Implementing linear appraisal systems (LAS) may reduce time, personnel and resource costs when performing large-scale zoometric collection. However, optimizing complex zoometric variable panels and validating the resulting reduced outputs may still be necessary. The ack of cross-validation may result in the loss of accuracy and value of the practices implemented. Special attention should be paid when zoometric panels are connected to economically-relevant traits such as dairy performance. This methodological proposal aims to optimize and validate LAS in opposition to the traditional measuring protocols routinely implemented in Murciano-Granadina goats. The sample comprises 41,323 LAS and traditional measuring records from 22,727 herdbook-registered primipara does, 17,111 multipara does and 1485 bucks. Each record includes information on 17 linear traits for primipara/multipara does and 10 traits for bucks. All zoometric parameters are scored on a nine-point scale. Cronbach's alpha values suggest a high internal consistency of the optimized variable panels. Model fit, variability explanation power and predictive power (mean square error (MSE), Akaike (AIC)/corrected Akaike (AICc) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC), respectively) suggest the model comprising zoometric LAS scores performs better than traditional zoometry. Optimized reduced models are able to capture variability for dairy-related zoometric traits without noticeable detrimental effects on model validity properties.


The utility model provides an intelligence shoes suitable for blind person, including the sole with set up the shoes body on the sole, wherein the sole at least some be provided with a plurality of pressure sensor, be used for working as the sole receives the extrusion when contacting with bellied ground and produces the forced induction signal, just the intelligence shoes still include: memory chip for when the prestore sole is stepped on on the sidewalk for visually impaired people pressure sensor receives the signal characteristics of the produced forced induction signal of extrusion, respectively with pressure sensor with the data processing chip that the memory chip electricity is connected is used for the follow pressure sensor locates to receive the signal characteristics and the prestore of forced induction signal signal characteristics compares, when judging not to at once, confirms that the sole is skew sidewalk for visually impaired people to send standby signal. The utility model discloses a sole sets up a plurality of pressure sensor to step on the signal characteristics on the sidewalk for visually impaired people through the memory chip prestore sole, whether the sole of appraising out that can be accurate is being in the sidewalk for visually impaired people.


In this paper, we present a novel transistor layout of multi pillar-type vertical body-channel (BC) MOSFET for cascode power switches for improving the efficiency and compactness of CMOS DC–DC converters. The proposed layout features a stacked and multifingered layout to suppress the loss due to parasitic components such as diffusion resistance and contact resistance. In addition, the loss of each MOSFET, which configures cascode power switches, is analyzed, and it is revealed that the total optimum gate width and loss with the high-side (HS) n-type MOSFET topology are 27 and 16% smaller than those with the HS p-type MOSFET topology, respectively. Moreover, a circuit simulation of 2.0 to 0.8 V, 100 MHz CMOS DC–DC converters with the proposed layout is carried out by using experimentally extracted models of BSIM4 60 nm vertical BC MOSFETs. The peak efficiency of the HS n-type MOSFET converter with the proposed layout is 90.1%, which is 6.0% higher than that with the conventional layout.


This paper discusses a major construction project at St. Louis-Lambert International Airport where a new parallel runway with two taxiways was constructed as part of the airport expansion. The paper focuses on the geotechnical aspects of the project, which included time issues (construction expedients), use of chemical additives, slope stability, settlement, and subgrade stabilization. One of the unique challenges of the project was that cuts and fills of up to 30 meters were made as a part of the grading for the runway platform and involved moving approximately 12 million cubic meters of soil. In addition, the cut was almost entirely below the groundwater table. This project also involved construction of the first highway tunnel in the state of Missouri.


Switched reluctance motor was designed with the method of magnetic field and magnetic circuit for tower-frame pumping unit,considering the situation of oilfield pumping unit application.Analyzed the speed-adjusting performance and validate that the design method is useful.Finally,the parameter of practical energy saving and the amount of energy saving were calculated,which can prove that the switched reluctance motor can improve the in-tegrated power saving amount,and can be used for the "energy saving and power saving".


Abstract.  1. Secondary colonization of leaf shelters constructed by caterpillars has been reported from a number of systems. Both the mechanism (larval or adult movement vs. oviposition) and the cues used by arthropods in locating leaf shelters, however, have received little attention.


The study examined the effect the crisis in scholarly communication had on university libraries in South Africa. The crisis in scholarly communication or the 'serials' crisis as it is better known to librarians has affected many academic libraries worldwide. The monopoly commercial publishers have on the academic serial/journal market has resulted in high priced subscriptions and many libraries have simply cancelled subscriptions or limited the purchase of monographs (books) to pay for ongoing journal subscriptions. A study population consisting of 17 university libraries in South Africa was surveyed by means of an online questionnaire to establish how university libraries in South Africa were affected by the crisis in scholarly communication. The research questions underpinning the study examined the cause of the crisis together with its characteristics, the factors that influenced journal cancellations, the effects of open access on journal cancellations, institutional support for open access repositories and the funding of university library budgets. A total of 12 university libraries (representing 70.6%) responded. Telephonic interviews with the Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors or Deans of Research at selected universities were conducted to gather supplementary data as well as verifying some points that emanated from some of the responses to the questionnaire. Results were analysed in terms of frequency of responses and graphically displayed in the form of pie charts and tables. Interpretation of the results reveals South African university libraries, like most academic and research libraries world wide, have been adversely affected by the crisis in scholarly communication. On an annual basis university librarians are faced with hard choices in terms of deciding which journals to cancel. In terms of South Africa, open access initiatives are in the early stages of development and as university librarians have not embraced such initiatives, the benefits are not being realised. Thus university libraries in South Africa are dependent on paid-for journal subscriptions. Maintaining


Abstract: This research compares the mean severity level, length of stay, and cost of Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) and Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) inpatients. The results suggest Medicare HMOs have healthier inpatients and shorter lengths of stay, but more costly per-day utilization. These findings are contrary to the assumption that HMOs reduce daily utilization.


The short‐term response of redlegged earth mite, Halotydeus destructor (Tucker) (Acarina: Penthaleidae) to cotyledons of different varieties of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum subsp. subterraneum L.) was assessed by means of paired choice tests, and no‐choice tests. H. destructor had lower numbers and fed less on detached cotyledons of resistant than susceptible varieties, yielding a correlation between the numbers of mites and feeding damage to the cotyledons during a three hour test period. For a number of resistant and susceptible varieties, there was a negative correlation between cotyledon deterrence in the three hour choice test and feeding damage to seedlings after a two week period. Since the response of the mites to different subclover varieties occurred within three hours, it is concluded that the resistance is based on antixenosis.


Summary Strong seismic reflection often represents the oil and gas reservoir, or lithology change, or the tuning caused by thick layer, and weak reflection indicates that the reservoir is not developing. In the process of oil and gas exploration and development, it is very important to accurately and effectively identify the good reservoir. In this paper, in order to identify the good reservoir in the target zone, a new method combination based on AFFA and LFCA is proposed. Firstly, using the advantage feature fusion attribute (AFFA) analysis, the effect of thin layer tuning was reduced. Then the novel low frequency constraint amplitude (LFCA) analysis, the effect of thick layer tuning was reduced. Finally, we can get the reservoir thickness accurately, reducing the response is caused by thin or thick layer tuning as much as possible. The reservoir thickness and distribution predicted by improved AFFA and LFCA analysis before drilling is agree well with the actual drilling result, thereby the distribution range of good reservoir is delineated accurately and effectively, which provides good data support for well optimization. The actual application effect in Bohai oilfield shows that the proposed method is feasible and effective, which has a certain industrial application value.


The effect of submarine carbon dioxide (CO2) vents on seawater carbonate chemistry have been determined using hydrographical and marine carbonate data obtained from two submarine hydrothermal vent fields, as well as a reference station, all near the Jan Mayen Island in the Norwegian‐Greenland Sea. We have shown that one can successfully determine the excess carbon that enters the seawater from the vents by applying a modified version of a back‐calculation technique, which is traditionally used to study the invasion of excess atmospheric CO2 in the surface ocean. As a result of this excess carbon, total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) in the seawater surrounding the vents was on average 12 μmol kg−1 (1‐30 μmol kg−1) higher compared to samples obtained from a reference station outside the venting areas. The observed excess CT was most significant between 100 m and 200 m but was noticeable in all depths with the exception of the upper 10‐20 m. The absence of a venting CO2 signal in the surface water and the realism of the results are discussed. We believe the present method is promising for monitoring (detection and quantification) of CO2 leakage into the water column due to its high sensitivity and readiness for automation.


Ordered ultrathin tungsten oxide films were prepared on a Pt(111) substrate at 700 K via direct sublimation of monodispersed cyclic (WO3)3 trimers. The surface composition, structure, and morphology were determined using a combination of atomically resolved imaging, ensemble-averaged surface-sensitive spectroscopies, and DFT. We find that half of the (WO3)3 tungsten atoms in the first layer get partially reduced to the (5+) oxidation state. The opening of the (WO3)3 ring leads to the formation of a tungsten oxide layer with a zigzag chain structure with a c(4 × 2) periodicity. In the second layer, the (WO3)3 clusters remain intact and form an ordered (3 × 3) array of molecularly bound (WO3)3. DFT calculations provide a detailed understanding of the structure, oxidation states, and the vibrational frequencies for both the c(4 × 2) and (3 × 3) overlayers.


Energy efficiency is very important to modern vehicles. The new vehicle which alter internal combustion vehicle such as Hybrid, electric vehicle and fuel cell consider about efficiency significantly. In electric vehicle spin loss is important to increase power efficiency and battery life. To reduce Spin loss there are many factor to control and design. One of the method to decrease the loss is to balance the oil level in the gear box. In this study, using common theoretical formula and some estimation to calculate spin loss for electric vehicle drive system. Some specific level can be achieved to meet more efficient on this drive system. For the accurate result, this method will be upgraded and complicated in further study.


Based on a new reflection about the role of enterprises in current society, new organizational models seek to produce articulations capable of creating a bond between profit and socio-environmental interest. As an attempt to address the plurality of concepts and organizational formats to describe this new type of organization, the term "hybrid organizations" has been picking up as a broader concept in the academic setting. Hybrid organizations combine, in a challenging and unprecedented manner, different institutional logics, and social enterprises become emblematic examples by combining social welfare and market logic. Many authors also cite the B Corp Movement, originated in the United States, as one of the main examples and forerunners of the concept of hybrid organizations. It then becomes a rich object of study especially because they seek to differ from approaches of sustainability and corporate responsibility, standing up for redefining the notion of the success in business, also claiming to be a new type of organizational form. But, although it has got more and more attention in the academic and practitioner set, it is still new and there is room to investigate its meanings. The certification is not, admittedly, a classification for social enterprises, although the whole logic of its communication and positioning is linked to similar ideas. Therefore, understanding the whole picture of B Corps by studying the enterprises that join this initiative is the main contribution of this descriptive-exploratory and qualitative study that aims to better understand the B Corp Movement according to the concept of hybrid organizations and also exploring the perspective of an emerging country in Latin America. The study is based on secondary data about how certified enterprises present themselves in their profiles on the B Corp community, analyzing 45 Brazilian examples considering the hybrid spectrum proposed by Alter (2007). The results of this research suggest the heterogeneity of certified companies is one of the main characteristics of the movement, indicating a larger scope on organizational hybridity levels, not exactly an ideal type. The certification can be perceived as an evolution of social and environmental accountability mechanisms, placing more emphasis in the way businesses are conducted, but not necessarily their core business, main-activities or social mission as a guide for business models. By providing a panoramic and analytical overview of the movement, this study serves as a starting point for future researches related to the subject and for the development of the concept of hybrid organizations.


Introduction. Controlled polymerization routes permit the synthesis of well-defined macromolecules with controlled chemical composition, predictable molecular weight, and narrow molecular weight distribution.1 The ability to control polymer architecture is essential in advanced technological applications where well-defined macromolecular architectures are required. Control of chain-growth polymer architecture has been traditionally achieved using living anionic,2,3 cationic,4 or grouptransfer5 polymerization procedures. Synthetic methodologies for controlled polymerization have been expanded with recent developments in both stable free radical polymerization (SFRP)6 and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP).7 On the basis of the earlier work of Rizzardo et al.8 in nitroxide-mediated stable free radical polymerization, Georges et al.9 first reported the preparation of polystyrene with low polydispersity using bulk free radical polymerization of styrene initiated by a conventional free radical initiator, benzoyl peroxide (BPO), in the presence of the stable nitroxide free radical, 2,2,6,6tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) at 125 °C. The SFRP process involves a desirable equilibrium between nitroxide-capped polymer chains and uncapped polymer radicals. The uncapped polymer radicals are then able to chain extend via styrene monomer addition (Scheme 1). The success of this method arises from the unique feature that the nitroxide radicals will react with carbon radicals at near diffusion-controlled rates but will not react with other oxygen-centered radicals or initiate additional polymer chains. An indication of the controlled nature of the SFRP of styrene is typically accomplished by the demonstration of a linear increase in molecular weight with conversion.9,10 Kinetic information is commonly obtained by withdrawing samples and analyzing for residual monomer with gravimetric and chromatographic methods.11 In addition, more sophisticated analytical methods have recently been applied to study SFRP kinetics. For example, Georges et al. have utilized in-situ ESR spectroscopy to study the SFRP process,11-15 and Hawker et al. have recently applied 1H NMR to evaluate initiator efficiency for SFRP processes using deuterated styrene.16 In-situ mid-infrared spectroscopy is a state-of-the-art, real-time, monitoring technique that is well-suited to obtain real-time structural and kinetic information on controlled polymerization processes such as SFRP.17 In addition, reactions are analyzed without complicated reactor modifications or expensive deuterated monomers. Previously, Long et al.18 have utilized in-situ nearinfrared (NIR) (10 000-4000 cm -1) spectroscopy using fiber-optic probe technology to obtain solution polymerization kinetics of living anionic processes. More recently, Puskas et al.19,20 and Storey et al.21 have reported the application of in-situ mid-infrared (4000650 cm-1) spectroscopy to monitor living cationic polymerization processes. In addition, Bradley and Long recently applied in-situ mid-infrared spectroscopy to study melt-phase acidolysis and ester-exchange polymerization mechanisms.22 These previous efforts have demonstrated the versatility of in-situ infrared spectroscopy, and we report herein the application of this instrumentation to monitor the stable free radical polymerization of styrene. Results and Discussion. In-situ mid-infrared spectroscopy was utilized to monitor the bulk SFRP reaction of styrene (Aldrich, vacuum-distilled from calcium hydride) initiated by BPO (Aldrich, used as received) in the presence of TEMPO (Aldrich, used as received). A ReactIR 1000 (ASI Applied Systems) reaction analysis system equipped with a light conduit and DiComp (diamond composite) insertion probe was used to collect mid-FTIR spectra of the polymerization reaction. The details and capabilities of the ReactIR 1000 based on attenuated total reflectance (ATR) have been described in detail previously.21 An example procedure for the polymerization at 132 °C is as follows. The reaction was carried out in a 100 mL, round-bottomed, two-necked flask that was fitted with the DiComp probe. To the flask was added a magnetic stir bar, 35 mL of styrene (350 mmol), and 0.368 g of TEMPO (2.36 mmol). Although a magnetic stir bar did not provide adequate agitation at higher conversions due to the extremely high bulk viscosity, it facilitated the intimate contact of the reaction mixture with the probe tip and reduced the likelihood of spurious oxygen ingress. The flask was sealed under nitrogen with a rubber septum, and a thermocouple was inserted through the septum to simultaneously monitor the temperature of the reaction mixture. The ReactIR 1000 was programmed to collect spectra every minute for the first 90 min and then every 5 min for the remaining 24 h. An oil bath at 142 °C was raised to the reaction flask, and IR data acquisition was initiated. After several minutes the temperature of the styrene/TEMPO solution in the reaction flask stabilized at 132 °C. (The large temperature difference between the oil bath and reaction mixture is speculated to be due to the heat loss due to the stainless steel DiComp probe.) Infrared analysis indicated that the styrene/ TEMPO solution was stable in the absence of benzoyl peroxide, and appreciable thermal polymerization was not observed during this short period. After the temperature of the reaction stabilized at 132 °C, a solution of 0.440 g of BPO (1.818 mmol) dissolved in 5 mL of styrene was added via syringe. After 14 h the viscosity of the reaction increased dramatically, and stirring Scheme 1 7954 Macromolecules 1999, 32, 7954-7957


Apart from the measurement of blood pressure, dipstick analysis of urine for protein is the most commonly performed antenatal screening test. The presence of proteinuria is seen as a possible indication of many complications in pregnancy, from urinary tract infection to chronic renal disease and it remains central to the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in a hypertensive pregnancy. It has both diagnostic and prognostic implications when it is found though the optimal methods for detection and quantification in primary and secondary care remain controversial.


Designing a mixed-signal integrated hardware requires the mixed simulation for legacy digital blocks and analog circuits, which are usually represented by the Verilog description language for digital blocks and the SPICE circuit netlist of analog circuits. Without model translations or source-level modifications and to simulate mixed legacy Verilog models and SPICE circuit netlists that are usually developed based on the different SPICE languages, parameters and primitives, this paper proposes a simulation framework whose concept is connecting a legacy Verilog and proper SPICE simulator for the target SPICE model using a run-time infrastructure (RTI) based on high level architecture (HLA) and adapters that are pluggable libraries to enable the interoperation and integration of simulators through HLA. For the interoperation, to exchange analog/digital signals, the adapter converts analog/digital signals to events or events to analog/digital signals using user-defined, signal-event converters. To synchronize different time advance policies, the adapter performs time synchronization procedures based on the pre-simulation concept. For the integration of Verilog/SPICE simulators and the RTI, adapters are developed following each component interface, which are IEEE-std Verilog procedural interface, proposed SPICE procedural interface and IEEE-std HLA interface. The proposed framework was applied to the digitally controlled buck converter simulation.


In this paper we construct non-topological multivortex solutions to the non-relativistic self-dual Maxwell–Chern–Simons–Higgs system in R2 which make the energy functional finite. Moreover, our proof of the existence of solutions reveals precise asymptotic behavior of solutions near spatial infinity. Using exactly the same method, we also establish the existence of non-topological multivortex solutions to the relativistic self-dual Maxwell–Chern–Simons–Higgs system.


This paper examines the effects of estate tax repeal on charitable giving. Using data from a variety of sources, we conclude that outright repeal would reduce giving at death by about $5 billion per year, and giving during life by a similar amount. The resulting decline in giving, $10 billion per year, represents about 5 percent of total giving and is roughly equivalent to annual grant-making by the 110 largest foundations.


Objective:To observe the therapeutic efficacy of astragalus polysaccharide(APS)in combination with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy(3D-CRT)for elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:A total of 80 elderly patients with Ⅰ~Ⅳ stage NSCLC were randomly divided into two groups.The 40 patients in the therapeutic group received radiotherapy in combination with APS.The 40 patients in the control group received radiotherapy alone.Both groups received 3D-CRT with a total dose of 50~70Gy, 2.0Gy/fraction,once a day,5 times per week.The patients in the therapeutic group were treated with radiotherapy combined with injection of APS(250mg in 5% glucose)or normal saline(500 mL)intravenously once a day until the end of radiotherapy.The short-term efficacy and patients'quality of life were evaluated. The T-lymphocyte subpopulation and peripheral blood leukocyte count were also measured after treatment. Results:The short-term effective rates of the therapeutic group and the control group were 87.5% and 72.5%, respectively,without significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).The decrease of peripheral blood leukocyte count after treatment in the control group was significant(P0.05).In the therapeutic group,the T-lymphocyte subsets CD8 and CD4/CD8 were improved after treatment,with a significant difference(P 0.05).But in the control group,no significant changes in T-lymphocyte subsets CD8 and CD4/CD8 were observed after treatment(P0.05).Patients' quality of life in the therapeutic group was superior to that in the control group,with a significant difference(P0.05).Conclusion:APS in combination with 3D-CRT can reduce the side effects of radiation and improve the quality of life of elderly patients with NSCLC.


One characteristic that distinguished one Chinese region from another from the Sung period onward was the prevalence or otherwise of large extended families or lineages. In some areas such as Kwangtung and Fukien the development of large extended families became common while in most parts of North China it did not 1). Perhaps the area where the development of lineages is best documented as shown by its high number of genealogies, is the prefecture of Hui-chou * hij (also known as Hsin-an V ), located in the southeast corner of present-day Anhui province 2). Not only does


We study possible quantum ground states of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the star lattice, which may be realized in the recently discovered polymeric iron acetate, ${\text{Fe}}_{3}({\ensuremath{\mu}}_{3}\text{-O}){(\ensuremath{\mu}\text{-OAc})}_{6}{({\text{H}}_{2}\text{O})}_{3}{[{\text{Fe}}_{3}({\ensuremath{\mu}}_{3}\text{-O}){(\ensuremath{\mu}\text{-OAc})}_{7.5}]}_{2}\ensuremath{\cdot}7{\text{H}}_{2}\text{O}$ [Y. Z. Zheng et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 46, 6076 (2007)]. Even though the ${\text{Fe}}^{\text{III}}$ moment in this material carries spin-5/2 and the system eventually orders magnetically at low temperatures, the magnetic ordering temperature is much lower than the estimated Curie-Weiss temperature, revealing the frustrated nature of the spin interactions. Anticipating that a lower spin analog of this material may be synthesized in future, we investigate the effect of quantum fluctuations on the star-lattice antiferromagnet using a large-$N$ $\text{Sp}(N)$ mean field theory and a projective symmetry group analysis for possible bosonic quantum spin liquid phases. It is found that there exist only two distinct gapped ${Z}_{2}$ spin liquid phases with bosonic spinons for nonvanishing nearest-neighbor valence-bond amplitudes. In particular, the spin liquid phase which has a lower energy in the nearest-neighbor exchange model can be stabilized for relatively higher spin magnitudes. Hence, it is perhaps a better candidate for the realization of quantum spin liquid state. We also determine the magnetic ordering patterns resulting from the condensation of the bosonic spinons in the two different spin liquid phases. We expect these magnetic ordering patterns would directly be relevant for the low temperature ordered phase of the iron acetate. The phase diagram containing all of these phases and various dimerized states are obtained for the nearest-neighbor exchange model and its implications are discussed.


INTRODUCTION HISTORY SHOWS THAT the study of the lymphatic vessels began much later than that of the circulatory system. This is not surprising, as the lymphatic vessels are less conspicuous than blood vessels. It was Eustachius' who observed the thoracic duct in the horse in 1563. He called it 'vena alba thoracis' because of its milk-like contents. Asellius2 discovered the lymphatic vessels in the mesentery of the dog in 1627 and termed them 'venae lactae.' The great Danish anatomist Thomas Bartholinus3 wrote his Vasa Lymphatica in 1653. These discoveries were the result of the great renaissance of descriptive anatomy which took place in the 16th century as a result of dissection of the body. The repetitive indoctrination with Galen's anatomy was thereby replaced by distinct science.


Both B- and P- doped silicon films deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) at 300 °C (p-type) and 420 °C (n-type) have been characterized by optical absorption, Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy (PDS), resistivity, Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Convergent-Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED) and Raman spectroscopy measurements. P-doped films, deposited at large PH3 flux rates, show a high degree of microcrystallinity, indicating that P activates the nucleation process even at low temperatures. In this case, values of activation energy of resistivity as low as 0.007 eV were obtained. Both TEM and RAMAN results confirm a volume percentage of micro crystallinity above 30%. On the contrary, B-doped samples are not microcrystalline at least in the doping range investigated, and show a behaviour not different from samples deposited by PECVD.


Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder in which the oxygen‐carrying hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells is abnormal. SCD patients are at increased risks for strokes and neurocognitive deficit, even though neurovascular screening and treatments have lowered the rate of overt strokes. Tract‐specific analysis (TSA) is a statistical method to evaluate microstructural WM damage in neurodegenerative disorders, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).


This cohort study presents serological data with regard to 2 novel glial targets (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein and glial fibrillary acidic protein) in recurrent longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis.


Abstract:Using NELS data I examine parents' perceptions of paying for college before their students enter high school. Findings suggest that racial wealth disparities may help explain differences in parents' perceptions of paying. In addition, Hispanics and low-income families are less likely to have information about financial aid and more likely to report that their child will need to earn money for college. The results suggest that while availability of funds may most affect African Americans parents' perceptions of paying for college, lack of money and lack of information define the perceptions of Hispanic and low-income parents.


This article is written in two parts: Part 1 is a critique of Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion by social psychologist Paul Bloom, and Part 2 is a reading of three U.S. films, produced between 2009 and 2012, that allow me to illustrate what is wrong with Bloom's claim that we should endeavor to bypass empathy and cultivate more rationally effective forms of care. In Part 1, I introduce the project of both papers; however, my central aim is to mount several arguments against Bloom's position. I argue that empathy is hard wired and therefore it is impossible to bypass, that Bloom's own utilitarian ethics is significantly flawed, and that his central claim that empathy privileges those few we know best and who are closest to us is brought into question by the research that Bloom himself cites. However, the most important argument of Part 1—the argument that leads directly into my reading of filmic examples of empathy in Part 2—is that Bloom fails to understand how empathy is shaped by hegemonic ideological representations. This failure to consider in any meaningful way how culture and society shape affective response is a profound, but typical failure in the field of social psychology.


Extragonadal germ cell tumors are an uncommon clinical entity. Their prevalence varies between 1 and 5% of all germ cell tumors. Approximately 85–90% of cases have metastatic changes at the time of diagnosis. In our article we would like to present a case of an 18-year-old patient who was admitted to the hospital due to acute abdominal symptoms. A day earlier, the patient suffered blunt abdominal trauma during workout. Post-traumatic changes, which were described after admission in computed tomography, intraoperatively proved to be masses of extraperitoneal tumor.


Abstract : The Army must take steps today if it is to provide effective air and missile defenses against the threats that will emerge 20 years hence. Most analysts predict that the globalization of the economy means that existing and new technologies will become increasingly available worldwide and that many sophisticated weapons will be easier and cheaper to produce or acquire. But trends in the international political sphere are harder to identify. The international arena has seen such flux in the past two decades that it is difficult to predict what changes will occur in the next 20 to 25 years, but they could be substantial. RAND examined how a wide range of possible trends might shape the future world situation. Doing so, we believe, provides insight into how these trends and accompanying technological changes might influence the Army's plans to develop its air and missile defenses (AMD). We drew on previous RAND work that characterized six possible futures for 2025 to establish a context for Army AMD in the period. Representative scenarios for each of these futures provided a means for illustrating how differing geopolitical or strategic situations might influence air and missile defense requirements for the future. We used the six scenarios to identify potential AMD shortfalls or redundancies in various settings and, consequently, those areas where the Army might best focus its research and development (R&D) efforts.


Photoinjection efficiencies of holes from the carrier generation layer into the carrier transport layer (CTL) in double-layered organic photoconductors were measured using a photoacoustic technique. Photoinjection efficiencies were derived by measuring the decrease in photoacoustic signal when an electric field was applied to the samples. The injection efficiency depends on the concentration of transporting molecule doped in the polymer of the CTL. The injection efficiency is limited by the low ability to transport holes from the interface into the CTL.


Abstract Linguistic hesitant fuzzy sets (LHFSs) can effectively represent the qualitative and quantitative hesitant judgements of decision-makers. Several ranking methods have been proposed to demonstrate the application of LHFSs. However, none of them can rank LHFSs logically. Hence, this short communication first analyses the disadvantages of previous ranking methods in terms of theoretical and numerical aspects. A new ranking order is then proposed to address such shortcomings. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the specific application of the new method and compare it with previous ones.


Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) in a large number of fuel in its own energy density than natural gas(NG),coupled with the easy-to-liquid(0.5~1MPa can be liquefied),filling easy to carry,as well as the excellent performance and emissions Dynamic performance by more and more popular in recent years in the car was giving priority to the development.After working on LPG to do experimental research,arrived at a single fuel LPG is superior to gasoline/LPG fuel flexibility to the conclusion that the promotion of a single fuel LPG vehicle will help improve the comprehensive utilization of energy resources,the realization of engine power,economy,emissions Performance,such as integrated performance optimization.


Hypersonic hybrid hydrodynamic-molecular gas flow solvers are required to satisfy the two essential requirements of any high-speed reacting code, these being physical accuracy and computational efficiency. The James Weir Fluids Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde is currently developing an open-source hybrid code which will eventually reconcile the direct simulation Monte-Carlo method, making use of the OpenFOAM application called dsmcFoam, and the newly coded open-source two-temperature computational fluid dynamics solver named hy2Foam. In conjunction with employing the CVDV chemistry-vibration model in hy2Foam, novel use is made of the QK rates in a CFD solver. In this paper, further testing is performed, in particular with the CFD solver, to ensure its efficacy before considering more advanced test cases. The hy2Foam and dsmcFoam codes have shown to compare reasonably well, thus providing a useful basis for other codes to compare against.


In recent years historians of Byzantine art have come to recognize a distinctive stylistic development which took place in the Greek East in the last decades of the twelfth century. The style which emerged at that time is characterized by intense agitation, rapid movements, complicated patterns of undulating, swirling and cascading draperies, and dramatic use of highlights and shadows. It has the makings of a kind of Byzantine baroque and, indeed, has at times been referred to as such. But there is also a decidedly mannerist aspect to it-an excess of slenderness in human proportions, of twists and contortions in attitudes, and of vermicular forms in fold patterns. I prefer to call it the "dynamic"


Presentation will discuss the need for more efficient methods of moving goods and people in a city and urban setting with solutions being proposed. Also covered will be interconnectivity of ship, rail, and road from port to airport. The objective is to redesign present typical infrastructure in a cost effective manner that results in avoiding time wasting traffic congestion, with resulting cost to business and personal frustration. Sustainable living in an urban setting will be looked at, with emphasis on energy efficiency, natural healthy design of transportation integrated into urban living. The impact of job creation in the green transportation economy will be discussed and the impact that this will have in the Hamilton/Southern Ontario area will be considered. Transportation projects that are in discussion concept stage will be explored. The time frame for redevelopment proposals is in the near term of 5 to 10 years. Urban air quality improvements from transportation will be considered for city redevelopment. Peter K. O'Hagan was born and educated in Scotland, Graduated in Mechanical Engineering – Machine Designer. He came to Canada in the mid 1960s and has over 40 years experience in custom machinery design for manufacturing processes and production facilities from concept to fully operational status for projects in Canada, U.S.A. and the U.K. During this time he was granted patents for proprietary innovative designs. His work also included upgrading manufacturing facilities and machinery to increase productivity, reduce energy consumption, elimination of environmental risk, improved safety and improved profits. He is Former Director of both the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (A.I.S.T), Chair of A.I.S.T. Northern Chapter Product Fair/Trade Show, which is held in Hamilton, and Chair of the Transportation Light Rail Sub-Committee of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Peter brings a wealth of practical, industrial solution-based experience and innovative thought to proposed solutions for people/goods movement in an efficient, sustainable city


Since its debut in 2004, Ruby on Rails has speedily become one in all the foremost powerful and standard frameworks for building dynamic net applications. Most of the add scientific computing nowadays is finished in parallel algorithms, typically via message-passing architectures admire the message-passing interface (MPI). A new rising language referred to as Ruby that maintains a strict adherence to object homeward-bound principles and a clean, intuitive syntax. The author created MPI Ruby, an entire binding of MPI to Ruby. During this article, he introduces Ruby and MPI Ruby. Some applications and data on the project's current standing and its convenience are represented.


There is an increasing interest in haptic (sense of touch) interaction with computers. A new kind of haptic system has recently been developed at Carnegie Mellon University and commercialized by Butterfly Haptics. The system eliminates the bulky links, cables and general mechanical complexity of other haptic devices on the market today in favor of a single lightweight moving part that floats on magnetic fields.


The invention provides a sending process method and apparatus of service indication information, and a receiving processing method and apparatus of service indication information. The sending processing method applied to an access point (AP0 of a wireless local area network comprises the following steps: obtaining sending time information, for instructing a station to receive service indication information that is indicated by grouping indication information and corresponds to the station according to sending time indicated by the sending time information, of the grouping indication information; and informing the station instructed by the grouping indication information of sending time information. According to the technical scheme, technical problems that flexible configuration of service indication information sending does not exist and each wireless frame needs to be monitored and the like according to correlated techniques can be solved, thereby realizing flexible configuration of sending as well as rapid obtaining of service indication information like grouped user paging information.


This paper introduces the fractionally integrated Bi-parameter smooth transition autoregressive model (FI-BSTAR model) as an extension of BSTAR model proposed by Siliverstovs (2005) and the fractionally integrated STAR model (FI-STAR model) proposed by van Dijk et al. (2002). Our FI-BSTAR model is able to simultaneously describe persistence and asymmetric smooth structural change in time series. An empirical application using monthly growth rates of the American producer price index is provided.


At present,value chain management of agricultural products has become a new model for agriculture development,but,there are many risks in our country agricultural product value chain.So this article analyses the current main concrete risk about our country agricultural product value chain by profits from the mature theory of the value chain management and bring to bear theoretic analytical research method,so as to proposed the corresponding countermeasures as follows: first,cultivate leading en-terprise or the cooperative society in agricultural product value channel's to realizes the value chain synergy management;second,buildup agricultural product of area superiority value chain's consistency and the overall competitivity;third,construct the effective agricultural product market early warning mechanism to reduce the risk which are engendered by the market environment change;fourth,cultivate agricultural new variety which can adapt to warming climate condition in order to seek supply chain's sustain-ability.Finally,suggested that the formulation suits the agricultural product transaction the laws and regulations to multiplies a se-ries of risks by this stop agricultural product value chain source.


Abstract I give a simplified model of Boltanski & Thévenot's account of justice, which no doubt omits some important aspects of what they say. Using this model I explain how some properties of their account can be accounted for, and suggest that it is not clear that some others really are features of justice as described by them. My negative claims should not be taken as criticisms of their account, but rather as challenges to specify the features that are ignored by my simple model.


This paper presents a quantitative comparison of static analysis tools. First, we conduct a wide-ranging survey of static analysis tools and select several promising tools qualitatively. Second, we build test suites that contain a large variety of defects and evaluate the selected tools with them. Third, we derive several metrics for measuring tool performance and subsequently clarify the characteristics of the said tools by using them. Finally, we quantitatively identify the best tools from several different viewpoints.


PROCEDURE FOR THE PREPARATION OF EMULSIONS STABLE WATER-OIL FROM POLYMERISED hydrolysates N-vinylamides of formula (I), wherein R, R1 represent a C1-C6, by polymerizing compounds of formula (I), either alone or mixed with other monomers monoethylenically unsaturated FORM water-oil emulsions, PARADAR polymer emulsions WATER-OIL AND HYDROLYSIS BACK polymerized, WHICH IS MADE IN THE FORM OF eMULSION POLYMER WATER-OIL IN THE PRESENCE OF ACID OR BASES AND from 1 to 30% by weight, relative to polymerized, emulsifiers, such as those obtained by TRANSFORMATION OF (A) ALCOHOLIC FATTY C10-C22 with epichlorohydrin in a molar PORPORCION of 1: 0.5 to 1 1.5 TO GIVE glycidyl ethers. (B) by reacting glycidyl ethers (1) saturated alcohols C1-C6 containing from 2 to 6 OH OR GROUPS (2) monoethers WITH YOUR SPIRITS C10-C22 FATTY IN A molar ratio of ether glycidyl A (1) or (2) of 1: 0.5 to 6 in the presence of acid or base and (C) by alkoxylation PRODUCTS AS REACTION (B) with at least one alkylene oxide C2 to C4 IN A pROPORTION OF mOLAR 1: 1 to 6. emulsions POLYMERS THUS OBTAINED USED AS SUBSTANCES dehydrating, retention and flocculation papermaking AND PRODUCTS.


Empirical study on China's listed companies in 2006-2009 based on post non-tradable share era shows that the majority of them performed badly in the financial fulfillment with its variety of listed companies indicating different ultimate ownership nature.State-owned listed companies held by SASAC and private listed companies on the financial fulfillment performance are better than the other listed companies;equity structure affects listed company's financial fulfillment performance.


We consider secret sharing where a dealer wants to share a secret with several participants such that predefined subsets of participants can reconstruct the secret and all other subsets of participants cannot learn any information about the secret. To this end, the dealer and the participants have access to samples of correlated random variables and a one-way (from the dealer to the participants), authenticated, public, and rate-limited communication channel. For this problem, we propose the first constructive and low-complexity coding scheme able to handle arbitrary access structures. Our construction relies on a vector quantization coupled with distribution approximations with polar codes to handle the reliability constraints, followed by universal hashing to handle the security constraints. We stress that our coding scheme does not require symmetry or degradation assumptions on the correlated random variables, and does not need a pre-shared secret among the participants and dealer. Our result is also optimal in the special case of rate-unlimited public communication when all the participants are needed to reconstruct the secret.


The paper presents an evaluation of word embedding models in clustering of texts in the Polish language. Authors verified six different embedding models, starting from widely used word2vec, across fastText with character n-grams embedding, to deep learning-based ELMo and BERT. Moreover, four standardisation methods, three distance measures and four clustering methods were evaluated. The analysis was performed on two corpora of texts in Polish classified into subjects. The Adjusted Mutual Information (AMI) metric was used to verify the quality of clustering results. The performed experiments show that Skipgram models with n-grams character embedding, built on KGR10 corpus and provided by Clarin-PL, outperforms other publicly available models for Polish. Moreover, presented results suggest that Yeo–Johnson transformation for document vectors standardisation and Agglomerative Clustering with a cosine distance should be used for grouping of text documents.


Background: Disruptive genetic variants in the PCSK9 and APOB genes result in lower serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and confer protection against coronary heart disease (CHD). Few studies have measured the prevalence and selective advantage of such variants among healthy older individuals without prior CHD events. Methods and Results: We performed targeted sequencing of the PCSK9 and APOB genes in 13,131 healthy older individuals without CHD aged 70 years or older enrolled into the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial. We detected predicted loss-of-function (pLoF) variants in the PCSK9 and APOB genes, and associated variant carrier status with blood lipid levels. We detected 22 different rare PCSK9/APOB candidate variants with lipid-lowering effect, carried by 104 participants (carrier rate 1 in 126). Rare variant carrier status was associated with 19.4 mg/dl (14.6%) lower LDL-C, compared with non-carriers (P=<0.001, adjusted for statin use). Statin prescriptions were less prevalent in rare variant carriers (16%) than non-carriers (35%). The PCSK9 R46L variant (rs11591147-T) was associated with 15.5mg/dl (11.8%) lower LDL-C in heterozygotes, and 25.2 mg/dl (19.2%) lower LDL-C in homozygotes, respectively (both P=<0.001). Conclusions: Lipid-lowering genetic variants are carried by healthy older individuals and contribute to CHD-free survival.


Activity coefficients for aqueous potassium succinate solutions (K2Succ) have been determined at 25 °C from the e.m.f. measurements of cells: ISE-K | K2Succ (m)| Hg2 Succ|Hg. The results obtained were analysed by using various theoretical equations (extended Debye–Huckel, Pitzer etc.) and compared with those reported in a previous paper for the sodium salt.


China' wine consumption has ever and ever increased during the last decade but there are still difficulties in the communication of this product. This is caused by the great social, cultural and economical diversities among Chinese themselves and between eastern and western culture. In fact, the diversities between the population of urban areas of greater development and the rural ones and the differences between the profound and radical eastern culture and the western culture outline a very different consumer-type compared to the western one. For this reason, for years, the marketing strategies in the wine sector have not brought about the attended results. The Chinese wine consumer reveals much instability caused by cultural reasons, which have emerged in this work, joined by an experimental analysis that could bring into light reliable evaluative results. The output of the analysis of these results is a list of interpretation key points that can be used as a tool to improve the education and the communication towards Chinese wine consumer.


Computer networks connected to the Internet will increase the risk of
threats or disruption to the network security. Malware in the form of viruses,
worms, and trojan horses is a major threat to the network security. The objective
of this research was to detect and identify attacks on the internal network of
Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto using Honeypot. Honeypot platform
used in this research are Honeyd and Dionaea.
Research was began by evaluating the network security, then design of
application Honeypot was performed to help secure the network. After installation
in accordance with the design, then the simulation was performed to determine the
performance of the system. Further testing system in the network to get data
across a network attack. Then conducted an analysis of the log file from the
Honeypot.
A number of attacks to Honeyd originated from several host with private
IP addresses from the internal network. Almost all attacks from hosts with
Windows XP operating system, and 96.81% of attacks aimed at port 445. Dionaea
succesfully download copy of the malware as much as 76 times that consists of
only one type of malware that is Win32.Worm.Downadup.Gen. By knowing the
type and location of the malware, an appropriate action can be performed.


Cement is one of the most used construction material but its production needs important amounts of raw materials and energy and emits pollutants to air. Producers manage to reduce fossil fuels consumption by using different types of waste in the cement kiln. A Life Cycle analysis permits to evaluate the environmental impacts of this substitution and to highlight the main sources of these impacts. Introduction


The utility model relates to a composite lighting system for minisize on-line high-precision vision measurement, which is composed of an imaging mirror group, a coaxial lighting LED luminaire and an LED luminaire with a circular front face, wherein the coaxial lighting LED luminaire is positioned on one side of the imaging mirror group, and the luminaire from the coaxial lighting LED luminaire penetrates from the side face of the imaging mirror group; the LED luminaire with a circular front face is fixed at the front end of the imaging mirror group and coaxially fixed with the imaging mirror group; the luminaire from the LED luminaire with a circular front face penetrates from the front face on the measured object. The utility model is the composite lighting system which combines coaxial parallel light lighting with indirect lighting, which weakens the influence of stray light, and enhances the brightness, picture resolution and contrast grade of the measured work piece in a visual field range.


This work focuses on forced combustion with regards to the relationship between vent mixer models and several injection locations in unheated supersonic flow. A plasma jet torch was used to ignite the hydrogen-air mixture in a laboratory-scaled combustor duct. The flow field of the combustion was visualized with pressure and gas-sampling measurements. The vent mixers indicate good dispersion characteristics of the mixture for both parallel and normal 1 injections. However, forced combustion is dominantly governed by the injection rate toward the plasma jet (hot source) because the combustible region is restricted under the cold main flow. For this reason, the parallel injection, which provides the hydrogen-air mixture directly toward the plasma jet, shows good combustion performance. The normal 1 injection interacted with the vent mixers and shows slightly good combustion performance. Lastly, the normal 2 injection is little affected by the vent mixers and has poor combustion performance.


Spent fuel canisters stored in halite (NaCl) deposits (salt beds) are subject to a severely corrosive environment when the hot brine inclusions, rich in calcium and magnesium chlorides, migrate to the canister. Since no data base exists on corrosion in halite brines, a survey was made of the corrosion resistance of potential canister materials in other concentrated brine environments. Corrosion-resistant metals include Ta, Ti Code 12, TiPd Alloy, Inconel 625, Hastelloy C-276, and Fe-base 29-4 Alloy. Although carbon steels have cost and availability advantages, they suffer from excessive corrosion rates in brines. Corrosion-resistant nonmetals include carbon, Teflon-type fluorocarbons, epoxide coatings, and polymer cements. While these materials are not suitable for constructing the canister, they could be used as a protective coating on a carbon steel canister. On the basis of this survey, we recommend a coated carbon steel canister, used with cathodic protection. It is important to start a test program to gather a data base on the corrosion of materials in halite brines and to verify the suitability of canister materials.


Phospholipase D (PLD) plays an important role as a signaling molecule in the activation of neutrophils. In this study, effect of nitric oxide (NO) and cGMP on the activation of PLD in human neutrophils was investigated. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an agent to produce NO spontaneously in cells, alone increased PLD activity and the maximal activation was obtained with 0.5 mM SNP. Dibutyryl-cAMP, an agent to increase an intracellular cAMP concentration inhibited formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP)-stimulated PLD activity but 8-bromo-cGMP (300μM), an agent to increase an intracellular cGMP concentration did not affect basal and fMLP-stimulated PLD activity. NO-induced activation of PLD was not blocked by KT 5823, an inhibitor of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG), suggesting that NO-induced PLD activation is not mediated by cGMP. NO also stimulated p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) in human neutrophils, indicated by increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in Western blotting. NO-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK was not inhibited by KT 5823 or n-butanol. RhoA, an regulatory factor of PLD activation was translocated from cytosolic fraction to plasma membranes by fMLP or phorbol ester, and fMLP-stimulated but not phorbol ester-stimulated translocation of RhoA was inhibited by cGMP. These results suggest that NO stimulates PLD activity through other unidentified factor(s) than cGMP even though cGMP inhibits the activation of RhoA.


Sediments of the bays, shelf, and slope off Guatemala and Honduras consist of terrigenous detrital minerals and rock fragments carried onto the shelf by rivers or eroded from the coast or shelf bottom, skeletal debris of marine organisms, and authigenic minerals formed on the sea floor. The predominant sediment fraction is clay in bay and slope samples; sand in inner-shelf samples; and sand, silt, or clay in outer-shelf samples. Five sedimentary facies named on the basis of predominant organisms and sediment size in samples are distinguished: molluscan-barnacle clayey facies, molluscan-bryozoan sandy facies, algal sand facies, molluscan-foraminiferal lutitic facies, and planktonic clayey facies. The molluscan-barnacle clayey facies is present on the shelf edge and slope a water depths of 50 to more than 500 fm. The other facies are found on the shelf. Carbonate sediments in samples at depths of 16.5-50 fm and sand and gravel in samples at depths of 12-15 fm are predominantly relict deposits formed at a time of lower sea level. The relict sand deposits of the shelf probably are being diluted now by recent clays from coastal rivers.


Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic value of coupled(RI+CA 125,RI+CA 153) and tripled(RI+ CA 125 +CA 153) measurements on screening early stage of primary ovarian cancer(stages I and II) employing resistance index(RI) obtained from transvaginal color Doppler sonography(TVS) and blood tumor markers(CA 125,CA 153).Methods:Totally 52 patients with primary ovarian cancer were enrolled in this study.Based on the International Federation of gynecology and Obstetrics(FIGO) diagnostic criteria,10,12,20 and 10 cases were diagnosed as stages Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and IV,respectively.Patients in the same stage were assorted into one group.According to retrospective reviews,the single(RI,CA 125,CA 153),coupled(RI+CA 125,RI+CA153) and tripled(RI+CA 125 +CA 153) measurements were further analyzed statistically.Results:RI,CA 125 and CA 153 did not present statistical differences in patients with stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ primary ovarian cancer(P0.05),but did show significant changes in stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ patients(P0.05);RI and CA 125,but not CA 153,exhibited statistical difference between stage Ⅲ and stage Ⅳ patients(P 0.05).Tripled measurement significantly increased the positive rate as compared to single measurement(P0.05),however no difference was found between single and coupled measurement in patients with stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ primary ovarian cancer(P 0.05).In stageⅢ patients,there was difference between coupled-and tripled-measurement and CA 153(P 0.05),but not the RI and CA 125(P0.05).In stageⅣ patients,there was no difference between coupled-and tripled-measurements and single testing(P 0.05).Conclusions:Tripled measurement is helpful to improve the early primary ovarian cancer(stageⅠ and stage Ⅱ) detection rate,to reduce the missed diagnosis,Tripled measurement of primary ovarian cancer has a high diagnostic value.


Julia Williams, 'Spotlight on research funding', Journal of Paramedic Practice, Vol. 5 (10): 593, published online 18 November 2013, available online at: https://doi.org/10.12968/jpar.2013.5.10.593.


Studies on pHRI which focuses on physical embodiment of robots are paid attentions in recent years. Our study proposes a mobile robot "AcToR" which is based on the Roomba. AcToR lets a person recognize the intention of the communication from AcToR using touch. For example, AcToR detects an incoming call on the person's cell phone, approaches the person and the person notifies the incoming call by the touch of AcToR. AcToR can detect the touch using Roomba's bumper and the touch sensors. In this paper, we conducted a psycology expeiment using AcToR and show feasibility of the communication by the touch of the robot.


The principal problem of this study was to compare student achievement in business letter writing and traditional coursework in business communications courses following an outline excluding remedial English usage instruction with student achievement in business communications courses following an outline including remedial English usage instruction. The second problem of this study was to compare the reliability of holistic grading with analytical grading when used to evaluate student achievement in business letter writing. This study was conducted Winter Quarter 1983 at Montana State University and Eastern Montana College. Students were given Barton's Language Skills Test for college students in business communications as a pretest. The pretest also included the writing of two business letters. Control groups received no formal instruction in remedial English fundamentals. The experimental group received instruction in remedial English fundamentals. The experimental group received instruction in remedial English fundamentals by the lecture-discussion method. After both groups completed the business letter writing unit, they took the postinstructional tests. These tests consisted of Barton's Language Skills Test and the writing of two business letters. The reliability of holistic and analytical grading was compared. Sample letters were scored by the holistic grading method by trained readers. Then these letters were scored analytically by the same trained readers. The reliability of these methods was determined by using Kuder-Richardson's formula. Two-way analysis of variance was used to statistically compare student achievement of the groups which received remedial English usage instruction with those students who did not receive this instruction. The findings of this study indicate that formal instruction in remedial English usage does not significantly affect a student's ability to write a business letter. However, this instruction does significantly increase student formal knowledge of English usage. The findings of this study also support the use of holistic grading for the judging of student achievement in business letter writing. A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE AFFECT OF INTRODUCING' REMEDIAL ENGLISH USAGE INSTRUCTION IN COLLEGIATE BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS •by Lorraine Machine Steerey . A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana;


HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS
During evaluation for a liver transplantation in a 45-year-old man with alcoholic liver he complained of exertional dyspnea. He had grade 3 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after nicotine abuse of 50 pack-years. One and a half years earlier the patient had been treated for tuberculosis.

INVESTIGATIONS
The diagnostic procedures showed a respiratory insufficiency with a PO(2) of 52 mm Hg. Notable was a missing improvement of oxygenation after the supply of 100 % oxygen. Lung perfusion scintigraphy showed a shunt of about 14 %, a contrast-medium echocardiography demonstrating a right-to-left shunt. These findings indicated that the patient had a hepatopulmonary syndrome.

TREATMENT AND COURSE
The only causal therapy of a hepatopulmonary syndrome was a liver transplantation. However, the tuberculosis diagnosed one and a half years earlier had not been treated adequately, so that an antituberculotic therapy was essential before starting an immunosuppression. Therefore the only option of treatment was to continue the long-term oxygen therapy. As a matter of differential diagnosis and because of the intrapulmonary shunt, a pulmonary venous disconnection for a shunt caused by tuberculous cavities or by the COPD had to be taken into account.

CONCLUSION
Treating patients with advanced liver cirrhosis and dyspnea a hepatopulmonary syndrome must be taken into consideration. Typically there will be found a right-left-shunt. In addition, coexistent comorbidities as a reason for dyspnea have to be excluded.


To obtain records of individual animals' habits when a small herd is observed for long periods of time, several observers are essential. The errors between observers were so much less than those between animals and between periods of observation that for most purposes records made by a succession of different observers will be adequate. The errors of observations at 1 and 4 min. intervals, using the grazing records of ten animals, were 3·20 and 7·36% of the mean respectively. The latter figure being of sufficient accuracy for practical application, it is concluded that the 4 min. interval is suitable for records of a major habit. The errors for the minor habits were large relative to the mean time occupied on them, but still reasonable in relation to the purposes for which work of this sort would usually be required.


The Alaska Railbelt transmission system runs from Fairbanks to Anchorage to Homer and supplies 75% of the state's population with power. In the near future, this system will experience significant increases in load due to electrification of the transportation and heating sectors. To account for this, several state organizations are working towards the creation of an integrated resource plan and reliability standards.This work encompasses the efforts of researching the operations, cost, and locations of desirable hydropower and pumped storage hydropower (PSH) resources in the areas surrounding the Railbelt transmission system. The aspects of conventional hydropower and PSH as well as adjustable-speed and ternary PSH were analyzed. With Alaska's diverse and rugged landscape, QGIS was utilized to delineate the positions of energy resources within a reasonable distance from the Railbelt. By incorporating Digital Terrain Models and the QGIS processing toolbox, a least cost path analysis was completed to filter out resources within the designated distance of the Railbelt. Applying existing cost models to the data in this work helped to decide the energy resources that would be studied further. The future of this project includes modeling the selected energy sources in the PSS/e Railbelt model to examine their effects on the reliability and stability.


Abstract A low-profile multi-polarized MIMO ultra-wideband antenna suitable for body-centric communications is reported. MIMO configuration is achieved using the symmetric heptagonal monopole (SHM) antenna, a mirrored SHM antenna, an asymmetric ruby-shaped monopole (ARSM) antenna, and a mirrored ARSM antenna placed over the modified C-shaped ground plane (MCGP). The proposed antenna elements are designed to achieve resonance for the entire ultra-wideband frequency range. The SHM antenna is coupled with a co-planar waveguide to produce linear polarization. An ARSM antenna generates circular polarization utilizing an asymmetric geometry both in the radiator and a truncated ground plane. Both the SHM antenna and an ARSM antenna are aligned face-to-face over an MCGP plane and good isolation >15 dB is realized between the antenna elements. The gain and total efficiency for linear polarized and the circularly polarized antennas are 3.05–4.8 dBi/48–66% and from 2.8 to 5 dBic/52 to 70.5%, respectively. The specific absorption rate values are evaluated to understand their suitability for WBAN communications.


According to the invention, there is provided a novel chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety, designated Sahi Alba 914 which is independent of photoperiod, in contrast to its closest relatives. This allows the variety to be sown earlier, and to be grown at higher latitudes such as the United States. This invention thus relates to the seeds of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety Sahi Alba 914, to the plants of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety Sahi Alba 914, to plant parts of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety Sahi Alba 914, to methods for producing a chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety by cross ing the chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety Sahi Alba 914 with another chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety, and to methods for producing a chia (Salvia hispanica L.) variety containing in its genetic material one or more backcross conversion traits or transgenes and to the backcross conversion chia (Salvia hispanica L.) plants and plant parts produced by those methods.


Addiction Response Crumlin (ARC) was established in 1996 as a response to the problem of drug use in the Crumlin area. The main purpose of this report is to describe the work of ARC and evaluate its impact. The report reviews the national policy on drug treatment services, and provides a comparative analysis of the population in Crumlin with Dublin City and Ireland. Also contained are the results of a survey of 91 clients out of a total of 100 whom used ARC in December 1997 and focus group discussions with current clients and staff. The core finding of this evaluation shows ARC is having a decisively positive impact on the lives of clients and is meeting a genuine need in the community. It is effective in stabilising drug users and helping them to progress to a drug free life. These outcomes indicate ARC is providing an effective service and is an excellent example of partnership between the health board and the community.


The SECI (socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization) process is considered as root components of knowledge management. Socialization and internalization are believed to be closely linked to tacit knowledge while externalization and combination related with explicit knowledge. In this backdrop this study investigates the predictors of behavioral intention on SECI process with the aim of identifying the influencing factors of tacit and explicit knowledge activities. Trust, ICT use, performance expectancy and effort expectancy were considered as predictors in this study to reflect the socio technical nature. Data were collected from 313 executives in the Sri Lankan Telecommunication Industry using self-administered questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using the partial least square technique by utilizing smart PLS version 2.0. The findings and its implications were discussed in the later part of the paper.


There is no doubt that physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. It was said by Josef Hubertus Pilates, a creator of unique system of physical exercises. A man, over 100 years ago, created something that is still news to many people nowadays. His method is well-known and demand all over the world. Nowadays for perfecting the system of physical education in universities the issues of determining the most effective fitness methods for achieving good fit acquire great importance. This problem are represented in many scientific papers. Analysis of special literature and practice testify to the fact the most perspective in this respect is Pilates. The philosophy of Pilates is integration of body, mind and spirit. This method lets you to form the habit of fuctional and safe movements of body, to correct your posture, to increase the flexibility of spine and joints. In addition to this for its further using in students learning process it is necessary to study the pecific peculiarities of system. It was learned that there are several specific principles of Pilates system: breathing and movements are inseparable; every movement begins from turning on the center of body; control of accuracy of execution of motor actions; concentration of attention; precision of movement and smooth movement. Adhering to these rules in 10 clases you feel a difference, in 20 clases you see the difference and after 30 clases you will have a new body. These words belong to Josef Pilates. Therefore we considered the question about the possibility of using Pilates in the course of physical training of students in higher education. It was done on the base of perspectives of scientific theories of the motion control. Likewise the system practically does not have contraindications. It suitable for all, regadless of gender and fitness level.


Three examples of heuristic algorithms: The Firefly Algorithm, The Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm and The Genetic Algorithm, have been tested in regard to the ability of solving four testing cost functions. In this paper the algorithms are explained and the results are discussed and compared. Keywords—metaheuristics, heuristic algorithms, firefly algorithm, artificial bee colony algorithm, genetic algorithm, optimization problem


Abstract This review essay expands on two excellent collections dealing with Nietzsche and Wagner and is drawn from the proceedings of conferences in the bicentennial year of Wagner's birth. It points to four areas underplayed in the contributions. The first involves Nietzsche's adoption of Wagnerian ideology, especially anti-Judaism, in the late 1860s and early 1870s. The second deals with Nietzsche's actual activities and sentiments regarding the inaugural Bayreuth festival in 1876 and his later reports of these activities and sentiments. A third topic concerns the break from Wagner, its likely causes, and its stylization in Nietzsche's recollections from the 1880s. And lastly the essay examines the ambivalence toward Wagner in Nietzsche's writings from 1888 as part of an autobiographical imperative. In general, the collections reviewed place too much trust in Nietzsche's own accounts of the relationship with Wagner and fail to recognize that, especially in the 1880s, the philosopher is engaged in a process of self-fashioning to bring his current views into harmony with a history embellished and manipulated to give the appearance of linear development and consistent beliefs.


The image data of NDVI and EVI in Shandong Province are achieved by analyzing MODIS data through ENVI software.The NDVI and EVI Image Database in Shandong Province are established by blocking,coding and indexing image data.Users can download the image data in the abbreviation of Local Area Network.


Urban growth is one of the major issues that have played a significant role in destroying the ecosystem in recent years. Landscape analysis is an important technique widely used to evaluate urban growth patterns. In this study, four land-use maps from 1984, 1990, 2000, and 2010 have been used to analyze an urban landscape. The values of a built-up area were initially computed using a geographic information system environment based on the spatial gradient approach. Mathematical matrices were then used to determine the amount of change in urban patches in each direction. Results of the number of patches, landscape shape index, aggregation index, and total edges confirmed that the urban patches in Seremban, Malaysia, have become more dispersed from 2000 to 2010. The urban patches have also become more continuous, especially in the north-western part of Seremban as a result of the urban development in the Nilai District. These results indicate the necessity to create new policies in the city to protect the sustainability of the land use of Seremban.


BP neural network is used to forecast access traffic that is a major index measuring a website's value in network marketing whereas network itself is a complicated nonlinear system hard to forecast and affected by external factors,so its macro traffic is variable and disturbed by unknown factors.BP neural network offers the solution.


Ribonucleotide reductases provide the only biosynthetic pathway for the generation of deoxyribonuc1eotides.l The Escherichia coli enzyme is a 1 : 1 complex of R1 and R2 proteins;2 the X-ray structure of the latter establishes the presence of two nonheme (p-oxo)diiron(III) clusters in close proximity to Tyr 122,3 which must be oxidized to its radical form to elicit enzyme activity.435 It is the reaction of the differrous form (R2,d) with 0 2 that generates the tyrosyl radical.6~~ However, the coordination environment of the diiron clusters in R2,d is less well characterized than that of the diferric form (R2met). It is clear that the strong antiferromagnetic coupling of the diferric clusters4J is significantly decreased upon reduction, but there is some disagreement on the nature of the metal-metal interaction.a The N M R resonance for the imidazole N-H protons of the coordinated histidines shifted from 24 ppm in R2,,, to 57 ppm in R2,d; furthermore, the temperature dependence of the 57-ppm peak suggested a weak antiferromagnetic coupling of ca. lO(10) cm-l ( H = JS1S2).7 On the other hand, preliminary EPR studies on R2,d in our laboratory revealed the presence of a low-field EPR signal arising from a ground state;6 such signals are usually associated with an integer spin system, which in this case might be associated with a ferromagnetically coupled diferrous center. More recently, a multifield saturation magnetization study of R2,d found J = -0.6(4) cm-1.8 Since fitting the temperature dependence of an Fe(I1)-shifted N M R signal requires a number of simplifying assumptions and the bulk susceptiblity measurements assumes a homogeneous sample, we have taken advantage of the higher resolution of the EPR method to reconcile these conflicting observations. We have used integer spin EPR spectroscopy with azide as a probe to examine the magnetic properties of R2,d and its complexes with azide and report here the first spectroscopic evidence of exogenous ligand binding to the diferrous clusters of the R2 protein. The EPR spectrum of R2,d9 with HIJJH (Figure 1) exhibits a signal a t g = 14.410 whose temperature dependence indicates that it arises from a ground-state doublet. This, together with the signal position and line shape, indicates that the signal originates


The stench caused by the breakdown of proteins by microbes produce a shing odor that is often encountered by rubber farmers cause bokar quality ( though rubber material ) to be low and cause environmental pollution if not handled in a proper way . In the timber industry , the wood becomes easy rotten, easily attacked by termites and easily decayed , it can be said that the quality of the wood is low. Solutions to this problem's is to utilize the technology of liquid smoke. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality and quantity of liquid smoke corncob non-food as a natural preservative that can be applied to rubber plantations and wood industries.
This study begins with the cleaning process, enumeration and drying. Then weighed as much as 3 kg of corn cobs and put into a pyrolysis reactor at a temperature of 175 °C, for 5 hours. The third stage product analysis by GC/MS for the brand Hewlett Packard 6890 MSD 5973 GC equipped Chesstation data base system and a pH meter. The results showed that the quantity of liquid smoke corncob based on the yield is 31.65 % . The quality of liquid smoke seen from phenol content is 1, 38 % and acidity
( As. Acetate ) at 1.3 %.

Keywords : Corn Cob, Pyrolisis, Condensation, Liquid Smoke


In order to be certified by the FAA, airborne software must comply with the DO-178B standard. For the unit testing of safety-critical software, this standard requires the testing process to meet a source code coverage criterion called Modified Condition/Decision Coverage. This part of the standard is controversial in the aviation community, partially because of perceived high cost and low effectiveness. Arguments have been made that the criterion is unrelated to the safety of the software and does not find errors that are not detected by functional testing. In this paper, we present the results of an empirical study that compared functional testing and functional testing augmented with test cases to satisfy MC/DC coverage. The evaluation was performed during the testing of the attitude control software for the HETE-2 (High Energy Transient Explorer) scientific satellite (since that time, the software has been modified). We found in our study that the test cases generated to satisfy the MC/DC coverage requirement detected important errors not detectable by functional testing. We also found that although MC/DC coverage testing took a considerable amount of resources (about 40% of the total testing time), it was not significantly more difficult than satisfying condition/decision coverage and it found errors that could not have been found with that lower level of structural coverage. To be certified by the FAA, aviation software must satisfy a standard labelled DO-178B [4]. Software development processes are specified in this standard for software of varying levels of criticality. With respect to testing, the most critical (Level A) software, which is defined as that which could prevent continued safe flight and landing of the aircraft, must satisfy a level of coverage called Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC). The requirement for MC/DCcoverage has been criticized This paper was presented at DASC (Digital Aviation Systems Conference) in


This work focuses on the concept of heaviness and its use in the context of metal music. It first examines the concept in the works of other academics interested in metal music and then seeks to find a common point of convergence between the various definitions of heaviness through Deleuzian and Deleuze-Guattarian philosophy. In doing so, this thesis brings together both a cultural approach to the study of music and an ecological approach, creating a cognitive-semiotic conception of heaviness as a perplexity of the physical-spatial properties of sound and the listener's musical experience.


This article is a reflection of the changes which are taking place in the traditional system of company organization, according to the author´s opinion. These changes are bringing new demands in organization and people management with them. The author reviews some of the existing handicaps there are to change the traditional model of work organization which he calls "structural" and he clearly gives strong support to a new organizing paradigm –"compromise"– in which certain aspects will have special importance. These aspects are: the definition of a wide company project; the management of change; the organization in processes; internal communication which will create bonds between workers, processes and business project; team work; participating management through objectives; the correspondence between workers and their service; economic participation and compensation for every worker according to what he gives towards the project.


Oliver Williamson's contributions to the theory of the firm were of course seminal. Yet, they were not originally formulated to address the central question in strategic management: Why do some firms persistently outperform others in financial terms? We suggest that when Williamson did address this question, his efforts were not compelling. We also suggest, however, that with suitable adjustments, the key mechanisms in Williamson's theory can indeed usefully address this question.


The article reviews the art exhibition featuring the works of John Anderson at Allan Stone Gallery in New York City.


In this article we shall examine the decline of migration and its replacement by commuting in Eastern Europe specifically in the advanced industrial nations of the Soviet Union the German Democratic Republic Czechoslovakia Poland and Hungary. Since World War II these countries have experienced changes in mobility that are characteristic of the passage in Zelinskys model from the Early Transitional Society phase through Advanced Society phase and even exhibit elements in the attempts to control mobility of his Future Superadvanced Society. We however view the degree and rate of this transition as the result not of inexorable and universal process but of deliberate government interventions in the economies of the socialist nations. These interventions have severely affected the characteristics and consequences of the mobility transition resulting in distortions in Eastern European patterns that raise questions as to the wide applicability and utility of the mobility transition hypothesis. (excerpt)


Piezoelectric (PE) materials are functional materials that can be used for transforming mechanical stress into electrical energy, that can then be stored and used for powering other devices. In this paper, we provide experimental investigation of PE transducers used for energy harvesting under external force-controlled excitation. The lumped parameter electromechanical model (LPEM) has been assumed and brought into a generalized two-port network notation. Laboratory experiments using a universal test machine (UTM) were performed and used for the parameter identification of the model. The two-port model formulation is validated by comparing results of numerical simulations and experimental data. A numerical analysis of power conversion between the mechanical and electrical domains and potential energy harvesting capabilities of the PE transducer under stress are presented based on the experimental results.


Annually, approximately 500,000 American men undergo vasectomy as their form of birth control. At least 15 million men have thus far undergone the procedure. Considerable data now exists regarding the long-term effects of vasectomy in animals and humans. Marked interspecies differences do, however, make much of the evidence difficult to interpret. Case-controlled long-term studies of large numbers of men have nonetheless failed to detect any significant adverse consequences. The opening section of this paper on the medical indications for vasectomy is followed by discussion of vasectomy for permanent contraception in sections on conventional vasectomy, no-scalpel vasectomy, percutaneous vasectomy, open-ended vasectomy, short-term complications, time to achieve azoospermia, and vasectomy failure. The paper continues with discussion of the local effects of vasectomy upon the male reproductive tract in terms of sperm granuloma, the testes, rete testis and epididymis, the vas deferens, and seminal vesicles and the prostate. Long-term systemic consequences of vasectomy, vasectomy and genitourinary cancer, and vasectomy reversal are subsequently considered.


Kohut struggled tenaciously for many years with his ambivalent attitude toward empathy's potentially curative effect. In his final lecture, Kohut clarified his belief that "empathy per se is a therapeutic action in the broadest sense…" His premature death, however, prevented him from formulating the specific and myriad ways that empathy contributes to the healing process. Contemporary self psychologists continue to debate whether and how empathy may contribute to the healing process, but these discussions tend to be more theoretical than clinical. Rarely discussed or articulated are the experience-near clinical questions of how the therapist or analyst actually enters another's subjective world, how he allows the patient into his own world, and how empathy impacts intersubjective healing processes in any given therapeutic session. This article delineates, from a microprocess perspective, how empathy contributes to healing. I attempt to formulate an intersubjective definition of empathy as a mutual analyti...


— A systematic study of the fatigue crack growth characteristics and mechanisms in Al–Si–Mg and A356 casting alloys was carried out. Compact tension specimens, prepared from modified and unmodified alloys were tested at different stress ratios and stress intensity factor range values, and a study of the mechanistic role of the silicon particles in influencing the fracture behaviour during fatigue crack propagation was made, employing both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the fatigue crack growth behaviour of the alloys is affected by the stress ratio, stress intensity level and the size, shape and distribution of the eutectic silicon particles. The particle characteristics also determine the fracture mode of the alloy. Fracture Characteristics observed include decohesion of the silicon particles from the aluminum matrix; silicon particle cleavage/cracking; and striations in the aluminum phase, particularly at high stress ratios.


This paper presents a very low bit-rate coding algorithm based on image split in order to represent it through an adaptive multigrid supported by a binary tree structure. Independently of its tree representation, the picture is segmented via a watershed procedure and several criteria are combined to automatically extract interesting areas of the image. This object information is not transmitted but used to reduce picture complexity, and therefore the bit-rate, while keeping a good subjective quality. This is achieved by a merge procedure which homogenizes values of the tree subblocks belonging to a same non-interesting object. This treatment affects both intra- and inter-images. For intra-images, the resulting tree structure is entropy coded while its leaves are encoded through a DPCM procedure followed by a multi- huffman coder. For inter-images, a motion field is adaptated by an adaptative block matching algorithm which is a kind of BMA for which blocksize is chosen in order to reach a sufficient level of confidence. Residues, essential to correct motion compensation artifacts, are sent through local intra-trees or, if the bit-rate allows it, through DCT blocks, allowing to reach an arbitrary level of quality. During the reconstruction step, an object oriented approach combined with the use of overlapping functions allows to reduce block artifacts while keeping sharp edges.


Thermophysical properties data for oxygen at pressures below 5000 psia have been extrapolated to higher pressures (5,000-10,000 psia) in the temperature range 100-600 R. The tables include density, entropy, enthalpy, internal energy, speed of sound, specific heat, thermal conductivity, viscosity, thermal diffusivity, Prandtl number, and dielectric constant.


The paper proposes a novel approach to remove impulse noises selectively and adaptively in a grayscale image based on impulse noise detection results. It first detects impulse noises in an image one by one in a serial mode. The threshold, which is used to estimate noise pixels, can be modified adaptively according to the mean brightness value of different regions. The results collected in the previous detection processes can be used in the subsequent detection processes. Modified median filtering is adopted to remove the noise, whose window lengths and selected samples are decided on the basis of the noise detection results. This method can effectively remove the impulse noises while successfully preserving the image edge details. The experimental results show that this approach is valid and worthy of application to image processing.


Objective To promote local swelling, reduce muscle atrophy and to prevent the knee joint and knee devices adhesion, thus maximizing recovery in patients with a heavy load and walking function. Methods From 6 hours to 6 or 8 weeks after the operation, patients did knee rehabilitation exercises. Results 35 cases of distal femoral fracture patients did knee rehabilitation exercises. The incision healed well. The scope of activities of the knee was in normal range after an average of three to four months. Flexion were over 90 ° without pain and deformity. Conclusion Patients should do rehabilitation exercises as early as possible. Scientific and orderly rehabilitation care promotes the wound and fracture healing.


This study presents a new concept of a vibratory welding setup which can transfer the mechanical vibrations in the weld zone during Shielded Metal Arc welding (SMAW) process and can also produce the resonance frequency of 300 Hz. In the present investigation mild steel plates of 6 mm thickness has been butt welded using both conventional and vibratory welding conditions. Microstructure and the mechanical properties of the butt welded joints were evaluated, and the results were compared. Further, in order to optimize the process parameters of vibratory welding technique Taguchi and analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique have been adopted. The responses considered for analysis are hardness, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and impact strength. The result of the study indicates that by applying the vibratory treatment during welding process the mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength and impact strength have been enhanced. Lastly, the obtained results are correlated from the results in the past researches.


The presence of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has adversely impacted both conventional and Islamic banking performances. This study aims to empirically compare the financial performances between Islamic banks and conventional banks during the pre- and post-2008 GFC periods. It also attempts to compare the financial performance of each Islamic and conventional bank between the pre- and post-2008 GFC periods. Three state-owned banks from each conventional and Islamic banking category were selected as the study sample using the purposive sampling technique. Based on the independent sample t-test, the study found a significant difference between the Islamic and conventional banking performances during the pre- and post-2008 GFC periods. Meanwhile, based on the paired t-test, the decline in Islamic banking performance from the pre-2008 GFC to the post-2008 GFC periods was significantly smaller than their conventional banking counterparts. These findings show the Islamic banks' superiority over their conventional banking counterparts due to fair and just practices based on Islamic tenets. Due to their reliance in facing the episodes of crises, the Islamic banks deserve a strong support by government by enhancing prudent Islamic banking regulation. The Islamic banks should strive to operate fully based on the shari'ah principles and prudent banking management.


The artistic psychology of vocal music is a new subject which studies the influence of the psychological quality on the teacher student and all singers in the courses of singing and training.This subject aims to bring to light the scientific laws about the essence and origination and development of the singer's psychological appearance in the courses of vocal music.The subject also analyses that the singer in the training gives free rein to its psychological quality,and strengthens the psychological training to the singer,and lays the theoritical basis for the future singer's psychological training courses.Therefore,the course can help us rationally understand the internal psychological laws of the singing in the process of teaching and training,and improve the arts of vocal music training and the singer's performance too.


The experience of developed countries tells us that markets are not enough; that targeting does not work; and that systems are always mixed. The experience of the developing world is that local ownership of policies, participation and empowerment, and social protection can make a huge difference to life styles, in a way that economic growth alone cannot.


A number of different systems exist for creating multimedia or hypermedia applications—each with its own internal document model. This leads to problems in comparing documents created by these systems, and in describing the information captured by a document for long-term (system independent) storage and future playback. We discuss the components which should be considered for a hypermedia document model. These include the hierarchical and linking structure of a document and the spatial and temporal relations among components of the document. Other aspects, such as transportability of documents and information retrieval, are also addressed briefly. We present the Amsterdam Hypermedia Model which, while expressing only a subset of all possible structures, has been used as a basis for a comprehensive authoring environment.


A touring exhibition, funded by Arts Council England, that contained work that would then be published in The Unseen: An Atlas of Infrared Plates.


The authors present an alternative method for deriving the characteristic polarization states in the cross-polarized radar channel for the monostatic reciprocal case based on a Stokes vector formulation. This formulation has an advantage in its applicability for finding solutions for both completely polarized wave and partially polarized wave cases. It is shown that the optimization procedure for the cross-channel power for the coherent case leads to an eigenvalue equation which explains the characteristic polarization state properties mathematically and physically.<<ETX>>


Fresh Agrocybe aegerita were dried at different temperatures until the content of water was about 13﹪,then aroma components of these samples were extracted by aether through the simultaneous distillation extraction process and detected by gas chromatographymass spectrometry( GC / MS),in order to investigate effect of drying temperature on aroma components of Agrocybe aegerita. The results showed that 30 kinds of components were analyzed at all samples,but there were only 5 common components: 1- dodecanol, arachic acid,hexadecanoic acid,methyl ester,8- octadecenoic acid,methyl ester and 11- octadecenoic acid,methyl ester,( Z)-. Therefore,aroma components of Agrocybe aegerita dried through different temperatures were different in the type and quantity.