This study was focused on antecedents and consequences of organizational commitment. The sub-variables of antecedents were role ambiguity, role conflict, job challenge and job freedom. The sub-variables of consequences were potential separation, potential absenteeism, job performance and job satisfaction. In this study, data were collected using self-administered questionnaires completed by employee of sport centers(n=297) located in Seoul city. Data were analyzed using SPSS programs including reliability, correlation among the three main variables, multiple regression between job characteristic and organizational commitment, and one-way ANOVA between organizational commitment and consequence variables. Using this analysis, the study found evidence of a directional relationship between some variables and organizational commitment. In summery, the present study showed that organizational commitment was also predicted by role ambiguity, role conflict, and job freedom among job characteristics as a antecedents and had an effect on the job performance and job satisfaction as a consequences.


: This study aimed at determining the level of psychological burnout among special education female teachers compared with the ordinary female teachers at Al-Baha Directorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from a total of (81) female teachers such that (29) teachers were special education teachers which represented (97%) of the target population of the special education teachers at Al-Baha Governorate, and (52) ordinary female teachers who were randomly selected from (548) schools belong to Al-Baha educational directorate in 1431/1432 scholastic year. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to collect data from the subjects. The results revealed that special education teachers suffer a mediocre level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and general burnout, while they suffer a high level of lack of personal accomplishment. It was also found that other disciplines teachers suffer a mediocre level of emotional exhaustion, and a high level of lack of personal accomplishment, as they suffer from a low level of depersonalization and general burnout. The findings revealed that special education teachers suffer a greater degree of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, as well as general burnout compared with other disciplines teachers, while they suffer a lower degree of lack of personal accomplishment. While no statistically significant mean score differences were reveled due to the teachers' qualification, the results reveald a statistically significant mean score differences due to category served by the teacher.


A method, based on the Dirac–Van Vleck–Serber permutation degeneracy model, for the estimation of the exchange integral J in oxygen‐bridged dimers of copper (II) with aromatic N‐oxides is demonstrated for the case of the dimer di‐μ‐(pyridine N‐oxide)‐bis (dichlorocopper II), [(C6H5NO)CuCl2]2. The calculations are limited to the planar three‐center, four‐electron system Cu(↑)–O(↑↓)–Cu(↑), with due account of the second bridging oxygen and all omitted atoms or electrons. The computational details and approximations are discussed. It is found that J is sensitive to the structural data, the atomic orbitals and functions used, the ionic state of copper, and configuration interaction (inclusion of excited, charge‐transfer configurations). The exchange interaction is mediated by a σ superexchange pathway, all π pathways being excluded. Finally, both the oxygen 2s and 2p orbitals contribute to J.


Objectives : In this study, following the cavity restorations with low copper conventional alloy, high copper admixed one and high copper unicompositional one, which are used the most frequently in a clinical setting at the present, to experiment the time-dependent changes of strength, bubbles were examined. Besides, to examine the detrimental effects of mercury contained in dental amalgam, the amount of mercury release was evaluated. Methods : As dental amalgams which were used herein, [BESTALOY], [Hi-Aristaloy 21] and [Sybraloy] were selected for a low-copper conventional amalgam, a high-copper admixed one and a high-copper unicompositional one in the corresponding order. The formation of bubbles and the weight ratio of mercury release were evaluated using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Thus, the following results were obtained: Results : 1. The time-dependent amount of mercury release reached a statistical significance in three types of alloys, which was shown in such a descending order as [BESTALOY], [Hi-Aristaloy 21] and [Sybraloy]. 2. A low-copper conventional type, BESTALOY is a cutting type and it was found to have an increased formation of fine bubbles. In the remaining two types, [Hi-Aristaloy 21] (a high-copper admixed alloy) and [Sybraloy] (a high-copper unicompositional alloy), the time-dependent changes in the formation of bubbles was negligible. Conclusions : Accordingly, this type of mercury release from amalgam alloy denotes the difference in the weight ratio of total constituents between after 24 hours and after two weeks. But further studies are warranted to examine the amount of mercury release which is detrimental to human bodies. Besides, a low-copper conventional alloy is a cutting type and it was characterized by the abundant formation of bubbles in a time-dependent manner. This implies that the strength of amalgam is impaired, which should be considered in selecting the appropriate amalgam alloy in a clinical setting.


This report discusses social security in the context of the federal budget. One rationale given for Social Security reform is the large long-term fiscal shortfall that Social Security is projected to face.


An attempt was made to improve the design of a conventional 10 MW closed ammonia ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) system. The objectives were: to reduce the overall heat exchanger size, the strongest indicator of life cycle cost, by finding designs where increased heat flux Btuh/ft/sup 2/) is not offset by reduced thermal efficiency, and to increase condenser water exit temperature so that the performance of a coupled reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination unit is improved. The model's baseline (BL) is taken from a Westinghouse study in which two horizontal single-pass shell and tube heat exchangers (with seawater in the tubes) and a 3600 RPM double-flow axial turbine are used. The model analyzed in this paper has two opposing single-flow axial turbines running on the same shaft. Although the turbines have the same thermodynamic inlet conditions as the BL, each turbine's respective mass flow fraction and exhaust pressure can be different from the other.


The purpose of this research is to strengthen rural community empowerment by creating a tourism farm as a plan to reduce relative poverty and to...


DC-DC converters are generally modeled using small-signal approximations considering small perturbations around a steady-state point. However, this is limited to a certain range of operation which in the presence of harmonic content in addition to dc offset might not provide an accurate result. Generalized Average modeling takes into account the harmonic contents along with the dc values and this can be used for alternating components such as inductor current in a Dual Active Bridge converter. The transfer function is derived which is an open-loop stable system, and in order to establish closed-loop stability, fractional order PI controller is used in this paper. Further, the optimization technique is applied in order to optimize the control variables as the degree of freedom has increased due to the incorporation of fractional powers. These optimized values are used to establish the closed-loop stable operation of a DAB converter and the technique is validated through MATLAB simulations. The entire results are shown in the figures with specifications tabulated and confirm the accurate setpoint tracking with the ripples in range.


The present invention relates to a key input to the key input directed to a particularly convenient for user input. Additional keystrokes in order to achieve this, the keys of a plurality of; And characterized in that one of the plurality of keys including a space key provided between predetermined two key rows, In addition, the key input unit, and a plurality of keys; It includes a predetermined area surrounding a plurality of keys, characterized by using the predetermined region of the feature space.


What is the problem and what is known about it so far? Previous studies have found both favorable and unfavorable relationships between coffee drinking and death. However, recent studies link coffee drinking to less risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer, which supports the hypothesis of a beneficial effect of coffee. Why did the researchers do this particular study? To examine the relationships between coffee drinking and risks for dying of heart disease, cancer, or any cause. Who was studied? 41,736 men who had participated in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and 84,214 women who had participated in the Nurses' Health Study. To be in the current study, participants had to have been free of cancer and heart disease at the start of those larger studies. How was the study done? The men and women in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Nurses' Health Study completed questionnaires every 2 to 4 years that included questions about how frequently they drank coffee, other diet habits, smoking, and health conditions. The researchers then compared the frequency of death from any cause, death due to heart disease, and death due to cancer among people with different coffee-drinking habits. What did the researchers find? While accounting for other risk factors, such as body size, smoking, diet, and specific diseases, the researchers found that people who drank more coffee were less likely to die during the follow-up period (1980 to 2004 for women and 1986 to 2004 for men). This was mainly because of a lower risk for heart disease deaths among coffee drinkers. The researchers found no association between coffee drinking and cancer deaths. These relationships did not seem to be related to caffeine because people who drank decaffeinated coffee also had lower death rates than people who did not drink coffee. What were the limitations of the study? The design of the study does not permit the researchers to be certain that coffee decreases the chances of dying sooner than expected. There might be something else about coffee drinkers that protects them. What are the implications of the study? The study shows that drinking large amounts of coffee does not increase a person's risk for dying sooner than expected and may actually be protective.


INTRODUCTION:
The prevalence of diabetes in adult population in India has now reached alarming proportions with about 15 percent of those aged above 20 years in urban settings being diabetic. Using similar diagnostic criteria (known diabetes and/or fasting and post-glucose load hyperglycaemia) the age-adjusted diabetes prevalence among adults in urban Chennai increased from 8.3% in 1988-89, to 11.6% (1994-95), 13.5% (2000) and 14.3% in 2003-04. Increase in diabetes prevalence has also been reported from rural Tamil Nadu. Most diabetics remain unrecognized as a result of inadequate access to healthcare and screening programs and because they are not symptomatic until they have advanced stages of disease. A substantial proportion of those without overt diabetes has one or both of the prediabetic states: Impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance with risk of progression to diabetes. With the emerging epidemic of diabetes in India, it is imperative to know if the preadmission diabetic status influences ICU outcomes, and if so further research would be warranted into management paradigms that will optimize outcomes.
HbA1C expressed as a percentage of adult hemoglobin that is glycated, is the most widely used measure of chronic glycaemia. HbA1C assay that was introduced in the late 1970's has become the benchmark in assessing chronic glycaemia in research and the management of diabetes. Maintaining HbA1C within normal limits has been shown to reduce long term complications.
HBA1C reflects the average plasma glucose levels over the previous 120 days which corresponds with the lifespan of an RBC. Standardized methods for estimating HBA1C is now readily available in most tertiary care facilities. Large studies have validated the correlation between mean plasma glucose levels in diabetics with HBA1C and have shown that HBA1C can be used to prognosticate outcomes in diabetics.
Patients in intensive care units frequently develop elevated blood sugars as a response to stress. Stressed Induced Hyperglycaemia (SIH) refers to a complex metabolic response to stress through raised catecholamines and stress hormones resulting in elevated blood sugar levels. Intensive care experts recognize that this hyperglycaemia is associated with higher mortality. Patients requiring prolonged intensive care are at high risk for multiple organ failure and death. Differentiating SIH from diabetic hyperglycaemia is challenging in the ICU setting in view of the universally elevated blood sugars. HBA1C provides intensive care physicians a means to detect those with diabetes and those at risk of developing diabetes in ICU settings and also helps to differentiate SIH from diabetics.
Aim:
To evaluate if initial glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) level in trauma
patients predicts the outcome of patients admitted to Surgical Intensive
Care Unit (SICU).
OBJECTIVES:
1. Estimate the prevalence of abnormal HbA1C levels in trauma patients irrespective of their admission glycaemic status.
2. To explore the relationship between the initial HbA1C and the outcome of SICU admission among trauma patients.
3. Estimate the correlation between the initial HbA1C level and the
a) duration of SICU stay, b) length of ventilated days, c) and incidence of hospital acquired infections (HAI) among trauma patients admitted to SICU.
HYPOTHESIS:
Trauma patients with HbA1C levels above 6.0% will have a greater incidence of HAI, increased number of ventilated days, increased duration of stay in SICU and poorer outcomes in terms of mortality.
PATIENTS & METHODS:
Settings:
The study was done in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) of Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore which is a 2000 bedded tertiary care hospital serving about 90,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients annually. Tight glycaemic control in SICU patients is done to maintain the blood sugar level between 80 to 120 mg/ dl. Control of sugars in the SICU is done following a sliding scale. When sugars are abnormal the following algorithm is used. The algorithm is explained in appendix 2. Insulin is given as an infusion with the help of a syringe pump which contains 20 units of short acting insulin in 20 ml of normal saline.
Insulin infusion is started when there are more than two blood sugars values of greater than 120mg/dl. Blood sugars are checked every four hours on a routine basis and in some cases every one hour till appropriate control of sugars is achieved.
Inclusion criteria:
1. Age more than 16 years.
2. All trauma patients who came to the operation theatre and required.
post-operative SICU care or those who required pre – operative stabilization in the SICU
Exclusion criteria:
1. Age less than 16 years.
2. If consent was not given by the patients' relatives/guardians the study recruited consecutive patients who met the inclusion criteria from January to October 2010 after informed consent was obtained from their legally acceptable guardian. The protocol received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Christian Medical College, Vellore and was funded by the fluid research fund of the Christian Medical College.
Statistical Methods:
The primary analysis used a binary logistic regression to estimate risk for poor outcomes between those with high and low HBA1C groups (>=6 or <6) adjusted for APACHE II score, injury severity score, admission blood sugars and age. Risk estimates were provided with exact p values and a 95% CI of the odds ratio. Univariate analysis used appropriate tests of significance (independent samples T test for normally distributed continuous variables and Pearson's χ2 or Fishers exact test for categorical variables). Secondary analysis included estimates of association between diabetic status, APACHE II scores, comorbidities and the incidence of HAI, number of ventilated days and number of SICU days. Exploratory analysis of these relationships at different levels of admission blood sugars were also carried out in a
hypothesis generation exercise. Statistical analysis was done with STATA 11 (StataCorp, Texas USA).
RESULTS: One hundred and twenty trauma patients requiring admission to SICU between January and October 2010 were recruited. Male patients 108/120 (90%) dominated SICU admissions for trauma. The age at admission ranged from 16 to 75 with a mean of 36 years (SD 15yrs).
The mean APACHE II was 9.8 (SD 6.9) and the mean Injury Severity scores was 17.2 (SD 7.1). The mean HbA1C was 5.8% (SD 1.0). The mean admission blood sugar was 180.3 mg/dl (SD 102.1). Admission RBS was not available in seven of the patients.
CONCLUSIONS:
This cohort study of trauma patients admitted to Surgical ICU examined the relationship between HBA1C and the outcomes of ICU stay.
1. The prevalence of HBA1C ≥ 6% in this study was 24.2% and these individuals would be either diabetic or at risk of developing diabetes.
2. Six out of 17 diabetic patients (35%) did not know that they were diabetic at admission. 5.5% (6/109) of this cohort has occult diabetes mellitus.
3. There was a 3.14 times greater risk of poor outcomes in those with HBA1C ≥ 6% or above as compared to those with HBA1C < 6%. This association strengthened on adjusting for admission blood sugars, APACHE II, ISS to an odds ratio of 4.6.
4. Those with elevated HBA1C (>=6%) had, on average, 2.1 days more of ventilation and 1.5 days longer ICU admission.
5. Sixty five (54%) of the participants developed Hospital Acquired Infections with similar proportions in those with normal and elevated HBA1C.
6. That 14.2% of the adults were diabetic and that 35% of these diabetic individuals were undiagnosed before admission combined with the increased risk of poor outcomes among those with higher HBA1C suggests screening for diabetes may be useful in managing patients in ICU settings.


The pressure gradient model development of oil-water two phase flow in horizontal pipelines abroad is summarized.Homogeneous model,tow-layer segregated model,three-layer segregated model and four-layer segregated model are introduced.The pressure gradient equation for the homogeneous model,the basic fluid mechanical equations for every segregated models and the physics models for three-layer and four-layer model are given respectively.Meanwhile,the application limits of every segregated model are given according to experience.According to the related acquirements,a good model not only simplifies the solution to it as much as possible,but also fully simulates the flowing state of oil-water.


The Gas-Coupled Laser Acoustic Detection (GCLAD) is an optical technique for ultrasonic detection based on the deviation that a laser beam sustains when travelling in a fluid that features refractive index fluctuations. If the laser beam is perpendicular to the wave propagation direction, the technique enables simultaneous detection of direct waves in mechanical components and eventual echoes from defects to be achieved. The technique is applied to the inspection of elements predominantly extending in one/two dimensions as bars and axisymmetric pieces, exploiting a signal enhancement effect occurring in defects' proximity. The phenomenon, namely constructive interference between wave crests of a direct Rayleigh ultrasound and those associated with reflections on a defect flank, is first illustrated numerically. The effect of parameters like the angle between wave propagation direction and source-receiver distance on the GCLAD sensitivity is then experimentally highlighted. The technique is finally implemented to B-scan a steel plate with 1 mm wide, 20 mm long, and 3 mm deep surface defects. Since the GCLAD probe laser beam insists on an entire line, defects present on that line can be identified without moving the device along such direction. This reduces the monitoring time compared to techniques leveraging on traditional air-coupled transducers or more sophisticated methods (Scanning Laser Source).


Abstract Solvent refining is the main process of refining lubricant oil and furfural is often used as a solvent. One of the methods of avoiding the oxidation of furfural is by addition of antioxidants to it. The antioxidants not only heighten the antioxidation characteristics but also enhance the yield and quality of oil. In this paper, some phenolic and amine antioxidants are investigated for furfural oxidation at 90°C and at room temperature. These antioxidants are 2,6-di-tert-butyl-phenol (T501); 2,2′-Methylene bis(2,6-Di-t-Butylphenol) (MB26); 4,4′-Furfurylidene bis(2,6-Di-t-Butylphenol) (FB26); 2,2′-Methylene bis(4,6-di-t-butylphenol) (MB46); N,N′-Di-sec-butyl-p-phenylenediamine (DBPDA); and N,N′-diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA). The antioxidation performance of DBPDA for furfural is much better than that of phenolic inhibitors at room temperature, so it is set at 90°C. When the 100 ppm inhibitor is used, the effect of FB26 is as good as that of DEHA. When the 500 ppm inhibitor is used, the effect of antioxidation of FB26 is better than that of DEHA and as good as that of DBPDA. Therefore, it is proposed that FB26 should be used as an antioxidant at normal temperature and DBPDA should be used as an antioxidant at higher temperature.


The position of small and medium size countries in international context has been studied. The main criteria of power in international relation is still the military and economic force, despite the fact that the size and resources of a country is not equivalent to its actual international influence. With the imposition of Vilsonian principles and with the creation of UN, the position of small and medium size countries has been somehow improved. It becomes even more favorable in the context of a well defined State coalition, which provides with some additional instruments of power. The European Union is the best example of a coalition providing a good framework for small and medium countries. In this article, six specifics mechanisms providing additional influence to small and medium size countries of the EU have been identified. They include the specificity of the EU legal system, decision making, the functioning of the EU bodies, the process of 'europeisation' etc.


This Festschrift honouring the work of the outstanding British sociologist Ted Benton on the occasion of his (semi)retirement examines some of the important issues he raised during the course of his career. The authors admire his work but do not hesitate to criticize Benton's arguments where they disagree. The conclusion by Benton gives his incisive, well-reasoned replies. An introduction by the editors, Rob Stones and Sandra Moog, sets the stage for the rest of the book. They sketch Benton's important contributions, provide background knowledge to understand better the concepts and issues he deals with, and give a sense of the elaborate web of the whole of his work. Gregor McLennan then begins Part I with a chapter curiously titled '"FOR science in the social sciences": the end of the road for critical realism?' In his reply, Benton states that the first part of that title captures exactly his orientation, but does not comment on the second half. McLennan critiques recent all-encompassing versions of critical realism in order to strengthen a more modest version. John Law's next chapter presents his after-actor network theory approach using a case study of the UK foot and mouth outbreak of 2001. Part II, entitled 'The Continuing Relevance of Marxism', begins with a chapter bearing the same name by Pat Devine. He argues that Marxism continues to be relevant because of the global expansion of capitalism, its inherent tendency to undermine the market's own social and natural preconditions and the resistance this incites, and the political struggle to replace capitalism by socialism and communism. Chapter 4 by Ewa Morawska, who


This research study presents a novel metaheuristic approach to solving the global path planning problem, which combines the search space separation capabilities of the Quadtree method and optimization capabilities of the Harmony Search method. Results have shown that this approach is effective and gives accelerated convergence.


We propose a new recursive least square (RLS) based method for precisely tracking carrier and code navigation signals of BOC (m, n), Alt- BOC(m, n) any other systems in multipath environment. The method can estimate multipath profile at high resolution by self-adaptively filtering local correlation function according to correlation value after demodulation and spectrum dispreading, and the filter coefficient when filter converges can estimate direct path tracking error and multipath profile. We also propose the complete structure of the method. Simulation verifies that the method can fulfill precise tracking of code and carrier and estimates tracking error and multipath profile at 0.025 chip for time resolution and 0.003 cycle for phase resolution in the condition of both 40.092MHz sampling rate and high SNR E1 BOC (1,1) signal.


In this paper, Genetic Algorithms (GA) has been applied to calculate the optimized parameters of Elliptical Microstrip antenna. The inputs to the problem are thickness of the substrate, eccentricity, dielectric constant and even mode frequency. The output obtained is the optimized semi-major axis length `a' from which the other parameters i.e. semi-minor axis length and odd mode frequency are calculated. The results obtained by GA are compared with the targeted results. The results are in good agreement. GA results are also compared with IE3D simulation results. These results are also comparable and thus validate the GA based code.


Inspired by natural metal ion/ligand interactions, stable electrospun hydrogel fibers (EHFs) are produced from polyelectrolyte complexes coordinated with various metal ions. This development provides a novel and promising approach to advance hydrogel fiber applications by creating fibers with high stability in solutions and controlled interfacial reactions. The embedded ions not only improve EHF stability but also act as precursors for fabricating nanoparticles on fibers. The interactions between metal ions and polyelectrolytes dictate metal ion diffusion kinetics. The combination of diffusion and reaction kinetics grants rational and predictable design rules to use EHFs as reactors for nanofabrication.


Objective To investigate the correlation between the bone mineral density (BMD) and the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, and analyze the probable mechanism of osteoporosis, providing the scientific data for the comprehensive prevention of both osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseasels. Methods 155 persons underwent quantitative CT of lumbar vertebrae for bone mineral density (BMD), and filled out interview sheet for the details of general condition, lifestyle and risk factors. The correlation between the BMD and risk factors was analyzed using multiple linear regression software. Results (1)The risk factors for BMD in males are age, drinking, milk intake, fracture, calcium, total cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and urine protein, while the risk factors for females are age, body mass index and total cholesterol (P 0.05) . (2) Multiple linear regression proved that age, drinking, total cholesterol, and creatinine influence BMD remarkably in both males and females, age, drinking, blood sugar, and blood urea nitrogen play an important role for BMD in males while age, body mass index, and total cholesterol for BMD in females. (3) Three formulae were used for roughly estimating the situation of BMD with scanned factors. Conclusions (1) The main factors for BMD in males are different from those for that in females. (2) Many risk factors of cardiovascular diseases such as age,obesity, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol influence BMD. (3) Drinking has effect on BMD. There are positive correlation between the BMD and the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Control of these risk factors can prevent cardiovascular disease as well as osteoporosis.


We give an overview of standard one-dimensional Brownian motion on the dyadic rationals. We then offer a proof that such a process is uniformly continuous on closed intervals and, hence, that the original definition can be sensibly extended to all nonnegative reals. We conclude by investigating some immediate consequences of this new definition such as sample path nondifferentiability and zero set properties.


The piezoelectric effect is a significant property of quasicrystal. In this article, the exact solution is derived for a layered piezoelectric quasicrystal nanoplate with nonlocal effect in cylindrical bending. Based on the nonlocal theory and the pseudo-Stroh formalism, the exact solution for a homogeneous simply supported nanoplate is obtained. With the aid of the propagator matrix, the exact solution for a multilayered nanoplate is achieved. Numerical examples are carried out to reveal the influences of span-to-thickness ratio, nonlocal parameter, and stacking sequence on piezoelectric quasicrystal nanoplates with their top surface subjected to two loadings. One is a z-direction mechanical loading and the other is an electric potential loading. These results can be served as benchmarks for the design, numerical modeling, and simulation of layered two-dimensional piezoelectric quasicrystal nanoplates under cylindrical bending.


Background: The clinical outcome of a covered vs. uncovered transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) for patients with Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) is as yet largely unknown.


In wireless sensor network (WSN) the use of mobile sink collector has been attracting more attention in recent times. The sensor nodes in WSN have small amount of power supply and storage hence: the mobile sink collectors are more effective way of balancing energy expenditure among sensors. In this paper, we consider applications, where sensing data are generally collected at a low rate and are not so delay sensitive that it can be collected into fixed-length data packets and uploaded once in a while. We propose a mobile data collector, which moves to the vicinity of the sensor nodes to collect data. A mobile collector will travel a sensing field periodically. When travelling through its transmission range, it polls each sensor. Thus it collects data from each sensor using one to one communication. As data packets are directly uploaded to the sink without relays, the energy consumed by the sensors will not be wasted in multi-hop relaying. In this paper, we discuss The Mobile sink which finds a route to the sensor node by using spanning tree covering algorithm. Sensor location information is collected using greedy perimeter stateless routing. We evaluated network performance by parameter energy consumption.


Day and night measurements of N. fixation (as acetylene reduction) were made during spring blooms of Aphanizomenonflos-aquae and two autumn blooms of Anabaena spp. From 9 to 23% of the 24-h fixation occurred between 1100 and 1300 hours. Nitrogen fixation in spring showed complex, physically shallow but optically deep and mobile subsurface peaks of nitrogenase activity, which were totally unrelated to Aphanizomenon biomass but may have been due to diel changes in light penetrating the relatively clear water. Nocturnal fixation was uniformly distributed with depth and accounted for 1/ to Y3 of daylight fixation. In more turbid autumn waters, the pattern of N, fixation for Anabaena blooms was simpler, with a surface (or near-surface) peak decreasing with depth. Nocturnal cixation was more uniformly distributed with depth. The difference in fixation patterns between the two species is attributable to the interactions of oxygen with the nItrogenase enzyme system. The diel changes in nitrogenase activity suggest a need to establish whether the precursors of nitrogenase accumulate in an oxygen-stable form. .1 Nitrogen fixation requires more energy than any other biological process. Thus it should be highly light-dependent in 'lakes, since only photosynthetic organisms are quantitatively significant in lake N2 fixation (Home 1975a; Fogg et al. 1973). However, phytoplanktonic N 2 fixation may occur at low light levels and even in total darkness (Home and Fogg 1970; Duong 1972; Vanderhoef et al. 1975; Burns and Peterson 1978). Quantities fixed are generally but not always low; there are disadvantages to high photosynthesis, particularly the onset of photorespiration which successfully competes with N 2 fixation for available energy (Home 1975b). Photorespiration is enhanced by the afternoon low CO 2 and high 0 2 levels, which are possible in planktonic algal colonies and inevitable inside gelatinous Nostoc communities in streams, despite the constant 0 2 and CO2 environment provided by the well aerated stream water (Home and Carmiggelt 1975). In the more open "flake" association of Aphanizomenon or coils of Anabaena, 'This study was supported by the Clear Lake Algal Research Unit, Lake County, California, and the California Department of Water Resources. photorespiration may not be inevitable since the algae can regulate their position in the waterco1umn (Waisby 1972; Reynolds 1972, 1973). Thus there may be less need for nocturnal N 2 fixation as afternoon activity should be less depressedat least in lakes with several meters of photic zone. The work reported here was designed to test this hypothesis and to provide a quantitative method of calculating daily and hence annual N 2 fixation amounts using incubation normally for only a couple of hours at midday. A further reason for carrying out five diel studies in both blooms spread over 3 years was to improve the meaningfulness of the data. Generalizations based on any one of the diel studies reported here would not be significant without guidance from the other four. I thank C. J. W. Carmiggelt and P. Kellar for technical assistance.


Objective: To evaluate the neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet / lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune inflammation index (SII) in exfoliative glaucoma (XFG) patients with the aim of comparing the findings with those of healthy controls and exfoliative syndrome (XFS) patients. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study included 134 participants, 22 XFG patients, 41 XFS patients and 71 healthy individuals were examined. Peripheral venous sample values including neutrophil, lymphocyte and platelet levels were recorded from the hospital database. Results: Among evaluated hematological parameters, although the NLR values of the subjects with XFG were greater than those of the subjects with XFS, when the relationship between the NLR, PLR and SII parameters of the XFG and XFS groups, adjusted for age and gender, was examined by logistic regression analysis, no significant difference was found between the groups. Multiple linear regressions of the association between the NLR, PLR and SII parameters and the ocular parameters of the XFG and XFS groups revealed no significant relationship between the blood parameters and ocular measurements. Neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio was found to be the most acceptable discriminant parameter when comparing XFG group with the XFS and control groups (AUC [area under curve]=0.678, AUC=0.663, respectively). Platelet / lymphocyte ratio was found to be the best discriminant parameter between the XFS and control groups (AUC=0.605). Conclusion: No significant difference was found between XFG and XFS groups in terms of NLR, PLR and SII parameters. Considering the fact that NLR has the best AUC when comparing XFG and XFS groups, it may be the most acceptable discriminant parameter between XFG and XFS.


Andean peoples expressed popular piety in several ways. Among them, the brotherhoods stand out as an institution inherited from colonial rule which was of great importance in the ritual congregation of the indigenous population, the construction of popular faith and the emergence of a ritual that incorporated elements of Roman Catholic liturgy, catechesis and local practices (ceremonies, dances, masks, costumes, musical instruments, melodies, etc.). This type of mutual aid religious institution, governed by a system of rotating positions, was comprised mainly of lay people who, on the basis of spirituality, the protection of a patron saint or Marian devotion, sought to promote charity and care for their members (brothers).


Aim To determine whether bacterial endotoxin test (BET) can be used for the paclitaxel or not.Method 60% ethanol was used for solution,then diluted by water for BET.The disturbance experiment was performed according to the pharmacopoeia of China(2000) andUSP26.Result The activity of bacterial endotoxin was not affected by 60% ethanol,and 4% ethanol and 0.075 g·L - 1 paclitaxel solution neither inhibited nor enhanced the gelclot reaction of bacterial endotoxin with TAL.Conclusion This method can be used in BET of paclitaxel,and control its quality.


This short article describes properties of new additives of water-soluble cutting fluids for aluminium materials. Half esters of dodecanedioic acid and glutaric acid showed anti-corrosion property of aluminium material for water-based cutting fluids additives. Interestingly, amine salts of half esters of dodecanedioic acid with trimethylol propane, glycerine, ricinoleic acid tetramer, phytanetriol and 1,4-cyclohexanediol showed anti-corrosion property against both aluminium material and iron chips.


Problem. This study looks at four effective middle school teachers' stories in order to understand the experiences and beliefs which impact their choice to use developmentally responsive classroom practices. There is general agreement in the literature concerning characteristics of effective middle school teachers, but little has been done to understand what influences these teachers to teach the way they do. Method. A qualitative case study design was used for this study. Two male and two female middle school teachers were observed and interviewed during the course of 1 school year. Each teacher's life experiences, classroom practices, and beliefs are described in narrative form. An analysis of the four teachers' practices and beliefs was conducted using the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's Turning Points (1989) and the National Middle School Association's This We Believe (1995). Further analysis of similarities and differences in the teachers' lives led to the emergence of other themes. Results. The four teachers' classroom practices and beliefs matched the descriptions of developmentally appropriate practices in Turning Points and This We Believe. Further analysis of similarities and differences in the teachers' lives led to the emergence of other themes. Conclusions. The concept of "Real" as portrayed in The Velveteen Rabbit describes the lives of the four middle school teachers who participated in this study. These teachers love and give of themselves freely to others. They have experienced growing pains, but choose to look beyond the discomfort and allow it to mold and shape their lives. Though they are Real and recognize the contributions they are making to others, they continue to open themselves up to continued growth.


URBAN HOUSING CONSTRAINTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE N2 GATEWAY PROJECT By Natasha Kate Kallay With the end of apartheid, many South Africans were anticipating improved living conditions and a better quality of life. Instead, over fifteen years later, many still reside in informal settlements, waiting for their government to rectify decades of inequality and injustice. The housing backlog continues to grow as planners reevaluate prior housing development plans and launch new housing strategies. At the same time, the vibrant activist community, which took root during the oppressive apartheid years, rallies around the struggles of the impoverished using a variety of tactics to advocate for policies which may close the widening economic gap. This paper examines the N2 Gateway Project in Cape Town, South Africa, a pilot project of nation's new Breaking New Ground housing strategy, and the ways in which civil society has engaged with the project. Though this pilot has been plagued with delays, missed targets, and growing opposition, it is still intended to serve as a model for other projects and impacts housing development across the country. The prominence of this project has created an opportunity to emphasize the ways in which all stakeholders can meaningfully engage in the development of beneficial housing programs. As the nation is preparing for the 2010 World Cup, and the international stage, more attention has been focused on the outcome of this project. The activist base in South Africa continues to challenge government to ensure those who suffered under years of segregation, are able to access the opportunities of their new nation. Community-based organizations, nongovernmental organizations and grassroots networks take on the legacy of activism as part of a growing non-profit sector. These groups prove to be one of the greatest assets for making the voices of the impoverished heard and redefining the spatial determinates of income. Through civil society and coordinated grassroots action, South Africans have the opportunity to influence their state, and become more involved in the development process.


Recently, the human lifestyle has strongly been affected by the novel technological equipment. The applications of Artificial Intelligence are widely being utilised to improve the performance and quality of the modern life. One of the important applications of these techniques is to seek to improve public safety, including the safety of driving. The statistics indicate that the mortality of car accidents yearly constitutes a significant proportion of the overall deaths. A number of strategies have been studied to materialise driver drowsiness detection systems. One of the best strategies relies on image processing and computer vision methods. In this paper, a novel real-time method for driver drowsiness detection is presented. This method uses Haar wavelet-based features for face detection. The eye state determination has been performed using PCA feature extraction along with an SVM classifier. The proposed method has been implemented and tested on a real-time ARM based embedded system, with a camera installed in front of the driver. Results show that the presented intelligent system has a high detection accuracy, compared to the methods presented thus far, on the standard datasets such as BioID and RS-DMV.


The invention relates to a mounting frame, in particular for recessed lights, for mounting in a recess of an intermediate ceiling, wherein the mounting frame comprises: a support element which bears in the installed condition of the mounting frame on a first surface of the false ceiling, at least one pressing element, which in the installed state of the mounting frame rests on a second surface of the false ceiling, which is opposite to the first surface, wherein the pressing member in a direction perpendicular to a mounting plane of the mounting frame which extends in the mounted state of the mounting frame parallel to the false ceiling, on the support element to and mounted for movement away from and a first spring element which exerts a force on the pressing member in the direction of the bearing element, wherein the pressing member is parallel to the installation plane displaceable in a plane to form a first, retracted state, in which the Anpresseleme nt is displaced towards the interior of the mounting frame in order to allow insertion of the mounting frame in the segment, and to form a second extended state in which the pressing member is moved from the mounting frame outwardly to clamp the ceiling between pressing element and support member ,


This paper presents new results on neurodynamic optimization approaches to robust pole assignment based on four alternative robustness measures. One or two recurrent neural networks are utilized to optimize these measures while making exact pole assignment. Compared with existing approaches, the present neurodynamic approaches can result in optimal robustness in most cases with one of the robustness measures. Simulation results of the proposed approaches for many benchmark problems are reported to demonstrate their performances.


Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze how the perception of the destination and the visitor experience affected tourists' satisfaction when they visited Central Java Province (Borobudur Temple); how these factors also affected tourists' intention to return to Central Java Province; and how tourist satisfaction affected tourists' intention to return to Central Java Province (Borobudur Temple).Methodology: Data was collected from tourists who visited Indonesia's Borobudur temple as the survey's target population. In this study, surveys were conducted during a two-month period from June to August 2021 using the convenience sampling methodology. Through the use of an online survey and questionnaire, data was gathered. The SPSS for Windows 26 application was utilized for the linear regression analysis step in the data analysis process. Validity tests, reliability tests, and coefficient of determination tests were the analysis methods applied.Finding: The perception of a destination has a significant impact on visitor satisfaction, visitor perception also has a significant impact on visitor revisit intention, visitor experience also has a significant impact on visitor satisfaction, and visitor experience also has a significant impact on visitor revisit intention.Conclusion: More tourists will visit Borobudur Temple, the most beautiful temple in the world if the location has a positive and attractive image. Also, the experience of tourists has a big impact on how happy they are after seeing Borobudur Temple. If visitors to Borobudur Temple have an extraordinary experience, their satisfaction with their visit will increase. In addition, the experience of visitors has a huge impact on their plans to return; more and more people will visit Borobudur Temple if their happiness with the experience is fulfilled.


In this paper, a definition of backwards Ito-Henstock integral for the Hilbert-Schmidt-valued stochastic process is introduced. We formulate the Ito isometry for this integral. Moreover, an equivalent definition for this integral is given using the concept of AC^2 [0,T]-property, a version of absolute continuity.


Based on the observation information of solar radiation in a tropical seasonal rain forest in west China's Xishuangbanna through 2003, annual, seasonal and daily variation of energy balance components, and values of components relative to global radiation, long-wave radiation, albedo and transmissivity were analyzed in order to discuss solar radiation characteristics in tropical seasonal rain forests. The results show that yearly average of total daily global radiation is 13.75 MJ/m 2 , with 59.98%, 28.68%, 11.34% and 7.13% of global radiation partitioned into net radiation, effective radiation, reflective radiation and transmission radiation separately. Because of the seasonal differences of weather conditions, velocity of above-canopy solar radiation is smaller in foggy-cool seasons while greater in rainy seasons. As for the dry-hot season, daily variation of solar radiation components is different to a certain degree due to leaves shedding concentratedly in this season. In addition, transmission radiation should not been neglected in a tropical seasonal rain forest, especially when it is greater in the dry-hot season. During a day, transmission radiation is greater around midday; especially in the dry-hot season, there is the phenomenon of sudden emergence, with a transmissivity as high as 49.9% at 12:00. Through a day, upward long-wave radiation present an one-peaked pattern, while downward longwave radiation shows a pattern of two peaks and two troughs, which results in positive effective radiation above the canopy. So, as far as annual average values are concerned, tropical seasonal rain forest canopies always act as heat sources to heat up the surrounding air. Though values of upward long-wave radiation change monthly and seasonally, daily variations are all similar. However, influenced by weather conditions, not only the values of downward long-wave radiation change with month and season, but also daily variations of downward long-wave radiation differ in different seasons. Finally, effective radiation above the canopy have different values in different months, and there exist greater daily variation differences among seasons. Besides the general fact that daily albedo is higher in the early morning and dusk, the albedo has the tendency of higher values in the forenoon and lower in the afternoon during the daytime. Also, daily transmissivity shows a tendency of maximum value at the noon and smaller in the forenoon and afternoon. In the tropical seasonal rain forest in Xishuangbanna, above-canopy solar radiation components and values of components relative to the global radiation, and annual, seasonal and daily variations of long-wave radiation, albedo and transmissivity are all closely related with local climate conditions and forest community appearance variations.


Primary cutaneous malignant melanomas (CMMs) from 26 individuals belonging to nine families with an identified CDKN2A mutation were clinically and histopathologically compared with 78 matched CMM controls and with a population-based series of CMMs (n = 667). All tumours were histopathologically re-examined. CDKN2A-associated cases were significantly less invasive compared with the matched controls, with an adjusted odds ratio (adjOR) of 2.9 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.0–8.1 (P = 0.04). According to the odds ratio (OR) values, CDKN2A-associated cases seemed to have tumours more often located on the head and neck (adjOR 2.9, 95% CI 0.6–13.7), with less inflammation (adjOR 0.7, 95% CI 0.3–1.8) and regression (adjOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.2–1.8) but more frequent histological ulceration (adjOR 1.9, 95% CI 0.6–5.8). In comparison with the population-based material, CDKN2A-associated cases were significantly younger at diagnosis (crude OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.6–7.5, divided at 50 years) and had less regressive reaction in their tumours (crude OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.2–0.8). No significant differences were seen for tumour thickness between the different groups. On multivariate analysis, the overall survival was significantly worse for thicker tumours and older age (P = 0.04 for both). To our knowledge this is the first description of the histopathological features of CMMs from families with mutations in the CDKN2A gene.


Abstract : Use of an ejector is an effective way to increase the thrust produced by a jet. In this thesis project an axisymmetric ejector concept which had been previously explored by experiment was numerically modeled. An existing axisymmetric, internal flow code based on the explicit MacCormack method was modified to incorporate primary nozzle structure and flow injection within the flowfield. Results were compared qualitatively and quantitatively with experimental results to verify the validity of the model. Internal flow structure, difficult to obtain in experiment, is easily examined. This code may be used for parametric analysis of such ejector performance parameters as primary nozzle location, flow injection angle, diffuser area ratio, and inlet geometry to optimize future hardware configurations.


The paper analyses the determinants and the effects of foreign direct investment inflows (FDI) in the Zimbabwe Mining Sector (ZMS) in a specific study for 14 minerals from 2005-14 estimating a random effect model. Mineral specific variables examined include capacity utilisation, volume of manufacturing index, labour cost, sectorial contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), political instability, mineral price and mineral output. FDI inflow in the ZMS can be explained by capacity utilisation, volume of manufacturing index, labour, sectorial contribution to GDP and political instability. No statistical evidence could be established to support mineral price and output as major determinants of FDI in the mining sector. All these variables confirmed with literature except for volume of manufacturing index. As a result, the government is recommended to put in place supportive policies that encourage investments and recapitalization in the mining sector so that local firms can effectively compete at both domestic and international investment markets.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a group training program in reducing depression and improving adjustment of the elderly in Amman City. The study sample consisted of (68) elderly people in the social development center in Amman. The sample was distributed into two groups:  an experimental group which received group training program to reduce depression and improve adjustment with an average of two sessions a week for four weeks, each session lasted (90) minutes, and a control group that didn't receive any treatment. Two instruments were applied on the entire study sample; the first one was Beck's Depression inventory, and the other was the scale of psychological adjustment (a pre-test), then a group training program was applied on the experimental group. By the end of the training program, the same study instruments were reapplied on all the study sample members (post-test), then ANCOVA to investigate the effect of the experimental treatment on both depression and adjustment. The results indicated the existence statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group on both of the study tools, as the level of depression decreased and the level of adjustment increased on the part of the experimental group compared to the control group. Keywords: Group training program, Depression, adjustment, the Elderly


Burrows represent a prominent example of animal architecture that fundamentally alters the surrounding physical environment, often with important consequences for social life. Crustaceans, in particular, offer a model system for understanding the adaptive functions of burrows, their ecological costs and benefits, and their long-term evolutionary impacts on sociality. In general, burrows are central to the life history of many species, functioning as protective dwellings against predators and environmental extremes. Within the refuge of a burrow, one or multiple inhabitants can feed, molt, grow, mate, and raise offspring in relative safety. Depending on the substratum, substantial construction costs can be incurred to excavate a burrow de novo or enlarge a preexisting natural crevice. This investment has been evolutionarily favored because the benefits afforded by the burrow outweigh these costs, making the burrow an "extended phenotype" of the architect itself. Yet even after a burrow is fully constructed, the architect must incur continued costs over its life history, both in maintenance and defense, if it is to reap further benefits of its burrow. Indeed, because burrows accumulate value based on the work involved in their construction, they can attract conspecific intruders who seek to shortcut the cost of construction by evicting an existing occupant and usurping its burrow. Consequently, a burrowing lifestyle can lead to escalating social competition, with many crustaceans evolving elaborate weapons and territorial signals to resolve conflicts over burrow ownership. Some burrows even outlast the original architect as an "ecological inheritance," serving as a legacy that impacts social evolution among subsequent generations of kin and nonkin. Comparative studies, using cutting-edge technology to dig deeper into the natural history of crustacean burrows, can provide powerful tests of general theoretical models of animal architecture and social evolution, especially the extended phenotype and niche construction.


In a recent genome‐wide association study, a significant genetic association between rs34330 of CDKN1B and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Han Chinese was identified. This study was undertaken to validate the reported association and elucidate the biochemical mechanisms underlying the effect of the variant.


Introduction The SENCO Year: A Bit of Forward Planning Goes a Long Way Policy and Practice: The Unbroken Circle Supporting Colleagues: Giving Help Where It's Needed Supporting the Children: Making Sure Their Entitlements Are Met Keeping Track: Ensuring Effective Record-Keeping A Parent Thing: Maintaining a Collaborative Partnership Coming Together: The Teamwork Approach


Simple Summary The production of food from animals poses many ethical challenges. This review explores what we know about different levels of concern for animal welfare in food production by such stakeholders as veterinarians, farmers, and the general public. Despite the general public's level of concern for animal welfare in food production being high, their understanding and knowledge is poor. Thus, it is suggested that through widespread consciousness raising we can encourage the public to accurately translate their concerns into market drivers, in turn improving the welfare of billions of animals. Abstract Population growth and rising consumption of meat, dairy, eggs and fish are forcing the world to face the intersecting challenges of how to sustainably feed a population expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, while also controlling the impact of food production on the planet, on people and on animals. This review acknowledges the absence of a globally accepted definition of animal welfare and then explores the literature regarding different levels of concern for animal welfare in food production by such stakeholders as veterinarians, farmers, and the general public. It focuses on the evidence that the general public's level of concern for animal welfare is linked to various demographic and personal characteristics, such as age, gender, religion, location, meat eating, and knowledge of animal welfare. Certain animals have characteristics that influence concern for their welfare, with those species that are considered more intelligent being afforded more concern. There is compelling evidence that the general public's understanding of animal welfare in food production is poor. Acknowledging that public concern can be a driving force to change current production methods, the authors suggest widespread consciousness raising to redefine socially acceptable methods of food production from animals and to ensure that it remains in step with societal concerns.


A study was done evaluating apparent viscosity and fluid stability by allowing cross-linking to occur at varying times during and after a period of high shear. A high temperature closed-loop pipe viscometer was used for this process. To observe the interdependencies of shear history, cross-linking time, and apparent viscosity, two adjustable cross-linked fracturing fluid systems were employed. As part of the study, a plexiglass parallel plate fracture and wellbore model was used to observe proppant transport for both fluid systems at ambient temperature. Results of these studies indicate that when cross-linking time is less than the high shear duration period, both the maximum viscosity and the fluid's stability are reduced. The amount of reduction is shown to be related to the difference between the high shear duration period and the cross-link time. Also, from observations made on the plexiglassfracture model, a better understanding of the relationships among treating string residence time, cross-link time, fluid stability, and proppant transport in the vicinity of the wellbore can be developed.


The present invention, in the continuous manufacturing of the liquid crystal display panel, only the top sheet to transfer cheophap position of the rectangular panel 202, and provides a method and apparatus by both the alignment is joined continuously to the adhesive preparation. In the continuous manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display element of the present invention, the band-shaped film laminate (2) a polarizing film sheet that does not include a defect formed on a carrier film which is composed of a normal sheet and defective sheet including a defect includes the wherein the top sheet, by linking the feed and the top sheet peeling apparatus 15 of the band-shaped film laminate to reliably peeled from the carrier film the other hand, the poor sheet, transfer and poor sheet path change of the band-shaped laminated body unit ( 14) so that the take-up to be sure while attached to the carrier film works, the respective means which form the entire device is linked.


Under difficult viewing conditions, the brain's visual system uses a variety of recurrent modulatory mechanisms to augment feed-forward processing. One resulting phenomenon is contour integration, which occurs in the primary visual (V1) cortex and strengthens neural responses to edges if they belong to a larger smooth contour. Computational models have contributed to an understanding of the circuit mechanisms of contour integration, but less is known about its role in visual perception. To address this gap, we embedded a biologically grounded model of contour integration in a task-driven artificial neural network, and trained it using a gradient-descent variant. We used this model to explore how brain-like contour integration may be optimized for high-level visual objectives as well as its potential roles in perception. When the model was trained to detect contours in a background of random edges, a task commonly used to examine contour integration in the brain, it closely mirrored the brain in terms of behavior, neural responses, and lateral connection patterns. When trained on natural images, the model enhanced weaker contours and distinguished whether two points lay on the same vs. different contours. The model learnt robust features that generalized well to out-of-training-distribution stimuli. Surprisingly, and in contrast with the synthetic task, a parameter-matched control network without recurrence performed the same or better than the model on the natural-image tasks. Thus a contour integration mechanism is not essential to perform these more naturalistic contour-related tasks. Finally, the best performance in all tasks was achieved by a modified contour integration model that did not distinguish between excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Author summary Deep networks are machine-learning systems that consist of interconnected neuron-like elements. More than other kinds of artificial system, they rival human information processing in a variety of tasks. These structural and functional parallels have raised interest in using deep networks as simplified models of the brain, to better understand of brain function. For example, incorporating additional biological phenomena into deep networks may help to clarify how they affect brain function. In this direction, we adapted a deep network to incorporate a model of visual contour integration, a process in the brain that makes contours appear more visually prominent. We found that suitable training led this model to behave much like the corresponding brain circuits. We then investigated potential roles of the contour integration mechanism in processing of natural images, an important question that has been difficult to answer. The results were not straightforward. For example, the contour integration mechanism actually impaired the network's ability to tell whether two points lay on the same contour or not, but improved the network's ability to generalize this skill to a different group of images. Overall, this approach has raised more sophisticated questions about the role of contour integration in natural vision.


Research and resource investments made to understand and assess endocrine-active chemicals can help scientists to define the ecological risks of pharmaceuticals.


Due to the change in grain size during laser processing in the heat‐affected zone and the solidifying material, the potential of cracking, surface hardening, and decrease in weldability, corrosion resistance and fatigue life may result. It is shown that through combining state‐of‐the‐art temperature simulation of laser processes with thermo‐mechanical volume averaging grain formation simulation, the resulting grain density can be predicted within the order of magnitude found in the two experiments carried out for laser fusion cutting and spot welding of A356. However, fundamental knowledge about the grain density function during rapid solidification, the prediction of the transition from epitactic growth to globular grains and defined validation experiments are needed in order to provide a realistic virtual microstructure.


The present invention relates to devices for changing and measuring the polarization of radio waves, embodiments of the apparatuses for various applications as well as uses of the devices as a sensor for measurement of angles and displacements.


Selected short block and convolutional code improve- ments using dual inband frequency diversity and nondiversity fre- quency-shift keyed experimental data obtained on a 2800-km HF path are compared. It is shown that time dispersion techniques (interleaving, diffusion, etc.) are necessary for the short codes to


The Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles with average diameter of 50 nm were synthesized by hydrolyzing nickel acetate with water, and were dispersed in the distilled water to prepare the coating solution. The electrodes for supercapacitor were prepared by dip-coating the coating solution on the Ni-foam. The electrodes heat-treated at several temperatures showed the highest specific capacitance, 160 F/g, at 250 ℃. It can be explained that the Ni(OH)2 particles heat-treated at 100 and 200 ℃ on the electrodes contained the impurities such as acetate groups in the pores, and resulted in low specific surface areas. However, as the calcination temperature increases, the impurities incorporated in the pores are removed at 250 ℃, and thus, the particles on the electrodes show the highest specific surface area (177 m(2)/g).


The polarity of GaN grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy was inverted from N-face to Ga-face by inserting a composite AlN/aluminum oxide (AlOx) interlayer structure at the inversion interface. The change in polarity was verified in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction via intensity transients and postgrowth surface reconstructions, and ex situ by convergent beam electron diffraction and etch studies in an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution. The inverted materials showed smooth surfaces and good electrical properties. AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors fabricated on the inverted epilayers showed good dc and high frequency performance. A current-gain cutoff frequency (fT) of 21 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) of 61 GHz were measured in devices with a gate length of 0.7 μm. These data compare favorably to those of Ga-face AlGaN/GaN devices with a similar structure grown on Si-face SiC substrates.


DURING 1±be past eighteen months we' hitve seen a considerable number of cases of ~pwardenlargElment of the liver, i~ addition to some twenty cases' of amcebj,c hepatitis .and liver abscess seen. by .one of. us (RA.P.H.)" in China.in 1912713. The following notes are based bn th'e records of thirty-one of,thes~.' ~oavoid any doubt about thE;l interpretatio~ of the physical signs, we ,have exclu.ded several who gave a history of past lung trouble or a strong fat'uily history of' phthisis; and ,we have regarded as dElfinitelyamq'lbic only ,those who yielded ,to eD?etine tr~atment anq. who. gave a history of diarrhooa "or dysentery'tFaceable to a' known centre ofamoobic infection, amenable t.oemetine,or associated with amcebre or cysts of Entamceba Jiistolytica;' also two cases of liver abscess.


Laser surgery requires efficient tissue classification to reduce the probability of undesirable or unwanted tissue damage. This study aimed to investigate acoustic shock waves (ASWs) as a means of classifying sciatic nerve tissue.


Herein we present a list of bat species in a gradient of physiognomies, from the Cerrado to the Caatinga and to the Atlantic Forest, between Tocantins and Bahia, two of the most poorly bat-sampled regions in Brazil. A total of 30 species (26 for Bahia and 13 for Tocantins), were recorded. We report, for the first time, two species of bats from Tocantins: Anoura geoffroyi (Phyllostomidae) and Cynomops planirostris  (Molossidae). Our study increases to 41 the number of bat species for the Caatinga of Bahia, including two new formal reports for this region ( Artibeus fimbriatus  and Molossus rufus ).


By an improved synthesis, 5-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-di-n-propylaminotetralin (DK-118), a dopamine agonist, has been obtained in only six steps and in greater than 10% overall yield. This new synthesis has been used for the preparation of 5-hydroxy-[6-14C]-methyl-2-di-n-propylaminotetralin (I) to be used in metabolic studies. The 14C-radiolabel was introduced near the end of the synthesis by an ortho-specific formylation procedure using 14C-paraformaldehyde.


In the Old Russian glassmaking, beginning in XI century and based on the production of lead glass, cobalt was used very rare. Until recently only three assured cases of cobalt usage for blue coloration of bracelets and beads were fixed. In addition, two cases of probable cobalt coloration were published in the middle of the preceding century, but owing to weakness of analytical methods of those times, the presence of cobalt was under detection limit. During the last twenty years another seven samples containing cobalt were analyzed by the author. These bracelets and beads were excavated in Old Russian towns and cities such as Suzdal, Vladimir, Smolensk, Tver, Dmitrov. All artifacts occurred from the strata of pre-Mongolian time dated to XI–XIII centuries and manufactured of potash lead glass. In addition, one blue bracelet of this type comes from Bolgar, the city of medieval Volga Bulgaria, and was analyzed in Kazan University. These analyses together with the two earlier ones are present in the table. The earliest Russian glass article, coming from Kievan St. Sophia Cathedral founded in 1036, only with a high portion of doubt can be determined as a product of Russian workshop. As opposed to all other analyzed artifacts it is a piece of tessera from one of the earliest Russian temples, and demonstrates an extremely high content of cobalt side by side with enhanced content of sodium. This glass, as well as two other artifacts, contains antimony, probably used as opacifier. Another common feature of all samples with antimony is higher content of calcium. One artifact has an enhanced content of manganese, whereas in two others the blue coloration had not been achieved. In spite of some new information for cobalt usage these facts indicate that cobalt blue colorant was imported to Russia occasionally from different sources and tradition of its usage in the pre-Mongolian time had not been developed.


COMPLICATIONS FROM THE PART OF THE RESPIRATORY APPARATUS ARE THE MAIN REASON FOR THE LETHALITY AMONG PATIENTS, SUFFERING FROM MUCOVISCIDOSIS. THE ADEQUATE MUCOLYTIC THERAPY IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN THE COMPLEX TREATMENT OF THE CHRONIC BRON-CHOPULMONARY PROCESS. IN 2004, IN OMSK CENTER OF MUCOVISCIDOSIS, THE RESEARCHERS STARTED TO REGULARLY APPLY A NEW MUCOLYTIC MEDICATION DORNASE ALFA IN TREATMENT OF CHILDREN (PULMOZYME, F. HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE LTD., SWITZERLAND). THE RESULTS OF THE TWO-YEAR OBSERVATION SHOWED THAT DORNASE ALFA MAY SUCCESSFULLY BE USED IN COMPLEX THERAPY OF PATIENTS, SUFFERING FROM MUCOVISCIDOSIS, AS WELL AS PERIODICAL AND CHRONIC COLONIZATION OF THE RESPIRATORY TRACTS BY PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA.


Considerable research has shown the positive effects of art, music and drama therapy on mental health and well-being. In September 2012, a weekly Art Appreciation class was initiated at the Veterans Affairs (VA) West Los Angeles (WLA) Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) for veterans with severe mental illness. There are 106 VA PRRCs throughout the USA, designed to be transitional learning centers with curriculum-based interventions to help veterans re-integrate into the community and develop meaningful activities independent of the hospital setting. The VA WLA PRRC Art Appreciation class includes classroom sessions and community outings to local museums and other institutions holding art works of interest. It is taught at a college level and designed to lack the stigma of being a therapy group. Preliminary evidence from self-report measures indicates positive effects on mood, self-esteem, socialization and community participation among the veteran participants and recognition among staff that the course aids the veterans' recovery process. Appreciating art thus appears to promote both subjective and objective improvement in recovery and community re-integration for veterans who are experiencing chronic and disabling emotional distress.


OST discussions of the effects of interest rate movements on the portfolios of financial institutions typically conclude that the relatively high and volatile interest rates of the past 15 years have placed many of these institutions in jeopardy of failing. The consensus of many of these discussions is that institutions with " unbalanced " portfolios and low capital are particularly susceptible to interest rate movements.' The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of interest rate changes on the relative value of financial institutions.' This issue is important not only to the owners, managers and employees of financial institutions but to monetary policvmakers as well. Monetary policy actions affect interest rates. If the viability of financial institutions is particularly sensitive to interest rate changes, monetary policymakers will want to take this effect into account. 'More correctly, it is unexpected changes in the interest rate that affect relative values. Any future change that is expected is reflected in current prices. Long-term interest rates are important determinants of stock prices, and changes in these interest rates can be characterized as unexpected (see footnote 15). Financial institutions intermediate many transactions between borrowers and lenders. In doing so, banks and savings and loans do not act merely as credit brokers, negotiating ct-edit transactions between borrowers and lenders. Rather, they borrow directly from some individuals and lend directly to others. These transactions make up the portfolio of the financial firm. In large part, the market value of the firm is determined by the net present value of its portfolio of assets and liabilities. Changes in the interest rate affect the firm's market value because they influence the present value of the assets and liabilities in the firm's portfolio. Since the interest rate is the price of the earlier availability of dollars, a change in the interest rate means that this price has changed. 3 For example, if the 'Since this paper is mainly concerned with changes in the whole complex of interest rates (i.e., changes that leave the term structure unaltered), " the " interest rate is used as a shorthand method of referring to the complex of interest rates,


Idiopathic recurrent stupor is a little-known sleep disorder characterized by periodic episodes in which a person becomes stuporous (i.e., arousable only by vigorous stimulation) for up to several days. When the stupor phase ends, the person's sleep-wake patterns return to normal. The stupor phase may be preceded by agitation, aggression, depression, confusion, amnesia, difficulty forming words (e.g., slurred speech), ataxia (i.e., uncoordinated walking), and psychomotor slowing (i.e., thinking and moving slowly). Once the stupor phase ends, subsequent episodes of stupor may not recur until months or even years later. No factor appears to trigger the onset of the episode (hence, it is idiopathic), although some scientists suspect that overproduction of endogenous benzodiazepines – also called endozepines – may be a trigger. Other scientists question whether these molecules are truly the cause of the disorder.


In this article,the technology design and manufacturing process on the check valve casting steel of the hydrogenation cracking unit are mainly introduced,after the redesign of casting process,smelting technology and heat treatment process during actual operation,the high quality products which meets the needs of customer are produced with a low cost.


Letter from Armando C. de Baca to Manuel Gonzales, dated July 12, 1976. In the letter, de Baca discusses the challenged election of the LULAC State Director of Colorado and de Baca's proposed rules for a special election.


We describe an effort to develop a quantifiable approach for determining the thicker components of oil spills using microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery that can be utilized in an operational context to guide clean-up efforts. The presence of mineral oil on the surface can suppress the SAR returns in two ways. First, surface oil dampens the capillary waves making those areas darker in SAR imagery, an effect that been used to determine oil extent. The second is by modifying the dielectric properties of the surface from those of clean seawater to either pure oil or a mixture of oil and water as the oil weathers and thickens to form an emulsion. The emulsion provides an intermediate conductive surface layer between the highly conductive ocean itself and the very low, ‘radar transparent’ sheen layers, resulting in a further reduction in the radar returns for areas with thicker oil within an inhomogeneous oil slick. The challenges are to quantify the thickness and conditions for which this thicker layer becomes separable from the thinner oil, determine whether multiple thicker components can be identified, identify which airborne and spaceborne SAR systems can be used for this purpose, and determine under what range of environmental conditions, particularly wind speed, it is possible.

We are planning to hold field campaigns with in situ measurements and SAR and multispectral remote sensor data collections from drones, aircraft, and satellites. The field measurements include surface collections of oil, underwater spectrophotometry, and drone-based infrared, ultraviolet, and optical collections.  Coincident with the field measurements, the airborne L-band NASA-UAVSAR SAR system will image the seep fields to track temporal changes and overpassing satellite acquisitions will be acquired. UAVSAR provides fine resolution, low noise radar imagery under all weather and solar conditions and is fully polarimetric, which enables evaluation of multiple methods to characterize the oil slick. The system noise floor of this instrument, considerably less than all satellite SAR instruments, enables a detailed examination of the zones of reduced backscatter caused by varying oil thickness levels. The primary satellite SAR will be C-band Sentinel-1, accompanied potentially by C-band Radarsat-2 and L-band ALOS-2. Both the UAVSAR and satellite SAR analysis will utilize the contrast ratio, defined as the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) in open water divided by the NRCS in oil-covered water. The larger the ratio, the thicker the oil. The operational algorithm for oil thickness is under development using satellite SAR data and will be staged in NOAA’s SAR Ocean Product System (SAROPS) that currently produces SAR-derived wind speed and oil spill extent operationally, with the latter using the Texture-Classifying Neural Network (TCNNA) to automatically delineate oil versus non-oil covered areas. We are planning field campaigns at the natural oil seep area offshore of Santa Barbara, California, in March 2021 and during the 2022 Norwegian Clean Sea Association for Operating Companies’ (NOFO’s) coordinated releases of oil in the North Sea. Recent field collections and analysis will be shown, as available.


Text detection in complex scenes is very hard realize by the diversification of text distribution, direction, and typesetting. This paper proposes one scene text detection method with end-to-end structure with parallel backbone network and region segmentation. With multiple deformable convolutions and extracting features of multi-dimensional text regions, multiple candidate regions of different sizes are generated and corresponding states are further given. Experiments show that compared with baseline, this method can further adapt to the problem that the different shapes and angles of the target in the image lead to the decrease of accuracy.


Persistent and widespread psychological attitudes distort both the subjective probability of future economic events and their retrospective interpretation. It could lead to a systematic gap between (over critic) judgments and (over confident) expectations - the "survey forecast error". When it goes bad, then, psychology suggests that people could tend to become particularly optimistic towards future evolutions. It could amplify the survey forecast error. These psychological biases are in sharp contrast with the maintained rational expectations hypothesis (REH) of most macro models. Evidence from European consumer surveys supports the psychological standpoint.


(1) in a nutshell a. why is there extrasyllabicity in phonological theory? Two and only two reasons: 1. reason 1: enforced underparsing, too many consonants at word edges, syllabification algorithms break down. 2. reason 2: deliberate underparsing in case word-final consonants do not behave as Codas [interestingly, no parallel for word-initial consonants]. b. overgeneration: reason 1 sets up a mechanism that makes a wrong prediction: there could be sequences of any number of extrasyllabic consonants, i.e. #tplfkbrmkV… where #tplfkbrm is an extrasyllabic string. Needless to say, such a situation is not found in natural language. In actual fact, there does not seem to be a language where more than one consonant at a time is extrasyllabic. ==> case study of a language with a wild reputation: Polish. c. reason 2 is theory-dependent: what could a word-final consonant be if it is not a Coda? There is another candidate constituent that accommodates consonants: the Onset. However, classical syllabic theories based on Kahnian syllabification algorithms cannot even imagine that word-final consonants are Onsets, so by default they must stand astray. Government Phonology can imagine that they are Onsets, it actually claims that ALL word-final consonants are Onsets. d. on the other hand, there are two reasons why there can be no extrasyllabicity in Government Phonology: 1. strings are fully syllabified in the lexicon; there is no syllabification algorithm. 2. resyllabification is outlawed, hence nothing can stand astray at some derivational stage and "later" be readjoined to some constituent. e. undergeneration: however, Standard Government Phonology (Kaye et al. 1990, Kaye 1990) has a serious problem of empirical coverage: it is unable to accommodate both situations where word-final consonants show paired vs. impaired behaviour in regard of word-internal Codas. A wrong prediction is made to the effect that word-final consonants NEVER behave like word-internal Codas. f. purpose of this talk: to show that both the classical extrasyllabic solution and the undergenerating position of Standard Government Phonology fail for the same reason: they try to cover the parameter "word-final consonants show paired vs. impaired behaviour in regard of internal Codas" by contrasting arboreal structures: Coda vs. Onset vs. extrasyllabic. Standard Government Phonology undergenerates because syllable structure cannot be parameterised. g. CVCV (Lowenstamm 1996) dispenses with syllabic arborescence altogether. Syllable-based processes are the result contrasting lateral relations that hold among segments. Syllabic arborescence cannot be parameterised, lateral relations can. h. CVCV offers an account for the "extrasyllabicity" that does not suffer from either the classical overgeneration nor the Standard Government Phonology undergeneration.


With all data updated, the 10th edition features the complete updating of all of the economic data in the text that loyal adopters have come to depend on and expect.


Traditionally, researchers have analyzed mixed factorial designs by dichotomizing the continuous variable and performing a factorial analysis of variance. Several problems surround the use of this approach, prompting many statisticians to recommend using moderated multiple regression as an alternative. This article presents the case for moderated multiple regression and provides on overview of the procedure.


Abstract : This report describes the results of work into the integration of structured and formal methods, in particular, data flow diagrams and Z. Data flow diagrams are given a formal, mathematical basis by defining rules to translate these diagrams into Z. Rules are also given for generating a data flow diagram from a Z specification, and for checking the compatibility of a data flow diagram and a Z specification.


m i ch a e l a b r o w n · c o n s t r u c t i o n m a n a g e m e n t : t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t , c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d ... · pp 457 460 INTRODUCTION Denotation of the meaning given to words can be precise, but more often we interpret words to suit our own purposes, and the connotation given to words will suit our environment, geography and culture. Take 'engineering' for example; 'the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures'. Or is 'engineering' about 'ingenuity'. The Latin route of engineer is ingeniare, much closer in derivation to ingenuity. However, we have interpreted the word engine to be a physical thing, and so the public interpretation of 'engineer' can be as much about someone who fixes washing machines or cars, as it might be for a highly qualified professional engineer. The traditional German qualification of Diplom-Ingenieur leans directly toward 'ingenuity'. Similarly with Architecture. The practice of architecture has become primarily about the planning and design of buildings, including the use of space and their appearance; meeting the clients requirements; and assessment of design quality. The derivation of the word 'architecture' goes back to the Greek, 'arkhitekton', meaning 'chief builder', primarily a mason or carpenter. Yet the modern day skills of 'building or construction', such as project management, cost and value engineering, and management of time, human resource and equipment management, and the knowledge and practice of creating on site a healthy and safe workplace may not be skills directly attributed to the 21st century architect. Today the public and even informed clients may be confused about the skills and competences of otherwise recognised professionals, with questionsConstruction Management: The management of the development, conservation and improvement of the built environment


Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a complex form of interstitial lung disease (ILD) characterized by immunemediated inflammation following an inciting antigen exposure in a susceptible individual. Chronic exposure leads to progression of inflammation with evolution of fibrotic response in the lung and progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF). Knowledge of key features of disease presentation is critical in distinguishing HP from other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, allowing for subsequent appropriate interventions including exposure avoidance and treatment. Recently, two anticipated guidelines have emerged, one published by the American Thoracic Society/Japanese Respiratory Society/Asociaci on Latinoamericana de T orax (ATS/JRS/ALAT) and the second by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), establishing standardized diagnostic approaches to HP. These guidelines provide similar diagnostic algorithms, in addition to establishing clinical, radiographic and histopathologic features of two clinical phenotypes known as fibrotic and nonfibrotic HP, with separate recommendations for each. Both guidelines emphasize the importance of classification of diagnosis of fibrotic HP (fHP) or nonfibrotic HP (nfHP), the distinction of which is made by the presence or absence of radiographic or histopathologic fibrosis. Prior time-based classification (acute, subacute, chronic) was deemed inferior by both working groups due to unreliable association with clinical outcomes. The new approach was adapted to objectively define disease presentation and to allow for more consistent association with disease prognostication, as well as to better inform treatment decisions. Diagnosis of HP is often challenging given the heterogeneity in clinical presentation, in addition to overlap with other non-fibrotic and fibrotic ILDs. Establishing a clinical profile may help inform pre-test probability when distinguishing between fibrotic ILDs, though an indeterminate clinical profile with overlapping features that may be compatible with both idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and fHP (such as male >60 years of age, former smoker with a possible exposure) can make distinction difficult. As a result, misdiagnosis is not infrequent, as a proportion of patients labelled as having IPF are often found to have fHP on explant studies or case re-evaluation. Furthermore, a causative antigen exposure is not identified in up to 60% of patients with HP, despite thorough evaluation. Nonetheless, the index of suspicion for HP must remain high in a clinician's mind during evaluation of ILD, and an integrated approach implementing multidisciplinary discussion is particularly important in cases with clinical overlap. The diagnosis of HP requires an integrative approach with collaboration among expert pulmonologists, radiologists and pathologists in order to optimize diagnostic accuracy (Figure 1A). Both guidelines highlight the importance of three primary clinical domains including (1) exposure identification, (2) high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) imaging and (3) BAL lymphocytosis. The need for histopathology should be limited to patients in whom the confidence of the clinical diagnosis of HP is low and in whom risks for obtaining surgical lung biopsy are low. Antigen identification can be investigated initially through a comprehensive patient history. Regrettably, there is no validated recommended questionnaire available to date, and as a result, the clinician must approach patients with a detailed environmental exposure history with awareness of usual and unusual HP inducers. Serum-specific IgG testing detects immunologic sensitization without establishing causality, though can be helpful in generating supportive data in cases with some diagnostic uncertainty. Exposure tests such as the specific inhalation challenge can only be performed at centres with the appropriate expertise and have limited widespread implementation. The importance of recognizing the distribution and patterns of HRCT chest imaging is emphasized in both guidelines. These are categorized as 'typical' or 'compatible with HP', for both nonfibrotic and fHP and include 'indeterminate for HP' for fHP. The indeterminate category is used when any pattern of pulmonary fibrosis is present without specific features of HP. The distinction between fibrotic and nfHP has clinical significance, as there is clear demonstration that the presence of radiographic or histopathological fibrosis are associated with worse outcomes. While the specific radiographic features of the 'typical' nfHP and fHP patterns are described in the guidelines and have an upper lobe predominance, the three-density pattern is highly specific for fHP. This pattern is a combination of three attenuations on inspiratory CT images: normal appearing lung, high attenuation (GGO) corresponding to infiltrative disorder and regions of decreased attenuation related to the obstructive abnormality seen in small airway disease (Figure 1B). BAL lymphocytosis raises the probability of HP, with thresholds of 30% or greater demonstrating a high specificity for fHP. This can help to distinguish fHP from other forms Received: 10 April 2023 Accepted: 20 April 2023


To solve the problem of peak deviation estimate in the parameter estimation of Linear Frequency Modulated(LFM) signal based on the Fractional Fourier Transform(FrFT) with the method of two-dimensional searchr,an algorithm is proposed to approximate the projection of discrete FrFT modular detector with various orders by using moving least-squares(MLS) curve fitting method and precisely estimate the value of curve peak.Using this method,the complex two-dimensional peak searching can be simplified to a problem of one-dimensional curve fitting.Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that it can retain the high estimation accuracy and also greatly reduce the computational complexity at the same time.Moreover,it is verified that it is possible to make real-time detection for the LFM signal based on FrFT.


The invention discloses a multimedia interaction system and a related device and a method capable of filtering interaction commands. The multimedia interaction system includes a plurality of electronic devices, a plurality of displays and a location detection circuit. The location detection circuit is configured to dynamically detect respective electronic device's spatial position and orientation and to transmit detection results to at least one of the electronic devices. When an user instructs a source electronic device of the electronic devices to transmit a target image object toward a target direct, the forwarding electronic device transmits a target command corresponding to the target image object to a candidate electronic device of the member electronic devices to perform corresponding multimedia interaction operations only if a relative position between the candidate electronic and the target direct satisfies a predetermined condition. Thus a multimedia interaction result being inconsistent with user experience or unexpected and generated from the source electronic device of multimedia interaction instruction and other electronic devices can be effectively reduced.


Grid inverters are the essential interfaces between decentralized renewable energy resources(DRERs) and utilities.As the penetration of DRERs increasing,grid-connected inverters have more and more significance in the view point of utilities.To effectively connect DRERs into utilities and validly reduce the influence of DRERs for utilities,some grid-connected inverters with advanced configurations,topologies,and functionalities are emergently expected.In this paper,a comprehensive review on the advanced grid-connected inverter was embodied.Several configurations of flexibly and effectively advanced grid-connected inverters were indicated.Furthermore,many advanced functionalities of grid-connected inverters for DRERs applications were demonstrated,such as virtual synchronous generators,power quality enhancement,power system impedance detection,and impedance control.Besides,some algorithms for synchronization and current tracking of grid-connected inverters were introduced,some detailed comparisons,analysis,and discussions were also available.Finally,a suitable framework on the grid-connected inverter for DRERs applications was presented.


Background Preterm birth is the main cause of child death under 5years
of age.The incidence of twin pregnancies is less than 2%, but the
incidence of preterm delivery is 50% and the risk of neonatal death is
5 times higher in twin pregnancies than in singleton
pregnancies.However,there is still no consensus on the effect of
cervical pessary on preventing preterm delivery, prolonging the
pregnancy cycle, and improving maternal and infant outcomes in patients
with twin pregnancies. Objectives To explore the effect of cervical
pessary on the pregnancy outcome of unselected twin pregnancy patients.
Search Strategy Up to July 2021,researchers searched PubMed, EMBASE,
COCHRANE, Web of Science, Wanfang, Weipu, and CNKI databases for
research. Selection Criteria Randomized controlled trials that compared
cervical pessary with standard care (no pessary) or alternative
interventions(conventional and standard treatment (e.g.Atoxiban therapy)
or vaginal progesterone) in patients with twin pregnancies. Data
Collection and Analysis Two authors(W-Y and M-D)independently
extracted information related to the study characteristics and test
results from each of the included literature, and used Revman 5.3 to
analyze the data. Conclusion The cervical pessary can extend the
gestational week of short-cervix twin pregnancy without clinical
symptoms, reduce the premature birth rate before 34 weeks of gestation,
improve pregnancy outcome, reduce neonatal mortality, reduce necrotizing
enterocolitis incidence, neonatal sepsis incidence, and improve neonatal
outcome.


The paper discusses the question of the constitutive relationship between social class and social movement. Instead of accepting a social movement as the result of one social class, it is argued that a social class is also made of collective actions namely social movement. This implies that the social class cannot be treated as an independent variable, claiming an objective status. This is considered to be a form of reifying the notion of class. Against this, it is argued that class is the product of a collective action which can be analyzed regarding its social composition, its organizing social networks and its cultural framing. Such a framework of class analysis is then applied to a middle class approach that has proved to be particularly suitable. Instead of repeating old claims of a non-homogeneous middle class, which reduces a class of people to a mass of people, it is shown how this class constitutes itself in a continuous action and mobilization process, as a social class with distinctive boundaries, networks and cultural orientations. In this sense, class matters, and class analysis can still be seen as a central tool for understanding macrosociological phenomena.