Credit Card is used to make purchases such as AC, groceries, Television, gas, shopping and so on because of non-availability of money at that instance. Credit card have many features like points while using them for different types of transactions. Means of achieving money, services, goods and products by unauthorized means is said to be a fraud. Online fraud is basically the unauthorized use of an individual's personal and confidential information to buy products, services or to remove money from a user's account[1]. With e-commerce and cashless transactions increasing at a fast pace and with the world moving towards digitalization and cashless transactions the use of credit card has increased rapidly over the years and with that the number of frauds associated with credit card are also increasing[2]. The problem of credit card fraud threatens the credit card transactions. Fraud is an intentional deception with purpose of obtaining critical and confidential information for financial gain[3]. In fraud the confidential and private information of the user is disclosed which causes damage to the user. Fraud detection involves identifying fraud transactions among legitimate transactions as quickly as possible.


The 1996 'North Cape' oil spill along the Rhode Island coast led to the deaths of at least 2292 birds, resulting in an estimated 6275 bird-years lost (adjusted by expected longevity and pro- ductivity). We synthesize information on bird population dynamics to develop an appropriate restor- ation strategy. Marine birds (seaducks, loons, grebes) with natural recovery periods estimated to exceed 1 yr accounted for 87% of the total bird-years lost. Marine birds (gulls, cormorants, alcids, gannets) with recovery estimated to be less than a year accounted for 10% of injuries. Common loons Gavia immer and common eiders Somateria mollissima were selected as targets for restoration because of regional concern over their population status and the magnitude of lost bird-years. Three restoration options were evaluated for loons: nest site protection; nest site enhancement; and public education/outreach. Nest site enhancement opportunities were limited and benefits from public edu- cation/outreach efforts were uncertain. Nest site protection was preferred for both loons and eiders because nest site availability and/or quality currently limit(s) productivity. This option assumes that preventing future productivity loss compensates for productivity loss that resulted from the 'North Cape' oil spill. This assumption is supported by regional productivity estimates for the 2 target spe- cies, is consistent with scientific literature, and represents the consensus of expert opinions. Based on a series of scaling calculations, protection of 25 nest sites for a 100 yr period is expected to balance the loss of 2920 loon-years. Protection of 315 eider nest sites over a 100 yr period would replace 2605 bird-years lost (remaining marine bird injury). Calculations adjust future production credit through economic discounting of 3% yr -1 . Our analysis provides a means of quantifying the level of breeding habitat protection required to restore injured populations of marine birds.


Web QoS is a critical research of current Web computing,and it is a solution to end-to-end QoS assurance in Web computing environment. A QoS-aware's Web request distribution policy in Web server cluster system is presented. SHLPN technology to made a system model for it and use SPNP software to analyse its performance are used.


The present paper deals with the study of microstructure and wear characteristics of hot rolled beryl reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs). Al6061-beryl composites with 2, 6 and 10% of beryl were made using stir casting technique. The optical microstructure reveals the homogeneous dispersion of beryl particles in the matrix. The worn surfaces have been observed under SEM to understand the mechanism of wear. Hot rolled composites at 4500C possess higher hardness and lower specific wear rates under all loads and sliding distance studied in this investigation, when compared with cast composites.


With the popularity of DV products, many people are very concerned with the all-digital video making system for home using which is of great practical and economical value.The article puts forward the detailed scheme of the system and believes that pure software is the direction of its development.


We experimentally demonstrated a cavity mode in a GaAs-based chiral photonic crystal having a planar defect. The three-dimensional structure was fabricated by a micro-manipulation technique under optical microscope observation. Photoluminescence measurement at low temperature for InAs quantum dots embedded in the photonic crystal showed a polarization bandgap for left-handed circularly polarized light. In this bandgap, a cavity mode peak appeared and its cavity Q-factor was about 390. This result could be applied to optoelectronics, biological or medical field as a circularly polarized light source with compact and high efficiency.


The nonlinear optical properties of triazatriangulenium salt have been investigated using open aperture and closed aperture configuration of transmission Z-scan experiment. The nonlinear absorption coefficient, nonlinear refractive index and third-order susceptibility was calculated. The thermal properties of the salt has been studied using dual beam mode matched thermal lens technique and the thermal diffusivity of the salt has been measured. With the results obtained we propose that the triazatriangulenium salt could be exploited in all-optical switching applications.


Contents: Introduction An introduction to the politics of the Black Sea nations The Black Sea region as the EU's neighbourhood US-Russian tensions in the region The conflicts of the region Energy and the Black Sea region The Black Sea region as a possible future security community Conclusions: EU neighbourhood, conflict zone or future security community? Bibliography Index.


Open Innovation in China is greatly affected by the powerful role of the Chinese Communist Party. Xi Jinping thought introduces a tension between the 'decisive role of the markets' to allocate resources and stimulate innovation across the economy and 'the leading role of the Party' to guide the development of innovation in the most important industries. This tension plays out differently in different industries in China. In high-speed rail, the tension has been adroitly managed, creating an organization with world class innovation capabilities that is a peer with the best of the rival firms in the world. In automotive and semiconductors, however, the tension has been more problematic. The state-owned enterprises are well aligned with the Party, while it is the privately owned companies and foreign companies that are driving innovation.


The cryostat load will be transferred to the EB with 24 modules in place. It is important to know that the EB is stable in this situation and during the subsequent assembly of the remaining modules. Appendix 1 describes a static 2D analysis that was done to examine the stability of the EB with the cryostat load applied. The paper below discussed the implications of this analysis.


An aerobic bacterium was isolated from the soil enriched with organic dross produced by oil refinery,and identified as Pseudomonas sp.. After being domesticated for a long time,its ability of degrading organic dross was enhanced significantly,with a degradation rate raised from 64.3% to 87.5%.


The goal of this study to explore the perceptions of workers to notions of internal and external equity, and distributive and procedural justice and their impact on performance appraisal satisfaction and job performance in the country of Lebanon. A sample of 181 employees (N=181) took part in the study. The variables were measured using established scales in the literature. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS to test if the different dimensions of equity mediate the relationship between performance appraisal and job performance. It was found that equity and justice in the workplace is related to performance appraisal satisfaction and job performance. The findings shed light on the importance of equity and justice as a way to increase both appraisal satisfaction and job performance in the workplace. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature.


Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Wilson score for predicating difficult intubation.Methods Such databases as PubMed,EMbase,CNKI,WanFang Data and VIP were searched to collect the studies about Wilson score for predicating difficult intubation published from inception to January 2013.Two reviewers independently screened the studies,extracted the data,and assessed the methodological quality by QUADAS.The analysis was conducted by using Meta-Disc 1.4 software,and the random effect model was chosen to calculate the pooled sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio,diagnostic odds ratio,and the 95%CI.The summary receiver operating characteristic(SROC) curve was drawn and the area under the curve(AUC) was calculated in order to comprehensively assess the total diagnostic accuracy of Wilson score for predicating difficult intubation.Results A total of 9 studies involving 6 506 subjects were included.The results of meta-analysis showed that: the pooled sensitivity was 0.57(95%CI 0.53 to 0.62),specificity was 0.89(95%CI 0.88 to 0.90),positive likelihood ratio was 6.11(95%CI 4.63 to 8.07),negative likelihood ratio was 0.52(95%CI 0.41 to 0.66),diagnostic odds ratio was 12.76(95%CI 8.60 to 18.93),and the AUC of SROC was 0.84.Conclusion Wilson score plays a role in predicating difficult intubation,while some other clinical indicators also need to be taken into consideration in its application.


Finland currently ranks first in the globe for quality education. The nation is known for its excellent educational system. Therefore, researchers are interested in analyzing the learning strategies contained in the Teach Like Finland book, as well as learning strategies that are applicable to zakat-related material. This objective is to develop learning strategies for zakat-related materials so that learning can be made more effective and efficient through the use of innovations and diverse approaches. This study employs the content analysis method. Several of the 33 strategies outlined in the book Teach Like Finland, such as brain rest schedules, learning on the move, celebrating their learning, leaving boundaries and offering choices, to make learning real, are suitable for teaching zakat-related material.


In several countries, girls are more likely than boys to be aborted, to die in infancy, or to have younger siblings, all of which signal that parents want sons. However, standard techniques for measuring sex preferences fail to detect more subtle form s of sex preferences, especially when preferences are heterogeneous within a populatio n. This paper introduces a new framework for estimating heterogeneity in sex preferences using birth history records. The framework selects among many possible combinations of preferences over the sex and number of children to best match observed childbearing. Empirical estimates indicate that sex preferences are more widespread than previously reported and exhibit substantial heterogeneity within regions. In Africa, this heterogeneity is associated with agricultural traditions that favor men or women.  Contact information: Department of Economics, University of Michigan, 611 Tappan Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109; firstname.lastname@example.com. Thank you to Barbara Anderson, Martha Bailey, Jacob Bastian, Hoyt Bleakley, Charlie Brown, Eric Chyn, Aaron Flaaen, Jeremy Fox, Andrew Goodman-Bacon, Morgan Henderson, Evan Herrnstadt, Max Kapustin, Justin Ladner, David Lam, Jeff Smith, Bryan Stuart, James Wang, and seminar participants at the University of Cape T own and University of Michigan for helpful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by the NICHD (T32 HD007339) as part of the University of Michigan Population Studies Center training program. I gratefully acknowledge the use of the services and facilities of the Population Studies Center (funded by NICHD Center Grant R24 HD041028). The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely mine and do not represent the opinions or policy of these funders or any agen cy of the federal government.


Simple Summary The processes of globalization, human activities, and the growing popularity of outdoor ecological pork production contribute to increased interactions between domestic pigs and wildlife. Wild animals and pests can carry harmful pathogens that pose a threat to domestic pigs, resulting in economic losses at the local, national, and global levels. However, our understanding of the specific pathways through which these pathogens are transmitted between these animals is limited. This review has collected and examined information on the diversity and extent of pathogen spread from various wild animals and pests to domestic pigs. In the European context, our assessment showed that wild boars accounted for 80% of the documented pathogen transmission, followed by rodents (7%) and deer (6%). Insects, wild carnivores, wild birds, cats, and badgers had a lower representation in the studies. Farms with low biosecurity levels, particularly in extensive rearing systems, were identified as higher-risk farms. In general, 65.5% of the included studies supported possible risks and risk factors with quantitative data. Based on these findings, it is recommended to implement proper farm biosecurity measures, strong fences, and control programs for rodents, pets, and insects, particularly in high-risk areas. It is also crucial to monitor wildlife and raise awareness among farmers about the risks associated with disease transmission. Abstract Wild animals and pests are important reservoirs and vectors of pathogenic agents that can affect domestic pigs. Rapid globalization, anthropogenic factors, and increasing trends toward outdoor pig production facilitate the contact between domestic pigs and wildlife. However, knowledge on the transmission pathways between domestic pigs and the aforementioned target groups is limited. The present systematic review aims to collect and analyze information on the roles of different wild animal species and pests in the spread of pathogens to domesticated pigs. Overall, 1250 peer-reviewed manuscripts published in English between 2010 and 2022 were screened through the PRISMA framework using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. A total of 84 studies reporting possible transmission routes of different pathogenic agents were included. A majority of the studies (80%) focused on the role of wild boars in the transmission of pathogenic agents to pig farms. Studies involving the role of rodents (7%), and deer (6%) were the next most frequent, whereas the role of insects (5%), wild carnivores (5%), wild birds (4%), cats (2%), and badgers (1%) were less available. Only 3.5% of studies presented evidence-based transmission routes from wildlife to domestic pigs. Approximately 65.5% of the included studies described possible risks/risk factors for pathogens' transmission based on quantitative data, whereas 31% of the articles only presented a hypothesis or qualitative analysis of possible transmission routes or risk factors and/or contact rates. Risk factors identified include outdoor farms or extensive systems and farms with a low level of biosecurity as well as wildlife behavior; environmental conditions; human activities and movements; fomites, feed (swill feeding), water, carcasses, and bedding materials. We recommend the strengthening of farm biosecurity frameworks with special attention to wildlife-associated parameters, especially in extensive rearing systems and high-risk zones as it was repeatedly found to be an important measure to prevent pathogen transmission to domestic pigs. In addition, there is a need to focus on effective risk-based wildlife surveillance mechanisms and to raise awareness among farmers about existing wildlife-associated risk factors for disease transmission.


Argentina, Brazil and Chile (A-B-C) have attracted substantial amounts of FDI, but this, in contrast to Mexico, has had a limited impact on trade specialisation. In A-B-C most foreign investments were directed to primary good sectors and non-tradable infrastructure services. There was a surge in FDI inflows in the second half of the 1990s, mainly related to privatisations. There has been relatively few technologysharing by local firms, although some supply linkages have been created, as documented by case studies both in the non-tradable (e.g. retail trade) and tradable (e.g. mining) sectors. Similarly, FDI has contributed somewhat to institutional strengthening. This chapter ...


Background and aims: Chronic pain not only affects the person in pain, but can also have a negative impact on relationships with loved ones. Research shows that chronic pain is associated with difficulties in marital relationships, which in turn is related to a variety of negative outcomes such as psychological distress and conflict within the family. This suggests that couples where chronic physical pain is present also struggle with emotional pain and relationship problems, and thus targeting relationship skills and interpersonal functioning might be helpful for these couples. Although studies in this area are promising, their numbers are few. In the present study, validation as a way of communicating is suggested for handling emotional expression in interpersonal interactions. Validation communicates understanding and acceptance of the other person's experience, and it has been shown to have a down-regulating effect on negative emotions. It has previously been demonstrated to be important for these couples. However, the feasibility and effects of increasing partner validation in these couples are unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate if a brief training session in validation for spouses would result in more validating and fewer invalidating responses towards their partners with pain, and to investigate if changes in these behavioural responses were associated with changes in emotion and pain level in the partner with pain. Methods: Participants were 20 couples where at least one partner reported chronic pain. The study employed a within-groups design in which spouses of people with pain received validation training (without their partner's knowledge), and their validating and invalidating responses were rated preand post-intervention using a reliable observational scale. Also, positive and negative affect and subjective pain level in the persons with pain were rated preand post-intervention. Results: Results showed that the validation training was associated with increased validating and decreased invalidating responses in the partners. Their spouses with chronic pain reported a decrease in negative affect from preto post-training. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the partner or closest family member, after brief validation training, increased validating responses and decreased invalidating responses towards the person with pain, which Please cite this article in press as: Edlund SM, et al. I see you're in pai chronic pain. Scand J Pain (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sjpain.20 had an immediate positive imp Implications: This study sugg for couples where chronic pain © 2014 Scandinavian Assoc ∗ Corresponding author at: JPS: Psychology, Örebro University, 701 82 Örebro, Sweden E-mail addresses: email@example.com (S.M. Edlund), firstname.lastname@example.com email@example.com (M. Tillfors). ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sjpain.2014.07.003 877-8860/© 2014 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier n – The effects of partner validation on emotions in people with 14.07.003 act on emotions in the other person. ests that using validation in interpersonal interactions is a promising tool is present. iation for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. . Tel.: +46 19 301266; fax: +46 19 303484. (M.L. Carlsson), email@example.com (S.J. Linton), firstname.lastname@example.com (A.E. Fruzzetti), B.V. All rights reserved.


i I Th i s s tudy on puber ty of female fawns i n a c a p t i v e herd of b l a c k t a i l e d d e e r was c a r r i e d o u t from 1973 t o 1976. The s t o c k l a r g e l y o r i g i n a t e d from fawns c o l l e c t e d from t h e wi ld a t Kelsey Bay on Vancouver I s l a n d , B r i t i s h Columbia. Wild-caught fawns were hand-raised on evapora ted milk and f ed a f t e r weaning on a h igh p r o t e i n d i e t (one except ion : 6 exper imenta l fawns i n 1975 on low p r o t e i n d i e t ) . Body weights and measurements w e r e recorded a t s h o r t i n t e r v a l s . The age of wildcaught fawns was e s t ima ted from t h e cap tu re weight u s ing a r eg re s s i o n formula of weigh t on age developed from fawns of known age. No d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e found i n t h e growth o f hand-ra ised and mother-raised fawns (born i n t h e enc losu re ) which w e r e , t h e r e f o r e , counted t o g e t h e r when precocious and non-precocious fawns w e r e compared. Puber ty a t t a inmen t was determined by t h e subsequent occurrence of p a r t u r i t i o n , except i n 1976/77 when x-ray examination w a s used. Precocious puber ty was seen i n a l l y e a r s i n a proport i o n o f female fawns on high p r o t e i n d i e t s : 13/20, 1973; 3/7, 1974; 1/4, 1975; 5/7, 1976. Thus an average of more than h a l f of t h e s e fawns showed precocious puber ty . In c o n t r a s t none of 6 fawns on a l o w p r o t e i n d i e t ( i n 1975) a t t a i n e d puber ty d e s p i t e weight g a i n s s i m i l a r t o fawns on h igh p r o t e i n d i e t s . Precocious fawns w e r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y heav ie r than non-precocious fawns a t 125, 175 and 225 days of age. Growth p a t t e r n s up t o t h e i n f l e c t i o n p o i n t of the weight growth curves and weights a t 25 and 75 days of age were n o t d i f f e r e n t between t h e two groups. However, iii a d u l t weigh t , w a s s i g n i f i c a n t l y h ighe r i n p recoc ious fawns. During t h e breed ing season , t h e average weight o f expe r i , mental fawns (bo th precoc ious and non-precocious) was s i g n i f 1 ' i c a n t l y h ighe r than t h e average weight of w i ld fawns. Despi te t h i s s ta t i s t ica l d i f f e r e n c e , t h e r e w a s cons ide rab le o v e r l a p i n I I t h e range of i n d i v i d u a l weights between wi ld and exper imenta l 1 fawns. Thus weight i n f l uences the a t t a inmen t of puber ty b u t each I animal h a s i t s own, i n d i v i d u a l c r i t i c a l weight a t which puber ty i i s achieved w i t h i n a de f ined , spec ies -spec i f i c range. I I t i s t h e r e f o r e p o s t u l a t e d t h a t t h e absence of puber ty i n 1 w i ld female b l a c k t a i l e d d e e r fawns i s due t o i n s u f f i c i e n t proi j t e i n supply be fo re and du r ing t h e season a t which t h e necessary I 1 , photoper iod ic c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t . A s f eed p r o t e i n con ten t a f f e c t s I ! puber ty a t t a inmen t i n d i r e c t l y through i t s i n f l u e n c e on weight ! I growth and d i r e c t l y t6rough i t s e f f e c t on t h e endocr ine system, an i n s u f f i c i e n t supply of t h i s n u t r i e n t can e f f e c t i v e l y p reven t a puber ty . This p o s t u l a t e i s based on t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n puber ty 1 a t t a inmen t between fawns on high and low p r o t e i n d i e t s observed i i n t h i s s tudy , and on publ i shed obse rva t ions of d e e r and sheep I ]which d e s c r i b e t h e r o l e of p r o t e i n supply i n weight achievement land endocr ine func t ion . , So u e b t Na tur d i e M u t t e r p f l i c h t Und s o r g t , d a s s n i e d i e K e t t e b r i c h t Und d a s s d e r Reif n i e s p r i n g e t . E i n s t w e i l e n , b i s den Bau d e r W e l t P h i l o s o p h i e zusammenhaelt, E r h a e l t sie d a s Ge t r i e b e Durch Hunger und durch Liebe . F r i e d r i c h von S c h i l l e r


Objective To determine the neuroradiological features and differential diagnosis of intraspinal vascular malformations and angeioma. Methods Sixty-six patients, including 25 with intramedullary arteriovenous malformations (AVM), 12 with intrathecal perimedullary arteriovenous fistulae (AVF), 21 with spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae(SDAVF), 5 with intramedullary cavernomas and 3 with hemangioblastoma, received both MRI and angiograpy. All the patients underwent treatment of surgery or embolization. Results MRI showed the intraspinal vascular malformations in most cases of AVM, AVF and SDAVF. It displayed conglobated abnormal signal intensity and low surround signal in the image of ca-vernomas. Local phymatoid signal which enhanced apparently and abnormal vessels could be seen in the image of hemangioblastoma. DSA showed the nidus or fistula, supplying artery and drainage vein in AVM, AVF and SDAVF. Aneurysmal lesion and supplying artery could be seen in hemangioblastoma but obscure in cavernomas. Conclusions MRI may play an important role in the localization and classification of the intraspinal vascular diseases. Spinal angiography is a determinative examination for these lesions.


Abstract This article analyses and compares the organizational structures of alternative media projects in Turkey and Greece; two countries that have recently witnessed networked social movements. Drawing on in-depth interviews with journalists working in six alternative media projects, we inform on the news production process, the news values and normative ideals adopted by these journalists while covering the news and explore if they make use of similar or different organizational structures. Our research invites a rethinking of alternative media to focus on their unique features and the differing experiences and values of their journalists. Our findings indicate that, alternative professional journalists' news production routines in both countries vary based on their organization's scale, normative ideals, the political and media contexts in which they operate. In this study, we reflect on what these different news production routines accomplish or fail to, and their broader implications for journalism.


The artificial shells of hard inorganic nanocomposites on individual cells would protect the cells physically and chemically, and control cell division. These emerging properties could be combined with cell-surface functionalizations for applications to cell-based sensors and assays as well as for fundamental studies on single-cell biology. In this work, individual Chlorella cells were encapsulated within a silica/titania nanocomposite shell in a biocompatible fashion that utilized a designed peptide, RKKRKKRKKRKKDDDDDDDD, as a catalytic template for formation of both SiO2 and TiO2 on the cell surface. The cell viability was maintained, and the division of the encapsulated Chlorella cells was controlled. The cell viability was enhanced compared with the TiO2-shell formation. In addition, the incorporation of TiO2 to the shell made it possible to anchor the ligands of interest to the shell via catechol chemistry. All in all, the combination of biological SiO2 and abiolgical TiO2 for the shell formation gave more tunability of the artificial shells compared with the SiO2 or TiO2 shells only.


A linear programming based optimization model was developed for tubewell irrigation system in the high Barind tract area of Bangladesh to maximize profit for wheat and Boro rice from the available land and water supply. The study area comprises four thanas, viz. Tanore of Rajshahi district, Nachole and Gomstapur thanas of Chapai Nawabgonj district and Niamatpur thana ofNaogaon district. The area is within a deep tubewell irrigation project and the available land area for irrigation is about 90660 ha. There are 1463 deep tubewells in the study area and the design capacity of each tubewell is about 56 litre per second. Available water for irrigation from 1463 tubewells in the area ranges from 13355 to 14786 ha.m at design discharge during the irrigation season from November to May assuming 16 operating hours a day. At 80% and 60% of design discharge, the water availability varies from 10684 to 11829 ha.m and 8013 to 8871 ha.m, respectively over the irrigation season. Irrigation equalling full crop water requirement and 10, 20, 30, and 40 percent deficit crop water requirement along with 20, 50 and 80 percent dependable rainfall were considered in the model. Deficit irrigation was applied at vegetative and yield formation stages of Boro rice and wheat. For estimating yields of Boro rice and wheat under different crop water requirements, yield response factors at vegetative and yield formation stages of the crops were determined by field experiments. The values for Boro rice were 1.53 and 0.60 at vegetative stage and 0.29 and 0.28 at yield formation stage, respectively in the first and second years offield experiments. The corresponding values for wheat were 0.21 and 0.18 at vegetative stage and 0.47 and 0.46 at yield


Positive psychologists work to identify cultural practices from across the world that contribute to the good life (Peterson, 2006). Research frequently finds that religious engagement is positively correlated to well-being. The mechanisms by which religion influences well-being, however, are not fully understood and may vary widely by faith. This paper focuses on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Latterday Saints" or "Mormons") who report particularly high well-being—some of the highest well-being of any religious group in America (Newport, Witters, & Agrawal, 2012a). Through the lens of positive psychology, I explore how Latter-day Saint (LDS) practices and teachings may foster well-being. By analyzing similarities between well-being theories and LDS doctrine and behavior, I identify five possible mechanisms through which Mormonism might increase well-being, including fostering prosocial behavior, a focus on family, purpose and meaning, autonomy and agency, and physical health. I also identify areas in which Latter-day Saints struggle and how they might use well-being research to improve their level of flourishing. This investigation suggests that studying Latter-day Saints can (1) provide insight about the benefits and possible harm of certain well-being interventions in real-life application and (2) offer new practical well-being interventions that could be empirically tested. In sum, I propose that the study of Latter-day Saints could increase our understanding of how religion influences well-being and how well-being is cultivated. Keywords Mormons, Latter Day Saints, Well-being, wellbeing, Religion, Spirituality, Depression, Culture, Happiness, Happy, Health, Positive Psychology, Family, Pro-social behavior, service, purpose, autonomy, fasting, tithing, Flourishing Disciplines Child Psychology | Christian Denominations and Sects | Christianity | Community Psychology | Developmental Psychology | Family, Life Course, and Society | Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Missions and World Christianity | Multicultural Psychology | New Religious Movements | Other Psychology | Other Religion | Practical Theology | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Social Psychology Comments Nearly 300 references. The appendices for this capstone are available for download as an additional file. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstone/75 Running Head: MORMONS AND WELL-BEING 1


Psychological safety (PS) refers to the shared belief that a team environment is safe for taking interpersonal risks (i.e., it is ok to be wrong or assert new ideas). PS has been shown to improve the cohesiveness of co-workers and improve group problem solving in various situations. In the flipped classroom model of instruction students watch video lectures before coming to class, then participate in structured learning activies during class meeting times. In flipped classes that use small group or team based learning activities during class, which many do, students' level of PS, willing to ask questions, make mistakes, and address new ideas for a topic without fear of negative feedback from peers, might be an important factor in their experience of the flipped class. For this paper, we collected self-report data from students enrolled in a flipped section of Calculus III. Students were asked to answer validated survey questions about PS to assess their current level of PS at different times in the course. We used this data to assess students' PS at the beginning of a flipped class, and examine whether PS changes over the course of the semester in a flipped class. The results of this study will inform educators about how PS builds in the team environment within a flipped classroom of Calculus III. Additionally, the findings of this study may highlight ways that some of the disadvantages to PS in the flipped classroom can be addressed so that they are not a detriment to student success.


Objective To probe into rehabilitation education and kinesiatrics of patients after total knee arthroplasty(TKA).Methods 34 knees of 28 patients were treated with TKA.The patients received convalescent trainings post-operation,including training of joint movement,muscle strength and walking ability of legs.Results The patients were followed up for 5 months to 3 years,the knee joints were examined and evaluated with American Association of Knee Joint Surgery standard,22 cases graded excellent and 8 cases good with a good rate of 100%.Conclusion Convalescent and standardization kinesiatrics is an effective method to improve the effects of TKA.


In this paper, I examine the pattern of U.S. trade in producer services, emphasizing the significance of two-way trade in services. Evidence is presented that the pattern of trade in producer services can be explained by some of the same factors used to explain the pattern of trade in goods. Viewed in the context of the recent literature on increasing returns and trade in services, the results presented here suggest gains from liberalization due to increased product differentiation and global specialization. [F14, F10]


As shortcomings of traditional statistical significance testing have been highlighted, calls have been heard within the research community for alternative or supplemental analyses that reflect the practical significance of test results and the role of sample size in the interpretation of results. Effect size reporting, which is designed to reflect on the practical value of results, is now required by 23 journals, including the flagship journals of the American Counseling Association, the Council for Exceptional Children, and several American Psychological Association journals. "What-if" analyses, though less well established, offer a method for reflecting on the role of sample size in the decision to accept or reject the null hypothesis. Explanations of these methods and guidelines for their use and interpretation are offered.


The invention relates to a method for determining a property of a flowing medium, especially a liquid or a gas, wherein it is in the property particular to the flow rate, volume, concentration, the amount of heat or the density, by using a piezoelectric transducer. The method is characterized in that from the temperature dependence of at least one physical parameter of the piezoelectric transducer, the temperature of the medium is derived therefrom and the derived value is supplied to the method for determining the property of the flowing medium as a variable. Moreover, the invention relates to an ultrasonic meter using the above method.


Autonomous driving has become a major goal of automobile manufacturers and an important driver for the vehicular technology. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which represent a trade-off between conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs), have gained popularity due to their high fuel economy, low pollution, and excellent compatibility with the current fossil fuel dispensing and electric charging infrastructures. To facilitate autonomous driving, an autonomous HEV controller is needed for determining the power split between the powertrain components (including an ICE and an electric motor) while simultaneously managing the power consumption of auxiliary systems (e.g, air-conditioning and lighting systems) such that the overall electromobility is enhanced. Certain (partial) prior knowledge of the future driving profile is useful information for the automatic HEV control. In this paper, methods for predicting driving profile characteristics to enhance HEV power control are first presented. Based on the prediction results and the observed HEV system state (e.g. velocity, battery state-of-charge, propulsion power demand), we propose a reinforcement learning method to determine the power source split between the ICE and electric motor while also controlling the power consumptions of the air-conditioning and lighting systems in the automobile. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvement in the overall HEV system efficiency.


Abstract A number of studies point out a positive influence of entrepreneurship on economic growth. This is due to the role that entrepreneurs play in the economy by utilizing new knowledge, shaping markets, and pushing out unproductive incumbents. The ambitious One Belt One Road Initiative, which recently includes sixty Asian, African and European countries, aims at stimulating global economic development and prosperity. From the theoretical point of view, entrepreneurship is crucial for achieving the aim. Consequently, the intent of this paper is to analyze entrepreneurial behavior of the countries participated in the One Belt One Road Initiative, using the data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Distinct country clusters are identified and their entrepreneurial characteristics are interpreted.


Previous studies in the field of acid-base and oxidative status in cows have
 mainly focused on the transition period (three weeks before and three weeks
 after calving). The aim of this study was to determine the differences in
 the parameters of acid-base and oxidative status and electrolyte balance in
 cows not only during the transition period, but also at other stages of the
 production cycle. Holstein-Friesian cows were divided into four numerically
 equal groups (n = 6): early lactating cows (9?2 days in milk - DIM), peak
 lactating cows (50?5 DIM), late lactating cows (170?10 DIM) and dry cows
 (10?1 days before calving). Venous blood samples were taken from the cows to
 analyze acid-base status, electrolyte concentrations and oxidative stress
 parameters, and to compare group means. Significantly higher pH was observed
 in early lactating cows than in late lactating cows. Sodium (Na+)
 concentration was significantly lower in early lactating and peak lactating
 cows compared to dry cows, while chloride (Cl-) concentration was also lower
 in late lactating cows compared to dry cows. Plasma glutathione peroxidase
 (GSH-Px) activity was higher in early lactating cows compared to peak
 lactating cows. Thus, the highest blood pH, lowest Na+ and Cl-
 concentrations and highest serum GSH-Px activity were observed in early
 lactating cows compared to other groups, indicating the highest metabolic
 and oxidative stress during this period. In conclusion, it would be useful
 to consider the inclusion of these parameters in standard health assessment
 procedures in intensive dairy production.


Detecting pedestrians from a moving vehicle is a challenging problem since the essence of the task is to search non-rigid moving objects with various appearances in a dynamic and outdoor environment. In order to alleviate these difficulties, we propose a new human detection framework which makes the most use of stereo vision. While the conventional stereo-based detection methods initially generate regions of interest or ROIs on one of stereo images, the proposed one defines the ROIs on both left and right images. This paper presents two different ways for utilizing the stereo ROIs. Thefirst one is to classify the stereo ROIs individually and integrate the classification scores to obtain the final decision. The second one is to extend gradient-based local descriptors [1, 14] to multiple views and present new feature descriptors which we call Stereo HOG and Stereo CoHOG. Through experiments we show that both methods significantly reduce the false alarm rate while keeping the detection rate comparing with monocular-based methods.


Using a unique data set collected from financial statements of all Singapore listed firms from 1983 to 1991, we provide international evidence on the determinants of the amount of secured loans as a fraction of total secured and unsecured loans. This data set comprises a much wider range of firms than most previous studies. We show that consistent with the agency-cost hypothesis, firms with more growth opportunities use more secured loans. This is in contrast to the opposite result reported in Barclay and Smith (1995b) who measure secured debt as a fraction of total long-term fixed claims. We also find strong support for the hypothesis that smaller firms use more secured loans. In contrast, Leeth and Scott (1989), using survey data on small firms, find an insignificant firm size effect. Finally, we show that the use of secured loans is positively related to asset riskiness and loan size, and is negatively related to asset specificity. Firm quality has no explanatory power. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1998.


I. INTRODUCTION, METHODS, SYMPTOMS AND CRITERIA. INTRODUCTION. In a paper on the comparative actions of chloral and isopral on different animals Impens1aimed to establish what he called the "toxic quotient" for these drugs, i. e., the quotient of minimal fatal dose divided by the minimal "effective" dose. He states that this factor (or margin of safety) is uniformly greater for isopral than for chloral and that isopral is, therefore, the safer drug. In analyzing these claims one is at once struck with the fact that the difference for most animals is so small that it might well fall within the limits of error. With the cat alone the difference would seem altogether too large to be explained in this manner. The experiments published by Impens are, however, altogether too scanty to make his conclusions binding; and in affirming the dose of chloral for cats he fails entirely to


A symmetrical flexible bis(phosphinoferrocene) derivative, viz. bis[1′-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenyl]methane (1), was prepared and studied as a ligand in Pd(II) and Au(I) complexes. The reactions of 1 with [PdCl2(cod)] (cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene) and [Pd(μ-Cl)(LNC)]2 (LNC = [2-(dimethylamino-κN)methyl]phenyl-κC1) produced bis(phosphine) complex trans-[PdCl2(1-κ2P,P′)] (4), wherein the ligand spans trans positions in the square-planar coordination sphere of Pd(II) and the tetranuclear, P,P-bridged complex [(μ(P,P′)-1){PdCl(LNC)}2] (5), respectively. In reactions with the Au(I) precursors [AuCl(tht)] and [Au(tht)2][SbF6] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene), ligand 1 gave rise to tetranuclear Au2Fe2 complex [(μ(P,P′)-1)(AuCl)2] (6) and to symmetrical macrocyclic tetramer [Au4(μ(P,P′)-1)4][SbF6]4 (7). All compounds were characterized by spectroscopic methods. In addition, the structures of compound 1, its synthetic precursor bis[1′-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenyl]methanone (3), and all aforementioned Pd(II) and Au(I) complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (some in solvated form).


A THESIS SUMMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO
UNIVERSITY ZARIA, NIGERIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF ARTS DEGREE IN
ARCHAEOLOGY.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY, FACULTY OF ARTS
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA, NIGERIA.


Abstract This paper deals with the computation of rational approximations of fractional derivatives and/or integrals. All rational approximations for fractional order of 0.1, 0.2,…, 0.9 are obtained using continued fraction expansion (CFE) method. Extension of the stability boundary locus approach to control systems with a fractional order transfer function is given for the computation of stabilizing PI and PID controllers using continuous approximations of fractional orders. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the results and to show the effect of the order of approximation on the stability region.


Climate change is affecting natural ecosystems and society. Anticipating its impacts on vegetation resilience is critical to estimate the ecosystems' response to global changes and the reliability of the related ecosystem services, to support mitigation actions, and to define proper adaptation plans. Here, we compute the Annual Production Resilience Indicator from gross primary production (GPP) data simulated by a large ensemble of state-of-the-art Earth System Models involved in the last Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In the Sustainability (Taking the Green Road) and Middle of the Road scenarios (ssp126 and ssp245), the areas where vegetation shows increasing GPP resilience are wider than the areas with decreasing resilience. The situation drastically reverses in the Fossil-fuel Development (Taking the Highway) scenario (ssp585). Among the larger countries, Brazil is exposed to the highest risk of experiencing years with anomalously low GPP, especially in the Taking the Highway scenario.


The synchrony effect (SE) refers to the finding that individuals' endorphin levels (inferred through pain threshold) increase significantly after moving in synchrony with others compared to the same movement performed alone (Cohen et al., 2010).  Considering the various outcomes attributed to endorphin activity (e.g., cooperation and cohesion (Dunbar & Schultz, 2012), the SE has tremendous implications for sport psychology.  Although the SE has been repeatedly found, the research paradigm has only used rowing for 30-40 minutes to cause the SE (Cohen et al., 2010; Sullivan & Rickers, 2013; Sullivan et al., 2014).  The current study was designed to ascertain the generalizability of the SE.  Specifically, running on a treadmill for 20 minutes was used in the current design.  Individuals (n= 60) participated in groups of three which were randomly assigned to one of two conditions – running in synchrony or running in a non-synchronized fashion.  All runs took place on 3 adjacent treadmills. Pain threshold was measured before and after runs; change in pain threshold was used as a measure of endorphin activity.  An independent samples t-test revealed no significant difference between the conditions (t (57) = 0.68, p >  .05). Based on these results, the SE may be limited to longer and more vigorous activities than 20 minute runs.  However, considering that synchronized activities as quick as 5 minutes have shown endorphin-affected outcomes (e.g., social cooperation (Valdesolo et al., 2010)), this may not be the case.  Clearly, future research on the basic dynamics of the SE is needed to understand this fascinating phenomenon.


The present invention is to inform the doctor in advance to purchase goods that the buyer wishes to purchase to the supplier But not right now need this product in the future (a few days, a few months, a few years later) to determine the future price and yield the required product in advance of signing to contract with some deposits paid and paid for the goods acquisition time and acquisition of goods relates to a method, a buyer wishing to products purchased in the prior proposed product information and prices or transaction entered into by the suppliers have the products to meet these rates and conditions, supply goods, the one supplier and a number of buyers to gather together the auction, one buyer and several suppliers to determine the price with the lowest price bid for the provider present (or most favorable conditions), reverse auction, suppliers against purchase desired goods by the buyer presents private It presented the price to the public at some point (competitive bidding deadline) winning bidders of appropriate conditions Competitive bidding, the number of buyers and multiple suppliers together there are a number of ways to buy and sell methods, such as joint auction to determine the price, but all of this trading method is made possible only while holding the conventional product, the supplier stance that the and has a drawback should always have an uncertain commodity shipments, the disadvantage of these uncertain commodity shipments disadvantage causing inventory anxiety of the supplier and, commodity shortage of providers has led to distrust of the supplier to the buyer more likely to the detriment of future sales in order to solve the problems of your purchases in advance physician marketing process taking place over the Internet, online and offline, to prevent unnecessary excessive production of goods to the supplier, the cake produced only goods orders requiring the buyer to prevent the stock of providers in the future as appropriate commodity production cause And predicts the commodity price fluctuations, to guarantee the loss of suppliers in the hope of commodity deposits of the buyer, the security shortcomings that can deal sale only in the state have a conventional product, Cain produced in volume and services required at some point in the future to remove the merchandise inventory for buyers for suppliers is characterized to provide a method on the Internet that allow you to avoid future price volatility risk.


In data analytics, system modeling, and decision-making, the aspects of interpretability and explainability are of paramount relevance; one can refer here to explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). The increasing complexity of systems one has to cope with, distributed nature of data with an ultimate concern about privacy and security of data and models are other challenges present in system modeling. With the proliferation of mobile devices, distributed data, and security and privacy restrictions, federated learning becomes a feasible development alternative. We advocate that there are two factors that immensely contribute to the realization of the above important requirements, namely, (i) a suitable level of abstraction along with its hierarchical aspects in describing the problem and (ii) a logic fabric of the resultant constructs. It is demonstrated that their conceptualization and the following realization can be conveniently carried out with the use of information granules (for example, fuzzy sets, sets, rough sets, and alike). Information granules are building blocks forming the interpretable environment capturing the essence of data and revealing key relationships existing there. Their emergence is supported by a systematic and focused analysis of data. At the same time, their initialization is specified by stakeholders or/and the owners and users of data. We present a comprehensive discussion of a design of information granules and their description by engaging an innovative mechanism of federated unsupervised learning in which information granules are constructed and refined with the use of collaborate schemes of clustering. For illustrative reasons, the study will be focused on the timely issues of interpretability and federated learning in the context of functional rule-based models with the rules in the form "if $x$ is $A$ then $y=f(x)$" with the condition parts described by information granules. The interpretability mechanisms are aimed at a systematic elevation of interpretability of the conditions and conclusions of the rules. It is shown that augmenting interpretability of conditions is achieved by (i) decomposing a multivariable information granule into its one-dimensional components, (ii) delivering their symbolic characterization, and (iii) carrying out a process of linguistic approximation.


The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to shifts in higher education globally. This study reports the tensions multinational women graduate students experienced due to the change in delivery methods caused by the pandemic. Additionally, they examined how the students felt about their changing roles and lived experiences. This study highlights areas that institutions should address along with the type and level of support provided to their graduate student population. The authors recommend that institutions focus on providing equitable resources for graduate students, help to develop a support network, both in-person and online, provide resources to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and provide outlets to reduce the stress involved in graduate study.


The soil erosion has been one of the biggest concerns in Korea as well as in other countries because of its impacts on ecology and water quality in the receiving water bodies. Among many computer models simulating soil erosion at field and watershed scale has been integrated with the Geographic Information System (GIS) because its nature is essentially spatial. The prototype and enhanced version of the Sediment Assessment Tool for Effective Erosion Control (SATEEC) system utilizes the area-based sediment delivery ratio methods. However the sediment delivery mechanism is not solely dependent on the watershed area. Thus new sediment delivery ratio estimation module was automated in the SATEEC system by considering watershed area, watershed relief ratio, and average Curve Number for all sub watersheds in the watershed having each cell as an outlet. The estimated sediment delivery ratio shows the spatial variability and could provide soil erosion decision makers with better information regarding soil erosion and sediment yield behaviors. This result can be used to identify the most critical areas and assess the effects on sediment yield of soil erosion best management practices implemented in the critical areas. However, new sediment delivery ratio method needs to be extended for its application for the bigger watershed because of limitations in ArcView GRID library in the number of processes. Thus the works are undergoing to port the ArcView 3.x based SATEEC system into the ArcGIS platform.


The reliability of work of the technical systems significantly influences the technological losses of manufacture process. During the counting the availability ratio of the technical system it is recommended to take into the consideration implicit as well as evident breakdowns of all separate components of the whole object. There is a formula for counting technological losses depending on the availability ratio of technical object. Similar formulas for counting losses proceeding of atmosphere and water resources pollution, pollution of soils with hard matters are obtained. Introduced identities bring together reliability of the technical systems and separate components of ecological losses


The article is written about serious problem of the seam inundation. One way to solve this problem is to carry water shutoff . We use grouting mortar on basis of artificial resin, when do waterproof working. In our article we describe new preparation of grouting mortar. We mixed acetone-formaldehyde resin, caustic alkali and water under field conditions. The authors give five examples of various percentages of acetone-formaldehyde resin, caustic alkali and water, different curing period. Findings are written in the table. We achieve the results : increasing waterproof working efficiency, regulate time solidification grouting mortar, reduce exothermal effect, improve strength.


Canine atopic dermatitis is the most common manifestation of the atopic disease. This chapter covers the pathogenesis of environmental atopic disease and food-responsive dermatosis, as well as the clinical approach to them and their treatment.


The purpose of this study is to clarify gathering operations appropriate to crop conditions, such as
a crop's physical properties and the extent of lodging, from viewpoint of the mechanical
interactions between crops and a combine harvester reel. Because the gathering process by the reel
involve the mechanical operation of forced displacement, the reaction force of a bunch of wheat
stalks undergoing forced displacement was analyzed in our previous study, and the result has been
verified by the experiment under a quasi-static loading rate. In the present study, in order to
investigate the effect of loading rate and to discuss the application of the analytical method, which
is valid under a quasi-static loading condition, to the actual reel operation, the reaction force of a
bunch of wheat stalks was measured under several different loading rates by the experiment
involving gathering operation of the reel.
As the results, the horizontal reaction force increased its values in the negative x direction together
with an increase in loading rates, and the analytical results had a large amount of error under high
loading rates. The above result was examined in terms of the acceleration of forced displacement
during the gathering operation. The acceleration increased its values in the positive x direction
together with the increase in loading rates, and the peak of acceleration coincided with that of
reaction force. From these results, the main reason for the increase in the reaction force was
considered to be an effect of the inertia force of a wheat stalk caused by forced displacement
involving the acceleration, and a subject of the current analytical method for applying to the actual
reel operation was clarified.


By analyzing the relations among statistical line losses,the structure of electrical quantity,temperature and the meter reading times,this essay finds out the causes for the fluctuation of the statistical line loss rate.The actual line loss rate is reverted by using the theory of mathematical statistics in order to provide guidance for production and operation as well as reducing power grid losses.


Context Whether the serum triglyceride level is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) is not clear. Contribution The authors measured triglyceride levels and performed stress electrocardiographies 5 years apart on 13593 young Israeli male career soldiers and did coronary angiography if the stress test was abnormal. Triglycerides and change in triglyceride levels strongly predicted incident CHD after adjustment for known CHD risk factors and lifestyle. Decreases in triglyceride levels were associated with adoption of a healthier lifestyle and lower CHD risk. The lowest CHD risk occurred when triglyceride levels remained low. Caution The participants were healthy male soldiers. Implication In healthy young men, triglycerides and changes in triglyceride levels are an independent CHD risk factor. The Editors A recent meta-analysis (1) and most published papers suggest a moderate association between fasting triglyceride levels and coronary heart disease (CHD) (211). Of the lipid fractions, the triglyceride-rich very-low-density lipoprotein particle is probably the most sensitive to lifestyle modification (8). For example, estimates from meta-analyses suggest that for every 4.5 kg (approximately 10 lb) of stable weight reduction, triglyceride levels decrease by at least 0.068 mmol/L (6 mg/dL) (12). Accordingly, a considerable increase in the proportion of hypertriglyceridemic patients accompanies the obesity epidemic (6, 9). In addition, aerobic exercise, independent of weight loss, has been shown to modestly reduce triglyceride levels in a dose-dependent fashion (13). Hence, when assessing the risk associated with triglyceride levels, triglyceride measurement at a single time point (typically at enrollment) may not be a reliable indicator of a person's long-term triglyceridemia during follow-up. Whether changes in triglyceride levels over time can improve cardiovascular risk assessment is largely unknown, particularly in young adults, in whom information on the association between triglycerides and CHD is not available (1). For 13953 apparently healthy young adult men (mean age, 32 years; range, 26 to 45 years) from the MELANY (Metabolic, Lifestyle, and Nutrition Assessment in Young Adults) study (14), we obtained 2 measurements of fasting serum triglycerides and lifestyle variables 5 years apart and followed for incident cases of angiography-proven CHD. Here, we estimate the effect of baseline triglyceride levels (time 1) and changes (between time 1 and time 2) in triglyceride levels on CHD risk. Methods The MELANY Study The MELANY study, which was designed to investigate risk factors for common diseases in young adults, is being conducted at the Israel Defense Forces Staff Periodic Examination Center (SPEC), Zrifin, Israel. All career service personnel are evaluated every 5 years between 25 and 35 years of age and every 3 years thereafter until they are discharged from service. A computerized database established in 1992 is the source of data for the MELANY study. At each SPEC visit, participants complete a detailed questionnaire that assesses demographic, nutritional, lifestyle, and medical factors. Thereafter, blood samples are drawn after a 14-hour fast and analyzed. A trained medical technician measures height, weight, and blood pressure (by mercury sphygmomanometers), and a physician at the center performs a complete physical examination. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria We included apparently healthy men 26 to 45 years of age who had fasting triglyceride levels less than 3.39 mmol/L (<300 mg/dL) at their initial SPEC visit. We used the cutoff value of 3.39 mmol/L (300 mg/dL) because SPEC persons with greater triglyceride values are subjected to additional interventionsnutritional, pharmacologic, or both. Of 15155 men age 26 to 45 years, 1202 were excluded because they had diabetes (type 1 or 2) (n= 227) or CHD (n= 17) at baseline; had fasting triglyceride levels of 3.39 mmol/L or greater (300 mg/dL) (n= 676); or were receiving long-term medications (n= 282), including lipid-lowering medications. Therefore, for analysis of the association between baseline triglyceride levels and incident CHD, we included 13953 men. In studying the effect of changes in triglyceride levels on CHD, we excluded an additional 413 men who did not have a triglyceride measurement from the second SPEC visit (n= 363) or had received a diagnosis of diabetes (n= 38) or CHD (n= 12) between the first and second SPEC visit or during the second visit. Women were not included because the number of new cases of CHD in women was too small to facilitate meaningful analysis. Outcome Definition The outcome definition of the study was clinically significant CHD (angiography-proven stenosis >50% in at least 1 coronary artery) or fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI). At each sequential SPEC visit, all Israel Defense Forces military personnel older than 35 years of age who were participating in the current analysis had a treadmill exercise test (Bruce protocol [15]) in the presence of a board-certified cardiologist. End points for the exercise test were clinically significant ST-segment depression (>2 mm in 2 contiguous leads, measured 80 ms after the J point), intolerable symptoms of angina and exhaustion, or achievement of the target heart rate. All cases with a pathologic stress test were referred for coronary angiography. In participants with a borderline stress test, or when participants reported angina symptoms without diagnostic electrocardiographic changes, stress perfusion imaging with thallium-201 was performed. Those with a pathologic thallium-201 cardiac scan underwent coronary angiography. All Israel Defense Forces personnel obtain primary care between scheduled SPEC visits at designated military clinics, and all medical records are stored in the same central database, thereby facilitating ongoing, tight, and uniform follow-up. Individuals presenting with symptoms of angina, MI, or both between SPEC visits were also referred for coronary angiography after consultation with a board-certified cardiologist. Laboratory Methods Investigators performed biochemical analyses of fresh blood samples in an adjacent core laboratory facility that handles 1.2 million samples per year. The laboratory is authorized to perform tests according to the International Organization for Standardization standard 9002. The United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service, Sheffield, United Kingdom, performed periodic assessment of quality control on a regular basis. All lipid levels were directly measured, except for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, which were calculated. Investigators measured all biochemical markers by using a BM/Hitachi 917 automated analyzer (Boehringer, Mannheim, Germany). Statistical Analysis For the primary analysis, we included 13953 untreated, apparently healthy young men with triglyceride levels lower than 3.39 mmol/L (<300 mg/dL). We used a general linear model to assess the age-adjusted means and proportions of the population's characteristics across quintiles of triglycerides and to fit the median of the quintiles as a continuous variable to estimate the trend of variables across quintiles (Table 1). We conducted Cox proportional hazards analysis during the 10.5-year follow-up to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% CIs for the development of CHD (the dependent variable) according to triglyceride levels at time 1 (first measurement). In stepwise models (Table 2), we added the values for body mass index (BMI), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and family history of CHD separately to the age-adjusted model to evaluate their potential role as confounders. In the final multivariate model, we controlled for age, BMI, HDL cholesterol, family history of CHD, fasting plasma glucose, mean arterial blood pressure, physical activity, and smoking status. Because the total cholesterolHDL cholesterol ratio is a predictor of CHD (8), we performed a secondary analysis that included this ratio instead of HDL cholesterol in the multivariate model. Table 1. Baseline (Time 1) Characteristics, by Quintile of Triglyceride Level Table 2. Hazard Ratios for Coronary Heart Disease, by Quintile of Time-1 Triglyceride Level To assess the risk associated with changes in triglyceride levels, we analyzed data from 13540 men who had 2 triglyceride measurements (obtained at time 1 and time 2, 5 years apart) that were available before the end of follow-up or before being censored after a diagnosis of CHD or diabetes. In the model, time 2 was considered the baseline of 5.2 years of subsequent follow-up, whereas time 1 was considered prebaseline. We cross-classified triglyceride levels at each time point by tertiles: median levels of 0.68, 1.18, and 2.08 mmol/L (60, 104, and 184 mg/dL) at time 1 and 0.79, 1.33, and 2.49 mmol/L (70, 118, and 220 mg/dL) at time 2. In parallel, we determined changes in BMI, smoking status, physical activity, and habit of eating breakfast between time 2 and time 1 (Figure 1). Next, we evaluated the joint risk attributed to triglyceride levels at time 1 and time 2, categorized according to low (bottom), intermediate, and high (top) tertiles, and we used men with triglyceride levels in the low tertile at both time 1 and time 2 as a reference group (low/low group; hazard ratio, 1.0). To evaluate the direct association of changes in triglyceride levels (Figure 2), we used a multivariate model to further adjust for the interval between the 2 measurements and for the changes between time 2 and time 1 in BMI and lifestyle variables (physical activity, smoking, and habit of eating breakfast). We included these variables by calculating differences () in BMI and creating 3 groups of each categorical variable (smoking, physical activity, and habit of eating breakfast) based on their status at time 1 and time 2 (yes/yes, yes/no, no/yes, or no/no). Figure 1. Changes in selected lifestyle variables


Abstract. Using the macroscopic-microscopic model with the macroscopic energy determined by the Lublin-Strasbourg-Drop and the microscopic shell and pairing corrections evaluated through the Yukawa-folded mean-field potential, a certain number of yet unknown superand hyper-deformed shapes isomers in even-even Pt, Hg, Pb, Po, Rn, and Ra isotopes are predicted. Quadrupole moments were evaluated in the local minima of the potential-energy surfaces and turned out to be in good agreement with the experimental data, that, for the time being, are only available in the ground states.


Aim: The aims of this study were to explore the experiences of Maltese family caregivers (FCs) caring for individuals with advanced-stage Huntington's disease (HD) and to integrate findings using grounded theory principles. Method: Data collection and analysis were based on grounded theory principles. Eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with carers of individuals who were living at home or in an institution. The software programme MAXQDA was used to assist with analysis. Results: The results of this study indicate that the experiences of HD FCs centred around the psychological impact of their caregiving experience. The interrelationship between the different categories and sub-categories is suggested using an integrative diagram. Conclusions: This study can be considered as a robust pilot study which has integrated different aspects of the caregiver's experiences. Practical and policy implications centre on the need to develop measures to support FCs. Future research aimed at develo...


BELOVED sons and daughters, promoters and associates of the "Latin Union of High Fashion," We heartily extend to you Our paternal welcome. You have seen fit to come here to give Us testimony of your filial devotion and, at the same time, to seek heaven's favor on your Union. >From its very inception you placed it under the auspices of Him Whose glory must be the end of every human activity, even of those that are apparently profane, according to the precept of the Apostle of the Gentiles: "Whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do all for the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10, 31).


There are reports of adverse drug events associated with dabigatran, a direct thrombin inhibitor approved for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.


The decision of the British House of Lords in Page v Smith has raised a number of interesting issues in the area of foreseeability of (what might be termed 'secondary') harm to a primary victim and the 'boundaries' of liability of a tortfeasor who causes it. 1 The facts of the particular case seem to be straightforward except in one regard, the absence of physical injury. The plaintiff, Ronald Page, was driving with his family when he became involved in a car accident with the defendant, Simon Smith. Both Page and his family escaped unhurt. However, the plaintiff suffered from what was described as a 'chronic fatigue syndrome' (CFS) which became permanent after the accident. The plaintiff therefore claimed against the defendant for the recrudescence ofhis condition and his resulting inability to work again. The lower court found in his favour and awarded him damages. The Court of Appeal reversed the earlier ruling and decided that the defendant was not liable for the consequent injury to the plaintiff. It was left to the House of Lords to consider the tenuous link between the negligent act of Smith and the belated consequence of 'harm' to Page. In the event, the House affirmed the lower court's decision. The fact that the defendant's act did not directly result in a physical harm but only a change of a psychological state (at a later stage) amounting, at most, to an indirect injury prompts the question whether the House of Lord's ruling on the basis of the ordinary duty-of-care-breach-of-duty-causation approach was appropriate. It seems that the highest court did not view the


Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins; Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) has killed millions of hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon) forest in western Canada, where it has recently established in the novel host jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and threatens naive red pine (Pinus resinosa Aiton) forests as the current outbreak expands eastward. It is therefore crucial to understand whether red pine is a suitable host for D. ponderosae. Host suitability was assessed by comparing the ability of beetles to produce pheromones and complete their development in red pine bolts inoculated with mating beetle pairs. We detected two of four primary pheromones, including trans-verbenol and verbenone, but not exo-brevicomin or frontalin. Beetle brood successfully developed in bolts, with reproductive parameters (e.g., female and larval galleries, pupal chamber, and number of broods emerged per mated pair of adults) that were similar to those reported from the beetle's hist...


Surface cosegregation phenomena were studied at elevated temperatures on the (110) surface of a Fe–3.5%Mo–N single crystal by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Cosegregation of molybdenum and nitrogen, being due to the strong chemical interactions between the two solutes, was found to cause the formation of a two-dimensional MoN surface compound. The stability of this compound was investigated in the temperature range of 500–700°C. Above 600°C desorption of molecular nitrogen occurs. The maximum surface coverages of the segregants, which were established at temperatures of around 500°C, corresponded to less than a full monolayer of the MoN surface compound. LEED investigations revealed a complex diffraction pattern of the MoN–covered Fe–3.5%Mo–N(110) alloy surface which is not fully understood yet. However, no facetting of the bcc(110) surface occurred. This finding is in sharp contrast to previous results obtained on (110)-oriented surfaces of ferritic alloys with various 3d metals, such as Fe–15%Cr–N and Fe–3%V–C, N. It is concluded that the maximum MoN surface coverage is too small to induce the facetting of the bcc(110) alloy surface.


Previous review papers on analytic hierarchy process AHP and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution TOPSIS mainly focused on the application areas and paid scant attention to the framework development of AHP, TOPSIS and their hybrid methods. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on AHP, type of scale used in AHP, modified AHP, rank reversal problem of AHP, validation of AHP, application of AHP, TOPSIS, normalisation methods for TOPSIS, distance functions for TOPSIS, fuzzy hierarchical TOPSIS, rank reversal problem of TOPSIS and various applications of TOPSIS to prepare a ready-made reference for academician, research scholar and industry people. In this regard, research works are gathered from 1980 to 2013 searched via Science Direct, IEEE etc. and out of which 61 research papers are critically assayed to depict the development of AHP, TOPSIS and their hybrid methods. Meaningful information and critical remarks are summarised in various tabular formats and charts to give readers easy information.


That monosyllabic adjectives can be taken not only as adverbials but also complements in modern Chinese is a fact of Chinese as well as a difficult problem for foreigners who learn Chinese. In this article,the causes of the grammatical errors made by foreigners were explored during the acquisition of this grammar. On the basis of comparative study of the two similar grammatical problems,three criteria for monosyllabic adjectives as adverbials or complements were proposed: the controllability or the non-controllability,the target or the results,emphasizing on action or its consequences. Furthermore,this article puts forth a set of practical teaching plans.


Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) is an appealing research area because both information and energy can be delivered to wireless devices simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a diplexer-based receiver architecture that can utilizes both the doubling frequency and baseband signals after the mixer. The baseband signals are used for information decoding and the doubling frequency signals are converted to direct current for energy harvesting. We analyze the signal in the receiver and find that the power of the energy harvested is equal to that of information decoded. Therefore, the diplexer can be used as a power splitter with a power splitting factor of 0.5. Specifically, we consider a multiuser multi-input single-output (MISO) system, in which each user is equipped with the newly proposed receiver. The problem is formulated as an optimization problem that minimizes the total transmitted power subject to some constraints on each user's quality of service and energy harvesting demand. We show that the problem thus formulated is a non-convex quadratically constrained quadratic program (QCQP), which can be solved by semi-definite relaxation.


Professor Ulrich Dilthey's passion for the science and technology of joining processes is amply reflected in the enormous archive of published work which will forever serve the community. It is a pleasure therefore to be able to present this small story as a tribute to someone who has been a scholar, a gentleman and a leader in this most difficult of subjects. The matter of our everyday world is made up of atoms and it is the behaviour of collections of these entities which governs the properties of macroscopic samples. The choreography of atomic motions during transformation is particularly important when dealing with martensite or bainite. These phases evolve by the synchronised movement of atoms, leading to visible displacements which can in principle be exploited to do work, a phenomenon intrinsic to the mechanical behaviour of TRIP– assisted steels. The subject of this paper is somewhat different, i.e., the control of the transformation strains to compensate for the contraction when a constrained welded component cools. We begin with a rigourous description of the deformation caused by the change of austenite into martensite or bainite.


Accurate prediction of the stock price volatility, the rate at which the price of a stock increases or decreases over a particular period, is an important problem in finance. Inaccurate prediction of stock price volatility might lead to investment risk and financial loss, while accurate prediction might generate significant returns for investors. Several studies investigated stock price volatility prediction in a regression task by using the transcripts of earning calls (quarterly conference calls held by public companies) with Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. Existing studies use the entire transcript and this degrades the performance due to noise caused by irrelevant information that might not have a significant impact on stock price volatility. In order to overcome these limitations, by considering stock price volatility prediction as a classification task, we explore several denoising approaches, ranging from general-purpose approaches to techniques specific to finance to remove the noise, and leverage AutoML systems that enable auto-exploration of a wide variety of models. Our preliminary findings indicate that domain-specific denoising approaches provide better results than general-purpose approaches, moreover AutoML systems provide promising results.


DONI WINATA_165100085_PBD_SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND DATABASE SECURITYBasic Data (Database) Basic data (English: database) is a collection of information stored on a computer systematically so that it can be used on a computer program to obtain information from the database. Software used to manage and release queries (databases) is called a management database system (database management system, DBMS).


Disorders of the CNS associated with HIV infection are diagnostic for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Clinically, the associated neuropsychiatric disorders may arise from various causes. Severe immunosuppression may result in cerebral opportunistic infections. The commonest include Toxoplasma gondii, cryptococcus, cytomegalovirus, and JC virus, which causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. There is also a high incidence of primary CNS B cell lymphoma. Systemic disease and treatment, such as steroid administration, can have secondary intracerebral consequences, and HIV can have a primary effect on the brain to produce dementia. HIV affects many body tissues including the nervous system. It has a number of regulatory genes, and three structural genes that code for envelope glycoproteins, reverse transcriptase, and core viral proteins. The envelope glycoprotein gpl.20 recognises and binds to host cell receptors, principally the CD4 + receptor on T helper cells. Initially it was assumed that the virus entered the brain within a few weeks after infection as viral antigen could occasionally be detected at this time in the CSF,' 2 but the viral load usually remains low until the onset of symptomatic disease.3 The virus is present in microglia, macrophages, monocytes, and possibly astrocytes. These infected cells produce cytokines, which activate gene expression and so induce further productive infection. Neuropathologically, non-specific changes are found in asymptomatic subjects, whereas in AIDS there are various HIV specific disorders.4 These include HIV encephalitis, HIV leukoencephalopathy, and diffuse poliodystrophy. Macrophages, microglia, and multinucleated giant cells are found in encephalitis. They are accompanied by diffuse myelin damage in leukoencephalopathy, whereas the diffuse poliodystrophy consists of diffuse reactive astrocytosis, microglial activation, and neuronal loss. Cortical neuronal loss and synaptic damage are now recognised features, occurring during the symptomatic phase of the disease.5 Neither multinucleated giant cells6 nor neuronal loss correlate closely, however, with cognitive impairment.7 Neurotoxicity may be mediated either by viral products8 or by cytokines.6 Gpl20 has been reported to kill neurons9 by opening calcium channels activated by glutamate.'0 Furthermore, gp120 given to rats causes dystrophic dendritic changes and the development of behavioural retardation." Nevertheless, the contribution of the various neurotoxic mechanisms in producing HIV associated dementia remains obscure. Described in the early 1980s, the progressive dementing illness associated with HIV infection has been given several different names. Abnormalities affect cognitive, behavioural, and motor domains. It typically presents as a subcortical dementia with no apraxia or agnosia, memory loss with impaired manipulation and retrieval of information, and general slowing of thought processes. Behavioural changes include apathy and social withdrawal, which may be mistaken for depression. Motor abnormalities may affect hand writing, balance may be poor, and there is a tendency to trip or be clumsy. Neurological examination is usually normal in the early stages, although diffuse hyper-reflexia and impairments in rapid eye and limb movements may be found. With increasingly severe dementia the cognitive impairments worsen, there is increased tone, especially in the lower limbs, tremor, clonus, and frontal release signs. Terminally the patient is often incontinent and mute. Confusingly, there are currently three separate diagnostic classification systems. The first to be derived was the AIDS dementia complex (ADC), so termed to encompass the motor as well as the cognitive changes. The ADC is divided into four stages'2 (table 1), which are wide and may be difficult to define. This is especially


The Weibull regression model is a Weibull distribution that is directly influenced by covariates. The Weibull regression model discussed in this study was the Weibull survival and the Weibull hazard regression model. The Weibull regression model in this study was applied to the hospitalization time data of COVID-19 patients from May to September 2021 at the RSUD Abdul Wahab Sjahranie Samarinda. The event of the study is recovery of patient. This study aims to obtain Weibull survival and hazard regression model to the hospitalization time data of Covid-19 patients, to obtain the factors that affect the chance of not recovering (survive) and the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients, and also to interpret Weibull survival and hazard regression models based on the obtained model. In this study, the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) was used as the parameter estimation method. The closed form of the Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimator cannot be found analytically, and the approximation of ML estimator was found using Newton-Raphson iterative method. Based on the test results, the factors that influence the chance of not recovering and the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients were comorbidities history. The chance of not not recovering (survive) for patients who have a history of comorbidities is greater than the chance of not recovering (survive) for patients who have no history of comorbidities. The recovery rate for COVID-19 patients who have a history of comorbidities is 0,5358 times the recovery rate for patients without a history of comorbidities.


Aim: To observe the effects of pre operative HANS on the dose of the patient controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) and aversive side effects of PCEA, 40 ASA I patients undergoing Cesarean section were randomly divided into two groups: HANS group (20 cases) was given HANS preoperatively and PCEA postoperativly; control group (20 cases) was given PCEA only. For HANS stimulation, 2/100Hz wave was used for 30 minutes. The VAS score was recorded in eight time points (opening peritoneum; detaching peritoneum between uterus and bladder; fetal delivery; clearing cavity of uterus; exploring adnexa; 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after the operation), the doses of analgesics and complications were also observed. Results: HANS group had significantly less VAS scores than the control group. The dose of analgesics used in HANS group was not significantly less than the control group. The incidence of nausea and vomiting was significantly less in HANS group. Conclusion: preoperative use of HANS reduces pain during and after operation, and reduces the incidence of nausea and vomiting.


SHL recognition challenge 2019 goal is to recognize eight locomotion and transportation (activities) from the inertial sensor data of a smartphone. The dataset contains information from different mobile-phones placement (torso, bag, hips, hand). Participants must provide their predictions based on test data that contains Hand phone sensors information. Only a small amount of Hand phone labeled data exists in the validation data. Train data consists only of torso, bag and hips placed mobile devices. Team DB proposes to apply deep semi-supervised learning. As the base for our model, we have chosen Adversarial Autoencoder (AAE) and employ Convolutional Networks for feature extraction. We prove that semi-supervised learning gives possibility to utilize test unlabeled data during AAE training with small amount of validation labeled data and achieve high model accuracy for Human Activity Recognition task.


S parameters were obtained using the 3D finite element HFSS code in order to characterize suspension interconnects. An idealized suspension interconnect with periodic rectangular apertures in the stainless steel reference plane is studied to investigate the effect of aperture geometry on characteristic impedance and insertion loss of a differential line. We compared the result of 3D analysis with that of 2D analysis in characteristic impedance. The impedance from the 3D simulation is lower than the predicted value from the 2D simulation by 5 Ω for 50% windowed structure. It was shown that there are attenuation poles at certain frequency ranges as in band-stop filters when the window pitch or window length is large.


To meet the reform and development of power industry and enhance management level of electricity business,GPRS-based remote meter reading is presented in this paper.The overall construction framework of meter reading system is described first,then by taking PL3201 and MC55 wireless modules as the core,supplemented by LM1117,AT24C32,and other peripheral chips,the circuit design of meter reading standby mode by infrared communication carrier is proposed,its function is told of finally.Thus the electric meter reading system is implemented.The system has great value for popularization in the field of electricity meter reading.


Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a devasting condition which may result in death or severe neurological deficits in children. Hypoxic ischemic insults (HII) in term infants cause lesions in the border zones of vascular supply. Depending on the severity of the insult, the cortex and adjacent white matter, deep nuclear structures especially the basal ganglia (putamen and caudate nucleus) and the thalamus and the posterior limb of the internal capsule may be injured. Another injured anatomical structure that is often overlooked is the corpus callosum. Especially severe and prolonged hypoxic events may cause injury of the corpus callosum. The presented paper shows that high-resolution sonography can visualize lesions of the corpus callosum in HII.


The Clarion, Med-E 1 Combi 40 and Nucleus 22 or 24 Cochlear Implant Systems programmed with the Continuous Interleaved Sampler (CIS), Simultaneous Analog Strategy (SAS), or SPEAK speech coding strategies on the average enable postlinguistical-ly deaf adults to understand 70-80% of words in open-set sentences by sound alone. Congenitally deaf children who were implanted between 2 and 5 years of age, received intensive spoken language training over a period of years, and use the most recent speech coding strategies, on the average are able to understand 30-40% of one-syllable, open-set words by sound alone. Several key studies indicate that the earlier a deaf child is implanted, the less language delay there is, the more intelligible their own speech is, and the earlier they are ready to be mainstreamed in normal hearing schools. Adults and children must have appropriately fitted speech processor programs (that are changed as soon as hearing changes) to achieve these levels of success. Because cochlear implants do not provide normal hearing, habilitation for children and rehabilitation for adults are essential. Preoperative evaluation, implantation, and postoperative care can only be effectively provided by close collaboration of a multidisciplinary team.


This study aimed to qualitatively explore how partner support for health behaviours is perceived, received, and utilised in people living with and beyond cancer (LWBC).


Beni Boufrah is a small (23 x 10 km) valley on the northern flank of the Rif along the Mediterranean coast. The climate is semi-arid, with a highly variable rainfall. The average rainfall is about 300 mm and falls mainly in winter. Human settlement began in the 16th century and has spread gradually over most of the valley. Today, there are about 9,000 inhabitants, living in 21 villages. This paper deals with the relationships between man and his environment at two levels: the villages (community level) and the farmers (individual level). A problem of the first level is the choice of sites for settlement. Throughout the centuries, people based their decision to settle on a perception of livelihood possibilities in which the requirements of agriculture and proper judgement of soil quality played an important role. This resulted in a specific settlement pattern: for reasons of security, early immigrants seem to have avoided the better soils on the lower flat parts of the valley and to have preferred deep Luvisols on the relatively moist north-exposed slopes. In one of the villages, five aspects of the decision environment at the level of the individual farmer were investigated: distance to his land, ownership, input of nutrients, input of grain, and land characteristics. It appears that the peasant's strategies are rational within the constraints set by custom and physical environment. This research needed the integration of physical and socio-economic data. The quality of the various measurements and the difficulties involved in the collection of the data are described and evaluated. The last part of the paper deals with the implications of the man-environment relationships for rural development.


Although Chinese constitution does not express the freedom of the press,but this principle can be drawn from the relevant provisions of the constitution.In the real social life we need the supervision of the media,but because the imperfect system can not effectively lead the one hand,the standard media monitoring,media monitoring on the other hand causing undue suppression.By the relevant foreign experience in judging the infringement of the media,the judgement should be based on media,rather than merely by the feelings of news reports.


This dissertation takes a game theoretic approach to model non-cooperative relationship between the service providers and the customers in a competitive environment, and utilizes the game formulation to propose an novel framework to solve the resource management problem in code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless data networks, providing flexibility to support differentiated quality of service (QoS) to different classes of users at the same time.
At the session (or macro) level, the admission control problem is formulated as a non-cooperative game between the service provider and the user(s) requesting admission into the network. Two modes of admission are considered: admitting the users one at a time, and in batch mode. The user behavior of migrating between service providers, which is called churning, is modeled with the help of utility functions for the players. It is shown that each instance of the admission control game has an equilibrium or a dominant strategy, which clearly defines the service provider's admission strategy. It is also shown that the batch admission mode yields better overall utility, at the cost of longer admission delay. At the medium access control (MAC) frame (or micro) level, a multi-rate CDMA system model is employed. In this model, different groups of users are allowed to have different subscribed transmission rates, and it is allowed to go below the subscribed rate when congestion happens at the air interface. The proposed optimal rate allocation strategy is guided by the user churn rate that is derived directly from the user's satisfaction (utility). The NP-Complete optimal rate allocation problem is solved by highly efficient heuristics that produce high quality sub-optimal solutions. The admission control and rate allocation schemes at two levels interact with each other through the use of the utility functions. In particular, the rate allocation decides on the instantaneous utility for the service provider and the user, while the admission control makes use of such instantaneous utility and ensures that the overall utility is maximized. The performance of the integrated admission and rate control framework is studied in detail with extensive simulations under realistic traffic models. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed framework is able to improve the total revenue for the service provider as much as 45%. Moreover, the differentiated QoS is achieved for different classes of users, both at the session level and the frame level.


Although the CM(construction management) market in Korea has shown rapid growth, unlike other market sectors, there has been lack of a system by which the economy trend of the CM market can be analyzed. The objective of the paper is to analyse and identify key characteristics of the CM market as of the third quarter of 2010 by using the CMBSI(Construction Management Business Survey Index) which was proposed in the previous study. In the paper, the CMBSI is used as the main index along with other five supplementary indices. The use of the CMBSI can contribute to enhancing the understanding of CM market situation and prospect, and also to providing information for CM policy and regulations.


SummaryEthephon sprays applied to Macadamia integrifolia trees caused the abortion of elongating racemes. The critical concentration of ethephon for early raceme damage was between 400 and 800 mg l−1. Dormant racemes were less sensitive, and rapidly elongating racemes more sensitive to ethephon damage. Raceme and floret death and abscission occurred between two and five weeks after application, and a second flush of racemes subsequently occurred four to seven weeks after application. The final numbers of racemes produced were similar, regardless of ethephon concentration. Initial nut set was reduced but more nuts were set on later racemes. Final nut set and yield were unaffected by ethephon treatments. This apparent compensating mechanism may have practical application in crop management strategies.


This study investigated how different profiles of kindergarten readiness in terms of student intellectual ability, academic skills and classroom engagement relate to future academic performance. Participants are French-Canadian children followed in the context of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 670). Trained examiners measured number knowledge, receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence when children were in kindergarten. Teachers rated kindergarten classroom engagement. Outcomes included fourth-grade teacherrated achievement and directly assessed mathematical skills. Latent class analyses revealed three kindergarten readiness profiles: high (57%), moderate (34%) and low (9.3%) readiness. Using multiple regression, we found that a more favourable kindergarten profile predicted better fourth-grade academic performance. Identifying children at risk of academic difficulty is an important step for preventing underachievement and dropout. These results suggest the importance of promoting a variety of cognitive, academic and behavioural skills to enhance later achievement in at-risk learners.