-neutral by 2050 – an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. RSE carries out research in the field of electrical energy with special focus on national strategic projects supported through the Fund for Research into Electrical Systems. The activity covers the entire supply system with an application-oriented, experimental, and system-based approach. The e-REAL's time travelling immersive experience is based on RSE's know-how and allows interactive and immersive experiences that are a powerful way to cascading relevant communication and fostering people's awareness about the European Union targets.


ABSTRACT While many studies have shown that greater trade openness affects the overall size of social spending, this study emphasizes that it also affects types of social policies that a government prioritizes. When faced with deepening trade competition, governments tend to use different policy measures to address the opportunities and challenges stemming from their economic competitiveness in the international market. Policy makers in countries with high relative labor costs are likely to privilege social insurances and income transfer. This is because as high labor costs make their workers more vulnerable in the trade competition, governments seek to protect skilled labor in order to maintain their economic advantage in advanced industries. In contrast, when relative labor costs are low, human capital investment programs are likely to be emphasized to enhance productivity and the quality of labor to capitalize the cost competitiveness of a country's workers. The findings from empirical analyzes of 26 OECD economies from 1991 to 2012 support these arguments.


The possibility for controlling admission was illustrated even before the Charter was adopted: the principle that States should be rigorously vetted was the basis of objection to Argentina participating in the Conference on International Organization. Shortly after, the Committee on Admission of New Members, in issuing admission questionnaires, demonstrated a willingness to subject applicants to factual and legal inquiry as to their Article 4 fitness. States in formal statements respecting the UN in its early years were clear that universal admission was a principle to guide the Organization. A large group of States sought admission in the mid-1950s. Some of these, like Libya, had been dependent territories until only a short time before and thus, as yet lacking statehood, had not been eligible to join an inter-State organization. Others, like Spain, Italy, and Japan, had been encumbered by their involvement with, or membership in, the Axis during World War II.Keywords: Article 4; Axis government; Committee on Admission; international organization; UN Charter; World War II


Let Mn, n > 3, be an oriented minimally immersed complete hypersurface in Euclidean space. We show that for n = 3, 4, 5, or 6, the index of Mn is finite if and only if the total scalar curvature of Mn is finite, provided that the volume growth of Mn is bounded by a constant times rn, where r is the Euclidean distance function. We also note that this result does not hold for n > 8. Moreover, we show that the index of Mn is bounded by a constant multiple of the total scalar curvature for all n > 3, without any assumptions on the volume growth of Mn.


The Assessing Passing Opportunities Literature Review was undertaken in 1995 with two main objectives which were to develop a means of assessing the need for increased passing opportunity in the preliminary stages of a scheme evaluation and to evaluate the tools available to predict the effects of increased passing opportunities on highway operations. The report details the performance factors that should be considered in any assessment, summarises warrants used in other countries, and describes some tools used to evaluate passing facilities. The report concludes that there is a need to research some performance measures for New Zealand that are related to driver perception of the highway, and that a computer-based simulation model such as TRARR or TWOPAS would be most appropriate for determining the benefits of passing opportunities.


We have developed an automated method for sea‐floor classification for the South Tasman Rise, based on a SIMRAD EM12‐backscatter (13 kHz) mosaic and 47 sea‐floor samples. The samples have been divided into 3 distinct groups representing: (i) thick blankets of foraminiferal ooze; (ii) mixed sediments comprising sand/silt/mud (turbidites/chalk); and (iii) outcrops of metamorphic basement and volcanic rocks. A total of 515 sub‐areas, each measuring 32 × 32 pixels (∼4 km2) and representing the different seabed types, were extracted from the image from areas 128×128 pixels large, centred on the sample locations. The texture of the sub‐images was analysed by calculating grey‐level run‐length features, spatial grey‐level dependence matrices, and grey‐level difference vectors in four directions. A total of 100 samples for each class and 18 feature statistics were chosen to train an artificial neural network to recognise the textural attributes and their variability for each class. The performance of the network w...


The purpose focused on understanding the changes in the strategic thinking of small and medium-sized industries in the auto parts sector in Venezuelan economic complexity. Methodologically, it was based on the interpretive paradigm, concluding that strategic thinking has mainly included: the setting of objectives in relation to the organizational goal, the effort in the development of business activity despite failures of public services; the investment in innovation for the redesign of the structure in: products, processes, and socio-organizational that includes a new organizational mentality, seeking at least the operational maintenance in Venezuelan economic complexity


A total of 20 patients with a diagnosis of chronic idiopathic urticaria were entered into a fully randomized, double-blind, crossover study to investigate the efficacy of 8 mg acrivastine versus 4 mg chlorpheniramine three times daily. Data from 16 patients were available for analysis. Both acrivastine and chlorpheniramine were found to be effective in relieving the signs and symptoms of urticaria. There were no significant differences between the two treatments, although efficacy trends were generally in favour of acrivastine over chlorpheniramine throughout the study.


In this paper, I applied to the modern translation theory to analysis contrastively Hardy's masterpiece Tess of the D'urbervilles and the two Chinese translations of it in the aspects of language style, translating technique. By further analysising and valuing the chosen part of the novel, I hope to get a better understanding of Hardy's fiction, so as to provide some impirical materials on study the basic law of translation as well as enriching the practice and theory of translation.


This study was based on self-leadership, self-management, sports and major targeting college students, self-esteem, aims to investigate the structural relationship of life satisfaction. Were surveyed using a sampling method significantly university took 400 people from local materials in the final study. Measurement tools to measure the self-leadership, self-management measures, self-esteem scale, college life satisfaction scale was used, analyzed the reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results in the first, self-leadership is significantly affected for self-management. Second, self-leadership is significantly affected the self-esteem. Third, self leadership was found which does not affect the university satisfied. Fourth, self-management is significantly affected the self-esteem. Fifth, self-management is significantly affected in college life satisfaction. Sixth, self-esteem is significantly affected in college life satisfaction. In addition, self-management and self-esteem in relation to leadership and university life satisfaction showed a medium effect. Taken together, these results physical major college students recognize the importance of self-leadership and increase the intrinsic factors such as self-management and self-esteem that we expect a positive impact on university life satisfaction. In addition, a variety of programs to improve the self-management and self-esteem are developed are considered to be synergistic interacting with self-leadership.


This paper analyzes the properties of the Present Perfect in Barranquenho/Barranqueno, a contact variety spoken in the southern border of Portugal and Spain. In this variety, the Present Perfect displays a mixed structure: while the forms of auxiliary and participle are from Portuguese, its range of interpretations is not attested in Portuguese but rather in Spanish. As in other domains of the grammar of Barranquenho that have been studied, the Present Perfect displays features attributable to Portuguese and to Spanish. These findings are discussed against hypotheses regarding the emergence of this contact variety as well as the theoretical debate concerning the relation between language contact and second language acquisition.


Background: Hepatitis can be caused by a number of viruses, which have similar clinical manifestations and render infected individuals at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. Current therapies for hepatitis have limited effects and unsatisfactory patient outcomes. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is critical for immune and inflammatory responses. During its lifetime the cell demands specific and highly regulated control of NF-κB activity. Objective: To develop novel strategies to overcome various hepatitides and related liver cancer with NF-κB as the key point. Methods: All aspects of NF-κB control with regard to hepatitis are covered. Results/conclusion: NF-κB plays an important role in the process of hepatitis and is hypothesized to be an anti-cancer factor in the subsequent inflammation-associated hepatocarcinogenesis.


We demonstrate a universal scaling form of longitudinal resistance in the quantum critical region of metal-insulator transitions. This is based on numerical results of three-dimensional Anderson transitions (with and without magnetic field), two-dimensional quantum Hall plateau to insulator transition, as well as experimental data of the recently discovered two-dimensional metal-insulator transition. The associated reflection symmetry and a peculiar logarithmic form of the beta function exist over a wide range in which the resistance can change by more than 1 order of magnitude. Interesting implications for the two-dimensional metal-insulator transition are discussed.


In order to improve the versatility of visual simulation and reduce the repeated development, a parametric design approach was proposed based on the development model of Vega Prime. The development framework of visual simulation based on Vega Prime was analyzed, and three key technologies of parametric modeling were studied: 1) simulation architecture design, to provide a unified design structure for parametric modeling; 2) parameter extraction and description, to standardize the design and implementation of parameters; 3) parameter constraint rules calculation, to associate model parameters, avoid the conflict between parameters and simplify parameter instantiation. Finally, an instance system of parametric visual simulation was designed and implemented. In this instance, the parametric modeling process was described, the visual effects were given, and the feasibility and validity of the parametric design approach were verified.


Abstract The formation control of a system of multiple autonomous vehicles is here considered. A decentralized Model Predictive Control is developed, analyzed and compared with the centralized solution. A coordination strategy based on an information exchange through a local network is here proposed for improving the global control performance. Preliminary stability analysis results for the considered architecture are also provided. The developed simulation tests verify that the proposed decentralized control is able to guarantee the same performance of the centralized solution with a significant reduction of the computational efforts.


Objective
To explore the high risk factors of different degrees of premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD) and to provide theoretical basises for the clinical prevention of BPD.

Methods
The clinical datas of 64 cases patients with BPD who were diagnosed and hospitalized in Neonatology Department of Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from June in 2009 to March in 2016 were retrospective analyzed, from several aspects to analyze the BPD's high risk factors, such as the mother's factors, the perinatal factors, treatments after birth and complications.

Results
There were 27 moderate and mild cases, 19 moderate cases and 18 severe cases in children who were diagnosed BPD; different degrees of BPD patients in gender, 5 minute's apgar score, the repeated application of PS, long time of mechanical ventilation, high concentration of oxygen inhalation, neonatal pneumonia, blood transfusion and neonatal anemia's differences were significant in the severity of BPD difference(P=0.003, 0.033, 0.006, 0.002, 0.001, 0.000, 0.001, 0.001, 0.036, 0.004).

Conclusion
Strengthen resuscitation in delivery room, shorten the mechanical ventilation time and reduce the high concentration oxygen inhalation, prevent and reduce the infection after delivery, reduce latrogenic blood loss and the number of blood transfusion are important measures to alleviate the severity of BPD.

Key words:
Premature baby; Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Risk factors


This paper represents the second in a series of works aimed at reinvigorating the quantum geometrodynamics program. Our approach introduces a lattice regularization of the hypersurface deformation algebra, such that each lattice site carries a set of canonical variables given by the components of the spatial metric and the corresponding conjugate momenta. In order to quantize this theory, we describe a representation of the canonical commutation relations that enforces the positivity of the operators $\hat q_{ab} s^a s^b$ for all choices of $s$. Moreover, symmetry of $\hat q_{ab}$ and $\hat p^{ab}$ is ensured. This reflects the physical requirement that the spatial metric should be a positive definite, symmetric tensor. To achieve this end, we resort to the Cholesky decomposition of the spatial metric into upper triangular matrices with positive diagonal entries. Moreover, our Hilbert space also carries a representation of the vielbein fields and naturally separates the physical and gauge degrees of freedom. Finally, we introduce a generalization of the Weyl quantization for our representation. We want to emphasize that our proposed methodology is amenable to applications in other fields of physics, particularly in scenarios where the configuration space is restricted by complicated relationships among the degrees of freedom.


Herein, polyimide/graphene sheets (PI/GS) nanocomposite films with different GS distribution structures have been successfully obtained by controlling the imidization degrees, and the effect of the lamellar structure on the properties of PI film has been investigated. The results show that GS are gradually parallel to the surface of PI nanocomposite film with the increase of the imidization temperature, and 150 °C is the critical temperature, where the imidization rate is the fastest and the lamellar structure begins to form. Furthermore, with the drying temperature increasing, the corresponding thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of PI/GS nanocomposite films are significantly improved compared with that of pure PI films, which are ascribed to both the higher imidization degree and the lamellar GS structure. It is noteworthy that the formation process of the lamellar structure at different imidization stages can be directly observed by scanning electron microscope. Based on these results, a model has been proposed to explain the relationship between the lamellar structure and properties of PI composite film under different imidization stages, and the confinement of the thickness may be the most important factor for the formation of lamellar GS structure. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43575.


Thank you very much for downloading politics in contemporary portugal democracy evolving. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search hundreds times for their chosen readings like this politics in contemporary portugal democracy evolving, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they cope with some infectious bugs inside their laptop.


Presenting some recent advances in word prediction, a fluorishing research area in Natural Language Processing, we describe FastType, an innovative word prediction system that outclasses typical limitations of standard techniques when applied to inflected languages. FastType is based on combined statistical and rule-base methods relying on robust open-domain language resources, that have been refined to improve Keystroke Saving. Word prediction is particularly useful to minimise keystrokes for users with special needs, and to reduce misspellings for users having limited language proficiency. Word prediction can be effectively used in language learning, by suggesting correct words to non-native users. FastType has been tried out and evaluated in some test benchmarks, showing a relevant improvement in Keystroke Saving, which now reaches 51%, comparable to what achieved by word prediction methods for non-inflected languages.


Employees who experience psychological contract violation may quit the organization and join a new organization. However, how past psychological contract violation influences employees' behavior in the new organization is less understood. Drawing on the social-cognitive model of transference, we hypothesize that past psychological contract violation is associated with lower psychological ownership and higher job insecurity in the new organization. These adverse transference effects can be buffered by institutionalized socialization tactics in the new organization. Furthermore, past psychological contract violation influences employees' present deviant behaviors through psychological ownership and job insecurity in the new organization. These indirect effects are weaker when the new organization uses more (vs. less) institutionalized socialization tactics. The results across two field studies provide consistent and robust support for our hypothesized model. We discuss how our findings shed light on the transference effects of psychological contract violation and how to attenuate these harmful effects.


1 Introduction Songxian at East Qinling mountains in China possesses more than 100 million tons potassic syenite with the average K2O content of 13%and the main mineral phase of K-feldspar which is a kind of potential potassium


In this study, cold sprayed Ni is deposited on Al substrates using different gas pressures. Spherical Ni powder was sprayed on cylindrical substrates using argon as the powder carrier and compressed air as the propellant. Coating and splat surfaces and cross-sections were examined, adhesion strength was measured, and particle velocity and temperature were determined through CFD simulations. The results show that denser, more well adhered coatings were obtained under higher propellant pressure. Higher gas pressure increases particle velocity, which intensifies material deformation and the disruption of surface oxides in the impact area, resulting in greater metallurgical bonding between the splats and the substrate. The formation of Ni-Al intermetallic phase at the interface region due to heat treatment was confirmed and its effect on bonding strength is discussed.


Objective To understand flu etiology characteristics through monitoring influenza-like cases in Huangshan city,and provide scientific basis for the clinical diagnosis,further prevention and control of influenza in this area. Methods Throat swab specimens of flu patients from sentinel hospitals were collected for influenza virus nucleic acid detection and type identification with RT-PCR method. Results From 2009 to 2012,a total of 1800 swab specimens were collected from surveillance hospitals and 422 influenza virus positive samples were detected with an average rate of 23. 44%. Conclusion A /H1N1 was the main influenza virus in Huangshan in 2009,B was the main influenza one in 2010,B and A /H1N1 were the main influenza ones in Huangshan in 2011,B and A /H3 were the main influenza ones in Huangshan in2012. Influenza occurred mainly in winter and spring.


Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a fundamental technique in molecular biology to detect and quantify DNA and RNA. Here we present the tidyqpcr software package for user-friendly qPCR analysis using the tidyverse suite of R packages. tidyqpcr offers a consistent user interface and structure for qPCR analysis, within the tidyverse paradigm of spreadsheet-like rectangular data frames and generic functions that build up complex analyses in a series of simple steps. tidyqpcr focuses on experimental design in microwell plates, and relative quantification using changes in quantification cycle ( ∆ Cq ). Overall, tidyqpcr empowers scientists to conduct reproducible, flexible, and best-practice compliant quantitative PCR analysis.


We illustrate the advantages the high-level open-source software package Pyomo has in rapidly setting up and solving dynamic simulation and optimization problems. In order to do so, we use the example of the Williams-Otto process. We show how to simulate the process dynamics using the collocation method and the IPOPT solver provided by Pyomo. We also discuss waste minimization and yield maximization as two examplary process optimization problems. And finally, we present and compare two approaches to setpoint tracking: one based on proportional-integral feedback control and one based on optimal open-loop control.


Payam-e-Noor university system was established following Great Britain Open University and its mission was implementing distance education. In Iran communication and information technology growth and development in all aspects of life especially learning and education process and subsequently E-education phenomena advent, was started by proposing the first national plan in this respect called "Techfa" formally in the middle of 2002. Following this move a plenty of activities was carried in the field of E-educational courses in Iran. Information technology was propounded as E-education formation underlying rule. Consequently investigating information technology indications in two different sections such as computer skills and network skills become of special importance and necessity. The present study was prepared by the aim to securitize the Education promotion process using optimization model in two basic indications in network and computer skills among Isfahan Payam-e-Noor university students as a case study in distanceeducational system. The findings of the present research prepared are the obtained result of Pearson correlation coefficient test between network skills and computer skills among Isfahan Payam-e-Noor students. The findings of the present research prepared to examine more exact and accurate network skill condition in Isfahan Payam-e-Noor university students, revealed a high statically distribution for students having low network skills of 49.7% just 0.7% of these students have medium or higher network skill through investigating network skill condition of Isfahan Payam-e-Noor university students, as a case study of distance and half attendance educational system, it is necessary to establish regular and purposeful educational and training courses of ICDL skills and the internet and network skills training before students registration. Keywords— Payam-e-Noor University, ICDL Skills Network and Computer Skill E-education


Canscora perfoliata Lam an ethnomedicinal plant was studied for its immunomodulatory activity. Immunomodulatory activity of different doses of ethanol extract of Canscora perfoliata was evaluated in Swiss albino mice. Mice were treated with two doses (150 and 300mg/kg body weight) for 5 days. Body weight, relative organ weight, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and Haemagglutinin titre (HT) were studied in various groups of animals. The results obtained show a significant increase (p<0.05) in body weight and relative organ weight of spleen, liver and kidney at dose of 300mg/kg. The Canscora perfoliata extract eliciated a significant increase (p<0.05) in the DTH response at dose of 300mg/kg. In the HT test, the plant extract showed a stimulatory effect at all doses. The doses of 300mg/kg significantly (p<0.05) increases the WBC count, compared with the control group. Overall, Canscora perfoliata showed a stimulatory effect on both humoral and cellular immune functions in animal models.


The present invention relates to a measuring device with a dual dial gauge and a flatness measuring method. More specifically, the present invention can increase accuracy regardless of the skilled level of measurers by measuring the flatness of an object using two dial gauges and can easily and conveniently check the flatness using a wireless control unit communicating with the dial gauges through a near field communication way.


Objective To investigate the effect of laying aside time on biochemical results of blood samples and offer advisable suggestions for the clinical laboratory.Methods 80 blood samples from medical examination subjects were analyzed at different times with TBA -40FR automatic biochemical analyzer.The results were analyzed statistically using SPSS 13.0.software.Results Compared with the results of laying aside 1 h,those of laying aside 4 h(GLU),8 h(GLU,BUN,TBIL,AST,K~+ ),and 24 h(GLU, BUN,TP,ALB,TBIL,ALT,AST,ALP,GGT,CHO,K~+,Na~+,Cl~-,Ca~(2+),P~- ) had statistically significant difference.Conclusions The laying aside time has effect on biochemical results of blood samples and effective quality control should be established before samples are tested.


Maize is claimed to occur occasionally in preceramic deposits in Peru. Cobs, kernels, tassels, pollen, and plant parts have been reported to be associated with Cotton Preceramic period refuse (ca. 2500–1750 B.C., uncorrected) in several north-central coast sites. Maize has been found in some much earlier highland occupations that also have yielded a wide range of ancient dates. These samples represent many types, some with characteristics not found again until late in the first millennium A.D. This arouses suspicion. Checking of artifacts, ecofacts, and radiocarbon dates associated with the maize reveals some that are less than 100 years old and many that are less than 1,500 years old. It also reveals shallow deposits and/or much disturbed context.


As the governing subjects'fundamental and rational views to the governing activity, the governing idea is not only the ideological guide and theoretical basis that the ruling Party undertakes the practice of administration, but also the scientific sublimation and theoretical conclusion of the governing experiences. It directly and greatly influences Party's governing style and image. Therefore, correctly mastering the characteristics of governing idea not only deeply comprehends the scientific meanings of CPC's governing idea, but also enriches and develops Chinese Marxism theoretical system of governance. On one hand, CPC's governing idea has the common characteristics with any political Party; on the other hand, CPC's governing idea has its special characteristic. It is generally thought that CPC's governing idea has four basic characteristics which are people-oriented scientificity, the lineal continuity, the developmental feature with the times and the far-sighted profundity. CPC's governing idea fundamentally embodies the perfect combination and high-degree unity between regularity and purpose.


Specimens of Cyprinus carpio were experimental induced, by intramuscular injection with Vibrio Fluvialis, Vibrio alginolyticus, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas putida, Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Serriata plymuthica y Alaligenes spp., isolated from sick fishes growing in farms in the states of Mexico and Morelos. The goals to the determination the capacity to genery illness, in order to the accomplishment the Koch's postulates, and the generation of the presence of antibodies in the survived fishes. The etiologic relationship bwtween bacteria and their host were established, at the same time we caracterized the clinical forms of this infection. The bacteria studied were defined as opportunistic.


The stereochemical Configuration of the Mn(I1) ADP complex at the active site of creatine kinase has been elucidated by EPR using chirally labeled [a-"O]ADP. Superhyperfine coupling between the "0 nucleus and Mn(II) produces a characteristic inhomogeneous broad- ening of the EPR signals for Mn(II) whenever the 1 7 0 is in the first coordination sphere of the metal ion. Previous experiments with ADP regio-specifically labeled with "0 in the phosphate groups had shown that Mn(I1) was coordinated to the a and p positions of ADP in transition state analog complexes with creatine kinase that involved enzyme, Mn(II), ADP, creatine, and an- ions such as formate and thiocyanate (Reed, G. H., and Leyh, T. S. (1980) Biochemistry 19, 5472-5480). The present experiments were initiated to determine the stereochemical configuration of the Mn(II) *ADP complex at the active site of the enzyme. EPR spectra for Mn(I1) in transition state analog complexes with formate, thiocyanate, and nitrate as the stabilizing anions show inhomogeneous broadening from "0 in Sp [a-170] ADP whereas the spectra obtained with Rp [a-170]ADP


This report includes these topics: Potential environmental impact of widespread releases of non-ice nucleating bacteria in agriculture / D.A. Andow, S.S. Snapp, and P.S. Teng -- An assessment of the impact of large-scale applications of ice-minus bacteria and other procedures designed to decrease population sizes of ice-nucleative-active bacteria on crops / Christen D. Upper, Susan S. Hirano, Gabor Vali.


Magnetic skyrmion a topologically protected unique quantum spin texture with nanometer length scale is attracting much attention as the promising candidate utilized in future memory devices featuring ultralow energy consumption. For such practical applications, however, interaction of skyrmion with various kinds of structural defects is critically important. Real-space visualization techniques of skyrmion and structural defects with high spatial resolution are essential to elucidate such interactions.


The authors have determined the rate of electron detachment from sputtered C{sub 60}{sup -} ions (C{sub 60}{sup -} {yields} C{sub 60}{sup 0} + e{sup -}), and correlate that value to the internal energy content of the C{sub 60}{sup -} ions. The experiments was performed with incident atomic ions (9.9 MeV {sup 16}O, 19.7 MeV{sup 32}S, 48.6 MeV{sup 79}Br and 78.2 MeV {sup 127}I) from the Uppsala EN-tandem accelerator. The secondary C{sub 60}{sup -} ions and the neutral species (obtained from the fully accelerated C{sub 60}{sup -} ions during their flight as a result of electron detachment and/or fragmentation) were detected by a micro channel plate detector in the straight mode of a time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometer.


Police violence and misconduct have been evident throughout American history. The earliest forms of policing began in the 1700s in the Carolinas with "Slave Patrols". It was established to terrorize and suppress enslaved Africans and to apprehend and return the runaway slaves to their owners.1 During the 1960s, direct causations of racial tension and riots was also a conjunction with President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Crime" initiative. This section documents the history of police violence and misconduct between the periods of 1960 through the early 2000s. The overlapping theme of qualified immunity highlights a prominent role in issues arising from civil rights and accountability.


The relationships between meat pH, sensory tenderness and acceptability for Podolian (P) and Limousine × Podolian (LP) beef were investigated. Negative linear relationships between pH measured at each of 1, 24 and 48 h post mortem and sensory tenderness were found at 2 (P < 0.001) and 7 days of ageing (P < 0.05). At 7 days of ageing, sensory tenderness was higher (P < 0.001) than that at 2 days of ageing. LP beef showed higher sensory tenderness (P < 0.001) than P. The regression between perceived tenderness and acceptability was separately calculated for LP and P beef. Both were significant (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). In addition, a significant difference was observed between the two regression coefficients (P < 0.05), indicating that the two variables were more associated for P than LP beef.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Meat acceptability is obviously related to tenderness. More interestingly, other factors (e.g., familiarity, age, etc.) can affect product acceptability. In fact, the same product can be perceived by some consumers as being tough, whereas it can be considered tender by others, corresponding to low and high levels of acceptability, respectively. Therefore, along with treatments aimed to increase tenderness (e.g., ageing), information about the product, age and familiarity of consumers, etc., can increase the acceptability of meats, which are less tender because of their intrinsic properties.


The Safety Technology Group is developing methodology that can be used to assess the risk of operating a plant to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. As an early step in the methodology, a preliminary hazards analysis identifies safety-related incidents. In the absence of appropriate safety features, these incidents could lead to significant consequences and risk to onsite personnel or to the public. This report is a compilation of potential safety-related incidents that have been identified in studies at SRL and in safety analyses of various commercially designed reprocessing plants. It is an expanded revision of the version originally published as DP-1558, Published December 1980.


The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the dual-fuel turbine consumption for different operational conditions of the electric generation system of the oil platform. This paper presents a comparative between two simulated scenarios in order to demonstrate the requirements of energy efficiency in fuel consumption and operational reliability, as well as, shows the variation of cost between gas and diesel fuels. The simulation results showed that there is a significant gain in efficiency on the situation that two turbines, instead of three, assume the energy demand.


By making use of a recently released panel dataset that covers 61 provinces of Vietnam from 1996–2005, this study examines the link between foreign direct investment and economic growth. Our analysis, which is based on a simultaneous equations model, reveals that in overall terms a mutually reinforcing two-way linkage between FDI and economic growth exists in Vietnam. However, this is not the case for each and every region of Vietnam. The results presented in this study suggest that the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in Vietnam will be larger if more resources are invested in education and training, financial market development and in reducing the technology gap between the foreign and local firms.


According to the kinematical mechanism complexity of the impacted pressurized liquid column in the high energy gas fracturing process,we assumes that the completely contacted gas liquid interface exits.Then by using a Lagrange analytical method for studying a random liquid across-section,a dynamic model of the pressurized liquid column movement law is set up,which comprises continuity equation,momentum conservative equation and energy conservative equation.Based on the pressure and volume conservation during the process of powder conflagration and pressurized liquid column movement,a coupling numerical method for describing the gas-liquid interface movement law is established.Example calculations show that when considering the macroscopical propel and impact compression on the pressurized liquid column caused by deflagration,dynamic energy distribution of the liquid distribution and pipe column friction resistance,the interface ascending height is limited(less than 0.1 m in the example conditions).This illustrates that pressurized liquid column has a good function of backing pressure.But in fact,in the fracturing process,the interface can reach a higher position(18.9 m),which shows that in the later process,hydraulic oscillation produces an obvious synergistic effect.


The NRC maintains a fleet of research aircraft in support of programs in Flight Mechanics and Airborne Research Experiments. Two of these, a Convair-580 and a deHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, are equipped for a diverse program in Airborne Research including studies in atmospheric geoscience, airborne system development in resource geoscience and airborne radar development. While both aircraft share some common instrumentation, they have distinct capabilities and have developed different specializations. These capabilities are outlined and current and recent developments are reviewed. 5 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.


It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 2014 ACM Conference on Languages, Compilers, and Tools for Embedded Systems. This year's conference continues its tradition of being the premier forum for presentation of research results on leading edge issues in embedded systems.

The call for papers attracted 51 submissions from all over the world. Each paper received at least three reviews. Reviewing was "double-blind," meaning that author identities were withheld from the reviewers. After the reviewing was completed, the PC met for a 5-day long online meeting to deliberate on the papers and to reach consensus on each paper. These deliberations were open to the entire PC, and generated interesting and fruitful discussions on several papers. Finally, the program committee accepted 16 high-quality papers that cover a variety of topics, including worstcase mtiming analysis, static program analysis, code generation and optimization, and computer architecture.

In addition to the reviewed research papers, the program includes two keynote speeches by renowned researchers, Dr. David Whalley and Dr. Minyi Guo. We encourage attendees to attend the keynote talk presentations. These valuable and insightful talks can and will guide us to a better understanding of the future:
Energy Efficient Data Access Techniques, Dr. David Whalley (Florida State University)
Energy Efficient Data Access and Storage through HW/SW Co-design, Dr. Minyi Guo (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)


Background: India is the diabetic capital of the world and gestational diabetes mellitus contributes to a significant number of cases. Gestational diabetes mellitus is a common medical complication of pregnancy and may lead to serious consequences. Because of these reasons, it was felt that if there was a biomarker for predicting carbohydrate intolerance in pregnancy, it could help in earlier intervention and mitigate the consequences related to it. Hence, for this purpose, the role of HbA1c was studied as a predictor of gestational diabetes mellitus.Methods: This was a cross sectional study. Five hundred antenatal cases were considered for this study. All antenatal patients before 18 weeks of gestation attending antenatal clinic for the first time were selected and these patients were subjected to HbA1c followed by diabetes in pregnancy study group of India (DIPSI) test between 24-28 weeks and the results were analyzed to find any correlation between the two.Results: The main objective of the present study was to find whether HbA1c can be used as a predictor of gestational diabetes mellitus. In this study out of 500 women screened, 60 women turned out to have gestational diabetes mellitus. When comparing DIPSI positivity with various levels of HbA1c, it was found that maximum number of DIPSI positive patients (93.33%), had raised HbA1c levels.Conclusions: Maximum number of DIPSI positive cases had HbA1c level between 5.5 to 6 and this association was found to be statistically significant and a positive correlation was established between the two.


AIM To describe the epidemiology, management, and rate of cardiac sequelae of Kawasaki disease in Australia. DESIGN Cases were notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, an active national surveillance scheme, from May 1993 to June 1995. RESULTS 139 cases of Kawasaki disease were confirmed. In 1994, the annual incidence was 3.7/100 000 children < 5 years old. Sixteen children were not admitted to hospital. Coronary artery abnormalities were reported in 35 (25%) children. Two patients were diagnosed at postmortem examination. Sixty six per cent of patients were diagnosed within 10 days of onset and 81% of these received intravenous gammaglobulin within 10 days. Forty five of the notified children did not fulfil the study criteria because of streptococcal infection or insufficient clinical criteria. One child with streptococcal infection had coronary artery dilatation. CONCLUSION Diagnosis of Kawasaki disease was delayed beyond 10 days in one third of patients, and almost 20% of children who could have received gammaglobulin within 10 days did not. The distinction between Kawasaki disease, streptococcal infection, and other possible diagnoses is problematic in some children. Key messages A substantial proportion of children with Kawasaki disease does not receive intravenous gammaglobulin within 10 days of symptom onset Treatment should be given on clinical grounds regardless of the results of streptococcal throat cultures and serology More research is needed to clarify the significance of the type, timing, and prognosis of the echocardiographic coronary artery abnormalities seen in Kawasaki disease Until diagnostic tests are available for Kawasaki disease, the challenge is to encourage early diagnosis and management without promoting inappropiate use of treatments


ABSTRACT Oxygen is essential for aerobic respiration yet is potentially toxic. The capability to efficiently deliver sufficient oxygen for optimal cellular function, while minimising oxidant-induced tissue damage has been achieved through complex physiological processes which have developed through evolution. Until recently these physiological adaptations have been poorly appreciated in the practice of medicine, where high concentration oxygen therapy has been routinely administered to breathless patients, without consideration of the potential risks of oxygen toxicity. However, the recognition that both hypoxaemia and hyperoxaemia may cause harm has led to the recommendation that oxygen should only be prescribed if the patient is hypoxaemic and that its administration should be titrated to relieve hypoxaemia, and to avoid hyperoxaemia. It is also recommended that oxygen should be considered a drug which is prescribed for specific indications to achieve a specified arterial oxygen saturation range, and that the response is monitored to guide ongoing therapy.


We study the influence of a laser field on the dynamics of fast (e,2e) collisions on atomic hydrogen, in the asymmetric coplanar geometry. We find that the triply differential cross sections are strongly dependent on the ''dressing'' of the atomic target by the laser.


In the cases of non-solvent, oligomers of silicone were prepared by polycondensation of alkoxyl silicon and modified by polyester polyhydric alcohol. The chemical structure of products were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the mechanical properties, adhesion properties, heat resistance and water proofness were also tested. The results show that the modified polyurethane have excellent resistivity against heat and water.


The classical treatment plan for the edentulous patient is the fabrication of complete removable maxillary and mandibular denture. This treatment, though inexpensive, has several drawbacks. The rate of residual ridge resorption in edentulous patients in mandible is fourfold greater than maxilla.This resorption can render the current prosthesis inadequate in terms of both function and esthetics and can lead to the necessity of fabricating a new denture an uphill task.Manyoptions are available for retention of the prosthesis, including magnets, clips, bars, and balls. But all these attachment systems carry along several disadvantages including hygiene problems, increased restorative space ( >3mm) and ineffectiveness with divergent implants (>25mm).Locator attachment is a simple stud attachment that can be used when there is minimum vertical space (less than 2mm) and when resilience and retention are desired. It consists of a single-piece male stud and single unit female processed within the denture and comes with easy chair side procedure. With dual retention mechanism, this can be used when interimplant divergence is greater than 40 degrees.


Rapid increase in the espousal of mobile phones and their ubiquity has significantly reflected upon the Intelligent Transport system (ITS). Some of the major ITS areas of usage include active traffic management, driver information, navigation information, Telematics and so on. Currently there are many apps for destination navigation systems and the navigation apps in Smartphone are more advanced and accurate than any conventional navigation devices. These apps can track location real time, guide to destinations, display maps to points of attraction and interest and even update about real time traffic conditions in some cities. This paper describes the working of location based navigation apps and analyzes the street view services in the navigation apps.


Evolutionary Functional Testing (EFT) is a relatively recent approach to automating the testing process. The research presented in this paper aims at increasing the acceptability of EFT in industrial settings. An approach suitable for efficiently and effectively testing complex continuous control systems is introduced. The main focus is on generating realistic test stimuli, enabling interactivity between test driver and test object, and facilitating the process of designing a suitable fitness function. This is accomplished by integrating EFT with model-based testing methodologies resulting in an intuitive testing approach that enables even testers not familiar with search based testing to achieve good results with limited effort. A test environment optimized for deployment in the industrial domain is introduced. Features of the test environment include the capability of automatically generating realistic continuous test data sets, interacting with the system under test during test execution, and automatically executing and evaluating large numbers of tests. A thorough case study using an adaptive cruise control system from the automotive domain is performed to assess the approach. Results of this work indicate high usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the proposed method for testing complex embedded systems.


Fluid simulation has been one of the most critical topics in computer graphics for its capacity to produce visually realistic effects. The intricacy of fluid simulation manifests most with interacting dynamic elements. The coupling for such scenarios has always been challenging to manage due to the numerical instability arising from the coupling boundary between different elements. Therefore, we propose an implicit smoothed particle hydrodynamics fluid‐elastic coupling approach to reduce the instability issue for fluid‐fluid, fluid‐elastic, and elastic‐elastic coupling circumstances. By deriving the relationship between the universal pressure field with the incompressible attribute of the fluid, we apply the number density scheme to solve the pressure Poisson equation for both fluid and elastic material to avoid the density error for multi‐material coupling and conserve the non‐penetration condition for elastic objects interacting with fluid particles. Experiments show that our method can effectively handle the multiphase fluids simulation with elastic objects under various physical properties.


The study examined the contribution of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) towards financing Nigeria infrastructural deficits and determined the factors that attract FPI into the Nigerian bond market. It also examined the relationship between FPI and bond yield in Nigeria. Primary data were obtained through administration of questionnaires to directors of finance, chief finance officers and investment officers of 128 firms out of 271 firms in financial and manufacturing sectors of the Nigerian economy. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 100 stock broking firms that were controlling 90% of the secondary bond market trading activities while purposive sampling technique was used to select the existing 18 primary dealers and market makers and 10 non-financial institutions that had raised fund in the domestic bond market within the study period. Secondary data on bond index, bond market capitalization, real interest rate, real exchange rate, inflation rate, gross domestic product, external debt and external reserve were obtained from publications of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive statistics such as line graphs, bar charts and simple percentages; and inferential statistics which was mainly multiple regression analysis. The results showed that there was no FPI in the bond market until 2003 when the federal government through the Debt Management Office issued the first FGN Bond series. In addition, between 2003 and 2011, the contribution of the FPI to long term funds in the bond market was 10% of the total bond market capitalization which was considered very low. Interest rate (85%), Gross domestic product (90%), bond market capitalization (91%), inflation rate (89%) and external reserve (95%) were found to be major factors that attracted FPI into the Nigerian bond market as stated by the respondents. Finally, the results showed that there was a significant relationship between FPI and bond yield (r = 0.44, p< 0.05). The study concluded that factors attracting foreign investors into the bond market in Nigeria are critical and if well managed by policy makers could enhance the attraction of FPI needed for financing infrastructural projects through the Nigerian bond market.


In this letter, the effect of the human body in a magnetic resonance wireless power transfer (MR-WPT) system for wearable and implantable devices is studied. To implement the experiment, muscle-mimicking liquid is configured with parameters similar to those of the human body. The transmitter part is located outside the human body (in the air), and the receiver part is implanted in the liquid. The proposed 3-coil MR-WPT system, which operates at 6.78 MHz shows effectively higher transfer efficiencies compared with a 4-coil MR-WPT system at near transfer distance which is the predicted position for a pacemaker. The results indicate that the proposed system with optimized receiver using air-pocket has potential applications in off/in-body devices that benefit from remote energy harvesting, especially at near distances such as pacemakers.


ABSTRACT This study evaluates the dynamics of heat zones in the load and its relationship with the stress of pigs during transport. Four journeys of 170 km were monitored, recording the physiological variables of 192 animals (48 per journey), namely rectal temperature (RT), body temperature (BT), respiratory rate (RR), blood lactate concentrations and salivary cortisol. Heat zones and ventilation patterns were characterized by the spatial variability of the enthalpy and the Computational Fluid Dynamics of the load. The formation of a thermal core was observed in the frontal region of the load, which extended through the lower (LD) and upper (UD) decks. Pigs transported in the LD had higher means of RR (UD = 89 and LD = 94 breaths/min), and salivary cortisol (UD = 33.84 and LD = 34.92 ng/mL). The pigs transported in the UD presented the highest mean BT (UD = 38.9 and LD = 38.1 °C) and lactate (UD = 61.63 and LD = 58.26 mg/dL). Pigs transported in the LD of the load were more susceptible to thermal stress, while pigs transported in the UD showed greater physical stress and muscle exhaustion.


The photosensitized dechlorination of isomeric mono- and dichloroanilines has been studied using methylene blue as photosensitizer in alkaline medium. The dechlorination products have been identified and formation of molecular complex between aniline and methylene blue has been observed. The effects of the pH, concentration of the sensitizer, concentration of the substrate, the intensity of the light and the temperature on the rate of the reaction have been studied. The quantum efficiency of the photodechlorination has been evaluated. The mechanism of the photodechlorination has been suggested.


The present invention relates to a fuel cell system including the reformer and him of the fuel cell system, the reformer has a reforming reaction unit for generating hydrogen gas from fuel through a reforming catalyst reaction by thermal energy; Through the oxidation of carbon monoxide and an oxidizing agent, and includes at least one of carbon monoxide reduced to reduce the concentration of carbon monoxide contained in the hydrogen gas, the first reducing unit, and a second carbon monoxide comprising the carbon monoxide reduction unit comprises: a first carbon monoxide oxidizing catalyst It includes a second reduced section having an oxidation catalyst. A reformer of a fuel cell system of the present invention, while having a simple structure and excellent carbon monoxide oxidation activity and selectivity. Carbon monoxide, the fuel cell, a reformer, PROX


Abstract The problem considered here is selecting the better of two objects based on a series of replicated paired comparisons between the objects. A (k, r)-series, a generalization of the ordinary k-series, is defined as a sequential selection procedure such that the object selected is the first one to win k comparisons, provided it is ahead by at least r comparisons. The relationship of a (k, r)-series to Wald's sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) is discussed and this relationship is exploited to derive formulas for the probability of correct selection and the expected number of comparisons required. The "optimal" (k, r)-series is derived with respect to two loss functions.


A contribution to the Geospatial semantic Web is the definition of an approach for integrating non-spatial resources like HTML, PDF, GIF, etc., with spatial XML resources represented by Spatial XML [5]. However, in order to put this approach into practice it is necessary to solve the problem of developing an integration system for querying spatial XML resources stored in different sources. In this paper, we have implemented an approach for querying spatial and non-spatial information represented in the Geographical Markup Language (GML). A performance study has been carried out and the results are


A combat helmet is a helmet designed specifically for use during combat. The Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) was developed to be the next generation of protective combat helmets for use by the United States Army. The ACH replaces the former Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) helmet. The ACH has improved design features such as lighter weight, chinstrap retention system, and pad suspension system, with more comfortable fit. It is also design to allow maximum sensory and situational awareness for the operator. The design process for combat helmets can be expensive due to prototype fabrications and physical testing, which can include user-acceptance, retention evaluation, quality assurance, and ballistic and blunt impact performance testing. The physical testing required for both ballistic and blunt impact testing destroys prototype and product line helmets. In order to speed up the design process and reduce the cost associated with prototype fabrications and physical testing, we developed a multi-physics helmeted-head computational model to simulate blunt impacts to a combat helmet. The blunt impact performance of a combat helmet was evaluated using computer model by simulating the structural dynamics of the helmet during and after the impacts. This helmeted-head model is a part of a more extensive computational model to analyze the biomechanics of head injury.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: Components of a Locomotive 1. The Steam Epoch Begins 2. American Designs Evolve 3. The Physics of Steam Power 4. The Second Generation 5. Motive Power Mavericks 6. Dawn of a New Era 7. Super Power Reigns 8. The Pinnacle of Design 9. Steam Technology's Final Thrusts 10. American Steam in Perspective Appendix A: Description of Steam Locomotive Components Appendix B: Service and Repair Facilities References Index


Abstract Purpose Brainlab's Elements Multiple Brain Mets SRS (MBMS) is a dedicated treatment planning system for single‐isocenter multi‐target (SIMT) cranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatments. The purpose of this study is to present the commissioning experience of MBMS on an Elekta Versa HD. Methods MBMS was commissioned for 6 X, 6 FFF, and 10 FFF. Beam data collected included: output factors, percent depth doses (PDDs), diagonal profiles, collimator transmission, and penumbra. Beam data were processed by Brainlab and resulting parameters were entered into the planning system to generate the beam model. Beam model accuracy was verified for simple fields. MBMS plans were created on previously treated cranial SRS patient data sets. Plans were evaluated using Paddick inverse conformity (ICI), gradient indices (GI), and cumulative volume of brain receiving 12 Gy. Dosimetric accuracy of the MBMS plans was verified using microDiamond, Gafchromic film, and SRS Mapcheck measurements of absolute dose and dose profiles for individual targets. Finally, an end‐to‐end (E2E) test was performed with a MR‐CT compatible phantom to validate the accuracy of the simulation‐to‐delivery process. Results For square fields, calculated scatter factors were within 1.0% of measured, PDDs were within 0.5% past dmax, and diagonal profiles were within 0.5% for clinically relevant off‐axis distances (<10 cm). MBMS produced plans with ICIs < 1.5 and GIs < 5.0 for targets > 10 mm. Average point doses of the MBMS plans, measured by microDiamond, were within 0.31% of calculated (max 2.84%). Average per‐field planar pass rates were 98.0% (95.5% minimum) using a 2%/1 mm/10% threshold relative gamma analysis. E2E point dose measurements were within 1.5% of calculated and Gafchromic film pass rates were 99.6% using a 5%/1 mm/10% threshold gamma analysis. Conclusion The experience presented can be used to aid the commissioning of the Versa HD in the Brainlab MBMS treatment planning system, to produce safe and accurate SIMT cranial SRS treatments.


Treatment for FPIES is the avoidance of offending food, i.e., a restricted diet (RD). While most FPIES children are good responders to the RD (FPIES-GR), some are not (FPIES-poor responders: FPIES-PR) with persistent non-IgE mediated reactivity to multiple foods. This study assessed production of counter-regulatory cytokines crucial for oral tolerance by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in FPIES-PR (N=18, 0.6 -4.8 yr), FPIES-GR (N=22, 1.1-5.9 yr), and normal control (N=19, 1.0-5.7 yr) children after FPIES children were on the RD. PBMCs were stimulated with agonists of toll like receptors (TLRs) and representative luminal antigens (Ags) (soy, cow's milk, and wheat proteins, and candida Ag). Microarray analysis of PB moncytes was also performed on samples from some of these children. FPIES-PR children revealed more severe clinical features including failure to thrive, intolerance to probiotics, and anaphylaxis like reaction to rice than FPIES-GR children (p<0.005). FPIES-PR PBMCs produced less sTNFRII and IL-10 both with TLR agonists and without a stimulus than the control groups. FPIRS-PR cells also produced less IL-6 with a TLR4 agonist and without a stimulus than normal controls (p<0.05). Such changes were not observed in FPIES-GR cells. FPIES-PR PBMCs produced less TGF-β with and without luminal Ag than PFIES-GR PBMCs. Taken together, FPIES-PR children may have impaired production of counter-regulatory cytokines that are crucial for oral tolerance.


The study examined the influence of individual (internal) and situational (external) factors on the career advancement of women and men (N = 88) in a Swedish nation‐wide organization. Using, among other methods, LISREL path analyses, the results revealed that the internal factor of instrumental qualities was the major predictor of managerial advancement regardless of gender. Thus, the findings imply that the norms for managers are still quite traditional, leading both women and men to adopt an instrumental managerial style. Contrary to expectations, the impact of the external factor was not indicative of managerial aspirations or managerial group membership (attending a managerial program provided by the organization). However, women in both groups suffered more from work/family pressure than men in both groups. The results are discussed in terms of the contemporary view that there might be a shift in the definition of the managerial role in favor of women.


In this paper,optimization design problem is studied to increase the economic efficiency of wind-solar hybrid system.Optimization design model is established in which annual average electricity cost is regarded as objective function and the solar photovoltaic panel area,rated power of wind and storage capacity of battery are set as decision variables.Then,complementary constraints is introduced to transfer piecewise function into continuous function,and a modified Lagrange decomposition method is used to decompose the optimization model into multiple stages.In this way,the model can be solved from top to bottom.The feasibility of the optimization model and the efficiency of the proposed algorithm are verified by example.The results show that the wind-solar hybrid system has certain cost advantage and the economic efficiency can be greatly improved.


The last years have seen the development of a new generation of industrial interestingmechanical joining techniques for thin sheets such as self piercing riveting, clinching,friction stir welding and laser welding. The present work concentrates on fatigue behaviourof joints obtained by clinching, a cold welding technology for thin sheets which is quicklydeveloping in automobile, electronic and white goods industries, even if mainly in terms ofstatic properties. The activity firstly dealt with fatigue tests and fractographic observationswhich evidenced different failure modes at different stress ratios. Results were thensupported by FEM analyses of the clinched joints.


In this paper, a method is developed for calculating the power loss due to corona on three-phase transmission lines. In this method, emission of ions takes place from the cornating phase conductors into the space are- und when the conductor surface-field exceeds the onset value. The space charges are simu- lated by discrete line charges and the charge simulation technique is used to calculate the charge emission from the phase conductors dur- ing corona periods over both the positive and negative half cycles. The ion emission is in- fluenced by the induced charge on the phase conductors due to the presence of other phases. The determination of the induced charge is thoroughly discussed. The displacement of the space charges is governed by the prevailing field which sums-up the contributions of all discrete line charges in space and those simu- lating the phase conductors themselves.


Introduction: Harak remedy is a Thai traditional medicine for anti-pyretic treatment. Some researchers reported that crude drugs and capsules of Harak remedy, which were distributed throughout Thailand, have been adulterated with the upper ground parts. Moreover, there is no recent report of quality control of the Harak products after marketed. Objective: Thus, aim of our research was to investigate the quality of marketed Harak capsules following requirements of Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia (THP). Methods: The hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) reported the similarity of samples to authentic Harak. The 18 samples were purchased from 6 regions of Thailand, 3 samples in each region (HR01-HR18). The authentic plants were collected from Surin province and provided as capsule drug (HR19). In addition, the powder of authentic remedy was extracted by aqueous and ethanol then the chemical constituents were analyzed by GC-MS. Results: As the result of standard specifications, 15 samples were standard medicines (83.33%) while 3 samples had high levels of total aerobic bacteria, total yeast, and molds. The chemical fingerprint and quantification of pectolinarigenin of 19 samples were investigated by TLC and RP-HPLC. The pectolinarigenin content of HR19 was 25.3±0.31 mg/g drug powder and the most correlated with were 3 samples as HR08, HR10, and HR16. Conclusion: According to HCA and PCA, most of the samples showed similar data patterns except HR17. The result provides essential information for identification of the Harak remedy for the purpose of quality control.


The baculovirus expression system was used to produce α1 and β1 subunits of the human GABA receptor in Sf9 cells. In cells infected with both α1 and β1 recombinent viruses, GABA elicited an outwardly rectifying chloride current that was blocked by bicuculline and potentiated by pentobarbitone. GABA did not produce detectable currents in cells infected with either α1 or β1 recombinant viruses alone. In these cells, and in control (non-infected) Sf9 cells, pentobarbitone depressed the leakage current (Ki = 55 μM). Fluorescently labelled monoclonal antibodies to the α1 subunit showed greater amounts of the α1 subunit in cells infected with only the α1 recombinant virus than in cells co-infected with the α1 and β1 recombinant viruses. Fluorescence of the plasma membrane was seen in cells co-infected with the α1 and β1 recombinant viruses, but was absent in cells infected with only the α1 recombinant virus. It was concluded that the α1 subunit normally interacts with the β1 subunit to be transported to the plasma membrane in Sf9 cells.


OBJECTIVES We sought to determine if the nitric oxide (NO) donor isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN) (200 mg/kg body weight/day) decreases vascular bioavailability of superoxide in atherosclerosis. BACKGROUND Vascular oxidative stress limits the bioavailability of endothelial NO and promotes atherosclerosis, while NO itself exerts antioxidative effects. It is unknown if therapeutic NO impacts on vascular oxidative stress in atherosclerosis. METHODS New Zealand white rabbits (n 10 each group) were fed either normal chow (control), cholesterol chow (CHOL) (0.75 %), or cholesterol chow enriched with ISMN (CHOLISMN). Rabbits were fed twice daily. After 16 weeks we used aortic segments to measure vascular superoxide (5M lucigenin), intimal lesion formation, and vasoreactivity to acetylcholine (ACH) and ISMN. RESULTS Plasma cholesterol increased by 40-fold in CHOL and CHOL-ISMN. The plasma concentration of ISMN in CHOL-ISMN was 1,529 447 ng/ml. Superoxide formation (control: 228 20 counts/20 min/mg) was strongly enhanced in CHOL (345 46 counts/20 min/mg, p 0.02) but not in CHOL-ISMN (229 23 counts/20 min/mg) demonstrating antioxidative effects of eccentric ISMN in vivo. In parallel, intima-media thickness of thoracic aorta (159 4 m in control) was reduced from 645 41 m (CHOL) to 440 51 m (CHOL-ISMN, p 0.05). Likewise, eccentric ISMN partially restored vascular responses to the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine and improved endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation. The maximal ACH relaxation increased from 26.3 9.6% in CHOL to 49.7 8.1% in CHOL-ISMN; ISMN treatment induced a moderate nitrate tolerance as evidenced by diminished ISMN-induced vasodilation. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that eccentric ISMN can completely inhibit the increase of vascular bioavailability of superoxide and partially prevent intimal lesion formation and endothelial dysfunction in hypercholesterolemia. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2004;44:624–31) © 2004 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation


Determining the species of origin of skeletal remains is critical in a forensic and anthropologic context. However, there are very few methods that use a chemical approach to assist in this determination. In this study, Raman spectroscopy was used to discriminate bone samples originating from four different species (bovine, porcine, turkey and chicken). Spectra were obtained using a near infrared laser at 785-nm. All spectra were combined in a single matrix and processed using partial least squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) with leave-one-out cross-validation. Three com-ponents were found to adequately describe the system. The first two components which contributed over 85% of spec-tral data was seen to completely separate the four species of origin in a two dimensional scores plot. A 95% confidence interval was draw around score points of each species class with very slight overlap. The first two components were seen to have large contributions from bioapatite and collagen, the main components of bone. This study serves as a preliminary investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy to discriminate the species of origin of bone tissue.


High speed processing of large amounts of data is a requirement for many diagnostic quality medical imaging applications. A demanding example is the acquisition, storage and display of image sequences in angiography. The functional performance requirements for handling angiography data were identified. A new lossless image compression algorithm was developed, implemented in C++ for the Intel Pentium/MS-Windows environment and optimized for speed of operation. Speeds of up to 6M pixels per second for compression and 12M pixels per second for decompression were measured. This represents an improvement of up to 400% over the next best high-performance algorithm (LOCO-I) without significant reduction in compression ratio. Performance tests were carried out at St. James's Hospital using actual angiography data. Results were compared with the lossless JPEG standard and other leading methods such as JPEG-LS (LOCO-I) and the lossless wavelet approach proposed for JPEG 2000. Our new algorithm represents a significant improvement in the performance of lossless image compression technology without using specialized hardware. It has been applied successfully to image sequence decompression at video rate for angiography, one of the most challenging application areas in medical imaging.


PURPOSE: An information storing medium recording a markup document and AV(Audio/Video) data, a method for recording and playing the same, and a playing device are provided to play the AV data and the markup document on an interactive mode and display it in various ways according to a resolution and a display aspect ratio set by a user or a play device. CONSTITUTION: The device includes a reader(1), an AV decoder(2), a presentation engine(3) and a blender(4). The reader(1) provides the AV decoder(2) and the presentation engine(3) by reading the AV data, the markup document and the screen synthesis information from an optical disk(100). The presentation engine(3) respectively transfers a decoding command and a display command to the AD decoder(2) and the blender(4) after analyzing the screen synthesis information, and provides a markup document screen to the blender(4). The AV decoder(2) decodes the AV data and outputs it to the blender(4) according to the decoding command. The blender(4) displays the markup document screen and the AV screen according to the display command.


This work focus on the development of a computational algorithm optimization to solve the sequencing problem of cardiac elective surgeries. The objective was to reduce the waiting time for surgeries, as well as maximize the use of hospital resources, i.e., more patients without the need for investment in overtime payments.


Non-specific-Lipid Transfer Proteins (ns-LTPs) have the potential to exhibit both lipid transfer activity and antimicrobial activity. Eleven novel full-length wheat ns-LTP1 clones, all possessing coding sequences of 348 bp, isolated from abioticand bunt-stressed cDNA libraries, exhibited highly conserved coding regions with 78–99% and 71–100% identity at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. The deduced proteins coded by these cDNAs were characteristic of the ns-LTP1 family. The full-length wheat ns-LTP1 genes were cloned into the expression vector pPICZα and transformed into Pichia yeast. SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and in vitro lipid binding activity assay confirmed that the eight ns-LTPs were all successfully expressed and capable of in vitro binding of fatty acids. A large scale comparative study of the toxicity of eight wheat ns-LTPs to growth of mycelium or spores of eight wheat pathogens including T. tritici, and three non-wheat pathogens demonstrated a differential toxicity among the ns-LTPs. LD50 values of three selected ns-LTPs against six fungi ranged from 1 to 7 μmol/l. In vitro lipid binding activity of ns-LTPs was not correlated with their antifungal activity. Using the fluorescent probe SYTOX Green as an indicator of membrane integrity, the toxicity of wheat ns-LTPs was shown to be associated with an alteration in fungal membrane permeability.


The use of CS immunosuppression in renal transplantation has made it increasingly difficult to ascertain the etiology of acute deteriorations in allograft function because of direct drug NT. We compared the utility of three diagnostic modalities-TRB, SCS and serum CS levels - to distinguish AR from CS NT in 19 children who received a primary transplant with CS therapy and 13 who were switched to CS from conventional treatment during the period 9/83-10/84.The children (18M:14F) received 15 living-related and 17 cadaveric allografts. The three tests were performed whenever possible in 22/32 patients with suspected AR (mean interval of 3.2 months post-initiation of CS). Clinical response to anti-rejection therapy was the operational criterion for AR. A TRB was considered positive for AR if lymphocytic infiltration was noted, SCS was deemed positive if there was colloid uptake, and CS serum levels were considered positive if subtherapeutic (<100ng/ml) or in the toxic range (>500ng/ml).We conclude that: 1)TRB is the most useful test for the diagnosis of AR episodes defined by response to anti-rejection therapy; and 2)SCS and CS drug levels correlate poorly with the TRB histological findings and the patient's clinical course.


THE "emergence of the Catholic layman" in the United States which has been heralded sofrequently since the opening of the Second Vatican Council has tended to do a grave injustice to the American Catholic layman of earlier generations. It is true that many of the leading American Catholiclaymen of the nineteenth century were converts from Protestantism, and there were few opportunities for the first generation immigrant Catholic to achieve higher education outside the seminaries. Nevertheless, the "Generation of the Third Eye" has not produced a philosopher of the depth or comprehension of Orestes A. Brownson, nor a defender of orthodoxy of the knowledge and capacity of James A. McMaster nor has it surpassed such men as Roger B. Taney, John Scott, and William J. Read who were called in to address the first Provincial Council of Baltimore, or Richard Clarke who tried to form the first Catholic union in the United States. The number of prominent Catholic laymen and laywomen of the nineteenth century is large as can be seen in the mere listing of the galaxy that participated in the two lay Catholic Congresses in Baltimore in 1889 and Chicago in 1893. Of all these, James McMaster has no equal in his influence on the religious and theological development of American Catholicism.


. A laminate comprising at least one elastic film (3, 4) and at least one nonwoven web (1, 2) attached to the film by interposing adhesive, in particular glue, characterized in that the at least one elastic film has a remanence of less than 15%, preferably less than 5%, the at least one elastic film having on the side of at least one web a surface which in longitudinal section, i.e. perpendicular to the direction of said width, has the form of a line, in particular the right of all of the fibers at least one nonwoven web located on the side of the line opposing the elastic film.


Since the construction and development of Taicang port on early of 1992,it was given great attention and full support by the national,provincial and municipal government.The country takes the Taicang port as the container transportation port of the Shanghai international sailing center from the macroscopic view.Jiangsu porvince wants to develop Taicang port as the container transportation port and the primary foreign port of Jiangsu.Now Taicang port faces the great development opportunity,but the face of competition and challenges are still very great.Taicang port has advantages and disadvantages on economic hinterland,geographical location,and natural conditions with the other port like Zhangjiagang port,Taizhou port,Changshu port and Jiangyin port.And each port makes unremitting efforts for improving its competitive position.Therefore,this paper discusses the competitiveness of Taicang port's strategy by comparing the Taicang port and other ports in the lower reaches of Yanzi River through fuzzy mathematics assessment.


The assimilate obtained during the grain filling phase is sourced from photosynthesis and Non Structural Carbohydrate (NSC) reserves produced during the vegetative phase in the vegetative organs. Assimilate from different sources plays different roles in the grain filling process. This study aims to investigate varietal difference on assimilate distribution, nitrogen response and yield performance. The experiment was carried out in the rice fields of Petapahan Village, Kampar Regency, Riau. The experimental design used was a split-plot in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 2 factors and 3 groups. The first factor, as the main plot, was the condition of N. Specifically without N (NoN) (0 kg ha−1 urea) and treatment with normal N (NN) (250 kg ha−1 urea). The second factor, as a sub-plot, was rice variety, spesifically Hipa 18, IPB 3S, Ciherang, and Way Apo Buru. Hipa 18 was a variety having the largest reserves of NSC. A positive correlation was found between plant characters observed in this research, they are stem and leaf dry weight, total carbohydrates in stems (proximate analysis), photosynthetic rate, and leaf nitrogen content (Kjeldahl method). As well as other agonomic characters such as leaf area index and yield components. The highest dry weight of stems and leaves of Hipa 18 was at the heading phase, 22.6 g. While the highest carbohydrate content of the stems of the variety was 7.93 g in the same phase. This large NSC reserve supported the largest sinks as well at Hipa 18. However, the source capacity of the varieties used was found to be lower than the sink capacity. It was also known that nitrogen affected the condition of all plant characters observed in this study. Therefore optimal nitrogen fertilization is needed to get a maximum yield.
HIGHLIGHTS

Production of dry matter through photosynthesis and remobilization of assimilate from vegetative organs are the main sources of grain filling
There was a greater amount of assimilate remobilization in Hipa 18 compared to IPB 3S, Ciherang, and Way Apo Buru
The yield was positively correlated with plant height at harvest, stem and leaf dry weight, leaf N content, leaf area index, total stem carbohydrates, and photosynthesis

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


This paper discusses the different effects of conducting and magnetic shields on the circuit inductance, which are of significance in pulsed power technology (PPT). The effect can be used as a generic method to guide the design of the special electrical machines called compensated pulsed alternators (compulsator or CPA) and improve the power output. With the shield technique, the internal inductance of a CPA is reduced greatly to tens of micro-henry making Possible very high current and power output when the CPA discharges. The CPA realizes a most efficient and compact pulsed power supply which can meet rapidly increasing need for military purposes and special industrial uses.


This study presents a predefined performance design approach for the distributed containment control of heterogeneous non-linear strict-feedback systems with multiple dynamic leaders under a directed graph topology where the leaders are neighbours of only a subset of the followers. It is assumed that all followers' non-linearities unmatched in the control input are unknown. The performance bounds, which characterise the convergence rate and maximum overshoot of control errors, are incorporated into the control error vectors, in order to ensure the predefined transient and steady-state performance of containment control errors. On the basis of these error vectors, the authors design a simple distributed containment control system without employing any function approximators to estimate unknown non-linearities and calculating the repeated derivatives of virtual controllers. It is shown from Lyapunov stability theorem that all followers nearly converge to the dynamic convex hull spanned by the dynamic leaders and the containment control errors are preserved within certain given predefined bounds.


Reports the discovery of foraminifera belonging to the genus Preverina in Oligocene deposits of Paxos island, Greece. Until now this genus has been known only from Italian localities.


In the compound 4,5-bis(ferrocenylmethylthio)-1,3-dithiol-2-one, [Fe2(C5H5)2(C15H12OS4)], the values of the geometric parameters of the ferrocene and 1,3-dithiol-2-one (dmio) moieties are within normal ranges. The dmio group is essentially planar. There are no short S⋯S contacts.


This work aims to study the vibration characteristics of the rotating functionally graded porous beam reinforced by graphene platelets. The beam is mounted and rotated around a hub with a constant velocity. The material properties vary along the thickness direction with two types of porosity distributions and two dispersion patterns of graphene platelet. The equations of motion based on the Timoshenko beam theory are obtained and solved using the Chebyshev-Ritz method. The effects of the parameters such as hub radius, rotating speed, weight fraction, porosity distribution, porosity coefficient, and dispersion model are presented. The present method results are also compared with numerical results available in the literature.


The detected signals using ultrasonic guided wave non-destructive
testing (NDT) for pipes with the method of excited and received to
one end of pipe, which run with come-and-go many times of reflection
and transmission between the two ends of pipe and the defect location
in pipe until its energy dissipation over. The multiple reflection
and transmission process lead to the appearance of the pseudo defect
signals which seriously affect the judgement of the defect numbers
and its locations in pipes. Aiming at the difficulty problem of the
pseudo defect signal identification, the sketch map of the propagation
path of ultrasonic guided wave in pipeline is drawn. The position
characteristic of the pseudo defect signal is summarized. Namely:
the pseudo defect signal does not appear in the first reflection cycle
of the detected signals or its amplitude of the signal is negligible;
meanwhile, the larger amplitude of the pseudo defect signal appear
from the the second reflection cycle of the detected signals, and
which is symmetric with the real defect signal about the time domain
midpoint of the signal period in the second reflection cycle. The
correctness of this characteristic law is verified by using numerical
simulation and experimental results. According to the characteristic
law of the pseudo defect signal, the defect wave packet signals in
the ultrasonic guided wave detected signals were identified and extracted,
and the matching pursuit method and the numerical comparison assignment
method were used to eliminate the pseudo defect signal. The conclusion
are shown that the proposed method of the pseudo defect signal recognition
and elimination in the ultrasonic guided wave NDT for pipes is practical
and effective, which achieves the goal of discarding the false and
retain the true detected signals, and solve the the detected signals
recognition difficulty problem in ultrasonic guided wave NDT for pipes,
and also greatly promotes the application of the ultrasonic guided
wave NDT technology.


Protein kinase CK2 is associated with a number of human diseases, among them cancer, and is therefore a target for inhibitor development in industry and academia. Six crystal structures of either CK2α, the catalytic subunit of human protein kinase CK2, or its paralog CK2α′ in complex with two ATP-competitive inhibitors—based on either a flavonol or a thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine framework—are presented. The structures show examples for extreme structural deformations of the ATP-binding loop and its neighbourhood and of the hinge/helix αD region, i.e., of two zones of the broader ATP site environment. Thus, they supplement our picture of the conformational space available for CK2α and CK2α′. Further, they document the potential of synthetic ligands to trap unusual conformations of the enzymes and allow to envision a new generation of inhibitors that stabilize such conformations.


As part of a program to improve the efficiency of biotic mortality agents attacking insect and mite pests, the species infesting a 2-acre plot of alfalfa at the Research Institute field station (44o15'N; 77030'W) were sampled weekly for 4 consecutive years. Samples of identical size were taken from the same subplot for the first 3 years and from subplots of new alfalfa in the fourth year. The abundance of two species, the two-spotted mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and its principal natural enemy Amblyseius fallacis (Garman), varied greatly from year to year; yearly maximum densities of T. urticae varied at least tenfold.


In nuclear reactor analysis, the integral transport equation is commonly used as a starting point for describing the exact conditions inside the core. One of the most commonly used techniques for solutions to the transport equation is that of collision probabilities. However, computer codes based on the exact collision probability formalism have historically been limited to a single assembly analysis. A new code has recently been developed at the University of California to overcome this barrier. The MAGGENTA code, based on the existing GTRAN2 code, utilizes the p4 Parallel Programming System and networks of workstations or other supercomputers to solve large multi-assembly problems. Each processor is assigned a unique geometrical region and are coupled through neutron currents at the interfaces. A graphical interface has been developed to simplify the assembly layout construction and processor assignments. The methodology has been shown to be very accurate. The effective multiplication factors calculated for the same fuel assembly using one, two, and four processors are in agreement. In addition, many large multi-assembly problems have been solved on a variety of computer architectures. Less than 10 minutes of real wallclock time was needed to analyze a case of 16 fuel assemblies on the SP-1. Inmore » each assembly, the exact 2D geometrical configuration was preserved, using 1000 meshes to define flat-flux zones. This complex transport problem was solved in 12 energy groups.« less