We analyzed macronutrient distribution and its effects on Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among Weber State students. We hypothesized that MetS parameters will be positively affected by meeting the acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (AMDRs) for carbohydrate, protein, and fat.

 MetS data and two-day diet records were analyzed from 385 Weber State students (ages 18 to 65). Participants were separated by gender (Male: 128; Female: 257), and by macronutrient distribution. Groups indicated those who met all AMDRs for carbohydrate, protein, and fat, and those who did not. We also categorized participants as deficient (below 67% DRI) or sufficient in fiber intake (above/equal to 100% DRI). The mean differences on MetS parameters were evaluated by independent samples t-test.

 Females who met all the AMDR's, had significantly lower body weight (BW) (μ1 = 64.8 vs μ2 = 69.9 Kg; P = 0.042), waist circumference (WC) (μ1 = 77 vs μ2 = 81.2 cm; P = 0.028), HDL-C (μ1 = 51.2 vs μ2 = 56.3 mg/dL; P = 0.032), and blood glucose levels (μ1 = 87.4 vs μ2 = 90.2 mg/dL; P = 0.029) than those who failed to meet these recommendations. Participants consuming adequate fiber had lower BW (μ1 = 75.3 vs μ2 = 67.3 Kg; P = 0.005), lower WC (μ1 = 83.3 vs μ2 = 77.8 cm; P = 0.009), and higher HDL-C (μ1 = 48.5 vs μ2 = 55.4 mg/dL; P = 0.021) (P < 0.05) when compared with their deficient counterparts.

 Meeting AMDRs showed no effect on MetS factors among males. In females, meeting AMDRs had positive effects on most MetS parameters with exception of HDL-C. Although HDL-C was decreased, total cholesterol was also reduced. Thus, leading to an unaffected HDL/Total-cholesterol-ratio, a more reliable predictor of cardiovascular disease. Adequate fiber intake beneficially affected central adiposity and HDL-C levels.

 Weber State University Office of Undergraduate Research.


Abstract Polydimethylsiloxane, surface‐modified glass, unmodified glass, and hollow‐fiber were evaluated as membrane materials for chlorine beneficiation. The purification of industrial grade chlorine and the recovery of chlorine from a tail gas in a chlor‐alkali process were considered. Polydimethylsiloxane (at low temperature) appeared to be a suitable material for both cases. The cost of separation was €0.04/kg Cl2 recovered for Case 1 and €0.07/kg Cl2 for Case 2. The selectivity of the surface‐modified glass is lower and complex, expensive configurations were required. Glass hollow fibers achieved the purity specifications but low permeabilities necessitate large modules.


Abstract In this article we seek to understand how succeeding generations of constructivists have invoked history to exact narratives of change within IR. We make the case that there is a move from a first generation where history served primarily to undermine generalised and ahistorical mainstream arguments through a second generation where history was providing data to undercut specific mainstream stories, replacing them with their own largely progressive stories, to a third generation where history is embraced for its own purpose, where history is seen as more open-ended and contingent. This has been a move from the general to the particular and from a meta-critique of the mainstream through accommodation with the mainstream, to a more localised opposition against the mainstream. Keywords : constructivism, history, historiography, international relations theory ----- Bibliography: Leira, Halvard/de Carvalho, Benjamin: Construction Time Again: History in Constructivist IR Scholarship, ERIS, 3-2016, pp. 99-111. https://doi.org/10.3224/eris.v3i3.27346


The accountability movement is generating an ethos among educators that must not go unchallenged. This ethos-whose governing principles are based on a technological-economic world-viewis distinguished by its frenzied insistence on the large-scale transportation of attitudes and practices from the world of business, engineering, and science to the world of education. One result of this slavish dependence on the beliefs and procedures of other fields has been to reduce the total educational endeavor to a tired litany of achievement, performance, and production characterized by the blank torpor of systems analysis, technological engineering, quality control, and replicability. The creeping extrusion into education of an ethos which defines the successful educational experience primarily in terms of systems engineering and measurable outputs signifies a tragic loss of larger vision and purpose among educators. The unsettling implication is that the nearer we come to the realization of accountability in our educational institutionsas accountability is presently being defined and huckstered-the greater will be the cleavage between our educational ideals and our actual practices; and the greater will be the consequent clamor for sweeping educational reform.


Abstract Fibrin is widely used in different approaches of tissue engineering. Nevertheless, poor biomechanical strength restricts its use namely in cardiovascular tissue engineering. We have recently developed a novel moulding technique for the generation of highly stable fibrin tubes. The purpose of this study was the application of this method to the generation of small calibre fibrin tubes for the generation of bioartificial vascular grafts with a diameter of 3 mm. Therefore, a fibrinogen preparation was separated from plasma by means of cryoprecipitation and applied to a high-speed rotating casting mould in a low concentration to achieve slow polymerization and thereby uniform distribution of the fibrinogen. Thus, uniformly moulded 10 cm long fibrin tubes with a diameter of 3 mm were generated from 145±22 mg fibrinogen precipitated from 50 mL plasma. Thickness of the wall (522±57 μm) and biomechanical strength (47.4±11.1 kPa) were equable over the whole length of the tubes. Burst strength was 367±49 mm Hg. Thus, the developed technique enables the generation of tubular fibrin segments with a high biomechanical stability and represents a powerful tool for the generation of custom-made bioartificial vascular grafts.


Carboxylic ester derivatives TRIFLUOROMETILPIRROLOINDOL represented by the general formula (1) and (2) having an antitumor activity optically active isomers thereof, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein R represents lower alkyl; R1 represents a residue of alpha-amino acid, ETC. R2 represents hydrogen, hydroxyl protecting group, ETC; EY is halogen, arylsulfonyloxy, ETC.


Traditional field calibration of cosmic-Ray neutron sensors (CRNS) for area-wide soil moisture monitoring is based on time-consuming and often expensive soil sample collection and conventional soil moisture measurement. This calibration requires two field campaigns, one under dry and one under wet soil conditions. However, depending on the agro-ecological context more field campaigns may be required for calibration, due to for instance crop biomass water interference. In addition, the current calibration method includes corrections considering several parameters influencing neutron counts, the proxy for soil moisture, such as soil lattice water, organic carbon, and biomass which need to be measured.

The main objective of this study is to investigate and develop an alternative calibration method to the currently available field calibration method. To this end, a Deep Learning model architecture under the TensorFlow machine learning framework is used to calibrate the Cosmic-Ray sensor.

The Deep Learning model is built with more than 8 years of CRNS data from Petzenkirchen (Austria) and consists of four hidden layers with activation function and a succession of batch normalization. Prior to build the Deep Learning model, data analysis consisting of pertinent variables selection was performed with multivariate statistical analysis of correlation. Among nine features, five were effectively pertinent and included in the machine learning artificial neural network architecture. The five input variables were the raw neutrons counts (N1 and N2), humidity (H), air pressure (P4) and temperature (T7).

The preliminary results show a linear regression with an R2 of 0.97 and the model predicted the soil moisture with less than 1% error.

These preliminary results are encouraging and proved that a machine learning based method could be a valuable alternative calibration method for CRNS against the current field calibration method.

More investigation will be performed to test the model under different agro-ecological conditions, such as Nebraska, USA. Further, additional input variables will be considered in the development of machine learning based models, to bring in agro-ecological information, such as crop cover, growth stage, precipitation related to the CRNS footprint.


Organic light emitting devices represent an exciting potential technology for solid state lighting. In this tutorial, key areas of progress in performance and low cost fabrication are described and compared to solid-state lighting needs.


Wireless sensor networks are becoming ubiquitous and their application areas are widening by the day. Localization algorithms play an important role in enhancing the utility of data collected by enabling sensors to determine the location from which each data packet is obtained. Localization can be done by implementing beacon based algorithms or signature based algorithms. Much of the research work in this area assumes received signal strength indicator (RSSI) as a parameter in their localization algorithms. Since RSSI is the key parameter we assume that it's possible to make an application for Android phones to find Bluetooth devices (not only phones, but any other object with a Bluetooth emitter). The main idea is to make it for golf players who want to find balls in a field. The idea is to implement a FIR filter programmed in Android, as the other parts of the code (Bluetooth API and visual application), to get the best signal avoiding the multipath issues, and once we have the RSSI value of the Bluetooth signal, calculate the distance between both devices.


A recent study on collective attention in Twitter shows that an epidemic spreading of hashtags is predominantly driven by external factors. We extend a time-series form of susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) model to monitor microblog emerging outbreaks by considering both endogenous and exogenous drivers. In addition, we adopt partially labeled Dirichlet allocation (PLDA) model to generate both background latent topics and hashtag topics. It overcomes the problem of small available samples in hashtag analysis by including related but unlabeled tweets through inference. We standardize hashtag topic contagiousness measure as the estimated effective-reproduction-number R derived from epidemiology. It is obtained by Bayesian parameter estimation. Guided by R, one can profile and categorize emerging topics, and generate alerts on potential outbreaks. Experiment results confirm the effectiveness of this approach.


For the first time, numerical solutions were computed using fractional-order strain considerations in the current study. For an isotropic and homogeneous nanobeam, the thermoelasticity with one relaxation time and fractional-order strain theory based on Caputo–Fabrizio's definition of fractional derivative was examined. With thermal loading and in simply supported boundary conditions, the Laplace transformations have been used upon the governing equations and its inversion was computed using the Tzou technique approximation. The numerical calculations for a thermoelastic rectangular gold (Au) nanobeam have been validated as a model where ramp-type heat is considered. The computational solutions have been depicted in two-dimensions graphs for several situations to investigate the impact of the fractional-order and ramping heat parameters on all of the functions studied. The temperature increment distribution, lateral vibration, deformation, tension, and energy density are all influenced by fractional-order and ramp-time heat parameters. The ramp-time heat parameter might be utilized to regulate nanobeam vibration and energy damping in thermoelastic nanobeams.


What makes the Redwall Limestone a unique and important stratigraphic unit in the Grand Canyon? This is one of the questions asked and answered in this guide to the Redwall. Written to assist guides in describing the geology of Grand Canyon, this colorful product should be of use to professional geologists, geophiles and people generally interested in geology. Jargon is minimized and the colorful illustrations provide a framework for understanding the underlying geologic concepts.


Critical phenomena are a part of physical science that deal with phase transitions accompanied by singularities like "critical opalescence" and "λ-anomalies". The theory of critical phenomena assumes phase transitions are a cooperative process driven by thermal fluctuations and subject to statistical mechanics. Ferromagnetic phase transition is usually used as a typical critical phenomenon to analyze. Many theoretical physicists viewed the λ-anomalies as the most important unsolved problem in theoretical physics. In this article hard evidence is presented that the actual molecular mechanism of all phase transitions in solids, including ferromagnetic, is antithesis to the models utilized in the theories of critical phenomena. Real phase transitions materialize by rearrangement of crystal structure according to the universal nucleation-and-growth mechanism. It is the crystal rearrangement which alters the electric, magnetic, optical, etc. properties. The process is not cooperative; thermal fluctuations are not involved; statistical mechanics is not applicable. Another part of this article is devoted to the singularities. (1) "λ-Anomalies". Believing that these peaks are heat capacity is a case of mistaken identity: they are latent heat of structural phase transitions. The same is true about the notorious "heat capacity λ-anomaly" in the liquid helium phase transition: it is a latent heat as well. (b) "Critical opalescence". The literature for the subject was examined. The opalescence in solid-state phase transitions, observed by different authors, turns out not fluctuation-related. It is a light scattering by nuclei and interfaces of arising new phase. The only type of phase transition that stays somewhat apart from the above-enumerated is the liquid – gas in its critical point. The case was reconsidered. The physical cause of inability to compress gas into liquid is explained. The observed opalescence is a cloud of tiny drops of liquid phase appearing; no fluctuations are involved. The case is not "critical" either.


This investigation examined whether persuasive organ donation messages that target individuals' identification with a salient social group will be more effective in encouraging these individuals to become organ donors than will information-only persuasive messages. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of two pro-organ donation messages, both of which included basic information about organ donation (need, number of registered donors, etc.) while one also targeted social identity. Findings indicate that individuals exposed to a social identification message were more likely to click a link that allowed them to officially register as organ donors. These results offer support for the utility of social identification as a health communication campaign strategy for increasing organ donation.


The traditional method of comparing values against database might work well for small database but when the database size increases invariably then the efficiency takes a hit. For instance,image plagiarism detection software has large amount of images stored in the database, when we compare the hash values of input query image against that of database then the comparison may consume a good amount of time.  For this reason we introduce the concept of using metric trees which makes use metric space properties for indexing in databases.  In this paper, we have provided the working of various nearest neighbor search trees for speeding up this task. Various spatial partition and indexing techniques are explained in detail and their performance in real-time world is provided.


Compulsory treatment is permitted (article 38 paragraph 5 Bopz (the Act on Special Admissions to Psychiatric Hospitals in the Netherlands)) if this is necessary for preventing danger to the patient or other persons and if this danger arises from impairment of the patient's mental functioning. Two patients are described in which compulsory drug treatment was considered on the grounds that the patients were in danger of social breakdown if they remained without hope or perspectives in a psychiatric hospital. The court ruled that that danger was insufficient to justify compulsory drug treatment. The authors are of the opinion that a stay in hospital with no hope or perspectives constitutes social breakdown and that the compulsory drug treatment should be applied.


Determination of metal ion contaminants in food samples is studied. A weighed quantity of each sample was digested in a concentrated mixture of nitric, hydrochloric and perchloric acids to affect complete solution of the food products. The samples were diluted with water and the pH adjusted according to the specific analysis performed. The samples were analyzed by neutron activation analysis, polarography, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The solid food samples were also analyzed by neutron activation analysis for increased sensitivity and lower levels of detectability. The results are presented in tabular form.


Objective. To analyze specific features of thoracoscopic discectomy and results of its application in children with thoracic idiopathic scoliosis. Material and Methods. A total of 42 patients (33 females and 9 males) aged 13 to 18 years who had right-sided thoracic idiopathic scoliosis were operated on. All patients underwent one stage endoscopic discectomy with corporodesis through anterolateral approach, and posterior correction of the deformity with multiple-anchor instrumentation accompanied by intraoperative halo-tibial traction and followed by posterior local fusion. The follow-up period ranged from 6 months to 3 years. Results. Postoperative Cobb angle of residual scoliotic deformity was 10–20° as reported by X-ray study. Deformity correction was 79.9 ± 6.5 %. Patients were verticalized on the 3–6th days and discharged on the 8–10th days after surgery to outpatient treatment. The improvement or complete restoration of the trunk balance was achieved. The pain syndrome intensity was 6–7 scores. Conclusion. Indications for thoracoscopic discectomy are rigid curves less than 90 degrees and unfinished growth in a child. Application of endoscopic discectomy at the anterior stage of surgical intervention in patients with idiopathic scoliosis provided insignificant blood loss during discectomy, decreased intensity of postoperative pain syndrome, and improved cosmetic outcome after the surgery.


Educators in television universities must understand and master the characteristics, basic position and basic tactic of modern distance education in the process of rural urbanization strategy, and surefootedly conduct modern distance education against the background of our country's rural urbanization strategy.


Psychosocial variables in the antiretroviral treatment adherence in methadone maintenance patients. The object of this paper has been to explore the relationship between adherence to antiretroviral treatment and any of the psychological and social variables from a sample of 100 HIV injection drug user (IDU) patients, under a methadone maintenance program. The sample has been split into adherents and no-adherents according to the time intervals (previous day, week and month) and the degrees of compliance (high or low demand). The relationship that certain psychological variables presented was subsequently analysed. The perceived self-efficacy along with the perceived effort necessary can act as an adherence predictor. Similarly the patients' perceived self-efficacy depends on the support provided by the drug addiction centre, on the frequency the patients attend the centre and on having the treatment automated, and finally on the anxiety variables experienced. We detected a significant statistical relationship with all these variables under adherence.


Chitosan was used to improve the dyeability of DP-finished cotton. Cotton fabric was treated with a mixture of chitosan, 4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DHDMI), and catalyst in a one-step process. To investigate the effect of molecular weight of chitosan on the dyeability of treated fabrics, six chitosan samples of different molecular weights were prepared by depolymerization with sodium nitrite; 185,300, 73,200, 59,000, 21,000, 14,000, and 3,800, respectively. Chitosan improves dye uptake of direct and acid dyes considerably, and the dye uptake increases with the increase of the molecular weight of chitosan. Reactive dye uptake increases slightly in alkaline condition as the molecular weight of chitosan decreases. Higher dye uptake is obtained in acidic condition than in alkaline condition. Chitosan treatment has no discernable effect on the colorfastness to washing, but decreases the colorfastness to wet crocking by about half a point. And chitosan affects other properties of treated fabric; lower wrinkle recovery, stiffer handle, and higher breaking strength as the molecular weight of chitosan increases. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 67:1515–1521, 1998


Alkaptonuria is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterised by the absence of homogentisic acid oxidase and the subsequent accumulation of homogentisic acid, a metabolic product of the aromatic aminoacids phenylalanine and tyrosine; which is deposited in articular cartilages, intervertebral discs, sclera, tympanic membrane, tendons and ligaments leading to their degeneration. Here we 1,2,3 describe a case of spontaneous rupture of Achilles tendon due to Ochronosis.


Cambridge University is one of the earliest and the most successful schools to carry out entrepreneurship education. With a good sense of entrepreneurship, multi-party financial support, systematic entrepreneurial courses and a wealth of extracurricular entrepreneurial practice, Cambridge entrepreneurship education has achieved great success. In China entrepreneurship education started late, and there are many deficiencies. By referring to the successful experience of entrepreneurship education in Cambridge University, we can improve the entrepreneurial quality and entrepreneurial ability of Chinese college students, and then enhance the level of innovation and entrepreneurship in China.


The utility model provides a fruit color sorter comprising a conveying mechanism, a sensing mechanism and a sorting mechanism; the fruit is placed on the conveying mechanism for transmission; the sensing mechanism comprises color sensors respectively and symmetrically arranged above and below the conveying mechanism, the color sensors are right positioned opposite to the conveying position of the fruit, and the color sensors are connected with the sorting mechanism positioned on an end portion of the conveying mechanism; and the fruit is conveyed to leave the conveying mechanism and enters the sorting mechanism. The color sensors are respectively and symmetrically arranged above and below the conveying mechanism, and are both right positioned opposite to the conveying position of the fruit, so omnibearing monitoring of the fruit color is realized through reasonable arrangement of the color sensors; and the fruit color sorter can automatically monitor the color of the fruit of the same kind in an more omnibearing manner.


Objective:To analyze the value of various MRI features in the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) injury.Methods:The clinical materials of 194 patients with knee joint injury confirmed by arthroscopy(including 97 knees with normal ACL and 97 knees with ACL injuries respectively) were analyzed,the primary and secondary signs of ACL injury on MRI were evaluated.Results:Among the four primary signs of ACL injury(discontinuity of ACL,loss of ACL signals,abnormal morphology and course of ACL),apart from the loss of ACL signals,all of the other three primary signs had statistical significance in diagnosing ACL injury with the discontinuity of ACL had relative higher sensitivity(83.5%),specificity(97.9%),and positive likelihood ratio(+LR,39.8).Most of the secondary signs showed relative higher specificity but lower sensitivity with notch sign,bone contusion,uncovered posterior horn of lateral meniscus and anterior displacement of tibia had higher +LR(+∞,9.0,55.7,8.0 respectively).Conclusion:Primary signs were the main basis for the diagnosis of ACL injuries.However,the secondary signs had higher specificity and +LR,which could be used for accessory signs for the diagnosis,especially in those patients with suspicious ACL injury but could not be diagnosed with primary signs.


FSS is a two-dimensional periodic structure,it acts as a filter if interact with electromagnetic wave,it also can be used as polarizers,etc,especially plays important roles in the field of stealth technology. Considering the application in the stealth technology of FSS,this paper designs a multilayer composite FSS structure composed of skin,honeycomb panel and FSS. This paper study the transmission characteristics of the structure design by using the spectral domain method, including discusses the element size and the thickness of skin、 honeycomb plate that influence transmission characteristics of the structure in detail,and gives the conclusion,which provides a reference for the design and application of broadband FSS structure.


Zanchor technology is an improvement technique for interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates developed by Shikibo Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. A special needle was used in this technology for entangling fibers with other fibers in the next or neighboring layers. Because fibers are directed to out-of-planes, reinforced of interlaminar strength is expected with this technology. To obtain interlaminar fracture toughness and fracture mechanism of CFRP laminate applied Zanchor technology two kinds of Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests were carried out. DCB Test 1 is the test to get interlaminar fracture toughness. DCB Test 2 is the test to investigate interlaminar fracture mechanism. The fracture toughness and load-crack opening displacement (COD) curve obtained from each DCB tests were considered. From the results of DCB Test 1, the fracture toughness value increased proportionally to the frequency in which sting the needle by certain frequency, but the value below the proportion more than certain frequency. From the results of DCB-2, bridging which restrains upper and lower sides of the test piece was confirmed that there was an effect of controlling the crack progress. Moreover, from observation by optical microscope, the fiber bundles in the out-of-plane direction were observed around start and end of the bridging. Therefore, it was confirmed that Zanchor was related to occurring of the bridging and stopping the crack progress.


Micro-algae constitute powerful unicellular factories with enormous potential for mitigation of miscellaneous pollutants from effluent gases and waste waters. Especially their outstanding capacity for photosynthetic CO2 fixation underlines their potential for diminishing current ecological problems. Together with these contributions to beneficial environmental development, various micro-algae accumulate high-value marketable products as cell constituents. Low cell densities and moderate growth rates typical for algal cultivation are known as the major obstacles in industrial manufacturing of algal products: Here, high cell densities are required to obtain reasonable volumetric productivities. This raises the challenges for the process engineering design and novel nutrient supply regimes as needed for efficient algal cultivation. For some algal strains, mixotrophic cultivation by providing organic substrates together with CO2 results in increased biomass concentration in a first cultivation step. For this purpose, numerous organic waste streams can be applied as substrate. In a second step, active algal biomass accumulates desired products via CO2 fixation, e.g. from industrial effluent gases. This can be realized by two-stage, continuously operated photo-bioreactor systems. After optimized product recovery, the value-added conversion of residual algal biomass for energy recovery e.g. in biogas plants, constitutes another challenge.


Object Library of Algorithms for Dynamic Optimization Problems: Benchmarking SQP and Nonlinear Interior Point Methods The main purpose of this paper is to describe the design, implementation and possibilities of our object-oriented library of algorithms for dynamic optimization problems. We briefly present library classes for the formulation and manipulation of dynamic optimization problems, and give a general survey of solver classes for unconstrained and constrained optimization. We also demonstrate methods of derivative evaluation that we used, in particular automatic differentiation. Further, we briefly formulate and characterize the class of problems solved by our optimization classes. The solution of dynamic optimization problems with general constraints is performed by transformation into structured large-scale nonlinear programming problems and applying methods for nonlinear optimization. Two main algorithms of solvers for constrained dynamic optimization are presented in detail: the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) exploring the multistage structure of the dynamic optimization problem during the solution of a sequence of quadratic subproblems, and the nonlinear interior-point method implemented in a general-purpose large-scale optimizer IPOPT. At the end, we include a typical numerical example of the application of the constrained solvers to a large-scale discrete-time optimal control problem and we use the performance profiles methodology to compare the efficiency and robustness of different solvers or different options of the same solver. In conclusions, we summarize our experience gathered during the library development.


Undergoing surgery has great repercussions in patients' lives, particularly if they are experiencing hardships from work instability and worsening conditions. Thus, the objective of the present study was to identify the effects on workers without social security needing to undergo elective surgery, and analyze the conveniences and difficulties those workers experience during the perioperative period. The study took a qualitative and descriptive approach, conducted in surgical wards from a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Subjects were 10 clients under the "without social security" condition. The instrument was a semi-structured interview and the data were treated by means of content analysis. Thus, the method chosen met fifteen (15) Registration Units (RUs), which were grouped into 2 (two) categories: "The meaning of surgical experience and its impact" and "The uncertainties of surgical experience and coping". It was found that surgical experience has psychological and socio-financial repercussions, causing difficulties such as removal from work activities, resulting in financial loss. It was felt that the situation is complex and requires conduct comprising guidance and referral to other professionals.


A method for the electrical control of a piezoelectric actuator, in particular a piezoelectric actuator of an injection system with the following steps: - Charging the actuator, - waiting for a predetermined delay time (D1, D2), - discharging of the actuator after the delay time (D1, D2), wherein a Zeitrasterung is provided, characterized, that the delay time (D1, D2) is determined such variable depending on the timing of a discharge signal that Quantisierungssprunge be offset caused by the Zeitrasterung.


Abstract: This chapter describes the recent advances in corrosion protection afforded by the use of ultra-thin organic films such as polymer films and self-assembled monolayers. Emphasis is given to the metal surface modification by self-assembled monolayers of carboxylic acids due to their properties and ability to protect metallic artefacts.


Within Western Europe there is growing interest in satellite television and some commentators suggest that its successful development could revolutionise television transmission and bring a new dimension to home entertainment during the next decade. This article describes the different ways in which satellite television services are being developed in Western Europe in general and in the United Kingdom in particular. Some of the problems surrounding these developments are also discussed.


Objective Thoracoscopy has limits in the detection of small pulmonary nodules,which are invisible and/or impalpable during surgery.Methods to localize such lesions,including the methylene blue injection or the introduction of a hooked-wire under the guidance of CT,have some limitations.We are developing a new technique using image-guided navigation system for localization of small pulmonary nodules before thoracoscopic surgery.Four pigs were spiral-computed tomography(MSCT)scanned after given percutaneously created pulmonary lesions.The CT data were transmitted to StealthStation navigation system.With the help of the probe the lesions were located and resected under thoracoscopy.Results Total 20 lesions were created,which were 15.2±0.3mm in diameter in the CT images.All the lesions were successfully localized.Biopsy specimens revealed successful resection of target material.Conclusion This method can provide appropriate guidance to small pulmonary nodules and prove effective in immediately facilitating subsequent thoracoscopic resection.


Recently, three Appalachian scholars delivered papers on mountain violence in the nineteenth century at the Southern Historical Association convention. These presentations were carefully phrased to ensure that no one could interpret the conclusions as supporting the stereotype of the violent mountaineer. The person who commented on the papers was a specialist in the history of the American West. His personal reaction was: Appalachian scholars need to stop fighting the battles of the past; they should move on to a consideration of the past in new terms. Upon reflection, it was obvious that many regional authors are beginning to do precisely that. A brief survey of recent publications indicates that this reconstruction of the Appalachian past has profound implications for interpreters of the Appalachian experience. Ironically, Appalachians have learned their history in the manner that a Kenyan griot related local history to a graduate school classmate of mine. The griot chronicled nearly four centuries of his community's history by starting at the beginning—yesterday. Starting in 1968 he traced the history of the region back, year by year, to the sixteenth century. While this method of historical narrative appears to be backward, it has the advantage of tying the past to the concerns of the present. If a person produced no heirs or events had no obvious impact, they were deleted from the collective memory. For many activist scholars in the 1960s and 1970s, their approach to the past was the same as that of their African counterpart. Outraged by poverty, exploitation, and prejudice, they challenged the political and scholarly status quo. Topics for investigation were selected because of their relevance for present-day concerns. Causes of present problems were sought out, and the perpetrators of the wrongs were identified and branded. All of this activity was done in a feverish atmosphere in which certain assumptions about the Appalachian past were widely shared. These included: industrialization was an unmitigated disaster for the mountains; there was a distinct and identifiable mountain culture; most of the difficulties faced by mountain people were forced upon the region by outsiders. There was also general agreement about the solution to many of the problems faced by the region. Put succinctly, the people of


This paper describes the collection and compilation of the OneStopEnglish corpus of texts written at three reading levels, and demonstrates its usefulness for through two applications - automatic readability assessment and automatic text simplification. The corpus consists of 189 texts, each in three versions (567 in total). The corpus is now freely available under a CC by-SA 4.0 license and we hope that it would foster further research on the topics of readability assessment and text simplification.


Two new caenogastropod genera are described from the Liassic (Pliensbachian) Amaltheenton Formation of Franconia (South Germany): Pseudokatosira and Francocerithium. Pseudokatosira is a relatively large and high-spired member of the Zygopleuroidea and is based on the type species "Katosira" undulata. The protoconch of this species is reported for the fi st time. Francocerithium is based on the species Francocerithium kochi (MUNSTER in GOLDFUSS), a small stout cerithioid which is common in the Amaltheenton Formation of Franconia. A lectoype is selected for Turbo kochii MUNSTER in GOLDFUSS (= Francocerithium kochi) and is illustrated. F. kochi has a relatively large, complexly ornamented larval shell.


The purpose of this project is to design and construct a microcontroller based infrared object counter. The microcontroller has been programmed with some instruction sets to increment or decrement the counting on the seven-segment display based on a voltage level compared with a reference preset voltage. The difference between the entry and exit movement is also displayed on the seven-segment display. The comparator integrated circuit (IC) (Quad 339) sends a high or low voltage to the microcontroller (based on a preset value). The microcontroller then acts on it based on the program written and embedded into it. Results obtained agreed with the analytical expectations, thereby confirming the efficiency/effectiveness of the microcontroller based infrared object counter.


In this study discussed by the problem to indicated hard motoic ability for children of group B PAUD Al-Ihsan are still low because of hard motoric ability not perfect yet. The study focus to stimulation of hared motoric ability who gave for children not optimal yet the study on hard motoric ability in PAUD Al-Ihsan only following what the teaeher teach.
Because of the problem ,it's need to pepaire the process and result of the lasseon hared motoric .This meaens can doing once more by tradisional plaing '' Oray-orayan " in PAUD Al-Ihsan for alternative to repaire the condition the lesson .
Bsed the problem above the purpose of the study ,to knowhow mach the level of children result after the teacer asing the lesson of tradisional plaing ''Oray-orayan'' this study using class action the subject of study is group B in PAUD Al-Ihsan 13 children.
The tradisional playing ''Oray-orayan '' it's very supported for devlomentnd hard motoric parly childhood education .Childrens can study the cap ablees hard motoric in tradisional playing ''Oray-orayan'' like :Walking, jamping, by one or two feet ,and can playing by the rules.Fenally hard motoric will be develop well.
The result of hard motoric children after doing this playing will be develop well ,the ability of hard motoric children in PAUD Al-Ihsan at frist condition get 15,38 %,next in siclus 1 be 46,15 %in siclus 2 be 84,62 % gotthe result at work indicator.


The non-equilibrium adsorption of a single non-grafted polymer to a flat surface is investigated. Using Brownian dynamics simulations we consider the influence of a lateral external force applied on one end of the polymer, as experimentally realized in AFM pulling experiments. The external force flattens the chain perpendicular to the pulling direction and hence favors the chain adsorption; this mechanism is rationalized in terms of a renormalization of the polymer Kuhn length. Our results are also relevant for polymer adsorption in elongational or simple shear flow and for sheared polymer brushes in contact with an adsorbing substrate.


Training college students' innovation、entrepreneurship and practical ability is the direction in contemporary university education,and the innovation and entrepreneurship training project for college students is a project of encouraging students to carry out their innovative entrepreneurial activity. Taking Mianyang Normal University for example in this paper,the current management situation of innovation and entrepreneurship training project in management mode,project system construction,project oversight mechanisms and other aspects were discussed,and the problems in our management process,and some appropriate countermeasures were also analyzed.


Recurrent corneal erosion syndrome is a condition characterized by recurrent attacks of mild to severe eye pain, redness, tearing, blurred or distorted vision, and light sensitivity. The underlying mechanism is a disturbance at the level of the corneal epithelial basement membrane, resulting in defective adhesions and recurrent breakdowns of the corneal epithelium. Trauma and anterior corneal dystrophy are the two most important causes. Although the diagnosis is easy, treatment is often frustrating. Management of an acute attack is easy but prevention of recurrences is the real challenge. This article reviews the literature on diagnosis and treatment approaches of recurrent corneal erosion syndrome with a special focus on advances over the last decade.


A series of 13 2-arylamino-2-thioxoacetamides was tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. kansasii . Structure-activity relationships were analyzed quantitatively using the Free-Wilson method. Evaluation of the antimycobacterial profile with regard to equipotency of both activities was accomplished by means of a recently proposed method for evaluation of activity profile with respect to intended therapeutical use.


Abstract The potential production loss attributable to Fe‐deficiency chlorosis in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] grown on calcareous soil is sufficient to justify the development of high‐yielding, Fe‐efficient soybean cultivars in several states. Alternative breeding methods and screening techniques for the development of high‐yielding, Fe‐efficient cultivars and parental germplasm were studied. In the breeding methodology studies, populations derived from crosses of lower yielding, Fe‐efficient X high‐yielding, Fe‐inefficient parents had lower mean yields but greater average Fe‐efficiency than populations derived by backcrossing to the high‐yielding parent. Phenotypic correlations between the yield of breeding lines on noncalcareous soil and their Fe‐efficiency on calcareous soil were positive or not significant, indicating that selection of high‐yielding, Fe‐efficient cultivars should be possible. In a recurrent selection program to improve the Fe‐efficiency of a population, a nutrient solution system...


Search of the literature fails to reveal the use of sulfanilamide 1 heretofore in the treatment of gas gangrene. It appears to be a valuable adjunct in this respect and offers great promise with regard to saving of limb and life. Case 1.— W. C., a Negro youth aged 15, admitted to Franklin Square Hospital Jan. 12, 1937, after being struck by an automobile while roller skating, suffered mild shock and concussion, a transverse fracture of the right femur in the mid third, and a compound fracture of the left femur in the lower third which extended longitudinally through the metaphysis and involved the outer half of the epiphyseal cartilage plate; the proximal fragment protruded through the lateral surface of the thigh above the knee. The wound area was treated, the compound fracture was reduced, dressings of dry gauze were applied, and both fractures were splinted; 1,500 units of tetanus


Emotions play an important role in our daily life. AntonioDamasiofamously stated: "We are not
thinking machines that feel; rather we are feeling machines that think". Human emotions can be
recognized through facial expression, speech and gesture. The use of electroencephalograms (EEGs)
to understand and recognize human emotion has been widely studied, where those recognition
techniques greatly benefit in human-computer interaction (HCI). In this investigation, we study the
use of EEGs to recognize emotions. Pleasant and unpleasant images are used as stimuli to elicit
human pleasant and unpleasant emotions.The brainwaves are recorded using a 9-electrode medical
grade wireless EEG headset from Advance Brain Monitoring (ABM), the B-alert X10. The features
comprising alpha, beta, gamma, theta, and delta bands are then extracted from the recorded
brainwaves using time-frequency analysis. Different channels and rhythms are used in support vector
machine (SVM) and K-nearest neighbors (KNN) classifiers to train and classify pleasant vs.
unpleasant mind states. The best accuracy obtained was 70.43% using SVM with alpha and beta
rhythmsfromchannel F3 and Fz, and also with gamma rhythms from channel POz.


Planar integrated liquid-core ARROW waveguides for molecule specific surface-enhanced Raman (SERS) sensing are discussed. We demonstrate SERS detection from rhodamine 6G molecules bound to silver nanoparticles in picoliter volume ARROW waveguides and present waveguide designs for integrated Rayleigh-peak filtering.


Summary 3′[18F]Fluoro-3′-deoxy-thymidine ([18F]FLT) (III) has been discussed to be a promising tracer for assessing tumor proliferation. In order to perform clinical studies for evaluating [18F]FLT a simplified labeling procedure was developed using 2,3′-anhydrothymidine with benzoyl as a protecting group in the 5′-position (I). In DMSO the labeling yield was 46% at 160 °C in 10 min. Hydrolysis was efficiently performed with 0.25% NaOH at room temperature within 10 min. The labeling procedure was transferred to a remote controlled synthesis module allowing the production of [18F]FLT in high activities. The overall radiochemical yield was 18.1 ± 5.4% (n = 55) with absolute yields of 9.2 ± 2.6 GBq of [18F]FLT at EOS ready for injection (60 min after EOB; irradiation parameters: 35 μA, 60 min) and specific activities of 100–220 GBq/μmol. A convenient cartridge method for metabolite analysis was developed and validated versus HPLC showing that after 90 min 69.0 ± 7.0% of the radioactivity in plasma (less than 20% of initial radioactivity) was unchanged [18F]FLT (26 patients with various tumors).


The structural behavior of the composite material light rail vehicle body are investigated. Composite material is very useful for light rail vehicle structure due to its high specific strength and lightweight characteristics. The main carbody is made of aluminum alloy. The side wall and roof with composite panels can reduce total vehicle weight about 2000㎏. In addition, with the lower density of the foam, enhances lightness in the panel and to save the operation expenses. The finite element analysis code, ANSYS is used to evaluate the stability of the body structure under the various load conditions.


Manufacturer-implemented regions of interest (ROIs) to determine the bone mineral density (BMD) at the forearm are currently not standardized across dual X- ray absorptiometry (DXA) devices. We hypothesized that their differences introduce considerable variation in measurement results for forearm BMD when taken on different devices, and that a ROIs common to all devices with standardized placement and size significantly im- prove device comparability. The common ROI was de- fined to have a fixed length of 2 cm and to extend proximally from the location where the ulna and radius bones superimpose on the DXA image. The effects of universal standardization of forearm BMD were com- bined with and compared to those of the common ROI. They were drawn on 91 female study participants (ages 20-80 years, 10 per decade) who were scanned on Hologic QDR-4500, Aloka DCS-600EX, GE Lunar PIXI and Norland pDEXA DXA scanners. For all device combi- nations, manufacturer-implemented ROI root mean- square errors were significantly higher than for the com- mon ROI, suggesting that implementing an ROI with common design on all scanners is a good way to reduce interdevice variability. When manufacturer-implemented ROIs were universally standardized root mean-square error (RMSE) values were less different from that of the nonstandardized Common ROI, suggesting that uni- versal standardization can further improve interdevice comparability even when a common ROI such as the one implemented here is used. ROI standardization dramat- ically improves interdevice comparability.


We parametrise the gauge-invariant ideals of the Toeplitz-Nica-Pimsner algebra of a strong compactly aligned product system over $\mathbb{Z}_+^d$ by using $2^d$-tuples of ideals of the coefficient algebra that are invariant, partially ordered, and maximal. We give an algebraic characterisation of maximality that allows the iteration of a $2^d$-tuple to the maximal one inducing the same gauge-invariant ideal. The parametrisation respects inclusions and intersections, while we characterise the join operation on the $2^d$-tuples that renders the parametrisation a lattice isomorphism. The problem of the parametrisation of the gauge-invariant ideals is equivalent to the study of relative Cuntz-Nica-Pimsner algebras, for which we provide a generalised Gauge-Invariant Uniqueness Theorem. We focus further on equivariant quotients of the Cuntz-Nica-Pimsner algebra and provide applications to regular product systems, C*-dynamical systems, strong finitely aligned higher-rank graphs, and product systems on finite frames. In particular, we provide a description of the parametrisation for (possibly non-automorphic) C*-dynamical systems and row-finite higher-rank graphs, which squares with known results when restricting to crossed products and to locally convex row-finite higher-rank graphs.


Objective To analyze the prevalent characteristic of the infectious diseases that have to reported by law of type Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲin temporary residents in Baoan from 1995 to 2001.Methods By using the epidemic situation reporting system of infectious diseases on internet, we analyzed some related index between the temporary residents and the resident in Baoan. Results During 1995~2001 the incidence of infectious diseases in the temporary residents from outside of the Guangdong province was 2 51 times higher than the incidence of those from Guangdong province, and 2 24 times higher than the incidence of the residents. Conclusion The population of the temporary residents from outside of Guangdong province should be closely monitoring from the prevalent of the infectious diseases.


Aim  Altemeier's procedure (perineal rectosigmoidectomy) is the operation of choice for rectal prolapse in the elderly. The aims of this prospective observational study were to evaluate its long‐term actuarial recurrence risk and the influence of the length of rectosigmoid resection and associated levatorplasty on recurrence rate and continence.


The room‐temperature adsorption and dissociation of methylchloride (CH3Cl) on Si(001) using scanning tunneling microscopy has been studied. Fragments are identified by the symmetry of their binding on the underlying Si(001) lattice. Methylchloride adsorbs dissociatively at room temperature, yielding a methyl group and a chlorine atom bound to the surface. Chlorine atoms bind in a variety of geometries, the most common being two chlorine atoms bonded to a single silicon dimer (silicon monochloride dimers). When the surface is heated to 150 °C, all Cl rearranges to this monochloride‐type bonding configuration, and images reveal the beginnings of monochloride island formation. The Cl:CH3 ratio on the surface is found to be approximately 2:1, implying that not all methyl groups are bound to the surface in the reaction.


The dipolarization front (DF), usually observed near the leading edge of a bursty bulk flow (BBF), is thought to carry an intense current sufficient to modify the large‐scale near‐Earth magnetotail current system. However, the physical mechanism of the current generation associated with DFs is poorly understood. This is primarily due to the limitations of conventional plasma instruments which are unable to provide a sufficient number of unaliased 3‐D distribution functions on the timescale of the DF, which usually travels past a spacecraft in only a few seconds. It is thus almost impossible to unambiguously determine the detailed plasma structure of the DF at the usual temporal resolution of such instruments. Here we present detailed plasma measurements using the Cluster Plasma Electron and Current Experiment and Cluster Ion Spectrometry‐Composition and Distribution Function ion data for an event during which it was possible to observe the full pitch angle distribution at a cadence of 1/4 s. The observations clearly show details of plasma substructure within the DF, including the presence of field‐aligned electron beams. In this event, the current density carried by the electron beam is much larger than the current obtained from the curlometer method. We also suggest that the field‐aligned current around the DF obtained from the curlometer method may have been misinterpreted in previous studies. Our results imply that the nature of the DF current system needs to be revisited using high‐resolution particle measurements, such as those observations shortly to be available from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission.


Now that you have completed Part 3 Elimination: Pathways and Products, you should be able to do the following: 1 Recognize valid definitions of and use in a correct context the terms, concepts and principles in the following table (All questions).


A survey of iSchool and Library and Information Science American Library Association accredited school heads explored their use and opinions about academic social media platforms. Results show that ResearchGate is the venue of choice, although respondents do not believe maintaining a profile on academic social media platforms influences academic careers. Respondents do see the value of academic social media sites to enhance visibility and reputation. These data are complemented with an analysis of the visibility on academic/professional social media platforms of this group. The altmetric indicators derived from the data were compared to traditional bibliometric indicators.


The endochronic viscoplasticity model is presented, and the criteria for general problem analyses are discussed. Two approaches are then developed for inclusion of this model in nonlinear finite element codes. One approach includes reformulating the stiffness matrix for solution by iteration, and the other approach does not. Also, the uniaxial tension problem is studied, and the problems encountered with the use of this model are stated. Finally, recommendations are presented to check the basic postulates used to develop this model.


Background Acute rota virus diarrhea causes mucosal destruction, blunted villi, villus shortening, and death of cells. The process also decreases lactose secretion which responsible in lactose absorption. Non-absorbed lactose then causes the progression of osmotic and secretory diarrhea causing delayed recovery. Lactose-free formula may decrease lactose, thus shortened the duration of diarrhea episode. Objective To compare the cure rate and duration of acute rota virus diarrhea in children treated with lactose-free formula and lactose containing formula. Methods A randomized, double-blind controlled trial was performed to infants and children aged 2: 6 to 59 months old with acute rotavirus diarrhea accompanied with mild or moderate dehydration that were admitted to pediatric gastroenterology division. Latex agglutination test was used to detect rota virus. After an appropriate rehydration therapy had been done, they were fed with either lactose-free formula (n = 29) or lactose-containing formula (n = 31). Comparisons between duration of diarrhea, weight gain, and defecation frequency were made. Statistical analysis for comparing the two groups were independent t-test and multivariate analysis (Cox regression). Statistical significant was defined ifF< 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Results The mean duration of diarrhea in lactose-free formula group was 57.59 hours (SD 9.40) and lactose-containing formula was 85.97 hours (SD 13.94), mean difference was 28.38 hours (SE 3.09) [P = 0.001; (95% CI 22.19 to 34.56)]. Decrease in stool frequency was found significantly in the lactose-free formula group. Multivariate analysis (Cox regression) revealed that the intervention was affected significantly. Conclusion Lactose-free formula may shorten the duration of acute rotavirus diarrhea.


The invention relates to a device and a method for establishing a bone marrow liquid channel and realizing liquid exchange (injection or/and extraction) through the channel. The device comprises an adjusting sleeve, a retainer arranged in an inner cavity of the adjusting sleeve, a bone marrow needle component arranged in the inner cavity of the adjusting sleeve and between the retainer and a push rod, a spring chuck which is arranged in a recess of the push rod through a fixing pin and is sleeved with a check ring, a sleeve connected to one end of the adjusting sleeve, the push rod and a spring which are arranged in the sleeve, a sliding sleeve sleeved on the outer wall of the sleeve, a rear cover arranged at one end of the sleeve, and a safety pin inserted into the sliding sleeve and the sleeve, wherein an annular groove is formed on the push rod; an air vent is formed on the adjusting sleeve; and an annular step surface is formed in the adjusting sleeve. By the device for establishing the bone marrow liquid channel, a new method for conveniently injecting and accurately extracting liquid can be formed.


Objective
To evaluate outcomes of modified transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) assisted by the minimally invasive expandable access system and spinal channel endoscope for acute and chronic lumbar intervertebral disc injury.

Methods
From March 2013 to November 2014, 45 patients with lumbar intervertebral disc injury were managed with minimally invasive (Group A) or open TLIF (Group B). Location for disc injury was at L3/4 in 5 patients, L4/5 in 28 patients and L5-S1 in 12 patients. Group A composing 12 males and 10 females showed age of (53.70±3.59) years (range, 43 to 67 years). Group B composing 14 males and 9 females showed age of (54.80±4.37)years (range, 42 to 68 years). Between-group comparison was conducted with respect to operation time, blood loss, postoperative drainage loss, ambulation time and postoperative complications. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI), and bone fusion rate.

Results
Except for the comparable operation time, group A was associated with better results in the blood loss [(152.1±15.5)ml vs (409.9±28.3)ml], drainage volume[(106.1±14.3)ml vs (223.0±19.4)ml], ambulation time[(4.5±1.1)d vs (8.9±1.4)d] and 1-week postoperative VAS [(3.0±0.7) points vs (4.7±0.4) points](P 0.05). Bone fusion rate in Group A was 95% (21/22) versus 96% (22/23) in Group B 6-month postoperatively (P>0.05). No nerve root injury, intervertebral space infection or other complications occurred.

Conclusion
Modified TLIF assisted by the minimally invasive expandable access system offers the benefits of less trauma, less bleeding and a quicker recovery for acute and chronic lumbar intervertebral disc injury and has similar long-term clinical outcomes with open TLIF.

Key words:
Intervertebral disc; Lumbar vertebrae; Endoscopes; Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion


Chili (Capsicum annuum L.) is a vegetable commodity with high economic value which is widely cultivated by farmers in Indonesia. One of the obstacles faced in chili cultivation is stem rot disease. This study aimed to identify the pathogens that caused stem rot in chili plants obtained from one location in Sindangjaya Village, Cipanas District, Cianjur Regency, West Java Province based on morphological and molecular analyses. Pathogen identification was performed with morphological and molecular approaches. The morphological characters observed included colony shape, sporangium diameter, and mating type. The pathogenicity of the isolates was assayed by inoculating chili stems aged 40 days. Molecular identification was carried out using two pairs of primers for ITS regions and TEF-1 gene. Based on the results of morphological and molecular identification, as well as pathogenicity tests, it was confirmed that Phytophthora capsici pathogen was the causal agent of stem rot in chili plants collected from Sindangjaya Village. Further study is needed to determine the spread of the disease, damage, and yield loss caused by stem rot disease, as well as how to prevent and control the disease.


Three species of cacti survived an average stem water loss of 81%. Fractional water loss was greater from water-storage tissue than from the Chaenactis, as documented at the cellular level by determining changes in cell volume and at the tissue level by determining relative water content of chlorenchyma and storage tissues. For Carnegiea gigantea and Ferocactus acanthodes, this differential loss of water resulted from a decrease in the moles of solute per cell for storage tissue; hence, less water was retained at a given osmotic pressure than for the chlorenchyma. Opuntia basilaris lost less water from the chlorenchyma during drought because of a greater initial osmotic pressure in the chlorenchyma than in the storage tissue. Greater retention of water in the chlorenchyma would result in less disruption of photosynthetic activity in these cacti during drought.


Traditionally, security is understood as merely "national defense". During an on-going process of globalization, economic, political and cultural interdependence between individuals, nations and regions have changed the traditional ideas of national security to broader dimensions. The notion of incorporating economic security, environmental security and human security, with national security into a single whole, formulate the idea of comprehensive security (CS). This paper tries to explore the origin, components, and significance of comprehensive security. In case studies, the rise of China in the twenty-first century is not an assumption any more, but a reality already. In this research, the author focuses on China, a country which not only experiences comprehensive development, but also faces comprehensive security challenges in the age of globalization. The author discusses China's security challenge from a comprehensive perspective and argues that understanding them and finding the solution will not only benefit China itself, but also benefit other nations as a whole in the age of globalization.


With the progress of the society,the accelerating pace of life,in order to send blessings timely when the birthday of relatives and friends is approaching.It is designed a visual birthday remind software which based on the Android platform,using JAVA language,combined with the Android sensor technology.The software mainly realizes friends' birthday management,which mainly function includes friends of information storage,timed reminder,reminder mode setting,automatic calling,automatically send messages.The interface of software is friendly,convenient to operate,which facilitates the subsequent development and maintenance.


We must also explain the differences in mortality rates from chronic bronchitis in the different countries of the world. Why should our mortality rate from this condition be almost 30 times greater than in the U.S.A. ? And why should it be more than twice as much as that of Belgium ? Obviously there is a great need for further research and inquiry into the causation of and variation in the disease. This research should be carried out at a number of levels, one of which should be in general practice, for it is here that the true incidence and course can be observed. That this is possible has been proved, and perhaps it should be the first step in a national and possibly world-wide investigation and effort. It is. considered by many to be a preventable disease (Lewis-Faning, 1940; Pemberton, 1952; Joules, 1953a, 1953b). If this is borne out then vigorous steps at the highest levels should be taken to implement the findings. Summary The toll from chronic bronchitis includes 30,000 deaths and 161 million lost days from work annually. In the G.P.O. 15% of all medical retirements are due to this cause. Around 10% of all attendances in general practice are for chronic bronchitis. It is an indefinite clinical entity, which probably includes a number of separate and distinct clinical conditions. In a study of a single S.E. London practice 127 chronic bronchitics were diagnosed (incidence of 28 per 1,000) during one year. Males numbered 71 and females 56. The incidence rises with age. No social predisposition was noted. It is indeed a chronic condition. In more than half the cases it had already been present for over 10 years. The commonest age of onset was between 30 and 60. In this particular series there was no difference between the smoking habits of those with chronic bronchitis and controls. A third of the patients were incapacitated from their usual occupation for more than a month during the year. An attempt has been made to grade the disease into four groups of severity. At present we have to rely almost entirely on palliative measures in the management of cases. Until its causes are defined and rational steps taken to prevent the condition, little progress can be made. The most helpful lines of research may be closer studies of the natural course and distribution of the disease. The mortality rate from chronic bronchitis in England and Wales is far and away the highest in the world. It is some 30 times that in the U.S.A. These differences must be more closely examined. There is a definite relationship between climate and atmospheric polluttion and the disease. We have only to note that 4,500 deaths i December, 1952, were directly attributed to fog. A nation-wide effort is necessary if we are to reduce the wasteful, and possibly unnecessary, effects of the disease.


Throughout the years, different theories and models have been developed regarding multi-national enterprises' (MNEs') entry into foreign markets. One such model is the Organisational Model, identifying three different types of enterprise, each selecting a different mode of market entry during foreign market expansion. These are: massproduction enterprises, disaggregate-production enterprises and project-based enterprises. This model was based on studies focusing mainly on the US, Europe and Asia. Research indicates, however, that MNEs increasingly identify sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as a region for possible expansion. In view of persistent risk within the SSA region, this study's focus is on determining which entry modes MNEs use when entering a perceived high-risk market in SSA. This research study focused on MNEs that have expanded or are currently expanding into a perceived high-risk country in SSA. A qualitative research design was selected, applying an in-depth case study analysis to six different MNEs – two © University of Pretoria iii MNEs representing each type of enterprise as categorised by the Organisational Model. Semi-structured personal interviews were conducted with each participant. Each interview focused on elements relating to the MNE's perception of, and approach to selecting entry mode into, high-risk markets. Findings predominantly did not find support for the Organisational Model, indicating that MNEs entering perceived high-risk markets in SSA preferred different entry mode strategies and approached risk consideration differently. Some findings did confirm the literature, by indicating that MNEs consider country risk when entering a foreign market in SSA. © University of Pretoria iv TABLE OF CONTENTS


A successful family farming sector is strategic for developing rural areas, but is is endangered by household-specific market failures, high transaction costs and low bargaining power. Contract farming and collective actions are two common institutional devices for acquiring a level of certainty regarding market information, delivery conditions and procurement prices. Farmers' associations is one of the common form of collective actions, but faces problems of opportunistic behaviour from their participating members. The intensity of group identity felt by an individual member is an essential determinant of the level of commitment and support granted towards the association. This case study analyzes the interdependence between individual identification intensity and revealed commitment for a commodity specific association that is based on individual membership. Members and non-members of the association participated in a questionnaire followed by a natural field experiment concerning their social identity towards the existing pepper association. By manipulating the social identity variable it could be seen that social identity has an influence on the participation of the individual in the association. This effect could be found for members and non-members alike. Strengthened social identity generally increased the participation of the individual in the organisation.


Superthermal energetic particles (EP) often drive shear Alfven waves unstable in magnetically confined plasmas. These instabilities constitute a fascinating nonlinear system where fluid and kinetic nonlinearities can appear on an equal footing. In addition to basic science, Alfven instabilities are of practical importance, as the expulsion of energetic particles can damage the walls of a confinement device. Because of rapid dispersion, shear Alfven waves that are part of the continuous spectrum are rarely destabilized. However, because the index of refraction is periodic in toroidally confined plasmas, gaps appear in the continuous spectrum. At spatial locations where the radial group velocity vanishes, weakly damped discrete modes appear in these gaps. These eigenmodes are of two types. One type is associated with frequency crossings of counterpropagating waves; the toroidal Alfven eigenmode is a prominent example. The second type is associated with an extremum of the continuous spectrum; the reversed sh...


The advent of online business has changed the pattern of doing business recently. This circumstance puts more pressure on SMEs to sustain their position in the fiercely competitive market. Unlike multinational companies, SMEs have several inevitable weaknesses in terms of planning strategy, technology exposure as well as resources that serve as a stumbling block to their better and competitive performance. Thus, online business appears to be a new medium to enhance the performance. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influences of effectiveness, competitive advantage and market accessibility on SME performance in Malaysia. This study uses cross sectional study which focuses on SMEs that are engaged in online businesses. 200 questionnaires were distributed particularly to SMEs in food and beverages (FB apparel and textile (AT and health and cosmetic (H&C) industries in Malaysia. Results indicate that market accessibility is the only variable which has an influence on entrepreneurs in online businesses within SMEs performance (β=.48, p<.01). This study can shed light on SME performance to the government. For example policy makers can enhance programs and initiatives in the SMEs Master Plan for the year 2012-2020. This study also helps the SMEs avail themselves of the online business opportunity in enhancing their performance. Therefore, the implication of market accessibility in influencing SME performance is discussed in this study.


he debate surrounding physician-assisted suicide and T voluntary active euthanasia has generated a wealth of scholarship and become the focus of significant media coverage. Despite this attention, the debate continues to confound both scholars and the lay public. Although some of this confusion stems from principled differences, much of it results from the difficulty of organizing the range of arguments and positions that inform this debate. To this end, we examine a series of representative positions' and offer a conceptual classification or typology in which to analyze and frame the arguments employed in this debate. We also introduce the concept of clinical pragmatism and its potential contribution to better understanding this complex issue. We hope that our typology will assist all who participate in this public discussion. In particular, readers of the Journal may find the framework useful in understanding the position on voluntary active euthanasia' and the care of the dying patient taken by The American Geriatrics S~c ie ty ,~ as well as the article by Sachs et a1.: that appear in this issue.


The objective of product development process modeling is to satisfy the process requirements. There exist both conflicting and cooperative relationships among the process requirements and these relationships could deeply affect the development process modeling. In this study, the macro-feedback and micro-feedback models of product development process are developed based on information feedback. By analyzing the conflicting or cooperative relationships among the process requirements, the reasoning scheme for inferring the relationships between the requirements and information, and the feedback control mechanism are developed. Using the proposed method, three reorganization activities, reorganizing the constraints, reorganizing the process, and reorganizing the structure of a designer's preference, can be carried out to transfer the balance point of the development process from one point to another or be optimized at the initial place. The case study shows that the macro-feedback and micro-feedback modeling of a product development process based on information feedback and requirement cooperation is an important method to realize lifecycle design, optimize the whole development process and product performance, capture the designer's preferences, and satisfy the process requirements.


In this paper, we present the passive wireless sensor network based on the surface acoustic wave(SAW) resonators. The sensor node consists of the SAW sensor that is small, light, reliable, stable, sensitive, wireless and passive, so the battery is needless and its life-span is infinite. The sink node gathers data from the sensor nodes, processes the data with intelligent algorithms and transmits the needed data to the exterior network timely. The basic structure and the realization of the passive wireless sensor network are elaborated. The five main characteristics of the passive wireless sensor network, that is passive sensor nodes, simple and small sensor nodes, organized sensor nodes, intelligent sink nodes, high security, good extendibility, are explained concretely. Specially, the key techniques in our research, such as coding and decoding techniques of the sensor node, signal frequency measurement techniques of the sensor node, intelligent signal processing techniques, measurement error compensation techniques and network security techniques, are discussed exhaustively. In the end, we point out the problems at present and forecast the application prospect and research direction in the future.


In this paper, we analyze the methods of estimating DOA (direction of arrival) of target signals, then propose that it is available for using the digital beam forming technique in the projectile system. Aimed at the problem of low signalnoise ratio, a modified method is given by substituting cycle cross correlation matrix for cross corelation one. Montecalo trials demonstrate that this method has superior performance of noise suppression.


Abstract Trait anxiety is a personality factor of vulnerability to anxiety and depressive disorders. Trait anxiety is associated with impairments in both attention control and processing efficiency. This study investigated the effectiveness of Working Memory Training [WMT] in improving attention control and anxiety syndrome in adolescents with high trait anxiety. The sample consisted of 52 adolescents with high trait anxiety in the age range of 15–17-year-old from Rafsanjan city, Kerman province in the south-east of Iran. Participants were assigned to one of the two groups of training with adaptive dual N-Back and a nonadaptive dual 1-Back active control group. The Age average for the WMT group was 15.83 (SD: 0.7) and 15.77 (SD: 0.75) for the control group. Body temperature was also measured as a physiological indicator of anxiety. They were requested to complete the task for 3-weeks. Findings showed that anxiety, attention control, processing efficiency of attention control, and verbal and spatial-visual Working Memory [WM] capacity were significantly improved in the training group compared to the control group. However, performance effectiveness and temperature were not significantly different between the training and control groups. In addition, in the training group, the temperature was significantly higher among the subgroups with more involvement with the training task than the group with less involvement. WMT can be used as an effective intervention for improving cognitive functions, such as attention control, and in reducing adolescents' trait anxiety.


This chapter discusses the history and tradition of the Hare Krishna worshipping community in Ghana. The momentum the worship of Krishna required to take off as a religion in Ghana drew strength from its association with India. The chapter begins with a discussion of the cultural, historical, and religious background of the Hare Krishna religion. It explains the story of the community's origins in Ghana in the voices of the followers themselves, followed by a description of the community and its tenets. Although the official name of this group is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness of Ghana, (ISKCON), the author uses popular expressions such as the Hare Krishna community, Hare Krishna devotees, Radha-Govinda Temple, Hare Krishnas, or simply Hare Krishna, to designate the Ghana portion of the ISKCON. The chapter focuses on the worship of Vishnu in the form of Krishna.Keywords: Ghana; Hare Krishna worshipping community; ISKCON; Sri Radha-Govinda Temple


[In this issue of the Journal, the NCCD Research Centers are deferring their usual opportunity to present a report on their own work in order to share, with the Journal's readers, some interim findings from an important research effort that is still in progress. Through the strong collaborative lanks that exist between NCCD and the Graduate School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, we have been following with interest the research being conducted in the School's Center for the Study of Crime for Gain, a project funded by the National Institute of Justice and directed by Professor Richard Sparks. Ceding the "NCCD Research Review" space to a report solicited from our colleagues at Rutgers represents a small contribution on our part toward alleviating a chronic problem faced by researchers: the seemingly interminable lag time between the initiation of a research project and the public availability of the project's findings.] This article contains an analysis of interviews with commercial thieves. Both the interviews and analysis of them were shaped by the perspective that certain kinds of crime are like certain kinds of work. The article describes a variety of methods for illegally acquiring and distributing commercial goods, paths of entry into the business of commercial theft, and the relation between the work of the thief and his life style.


ABSTRACT Isopachs show the Williston Basin as an ancient structural feature probably dating back to Cambrian times. The various environments, indicated by a study of the geologic column, developed as the result of changes in the regional tilt, uplift or subsidence of the entire Western Canada sedimentary basin which, for this purpose, may be defined as the Alberta shelf and the Williston Basin itself.


Background: Myofascial trigger points have been recognized for almost 100 years.  They are commonly manipulated by dry needling or injections.  Heat is associated with relaxation in muscle and increased tissue blood flow.  Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of single heat cells on trigger points to see if there was pain reduction in 2 areas of the body, the neck and plantar fascia. Methods: Forty adults in the age range between 20 and 64 participated in this study, and they were divided to 2 different groups according to their pain area; 20 had plantar foot pain due to plantar fasciitis and 20 had nonspecific neck pain for at least 1 month. Half of the subjects of each group were randomly divided into 2 subgroups and given either heat or a sham; 48 hours later subjects crossed over from one treatment to the other during the course of the trial.   For each group (neck or plantar pain), 20 of the subjects were given a single heat patch on the trigger points for the neck or foot as appropriate and the other half a sham cell as a placebo.  The subjects were tested for 4 hours.  At the start, a visual analog pain scale was used and pressure pain threshold was measured with a pressure algometer.  A stop watch was given to the subject and started as either the heat patch or placebo was applied to assess when pain starts relieved. R esults : A significant pain reduction was shown in both heat groups (both neck and plantar pain) (p 0.05). For significant pain relief, for the sham groups, over half of the subjects did not press the stop watches at all in the sham groups at the end.   Both heat groups were not significantly different than each other and were significantly less in time than the sham groups (p < 0.01). Conclusions: There was a small placebo effect in the sham subgroups where some pain relief and ability to tolerate pressure were seen.  But the effect of a heat for the neck and plantar areas of the body was significantly better in the heat groups than the sham groups. Recommendations: More areas of the body need to be tested and on repeated days to see the effect of local heating of trigger points on chronic pain.


Cristian Ghinea: In the course of the conference you mentioned that the economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) – the former communist world – are characterized by low value added [the difference between the value of all the inputs, i.e. raw materials, purchased services, wages etc., and the price at which the product is sold – ed.] and reduced investment in R&D. Do you think these characteristics are the result of conscious decisions taken by policy makers, or was that the inevitable course for our economies to take after 1989?


This work has been focused on the technological behaviours related to the appearance and development of the Middle Paleolithic blade productions in Southern Europe. Evidence of blade technology is confirmed in Northern Europe (France, Belgium), at least from the last part of the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 7). In MIS 5 these productions cover a larger area, which includes the North-Western Germany, central France, and occasionally the South of France. A third moment (MIS 4-3) shows us the reappearance of laminar productions in Southern Europe and more particularly in the South of France and the Italian peninsula. At the present state of research these three phases appear as on-and-off events without a clear evolutionary continuity. Reduction strategies used include a variety of production methods whose complexity cannot be explained simply with the dichotomy Levallois laminar production – Volumetric laminar production. The aim of this research project intends to examine, through a technological approach, the lithic assemblages of two sites located in the South of France (Payre and Bau de l 'Aubesier) and two in the Italian peninsula (Riparo Tagliente and Grotta del Cavallo). The main objective is to study the aspects connected with the technical laminar systems through a dual approach which takes into account the aspects related to the production of blades and their coexistence with other type of reduction strategies aimed to produce flakes.
Simplifying what is produced trough the lithic production, we can identify three categories of possible products: flakes and blades, produced by knapping operations (debitage), and hand axes (lato sensu) by shaping operations (faconnage).
If the shaping operations contain a conceptual structure of modelling a morphology from a block of raw material, the dichotomy flake-blade, is, at a macroscopic scale, a double variant of the same theme, that is the separation of a support from a volume. The presence of laminar production is now widely attested since the Middle Pleistocene and at several latitudes (Africa, the Near East and Europe). Since the beginning of its discovery the Middle Paleolithic blade production has attracted the attention of scientific community for many reasons. The specific morpho-technical features of blade have acquired a double value; the role of cultural marker as technological innovation, and, according to some authors, that of indirect evidence of biological status, i.e. the emergence of the anatomically modern human (AMH).
Despite the current difficulties in clearly defining the laminar phenomenon of the Middle Paleolithic, it is possible to draw a synthesis outline.
If we restrict our study to Europe, it is possible to identify at least three different and non-continuous presence of blade production.
The first evidences of laminar productions are found in Northern Europe at end of MIS 8 to the MIS 7 (REVILLION 1995), both resulting from volumetric debitage production (like in the sites of Coquelles, Saint Valery sur Sommes, Bapaume-les Osiers, Terdonne, Rissori), and from Levallois productions (like in the sites of Bagarre and Biache-Saint-Vaast). In the sites mentioned above the laminar element assumes rarely a dominant role. On the contrary, we find it in conjunction with other production systems, including the most frequent Levallois concept debitage.
In the MIS 5 a second phase arise and the presence of blades in Northern France evidences multiply. Sites like Riencourt les-Bapaume, Saint- Germain-des-Vaux, Seclin, Bettencourt-Saint-Ouen, Blangy-Tronville, Etouteville, Fresnov-au-Val, show a great variability in how to derive the laminar supports. This does not allow a specific grouping under a common name. The initial stage of the reduction systems can leverage on the preparation of a crested blade or using al long natural ridge of the block. The debitage can follow the unidirectional or bidirectional exploitation and raw materials utilized include pebbles, nodules or slabs.
In the same age (MIS 5) we find such productions spread over a larger area: in the North-West of Germany, in the sites of Tonchesberg, Reindhalen and Wallertheim and in central France, in the sites of Ange and Vinneuf.
The current explanation of the origin of these products is not unanimously accepted. In some specific cases, some authors have hypothesized a possible opportunistic answer motivated by optimizing the use of raw materials (CONARD 1990). However, this constraint can not be valid in areas with plenty of flint, such as the North of France. Other authors have supposed the reason being the response to an environmental crisis (OTTE 1994). The duration and diffusion of the laminar phenomenon in different areas however suggest caution in giving a mono-factor explanation to its appearance and diffusion.
A third phase of blade production can be positioning during the MIS 4 and the beginning of MIS 3.
During this period blade production show a larger spread which include the southern and the eastern Europe. In southern France, in fact, although this phenomenon would be first sporadically tracked in the final stages of the isotopic stage 5, it's in the stage MIS 4 that it actually takes on a certain consistency. Archaeological sites as the Abris du Maras, Baume Flandin, Grand Champ, Tournal Caves, Grotte du Figuier are some of the most outstanding evidences.
As far as the Italian Peninsula is concerned, laminar production doesn't have evidence dating back to earlier periods of isotopic stage 4. On the other hand, in Italy the sites holding a laminar component seem to be concentrated in the later phases of the Middle Palaeolithic and especially in the first part of isotopic stage 3. At the present state of research the laminar phenomenon in the Italian peninsula appears therefore with a certain delay compared to the south of France. The geographical distribution of these products does not seem confined to a territory or a specific environment. We find, in fact, volumetric laminar production in the Puglia region at the sites of Santa Croce and Grotta del Cavallo, in Lazio at Cave Breuil, in Molise at Grotta Reali, in Veneto at Fumane and Riparo Tagliente and in Liguria at Grotta di San Francesco.
In parallel to the emergence of the laminar volumetric systems, the Levallois concept seems to be redirected towards the production of elongated blanks at the expense of the flake modules. This phenomenon, as in the blade volumetric production, is found throughout the Italian peninsula: in Liguria, in the sites of Riparo Mochi and Barma Grande, in Veneto in the sites of Fumane, in Campania in the sites of Riparo del Poggio and Castelcivita, in Puglia in the site of Riparo dell'Oscurusciuto. In some cases, the coexistence of the two systems, Levallois and Laminar, seems to correspond to distinct production goals. At Grotta del Cavallo the Levallois production follows a unidirectional - bidirectional method for the production of sub-quadrangular flakes, while the volumetric system is dedicated to the production of blades (CARMIGNANI 2010).
Although the laminar production in the Middle Paleolithic is now proved, the production of bladelet seems to be a phenomenon confined to the final stages of the Mousterian cycle and numerically marginal. Some bladelet productions are found in Spain, in the site of El Castillo and Cueva Morin, in France, in the site of Grand Champ, in Italy in the site of Grotta Cavallo and Fumane and, in Germany, in the site of Balver Hohle.
More generally we can observe that at the end of the Mousterian cycle the operational patterns shows a strong differentiation and the laminar production is one of the most evident expressions. The origin of this fragmentation is questionable. In a wider set of problems, the role of the blade takes in our opinion a key role, both in terms of its potential morpho-functional features and for the role it plays in the evolution of techniques.
This project's main objectives were aimed to redefine the Middle Paleolithic blade production by four main question.
At the current state of the research the description of the Middle Paleolithic blades production is often identified using a binary pattern wich is the distinction between Levallois and non Levallois; the latter one usually related to a volumetric reduction strategies. This dicotomy looks reductive when compared to the complexity of the phenomenon. Not to forget that the definition of blade substantially includes all the blanks that in an undifferentiated way correspond to a mainly morphologic character (Lenght> 2Width). The study of the reduction strategies in the four sites will allow us to better define the production targets bypassing an hylemorphic approach.
Is the actual description of the Middle blade production enough exhaustive to show us the technological varibilty of the balde phenomenon?
The recurrent coexistence of blades and flakes reduction strategies open a question on the relation between these two blanks categories. One of the main goals it was to understand the dichotomy flake- blade in relation to their respective reduction strategies by a comparative analysis. Has the rise of the blades an impact on the flakes reduction systems?
The laminar phenomenon in Europe spanning more than 200,000 years of technological evolution. Nerthless blades doesn't appear at the same time in all the region. If northern Europe show its presence since the MIS 7 is just during the MIS 5 that blades are attested in southern europe and specifically in southern France. This second insurgence of baldes seem to anticipate the same phenomenon that will recur in Italy but just during isotope stages 4 and 3. Are these three events part of a single macro-phenomenon or on contrarly, they rise from diffenrent techno-cultural identity with independent origins.


Seismic effects of explosions and rupture propagation in prestressed two‐dimensional models (Plexiglas, aluminum) as well as anisotropy produced by the stress field are investigated. An explosion in a prestressed medium releases a portion of the stored strain energy by one or more of the following mechanisms: (1) formation of directional cracking, especially in brittle materials, (2) release of strain energy in the elastic zone outside the cavity, and (3) rupture propagation. Phenomena associated with all of these mechanisms were observed in the present investigation. Explosions in prestressed Plexiglas produce cracks in preferred directions, the intensity of which increases with the applied stress. Explosions in prestressed aluminum sheets do not cause fracturing but rather plastic deformation about the explosion. Straight and branching modes of moving cracks initiated from explosions in prestressed Plexiglas can be explained on the basis of stress distribution ahead of the crack tips. Observed radiation...


Pregnancy is a standout amongst the most basic and one of a kind period in a women's life cycle. Because of higher nutritional necessity this gathering is considered excessively powerless and basic in life length. Albeit fetal growth and improvement are driven by the program encoded in its genome, the hereditary control of fetal growth is impacted by the intrauterine condition in which the embryo grows. One factor that is basic for fetal survival and health is the supply of supplements and oxygen from the mother. The capacity of a mother to give supplements to her baby relies upon her nutritional status, body size, body composition and metabolism, which are all being set up all through the mother's very own fetal life, youth and pre-adulthood. Expecting that satisfactory nourishment is accessible, the embryo can achieve its growth potential, bringing about the birth of a healthy newborn of suitable size. Data on fetal weight is of significance to obstetricians in the administration of pregnancy and delivery.


Effective moral education calls for effective moral educational activities,and as the main front of these activities,the optimization design and organization of theme class-meeting are worthy of expectation.Based on the belief of the overall development of vocational college students and the principles of people-orientation,integrity,pertinence,incentive and operability,the paper discusses the optimization design and organization of theme class-meeting.


BRECHT'S THEATRICAL STYLE, his didactic tendencies, and, above all, the epithets of "Marxist" and "communist," often attached to his name, have done little to further his recognition as a dramatist in this country. Recently Francis Fergusson surveyed the art of Brecht, Wilder, and Eliot, stressing the allegorical element in their works, and expressed general concern for the prospects of such drama on the American stage. "The aims," he avers, "of those who seek to make an allegorical form for the modern theatre, in order to teach the group mind indirectly, by way of some mode of action which they can recognize and accept, would seem to be natural and right. But it is hard to see how this effort can get much farther in our theatre as it is."l In 1954, John Gassner had observed that Brecht "never had a successful professional production" in this country, although "Brechtian technique and idea ... have found ... some equivalents even in America."2 The fact that epic drama, of which Brecht is the foremost proponent, has appeared on Broadway only in the form of musical comedy (Gassner has in mind Weill's Love Life), indicates in his opinion "that our theatre has been insufficiently trained in stylization and is averse to lessons of any sort."3 Yet, Gassner has considered "Epic Theatre" the "closest approximation of a dramatic rite that is suitable for modern urban and industrial civilization in that it has the qualities of an illustration and explication of facts and ideas." He credits it with '1e~ving boundless opportunities for the play of imagination" and providing "an outlet for the dramatist who wants to create poetry and theatrically stylized art without escaping from modern life into the void of fancy" or into sentimentality.' Whether the success of Brecht's Threepenny Opera in New York, where it has attracted capacity audiences for over two years in the Theatre de lys, is due to an acceptance of Brecht and his epic theater or merely to the clever exploitation of the play's aspects of musical comedy, it is hard to tell. Whereas Gassner's remarks antedate this success, it was known to Fergusson at the time of his writing. He has shrugged it off as "fashionable and high-brow" and attributes it not to the "Marxism Brecht wishes to teach," but rather to the nouveau fris$on the "sleek audiences" derive from the opera with its "seductively-luring tunes by Kurt Weill, its demoralized atmosphere of


The emerging technology of cloud computing offers off-premise, reliable solutions for common IT related needs of enterprises, but as different providers often envision these solutions in a different way, architects face a complex problem when trying to decide which provider to choose and compare or estimate the costs of different options. This paper presents a generalized, provider-neutral service and cost model to describe the capabilities of different environments and the prices associated with them. This model can serve as the basis for mathematical optimization algorithms.


NPN transistor structures taken from the same wafer of silicon have been packaged in different ways. The variation of their response to total dose has been investigated for different bias conditions.