The decision support systems are applied where the problem is complex and the necessary information for the best decision is difficult of being gotten and being used. Amongst the used elements to assist the decision maker can detach the databases as a collection of facts and information and the interface with the users who assist the decision makers to interact with the systems. We consider the construction of contextualized ontology using a methodology that tries to not only facilitate the understanding of questions elaborated in natural language through context and for search of terms, as well as elaborating a reply in the same context of the question. It allows, of this form that a user elaborates research and refines or directs questions to the measure that goes receiving the answers to the questions.


Several species of nocturnal gecko are known for their acoustic behavior in social contexts. The nocturnal house gecko, Gekko japonicus, was believed to be mute, except when threatened. We conducted behavioral encounter experiments involving same-sex and heterosexual pairs of G. japonicus. We also conducted two control experiments, chemical and blank, to confirm that acoustic behaviors are induced in the presence of conspecifics. Characteristic calls emitted by this gecko were recorded, providing the first evidence that G. japonicus uses acoustic signals for social communication. Geckos tended to call more frequently after the first physical contact with an opponent than before contact. In both control experiments, no gecko emitted calls. Whereas most characteristics of calls were similar to those reported for other gekkonid species, call intensity in this experiment was low. Males emitted calls toward both males and females, whereas females emitted calls almost exclusively toward other females. Several call variables differed significantly between intra- and intersexual calls. Our study demonstrated that G. japonicus uses acoustic signals in social contexts over short distances.


Summary This presentation describes the events leading up to the Dorado oil discovery made by Quadrant Energy and Carnarvon Petroleum in late 2018.


An optical carrier, single‐channel telemetry system is described. It provides complete electrical isolation between data acquisition instrumentation and data storage or recording facilities. The system, which has a bandwidth from dc to 50 kHz, has been used successfully in a shock tube facility where high voltage isolation is required for protection of instrumentation.


Received: 17 November 2018 Accepted: 26 February 2019 In this paper, presented a Gender classification through Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Scaled Conjugate Gradient Back Propagation Neural Network (SCGBPNN) from face images using Local Binary Patterns. To achieve better classification performance, need to be applied pre-processing technique first and then extracted the features on facial images from Local Binary Pattern Histogram (LBPH) method. These extracted features were stored into a vector called feature vector. Later, the feature vector is inputted to Polynomial SVM and SCG Back Propagation Neural Network classification methods along with labelled target vector. The performance of the both classifiers is measured by the labelled AT&T face database and Nottingham Scan Database.


Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720(February 8, 2008)Fission excitation functions of compound nuclei in a massregion where shell effects are expected to be very strong areshown to scale exactly according to the transition state pre-diction once these shell effects are accounted for. The factthat no deviations from the transition state method havebeen observed within the experimentally investigated exci-tation energy regime allows one to assign an upper limit forthe transient time of 10


We theoretically study the emission of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in cylindrical nanopatch antennas with sub-10 nm dielectric gaps. The eigenmodes of a nanopatch antenna can be classified as gap modes or antenna modes. We show that these two families of modes possess very different intrinsic properties regarding the emission of SPPs. Gap modes have an extremely large Purcell factor, which allows overcoming quenching, but a weak efficiency to radiate SPPs. On the other hand, antenna modes have a weaker Purcell factor but a larger efficiency to radiate SPPs. The coupling between gap modes and antenna modes results in the formation of hybrid modes. We evidence that these hybrid modes have the advantage to provide both a large Purcell factor and a large SPP efficiency. Working with such hybrid modes allows enhancing the SPP emission. We show that the mode hybridization results in an enhancement of 2 orders of magnitude of the power radiated into propagating SPPs at λ = 800 nm and an overall SPP efficie...


It is well known that the Euler product formula for the Riemann zeta function ζ(s) is still valid for ℜ(s) = 1 and s ≠ 1. In this paper, we extend this result to zeta functions of number fields. In particular, we show that the Dedekind zeta function ζk(s) for any algebraic number field k can be written as the Euler product on the line ℜ(s) = 1 except at the point s = 1. As a corollary, we obtain the Euler product formula on the line ℜ(s) = 1 for Dirichlet L-functions L(s, χ) of real characters.


A organic boron crosslinker for fracturing fluid was prepared by borate and sodium gluconate with sodium hydroxide as catalyst,the components and reaction conditions were investigated. The result showed that the optimal synthetic technology for the organic borate crosslinker were as follows: 15% borate,30% sodium gluconate as ligand compound,55% solvent( glycerine and water in mass ratio 1 ∶ 4),reaction temperature 80 ℃ and reaction time 5 h. The evaluation results in laboratory showed that the fracturing fluid has good performance,such as gel breaking completely,little residue content,low filtrate loss and little reservoir damage,which could meet the needs of oil field fracturing fluid for crosslinker.


The broad-contact ridge waveguide technology was used to fabricate lasers from low-dimensional structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The laser diode structure used in the study was an AlGaAs/InGaAs separate-confinement heterostructure (SCH) with single quantum well (SQW) as the active region. The light-output-current (P-I) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were measured and images from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were analysed for evaluation of the manufactured lasers. Irregularities and high leakage currents were observed in the P-I and I-V characteristics, respectively, if lasers had metallisation covering the entire ridge waveguide as usually in the lasers fabricated by this technique. However, the irregularities such as kinks and noise were reduced and the lasers showed stable operation as evidenced by far-field patterns if only the region just under the contact stripe was electrically excited. We conclude that a plasma exposure during processing steps induces a number of surface defects that can be enough to degrade the performance of the lasers.


Leveraging the 40-nm Process Node to Deliver the World's Most Advanced Custom Logic Devices Introduction Altera's launch of the Stratix® IV and HardCopy® IV device families in the second quarter of 2008 marked the introduction of the world's first 40-nm FPGAs and the industry's only risk-free path to 40-nm ASICs. For Altera, the event culminated over three years of exhaustive planning, development, and collaboration with its foundry partner—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)—to deliver custom logic devices exhibiting uncompromised product leadership. Altera's subsequent announcement in the first quarter of 2009 of Arria® II GX and Stratix IV GT FPGA families results in the industry's most comprehensive transceiver-product portfolio. Table 1 shows Altera's history of developing the world's first 40-nm FPGAs.


An efficient computational strategy is presented for reducing the cost of the stress and free vibration analyses of laminated anisotropic shells of revolution. The analytical formulation is based on a form of the Sanders-Budiansky shell theory including the effects of both the transverse shear deformation and the laminated anisotropic material response. The fundamental unknowns consist of the eight strain components, the eight stress resultants and the five generalized displacements of the shell. Each of the shell variables is expressed in terms of trigonometric functions (Fourier series) in the circumferential co-ordinate, and a three-field mixed finite element model is used for the discretization in the meridional direction.

The shell response associated with a range of Fourier harmonics is approximated by a linear combination of a few global approximation vectors, which are generated at a particular value of the Fourier harmonic, within that range. The full equations of the finite element model are solved for only a single Fourier harmonic, and the response corresponding to the other Fourier harmonics is generated using a reduced system of equations with considerably fewer degrees of freedom.


A study was conducted to test the effectiveness of a new approach in the treatment of special education (learning handicapped) children. This study employed a pretest- posttest design, using a special education treatment group, a special education control group, and a regular class comparison group. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance was performed on pretest data, and on posttest data, using pretest scores as the covariates. Results indicated that, while at pretesting the two special education groups were significantly different from the regular class comparison group, the special education treatment group made significant gains and were no longer significantly different from the regular class cornparison group on posttesting. Conclusions regarding the reasons for the significant changes in the treatment group are analyzed and discussed.


Abstract The Suzuki–Miyaura type cross‐coupling reactions of various chloropyrimidines with stereodefined alkenylboronic acids giving the corresponding alkenyl‐substituted pyrimidines were studied. The experiments discovered that the reaction is stereospecific and highly regioselective. In the coupling of 2,4‐dichloropyrimidine and 2,4,6‐trichloropyrimidine, the reaction occured at 4‐position prior to 2‐position.


40 A s the 2010 midterm congressional elections approached, attention to the role of Latinos in the electoral process increased accordingly. This is a familiar pattern, not only in the popular media, both the English and Spanish versions, but also among mainstream academics and political organizations. The format and framing of these works represent a continuation of the approach adopted by the numerous studies that have documented the growth and behavior in the Latino electorate, particularly since the early 1990s. These concerns focus on turnout, partisan loyalties and attitudes, pending or ongoing policy issues, elections or electability of Latino candidates, identifying local, statewide, and national elections in which Latino voters have the potential be the "swing" vote, etc. Although researchers differ in their assessments of the success or failure of these efforts, the underlying assumption of the vast majority of these studies is that the electoral process in the U.S. has the potential to promote the "interests" of Latino communities. Yet there are few efforts to situate these electoral processes within their broader structural context. The result is a truncated and limited view of Latino politics. Although Latino electoral behaviors and trends are important phenomena, they do not occur in an institutional vacuum, and they represent only one dimension of Latino politics, which encompasses a much broader terrain defined by the multiple levels and forms by which Latinos act politically. A wide range of actions are undertaken by Latino community and neighborhood groups, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, home associations, immigrant rights groups, student organizations, labor groups (often linked to domestic and other non-unionized service sectors), and professional organizations to advance their concerns and to affect policies and practices of both state structures and institutions of civil society within which their daily lives are carried out. The kinds of actions undertaken and policies promoted by these kinds of organizations imply a normative concept of Latino politics that has as its ultimate goal the full incorporation in all spheres of U.S. society and that views electoral behavior as an indispensable but also limited mechanism for pursuing this goal. It is this dimension of full incorporation, then, rather than any particular pattern of electoral behavior, that should be the measure of success in Latino politics. What is most often missing from works that emphasize the primacy of electoral activity is any sustained and detailed discussion of how electoral behavior is linked to this more fundamental question of incorporation. And the discourse that focuses most directly on the level and nature of incorporation is that of political membership and citizenship. So it is really the issue of full and effective citizenship that provides the underlying normativity of Latino politics that is typically not addressed in studies or discussions of Latino electoral activity or patterns. The challenge, then, is to develop modes of analysis that incorporate this broader conception of Latino politics and to understand how state, economic, and cultural power both affect the degree of Latino incorporation and often limit the possibilities and strategies for social and political change. We must, in other words, locate today's Latino politics within the context of the neoliberal agenda, which has sought to define economic and political policies since the late 1970s.


The ovarian and uterine weights of rats treated with haloperidol were significantly lower than those of vehicle-treated control animals. Haloperidol reduced the occurrence of ovulation and inhibited unilateral ovarian compensatory hypei'trophy. The compound did not antagonize the uterotropic activity of exogenous estradiol or the ovarian response to injected gonadotropin. These results suggest that haloperidol may act centrally to suppress the secretion of gonadotropins. (Endocrinology 86: 429, 1970)


Accurate and efficient modeling of three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic (EM) scattering remains an open challenge in the presence of anisotropic conductive media. Numerical algorithms used to simulate the response of dipping and anisotropic rock formations can easily exceed standard computer resources as EM fields become fully coupled in general. In the past, several scattering approximations have been developed to efficiently simulate complex EM problems arising in the probing of subsurface rock formations. These approximations include the Born, Rytov, Extended Born (ExBorn) and quasi-linear (QL) methods, among others. However, so far none of these approximations have been adapted to simulate scattering in the presence of anisotropic conductive media. In this paper, we describe and benchmark a novel EM scattering approximation that remains accurate and efficient in the presence of 3D anisotropic conductive media. The approximation is based on the integral formulation of EM scattering and takes advantage of the spatial smoothness and general vectorial properties of EM fields internal to scatterers. A general vectorial formulation is used to properly account for complex EM coupling due to anisotropy. Several numerical examples borrowed from borehole induction logging are used to describe and assess the accuracy and efficiency of the new EM scattering approximation. The approximation allows one to accurately simulate the EM response of more than 1 million cells within a few minutes of CPU time on a serial computer with standard memory and speed resources.


We present several second-order linear differential equations that are associated to a particular Riccati equation with only one constant parameter in its coefficients through the technique of supersymmetric factorizations and through a Dirac-like procedure. The latter approach is a minimal extension of the results obtained with the first technique in the sense that it includes up to two more constant parameters


An idealized model of a provincially presented and co-ordinated ambulance service system is described, in which demographically determined levels of aid provision are assigned to the metropolitan/city, the town/hospital town and the small town/rural type environments. Positive elements of currently optimal local and overseas services are expanded and projected into an utopic future, where current restraints based on monetary and personnel shortages would not necessarily apply. Operational sub-systems are briefly described, which form a service ultimately controlled by one centralized multi-factorial control network. Intermediate steps, current barriers, current modes of provision and possible viable alternatives are not described for reasons of brevity, assuming reader conversance with ambulance matters. (Author)


In order to determine a relationship between an inclined support pressure distribution and a mining thickness of a high cutting fully mechanized top coal caving mining face,based on a site measurement,elastic and plastic limit balance theory was applied to calculate a size and location of the inclined support pressure peaks under different mining thickness.A FLAC3 D was applied to the numerical simulation on the dynamic variation of the support pressures in a pushing forward process of the coal mining face under different mining thickness. The study results showed that the support pressure peak of the high cutting fully mechanized top coal caving mining face approximately was an inverse ratio relationship to a one passing mining thickness and the peak point distance and the one passing mining thickness were a nonlinear direct ratio relationship. Due to the mining turbulences, the theoretical calculation results were too small and the theoretical calculation results should be corrected.


Abstract : The need for a High Reynolds Number Transonic Wind Tunnel (HIRT) has been recognized throughout the industry for some years. The proposed HIRT facility at Arnold Engineering Development Center will provide a much needed tool for the study of phenomena sensitive to Reynolds number. The usefulness of the HIRT facility will be largely influenced by the ability of industry to design and build wind-tunnel models and internal strain gage balances capable of operating within the severe environment of the tunnel. The balance concept selected for this study has been used for the past ten years at General Dynamics and is known as a two-shell balance. Information presented is based on experience together with the results of experimental work in progress at General Dynamics.


Volume 2, Issue 3 May – June 2013 Page 18 Abstract: An enhanced voice recognition technique is implemented in this paper. This paper deals with the recognition of audio voices in wave format using wave transformation. To eliminate the noise from signal stop band filter is applied. The performance of the proposed voice recognition algorithm using a repeal wave revolution is evaluated by considering various voice signals. The proposed algorithm has been tested on the given voice samples and evaluated using different decipherable and unrecognizable samples obtaining a recognition ratio about 99%.


The authors consider modern sports in the context and in connection with the trends in the development of modern civilization, such as post-industrial transformations of the economy, urbanization and the humanization of public life. The main functions of modern sports are highlighted, noting that these functions were formed within the framework of the modern society. It is noted that the attribute and function of modern sports is the normalization of social life on the basis of social norms that correspond to the ethos of the new humanism. It is emphasized that in Russia, sport as a mass social practice is characterized not only by the functionality of a post-industrial society, since it bears the archaic imprint of the ambivalence that took shape in Soviet society and continues to determine the development of sports in modern Russia.


If Karl Marx is the specter haunting contemporary discussions of political economy, as Jacques Derrida suggests, then John Rawls arguably occupies a similar fugitive spectral function in current analyses of justice. Given the contrasting visions of politics crafted by Marx and Rawls, who would have thought that Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971)—a text considered by progressives at the time of its publication to be the ultimate mixture of bourgeois philosophy and neoclassical economics—could be considered dangerous and borderline radical in the immediate aftermath of September 11? For the post-9/11 mainstream, Marx was blasé, the Red Scare long gone, fear was in the air, and the new danger was liberalism and liberals concerned with social justice. This, of course, must be qualified. First, a critical left neither died nor became born again as to whether Rawls was in fact radical or not: the left simply became silenced in greater numbers under the George W. Bush administration's cowboy-style rule and fear mongering. Second, social justice was understood by many normative theorists and policy-makers after Rawls only in terms of ideal theory, a strict compliance lexicon used to describe imagining another world in which humans, abstracted away from all identities behind a veil of ignorance, could conceive of themselves thinking about what the model conditions to live in for all would be if one did not know her or his own identity and social position prior to taking off the veil. Rawls's notion of veiling diverged both from W. E. B. Du Bois's idea of black vision conditioned by double-consciousness and Frantz Fanon's theorization of veiled Algerian revolutionary women fighting at the height of the anti-colonial war with France. The conception of justice set forth by Rawls remained hypothetical,


Segmentation of remotely sensed images lies in the intersection of the domains of remote sensing and computer vision. It is used to systematically extract information from data collected by various airborne and spaceborne sensors, resulting in a simpler representation. This method is used in various applications which include change detection, land cover and land use classification, resource exploration, the study of natural hazards, and mapping. This paper proposes a composite architecture for segmentation of remotely sensed images derived from the U-Net aided by processing the information obtained using multi-resolution analysis (MRA). This increases the contextual overview of the network as the same data on multiple scales is available for feature extraction and learning. This work further analyzes the effects of different wavelets for decomposition on segmentation performance. On comparison with the plain U-Net model performance, it is observed that the MRA aided network can segment areas with higher accuracy and mean intersection over union, the best performance being with Daub basis of MRA.


Due to their complex structure cables exhibit an anisotropic behaviour and undergo large deformations in various applications. The large deformations are simulated using blended high order solid elements that can represent large deformations efficiently. To reduce the computational complexity the cross section consisting of many single wires and different layers of material is homogenized and represented by a transversely isotropic material model. Frictional effects and possible reordering of the parts are modelled through elastoplastic material behaviour with an anisotropic yield function. The simulations show that for a simple tension test and a free torsion test the material parameters can be satisfactorily identified.


High levels of metallic ions, particularly heavy metals, can cause serious damage not only to public health but to the whole ecosystem. Therefore, rapid and precise detection and monitoring of heavy metals have become vital. The detection of heavy metals in water using conventional monitoring approaches based on physicochemical and analytical procedures, e.g., inductively coupled plasma combined with atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, instrumental neutron activation analysis, etc., has been immensely utilized. However, the sophisticated sample preparation and evaluation procedures for most of the mentioned methods are time- and labor-intensive, and economically more favorable detection approaches, e.g., sensors and lab-on-a-chip techniques, are being developed. Chemical sensors (electrochemical, optical, and piezogravimetric) with different sensing platforms (nanostructures, biological, polymeric, and macrocyclic) have been considered to be the most promising ones, owing to their strong adsorption of target elements, fast electron transfer kinetics, and biocompatibility, which are very apt for sensing applications. The combination of electrochemical, optical, and piezogravimetric techniques with nanomaterials has enhanced the sensitivity, limit of detection, and robustness of the chemosensors. Following this perspective, this review highlights surface modification platforms of sensors that enhance the detection properties (sensitivity, selectivity, limit of detection, and linear range) of the proposed devices, including nanostructures, biological networks, polymers, and macrocycles with a special emphasis on calixarenes/resorcinarenes oligomers. The capabilities, limitations, and prospect assessments of the covered techniques in detection and monitoring have been highlighted.


In this paper, a straightforward approach is presented to design functional observers for linear systems with unknown inputs. Necessary and sufficient conditions are provided for the existence of the observers. Some illustrated examples are included.


Objective To assess the regional diastolic function of myocardial ischemia with tissue Doppler imaging,compare with c oronary artery angigraph.Method Global and reginal isovalumic relax ation time (IRT,IRTm),deceletation time of early filling(DCT,DCTm),early distolic velocity(E,Em),late distolic velocity(A,Am),E /A and mE /mA were measured by pulse d Doppler echocardiography and TDI re-spectively.Result There were not difference in LVEF between Is and Con -group Compared with Con,DCTm and IRTm were prolonged(P0.01).The Em of basal and middle level of left ventricle were higher than apical level in Con -group;The slower Em,lo nger IRTm and DCTm were found in ischemic segments.We showed higher abnormal rate in Is-group(P0.01)by comparison with transmitral flow.Conclution TDI can non -invasive evaluate the re gional diastolic function of ischem ic myocardium.It is a valid and sensitive method for detecting of cardiac diastolic function of coronary artery disease.


In this work, a new class of two-dimensional optimal control problems is introduced with the help of distributed-order fractional derivative in the Caputo form. The orthonormal Bernstein polynomials are used to make a numerical method to solve these problems. Through this way, some operational matrices are obtained for the classical and fractional derivatives of these polynomials to make effective utilisation of them in constructing the proposed method. The main advantage of the established method is that it turns the solution of the problem under consideration into a system of algebraic equations by approximating the state and control variables by the expressed polynomials and applying the method of Lagrange multipliers. The accuracy and capability of the proposed approach are investigated by solving some numerical examples.


ABSTRACT Minces of cystic, polycystic, precocious pubertal and normal human ovaries were incubated with lα,2α-3H-4-14C-testosterone (43%, lα; 7%, 1β; 43%, 2α; and 6%, 2β). After isolation and purification of 17β-estradiol using paper chromatography, countercurrent distribution and reverse isotope dilution, the stereospecificity of the hydrogen removal from the C-l and C-2 positions during aromatization was deduced from the change in the 3H/14C ratio. 17β-Estradiol formed by various ovarian minces retained 85–90% of the original tritium. Formation of 2,4-dibromo-17β-estradiol reduced the 3H/14C ratio by 48–52%. These results show that all the ovarian minces studied removed the cis-1β,2β-hydrogens from testosterone during aromatization. This mechanism is different from those previously reported for human ovaries but the same as that determined for human placental aromatization.


An examination of texts in Lucian, and particularly the usage of the term aithrion, leads to the conclusion that Greeks of the Roman period practiced both sand and mud wrestling in the open air. Features of the palaestra at Olympia seem to be consistent with this conclusion, and the query is posed to archaeologists as to whether other monuments support this view or not.


Crop and horticulture has playing a significant role conservation of biological resource in agro biodiversity. This research work activities was undertaken in effect of plant diversity in home garden northern western part Ethiopia. The study were set at to vegetation types Combretum Terminalia and Acacia comiphora wood lands. Although study areas were randomly selected for 60 home garden survey. Data were subjected to analyzed using preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, and descriptive statistics. A total composition of 90 plant diversity re t species belonging to 63 genera and 15 families were identified which were classified to 14 functional groups. Out of which, 49 species (43%) were herbs, 32 species (29%) were trees, 28 species (25%) were shrubs, and (3%) species were climbers. The study of of the results showed that 70 species were cultivated, 35 were wild while 7 species were Ethiopia domesticated. Of the cultivated species, 79.1% were food crops and 20.9% were non-food crops. Family Fabaceae consisted of the highest number of species (11 species), whereas Abelmoschus esculentus was the most frequently occurring species (90%) dominated in the home gardens of the area. Direct matrix analysis showed that Millettia ferruginea was the most important versatile species followed by Cordia africana and juniperus procera . More over these results of this studies indicated that the role of home garden play significant role a crucial role in meeting desire need of food security of the households, income source mainly women harvest spices, horticulture buying in market serve as an income for holding small sized farmer and home garden grown crop also an effort to maintain on ecological balance of ecosystem. the result of this study confirmed that home gardens generally constitute about 90% of food plants and 9% t of medicinal plants known to exist in the study site, which is highly significant in terms of conserving Ethiopia's plant biodiversity Even though lack of agricultural support, climate change and land slide affect the diversity of species. Moreover, home gardens could be regarded as live models of sustainable utilization of biodiversity that are managed and maintained by knowledgeable local communities. On the other hand, the most important threats to home gardens identified by those studies include displacement of crops by cash crops, climate change and land degradation. Though not significant, various on farm conservation measures are in place to revert the loss of plant agro biodiversity, particularly focused on key species of indigenous crops like, per millet, Common bean Mainze Sorghum, okra and Roselle in studied area.


Vibration tests were carried out on strawberry punnets at three frequency levels of 3, 4 and 5 Hz for 50 and 150 sec. 'Elsanta' strawberries were packed in 250 g polyethylene terephthalate (PET) punnets for the vibration tesst. Strawberry quality was determined immediately after vibration test on the initial day and after storage at 10 degreesC (+/-1 degreesC) and 70% RH (+/-5%RH) for 3 days. Strawberries in the punnets were evaluated for percentage of quality categories, severity bruise, electrical conductivity (EC), firmness as well as total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA). EC value and percentage of the dry bruise showed an increase with frequency level and time. The frequency at 5 Hz for 150 sec was the critical vibration for an increase of bruise and EC value and a reduction of severity score (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed among TSS and TA submitted to different frequency and time of the vibration test. The conductivity values were also highly associated with the severity of the bruises (r= -0.764) while there was no significant relationship between conductivity and firmness on the initial day. Results indicated that the electrical conductivity evaluation in the vibration test of strawberries can be used as a rapid evaluation method to assess strawberry bruises during the handling and transportation.


OBJECTIVE
To establish HPLC fingerprint of Morus alba from different habitats by HPLC and provide basis for its quality control.

METHODS
HPLC analysis was performed on an Agilent XDB C18 Column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm), gradient eluted composed of acetonitrile and 0.3% phosphate acid. The column temperature was set at 35 degrees C and the flow rate was 0.5 mL/min. The detective wavelength was 290 nm. The HPLC fingerprint for 10 batches of Morus alba was studied on their similarity.

RESULTS
There were twelve common peaks in the fingerprint. The similarity of 7 batches was above 0.9 and the other batches had low similarity.

CONCLUSION
The HPLC fingerprint can be used for quality control of Morus alba with high characteristics and specificity.


Primary ovarian melanoma is considered arising from mature cystic teratoma which is extremely rare condition. As best of our knowledge till date only 49 cases has been reported worldwide. Most cases are associated with disseminated diseases and poor prognosis. We present here a case of a 45 yr lady in perimenopausalage group, came with c/o heavy menstrual bleeding since 1 month and irregular menses since 1 year. The cofirm diagnosis was made on the basis immunohistochemistry. Primary ovarian malignant melanoma is a definite entity and is associated with poor prognosis. Differential diagnosis is difficult for pathologist as it has to be differentiated from metastatic disease. The mainstay treatment of this disease is complete surgical debulking, however chemotherapy and immunotherapy has some role but patient outcome is unpredictable.


Mahalanobis distance (M-distance) case diagnostics are a useful tool for assessing response pattern inconsistency in factor analysis; however, the derivations of these statistics assume continuous variables, which limits their utility in ordinal self- or rater-report data. This research generalizes M-distance diagnostics to categorical factor analysis. We prove that the residual-based M-distance dr is equivalent to the person-fit index lco, which motivates the use of the new categorical M-distance dr* as a person-fit index. dr* is compared and contrasted with zh, a commonly used item response theory person-fit index. A simulation study is used to show that a simple transformation of dr* satisfies established criteria for person-fit measures. A sample of responses to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is used to determine parameters for a simulation study, and real data are analyzed to contrast the use of dr and dr* as indexes of person-fit in continuous and categorical factor analysis.


A 65-year-old man was facing to tracheal stenosis due to proximally developed lung cancer with hypercalcemia mediated by production of PTHrP from the cancer cells. We treated the stenosis use of Dumon stent and hypercalcemia with drugs such as biphosphonate and so on. The treatment was effectively keep the patient under better performance status for about 3.5 months.


Entities that can learn about their environment include natural and artificial systems, acting individually or as a part of a larger group or network. In this article, we speculate whether there might be some simple mechanisms underlying some of the diverse learning strategies observed across many different fields, e.g. biology, psychology, business, machine learning, etc. We present a simple statistical model that can reproduce a wide variety of empirical learning curves, modeling performance as a function of cumulative experience.


This paper concentrates on only one of the complex debates emerging due to the convergence of nano-bio-info cogno (NBIC) and the ability to improve human performanance: that is, how nanobiotechnology will affect life extension.


2,3,7,8‐Tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin (TCDD) or dioxin, is commonly considered the most toxic man‐made substance. Dioxin exposure impacts human health and diseases, birth defects and teratogenesis were frequently observed in children of persons who have been exposed to dioxin. However, the impact of dioxin on human mutation rate in trios has not yet been elucidated at the whole genome level. To identify and characterize the genetic alterations in the individuals exposed to dioxin, we performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) of nine Vietnamese trios whose fathers were exposed to dioxin. In total, 846 de novo point mutations, 26 de novo insertions and deletions, 4 de novo structural variations, and 1 de novo copy number variation were identified. The number of point mutations and dioxin concentrations were positively correlated (P‐value < 0.05). Considering the substitution pattern, the number of A > T/T > A mutation and the dioxin concentration was positively correlated (P‐value < 0.05). Our analysis also identified one possible disease‐related mutation in LAMA5 in one trio. These findings suggested that dioxin exposure might affect father genomes of trios leading to de novo mutations in their children. Further analysis with larger sample sizes would be required to better clarify mutation rates and substitution patterns in trios caused by dioxin.


Within dynamical simulations of biomechanical motion, the actuation of a multibody system (representing bones and joints) can be implemented via Hill‐type muscle models. The main task of these models is to describe the typical force‐length and force‐velocity relation of real muscles. Thus, it is crucial that the muscle path itself, which is dynamically changing during a motion, is represented correctly in the model, because its length and the change of its length in time, i.e. its concentric or eccentric velocity, are related to the scalar value of the muscle force amount and to the direction of the force acting on the multibody system. In our work, we assume that a muscle tone is always present, even at rest, which leads to the conclusion that tendons and muscles are supposed to follow the path of minimal distance between two insertion points not intersecting the bones. This problem can for example be formulated as a constrained nonlinear optimisation problem, or it can be solved with a more efficient algorithm that determines this path as a G1 (geometrical) continuous combination of given curves. Within this work, both procedures are compared concerning the resulting path length and force directions and their computational costs. (© 2013 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The effect of transition metals as components of the mobile phase on the retention of 2-aminophenol in high-performance liquid chromatography was studied on both ODS-silica and porous polymer columns. 2-Aminophenol formed charged 1 : 1 complexes with the metal ions to give a reduction in retention through a mechanism analogous to ion-pair chromatography. Different metal ions and a range of concentrations and eluent pHs were investigated.


The paper provides core contemporary problems and targets connected with bringing offer formed by primary and secondary vocational academic organizations of Komi Republic into compliance with qualification and professional structure of personnel demand registered at Komi Republic labour market. The problem of competence forming is shown. The paper describes contradictions conditioned by incapability of the educational system to respond promptly to changing terms of the outer world from the point of view of employers, graduates and academic organizations. Aggregative groups of factors affecting education quality are proposed.


Fine control of relative pulse timing and optical phase between different-color pulses are reported. We applied a hybrid technique of passive timing locking and active feedback to the phase relation and obtained optical-cycle grade synchronization


Summary The new species Hoya devogelii Rodda & Simonsson with campanulate corollas from kerangas montane forest of Sarawak, Borneo is here described and illustrated. This species differs from any previously described species of Hoya in the very pubescent corolla and the staminal corona with a very developed process forming a ring around the base of the corona lobes. Morphological affinities between H. devogelii and other campanulate flowered species of Hoya from Borneo are discussed.


Fodder yeast is highly valuable protein-vitamin products. Protein digestibility by yeast and amino acid content, superior proteins of animal origin. Fodder yeast protein digested in animals by 95 %. The biological value of yeast protein is determined by the presence of a significant amount of essential amino acids. Moreover, yeast cells contain many vitamins microelement and a significant amount of fat, in which the predominant unsaturated fatty acid. Currently, fodder yeast successfully used in livestock and poultry, so the demand for them is increasing every year. For the production of fodder yeast using a yeast having the necessary technological properties: the ability of rapid growth in aerobic conditions to form protein, amino acids and vitamins, resistant crop production, the development of resistance to foreign microorganisms. Intensive education yeast biomass contributes to a number of conditions, including pH, temperature and aeration of the culture occupy an important place. The main criterion for comparison and selection of a culture medium for this is the speed of its growth and ability to assimilate all of the nutrients with high economic factor. It depends on the performance of the enterprise, energy consumption and other technical - economic performance. The effect of pH of the medium on the biomass accumulation of yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Found that at pH 5,2 - 5,5 observed maximum growth rate of the yeast cells. The effect of temperature on the accumulation of yeast biomass. The temperature of the culture medium determines the intensity of metabolism in cells. It was found that the optimal growth temperature of the culture Yarrowia lipolytica is 33 0C. The effect of aeration on the growth rate of yeast cells. Tro-established that the maximum increase of biomass was obtained with the aeration of 70 cm3 /cm3hrs.


This case-study explores the changing norms guiding news production in the People's Republic of China. Through a content analysis of bird flu coverage in three best-selling Guangzhou newspapers (the Guangzhou Daily, the Yangcheng Evening News and the Southern Metropolis Daily), the news coverage of the bird flu is compared to the Party news genre, previously dominant in China in which news is reported from the perspective of the Party and chosen on the grounds of its relevance to the tasks of the Party. Working from a model of normative change proposed by Piotr Sztompka, the content analysis suggests that although Party news norms are still significant to news production in China, these norms are often evaded in favor of more marketable alternatives. The inclusion of negative news, infotainment, consumer segments, editorials and investigative journalism in the material analyzed suggests that macro-level change is resulting in more diversified information mediated by China's news outlets. However, innovation in news practice is tempered by restrictions imposed by for example Chinese media policy, the market, ownership structures and vested interests of local authorities. The result is a patchwork of differing news norms functioning side-by-side in Guangzhou's booming media industry.


Linked data has experienced accelerated growth in recent years. With the continuing proliferation of structured data, demand for RDF compression is becoming increasingly important. In this study, we introduce a novel lossless compression technique for RDF datasets, called Rule Based Compression (RB Compression) that compresses datasets by generating a set of new logical rules from the dataset and removing triples that can be inferred from these rules. Unlike other compression techniques, our approach not only takes advantage of syntactic verbosity and data redundancy but also utilizes semantic associations present in the RDF graph. Depending on the nature of the dataset, our system is able to prune more than 50% of the original triples without affecting data integrity.


This document presents the methodology, data, and results from the analysis of the energy and economic impacts of proposed U.S. standards for residential water heaters.


The invention Excavator relates to a flow path of my semi-parametric Burrell line main control valve for controlling the device operation to a method for variably controlling and apparatus, more particularly excavators work tools, that the boom and the remote control the flow rate distribution of cancer otherwise in accordance with the amount of operation of the valve through the control by more easy operability by enabling the relative priority operation relates to a variable-priority system of the excavator work device that allows to reduce operator fatigue; It is an object of the excavator work device to be able to relieve the fatigue of the operator through the easy operability than by having to otherwise controlled in accordance with the flow rate distribution of the excavator work tools, that is, the boom and arm with the amount of operation of the remote control valve is possible relative priority operation first, to provide a system variable. In the present invention is how to control the excavator working device operation, and apparatus for achieving the above object, the main pump and, a plurality of hydraulic actuators driven by the discharge oil pressure from the main pump, the main pump and the plurality of actuators a plurality of control spool within the main control valve disposed between and, and the remote control valve for supplying a pilot pressure for determining the opening area of the control spool within the main control valve, the center for connecting the plurality of control valves by and the pass line and para Burrell line, of the para-Burrell of the line consists of a second variable semi-parametric Burrell orifice installed in the para Burrell line connected to arm the control spool, excavators work tool of the boom and the remote flow rate distribution of the arm control valve in contrast to the control in accordance with an amount by enabling the relative priority operation, the beam and to the technical aspect that relates to a variable priority system of the excavator work device characterized in that it allows to reduce the fatigue of the operator through the easy operability. Semi-parametric variable orifice Marla, Marla semi-parametric orifice, boom up pilot pressure signal, cancer bunched rim pilot pressure signal


This paper presents a new device and a method for dynamic manipulation. The device consists of a planar robotic arm and an elastic beam as an end-effector. Using it the elastic end-effector will tend to increase performance and energy efficiency while executing dynamic and repetitive tasks. Through the control of the beam vibration and resonant modes, we modify the state of manipulated objects. For lightweight objects the control is provided through the intermittent contacts without changing dynamics of the beam. However, we show that by using proper synchronization technique continuous-phase contacts are also possible. Juggling and dribbling of a ball are considered to be an alternating non-prehensile catching and throwing task. Such alternating decelerating and accelerating impacts on the ball and the curvature of the beam at the time of impact will stabilize the cyclic orbit of the ball. By proper analysis of continuous-time contact and dynamics of the beam we establish a rhythmic movement of the system. With the variation of frequency and amplitude of the beam it is possible to switch between different dynamic actions such as juggling, dribbling, throwing, catching and balancing.


The HISAT (High Stability and Turndown) burner is designed to be able to turn down to 50 per cent of maximum load without oil support and remain stable firing poor quality Indian coals. It has been successfully tested at Renfrew using UK coal considered representative of that found in India.


can be created for single moments of interaction and never become sedimented. Section II starts with an article by Paul Hopper, which claims that the discourse approach to sluicing gives a perspective of time unfolding in interaction due to its projective and retroactive functions. The second article, by Simona Pekarek Doehler, displays an analysis of how the French construction (il) y a NP 'there is NP' projects talk and helps speakers holding the turn. The third article, by Yael Maschler, presents the emergent Hebrew (NS)V/VNS syntax, which, together with prosody, guides the hearer in the temporal unfolding of the narrative. The fourth article of section II, by Susanne Günthner, focuses on the German connector und zwar 'namely/in fact' showing how it links the current utterance to prior ones and anticipates upcoming activities. Section III starts with an article by Lorenza Mondada, which presents an analysis of how French, English as a lingua franca and Swiss German use embodied actions (such as gestures, object manipulations and body movements) to achieve turn and sequence completions. Leelo Keevallik closes the volume with an article that shows how dance teachers coordinate talk and embodied demonstrations through time. The book as a whole presents relevant, innovative studies about temporality in naturally occurring interactions, aggregating new ways of describing how speakers deal with temporal contingencies in talkin-interaction.


Activity recognition and context-aware systems with mobile users have attracted much attention recently, with numerous applications. Also, for a system to be scalable, cloud computing is a useful paradigm, but needs to be appropriately integrated. This paper presents an innovative approach for mobile activity recognition that exploits a hybrid model using both machine learning techniques and stream reasoning using an ontological representation of activities. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented a cloud-hosted framework called MyActivity using Continuous SPARQL (C-SPARQL) to run queries in order to recognize human activities with accelerometer and GPS data from mobile devices.


Meta-search engine is a search engine upon search engine,which integrate the results of several separated search engine and show the final result to the users,thus the result fusion is a critical part of meta-search engine.This paper concerned with the influence of users' interests on the confidence of separated search engine,and rearranging the search results according to users' interests.This can improve the search accuracy and efficiency by setting the higher rank to the results which the users are interested in,and offer users a customized search result when inputting the same searching words and help improve the users' satisfaction.


The researches were effectuated in a selection farm, in a swine pattern line utilized as a generator of commercial hybrid father obtained in this unit. The national program of swine improvement takes in account that genetic evaluation of selection candidates it's made based on BLUP methodology and selection effect estimation it's made by difference between average breeding values of candidates by successive generations. In analyzed population, the genetic evaluation it's made based on individual performance. Analyzing selection difference and selection ratio we can draw interesting conclusions related with breeding work efficiency.


As a famous statesman, thinker, poet and historian in late Qing dysnasty, Wen Tingshi is praised as "a pioneer in late Qing's scholars" by Mr. Qian Zhonglian. In a great era when Chinese learning and western learning, new learning and old knowledge were clapping, he could forever stick to the independent character and understanding studying manner. On the basis of regulating Han and Song Dynasty, making an impartial statement of ancient and modern time and mastering Chinese and western learning, he could use the good items. Also he could make an unprecedented example in history of religion, comparative religion, historiography and poems.


The advent of University portals [1] accelerated a phenomenon that has been observed for a long time, notably the progressive replacement of locally-deployed applications (in entities, for instance) with centralized applications that permit a software development geared to and around a specific institution's Information System. This transformation, which has already occurred for services (e.g., website and email) and equipment (e.g., for storage and/or backup), has not yet taken place in user support applications. esup-helpdesk [2], the helpdesk developed and distributed by the consortium ESUPPortail [3], remedies this lack by natively integrating the multi-entity nature of educational and research institutions. This helpdesk has already been adopted by many universities, colleges, and research laboratories in France. This article is based on the results of a study [4] conducted in 2004 by a French information technology (IT) working group who surveyed opinions about the distribution and use of helpdesks in the French educational/research community. These results provide a general idea of the perceived problems—both technical and human—encountered when implementing a helpdesk tool. In this article, we demonstrate how the helpdesk distributed by the ESUP-Portail consortium employs original solutions in an attempt to avoid these problems. Our goal is to convince the reader that the esup-helpdesk is not just another helpdesk application, but rather is a well-adapted response to the specific needs of the educational/research community. We also intend to promote esup-helpdesk at the European level, and elsewhere in the world.


of Doctoral Disseration Academic Year 2016 A Multicontext-adaptive Query Creation and Search System for Large-scale Image and Video Data by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep


With the rapid development of three-dimensional computer technology and digital imaging software and hardware technology,the three-dimensional surface reconstruction has got more and more people's attention,and more and more widespread applications.Researchers have developed a laser stripe as the coding and other optical projection system.But these systems are very low in the surface reflection coefficient of regional or mirror reflection coefficient of the region which can not be very satisfied with the data collected for remote objects in accurate and difficult to calibrate the high environmental requirements,such as inadequate.So it is very significant to stand the point using of simple equipment such as a ordinary optical camera or a camera,in conditions of the background environment relatively simple and routine,use microcomputer to complete 3D surface reconstruction rapidly.


Objective To study the analysis using artificial humerus head replacement cuhk nodules the stability of the different fixed way. Methods Select 10(20) fresh frozen shoulder joint specimens, the left and right side of the pairing can be divided into two groups, anatomic reconstruction and overlapping reconstruction group respectively. Part manufacture proximal humeral fracture model, and the anatomical reconstruction group of large and small nodules in the sample shall be carried out in accordance with the anatomic reduction and fixation; For the specimens of overlapping reconstruction group, large and small nodules and fixed overlapping way to shaft of humerus. Two groups of specimens were fixed in the same way, were determined before the shoulder joint extorsion and lift on flexion Angle when the relative displacement between shaft and of the greater tuberosity. Results In the shaft out to neutral position, the average displacement for specimens of overlapping reconstruction group(3.22 ± 2.92) mm, significantly higher than that of anatomic reconstruction group specimens(1.81 ± 1.74) mm, the difference between the two groups have statistical significance(P 0.05). And two groups of specimens out 10 ° and 20 °, the difference between the average displacement no statistical significance(P 0.05). In shaft proneness to 30 ° and 60 °, anatomic reconstruction of displacement and overlapping reconstruction group qualitative differences between no statistical significance(P 0.05). Conclusion Artificial humerus head replacement, passive shoulder joint extorsion to neutral position, the stability of the greater tuberosity of anatomic reconstruction group was superior to that of overlapping reconstruction group, therefore in the artificial humerus head replacement in the treatment of proximal humeral fractures require appropriate delay postoperative passive functional exercise time to start.


A precise radial-velocity survey conducted by a Korean–Japanese planet search program revealed a planetary companion around the intermediate-mass clump giant HD 100655. The radial velocity of the star exhibits a periodic Keplerian variation with a period, semi-amplitude, and eccentricity of 157.57 d, 35.2 m s � 1 , and 0.085, respectively. Adopting an estimated stellar mass of 2.4 Mˇ, we confirmed the presence of a planetary companion with a semimajor axis of 0.76 AU and a minimum mass of 1.7 MJ. The planet is the lowest-mass planet yet discovered around clump giants with masses greater than 1.9 Mˇ.


Abstract The outer stellar halos of galaxies contain vital information about the formation history of galaxies, since the relaxation timescales in the outskirts are long enough to keep the memory, while the information about individual formation events in the central parts has long been lost due to mixing, star formation and relaxation. To unveil some of the information encoded in these faint outer halo regions, we study the stellar outskirts of galaxies selected from a fully hydrodynamical high-resolution cosmological simulation, called Magneticum. We find that the density profiles of the outer stellar halos of galaxies over a broad mass range can be well described by an Einasto profile. For a fixed total mass range, the free parameters of the Einasto fits are closely correlated. Galaxies which had more (dry) merger events tend to have lesser curved outer stellar halos, however, we find no indication that the amount of curvature is correlated with galaxy morphology. The Einasto-like shape of the outer stellar halo densities can also explain the observed differences between the Milky Way and Andromeda outer stellar halos.


The subject innovation relates to a nut-one drainage pipe, are provided inserted in the drain hole aperture in the basin as a tubular body, and a pop-up switching means provided inside the tubular body, coupled to the lower side of the pop-up tube, and the pop-up pipe threads are formed on the lower peripheral surface comprising: a connector that is, the connector is formed extending outward from the upper end of the body portion, the nut portion and the nut fixing portion in the upper outer peripheral surface of the body portion formed in the outer surface of the polygonal-shaped threads are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the upper end of the basin It characterized in that it comprises a hwanteok coupled in close contact with the bottom. According to the present invention as described above, and is excellent in the nut and the pop-up tube by integrally fixing a sink and in close contact and simultaneously bond the pipe to the signed single workability effect, reducing the processing cost for using a separate nut production unit there is a lowering effect. In addition, the retaining ring member, the protrusion on both sides formed by bonding between the packing member and the connector connecting pipe rotation is prevented of being, when a long time to use the sink, suppression of noise and leakage of the release occurs so loose connection parts of the connecting pipe It has the effect of.


Based on regional water resource carrying capacity research,this article took urbanized areas as a research object and began from water cycle process in the urbanized area to discuss water resource transform process that is influenced by intensive humanity activity and to analyze water resource carrying capacity connotation of urbanization area.The basic theories were proposed for water resources carrying capacity research in urbanized area,namely: the water cycle theory under changing environment,the interaction theory between urbanization,and the "social economy-water resources-ecological environment" composite system and sustainable development theory.Moreover,under the sustainable development principle,we brought the urbanized area water resource carrying capacity research into the complicated system of region "social economy-water resources-ecology and environment",and analyzed the coordinated relationship among water resources,social economy development,and ecological and environmental protection.We also proposed the theory frame and the method of water resources carrying capacity quantification research in urbanized areas.The research results may provide a theory support for implementation of water saving strategy,water resource reasonable disposition and sustainable development in urbanized areas..


Objective:To investigate the prevalence rate of physical disease and risk factors among schizophrenicinpatients. Methods:self-made questionnaire was used in 862 patients in our hospital hospitalization in order to statistical analysis, the survey included gender, age, total duration of disease, the diagnosis of somatic physical disease and psychiatric medications.Results: 862 cases of patients with physical illness incidence rate of 60.9%, physical disease incidence increased with age and the extension of the course, combination therapy and the use of atypical antipsychotic treatment of schizophrenia than the single use of typical antipsychotics more likely to merge physical disease (P 0.01). Conclusions:The high proportion of schizophrenic patients with physical disease, timely treatment to reduce the burden of disease in patients with physical disease.


Preface 1. Differentiation matrices 2. Unbounded grids: the semidiscrete Fourier transform 3. Periodic grids: the DFT and FFT 4. Smoothness and spectral accuracy 5. Polynomial interpolation and clustered grids 6. Chebyshev differentiation matrices 7. Boundary value problems 8. Chebyshev series and the FFT 9. Eigenvalues and pseudospectra 10. Time-stepping and stability regions 11. Polar coordinates 12. Integrals and quadrature formulas 13. More about boundary conditions 14. Fourth-order problems Afterword Bibliography Index.


The reactivity of acetamidrazones I in strong basicity conditions was examined. When compounds I are reacted with equivalent quantities of α-haloketones in sodium alcoholate, the pyrrolidino[2,3-c]pyrazol-3-ones IV were obtained by intermediate formation of 1-acyl-3-amino-5-pyrazolones III.


A new protocol for trifluoromethyl-promoted oxidation of fischer-type N-Heterocyclic Carbene copper complexes has been developed by DMSO, which allows the preparation of imidazolinones from carbene complexes.


is uniformly masculine throughout. The theoretical interest here is an exception, however, in a collection characterized by a general lack of polemical punch, in which even the younger contributors seem markedly immune to any access of new historicism. In contrast to Young's well-wrought urns, Marc Chenetier sets out to accentuate the confusion, diversity and anarchy of contemporary American fiction, the "suspicion" of his title extending its reference from Sarraute to available models of literary history. Chenetier displays a healthy disrespect for canonicity, but as a result covers too many writers (almost 400) in too little depth. While the book fairly bristles with names and titles, it is rare for any writer to receive more than a page or two of substantial discussion. Moreover, although readers may share Che'netier's Emersonian distaste for "ists and isms," his refusal to include Updike and Roth as contemporary writers seems odd. Inevitably perhaps in such a broad survey there are errors. Readers who turn eagerly from the bibliography to the bookshelves in search of Mary Gordon's Three Grandfathers should be warned that this volume (published by Aberdeen University Press) concerns three Church of Scotland ministers, and is written by their descendant, who bears little resemblance to the author of Men and Angels. In the text itself there is nothing whatsoever on Gordon, nor on Anne Tyler, precious little on Lurie, not nearly enough on Morrison or Erdrich. Only Grace Paley is frequently mentioned, deservedly, but rather tending to confirm the impression that contemporary American fiction involves games for postmodernist boys. (Piercy is described as strident, French as simplistic.) Brickbats apart, however, Chenetier's disregard for established maps of the field makes for some discoveries, fresh emphases and intriguing regroupings. He provides a useful account of the objective conditions of production, the influence of writing seminars, the return of the little magazine and with it the short story; he is also a reliable guide through the snowstorm of new terms ("mystory," "hysterical novel," "faction," "critifiction"), critical positions and generic hybridizations. Above all he awakens the reader's curiosity, offering new areas to explore — though one still wishes that, Michelin style, he had indicated more strongly which literary works were worth an excursion, which only a detour.


concept of fuzzy sets in 1965. In 1974, E.H. Mamdani invented a fuzzy inference procedure, thus setting the stage for the initial development and proliferation of fuzzy system applications. Logic programming also played an important role in disseminating the idea of fuzzy inference, as it emphasized the imTHE NEXT GENERATION OF FUZZY EXPERT SYSTEMS WILL COMBINE TECHNIQUES SUCH AS LOGlC PROGRAMMlNG, FUZZY THEORI; AND NEURAL NETWORKS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTME THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE PRACTIUL USE OF ~


ID # 226 Environment has had a relatively low priority in Tu rkey. Environmental concerns have been too often superseded by developm nt interest in local decision-making. Strengthened environmental efforts from national government, provincial authorities, and municipalit ies are required to achieve environmental convergence with the European Union. Despite progress in providing environmental statistics and indicators, the need for integrated studies on environmental sustainability both national and subnational levels is still urgent. The objective of t his study is to measure and compare environmental sustainability at sub-nationa l level by using AHP. The proposed model is implemented both the selected sub-regions (NUTS 2 level) and their provinces (NUTS 3 level). In the a nalysis, SuperDecisions software v.2.2.1 is used and two alternative groups are evaluated according to eleven criteria namely, population density, ener gy consumption, green area, land use, total disposal, non-treated wastewa ter, water consumption, number of cars, traffic accidents, SO 2 and PM10 emissions. The results indicate that at NUTS 2 level, İstanbul (TR10) the largest city in Turkey with 18% of total population and also one of the mo st populated cities in Europe is ranked (0.267133) first out of five. İstanbul is followed by regions TR42 Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova (0.18903 0) and TR41 Bursa, Eskişehir, Bilecik (0.186964) while TR21 Tekirda ğ, Edirne, Kırklareli (0.170595) is rated as the least environmentally su stainable region. On the other hand, at NUTS 3 level TR424 Bolu has the high est ranking (0.132935), followed by TR412 Eski şehir (0.121052) and TR413 Bilecik (0.088625). The least environmentally sustainable p rovinces are TR211 Tekirdağ (0.046646) and TR421Kocaeli (0.037254), respective ly. TR100 İstanbul (0.051545) is ranked 11th out of 14.


Provided are a mobile terminal, an electronic system, and a method of transmitting and receiving data using the same for effectively transmitting and receiving data between the mobile terminal and external electronic devices.


In this article an approach based on the Lambert W function is applied to analysis of various types solar cells and solar modules at a given insolation level and temperature; it can be used to extract accurate values of the parameters of a solar cell/module using experimental data or information available from the datasheet. These parameters are the photocurrent Iph, the reverse saturation current Io, the diode ideality factor a, the series resistance Rs, and the shunt resistance Rsh. The parameters Io, a, Rs, and Rsh are calculated with the aid of 4 equations that can be solved simultaneously while increasing the value of Iph in small increments. The calculated parameters are found to be in good agreement with those obtained in the literature. The experimental data of various solar cells/modules devices are obtained from the literature. Some of these devices are silicon solar cells and modules in addition to organic and DSSC solar cells. The mathematical I-V characteristics and the mathematical P-V characteristics are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.


In this paper we present a wavelet image compression coder based on two state of the art coders, namely the Embedded Zerotree Wavelets coder (EZW) [3] and Stack-Run coder [1] . Our intention was to modify the Shapiro's EZW algorithm in order to replace the efficient but time demanding zerotree representation of significance maps with Stack-Run codes yielding a faster algorithm while still preserving the the successive approximation properties of EZW. However, the proposed method revealed to be much less effective than state of the art coders but on the other hand preserved some interesting properties.


Conflict studies are a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviors as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts. This article seeks to analyze the methodology and conceptual problems in studying conflicts in Indonesia which is greatly influenced by Western social sciences tradition. The development of social sciences in Indonesia in describing conflict is supposed to be part of the root of Indonesian realities. However, Indonesian scholars lack of their own theoretical discourses which should have been developed by Indonesians to analyze conflict problems in the same level of understanding as if they were analyzed by Western perspective. As scientific discourses are socio-historical related, they go beyond than just ethic and emic principle in representing local perspective. The author also discusses conceptual misapprehension within Indonesian scholar regarding Modernist and Post-Modernist approach and research management Key words: Conflict studies, Scientific discourse, Methodology and Conceptual problems


With studies continuing to identify malnutrition as a common experience in residential aged care, dietitians and researchers are calling for radical action, reports Linda Belardi.


The authors introduce a new class of lattice materials, where a controlled simultaneous folding of the lattice walls results in a significant size reduction while preserving the overall shape of the original lattice. This reversible folding scheme results in 67 and 50% reduction in size at each level for lattices with triangular and square grid topologies, respectively, while the design enables multiple levels of folding to achieve a desired final size. The authors study the elastic properties and the phononic band structure of the lattice at different stages of folding, using analytical and finite element methods. The proposed concept provides new opportunities for the development of multifunctional deployable structures through significant changes in the size and properties of lattice materials by folding.


SynopsisA random sample of families from the community was used to investigate the implications of maternal employment for children. Three groups of children and adolescents were compared: those with mothers who were not in the paid labour force, those with mothers who were employed part-time, and those with mothers who were employed full-time. Mother's employment status was not related to the amount of support children reported receiving from mothers or fathers. However, maternal employment was related to children's reports of parental control practices. Girls at both age levels had higher self-esteem when mothers were employed full-time than when mothers were employed part-time or were not employed. Overall, adolescents scored highest on a variety of measures of competence when mothers were employed full time.


The present invention discloses a cable sheath, said cable sheath comprises by weight parts of the following materials: ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, a maleic anhydride grafted ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer was a maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene, silicone, silane, filler, antioxidant 1010, zinc oxide, iron oxide, epoxidized soybean oil, and polyethylene toner. The present invention is carried out by EVA and PE composite, the cable sheath having excellent flexibility, impact resistance, resistance to environmental stress, etc., so that cracks will not crack, and in order to overcome the disadvantages of flammability, adding hydroxide aluminum, magnesium and a series of additives. Improve the flame retardant characteristics of the cable sheath, with a halide-containing material is not added to the halogen-free cable sheath. Adding a filler, the cable sheath good thermal stability, can be used in an environment of 105 ℃.


In this study, Span 60 (sorbitan monostearate) and PEG40S (polyoxyethylene 40 stearate) are employed to generate stabilized microbubbles for use in diagnostic ultrasound. The particle size analysis of the surfactant-coated microbubbles showed that they are appropriately sized for intravenous administration. The dependence on composition in π-A isotherms for mixed monolayers can be considered as evidence of the miscibility, though not necessarily homogeneous, indicating the presence of mutual interactions between the two components. To obtain a kind of novel bi-mode diagnostic agents with both ultrasound and fluorescent imaging properties, we combined microbubbles and CdTe quantum dots (QDs) together via layer by layer assembly (LBL) technique. Through fluorescent spectra and confocal laser scanning microscopy, it was confirmed that CdTe nanoparticles were successfully deposited on the outer surface of the microbubbles. These stabilized microbubbles exhibit a high degree of echogenicity under B-mode scan, regular Doppler and color Doppler. They are useful as contrast agents to provide better contrast resolution for ultrasonic diagnostics, including echocardiography.


Clutter noise is an important challenge in photocoustic (PA) and ultrasound (US) imaging as they degrade the image quality. In this paper, the short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) imaging technique is used to reduce clutter and side lobes in PA images. In this technique, images are obtained through the spatial coherence of PA signals at small spatial distances across the transducer aperture. The performance of this technique in improving image quality and detecting point targets is compared with a conventional delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming technique. A superior contrast, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are observed when SLSC imaging is employed. Point spread function of point targets shows an improved spatial resolution and reduced side lobes when compared with DAS beamforming. Also shown is the impact of increasing the number of frames on which SLSC is applied. The results show that contrast, CNR, and SNR are improved with increasing number of frames.


The enzyme Glucoamylase [1,4-α-D-glucan-glucohydrolase EC 188.8.131.52] is very important for the food industry. It is used for producing glucose, ethanol and beer, as well as in technological processes that require the decomposition of starch. Eight mutants of the species Aspergillus niger are evaluated and tested with respect to their production of Glucoamylase and proved to be suitable. The task is to find the mutant showing the highest enzyme activity with a given precision. Conventionally, this kind of multiple decision problem is handled by the analysis of variance (Model I), which tests the homogeneity of the population means, but in this case the results do not supply the desired information. Provided that the enzyme activities of the mutants are different, selection procedures can be used to choose the mutant with the "best" or at least a "good" level of activity.

In this paper, a short methodical summary about the two classes of selection procedures is given, i.e. the indifference zone (and d-correct) procedures and the subset procedures. By the example of the selection of a mutant with high enzyme activity the planning of experiments is shown. Depending on suppositions about the variances, different selection rules are applied. Starting with the subset procedure of GUPTA, the number of mutants is reduced to seven. The following application of the d-correct procedures of BECHHOFER, DUNNETT and SOBEL allow us to calculate the necessary sample size of n = 49. Then the mutant whose sample has the largest mean will be selected as a "good" one with a given precision of d = 4 [u/l] and a probability of correct selection of (1–β) = 0.91


Scientific writing is about making websites SMK Budi Utomo, which aims to promote the school to the wider community. Therefore made a SMK Budi Utomo website using Joomla software. Software is used for convenience and have proven to provide good security system in use. The methods are used in making this website refers to the method of SDLC which includes planning, analysis, design, software implementation and maintenance. First time starting from the planned target of the school, collect the data needed by visiting the school in question, then analyzed and the design of navigation structure and storyboard it, and then directly implemented computer software localhost using Joomla, then made a website maintenance.. Thus this site can be accessed by anyone who wishes to visit it through internet.


NADYA MEPRISTA. The Influence of In-Store Promotion towards The Sale of PT. XYZ Bogor. Supervised by MA'MUN SARMA. Growth of electronic and furniture retail outlets in indonesia has increased rapidly. PT. XYZ Bogor is a retailer of electronics and furniture. One of the promotions conducted by PT. XYZ Bogor is in-store promotion. The purpose of this research is to identify the form of in-store promotion applied to PT. XYZ Bogor and analyze the effect of in-store promotion to the level of sales of PT. XYZ Bogor. The independent variable in this research is in-store promotion, which has three indicator variables, sales promotion, store display, and personal selling. Based on result of F test, in-store promotion has influence to levels of sales. The value of R square shows that 48,3 % diversity of independent variable (in-store promotion) can be explained by the dependent variable (sales rate). If partially tested, variables sales promotion and store display has a significant influence on the level of sales, while the personal selling do not affect significantly the level of sales. The value of the coefficient of sales promotion is 53,101, while the variables that have the greatest influence is store display with coefficients of 52,217.


the pearl stands for the soul of the poem's narrator;1 others, among them one of the leading proponents of the exegetical approach in general, have asserted that it is to be understood according to the standard "four levels" of scriptural exegesis;2 and there have been many other interpretations.3 Although such attempts to find some hidden layer of meaning in the poem seem to me misconceived, it is not my purpose here either to enter into the theoretical controversy about exegesis (to which so distinguished a contribution has recently been made in this journal by Professor Bloomfield4) or to offer any detailed criticism of the various existing interpretations of Pearl. I hope simply, by outlining an adequate non-allegorical reading of the pearl symbolism, to show that whether or not allegorical explication is desirable it is at least not necessary. I think, certainly, that one strong argument against supposing that the poem's readers need make some effort of allegorical interpretation is the fact that the poet seems to make the pearl-Maiden herself provide exegesis wherever exegesis is necessary. Thus, after the parable of the vineyard has been recounted, the Maiden does not rely on the Dreamer, and the poet does not rely on his reader, to interpret it out of his own knowledge of current exegesis. An explicit and careful interpretation is supplied in the


SWIPE is a platform for sensing, recording and processing human dynamics using smart devices. The idea behind this type of system, which exists for the most part on smartphones, is to consider new metrics from wearables – in our case smartwatches. These new devices, used in parallel with traditional smartphones, provide clear indicators of the activities and movements performed by the users who wear them. They can also sense environmental data and interactions. The SWIPE architecture is structured around two main elements, namely (1) an Android application deployed directly on the devices, allowing them to synchronize and collect data; and (2) a server for storing and processing the data. This publication is intended to communicate on the platform with both the scientific and the industry communities. SWIPE is freely distributed under a MIT license.


The present study examined the pattern of career decision-making difficulties encountered by 417 young adults who used one or more of the computer-assisted career guidance systems (CACGSs) available at one of the Israeli Veteran Administration's counselling centres, and assessed the effectiveness of these CACGSs in reducing their career decision-making difficulties. Career decision-making difficulties were found to be highest for individuals who were prior to the pre-screening stage of the career decision-making process and lowest for those who were at the choice stage. The reduction in difficulties after using the CACGSs was statistically significant in seven of the 10 difficulty categories examined: an especially marked reduction was found for difficulties related to lack of information. No such reduction was observed for difficulties related to external conflicts. Participants' perception of having been assisted through the dialogue with the CACGSs was highest for individuals who used all three systems, and lowest for those who accessed only one of the three CACGSs.


Arnhem Land. Their presence as an isolate in this area, surrounded by languages of other phylic families, is difficult to explain-unless, I venture to guess, the original homeland of Pama-Nyungan was the once-dry Gulf of Carpentaria before the sea level rose in early Holocene times. Indeed, previous considerations of the language prehistory of Australia have taken no account of changes in sea level and the position of the coastline in late Pleistocene and early Holocene times. Humanity has this long a time span in Australia: it has been demonstrated that Aborigines had reached southeastern Australia by at least 32,000 years ago (Bowler and Thorne 1976); most Australian archaeologists feel that the initial entry was over 40,000 years ago, and it could well have occurred over 60,000 years ago. The extent of the late Pleistocene coastline beyond that of the present is illustrated in Jennings (1971: fig. 1:1). With a low sea level, the Timor Sea would be the shortest watergap from Indonesia to Australia; this route leads into the Kimberley area and the Northern Territories, where the greatest diversity of Australian languages is now observed. The Gulf of Carpentaria was dry land, part of the Sahul Shelf, until early Holocene times; the Torres Straits may not have been established until as late as 6,500 years ago (Jennings 1971: 10). It can be presumed that there were Australians on the Sahul Shelf who moved south and east as the area flooded. I hypothesize that these were speakers of Pama-Nyungan. The question arises as to whether eastern Australia was populated before the great expansion of Pama-Nyungan, older languages being absorbed. It is possible that interior Australia was only very sparsely populated until the early Holocene. Bowdler (1977) has proposed the very provocative hypothesis that, contrary to normal expectations, the continent of Australia was not quickly saturated with people. The earliest people, she points out, must have been coastal-adapted in order to accomplish the necessary initial water crossing; and, rather than move directly into the inhospitable interior, this population would have been more likely to expand along the coast and up river valleys to pluvial lakes where a littoral or aquatic economy could be maintained. The earliest definite vidence for man in southeastern Australia has been found on the shoreline of Pleistocene Lake Mungo in western New South Wales, and it is notable that there is clear evidence of an economy based on fishing and shellfish collecting here by over 30,000 years ago (Bowler et. al. 1970). Finally, Bowdler's model holds that the arid interior zone of central and western Australia was not occupied until a "desert culture" adapted to the area was developed around 12,000 years ago. The late peopling of western and central Australia may be correlated, I believe, with the relatively late spread of Nyungic into the area. It is quite possible, then, that the spread of genes for small tooth size postulated by Brace to have originated in the Cape York area may be associated with the expansion of PamaNyungan languages and thus may have begun much earlier than the technological changes he believes were related. Certainly his map illustrating ene-flow directions (fig. 11) corresponds well to the possible routes of expansion of PamaNyungan. The pockets with relatively little dental reduction in the Murray River area and in southeastern Queensland, as well as in Tasmania, may be remnants of earlier populations.


Weishan-Yongping mineralization district is located in the Weishan-Yongping basin which is the south part of typical Lanpin strike slip fault and pull-apart basin with plenty of mineral resources resulted from the collision of India and Asia plate. It shows a good prospecting potential with more than 140 middle-small sized deposits or mineral occurrence in the Weishan-Yongping mineralization district. The ore forming fluid system can be divided into two subsystems: Zijinshan ore forming fluid subsystem and Gonglang ore forming fluid subsystem. The pH value of Zijinshan ore forming fluid subsystem is 5.3~7.1,the Eh value is -0.11 V~2.84 V, the matollogenic pressure is 30 MPa~130 MPa, the matollogenic temperature is 228℃~255℃ and the matollogenic depth is 1.05 km~6.67 km. The pH value of Gonglang ore forming fluid subsystem is 6.7~7.9,the Eh value is -0.83 V~0.11 V, the matollogenic pressure is 100 MPa~225 MPa,the matollogenic temperature is 317℃~346 ℃ and the matollogenic depth is 3.51 km~7.89 km. Comparing with Zijinshan ore forming fluid subsystem, Gonglang ore forming fluid subsystem has a higher matollogenic pressure, matollogenic temperature, matollogenic depth, pH value and a lower Eh value. But they all belong to the neutral-alkalescent matollogenic environment with weakly reduction.


the Evaluative, Potency, and Activity factors may be used to determine the bipolar adjectives-in essence, replicate Osgood's thesaurus study. However, since Osgood reports the factor loadings for the bipolar adjectives, an alternative, to replicating Osgood's factor analysis is to select the required number of bipolar adjectives based upon the factor loadings reported in Osgood's thesaurus study. The problem with selecting bipolar adjectives in this manner is that in different research settings the semantic impact evoked by these bipolar adjectives may bear no relationship to the magnitude of Osgood's factor


This chapter provides in-depth case studies of two large urban public libraries in the United States and how communities and libraries respond to reductions mandated by their funding agencies. Boston Public Library (BPL) and Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) are both in communities that faced, and are still facing, recessionary budget pressures that began in 2007. Each community and library system has responded in different ways. In the recent past, in both Boston and Los Angeles, the Mayors and City Councils have supported libraries that have come to define the great cultural heritage and heart of these cities in the past. In 2010, however, both cities faced unheard of budget pressures. In Boston, there was a budget shortfall of $3.6 million. In Los Angeles, the budget shortfall began in 2007 due to huge increases in pension payments to city workers, particularly in the police and fire departments (City of Los Angeles Web site, 2011). In Boston, the community was told there could be branch closures. In Los Angeles, the budget shortfall created severe personnel, material, and service cuts. How each library and their leaders responded to those challenges differed. The level of support that their communities provided and the manner in which it was provided also differed. The two cases describe what can happen when budget crises occur and how libraries and their communities deal, or do not deal with them. The cases also reflect how the two library systems serve metropolitan areas with very distinct characteristics.


Abstract In regenerative medicine, it has become increasingly important to collect cultured tissues using non-invasive methods. Enzymatic deadhesion is normally used to collect cells, but this method cannot be used when trying to collect whole tissues in order to avoid damaging cell–cell interactions. In order to resolve this issue, a thermoresponsive culture dish with poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) has been employed. This system can change its hydrophobicity depending on temperature. Thus, tissues can attach above 37 °C and be detached below 20 °C. However, the PNIPAAm system has some issues related to cost and detachment time. In this study, we developed a novel thermoresponsive detachment system using a polysaccharide derivative. We chose hydroxy butyl chitosan (HBC) as the thermoresponsive polymer because of its high biocompatibility and rapid phase transition. We developed a novel method of HBC synthesis in conditions that were milder than previously reported. We used spin-coating to make a thin coating on two kinds of culture dishes with various concentrations of HBC solution. Seeded cells attached to the surface at less than 0.5 mg/ml HBC coating concentration, and they could be successfully detached by simply lowering the temperature of the suspension dishes without enzymatic treatment; the cells took only 5–20 min to detach. To evaluate this system, we measured three metrics related to cell culturing on culture dishes: initial attachment rate, detachment rate and tissue detachment time. The study revealed that tissues could be detached faster on the suspension dishes used in this study than on PNIPAAm grafted dishes when HBC was coated at 0.5 mg/ml. We successfully developed a novel tissue detachment system using HBC. These results suggest that smart polymers may be useful in regenerative medicine.


This paper gives a brief introduction to smart education, the flipped classroom teaching model and the main elements of the smart education environment of College English. The implementation plan of this research and the significance of intelligent education to the promotion of teaching work are introduced in detail. The research proves that the application of smart education in College English flipped classroom can greatly promote the quality and efficiency of teaching. The Definition of Smart Education and Flipped Classroom Teaching Model The idea of smart education was originally proposed from the perspective of philosophy, and its starting point and destination was to arouse and develop the wisdom of human beings. Later, although educators and psychologists enrich their connotation of smart education from their respective perspectives, they are still adhering to the traditional orientation of virtue and emotion. After the twenty-first Century, the rapid development of information technology has driven the smart education to the idea of technology, and has attracted more and more attention from Chinese scholars. Domestic scholars are essentially converging on the definition of the concept of smart education, but the emphasis is different. Jing Guoping (2003) compared smart education from its narrow meaning to its general meaning, he believes that the traditional smart education is to teach the students the system of scientific knowledge, development of skills and smart education and cultivating students' ability, and the general smart education is more comprehensive, rich, and diversified, and it is a unity of the rational wisdom, practical wisdom, and value wisdom. They are differentiated from each other and connected with each other. From the perspective of educational information, to Zhu Zhiting (2012) believes that the smart education is a new realm and new demands of education informationization, smart education needs Smart Learning Environments to be its technical support, with Smart Learning as the basic foundation and Smart Pedagogy as catalyst guiding. The combination of these three aspects is to cultivate and develop the learner's wisdom. Chen Lin (2015) also pointed out that smart education is the appropriate use of modern information technology to achieve smart education, smart learning, smart evaluation, intelligent management, smart service and improve students' high level thinking ability and innovative ability training. Huang Ronghuai (2014), from the viewpoint of system theory, argues that smart education is an education behavior system composed of schools, districts and nations. It provides high learning experience, high content adaptation and high efficiency of teaching, including the three levels of smart learning environment, new teaching mode and the modern education system. The traditional teaching mode is that teachers teach in class, arrange homework, and let the students go home to practice. Different from the traditional classroom teaching mode, in the flipped classroom teaching mode students complete the learning at home, and classroom becomes the interaction place between teachers and students and among students, including answering questions, making use of knowledge, so as to achieve better educational results. The popularization of the Internet and the application of computer technology in the field of education make the flipping classroom teaching mode feasible and realistic. Students can use the Internet to use high quality 8th International Conference on Social Network, Communication and Education (SNCE 2018) Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Advances in Computer Science Research, volume 83


The present invention relates to an improved system and method for a direct injection internal combustion engine fuel evaporation. To provide a system and method for a direct injection internal combustion engine help the fuel evaporation. In one example, the method comprising: closing the exhaust valve of the cylinder; open the intake valve after the exhaust valve closing; between exhaust valve closing and intake valve opening the cylinder piston moves away from top dead center to cause cylinder volume expansion, and the in-cylinder pressure to a reduced pressure in the intake manifold is less than the cylinder; and the start fuel is directly injected into the cylinder after the in-cylinder injector via the exhaust valve closing.


Dam construction is booming across tropical regions critical for global biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. The principle of "No Net Loss" (NNL)—under which biodiversity impacts of development projects are quantified and fully mitigated—is being increasingly applied to large infrastructure development worldwide, including dams. We discuss the impacts of major tropical dams and associated implementation of NNL policies and outline three major challenges in achieving NNL: (1) overcoming practicalities implementing NNL in highly connected river systems over large spatio‐temporal scales; (2) the stakes are high if NNL fails because tropical regions are hyper‐diverse, rich in species endemism, and difficult to restore; and (3) inclusion of ecosystem services in NNL design is necessary due to the importance of tropical biodiversity for ecosystem service provision at multiple spatial scales. Overcoming these challenges is crucial when hundreds of dams are planned and under construction across the tropics, many potentially subject to NNL policies.