An alternative explanation for the observations that: (i) anoxia causes a large current through KATP- channels and (ii) it decreases the protein synthesis rate has been advanced. Considered here is the role of the biostructured matter in the living cell, which may be broken down under the hypoxic conditions and fast restored upon reoxygenation. Therefore Ca 2+ and Na + influx, K + and amino acids efflux, as well as low ATP production can be directly related to the breakdown of biostructure. The lack of oxygen results in the breakdown of the cell biostructure, leading to a low protein synthesis. Besides, the chemiosmotic theory has failed to give o coherent explanation to these experimental data. Suitable experiments using Saccharomyces cerevisiae support the theoretical considerations as well.


The article discusses the results of the scientific heritage of retrospective studies on various aspects of the formation and use of human capital as a factor in the sustainable socio-economic development of rural areas. An author's methodological approach to conducting a comprehensive diagnosis of rural territories according to the achieved level of human capital development and the degree of favorable conditions for its formation is proposed, the possibility and advantages of using the rank assessment method with determining the integral rank level are substantiated. The final step in diagnosing the conditions for the formation and development of human capital in rural areas is the procedure for converting private ratings by analytical areas into an integrated rating, which will make it possible to draw up a general diagnostic "picture" and to typify the studied rural areas according to a set of criteria important for human capital. This methodological approach combines rating estimates of the achieved level of conditions development and the dynamics of ongoing changes in the environment of human capital formation, which gives a comprehensive "picture". In addition, the system of indicators for diagnostics presented in the article also works in conditions of limited empirical block in the system of municipal statistics. The results obtained are analytical reinforcement in the implementation of a differentiated approach to improving the conditions for the formation of human capital in the context of rural municipal areas. Diagnostic results allow an objective and correct approach to the justification of the necessary mechanisms and tools for the regulatory and stimulating impact of the management system on the characteristics of the environment for expanded reproduction of human capital in rural areas. The methodological support proposed in the article for carrying out diagnostic procedures of the processes of human capital formation in rural areas is universal and can be used in other


Before proceeding may I state that, with respect to the people of Puerto Rico, I hold the office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and as such am recognized by the several departments, inc~uding the legislative department, of the Government of the United States. Thi s is an elective office. Elections in Puerto Rico are based on universal suffrage, any mals or female over 21 being ab hi to vote w:L thout any property or literacy requirements. I have held the office of Resident Commissioner since 1946, at first by appointment; by election since 1948. In 1952 I was reelected by approximately 65 per cent of the total vote cast, and by a margin of a bout 305 ,OOO votes over the ' number received by my nearest opponent, who ob i!Lained 19 per cent of the votes cast for Resident Commissioner. During the whole process cf establishing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico I have had the solemn obligation to represent the will of the Puerto Rican people, both as regards the politic:il status which they have chosen for themselves and as regards the other aspects of their democratic will


In this paper, we discuss several properties of ideals, filters, annihilators and maximisors in a general Almost Distributive Lattices (ADLs) and in particular, Almost Boolean Algebras (ABAs). Also, we characterize extreme ideals and filters. Further, several equivalent conditions are obtained in terms of ideals and filters for an ADL to become an ABA.


Amoebiasis is an infection produced by the ingestion of cysts of Entamoeba histolytica. Once the cyst undergoes a transformation into trophozoites, it attaches itself to intestinal epithelial cells, causing dysentery and colon ulceration. Taking into account that the predominant antibodies in intestinal secretions are of the IgA class, it is possible that the presence of trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica in the large intestine induces the production of specific IgA antibodies against the parasite. Because of the problems of inducing experimental intestinal amoebiasis, it is difficult to obtain antibodies against the parasite from the intestine. Under normal circumstances, a large amount of secretory IgA is secreted daily in the duodenum by way of the bile.' In previous work using this model, we assayed the induction of specific IgA antiamoeba antibodies, immunizing rats through different routes. We obtained positive results immunizing the rats intraperitoneally and challenging them intracaecally with trophozoites.'The aim of the present work is to investigate any possible reactions of secretory IgA immunoglobulin, purified from bile of immunized rats, with trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica.


Based on the feasibility analysis of recovery of the second grade urban sewage for industrial use, and with a thermal power plant in the east of Beijing City, which reuses the second grade urban sewage as an example, it is shown that the reuse of urban sewage is of social significance, and can produce high economic benefits and improve productivity, and that the technology can be widely used to save limited water resources in Beijing City.


Performance of Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in Indonesian h as been becoming and strategy issue among governance agency. Theoritically , business strategy one of factors effecting Small Medium Enterprises (SME) performance. However, study that investigate the role of managenent control system as moderating variabel is limited. Therefore, the object ive of this study is to investigate the role of management control system as moderating variabel between business strategy and performance. C ontingency theory is use d to undestand phenomena of business strategy and performance. 74 Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in Bukittinggi City is use d here, and Moderating Regression Analysis (MRA) is a pplied . The f in ding of this study is that there is significant relationship between business strategy and performance of Small Medium Enterprises (SME). Meanwhile management control system has not played the role moderating variabel. Keywords : Management Control System, Business Strategy, and Enterpreneurship Performance


Chemoresistance in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a common reason hindering the success of treatment. Recently, ferroptosis has been reported to be associated with chemoresistance in different types of cancer, while the role of ferroptosis‐related genes in GBM have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to demonstrate the roles and mechanism of ferroptosis‐related genes in chemoresistance and metastasis of GBM. First, two candidate genes, squalene epoxidase (SQLE) and FANCD2, were identified to be associated with ferroptosis‐related chemoresistance in GBM from three temozolomide (TMZ) therapeutic datasets and one ferroptosis‐related gene dataset. Then, comprehensive bio‐informatics data from different databases testified that SQLE was significantly downregulated both in GBM tissue and cells and displayed a better prognosis in GBM. Clinical data identified lower expression of SQLE was significantly associated with WHO grade and 1p/19q codeletion. Moreover, through in vitro experiments, SQLE was confirmed to suppress ERK‐mediated TMZ chemoresistance and metastasis of GBM cells. The KEGG analysis of SQLE‐associated co‐expressed genes indicated SQLE was potentially involved in the cell cycle. Furthermore, SQLE was found to have the most significant correlations with tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes and immunomodulators. These findings highlighted that SQLE could be a potential target and a biomarker for therapy and prognosis of patients with GBM.


Measurement of software reliability was carried out during the development of data base software for a multi-sensor tracking system. Every run made during this project was scored as success or failure, and supporting data were collected on forms for further analysis. The failure ratio (number of failures per calendar interval divided by total number of runs) and failure rate (number of failures divided by CPU time for the interval) were found to be consistent measures, on a month-to-month basis as well as from module to module, and therefore considered valid indicators of reliability in this environment. Trend lines could be established from these measurements that provide good visualization of the progress on the job as a whole as well as on individual modules. Over one-half of the observed failures were due to factors associated with the specific run submission rather than with the code proper.


A measurement input electric circuit applied in computerized instruments that can adapt to various sorts of thermal resistance,thermocouple and standard signal is presented.The electric circuit can provide advanced measuring precision.It also can improve the generality of instruments for various sensors.


A method has been developed by means of which independent measurement can be made of the amount of red‐cell destruction occurring in the spleen and the liver. The technique involves a standard red‐cell survival study and surface‐counting measurements together with quantitative scanning of the spleen and liver with 113mIn colloid in order to calibrate the surface counter. The rate of destruction in each organ is obtained by fitting the measured uptake curve for the organ to a theoretical uptake curve by computer. In addition, if whole body counting is also performed, the amount of red‐cell destruction occurring in the rest of the reticulo‐endothelial system may be deduced. Results are given for measurements on a series of 11 patients.


The article mentions questions of technical maintenance of university scientific researches and training. Huge opportunities of computer technologies are poorly used. The results of computer experience in laboratory works and scientific researches are presented. The basic attention is given to visualization of physical fields.


The research progress on the absorption element mercury in flue gas by fly ash was analyzed. The distribution of element mercury in fly ash,effect of fly ash and flue gas on element mercury adsorption properties were studied and the mercuric adsorption model was explored. The faced problems that the fly ash used as absorption element and the future development were pointed.


A dynamic research of marine steam turbine propulsion is very important problem in ship construction and ship exploitation. The creating model presented in this paper is using to research the dynamics of marine steam turbine propulsion. The creating model is based on the marine steam turbine power plant MST-23, one of the most modern marine steam turbine power plant. The results of the research using this model are characteristics of the related changes on the time of the most important parameters of marine steam turbine propulsion plant in the transient states and it's very important for analyzing marine steam turbine propulsion plant in the transient states


This article provides an analysis of the impact of the abolition of individual resale price maintenance (irpm) in 1964 on the relationships between retailers and suppliers and, wider, on defining features of the UK economic structure. It describes the role of irpm prior to 1964 in a complex competitive environment that existed across a range of goods and services. A key feature of this environment was the influence manufacturers had over retail margins and pricing. It shows how the 1964 Resale Price Act both unraveled this system and provided the legal prerequisite of today's dominance by large retailers, as oligopolists and oligopsonists. The study delineates how a different set of business relationships came to dominate the retailing sector: in place of retailing as a manufacturer's marketing strategy, conditions of supply were determined by the business strategies of multiple retailers. Retailing was further characterized by mutual dependencies among multiple retailers, commercial property investors, and the financial sector. In tracking this shift in business relationships, a historical analogy suggests itself that the Act has parallels with the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, for both changed the balance of economic power between two key business sectors in Britain.


Objective To investigate the causes of titanium plates removal after rigid internal fixation for maxillofacial surgery. Methods Fourty-one cases with titanium plates removal after rigid internal fixation for maxillofacial surgery were reviewed. Results The causes of titanium plates removal in maxillofacial region were as follows: 9 cases following doctors' advices, 9 cases according to patients' requests, 7 cases with titanium plates loosening, one case with fractured plate, 8 cases with obstruction of denture restoration, 2 cases with obstruction of tooth implantation, and 5 cases with infection. Conclusion Whether to remove the titanium plates or not depends on the condition of each patient.


The invention discloses a processing technology and processing equipment of a 3D printing wire. An underfeeding way is adopted to feed materials, wherein the underfeeding way is achieved by regulating the screw speed of granules falling into an extruder before feeding materials by virtue of a small-screw feeding device, and the feeding speed of the small-screw feeding device and the rotating speed of the screw of the extruder are kept at a certain speed ratio so as to achieve continuous running; raw materials are added from the blanking hole of a main extruder by regulating the ratio of the inflow velocity of main materials to the adding speed of different auxiliary materials, and discontinuous multi-color extrusion is achieved according to the ratio of the adding time ato the rotating speed of the different auxiliary materials. The processing equipment comprises a charging barrel and an extruder below the charging barrel. By virtue of the technology, a problem that the screw of the extruder is locked during extruding can be avoided, and a colorful 3D printer wire can be produced.


Applying the multi-level comprehensive evaluation method of Fuzzy mathematics, the author made a systematic study on the teaching quality, and put forth a set of multi-level and multi-index evaluation systems of the class teaching quality from the teaching attitude、teaching contain、teaching methods and teaching effect, which was used in 2005. In order to evaluate the result of teaching reasonably and evoke the teachers' enthusiasm and promote the teaching quality.


At the end of May in 1962,the Central Committee of SU Communist Party and the conference of ministers decided to increase the price of meat,meat products,dairies and edible oils.This decision provoked a lot complaints,as well as protests,assemblies,strikes and riots.Though the government put down the group-related unexpected incident by police and army,it caused a mass loss of properties and casualties.This incident gives us a lesson that both the Party and government should consider carefully no matter why they have to increase the price of foods,because it is not only an economic issue,but also a political issue concerning social stability and national security.


In three-dimensional pumpkin greenhouse cultivation of hybrid seeds when the planting density and the way to stay its fruits was appropriate,it not only can improve the yield,but also was easy to operate management and to reduce the occurrence of disease.We combined three different plant density with two ways to stay pumpkin fruit commonly used in the production by farmers and determined the best combination to achieve the cost savings,increase yield purposes.


Creating and implementing a process for the mitigation of the impact hazards due to cornets and asteroids will prove to be a complex and involved process. The closest similar program is the collision avoidance process currently used for protection of the International Space Station (ISS). This process, in operation for over three years, has many similarities to the NEG risk problem. By reviewing the ISS program, a broader perspective on the complications of and requirements for a NEO risk mitigation program might be obtained. Specifically, any lessons learned and continuing issues of concern might prove useful in the development of a NEO risk assessment and mitigation program.


Vocal training is a field that can be supported by professions with expertise and knowledge in the subject of voice, such as phonoaudiology. The present investigation evidences and describes the design of a vocal training protocol based on the principles of sensorimotor learning with exercises of the Alexander technique, the Pranayama technique, the Pilates method and the semi-occluded vocal tract and its relationship with: proprioception, respiratory control, increased lung capacity and phonatory efficiency necessary to achieve a vocal economy in favor of the professional performance of the singer. The protocol was validated in its content by 3 judges who are experts in the field, who defined that it is pertinent, relevant, sufficient and coherent, in terms of clarity it was found that the protocol should improve some aspects related to the images of support and clarity in the instructions (repetitions and development), suggestions that were taken into account to make the respective adjustments. In conclusion, vocal training is an extensive process that requires great discipline on the part of the student, however, professions with the expertise and knowledge in the field of voice such as speech therapy, should provide tools to support the work of the voice professionals prior to the appearance of vocal pathologies.


Stem barks derived from twenty-one medicinal plants were extracted in methanol (100%) and acetone-water (70 : 30 v/v) and at room as well as at reflux temperature conditions. Total phenolic contents, determined using FC (Folin Ciocalteu) reagent, ranged from 528 to 715 mg GAE/g of crude extract. 15 out of 21 plants showed DPPH activity more than 90% and the rest of plants exhibited the activity in the range of 87–89%. The methanolic extract of P. granatum obtained at room temperature showed the highest antiradical activity (96%). The extracts with similar % radical scavenging of DPP showed significant variation in EC50 value. Radical scavenging activity of E. rostrata, M. champaca, A. modesta, P. roxburghii, P. longifolia, E. suberosa, and F. infectoria was evaluated for the first time. A strong correlation between total phenols and antiradical activity was exhibited with R values ranging from 0.7580 to 0.8874 indicating a linear relationship The extracts phenolic composition was studied by HPLC. All extracts showed remarkable antioxidant activity (87 to 96%) while moderate activity was exhibited against protease (22 to 56%). Gallic acid, tannic acid, quercetin, rutin, catechin, hesperidin, and cinnamic acid were identified as the major phenolic acids in the extracts of selected medicinal plants.


We investigate the differential cross sections (DCS) of elastic electron scattering from CH4, CF4 and SF6 at six impact energies in a range of 100-700eV by employing the independent atom model (IAM) together with the relativistic partial waves. The atom is present in an optical potential which is complex, spherically symmetric, and energy dependent. The optical potential of the atom is the sum of the direct static, dynamic polarization, local exchange and modified absorption potentials. The results obtained by using a modified absorption potential show significant improvements on the unmodified absorption potential results. The present results are generally in good agreement with experimental data available. In addition, the present results indicate that the structure of molecule manifests the observable effects on electron-molecule scattering.


A German researcher has uncovered more evidence of oppression of the Muslim minority. And a searing report from an American think tank has accused China of genocidal policies towards Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.


The Eighteen century India was period of tumultuous development –marked by the decline of the Mughal state, emergence of successor states and their decline and finally subjugation by the British rule. The establishment of the British rule is regarded as departure from the earlier regimes. The paper analyse developments in Tripuri state in the eastern frontier and how the events at the core of the empire affected the peripheral regions like Tripura The Eighteenth century India was period of tumultuous development –marked by the decline of the Mughal state, emergence of successor states and their decline and finally subju gation by the British rule. The establishment of the British rule is regarded as departure from the earlier regimes. The paper analyse developments in Tripuri state in the eastern frontier and how the events at the core of the empire affected the peripheral regions like Tripura


Purpose:
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design:
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings:
New product development is a critical consideration for any business. Utilizing market-sensing capabilities to boost this is key for gaining competitive advantage.

Originality:
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


This review compiles the scientific basis to propose the pleiotrophin/receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase β/ζ signaling pathway as a new therapeutic target to prevent drug of abuse-induced toxicity. In addition, potential guidelines are provided for the development of new therapeutic compounds derived from that knowledge. This approach may be relevant since efficient therapeutic strategies are currently lacking in this field, even when drug-induced neurotoxicity seems to underlie the neurodegenerative disorders diagnosed in drug addicts.


The Pittsburgh Research Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted a study of the explosibility of various metals and other elemental dusts dispersed in air, with a focus on the experimental explosion temperatures. The data are useful for understanding the basics of dust cloud combustion, as well as for evaluating the explosion hazards in the minerals and metals processing industries. The dusts studied included boron, carbon, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, sulfur, titanium, chromium, iron, nickel, copper, zinc, niobium, molybdenum, tin, hafhium, tantalum, tungsten, and lead. The dusts were chosen to cover a wide range of physical properties from the more volatile materials such as magnesium, aluminum, sulfur, and zinc to the highly "refractory" (very low volatility) elements such as carbon, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, and tungsten. These flammability studies were conducted in a 20-L chamber, using strong pyrotechc ignitors. The experimental data obtained included the minimum explosible concentrations, maximum explosion pressures, and maximum explosion temperatures. A unique multiwavelength infrared pyrometer was used to measure the temperatures. For the elemental dusts studied, all ignited and burned as air-dispersed dust clouds except for nickel, copper, molybdenum, and lead. The measured maximum explosion temperatures ranged from -1 550 K for tin and tungsten powders to -2800 K for aluminum, magnesium, and titanium powders. The measured temperatures are compared to the calculated, adiabatic flame temperatures. In general, the dusts whose experimental temperatures were closer . to the adiabatic values were those with the finer particle sizes, those that were more easily vaporized, and/or those that were intrinsically more reactive. Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the yiews of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 1, Introduction This paper will concentrate on the explosion characteristics of metal and nonmetal elemental dusts. These dusts are important from both the practical and fundamental points of view. These metal and nonmetal elements are often used or occur in industry as powders or . dusts, and an evaluation of their possible explosion hazards is important. In addition, the elemental dusts are ideal for studying the fundamental physicochemical processes occurring during combustion because they are pure, uniform substances with well-characterized phase transitions and thermodynamic properties. This is in marked contrast to the complex structures and heterogeneous chemistry associated with the combustion of carbonaceous materials such as coal and grain dusts. The elemental dusts also display a marked variation of reaction 'contact author: Kenneth L. Cashdollar, NOSH, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, phone 4 12-3 86-6753, fax 4 12-3 86-6595, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com. exothemicities in air and an enormous range in vapor pressures at their respective flame temperatures. In the 1960's and earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Mines at Pittsburgh studied the explosibility of metal dusts using a cylindrical 1.2-L Hartrnann chamber (Jacobson, Cooper, & Nagy, 1964) with an electric spark ignition source. More recent Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) studies used a nearly-spherical 20-L chamber and much stronger pyrotechnic ignitors to study the explosibility of metal and other elemental dusts (Hertzberg, Zlochower, & Cashdollar, 1991 ; Hertzberg, Zlochower, & Cashdollar, 1992; Cashdollar, 1994). The current paper is a continuation of these pRL2 studies, with an emphasis on experimental explosion temperatures measured with a six-channel ineared (IR) pyrometer. The current paper is also complementary to an earlier experimental study of coal dust explosion temperatures (Cashdollar & Hertzberg, 1983), using the same IR pyrometer. Other explosion characteristics measured for the metal and other elemental dusts included minimum explosible concentrations (lean flammable limits), maximum explosion pressures, and rates of pressure rise. In h s paper, the terms "flammability" and "explosibility" are used interchangeably to refer to the ability of an airborne dust cloud to propagate an explosion after it has been initiated by a sufficiently strong ignition source. The explosions observed were rapid deflagrations, not detonations. The infrared temperatures and other experimental explosion data provide evidence to evaluate the general mechanisms of homogeneous versus heterogeneous combustion of these elemental dusts. Some preliminary metal explosion temperature data for iron dust are in Cashdollar (1994; 2000). 2. Experimental Equipment and Test Procedures The dust flammability experiments in this paper were conducted in the PRL 20-L laboratory chamber (Cashdollar & Hertzberg, 1982a; Cashdollar, 1994), which has been used extensively to study the explosibility of various dusts. The chamber (Fig. 1) is near-spherical in shape and made of stainless steel, with a pressure rating of 21 bar. The vertical cross section is merely a schematic that is meant to show the chamber itself and the vertical positioning of the instrumentation; the positions of the instrumentation around the circumference are shown in the horizontal cross section. The chamber top is hinged and opens across the full chamber diameter. The hinged top is attached by six : -in (1 9-mm) diameter bolts which are not shown on the drawings. Two PRL optical dust probes (Liebman, Conti, & Cashdollar, 1977; Cashdollar, Liebman, & Conti, 198 1) were used to measure the uniformity of the dust dispersion at the positions shown in Fig. 1. The optical probes measured the transmission through the dust cloud. Thin jets of air kept the probe windows dust-free. For the majority of the tests, one dust probe with a 3 8-rnm path length and a second dust probe with a 95-mm path length were used. The longer path length is more suitable for dusts with higher densities and larger particle sizes. The strain gauge pressure transducer measured the absolute explosion pressure and rate of pressure rise. The patented six-channel 1R pyrometer (Cashdollar, Hertzberg, & Litton, 1979; Cashdollar & Hertzberg, 1982b) measured the explosion temperatures by observing the flame radiation through the sapphire window in the top of the 20-L chamber. The pyrometer uses room 2 The majority of this research was conducted in the early 1990s when the PRL was part of the U.S. Bureau of Mines before its transfer to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1996. d g n i t i o n point (Pressure transducer


The present study provides a meta-analysis of the literature concerning phonological awareness and visual attention span (VAS) and their respective contributions to literacy development. Phonological awareness and VAS as constructs are explained along with their involvement in reading and writing. Tasks that are commonly employed for their assessment are also described. Studies that has been produced during the last 13 years are summarized in tables and their main outcomes (i.e. predictive value) vis-a-vis reading and writing development are presented. Both phonological awareness and VAS has proven reliable and independent predictors of literacy skills development. Similarly, deficits in either have often been associated with the emergence of learning difficulties such as dyslexia t According to the available literature both constructs are thus strong predictors of literacy. However, they seem to be two independent factors that explain a significant amount of variance in reading and writing skills. There is not a great number of studies that provide ample evidence for this but what is not yet clear is which of the two can be considered the strongest predictor of literacy success. This meta-study aims at uncovering this. In addition, this meta-study ends in suggestions for further research as well as a discussion of the teaching implication that arise from the outcomes of the studies that have examined the contributions of both phonological awareness and visual attention span to literacy development.


Measurements have been made of the ion species present in the positive column of dc discharges of 0.05% and 0.5% argon in helium, by sampling through a 35‐μ‐diam orifice in the wall of the discharge tube. Data for 0.05% argon has been obtained over a current range of 15–90 mA and for pressures from 3 to 30 Torr. The main ion species observed were Ar+, He+, and He2+. Theoretical analysis combined with measurements of the variation of Ar+ with distance from the cathode, enable estimates to be made of the degree of ionization of Ar, and also an upper limit for the helium metastable particle densities present in the discharge. Metastable density values are, in general, an order‐of‐magnitude larger than the electron densities.


As the effects of climate change become more severe, the possible shifts in precipitation patterns can cause severe natural hazards, such as extended drought periods, floods and flash floods, therefore, appropriate risk management is essential. The future adaptation strategies and decisions should definitely consider the results of physically-based climate model simulations, that is why the validation and analysis of these results play a key role in climate change issues.

            The main goal of this study is to analyse the spatio-temporal changes in main and extreme precipitation indices, and validate the Euro-CORDEX (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment for the Euro-Mediterranean area) simulations from this specific point of view. For the evaluation and analysis, we use the current version of E-OBS database. Both the simulations and the database are available in a 0.11° grid with daily temporal resolution.

            Since plain regions play an important role in agricultural economy and are more exposed to floods due to their geographic features, our primary goals are (i) to examine temporal and spatial changes in extreme precipitation events, and (ii) to explore possible connections between the different lowlands across Europe. Altogether 14 plain regions were selected with an objective multi-step methodology where the selected plains have to fulfil several criteria. These target regions represent different climatic types within Europe and cover different geographical areas (e.g. near the sea, surrounded by mountains, etc.). More specifically, five plain regions are parts of the East European Plain, two regions are located in the Scandinavian basin, five regions are located in Western Europe, one in Southern Europe, and finally, the Pannonian Plain (including mostly Hungary) is also selected.

            To analyse and validate the simulations, we calculated 17 climate indices (most of them defined by the Expert Team of Climate Change Indices, ETCCD). These indices are capable to represent the differences and similarities between and within the plains, and measure the changes in the occurrence an intensity of main and extreme precipitation, the lack of precipitation, and dry spells. The validation results serve as a basis of selecting the most suitable simulations for subsequent analysis of extreme conditions predicted for lowlands within Europe under different future scenarios.


: The article concerns the problems of the global economic space in terms of its ecologization. In the conditions set by the modern concept of sustainable development, an important task is to study the theoretical and practical aspects of the process of the economic system ecologization, which is the purpose of this study. The article outlines the basic principles of the functioning and co-existence of the ecological and economic systems, presents the main models of environmental modernization of the economy (in particular, the models of sustainable consumption and production). The authors focus on the concept of "green growth" and generalize the analytical basis of the green growth strategy, in particular the necessary conditions and instruments of the state policy. Summing up, the authors highlight important and priority areas of ecologization of the economic development of society.


We are interested in training goal-conditioned reinforcement learning agents to reach arbitrary goals specified as images. In order to make our agent fully general, we provide the agent with only images of the environment and the goal image. Prior methods in goal-conditioned reinforcement learning from images use a learned lower-dimensional representation of images. These learned latent representations are not necessary to solve a variety of goal-conditioned tasks from images. We show that a goal-conditioned reinforcement learning policy can be successfully trained end-to-end from pixels by using simple reward functions. In contrast to prior work, we demonstrate that using negative raw pixel distance as a reward function is a strong baseline. We also show that using the negative Euclidian distance between feature vectors produced by a random convolutional neural network outperforms learned latent representations like convolutional variational autoencoders.


Computational science is a source of many technological paradigms as declarative programming. Declarative programming is used in industries that want to reach optimal processing. Drools is a rule engine allowing this declarative programming.
For classical programs (imperative programming), many verifying programs exist tocheckthebehavioroftheseprograms,dependingonlyonthecode. Foraprogram based on declarative programming, the technics of verification are not common.
This thesis purposes a mathematical representation for the rule of the business rule management system: Drools. This representation is used to define two main errors for a set of rules: overlap and subsumption. Then, a presentation of the program developed is done.


The presence of the hexagonal array of macromolecules on the outer surface of the cell wall of Spirillum serpens VHA required the addition of calcium to an otherwise effective growth medium (vitami...


Let Fg be a closed orientable surface of genus g. The mapping class group of Fg is the group Mg = π0 Homeo+(Fg). The most important subgroup of Mg, the Torelli group Ig, is the kernel of the natural surjective homomorphism Mg → Sp(2g, Z). In 1978 Birman and Craggs [1] constructed remarkable homomorphisms of Ig to the group Z2 = Z/2Z. Recall that an embedding of Fg in a three-dimensional manifold is called a Heegaard embedding if its image decomposes the manifold into two parts V1 and V2, each of which is homeomorphic to a handlebody of genus g. Suppose that Σ is an (integral) homology sphere and f : Fg ↪→ Σ is a Heegaard embedding. Then to each element h ∈ Ig we can assign a new homology sphere Σh = V1 ∪fhf−1 V2. The Birman–Craggs homomorphism corresponding to f is given by ρf (h) = μ(Σh) + μ(Σ ), where μ is the Rokhlin invariant. Johnson [2] showed that all Birman–Craggs homomorphisms ρf can be combined into a surjective homomorphism σ : Ig → B3, where B3 is the vector space over Z2 of dimension ( 2g 3 ) + ( 2g 2 ) that is defined in the following way. Consider the affine space Ω of all Sp-quadratic forms on H1(Fg; Z2), that is, maps ω : H1(Fg; Z2) → Z2 satisfying ω(x + y) = ω(x) + ω(y) + (x · y). The Boolean polynomial algebra B on Ω is the quotient of the polynomial algebra Z2[Ω] by all relations of the form q = q. Each homology class x ∈ H1(Fg; Z2) gives a linear polynomial x ∈ B by x(ω) = ω(x). The polynomials x generate B and satisfy the relations x + y = x + y + (x · y). The polynomial Arf = ∑g i=1 aibi ∈ B2, which is independent of the choice of a symplectic basis a1, b1, . . . , ag, bg of H1(Fg; Z2), is called the Arf invariant. We put B′ = B/(Arf) and denote by Bk the subspace of B ′ consisting of the Boolean polynomials of degree at most k. Johnson [2] proved that σ yields an isomorphism of Sp(2g, Z)-modules H1(Ig; Z2) ∼= B3. It is an interesting problem to study extensions of the Birman–Craggs–Johnson homomorphism σ to groups containing the Torelli group Ig. In this note we study the problem of extending σ to the so-called extended Torelli group Îg consisting of all mapping classes f that act on H1(Fg; Z) either trivially or by multiplication by −1. In other words, Îg is the kernel of the natural surjective homomorphism Mg → PSp(2g, Z) (see [3]). Let us identify Fg with the surface shown in Fig. 1. Then the group Îg is generated by the group Ig and the hyperelliptic involution s, which is the rotation through π around the horizontal axis. In [2] Johnson wrote down explicit formulae for the values of σ on generators of the Torelli group. These


Food is a vital need for humans. Diseases in plants pose a threat to the availability of food to everyone and it is an important task to identify these diseases immediately so that the growth of the crop remains unaffected. Earlier, the identification of disease was a tedious and manual task. But after the advancements in the domain of artificial intelligence, this task is capable of automation with the use of neural networks. With a public dataset of 6349 images, an attempt has been made to classify diseases in apple, cherry, and peach leaves with an accuracy of 99.76%. The trained algorithm has potential to further detect as well as classify disease in other crops as well by expanding the dataset. Thus, the use of neural networks is becoming a reliable source for quick plus precise identification as well as classification of diseases in plants.


It has been reported that mitochondrial DNA contents,mitochondrial transmembrane potential,and the dynamic distribution of mitochondria are closely related to oocyte maturation,fertilization and cleavage. Age and diet structure may impact the oocyte developmental potential indirectly by impairing mitochondria. The transplantation of ooplasm,germinal vesicle,protokaryon and mitochondria as well as the use of dibutyryl cAMP will provide new ideas for the promotion of fertility rate and cleavage rate of oocytes through the improvement of mitochondrial DNA contents,mitochondrial transmembrane potential,and the dynamic distribution of mitochondria to some extent.


An ongoing challenge for education and training providers is to ensure learners can achieve maximum learning and recognition for their vocational education pathways. The strategy and case to be presented could best be described as the 3 'p's approach to the provision of vocational education and training, that is:

I. How we support people in their education and training
II. What processes we use to provide education and training?
III. The place where the learning opportunities are provided.

The aim of this paper is to share an educational and training strategy that has been successfully implemented in an Australian enterprise. The strategy provided education and training for the members of the enterprise in a multidisciplinary manner from a certificate through to a degree outcome, entirely through work-based learning (WBL) pedagogy.

The research was conducted with six candidates (employees of the enterprise) through their educational journey applying a range of WBL activities including projects and initiatives to improve processes and performances in the workplace. Each candidate's program involved designing the learning component following an initial phase of review of their previous learning's and qualifications with a learning advisor. This process was deemed as 'the learning review'. The other component of this phase was to develop a learning plan to encapsulate an area of study or disciplinary process that would be relevant to the individual candidate. This process was deemed as 'the learning journey plan'.

The second phase was for each candidate to prepare and undertake a problem based/research led learning activity through one or more workplace project/s with the support of the employer.

The final phase involved a structured review and development of a final project report to outline the outcomes and learning's achieved through the work based projects.

The research undertaken included post-program interviews with the six candidates and the General Manager and provided an example of a relatable model for all workplaces as well as education and training provider.


The struction is defined as an operation which associates with a graph G with stability number $\alpha (G)$ another graph $G'$ with stability number $\alpha (G') = \alpha (G) - 1$. Properties of the graph $G'$ are related to those of G. Namely, one exhibits some classes of graphs which are closed with respect to the struction; i.e., if G is in class C, then so is $G'$.One shows that for a fixed k, the class of graphs containing no induced $P_k $ (path on k nodes) is closed. So is the class of graphs containing no induced $P_k $ and no induced $C_k $ (cycle on k nodes). One also shows that the class of graphs G with $\alpha (G) = \theta (G)$ is closed. (Here $\theta (G)$ is the minimum number of cliques covering the nodes of G.)


— Wireless Sensor Network is easily vulnerable to intrusion due to its features of open medium, dynamic changing topology, cooperative algorithms, lack of centralized monitoring and management point, and lack of a clear line of defense. An intruder may drop, change or misroute the packet passing through the malicious node. Detection of abnormal behavior in the use of network services can be done using anomaly based intrusion detection. In this paper, we consider the problem of detecting the abnormal behavior of malicious node which drops packets destined to particular node. It is quite challenging to attribute a missing packet to a malicious action because normal network congestion can produce the same effect. Previous detection protocols have tried to address this problem with a user-defined threshold. However, this heuristic is fundamentally unsound and will certainly create unnecessary false positives or mask highly focused attacks. We have implemented a compromised node detection protocol that dynamically infers, based on measured traffic rates and buffer sizes, the number of congestive packet losses that will occur. Once the ambiguity from congestion is removed, subsequent packet losses can be attributed to malicious actions.


Abstract
       This paper aims to describe the translation equivalent of the lexical cohesion found in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; and to identify the effects of shift of cohesion in translation of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes " and its translation. In this paper qualitative descriptive method is used to describe or analyze the data of shift of cohesion in translation. The finding shows that the lexical cohesion in the text is built by a number of repetition, synonymy, near-synonymy, superordinate, general word and collocation. Shifts of cohesion found in the novel are shifts in the level of explicitness and shifts in the textual meaning(s). Shifts in the level of explicitness; i.e. the general level of the target texts' textual explicitness is higher or lower than that of the source text and Shifts in the textual meaning(s); i.e. the explicit and implicit meaning potential of the source text changes through translations.

Key words: lexical cohesion, translation strategy, and shift of cohesion.


A 69-year-old woman presented with worsening dyspnoea for a month. She had a history of moderately differentiated non-mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinoma, diagnosed 10 months prior based on pathology from an emergent appendectomy for acute appendicitis. Mesenteric margins had been indeterminate but


Since the introduction of L-dopa to treat parkinsonism, comparatively few novel compounds analogous in action, i.e. capable of stimulation of the central dopamine receptors, 'have been reported. Cotzias, Daby & others (1970) have suggested 2-(3',4'-dihydroxybenzy1)piperidine in addition to apomorphine but report no clinical data on the former compound. Piribedil (Corrodi, Fuxe & Ungerstedt, 1971; Poignant, Laubie & others, 1972; Corrodi, Farnebo & others, 1972; Med. News Tribune, 1972) would appear to be pharmacologically dopamine-like and has been used with positive results clinically. The pharmacological profile of 2(p-nitrobenzy1thio)imidazoline (3H) (Menon, Clark & Aures, 1972a,b) is also reminiscent of that of a dopamine-like drug. During pharmacological work on a series of compounds that had shown cns stimulant activity, we discovered a group of benzhydryl derivatives that caused "bizarre social behaviour" (BSB) in the rat. This property is characteristic of compounds with (central) dopaminergic activity (Lammers & van Rossum, 1968). Doses of 0.08 mmol of the test compounds were administered intraperitonea lly as a suspension in 1 % amylum gel to groups of 4-6 male TNO-rats of the Wistar strain, 200-250 g. For reference purposes, several known centrally acting dopaminelike drugs were also given by the same route, except apomorphine, which was administered intravenously since it is known to produce only relatively weak BSB intraperitoneally. BSB, stereotypy and tremor were scored at the time of maximal activity, using a scale that ranged from 0 (no effect) to 5 (very strong effect). Table 1 lists the results of the five most potent test compounds together with those of some known, centrally acting dopamine-like drugs.


This paper presents Self cascode based current mirror (CM) using FGMOS which is used in low voltage and mixed mode circuits. The proposed CM has high output impedance of 108 TΩ and the bandwidth is obtained as 1.67 GHz which is further increased to 2.27 GHz by using resistive compensation technique in FGMOS for bandwidth extension. The proposed CM is used for Voltage Controlled Current Source (VCCS) circuit as its application. The simulation of both the circuits are performed using PSPICE tool and 0.18 μm CMOS technology parameter of level 49 with ± 0.5 V supply voltage to validate the effectiveness of the proposed circuit and its application.


crop of petechiae, which gradually faded. The thrombocytopenia was quite transient ; a platelet count below 100,000 was present for less than 48 hours, but about five days were required for it to rise again to over 200,000. The thrombocytopenia was further documented by abnormal clot-retraction of both plasma and whole blood and borderline low prothrombin consumption times during this period. The bone-marrow examination at the same time disclosed numerically adequate and morphologically normal megakaryocytes ; therefore the fault did not seem to be one of platelet production. It is our feeling that the cause of the thrombocytopenia in this setting is overconsumption of platelets, probably as a result of capillary damage, with resultant capillary haemorrhages (petechiae). Microthrombi, formed in areas of capillary damage, cause deposition of platelets as well as usage of the other coagulation factors which, if widespread enough, might result in transient depletion of all the factors concerned in blood coagulation, including platelets.


Isolationism, a persistent refrain in the history of American foreign policy, has received its full share of recent investigation. These investigations have followed a number of approaches, varying from historical research into the interaction of isolationist and interventionist groups and individuals in the pre-World War II period to studies of the underlying causes of isolationist thinking. It is the purpose of this paper to consider one of the ambiguities that still remain; that is, the commonly accepted assumption that in recent decades the Midwest has been the hard core of isolationism. Midwestern isolationism is actually only one part of the larger question concerning the existence of a regional or geographic isolationist sentiment. On the untested assumption that isolationism is regional has rested the geographic explanation that isolationism is strongest in interior states because of the sense of insulation from international affairs that such location fosters. In this paper certain non-regional factors will be examined for their possible relationship to geographical centers of isolationist strength. Non-regional, socio-political factors might actually form the basis for several separate studies, and their consideration here is only intended to be suggestive of the further limitations these factors impose on a simple geographic explanation of isolationism.


Abstract This paper re-examines the scholarly views about the beginning of Latin poetry that were current in the late second century b.c., and proposes that the earliest scholars, specifically Accius and Porcius Licinus, marked Livius Andronicus' hymn to Juno Regina of 207 b.c., rather than a play in 197 b.c., as the fountainhead of Latin literature. Those histories would suggest that the dominant interpretation put poetry at the heart of the affairs of the state at war; when in the early 40s b.c. Varro and his contemporaries disproved Accius, they were both bringing out new facts about Livius' earlier career, and rewriting the history of Latin poetry, so that it had its origins in peace, rather than in war.


In this article, I present insights gleaned from over a decade of working in therapy with physicians in the trenches who practice at general hospitals located in an area afflicted by the community and political violence, and recently, by the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychotherapy with these physicians requires an integrative psychotherapeutic approach that heeds their changing needs. Espousing cognitive-existential psychodynamics (CEP), a theory-based psychotherapeutic perspective developed for complex cases, I show how cognitive, existential, and psychodynamic processes strongly converge during the treatment of physicians in the trenches. Such convergence is manifested in issues of mental representations (of death, medicine, and the hospital) and choice/meaning.


Despite a generally benevolent view on the positive economic impact of tourism, some economists have long argued that a bloated tourism sector may crowd out other industries. The phenomenon is reminiscent of the Dutch Disease and is therefore sometimes dubbed the Beach Disease. The debate around it has often neglected the fact that while the impact of tourism on other tradable sectors may well be negative, its overall economic impact tends to be more ambiguous. In this paper, we distinctly analyse the two dimensions. Our results indicate that tourism development in Croatia is not likely to crowd out other tradable sectors. However, tourism is also unlikely to be as important for long-run growth as trade openness. These findings can be ascribed to the peculiarities of the Croatian tourism sector and already discussed in a previous Economic Brief on tourism in Croatia*, including a high leakage rate via imports and a limited impact on employment, which insulate tourism from the rest of the economy and limits potential positive (or negative) spillovers. (*) Kristian Orsini and Vukašin Ostojić, Economic Brief 36, 2018, Tourism Industry: Beyond the Sun and Sea. https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/economy-finance/croatias-tourism-industry-beyond-sun-and-sea_en. Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Laura Bardone, Manfred Bergmann, Francesca Maria D'Auria, Mona Papadakou and Antonio Sanchez-Pareja for useful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft. Contact: Kristian Orsini, European Commission, EU Delegation to the United States, Economic and Financial Affairs, email@example.com; Mario Pletikosa, European Commission, DirectorateGeneral Migration and Home Affairs, National programmes for South and East Europe, email@example.com. EUROPEAN ECONOMY Economic Brief 047 European Economy Economic Briefs Issue 047 | July 2019


Dialogue journal writing is a tool utilised in the teaching of writing that allows teachers to provide feedback and responses to students' writing in a non-corrective manner. It is believed that this teaching tool can improve students' overall writing ability. Over a span of 20 years of published studies, this systematic review will examine the effectiveness of dialogue journal writing on English language learners' overall writing skills. A total of 692 English language learners (ELLs) in 1997 to 2019 are represented in the analyses across 19 studies; seven cases of action research, one case study and eleven experimental studies. Findings suggest that ELLs benefit from dialogue journal writing in terms of specific English writing skills both academically and socially. Implications for further study and practice are also discussed.


A methodology for Patient Costing is presented, which is based upon a division of nursing care into Direct, Indirect and a residual category, and which is consistent with costing methods recommended by the Audit Commission. The system was used to produce patient costs upon 14 wards in Wales. The results show wide differences in costs, both between and within wards. Many patients used few nursing resources, and a quarter cost less than £13.00 for the two day shifts. This study was commissioned by the Welsh Office.


Solar radiation heat flow is the biggest influence leading to reflector surface of on-orbit antenna's deformation and its declination on electrical performance.Aiming at the geometric characteristics of the reflector and time-dependence of antenna orbit position,parameters of angle between solar radiation light and orbit surface and time of antenna's entering and leaving the earth shallow are discussed.In light of paraboloid equation and sunlight radiation vector,analysis on self-occlusion of parabolic antenna is carried out by adopting geometric method and then corresponding judging references are given.Meantime,unchangeable direction of antenna reflecting surface when facing ground is achieved by utilizing coordinate transformation.This method implements real-time analysis of solar radiation heat flow on parabolic antenna reflector on-orbit and makes it possible to accurately analyze its thermal deformation and thermal flutter.


analysis of of a Birth trauma of the brachial plexus is most often caused by diffi cult delivery of a large neonate. The data on the so-called obstetrical paralysis is scarce and controversial. In current life conditions and development of the medical science the number of children with plexus brachialis plexitis is supposed to decrease, but still this injury is present. The purpose of the study is analysing the results of the conducted complete one-year rehabilitation program for children with birth trauma of the brachial plexus, at the Clinic of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University Hospital Pleven. The study covers 24 children with the birth trauma of the brachial plexus, aged from 10-days old newborns to 13 years old children, who passed the complete rehabilitation program during the entire 2015; the program includes paraffi n application, remedial massage, kinesitherapy, electrical stimulation, electrophoresis with Nivalin, labour therapy, occupational therapy and everyday life activities (for children over 5). Inquiry among parents, with open and standardized questions, is conducted. For good results from rehabilitation of children with the birth trauma of the brachial plexus the early diagnostics and initiation of the complete rehabilitation program are of crucial importance. Good results come hard and slowly, but the quality of life and work of the traumatized children is signifi cantly improved.


Abstract In the past decade, several considerable achievements have been reached in the field of Galactic microquasars, especially in light of the extreme variability of their relativistic jets. These jets are now known to exist in at least three different flavours: the self absorbed compact jets in the hard state, the transient and discrete ejection events associated with the state transitions, and the emission associated with the interaction of the jets on the interstellar medium. Although their phenomenology is now starting to be rather well established, their emission and contribution to the total energy budget of microquasars is still the subject of active debate. One way to probe the origin of their emission at various wavelengths is to use the broadband correlations that may exist between different energy domains. Initiated in the radio and X-ray ranges, these broadband flux correlations now include optical and infrared observations of black hole candidates and also neutron star systems. In this review, I also outline the current observational status of the emission of relativistic jets at high energy.


Brassinosteroids belong to the plant hormones and play an important role in plant growth.Brassinosteroids in rice affect the plant type,thus affecting the biomass and yield of rice.Both spraying the brassinosteroids in vitro and changing the brassinosteroid level in vivo will change the rice plant type.Therefore,the study of brassinosteroid related genes in rice could reveal the mechanism of plant type in the molecular level,so as to improve the rice yield by molecular operation means.In this paper,we summarized some brassinosteroid genes and their physiological functions,which participate in biosynthesis,biodegradation and signal transduction in rice.


E xcise taxes and their uses are often the subject of high profile political debates. Congress is currently considering changes regarding tobacco excise taxes and highway funding. Three Department of the Treasury agencies, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the Customs Service, collect and process excise taxes. This article examines the reduction in excise tax collections between Fiscal Years (FY) 1995 and 1996. Tobacco tax liabilities are shown in detail using previously unpublished data for FY 1991 through FY 1997.


The cleaning procedure was based on the AOAC official method 993.32. HPLC-MS analysis used the ODS Hypersile column and the water/acetonitrile gradient. Electrospray negative ionization (neg ESI) was used before single ion monitoring (SIM) detection of three m/z 321, 323 and 325. As additional criteria, the ratio between these masses in real and spiked milk samples was also investigated in accordance with theoretical values of the isotope pattern for 2 chlorine atoms present in the analyte. The detection limit of 0.1 gk g –1 was achieved. The mean value of recovery was 94 %, the correlation coefficient of the calibration curves calculated for 2 m/z values was higher than 0.99. Fourty samples of milk and milk products were tested with the HPLC-MS method, and obtained results showed that samples had CAP 0.37, 0.29, 0.39 gk g –1 , respectively. All the other analysed samples contained CAP concentrations below the detection limit.


The organizing framework for this essay is an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the Danish health system along with threats (challenges) and opportunities – a so-called SWOT-analysis. This is followed by 10 proposals ('solutions') to the combined set of issues.


26 In a context of massive deforestation in rural areas adjacent to major towns in the Democratic 27 Republic of Congo (DRC), fuelwood supply area, the identification of the place and role that 28 tree takes in the villages is a prerequisite for all forest restoration plan. This chapter focuses 29 on taxonomic knowledge, uses and the distribution native trees in four rural villages adjacent 30 to the city of Lubumbashi, capital of Katanga province in the DRC. A total of 49 native 31 species of miombo woodland has been identified by 51 families interviewed. The uses are 32 categorized into 6 categories. Nine species are known by more than 50 % of families. They 33 correspond to the species used for food with the consumption of fruit and for the manufacture 34 of tools. The species mentioned by the interviewees are not present in the agricultural system. 35 The tree density per hectare in the fields is low. Species present in the fields are species 36 resistant to degradation factors. This study showed that taxonomic knowledge is limited to the 37 most used species. There is no integrated management of the tree within the agricultural 38 system in the rural area adjacent to Lubumbashi. 39


A second prototype of a biped walking robot, called EP-WAR2 (Electropneumatic WAlking Robot), has been designed and built at LARM (Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics) in Cassino. In addition to the performances of the previous prototype EP-WAR, EP-WAR2 is able to climb stairs because of a new actuation system. A suitable programming of the programmable logic controller has been based on several subroutines, which run different walking motions and specifically to climb stairs. Experimental tests prove the validity of the proposed low-cost design and programming technique.


@screencasto Been actually trying to build out my video page https://jgregorymcverry.com/myvideos have feeds anyone can subscribe to using their RSS reader, almost all video done


In this paper, we present an energy-efficient joint machine learning based beam-user selection and low complexity hybrid beamforming for the multiuser massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink system. Massive MIMO system is a key enabler of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$5^{th}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> generation (5G) technology which is being used in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications and other Internet-of-Things (IoT). The large number of antennas at the base-station side causes high power consumption in the radio frequency (RF) chain. Hybrid beamforming techniques are used to reduce the number of RF chains with minimal performance loss. This paper proposes a low complexity orthogonal hybrid beamforming design with the aid of a machine learning based beam-user selection scheme. The <italic>Householder</italic> (HH) reflectors are used to generate the orthogonal analog beamforming (ABF) matrix. We use a feedforward neural network (FFNN) beam-user selection scheme. The proposed HH ABF + FFNN scheme provides better energy-efficiency (EE) performance in the ill-conditioned massive MIMO channel. It has been shown that the green SE-EE point (41.35 <italic>b/s/Hz</italic>, 0.8 <italic>b/Hz/J</italic>) can be obtained by the proposed HH ABF + FFNN scheme as compared to the (33.77 <italic>b/s/Hz</italic>, 0.63 <italic>b/Hz/J</italic>) from the state-of-the-art Discrete Fourier transform based techniques.


Abstract : A multimode electro-optical switch that has low crosstalk between channels has been demonstrated experimentally in a 70-micrometers-thick plate of Z-cut LiTaO3. The fiber-compatible four-port switch is intended for integration into an optical matrix. The crosspoint consists of an in-plane crossover, two simple optical switches, and a curved connecting waveguide. Taken alone, the crossovers had 40 dB optical isolation. Compound crosspoints were tested using convergent TM-polarized input light with an 0.07 numerical aperture. About 10% of the initially channeled light was transferred into the crosschannel, and the optical switching ratio of the crosschannel was 26 dB using 450 volts dc for control. Optical transmission loss of the 6-cm-long switch was 1.6 dB. (Author)


ABSTRACTData on large rockslides presented in a book by Olafur Jonsson (1976) are analyzed in terms of their magnitude and frequency in the Postglacial (10 000 a BP). Size has been examined by divi...


Bidens pilosa,as invasive weeds,severely impacted the environment and biodiversity.Bidens pilosa could be applied to develop animal feed owing to its incredibly swift growth.Tests on its growth detection,seed propagation,invasive features and control effect of Bidens pilosa were conducted.The results showed that with the rise of cutting height,fresh grass yield,dry matter content and crude fiber content were going upward,while the content of crude protein was on the downside.Regarding feed manufacturing,the appropriate cutting height was 61-80 cm,cutting times 3-4,total fresh biological yield 7.28 kg/m2,dry matter yield 1.32 kg/m2,and crude protein yield 205.9 g/m2,under which circumstances it had considerable value for feed development.Seed maturity season distribution for spring,summer and autumn accounted for about 14 %,50 %,winter 36 %,respectively.Spring and summer were the primary seed germination seasons(about 66 %).As to prevention control of Bidens pilosa on the roadside or forest,paraquat 100 times liquid was No.1 choice,while for controlling Bidens pilosa in crops,acetochlor 100-200 times liquid was better.


The acoustic attenuation in porous media having rigid frame is described by a fractional power law of frequency. In order to write the propagation equation in time domain, the concept of fractional derivatives is used given a good correspondence between theory and experience. A generalization for lossy media having a power law dependance of frequency of the attenuation a = aoIwIY is treated. Classical lossy time domain wave equations exists only for restricted cases where y = 0 or y = 2. For the frequently occurring practical situation in which attenuation is much smaller than the wave number, a lossy dispersion characteristic is derived that has the desired attenuation general power law dependence. In order to obtain the corresponding time domain lossy wave equation, time domain loss operators similar in function to existing derivative operators are developed through the use of generalized functions.


BACKGROUND
Dysphagia is a common complication in patients with laryngeal cancer after surgery and radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVES
To explore the effect of swallowing training administered in combination with nutritional intervention on the nutritional status and quality of life of laryngeal cancer patients with dysphagia after surgery and radiotherapy.

METHODS
Sixty-six patients with laryngeal cancer who developed dysphagia were randomly divided into control group and intervention group (n=33 in each group). Patients in both groups received total laryngectomy and prophylactic radiotherapy and were provided routine health counseling and swallowing training. Patients in the intervention group were additionally provided with nutritional intervention. All patients were evaluated using video fluoroscopic swallowing examination (VFSE), Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment on nutritional status (PG-SGA) score, and Quality of Life Questionnaire-core 30 (QLQ-c30) score immediately after radiotherapy and three months later.

RESULTS
Prior to swallowing training, there was no significant between-group difference with respect to VFSE evaluation, PG-SGA score, or QLQ-c30 score. Both groups showed improvement in these measures at three months after radiotherapy; however, the improvement in the intervention group was significantly better than that in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS
Swallowing training combined with nutritional intervention can improve swallowing function, nutritional status, and the quality of life of laryngeal cancer patients with dysphagia after operation and radiotherapy.


Little or no direction-finding capability is just one of the many deficiencies of the current National Distress and Response System (NDRS), used by the United States Coast Guard. The lack of radio direction-finding hinders the successful execution of search and rescue (SAR) cases in which distressed callers do not know where they are or do not have the chance to report their positions. This article explores the problems encountered with the current system and the steps being taken to modernize the NDRS into a fully capable, integrated distress response communications system. The new system, RESCUE 21, will feature enhanced VHF-FM coverage, position localization on a VHF-FM transmission beyond just simple direction finding, increased number of voice and data channels, protected communications, asset tracking, and digital voice recording with immediate enhanced playback capability. The initial operational capability installation and testing of RESCUE 21 will occur at two adjacent Coast Guard groups: Atlantic City and Eastern Shore; the complete installation is scheduled for 2007.


Professor Griffith will give an overview of recent and ongoing research into the seismic behaviour of unreinforced masonry (URM) construction in Australia. His talk will focus primarily on:

 - the seismic vulnerability of URM walls to out-of-plane bending and the associated local failure mechanisms;

 - the influence of flexible floor and roof diaphragms on the seismic response of URM buildings up the height and the impact on non-structural components; and

 - a progress report on work studying the seismic resistance of Heritage URM (stone and brick) construction.


The article sets out from the present condition of our country system and brings up the suggestion of some principles about the environmental commonweal suit of our country in improving the legal system of the entity and the procedure.


Ultraviolet imaging technology is an effective method to detect the discharge of high-voltage electrical equipment. At present, the photon number is the main method to characterize the discharge severity of UV imaging. However, there is a complex nonlinear relationship between the parameter size and the gain and observation distance of the UV imager. The discharge was quantified. In order to quantify the analysis of discharge, based on the OpenCV image processing technology, the UV image was segmented by a combined threshold method, and the effective discharge region was extracted by the multi-region contour algorithm; Using the statistical information of foreground information pixel points, parameters such as area of discharge spot, perimeter, major axis minor axis, and spot profile are obtained. The method can quickly and efficiently judge the severity of UV fault images, save manpower and material resources, and have higher practical value.


High doses of the non-steroidal oral antiestrogen tamoxifen (60 mg/m2/day or more for at least 1 year) may cause decreased visual acuity due to retinal crystalline deposits and other ocular side-effects. A 56-year-old female patient suffering from pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (BML) with paraneoplastic estradiol production was presented with deterioration of visual acuity because of bilateral macular degeneration after an intake of 190–250 mg/day Tamoxpuren for five years. After discontinuing tamoxifen, ocular side-effects disappeared, perimetric and electrophysiological alterations almost normalized while visual acuity increased internal medical findings remained stable.


Over the past decade of accounting and finance research, the Ohlson (1995) model has been widely adopted as a framework for stock price prediction. While using the accounting data of 391 companies from SP500 in this paper, Bayesian statistical techniques are adopted to enhance both the estimative and predictive qualities of the Ohlson model comparing to the classical approaches. Specifically, the classical methods are used for the exploratory data analysis and then the Bayesian strategies are applied using Markov chain Monte Carlo method in three stages: individual analysis for each company, grouping analysis for each group and adaptive analysis by pooling information across companies. The base data, which consist of 20 quarters' observations starting from the first quarter of 1998, are used to make inferences for the regression coefficients (or parameters), evaluate the model adequacy and predict the stock price for the first quarter of 2004, when the real observations are set as the test data to evaluate the predictive ability of the Ohlson model. The results are averaged within each specified group categorized via the general industrial classification (GIC). The empirical results show that classical models result in larger stock price prediction errors, more positivelybiased predictions and have much smaller explanatory powers than Bayesian models. A few transformations of both classical and Bayesian models are also performed in this paper, however, transformations of the classical models do not outweigh the usefulness of applying Bayesian statistics.


After Northridge earthquake, many researches were introduced low cycle fatigue as one of the reasons of failure of connections under cyclic earthquake loads.The most of the studies of low cycle fatigue in flexural steel frame structures, has been experimentally and analyticaly done in local scale. Therefore, the evaluation of all critical points of structure and the effect of seismic parameters in global scale is necessary. In the present study modelling and dynamical analisys of an flexural steel frame and also the effect of low cycle fatigue under various earthquakes in the mentioned frame connections has been investigated. The amount of damage or decrease in fatigue life has been properly coordinated with response of various earthquakes. On the other hand, the result shows that the increase of the first acceleration of earthquake leads to increase of damage due to fatigue in connections. Also, as time of earthquake decreases down to 68 percent, the fatigue damage in connection has been decreases about 17 percent.


We introduce two novel techniques for speeding up the generation of digital (t, s)-sequences. Based on these results a new algorithm for the construction of Owen's randomly permuted (t, s)-sequences is developed and analyzed. An implementation of the new techniques is available at http://www . es. cal tech. edu/ ~ilja/libseq/index.html.


Sample Entropy (SampEn) statistics have provided insight into the amount of order present in several types of complex physiological time series, particularly the heart rate dynamics of premature infants. Very little, however, is known of SampEn's statistical properties and this has hindered strategies for optimization and significance testing. This article shows that SampEn statistics are asymptotically Gaussian under general conditions. A straightforward point estimate of the statistic's variance is developed and compared to empirical results obtained from complex surrogate data. Statistical tests are developed to quantify the amount and scale of order detected in a signal. These tests are used to show that significant order is, in fact, being detected in the heart rate dynamics of neonates, and to suggest strategies for optimizing the analysis parameters.


2D and 3D information are important parts to drawing information. But previous IFC(Industry Foundation Classes) model could not represent proper 2D drawing elements. Therefore, the authors suggest data model framework to convert 3D object model into 2D drawing. The purpose of this study is to develop IFC 2D extension model for sharing and exchanging drawing information between 2D and 3D. In this study, 1) analysis for model space elements that are extended to IFC2X2 such as layer, hatch, non-association dimension, etc., 2) development of additional 2D elements that should be expended to we model, and 3) according to developer agreements, to improve on representation and presentation such as styled items, types, and shape aspects in Model Space has been discussed. In result, the interoperability problem between 3D model and 2D drawing has been solved and finally an extended data model has been developed.


As a follow-on mission of the lunar orbiter Kaguya (SELENE), a lunar lander SELENE2 is planned by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). SELENE-2 will land on the lunar surface and perform in situ scientific observations, environmental investigations, and research for future lunar utilization, including human activity. To realize the SELENE2 mission, the JAXA Space Exploration Center endeavors to develop advanced technologies that will enable lunar surface activities. For example, a lithium-ion battery with energy density of more than 200 Wh/kg is under development. In addition, durability tests of electrical and mechanical parts in low-temperature environments on the lunar surface have been conducted. Following these fundamental studies, a test model of a 10-W class power source using solar arrays and lithium-ion batteries for the operation of mission instruments at night was designed and fabricated. This paper details our technological developments for long-term stay on the Moon.


A system for short-range millimetre wave(MMW) active imaging was developed, including transceiver antenna, scanning system, transceiver front-end, signal processing. A target within a few meters or even a few centimeters can be imaged. The overall structure of the imaging system and imaging method were researched. The short-range scattering imaging formula was derived from the spectral distribution shift view, which can simplify the method. Phase compensation factor was introduced to improve the imaging resolution. The relationship between the sampling frequency and scanning speed was analyzed to optimize the system parameters, which can improve image quality and system efficiency.


The TRACE Observatory is the first solar-observing satellite in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Small Explorer series. Launched April 2, 1998, it is providing views of the solar transition region and low corona with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. The corona is now seen to be highly filamented, and filled with flows and other dynamic processes. Structure is seen down to the resolution limit of the instrument, while variability and motions are observed at all spatial locations in the solar atmosphere, and on very short time scales. Flares and shock waves are observed, and the formation of long-lived coronal structures, with consequent implications for coronal heating models, has been seen. This overview describes the instrument and presents some preliminary results from the first six months of operation.


Himachal Pradesh is a hilly state with altitude ranging from 350 m to 7000 m above sea level. Because of varied altitudinal gradients and climatic conditions state harbors rich plant diversity. Like other plants, medicinal plants are also attacked by fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and some are notably notorious and lead to epidemics under favorable environmental conditions. In Himachal Pradesh, the work on identification of diseases is lacking although the state is rich in medicinal flora and the commercialization of native exotic species is under progress. Diseases occurring on medicinal and aromatic plants in the Himachal Pradesh have been investigated. In total, 54 different species of medicinal and aromatic plants were analyzed from different locations of Himachal Pradesh. Disease status revealed that in district Solan, 31 medicinal plants were assessed out of which leaf spot was observed in 17 and leaf blight in 9. While symptoms of leaf blight, wilt, anthracnose, inflorescence blight, root rot, mosaic etc. were noticed in rest of the plant species. However in district Sirmour, 15 plants species were enumerated and leaf spot again occupied major proportion. Symptoms of twig blight/top rot/die, back, wilt, bacterial soft rot, seedling blight were reported in some plant species. In district Mandi, 4 and Kinnaur, 5 plant species were analyzed. Leaf spot, leaf blight and wilt were the diseases recorded in the two districts. Most prevalent causal agent of leaf spot and blight was Alternaria spp. followed by Phyllosticta spp. and Colletotrichum spp. Besides these foliar pathogens Septoria, Cercospora, Curvularia, Stagonospora were frequent in occurrence. Medicinal plant species of Swertia chirayita, Rauvolfia serpentina, Lavandula angustifolia and Aloe barbadensis were most severely infected with wilt. Mosaic was observed in Rauvolfia serpentina. Bacteria were reported on Withania somnifera and Aloe barbadensis. While, twig blight was observed in Terminalia arjunae, Emblica officinalis and Cassia fistula.


Pteroceltis tatarinowii is one of the native precious tree species of China and the bark is the main raw material for manufacturing Xuan paper. Based on the introduction of resource distribution and ecological characteristics of P. tatarinowii, this paper summarized current and advanced science and technology of the studies and management of this species in recent 20 years, which include the relationship between bark quality of P. tatarinowii and Xuan Paper, the key techniques related to improving seedling production and plantation productivity, and establishment of optimum silviculture patterns of P. tatarinowii. The development potential and further required study of P. tatarinowii plantations were also discussed and prospected. The paper will provide some bases for directive silviculture of P. tatarinowii plantation and sustainable development of Xuan Paper production.


This paper aims to know the listening problems related to listeners' psychological characteristics and the strategies to solve those problems. The researchers used descriptive qualitative research design. The data are collected through observation and giving questionnaire to the students on listening class of English Education Study Program grade I STKIP PGRI Pacitan academic year 2016-2017. The result shows that there are five problems related to psychological characteristic. First, the students feel nervous and worried when they do not understand the spoken text. Second, the students have difficulties in understanding the spoken text, which is of their interest. Third, they stop listening when they have problems in understanding a listening text. Fourth, they feel disappointed when they do not have total comprehension. Fifth, before listening, they fear that they cannot understand the text. Based on these problems, the lecturer gives some solving strategies. First, the lecturer provides the text based on the students' level and ages. This is also related to the vocabularies ability. Second, the lecturer provides listening tasks that arouse students' interest. The lecturer gives different inputs, such radio, TV, songs, lectures, advertisement. Third, the lecturer gives extra time in each section to motivate the students in answering the task. Fourth, the lecturer provides listening task's background knowledge. Besides, the lecturer gives feedback to increase students' motivation. Fifth, lecturer should encourage their students to develop listening strategies, such as predicting, asking for clarification, and using non-verbal cues to improve learners' listening comprehension ability.


Higher-order anisotropic self-diffraction up to third orders have been observed in Cerium doped barium titanate by using red beam at 633 nm from He-Ne laser. In our experiment, the third orders and second orders have been observed simultaneously for the first time from our knowledge. From our observation, the phase conjugate beam has not been generated before and after the appearance of higher orders as observing when the green beam from the Argon-ion laser at 514.5 nm has been used. The diffraction efficiency and the decay rate of the grating have been measured as well in the red light case.


Stage The theater emphasizes the appearance: the story is told through stage sets, costumes, masks, and body languages in addition to the spoken word. It is the surface of the theater that evokes narratives. In this project, theatrical devices have been borrowed to play with an architecture that exhibits itself. This project began with a Cast of Characters and a specific site, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. Mask The mask is the sur-face of acting. The essential characteristic of the mask is that it hides and reveals at the same time. The audience is the mirror: the actor can tell how the mask is played by the response of the audience. The mask changes the relation between the self and the other.


This study seeks to identify low-cost sources of CO/sub 2/ for electrochemical or photoelectrochemical synthesis of methane for the fuel market. The amount of CO/sub 2/ required is potentially much larger than currently recovered and sold in the commercially but is comparable to the anticipated need for enhanced oil recovery. By 2010, coal gasification could become a widely-used process for the clean utilization of coal for the production of electricity and synthetic fuels. Recovery of high pressure, concentrated CO/sub 2/ from coal gasification offers the most promise of all sources analyzed. Concentrated CO/sub 2/ is also available as a by-product from the anaerobic digestion of biomass by methanogenic bacteria. Naturally occurring CO/sub 2/ is also a significant potential source, but may be used elsewhere and therefore unavailable for methane synthesis. Recovery of CO/sub 2/ from dilute sources, such as cement plants and the flue gas of power plants, is not expected to be cost-effective for methane synthesis. The cost of transporting CO/sub 2/ can be significant. Supercritical pipelines are the most economical method of transporting CO/sub 2/ at the flowrates required for methane synthesis. Transportation of CO/sub 2/ is feasible only from large concentrated sources over relatively short distances.


New horned-turtle fossil material from the mid- to late-Miocene Bullock Creek Local Fauna (Camfield Beds) of the Northern Territory of Australia is referable to the genus Meiolania on the basis of its morphological similarity to the Pleistocene-aged Meiolania latyceps Owen from Lord Howe Island. A single individual is represented by cranial fragments, and second and fifth cervical vertebrae. ln some details, the Bullock Creek Meiolania more closely resembles fragmentary material from New Caledonia, some of which has been assigned to a poorly defined taxon, M. mackayi Anderson. A species determination for the Bullock Creek Meiolania is not yet possible. The possible relationships of the New Caledonian and other undetermined Australian mid-Tertiary meiolaniids to M. platyceps are briefly discussed.


We report five sporadic B-K mole syndrome-like cases. Histopathologic findings in this condition are characteristic. Clinical and pathologic diagnoses do not have to await the appearance of relatively large or malignant lesions. The dermatopathologist can alter the clinician to the occurrence of sporadic atypical mole syndrome.


High quality zinc sulfide IR bulk crystals prepared by CVD method were reported in the paper. The effects of the major deposition parameters, such as gas pressure, gas-flow rate and substrate temperature, on the deposition rate of ZnS were discussed. The experimental results show the deposition rate increases with the gas-flow rate and substrate temperature rising. Even so, it is very important to keep appropriate gas-flow rate and substrate temperature for the ZnS crystal quality; the effect of the gas pressure on the deposition rate of ZnS is not remarkable. Under the conditions of these experiences, high quality ZnS crystals can be grown at a stable rate by using proper gas-flow rate, substrate temperature and low gas pressure.


According to "The Project of Talents Cultivation" for undergraduate biotechnology program promulgated by the university in 2005,we have reformed the curricular system as well as teaching content,method and form for organic chemistry experiments,and compiled the new textbooks of experiment chemistry,which have been published.The practice in teaching proves that the reform has achieved satisfactory results.


Objective To study the better methods to deal with locally advanced cervical carcinoma. Methods The patients were treated with radiotherapy (n=48) or chemoradiotherapy (n=72) randomly,and regional control rate and survival rate were observed. Result The recombinant therapy had better local control rate and survival rate. Conclusions The chemoradiotherapy has better control to deal with locally advanced cervical carcinoma.


The purse-string suture is one of the several repair options in dermatologic surgery. Its main indications are round or oval wounds on the trunk and limbs. The authors describe the combination of purse string suture and second intention healing for a surgical defect after removal of a basal cell carcinoma on the temple. The purse-string suture is an important closure method that may yield good results in selected cases. Although it is more often indicated on the trunk and limbs, it may be performed on the temple to avoid more complex repair.


Abstract : The paper reports a study made during 1960-62 in relation to possible changes in Army induction processing, early orientation, and basic training. The ultimate goal was to determine means of improving motivation, morale, and attitudes of the Army recruit. The major findings--which apply to 1960-62 and have not been updated to reflect changes in the manpower pool, Army training, Army personnel policies, and other important matters since that time are reported.


Symmetrical gem-bis(3-alkylthio-1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)alkanes (6) are directly obtained by the reaction of aliphatic ketone isothiosemicarbazones (1) with ethyl ethoxymethylenenitroacetate (2) as a methine donor in aqueous formic acid. Aldehyde isothiosemicarbazones indirectly give both symmetrical and unsymmetrical terminal gem-bis(triazolyl)alkanes, after conversion into the 4-[2,2-bis(ethoxycarbonyl)vinyl]-3-alkylisothiosemicarbazones (5) and exposure to aqueous acidic media, with the former being the major product. Electronic and steric factors in the starting isothiosemicarbazones exert a marked influence on the yield of bis(triazolyl)alkanes. Two unsymmetrical bis(azole)s are obtained through these reactions, one in which the two triazole rings are linked together by the different nitrogens, and the other, which carries a different substituent on each sulphur in two azole rings, the latter being obtained through the cross-reaction between differently substituted isothiosemicarbazones. The gem-bis(azole) formation may involve nucleophilic attack of 4-(substituted vinyl)isothiosemicarbazone (4) or (5) on an intermedially formed iminium cation (14) as the key step, followed by intramolecular cyclization of the resulting oxonium ion.


This thesis investigates the presence of systemic risk in eight different sectors of the European economy. By using the Conditional Value at Risk (CoVaR) approach to measure systemic risk, it is shown that systemic risk is present in the sectors. Systemic risk has increased for six out of the eight sectors examined in the most recent financial crisis, excluding the technology and telecom sector. These sectors however, show systemic risk after the internet bubble burst. The analysis shows that systemic risk in real sectors of the economy does not have the same size and build-up as the financial sector. Only the utilities sector shows the same systemic risk movement as the financial sector, although in higher magnitude. Furthermore, the results show that there is co-movement between systemic risk in six of the eight sectors examined and systemic risk in the financial sector, excluding the technology and telecom sectors.
Author: Charlotte


BACKGROUND
Although the hamster model of elastase induced emphysema is well characterized, the rat model has received less attention.

AIM
To evaluate the effect of a single intratracheal elastase dose on lung pathological changes of Sprague-Dawley rats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Rats were injected with a single intratracheal elastase dose of 28 U/100 g body weight or saline and studied 7, 15, 30 and 365 days after injection.

RESULTS
Forty percent of rats died in the first 48 hours after injection, six were sacrificed at 7 days, 6 at 15 days, 7 at 30 days and 12 at 365 days. Progressive centroacinar emphysema was found from day 7 after elastase, with a persistent inflammatory reaction in the vicinity of emphysematous areas.

CONCLUSIONS
Present findings differ from the panacinar emphysema described in the hamster using a similar elastase dose.


Blackleg and sclerotinia stem rot caused by Leptosphaeria maculans and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum respectively are two major diseases in rapeseed worldwide, which cause serious yield losses. Chitinases are pathogenesis-related proteins and play important roles in host resistance to various pathogens and abiotic stress responses. However, a systematic investigation of the chitinase gene family and its expression profile against L. maculans and S. sclerotiorum infection in rapeseed remains elusive. The recent release of assembled genome sequence of rapeseed allowed us to perform a genome-wide identification of the chitinase gene family. In this study, 68 chitinase genes were identified in Brassica napus genome. These genes were divided into five different classes and distributed among 15 chromosomes. Evolutionary analysis indicated that the expansion of the chitinase gene family was mainly attributed to segmental and tandem duplication. Moreover, the expression profiling of the chitinase gene family was investigated using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and the results revealed that some chitinase genes were both induced while the other members exhibit distinct expression in response to L. maculans and S. sclerotiorum infection. This study presents a comprehensive survey of the chitinase gene family in B. napus and provides valuable information for further understanding the functions of the chitinase gene family.


A spread monolayer of the amphiphilic block polymer poly(1,1-diethylsilabutane)-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(SB-b-HEMA)) on the water surface was investigated by X-ray reflectivity (XR) measurements. Clear Kiessig fringes were observed up to the third order in the XR curve. This observation means the formation of the smooth-faced monolayer with high uniformity of thickness. The thickness of the monolayer increased with increasing surface pressure. Model fitting with the two-layer model revealed that the upper layer is formed by the melt of the SB chains and that the lower layer consists of hydrated HEMA chains. The flexibility of the SB chain is thought to be an origin for the formation of the smooth, dense, and variable-thickness polymer monolayer on the water surface.


Modern numerical simulation plays a very significant role in structural design engineering in improving the design qualities, shortening the development period and reducing cost. Applying a commercial finite element analysis system, this paper presents an integrated design process of frontal windshield of an airplane, including CAD structural design, numerical simulation and experimental validation. The paper discusses the reasonable element selection, material constitutive model, the effect of different boundary conditions and experimental arrangements. Especially a three-dimensional non-linear viscoelastic model is derived and coded. A bird impact windshield experiment is carried out, and the comparison of the experiment with the numerical simulation is performed, showing that the simulation results in this paper enjoy a high level of credibility, as shown in Figs.3 through 12.


A substantial amount of total expenditures is spent on the collection of solid waste by city authorities.Optimization of the routing system for collection and transport of solid waste thus constitutes an important component of an effective solid waste management system.This paper describes the optimization of vehicle routes for collecting municipal solid waste.The solutions are generated by the Nearest-Neighbor Method combined with Cycle Insert Method.A case study on the waste collection in one town of Chongming Island demonstrates that route-length could be reduced by 3.4%,compared with the current practice.In addition,the optimal routes are exhibited in GIS to help plan an effective solid waste management system.