CaZnOS-based semiconductors are the only series of material system discovered that can simultaneously realize a large number of dopant elements to directly fulfill the highly efficient full-spectrum functionality from ultraviolet to near-infrared under the same force/pressure. Nevertheless, owing to the high agglomeration of the high temperature solid phase manufacturing process, which is unable to control the crystal morphology, the application progress is limited. Here, the authors report first that CaZnOS-based fine monodisperse semiconductor crystals with various doping ions are successfully synthesized by a molten salt shielded method in an air environment. This method does not require inert gas ventilation, and therefore can greatly reduce the synthesis cost and more importantly improve the fine control of the crystal morphology, along with the crystals' dispersibility and stability. These doped semiconductors can not only realize different colors of mechanical-to-optical energy conversion, but also can achieve multicolor luminescence under low-dose X-ray irradiation, moreover their intensities are comparable to the commercial NaI:Tl. They can pave the way to the new fields of advanced optoelectronic applications, such as piezophotonic systems, mechanical energy conversion and harvesting devices, intelligent sensors, and artificial skin as well as X-ray applications.


Objective To compare curative effect of small-dose rt-PA (50 mg) with different administrations on ventricular function and prognosis in the patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods 244 AMI patients with ST segmeot elevation were divided into three groups at random: the group A (30 min), the group B (60 min), the group C (90 min). The incidence rate of ST segment resolution, coronary recanalization, ventricular function and complications in hospital stay were observed. Results At 60 min after thrombolysis, the incidence rate of ST segment resolution in group A was higher than that in group B(P0.05)and C(P0.01); at 90 min, the incidence rate of ST segment resolution in group B was higher than that in group A and C(P0.05); at 120 min, the incidence rate of ST segment resolution in group C was higher than that in group A and B(P0.05). The incidence rate of coronary recanalization was higher in group A than that in group C (P0.05). The peak CK-MB was lower(P0.05), the myocardial infarction size (MIS) was larger(P0.05), and the left ventricular ejection fraction was lower(P0.05) in group C than those in group A. There was no significant difference in the incidence of severe arrhythmia, heart failure, cardiogenic shock and mortality among three groups(P0.05), but there was a trend of higher incidence of complications in group C, compared with group A. Conclusion Small-dose of rt-PA within 30 min could accelerate coronary recanalization, make early elevated ST segment resolution, improve ventricular function and prognosis.


The sea of national politics into which Joseph Story was launched in 1811 by his appointment to the United States Supreme Court was rough and choppy. Jefferson had relinquished the presidency to James Madison in 1809, preserving the Republican ascendance there. The leadership of the Federalists, which had passed from Hamilton to Marshall in 1804, continued to rest securely in the nation's highest Court. When Associate Justice William Cushing died in 1810, Jefferson rejoiced at the prospect of the Republicans gaining a hold on the Court as well as on the presidency. He warned that it was necessary to proceed with great caution in choosing the right replacement for Cushing. To find a man with "firmness enough to preserve his independence on the same Bench with Marshall"' was no mean task. Jefferson was convinced Joseph


Traceability link recovery among software process products is very important in many fields,such as software maintenance,as well as requirement trac.Based on Latent Semantic Indexing(LSI),the traceability recovery information can be extracted automatically from program source code and the related Chinese documentation.The obvious advantage is that the presented method does not rely on the pre-defined thesaurus and knowledge for the code and documentation,and to some extent,it improves the recall and precision.


Globalization has put engineering education and the profession at a challenging crossroad. The impact of rapid technological innovations on modern societies has been amplified by the globalization of the economy. The competitiveness of the U.S., which is linked to our standard of living, is dependent on our ability to produce a large number of sufficiently innovative engineers prepared to address issues related to complex systems. Hence, our focus is on the research and development of instructional activities that address the engineering competencies related to innovation. Engineering educators and practitioners have suggested that collaborative-competitive team design events promote innovation. These competitions are popular, and they attract sponsors and participants. Beyond being popular, they are believed to provide rich learning opportunities for students. The University of Oklahoma's Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Racing team is highly ranked in the U.S. and world. We are in the early stages of designing, implementing, and testing a four course curriculum, around the FSAE race car, that fosters meaningful learning, innovation, systems level thinking, and the attainment of career-sustaining skills as a result of authentic experiences. We plan to identify the activity features that match with the theoretical frameworks of innovation, match them to the professional competencies, translate the events from extracurricular to curricular activities, and assess their effects on student learning and development in four technical courses our curriculum. With a view to stimulating discussion, in this paper, we highlight some of the salient features of our plan and some issues that warrant further investigation.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


The Italian phytoseiid fauna consists of 91 valid species. Eighteen of them were described as new species from materials collected in various Italian localities. In the present paper we report nine new records from the Italian fauna and describe the new species, Neoseiulus mediterraneus belonging to the subfamily Amblyseiinae. Complementary descriptions of two rare species, namely: Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) singularis and Typhlodromus (Typhlodromus) knisleyi, were also added.


Ising model based solver have gained increasing attention due to their efficiency in finding approximate solutions for combinatorial optimization problems. However, when solving doubly constrained problems, such as traveling salesman problem using the Ising model-based solver, both the execution speed and the quality of solutions deteriorate significantly due to the quadratically increasing spin counts and strong constraints placed on the spins. In this paper, we propose a recursive clustering approach that accelerates the calculations of the Ising model and that also helps to obtain high-quality solutions. Through evaluations using the TSP benchmarks, the qualities with the proposed method have been improved by up to 67.1% and runtime were reduced by 73.8x.


Complementary DNA (cDNA) encoding a protein component pB1 (also pAIF‐1 and DQH) of the 54‐kilodalton glycoprotein of boar seminal plasma was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined (Gene Bank accession no. AF047026). The pB1 precursor protein is a 130‐amino‐acid‐long polypeptide containing a 25‐amino‐acid‐long signal peptide. The amino acid sequence of the pB1 is homologous to that of SFP1_BOVIN (named also BSP‐A1/A2, PDC‐109/major protein and SVSp109), SFP3_BOVIN (BSP‐A3), SFP4_BOVIN (BSP‐30 KD), and SP1_HORSE (HSP‐1) seminal plasma proteins. The homology extends also for the signal peptide of SFP1_BOVIN protein. All these seminal plasma proteins contain two fibronectin type‐II domains that differ from those found in other proteins such as colagenases, fibronectins, and mannose receptors. The first domain located in the N‐terminal region of pB1 is four amino acids shorter than those present in other proteins. High homology is also observed between 3′ noncoding regions of the nucleotide sequences of cDNAs of pB1_PIG and SFP1_BOVIN (Gene Bank accession nos. AF047026 and P02784, respectively). Mol. Reprod. Dev. 52:303–309, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Teaching and Administrative Staff Members' Representative Assembly is the basic form in exercising the faculty's democratic rights and conducting their surveillance. The building of the system is demanded by the law of Higher Education and the need for fastening the faculty's social possition as the master. The keywork of building the Teaching and Administrative Staff Members' Representative Assembly ( TASMRSA ) in present situation is seeking the unity of thinking; The base of it falls on regulation formulating; and it's root puts down on the faculty's qualification.


We gratefully acknowledge the support of the ILRS and their network for making their SLR tracking data available to us for this study and NASA's financial support through Grant NNX11AI44G.


A novel four‐microphone noise reduction scheme for conventional hearing aids and cochlear implants is investigated. The acoustic field is sampled with a total of four microphones. Two microphones are mounted on either side of the head in behind‐the‐ear hearing aid housings. Each pair of microphones forms a fixed beamformer, and the outputs of the two devices are post‐processed by an adaptive beamforming scheme. The adaptive beamformer is programmed to further enhance target signals emitted in the front of the listener while suppressing noise arriving from other directions. The system has been implemented in real time on a custom‐built portable digital signal processing system. The output of the system can be used to drive headphones or the audio input of a number of conventional hearing aids and cochlear implant speech processors. The four‐microphone noise reduction system has been evaluated in two different acoustic environments with speech recognition tests conducted on four normal‐hearing listeners. Pr...


This paper deals with a data-driven fault diagnosis method for photovoltaic (PV) system. The proposed method is based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to detect and identify different shading types. The PCA uses the current-voltage (I-V) curves that are experimentally determined for a monocrystalline PV module of 250Wc. The experimental tests were carried out for several shading patterns covering the PV cells. For the diagnosis process, three features (current, voltage and power of PV module) are extracted for each test to build the database which is then analyzed through the PCA algorithm. Simulation results using the experimental data, prove the efficiency of the proposed method in terms of discrimination. The healthy data are clearly separated from the faulty ones despite sudden irradiation variations.


Background and Purpose: Anime and manga have drawn a global audience and become popular in a wide range of genres, including in Malaysia. These two popular cultures occasionally include LGBT elements in their storylines. This article examines Malaysian university students' views on LGBT elements in anime and manga. The specific objectives were to (1) identify anime and manga that incorporate LGBT elements, which are consumed by university students in Malaysia, and (2) investigate their views on the effects of consuming these materials.

Methodology: Online Google survey forms were distributed to students studying the Japanese language at five public universities in Malaysia. In these universities, Japanese is offered as an elective or part of a core course and is taken by students from various faculties. 280 students responded to the survey. However, only data from 150 respondents was analysed. There were 56 (37%) male and 94 (63%) female respondents.

Findings: 34 (22.7%) respondents mentioned anime and manga titles that have LGBT elements, with some titles fitting under the LGBT genre. According to 96 (64%) of respondents, consuming anime and manga with LGBT elements has negative consequences, including the normalisation of the LGBT concept, which may lead to individuals identifying themselves as part of the LGBT community, excessive sexual content, going against the norm, the extinction of humans, and becoming anime and manga addicts. In contrast, 37 (24.7%) respondents believe consuming such materials has a positive effect. This group argues that, despite the controversial LGBT elements, anime and manga promote positive ideals in their storylines while also raising awareness of LGBT communities.

Contributions: This study reveals that the consumption of anime and manga featuring LGBT elements has an impact on the acceptance of the LGBT concept among Malaysian youth, despite its contradiction with the religious and cultural values of local communities.

Keywords: Anime, manga, LGBT, Malaysia, Public university students.

Cite as: Paee, R., Abdul Rashid, R., Mamat, R., & Ahmand, N. (2023). Exploring Malaysian public universities Japanese language students' views on the effects of LGBT elements in anime and manga. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(2), 201-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8iss2pp201-221


Thank you very much for reading agriculture and environmental change temporal and spatial dimensions. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look numerous times for their chosen novels like this agriculture and environmental change temporal and spatial dimensions, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious virus inside their desktop computer.


A calorimetric sensor with several novel design features has been developed. These sensors will provide an accurate sampling of thermal power density and energy deposition from proton beams incident on target components of accelerator-based systems, such as the Accelerator Production of Tritium Project (APT) and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). A small, solid slug (volume = 0.347 cc) of target material is suspended by kevlar fibers and surrounded by an adiabatic enclosure in an insulating vacuum canister of stainless steel construction. The slug is in thermal contact with a low-mass, calibrated, 100-k{Omega} thermistor. Power deposition caused by the passage of radiation through the slug is calculated from the rate of temperature rise of the slug. The authors have chosen slugs composed of Pb, Al, and LiAl.


The focus of the study in this paper is on clustering text documents using high utility itemset mining. The proposed algorithm groups two documents based on the number of high utility words which are common to both the documents. The utility of a word in a document reflects the frequency of occurrence of the word in the document. High utility words are the once having high frequency of occurrence. Utility of a word can be influenced by the section of the document to which it belongs. Each section is assigned weight depending on the importance of the section. Depending on the section to which words belong, although not frequent, they reflect the content of document better than some frequent word. Such words are given more weight so that they belong to the set of high utility words. Therefore, in this paper, the utility of a word is expressed as a function of its frequency of occurrence and the weight of the section it belongs to.


A neuro-fuzzy based model is proposed in this paper for estimating the Lyapunov exponents of an unknown dynamical system according solely to a set of observations. Several approaches have been presented in recent years; most of them using the approximation of both the function of the trajectory of observations and the partial derivatives, to yield the Jacobian matrix of the function. The Jacobian matrix is then employed in the Jacobian-based methods that extract the Lyapunov exponents by QR-decomposition. While the accurate estimation of Lyapunov exponents has been sought, most of the related papers mainly focus on the accuracy of the trajectory approximation. In this paper, an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System is presented and stated to be an efficient tool for such a purpose. Structural parameters of the proposed model as the embedding dimension and the delay time are calculated by the Takens theorem and autocorrelation function, respectively. Model validation is performed by cross approximate entropy. Then, the promising performance of the proposed model as an accurate estimation of the Lyapunov exponents and its robustness to the measurement noise are finally evaluated.


This study examines positive social support, social negativity, and anxiety and mood disorders in a random sample of 4688 adults aged 21-54 years from the National Comorbidity Survey (1990-1992). Social negativity with spouses, relatives, and friends had a strong positive association with the number of anxiety and mood disorder episodes. One surprising finding was that positive support was not as strongly associated with the number of anxiety and mood disorder episodes as social negativity. Positive support from spouses or friends was not associated with a lower number of episodes of either anxiety or mood disorders. Only positive support from relatives was associated with a lower number of episodes of both anxiety and mood disorders. These results may be due to variation by source in the link between support and negativity. Given that much previous research has focused on the role of positive social support, these findings demonstrate the significant impact that negative social exchanges can have on mental health.


a b s t r a c t WeconsidernetworkcongestionproblemsbetweenTCPflowsanddefineanewgame,the Window-game,whichmodelstheproblemsofnetworkcongestioncausedbythecompeting flows.AnalyticalandexperimentalresultsshowtherelevanceoftheWindow-gametoreal TCPcongestiongamesandprovideinterestinginsightintotherespectiveNashequilibria. Furthermore, we propose a new algorithmic queue mechanism, called Prince, which at


This chapter discusses the professional identity of master's industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology graduates. Implications for licensure within I-O psychology are reviewed. An important distinction is made between licensing and certification/credentialing, as well as an argument that establishing an I-O psychology certification process may be a viable means to maintain professional identity/brand and to encourage consistent graduate training in the field. Graduate Survey results are presented to highlight the benefits of professional organization memberships. The majority of I-O master's graduates were members of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) as graduate students; however, far fewer attend the SIOP annual conference regularly. Suggestions are provided for developing the professional identity of master's I-O psychology graduates in the future.


The Spanish economy is highly dependent on foreign firms, specially in the manufacturing and in medium and high tech sectors. Why relative size and technological capabilities of national firms are lower than firms in other countries of similar economic development, is an important question whose answer would help to calibrate the future growth prospects of the Spanish economy. This presentation contains a summary of some research findings in our study of family firms in Spain with the aim to contribute to a better knowledge of the conditions that seem to determine the endogenous growth of national firms. We point towards the relatively low attraction of highly educated people into entrepreneurial activities during the past twenty years as one possible answer to this question.


In the field of Slovenian school libraries, we join many of those wide spaces of literacies through our international cooperation between schools involving pupils in different multicultural and international activities. For this occasion, we will represent two examples of Empowering Transliteracy in the School Libraries of Slovenia. The first one involves activities of transliteracy in the school curricula by celebrating International School Library Month, which takes place every October. The second example of empowering Transliteracy in the School Library was established in the Elementary School Litija through Erasmus plus activities. Not only do these activities strengthen all levels of competence of modern times, but as we strongly believe, help creating critical readers who will insist on lifelong learning.


Plato at least, philosophers have been trying to understand the God. According to Plato himself, there is some reason to doubt possibility of success in this undertaking. And, after 24 centuries, the whole matter seems still thoroughly controversial. Yet we cannot simply dismiss the question. Religious faith, of many kinds, and also *nfaith, is still with us, and if philosophy is of no help in evaluating the various conceptions of deity, in what important matter is it likely to be helpful? Evaluation implies criteria: by what criteria can conceptions of God be tested? There seem to be three possibilities: scientific tests, philosophic tests, and religious tests. The crucial scientific criterion seems to be in the yielding of successful predictions on as wide a scale as possible. Can ideas of God be tested by their predictive value? Here we must make a distinction. If someone says that God has decreed, and will infallibly bring to pass, a second coming of Christ within ten years, an event to be accompanied by certain definite, easily recognizable circumstances, then if the ten years pass and the predicted phenomena have not taken place, this particuIar idea about God will have been falsified. But note two things: (1) The failure of the prediction does not imply that God does not exist, for the decree which has been attributed to God is supposed to be his free decision, and all that one could conclude from the failure of the prophecy is that the prophet's idea of what God intends to bring about has turned out a bad guess. God apparently has other intentions. (2) The essential attributes to be attributed to deity are unaffected by the failure of the prediction. We canoot say, for instance, that since God has not arranged a second coming he must be lacking in goodness or wisdom. For to know what infinite wisdom must bring about in particular cases one would need to possess such wisdom oneself. I believe that similar arguments will show that there is no way in which the predictive test could apply to the essential "attributes" of God, as distinct from his free decrees. Now it is these attributes which philosophy tries to ascertain. Anything beyond that is a matter for revel-


Gary and Angie Dubois really planned a great meeting for July. The campground was awesome and the roads just beautiful up in Guntersville. The BBQ dinner was some of the best. Margaret Hoffman had us fruits and Danish with coffee for the Sunday AM breakfast. Thanks go out to all of them for their efforts to make us happy, comfortable and well fed. Bob Steber took folks on a wonderful ride even if they did get caught in a few showers. We'll be looking into getting a discount on some "draggin" gear if webmaster Steve Schuckman continues to show off at meetings by doing "stunt" work. Ya' shoulda been there. Haha (sorry Steve.........not really)


The invention provides an encoding and issuing method of road condition picture information based on a TPEG. The road condition picture information is encoded and issued through a TPEG protocol, an efficient road condition mode is achieved. The method comprises the steps that the specific information of the road condition picture is obtained in real time through network flow, and the picture is subjected to Base64 encoding; character information for describing the picture shooting position is obtained from a database; a tree structure is established according to the TPEG protocol, and the tree structure can obtain rich traffic information; nodes of the tree structure are subjected to valuation, and an XML file is generated in a serialization mode; a client side accesses a WEB server, and a storing address of traffic information is obtained; and the client side obtains the traffic information by accessing a file server. The road condition picture information can be issued through the TPEG protocol, various kinds of traffic information can be encoded quickly, the efficient traffic information issuing method is provided, and accordingly great application value is provided for an intelligent traffic system.


The relationships between cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and the cerebral vascular mean transit time (t®v) during acute changes in the PaCO2 over a range of 15 to 76 torr were investigated in vivo in rhesus monkeys by serially determining the mean transit time of a vascular tracer, 15O-labeled carboxyhemoglobin, and the mean transit time of a diffusible tracer, 15O-labeled water. Over this range of PaCO2, a significant linear relationship of CBV = 0.041 PaCO2 + 2.0 was found. For each one torr change in PaCO2, there is a change in CBV of 0.041 ml/100 gm of perfused tissue. At a normocarbic value of PaCO2 (∼37 torr), an average value of 3.5 ml/100 gm was found. A nonlinear relationship of CBV and CBF was found. This relationship is expressed in the equation, CBV = 0.80 CBF0.38. A significant linear relationship was found between CBF and PaCO2. This was described by the equation, CBF = 1.8 PaCO2 − 16.75. For each one torr change in the PaCO2, there is a 1.8 ml/100 gm per minute change in the CBF. At a normocarbic value of PaCO2(∼37 torr), an average value of CBF of 50 ml/100 gm per minute was found. The relationship of CBV and t®v was nonlinear and was expressed in the equation, t®C15O = 41 CBF−0.62.


The salvage of limbs with combined vascular, skeletal and extensive soft tissue trauma requires a multidisciplinary approach. Emergency care demands urgent planning of the surgical priorities and should be directed towards rapid restoration of vascularity. Procrastination prolongs ischaemia, and the decision to reconstruct, replant or amputate must be made quickly. Four cases of major limb trauma requiring vascular, orthopaedic and plastic surgical expertise are presented in order to illustrate the principles and priorities of early management. Emergency treatment is urgent and involves several disciplines. Arteriography is unnecessary when the site of arterial injury is obvious. These cases demonstrate that even in a major centre the opinions on surgical priorities are not always shared. An ideal surgical plan follows the sequence: gross debridement, dissection debridement, soft tissue repair. In conclusion, these complex injuries demand the co-operation of several disciplines and there must be a shared understanding of the treatment aims and sequence. Vascular reconstruction should take priority, followed by skeletal stabilization and soft tissue repair. Early flap cover is the final step in the emergency management of these limbs.


The key points to do well work of gathering and editing for college library is expounded,the method to do it is put forward.


Improvements and modifications of the Grafius type four-row small grain nursery seeder are described The machine is similar in construction to the Grafius type seeder but differs mainly in that it has a centrifugal type of divider similar in operation to the cyclone grass seeder The seeding unit is mounted on a 5-horsepower riding-type garden tractor which can also be used for cultivation


A display panel in the reset period in the plasma is repeatedly performed for reducing the voltage of the scan electrode at a predetermined voltage is almost the scanning operation and the floating electrode. When the voltage of the scan electrode is reduced and the discharge is generated, when the scanning electrode is floated off discharge is generated, and the voltage of the scan electrode rises. At this time, a voltage is applied to increase the amount of scanning electrodes and a scanning voltage at the electrode is greatly reduced when the voltage of the scan electrodes is subsequently reduced.


In recent litigation in several states it has been contended that a high demand for municipal services impinges on the community's capacity to provide an adequate educational opportunity to its children. This alleged interaction between demand for education and for municipal services is commonly known as "municipal overburden." It is now widely accepted among educators and enjoys a place among established "facts" in opinions handed down by jurists in at least three states. In this paper we test the validity of the hypothesis in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Virginia. The results of our estimations are highly consistent across the three states. The municipal overburden concept, in its several versions, contributes not at all to explanation of variance among school districts in per pupil expenditures for elementary and secondary education. Rather, the results strongly suggest that the demand for both education and municipal services is a function of income, price, and preferences. Such characteristics of cities as high incidence of poverty, unemployment, aged people, an old housing stock, and high population density have little or no predictive value in equations estimating demand for municipal services.


In this paper, a 3-D measurement system based on a simple handheld microscope and a CCD camera is exploited. Shape from Focus technology is used in desktop microscopes to measure small things for 3-D information. But desktop microscope is expensive and not easy to carry. What's more, it could not measure the parts of the large objects. To overcome some shortages of desktop microscope and realize 3-D measurement with portability, handheld microscope is been made used of. We combined the Shape from Focus technology and handheld microscope together but existed methods for microscope cannot be applied directly in this portable device efficiently. Two main problems occurred during the application are: manual operation is not accurate enough when taking images and how to give them depth information. We proposed methods of characteristic points compare to solve the first problem, and focusing parts extraction and depth assignment to solve second problems. Take images of the object in different focal length by microscope. Use the image processing to deal with the images. Make images standard, extract the focusing parts from different images and give them correspondent depth information. Combine the different depth information with their place. We obtained the 3-D model of some target objects by method above.


With the newly emerged technologies in imaging, emphasis has now shifted towards developing new methods for detection and classification of diseases in human organs by processing medical images obtained noninvasively. Specifically, the present studies have been directed towards automating the process of detection and classification of diseases in liver at the early stages using abdominal CT scans. As the identity of an unknown organ or substructure is important to start the process, the digitized CT images are processed and the resulting edges are linked to form the substructure contours. The contours are fitted with both autoregressive and complex autoregressive models whose coefficients serve as features. Matching the unknown feature vector of substructure with those of the known feature vectors establishes its identity on the basis of Euclidean distance. For the present application, the autoregressive model has been found to have an edge over the other. The texture analysis of the substructure using spatial domain statistical methods such as spatial grey level dependence method, grey level run length method and grey level difference method has given rise to a few discriminating features on the basis of significance test. These features are able to categorize the CT images of liver into three classes, viz., normal, malignant and invisibly malignant. To unravel the underlying pathology, enhancement of images has been undertaken by fuzzy logic based methods and two conventional methods and the superiority of the fuzzy logic based enhancement . established. In the process of improving the existing fuzzy logic based method, a new one with simpler fuzzifier and an efficient contrast intensification operator has also been proposed. The performance of the new method has been found to be superior to the rest. The outcome of enhancement is the revelation of the pathology hither to concealed either due to weak contrast or due to onset of the disease. Combining the texture analysis and enhancement a new strategy has been evolved to facilitate the automatic detection and classification of diseases. The case studies have demonstrated the power of the strategy. The contribution of the thesis lies in the development of a comprehensive framework for the identification of substructures and for detection and classification of diseases; towards automated diagnosis.


BAEKKESKOV, STEINUNN. See Rovis, LUCIANA. BIRD, A. F. and LOVEYS, B. R. The involvement of cytokinins in a host-parasite relationship between the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and a nematode (Meloidogyne javanica), 497 BOABER, C. D. H. See IRVIN, A. D. BOURNE, A. See KEMP, D. H. BOUT, D., ROUSSEAUX, R., CARLIER, Y. and CAPRON, A. Kinetics of classes and sub-classes of total immunoglobulins and specific antibodies to Schistosoma mansoni during murine infection, 247 BRUN, R. See TANNER, M.


This year, we celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of Lowell Mason's birth. Carol A. Pemberton offers an overview of the life and vision of America's first professional music educator.


Abstract Objective analysis of altimetric data (sea level anomaly) usually assumes that measurement errors are well represented by a white noise, though there are long-wavelength errors that are correlated over thousands of kilometers along the satellite tracks. These errors are typically 3 cm rms for TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P), which is not negligible in low-energy regions. Analyzing maps produced by conventional objective analysis thus reveals residual long-wavelength errors in the form of tracks on the maps. These errors induce sea level gradients perpendicular to the track and, therefore, high geostrophic velocities that can obscure ocean features. To overcome this problem, an improved objective analysis method that takes into account along-track correlated errors is developed. A specific data selection is used to allow an efficient correction of long-wavelength errors while estimating the oceanic signal. The influence of data selection is analyzed, and the method is first tested with simulated data. The me...


The fuzzy c-medians clustering (FCMED) clustering algorithm is known to be a robust l/sub 1/ fuzzy clustering algorithm that works well even in the presence of outliers or remote small clusters. The well-known fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm often performs poorly in this environment. Unfortunately, the FCMED has a high space-complexity, which makes its application impractical for large images. A new fast fuzzy c-medians clustering (FFCMED) algorithm is presented, which may be applied to any clustering problem, but is demonstrated here by classifying a POLSAR image. The FFCMED provides a robust clustering tool that works well for large images and data sets. A relative speed up over the FCMED of at least 3-to-1 was observed for the image illustrated in this paper.


IJMM 1393; 8(4): P 50-58 Background and Aim: Alkaline proteases are used in pharmaceutical, film and photography, silk production and food, leather and detergent industries. Actinomycetes are gram positive bacteria that produce different enzymes such as proteases. The aims of this research were isolation of native alkaline protease-producing Actinomycete spp. from different soil samples as well as optimizing the conditions for enzyme production.


SUMMARY Respiratory changes following transurethral resection of the prostate were studied in 26 men. Right-to-left pulmonary shunt determinations were made in ten patients, and total lung volume and weight determinations were made in the remainder. Nine of ten showed postoperative decrease in pulmonary shunt. The tenth showed no change. Total lung volume, functional residual capacity, inspiratory capacity, and body weight measurements showed no consistent change after transurethral resection. The significance of a large right-to-left shunt preoperatively, and its apparent decrease after surgery are discussed.


Embedded Systems are computers created for single purpose applications, optimized to offer great performance at very low cost. Today we talk about Internet of Things and ultra lowpower devices at home as well as in factory since there are many possible applications. The real research in Embedded is to find the best solution, in terms of cost, size, performance, power consumption or complexity for the specific purpose to which it is dedicated. This thesis documents the implementation of an application able to get the position on GPS coordinates and transmit them to a server connected wirelessly on a wifi network. The system was though for automotive production area and boast as strong point the low-power consumption, low cost, size and complexity. The system. connected in a network, is able to communicate with a server and is based on the principle of vibrations analysis, thanks to an accelerometer, to implement a dynamic power management of the modules used and limit power consumption.


A 61-year-old man presenting with a 10-year history of left inguinoscrotal hernia becoming irreducible and symptomatic for the past 6 months (Fig. 1a) was referred to our unit. Colonoscopy detected a narrowing lesion of the sigmoid colon, which could not be passed by the endoscope (Fig. 1b). A diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was made on biopsy specimens. Total body computed tomography confirmed a transmural lesion of the sigmoid colon herniated into the inguinoscrotal sac (Fig. 1c,d), excluding distant metastases. The patient was deemed candidate to surgery with radical intent by the oncological multidisciplinary team. A laparoscopic approach was attempted with ligation of inferior mesenteric vessels and mobilization of the splenic flexure and descending colon. As the hernia content could not be reduced into the peritoneal cavity, radical left hemicolectomy was completed through a left inguinotomy. Although the tumour had focally grown through the visceral peritoneum (Fig. 2), no infiltration into the spermatic cord or the scrotum was noted. A tension-free mesh hernioplasty was performed followed by end-to-end mechanical colorectal anastomosis fashioned laparoscopically. Pathological examination revealed a T4a N1c adenocarcinoma with no metastases in 13 retrieved lymph nodes. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and is free from recurrence at 13-month follow-up. Colon cancer incarcerated into an inguinal hernia is extremely rare as only 41 cases have been reported since 1938. There is a distinctly high male to female predominance, with only one case described in a woman. All colonic segments can be entrapped in the hernial sac. However, the sigmoid tract has been involved in three-fourth of cases. Although the presence of inguinal hernia is not associated with an increased risk for colorectal cancer in asymptomatic patients, any onset of red flag symptoms warrants further investigation. Bowel kinking into the hernia sac may challenge endoscopic assessment. Hence, the hernia content and the extent of the resection can only be established intraoperatively in some cases. The clinical presentation directs the most appropriate management. From a review of all cases reported in the last 30 years, a Hartmann's procedure was required in almost 50% of cases due to perforation or strangulation (in one case incarceration) of the hernia content.


We consider α-corrections to Calabi-Yau compactifications of type II string theory. These were discussed from the string worldsheet approach many years ago in terms of supersymmetric non-linear σ-models by Nemeschansky and Sen as well as Gross and Witten. There it was shown that once α-corrections are included, the internal manifold solving the string equations of motion is still Calabi-Yau though not Ricci flat. In this brief note we review these results and compare with a space-time effective field theory approach, in which we show that SU(3)-holonomy manifolds become SU(3)-structure manifolds once such corrections are included. Dedicated to A. Strominger on the occasion of his 60th birthday. To appear in ICCM notices.


Perceptual encryption is commonly used in encoded images and videos to intentionally introduce visual quality degradation to the media data to protect the added value out of the content in a reversible way. We propose in this paper a perceptual image encryption algorithm using iterative operation of local pixel shuffling and reversible histogram spreading to an extended gray-level range, via which images' local details can be visually better encrypted in a finer scalability compared to ordinary shuffling schemes, while images' global content in terms of local blocks' mean brightness can be strictly preserved same as the original without decryption. Security in terms of local content leakage is also enhanced by smoothly spreading the original image's histogram to a flattened and less discriminative one.


In this work, we study the mass spectrum of the Ωccc and Ωbbb baryons up to the N=2 shell within a nonrelativistic constituent quark model. The model parameters are adopted to be the determinations by fitting the charmonium and bottomonium spectra in our previous works. The masses of the Ωccc and Ωbbb baryon states predicted in the present work reasonably agree with the results obtained with the lattice QCD calculations. Furthermore, to provide more knowledge of the Ωccc and Ωbbb states, we evaluate their radiative decays with the available masses and wave functions from the potential model.


Objective: In the present study, it is intended to investigate the antioxidant profile of Hyptis suaveolens leaves, through numerous in vitro biochemical assays and to isolate useful constituents. This plant has been extensively researched for its essential oils till date. Methods: Various solvent extracts (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol) were assessed for total content of phenolic, flavonoid, carbohydrate, protein, in vitro antioxidant assays viz. DPPH, superoxide, hydrogen peroxide- radical scavenging assays, Ferric reducing power activity and inhibition lipid peroxidation (TBARS) assays. Bioassay-guided fractionation on ethyl acetate crude was performed using column chromatography which revealed two known compounds characterized through supportive and evidencing spectral data like 1D & 2D-NMR, DEPT and HR-MS. Results: All the performed in vitro assays have revealed the excellence of ethyl acetate extract in contrast to other fractions. Its SC50/ IC50/ EC50 values calculated have recorded significant impact with reference to the standard. Significantly, the estimations viz. phenolic, flavonoid, carbohydrate and protein seem to be aligned with the in vitro antioxidant assays. Thus from the ethyl acetate crude, two bioactive compounds isolated were identified to be menthol and linalool from the spectral evidences. Cytotoxicity (MTT assay) for the two isolates showed moderate cell viability with respect to its concentration, using Cisplatin as positive control. Conclusion: The significance of Hyptis suaveolens in traditional medicine and the importance of its chemical constituents shall improve its role against free radical production.


Sargassum is an indicator of progressive pollution in the seas because it causes lack of light and lack of oxygenation. It arrives in the Mexican Caribbean between the months of April and September, causing a bad smell that it has after its decomposition, a heavy load of heavy metals, as well as being an inconvenience for the inhabitants because it causes losses for tourism in that region. There are several ways to take advantage of these algae and one of them is to generate biomass to obtain a biofuel. The objective of this study was to determine the viability of sargassum (two varieties) as a substrate to obtain biogas in anaerobic co-digestion with sludge from a WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plant). Two forms of drying were also applied to the two varieties of algae. It was obtained that sargassum is a good component to co-digest because it does not destabilize the process and good biogas production is achieved.


Based on an analysis of the European experience, the main purpose of this article is to show qualitative indicators to analyse Healthy Cities' social capital in terms of improvements to social networks. The parameters for this evaluation take into account the level of integration of the community partners, health services and the local government in a Healthy City. This new evaluation methodology contributes to the understanding of the similarities and the differences in the processes of the construction and reconstruction of social networks in different healthy cities.


This essay analyzes the teaching practice of the Respiratory Therapists who work as professors of hospital practices at the Central Military Hospital, recognizing them as a fundamental part of the educational and professional development in higher education, taking into account that a professional prepared for teaching is a participatory teacher, participant, who designs his curricula, redefines his projects, sizing his subject according to what he wants to achieve from his students, becoming more and more competent in his daily work.
 The main objective when analyzing these professional competences is to identify the need for professional training in education, to optimize the educational process of students of these hospital practices. Supported by a literature review of teaching competencies in health, comparing them with qualitative data of some teachers of therapy, obtained through surveys, with the aim of improving the quality of the educational process in teachers who exercise this work.


Herd behavior of the securities market means that investors follow others in decision-making.There are two levels of causes of herd behavior in China securities market,macro and micro.This article proposes two strategies to restrain herd behaviors: cultivating rational market and rational investors.Detailed measures include improvement of information disclosure,amelioration of demand and supply,improving information cascade and cultivating rational market and rational investors to meliorate information disclosure,promote market efficiency,and lighten the danger of herd behavior.


The Paper aims to explore work-based learning in light of the increasingly demanded need to make the competences acquired in non-formal and informal contexts recognizable and visible. In the context of the Third sector, the development of transversals competences increasingly requires "enhancement" because still too often these skills and competences are invisible and difficult to transfer to other contexts. Along this line, the research project intends to analyze and understand, through empirical survey quali-quantitative, the transversal compentences of civil service operators in the double key of active citizenship and employability. From the collection of the data that emerged trough the focus groups, the most active transversal skills were identified for each of the six areas of competence by the civil service operators. From the partial analysis of the results relating to the qualitative survey using the focus group tool, the need to implement training methodologies regarding the observation of learning processes in the voluntary sector emerges strongly, in order to give more and more visibility to those transversal competences developed by civil service operators.


as ah at least is concerned, the statement can hardly be substantiated. P. 228: apisci (Fam. 4, 5, 6); Cicero uses apisci only twice, Att. 8, 14, 3, and de Leg. 1, 52.' In the latter passage the word rests on correction; and asciscendi would be so easy a reading; while in the former marts apiscendi is so strange a phrase that I can hardly believe it sound; it may be a corruption of adsequendi, and the change may have been brought about by the confusion between d and p which has affected many passages of the Letters, e.g. duto for puto in Att. 11, 12, 4 (Med.).


This article investigates topology optimization for piezoelectric thin-shell structures under the linear quadratic regulator optimal control. In the optimization model, the structural dynamic compliance is taken as the measure of control performance, and the relative densities describing the distribution of the piezoelectric material are considered as design variables. An artificial material model with penalization on both mechanical and piezoelectric properties is employed. For the purpose of improving computational efficiency of the sensitivity and response analysis, modal superposition method is adopted. The derivative of the Riccati equation governing the linear quadratic regulator control with respect to the design variables is shown to be a Lyapunov equation. In conjunction with the adjoint variable method, the design sensitivities of the dynamic compliance are obtained using the solution of the Lyapunov equation. Numerical examples demonstrate the validity of the proposed method and show the significance of layout design of piezoelectric sensors/actuators. The influences of some key factors on the optimization solutions are discussed. It is shown that the optimized layout of the piezoelectric patches may be significantly influenced by the excitation frequency, but only slightly affected by the choice of the weighting matrix in the linear quadratic regulator control. This work aims to provide an efficient gradient-based mathematical programming method for guiding the layout design of actuators and sensors in smart structures under optimal vibration control. However, the considered model is a purely mathematical one without consideration of engineering realization, thus the optimization result may only serve as an upper bound for practically realizable control performance.


The recent developments in dynamical systems theory and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics have allowed the birth of new challenges and research perspectives. In particular, different frameworks have been proposed for the modeling of complex emerging phenomena occurring in nature and society. This editorial article introduces the topic and the contributions of this Special Issue. This Special Issue focuses, on the one hand, on the development of new methods, frameworks and models coming from dynamical system theory and the equilibrium/non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and, on the other hand, opens problems related to the existing frameworks. The Special Issue also includes applications to physical, biological and engineering systems.


The electric field on the axis of a slowly (v≪c) moving rectangular current loop is calculated using two concepts from introductory level physics textbooks; (1) Lorentz‐contraction induced charge density, and (2) relativistic flattening of the electric field pattern of a point charge moving with constant velocity. The correct field, proportional to vI/c2, on the axis of the moving loop is obtained only when both effects are considered and applied separately to the ions and electrons of the loop. Effect (1) is important only for the longitudinal sections of the loop, whereas effect (2) must be considered for all sections of the loop. The latter point is often overlooked in textbooks.


Objective To observe the clinic effect of curing neck-sick by massage with neck-recover-granule.Methods By means of neck-recover-granule to cure neck disease for 33 cases.Results 16 cases cured;11 case take a favorable turn;6 cases void.The total effective rate is 81.8%.Conclusion It has a better effect to cure neck disease by massage with neck-recover-granule under the condition of skilled operation and strictly master suitability.


Graph clustering is an important technique to detect community clusters in complex networks. SCAN (Structural Clustering Algorithm for Networks) is a well-studied graph clustering algorithm that has been widely applied over the years. However, the processing time cost of sequential SCAN and its variants cannot be tolerable on large graphs. The existing parallel variants of SCAN are focusing on fully utilizing the computing capacity of multi-core computer architectures and inventing sophisticated optimization techniques on single computing node. As the objects and their relationships in cyberspace are varying over time, the scale of graph data is increasing with high rate. The graph clustering algorithms on single node are facing challenges from limited computing resources, such as computing performance, memory size and storage volume. The distributed processing algorithm is called for processing large graphs. This work presents a distributed structural graph clustering algorithm using Spark. Furthermore, the edge pruning technique and adaptive checking are optimized to improve clustering efficiency. And the label propagation clustering is simplified to reduce the communication cost in the distributed clustering iterations. It also conduct extensive experiments on real-world datasets to testify the efficiency and scalability of the distributed algorithm. Experimental results show that efficient clustering performance can be achieved and it scales well under different settings.


Using Teachers' Volunteer Experiences in the Dominican Republic to Develop Social Responsibility in Canadian Middle-School Students: An 'Authors in the Classroom' Approach


Purpose

Despite the variety of supply chain management (SCM) research, little attention has been given to the use of Big Data Analytics for increased information exploitation in a supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory development in SCM by investigating the potential impacts of Big Data Analytics on information usage in a corporate and supply chain context. As it is imperative for companies in the supply chain to have access to up-to-date, accurate, and meaningful information, the exploratory research will provide insights into the opportunities and challenges emerging from the adoption of Big Data Analytics in SCM.

Design/methodology/approach

Although Big Data Analytics is gaining increasing attention in management, empirical research on the topic is still scarce. Due to the limited availability of comparable material at the intersection of Big Data Analytics and SCM, the authors apply the Delphi research technique.

Findings

Portraying the emerging transition trend from a digital business environment, the presented Delphi study findings contribute to extant knowledge by identifying 43 opportunities and challenges linked to the emergence of Big Data Analytics from a corporate and supply chain perspective.

Research limitations/implications

These constructs equip the research community with a first collection of aspects, which could provide the basis to tailor further research at the nexus of Big Data Analytics and SCM.

Originality/value

The research adds to the existing knowledge base as no empirical research has been presented so far specifically assessing opportunities and challenges on corporate and supply chain level with a special focus on the implications imposed through Big Data Analytics.


Abstract Calcium can be precipitated completely by oxalate in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) if the pH is kept below but near 5.0. If the pH is elevated to 8.0 during precipitation, any EDTA present will chelate completely an equimolar quantity of calcium. By precipitating calcium at a pH below 5.0 in one aliquot and above 8.0 in another aliquot of serum or plasma, the quantity of calcium complexed to EDTA in blood may be determined by difference. In order to obtain the necessary pH control, the acetate buffer system was used at the lower pH and the ammonium system at the higher pH.


Schull's introduction discusses the impact Donald Quataert's research and mentoring had on the development of Ottoman and Turkish studies and introduces the seven articles included in the special section of Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, volume 34, number 1.


In order to train innovative ability of undergraduates for electronic information specialty in the graduation design,training mode of innovative talents in colleges and universities at home and abroad are introduced firstly. Secondly the importance of innovative ability training of undergraduates is introduced. Thirdly, a series of effective measures to train innovative ability of undergraduates are proposed from training of undergraduates' comprehensive quality, graduation design topic platform, process management and evaluation system. Through training of undergraduate innovative ability, ability of analyzing and solving practical problems is improved. The students' good teamwork spirit is raised. The students' theoretical foundation and innovative ability are established for students to successfully enter the actual working state after graduation.


The effects of activity schedules on on-task and on-schedule behavior were assessed with two boys at risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and referred by their public school teachers as having difficulty during independent work time. On-task behavior increased for both participants after two training sessions. Teachers, peers, and participants reported high acceptability of the use and outcomes of the activity schedules. These findings replicate previous research with activity schedules with individuals with developmental disabilities and provide a novel classroom intervention for teachers of students at risk for and/or diagnosed with ADHD. Future research on activity schedules with these populations is discussed.


To investigate a possible biomethylation of thallium, incubation experiments were carried out under aerobic conditions with a sewage sludge and with a mixed bacterial culture isolated from a sewage sludge, as well as under anaerobic conditions with a fresh-water lake sediment, by adding Tl(I) nitrate to these systems. Only in the case of the anaerobic sediment was a significant production of dimethylthallium observed (after three-weeks). Analysing different surface seawater samples and those from a single depth profile down to 4000 m, dimethylthallium was determined above the detection limit of 0.4 ng L−1 in about 20% of all samples, ranging from 0.5 to 3.2 ng l−1. The proportion of dimethylthallium in these samples, compared with the total thallium concentration, varied from 3 to 48%. The determination of such low dimethylthallium content was possible by applying a new sensitive analytical method of positive thermal-ionization isotope-dilution mass spectrometry connected with a species-unspecific thallium enrichment by anion-exchange chromatography and a species-specific extraction step. This is the first time that dimethylthallium could be detected in environmental samples. In surface seawater samples the occurrence of dimethylthallium correlated well with relatively high concentrations of chlorophyll-a, used as an indicator for bioactivity. Mostly, other biomethylated compounds such as trimethyl-lead, monomethylcadmium and dimethyl sulphide were also found with peak concentrations at these locations. The depth profile of dimethylthallium shows a maximum in concentration between 40 and 200 m, which corresponds with the highest level of bioactivity normally found in the water column of the ocean. However, even at depths of 1000 and 4000 m significant amounts of dimethylthallium could be analysed, which suggest bacteria as the biogenic source in the deep sea. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A 55-years-old woman came with sudden onset left hemiparesis for 12h, following an episode of convulsions. On admission, the power was grade 2/5 in the left upper and lower limbs. An MRI brain was performed. The MRI showed hyperintense areas in the right high frontal and parietal lobes on T2W images [Figure 1], with restricted diff usion on diff usion-weighted (DW) images [Figure 2], representing acute non-hemorrhagic infarcts. In addition, the axial spin-echo (SE) T1W and T2W [Figure 3] images revealed absence of the normal fl ow voids of the internal carotid arteries (ICAs) in the region of the carotid canals in the skull base. The expected regions of the carotid canals were fi lled with fi bro-fatt y tissue.


Since their introduction half a century ago, pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) have been successfully applied in many areas. The self-adhesive articles market is dominated by acrylic solvent-borne, water-borne or solvent-free PSA systems. Here the solvent-free acrylic PSA in form of typical hot-melts, warm-melts and new low viscosity systems (LVS) are still most common. The goal of this article is to review the industrial application of new generation of radiation curable warm-melt acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) in comparison with typical conventional hot-melts adhesives. New generation of radiation-curable acrylic warm-melt PSAs containing unsaturated photoinitiator, incorporated during polymerization process into polymer chain, and photoreactive diluents added to PSA systems after polymerization allows producing of wide range of self-adhesive materials, such as labels, mounting tapes, masking and splicing tapes, and sign and marking films.


Low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) has been gaining substantial interest, due to the growing concerns with regards to the X-ray dose delivered to the patient. To cope with the limited data collected at 30% of standard radiation, low-dose CT reconstruction algorithms generally require several iterations of forward projection, back-projection and regularization, involving many parameters to achieve desirable quality and speed. The interactions among these parameters can be complex, and thus effective combinations can be difficult to identify for a given scanning scenario. Non-optimized parameters can result in increased reconstruction time and reduced image quality. As a result, the parameter choice is often left to a highly-experienced expert. In this work we focus on an automatic parameter optimization framework. In the pre-computation step of our parameter learning framework, effective parameters are learned with the access of a known gold-standard. As these domainspecific and algorithm-dependent parameters are obtained, they are applied in the similar incoming data. In addition, an edgeenhancement component is introduced and automatically tuned to increase the sharpness in iterative reconstruction. The preliminary results with the non-local mean filter indicate that our parameter optimization scheme can identify effective parameters resulting in sharper results than those results generated by popular iterative reconstructions algorithms.


Finite element method (FEM) was used for analyzing the heat transfer problems of the PCMs and phase change gypsum board. The simulation results showed that the heat transfer rate of composite PCMs (phase change materials) is higher than the PCMs, the mixture of diatomite improved the heat transfer performance of PCMs. Compared with blank gypsum board,the cold side temperature of phase change gypsum board was decreased, and the temperature rise rate of the cold side was also delayed. The cold side temperature difference between gypsum board and phase change gypsum board was decreasing as the ongoing of heat transfer process.


The authors analyze the Fréedericksz transition phenomenon of reorientation of molecules in the plane liquid crystal layer in inhomogeneous electric field generated by parallel plate capacitor using the Oseen–Frank mathematical model. The capacitor is a set of short metal plates periodically located on both sides of the extended liquid crystal layer, connected in series in two circuits. When electric charges of different signs appear on opposite plates of the capacitor, the electric field in the periodicity cell turns out to be significantly inhomogeneous both in length and in thickness of the layer. Governing equations of the model represent Euler's variational equations in the problem on minimization of the potential energy of liquid crystal. Numerical solution of the equations uses the authorial variational difference scheme. The Laplace equation for electric potential in the exterior of the liquid crystal layer is solved using the method of lines. The electric field and the patterns of orientation angles of molecules inside the layer are determined by iterating with numerical solution of Poisson's equation using the fast Fourier transform at each iteration step. The algorithm is implemented by means of CUDA technology for computing systems with graphics accelerators. The scale of the mesh to ensure the computation accuracy is selected from calculation of Tsvetkov's order parameter in a rectangular cell pattern. Verification of the algorithm and program is implemented by way of comparing the computational results and the exact solution of the problem on the homogenous electric field with the constant initial orientation angle of liquid crystal molecules. The computations accomplished yield the patterns of the electric potentials and orientation angles of molecules depending on the position of the capacitor plates at uniform and s‐shaped initial distribution of the orientation angles through the thickness of the liquid crystal layer.


A temporal reconstruction of heavy metals contamination in Admiralty bay, King George Island, was conduced through the analyses of sediment profiles. Ages of the layers were determinated using Pb geochronology. Attempts had been made to examine the history of occupation and exploration of Admiralty bay based on the concentrations of the heavy metals present in the bay. Elements such as Cr, Cu and Ni, associated with paints and petroleum showed an increase in the sediment profiles of the points 1 and 5 that are in the vicinity of the focus areas. The above region has a history of fishing exploration which is nearby this research station.


Attenuation statistics from 19 site/years of 11.5 GHz radiometer measurements are presented for the European region. It is found that a factor between 6 and 7 is necessary to convert from annual-worst-month to yearly time percentages. A theoretical treatment is presented which shows excellent agreement with these results. Both the measurements and the analysis contradict a recent proposal for an upper bound of 4.41 on the conversion factor.


Abstract Equity-indexed annuities have generated a great deal of interest and excitement among both insurers and their customers since they were first introduced to the marketplace in early 1995. Because of the embedded options in these products, the insurers are presented with some challenging mathematical problems when it comes to the pricing and management of equity indexed annuities. This paper explores the pricing aspect of three of the most common product designs: the point-to-point, the cliquet, and the lookback. Based on certain assumptions, we are able to present the pricing formulas in closed form for the three product designs. The method of Esscher transforms is the fundamental tool for pricing such deferred annuities.


A very simple technique is proposed for a quantitative or semiquantitative interpretation of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns for two-component mixed-layer structures. It is suitable for a determination of the Reichweite (R) values and proportions of component layers from graphical simulations of basal peak positions for mixed-layer structures with definite layer types. This technique can be successfully used for illite-smectites, but the accuracy of the results obtained for other mixed-layer structures is somewhat lower. In addition to the graphical technique, simple linear relationships are proposed for the calculation of layer proportions. Such relationships can be easily obtained for any mixed-layer structure with any R and any thicknesses of interstratified layers.Structural parameters reported in the literature for mixed-layer illite-smectites, kaolinite-smectites, etc., were used to check the reliability of the method presented. It is concluded that the technique works well and produces parameters that are in agreement with those published.


Detailed small signal analysis and a closed loop control design of snubberless naturally-clamped soft-switching current-fed half-bridge (CFHB) isolated dc/dc converter are presented. The small signal model is derived with the help of State-space averaging technique. Two-loop average current controller is designed and implemented on digital signal processor. A complete design procedure is presented. Simulation results has been presented using PSIM 9.10 with the designed controller and it is presented to validate the stability of control system. Experimental results for the load current demonstrated satisfactory transient performance of the converter and validated the developed model.


The paper deals with a new method of testing hypotheses for the distribution of multidimensional remote sensing spectral data. The proposed technique is based on the use of nonparametric algorithms for pattern recognition. Testing the hypothesis of the identity of two laws of distributions of multidimensional random variables is replaced by testing a hypothesis stating that the pattern recognition error equals 0.5. The application of this technique allows doing without the decomposition of the random variable domain into multidimensional intervals, which is typical for the Pearson criterion. Its effectiveness is confirmed by the results of testing the hypotheses of the distribution of spectral data of remote sensing in forestry. The analysis of the distribution laws for the following types of forestry is carried out: dark coniferous forest, damaged and dry forest stands. The initial information was obtained from the southern Siberia remote sensing data using six spectral channels of Landsat. The results of the research form a basis for a set of significant spectral features when dealing with forest condition monitoring.


Composite materials are widely used in many engineering applications due to their high strength-to-weight ratios. However, it is well known that composites are susceptible to impact damage. Detection of impact damage is an important issue in maintenance of composite structures. Various non-destructive image-based techniques have been developed for damage detection in composite materials. These include vibrothermography that detects surface temperature changes due to heating associated with frictional energy dissipation by damage. In the present paper numerical simulations are used to investigate heat generation in a composite plate with impact damage in order to support damage detection analysis with vibrothermography. Explicit finite elements are used to model ultrasonic wave propagation in the damaged plate. Simulated delamination and cracks induce frictional heating in the plate. Coupled thermo-mechanical simulations are performed in high frequencies using commercial LS-Dyna finite element code. Very good qualitative agreement between measurements and simulations has been obtained. The area of increased temperature corresponds very well with the damaged area in both experiments and simulations. Numerical model has to be further refined in order to quantitatively match the experiments. The main issues of concern are frictional and thermal properties of composites. The final goal of these research efforts is to predict damage detection sensitivity of vibrothermography in real engineering applications based on numerical models.


A refractive index intensity detecting sensor with long-period grating written in the single-mode–thin-core–single-mode fiber (STS) structure is proposed and optimized theoretically. The sensor is composed of two single-mode fibers connected by a section of long-period fiber grating fabricated on thin-core fiber. After optimization and benefitting from the phase matching point, the loss peak of the structure can reach 62.8 dB theoretically. The wavelength of the characteristic peak is fixed at the phase matching point, so intensity detection can be achieved. The sensitivity can reach 272.5 dB/RIU. The structural optimization in this Letter provides a reference for the fabrication of an easy-made all-fiber sensor without extra cladding.


Preface 1. Introduction: some notes on ritual 2. The surface contours of the Sherpa world 3. Nyungne: problems of marriage, family and asceticism 4. Hospitality: problems of exchange, status and authority 5. Exorcisms: problems of wealth, pollution and reincarnation 6. Offering rituals: problems of religion, anger and social cooperation 7. Conclusions: Buddhism and society Notes Bibliography Index.


Two new species of Ludiinae, one each from Aphanobius Esch., viz., A. touffus sp. nov. and Sericus Esch., viz., S. lahaulensis sp. nov. are described. These genera are separated from each other on the basis of dimensions of frons and the shape of mandibles. These species were collected from the localities ranging from foot hills to high altitudes of Himalayas.


Department of Ophthalmology, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA, The Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA, The Francis I. Proctor Foundation, UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA, USC Roski Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angles, California, USA, The Department of Ophthalmology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, and Centre for Ophthalmology, University Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany


This review illustrates the evolution in the clinical use of prostate specific antigen as a prostate cancer tumour marker. Because PSA lacks specificity, several new PSA parameters have been investigated such as the age-referenced PSA and the PSA density of the transition zone. We discuss also the molecular forms of PSA and the complexed PSA and new tumour markers which could be of interest in the future such as the HK2.


Microbiological contamination may constitute a risk during food production. Therefore is highly important to apply appropriate disinfectant that re duces the possibility of contamination of the finis hed product by microorganisms associated with production process. The aim of this study was the assessment of influen ce of Divosan Forte disinfectant on resistant strains of Trichoderma viride isolated from production area of food facility. Microbial materials were two strains of Trichoderma viride collected from production surfaces in the food fac ility by selection method. Divosan Forte (DF) was the sol ution of peracetic acid, acetic acid and hydrogen p roxide which was applied to clean the production line. The activity of the disinfectant at volume concentrati ons [v/v] of 0.15, 0.30 and 0.60 percentages was evaluated with respect to the negative control (sterile distilled water). The antifungal activity of that preparation was tes ted by medium poisoning method. The result were sho wn as increase of growth [mm·day ]. Disinfecting independently of the concentrations used, compared to the control, stimulated the growth of mycelium of the test strai ns. On the 4th day of the study reported a faster m ycelial growth of T. viride 56 isolate by nearly 50% in comparison to control. Slower but 30% higher than control was growth of T. viride 21.


Evidence indicates that incisor crown form correlates with clinical periodontal features. It was hypothesized that incisor crown form may explain subject differences in gingivitis expression. The present experimental gingivitis study aimed to assess the effect of incisor crown form on plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation, and on individual susceptibility to plaque-induced gingivitis. Eighty-five periodontally healthy subjects were evaluated. A negative correlation was found between incisor crown width/crown length ratio and bleeding score (p = 0.045). From the 85 subjects, two groups of subjects with either 'long-narrow' or 'short-wide' incisor form were identified. The 'long-narrow' group had a significantly higher bleeding score than the 'short-wide' group (p = 0.014). No significant differences were found in the incisor crown width/crown length ratio between previously identified 'high responder' and 'low responder' subjects (Trombelli et al., 2004a). In conclusion, incisor crown form appears to affect the bleeding response of inflamed gingival tissues, while it exerts no influence on explaining differences in individuals' susceptibility to plaque-induced gingivitis.


Along with the development of high speed machining technology, the ball end milling cutter's application is more and more widely. An influence of four control parameters, namely feed, cutting depth, spindle speed and cutting width, on cutting forces is investigated. This paper focuses on experimental research of milling process of carbon fiber reinforced carbon matrix composite (C/C composite). The milling force prediction model for milling of composite using the carbide ball-end tools is built by orthogonal experiment. The experiment results show that : the reliability of the this prediction model is quite high, and the effect of milling speed on milling force is not very obvious, but the milling force increases with the increment of feed per tooth, milling depth and milling width. Using this information, a new prediction model for the milling forces is proposed that can be used for C/C composite milling.


This study investigated the effect of environmental structure's regularity on spatial knowledge in a total of 60 participants: second graders, sixth graders, and adults. A desktop virtual environment was used in which participants moved in a controlled self-determined way. The regularity of environmental structure did not influence spatial knowledge as measured by direction estimations and distances walked in route knowledge and detour tasks. In all measurements, an overall developmental increase of achievement from second graders to adults was found. Furthermore, gender differences were found for children as well as for adults, favouring males in all measurements. In addition, orientation specificity of spatial representations was found for adults and for children. Thus, the results reveal a number of interesting aspects regarding spatial knowledge acquisition of children and adults by using a virtual environmental approach.


Objective To explore the influence of lifestyle intervention on obesity and diet behavior in children with simple obesity.Methods 80 simple obesity children were chosen as research subjects,the parents were given cognitive behavior intervention,the children were given lifestyle interventions to control weight.The changes of obesity degree and dietary behavior were observed after the interventions.Results After the intervention,the parents in the adjustment of dietary structure,limit the time of watching TV,limit of snack in.take were significantly higher than those before intervention(P < 0.05).Children reduced meat,snack intake,watch TV time more than those before intervention(P < 0.05).Obesity degree was significantly lower than that before intervention(P < 0.05).Conclusion The lifestyle intervention is beneficial to change unhealthy life style in obese children,and to reduce weight.

Key words:
Intervention Studies;  Obesity


Highly porous and crystalline metal–organic framework (MOF) ZIF-8 has been synthesized and used for the preparation of rhodium nanoparticles supported catalyst (Rh@ZIF-8). The material has been characterized by PXRD, TEM, EDX, ICP-AES and nitrogen adsorption. The catalytic properties of Rh@ZIF-8 have been investigated in the hydroformylation of olefins with different chain length and structure to the corresponding aldehydes, which showed high activity. Furthermore, after the reaction completed, the catalyst could be easily separated from the products by simple decantation and reused five times without a significant decrease in the activity under the investigated conditions.


One question that has permeated throughout history and continues to persist today, attracting much controversy amongst academics seems to be whether or not historians have provided an accurate account of Aboriginal history. This week 2 topic, The Battlefield of Aboriginal History, particularly offers valuable insights as individuals continue to wrangle this question, paving the way for reconciliation by proposing alternate methods of Aboriginal representation that promote authenticity.


Abstract The performance of strain hardening cement-based composite (SHCC) under various exposure conditions such as chloride-induced accelerated corrosion, capillary water absorption (CWA), electrical resistivity (ER), and freezing-thawing (CDF) tests is reported. SHCC was compared with two reference mortars; one is the same strength class as the SHCC (M1), and the other is a high strength class (M2). Both cracked and uncracked beam specimens were tested. Results from the investigation show that, in SHCC, the corrosion potential is a function of crack width. It is suggested that the half-cell corrosion potential measurement technique may not truly reflect the corrosion state of an embedded steel bar in SHCC. The result of the CDF test reveals that after 42 cycles of freeze-thaw attacks, SHCC performed better than M1 and M2.


Abstract The effects of washing raw butter with hydrogen-rich water (HRW), prepared with hydrogen (H2) and/or magnesium (Mg), on butter quality were investigated in this research paper. During the washing process, titratable acidity (TA) decreased by 12% for all washed samples. During the storage period, TA increased by 28% and 93% (control), 14% and 58% (H2), and 10% and 66% (Mg) for the 60th and 90th days, respectively. Peroxide value (mEq O2/kg) increased to 2.76 and 8.83 (control), 1.92 and 7.25 (H2), and 2.02 and 8.12 (Mg) for the 60th and 90th days. HRW samples showed the lowest acid degree value (ADV) and the highest color notes (L*, C*, and h). The HRW treatment of raw butter has shown improving effects on the product without any harmful residuals in the final product or the environment.


Background Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) can be the first manifestation of systemic sclerosis (SSc) or other connective tissue diseases (CTDs), often preceding an overt disease by years. It is not known if markers of endothelial damage are detectable in those RP patients who subsequently develop a CTD. Objectives We studied RP patients at their first evaluation to correlate the levels of endothelial markers with the subsequent development of an overt disease 36 months later. Methods Eighty-two patients with RP at their first evaluation were recruited. We measured plasma levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and von Willebrand factor (vWF), two markers of endothelial damage, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine. Thirty healthy subjects served as healthy controls. Results At baseline, 67 patients showed capillaroscopic normal pattern and 15 patients, of which 11 were very early SSc, had scleroderma pattern. Plasma levels of t-PA, vWF and IL-6 were higher in patients with capillaroscopic normal pattern (p=0.0001) than in normal controls and even much higher in patients with scleroderma pattern (p=0.0001). In patients with capillaroscopic normal pattern and RP of recent onset (<18 months), vWF plasma levels were higher when autoantibodies were present (p=0.020). After 36 months, among 48 RP patients with capillaroscopic normal pattern who remained in follow-up, 24 were diagnosed as primary and 24 as secondary RP. In secondary RP, basal levels of t-PA, IL-6 and particularly vWF were higher than in primary RP (p=0.005, p=0.004, p=0.0001 respectively) and normal controls (p=0.0001 for all). Conclusions Our findings indicate that markers of endothelial damage are elevated in RP patients who subsequently develop SSc or other CTDs, even in the absence of capillaroscopic abnormalities. Disclosure of Interest None declared


This paper reports on experiences of teaching Computer Vision for robotic telemedicine cluster system, within the practice based ICTD subject within the undergraduate Software Engineering Program at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Topics described by this paper include shared experiences in designing and implementing Computer Vision subsystem and discusses successes, as well as common problems both experienced and anticipated in adaptation of OpenCV framework for building a robotic system for telemedicine. One of the main objectives of the ICTD is to bridge the gap between the students' theoretical knowledge of design and programming with the practical side of software reuse and modularization when designing and implementing a robotic system for medical applications.


.Developers do not have to burden with the, sometimes considerably complex, composition of di erent mid-dleware services. Instead they build their middleware components and deploy them within o -the-shelfmiddleware containers realizing a customizable composition of middleware services.However, things are not as simple as they seem. Middleware vendors have to design and implementcomplex architectures combining available middleware services into a exible/customizable way. Di erentways of composing middleware services into a middleware architecture that satis es application requirementsare possible. The resulting compositions should be supported by the con gurable middleware architecturethat is provided by vendors to customers. Moreover, o -the-shelf middleware architectures should come alongwith a quality assessment of the di erent possible compositions they support. This shall give customers cluesfor selecting the most suitable middleware compositions for their particular systems.In this paper we address the above issues. More speci cally, we present a developer-oriented environ-ment that facilitates the design and quality analysis of exible/con gurable middleware architectures. Theenvironment provides support for modeling middleware architectures. It further comprises a repository thatis populated by a middleware vendor with basic middleware architectural patterns describing the use ofindividual services provided by the vendor's infrastructure. The environment further provides a tool whichconstructs all possible valid compositions of a set of basic middleware architectural patterns. Finally, theenvironment includes tool support for the automated generation of traditional quality models for the per-formance and reliability analysis of the di erent valid compositions of middleware architectural patterns.Those models serve as input to existing performance and reliability analysis tools, which are integrated intothe environment.


The molecular interaction between various amino acids or their rare earth complexes and dipalmitoyl phospatidylcholine cast-dry film have been studied by FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicate that amino acids have no evident interactions with DPPC. The rare earth complexes of amino acid like the rare earth loins have strong electrostatic interactions with DPPC. Increasing the molecular ratio of complexes in lipid binary systems or the number of rare earth atom order, the interactions get stronger,and the effet of rare earth ions stronger than that of its complexes of amino acids. With the increase of ratio of amino acid in complexes, the effects of complexes on lipid become weaker.


Ultramicroscopy-UM allows 3D-vizualization of biological specimens with μm-resolution. The spatial intensity distribution and thickness of the light sheet have the foremost impact on the quality of image in UM. In this paper, we present different designs for generating light sheet. The optical unit in standard UM as well as two optimized designs for generating light sheet are reviewed and discussed. The optical characteristics of their light sheet, length and diameter of the line of focus and spatial intensity distribution along the light sheet, are compared. The experimental results demonstrate a marked improvement in reconstructions of representative biological specimens in the third design utilizing aspheric elements. Furthermore, we present our latest achievements in the clearing process of the specimens as well as detection signals by microscope's objectives that improve further the image quality.


Abstract A parameter to evaluate the potential for tropical cyclone formation (genesis) in the North Atlantic between Africa and the Caribbean islands is developed. Climatologically, this region is the source of about 40% of the Atlantic basin tropical cyclones but roughly 60% of the major hurricanes. The genesis parameter is the product of appropriately scaled 5-day running mean vertical shear, vertical instability, and midlevel moisture variables. The instability and shear variables are calculated from operational NCEP analyses, and the midlevel moisture variable is determined from cloud-cleared GOES water vapor imagery. The average shear and instability variables from 1991 to 1999 and moisture variable from 1995 to 1999 indicate that tropical cyclone formation in the early part of the season is limited by the vertical instability and midlevel moisture. Formation at the end of the season is limited by the vertical shear. On average, there is only a short period from mid-July to mid-October when all thre...


Objective To probe the method of inducing Cordyceps militaris fruiting body by simulating natural conditions. Methods Fruiting body of Cordyceps militaris was cultured by the orthogonal design. Results Appropriate temperature, humidity, culture proportion and inoculate volume are confirmed and the growing content of polysaccharide in fruiting body can be increased by heteroauxing and zeatin. Conclusion The culture cycle of Cordyceps militaris fruiting body can be shortened by this method.


Software Testing ensures delivery of good quality software to the customer. With the increase of product functionality, testing becomes challenging as it is time-consuming to perform manually, cost also increases as test suite size grows and human error can creep into a system which may lead to losses for the organization. Therefore, automation of software testing for the product is needed using appropriate Automation tool, which can enable developers and testers to easily automate the entire flow or process of automation testing. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comparative study of automated tools i


In recent years, the Ningxia Section of the Yellow River Basin of China has become waterstressed due to the reduction of the upstream precipitation, to the serious water and soil loss in the midstream, to the increased water consumption in industrial and agricultural areas and to other reasons. To fully understand the runoff variation of the Yellow River in the Ningxia Section of China and to rationally carry out the water dispatching and the water resource management, the applicability of the SWAT model for water balance in this basin is explored. Based on the improved SWAT model, the distributed hydrological model of the Ningxia Section of the Yellow River Basin of China has been constructed. The meteorological and hydrological data of the Ningxia Section of the Yellow River Basin of China from 1990 to 2017 have been used for simulation. The relative error e R , the correlation coefficient 2 R and Nash-Suttcliffe coefficient Ens have been used as the standards, while the sensitive parameter of the measured monthly runoff from 2005 to 2011 to the model used for the calibration, and the model have been validated by the measured monthly runoff from 2012 to 2017. The research results show that the simulation results basically meet the model evaluation requirements, indicating that the SWAT model is applicable to the runoff simulation of the Ningxia Section of the Yellow River Basin of China, and it can provide decision-making basis for water resource management in the Ningxia Section of the Yellow River Basin of China.


To master vocabulary is influenced by many factors, many techniques and strategies such as playing scrabble, memorize new vocabulary by English song and word webbing technique also can be a way to master and memorize vocabulary. In this research, the researcher limits the study on the technique.

 Word webbing technique is a way to help the students to think more creative to associate idea or words more easily. Word webbing approach is a way to assist the students of university to think greater innovative to companion thought or phrases more easily. Word webbing is a notion mapping of words, which is, normal through ability of webs and links. Word webbing is a approach that can be used to expand thinking or words. This method is beneficial for the students of university who favor or like to make higher their ideas or words, specially in getting to understand vocabulary. The goals of this research are  to understand if the students' success in vocabulary can be accelerated through the application of phrase webbing approach or not. The research was once carried out only in one class with two cycles.  The archives have been taken from the first 12 months MTs Muhammadiyah 15  Medan. The real variety of the  students in the category used to be 27 students. The finding of the research is that Word Webbing Technique can help the students improve their vocabulary achievement. By making use of this Word Webbing Technique, the ranking of the students in vocabulary saved increasing from the pre- test until the post- test  seem to be at in each cycle. It was once proved through the use of the data which validated that the mean of the  students in the post- test  II (77.0) was higher than the post I (70.4) and additionally higher than pre- test (51.5).

Keywords : word webbing technique, vocabulary


The utility model provides an air purification window screen, which consists of a filer device and a storage control panel, wherein the filter device comprises an outer superfine window screen layer and an inner water curtain filter layer; the storage control panel comprises a water tank storage trough and a control panel on the side wall of the water tank storage trough; a cleaner is arranged between the superfine window screen layer and the water curtain filter layer and is a frame with elastic cards, and the elastic cards are attached to two sides of the superfine window screen layer and the water curtain filter layer; the water tank storage trough is divided into a clear water trough and a dirt storage trough, a water spray device is arranged in the clear water trough, and the water curtain filter layer is a water absorbing silk floss window screen. A part of big dust is filtered by the superfine window screen layer, and then fine particulate matters in air are filtered through the water curtain filter layer according to the principle of dialysis adsorption, so that the air purification window screen has a good filter effect and a simple structure and is suitable to be popularized.


Objective:To evaluate the effect of diskoscopy assisted with Fibrin Glue Injection at operation area in treating lumbar disc herniation.Methods:84 cases of patients with lumbar disc herniation,who were diagnosed by CT scanning or MRI,were treated with diskoscopy assisted with Fibrin Glue Injection at operation area.The clinical outcomes of all pa tients were evaluated.Results:All the patients were followed-up,with the duration of 6-24 months.Based on modified MacNab evaluation criterion,the total successful rate was 95.2% with 46 cases of excellent,34 cases of satisfactory.Conclusion:Diskoscopy assisted with Fibrin Glue Injection at operation area is an safe and effective minimally invasive surgery in treating lumbar disc herniation.The advantages are minimal trauma in posterior column of spinal cord,shorter recover duration and excellent curative effect.


As many as 25 000 people a day will be tested for covid-19 in NHS hospitals within weeks in a push to increase capacity, the government has said.

The announcement followed a meeting at Downing Street on 17 March, in which the prime minister and the health secretary told industry leaders that they would be given whatever support they needed to help the government boost testing capabilities throughout the country as quickly as possible.

The government's focus will remain on testing the highest priority cases first—namely, patients in intensive care units and those with severe respiratory illness. Ministers said that officials were …