Alkali metal thermoelectric converter (AMTEC) is a clean energy converter that can be coupled with biomass for power generation. In present research, the transport of heat and cation was investigated in NaK-BASE tubes prepared at different sintered temperatures. The heat conduction and the fractal model were employed to investigate the temperature distributions based on the microstructures of the NaK-BASE tubes sintered at different temperatures, and the transport of Na+ and K+ in NaK-BASE tube was simulated by Poisson-Nernst-Planck multi-ions transport model, and the cation concentrations and surface charge densities were obtained in the NaK-BASE tubes with different temperatures. The results showed that microstructure of the NaK-BASE was related to the sintered temperature, and the microstructure of the NaK-BASE impacted the temperature distribution, the cation concentration and the surface charge density of Na+ and K+ in the NaK-BASE tubes. At the same heat source temperature, the average temperature in the NaK-BASE prepared at high sintered temperature was higher than that prepared at low sintered temperature. In addition, the increase of the average temperature resulted in the increase of the cation concentration and the surface charge density of Na+ and K+ in the NaK-BASE, therefore, the performance of the NaK-AMTEC could be enhanced by increasing the sintered temperature and the average temperature of the NaK-BASE.


In the coal gasification station composed of seven coal gas producers, if the seven coal gas producers make their coal slag removal separately, and then the coal slag is manually removed. This method of coal slag removal involves inefficiency, big work load, and bad operation environment. Therefore the automatic coal slag removal system which consists of chain, directive wheels, pressure wheels and driving device, etc is designed through improving the bottom structure of the coal gas producers, putting the end of the coal slag chute into a long water tank. The water level can meet the demand of the gas pressure. The automatic coal slag removal system operated well and there is no dust pollution around the coal gas producers.


Preface. 1. "The Rocking Horse Winner," by D.H. Lawrence. 2. "Flowering Judas" by Katherine Anne Porter. Katherine Anne Porter on the Creative Process. 3. "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. Student Question William Faulkner on "A Rose for Emily." 4. "The Killers," by Ernest Hemingway. 5. "Bliss," by Katherine Mansfield. 6. "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant. Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren Pose Questions on the Trick Ending. 7. "Araby," by James Joyce. 8. "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck"s Revisions of "The Chrysanthemums" After the Original. Publication with Comment by William Osborne. 9. "The Magic Barrel," by Bernard Malamud. 10. "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Edgar Allan Poe"s Review of Nathaniel Hawthorne"s TWICE-TOLD TALES. 11. "The Fall of the House of Usher," by Edgar Allan Poe. 12. "Why I Live at the P.O.," by Eudora Welty. Critical Commentary by Ruth M. Vande Kieft. 13. "Paul"s Case," by Willa Cather. 14. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," by Flannery O"Connor. Letters Written by Flannery O"Connor in Response to Interpretations of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." 15. "Gooseberries," by Anton Chekhov. 16. "To Room Nineteen," by Doris Lessing. Feminist Insights by Dorothy Brewster and Mona Knapp. 17. "Going to Meet the Man," by James Baldwin. A Critical Review and Reassessment by James Rees Moore. 18. "A & P," by John Updike. Other Fiction by these Writers. Acknowledgements of Permission.


A PID control system of DC motor based on soft-core NiosⅡ is introduced.The PWM DC regulating speed program is used,Altera DE2 board is adopted as the integrated development platform,SOPC technology is used to embed soft-core NiosⅡ in the FPGA as central control device,PID control algorithm is adapted to control the PWM closed loop speed control of the entire peripheral circuits.This method is a different way from traditional motor control(DC motor based on SCM or DSP).


The diploma thesis deals with the burnout syndrome, its historical development, teacher's job, also with causes, symptoms and possibilities for solution. The practical part researches the degree of affecting by burnout syndrome, and comparison of English and German teachers at high schools.


bi this paper we report on three studies designed to replicate and extend the Elaboradon likelihood Model (ELM) presented in Petty. Cacioppo and Schumann's (1983) Joumal of Consumer Research article. The reported studies were conducted with undergraduate students from two major universides using methodologies almost idendcal to diose of Petty et. al. However, the results do not corroborate previous work on the ELM. We offer several possible explanadons for the model's failure to generalize across products, across source manipuladons and across arguments.


A sliding fuzzy type-2 controller scheme for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear uncertain perturbed systems is proposed in the paper. To overcome the constraint on the knowledge of the system model, local models related to some operating points were used to synthesize a nominal fuzzy type-2 global model. The controller uses integral sliding mode concept and contains two parts. The first one leads to achieve finite time stabilization of the higher order input output dynamics without uncertainties. The second part has the object to reject bounded uncertainties throughout the entire response of the system. In order to eliminate the chattering effect, the sign functions in this part control are substituted by a smooth variation functions. Their structures retain the characteristics of the original functions. The sliding sub-surfaces are computed using a generalized Slotine equation, this choice leads to reduce the relative degree of the system to one, which simplifies the design of the proposed method. The advantages of the controller are that its implementation is easy, the convergence time is chosen in advance and the robustness is ensured. Simulation results of two link robot manipulator are presented to illustrate the tracking performances of the method.


Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the stable and potential metal oxide semiconductor nanomaterials with flexible properties which allows them to be used in a variety of applications (i.e., environmental remediation, energy storage and production, and also as a pigment in personal care products, etc.). However, its low surface area, poor adsorption capacity and high bandgap energy (~3.2 eV) prevents its full potency. Especially, TiO2 with high bandgap (~3.2 eV) reduces its visible light absorption capacity and catalytic efficiency. Various modification processes (i.e., metal and non-metal doping, composite materials (mixed metal oxide, high surface area adsorbents), and dye sensitization etc.) have been accomplished for stimulating the characteristics of TiO2 and the associated catalytic efficiency. Among the modifications, the non-metal doping process in TiO2, specifically nitrogen doping, is one of the efficient dopants for enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 in the presence of visible light irradiation. However, the morphology of TiO2, structural changes in TiO2 during N-doping, properties (e.g., morphology and electronic) of N-doped TiO2 and also reaction operational parameters (e.g., doping concentration) hold a greater impact for enhancing the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 either positively or negatively. Furthermore, the synthesis methodologies have a major influence on the synthesis of stable N-TiO2 with pronounced photocatalytic efficiencies. Nevertheless, the methodologies for highly stable N-TiO2 synthesis, properties evaluation and their correlation with photocatalytic efficiencies are still not appropriately stabilized to accomplish the commercial utilization of N-TiO2. Therefore, this review article focuses on the synopsis of various synthesis methodologies and either their efficiencies or inefficiencies, the mechanism involved in the doping processes, changes in the structural, electronic and morphological properties observed due to the N-doping along with the photocatalytic capacity. Furthermore, the opportunities, challenges and future requirements linked to the development of durable N-doped TiO2-based semiconductor nanomaterials for efficient catalytic performance is also represented.


This paper presents educational set up for practical teaching about photovoltaic systems. The paper gives theoretical aspects of photovoltaic panels with description of the current-voltage characteristic. Measuring of electrical parameters using conventional measurement instruments and data acquisition system are shown. Usage of the measuring data acquisition systems speeds up obtaining important characteristics of photovoltaic panel. The main focus is on the processing and analysing of results, not on reading the data from conventional measurement instruments. The LabVIEW software automatically generates a report after completing the measurement. Ideas for further development of set up and enhance the teaching of photovoltaic modules are also given.


https://e-heartfailure.org The perirenal fat and thick fibrous capsule surrounding and protecting the kidneys in the retroperitoneal space prevents them from expanding beyond the enclosed space. In acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), increased interstitial fluid caused by elevated hydrostatic pressure leads to pitting edema in the skin and alveolar edema in the lungs.1) In kidney, renal congestion increases intracapsular pressure as the increased interstitial fluid cannot stretch the rigid capsule surrounding the kidneys. This reduces renal medulla perfusion and decreases the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).2) Additionally, perirenal fat accumulation increases perirenal pressure.1) Therefore, patients with a thick perirenal fat pad, especially those with ADHF, may be more vulnerable to renal congestion developing kidney dysfunction. Perirenal fat is also metabolically bioactive and a source of adipokines and pro-inflammatory molecules, which can worsen kidney function.3,4) Although perirenal fat accumulation is associated with renal dysfunction,3) it is unclear whether perirenal fat has an additive adverse impact on kidney function in patients with ADHF.


Much of our prior knowledge of information systems (IS) usage is based on its acceptance or continuance without understanding whether users are likely to use the IS or not. Prior models of IS usage provide a limited understanding of one's intention to use the IS, given that IS usage or continuance does not necessarily suggest the subsequent use of the IS. Even if people use particular IS, there is no guarantee that the users always use the IS. This study proposes an IS usage intention model based on the information asymmetry theory to compliment previous studies that mostly focus on IS usage or continuance without considering the possibility of its use. For IS usage research, this paper proposes one of the earliest usage models of IS. For practitioners, this study provides some guidelines for IS manufacturers on how to derive the most return on their system development efforts with a successfully high usage rate in the market for their newly usage systems.


The present study aims to evaluate the indexes inserted in the Agência de Defesa e Inspeção Agropecuária do Estado de Alagoas database, Unidade Local de Sanidade Animal e Vegetal de Maceió, on vaccination coverage of Brucellosis in calves from three to eight months of age, from June 2015 to June 2018. For comparison between vaccinate and vaccinated calves, the Student T test was used and the analyzes were performed with the Graph Pad statistical program. In view of the total number of calves in the vaccination age, it was observed that 26.01% (5,021 / 19,299) of them were vaccinated against bovine brucellosis, during the study period, according to the vaccination records of the breeders. Regarding the number of vaccinable calves and vaccinated calves, there was a statistically significant difference in the comparison between these two groups. In view of this scenario, raising ranchers' awareness is extremely important, since it is a fundamental part of the actions coordinated by health defense agencies and their participation will contribute significantly to the increase in the herd's immunization rates.


This paper has been the analysis of passive devices in Si RF and microwave. Multilevel monolithic 3D inductors implemented in a standard CMOS technology are presented. Since on-chip inductors are constrained to be planar, the typical solution is to form a spiral. Proposed inductors are composed of 3D structures requiring no extra processing steps. Inductances are higher in increasing the mutual inductance besides the self-inductance. In this reason, this structure gives rise to a quality factor Q and a inductance using 3D geometry in small areas.


With a simple probabilistic model of the regular season standings in Major League Baseball, the authors analyze the relative strengths of the wild card teams as compared with the division-winning teams.


AbstractImmunopathological diseases have traditionally been classified as autoimmune/inflammatory, allergic, and primary immunodeficiency (PID) conditions. Different clinical disciplines have been established along with these classifications resulting in artificial separation of immune disorders in clinical practice and the establishment of professional societies and journals focusing on these seemingly different areas of clinical medicine. Understanding better the genetics of human immunity and immunopathology has changed our approach to such a classification. Monogenic autoimmunity best exemplified by autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1) and immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, and X-linked (IPEX) has taught us how to re-evaluate previously existing dogmas. Discovery of various genetic errors of immunity has provided powerful insight into a better understanding of disease mechanisms and tolerance to self and non-self. We describe here a few monogenic primary T cell deficien...


The application of the SINDA computer program for the transient thermodynamic simulation of the Apollo fuel cell/radiator system for the limit condition of the proposed Skylab mission is described. Results are included for the thermal constraints imposed upon the Pratt and Whitney fuel cell power capability by the Block 2 EPS radiator system operating under the Skylab fixed attitude orbits.


The derivation of the higher order TC is fulfilled by exploiting a higher order transparent condition in this paper. In this way, the transmission condition can now be understood better in a physics point of view rather than in a mathematics point of view. Therefore, the adjustment of the parameters in the TC can be more intuitive and effective. The improved convergence by the proposed TC is shown through a sample example, and the effect of the choice of the parameters in the 2nd order TC is discussed


IN RECENT YEARS, PARTLY as a result of the emerging importance of institutional investing on a long-term yield basis, increasing attention has been given to the matter of the rate of return which common stocks provide. Commentators on the subject make frequent comparisons with the yields provided by fixed-income securities. Few of these comparisons seem precise or reliable, especially when long periods of time are involved. The indicated returns on the traditional stock averages are well known, and each investor is also free to use his own portfolio results. But with what should they be compared?


Background:  Chronic chilblains is a common disease causing major restrictions in daily life, nevertheless little is known about effective treatment. In a literature search, we found thin evidence of three interventions: fluocinolone cream, nifedipine and vitamin D3.


The electrical machine is orientation results in electrical engineering and automation specidlty.Chinese main 211 or 985 universities which have electrical engineering and automation specialty and other two universities which have an advantage in electrical machine orientation are chosen to be used to compare their course setup of electrical machine related courses and the teaching study.As a result,we can have a overall knowledge about the national teaching on the electrical machine related courses.


Exfoliatin, an exotoxin produced by phage group 2 staphylococci, was separated and was analyzed. The toxin was separated in a single peak by Sephadex G‐100 gel filtration and subsequent DEAE Sephadex chromatography. By acrylamide gel disc electrophoresis this single peak was found to contain 2 components both of which posessed exfoliative activity and the same antigenic properties. Their molecular weight, however, differed; the major component had a molecular weight of 30,000 and the minor component had 27,000. The toxin was stable when heated at 60°C for 40 minutes, and labile at 100°C for 20 minutes.


Right is the backbone of building the social civilization system. The key point to solve the right conflict is to seek harmonious balance point, while to observe the bottom line of right advantages is the one to dissolve the crisis between rights.


: The availability of mixed reality technologies on mobile computer devices and the high motivational capability of computer games motivated the invention of the Eduventure. The approach combines the idea of digital game based learning with the usage of new mixed reality technologies in a pedagogically reflected way. Thus it has got a unique dual mode structure, which combines virtual and real life game episodes in a synergy as blended learning. Learning is esteemed as a person's active knowledge acquirement, either acting in a virtual environment or as a mobile learner in situ, supported by Augmented Reality (AR). Thereby a major problem of digital game based learning is addressed: the learning transfer. The foundation and evaluation of the Eduventure approach is subject of the inter-disciplinary Middle-Rhine Eduventure Project, which is introduced as a case study. Furthermore, this article deals with the issue of special pedagogical relevance of mobile AR for game based learning.


The synthesis and physical characteristics of a novel chromium hydride, [(η-C5H5)Cr{P(OMe)3}3H], (I), are described; several reactions of this compound, including exchange of CH3O-groups with CD3O, P(OMe)3 with CO and NO, and Cr–H with D2 are reported.


This paper reports the results of the first nationally representative survey of the incidence of workplace bullying in the Republic of Ireland. The results are based on analysis of a sample of over 5,200 individuals in paid work outside the home. Overall, 7% of persons in the work-place report that they experienced bullying in the 6 months preceding the survey. Bullying victimisation was far more common among employees than among the self-employed, and victimisation rates were higher among women than men. Almost 3% of those at work report that they experienced bullying either daily or several times per week during the reference period. Multivariate analyses of the incidence of bullying suggest that workplace characteristics are more influential than personal attributes in determining bullying victimisation.


Not since Sacheverell Sitwell gave it a glancing blow in his book, The Dance of the Quick and the Dead , has a layman addressed himself so cogently to the problem of death, especially mass death. Sulzberger's book with its graphic descriptions of death under various circumstances does not dwell on the intensely personal aspects of individual death. This is not to say that the book is unphilosophic or does not approach the metaphysical, speculative, and subjective implications of individual death, but the bulk of the material and the general impact is that of death of masses rather than death of individual persons. Perhaps Sulzberger's fascination with death is the same one which inspired the assault and final conquering of Mt. Everest. In the last essence he tackled it because "it is there." Not for Mr. Sulzberger are the comforts of religion. He looks at death from the necessarily paradoxical stance


Recently, in cognitive neuroscience, artificial stimuli such as single sentences have been replaced by more naturalistic stimuli such as continuous speech. Since it is already known 'where' in the brain language is processed, the next crucial step is to investigate 'how' these neuronal circuits and processes work. Thus, it is necessary to apply experimental procedures with a high temporal resolution such as electroencephalography (EEG) in order to capture and identify these mechanisms. However, EEG is highly prone to measurement errors as the surface electrodes collect all kinds of electromagnetic noise from physiological and non-physiological sources. Here, we present a procedure to remove those artifacts (with a special focus on eye artifacts) and provide evidence that it is possible to extract event related potentials (ERPs) from EEG data recorded during listening of an audio book. We developed an evaluation pipeline, tested on EEG-data of 36 participants. The pipeline consists of two major steps: spectral filtering (bandpass: 1 Hz-20 Hz) and a custom version of independent component analysis (ICA) filtering. Thus, we defined one channel (Fp1) as our electro-oculogram channel (EOG) and tested which independent components significantly correlate with this channel. All independent components that had a correlation above a fixed threshold were removed. This procedure is highly reproducible and allows to extract clean ERPs from EEG data during continuous speech perception. We show that the ERP responses to adjectives are different from ERPs to verbs in shape as well as latency. We suggest that this advancement in evaluating EEG data may further improve neurolinguistics research and is a further step to develop a unified evaluation pipeline for these kinds of data.


Objective:To explore the protective effect of selective estrogen receptor modulators(SERMs) on bone metabolism induced by premature ovarian failure(POF) after radiotherapy in rats.Methods:40 female Wistar rats aged 3 months were randomly divided into 4 groups(10 rats in every group):Group A(sham radiotherapy),Group B(radiotherapy),Group C(radiotherapy and raloxifene),Group D(radiotherapy and diethylstilbestrol).All rats were killed 16 weeks later,then levels of estradiol(E2),follicle stimulating hormone(FSH),bone gla protein(BGP) and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) in serum were detected.Results:The levels of E2 in group B and group C were lower than that in group A(P0.05),while the levels of FSH in group B and group C were higher than that in group A(P0.05);the levels of BGP and ALP in group B were higher than those in the other groups(P0.05),but there was no significant difference between group A,group C and group D.Conclusion:Rats will be gonadectomy after radiotherapy to ovaries,then bone loss is found in those rats.Rloxifene has protective effect on bone loss of rats induced by gonadectomy after radiotherapy,which is alike to diethylstilbestrol.


The ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard has been designed to help organizations in the creation of structured mechanisms for continuous improvement in environmental performance. This paper evaluates how ISO 14001 EMS and EMS‐like standards aid organizations in operating continuous source reduction programs by exploring some critical elements for program success. The ISO 14001 standard helps organizations define important EMS elements for continuous source reduction. However, adopting these elements may necessitate cultural changes, the core elements of which are embodied by TQM principles. The cultural changes support complex operational activities aimed at source reduction. Three case study firms are used to evaluate these critical EMS elements. Each firm showed substantially idiosyncratic situations attributable to each organization's size, history, corporate culture, and technology. Despite the differences, however, the cases highlighted one critical point: employee empowerment, their willingness to make suggestions for improvement, and management's effort to create employee participation in decision making are critical elements in managing continuous source reduction programs. These initial empirical observations provide some insight into how this cultural change may occur.


The aging infrastructure and rising demand in the irrigation industry as a result of population growth have increased maintenance works in recent years. The most efficient asset maintenance practice is proactive. However, while a limited budget and an increase in aging infrastructure has made proactive asset maintenance challenging, customers still expect quality service, and contemporary challenges such as climate change and the competitive market further add to the existing pressure on asset owners. In this context, the present work has the primary objective of developing a novel, accurate, efficient and straightforward methodology for measuring assessment criteria weights and using them to prioritise assets for maintenance. For this aim, fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are developed for the optimisation of asset maintenance prioritisation. Using objective and subjective data, the proposed method will be utilised to prioritise six irrigation channels in Northern Victoria, Australia, for maintenance. To verify the efficiency and accuracy of the developed MCDM method, the prioritised channels are validated by comparing against their existing physical condition. Results prove the ability of the proposed method in distinguishing and taking into account the differences between the channels (in terms of their size, physical condition, financial impacts, etc.) in prioritisation for maintenance. This study will also provide suggestions to improve the existing asset maintenance prioritisation methods in practice


Research on the relationship between knowledge sharing and employee performance is still inconsistent. Hence, this study offers novelty by involving a variable of individual diversity interaction to investigate the effect of knowledge sharing on employee performance as observed by the ability of employees in achieving individual targets in collecting and distributing ZIS (zakat, infak, and alms). This study included 195 respondents that were analyzed with Structural Equation Modelling using AMOS. The results indicated that knowledge sharing has a positive and significant effect on individual diversity interaction. Individual diversity interactions have a positive and significant effect on religiosity and affective commitment. Moreover, religiosity and individual diversity interaction have a positive and significant effect on employee performance. However, affective commitment indicates no effect on employee performance. This study suggests that to improve performance, employees at zakat institutions need to further intensify their knowledge sharing. This study can be utilized as a resource for more research and to upgrade employees' ZIS collection and distribution capacity.


DOI:10.1097/MOL.0000000000000402 ease (CHD) is a primary cause of death worldwide [1]. Epidemiological studies have shown that smoking, hypertension, diabetes and high plasma concentration ofLDLcholesterol (LDL-C)are strongly associated with CHD [2]. Disorders of extremes of LDL-C such as familial hypercholesterolaemia indicate a causal relationship between LDL-C and CHD [3]. Familial hypercholesterolaemia is an inherited cause of CHD and results in a lifetime of elevated LDL-C with accelerated atherosclerosis and premature CHD [3]. Normally hepatic LDLRs bind LDL-C and remove it from the circulation by receptormediated endocytosis [4]. This is the normal pathway for removal of cholesterol and is controlled by intracellular cholesterol levels [5]. Familial hypercholesterolaemia is an autosomal, dominant, inherited disorder caused predominantly by loss of function mutations in one or both of the alleles of the LDL receptor (LDLR) [6,7]. Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) individuals have one mutant LDLR allele (approximately one in 500 people) with elevated plasma LDL-C (5.2– 10.4 mmol/L) and is characterized by premature CHD delayed or prevented by treatment to lower LDL-C. Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) individuals have two mutant LDLR alleles, (approximately one in 1 million people) with plasma LDL-C above 12.9 mmol/L [3]. More than 90% of patients with HoHF have loss of function mutations in both alleles. Patients are classified as either receptor negative (<2%) or receptor defective (2–25%). If untreated receptor negative HoHF is usually fatal within the first two decades of life [8]. Conventional statin therapy requires a functional LDLR and patients with HoFH are usually refractory to treatment [9]. Statins inhibit 3hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis normally resulting in reduced hepatic cholesterol and upregulation of LDLRs consequently reducing circulating LDL-C levels. Nonpharmacological methods for the treatment of HoFH include LDL apheresis and liver transplants [10,11]. Gene-based therapies to lower cholesterol in patients with HoFH to therapeutic levels not


This is a detailed and very accurate guide to mental health problems and the resources available to deal with them. It would be a useful reference book in many settings. However, for any particular potential user of the services its usefulness would be more limited, although admittedly it would provide a clear orientation to the type of help they might seek for their particular concern. Most problems are described in enough detail, although sexual problems and alcohol and drug abuse are not really discussed, despite the fact that they are common. This is a pity, since many sexual problems are easy to treat, which would have been worth mentioning. Also alcohol and tranquillizer dependence are common complications of other problems, such as agoraphobia, and it could have been mentioned that they may need addressing in their own right if successful treatment is to take place. It is also interesting to note that despite the fact that this book is published under the auspices of MIND, it does not address mental illness at a philosophical level nor discuss issues such as the differing approaches of the medical and social model, the dangers of institutionalization and dependency, and MIND's own role as an advocate for user empowerment. Nor does it give a comprehensive account of alternative facilities provided in some areas by the voluntary sector. Despite these gaps, it remains a remarkable source of accurate, descriptive material not previously gathered together.


Abstract : Following a summary of the activities of the Guidance and Control Panel of AGARD in the field of Air Traffic Handling, this volume constitutes essentially an introduction for those new to the Air Traffic Control Research and Development community, offering, on the one hand, a broad view of the present situation and actual limitations and, on the other hand, some precise idea of a long term system objective. It is composed of a preface, a general introduction and ten chapters, each constituting an introduction to the corresponding topics, successively entitled: - The Air Transport System - Air Traffic Complexity - Traffic Evolution - Electronic Aids to Controllers - Arrivals Management Systems - Decision Making Aids - A Look Further into the Future - Towards Global Optimization - Systems Evaluation Facilities - The Airport of the Future.


Iamonico, D. 2013. Lectotypification of the Linnaean name Bosea yervamora (Amaranthaceae). Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 70(2): 187-188. The typification of the name Bosea yervamora L. (Amaranthaceae) is discussed under the light of historical knowledge of Canarian plants in Linnean herbaria. An illustration from Sloane is designated as the lectotype. A specimen from BM-SL (Sloane collection) is designated as typotype.


Taking middle schools of Linyi city as research subject,using the method of literature review,interview and questionnaire,from the point of middle school football development,this paper makes investigation and analysis.The result shows that the few class hour,teaching form arbitrarily,great pressure of study,shortage of training fund,less competition opportunity,imperfect competition system are the main factors restricting middle school football development in Linyi City.


Big data is one the most promising, essential and modern computing era around the world. Big data is most commonly described as huge amount of un-structured data or we can say semi-structured data. The processing, storage, and analysis of such huge sets of data with the help of classical processing or database approaches or tools are insufficient, it requires advanced processing tools with real-time analysis. Healthcare (medical) is one of the important sector that produces big data because today, healthcare switches paper-based medical records into electronic platform to store, manage, analysis and process in the form of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) or Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) with the help of internet..Due to vast digitization of medical big data(records) or we can say the use of technologies to transform healthcare industry into electronically available data to consumers, there are various security and privacy risks associated with the use of such technologies must be addressed in order to provide better and safe access of records online and make the system acceptable worldwide with the contribution of healthy economic growth. In this paper, we explore various security and privacy concerns surrounding medical (healthcare) big data.


The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is a rare but serious adverse effect of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Although many case reports describe this association, few report the effect of rechallenge with another SSRI. We present a case of an elderly patient who developed hyponatremia with sertraline and SIADH when rechallenged with fluoxetine.


Most varactors used in millimeter-wave components have been GaAs devices. We have developed planar silicon P-N junction varactors whose rf performance exceeds or compares favorably to the best available GaAs devices. This advance has been made possible primarily due to low-temperature ( < 1000°C) precision fabrication processes which allow minimization of undesirable device parasitics. The varactor fabrication process utilizes ion-beam machining and ion-implantation, combined with the best state of the art in silicon epitaxy. The toatl device process is a batch process with unprecedented uniformity and reproducibility.


Thermal gelation of bovine serum albumin (BSA)-sodium alginate, BSA-pectin and BSA-methyl cellulose systems in relation to binding was studied using rheological testing, turbidimetric analysis and gel filtration. Two electrostatic binding mechanisms, distinguished by particle and chain segment binding models were found in BSA-anionic polysaccharide systems. Particle binding resulted in poor gelation properties. Positive effects on gelation were found when conditions favored the chain segment binding model. Mechanisms for gelation-binding relationships were hypothesized. No evidence of binding was found in the BSA-methyl cellulose system, which generally exhibited the combined gelation properties of the individual components.


Producers in western Canada have applied phosphorus (P) fertilizer to annual crops for many years. This has increased soil available P and gradually decreased the expected yield response to P fertilization, but yield responses to small amounts of P placed with the seed are still reported regardless of soil available P levels. Controlled growth chamber studies suggest that the P responses should be most apparent during cool, wet springs. This 24-yr field study compared the yields of two fallow–spring wheat–spring wheat (F–W–W) systems, one fertilized with N and P each crop year, and the other fertilized with only N. The study, which was part of a long-term crop rotation experiment, was conducted on an Orthic Brown Chernozemic loam at Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Bicarbonate-extractable P (Olsen P) in the 0- to 15-cm depth in spring of the treatment receiving no P remained relatively constant (about 19 kg ha−1) throughout the study, while P fertilizer application at 6.5 kg ha−1 yr−1 increased extractable so...


MPTCP is a very promising protocol for improving throughput and reliability for a multi-interface device. However, the throughput of MPTCP is unexpectedly degraded when the characteristics of subflows, such as bandwidth or delay, are different because of HoL blocking at the MPTCP receiver buffer. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, in this paper, we monitor the receiver's reordering buffer to detect the HoL blocking phenomenon and to retransmit the problematic HoL (Head of Line) packet using the fast path. During bufferbloat, the data transmission of the long-RTT path is suppressed and the path re-activation timing is monitored by transmitting the probe packet pairs. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm not only improves performance degradation due to long-RTT path in bufferbloat situation but also reduces data transmission time.


A novel approach is presented for short-time spectrum estimation of nonstationary signals. A two-dimensional spectrum is defined for a discrete-time sequence. One dimension is the conventional axis, and the other is a new frequency axis that corresponds to the time variation of frequency of the signal spectrum. Nonstationary behavior is thought to occur along the new axis, and a set of lowpass filters is used to eliminate the undesired variations. The approach has been applied to the conventional maximum entropy method (MEM). A novel approach to nonstationary signal detection is also presented, using information entropy. These approaches are found to be effective for nonstationary signal analysis.<<ETX>>


Significance Relapse to reward seeking progressively increases during abstinence, a behavioral phenomenon termed "incubation of craving." Mechanistic studies of incubation can lead to novel relapse treatments. However, as previous studies primarily used rat models and targeted region-by-region analyses, a brain-wide functional atlas of incubation of reward seeking is lacking. We established a behavioral procedure for incubation of palatable food seeking in mice and performed whole-brain activity mapping using the neuronal activity marker Fos to identify the brain-wide signature of this incubation. Like rats, mice showed incubation of food seeking during abstinence. Using two complementary activity mapping approaches, we identified a brain-wide pattern of increased neural activation that mirrored incubation of food seeking after 60 but not 1 or 15 abstinence days.


Progress is presented in the development of a Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic analogy post-processor for time-resolved Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The tool is coded in Python and embedded in Antares, a post-treatment package (developed by Cerfacs, France) of wide access and usability for the scientific community. Tests on monopoles, dipoles, and quadrupoles show good predictions of pressure fluctuation and directivity against reference analytical results, validating the software for applications to stationary elementary sources. The proximity of these sources to a corner of the FW-H integration surface is shown to adversely affect the predictions and good agreement with the benchmark sound field is restored by an appropriate sizing and placement of the FW-H surface. Guidelines for obtaining predictions that are substantially independent of the size and placement of the FW-H surface are provided in terms of the spatial resolution of the discretised FW-H surface.


ABSTRACT Sporting excellence is a function of physical, cognitive and psychological capacities: its standard requires demonstration of superlative physical and strategic skills and the performance of these skills under pressure. However, despite the widespread acceptance of this idea there has been little exploration of what counts as a legitimate test of the psychological dimension. What work has been done has tended to focus on the practice of trash talking and whether the pressure that trash talking exerts is conducive to sporting objectives. However, not only do we believe that the philosophical work on trash talking is misguided, but also its conclusions have not been used to elucidate the legitimacy of other psychological pressures that occur in sport. In this paper we address this first lacuna by providing a more nuanced exploration of trash talking than exists in the philosophical literature, with the aim of addressing the second lacuna by suggesting a framework by which to evaluate other forms of psychological pressure that arise in sport. Briefly, our claim is that not all forms of trash talking that derail an opponent degrade, and that recipients of trash talking have both epistemic and social responsibilities in how they respond to trash talking. Moreover, these epistemic and social responsibilities can be extrapolated to evaluate the legitimacy of other forms of psychological pressure in sport, with forms that turn out to preclude broader social ends being morally illegitimate, and forms that do not preclude social ends yet facilitate meaningful challenges being legitimate tests of sporting excellence.


The energy of point is calculated with tight binding method.The result is consistent with the experimental value of Chadi,closer to the calculated value of KoC Pandey and more precise than the calculated value of Cohen and T Bergstresser.


A memory system with a power throttling scheme based on a power parameter of a memory device is provided to enable optimum power control by controlling power throttling on the ground of power characteristics information of the memory device. A memory device(200) is set as a specific power characteristics mode through a mode register set command, and provides the set power characteristics information. A memory controller(100) transmits the mode register set command to the memory device, and reads the power characteristics information of the set power characteristics mode, and generates power control information on the ground of the read power characteristics information, and makes a command generation schedule in response to the power control information, and provides a command to the memory device by the command schedule. The memory device comprises a mode register for storing mode setting information, and a power register stored with power characteristics information table on the ground of the mode setting information, and an interface part providing the power characteristics information in response to a power characteristics information request command.


The diagnosis of RA is usually based on the ACR (American College Of Rheumatology) classification criteria that include clinical manifestations, and the presence of the IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM-RF). Rheumatoid factor is detected in 50-80% of the patients. Unfortunately, it is not specific (80-90%) since it can be detected in other autoimmune diseases, in chronic infections, and in 5-10% of healthy individuals. In recent years, several novel autoantibodies have been described in RA. In particular, antibodies against citrullinated proteins, such as filaggrin and a commercial synthetic circular peptide (cyclic citrullinated peptide or CCP). The presence of antibodies to CCP provides important diagnostic information in patients with RA.


Article deals with the first official Russian mission and two travels of Russian officers in Afghanistan during the rule of Amir Sher Ali-Khan before the second English-Afghan war, and describes general results of these travels.


In the flat panel display (FPD) field, there has been recently a strong need for achievement of high cost-performance manufacturing. In addition, as with other electronics fields, the FPD field is required to concern about environmental issues. For these reasons, a research was carried out to apply the lift-off process in place of the etching process to electrode patterning in manufacturing of plasma display panels (PDPs). In the lift-off process, inappropriate resist profiles cause covering of deposited material on resist patterns which brings about serious problems in PDP manufacture. In that research, the inversely-tapered resist profile with interstice was proposed and its feasibility was experimentally proved. However, it was also reported that, even if this proposed profile is employed, improper dimensions of the profile still cause the same problems. Therefore, the inverselytapered resist profile with intersitice should also be designed properly. Design process of the resist pattern profile consists of iterations of the following two processes. One is calculation of thickness distribution of an electrode pattern formed in a given resist pattern profile. The other is optimization of dimensions of the resist pattern profile based on the calculation result. It is desired that the calculation process is operated with small computational load in a short time. Furthermore, it is also desired that the calculated result is given in a mathematical form to efficiently operate the optimization process by taking advantage of the mathematical information or employing a mathematical optimization framework. That research provided a film thickness calculation method which meets the above requirements and then a design method of the resist profile using this calculation method. In addition, an identification method of a process parameter in the calculation method and an enhanced design method considering optimization of multiple design variables were also given. In that calculation method, depositing material is regarded as a particle with infinitesimal radius, and it is assumed that each of the particles approaches a substrate in accordance with a Gaussian-like angular distribution. By considering the range of angles with which a particle can arrive at each point on the substrate in the resist pattern, film thickness at each of the points can be calculated. However, this method considers twodimensional (2D) behavior of depositing material in a crosssectional plane of the resist pattern, and hence does not cover behavior of other depositing material in outside of the plane. This paper enhances this 2D calculation method by taking three-dimensional (3D) behavior of depositing material into consideration, and provides a design method of the resist profile based on this 3D method. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the new film electrode patterning method via the lift-off process using the inversely-tapered resist profile with [溶接学会論文集 第 30巻 第3号 p. 244-253 (2012)]


Communication and sense of orientation in the social-health services The purpose of this task is to evidence some aspects related to communication and sense of orientation of social service's users whenever they require medical ser-vice. This task start from the deepening of the themes of the human communication to tracing down the essential elements of environmental communication, analyzing the relationship between significance and meaning of the graphic signs language, in par-ticular about the symbols and tries to outline their main characteristics and role that signs represents in orientating the user inside hospital building's clinical routes. By analyzing the meaning of the shapes, role of the colours and their volumes, which represent the characteristics of a signs project, but also what defines the con-cept of its utilization, which -in our case- is the originality and the specifity of the communication of an organization. Words, signs, images, symbols are -in fact- the principal elements which create the communication language, to which correspond codified rules whose respect and application lead to the creation of significant messages which will allow the sense of direction in the healthcare space.


The basic features of enterprise economic security management are determined. It is proved that the system of enterprise economic security should be considered from the point of view of the impact on it of a multitude of various threats which ensure this system functioning and entering into contradiction with other elements of the system. An improved approach to the management of enterprise economic security is proposed in the global environment. The necessity of further and deeper study of the flow of such destructive and destabilizing phenomena is substantiated because such threats can cause irreversible consequences and threaten the functioning of the enterprise economic security management. The next stage of the study should be a comprehensive assessment of the interconnection of such destructive and destabilizing phenomena as threats, risks and dangers.


Numerous studies have tested the combined effect of the threat of predation by fish and low oxygen concentrations on the phenotypic plasticity of Daphnia. These studies assessed the trade‐off between minimising predation risk and the negative effects of oxygen deficiencies in the context of depth selection behaviour. We tested whether this trade‐off also affects physiological and life history traits. We expected an interactive effect between the threat of fish predation and low oxygen concentrations, such, that the net effect of both stressors would be antagonistic (lower than the sum of each of the stressors acting separately), rather than additive (or synergistic) on the majority of traits investigated, but we predicted synergistic effects on heat shock proteins (HSPs). To test this, we performed life table experiments in different oxygen concentrations (normoxia and hypoxia) and levels of predation threat (the presence and absence of fish kairomones) on HSP70 and putative HSP110, haemoglobin concentration and life history traits with small‐bodied Daphnia galeata and large‐bodied Daphnia pulex originating from waterbodies where there were different risks of fish predation. As predicted, the net effect of both stressors was antagonistic for most of the physiological and ecological variables studied. The presence of kairomones resulted in decreased body size of adults, egg size, egg size in relation to brood chamber volume, and in increased clutch size in relation to body size. These effects were weaker in hypoxia than in normoxia, which may suggest an existence of adaptive responses caused by a lower perceived risk in hypoxia than in normoxia, as the foraging abilities of fish are limited by oxygen deficiencies. The presence of kairomones hampered the production of haemoglobin in hypoxia for the clones of larger‐bodied species, which suggests the existence of a trade‐off between reduced visibility under positive‐size selective predation risk and increased efficiency of oxygen transport to body tissues. The presence of kairomones and hypoxia resulted in an increased level of putative HSP110, and the effect of kairomones was stronger in hypoxia than in normoxia. More complex results were obtained for the effect of both stressors on the level of HSP70. The findings of our study provide a new insight on the interactions between planktivorous fish and zooplankton in aquatic food webs. More specifically, these findings suggest the existence of unexplored size‐dependent eco‐physiological trade‐offs between minimising predation risk and mitigating the negative effects of oxygen deficiencies.


In the recent years many types of biosensors have been developed and used in a wide variety of analytical settings with applications in biomedicine, health care, drug design, environmental monitoring, detection of biological, chemical and toxic agents etc. In the field of sensor research and development, bionanotechnology is poised to make significant contributions and has the potential to radically alter the way sensors are designed, constructed and implemented. The most recent unrestrictive techniques used in biosensor design are surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), combined with a biological receptor. On that basis several enzymes and microbial cells have been immobilized onto newly synthesized hybrid membranes. They contain particles from SiO 2 , TiO 2 , polymers and dendrimers and are attached to the sensor's surface. They are applied for determination of xenobiotics in crops, milk, nuts and other food and agricultural materials. The aim of this review is to summarize some of the most significant research achievements in the field of biomimetic nanosensors design based on immobilized tyrosinase for determination of toxic compounds and smart biosensors for determination of Mycotoxines.


FliZ, a global regulatory protein under the control of the flagellar master regulator FlhDC, was shown to antagonize σS-dependent gene expression in Escherichia coli. Thereby it plays a pivotal role in the decision between alternative life-styles, i.e. FlhDC-controlled flagellum-based motility or σS-dependent curli fimbriae-mediated adhesion and biofilm formation. Here, we show that FliZ is an abundant DNA-binding protein that inhibits gene expression mediated by σS by recognizing operator sequences that resemble the −10 region of σS-dependent promoters. FliZ does so with a structural element that is similar to region 3.0 of σS. Within this element, R108 in FliZ corresponds to K173 in σS, which contacts a conserved cytosine at the −13 promoter position that is specific for σS-dependent promoters. R108 as well as C(−13) are also crucial for DNA binding by FliZ. However, while a number of FliZ binding sites correspond to known σS-dependent promoters, promoter activity is not a prerequisite for FliZ binding and repressor function. Thus, we demonstrate that FliZ also feedback-controls flagellar gene expression by binding to a site in the flhDC control region that shows similarity only to a −10 element of a σS-dependent promoter, but does not function as a promoter.


Contamination in aquatic systems has an indirect impact on survival. One type of contamination of the aquatic system is the presence of heavy metal contamination. Continuous exposure to heavy metals can cause kidney, liver, neurological disease, vascular disease, and cancer. Sources of heavy metals come from the mining industry, paint industry, use of pesticides, etc. To provide insight to the public, it is necessary to conduct education about the sources of heavy metal contamination and its impact on the body. The implementation of this community service activity is in the form of webinars for active students. A total of 63 students participated in this educational activity. The selection of students as the target community is based on their role in society. The methods used in this activity include presentations by lecturers and students, as well as discussions and questions and answers. To measure knowledge, pre-test and post-test were conducted.


When a designer specifies the use of a permanent magnet, he certainly hopes that its magnetization will indeed remain permanent, or at least a close approximation to this. Specifically, he requires the magnet's demagnetization curve, the second quadrant of the B vs. H characteristic, to remain unchanged under normal operating conditions. Unfortunately, this is never the case, so it is important to understand the nature of the changes that may occur, so that any degradation of the magnetic properties reflected in the demagnetization curve may be accounted for in the design. Changes in a magnet after it has been manufactured and fully magnetized may be caused by any combination of external influences, such as temperature, pressure and applied field. These changes fall into three categories. The first category comprises those effects that result in a permanent change in the demagnetization curve, which persist even if the magnet is fully remagnetized. The other two categories are "irreversible" changes which persist even after the cause has been removed, but the original demagnetization curve can be restored by fully remagnetizing the material. Depending upon the shape of the demagnetization curve, an externally applied field may cause the magnet to operate on an "internal" curve with a lower (BH)/sub max/. The other principal cause of irreversible change in the demagnetization curve is thermal fluctuations.


The effects of three different methods of approximating multispecies transport phenomena in models of premixed, laminar, steady-state flames have been studied. The most precise, the most simple and a compromise transport algorithm were used to model methane-oxygen flames at one atmosphere with diluents of nitrogen, argon or helium. The thermodynamic and Lennard-Jones (Stockmayer) coefficients for individual species were held fixed together with the kinetic network and rate coefficients. ONly the computational algorithms were changed. Within factors of 10-20% we found that the computed flame speeds and species and temperature profiles were independent of the algorithm employed. Since we have previously reported a similar independence for hydrogen-oxygen-nitrogen flames, we infer that this result is a general one.


Player white noise for babies, which is a portable, compact and autonomous device therefore easy to use and portable, which can be placed inside a crib for a baby can hear that white noise inside the player is a programmable motherboard with a number of melodies that are driven and regulated by means of buttons located on the front of the player, and wherein said player is not harmful to the baby plastic material, has rounded edges and not It has corners, so the baby's physical integrity is guaranteed.


The majority of modern human-machine interfaces are based on the registration of electro-physiological and biometric parameters of the human body, such as electroencephalography, electromyography and electrooculography signals. Although there is a number of scientific, medical and consumer equipment capable of biosignal registration, but each of them has its drawbacks. The immediate objective of this work is to design the modular platform for registration and onboard processing of electrophysiological and biometric data. The key features of the developed system are: capability to acquire different biosignals; universal serial interface for sensors and external devices connection; on-board complex data processing capability; high portability due to capacious battery and variety of available wireless interfaces. In the future work, the developed platform will be tested in real world applications.


Ultracold Fermi gases subject to tight transverse confinement offer a highly controllable setting to study the two-dimensional (2D) BCS to Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless superfluid crossover. Achieving the 2D regime requires confining particles to their transverse ground state which presents challenges in interacting systems. Here, we establish the conditions for an interacting Fermi gas to display 2D kinematics. Transverse excitations are detected by measuring the transverse expansion rate which displays a sudden increase when the atom number exceeds a critical value N-2D signifying a density driven departure from 2D kinematics. For weak interactions N-2D is set by the aspect ratio of the trap. Close to a Feshbach resonance, however, the stronger interactions reduce N-2D and excitations appear at lower density.


The advancement of ubiquitous systems which focuses more on how it interacts with users to support their daily activities provides a new challenge in assessing the quality of the system. Its unique characteristics such as invisibility and context awareness make it more challenging to be mapped to a generic quality model to assess its usefulness. Therefore, this work aims to identify the quality characteristics and quality model to measure ubiquitous application. To achieve the aim, the systematic literature review will be conducted to identify quality characteristics of ubiquitous application and existing measures to assess the usability of these systems. Then, a usability measurement model will be designed and validated by experts through review sessions. The result will be an improved usability model for ubiquitous application which will provide a guide for researchers in evaluating ubiquitous systems using the improved model designed specifically for ubiquitous systems.


Replica-symmetric solution of the transverse tunneling model for proton glass with longitudinal Gaussian random field is employed to obtain an analytic solution of the nonlinear susceptibility h nl . The results show smearing of the nonlinear susceptibility near the glass transition by the Gaussian random field. Both the cusp anomaly of linear susceptibility and the divergence of nonlinear susceptibility are thus suppressed by random fields of Gaussian distribution.


The portable Quality Assurance of Spectral UV Measurements in Europe (QASUME) irradiance scale has been directly compared to the primary irradiance standard (blackbody BB3200pg) of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) using the travelling spectroradiometer QASUME. The average blackbody spectral irradiance scale based on three different temperatures (2940 K, 2997 K and 3059 K) was on average 0.7% greater than the QASUME irradiance scale based on the average of three low-power lamps. This is fully consistent with the expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of 4% in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range and 2.6% above 400 nm of the QASUME irradiance scale. If these blackbody measurements are used to establish directly the portable QASUME irradiance scale, then its expanded uncertainty (k = 2) is substantially reduced to 2.5% in the UV and 2.0% above 400 nm.


A filter device (10), especially an air filter for an internal combustion engine, includes a main filter element (22) arranged in a filter housing (12). The main filter element is flown through by a fluid to be filtered. The main filter element (22) is a multi-bellows filter having nested filter bellows (32, 34). Between the filter bellows (32, 34) a flow space (44) for the fluid is formed communicating with an end face of the main filter element (22), wherein each one of the filter bellows (32, 34) is embodied as a star-shaped filter with filter folds arranged in a star shape. On at least one end face of the main filter element (22) there is a seal (36) between one of the filter bellows (32, 34) and the filter housing (12). The main filter element (22) is forced seal-tightly against the filter housing (12) by a lateral insert (38) insertable into a housing receptacle (66) of the filter housing (12), or the main filter element (22) is seal-tightly forced by means of a locking device (74) against the filter housing (12), or the main filter element (22) is sealed by means of a two-component synthetic seal (36, 96, 98) relative to the filter housing (12,104).


Background: Because of its high prevalence, subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) has clinical significance as it is associated with many of the risks of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to its direct and indirect effect on lipid profile, diastolic function, and endothelial dysfunction. However, the link between SCH and CVD is still unknown. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and the lipid profile as evidence of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis on patients with SCH. Patients and methods : The current study was a cross-section study carried out on 50 patients with SCH who were enrolled from the Outpatient Clinics of Diabetes and Internal Medicine Department, Assiut University Hospitals, Assiut, Egypt in the period from the 1 st of September 2019 up to the end of December 2021. Also, 50 healthy matched participants who served as control group. All participants underwent full history taking, a thorough clinical examination, and routine lab investigation, in addition to thyroid function tests, lipid profile, echocardiography, and estimation of CIMT. Results: Patients with SCH had significantly higher waist to hip ratio (W/H), higher triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and increase in CIMT. Seven patients (14%) in the study group had diastolic dysfunction versus no one in the control group. In addition, SCH patients showed that significant positive correlations were founded between CIMT and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), cholesterol and LDL levels. Conclusions : The study found that various cardiovascular risk factors were prevalent in patients with SCH and should be considered.


The future of civilization could be determined by a China that exceeds the United States not only in numbers of people but also in gross domestic product (as measured by purchasing power parity) and in its mastery of high-speed trains and some other technologies [ ]unless all large powers act to slow climate change, all living beings will suffer [ ]neither side makes ideological claims on the other, as did the Soviet Union and the United States: Chinese power—not "communism"—is what China's neighbors fear COVID-19 and Other Disasters Khanna praises Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of Asia's "elected technocrats" along with Indonesia's Joko Widodo and Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte 5 Khanna argues (p 305) that such nonelite leaders with real-world experience governing as mayors or provincial governors are usually a better choice for the top job than well-heeled, upper-class politicians


Hypercalcemia of malignancy (HCM) is a serious metabolic complication, and the highest rates are in multiple myeloma (MM). The cause of hypercalcemia in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) remains unknown. We sought to evaluate the prognostic impact and mechanism of hypercalcemia in patients with symptomatic NDMM.


This study aimed to design and fabricate novel hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin-based hypercrosslinked polymers, called nanosponges, as carriers for anticancer hydrophobic agents and compare them with host–guest complexes of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, a remarkable solubilizer, to investigate their application in improving the pharmaceutical properties of the flavonoid naringenin, a model hydrophobic nutraceutical with versatile anticancer effects. For this purpose, three new nanosponges, crosslinked with pyromellitic dianhydride, citric acid, and carbonyldiimidazole, were fabricated. The carbonate nanosponge synthesized by carbonyldiimidazole presented the highest naringenin loading capacity (≈19.42%) and exerted significantly higher antiproliferative effects against MCF-7 cancer cells compared to free naringenin. Additionally, this carbonate nanosponge formed a stable nanosuspension, providing several advantages over the naringenin/hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin host–guest complex, including an increase of about 3.62-fold in the loading capacity percentage, sustained released pattern (versus the burst pattern of host–guest complex), and up to an 8.3-fold increase in antiproliferative effects against MCF-7 cancer cells. Both naringenin-loaded carriers were less toxic to L929 murine fibroblast normal cells than MCF-7 cancer cells. These findings suggest that hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin-based carbonate nanosponges could be a good candidate as a drug delivery system with potential applications in cancer treatment.


The concept of frequency diversity multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) detection is explained, and the digital signal processing technique to utilize this concept is proposed. The proposed technique is successfully applied in experiments to separate 10-Gbaud polarization division multiplexed QPSK signals with 6-GHz carrier spacing.


OURETTE'S syndrome is a neurologic disorder named after the French neurologist Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who, in 1885, described nine patients with childhood-onset tics, accompanied in some by uncontrollable noises and utterances, as well as features that are now associated with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, poor impulse control, and other coexisting behavioral problems. 1-3 Although Tourette considered the disorder he described to be hereditary, it was ascribed to psychogenic causes for nearly a century after the original report. The perception of Tourette's syndrome as a rare, bizarre psychological disorder began to change in the 1960s, when the beneficial effects of neuroleptic drugs on the symptoms of the syndrome began to be recognized. 4 This observation helped to stimulate research into the neurobiologic mechanisms of Tourette's syndrome, as a result of which it is now recognized as a relatively common, biologic, genetic disorder with a spectrum of neurobehavioral manifestations that wax and wane during its natural course. The marked fluctuations in the severity and frequency of symptoms, coupled with the striking variation in manifestations from one patient to another, however, contribute to frequent misdiagnosis. 5 Despite greater awareness of Tourette's syndrome as a result of increased educational efforts directed at physicians and other health care providers, psychologists, educators, and the general public, many cases still remain undiagnosed, or patients' symptoms are wrongly attributed to hyperactivity, nervousness, habits, allergies, asthma, dermatitis, and other conditions. 6,7 DIAGNOSIS


Introduction Tight glycaemic control is an important issue in the management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The glycaemic goals described by Van Den Berghe and colleagues in their landmark study of intensive insulin therapy appear difficult to achieve in a real life ICU setting. Most clinicians and nurses are concerned about a potentially increased frequency of severe hypoglycaemic episodes with more stringent glycaemic control. One of the steps we took before we implemented a glucose regulation protocol was to review published trials employing insulin/glucose algorithms in critically ill patients. Methods We conducted a search of the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases using the following terms: 'glucose', 'insulin', 'protocol', 'algorithm', 'nomogram', 'scheme', 'critically ill' and 'intensive care'. Our search was limited to clinical trials conducted in humans. The aim of the papers selected was required to be glycaemic control in critically ill patients; the blood glucose target was required to be 10 mmol/l or under (or use of a protocol that resulted in a mean blood glucose = 10 mmol/l). The studies were categorized according to patient type, desired range of blood glucose values, method of insulin administration, frequency of blood glucose control, time taken to achieve the desired range for glucose, proportion of patients with glucose in the desired range, mean blood glucose and frequency of hypoglycaemic episodes. Results A total of twenty-four reports satisfied our inclusion criteria. Most recent studies (nine) were conducted in an ICU; nine others were conducted in a perioperative setting and six were conducted in patients with acute myocardial infarction or stroke. Studies conducted before 2001 did not include normoglycaemia among their aims, which changed after publication of the study by Van Den Berghe and coworkers in 2001; glycaemic goals became tighter, with a target range between 4 and 8 mmol/l in most studies. Conclusion Studies using a dynamic scale protocol combining a tight glucose target and the last two blood glucose values to determine the insulin infusion rate yielded the best results in terms of glycaemic control and reported low frequencies of hypoglycaemic episodes. Introduction Evidence is increasing that tight glycaemic control reduces morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients [1-3]. The study conducted by Van Den Berghe and coworkers in thoracosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) patients [1] yielded impressive results; glycaemic control to a mean blood glucose of 5.7 mmol/l lowered morbidity and mortality by nearly 50%. Following the publication of this trial in 2001, many attempts have been made to achieve strict glycaemic control in ICU patients, with varying and sometimes disappointing results. The glycaemic goals described by Van Den Berghe and coworkers appear difficult to achieve in a real life ICU. Furthermore, most clinicians and nurses are concerned about the potential for an increased frequency of severe hypoglycaemic episodes. Here


Making use of generalized integral operator, we define a subclass of analytic functions with negative coefficients. The main object of this paper is to obtain coefficient estimates, closure theorems and extreme points. Also we obtain radii of close-to-convexity, starlikeness and convexity and neighbourhood results for functions in the generalized classR∗(α, β, μ, η). 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 30C45. 1.Introduction and Preliminaries Denote by A the class of functions of the form f(z) = z + ∞ ∑


I will discuss pathfinding activities in science, technology development and cyber-infrastructure that are relevant to the Square Kilometre Array. Technology development includes work on dish antennas, wideband dipole arrays, wideband feed antennas, and widefield phased array feeds. Science applications include time-domain exploration, deep continuum imaging, and high-rate surveys. The implied data volumes are growing exponentially and need to be matched with data management and mining systems.


The active power output of a wind power system needs regulation due to the stochastic nature of wind speed. A flywheel energy storage system (FESS) is a viable option for active power regulation in a wind power plant. An efficient energy management system (EMS) for FESS is required for healthy operation of the overall connected system. A wind speed forecasting based EMS has been proposed in this paper. It utilizes the repeated wavelet transform based ARIMA model for very short-term wind speed forecasting, which has been proven to be better than the methods that exist in the literature. An artificial neural network based model is used to translate the forecasted wind speed to instantaneous wind power output. Considering the initial energy of FESS, an optimization technique has been used to calculate the speed command to be given to FESS for a given energy exchanged with the grid. The proposed control approach extends FESS usability as an energy exchange system for a period of large change in wind speed where the normal control approach saturates the FESS speed. The feasibility of the proposed EMS algorithm has been tested in MATLAB/Simulink.


The present work proposes the use of green infrastructure (GI) called sustainable urban agriculture drainage systems with water reuse (SUADS-WR) to manage percolated water sustainably in urban agricultural areas (f.i. golf courses). The substrate of the system is commonly used in golf courses and includes a subsurface reservoir for water that exceeds the edaphic zone. Data obtained from a lysimeter, installed in a golf course in Spain, are used to validate the methods employed in developing hydro-informatics tools based on daily water balance, which estimates the water requirement for crops, reservoir height, and capacity for unused water reuse. Reference evapotranspiration can be estimated using the Penman–Monteith or Hargreaves–Samani method. The results were compared with experimental data, revealing that the estimated irrigation depths were lower than the supplied ones and that the estimated percolation was consistent with the measured field drainage. The applicability of the proposed methods for determining the reservoir height and irrigation depth for any type of crop in urban agricultural areas is confirmed. With the implementation of SUADS-WR, the harvested water depth can cover more than 38% of the annual water demand for the crop and utilize leached fertilizers, thus preventing pollution of the receiving surface water body or groundwater.


ABSTRACT Concrete-based construction provides enormous advantages by utilizing waste materials and by-products from various sources such as industries, power plants, etc. One of the significant waste materials from the coal-based power plants, pond ash (PA), is highly dumped into landfills, causing critical environmental issues. This study examined the strength, morphological and durability characteristics of coal pond ash concrete. In this investigation, the cement was replaced with 10% of coal pond ash by weight of cement and water – binder ratio of 0.44 was used in all mix proportions. Strength properties were evaluated by using modulus of elasticity test. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) were also performed to evaluate its morphological characteristics. Durability properties such as rapid chloride penetration test, weathering resistance test, acid resistance test and chloride resistance test were conducted. The test results confirmed the efficiency of adding ash to cement material. Ten percent of coal pond ash in concrete had significant resistance against chloride penetration, weathering action, chloride and acid attack. SEM and EDAX analysis confirmed the presence of a higher amount of CSH gels at the increase in age, which promotes more – denser, less porous and compacted microstructure in concrete.


Physarum polycephalum is a single-celled, multi-nucleated slime mold whose body constitutes a network of veins. As it explores its environment, it adapts and optimizes its network to external stimuli. It has been shown to exhibit complex behavior, like solving mazes, finding the shortest path, and creating cost-efficient and robust networks. Several models have been developed to attempt to mimic its network's adaptation in order to try to understand the mechanisms behind its behavior as well as to be able to create efficient networks. This thesis aims to study a recently developed, physically-consistent model based on adaptive Hagen-Poiseuille flows on graphs, determining the properties of the trees it creates and probing them to understand if they are realistic and consistent with experiment. It also intends to use said model to produce short and efficient networks, applying it to a real-life transport network example. We have found that the model is able to create networks that are consistent with biological networks: they follow Murray's law at steady state, exhibit structures similar to Physarum's networks, and even present peristalsis (oscillations of the vein radii) and shuttle streaming (the back-and-forth movement of cytoplasm inside Physarum's veins) in some parts of the networks. We have also used the model paired with different stochastic algorithms to produce efficient, short, and cost-efficient networks; when compared to a real transport network, mainland Portugal's railway system, all algorithms proved to be more efficient and some proved to be more cost-efficient.


AIMS
The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of a prenatal breastfeeding education programme for primigravida women who have elected caesarean section as a model of delivery and (2) to evaluate its effectiveness for encouraging a positive attitude to breastfeeding and rooming-in and to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates within hospital and at one month postpartum.

BACKGROUND
Prenatal preparation for pregnant women about breastfeeding enhances their practical knowledge and skills about breastfeeding techniques, which prepares them when encountering possible difficulties.

DESIGN
A quasi-experimental design was used.

METHODS
The targeted population was primigravidas at 36-39 weeks and who had chosen to deliver by caesarean section. The study consisted of approximately 100 individuals; the control group consisted of 46 subjects and the following 54 made up the experimental group. The study was conducted at a hospital in Taiwan.

RESULTS
The results of the study show that the subjects of the experimental group exhibited a more positive breastfeeding attitude (88.9 vs. 79.8, t = 7.40, p < 0.001), a higher 24 hours rooming-in rate (87% vs. 63%, chi(2) = 16.06, p < 0.001) and a higher exclusive breastfeeding rate (79.6% vs. 52.2%, chi(2) = 8.38, p = 0.004) during hospital stays and a higher exclusive breastfeeding rate (75.9% vs. 34.7%, chi(2) = 16.98, p < 0.001) for the one month postpartum period.

CONCLUSION
Results suggest that providing education booklets, videos and telephone interview on breastfeeding prior to a caesarean delivery may contribute to breastfeeding attitude and improved rooming-in and exclusive breastfeeding rates.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
This breastfeeding education programme has proven to be successful in aiding women breastfeeding after a caesarean delivery and provides health care professionals with an evidence-based intervention.


Abstract: The infrared (IR) spectrum lies between the microwave and optical frequency ranges, which are well suited for communication and energy harvesting purposes, respectively. The long wavelength IR (LWIR) spectrum, corresponding to wavelengths from 8 μm to 15 μm, includes the thermal radiation emitted by objects at room temperature and the Earth's terrestrial radiation. Therefore, LWIR detectors are very appealing for thermal imaging purposes. In this chapter, we investigate the prospects of Mid-IR antenna coupled Metal-Insulator-Metal rectifying diodes to be used for LWIR detection and harvesting purposes. Considering the research presented in the literature on this subject, we introduce current challenges that lead to the future research directions. Moreover, we support the analysis on the antenna coupled tunneling diodes with our most recent results to draw a solid picture.


Interactive agents such as pet robots or adaptive speech interface systems that require forming a mutual adaptation process with users should have two competences. One of these is recognizing reward information from users' expressed paralanguage information, and the other is informing the learning system about the users by means of that reward information. The purpose of this study was to clarify the specific contents of reward information and the actual mechanism of a learning system by observing how 2 persons could create a smooth speech communication, such as that between owners and their pets. A communication experiment was conducted to observe how human participants create smooth communication through acquiring meaning from utterances in languages they did not understand. Then, based on experimental results, a meaning-acquisition model that considers the following 2 assumptions was constructed: (a) To achieve a mutual adaptive relationship with users, the model needs to induce users' adaptation and to exploit this induced adaptation to recognize the meanings of a user's speech sounds; and (b) to recognize users' utterances through trial-and-error interaction regardless of the language used, the model should focus on prosodic information in speech sounds, rather than on the phoneme information on which most past interface studies have focused. The results confirmed that the proposed model could recognize the meanings of users' verbal commands by using participants' adaptations to the model for its meaning-acquisition process. However, this phenomenon was observed only when an experimenter gave the participants appropriate instructions equivalent to catchphrases that helped users learn how to use and interact intuitively with the model. Thus, this suggested the need for a subsequent study to discover how to induce the participants' adaptations or natural behaviors without giving these kinds of instructions.


The two sides in the strike of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 against SEPTA management are do"• ing a lot of talking — just not to each other. While the city and the 450,000 people who rely on SEPTA subways, buses and trolleys every day are beginning to feel the increasing effects of the transit shutdown, neither the union nor SEPTA seems willing to come to the table to negotiate a new contract. Or rather, according to representatives from both sides, it is the other side that does not want to make any concessions. "All's quiet at the bargaining table — regrettably," SEPTA spokesperson Stephan Rosenfeld said. 'This is a totally unnecessary strike land) the vast majority of union members feel that way." "The TWU is prepared to negotiate at any time," TWU business agent Bruce Bodner countered. "We've been trying to negotiate since December. The problem in this dispute is SEPTA's inability to negotiate in good faith." On Monday, more than 5,200 SEPTA employees walked off the job at noon after working for 2 1/2 months without a contract. The union and management had been negotiating since December to draft a new contract to replace the old one, which expired March 15. Talks broke down the day before the strike began and have not resumed since. At the heart of the TWU's grievances against management are the 47 "take-away demands" negotiators made of union leaders, Bodner said. He blasted the plans by SEPTA to "take back rights and benefits that are already in our contracts." He cited Blue Cross/Blue Shield indemnity health coverage, job-picking rights for maintenance workers


While the influence of T-regs has been explored in numerous contexts, their role within the bone marrow (BM) has not been elucidated. In this study, we establish that BM derived T-regs represent a specialized population with a tissue-specific role. Functional homing assays demonstrate that BM T-regs preferentially traffic back to this site, revealing that specific signaling cues recruit T-regs to this microenvironment. This is supported by RNA-seq data showing that the chemokine and cytokine receptor profiles of BM T-regs differ from T-regs in secondary lymphoid tissues. BM Tregs are also characterized by a higher expression of CD127/IL7Ra conventionally not expressed on peripheral T-regs. Depletion of Tregs via anti-CD25 treatment has widespread effects across several BM populations, especially the stem cell compartment. Loss of T-regs results in increased HSC cycling and proliferation, while fostering myeloid skewed differentiation. Key stem cell features including repopulation capacity and dormancy are also disrupted. Moreover, supportive niche populations are also altered by Treg depletion, as evidenced by increased cycling and proliferation of stromal cells. Non-genotoxic conditioning and transplantation, reveals that the T-reg depleted microenvironment is less supportive of HSCs, thus establishing a novel role for Tregs in maintaining niche function. Remarkably, the effects of Treg depletion are found to be longlasting. In the absence of continued treatment, cohorts sustain a myeloid bias, as well as increased numbers of HSCs and stromal cells. These observations support the conclusion that BM T-regs represent a unique subset that maintains numerous populations and have a specialized function within this tissue.


In this work, an axisymmetric two dimensional finite el ment model was developed to simulate instrument ed i dentation testing of thin ceramic films deposited onto hard s teel substrate. The indenter was modeled as a rigid cone (half angle of 70.3 ). The level of film residual stress ( σr), the film elastic modulus (E) and the film work h ardening exponent (n) were varied to analyze their effects on instrumented indentation data. Results i ndicated that all variables ( σr, E, n) have effects on indentation morphology (pil eup and sink-in), on the maximum load necessary to a chieve a given penetration depth. These numerical r esults were used to analyze experimental data that were obtained with titanium ni tride coated specimens with different levels of resi dual stresss. Good qualitative correlation was obtained when numerical and experimental results are compared, as long as a ll film properties are considered in the analyses, and not only the film r esidual stress level. Residual stress was calculated using two methodologies: Suresh's and Wang's. The first one makes a clear di stinguish between elastic and plastic stress and the second is based on the energy obtained from indentation data. For numerical resul t a correlation was obtained with imposed stress on test, but for experimental results it was not possible to calculate residual st ress. Keyword: instrumented indentation, residual stress, thin fil ms, titanium nitride, finite elements.


Introduction: Laparoscopic appendicectomy is emerging as a popular treatment modality for acute appendicitis but it is still far from attaining the status of "gold standard". The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the results of open and laparoscopic treatment for acute appendicitis in a prospective randomized unicentre study. Material and Methods: Sixtythree patients underwent for operative interventions after stratified random sampling; 30 patients underwent for laparoscopic appendicectomy (LA) and 33 patients underwent open appendicectomy (OA) with diagnosis of suspected acute appendicitis. The two groups were compared in terms of duration of surgery, length of hospital stay, intra-operative and post-operative complications. For statistical analysis; Chi-square (x2) and Mann-whitney U test were used. Result: As compared to open appendicectomy, laparoscopic appendicectomy was associated with shorter hospital stay (3vs5 days, p<0.05) with low incidence of wound infection (3%vs18%, p<0.05).The incidence of intra-abdominal abscess formation and adhesive ileus was more in LA group statistically insignificant. (p>0.05). The mean time for post-operative duration of i.v. fluid infusion [LA:8.63hrs, OA:22hrs, p<0.01] and requirement of analgesic either by parentral route[2 doses Vs 4 doses, p<0.01] or by oral route[LA:2 doses, OA:6 doses, p<0.01] and return to normal activity was less in LA group as compared to OA group. Conversion to open was necessary in two cases only and an incisional hernia case was also reported in follow up period. Conclusion: We conclude that routine laparoscopy and laparoscopic appendicectomy for suspected acute appendicitis is safe and clinically beneficial operative procedure and postoperative outcomes including hospital stay was significantly short. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was associated with fewer wound infection, faster recovery, earlier return to bowel sounds, normal activity with less pain and improved cosmesis.


This paper explores how policy-makers during the Second World War attempted to "learn the lessons" of history from the reparations settlement imposed after the First World War. It shows how these lessons were developed and articulated in the formulation of, in particular, American foreign policy, and also their consequences for foreign policy during and after the Second World War. The paper demonstrates the important role of European advisors in shaping American policy, thereby illustrating that not all American lessons of history were born in the USA. It also draws out how many of these lessons have found an echo in the historiography of German reparations that has emerged over the past fifty years. In both periods the issues of enforcement and compliance, the issues that concern us generally in this volume, dominated the debate between advisors and policy-makers.


Schools are sites of cultural politics. As such they are places where a sense of identity and value is both informed and contested. Work education is a particularly rich sphere of practice within which to explore these issues. This paper presents a particular version of a pedagogy for work education that supports our notion of a "project of possibility." We argue that central to such a pedagogy is a practice that must acknowledge experience as legitimate curricular content while simultaneously challenging both its substance and its form. Several variations of how work experience is constituted by students are discussed and the pedagogical implications of each explored.


In the process of object tracking, the major problem is how to mark the tracking box of the object. Moreover, multi-objects tracking is also difficult. This paper proposed and efficient fast object-tracking scheme based on motion-vector-located pattern match, which adopts motion vector of Mpeg2 to mark the moving targets in static video in order to mark and locate the targets automatically and quickly. Then, extract multi-dimensional characteristics from the initial targets taken by motion vector and make the model. Then accurately identifies the particles of larger weight and combines with inertia factor of velocity through matching the original data and the observations of particle filter. The matching of the characteristics of the new particle and the original one is more accurate and faster because of adopting the method of pattern classifying. The experiments show that the algorithm had good tracking performance and strong robustness.


One of the major challenges facing the software industry, in general and IV&V (Independent Verification and Validation) analysts in particular, is to find ways for analyzing dynamic behavior of requirement specifications of large software systems early in the development lifecycle. Such analysis can significantly improve the performance and reliability of the developed systems. This dissertation addresses the problem of developing an IV&V framework for extracting semantics of dynamic behavior from requirement specifications based on: (1) SART (Structured Analysis with Realtime) models, and (2) UML (Unified Modeling Language) models.
For SART, the framework presented here shows a direct mapping from SART specification models to CPN (Colored Petrinets) models. The semantics of the SART hierarchy at the individual levels are preserved in the mapping. This makes it easy for the analyst to perform the analysis and trace back to the corresponding SART model. CPN was selected because it supports rigorous dynamic analysis. A large scale case study based on a component of NASA EOS system was performed for a proof of the concept.
For UML specifications, an approach based on metamodels is presented. A special type of metamodel, called dynamic metamodel (DMM), is introduced. This approach holds several advantages over the direct mapping of UML to CPN. The mapping rules for generating DMM are not CPN specific, hence they would not change if a language other than CPN is used. Also it makes it more flexible to develop DMM because other types of models can be added to the existing UML models. A simple example of a pacemaker is used to illustrate the concepts of DMM.


A method, a device and a system for uplink control channel resources configuration are provided. The method comprises that: a base station determines that whether there are the uplink control channel resources corresponding to a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of a downlink carrier to be fed back in an uplink carrier for ACK/NACK feedback, and sets the identifier of available resources in the PDCCH according to the determination result; a user equipment detects the PDCCH in the downlink carrier, and employs the corresponding resources for ACK/NACK feedback according to the identifier of available resources in the PDCCH. With the provided method, device and system, the waste of resources caused by uplink feedback channel spending in the system could be reduced.


In this paper a path planning technique called particle swarm optimization and sliding mode control is described. Particle Swarm optimization (PSO) is a computational strategy that upgrades an issue by repeatedly attempting to improve an applicant solution with respect to a given proportion of value. Evaluation and detailed design of the Sliding Mode Control (SMC), utilizes a discontinuous controller is developed in two phases, i.e. reaching phase and sliding phase and it will be integrated with PID(proportional-integral-derivative). The sliding stage, represented by decreased order dynamics, provides some advantages in terms of parameters and disturbances such as invariance. PID controller is a mechanism in which uses feedback to evaluate the error and applies correction. Particle swarm optimization and sliding mode control are the unique technique that can be used to optimize the gain parameter. In addition, it has been noted that the reaching stage is vulnerable to unpredictability and disruption that may demean efficiency or even result in issues with stability in some delicate apps. Known for chattering eradication, the Smooth SMC (SSMC) does not match the sense of sliding methods. In this paper, the SSTA's novel Lyapunov function-based assessment is suggested and by virtue of cohesion new performance and robustness parameters are produced which include analytical phrases as selecting controller gains, setting time for the closed loop system, and stability boundaries for a class of unpredictability.


Aims: To assess the efficacy of lafutidine therapy versus rabeprazole in Indian patients with endoscopically and histologically proven gastritis and peptic ulcer. Study Design:A double blind, double dummy, randomized, comparative study. Place and Duration of Study:Global Liver and Gastroenterology Centre, Bhopal, India, between March 2010 and October 2010. Methodology: A total of 100 patients were enrolled, including 50 with endoscopically and histologically proven gastritis and other 50 with peptic ulcer (over 5 mm in diameter). Each group was randomized to receive either lafutidine or rabeprazole tablet and their corresponding competitor placebo dummy tablet, for a period of


Ethiopia enjoys many of the conditions needed to support a buoyant dairy sector. For centuries, agricultural communities have practiced livestock production across the country's highlands, producing sufficient milk for their own subsistence. Today, rapid urbanisation and high economic growth rates are opening up new opportunities for dairy farmers to supply the emerging domestic market. This potential is also reflected in the rise and increased capacity of dairy processing companies.