The article discusses ways to obtain relevant information on the state of the natural and natural-man-made situation, which is necessary to reduce the risks of natural and man-made emergencies in coastal river areas, to promptly inform the population of an integrated system that includes federal, regional and local information centers. It was noted that to create a systematized database, the factors determining the operating conditions of technogenic systems are considered, which include, first of all, such factors as hydrological, topographical (relief), geological (soil), as well as those changes of these factors, which are determined by human intervention into nature for agricultural land development in coastal areas and other activities. Information is of great importance for the optimal management of river coastal and, above all, border areas. It is a limited and expensive resource of the executive authorities, the management bodies of various production structures, individuals and legal entities that are somehow connected by their activities to the territories located in the coastal, transboundary and border areas. Persons interested in information on the state of the coastal territories with the aim of ensuring efficient and safe activities do not have the same information, therefore its mutual exchange is necessary. In the era of globalization, the main information source is global networks like the Internet, as a single global information space. These trends radically change the approach to the information support of the activities of all governing bodies. The proposal to create an information platform for interaction of owners of data on the natural and natural-technogenic condition in a river coastal area depends on many factors and, above all, the need to process large amounts of data using big data technologies that are used to process large amounts of data in order to obtain new information and which is difficult to handle in the usual ways.


Based on the experiments of a reinforced concrete frame column, 5 new members with different volumetric percentage of stirrups which are applied with constant axial load and horizontal low-frequency cyclic load are analyzed with ABAQUS. This paper aims to study the relationship between volume-stirrup ratio and seismic behavior of reinforced concrete column. By analyzing skeleton curve and hysteretic curve of members, the results show that, if stirrups are reasonably arranged and the volume-stirrup ratio is larger enough, the good ductility, carrying capacity, energy dissipation capacity, and seismic behavior still be obtained with high axial compression ratio.


Objective: To investigate effects of the sexual health education to psychological health of students who study in vocational colleges,and to explore the need for sexual health education.Methods: For the freshman to take a different approach to sexual health education,the control group and observation group comparative analysis of the mental health.Results: The sexual health of students who accepted the systematic health education were better than the students in the control group.Conclusion: The system sexual health education is benefit students to form a correct sexual conception towards sex and good to health.


The article is devoted to mathematical modeling of random process that occurred in tensile load of serial and experienced MTU. The efficiency of EDM application in transmission is discussed


We show how periodized wavelet packet transforms and periodized wavelet transforms can be implemented on a quantum computer. Surprisingly, we find that the implementation of wavelet packet transforms is less costly than the implementation of wavelet transforms on a quantum computer.


Behavioral problems among preschool-age children have become a priority for early childhood educators. Factors such as the exponential rise in childcare utilization and increasing poverty and incidences of child abuse have made the establishment of procedures for the early identification and remediation of problem behaviors among preschool children imperative. Screening is an initial step in identifying those who exhibit a certain disorder, problem, or disability. The goal of the current research was to study the effectiveness of a functional screening and identification system for behavior problems among preschool children ages 3 to 5 years. This research focused on the development of the Early Screening Project (ESP), a multiple-gated screening system adapted from the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders. Data were collected over 32 months, from September 1991 through June 1994. Participants were 2,853 children, ages 3 to 6 years, enrolled in typical and special education preschool and kindergarten classrooms in Oregon, California, Texas, Utah, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Nebraska, and Louisiana. Concurrent validity was assessed by administering the Behar Preschool Behavior Questionnaire, the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale, and Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist measures. Results demonstrated significant reliability and validity coefficients. The ESP procedure provides reliable, cost-effective, and accurate screening of preschool-age children to facilitate early remediation of behavior problems.


Software engineering education is aimed at preparing professionals to achieve software quality, manage risk, and deliver projects on time and on budget. This paper reports on the findings of a Delphi study as part of a series of research studies designed to identify the software measurement topics that should be taught in software engineering programs. It also outlines the levels of learning and skills that are expected to be reached by undergraduate students.


This study examines the link between income and living arrangements. Our identification comes from exploiting a discontinuity in age in the benefit formula for the social pension in South Africa. In contrast to previous literature, we find no association between pension income and elderly independence. We do find that potential beneficiaries alter their household structure when they become pension-eligible. Prime working-age women depart, and the presence of children younger than five and young women of childbearing age increase. These shifts in coresidence patterns are consistent with a setting where prime-age women have comparative advantage in work away from extended family relative to younger women. The additional income from old-age support may induce a change in living arrangements to exploit this advantage.


This presentation, by Consensus Conference Director, Dr. Riffin, will describe the major priorities identified by the 2021 Conference on Engaging Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia in Healthcare Delivery. Recommendations centered on the need for multidisciplinary collaborations that attend to (1) Identification and assessment of dementia caregivers in care delivery settings, (2) Reimbursement and financing for caregiver assessment and support, (3) Caregiver training and support across the care continuum, (4) Healthcare provider education on family-centered care, and (5) Technology innovations that support dementia caregivers. Across all areas, there was consensus regarding the need to leverage implementation science to promote the uptake of evidence-based interventions in clinical practice and use community-driven approaches to engage stakeholders from traditionally marginalized groups in future and ongoing initiatives. Findings are being used to inform federal agencies and foundations about high-priority areas, provide guidance to national committees, and accelerate programmatic research on caregiver engagement and support.


This study aims to test the theory or hypothesis in order to determine the effect of the influence of career development and motivation on employee performance in the disaster management agency of the western onion bone district. The research carried out is a type of explanatory research. The results of this study indicate that there is an influence of career development (x1) on employee performance (y), with a level of influence (r-square) of 49%, which means career development has an effect of 49% on employee performance. there is an influence between work motivation (x2) on employee performance (y), with a level of influence of 35.2% which means that work motivation provides an influence of 35.2% on employee performance and there is an influence between career development (x1), work motivation (x2) with employee performance (y), with a level of influence of 50.7% which means that career development and work motivation gives an effect of 50.7% on employee performance.


Thanks for the careful reply. Authors do much job to reply my queries. But, I still stand by my opinion about rill network. The authors stated "For the slope of the spoil tips, when there is no obvious upslope inflow, the distribution of rills is also random, and the rill network structure has some similarity with the natural slope (Fig. 2a). ". How did you confirm that the rill network has some similarity with Fig. 2a? how is it measured?


In countercurrent flow of two fluids through a tube or packed bed the throughput is severely limited by the necessity of using density difference as a driving force for one of the fluids. In concurrent flow this limitation is avoided. A preceding investigation of liquid-liquid extraction in concurrent flow through a packed bed (1) indicated that the mass transfer coefficients for both phases were very high and increased indefinitely with throughput. This observation and the absence of any prior work suggested a study of the fluid mechanics of such systems. The most important information for design purposes is the pressure gradient. A knowledge of the phase holdup and the drop size distribution is also important for an understanding of the momentum and mass transfer processes within the bed. These three dependent variables were accordingly measured as a function of the flow rates of the two phases. Measurements were made in upflow only, with two different liquid pairs plus a surfactant in order to give a relatively wide range of density, viscosity, and interfacial tension, and with glass spheres of three different sizes. The effects of column diameter, packing shape and composition, inlet arrangement, and direction of flow were not investigated in this initial study. Complete details of the investigation and a bibliography of generally related work are given in reference 2.


Professor Takashi Kaneda, an Honorary Member of the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science and an Emeritus Professor of Tohoku University, passed away on 16 February 2006. He was 84 years old. Professor Kaneda was born on 1 January 1922 in Tsingtao, China. He graduated from the Department of Fisheries Science, Faculty of Agriculture, the Imperial University of Tokyo in September 1943 and advanced to the Graduate School at the same University. He became Assistant of the Faculty of Agriculture at the same University in 1945. In 1947, he moved to the Fisheries Research Station of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and later the Station was reorganized into the Tokai Regional Fisheries Research Institute. In 1964, he was appointed as the Head of the Lipid Research Laboratory. In April 1965, he was invited to be a Professor at the Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. He was in charge of the Laboratory of Food Science in the Department of Food Chemistry, and greatly contributed to the education and management of the University. When he retired in March 1985, he was conferred the honor of Professor Emeritus by Tohoku University. Many students who graduated from his laboratory are active in both academic and industrial fields. After his retirement, he was engaged as Professor at Koriyama Women's University, and later he served as the Head of the Graduate School of the University. One of the outstanding research achievements in the fields of lipid biochemistry and chemistry involves research in the nutritional value of fish oil. In 1950, fish oil was believed to be toxic, because animal feeding trials involving fish oil resulted in poor growth. Professor Kaneda demonstrated that carefully prepared fish oil is almost equivalent to vegetable oils and that it was peroxidized oil that was responsible for toxicity in previous fish oil studies. This was the first report to describe the toxicity of peroxidized lipids. He received the Achievement Award at the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science for this work. In 1985, he became the first Asian scientist selected to present the Kaufmann Memorial Lecture to the Congress of International Society for Fat Research in recognition of his research on lipid peroxidation and he also received the Japan Agriculture Award. I will always remember him for his generosity toward young scientists and students. I hereby express my condolences and great regret at his passing.


Background: One of the major risk factors to human health is air pollution. It contains a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants which possesses dynamic properties due to the combination of anthropogenic activities and meteorological conditions. The precise characteristics of the ambient air pollutants in a given locale depend on the source origin, which in-turn is a function of economic, social and technological factors. Hence it is very essential to identify the source origins. Methods: Receptor models have been widely used in source identification and their contribution of Airborne Particulate Matter (APM). Chemical Mass Balance model (CMB) is one among them. This paper presents a critical brief reappraisal of the source apportionment of APM through CMB model. Findings: The review shows that CMB model have been frequently used and proved to be an important tool in source apportionment studies without any pre requisite of source and meteorological data sets. Applications: Source apportionment through CMB model is one among the way to control and manage the PM 10 and PM 2.5 emissions in an informed way.


This study aimed to observe the anatomical structure and density of secretory cells as well as knowing activity of ethanol extract aktioksidan associated with cell density of the rhizome of Curcuma xanthorrhiza secretion originating from Sub Pengaron Banjar regency, South Kalimantan. Making preparations rhizome anatomy carried out by using Free Hand Section, the analysis of antioxidant activity using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-pikrilhidrazil). Observations consisting of rhizome anatomical structure of cells of the epidermis, the cortex, endodermis and the central cylinder. In epidermal cells contained little hair cover, the cortex and central cylinder composed of parenchymal cells, cell secretion and the carrier files. The antioxidant activity of ethanol extract obtained from the calculation rhizome Consentrasion inhibition (IC50) ranged from 17.70 to 55.22 ppm. IC50 value of 17.70 ppm rhizome ethanol extract has antioxidant activity 5 times weaker compared to the control of vitamin C (IC50 3.71 ppm) and 3 times weaker than BHT (IC 50 5.57 ppm). At 55.22 ppm IC50 extract has antioxidant activity 15 times weaker compared to the control of vitamin C and 10 times weaker than the BHT. Secretory cell density relationship with the antioxidant activity in test with linear regression analysis showed that there was no relationship between the density of secretory cells per unit area with antioxidant activity in the rhizome of Curcuma xanthorrhiza.


Evidence suggests substantial weight loss may be associated with remission of T2DM. We assessed weight loss in adults with T2DM participating in an intensive lifestyle intervention using the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) curriculum. While enrollment was targeted toward adults at high-risk for T2DM, adults with T2DM who were referred by their primary care provider and received medical clearance to participate were also permitted to enroll in the DPP (N = 105). Seventy percent of these participants were female; the mean age and baseline BMI were 59.2 years (SD 8.9) and 38.7 kg/m2 (SD 7.7), respectively. The mean number of core sessions and total sessions (22 total sessions) completed by participants was 12.1 (SD 3.8) and 14.5 (SD 5.5). Sixty percent of participants achieved the physical activity goal of ≥150 minutes of moderate physical activity. Forty-six percent and 28% of participants achieved ≥5% and ≥7% weight loss respectively. Results from the multiple logistic regression models indicated that participants who self-monitored their fat intake consistently and met the physical activity goal were more likely to achieve the 7% weight loss goal and participants who self-monitored their fat intake consistently were more likely to achieve ≥5% weight loss (Table). Our findings suggest that many persons with T2DM can achieve substantial weight loss through participation in DPP lifestyle intervention. Disclosure D. Carpenedo: None.S.M. Brokaw: None.S. Tysk: None.J. Fernandes: None.S.D. Helgerson: None.T.S. Harwell: None.


The Network-on-Chip (NoC) is dominating now days. The NoC is characterized by the topology, routing, and flow control. The work presents Verilog implementation, modeling and synthesis of 8-bit 4 × 4 crossbar switch for virtual channel router. The crossbar components are widely used in router and switches. A crossbar switch may serve as switching fabric to provide a non blocking network configuration. Mainly crossbar is used as an interconnection network in NoC. Crossbar switch is a fully connected network, where each input is connected to each output. Crossbar switch is of great interest in packet switch designs. In virtual channel router minimum flit size is 8-bit. We have also designed arbitration module called DPA cell and 8 bit fabric module for crossbar. As flit size is 8- bit for virtual channel router we have implemented 8- bit 4 × 4 switch. In this paper rotating round robin arbitration algorithm with the help of DPA had been also implemented Hence our proposed arbiter is suitable for NoC design which needs high speed cross bar switches and router in them.The design is synthesized on Vertex 7 and maximum operating system achieved 1.1 GHz. Using parallel bit data transfer we have archived faster data transmission rates. Critical path delay of 8-bit 4x4 crossbar switch is 4.996ns.


The neuroendocrine system regulates all hormones in the body with better self-adaptation and stability.Based on the hormone modulation of neuroendocrine system and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis model,we present a novel intelligent controller(IC) and provide a method to adjust its control parameters.The IC has a two-level control architecture.According to the real-time control error,the primary controller can adjust the control parameters of the secondary one dynamically based on the hormone-release law.Thus its control stability and self-adaptation can be improved.Simulation results demonstrate that the control performance,stability,and adaptation of the intelligent controller are better than those of the conventional PID controller.


Objective To evaluate the effect of chloroquine,metronidazole,Mel Cy and Berenil on treating Trypanosoma evansi(STIB 806),T.equiperdum(STIB 818) and T.b.brucei(STIB 920) infection in mice.Method 105 trypanosomes of Trypanosoma evansi(STIB 806),T.equiperdum(STIB 818) and T.b.brucei(STIB 920) were intraperitoneally inoculated into mice.Infected mice were treated with chloroquine,metronidazole,Mel Cy or Berenil with different dosages and at different time of post-infection.The parasitemia and the time of death of the infected mice were evaluated.Result Chloroquine,metronidazole alone or mixture of both showed no effect on treating of trypanosomes infection,while Mel Cy and Berenil could effectively treat trypanosomes infection.Mel Cy at a dosage of 1.6 mg/kg body weight was found to completely cure the mice infected with these three trypanosome species,while Berenil at a dosage of 7 mg/kg body weight could also cure the mice infected with T.equiperdum and T.b.brucei.T.evansi was more resistance to Berenil than T.equiperdum and T.b.brucei.Infected mice treated at early stage of post-infection or with higher dosage could survive longer than those treated with lower dosage or at late stage.Conclusion T.evansi is the strongest drug-resistance species and T.b.brucei is moderate resistance species,while T.equiperdum is the most sensitive species to the tested compounds.Higher dosage or early treatment can help to cure the trypanosomiasis caused by these species in mice.


In order to examine the precontact production system of Rarotonga beyond the limits of the archaeologically visible irrigated taro terraces, a model of potential productivity is created. The model is based on an assessment of the productive potential of soil types and an inventory of precontact crops on Rarotonga. It is used here to examine a number of factors related to production: temporal change in production; reliability of production; the perceived value of land; and settlement. There are a number of limitations to the model as it stands, but its main value lies in its use as a foil against which to examine these other, more interesting aspects of production. The model is based on environmental factors, but the Rarotongan production system is as much a product of history as of environment.


The "Compañía de Radiodifusión Intercontinental" obtained from Spanish Authorities a concession for constructing and exploiting a short wave Super Broadcasting Station with a minimum power ok 200 Kilowats, over a period of twenty years.


Objective:To determine the content of free and linked sulfate content of heparin and heparin-like materials.Method:We directly determined the free sulfate content of samples and we hydrolyzed or burnt the samples to determine the total sulfate content by high performance anion exchange chromatograghy(HPAEC).Results:Lots of heparin and heparin-like materials had been tested.Conclusion:This HPAEC method could be used to determine the content of free and linked sulfate of heparin-like materials.


Abstract In the challenge to manufacture high quality products for less, it is necessary to regularly monitor performance of control loops that regulate the quality variables of interest. This paper describes a unified approach to the design of a control performance and PID controller which are based on the above control strategy. According to the proposed approach, the control performance is first monitored regularly. Then, if the performance exceeds a user-defined threshold, the system identification is initiated and PID parameters are subsequently updated for the new model. Optimal PID parameters are calculated based on the LQG trade-off curve obtained for the re-identified process model. The behavior of the proposed scheme is evaluated by application to real actual chemical processes.


Histopathological diagnosis is needed to determine the most appropriate prognosis and therapy for lung and mediastinal tumors, one of the procedures to obtain specimens needed for the examination is a core biopsy. However, core biopsy still requires further evaluation regarding the accuracy and benefits of the technique. This study aims to determine the histopathological features of core biopsy specimens in lung and mediastinal tumors. Designed as a descriptive study using a retrospective approach, we collected medical records of core biopsy results in patients with lung and mediastinal tumors diagnosis at Dr. Soetomo Hospital Surabaya, Indonesia during 1st July 2015-30th June 2020 with total sampling. Of the total 320 cases, 67.8% (n=217) lesions were found in the lung and 32.2% (n=103) in the mediastinum. The most common age distribution for lung tumors was 51-60 years old (34.6%, n=75), while mediastinal tumors were 11-20 years old (20.4%, n=21). Male were more common, both in lung tumors (77.0%, n=167) and mediastinal tumors (61.2%, n=63). The most common histopathological features of lung tumors were lung adenocarcinoma (46.5%, n=101), while in the mediastinum was indeterminate (41.7%, n=43). The age profile of lung tumors is different from that of mediastinal tumors, both are dominated by male. The core biopsy procedure is very useful in establishing the diagnosis of lung and mediastinal tumors. In the indeterminate result, the tissue sample obtained through the core biopsy procedure allows for further molecular examinations including immunohistochemistry, so that a definitive diagnosis can be established.


Variational principles have been applied to aggregates of randomly oriented pure‐phase polycrystals having tetragonal symmetry. The bounds of the effective elastic moduli obtained in this way show a substantial improvement over the bounds obtained by means of the Voigt and Reuss assumptions. The Hill average is found to be a good approximation in most cases when compared to the bounds found from the variational method. The new bounds reduce in their limits to the Voigt and Reuss values.


This study measured abundance, nesting density, bird density and conservation value of grassland birds on four field types in southwestern Iowa (grazed cool-season and warmseason grass paddocks, and ungrazed cool and warm-season grass Conservation Reserve Program [CRP] fields). Paddocks were managed as part of a short-duration rotational stocking management unit, where the cool-season grass paddocks were in rotation from May through June and September through October, and the warm-season grass paddocks from July to August, leaving them undisturbed during much of the grassland bird nesting season. Three species had greatest densities in warm-season grass CRP fields: Sedge Wren (Cistothorus palustris) (2.9 ±0.94 birds/ha), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) (1.5 ±0.25 birds/ha), and Dickcissel (Spiza Americana) (3.8 ±0.29 birds/ha). Dickcissel was the only species with an appreciable density in the warm-season grass paddocks (3.3 ±4.60 birds/ha). Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) and Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) were primarily found in the grazed paddocks and showed a slight preference for the cool-season grass paddocks. Nest destruction by cattle disturbance was very frequent on cool-season grass paddocks. Conservation value was used as a metric to compare the diversity and conservation priority of the species assemblages of each grazing 13 management unit. Warm-season grass CRP fields had four to five times greater conservation values throughout the season than cool-season grass CRP fields. Grazed fields were typically better than or equivalent to the cool-season grass CRP fields. We suggest that land managers should consider intensifying animal impact within grazed paddocks and increasing rest periods to avoid cattle disturbance losses on cool-season grass paddocks. Land managers should also try to manage grasslands in such a way as to increase forbs and standing dead vegetation to increase bird diversity. Refuge grasslands, undisturbed at least during prime nesting months of May and June, are likely critical for grassland birds. Monoculture coolseason grass CRP fields provide the least conservation value to bird species and mid-contract management practices should be considered to enhance them.


This paper reports on an industrial pilot project with the aim of introducing systematic , automated module testing for embedded software for distributed control systems. The systems are used in safety-related applications and hence have strong requirements for test coverage, auditability and repeatability; in addition, maintenance issues currently dominate software development. Module-level testing is used here to improve test coverage , controllability and observability. This paper explores issues of isolating modules from the run-time environment, improving integration of testing into the development environment, automating testing, and improving test planning and documentation.


This work analyzes the performance and confluence of public actors in the process of extension of soy cultivation in the southeast of Buenos Aires since the early 1970s. A qualitative methodology was used with the crossing of quantitative data. In this way, an analysis of the area planted with soybeans and other crops in the area was carried out, to then evaluate the actions of Balcarce Agricultural Station belonging to National Institute of Agricultural Technology. This is how the research process on this topic was characterized and its dissemination to the surrounding rural area, considering in turn the link with private actors.


By positing plotters as the reason why 'good things did not happen to good people' and plot-detection as crucial for order and explanation, the orators reaffirmed 'the validity of basic values and the existing system' (160). This means that the quasi-Freudian analysis of Eli Sagan, whose The Honey and the Hemlock (1991) argued that Athenians were, like the rest of us, gripped by paranoia and fear-induced aggression, is ill-founded. (Thank goodness for that!) But it also means that work on modern conspiracism in the fields of sociology and psychology can help us to understand the reasons why Athenians were so receptive to accusations of plotting. Such modern analyses also reveal something specific and rather odd about Athenian conspiracism: 'the notion of the single conspirator, a semantic oxymoron, posed no difficulties for the Athenians' (158). This claim is, of course, hard to swallow. Has R. perhaps defined conspiracy too broadly if it is to become oxymoronic? Perhaps. But R.'s main point is that Athenian speakers attribute plots to named individuals who cause specific and localized damage. Only at the end of the fourth century do we get assertions that faceless secret cabals are behind all the ills that the city is experiencing. So, the book's merits far outweigh its shortcomings. Some readers will not buy into R.'s post-Oberian methodology: are there any forensic oratorical topoi which were not keeping democracy stable? But they cannot fail to be impressed by his assessment of the plausibility of individual claims of conspiracy. Whether he is discussing homicide trials, Isaean inheritance speeches, Lysias' post-404 prosecutions or Demosthenes' fondness for arguing that new decrees are a cover for selfish shenanigans, R. offers fresh and cogent appraisals of speakers' allegations. If you want to know which Attic orations are argumentatively suspect and why, this is a very good place to start. JON HESK University of St Andrews email@example.com


The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region is one of the most polymorphic regions in the human genome; responsible for diversity in immune response, but also associated with autoimmunity. The HLA has been known to associate with the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in European populations since 1972.1 In the half-century since the first linkage studies identified this region as associated with MS, understanding of the HLA impact on MS risk has made slow but steady progress with evolving technological advances. Class II HLA alleles have been shown to broadly associate with MS risk, whereas Class I HLA alleles have been shown to be protective.2,3 While a number of HLA alleles have now been shown to associate with MS risk, two largely predominate the literature.


During the last decade, a growing number of planning theorists have taken a 'communicative turn' (Healey, 1996) in describing and theorizing urban and regional planning. A rapidly growing amount of work drawing on Habermasian, ethnographic and related frameworks has prompted some to articulate the emergence of new forms of 'collaborative' or 'deliberative' planning (Healey, 1997; Forester, 1999, respectively), and to declare the ascendancy of a 'new paradigm' (Innes, 1995), or the existence of 'consensus' among scholars about key theoretical and methodological questions (Mandelbaum, 1996). In what follows, we wish to question some of these claims by advancing two main arguments. First, that communicative planning, despite its marked contribution to the understanding of planning, is but one in a number of recent approaches to theorize planning. Second, that some aspects of the communicative approach are problematic as a theoretical basis for planning, mainly because they draw attention away from the underlying material and political processes which shape cities and regions. We will also observe a persisting confusion in planning theory, linked to the inability of theorists to agree on two fundamental definitions: what is 'theory' and what is 'planning'. In our work, we define 'planning', after Lefebvre, as the public production of space; that is, all policies and practices which shape the urban and regional environment under the auspices of the modern state. The central subject of this essay — 'theory' — can also be defined in many ways. We lean towards the meaning identified by Raymond Williams (1983: 316–18) of theory as 'an explanatory scheme', or in the words of the Oxford English Dictionary, 'suppositions explaining a phenomenon; a sphere of speculations and concepts as distinguished from that of practice'. To be sure, analysis can never be neatly separated from normative and ethical assumptions, though we stress the explanatory, conceptual, analytical, deconstructive and critical aspects as the main 'pillars' of the theorizing endeavor, without which the prescriptive and normative aspects of theory are often shallow and ineffective (see also Yiftachel, 1989; Fainstein, 2000).


What are we trying to do ? How is it done at present? Though large-scale, decentralized systems like the Web provide ease of information flow, this information revolution comes with the challenges of inappropriate use. Excesses and abuses in the use of information are most commonly considered problems of information security. They are seen as consequences of unauthorized access, and accordingly, enormous effort in current information technology research and development is devoted to inventing more reliable methods for restricting access to information. However, even when access restriction can be perfectly and completely achieved, there are significant cases where policies implemented purely as up front controls are too rigid to faithfully reflect societal needs. An alternative approach is to emphasize the design of systems that provide greater information accountability as judged against rules governing appropriate use. In a world where information is ever more easily copied and improperly passed on even by authorized users, and where automated correlations and inferences across multiple databases can uncover information even when it has not been explicitly revealed, access control is simply not enough and accountability must become a primary means by which society addresses issues of appropriate use. We propose to address risks to privacy protection and to extend the Web architecture to support transparency and accountability of data aggregation, inference, and use.


Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving spinal epidural space is relatively rare and there is often a delay in its diagnosis. The case describes a 56-year-old male presented with 2-month history of neck pain radiating to the right upper limb. He was initially diagnosed with cervical degenerative disease and has undergone rehabilitation. However, he experienced progressive symptoms of myelopathy including weakness and numbness of all four limbs and dysuria all within a span of one week. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a C6-T2 epidural tumor with extrathecal compression and bilateral neuroforamen extension. Emergent C6-T2 decompressive laminectomy and tumor removal were performed thereafter. Histopathological examination of this tumor revealed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma The neurological deficits gradually improved after surgery followed by six cycles of chemotherapy with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP).


In this study, the potential to use waste energies from the steel production at SSAB Strip Products Division is investigated. SSAB Strip Products Division is a leading producer of high strength s ...


Constructs an evolutionary game model of cultivating innovative talents by school-enterprise cooperation based on transaction costs and dynamic game theory,then discusses the four situations in which universities and companies may actively cooperate eventually,and analyses the conditions to achieve the ideal one.The study shows that universities prone to cooperate with enterprises to cultivate innovative talents actively with lower innovative talents cultivation costs and transaction costs,and greater support obtained,while enterprises prone to cooperate with enterprises to cultivate innovative talents actively with lower innovative talents cultivation costs,transaction costs and the financial pressure by funding universities,and more significant performance of innovative talents.


We present a flexible class of stochastic models that are developed for cooperative wireless relay networks systems, in which the relay processing functionality is not known at the destination. The challenge is then to perform system identification in this wireless relay network. We first construct a statistical model based on a representation of the system using Gaussian Processes. We then develop a computationally efficient algorithm which is based on the Iterated Conditioning on the Modes estimation to undertake system identification for each relay in the presence of partial Channel State Information (CSI). We evaluate the identification performance for different non-linear relay functionalities.


While star-forming dwarf galaxies have little molecular gas traced by CO, their extreme observed [Cii]/CO(1-0) and [Oiii]/[Cii] ratios set them apart from metal-rich star-forming galaxies. The decreased dust abundance, along with their star formation activity, encourages the photodissociation of CO and the presence of relatively prominent C+ envelopes which can harbor a significant self-shielded H2 reservoir, with CO being an inaccurate proxy for the total H2 gas mass. Modeling the Dwarf Galaxy Survey allows us to quantify the mass of the CO-dark H2 gas and derive a [Cii]-to-H2 gas mass conversion factor as well as a new CO-to-H2 conversion factor as a function of metallicity.


The invention relates to a method for implementing a multi-chip module with a high-rate interface. A multi-chip module (MCM) may include a substrate, and first and second physical-layer (PHY) chips mounted on the substrate. In some implementations, the first PHY chip includes a multiplexer and a PHY circuit. The multiplexer is configured to receive a multiplexed data stream from a media access control (MAC) device, to demultiplex the multiplexed data stream into first and second data streams, to output the first data stream to the PHY circuit, and to output the second data stream to the second PHY chip. In some implementations, the first PHY includes a router and a PHY circuit. The router is configured to receive a plurality of data packets from a MAC device, to route one or more of the data packets having a first address to the PHY circuit, and to route one or more of the data packets having a second address to the second PHY chip.


A total of eight compounds including four starting materials and four indolium chloride derivatives were tested against Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial and fungal strains. Among them, N-acetyl-2acetylindoliumchloride (8) exhibited significant antimicrobial activity at a concentration of 200 μg/disc, while the Nacetyl-2-benzoylindoliumchloride (9) showed moderate activity at 400 μg/disc. At the same time, N-acetyl-2anisoylindoliumchloride (10) and N-acetyl-2-tolylindoliumchloride (11) demonstrated weak antimicrobial activity.


This paper compares enzymatic and chemical methods for the synthesis of cy'tidine 5'-triphosphate, guanosine 5'-triphosphate, and uridine 5'-triphosphate from the corresponding nucleoside monophosphates on scales of 10 g. These nucleoside triphosphates are important as intermediates in l,eloir pathwav biosl'ntheses of complex carboh 'n 'dra tes; the nuc leos ide monophosphates are readi lv ava i la i r le < 'onrmerc ia l l r ' . The best route to CTP is based on phosphi-rn' lat ion of C\{P using adenvlate kinase (FlC:.; .-1.: l) : the ror.t te to (}TP involves phosphorylat ion of GI \ {P us ing guanl ' la te k inase (EC 2. ; . .1 .81:chemica l deani inat ion o l ( 'T} ) tprepared enzvmat ica l lv f rom CMP) is the best synthesis of UTP. For the 10-200-mmol-scale r act ions described in this paper. i t is more convenient to prepare phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), used in the enz-vmatic preparations. from o-(-)-3-phosphoglyceric acid (3-PGA) in the reaction mixture rather than to synthesize PEP in a separate chemical step. The in situ conversion of 3-PGA to PEP requires the coupled action of phosphoglycerate mutase (EC 126.96.36.199) and enolase (EC 4.2.L.L1). The enzyme-catalyzed syntheses of uridine 5'-diphosphoglucose (UDP-Glc), uridine 5'-diphosphoglucuronic acid (UDP-GIcUA), and guanosine 5'-diphosphomannose (GDP-Man) illustrate the use of the nucleoside triphosphates.


Insulin resistance is a defining feature of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus but also may occur independently of these conditions. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the hepatic manifestation of these disorders, increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, mechanisms linking hyperinsulinemia to NAFLD and HCC require clarification. We describe a novel model of primary insulin resistance and HCC with strong parent-of-or-igin effects. Male AB6F1 (A/JCr dam (cid:1) C57BL/6 sire) but not B6AF1 (B6 dam (cid:1) A/J sire) mice developed spontaneous insulin resistance, NAFLD, and HCC without obesity or diabetes. A survey of mitochondrial, imprinted, and sex-linked traits revealed modest associations with X-linked genes. However, a diet-induced obesity study, including B6.A chromosome substitution–strain (consomic) mice, showed no segregation by sex chromosome. Thus, parent-of-origin effects were specified within the autosomal genome. Next, we interrogated mechanisms of insulin-associ-ated hepatocarcinogenesis. Steatotic hepatocytes exhibited adipogenic transition characterized by vacuolar metaplasia and up-regulation bolic triggers. Existing animal models of metabolic hepatopathy are ill-equipped to address these questions because most exhibit obesity, insulin resistance, and/or T2D as part of a disease continuum. New models are needed to dissect the roles of individual metabolic parameters in the pathogenesis of hepatic steatosis and carcinogenesis. We describe a novel mouse model of primary insulin resistance and NAFLD leading to HCC in the absence of obesity or T2D. Intriguingly, the model exhibits strong parent-of-origin effects encoded predominantly within the autosomal genome, suggesting involve-ment of imprinted genetic elements that may serve as useful biomarkers and/or interventional targets. We used this model to probe mechanisms of hyperinsulinemic NAFLD and HCC and documented adipogenic transition of hepatocytes with reactivation of the anabolic enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), a fetal metabolic marker associated with the Warburg effect. 7 Taken together, our results sug-gest that epistatic interactions between parent-specific loci play an important role in regulating insulin sensitivity and that hepatocellular adipogenic transition with ac-quired anabolic metabolism represents a potential mech-anistic link between NAFLD and HCC.


The airbag can fire at any given time during a crash. To qualitatively and quantitatively address the probabilistic nature of the airbag fire-time as a result of a crash, a statistical data based model was used. Two models were constructed: one was based on rigid barrier impacts and the other used offset deformable barrier impacts. These models were developed previously and some of the preliminary results were presented at the 1998 SAE conference in Detroit. Since that time the models have been refined by inclusion of additional data, and the results of the refined models were compared to the results from the previously constructed models. The models were used to address the effects of raising the "threshold velocity" and the risks of an occupant contacting the airbag module as a result of late firing. Although the individual numerical values have changed, the indicated general trends remain the same. Raising the "threshold velocity" may or may not decrease the number of occupants on the module, depending on the accuracy of National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) and fire/no-fire as a function of velocity (c-censor), but it appears to reduce the effectiveness of the airbag when it does fire. The model indicates that decreasing the width of the c-censor, ie delta V from no fire to all fire, may be useful in reducing the number of occupants on the module without decreasing the effectiveness of the airbags. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E102514.


In order to assist commanders understand,grasp the electromagnetic environment of battlefield,and provide decision-making to battle command,using the visual software of Visual C++.NET and SuperMap Objects,the electromagnetic propagation visualization system is developed and researched.This system has realized the computing of the electromagnetic propagation and the display of electromagnetic coverage based on the theory of electromagnetic propagation prediction.The electromagnetic propagation simulation result of battlefield shows that the system can reflect the battlefield electromagnetic propagation objectively and vividly.The basic idea,function design and achieving approaches of developing electromagnetic propagation and display system based on GIS technique are discussed.


Now a days the computer and information technology tremendously growing day by day and it creates a new opportunities in business and scientific applications.The importance of operating systems is well known in various engineering fields.This book is structured to cover the key aspects of the operating system and useful for who are interested to learn Linux also.This book uses plain,Lucid language to explain the core concepts of the subject.This book not only covers the entire scope of the subject but explains the philosophy of the subject.This makes the understanding of the subject more clear and makes it more interesting.


Viscoelastic behaviors of PI/SiO2 nanocomposite films under constant and fatigue loads are experimentally studied. Creep strain, creep rate and creep compliance are determined. The effects of silica doping level, stress amplitude and loading pattern are discussed. Based on the experimental results, two viscoelastic models known as Burger model and Findley power law are employed to interpret the structure-property relations and deformation mechanisms of this kind of nanocomposite thin films.


Peptides and their derivatives are gaining attention due to their low toxicity, ability to selfassembly into nano structures and emulsion,and their antiviral/antimicrobial properties. Corase-grained molecular dynamics simulation is a powerful method to investigate dynamics and properties at the molecular level of these peptides with sufficient sampling and acceptable details. We predicted the ability of a series of surfactant like peptides (G6D2, A6D2, V6D2, I6D2, and L6D2) to emulsify decane molecules using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations were carried out at 298 K, 1 atm, using martini force field. Simulation system for each peptide was constructed to consist of 100 peptide molecules, 20 decane molecules, water, antifreeze particles, and neutralizing ions in random configuration. After 1μs of simulation time, we found the only peptides containing residues with index of hydropathy ≥ 3,8 (V6D2, I6D2, and L6D2) are able to form stable emulsion with decane molecules. Analysis of contact number (Nc) between decane and peptide molecules showed that the longer side chain residues the better and faster they made contact with decane molecules to form emulsion. We found that the emulsions are less stable upon increasing temperature. The study may give insight into designing surfactant-like peptides for applications such as enhanced oil recovery and bioactive compound's delivery system. Biochemistry Research Division, Bandung Institute of Technology Corresponding author e-mail address: email@example.com


Business organizations are today no more confined in single geographical markets, the need to significantly grow to newer markets with its existing or new offerings has spurred globalization. The development in international business compels organizations to focus on world as a market. These organizations' setting up manufacturing plants and business development operations in different countries in order to develop international business. Global business operations have provided opportunities both to the business and to employees who may have to shift to other operational locations apart from home locations. These employees are known as expatriates and expatriate management has become a matter of concern for HR Managers as a large number of expats are flipping across borders. The international organizations should understand the crux of employing the skilled and competency based workforce. The concept of written policies for expatriate compensation must be followed. The importance of experienced staff and a proper measure of provision of expatriate benefits in terms of policies must be followed. The paper focuses on key issues such as International Benefits and Compensation, the Expatriate Compensation Balance Sheet, Compensation and Career Planning, the role of expatriates and as to how companies compensate their expatriates.


In IDS based on artificial immune principle, the standard exhaustive detector generation algorithm can not avoid generating detectors which are the same, so it makes the IDS not so efficient, and there will be more failures. Linked list is used in the standard exhaustive detector generation algorithm to store detectors. It will waste lots of time if we remove the detectors which are the same in that standard algorithm. For reasons above, an improved exhaustive detector generation algorithm is proposed to overcome these disadvantages. Balanced binary tree structure is used in this algorithm to store detectors to make the detectors distinct from each other in a time as short as possible. It is proved by experiments that the improved algorithm using balanced binary tree can save time to a great extent to remove the same detectors compared with the algorithm using linked list structure.


I know you are committed to that. And I can tell you that Boris Yeltsin is committed to that. Let me close by thanking some of the people who will turn our words into reality. Besides the Vice President, as he has already noted, the Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, the head of our Export-Import Bank, Ken Brody, Ruth Harkin, who runs OPIC for us. I thank all of them. And I also thank Ambassador Tom Pickering, who along with the Secretary of State and so many others in the State Department have totally changed the direction of our American diplomacy so that now the American State Department is known all over the world as being interested in doing business and helping Americans do business, instead of being uninvolved. I thank Secretary O'Leary and all the other Cabinet members who have been to Russia. And again, I close with pledging my full partnership to you and to my friend Boris Yeltsin. Together, we can make the future what it ought to be for all our people. Thank you.


Big data is a huge dataset demonstrating the aspects of volume, velocity, variety, veracity, validity, value, variability and vagueness in an OR relationship. More than sufficient new insights are discovered while dealing with big data. There are many software and hardware solutions available in the technology prospect that facilitate grabbing, saving and consecutive analysis of big data. Hadoop and its correlated high-tech solutions are one of them.


The gene of lignin peroxidase from phanerochaete chrysosporium (lip) was coloned and transformed into Ade defective mutant yeast PMAD16.Recombinant yeast strains were obtained by screening on MD plates and PCR technique.The expression products of lip gene were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and assay of lignin peroxidase. The results indicated that the lip gene from P.chrysosporium was successfully transformed and overexpressed in Pichia methanolica. Some factors such as media,buffer,pH,methanol concentration, media volume, inoculated volume were investigated to optimize the cultivation condition for expression of lip.Under the optimized conditions, the expression level of lip was up to 932U/L and the fermentation coefficient was 12.94U/h.L.


The common denominator for successful deployment of utility automation applications such as Distribution Automation (DA), SCADA, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), Demand Response (DR), Mobile Computing (mobile data), Mobile Voice, and other utility applications is a well developed communications plan and infrastructure. Heavily involved in this type of planning project is a concept of deployment called "Smart Grid".


Extreme learning machine (ELM) is a novel learning algorithm where the training is restricted to the output weights to achieve a fast learning speed. However, ELM tends to require more neurons in the hidden layer and sometimes leads to ill-condition problem due to random selection of input weights and hidden biases. To address these problems, we propose a multi hidden layer extreme learning machine optimised with batch intrinsic plasticity (BIP) scheme. The proposed algorithm has a deep structure and thus learns features more efficiently. The combination of BIP scheme helps to achieve better generalisation ability. Comparisons with some state-of-the-art ELM algorithms on both regression and classification problems have verified the performance and effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.


The invention relates to a potassium nitride preparation method, in particular to a method for preparing potassium nitride from a calcium nitride byproduct of nitro phosphate, which belongs to the technical field of production of agricultural potassium nitride fertilizers. The method includes steps of a, firstly, adding water in a dissolving tank, starting to stir and dissolve after industrial potassium chloride or potassium sulfate is poured, preparing the potassium chloride or potassium sulfate into saturated solution and pumping the saturated solution into a potassium nitride reaction tank; b, secondly, metering wet calcium nitride crystals, adding the wet calcium nitride crystals into the potassium nitride reaction tank, mixing and stirring the wet calcium nitride crystals with the solution obtained in the step a to carry out double replacement reaction, and preparing potassium nitride reaction liquid; and c, finally, crystallizing the potassium nitride reaction liquid prepared in the step b, and then separating potassium nitride crystals. The method solves problems of treatment of calcium nitride industrial byproducts of nitro phosphate, simultaneously, produces high-quality high-concentration potassium nitride fertilizers, and cannot produce waste difficult to be treated in a procedure.


The rule of how games gold quantity that Chinese dilegation have gotten from 23rd to 28th Olympic Games is discussed based on Grey Theory,a Grey Model to forecast games gold quantity is constituted,and how many games gold quantity that China will gain in Beijing Olympic Games is forecasted.The extent that sports events influence total games gold quantity is discussed by grey incidence degree analysis.


There has been a lot of theory and practice research in performance management of teachers in universities for many years.To sort out the research process of it,on the basis of analysis of relevant literature,this paper gives a general and brief comments respectively on the research of Performance Evaluation,the transformation from Performance Evaluation application to Performance Management application and the application of performance management in universities.


A new approach is proposed in this paper for synthesizing Three Port Converter(TPC) by inserting an Energy Storage Element Cell(ESEC) in an existing two port converter. These TPCs are ideal for solar Photo-Voltaic(PV) based dc standalone schemes having battery as an energy storage element. New TPCs obtained through this approach are capable of Maximum Power Point(MPP) Tracking, charging and discharging of the energy storage element, and can feed power to the load while maintaining a desired load voltage. Control strategy and various possible operating modes for the newly developed PV standalone system are discussed. Topology derived from boost converter named Double Boost Input Output Converter(DBIOC) is taken as an example for establishing the feasibility of proposed topological design and control strategy. Performance analysis of DBIOC is done for various operating conditions and the same is validated by performing exhaustive simulation studies using MATLAB/Simulink.


Objective To compare the biomechanical differences between injectable calcium sulfate hemihydrate to fill the bone graft fixed and a simple fixed tibial plateau fractures.Methods Create a rabbit osteoporosis tibial plateau collapse fracture model,filled with calcium sulfate bone graft and Kirschner wire fixation on a regular basis based on general observation,the general X-ray,bone mineral density ( BMD ) analysis,non-decalcified biopsy,mechanical loading experiment.Results Ordinary X-ray observations suggested that the fracture zone filled with calcium sulfate gradually degraded and absorbed by new bone tissue replacement.The 1,2,3,4,6,8,12 weeks after the filling of the bone cement treatment group rabbit calcium sulfate bone cement sample of the BMD of the fracture,the axial load carrying capacity was significantly higher than the blank control group,the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.01 ).Conclusion Osteoporosis rabbit tibial plateau fracture filling calcium sulfate bone cement early can increase bone density,improve the axial load carrying capacity.

Key words:
Calcium sulfate;  Tibial plateau;  Artificial;  Biomechanics


The power semiconductor module in pressure contact design, for arrangement on a cooling component (12) arranged with at least one at the cooling member (12) substrate (14) on which on the side remote from the cooling component (12) side power semiconductor elements (20) are arranged, and (with a printing device 26), which serves to pressure contact of contact elements (24) with the power semiconductor components (20) and / or (with a circuit pattern 18) of the at least one substrate (14) and / or for pressure contact of the load connection elements (44) against which (the printing means 26) is electrically insulated (to the circuit pattern 18) of the at least one substrate (14) and / or (with a power semiconductor device 20) is used, and wherein the pressure device (26) dissipating heat arrangement of the at least one substrate (14) to the cooling component (12), wherein said printing means (26) in addition to the cooling member (12) as a second active cooling device (28) a is usgebildet.


The relationship between foreign trade of timber products and forestry industry has been received more and more attention.This paper examines their relationship using Jiangsu Province as an empirical study.Based on unit root test and co-integration analysis,the paper analyzes the co-integration of the variables.The causal relationship between the variables is further examined using Granger causality test.The results show that during the examined period there exists co-integration between foreign trade of timber products and forestry industry.Furthermore,the development of forestry industry in Jiangsu Province is the Granger reason for foreign trade of forest products while the effect of timber foreign trade on the development of forestry industry is not significant.Therefore,in order to make the foreign trade as engine of the healthy growth of forestry,we should adjust forestry and upgrade the industrial structure,increase the amount of timber international trade and harmonize the industry policies with trade policies.


Abstract A novel design of a multi-level shunt active power filter using a modular cascade H-bridge is presented in this article. The proposed approach enables a modular approach in the design of a multi-level active power filter. As an illustration, a five-level H-bridge active power filter with a novel switching strategy has been implemented. The design is able to reduce the voltage stress across the filter inductor and to reduce the average switching frequency. Proportional plus integral controllers have been implemented for the current control loop, overall voltage control loop, and voltage balancing loop. A feedforward controller has also been added to the current control loop to improve the current tracking. By delaying the firing time of one of the H-bridges, five levels can be realized from a cascade H-bridge active power filter. The proposed switching strategy and the realization of the five-level switching scheme are presented. Experimental results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed filter scheme.


When the communication channel is viewed as a multidimensional space, the digital information signal may be divided into symbols and the symbols according to a preset distance from the image to the signal space. The analog signal is usually limited in magnitude smaller than half the distance separating the symbols, is converted to component signals and then added to the symbol for the vector. The transmission signal after the addition to the receiver, the symbol is detected in the receiver, and the analog signal obtained by subtracting them from the received signal component. Reproduced analog signal transmitted from the analog signal components. According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve full-duplex operation and half-duplex operation.


PurposeSimulation-based optimization is a decision-making tool for identifying an optimal design of a system. Here, optimal design means a smart system with sensing, computing and control capabilities with improved efficiency. As compared to testing the physical prototype, computer-based simulation provides much cheaper, faster and lesser time-and resource-consuming solutions. In this work, a comparative analysis of heuristic simulation optimization methods (genetic algorithms, evolutionary strategies, simulated annealing, tabu search and simplex search) is performed.Design/methodology/approachIn this work, a comparative analysis of heuristic simulation optimization methods (genertic algorithms, evolutionary strategies, simulated annealing, tabu search and simplex search) is performed. Further, a novel simulation annealing-based heuristic approach is proposed for critical infrastructure.FindingsA small scale network of 50–100 nodes shows that genetic simulation optimization with multi-criteria and multi-dimensional features performs better as compared to other simulation optimization approaches. Further, a minimum of 3.4 percent and maximum of 16.2 percent improvement is observed in faster route identification for small scale Internet-of-things (IoT) networks with simulation optimization constraints integrated model as compared to the traditional method.Originality/valueIn this work, simulation optimization techniques are applied for identifying optimized Quality of service (QoS) parameters for critical infrastructure which in turn helps in improving the network performance. In order to identify optimized parameters, Tabu search and ant-inspired heuristic optimization techniques are applied over QoS parameters. These optimized values are compared with every monitoring sensor point in the network. This comparative analysis helps in identifying underperforming and outperforming monitoring points. Further, QoS of these points can be improved by identifying their local optimum values which in turn increases the performance of overall network. In continuation, a simulation model of bus transport is taken for analysis. Bus transport system is a critical infrastructure for Dehradun. In this work, feasibility of electric recharging units alongside roads under different traffic conditions is checked using simulation. The simulation study is performed over five bus routes in a small scale IoT network.


In this article, the impact of structural changes on the work of one state high court is examined. In finding that changes in form affect changes in substance, as measured by the number and type of cases heard, affirmation, reversal and dissent rates, and the "style" of written opinions, the author then assesses whether court reform "compels" or "merely facilitates" judicial creativity. The fact that structural and jurisdictional changes did not compel state court activism in Maryland suggests that other factors, such as legal norms and political culture, are involved.


A new paradigm shift in spectrum access is the so-called dynamic spectrum access (DSA) by which spectrum is allocated on a dynamic basis in response to changes in the operational environment exemplified by spectrum demand, type of service, and regulatory constraints. Consequently, this new paradigm has many impacts on current regulatory regimes, which naturally affect other telecom market players. This paper analyzes these impacts and evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) associated with the DSA trend and then highlights the enabling mechanisms for DSA.


In the paper we discuss a problem of planning and coordination in a multi robot system. A team of robots that performs a global task in a human-made workspace of complex structure is considered in this paper. A hybrid architecture of the team motion control system is considered. The system can be split into two layers: the planner module and the behavior based collision free motion controller, that is designed to perform several elementary navigation tasks. The role of the planner is to plan and coordinate execution of elementary tasks by individual agents to obtain performance of global task. The method of elementary tasks planning based on Nperson game is presented. The Nash equilibrium concept of the game solution is applied. An algorithm of multi robot workspace exploration is presented as an example of application of the proposed method. Simulation of the algorithm was carried out, and its result is presented and discussed in the paper.


Three low-carbon steels (AISI 1006, AISI 1020, and AISI 1025) were tested at 150/sup 0/ and 250/sup 0/C in Hanford Grande Ronde Basalt groundwater (9.75) pH) under anoxic conditions (less than or equal to 0.1 mg/L oxygen in water) in packing (75 wt% basalt + 25 wt% bentonite) for 1 and 2 weeks. Testing was initially performed in air-equilibrated groundwater (oxic conditions) without packing at 150/sup 0/C. The average corrosion under anoxic conditions with packing was at least a factor of seven lower than that for oxic conditions at 150/sup 0/C. The data indicated that carbon composition apparently affects the corrosion of low-carbon steel under oxic conditions. Under anoxic conditions with packing, corrosion was independent of the carbon composition of the steel as evidenced by almost equal weight losses for all three steels at 150/sup 0/ and 250/sup 0/C. The weight loss at 250/sup 0/C was about the same as that at 150/sup 0/C due to the formation of a very adherent layer of iron-rich clay on the surface of the steel at 250/sup 0/C, reducing the rate at which corrosion proceeds. Pitting was not detected in any of the specimens. Assuming linear corrosion kinetics, extrapolation of the 2-week datamore » to 1,000 yr resulted in approximately 12 mm penetration of the low-carbon steel in Grande Ronde Basalt groundwater under anoxic conditions with packing.« less


As a novel and economical means to collect data of traffic, floating car system is of widespread interest and can be applied in route guidance and incident detection etc. On the basis of the features of the floating car system, this paper discusses some types of applications in Beijing such as determination of journey time, effectiveness of traffic control, management of taxi policy and the level of service on the road network. For the covering abstract see ITRD E140665.


Objective: to develop and introduce a modern system of quality management in radiology. Materials and methods. The base of system there was a comprehensive quality management program by J. Juran (1989). For the purpose of development of the system of quality, questioning of 1837 patients of hospital and 421 Moscow general practitioners was carried out. The standard tools of quality management were used: questionnaires, macro- and micro-flowcharts, diagrams of cause and effect, Pareto technique. Results. Using the questionnaire results of 1837 patients and 421 of general practice doctors, quality criteria have been determined: the divergence of diagnoses in cross-and external control, the cost of diagnosis ascertainment, period of diagnosis, the waiting time of the study, the radiation dose of the patient at diagnosis, the rate of complications during the diagnostic procedures, frequency of high-tech methods using, undue repeated diagnostic procedures, the patient waiting time of the study. Comparing these figures with data from other medical facilities, "critical" values of quality criteria have been identified. During a comparison of the quality criteria of the radiology departments, Main clinical hospital of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia "critical" quality indicators weak points were identified: the divergence of diagnoses in crosscontrol studies was 0.09% (vs. 0.06% "critical" value) and the cost of diagnosis - 12876 rubles (vs. 5201 rubles). To eliminate these disadvantages standardized protocols examination for the major pathological conditions have been developed, the introduction of which resulted in a decrease of the divergence of diagnoses during cross control to 0.03% and reduce the cost of diagnosis until 5257 rubles. Conclusion. Implementation of the quality management system demonstrate a high practical efficiency, wich expresses in increasing diagnostic confidence and reducing the cost of the survey.


The optical constants of gold were measured throughout the visible spectrum by means of an automatic ellipsometer which operates without a phase plate. The measurements were made at various angles of incidence and with radiation incident both at the air and substrate interfaces of the optically thick gold film specimens. Moreover, the effects of vacuum deposition parameters and of surface contamination in the atmosphere were investigated. The results to be presented are compared with those of other workers and it is concluded that these measuranents constitute a good check on the random and systematic errors associated with ellipsometric observations. Such a check is a necessary preliminary step to the measurements on bismuth which involve the additional complication of anisotropy and the need to make observations at two angles of incidence, at least.


Saturation is an undesired event in trajectory tracking control of mechanical systems. When the actuators of a robotic device saturate, the solution of the inverse dynamics problem cannot fully be realized, which results in deviations from the desired trajectory and loss of performance. It is generally hard to consider the limited actuator torques and the corresponding nonlinear effects in the control design. The most common way to handle the problem is recalculating the control forces and trying to adjust the desired trajectory such that saturation will not happen. In contrast we propose a switched control approach, where, upon saturation, different sets of inputs are varied periodically to keep the reference point of the robot on the desired trajectory. For this, the desired motion is formulated by means of servo-constraints, and the periodic switching of these constraints is adjusted according to the variation of a new, manipulability type performance measure. It is demonstrated that the proposed controller can effectively reduce the trajectory following error due to actuator saturation. A typical robotic benchmark example is provided to show the application of the method, and to compare it with other approaches taken from the literature.


The Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality (JPC) is the only journal to actively solicit contributions from the multi-faceted community of researchers and practitioners for whom privacy is a primary intellectual or operational concern, for dissemination across this broad community. This includes computer scientists, statisticians, lawyers, social scientists, policy-makers, health researchers, survey designers, and data-rich corporate players. While not every publication is aimed so broadly, the Journal aims to provide a common forum for all these constituent populations.
With the publication of the current issue we re-launch the Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality. We reaffirm our dedication to drawing from multiple disciplines in which privacy and confidentiality are of primary intellectual and operational concern, and to maintaining our status as an open access journal providing a forum for communication across and between these disciplines.


Soundscapes are affected by several factors and one of them is the activities done in the space concerned. People expect different acoustic environments for different activities, but there is no specific guidance for designing an ideal acoustic environment for different activities. This study aimed to identify ideal urban acoustic environments for four different activities: reading, relaxing, talking with friends, and playing with children. The ideal acoustic environment was evaluated using the soundscape composition concept. The concept was implemented by an acoustic environment simulator that enabled the respondents to compose their ideal acoustic environment and identify the perception of their composition. The sound source selection and perception rating were analyzed to understand the ideal acoustic environment and perception for different activities. This study identified the ideal soundscapes for four different activities and the perception expected to be present in the ideal environments for those activities. The result can be beneficial as guidance for urban soundscape design.


A novel spectrophotometric method for the determination of terbutaline has been developed.The method is based on 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone formed from hydroxyl ion and NQS in a 0.20 mol/L NaOH by using terbutaline as catalyzer.In the range of 0.12~8 mg/L,the concentration of terbutaline is linear with the absorbency of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone which maximal absorption wavelength is 452 nm.The equation of linear regression is A= 0.057 92+0.069 52C(mg/L),with a linear regression correlation coefficient of 0.99 77.e452 is 3.8×104 L/mol-1cm-1.The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of terbutaline in tablets of pharmaceutical preparation.The recovery rate is in the rang of 98.5%~101.8%.


. The article evaluates the EC Equality Directives in matters of social security adopted by the Council in 1978 and 1986. We ask whether these EC Directives are appropriate instruments to reduce manifest disadvantages women face in the national social security systems. In the first part, some features are singled out in the European pension systems which are particularly disadvantageous to women. In the second, the EC Directives are analysed with respect to their material scope and the underlying normative concepts. Thirdly, some problems with respect to the legislative implementation of the Social Security Directives in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany are discussed. It is argued that the Directives, in prescribing equal treatment, do not lead to substantial improvement for women.


BackgroundOne interesting topic in reproductive biology is to explore the correlations between minerals and male fertility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Iron (Fe) and their associations with semen quality in bulls.MethodsEjaculates were collected from Simmental bulls. Semen quality parameters including volume, concentration, motility, sperm viability and morphology were assessed. One step dilution method was utilized for semen freezing. Progressive motility of frozen-thawed semen (PMFT) was regarded as the main criterion for dividing data into three groups: group 1 (˂ 40% motility), group 2 (40% -50% motility), and group 3 (> 50% motility). Serum mineral concentrations were determined by atomic absorption. The Serum Fe was significantly lower in "> 50%" group compared with other groups.ResultsSemen volume was negatively correlated with PMFT (r = -0.42, p ≤ 0.05 and serum Fe (r = 0.44, p ≤ 0.05). Negative correlations were found between Zn to Cu ratio with frozen-thawed sperm abnormal morphology (r = -0.43, p ≤ 0.05) and tail abnormality and fresh sperm mid-piece abnormality(r= 0.47, p ≤ 0.05). There was also a negative correlation between Zn and frozenthawed sperm head abnormality (r= -0.57, p ≤ 0.05).ConclusionWith regard to the weak positive correlations between serum Cu and frozen-thawed sperm tail abnormal morphology, it can be concluded that the excess of serum Cu may have destructive effects on normal sperm morphology.


The aim of this paper is to present a bibliometric analysis and classification of the literature on the concepts Product Life Cycle Management (PLM), New Product Development (NPD), Environmental Sustainability (ES) and their interfaces. The ISI Web of Knowledge database was accessed, as was the CAPES Brazilian portal, which is linked to various databases. The analysis considers publications between 2006 and 2010. The results show that papers are published in a dispersed way in different journals. The majority of the papers adopt case studies as a methodological research approach, but there are also many theoretical-based papers. Concerning the nature of the data, qualitative approaches are more commonly used than are quantitative ones, and most papers consider descriptive studies. One of the reasons that qualitative approaches are used more frequently may be that these concepts are not well consolidated in the literature. The examined publications incorporated the concept of ES and PLM in NPD and are more extensively applied in industries, supply chain and software development. In general, the publications emphasize PDP improvement, performance assessment and the integration of information from different areas. Finally, the article concludes that the literature converges to an integration of the concepts of environmental sustainability and PLM within the current practices of NPD.


m /z DATA ANALYSIS: Data processing XCMS using the "matchedFilter" peak picking method with Spectra Filter Window Mower function. For each mass feature two linear mixed models were fitted, diettime interaction and time alone. METHODS: •LTQ FT Orbitrap MS with Dionex HPLC system. •Chromatographic separation: Kinetex C18 column (150 mm × 2.1 mm I.D., 3.5 um). •Positive and negative ionization mode, full scan (Res.30000), 3 consecutive MS/MS scan events (res.7500)


Case Report Shallow anterior chamber (AC) with or without hypotony comprises one of the important post-operative complications of trabeculectomy surgery. The shallow anterior chamber may lead to secondary complications like synechiae formation, cataract progression, corneal endothelial decompensation, hypotony maculopathy, and persistent choroidal detachment. In this report, we describe a case of primary angle closure glaucoma that underwent trabeculectomy with MMC in which the post-operative period was complicated with refractory shallowing of AC presenting 4 weeks after trabeculectomy. This shallowing of AC didn't respond to conservative treatment and AC reformation with BSS. The patient was ultimately successfully treated with intracameral injection of Sodium Hyaluronate and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). This procedure can be a simple, safe, and effective treatment modality in such cases where conservative management has failed.


Background: The problems and difficulties in students' education that arise from the existing undergraduate curriculum at the medical school of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) urged the academic staff members to the pursuance of new pedagogic approaches that could revitalize medical education practice. The educational programs "mEducator", "ePBLnet" and "Ariadne" that run at AUTH laid the foundations for the development of a plenty of virtual patient (VP) cases. A VP is an innovative computer simulation method that can motivate students to occupy themselves with their studies and perfect their skills. Unfortunately, despite the indisputable advantages of embedding VPs to the lessons, their utilization is neglected during the educational process at AUTH. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons for which VP authors do not use their own VP cases. Why even VP authors avoid VPs' exploitation and in this way they forsake the insistent efforts they made through the rigorous process of VPs' creation? Methods: After study' s authorization, 35 academic staff members, who had previously developed their own VPs, signed an informed consent and fulfilled a specially designed questionnaire, mainly consisted of closed questions (answer: yes/ no) about the possible causes of VPs' dereliction. Results: Some 77% of participants granted that they do not utilize their own VP cases. Almost 56% of them admitted that the lack of proper infrastructures (computers, projectors) and Internet connection in the lecture rooms impede VPs' use. Specifically, some 33% acknowledged the absence of access to the Internet as the only reason of VPs' abandonment. Almost 52% claimed that they do not have enough time in the courses for covering the great curriculum. Moreover, almost 30% sustained that the great number of students in the lessons enables all of them to conduct a fruitful discussion. Almost 15% asserted that they do not exploit VPs due to the combination of the above two reasons. Conclusions: Undoubtedly, VPs' embracement can upgrade medical education practice. According to this study, infrastructural in conjunction with organizational problems subvert VPs' utilization during the pedagogic process. The institutions should strive for these problems' resolution in order to facilitate medical education modernization and complete future curriculum transformation. Article history Received 22 April 2016 Accepted 9 December 2016 Available online 31 March 2017


: In this paper, the importance of detecting the mispricing in option market, and some methods to test the mispricing which includes the boundary violation, convexity and exercise price violation, the relationship between option lives and prices violation, put-call parity and Black-Scholes model (BSM) together with implied volatility in Chicago Board Options Exchange were also studied. Trading strategies to exploit the mispricing were also suggested in this paper. Based on our data, more violations were found on call options except for strike price violation. Also, the violation frequency of the options in aspect of boundary violation was found to be sensitive to the stock price. Only little attention was recommended to be puton the violation of convexity and time to maturity due to less profit compared with transaction cost. However, the violations of exercise price were considered to be relatively serious given the reason of certain high degree of mispricing based on the theoretical price. With reference to put-call parity and BSM violations, they were both frequently detected and should be seriously considered. And for BSM, most of the pricing errors of call options appeared with larger moneyness, while most of the pricing errors of put options appeared with smaller moneyness. In conclusion, more attention should be suggested to be put on exercise price conditions, put-call parity and BSM violations.


The recent developments of islamic thought have been coloured by two contrasting forms, which accupy diametrically opposed positions in ways of understanding islamic doctines: revivalist and liberal islam respectively. both these revivalist and liberal views of islam have widely coloured islamic discourse in the muslim world, and delineate a conflict and a tension between both groups which starts from their different opinions and methods of interpretation.


A Pulse generation circuit is a key component of an Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM) as it regulates and controls the machining process. Machining parameters such as frequency, duty cycle, machining time, voltage and their execution instructions are set through the Graphics User Interface (GUI) and executed by the pulse generator. Coupled to the pulse generation circuit is the motor driver circuit which controls the vertical motion of the tool based on the prevailing machining conditions, normally measured by a voltage sensor connected between the tool electrode and the workpiece. This paper presents a new approach in the development of a pulse generation and affiliated circuits for EDM machine developed at JKUAT. The current pulse generation circuit is based on resistor capacitor technology. Keywords—Electrical discharge machining, pulse generation cir-cuit, machining


There has been a paradigm shift in the marketing concept as marketing has come a long way from old traditional sale concept to the new social marketing concept. Certain other marketing concepts and techniques have originated due to this paradigm shift in marketing concept. This shift is a result of changed consumer behaviour, more focus on consumer preferences, perceptions, needs and wants. No doubt in today's market scenario where competition is on altogether different level, consumer is considered king and his actions and preferences are given utmost importance while forming marketing concepts and policies. Any deviation from consumer focus will certainly impact the scenario in which today's market operates. The rural market in India has vast market potential, not yet exploited by the Indian marketers. The information boom as witnessed today is likely to leave an unprecedented impact on rural consumers. The study focuses on consumer behaviour of male and female consumers for shampoo.


The invention discloses a foldable solar energy LED display screen installed on a window and an installation method of the foldable solar energy LED display screen. The display screen comprises a foldable solar panel, a coilable LED display screen, a window body, a rechargeable battery and a control switch; one end of the coilable LED display screen is fixed to the inner side of the upper edge of a window frame of the window body, the other end of the coilable LED display screen stretches freely, the control switch is connected between the rechargeable battery and the fixed end of the coilable LED display screen, one end of the foldable solar panel is fixed to the outer side of the upper edge of the window frame of the window body, the other end of the foldable solar panel stretches freely, the fixed end of the outer side of the upper edge of the window frame is connected with the rechargeable battery, the foldable solar panel is used for converting luminous energy into electric energy and transmitting the electric energy to the rechargeable battery, the rechargeable battery supplies the electric energy to the coilable LED display screen for use, the inner side and the outer side of the lower edge of the window frame of the window body are each provided with two or more hooks, and a carrier of the coilable LED display screen is a curtain. By means of the foldable solar energy LED display screen, energy can be effectively saved, and high market application value is achieved.


Digital image correlation has been utilized for measuring the strains induced by the contact of a wedge-shaped indenter with a soft material block, which undergoes large deformation. The quality and extent of the experimental results allowed, for the first time, a detailed comparison with theoretical predictions using image decomposition and accounting for measurement uncertainties. Both in-plane strain and out-of-plane displacement calibrations of the digital image correlation system were conducted to establish the minimum measurement uncertainties (31.7 µε for in-plane strain and 0.65 µm for out-of-plane displacements) and to establish confidence in the measurements. It was concluded that the assumptions used in the theory were contravened when the depth of indentation exceeded 90% of the radius of the indenter tip so that the theory was no longer applicable.


The late-stage support work of water conservancy and hydropower projects is a long-term and complex project, as well as an effective way to reconstruct local social and economic structures. Solving the bottleneck problem of the sustainable economic development of the migrants is of great significance for maintaining local stability and promoting regional economic and social sustainable development. Based on the above problem, this article studies the main problems, effective paths and safeguard measures of the late-stage support of migrants in water conservancy and hydropower engineering in Suining City. The research results will provide scientific decision-making basis for local development in Suining. Keywords—water conservancy and hydropower engineering; migrant; late-stage support; path


In the article, an analysis of the conception of the Fatherland dishonored by the captive colonial status is provided with regard to the artistic work of the Ukrainian poets. The feeling of shame, rage and hatred towards the enslaved Ukraine is more or less seen in the historic and philosophic views of T. Shevchenko, P. Kulish, I. Franko, L. Ukrainka, I. Malaniuk. The prominent poets have always been playing the role of 'nerves', indicators of the political, social, cultural and moral health of the people. So the conception of shame for the captivated Ukraine in their artistic work should be viewed as the determinant for the further nation recovery.


A neurodegenerative disorder which is fatal, rapidly progressive and has no effective treatment till date is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Almost 90% of all cases occur in the sporadic form, with the rest occurring in the familial form. It is a devastating disease leading to death within 3-5 years in most cases. The diagnosis of AML is difficult to made in spite of acknowledgment for 140 years. It is diagnosed by clinical presentation which is a combination of upper and lower motor neuron signs and electro diagnostic studies which gives information about diffuse motor axonal injury. This neurodegenerative disorder results in degeneration of corticospinal tracts and anterior horn cells and involving motor neurons of the cerebral cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. There are a variable signs and symptoms of this disease, so the diagnosis is very important for the management and better outcome of the patients. Cause of death in these patients is usually respiratory failure


Abstract Despite its inherent nature of artificiality, microteaching has been widely used as a routine procedure in pre-service teacher education courses to apply theoretical knowledge and develop practical teaching competence. Its importance in the practice element of teacher education programmes has given rise to a considerable amount of attention to its potential in research. However, there has been little or no research on pair microteaching, which is exploited as a circumstantial compromise and innovation. This article reports on a small-scale study of the effect of pair microteaching on EFL (English as a foreign language) student teachers' professional learning. Triangulated sources of data were collected qualitatively to investigate a group of 30 student teachers' perspectives about their eight-week-long microteaching experience on an English language teaching methodology course. The results show a high level of endorsement of the experience despite the drawbacks of limited practice opportunity and artificiality of the experience. The article concludes that pair microteaching can be a feasible pedagogy in methodology courses that can be supplemented by other forms of direct and indirect school experiences.


As most of the face recognition techniques will suffer serious performance drop when there is only one training sample per person,a face recognition algorithm based on sample augment methods and improved Two Dimensional Principal Component Analysis(2DPCA) was proposed.By analyzing the advantage and disadvantage of various sample augment methods,some of them were combined to synthesize virtual samples in order to make full use of the single training image.Improved 2DPCA was chosen to extract the feature of the synthetic virtual samples.The training samples were divided into sub-blocks and then the covariance matrix was constructed by these sub-blocks which were normalized by the within-class average value in each sub-block.The experimental results on ORL and Yale face database indicate that the performance of the proposed algorithm is better than those of general 2DPCA and the method only using sample augment.


Today's security standards aren't based in empirical success at securing systems but in the combined experience of successful security engineers. Traditional systems-engineering approaches haven't ...


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to determine the relevance of innovation to the success of SMEs in Nigeria.SMEs are very important to the economic development of a country as a job provider and also for income distribution. SMEs success is the ability of an organization to
access the degree of its performance or failure within a specified period of time. SMEs are falling in Nigeria due to their inability to innovate despite the fact that innovation is the key to the success of any firm. Based on this, the paper is focusing on determining the relevance of innovation as a tool for SMEs success in Nigeria. The objective of this paper is to explore the relevance of innovation to the success of SMEs in Nigeria.Findings - The paper also proposes a model of innovation that will enhance the success of
SMEs in Nigeria and leads to the enhancement of entrepreneurship in the country.An important
way through which business achieve success, competitive advantage and success is to engage
in innovation (Ngo and O' Cassi, 2013). A study conducted by (Bowen et al. 2010) showed that
innovation and business success are connected to each other. Businesses that adopt innovations
are identified with higher levels of productivity and economic growth than non-innovating firms
(Ngo & O'Cass, 2013).


A 32-year-old man presented to casualty at night following an accident at work with a large industrial circular saw. His overalls were caught by the blade and he was pulled into the machine. The blade had struck him on the left side of his face and neck but nowhere else. He had been conscious throughout even though he had bled profusely from his wounds. On arrival he was pale, tachycardic (pulse 130 beats/minute) and hypotensive (blood pressure 90/40 mmHg). He had been given 2 litres of colloid by the paramedics. He was sitting upright and his Glasgow Coma Score was 15.


This thesis studies a scheduled service network design problem for rail freight transportation planning. Rails follow a special two level consolidation organization, and the car-to-block, block-to-service handling procedure complicates daily operations. In this research, the two consolidation processes as well as the operation schedule are considered simultaneously, and by solving this problem, we provide an overall cost-effective operating plan, including blocking policy, train routing, scheduling, make-up policy and traffic distribution. In order to describe various rail operations at the tactical level, we extend the physical network and construct a 3-layer time-space structure, in which the time dimension takes into consideration the temporal impacts on operations. Furthermore, operations on trains, blocks, and cars are described in different layers. Based on this network structure, we model the rail planning problem to a service network design formulation. The proposed model relies on a complex mixed-integer programming formulation. The problem is very hard to solve due to the computational difficulty as well as the tremendous size of the application instances. Three versions of the problem are studied, which are the simplified model (with only non-stop services), complete model (with both non-stop and multi-stop services) and very-large-scale complete model. Heuristic algorithms are developed to provide good feasible solutions in reasonable computing efforts. A special case with non-stop services is first studied. According to a specific characteristic of the direct service network design problem, we develop a tabu search algorithm. The tabu search moves in a cycle-based neighborhood, where flows on blocks are re-distributed according to the cycles in a conceptual residual network. A slope scaling based algorithm is developed for the complete model, and we propose a new method, called ellipsoidal search, to further improve the solution quality. Ellipsoidal search combines the good feasible solutions generated from the slope scaling, and collects the features of good solutions into an elite problem, and solves it with exact solvers. The algorithm thus takes advantage of the convergence speed of slope scaling and solution quality of ellipsoidal search, and is proven effective. The algorithm also presents an alternative for solving the simplified problem. Finally, we work on the very-large-size complete model. A hybrid heuristic is developed by integrating the ideas of previous research with column generation. We propose a new slope scaling scheme where, compared with the previous scheme, only approximate service costs instead of both service and block costs are considered. The new slope scaling scheme thus separates the block decisions and service decisions, and provide a natural decomposition of the problem. Experiments show the algorithm is good to solve real-life size instances.


Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality, accounting for over 160,000 deaths in the United States and 1.18 million deaths worldwide each year.[1,2] Though tobacco smoking remains the most strongly associated risk factor for the development of lung cancer, 10% to 15% of lung cancer patients in the United States lack any history of tobacco use.