The Royal Armouries possesses two scythe blades of pre-mechanised manufacture, mounted axially on straight hafts to form weapons. An inventory of 1686 lists eighty-one scythe blades at the Tower of London (by 1694 described as booty captured from the Duke of Monmouth's rebels at Sedgemoor) and the surviving pair was probably among them. The Duke's shortage of standard-issue equipment made improvisation essential, and the choice of re-hafted scythe blades owed to their widespread, well known and effective use by irregular forces in Britain and Europe since the late Middle Ages. Monmouth's 'sithmen', some hundreds strong, took part in skirmishes and in the battle of Sedgemoor itself. Of interest to the Tower authorities as curiosities and for their propaganda value, the scythe blades were displayed, in diminishing numbers, from the seventeenth until the nineteenth century, and these two until the 1990s. In the future they will be displayed again, representing Monmouth's rebels and countless others, and a weapon type that deserves a greater level of study and recognition.


Results on jet production from the UA2 experiment at the CERN pp Collider are presented. The data sample corresponds to the 1984/85 p p Collider runs (/s=630 GeV, 12 dt = 740 nb - 1 ) . techniques


In this chapter we discuss the nature, causes, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD). After characterizing each disorder we focus on the evidence base for various treatment packages. Overall, the data suggest that cognitive behavioral interventions should be considered the treatments of choice for PTSD and ASD. Specific recommendations vary depending on the temporal proximity of the trauma to the patient contact. Immediately following a traumatic event psychological debriefing of all exposed individuals is contraindicated. For those individuals where intervention is indicated prior to meeting criteria for chronic PTSD, brief CBT should be considered. CBT should be considered the standard of care for patients with chronic PTSD. The CBT programs with the largest evidence base to date are the exposure-based treatments. Thus, the major thrust of evidence-based practice should be focused on connecting trauma survivors with CBT practitioners if they continue to experience PTSD symptoms after a period of 3 months.

Keywords:

posttraumatic stress disorder;
acute stress disorder cognitive behavior therapy;
psychological debriefing;
brief cognitive behavior therapy;
exposure


Aiming at the shortages of range-based and range-free localization models such as low location precision,high latency/complexity and high-density nodes,a range-free localization model based on fuzzy recognition was developed where several swatch nodes were provided in location space. Then,combining the intensity of signal received in WSN with the fuzzy mathematics to acquire an unknown node's coordinate via computing the proximity degree between the unknown node and swatch nodes,the model developed can simplify the procedure to get coordinate solution. Verified by virtue of the simulation software NS-2 and analytic geometry,the fuzzy triangular localization model is proved of high performance.


A long-term investigation into the drying shrinkage of concrete exposed to natural weather conditions in Kuwait was undertaken. Fifty-two concrete mixes were prepared, and prisms were made and exposed to natural weather after a 28-day period of laboratory curing (water and/or air curing). Parameters investigated included water-to-cement ratio, type of cement, type of admixture and dosage, type of pozzolanic material, water curing period, and type of curing aid and special coating. The admixtures included normal and high range water reducers, and retarders. No adjustment was made on the initial concrete mix proportions when an admixture was added. Drying shrinkage measurements up to a maximum age of 726 days are reported. The results indicated that the drying shrinkage of concretes made with the various admixtures fell within a narrow band, indicating that no particular admixture had a severe negative effect on the concrete. However, the effect of admixture dosage needs further study. Also, the inclusion o...


Power security planning becomes an important issue in the actual growth of power system due to the dependence of modern society to a reliable, secure and flexible network. Major blackouts are started by cascade failures which successively weaken the system and make further failures more likely. With the advance of utilization of distributed generation (DG), this is a feasible and cost-effective solution to mitigate cascading failures impacts. This paper presents a methodology based on the Manchester Model to evaluate the effectiveness of DG in the mitigation of impacts due to cascade failures. The expected value of energy not supplied (EENS), with and without DG, is computed as security index for comparisons. Then, a practical identification of strategic nodes for the installation of DG using distribution factors is presented.


Purpose
This study aims to explore and compare the approach and avoidance factors in motivating students to study using three different learning methods: face-to-face learning, online learning and hybrid learning.

Design/methodology/approach
This research uses in-depth online interviews to gain insights from students. Purposive sampling was applied to recruit 33 informants from two private universities in Indonesia. The verbatim data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis to identify motivational factors.

Findings
This study revealed four motivational factors regarding the approach to face-to-face learning/avoidance of online learning and five motivational factors regarding the approach to online learning/avoidance of face-to-face learning. Most of the motivational factors (i.e. learning effectiveness, social interaction, campus life experiences, physical wellness, flexibility and technological learning) are also found in the approach to hybrid learning.

Research limitations/implications
The existing qualitative research suffers from generalizability, as does this study. Future research can investigate other contexts or use quantitative research to validate the findings.

Practical implications
By identifying the approach and avoidance motivational factors, higher education institutions can enhance the approach (positive) factors and minimize or eliminate the avoidance (negative) factors that motivate their students to study using different learning methods.

Originality/value
This research complements the existing literature using new perspectives, namely, the approach and avoidance factors that motivate students to study through face-to-face learning, online learning and hybrid learning post-COVID-19.


In addition to great ability of numeration, MATLAB also provides toolboxes which could be used in system design and dynamic simulation in many fields.To improve the efficiency and pricision of air-(conditioning) system design,based on its function of calculation, neural network toolbox and SIMULINK , MATLAB has been put into research in design, ANN moist air parameter model, the whole year switching working condition and house thermodynamic simulation, according to the result, MATLAB has immense value in air-conditioning system.


SUMMARY The design of electric machines can be advanced substantially using accurate simulation models. Usually, the complexity of the machine problem is beyond the scope of an analytical description, and numerical methods are applied. Unfortunately, traditional numerical field calculations appear to be quite time consuming. Therefore, a simple network model is proposed for the particular case of a Switched Reluctance Motor. In this model, less critical motor regions are represented by non-linear reluctances. Network elements representing critical field patterns however are calculated with a FE routine. Consequently, high accuracy is obtained, while preserving the time efficient character of a network model.


Graph processing has been widely adopted in various financial scenarios at Ant Group to detect malicious and prohibited user behaviors. The low latency requirement under big data volume and high throughput raises rigorous challenges for efficient online graph processing. This paper gives a brief introduction of our encountered issues, the current solutions, and some future directions we are exploring.


The influence of geogrid on the thermal expansion of reactive powder concrete (RPC) was experimentally investigated. Eighteen RPC prisms of dimensions 75 × 75 × 280 mm were tested at a temperature ...


Abstract—In a practical power system, the power plants are not located at the same distance from the center of loads and their fuel costs are different. Also, under normal operating conditions, the generation capacity is more than the total load demand and losses. Thus, there are many options for scheduling generation. In an interconnected power system, the objective is to find the real and reactive power scheduling of each power plant in such a way as to minimize the operating cost. This means that the generator's real and reactive powers are allowed to vary within certain limits so as to meet a particular load demand with minimum fuel cost. This is called optimal power flow problem. In this paper, Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) of real power generation is considered. Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) is the scheduling of generators to minimize total operating cost of generator units subjected to equality constraint of power balance within the minimum and maximum operating limits of the generating units. In this paper, genetic algorithms are considered. ELD solutions are found by solving the conventional load flow equations while at the same time minimizing the fuel costs.


It proposes three dimension virtual space touch panel that can be intuitively operated by moving the finger. In the present study, the ultrasonic wave transmission sensor is installed in the finger as a pointer, and four ultrasonic wave reception sensors are put on the floor. Then, three dimension coordinates of the pointer are specified by measuring the distance of each ultrasonic wave reception sensor from the ultrasonic wave transmission sensor. The simulation shows a good performance and accuracy. It is aimed to be used for 3D device operation.


Social policies in the World Bank have evolved into three conceptually and operationally separate agendas: social welfare, social protection and social development. Welfare services and basic human needs, as well as social protection in the form of safety nets and social safeguards, together form the mainstay of what is generally regarded within the organization as constituting social policy. Social development reflects a broader if more fragmented view of social policy. Bank specialists have recently sought to widen the definition of social policy beyond welfare and protection, building upon longstanding academic discourse in this field. However, in attempting to pursue a more holistic and over-arching vision of social policy for development, they are likely to encounter major internal obstacles. Meeting this challenge will not be facilitated by the Bank reorganization announced in June 2006, which may serve to restrict the independence and remit of environmental and social specialists.


A pressure testing checkout gear of a filler is comprised of a hydraulic test pump 1, an imitating annular tube 2, a fixed bar 4, a pipe plug 6. The imitating annular tube 2 is provided with a recess on one end, and the other end is connected with the hydraulic test pump 1. The fixed bar 4 is symmetrically connected to the middle of the imitating annular tube 2. A filler 3 is fixed in the imitating annular tube 2. The pipe plug 6 is screwed on one end of the filler 3, the other end of the filler 3 is connected with the hydraulic test pump 1, and the filler 3 is fixed by the fixed bar 4. The utility model preferably solves the problem of confinement checkout of the filler via testing pressure because of employing the structure that the hydraulic test pump is connected with the imitating annular tube. The utility model has the advantages that the structure is simple, the design is novel, the usage is convenient, the checkout effect is obvious, which can check not only the leakage problem of components but also the leak tightness of the filler pedestal after being sealed, thereby ensuring the percent of pass of a running filler to achieve 100. The utility model is a more prefect pressure testing checkout gear of a filler on site.


Two dimensional large-N chiral models on the square and honeycomb lattices
are investigated by a strong coupling analysis. Strong coupling expansion turns
out to be predictive for the evaluation of continuum physical quantities, to
the point of showing asymptotic scaling. Indeed in the strong coupling region a
quite large range of beta values exists where the fundamental mass agrees,
within about 5% on the square lattice and about 10% on the honeycomb lattice,
with the continuum predictions in the %%energy scheme.


binary optionstunngle that he was misbehaving when he said the devil was picking on him. Equation [1] shows that the effect of a quencher decreases as binary options kaskus grandis sample is diluted because the probability of binaary between the analyte and the quencher is minimized.


The financial market is often unpredictable and extremely susceptible to political, economic and other factors. How to achieve accurate predictions of financial time series is very important for scientific research and financial enterprise management. Based on this, this article takes the application of the improved RBF neural network(NN) algorithm in financial time series forecasting as the research object, and explores how to use the improved RBF NN algorithm to predict the stock market price, with a view to reducing investment risks and increasing returns for the majority of stock investors to provide help. This article uses the stock market prices of three listed companies in May 2019 as the data samples for this survey, including 72 training sample data and 21 test sample data. These three stocks were predicted by using the improved RBF NN algorithm Experiments, the experimental results show that the prediction errors of the improved RBF NN algorithm for the three stocks are 2.14%, 0.69% and 1.47%, while the traditional RBF NN algorithm's prediction errors for the stocks are 5.74%, 2.38% and 11.37%. This shows that the improved algorithm is significantly more accurate and more effective than traditional algorithms. Therefore, the application of the improved RBF NN algorithm in financial time series prediction will be more extensive in the future.


This research aims at developing real-time accident prediction models to be incorporated in Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). By reducing incident related congestion on freeways, response and evacuation times would also be reduced in emergency situations. The data from a 13.25 mile segment of Interstate in Central Florida equipped with loop detectors have been used. Preliminary analysis of detailed real-time speed data showed changes in speed upstream of accidents. Substantial variation in speed before the accident (both space and time) are found to be significant when compared to cases that experienced no accidents. Logistic regression has been adopted and showed that the 5-minute average occupancy observed at the upstream station during 5-10 minute prior to the accident along with the 5-minute coefficient of variation in speed at the downstream5 station during the same time have been found to affect the accident occurrence most significantly. This paper proves that real-time freeway loop detector data could be used in predicting accident likelihood 5-10 minutes before they occur. Therefore, Advanced Traffic Management Centers could attempt to prevent accidents by disseminating warning messages or adopting Variable Speed Limit techniques.


Charlotte Purkis (University of Southampton): 'Music, Sex and Early Modernist Aesthetics' Fin-de-siecle discourses of and about sex in music within prominent early twentieth-century works, their reception and cultural debates concerned with the relationship between sex and music in particular and with the sexual and creative impulse in general focused ideas about musical modernity and music's role in emergent concepts of the avant-garde.


Labour turnover and its adverse effects on institutional productivity remains a major challenge to many tertiary institutions in Ghana. This study looks at labour turnover and its implications on productivity in the Tamale Polytechnic. The study used descriptive survey as a research design with a convenient sample size of 120 respondents. The study discovered that most of the employees in the Polytechnic were not satisfied with the motivational factors in place at the Polytechnic thereby contributing to the high labour turnover in the institution. The study recommended that staff development policies be taken seriously since it has the potential of reducing labour in the Polytechnic. Key Words: Institutional Productivity, Challenge, Labour Turnover, Motivation


Abstract Academia is a stressful environment for students and professors alike. While pursuing a degree, students often experience emotional and psychological distress, which may affect their ability to balance their personal, financial, and professional lives. Similarly, faculty in higher education also experience undesired feelings and emotions such as burnout, stress, fear, insecurity, anxiety, depression, and burnout, connected to their job. The authors of this article engage in a collaborative autoethnography to explore the cultivation of calm and stillness as self-care practices that promote well-being at the doctoral level. In this article, we seek to answer the questions, What does engaging in the practice of cultivating calm and stillness at the doctoral level look like? and What are its implications for doctoral students and faculty? To do this, we first explain wholehearted living as the guiding framework of our inquiry, describe procedures in our method, followed by personal vignettes shedding light on our realities as students and faculty at the doctoral level. We conclude this piece with final thoughts on the lessons learned from our own experiences engaging in calm and stillness during and after writing this collaborative piece, and invite researchers to engage in autoethnographic works for further exploration.


Aggregates of the protein α‐synuclein are the main component of Lewy bodies, the hallmark of Parkinson's disease. α‐Synuclein aggregates are also found in many human neurodegenerative diseases known as synucleinopathies. In vivo, α‐synuclein associates with membranes and adopts α‐helical conformations. The details of how α‐synuclein converts from the functional native state to amyloid aggregates remain unknown. In this study, we use maltose‐binding protein (MBP) as a carrier to crystallize segments of α‐synuclein. From crystal structures of fusions between MBP and four segments of α‐synuclein, we have been able to trace a virtual model of the first 72 residues of α‐synuclein. Instead of a mostly α‐helical conformation observed in the lipid environment, our crystal structures show α‐helices only at residues 1–13 and 20–34. The remaining segments are extended loops or coils. All of the predicted fiber‐forming segments based on the 3D profile method are in extended conformations. We further show that the MBP fusion proteins with fiber‐forming segments from α‐synuclein can also form fiber‐like nano‐crystals or amyloid‐like fibrils. Our structures suggest intermediate states during amyloid formation of α‐synuclein.


The use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in civil infrastructure for strengthening and repair applications is becoming more and more widespread. The use of FRP composites for structural members is also gaining popularity. The performance of FRP materials under elevated temperatures is, however, a very real design issue. An accurate understanding of the material properties and behaviour of FRP at such high temperatures are crucial and necessary pieces of information that are surprisingly scarce in the literature. This paper therefore presents the mechanical properties of pultruded carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates at elevated temperatures. More specifically, CFRP pultruded plate coupons were tested at steady state for temperatures ranging from approximately 20 to 700°C. The tests showed the tensile strength of pultruded CFRP plate to decrease for temperature ranges of 20 to 150°C and 450 to 706°C. Between these temperature ranges, the tensile strength decreased by a small amount while at 300°C the ultimate strength was approximately 50 % of the room temperature strength. At the peak temperature of about 700°C, the tensile strength of the FRP plate was as low as 7 % of the room temperature tensile strength.


To study effects of culture media, feeder layer, growth factor and fetus age on isolation and passage of embryonic stem(ES) cell, primordial germ cells (PGCs) along with jacent gonadal anlage were isolated and co-cultured, from which ES-like cells were obtained. 5th passage was obtained by culturing PGCs of 30~45 d fetus, which can bring quantity of cell centralization. Compared with 3rd passages of DMEM of high glucose, 4th or 5th were obtained on low glucose DMEM. It can significantly increased its efficiency by adding leukaemia inhibitory factor(LIF), stem cell factor(SCF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). In a word, 30~45 d fetus are suitable to isolate PGCs, DMEM (low glucose), goat embryonic fibroblasts feeder layer and addition of LIF+SCF+bFGF are advantageous condition for isolating and culturing of goat ES-like cells.


The theoretical concept of community has been put into practice in the progress of community construction promoted by the government in china. This article holds that the different interest-oriented ideas about the geographical and group elements of the community owned by government and academia and its tension decide the practical form of the community and has been affecting our community construction process. At the same time, there still are understanding questions need for further discussion on the two sides.


Beliefs are intuitive if they rely on associative memory, which can be described as a network of associations between events. A belief-theoretic characterization of the model is provided, its uniqueness properties are established, and the intersection with the Bayesian model is characterized. The formation of intuitive beliefs is modelled after machine learning, whereby the network is shaped by past experience via minimization of the difference from an objective probability distribution. The model is shown to accommodate correlation misperception, the conjunction fallacy, base-rate neglect/conservatism, etc.


Cache management is a significant aspect of executing applications on GPUs. With the advancements in GPU architecture, issues such as data reuse, cache line eviction and data residency are to be considered for optimal performance. Frequency of data access from global memory has significant impacts on the performance of the application with increased latencies. However, the L2 cache data residency feature by NVIDIA promises to reduce the overheads associated with frequent data accesses. Through the information extracted from static profiling analysis, we quantitatively analyzed the frequency of data reuse by threads to determine whether an application has frequent data accesses or not. We also estimated the size of access policy window from which persistent data should be cached to avoid stalling of warps. Also with our proposed approach, we observed that L1 cache load throughput increased by 2.75% for GEMM, 0.33% for 2DConv St and 0.46% for 2DConv Large respectively as data was resident in the L2 cache.


An article signed by B.B.T. Pekoe published in 1872 in the satirical periodical El Mosquito compared telegraphic "electric wires to stretched strings on which moral acrobatic dances are performed" ...


Background: Fitting Contact Lenses for post penetrating keratoplasty patiens can be a great challenges to contact lens practitioner. Despite advances in surgical techniques for penetrating keratoplasty, post- operative ametropia and high irregular astigmatism still remain common. Patients who have such those problems may need contact lenses to achieve optimal vision.Case Illustration: Case 1. A 12 years old boy have a high myop and astigmatism after undergone penetrating keratoplasty combined with traumatic cataract extraction and IOL implantation. His right eye vision was 6/24 with corrections of S – 8.00 C – 6.50 x 150. His right eye was fitted with RGP contact lens with Base curve of 7.20 mm, Power of – 10.25 D, and diameter of 8.80 mm. His RE vision with RGP contact lens was 6/12; Case 2. Female, 18 years old, was diagnosed with compound high myopia astigmatism of right eye due to disfigured cornea post keratoplasty and high astigmatism of the left eye due to corneal scar. Piggyback contact lens system is then used to treat her right eye.The patient's uncorrected visual acuity on the right eye was half meter counting finger, became 6/40 with spectacle and 2 meters counting finger became 3/60 with spectacle on the left eye. With piggyback contact lens consisting of soft contact lens 8.60/-10.00/14.20 and RGP lens 7.20/-4.00/8.8 on the right eye, and RGP lens 7.90/-5.00/9.2 on left eye, her visual acuity became 6/12 on her right eye became 6/9 on the left eye.Conclusion: Rigid gas-permeable and combination of rigid gas permeable and soft contact lenses can be fitted with piggy-back system successfully in patients unable to achieve optimal vision with spectacle correction after penetrating keratoplasty


We study a four-dimensional spacetime induced by the recoil of a D(irichlet)-particle, embeded in it, due to scattering by a moving string. The induced spacetime has curvature only up to a radius that depends on the energy of the incident string. Outside that region (`bubble') the spacetime is matched with the Minkowski spacetime. The interior of the bubble is consistent with the effective field theory obtained from strings, with non-trivial tachyon-like and antisymmetric tensor fields (in four dimensions the latter gives rise to an axion pseudoscalar field). The tachyonic mode, however, does not represent the standard flat-spacetime string tachyon, but merely expresses the instability of the distorted spacetime. Due to the non-trivial matter content of the interior of the bubble, there is entropy production, which expresses the fact that information is carried away by the recoil degrees of freedom. We also demonstrate that a particle can be captured by the bubble, depending on the particle's impact parameter. This will result in information loss for an external asymptotic observer, corresponding to production of entropy propotional to the area of the bubble. For the validity of our approach it is essential that the string length is a few orders of magnitude larger than the Planck length, which is a typical situation encountered in many D-brane-world models. A very interesting feature of our model is the emission of high-energy photons from the unstable bubble, which might be related to the observed apparent ``violations'' of the GZK cutoff.


Abstract Background N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) modification is an emerging epigenetic regulatory mechanism in tumourigenesis. Considering that AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5) is a well‐described m6A demethylase in previous enzyme assays, we aimed to investigate the role of m6A methylation alteration conferred by disturbed ALKBH5 in colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Methods Expression of ALKBH5 and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics of CRC were evaluated using the prospectively maintained institutional database. The molecular role and underlying mechanism of ALKBH5 in CRC were explored using in vitro and in vivo experiments with methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP‐seq), RNA‐seq, MeRIP‐qPCR, RIP‐qPCR and luciferase reporter assays. Results ALKBH5 expression was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues compared to the paired adjacent normal tissues, and higher expression of ALKBH5 was independently associated with worse overall survival in CRC patients. Functionally, ALKBH5 promoted the proliferative, migrative and invasive abilities of CRC cells in vitro and enhanced subcutaneous tumour growth in vivo. Mechanistically, RAB5A was identified as the downstream target of ALKBH5 in CRC development, and ALKBH5 posttranscriptionally activated RAB5A by m6A demethylation, which impeded the YTHDF2‐mediated degradation of RAB5A mRNA. In addition, we demonstrated that dysregulation of the ALKBH5‐RAB5A axis could affect the tumourigenicity of CRC. Conclusions ALKBH5 facilitates the progression of CRC by augmenting the expression of RAB5A via an m6A‐YTHDF2‐dependent manner. Our findings suggested that ALKBH5‐RAB5A axis might serve as valuable biomarkers and effective therapeutic targets for CRC.


The Sri Lankan IT 1 industry provides diverse clients with quality software solutions under tight timeframes and budgets. However, many organisations encounter the challenge of ensuring employees are adequately skilled, whilst facing the difficulty involved in identifying motivation factors of skilled employees and ensuring proper design of jobs. The research study mainly focuses on understanding the motivation and job design concepts adopted for Sri Lankan software engineers and the subsequent impact of these factors on their productivity from a human resource perspective. The findings indicate that positive correlation exists between job design and motivation and between motivation and productivity. Applicable attributes of each factor are depicted in the derived conceptual model. A proposed web-based DSS 2 would measure motivation levels and ensure effective job design, in comparison with productivity levels. By measuring these factors, the performance of a software engineer can be driven, which would benefit both the organisation and the individual.


Benefiting from the favorable natural conditions of water and heat, the forest coverage rate of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi is high enough to 81.1%. The characteristics of plant resources include: domination by evergreen species, diversity of plant community types, ancient origin, abundance of rare endangered species and endemic species, prominence of regional feature, and obvious zonality. Therefore, corresponding conservation strategies, such as strengthening the management, moderate exploitation, cautious selection, providing supervision of the whole project, guiding the eco-tourism development and improving the regional integration, are proposed respectively.


In response to recent discussion of the importance of identifying theoretically derived patient characteristics to be included in the study of patient-therapy (PT) and patient-outcome (PO) interactions in psychotherapy research, this paper presents a model of two broad configurations of personality style and psychopathology that appear to be related to aspects of therapeutic process and outcome. Anaclitic psychopathologies are disorders primarily preoccupied with issues of interpersonal relatedness such as trust, caring, intimacy and sexuality, and which use primarily avoidant defenses (e.g., denial and repression) to cope with psychological conflict and stress. In contrast, introjective psychopathologies are disorders primarily concerned with establishing and maintaining a viable sense of self, ranging from a basic sense of separateness, to concerns about autonomy and control, to issues of self-worth, and that use primarily counteractive defenses (e.g., projection, doing and undoing, intellectualization,...


The short story "Diary of a Madman" (1834) by N.V. Gogol is one of the author"s most religious and philosophical works. In the context of M.M. Bakhtin"s dialog concept of culture that provides a possibility of a text"s "excellence" over its author, as well as a possibility for brilliant author"s enlightments, Gogol"s work is considered in this article given both the Christian theology traditions and the intellectual experience of Philosophy and cultural anthropology of the 20 th – early 21 st century. The symbolic-allegorical approach peculiar to Christian exegesis is used here in the analysis of the artistic text. The story"s protagonist, Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin, reflects the premonition of "anthropological disaster" (M. Mamardashvili), and Gogol with striking accuracy put its indications into imagery much earlier than it was interpreted using the conceptual framework of Philosophy. The tragic contradiction between the Gospel truths and social reality provokes the "simple man" madness. The deeper a reader enters the protagonist"s consciousness, the more evidently he or she sees the ontological loneliness of the man manifested in the madness of the protagonist "thrown into the world" (M. Heidegger). While looking for a way out of the man"s limitedness and finiteness, Gogol follows the same path that will be later defined by M. Heidegger"s opponent, E. Casisser, into the conscious existence of cultural forms. In accordance with the Orthodox theocratic idea, the concepts of "office" (state service), "service" (to people) and "prayer" (divine service) are synthesized in Gogol"s text. In this regard, it is also important to look at the interrelation of the "national" (Orthodox) and "universal" (panhuman) in both "Diary of a Madman" and Gogol"s prose in general.


Cloud have wide-ranging implications in several areas of computing, notably massive knowledge, cloud computing has simply up to the highest of any list of technology subjects. Furthermore, it is one of the most important chop-chop developing technologies due to the availability of a wide range of computer infrastructure and services. The expansion of cloud computing has included mainframe computing, cluster and grid computing, distributed and parallel computing technologies, and so on. Cloud computing has mostly supplanted grid, cluster, and mainframe computing. This refers to the delivery of numerous services over the web differently. Such as databases, infrastructure, run time platforms, knowledge storage, servers, networking, and code area unit samples of these resources. Price savings, bigger productivity, speed, efficiency, high performance, high computing power, and security are simply many of the explanations why consumers and businesses embrace the on demand computing. This article goes through the definition of cloud computing as well as its properties, various cloud services, deployment models, and security concerns.


The present study aimed to investigate bacterial quality of tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) and evaluate the hygienic health hazard of fish contaminated with some food borne pathogens. Bacteria were isolated from intestine, gills and flesh of Oreochromis niloticus collected from Lake Manzala during two seasons; winter and summer, 2017. Microbiological studies was applied for all samples as total viable bacteria, total coliform, faecal coliform, faecal streptococcus and examined for the presence of Pseudomonas sp. Results show that total viable bacterial count mean was highest in intestine 222 x 104 CFUg-1 in summer. Total coliform count mean was highest in intestine 425 x 103 CFUg-1 in summer. Faecal coliform count mean was highest in gills 90 x 102 CFUg-1 in summer. Faecal streptococcus detected in fish organs only in summer. P. aeruginosa count mean was highest in intestine 185 x 102 CFUg-1 in summer. Molecular identification of suspected colonies was as DNA extraction, PCR technique using ISSR protocol and sequencing, using the nucleotide sequences of the genes for 16S rRNA revealed different strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All isolates were tested for resistance to 10 groups of antibiotics namely Tetracycline (10μg), Gentamicin (10μg), Ampicillin (10μg), Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole (25μg), Vancomycin (30μg), Erythromycin (15μg), Ciprofloxacin (30μg), Chloramphenicol (30μg), Amoxicillin (10μg) and Rifampicin (5μg) using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The results showed high frequency of multi-drug resistance to many antibiotics, particularly penicillin, ampicillin and chloramphenicol. Therefore this fish species caught from the Lake Manzala may pose health hazards to human and the whole ecosystem.


Having tested the mechanical properties of the steel used in pressurevessel for petrochemical industry (16MnR) in elevated temperature, theprobability distribution under 300℃ was determined, and the relationshipbetween average value of resistance and temperature was discovered, theprobability density function of two-dimension random distribution of theyield strength of 16MnR was derived preliminarily, passing through theintegrate data being obtained as well as, by use of the results having beenstudied above, some calculating examples were given out by the authors. Atwo-dimension design model for reliability design of pressure vessel inpetrochemical industry under that working conditions while both the temperatureand the mechanical properties are random variable had been put forward bythe authors, too.


Multi-rate teletraffic models aim at the call-level QoS assessment of modern telecom networks. This assessment is important for the bandwidth allocation among serviceclasses, the avoidance of too costly over-dimensioning of the network and the prevention, through traffic engineering mechanisms, of excessive throughput degradation. Despite of its importance, the call-level QoS evaluation remains an open issue, due to the presence of elastic traffic in modern telecom networks. In this paper we consider elastic traffic in connectionoriented networks at call level, i.e. a) calls which have contingency alternative bandwidth requirements at the call setup phase and b) the ability of in-service calls to reduce their bandwidth (elastic bandwidth), while increasing simultaneously their service time. According to the call arrival process, the bandwidth requirements of calls and their behavior during their lifetime, we distinguish the study of multi-service loss models into four categories: A: Random arriving calls with either fixed or elastic bandwidth requirements, and constant use of their assigned bandwidth (constant-bit-rate) during their lifetime. B: Random arriving calls with either fixed or elastic bandwidth requirements, and elastic bandwidth during their lifetime. C: Quasi-random arriving calls with either fixed or elastic bandwidth requirements, and constant use of their assigned bandwidth (constant-bit-rate) during their lifetime. D: Quasi-random arriving calls with either fixed or elastic bandwidth requirements, and elastic bandwidth during their lifetime. We review the models of categories A and C and propose new models for categories B and D.


Communicative activities have been claimed to correlate with an increase in motivation. A number of theoretical approaches to such concept has failed to provide a clear definition and cosequently the close relationship between communicative activity and motivation has not been fully explored in empirical studies. This paper holds that the well-established distinction between forms-oriented activities and meaning-oriented activities captures the essence of the communicative/non communicative distinction and provides a meaningful variable that may account for differentiated motivational responses, i.e. different degrees of students' participation and cognitive activity.


Article history: Received 11 September 2013 Received in revised form 21 December 2013 Accepted 25 December 2013 Available online 6 January 2014


To expound the importance of logistics park's forecasting on generated traffic flow.The thought of forecasting cargo flow is put forward which is the method of forecasting the traffic flow caused by cargo and not respectively,where two different methods are used to forecast the traffic flow caused by cargo.


The term "triad of death" refers to the simultaneous presence of coagulopathy, acidemia, and hypothermia caused by major trauma — including obstetric


ABSTRACT: Cedrela fissilis is a species of great genetic diversity, with low population density and seminal propagation, which causes difficulties in the vegetative propagation process. This research evaluated the vegetative rescue and propagation of stem cutting rooting originated from epicormic and canopy sprouts of C. fissilis. For this, the induction of epicormic sprouts was evaluated 52 days after the complete girdling and semi-girdling 20 and 40 cm from the ground, and no girdling treatment, during spring (2018), summer (2018) and autumn (2019). The variables evaluated were, survival (%), sprouting (%), number, length (cm) and diameter (mm) of sprouts. The cuttings were made from spring epicormic sprouts, divided in two categories: 10 cm cuttings placed vertically in pits and 5 cm cuttings placed horizontally in furrows. The canopy sprouts were collected in the summer, then cut in apical and intermediate cuttings (15 cm). After 60 days, the cuttings were evaluated in survival (%), rooting (%), callus (%), average number and length of roots (cm). Results showed that only the complete girdling produced sprouts (average >67%) with no difference between 20 and 40 cm heights, with a greater number of sprouts during spring. The cuttings from epicormic sprouts, planted vertically in pits presented higher percentage of rooting (44%) than cuttings planted horizontally in furrows (17%). Cuttings from the canopy had inconsiderable rooting (apical - 2%; intermediate - 0%). The girdling periods influences the number of epicormic sprouts and its use for cutting was more efficient in rooting.


In this paper, charge recovery logic is proposed as an alternative to traditional or near-threshold CMOS logic for high-performance systems where the power is wirelessly delivered, e.g. bio-implantable devices. This approach has two primary, complementary advantages in i) providing a wirelessly transmitted sine-wave as the power clock source to the charge recovery logic and ii) eliminating the AC/DC power stage required to provide a stable supply voltage needed in CMOS circuits. The paper presents solutions to the main obstacles of this method and shows simulation results of a simple logic load designed in Efficient Charge Recovery Logic (ECRL) as part of a wireless powered system. The designed wirelessly powered ECRL (coined WP-ECRL) system i) consumes 15.2 × less power than full-swing CMOS and ii) operates at higher frequencies than near-threshold CMOS. These comparative trends in power dissipation are for the computing circuit only, and do not include the bulky AC/DC stage that would be necessary for CMOS implementations. In terms of resilience, it is shown that logic functionality is preserved even when the coupling coefficient of the wireless link is decreased by 60% from the nominal value or when coils with very poor quality factor (down to Q = 0.1) are used.


Recent developments in stimulation practice have resulted in 2 or more fluid systems being used continuously during a treatment. Fracture acidizing, for one, has involved the use of a highly efficient pad fluid preceding the acid into the fracture. In the use of the crosslinked gels, it is common practice to precede the gel sand slurry into the fracture with a pad fluid of an entirely different character. Where these techniques are used, it is useful to know the rate at which one fluid is displacing another and the location of the interface between these 2 fluids. The following are discussed: (1) sizing pad volumes (graphical solution, mathematical); (2) location of fluid interfaces; (3) simplified fracture area equations; (4) fluid displacement; and (5) predicting growth and fluid displacement with 2 component fluid systems which exhibit different fluid characteristics.


Collision risk assessment metrics, such as the probability of collision calculation, are based largely on assumptions about the interaction of two objects during their close approach. Specifically, the approach to probabilistic risk assessment can be performed more easily if the relative trajectories of the two close approach objects are assumed to be linear during the encounter. It is shown in this analysis that one factor in determining linearity is the relative velocity of the two encountering bodies, in that the assumption of linearity breaks down at low relative approach velocities. The first part of this analysis is the determination of the relative velocity threshold below which the assumption of linearity becomes invalid. The second part is a statistical study of conjunction interactions between representative asset spacecraft and the associated debris field environment to determine the likelihood of encountering a low relative velocity close approach. This analysis is performed for both the LEO and GEO orbit regimes. Both parts comment on the resulting effects to collision risk assessment operations.


The smart industry is a significant realization of the internet of things. IPv6 over time-slotted channel hopping (6TiSCH) is the new standard that has emerged as a promising technology for industrial communications. The demanding issues of smart industries include scalability, latency, and energy efficiency. Existing studies have presented scheduling schemes for 6TiSCH-based industries. However, these works are not suitable for practical scenarios where emergencies frequently occur. Hence, this study aims to improve scalability, latency, and energy efficiency in 6TiSCH-based smart industries for practical scenarios. A new fog assisted 6TiSCH Tri-Layer architecture is designed with a network layer, smart communication layer, and cloud layer. Scalability and latency are realized by fog computing in the smart communication layer. The rough set-based root selection (R2S) algorithm improves the network layer's energy efficiency by constructing an R2S and destination-oriented direct acyclic graph. Emergency cognizant distributed adaptive scheduling minimizes the latency for data transmission through fuzzy Bayesian learning-based parent selection and multiobjective gravitational search algorithm-based channel selection. In the fog layer, the rank-based Q-learning algorithm performs offloading to manage the energy consumption among fog nodes. Industrial data are stored in the cloud layer where they can be accessed by end users. The performance is evaluated by modeling the tri-layer 6TiSCH network in network simulator-3.26. Experiments show that the proposed work achieves satisfactory results in terms of energy consumption, latency, end-to-end delay, response time, and transmission efficiency.


The electronic structures of In4Sn3O12, In5SnSbO12 and the intermediate solid solution In4+xSn3−2xSbxO12 have been studied by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The surfaces were found be consistently rich in indium and deficient in tin, with the extent of the deviation from bulk stoichiometry decreasing with increasing cosubstitution of In and Sb for Sn. We find that the valence band structure of the In4+xSn3−2xSbxO12 solid solution evolves with the degree of cosubstitution and shows well-defined features that arise from the hybridization of O 2p states with In 5s, Sn 5s, and Sb 5s states. We determine the fundamental electronic gaps of In4Sn3O12 and In5SnSbO12 as 2.66 eV and 2.79 eV, respectively.


The article presents a new way on how to focus on personal initial potentiality in establishment of campus culture as classroom and dining hall beautifications. With such thought and performance, a new model of campus, clean and optimized, can be realized.


White light emission from tandem organic light-emitting diodes consisting of blue and red light units separated by a transparent interconnecting layer of Al/WO3/Au has been realized. The devices have a structure of indium-tin-oxide (ITO)/molybdenum oxide (MoO3) (8 nm)/N, N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N, N′-diphenyl-benzidine (NPB)(100 nm)/p-bis(p-N,N-diphenyl-aminostyryl)benzene) (DSA-ph):2-methyl-9,10-di(2-naphthyl) anthracene (MADN)(40 nm)/tris(8-hydroxylquinoline) aluminium (Alq3) (10 nm)/LiF(1 nm)/Al(2 nm)/WO3(3 nm)/Au(16 nm)/MoO3(5 nm)/NPB(60 nm)/Alq3: 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB)(30 nm)/Alq3(30 nm)/LiF(1 nm)/Al(150 nm). It can be seen that a stable white light emission, including 461 and 491 nm peaks from DSA-ph and 620 nm peak from DCJTB, with Commission International De L'Eclairage chromaticity coordinates from (0.35, 0.33) at 8 V to (0.37, 0.30) at 12 V was obtained. The current efficiency and brightness of the white devices are basically equal to the sum of the blue unit and red unit devices. The maximum brightness reached 20 700 cd m−2 at a bias of 23 V, and the maximum current efficiency was 9.1 cd A−1 at a current density of 0.41 mA cm−2.


' T H E A USTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL MEDICINE was founded in 1907-1908 .as the result of the fusion of a schemeput forward by "ProfessorAnderson Stuart, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in the the services of many voluntary researchworkers, but Dr. G. M. Heydon, now in Rabaul , commenced his service as a voluntary worker in the Laboratories and was successfulin growing variousmouth spirochretesand in confirming the importance of symbiosisin their cultivation. . Another voluntary researchworker at the present time is endeavouringto elucidate the part played by the tissues in natural immunity. One or two other workers have offered their services to the institute in a voluntary capacity, hut they have not been in a position to continue their work for more than a few weeks and consequentlyhave not produced very substantialresults, It is greatly to he regrettedthat so few personsfeel called upon to devote their lives and meansto the work of research. Australia has not yet heen bitten by its fascination. When we consider that in the South African Institute 'for Medical Research in .Iohannesbnrg£10,000 per anm·um is spent on pure research, while in the Serum Laboratories of Toronto a very large endowmenti f'! annually devoted to the same purpose, it is evident that ex-tensionsof the work of the Laboratories in this direction are urgently called for.


Proteomics is an important way to investigate the functional genome in the post-genome era.This paper reviews the traditional and late methods used in proteomics study.Three parts of rice proteomics research are introduced detailedly in development,environment stress and mutants.And the involved abundant rice proteomics databases are listed.Future perspective about rice proteomics is also presented.


A correctional officer training program in the principles and applications of the social learning model is described. An assessment of the effects of the training program indicated that correctional officers can master the requisite skills of the behavioral technician and can successfully apply these, under supervision, in a systematic behavior change project. In addition, the trained officers, in comparison to nontrained peers, increased both their total number and proportion of positive interactions with inmates. Finally, the trained officers indicated that the techniques they learned assisted them in their work with the inmates, and the inmates indicated that the officers who had received training appeared to have improved in general caliber as well as become less punitive and more concerned with the welfare of inmates. The implications of these findings for comprehensive rehabilitation programming within a correctional institution are discussed.


Plasma and field interaction is one important aspect of inner magnetospheric physics. The magnetic field controls particle motion through gradient, curvature drifts and E cross B drift. In this presentation, we show how the global magnetic field affects dynamics of the ring current through simulations of two moderate geomagnetic storms (20 November 2007 and 8-9 March 2008). Preliminary results of coupling the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) with a three-dimensional plasma force balance code (to achieve self-consistency in both E and B fields) indicate that inclusion of self-consistency in B tends to mitigate the intensification of the ring current as other similar coupling efforts have shown. In our approach, self-consistency in the electric field is already an existing capability of the CRCM. The magnetic self-consistency is achieved by computing the three-dimensional magnetic field in force balance with anisotropic ring current ion distributions. We discuss the coupling methodology and its further improvement. In addition, comparative studies by using various magnetic field models will be shown. Simulation results will be put into a global context by analyzing the morphology of the ring current, its anisotropy and characteristics ofthe interconnected region 2 field-aligned currents.


Regular detection of defects in drainage pipelines is crucial. However, some problems associated with pipeline defect detection, such as data scarcity and defect counting difficulty, need to be addressed. Therefore, a Transformer‐optimized generation, detection, and counting method for drainage‐pipeline defects was established in this paper. First, a generation network called Trans‐GAN‐Cla was developed for data augmentation. A classification network was trained to improve the quality of the generated images. Second, a detection and tracking model called Trans‐Det‐Tra was developed to track and count the number of defects. Third, the feature extraction capability of the proposed method was improved by leveraging Transformers. Compared with some well‐known convolutional neural network‐based methods, the proposed network achieved the best classification and detection accuracies of 87.2% and 87.57%, respectively. Furthermore, the F1 scores were 87.7% and 91.9%. Finally, two pieces of onsite videos were detected and tracked, and the numbers of misalignments and obstacles were accurately counted. The results indicate that the established Transformer‐optimized method can generate high‐quality images and realize the high‐accuracy detection and counting of drainage pipeline defects.


In this line of pedagogy, architectural acoustics is filtered through the graphic and built language of architecture. First, a series of animations were created to explain room acoustics to architecture students. The impulse response as a concept is inherently spatial and dynamic. It can be explained with text, and it can be explained more clearly when illustration is included, but because the path of sound and the loudness at a receiver fluctuates with time, it can be best explained with a narrated animation (available online). Second, the physics of sound, room acoustics, and noise control were illustrated as part of a book, Architectural Acoustics Illustrated (Wiley, 2015). Building material choices, spatial relationships, best-practices, and data were explored through drawing; non-obvious and counter-intuitive graphic findings are presented. Finally, 15 architecture students explored room acoustics through ray tracing and auralization software. Then they designed and built an amphitheater for the town...


*This article is free to read on the publisher's website*

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause cervical cancer and some other types of epithelial cancers. HPV types from the phylogenic beta genus (beta-PVs), formerly known as epidermodysplasia verruciformis–associated HPV types, are frequently detected in nonmelanoma skin cancers, especially in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). An etiologic relationship with beta-PV infection is suspected.


The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of sodium arsenite in the treatment of adult chronic myelocytic leukemia(CML). Twenty-six inpatients diagnosed as chronic myeloid leukemia from January 2002 to December 2005 were treated with sodium aresenite, and 14 had not been treated previously,(untreated) while 12 were relapsing or resistant to previous treatment. The complete response (CR) rate among 26 was 53.9%,while the partial response(PR) rate was 30.7% and non-response(NR) rate was 15.4%.The total response rate was 84.6%. In conclusion, sodiunn arsenite (As2O3) is effective in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and its side-effects are mild and well tolerant.


This paper gives common concepts and respective characteristics of the technologies of the Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizer (DDS) and Software Radio , and proceeds a primary research of the combination and implemental method of these two new technologies.


There are a number of etched track neutron dosimetric systems in use for personnel monitoring. In this paper the operational and dosimetric characteristics of two systems used for fast neutron personnel monitoring at BARC, India, are described. Brief details are given of the dosemeter design, processing and read out methods. The dosimetric characteristics of both the systems such as the back ground, dose linearity, energy response, minimum measurable dose, reporting dose and the advantages and disadvantages of the systems in routine application have been discussed.


A recent article in this Journal provides an excellent overview of intermolecular forces of attraction (IMFs) at a first-year level by using plots of boiling point versus the number of electrons per molecule for the hydrides of groups IV–VII. However, references to IMFs in introductory chemistry courses are typically extended to other physical properties, such as melting point, viscosity, surface tension, and so forth. At the first-year level, we feel that a degree of circumspection is required lest it be assumed that all of these physical properties necessarily have a similar, simple correspondence to IMFs as that which is generally shown by boiling points.


A Hybrid passive Linear Inverted Pendulum (H-LIP) model is proposed for characterizing, stabilizing and composing periodic orbits for 3D underactuated bipedal walking. Specifically, Period-l (P1) and Period -2 (P2) orbits are geometrically characterized in the state space of the H-LIP. Stepping controllers are designed for global stabilization of the orbits. Valid ranges of the gains and their optimality are derived. The optimal stepping controller is used to create and stabilize the walking of bipedal robots. An actuated Spring-loaded Inverted Pendulum (aSLIP) model and the underactuated robot Cassie are used for illustration. Both the aSLIP walking with PI or P2 orbits and the Cassie walking with all 3D compositions of the PI and P2 orbits can be smoothly generated and stabilized from a stepping-in-place motion. This approach provides a perspective and a methodology towards continuous gait generation and stabilization for 3D underactuated walking robots.


Article 240 EC Save where jurisdiction is conferred on the Court of Justice of the European Union by the Treaties, disputes to which the Union is a party shall not on that ground be excluded from the jurisdiction of the courts or tribunals of the Member States.


Philippe Coussot, Ph.D., is Director of the Laboratory of Materials and Structures for Civil Engineering, Marne la Vallée University, France. He is the President of the French Society of Rheology since 2002. He is a recipient of the biannual award of the French Association of Mechanics and a Henri Milon award of the French Society of Hydraulics (SHF). With rheophysics and rheometry of pastes as his basic fields of interest, he has authored and co-authored about six books in this field, and this book complements his previous work. With his extensive experience in rheophysics, the author is able to provide the readers with a comprehensive understanding of the rheology of various practical fluids and their corresponding rheometrical techniques. The book comprises of well written and well classified seven chapters covering the following broad topics:


Some comparison between the results of 3D FEM and 3D Monte Carlo calculations of light propagation inside highly scattering cylindrical optical phantoms are presented. The temporal profiles of transmitted ? Dirac pulses through the cylindrical phantoms have been calculated for different source-detector angles. The comparisons have been carried out in time-domain and for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous cylindrical phantoms; in the latter case some absorbing cylinders were included inside a scattering cylinder. Refractive index mismatch between the phantoms and the surrounding medium was taken into account. Some comparison with experimental results are also shown.


What causes war? Among others, domestic unrest has been regarded as one of the factors contributing to interstate war. Many scholars, pundits, and policymakers have emphasized internal troubles to account for the occurrence of international wars, including the Falklands War, World Wars I and II, the Russo-Japanese War, and the Imjin War (Japan's invasion of Korea in the late 16th century). Especially since the end of the Cold War, following the theoretical and methodological suggestions in Levy 1989 (cited under General Overviews), international relations scholars have paid increasingly more attention to domestic unrest and its interaction with other factors such as regime type and strategic rivalry to explain interstate and intrastate conflict. By taking different methodologies, such as quantitative statistical analysis, in-depth case study, and formal modeling, they build causal processes linking domestic unrest to international conflict, identify various factors at the levels of the individual, state, and dyad affecting the onset of a diversionary conflict, and provide empirical evidence supporting or disproving their theories.


This paper introduces an electronically tunable mixed-mode universal biquad filter configuration employing four single output operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs), one dual output OTA and two grounded capacitors (GCs) (ideal for integrated circuit implementation and absorbing shunt parasitic capacitances). The presented structure can realize all second-order filter functions, namely, low pass (LP), high pass (HP), band pass (BP), band reject (BR) and all pass (AP) responses in voltage mode (VM), current mode (CM), transresistance mode (TRM) and transconductance mode (TCM) using appropriate selection(s) of input signals. The cut-off frequency ([Formula: see text] and bandwidth (BW) of the realized filters can be tuned orthogonally through the transconductance (by varying the bias currents) of the OTAs. The proposed biquad configuration enjoys low active and passive sensitivities. The workability of this multifunctional biquad filter topology has been confirmed through simulations using MATLAB and Analog Design Environment (ADE) spectre tool provided by Cadence Virtuoso, using 0.18[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m CMOS process parameter. The post-layout simulations have also been carried out to validate the theory.


Time perception and inferences there from are of critical importance to many autonomous agents. But time is not perceived directly by any sensory organ. We argue that time is constructed by cognitive processes. Here we present a model for time perception that concentrates on succession and duration, and that generates these concepts and others, such as continuity, immediate present duration, and lengths of time. These concepts are grounded through the perceptual process itself. The LIDA cognitive model is used to illustrate these ideas.


Statistics Finland has relatively long experience in constructing indices of prices of old flats using the hedonic approach where regression analysis and classification of flats (i.e. stratification) are combined. Practically this means: First the price model is based on the fixed effect model applied for separate regions and second the quality adjustment is performed within each regional cell in a classification (i.e. inside stratums) using so called Oaxaca decomposition. The hedonic price index is computed by aggregating regional cell level (i.e. stratum level) quality adjusted prices using the logarithmic Laspeyres formula.

In this study we develop hedonic price index for new flats. In outline, we use similar methods as in case of old flats, but we develop Oaxaca decomposition in the cell or stratum level for unweighted and weighted arithmetic and geometric means – these are our first new results for hedonic methods. For that we develop new theorems for price aggregation from observed prices into stratum aggregates by logarithmic mean. New theorems of price aggregation are performed to semilogarithmic price models. Our price aggregation form observation level into strata leads to three new decomposition average prices – decompositions for unweighted arithmetic average prices and weighted arithmetic and geometric average prices. The stratum level Oaxaca decomposition for different price aggregates, that is, quality adjusted price changes and quality corrections, are aggregated using several basic (i.e. Laspeyres, Paasche, log-Laspeyres, log-Paasche,…) and excellent index number formulas (i.e. Törnqvist, Fisher, Mongomery-Vartia,…). The price aggregation is performed separately for weighted and unweighted arithmetic and geometric average prices. The construction strategy of index series in this study is based on the base strategy. By this strategy index series are free of chain error (or drift).

Our test data is a high-quality register data on all free-market transactions of dwellings in new blocks of flats and terraced houses. Data includes statistical unit specific information of unit prices, quantities, values and of some unit specific quality characteristics form 2010/I to 2018/IV being quarter data. The quarter data includes about 2000 – 3000 observation per a quarter.


to be translated in German): Recent technological improvements have paved the road to extended use of simulation models in the area of logistic control systems design and implementation – e.g. automated container terminals, automated public transport with people movers, large scale underground freight transport or intelligent automated production in the automotive industry. Where traditionally simulations were used to answer what-if questions, these tools evolve towards realtime control systems in production environments. The evolutionary path contains a number of phases, which will be discussed. In this article an approach is described in which simulation plays an important part. The advantages of the approach or the development process of logistic control systems are elaborated in detail.


Chachoengsao province is a prime shrimp producing area for domestic consumption and exports. The province, however, is often threatened by floods. Improving the effectiveness of current flood damage protection is a major challenge. This research developed a flood risk map by combining the probability of flood events and a vulnerability map based on physical characteristics of the area and socio‐economic conditions of shrimp farmers (victims). Analysis of current risk reduction measures was performed by comparing the net benefits and costs of different strategies. Damage costs to shrimp farming from flooding were also estimated for the base case (a case with no change in actions). The flood risk map shows that two‐thirds of shrimp farms are highly vulnerable to flooding when a 10‐day accumulated rainfall is greater than 250 mm which is likely to occur every 2 years. Increasing dike heights could yield higher net benefits than other flood adaptation measures. Non‐structural flood controls such as early harvesting and shifting the crop calendar are alternative measures for shrimp farmers who lack financial supports. The results show that cost‐benefit analysis based on various scenarios can help in selecting an appropriate mitigation practice especially for shrimp farms located in a high risk area.


A longitudinal study was conducted to examine how a person's concept of learning, teaching, and self as teacher and learner changes over the years, and to understand the factors which contribute to the development of teachers. This paper presents the stories of two teachers who participated in the study--Beth who taught middle school science classes in an environment that emphasized the learning of thinking processes, and Jim who taught secondary classes for which state-mandated exams focused on the recall of specific content. The research began when the participants were teacher education juniors at Cornell University (New York) in a program committed to student reflection, and followed them through their first 3 years of teaching. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and classroom observations over the course of the 6 year association. The stories demonstrate that by the third year of teaching, Beth and Jim present very different figures influenced by contextual factors. It is further illustrated that both, now tenured, are still committed to teaching, have thought carefully about their teaching, have structured their teaching to serve the goals operating in the systems in which they teach, and continue to have ideals tcward which they are striving. (Contains approximately 20


Palaeoenvironmental studies in peatlands often require a series of proxy analyses with specific protocols. Although most of the existing protocols are of high quality, there are significant differences in the laboratory procedures available for some proxies. This variability of approach may lead the researcher and especially the newcomer to experience difficulties in selecting appropriate protocols, to re-test unsatisfactory methodologies, and to experience problems in comparing results between different studies. For these reasons, participants at the international research workshop Peatland Archives of Holocene Climate Variability held in May 2009 (Vihula, Estonia) agreed that an integrated protocol guide for palaeoenvironmental studies in peat would be of considerable benefit to the discipline. Moreover, they resolved to gather together the leading specialists in each field of peat palaeoenvironmental studies in order to produce such a guide. The ultimate purpose of the guide is to encourage researchers to adopt common standards; not because they are the best ones, but because there is a need to facilitate better data integration and inter-comparison, which can only be achieved if the acquisition methods are comparable. This protocol guide summarises the main proxies used in peat palaeoenvironmental studies and the methodologies used to obtain them. It starts with an article on peat coring and sub-sampling, which is the first step towards high-quality data acquisition. Then, separate articles review a wide range of proxies and/or proxy groups including (listed alphabetically): • charcoal particles; • deposition chronologies using Pb and C; • inorganic geochemistry; • peat humification, bulk density, LOI, TC, TOC, TIC; • plant macrofossils; • pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs; • spheroidal carbonaceous particles; • stable isotopes and biomarkers; • tephrostratigraphy; and • testate amoebae. In each case, a step-by-step procedure is given to optimise data acquisition. Such a guide is, in our view, important for several reasons. It will be the first integrated methodological guide for acquiring appropriate material for each proxy study, which is a major step towards gathering high-quality observations and results. Moreover, it will provide any newcomer to the field with a comprehensive overview of the uses and limits, as well as a step-by-step procedure, for each proxy. It will also give the experienced researcher an opportunity to critically assess his methods, as well as the ones proposed here. Finally, this guide will be a useful "cook-book" for undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students who wish to investigate palaeoenvironmental changes using the peat archive. We wish to express here our gratitude to all contributors and referees for the effort that has been put into assembling and peer reviewing this protocol guide.


The lack of unified legal regulation of the cross-border cooperation originates from the diversity of the legal systems was absent from the legislation of the European Union for a long time. The aim of the study is to examine the Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on EGTC, which is a response to the lack of legal and institutional instruments, and ensures common cooperation facilities with legal personality for the local and regional authorities and member states. The study summarizes the advantages of EGTC, how to response a new alternative to increase the efficiency, legitimacy and transparency of the activities of territorial cooperation, and at the same time secures legal certainty. The revised EGTC Regulation (1302/2013/EU) contains the most important pieces of legislation related to the cohesion policy and most of the programmes funded by the EU in the period 2014-2020. Kulcsszavak: Európai integráció, területi irányítás, Európai kohéziós politika, Európai Területi Együttműködési Csoportosulás (EGTC)


The prevalence of acupuncture use is increasing in the USA, as more patients seek out complementary medicine therapies in addition to conventional medicine.[1][1] A specific form of acupuncture, known as Hari, involves the purposeful retention of acupuncture needles within a patient's subcutaneous


Extended Poisson process modelling is generalised to allow for covariate-dependent dispersion as well as a covariate-dependent mean response. This is done by a re-parameterisation that uses approximate expressions for the mean and variance. Such modelling allows under- and over-dispersion, or a combination of both, in the same data set to be accommodated within the same modelling framework. All the necessary calculations can be done numerically, enabling maximum likelihood estimation of all model parameters to be carried out. The modelling is applied to re-analyse two published data sets, where there is evidence of covariate-dependent dispersion, with the modelling leading to more informative analyses of these data and more appropriate measures of the precision of any estimates.


Observational studies have indicated that life course adiposity is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, whether such an association reflects causality remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether life course adiposity such as birth weight (BW), childhood body mass index (BMI), adult BMI, body fat percentage (BF%), and waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR) have causal effects on ALS.


Since March 1977 the SOUSY (Sounding System) VHF radar has been used to make a series of frontal passage observations in the spring and fall. The radar operates at a wavelength of 5.6 m and thus is sensitive to the temperature structure of the atmosphere. It has already been shown that VHF radars can be used to determine the location of the tropopause, for instance. We present data from five separate experiments showing that the reflectivity data can also be used to determine the location of tropopause breaks and frontal boundaries between the surface and the tropopause. In each case, we compare the reflectivities measured with the radar and the potential refractivity gradient calculated using radiosonde data from a nearby station. There is good agreement between the calculated and observed values, although the radar data show more detailed structure due to the much higher time resolution.


The process of imposing socialist realism on Lithuanian literature, which became a part of the Soviet multinational project after the Soviet occupation in 1940, does not directly follow the general pattern of transferring the Russian model. The agents of the Soviet national literary field not only transposed standard socialist plots to local realia, but also had to transform them in order to legitimate occupation, to reject the legacy of the independent Lithuanian republic, and to reinterpret anti-Soviet resistance. In the process of inventing the national sources of socialist realism and forging "the most advanced artistic method," overcoming the constraints of the Lithuanian literary tradition proved impossible. This article discusses the encounter of inherited literary structures with the external model and its effects on the development of Lithuanian socialist realism.


Objective To prepare the silver-loaded wollastonite coatings in order to obtain the bioactive implant material with antibacterial function.MethodsPlasma sprayed wollastonite coatings were immersed in 1%,5% and 9% AgNO3 solution for 24 h to load silver.They were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy,energy dispersive spectrometry,thin film X-ray diffraction and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry to optimize the preparation process.The wollastonite coatings were prepared,the release rate of silver was measured and the antibacterial activity was examined.ResultsThe amount of silver loaded to wollastonite coatings increased with AgNO3 concentration.The processing technique of silver loading with 5% AgNO3 solution was selected for subsequent research.A sustained release of silver was detected in deionized water,lasting for 50 days.The bacteria inhibition zone lasted for 40 days,and the maximal diameter of bacteria inhibition zone reached(6.00±0.25)mm,significantly different from that without silver loading[(0.23±0.34)mm](P0.01).ConclusionWollastonite has chemical reaction to AgNO3 and produces silver silicate.The amount of silver loaded to wollastonite coatings increases with AgNO3 concentration.The silver-loaded wollastonite coatings prepared by the processing technique of silver loading with 5% AgNO3 solution have a favourable antibacterial activity.


It has long been recognised that breastfeeding rates in the UK are substantially below an optimal level to promote the health of mothers and infants. While there are many variables which affect a mother's decision to breastfeed a significant factor in the discontinuation of breastfeeding is infant distress, maternal distress and maternal pain and discomfort brought about through poor
positioning. Poor positioning is often the result of the wholly unsuitable type of furniture that mothers use to aid breastfeeding whether making use of furniture supplied in hospitals, GP waiting areas and clinics, or making use of the domestic furniture to be found in the family home. However, despite this it remains true that to date, despite a perceived need to design a breastfeeding chair, there has been no published research which has tested furniture designed to assist breastfeeding and there is no furniture currently in production which supports the needs of breastfeeding women. It has been the purpose of this thesis to specifically examine and address these observations and
to explore the feasibility of a breastfeeding chair suited to the needs of breastfeeding women. In order to do this the thesis reviews furniture which has been improvised and appropriated for breastfeeding and through a series of case studies, analyses examples of breastfeeding posture in order to generate relevant and unique ergonomic data. Through further allied research, related cultural and medical issues are also identified and discussed in order that an appropriate design brief for a breastfeeding chair might be defined and its specification detailed. Finally, in order to explicate the design process, the thesis traces the development of the chair through prototyping and into its eventual commercial production. The thesis concludes with a critique of that process and recommendations for further research.


A test of graphical method for quantitative forecast of precipitation ispresented.First the saturation water vapor content below 500mb is calculatedfrom the forecasting value of 1000—500mb thickness by two-layer model.Thenthe water vapor content is again predicted from the assumption of dq/dt=0.Thedifference between the two predicated values of water vapor content gives theforecasted precipitation (if the difference is positive).


This paper develops and estimates a structural model of the firm that combines both employment and wage decisions and distinguishes between permanent and transitory shocks to profitability. Workers are paid a share of the value of the marginal worker as in Stole and Zwiebel (1996) and it is costly to adjust the number of workers. The model predicts that transitory shocks have a strong impact on wages and little e!ect o ne mployment while permanent shocks have a strong e!ect on employment and little e!ect on w ages. Structural estimation of the model on a panel of French firms shows that it is consistent with the data. Only a small amount of adjustment costs are needed to reproduce observed job reallocation and inaction rates. Permanent shocks are the most important source of output fluctuations. Ignoring wages flexibility leads to substantial bias, in particular in the estimation of the curvature of the profit function.


AIM: To evaluate the application of indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in the diagnosis of genital herpes. METHODS: Both viral culture and IFA mediated by group shared herpes simplex virus (HSV) glucoprotein monoclonal antibodies were adopted in detecting 120 patients with clinically diagnosed genital herpes. RESULTS: The HSV positivity rate detected by IFA was significantly higher than that by viral culture (85.8% vs 70.8%, P 0.01). Different from those in detecting HSV from erosion and crust eruption, the positivity rates in detecting HSV from blister by the two methods were of no statistical significance ( P 0.05). CONCLUSION: IFA is a cheap, rapid and sensitive method for HSV detection and can be used in the diagnosis of genital herpes.


Mathematics Teaching should be transformed from the traditional education with initiating and inheriting existing knowledge as the centre to the modern education that focuses on developing students creativity. Mathematics Teaching should also form a new style of educational process with the basic learning mode of positive involvement, active exploration, thinking and creation, helping students establish a foundation of creativity.


This pattern addresses the learning process that you have to master as a student. On the first level, you acquire and reproduce knowledge. On the second level, you apply knowledge to solve problems. On the third level, you produce new knowledge. Most teachers are happy if their students can reproduce the knowledge. Industry is happy if problems can be solved, and academia lives from the newly generated knowledge. This pattern concentrates on the first two levels.


With development of modern communication technology and multimedia technology,content-based image retrieval has become the focus in the field of image retrieval.Take several well-known systems both in domestic and foreign content-based image retrieval as the main line,the development process of content-based image retrieval technology is reviewed combined with relevant patent application.Meanwhile,current content-based image retrieval technology is analyzed,and the situation that related to patent applications both at home and abroad is summed up finally.


Adoptive transfer of genetically modified somatic cells will play an increasingly important role in the management of a wide spectrum ofhuman diseases. Among the most appealing somatic cells as potential gene transfer vehicles are hematopoietic cells, because of their wide distribution and their well-characterized capacities for proliferation, differentiation, and self-renewal. Genes can be readily transferred into short-lived and lineage-restricted hematopoietic cells, but there remains a need to develop reliable methods for gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells in large animals. In this work, we used a gene transfer approach in which hematopoietic cells in long-term marrow cultures were exposed to the replicationdefective retrovirus N2, bearing the reporter gene neo, on multiple occasions during 21 days of culture. Genetically marked cultured autologous cells were infused into 18 canine recipients in the absence of marrow-ablative conditioning. neo was detected by Southern blotting and/or the polymerase chain reaction in the marrow, blood, marrow-derived granulocyte/macrophage and erythroid progenitors, and cultured T cells in dogs after infusion. In most dogs, the proportion of long-term marrow culture cells contributing to hematopoiesis rose during the first 3 months after infusion and peaked within the first 6. The maximal levels attained were between 10% and 30% G418-resistant (neo-positive) granulocyte/macrophage progenitors. At 12 months, five dogs maintained greater than 10% G418-resistant progenitors, and for two of them this level exceeded 20%. Two dogs had greater than 5% G418-resistant hematopoietic progenitors at 24 months after infusion. Our data suggest that very primitive hematopoietic progenitors are maintained in long-term marrow cultures, where they can be triggered into entering the cell cycle. In vivo, these activated cells likely continue normal programs of proliferation, differentiation, and self-renewal. Their progeny can be maintained at clinically relevant levels for up to 2 years without the requirement that endogenous hematopoiesis be suppressed through chemoor radiotherapy prior to adoptive transfer. Long-term marrow culture cells may thus be ideal targets for gene therapy involving adoptive transfer of transduced hematopoietic cells. Replication-incompetent retroviruses are able to efficiently transfer exogenous genes into relatively mature clonogenic hematopoietic cells in vitro (1-5). Despite successes in this area, clinically relevant levels of gene transfer into nonmurine hematopoietic cells with long-term in vivo reconstituting capacities have not been achieved (6-11). A factor complicating attempts to transduce hematopoietic stem cells is the The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. requirement that cells targeted for gene transfer must be cycling for stable integration of retrovirally carried genetic material (12). The vast majority of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells are most likely quiescent in vivo (13, 14) and are thus difficult targets for gene transfer by retroviral vectors. Attempts to transduce pluripotent progenitors stimulated to enter the cell cycle during in vitro culture, with or without added growth factors, have given encouraging results (2, 4, 15-17). Similarly promising transduction efficiencies have been obtained by using hematopoietic cells harvested from animals in which hematopoiesis is in a postsuppression recovery phase (18-21). Approaches to identify, purify, and expand pluripotent stem cell in vitro for gene transfer applications have not been widely successful (22, 23). An important consideration in the adoptive transfer of transduced hematopoietic stem cells is the possibility that steady-state hematopoiesis may be maintained by the sequential use of a few stem cell clones, rather than through a static contribution of the entire stem cell pool (13,14). If the vast majority of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells are indeed quiescent in vivo, then it may be unlikely that genetically modified stem cells will be clonally expanded in vivo, once successfully engrafted. We initiated studies to evaluate the potential of hematopoietic progenitor cells in long-term bone marrow cultures (LTMCs) to serve as targets for gene transfer. In LTMCs, an in vitro hematopoietic microenvironment is maintained for several weeks, during which proliferation of primitive hematopoietic cells occurs (24). We reasoned that these cells would be good targets for gene transfer for two reasons: (i) for large animals, LTMCs contain the most primitive hematopoietic cells characterized (23); and (ii) progenitor cells in LTMCs can be subjected to multiple rounds of retroviral infection while in culture (10). Furthermore, retrovirusmediated gene transfer experiments directed at human and canine hematopoietic cells indicate that the efficiency of transduction is higher when progenitors in LTMCs are targeted than when hematopoietic cells are transduced directly in short-term culture (3, 5, 9, 10, 25, 26). Our results suggest that LTMCs contain an enriched population of primitive myelolymphopoietic cells that can be simultaneously transduced and activated in vitro. These cells have capacities for normal differentiation and proliferation programs in vivo, including self-renewal. Their progeny may be maintained at clinically relevant levels for up to 2 years in autologous recipients in the absence ofmarrow-ablative preconditioning. Abbreviations: BFU-E, erythroid burst-forming unit; CFU, colonyforming unit; CFU-GM, granulocyte/macrophage CFU; CFU-MIX, mixed erythroid-granulocyte/macrophage CFU; LTMC, long-term marrow culture. §To whom reprint requests should be sent at the t address.


A desulfurization reaction model was set up. The results of the model calculation show that when YB is smaller than 0.3 , a chemical reaction process will limit a desulfurization reaction, and when YB is greater than 0.3, the diffusion resistance of SO 2 passing through an ash layer plays a dominant role. The authors also analyzed various factors, which may affect the desulfurization efficiency of the bag type dust collector. It is found that the SO 2 concentration at the inlet of the bag type dust collector exercises a relatively small influence on desulfurization efficiency. An increase in temperature can increase the desulfurization efficiency of the bag type collector. The relative humidity of flue gases has a most significant effect on the latter's desulfurization efficiency. The desulfurization efficiency will drastically increase with an increase in relative humidity. The calculation results of Model 3 are in relatively good agreement with those of experiments.


In the constant research in the basic areas of natural gas hydrate, the research in the production has been unprecedentedly active. The past decades have witnessed the constant improvement of conventional production methods, such as thermal stimulation, depressurization and inhibitor injection, and the development of some new production methods, such as CO2 swapping and solid hydrate collecting. In addition, some new production devices, for oceanic gas hydrate production, including a hydraulic lifting system, have been developed recently, and several production tests have been conducted in the arctic permafrost areas. This paper provides the current situation of the conventional and newly developed methods for natural gas hydrate production, analyzes the environmental issues possibly involved in the production research of gas hydrate, and presents the newest advances in this research field. At the same time it summarizes the experience and knowledge gained in this field, and emphasizes the enlightenment from foreign production research in the same field.


This paper discusses syntactic property of number classifier phrase after a two-valence-verb sentence from semantics function. It points out that their semantic functions are measured by the action or the time and the space of the central matters with action, and this structure is a method to indicate Chinese predicator number classifier feature, so it is declaration but not reference. Therefore it can be used not only as complement but also as predicate. At the same time, because the categories are different, the declaration capabilities will be strong or weak, which also limits the capability to be used as predicate.


Background & objective: There have been a lack of consensus among the anesthetists regarding the utility of different opioids as adjuvants in brachial plexus blockade (BPB). The results vary and there is no agreement. We studied the utility of fentanyl versus tramadol as an adjunct to local anesthetic bupivacaine in ultrasound-guided supraclavicular BPB.
Methodology: The study was conducted on 71 patients who were randomized in three groups for ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block. Group B: received 20 ml bupivacaine 0.5% plus fentanyl (100 µg = 2 ml); Group T: received 20 ml bupivacaine 0.5% plus tramadol (100 mg - 2 ml). Data was collected for the onset and duration of sensory and motor block, time to first request for rescue analgesia and the total analgesic consumption in first 24 h postoperatively.
Results: There was a significantly shorter time to the onset of sensory blockade (p = 0.001) and motor blockade (p = 0.001) in Group T compared to Group B and Group F (p = 0.045 and p = 0.001, respectively). The time to first analgesic requests was significantly longer in the tramadol and fentanyl groups than in the bupivacaine group (p = 0.001 and p = 0.021, respectively) and significantly longer in the tramadol group compared to the fentanyl group (p = 0.041).
Conclusion: Tramadol as an adjuvant to bupivacaine in ultrasound-guided supraclavicular BPB produces a significantly prolonged analgesia with a shorter onset of sensory and motor blockade.
Key words: Adjuvants; Analgesia; Bupivacaine; Fentanyl; Tramadol; Ultrasound-guided supraclavicular block
Abbreviations: BPB – brachial plexus blockade; VAS – visual analog scale; MBP – mean blood pressure; HR – heart rate; SpO2 –  peripheral oxygen saturation; LSD – test Least Significant Difference test
Citation: Ghazaly HF, Eldemrdash AM, Atito BE, Abdelrheem SS, Aly AAA. Fentanyl versus tramadol as an adjunct to bupivacaine in ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus blockade: pros and cons. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2021;25(4):450–457. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v25i4.1565
Received: March 17, 2021. Reviewed: May 23, 2021. Accepted: June 17, 2021


According to the Survey of Languages Supplement to the July 1975 Current Population Survey, more than 7.6 million school age students in the United States live in households where languages other than English are spoken. Given these language environments, one's degree of bilingualism may theoretically range from a point approximating monolingualism to a state of balanced bilingualism. With such a range of possible degrees of bilingualism, there is a pressing need for some general guidelines on its measurement, especially in light of recent federal and state legislation requiring school districts to assess the language dominance and proficiency of their bilingual children in each of the languages. We therefore begin by defining four dimensions of bilingual measurement in a manner that is both theoretically sound and educationally useful. Next, we address three major topics in the assessment of language proficiency and language dominance: (1) selection of the language components to be assessed; (2) appropriateness of certain elicitation tasks used; and (3) general checkpoints that can be used to evaluate language proficiency dominance instruments. We hope this survey will bring into focus some of the important issues and questions facing those attempting to assess the linguistic proficiency and dominance of linguistic minority students enrolled in the United States public schools.


Results from the first numerical simulations of a nested Hall thruster (NHT) are presented. The X3 is a 100 kW class thruster with one center-mounted hollow cathode and three acceleration channels none of which is currently magnetically shielded. The simulations were conducted with the r–z axisymmetric code Hall2De and focused on operation with all three channels firing, at discharge voltages of 300, 400 and 800 V. The corresponding discharge power levels are 38, 49.6 and 100 kW. A recent experimental campaign provided measurements of the thrust for a wide range of channel combinations and operating conditions, but not at 800 V. At 300 and 400 V, with all three channels operating, the computed thrust is underestimated by 8.4% and 4.7%, respectively. The simulations also allowed for the first estimates of erosion by ion sputtering in a NHT. The maximum erosion rates along the boron nitride channel walls are found to be in the order of 1 mm kh−1 (103 μm kh−1) at 300 V. The rates at 800 V are a few times higher than those at 300 V. Mechanisms driving the erosion are identified, in part through comparisons with measurements and simulations of a similar single-channel unshielded Hall thruster that has been extensively studied in the past. It is found that anomalous collisions, now widely accepted to drive electron transport in these devices, and the manner in which they develop spatially in the channel interior can play a significant role on the channel erosion.


Four derivatives of the bioactive fragment 6–11 of Substance P were characterized by means of one- and two-dimensional 1H n.m.r. spectroscopy. Indirect evidence of backbone folding for these hexapeptides was given by temperature coefficients and paramagnetic relaxation rate enhancements of the amide protons. Chemical modifications were found to modulate the solution structure. Retro-inversion caused some conformational changes and a correlation between these structural variations and the relative biological activities was attempted.


Humidity enhancing is an important part in the industry air conditioning system. In this article, the writer first points out the necessity of humidity enhancing, then the saturated steam humidity enhancing system is introduced, including its arrangement and working principle. In the later part of the article, some questions in the design of humidity enhancing unit are suggested to pay attention to and some solutions are given.


This article examines the evolving landscape of employee patent rights in France, focusing on both judicial and legislative approaches. It highlights the challenges posed by intellectual property creation within legal frameworks that lack clear provisions for ownership. The article explores the changing nature of employee patent rights in France through the lens of case law and legislative amendments. It emphasizes the importance of judicial practice in addressing legislative gaps and providing clarity on various aspects of employee patent rights, including ownership, remuneration, formal procedures, and dispute resolution. Drawing comparisons with the German system, the article underscores the role of case law as a critical source of law in shaping the legal framework for employee patent rights. It concludes by highlighting the significance of ensuring inventors' rights and fair compensation to foster innovation.