Enterprise in order to protect ourselves and the interests of the consumer,most companies in their products by adopting a anti-counterfeiting technology(--most businesses have taken their anti-counterfeiting technology products).At present,SMS autifalse system with its from site condition the influence,all-weather,all-round,consumer simply enter anti-counterfeiting number through the mobile phone,anytime,anywhere can check the authenticity of identification products,more and more get the favour of consumers and businesses.SMS anti-counterfeiting system in the enterprise product anti-fake,protect product brand in the actual work,play more and more important role.For the structure based on GSM-MODEL with anti-counterfeiting system and its low investment,low maintenance,no need to apply the access number,short message fee low characteristics has wide application value in small and medium enterprises.


Jiangsu is one of the most prosperous provinces in China with the highest population density but a shortage of fossil fuel. However, wind energy is recognized as a sustainable resource which is abundant in Jiangsu Province. Even so, the fluctuation of wind power, offshore and non-grid-connected wind power systems are required to manage this fluctuation. In addition, hydrogen production using wind power is a new idea to increase the contribution of wind power. According to the current situation of Jiangsu Province and wind power technology in China, there are both advantages and disadvantages to the method of hydrogen production in using non-grid-connected offshore wind power.


This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of bonding material (Bonding Porcelain, Noritake), especially bond strength between pure titanium (KS 50, Kobe Steel Ltd.) and low-fusing porcelain (Super Porcelain TITAN, Noritake), and color stability. Specimens were made with three building conditions of porcelains: 1) firing only Opaque Porcelain, 2) firing Opaque Porcelain after firing Bonding Porcelain, and 3) firing compound of Bonding Porcelain and Opaque Porcelain. The bond strength was measured by the pull out method and color by the spectrophotometric method. When Bonding Porcelain was used, the bond strength was greater than when not used, and the difference between conditions 2 and 3 was not statistically significant. However, there was significant difference between conditions 2 and 3 in color. In condition 3, it was possible to mask the color of titanium. The results of this study indicated that the use of Bonding Porcelain affected the bond strength and color stability. It was suggested that porcelain fused to titanium crown could be applied to aesthetic restoration.


Complex land disputes from time to time have increased both in quality and quantity. The cause is due to the needs of increasingly complex land use while minimal land availability. In addition, the cause can be triggered by any regulations that overlap and occur disharmony in its implementation. This problem is coupled with the lack of legal understanding in society due to acts committed on its soil and the publication of the registration system, which adopts negative publications, opening the faucet lawsuit and objections from other parties on the ground registered. Inequality in land ownership and the certificate and the use of land that is not following the location permit, allotment, use, and utilization of the land made into the complex problems of land disputes. This condition needs to be made to seek justice, legal protection, and law enforcement, namely the judiciary. In addition, the settlement of land disputes can flow through administrative channels that BPN, Mediation, Reconciliation, and ADR, which action significantly contributed to the completion of land disputes. Therefore, the necessary stakeholders to these ideals can be realized. Keywords: Dispute Resolution, Land Conflicts, Land Office


The growing importance of the Internet in our society requires that university graduates be skilled in critical evaluation of the messages and sources present in the online world. Traditional efforts to teach these skills have relied on specific, checklist-like tools; recently, these approaches have rightly come under criticism for being ill-suited to authentic, modern Internet tasks. This article proposes that such specific tools still have a place, however, and suggests a new version of such a tool that better addresses a changing Internet and the evolving ways we use this medium for information-seeking tasks.


While there has been some progress in expanding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services for females, HIV prevention and treatment coverage among males remain poor. The widening disparity between males and females has garnered little attention- a cause for concern. In this article, we highlight the need to reach more males with HIV services and the importance of disaggregated data to identify age- and gender-specific gaps in HIV service delivery.


Suburbanization and Change in the American Family Episodic accounts of social processes have proven generally unsatisfying to recent historians. One reason that Warner's Streetcar Suburbs so quickly attained the status of a classic in urban history is that it makes processual sense out of a range of phenomena formerly of interest mainly to a variety of antiquarians. Warner's inquiry into the growth of residential Boston in the late nineteenth century taught urban historians that suburbanization has been, for a century, a critical process of American urbanization, and not just a characteristic alarum of the 1950s. The most suggestive element of Warner's account has been its indication that even in the era of the streetcar, American cities did not simply expand: cities differentiated as they grew, redistributing individuals and activities in non-random ways, serving different categories of individuals differently. Warner's work conveyed the powerful message that the restructuring of social space within cities has affected lives in systematic ways which call for close scholarly attention.1 Although systematic social historians are in Warner's debt for his processual account, Streetcar Suburbs is nevertheless a case study, and, like much of Warner's work, proceeds intuitively rather than by spelling out implications. Among the most important of these implications is the notion that the family not only affected but was systematically affected by urban form. The present paper pursues this line of analysis.


Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome that is characterized by low muscle mass, strength, and function, that increases morbidity and mortality, and the rates of hospitalization and nursing home admissions in geriatric populations. Poor nutritional intake and alterations in the muscle response to anabolic stimuli from meals in aging populations contribute to the overall pathogenesis of sarcopenia. Research has suggested that there is an increase in skeletal myocyte apoptosis in aging populations. The extent of apoptosis in muscle increases with increasing age, which parallels the loss of both muscle mass and strength. Myocyte apoptosis may be reduced by caloric restriction, exercise training, hormone supplements, drugs and various nutritional supplements. Sambucus nigra L. (Adoxaceae), also known as elderberry is a deciduous tree with blue‐black fruits and cream‐white flowers. Elderberry has been used in traditional systems of medicine to for its antiviral activities, to reduce inflammation and diabetic symptoms. The chemical constituents of elderberry include the flavonoids, such as flavonols, proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins, and simpler phenolic acids. This study investigated the effects of elderberry extracts in rat L6 myoblasts to determine the effects on cell proliferation and apoptosis. L6 cells were obtained from ATCC and cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium, with 2.5 mM L‐glutamine (without phenol red). Elderberry extracts were prepared in ethanol and partitions containing anthocyanins were prepared in acetone (SNA) and ethanol (SNE). In L6 cells, ethanol partitions of elderberry increased the proliferation of rat L‐6 myoblasts by 242% and prevented cellular apoptosis induced by serum starvation. The acetone partition increased cell growth by 121% in serum starved L6 cells, the extracts also prevented myoblast apoptosis. Gene expression analysis an increase in the anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐2 mRNA expression and a reduction in Bax expression, thereby reducing the Bax/Bcl‐2 ratio to reduce apoptosis. SNE also increased the expression of PPARγ mRNA by 6.5 fold. Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand‐activated transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily that regulate lipid metabolism, glucose homeostasis, cell proliferation, and differentiation and modulate inflammatory responses. SNE also increased the expression of HDAC1 by 6 fold and SIRT1 by 12 fold. The human Silent Information Regulator Type 1 (SIRT1) is an NAD(+)‐dependent deacetylase that is an intermediary of cellular metabolism in gene silencing and aging. SIRT1 has been extensively investigated and shown to delay senescence and cellular apoptosis. The data suggest that SNE reduces myocyte apoptosis and that the extracts and partitions act as HDAC1/SIRT1 agonists in myocytes.


On the Threshold of the Atomic Age: The History of the Discovery of Nuclear Fission in December 1938: - Fifty years ago in mid-December 1938, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Chemistry discovered nuclear fission by demonstrating, using chemical methods, the presence of barium in the decay products of neutron-irradiated uranium. This essay points out the constellation of conditions and prerequisites (Historischer Erfahrungsraum/"historical field of experience") which led to the discovery of nuclear fission, and was constituted by specific components ("presentabilia") both internal and external to science in general and to atomic research in particular. A decisive role was played by the constellation of the three members of the Berlin team and their personal situations under the political conditions of the 1930s. Further "presentabilia" were the institutional, instrumental and disciplinary conditions under which the team worked and the methods available to the individual members of the team. It was very important that some of the "presentabilia" were "not-present" to the members of the team. In particular, after Meitner's departure from Berlin Hahn and Strassmann had no access to methods and tools for proving the presence of alpha rays; nothing was known of the existence of actinides; no cyclotron or other source of neutrons more productive than those already in use in Berlin, Paris and Rome was available; it was very important that Strassmann and Hahn were not convinced of the strong validity of the resonance process induced by thermal neutrons; etc.


The National Zakat Amil Agency (BAZNAS) is an institution that manages zakat in national area. BAZNAS is a non-structural government institution that is independent and responsible to the President through the Minister of Religion. Regency / City BAZNAS is formed by the Director General of Islamic Community Guidance of the Ministry of Religion in the suggestion of the regent or mayor after receiving BAZNAS consideration. Regency/City BAZNAS is responsible to the Provincial BAZNAS and the district / city government. In the process of determining the mustahik of the BAZNAS, Klaten Regency checks the recipient's data to find out several criteria including age, gender, occupation, number of dependents and information / conditions. These criteria determine the weight of the value of the feasibility of prospective zakat beneficiaries. Since the determination of mustahik carried out by BAZNAS of Klaten Regency in determining the data is still done manually, it causes the possibility of failure to meet the target for prospective zakat beneficiaries. It makes all data of the mustahik candidate submitted are approved. Analytical Hierarchy Process method is one method that is considered better in dealing with problems with subjective criteria than other methods. Hence researcher applies the method into the system of determining mustahik which produces mustahik ranking data according to the value of the feasibility weight, so it can replace the method of determining zakat beneficiaries which is currently still run manually at the BAZNAS in Klaten Regency.

Keywords: Mustahik, BAZNAS, AHP, Decision Support System.


Emergency life support equipment refers to medical equipment that can save the life of patients or maintain normal vital signs of patients. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a highly centralized department of hospital emergency life support equipment. Good equipment quality control is an important measure to ensure the quality of medical care. ICU nurses, as a group of clinical users and maintenance of emergency life support equipment, play an important role in its quality control. This paper reviews the concept of ICU emergency life support equipment, the role of nurses participating in quality control of ICU emergency life support equipment, existing problems and countermeasures, etc.

Key words:
Intensive Care Unit; Emergency life support medical equipment; Medical equipment; Quality control


This paper presents a novel distance estimation to calculate distances from the stereo camera to the object accurately. This study collected stereo camera images as a dataset, each object determined at two different lighting environments and five different distances between the stereo camera and the object. To estimate the distance, researchers applied supervised learning methods to approach this task. There were performed with two machine learning algorithms: Linear Regression, and Artificial Neuron Network Regression. In the experimental results, the efficiency of the proposed method was examined by using the evaluation metrics to calculate the distance estimation errors. The results showed the model of convolutional neuron networks operated with densely connected neuron networks has the lowest errors rate in comparison with other models. The model eliminates the error rate of distance estimation at 0.000531, 0.014490, and 0.000048 meters, measured by mean square error, mean absolute error and mean logarithmic error respectively.


Roller-hearth and walking-beam furnaces are the main systems used for the necessary reheating of slabs prior to rolling in conventional plants for production of hot strip. As is illustrated using examples of completed ISP installations, the development of thin-slab technology has opened up new fields of application for inductive heating. The specific advantages of inductive heating are described; it appears possible that induction technology may become permanently established as an alternative to furnaces heated with primary energy sources in hot-strip production.


Background: Despite the encouraging results of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in chronic hypercapnic COPD patients, it is also evident that some patients do not tolerate NIV or do not benefit from it. We conducted a study in which COPD patients with stable, chronic hypercapnia were treated with NIV and NHF to compare effectiveness. Methods: In a multi-centered, randomized, controlled, cross-over design, patients received six weeks of NHF ventilation followed by six weeks of NIV ventilation or vice-versa (TIBICO) between 2011 and 2016. COPD patients with stable daytime hypercapnia (pCO2≥ 50 mmHg) were recruited from 13 German centers. The primary endpoint was pCO2changes from baseline Blood gas, lung function, quality of life, the 6 minute walking test, and duration of device use were secondary endpoints. Results: 102 patients (mean+SD) age 65.3±9.3 years, 61% females, BMI 23.1±4.8 kg/m2, 90% GOLD D, pCO2 56.5±5.4 mmHg were randomized. PCO2levels decreased by 4.7% (n=94; full analysis set; 95% CI 1.8 to 7.5, p=0.002) using NHF and 7.1% (95% CI 4.1 to 10.1, p Conclusions: NHF may constitute an alternative to NIV in COPD patients with stable chronic hypercapnia, e.g. those not tolerating or rejecting NIV with respect to pCO2reduction and improvement in quality of life. Registration:www.clinicaltrials.govNCT02007772


The flow and stability of wormlike micellar and polymeric solutions is investigated in two prototypical converging and elongational geometries; (i) microfabricated hyperbolic contractions and (ii) converging flow in T‐shaped microchannels. Understanding the flow behavior of such fluids at the microscale is important to the design and optimization of microfluidic devices for lab‐on‐a‐chip processes and fluidic computing applications as well as to industrial applications such as extensional flow through porous media. The controlled flow rates and very well‐defined geometries achievable with microfluidic fabrication technologies enable us to gain insight into the extensional rheology of complex fluids at high extension rates and to investigate the onset of elastically‐driven flow asymmetries. In the present study, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) wormlike micelles in aqueous solutions of sodium salicylate as well as dilute polyethylene oxide (PEO) solutions are selected as test fluids. Using the micella...


THE FORECASTING PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPOSITE LEADING INDEX AND COMPOSITE COINCIDENT INDEX IN BUSINESS CYCLES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN MALAYSIA By Henry Goh Chun Hian This study investigates the forecasting performance and relationship of the Composite Leading Index (CLI) and Composite Coincident Index (CCI) towards the business cycle in Malaysia. It establishes the chronology of cycles over the period of 1972 2005 using the Index of Industrial Production (lIP), which it suggests can be regarded as a reference series for the business cycles. Usage and analysis of CLI and CCI can help policy makers, businessmen, investors and manufacturers gauge the short term direction of economic activity and economic performance of Malaysia. Although the CLI and CCI have been extensively used in most of developed economies such as the U.S. and OECD countries, the CLI and CCI have not gained much attention in many developing economies, mainly due to the lack of high frequency monthly data needed to derive the CLI and cel. This study uses the CLI and CCI compiled by the Department of Statistics Malaysia. The results indicate that the CLI Granger causes the business cycles in Malaysia. Also, the results show that the CLI have significant predictive power in forecasting the business cycles in Malaysia and CCI accurately mirrors the current economic situation of Malaysia's economic activity.


As nationalized god's material symbol, city god temple's ideal state is to correspond with bureaucratic apparatusat different levels In Ming and Qing Dynasty. Moreover many special city god temples existed in the same time. So researching such city god temple's scatter in districts and it's forming reason could deepen the study of city god behef. As for Shandong province in Ming and Qing Ddynasty, the arising of city god temple in town didn't keep touch with commodity economy inevitably; city god temple outside the city didn't conflict with sacrifice system; Government tried hard to refrain from the situation that many city god temples corresponding with the same bureaucratic apparatus existing side by side.


Stand-up comedians need performance opportunities in order to hone their skills and develop confidence as performers. Living in Cairns, a long distance from a major comedy centre, poses problems in gaining practice and exposure as an emerging stand-up comedian. This article considers the process and outcomes of staging a stand-up comedy show in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival of 2015. The value of this experiment in providing performance opportunities which contribute to developing the skills and confidence of a stand-up comedian is explored. An auto ethnographic process has been utilised together with heuristic research to develop a case study. Observations are limited to the experiences of the researcher and the expressions, during interviews, of comedians. Staging the show in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was challenging in many ways and expensive. The experience of being in Melbourne during the comedy festival, performing in varying situations and meeting with other comedians did provide valuable lessons, both positive and negative. This paper may serve to inform stand-up comedy performers from regional areas regarding staging a show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and of the benefits and hazards of doing so.


The concept of intellectual readiness for learning, which is considered as the main condition for successful education at a university, is defined. Developed competencies of BSc students in training area 35.03.06 "Agro engineering" were analyzed. This analysis demonstrates the importance of knowledge of the basic mathematical and natural laws for solving typical problems and participating in experimental professional research. The role of the "Electrical Materials"course in the development of students' general professional and specific professional competencies is revealed. The paper presents the research results identifying the relationship between the mental development level, formed in general education, and the success of mastering the "Electrical materials" course. At the same time, knowledge of scientific concepts, the development of the classification mental operation and the ability to perform mental actions by analogy turned out to be determining. According to the results of the research, five groups of students were identified. They differ in the success of the acquisition of knowledge and proximity to the socio-psychological standard. Quantitative and qualitative indicators of their mental development characteristics were also described. The specificity of the relationships between the parameters of intellectual readiness and success in mastering the discipline is described. It is concluded that it is necessary to stimulate the mental development of students in the process of developing professional competencies, taking into account the specific features of the structure of intellectual abilities, improving methods for assessing intellectual readiness.


Abstract
 This chapter outlines the modification of tuber starches, the properties of modified starches, and the possible areas of application. The nature of modifications (physical, chemical, enzymatic, dual/triple modifications, graft polymerization) and their influence on the functional properties and structure of cassava, sweet potato, yam, aroid (Colocasia esculenta, Xanthosoma sagittifolium, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius and Arracacia xanthorrhiza) and other starches are described.


High resolution satellite images are used to monitor environmental changes, map-making and military intelligence and forecast natural disasters. Nowadays, these contain spatial dissimilarities due to differences in their radiometry resolution, spectral characteristics and time delay from high resolution satellite sensors (multispectral and panchromatic). The use of pansharpened high spatial resolution images significantly increases the possibility of thematic recognition. Pansharpening is a technique that is used to combine the spatial details of a panchromatic image with the the several spectral bands of a lower resolution multispectral image. To date there have proposed a large number of fusion methods. However, most available methods are not effective for the latest very high resolution, such as WorldView-3 satellite imagery. Most methods for increasing spatial resolution lead to artifacts objects that are not present in the original scene, but that appear in the resulting image. In this paper, we present the pansharpening technology of high resolution satellite images, using integration of bicubic interpolation, color system HSV and wavelet-transform. The aim of the proposed technology is to obtain the high resolution multispectral satellite image after the previous geometric correction of primary multispectral images and optimal wavelet decomposition into approximation and detail coefficients according to the chosen information value function linear forms. The proposed technology was verified by a number of different satellite data. The experimental evaluations are carried out on WorldView-3 images. Visual and quantitative analyses show that our presented technology can achieve high spectral and spatial quality and outperforms some existing pansharpening methods.


Measurements have been made of the local heat transfer coefficients to an air flow downstream of an axisymmetric abrupt expansion in a circular pipe with a constant wall heat flux. The experimental technique uses an electrically heated thin gold film on a plastic substrate. The flow upstream of the expansion was unheated and fully developed. Runs were made with small diameter to large diameter ratios of 0.267 to 0.800 and over the Reynolds numbers range of 5,300 to 87,000 (based on downstream diameter). The results include measurements near the expansion corner region where no previous measurements have been reported. These provide clear evidence of a secondary recirculation. Comparisons are also made with previous experimental results in the region of reattachment.


A combustion chamber, one of engine components, must be developed in precedent stage of space launch program. For this, hot-firing tests of combustion chamber are needed. The performance and reliability of the combustion chamber are evaluated in these tests. Construction of the domestic facility for conducting these tests is expected to relieve the problem of depending on the foreign agency. And this facility has an effect on shortening schedule and cost reduction of combustion chamber development. Futhermore, it is considered that the infrastructures of aerospace-related industries are expanded through building up the facility.


Armenians lived in peace for centuries together with Turks in Anatolia in the the Ottoman era they scattered in almost every corner of countries lands and, they came into the important place in the bureaucracy commerce and art. However, to the twentieth century some states began to used Armenians to against the Ottomman Empire for their self – interest, Armenians who satisfied to independence aim rebelled in the some part of Anatolia. Against to peak of this rebellions in the early months of World War, some precaitions were tried to take with Armanian Patriach, Armanian represantives and leaderships in the Armanian community. Despite these efforts which proven by documents, this efforts did not get succesful result and understood the confusions began to spread country – wide, Ottoman Goverment obliged to defensive measures as 'relocation' which each of country can applied in the same issue without any hasitation.Thus, along the security of country was wanted to provide safety of including Muslim population and Armenians who had not any relations with rebellions. Relocation is a translocation movement, as support measures for the health and safety that are subject to deportation, also were taken. In this research, during the Armenian relocation, over the relocation lines taken health measures and health practices researched, identified with documents, aimed to revial real implementations out of intentional maintainces in the healthcare field. Health measures during the relocation is perhaps one of the most important issues regarding the relocation of the social dimension. Because at that time, those made or not made in the health field will be a best evidence about Armanian genocide allegation.


PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to compare the bacterial leakage of conical internal connection implants with different taper angles (5.4, 12, 45, and 60 degrees) and examine the efficiency of a disinfectant agent and a silicone sealant agent in the prevention of bacterial leakage under loaded conditions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-one implant-abutment connections were studied from each implant system (Ankylos Implants, Dentsply; Bego Semados S Implants, Bego; Trias Implants, Servo-Dental; DTI Implants, DTI), for a total of 84 implants. Each system's implants were divided into three groups as follows: unsealed (control), 2% chlorhexidine gel-sealed, or silicone-sealed (n = 7 for each group). The insertion torque was applied to each abutment screw according to the manufacturers' recommendation. The specimens were partially immersed in an 8-mm E faecalis suspension. A cyclic load of 50 N was applied for a total of 500,000 cycles at 1 Hz to the specimens. Following disconnection of dental implants and abutments, microbial samples were taken from the inner threaded surface of the implants, plated, and counted under appropriate conditions.

RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences in frequency of bacterial leakage and leaked bacterial counts among the four types of connections in all groups (P > .05). The statistically significant differences were found between sealant agents and control groups in four different connection types in terms of the amount of leaked bacteria (P < .05). There was no significant difference between the amount of leaked bacteria for four connection types when comparing the chlorhexidine and silicone sealant agents (P > .05).

CONCLUSION
Differences in taper angles in the internal conical connections had no significant effect on leaked bacterial counts or the frequency of bacterial contamination under dynamic loading. The application of 2% chlorhexidine gel or a silicone sealant can reduce the leaked bacterial counts and reduce the frequency of bacterial leakage.


Path planning for mobile robots is to find optimum path for robot to move at required location in its environment. In this Literature, a new approach to find the shortest path with less response time for mobile robot is discussed. The core concept lying in this procedure is discussed with simple illustrative example for various cases. For a fixed environment the general procedure of this approach is discussed in detail. Experimental results obtained by this method are compared with already implemented successful approaches and limitations of others approaches overcome by this method are discussed. Keywords—Path Planning, Optimisation, Mobile robot, Static Environment, AI Techniques, Obstacle avoidance


Treaties — Kinds of — Pacta de contrahendo — Obligation to Negotiate — How far Implying a Substantive Obligation. Treaties — Interpretation of — By Reference to Action of the Parties — Effect of the Declarations of Parties Recognizing their Obligation. International Court of Justice — Jurisdiction of — Succession to Jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice. International Mandates — Nature of — Treaties Creating International Status — Mandates and Trusteeship — Interpretation of Treaties — Relevance of Declarations of the Parties — The Mandate for South-West Africa.


AbstractIn this era, the prediction of lunar eclipse can be determined accurately with the astronomical data based algorithm. Usually, the prediction just compute the position and time of lunar eclipse without considered the movement of Earth shadow in the begginning to the end of eclipse. In this article the author explain how is the concept, algorithm, and analysis about the movement of Earth shadow on going lunar eclipse in certain local coordinate point, using the data from Ephemeris Hisab Rukyat.Keywords : Lunar Eclipse, Earth Shadow, Ephemeris Hisab Rukyat


To address the gross deficit in electricity demand and supply in Nigeria requires a pragmatic and sequential approach to expanding generation capacity. Numerous studies have expatiated on the underlying problems with solution strategies that are comprehensive. However, many of those suggested solutions are either too steep cost-wise or the system is limited in the adaptive capacity to incorporate them. This paper proffers a stepped approach at expanding the capacity of supply as a function of the energy locational distance of the states and regions in the country. In this research, we interpret energy locational distance as a measure that is derived from the answer to two questions. First, how much is generation below the output capacity of the existing generating plants that are stationed across the country serving the national grid? Second, what is the minimum threshold of capacity expansion to achieve a set energy density or energy per person index across the regions of the country differentiated by energy poverty? With this exploration, energy planners in Nigeria, rather than seeking to address the dearth of electricity supply in the country in one step, could consider a piecemeal approach that indeed offers tremendous and relatively significant expansions in capacity. This outcome offers guidance to policy makers and investors on how to craft their investment efforts in a manner that is akin to viewing the problem at the proverbial context of effecting changes at the tree level rather than seeking to change the forest.


A compositional proof system is given for an Occam-like real-time programming language to specify and verify distributed synchronous message passing. Concurrency is modelled as "maximal parallelism"; that is, if a process can proceed it will do so immediately. A process only waits when no local action is possible and no partner is available for communication. Terminating arul non terminating processes can be specified from the viewpoint of an external observer with his own clock. This leads to a global notion of time. Furthermore we take a dense time domain. A speCification of a process consists of a Hoare triple (pre and post condition) extended with two invariants: an assumption about expected behaViour of the environment, and a commitment which is guaranteed by the process itself, as long as the environment satisfies the assumption. In deviation of earlier work [Hl, assumption and commitment may refer directly to the global time. This makes it possible to specify (and verify) that something must happen at a certain point of time. In the proof system emphasis is put on an easy way of reasoning at parallel composition. The parallel composition rule deals with checking and removing assumptions only. Maximal parallelism can be used locally by making SUitable assumptions and applying a separate "strengthen" rule which models the assumption/commitment reasoning. • supported by Esprit Project 937: Debugging and Specification of Ada Real-Time Embedded Systems (DESCARTES). Electronic-mail address: mcvax!eutrc3!wsinjh.UUCP (or firstname.lastname@example.com).


The utility model provides a wheel axle jiffy stand, which comprises a base and a support element, wherein one end of the base is provided with a first flat arrangement part; the other end of the baseis provided with a second flat arrangement part; a space between the two flat arrangement parts is used for parking a bicycle wheel; one end of the support element is detachably arranged on the base;and a fixing part used for placing a wheel shaft of a bicycle is formed at the free end of the support element, so the parking frame can be conveniently assembled and disassembled without space occupation.


From the Publisher:
Real-Time Programming is a comprehensive guide that: covers 32-bit real-time embedded programming topics, including debugging, timers, interrupts, multitasking, serial I/O, TCP/IP networking, and ROMing an application; explores implementing new technologies, such as flash storage and Web-enabled applications; emphasizes a practical, hands-on approach, drawing on code examples from real-world projects constructed during the course of the book; provides complete coverage of the embedded development cycle, from design through implementation; and lets developers start building real-time embedded systems immediately using commercial, off-the-shelf hardware and software. With the tools on the CD-ROM, an x86-compatible PC, knowledge of C, and the Visual C++ compiler, you have all you need to begin development. No matter what hardware and software platforms you will ultimately use, this book lays the groundwork and gets you up-to-speed on the unique requirements of real-time embedded programming.


In this article, we present the first leader election protocol in the population protocol model that stabilizes within <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(\log n)$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>O</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mo form="prefix">log</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq1-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> parallel time in expectation with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(\log n)$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>O</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mo form="prefix">log</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq2-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> states per agent, where <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>n</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq3-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> is the number of agents. Given a rough knowledge <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>m</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq4-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{lg}\; n$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi> lg </mml:mi><mml:mspace width="0.277778em"/><mml:mi>n</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq5-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> such that <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m \geq \mathrm{lg}\; n$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>m</mml:mi><mml:mo>≥</mml:mo><mml:mi> lg </mml:mi><mml:mspace width="0.277778em"/><mml:mi>n</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq6-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m=O(\log n)$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>m</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mi>O</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mo form="prefix">log</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq7-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, the proposed protocol guarantees that exactly one leader is elected and the unique leader is kept forever thereafter. This protocol is time-optimal because it was recently proven that any leader election protocol requires <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Omega (\log n)$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Ω</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mo form="prefix">log</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="sudo-ieq8-2991771.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> parallel time.


The thesis deals with the level of regulation in the education of primary school pupils. The theoretical part contains self-determination theory, the pupil's motivation and needs, the relationship between the teacher and the pupil and disciplinary problems. It focuses on the approach of the teacher to the pupil. The goal of the practical part is to determine the degree of regulation in addressing problem situations of pupils in education.


Two analytical strategies for the determination of Pd in geological and environmental matrices were evaluated in terms of accuracy and precision. Pd was quantified at ng g−1 levels using microwave-assisted digestion including aqua regia–HF followed by on-line HPIC-ICP-SFMS (high performance ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry) and off-line anion exchange with quantification by IDMS. With the HPIC method, separation of Pd from the interfering elements Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Mo, and Cd was achieved within 14.5 min by using 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid as complexing agent. Absolute detection limits of 13 pg and 70 pg were achieved for the on-line and off-line method, respectively. The methods have been evaluated using the certified reference materials WPR-1 (altered peridotite), WGB-1 (gabbro rock) and the candidate reference material CW8 (road
dust).


Accountability in higher education has increased, with more institutions requiring standardized tests. These tests are high stakes for institutions, but low-stakes test for students, who seldom experience consequences for their performance. This study describes how one psychology department improved students' scores on the Psychology Area Concentration Achievement Test. Results were compared between three motivation conditions: no incentive, a monetary incentive, and a motivational Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The presentation gave students information about the assessment, encouraged them to do well, and informed them that faculty would discuss scores while evaluating the psychology program. Results showed that test scores were significantly higher and correlated significantly with grade point average for students exposed to the motivational presentation. The motivational PowerPoint presentation seemed to have reduced the number of underachieving students and provided more accurate assessment data, with minimal investment in time and effort on the part of faculty.


The aim of this paper is to assess the territorial cohesion of municipalities (gminas) in Poland using quantitative data and non-parametric modelling techniques. The full population of 2174 Polish municipalities divided into rural and urban-rural municipalities was examined. The time interval of the study, i.e., 2005–2017, allows us to capture the changes stimulated by the implementation of the cohesion policy, i.e., the programme of socio-economic transformation in Poland, implemented in the programming period 2007–2013. Using the DEA approach, a general decline in the cohesion index value over time was recorded in the period of analysis. The results of estimating autocorrelation measures indicate a progressive tendency to build spatial clusters, where the size of the local administrative unit (municipality), measured by the population potential and spatial location of the municipality significantly affect the cohesion level. It was also found that there are limits of positive influence of the EU income on the possibility of achieving a high level of cohesion, hampered by a limited resource of own funds. The research method in this paper has been empirically validated and can be applied to territorial cohesion studies in other EU countries.


PURPOSE: To manufacture a single-crystal semiconductor element that is formed while being adhered to a polycrystalline CVD diamond substrate. CONSTITUTION: First, a single crystal of silicon that is heated to a high CVD diamond generation temperature is arranged in a reaction chamber. Then, a mixture of hydrocarbon and hydrogen is supplied into a reaction chamber and is decomposed at least partially, thus forming a polycrystalline CVD diamond layer on the silicon. A middle layer consisting of single-crystal SiC is generated between the single crystal of silicon and the polycrystalline CVD diamond layer during deposition and growth process. Then, the single-crystal SiC supported by the polycrystalline CVD diamond layer is exposed by eliminating the silicon. Finally, by growing a semiconductor layer on the exposed single-crystal SiC, a single-crystal semiconductor-polycrystalline CVD diamond element is manufactured.


There are several different types of learning behavior in animals that can be induced with different types of training and conditioning protocols. In her Perspective, [Rankin][1] discusses new work in the sea slug that unravels a dopamine-mediated reward pathway induced by instrumental conditioning.

 [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/296/5573/1624


reduce trade barriers but also to reform their trading and economic practices. This has not been matched by similar reforms in the industrialized countries, for example relating to agricultural subsidies or MFA quotas. In addition, the concern is raised that the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO is prohibitively expensive for poorer countries and thus not a successful policy mechanism from an equity point of view. Some of the authors suggest quite specific policy measures for helping developing countries improve their position, such as a removal of tariffs on tropical agricultural products, the liberalization of trade in maritime services to help remote locations, ad valorem tariffs, or a firm phase-out for agricultural tariff quotas. This makes the book very useful both for academics and for policy-makers and it fills a gap in the literature. However, there is no discussion as such on the structural conditions within the WTO and the unequal social relations underlying the policy-making processes, which makes the agenda-setting and negotiation of such policy suggestions unlikely in the first place. The benefit of liberalization per se is also taken for granted although there is a large and growing body of literature engaging with this problematique. the remit of this edited collection is quite clearly focused on policy options in this respect, regardless of the power situation guiding policy feasibilities. The more case-study-oriented parts of this collection of chapters is organized along similar lines. Here, the following issues are discussed: Asian developing countries and the global trading system with focus on agriculture, textiles and clothing; a comparative study of environmental standards in trade of Brazil, Germany and Indonesia; labour and social standards; competition policy in the Asia–Pacific, export competition in Asia and the role of China, the enlargement of ASEAN as well as trade policy reform in the context of poverty alleviation. Without going into the details of the chapters, all of them provide excellent overviews of important trade issues relevant for both academic and policy-oriented discussions of the position of developing countries in the world trade regimes. Thus this book is a vital addition both for students wanting to learn more about the trade issues affecting developing countries and for the more specialized academic or policy-maker wanting to familiarize themselves with particular aspects of the debate. This book offers thoughtful, well-researched and up-to-date, contributions to trade policy research for developing countries. Its main merit lies in the detailed studies and thorough knowledge and understanding of agricultural trade policy. However, it is not a book that will offer critical engagement with core–periphery relations, the benefit of liberalization as such and how they impact on policy formulation within WTO or that will analyse the structural conditions determining the unfavourable position of developing countries within the WTO framework.


The major combustible components in the gasified products of biomass are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. To fully utilize the gasified products, a detailed understanding of the combustion characteristics of the product mixtures is crucial. This thesis research focused on the combustion of the mixtures of methane and carbon monoxide. By using a self-designed tube method, the flame propagation speeds in the tube were measured. Coupled with the flame area estimation, the laminar flame speeds were deduced at different equivalence ratio (ψ= 0.85,1.0,1.15) and different mixing ratios of Methane and carbon monoxide. The experimental results indicated that the flame propagation speeds as well as the deduced laminar flame speeds increased initially with the amount of carbon monoxide in the mixtures, and, a peak propagation speed and a peak flame speed were observed for 85%CO and 80%CO mixtures, respectively. The observed maximum laminar flame speed for CH4/CO mixtures was 54.3cm/s at equivalence ratio of 1 and 80%CO content. Further increase the amount of carbon monoxide, the flame speed started to drop. Flame area also increased with increasing amount of carbon monoxide. Caused by heat transfer and buoyancy effects, flame area was also developed to a peak value at 85%CO in the mixture. In conjunction with GRI-3.0 mechanism, detailed reaction kinetic modeling of the mixtures was performed using Chemkin 3.6. The results showed that the addition of CO into CH4 increased the amount of free radicals in the flame, and the flame temperature raise as well to make the laminar flame speed increase. However, mixtures with more than 80%CO produced less amount of OH for low concentration of O2 in the system, thus decrease the rate of the major heat release reaction OH + CO CO2 + H as well as the laminar flame speed.


Digital watermarking technique has been presented and widely researched to solve some important issues in the digital world, such as copyright protection, copy protection, and content authentication. Conventional watermarking algorithms are mostly based on discrete cosine transform (DCT), discrete Fourier transform (DFT), and discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Most of these algorithms are designed for only one purpose. In recent years, some multipurpose digital watermarking methods based on DWT and DFT have been presented to achieve the goal of both content authentication and copyright protection. Lately, several robust watermarking schemes based on vector quantization (VQ) have been presented, but they can be used only for copyright protection. In this paper, we present a novel multipurpose digital image watermarking method based on a mean-removed vector quantizer (MRVQ) structure. In the proposed method, the fragile watermark and the robust watermark are embedded in mean indices and residual indices using different techniques, and both of them can be blindly extracted. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm in terms of robustness and fragility.


Boltzmannian statistical mechanics partitions the phase space of a system into macroregions, and the largest of these is identified with equilibrium. What justifies this identification? Common answers focus on Boltzmann's combinatorial argument, the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, and maximum entropy considerations. We argue that they fail and present a new answer. We characterize equilibrium as the macrostate in which a system spends most of its time and prove a new theorem establishing that equilibrium thus defined corresponds to the largest macroregion. Our derivation is completely general and does not rely on assumptions about the dynamics or interparticle interactions.


The article presents the method elaborated by the authors for automatic prolongation detection in utterances by the people who stutter. Fricative and nasals consonants were focused upon, as they are the most frequently prolonged ones. Fuzziness was applied in the scales of time, frequency and level of distinctive features of a given manner of articulation. The presented method was verified in continuous speech. It characterizes with almost 90% effectiveness of recognition and high precision of duration measurements of non-fluent episodes.


A Novel Entry into Wittig Rearrangements – A Stereoselective [1,2]-Wittig Rearrangement with Inversion of Configuration at the Carbanion Center

The O,Se-ketal 10, through lithium naphthalenide induced reductive cleavage of its C–Se bond, was converted into the α-lithio ether 11a with an equatorially oriented CO bond. At -78°C, 11a undergoes a rapid [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement to provide stereoselectively the homoallylic alcohol 12a with an axial OH group. Thus, the rearrangement proceeds with inversion of configuration at the carbanion center.


The long term effect of HiveAlive™, a commercial food supplement, was evaluated with respect to colony population size and Nosema ceranae spore loads. The supplement was administered in sugar syrup at a dose of 2.5 ml per liter of syrup to up to 20 colonies per group for a period of 2 years. Its use before and after winter increased a colony's worker population size by 89% and reduced Nosema ceranae spores by 57% compared to control colonies. These results represent the first-known hive manipulation to have a lasting effect on nosema spore levels. The positive effect of HiveAlive™ may have been a result of its continued use over a two-year period.


In this study, a novel green retaining wall technology, named as GRW (Green Retaining Wall), was developed to enhance constructability, cost-effective and geoenvironment friendly system. Up to now, the GRW system has been investigated mainly focusing on an establishment of the design procedure. The analytical procedure for sand bag design has been proposed to evaluate frictional characteristics and stability of the GRW system. In addition, large-scale direct shear tests were performed to establish the frictional characteristics between the seeded sandbag and the connection unit of the GRW system. A stability analysis formula was proposed for the GRW system that can be applied to riverside or shoreline. Hydraulic experiments were performed to quantify the loss rate of sand from the sand bags. By conducting the safety analysis for the flow pressure proposed in this study, the maximum allowable velocity and the minimum required weight were calculated and compared with those of the conventional design cases. The insights into the behavior of the GRW system observed in this study will be reported and discussed.


The paper is devoted to the revelation of distortion of the will of people voting outside voting premises. The formal-legal method of research is applied. As the result of the study the ways of distorting the will of people voting outside voting premises were identified. It is concluded that the distortion of the will of voters voting outside voting premises is possible when portable ballot boxes comprise the number of ballots, which clearly contradicts the physical capabilities of precinct election commissions. Another conclusion states that public control over the voting outside voting premises can not be fully exercised. The identified ways of distorting people's will must be eliminated by the electoral legislation ban on voting outside voting premises.


Within the higher learning system, teachers and students, the teaching and the learning principal parts respectively, interact with each other, which certainly influence the quality of higher education. This article, based on system theory, on the one hand, analyzes the teaching thought of teachers, the teaching process, the basic structure of subjects and titles of academic posts as well as the increasing speed of quantity and the selecting system of teachers. On theother hand, it comments the regressive dissimilation of the quality and thoughts of teachers themselves. The opportunities of education for different students are also different, owing to different family backgrounds. The relationship between teachers and students is also changing on the aspects of teaching process, psychology, and morality.


As a preface to future studies on language impairment in bilingual children, an exploratory analysis of lexical diversity and depth in the production of mental state verbs was conducted on the oral narratives of 9- and 11-year-old children who differed by language status. English-only (EO), bilingual (Spanish-English), and Spanish-only (SO) preadolescents produced oral narratives based on a wordless video. Prior to narrative elicitation, participants completed a priming task on mental state verbs and were instructed to focus on what the characters were thinking, saying, and feeling as they engaged in their narrative formulation. Colored still frames from the video were also available to reduce the memory load on recall. The resulting narratives were analyzed for mental state verb use by category (motivational, experiential, and belief) and the influence of the language of production. Lexical diversity was determined by number of different words (normalized to type-token ratio, TTR), and lexical depth was analyzed through a descriptive analysis of variations in the meaning of the belief verb think with respect to the expression of certainty/uncertainty. Results indicated that the EO children used the greatest proportion of experiential and belief mental states, while motivational verb use did not differentiate the language groups. In contrast, the SO group had the greatest TTR. The descriptive analysis of the belief verb think revealed greater lexical depth in the EO participants. Findings are discussed in terms of cross-language similarities and differences and their applications to the mental state framework for differentiating among bilingual children who may be at enhanced academic risk because of undetected language impairment.


As the major cause of female infertility,Tubal infertility was caused by chronic inflammation,lacking of specific symptoms and signs. Tubal infertility was diagnosed through tests which to examine tubal patency,obstruction site and degree. Facing with different patients,we must comprehensively evaluate and synthetic tradeoff patient's age,infertility age,and the degree of tubal disease,to draft an individuality therapy,including chinese medicine,minimally invasive and IVF-ET.


Background: During modified gap-balancing technique, there is no consensus on the best method for obtaining appropriate soft-tissue balance and determining the femoral component rotation. Methods: Sixty-five varus osteoarthritic patients underwent primary posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty using modified gap-balancing technique. The influence of joint distraction force on the softtissue balance measurement during the modified gap-balancing technique was evaluated with Offset Repo-Tensor between the osteotomized surfaces at extension, and between femoral posterior condyles and tibial osteotomized surface at flexion of the knee before the resection of femoral posterior condyles. The joint center gap (millimeters) and varus ligament balance ( ) were measured under 20, 40, and 60 pounds of joint distraction forces, and the differences in these values at extension and flexion (the value at flexion minus the value at extension) were also calculated. Results: The differences in joint center gap ( 6.7, 6.8, and 6.9 mm for 20, 40, and 60 pounds, respectively) and varus ligament balance (3.5 , 3.8 , and 3.8 ) at extension and flexion were not significantly different among different joint distraction forces, although the joint center gap and varus ligament balance significantly increased stepwise at extension and flexion as the joint distraction force increased. Conclusion: The difference in joint center gap and varus ligament balance at extension and flexion were consistent even among the different joint distraction forces. This novel index would be useful for the determination of femoral component rotation during the modified gap-balancing technique. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Accurate component placement and adequate soft-tissue balance are recognized as essential surgical principles in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) [1e3]. Especially, proper rotation of the femoral component is critical, as malrotation has been associated with many adverse sequelae such as patellofemoral (PF) instability, anterior knee pain, arthrofibrosis, and flexion instability [4e9]. However, the best method for obtaining appropriate soft-tissue balance and femoral component rotation still remains controversial [6,7,10,11]. Some favor a measured resection technique in which bony landmarks, such as femoral epicondyles, posterior femoral condyles, or the anteroposterior axis, are the primary determinants of femoral component rotation [4e6,12,13]. Others recommend a gap-balancing technique inwhich the femoral component is positioned parallel to the resected proximal tibia with each collateral ligament equally tensioned [7,14,15], and there are basically 2 gap-balancing sequences; a flexion gap first technique and a modified (extension gap first) technique [16]. Dennis et al [15] showed the gap-balancing technique resulted in postoperative better coronal stability rather than a measured resection technique. Intraoperative soft-tissue balancing was originally described by Freeman et al [17] and Insall et al [2] and is an established method for preparing equal rectangular flexion and extension gaps by releasing soft-tissue structures around the knee. However, the previous studies showed soft-tissue could be easily One or more of the authors of this paper have disclosed potential or pertinent conflicts of interest, which may include receipt of payment, either direct or indirect, institutional support, or association with an entity in the biomedical field which may be perceived to have potential conflict of interest with this work. For full disclosure statements refer to http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2017.04.058. * Reprint requests: Hirotsugu Muratsu, MD, PhD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Steel Memorial Hirohata Hospital, 3-1, Yumesaki-cho, Hirohata-ku, Himeji 671-1122, Japan.


Cooperation between the federal government, the provinces, and the communes is emerging as one of the central themes of Austria's fiscal policy. In the legal realm, this cooperation is based on the consultation mechanism and the intra-Austrian stability pact, which needs to be concluded by the end of 1998. Provinces and communes have already declared their intention to limit new indebtedness to 0.3 percent of GDP, in order to fulfill an important precondition for Austria's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union (starting in the year 1999). The maneuvering room of the provinces with regard to their revenues is rather small; it is further restricted by the "Maastricht criteria". In funding expenditures, the provinces are heavily dependent on revenue sharing, which provides for more than 60 percent of their revenues. In 1997, the provinces (excluding Vienna) will receive ATS 143.6 billion from revenue sharing. The most important revenue sources for the provinces (excluding Vienna) are the shares in the tax revenues; they determine the budgetary maneuvering room for the provinces. The revenue shares flowing to the provinces rose at a somewhat slower pace than the total federal tax receipts subject to revenue sharing. This renders the provinces' fiscal management more difficult. About 80 percent of tax revenues are allocated on the basis of population size. Overall, tax receipt per inhabitant show a clear decline from the West to the East of Austria, a pattern that has been very stable over time. In 1997, the per-capita receipts from revenue sharing are expected to be as high as ATS 12,067 in Vorarlberg, while the corresponding figure for Styria is as low as ATS 9,907. The so-called per capita revenue sharing equalization, which is funded by the federal system, compresses the gradient by about one half but does not eliminate it. In 1996, an important change has occurred in the funding of the budgets of the provinces: the provinces now receive need-based funds according to § 21a of the Revenue Sharing Act; the basis for determining the volume of these funds is the difference between the shares in the revenues of certain important taxes and the funds for the promotion of private dwellings which are now fixed in absolute terms. These need-based funds are not ear-marked any more and widen the budgetary leeway. In 1997, the provinces (excluding Vienna) will receive about ATS 4.5 billion from this source; this will facilitate the consolidation of the budgets. Most of the other revenues which are transferred from the federal system to the provinces are ear-marked (remuneration for teachers, short-distance transportation, environmental protection, promotion of theaters, etc.). In 1997 the provinces will receive (as a one-time) contribution ATS 0.6 billion for financing child care institutions (of which ATS 159 million will flow to Vienna). On top of receiving additional revenues, the provinces have also provided for considerable expenditure cuts in their budget proposals. These measures will have the effect of sharply reducing the high deficits which were incurred in 1995. In 1997, the provinces (excluding Vienna) will achieve a total surplus (measured according to the Maastricht criteria) of some ATS 2.9 billion and thus make a substantial contribution to achieving the standards for participation in the Economic and Monetary Union. The fiscal situation varies, however, greatly across the provinces. Lower Austria and Burgenland will post deficits (according to the Maastricht criteria), Styria and Carinthia will achieve a balanced budget, while the western provinces will record surpluses, some of them quite substantial. In the future, this wide divergence could possibly create problems for the intra-Austrian stability pact.


Despite the high hopes of victims' rights advocates, and contrary to the warnings about negative consequences, the evidence demonstrates that victim impact statements (VISs) have had little influence on criminal proceedings and court outcomes. This study, based on interviews with judges, prosecutors, and defense counsels charged with the implementation of the VIS scheme in South Australia, shows that practitioners routinely objectify, and thereby minimize, the injuries sustained by victims, and impose an implicit "reasonable victim" test to evaluate VISs. Professionals' responses are analyzed according to Sykes and Matza's notion of techniques of neutralization as a case study of the ways in which law reform endeavors are subordinated to the competing value systems and organizational imperatives of court workgroups.


The following paper proposes a design for engaging learners in the practices of comparing and contrasting solutions and understanding the affordances of competing approaches. The first part of this paper presents research that originated in mathematics education and has since been replicated in computer science education with comparable findings and conclusions for the ways in which working with alternate solutions can be particularly felicitous to student learning. The latter half of the paper demonstrates how this research can be integrated into the design of a game by enabling players to share, compare, and reflect on their own solutions and those of their peers as they advance through the game. In the game CodeStitch, players see differences in alternate solutions and, through an implicit moment of reflection, identify the merits of varying approaches (e.g. measured by re-usability / modularity, maintainability, and complexity).


Objectives of this research were to determine effects of LDH enzymatic activity and circulating PRL on immune response, growth, composition, and reproduction, and to determine the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms of LDH and PRL on immune function, growth and carcass traits, cyclicty, and fecundity of replacement heifers grazing endophyte infected tall fescue. Eighty-nine Angus based heifers had physical and ultrasound measurements along with blood samples collected at weaning, yearling, and prebreeding. Estrus detection was conducted for 10 d post each collection period, except prebreeding. Pregnancy status was verified after AI and again after bull removal. Heifers were maintained on tall fescue with corn gluten and free choice mineral supplementation. A 48 hr delayed hypersensitivy immune trial was conducted at 10 mo of age. Activity of LDH (forward and reverse) was correlated to: hormonal and enzymatic activities, growth, and carcass traits. Concentrations of PRL were associated with growth responses. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of LDH related to: hormonal and enzymatic activities, growth, carcass, cyclicity and immune responses. Polymorphisms of PRL related to carcass traits, pregnancy status, and MCV of immune response. Canonical correlations found no association between LDH activity or PRL concentration to physical set 1 traits of: body weight, hip height, and hip width, and subsequently no correlation to set 2 traits of: pelvic height, pelvic width, Longissimus dorsi area, and rib fat found in other studies. Environmental impact may have obscured anticipated results. Timing and handling appear to be of consideration to recorded measurements in regards to hormonal and metabolic connections. Growth, carcass, and other hormonal measures taken during the trial correlated amongst each other and immune responses serving as further indicators of visual manifestations recognizing the complexity of endocrine


In this paper we study the performance degradation introduced by narrowband interference to a transmitted reference ultra-wideband system with inter-pulse interference mitigation capability operating under the IEEE 802.15.4a channel model. The degradation is mainly due to the cross correlation of interference and noise components in the auto-correlation receiver. System performance can be improved drastically by applying either FIR or IIR notch filter. The bit-error-rate sensitivity to the design parameters of the notch filter is explored. In addition, system performance is analyzed when the interference is completely removed.


This paper presents the technique and results of Single Event Upsets fault injection in the configuration bit-stream of SRAM-based FPGAs through partial reconfiguration of configuration frames. The Xilinx Virtex5 LX50 is used in the experiments. The Single Event Upset controller macro is used injecting faults to random locations of the FPGA bit-stream. The effects were studied on a design consisting of 4 embedded processor systems implemented in the FPGA. MATLAB is used for developing the external fault injection control environment.


The interaction between a screw dislocation and a reinforced lip-shaped crack embedded in an infinite matrix subjected to a remote longitudinal shear load is investigated in this paper. By combining the sectionally holomorphic function theory, Cauchy singular integral, singularity analysis of complex functions and Riemann boundary problem, the problem is reduced to solve an elementary complex potentials equation. The general expressions of complex function in the matrix and the reinforcement layer are derived explicitly in series form for the case when the screw dislocation is located in the matrix. The image force acting on the screw dislocation and the stress intensity factor are also calculated. Some numerical results are provided to discuss the effects of dislocation position, material parameters, geometric configurations and eigenstrain on the image force.


In his book, The Idea of Justice , Amartya Sen presents a criticism of what he calls «the transcendental theory of justice». There he argues that transcendental theories play an irrelevant role in identifying the right choices to fight injustice in a non-ideal world. In this work we explore a possible relationship of compatibility between the comparative approach sponsored by Sen and a minimal framework of global justice that would play a role in constraining the comparative process in order to avoid path-dependent choices that bring about institutional scenarios that are incompatible with the conceptions of justice that generated the original evaluations.


The utility model discloses a casting mold structure, and provides a chilling block positioning structure of a mold. The chilling block positioning structure of the mold is simple in structure and precise in positioning, and solves the technical problems that in the prior art, a chilling block easily moves off a proper position, and therefore the chilling block deviates from a position required by a process, a cooling function cannot be achieved, and the like. The chilling block positioning structure of the mold comprises the mold and the chilling block arranged on the surface of the mold. A magnet is arranged on the mold, and the chilling block is fixed on the surface of the mold through the magnet in a magnetic adsorption mode.


Multiresolution representations are very effective for analyzing the information in images. In this dissertation we develop such a representation for general purpose low-level processing in computer vision. We first study the properties of the operator which approximates a signal at a finite resolution. We show that the difference of information between the approximation of a signal at the resolutions 2$\sp{j+1}$ and 2$\sp{j}$ can be extracted by decomposing this signal on a wavelet orthonormal basis of ${\bf L}({\bf R}\sp{n}$). In ${\bf L}\sp2({\bf R})$, a wavelet orthonormal basis is a family of functions $\left\lbrack\sqrt{2\sp{j}}\ \psi(2\sp{j}x+n)\right\rbrack\sb{(j,n)\in{\rm Z}\sp2}$, which is built by dilating and translating a unique function $\psi(x)$, called a wavelet. This decomposition defines an orthogonal multiresolution representation called a wavelet representation. It is computed with a pyramidal algorithm of complexity n log(n). We study the application of this signal representation to data compression in image coding, texture discrimination and fractal analysis. The multiresolution approach to wavelets enables us to characterize the functions $\psi(x) \in {\bf L}\sp2({\bf R})$ which generate an orthonormal basis.
The inconvenience of a linear multiresolution decomposition is that it does not provide a signal representation which translates when the signal translates. It is therefore difficult to develop pattern recognition algorithms from such representations. In the second part of the dissertation we introduce a nonlinear multiscale transform which translates when the signal is translated. This representation is based upon the zero-crossings and local energies of a multiscale transform called the dyadic wavelet transform. We experimentally show that this representation is complete and that we can reconstruct the original signal with an iterative algorithm. We study the mathematical properties of this decomposition and show that it is well adapted to computer vision. To illustrate the efficiency of this Energy Zero-Crossings representation, we have developed a coarse to find matching algorithm on stereo epipolar scan lines. While we stress the applications towards computer vision, wavelets are useful to analyze other types of signal such as speech and seismic-waves.


A great variety of investigations have been made on the distribution of Tb and U in the Ilfmaussaq alkaline intrusion, South Greenland. The major emphasis has been placed on economic assessment of the Kvanefjeld uranium deposit (Sørensen et al., 1974) but attention has also been given to the Tb and U contents of rocks and minerals outside the deposit (Buchwald & Sørensen, 1961; Sørensen, 1962; Hamilton, 1964; Gerasimovsky, 1969; Bohse et al., 1974; Steenfelt & Bohse, 1975). In the present study, we present Tb and U values largely obtained by laboratory gamma-ray spectrometric (GRS) analysis of a large col1ection of representative samples taken from all rock types of the intrusion. The results are discus sed in relation to current knowledge and ideas on the petrologic evolution of the Ilfmaussaq intrusion. ce of volatiles during agpaitic crystallization.


The race to heuristically solve non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP) problems through efficient methods is ongoing. Recently, optics was demonstrated as a promising tool to find the ground state of a spin-glass Ising Hamiltonian, which represents an archetypal NP problem. However, achieving completely programmable spin couplings in these large-scale optical Ising simulators remains an open challenge. Here, by exploiting the knowledge of the transmission matrix of a random medium, we experimentally demonstrate the possibility of controlling the couplings of a fully connected Ising spin system. By further tailoring the input wavefront we showcase the possibility of modifying the Ising Hamiltonian both by accounting for an external magnetic field and by controlling the number of degenerate ground states and their properties and probabilities. Our results represent a relevant step toward the realisation of fully-programmable Ising machines on thin optical platforms, capable of solving complex spin-glass Hamiltonians on a large scale.


We train a generative convolutional neural network which is able to generate images of objects given object type, viewpoint, and color. We train the network in a supervised manner on a dataset of rendered 3D chair models. Our experiments show that the network does not merely learn all images by heart, but rather finds a meaningful representation of a 3D chair model allowing it to assess the similarity of different chairs, interpolate between given viewpoints to generate the missing ones, or invent new chair styles by interpolating between chairs from the training set. We show that the network can be used to find correspondences between different chairs from the dataset, outperforming existing approaches on this task.


New global diabatic potential energy surfaces of the electronic states 1B1 and 1A2 of ozone and the non-adiabatic coupling surface between them are constructed from electronic structure calculations. These surfaces are used to study the visible photodissociation in the Chappuis band by means of quantum mechanical calculations. The calculated absorption spectrum and its absolute intensity are in good agreement with the experimental results. A vibrational assignment of the diffuse structures in the Chappuis band system is proposed on the basis of the nodal structures of the underlying resonance states.


may exist, and occasional tonics and stimdLlants, are the appropriate remedies in these cases, andIl enerally in time effect a cure. We know very little of the pathology of this disease, and we therefore suppose it to have something to do with the great syinpathetic iierve, and the ganglionic system connected therewithl; but about all these matters I must confess to you that we kniow very little, and therefore it is that I have very little to say to you about it.


In this paper,using five kinds of natural plants,mushroom,Osmunda,pteridium,brasenia schreberi J F Gmel and tea as the raw naterials,the Zn and Hg contents of them were determined ,and the food safty of natural plants from Enshi was analyzed as well.The results showed that their Zn and Hg contents were (1.000-0.034) mg/kg.and (0.015-0.034) mg/kg respectively,and it conoforms to GB.


Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is probably one of the oldest field crops used in nutrition, but also for the production of fibres for clothes, ropes or canvas. Cannabis sativa is one of the most spread species of cannabis which belongs to family Cannabinaceae. The seeds are important part of cannabis sativa, which contains high part of lipids and proteins. It provides also valuable essential fatty acids, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Due to low content of THC is possible to produce valuable oil from seeds, which is used in cosmetic and food industry.
The aim of this work was to evaluate composition of hemp seeds from one harvest, observe and compare quality of parameters both cold pressed hemp seed oil and hemp seed oil by CO2 extraction.
Both oils are comparable in composition of fatty acids which follow from results of analyses. Also contents of sterols and moisture are similar in both oils. The saponification value is similar in both oils, conformable to as a iodine value. Also were found dissimilarities in colours, phospholipides, unsaponifiable matter, acid value and peroxide value. The cold pressed hemp seed oil contained lower values of unsaponifiable matter, colours and higher concentration of phospholipides and lower acid value. It is caused by influence of CO2. The oxidation stability of cold pressed hemp seed oil was four times higher than oil by CO2 extraction.


This work reports an investigation into the solid phase behavior and melting behavior of tetracosane (C24H50) monolayers and bilayers physisorbed onto the graphite basal plane using molecular dynamics simulations performed in the constant (N,V,T) ensemble. This study is conducted in order to perform an in-depth analysis of the melting process in the quasi-2D monolayer, and compare the molecular behavior in the monolayer and the bilayer at temperatures near and at the melting transition. The bilayer is studied by looking at quantities for the bottom and top layer separately in order to break apart the evolution of differing structural and molecular properties that are normally associated with melting in the monolayer. Simulations suggest that the melting temperature in the bilayer is increased significantly from that of the monolayer- which already occurs at temperatures higher than the bulk tetracosane melting temperature. In addition, a layer-by-layer melting effect is observed where significant factors associated with the melting transition- the formation of molecular gauche defects and the perpendicular rolling of the molecule chains- occur in the top layer of the bilayer at significantly lower temperatures than they occur in the bottom layer. Variations are conducted to better understand the role of different interactions in melting of the crystalline monolayer, and the results of simulations are discussed in comparison to recent STM and diffraction experiment and found to be in good agreement.


Dynamics of Sedimentation Process at Riko River Estuary, Balikpapan Bay. Development of the marine facilities (i.e. port, workshops, laboratories, etc)  for Indonesian Research Vessels and National Center for Marine Research in the proposed National Science Technopark (NSTP) Maritime Region at District of Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan Province, needs to understanding the dynamic of waters physical environment. Due to the NSTP-Maritime region located at Riko River as part of Balikpapan Bay waters, it needs an ocean interaction study between open sea (Balikpapan Bay) and Riko River waters. This study used a 2D-Hydrodynamic Model  for  Riko River and Balikpapan Bay waters and adjacent sea. The model simulated the hydrodynamic conditions on the waters and   furthermore predicted   the mud transport in  September - November 2016 using the river flow and total suspended sediment data collected in November 2016. The model results showed that the average of sediment load movement due to the dynamic of waters at the estuary is   ± 4,25 x10-3 kg per second or ± 367,7 kg per day. This preliminary study hopefully  can explain the shallowing  processes in mouth of Riko River.


For English teaching,linguistic environment is an ignorable problem.A fine linguistic environment is essential to learn English well.Some methods,which are used to create suitable lin- guistic environment,are presented here on the basis of analyzing the connotation and significance in the thesis.


ABSTRACT This study explores the use of occupational performance coaching (OPC) with three parent–child dyads using descriptive case study methodology. OPC is a parent-directed intervention in which parents are coached to improve their own or their children's performance in home and community contexts. In this study, parent and child performance was examined using a pre–post intervention design with the key outcome measures being the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and goal attainment scaling (GAS). Parent experiences of engaging with a therapist using OPC were explored through thematic analysis of interviews with parents after completing intervention. Themes relating to learning, changes at home, and the challenges and rewards of OPC emerged from interviews with parents. Results indicate that OPC may be a useful intervention for therapists seeking to achieve occupational performance outcomes with children and parents. Further research avenues are described.


Power transformers utilise solid and liquid-oil insulators as the insulation system against the dielectric stresses between the internal parts. The insulation system itself is a core component of the transformer and ageing thereof is mainly dependent on the condition of the insulation system. During operation of the power transformer, chemical reactions occur internally between materials and compounds, whereby some of these reactions are detrimental to the insulation system and the overall transformer health. Mineral insulating oil comprise of several compounds and additives that are essential in preserving the transformer against ageing. This paper focuses on inhibitor and passivator additives employed in mineral insulating oil in power transformers. These additives deplete over time and require careful monitoring and replenishment to ensure sustained transformer health. An ongoing challenge in protecting power transformers against premature ageing lies with a lack of understanding of the causes of additive depletion as well as the depletion rates. Although, there is a basic understanding of normal depletion of the additives, the major factors that influence depletion and the extent of these effects are not yet fully comprehended. The presented study reviews research on additive depletion rate and factors that affect depletion of those additives, with the aim of explicating the related knowledge gaps and determining key aspects of future research focus towards addressing the aforementioned challenge.


A gyroscope load cell which includes a gyroscope suspended in a housing and provided with the usual inner and outer gimbals. The specific improvement of the present invention is concerned with the joint between the inner and outer gimbals which, in the present case, consists of a V-strap hinge composed of a pair of straps intersecting along a line which intersects the precessional axis of the gyroscope at an angle of 90 DEG .


This paper provides an overview of the key requirements for creating a solution that will ensure successful business continuity. At the same time, a special review is made of the parameters that have not been processed in a series of researches so far, and have an important role in the success of such solutions. During review of the indicated reference papers, the key requirements for the implementation of a successful BC plan were extracted. The analysis of DR systems and the assessment of their reliability and security, especially those placed in the cloud, will be the subject of future research to extract an optimal solution to modern challenges.


This study aims to estimate the quantum Bogoliubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon (BBGKY) hierarchy in curvilinear coordinates. We used the results to calculate the quantum binary and triplet distribution functions in curvilinear coordinates. The analytical form of the quantum distribution functions was obtained for dusty plasma in Saturn's rings model. We use particles-in-cell (PIC) simulations to find a visualization of dusty three-component plasma phase space in curvilinear coordinates. Our results were compared with others.


The agricultural area is a priority to develop than the natural area for land developments. However, the importance of agricultural biodiversity is emphasized recently. The agricultural area does not only provide food for human and habitat for wild life but also contribute to improve biodiversity. It is necessary to preserve the agricultural area with rich biodiversity. The study was conducted to analyze biodiversity of insects for conservation value assessment of agricultural areas. According to the results of field survey, there is higher biodiversity index in agricultural areas surrounding the forest or small size agricultural areas. By contrast, the index is lower in agricultural areas near roads or in the intensive agricultural area. The results show that there is high biodiversity in agricultural areas, especially margin agricultural area such as below 2ha and over slop rate of 15%. Therefore, further studies should be conducted field survey more to generalize for biodiversity in agricultural area, and establish the criteria to protect agricultural area from land developments.


Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is a polyprotein found mainly in the pituitary gland [l], although it is also present in brain, placenta and intestine [2]. While POMC itself has little biological activity, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and beta-endorphin, opioid peptides within the structure of the POMC molecule, are physiologically important hormones [3]. ACTH and beta-endorphin are freed from POMC by a series of proteolytic cleavage steps. This processing has been investigated most extensively in anterior and intermediate lobes of the pituitary where some of the peptidases involved in POMC processing have been characterized [4,5]. The degradation of POMC in these two lobes is different since ACTH is converted to alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) in the intermediate but not the anterior pituitary. As a result, the main biologically active secreted POMC products from the intermediate lobe are alpha-MSH and beta-endor-phin, whereas ACTH and beta-endorphin are released from the adenohypophysis. Differential expression of processing enzymes, therefore, is the crucial determinant for the tissue-selective appearance of various POMC-derived peptides. ACTH and beta-endorphin have numerous physiological actions including mediating the response of the body to stress, regulation of pain mechanisms, and modification of the immune system. While the expression of different POMC peptides varies according to the presence of the processing enzymes, the levels of these opioids are directly dependent on the activity of the POMC gene. Within the last decade, the structure of the POMC gene has been identified, and many of the humoral and molecular factors regulating its activity have been elucidated. This commentary will discuss recent advances in our knowledge of the control of the POMC gene and how modifications in its activity may have important physiological consequences. separated by two non-coding intervening sequences [6]. The biologically active POMC peptides, beta-endorphin and ACTH, are exclusively coded by exon 3, whereas the signal peptide and amino terminal region of the precursor protein results from expression of exon 2 [7]. Exon 1 is not known to code for any proteins. The structure of the POMC gene has many similarities to that of the gene for preproenkephalin, another opioid peptide [2]. Furthermore , human preproenkephalin, the precursor of met-and leu-enkephalin, and POMC have the same number of amino acid residues and the biologically active peptides in each precursor poly-protein are flanked by dibasic amino acid residues. These similarities may allow the opioid peptide precursor molecules to be processed to mature hormone by common proteolytic mechanisms [2]. The …


A high power pHEMT with longer drain-gate separation can operate at higher voltage. However, it shows large output power loss at millimeter-wave in addition to the conventional parasitic power dissipation. The nonlinear drain resistance Rd of the pHEMT is found to cause the large power loss, although it behaves as a conventional resistor at low frequency. The nonlinearity of the Rd is modeled and shows good agreement with the measurement. Comparisons of pHEMTs with different nonlinear Rd also support the model.


The structure and operating principle of an opto-digital spectrum polarimeter for Solar radio emission investigation is presented. The device registers the intensity of Solar radio emission and circular polarized component. The Solar observation results of both parameters are presented.


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Hibernation involves a complex suite of adaptations that enable small animals to reduce metabolism for extended periods of time, conserving resources to survive in harsh environments. Hibernation decreases heart rate, blood flow and ventilation, which may result in low oxygen


What sort of person would put a significant amount of time into developing an indispensable structural carbon calculation tool, then give it away for free? Helena Russell finds out.


S. aureus is recognized worldwide as one of the frequent cause of intramammary infections in dairy cows. In order to determine the prevalence of S.aureus bovine clinical mastitis as well as detection of coagulase and mec A genes of S,aureus , a total of 78 quarter milk samples were collected from clinical cases of mastitis after the investigation of 100 lactating Friesian cows at Ismailia Governorate. By bacteriological examination the percentage of S.aureus in bovine clinical mastitis was (28.2%). Ten isolates were subjected to PCR for detection of coagulase gene (coa) gene, (100%) were positive. PCR protocol used for amplification and detection of (mec A) gene of MRSA as a confirm diagnosis of their resistance to methicillin antibiotic . All MRSA isolates were 100% positive . Finally, the prevalence of MRSA mec A gene was very low in comparison with coagulase gene. INTRODUCTION S.aureus is one of the common causes of mastitis worldwide, which is of economic importance to the dairy industry . Raw milk is a potential source of S.aureus in milk and milk products, especially in the case of defective pasteurization. The main reservoir of S.aureus seems to be the infected quarter. Molecular epidemiological analysis of the bovine S.aureus population suggested that a small number of clonal types were responsible for most infections, and that strains had a broad geographic distribution. The organism has a capacity to produce a large number of putative virulence factors . Some of these factors may be of more importance than others in different diseases or at different stages of the pathogenesis of particular infections, as not all factors are produced by each strain. Kalorey et al (2007) Coagulase is one of the most important virulence factors, which is an exoenzyme and clots plasma by conformational activation of prothrombin (Panizzi et al, 2004). The transmission of bovine MRSA to humans is possible and may contribute to outbreaks in animal


Throughout human history, it has been apparent that few medical maladies are as devastating in their effects as major depression. And since the 1950s, with the advent of the first generation of antidepressants, it has been apparent that depression is a biological disorder. This has generated the tremendous intellectual challenge of how to understand the material, reductive bases of a disease of malignant sadness.


This paper provides an overview and the fundamental questions on the stage of Web 3.0. We analyze the characteristics of current bibliographic systems based on entity- relationship model.We defined the diferent levels on computer systems, (conceptual, logical and physical) and therefore we present the characteristics of FRBR relationships between work and document in the FRBR conceptual model. FRBRoo are described as an interpretation with object logic of the same functional requirements. Finally, future trends arise, such as moving from the entity relationship modeling to objects, the explicitness with consistent semantic annotation, mapping of existing bibliographic databases, the development of ontologies for integrate document systems into the Semantic Web


A crucial component of contemporary company leadership, corporate governance has significant effects on a company's profitability and overall financial success. The main hypotheses and their consequences about the connection between good corporate governance procedures and a company's profitability are summarized in this abstract. The principal-agent theories, theory of stewardship, and agency cost theory are particularly highlighted in the first section's exploration of the theoretical underpinnings of corporate governance. These ideas provide insight into how a company's profitability is affected by the shareholders' and management's shared interests, as well as the standard of oversight and decision-making procedures. The second part of the article explores how profitable corporate governance actually works in practice. It emphasizes the benefits of open disclosure procedures, the function of independent directors and board structures, and the connection between executive pay and financial performance. It also covers how improving company governance can lower risks, boost investor confidence, and facilitate access to capital markets. The difficulties and shortfalls of corporate governance are also discussed in this abstract, including the possibility of conflicts of interest, the requirement for regulatory compliance, and the impact of cultural and contextual differences on the effectiveness of corporate governance. This abstract provides a thorough explanation of the underlying ideas and real-world ramifications, underscoring the critical relationship between corporate governance and profitability. Effective corporate governance may greatly contribute to a company's financial performance and long-term sustainability in today's cutthroat business environment by fostering transparency, accountability, and responsible management. For stakeholders, legislators, and practitioners attempting to navigate the complex relationship among corporate governance and profitability, knowing these hypotheses and their implications is crucial.


* Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. Only in recent years has the complete clinical spectrum of illness caused by toxoplasmosis been defined. This is a condition which may cause difficulties in diagnosis and therapy in medical, surgical, pediatric, and ophthalmologic patients. In recent years members of our group have encountered patients with varied manifestations of toxoplasmosis. This report is concerned with a review of some of our challenging cases. Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a crescent-shaped protozoan. This organism multiplies intracellularly, and after a few days to weeks forms cysts containing from 50 to 3,000 organisms. T. gondii produces infection in many animals, and causes both congenital and acquired infections in man. The congenital form may be subclinical or may be manifest by destructive lesions of the brain, eyes, and viscera. The acquired form is much more common than is usually believed. Available data now reveal that as much as one third of the adult population in the United States have specific antibodies to this organism, most often as a result of a previous subclinical infection. Occasionally, acquired toxoplasmosis is a symptomatic illness similar to