Abstract 2′-Deoxytubercidin is secreted by the organic cation secretory system of mouse kidney. The presented data indicate that this secretion occurs by a transport system other than the MDR1 P-glycoprotein.


A new autonomous navigation control system for mobile robots is presented, in which the learning and decision making model based on emotion and cognition is introduced into the control architecture of behavior-based robot system. Dynamic system approach is applied to design the basic behaviors. Continuous environment perceptions are classified into categories by Adaptive Resonance Theory-2 (ART2) networks, which are used as the environmental cognitive states in learning and decision making. Rational behavior-coordination mechanism is developed by the on-line learning of emotion and environmental cognitive. Simulations have demonstrated that the emotion and environmental cognition can obviously improve the efficiency of the learning and decision making process, and enhance the capability of autonomous navigation in behavior-based robot system under unknown environment.


A phase-locked loop (PLL) is a nonlinear negative-feedback control system that synchronizes its output in frequency as well as in phase with its input. PLLs are now widely used for the synchronization of power-electronics-based converters and also for monitoring and control purposes in different engineering fields. In recent years, there have been many attempts to design more advanced PLLs for three-phase applications. The aim of this paper is to provide overviews of these attempts, which can be very useful for engineers and academic researchers.


Flexibility can be defined as the range of motion (ROM), or movement around a single joint or set of joints. Flexibility is an important component among these for assessing an individual fitness level. Tightness in muscles interferes with normal functioning and may further limit ROM. The present study is an observational study, for evaluating the flexibility among girls. A total of sixty girls were recruited. An inclusion criterion was set for selecting the subjects into the study: 1) Only females subjects were recruited. 2) Age range was 20-25 years. 3) Only non-athlete were recruited in the study. 4) Written signed informed consent was taken from all the subjects. Those subjects who were not co-operative and not willing to participate in the study were excluded. The anthropometric measurement were calculated which includes weight and height. The outcome measure, flexibility was measured by sit and reach box. The results from the present study suggested that, the mean age and standard deviation of sixty nonathlete Punjabi girls was 23.53±1.11. The mean weight and height with standard deviation was 55.08±6.73 and 161.146±6.35 respectively. Also, the mean and standard deviation of flexibility was calculated which was 9.30±4.70. The study concluded that there was an average level of flexibility among non-athlete Punjabi girls.


In haemophiliacs, recurrent hemarthrosis and chronic synovitis lead to chronic arthropathy. Synovectomy is indicated when medical treatment fails. Few studies report the results of open synovectomy of the ankle in haemophiliacs with a small number of procedures and also a limited follow‐up.


The operational restrictions on several current interferometer/radiometer instruments are such that focal planes, optical components, and telescope baffles must be maintained at temperatures near 8°K, 20°K, and 80°K respectively. One reliable method of achieving this is to expel supercritical helium from a supply dewar at constant pressure by applying energy to a dewar heater; the resulting flow then passes serially through three (or more) heat exchangers to achieve the desired cooling before being vented through a pressure regulator valve. A convenient set of approximate, time-dependent equations that can be programmed on a hand-held calculator for the preliminary design of a supercritical helium cooling system are presented in this paper. Predicted temperature and mass flow rates based on the simplified equations agree within 5 percent of those resulting from analyses by other researchers. The equations are applied to a particular cooler system for the CIRRIS 82 instrument scheduled to be flown on the Space Shuttle in 1982.


The influences of KH-550 silane as a compatibilizer on the mechanical properties,morphological and rheological behavior of polypropylene/molecular sieves type 5A(PP/5A)composites were studied by scanning electron microscope(SEM),polar optical microscope(POM) and flow tests.The compatible mechanism of silane was discussed by using IR and X-ray diffraction(XRD).The results showed that silane was a true compatibilizer of the system,and the properties of PP/5A/silane(100/9/0.2) composites attained a peak.Compared with the PP/5A composites without silane,the impact strength and tensile strength were improved respectively by 26.7% and 2.2%.Silane activated the heterogeneous nucleation centers on 5A and narrowed down and uniformed the distribution of the spherulite diameter,improved the interfacial dispersibility of 5A in the matrix.Silane grafted on the surface of 5A,and enhanced the adhesion of matrix-filler surface,improved the compatibility of 5A and PP.


This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus on the growth performance of the genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) ( Oreochromis niloticus ). A total of 120 fingerlings were acquired, assigned randomly into 4 groups (n=30/ group) received one of four experimental diets each (30% crude protein supplemented with either T1- L. plantarum 1×10 8 cfu), T2-( P. pentosaceus 1×10 8 cfu), T3-( L. plantarum and P. pentosaceus 1×10 8 cfu) or ( T0-(No probiotics ) for 60 days in a triplicate manner (n=10/replicate/aquarium of 1 ft 3 ). Growth performance was assessed by final


There has been significant progress in the music generation technique utilizing deep learning. However, it is still hard for musicians and artists to use these techniques in their daily music-making practice. This paper proposes a Variational Autoencoder\cite{Kingma2014}(VAE)-based rhythm generation system, in which musicians can train a deep learning model only by selecting target MIDI files, then generate various rhythms with the model. The author has implemented the system as a plugin software for a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), namely a Max for Live device for Ableton Live. Selected professional/semi-professional musicians and music producers have used the plugin, and they proved that the plugin is a useful tool for making music creatively. The plugin, source code, and demo videos are available online.


Objective To study the effects of astaxanthin (ATX) on the early brain injury (EBI) after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in rats.Methods A total of 72 male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:sham group,SAH + vehicle group and SAH + ATX group.The prechiasmatic cistern SAH rat model was established in this experiment.Brain edema and Evans blue extravasation were measured at 24 h after surgery.The levels of Caspase-3,apoptotic index and malondialdehyde (MDA),glutathione (GSH),and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the brain cortex were evaluated by Western blotting,terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining,and spectrophotometric method,respectively.Results The brain edema [(80.76 ± 0.67) %] and blood-brain barrier permeability [(2.17 ±0.53) μg/g] were significantly aggravated at 24 h after SAH.In addition,the levels of Caspase-3 expression [(0.49 ± 0.13)] and neural cell apoptosis [(41.54 ±9.38) %] were increased in the inferior basal temporal lobe followomh SAH.After ATX administration,the brain edema [(79.91 ± 0.42) %],BBB disruption [(1.35 ± 0.46) μg/g],Caspase-3 levels [(0.34 ± 0.06)] and neural cell apoptosis [(27.86 ± 5.17) %] were ameliorated after SAH.Meanwhile,ATX could attenuate the oxidative stress injury [(MDA:2.52 ± 0.60,4.44 ± 1.32 and 2.64 ±0.78); (GSH:6.50±1.80,3.72±1.12 and 6.23 ±0.87); (SOD:25.71 ±4.00,14.71 ±2.35 and 21.61 ± 3.87)] in brain cortex after SAH.Conclusion ATX could alleviate EBI after SAH by its powerful anti-oxidant property.

Key words:
Subarachnoid hemorrhage;  Early brain injury;  Astaxanthin;  Oxidative stress injury


Objective To evaluate the hysteresis of 125 Ⅰ antiAFP antibody infused via hepatic artery combined with TACE in patients with HCC,and the effect and toxicity were observed.Methods In targetting therapy group (36 cases), 125 Ⅰ antiAFP antibody was given as an intrahepatic artery infusion combined with TACE.34 cases reseived TACE alone group.Results Medium radioactive ratio of tumor/liver was 1 86±0 72 after targetting therapy.Response rate (PR+MR) were 55 6% and 41 2% for targetting therapy group and TACE alone group,respectively ( P 0 05).Markedly reduced rate of serm AFP level and medium duration of response were 77 8% and 8 5%M for targetting therapy group and 52 9% and 5 6M for TACE alone group,respectively ( P 0 05).Transient hypothyronine T 3 and T 4 occurred in 16 7% cases of targetting therapy group.The other toxicities were tolerable and similar in two groups.Conclusion 125 Ⅰ antiAFP antibody infusion via hepatic artery combined with TACE have a specific retentionist in the tumor mass.The efficacies of complex therapy were better than TACE alone for HCC,and the toxicities were tolerable.


In the present study, the comparative mechanisms of action of phencyclidine (PCP) and amphetamine were addressed employing the parameter of locomotion in rats. PCP‐induced locomotion (PLOC) was potently blocked by the selective serotonin (5‐HT)2A vs. D2 antagonists, SR46349, MDL100,907, ritanserin and fananserin, which barely affected amphetamine‐induced locomotion (ALOC). In contrast, the selective D2 vs. 5‐HT2A antagonists, eticlopride, raclopride and amisulpride, preferentially inhibited ALOC vs. PLOC. The potency of these drugs and 12 multireceptorial antipsychotics in inhibiting PLOC vs. ALOC correlated significantly with affinities at 5‐HT2A vs. D2 receptors, respectively. Amphetamine and PCP both dose dependently increased dialysate levels of dopamine (DA) and 5‐HT in the nucleus accumbens, striatum and frontal cortex (FCX) of freely moving rats, but PCP was proportionally more effective than amphetamine in elevating levels of 5‐HT vs. DA in the accumbens. Further, whereas microinjection of PCP into the accumbens elicited locomotion, its introduction into the striatum or FCX was ineffective. The action of intra‐accumbens PCP, but not intra‐accumbens amphetamine, was abolished by SR46349 and clozapine. Parachloroamphetamine, which depleted accumbens pools of 5‐HT but not DA, likewise abolished PLOC without affecting ALOC. In contrast, intra‐accumbens 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA), which depleted DA but not 5‐HT, abolished ALOC but only partially attenuated PLOC. In conclusion, PLOC involves (indirect) activation of accumbens‐localized 5‐HT2A receptors by 5‐HT. PLOC is, correspondingly, more potently blocked than ALOC by antipsychotics displaying marked affinity at 5‐HT2A receptors.


Based on principal-agent theory, the separation of Legal Ownership and control for Value-driven factors in venture capitalists -backed enterprises is so seriously that the venture capitalist faces the moral hazard, adversity selection of the entrepreneurs, and the monitoring cost is high for him. Thus it's necessary to design incentive patterns for entrepreneurs to improve their performance. This study examines the relationship between a venture capitalist and an entrepreneur and follows it from its inception to the exit stage. The model we developed is a multi-period game theoretic model with moral hazard where the contract is set in the first period. Because there is information asymmetry and the inconsistency of the goal between the principal and agent in the process of venture investment, when the incentive mechanism designed by the venture capitalists is not sufficient to fully stimulate the entrepreneurs, the rational entrepreneurs will pursuit the objectives that are not met the interests of the venture capitalists, which is called moral hazard and adverse selection. The contribution of the study lies in that it provides on optimal incentive program and its characterization of an endogenous exit point. The study states that the incentive patterns can be applied to the whole enterprise, and analyzes the related problem of actual application and brings up the counter plans.


Bringing power to one of the world's largest oil and gas platforms was not easy, but Troll A in the North Sea is now reaping the benefits. In February 2005, the world's first offshore HVDC transmission was successfully commissioned. Consisting of two parallel 40 MW transmissions connecting the Troll A gas platform in the North Sea, with the mainland 132 kV grid via polymeric DC cables, the offshore module was designed by ABB in collaboration with Statoil. Electrical power is supplied from the shore - for both the power supply and compressor drives - which gives way to a host of benefits. It cuts emissions and leads to a significant cost savings of oil companies. In addition, transmission of electrical energy from shore involves less maintenance and higher availability.


Introduction: Higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS) have poor outcomes, particularly after hypomethylating agent (HMA) failure. The HMA azacitidine (AZA) is a standard of care for HR-MDS and works through several mechanisms, including inhibition of NF-kB signaling. Ibrutinib (IBR) inhibits Bruton9s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) and has an antiproliferative effect on myeloblasts in preclinical models through BTK binding and inhibition of NF-kB signaling. IBR also has immunomodulatory activity mediated through binding interleukin-2-inducible kinase (ITK) and promoting Th1-polarized immunity, which is decreased in HR-MDS. These features suggest that the combination of IBR and AZA may improve outcomes in HR-MDS. Methods: This is an ongoing multicenter prospective Phase 1 dose-escalation trial of IBR in combination with AZA in patients with HR-MDS (NCT02553941). Results of the dose escalation phase are reported. Eligibility included World Health Organization or French-American-British classification-defined MDS and Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPPS-R) intermediate or higher risk. Any prior therapy was allowed or patients could be untreated if unfit for, or had refused, high intensity chemotherapy. Transfusion-dependent patients were eligible. Patients received AZA 75 mg/m2 IV/SC daily for 7 days and IBR orally daily for 28 days. Cycles repeated every 28 days. Dose-escalation used a 3+3 design with IBR dose levels of 420 mg (Cohort 1) and 560 mg (Cohort 2). The primary objective was to determine the safety and tolerability of IBR in combination with AZA. Adverse events (AEs) were monitored throughout treatment, and dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) were assessed during cycle 1. The secondary objective was to assess preliminary efficacy using modified International Working Group Response Criteria. Exploratory objectives evaluated pharmacodynamic and biological effects of the combination, including BTK occupancy in CD34+ bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC). Results: As of June 1, 2017, 9 patients [89% male, median age 80 years (range 64-81)] were enrolled into Cohort 1 (n=3) and Cohort 2 (n=6). MDS subtypes included single lineage dysplasia (n=1), multilineage dysplasia (n=1), excess blasts (EB)-1 (n=2), EB-2 (n=3), refractory anemia with EB in transformation (n=1) and unclassifiable (n=1). IPSS-R scores were intermediate (n=2), high (n=2) and very high (n=5). Three patients were HMA-naive and six had prior HMA therapy [AZA (n=3), decitabine (n=2), both (n=1)]. All patients completed cycle 1. No DLTs were observed. All patients experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE). Seven patients experienced a grade 3-4 TEAE with neutropenia (n=6), thrombocytopenia (n=3) and febrile neutropenia (n=3) most common. Four patients (three in Cohort 1 and one in Cohort 2) experienced a serious adverse event including febrile neutropenia (n=3) and gastric hemorrhage (n=1). No patients experienced atrial fibrillation. Median time on study was 160 days (range 42-283) with a median of five cycles (range 1-10) received. Six patients remain on IBR plus AZA, and three patients have discontinued study therapy (two disease progression and one withdrawal of consent and subsequent death on hospice). Four patients have reduced AZA to 5 days per cycle per investigator discretion, and four patients have had interruptions of IBR dosing due to febrile neutropenia (n=3) and concurrent azole use (n=1). Three patients (33%) achieved complete remission (CR), one (11%) had a partial remission (PR), and five (55%) had stable disease (SD). All three CRs occurred in patients without prior HMA exposure and included one complete and two partial cytogenetic responses. CR was achieved after 1, 4 and 6 cycles in these patients. One patient (11%) with SD had a hematologic improvement-erythroid response (HI-E). The overall hematologic normalization rate (CR+PR+HI) was 55%. BTK occupancy in CD34+ BMMC after cycle 1 was 42.0% and 51.7% in two patients at IBR 420 mg and 41.5% in one patient at IBR 560 mg. Conclusions: The combination of IBR and AZA demonstrates a tolerable safety profile in patients with HR-MDS. No DLTs were observed at either IBR dose level. The combination shows promising preliminary efficacy, including responses in patients with prior HMA exposure. CD34+ BMMC BTK occupancy was seen. An expansion cohort at the IBR 560 mg dose level in AZA-naive patients is ongoing. Disclosures Jonas: AbbVie, Celgene, Daiichi Sankyo, Pharmacyclics, Genentech/Roche, Glycomimetics, Esanex, Kalobios: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Rigel: Consultancy. Logan: Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy; Astellas: Research Funding; Shire: Consultancy; Kite: Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Jazz: Consultancy. Abedi: Takeda: Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Speakers Bureau; BMS: Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; California Institute of Regenerative Medicine: Research Funding. Bejar: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: DSMB, Steering Committee, Research Funding; Genoptix: Consultancy, Honoraria, Patents & Royalties; AbbVie/Genetech: Honoraria, Other: Ad-hoc advisory board; Foundation Medicine: Honoraria, Other: Ad-hoc advisory board; Otsuka/Astex: Honoraria, Other: Ad-hoc advisory board; Modus Outcomes: Consultancy, Honoraria. Wieduwilt: Reata Pharmaceuticals: Equity Ownership; Sigma-Tau: Research Funding. Curtin: Amgen, Celgene, Onconova, Pharmacyclics: Research Funding.


Method for impregnating sand beds and other stone-like materials comprises using a bitumen-free aqueous emulsion containing 40-70 wt.% of a mixture of petroleum resin (10-50 wt.%), emulsifier (0.05-2.5 wt.%) and aromatic petroleum extract (20-80 wt.%). Independent claims are also included for: (1) a material comprising sand and the emulsion; and (2) an injection fluid for sand beds, comprising the emulsion.


In the Hammersley-Aldous-Diaconis process infinitely many particles sit in R and at most one particle is allowed at each position. A particle at x$ whose nearest neighbor to the right is at y, jumps at rate y-x to a position uniformly distributed in the interval (x,y). The basic coupling between trajectories with different initial configuration induces a process with different classes of particles. We show that the invariant measures for the two-class process can be obtained as follows. First, a stationary M/M/1 queue is constructed as a function of two homogeneous Poisson processes, the arrivals with rate \lambda and the (attempted) services with rate \rho>\lambda. Then put the first class particles at the instants of departures (effective services) and second class particles at the instants of unused services. The procedure is generalized for the n-class case by using n-1 queues in tandem with n-1 priority-types of customers. A multi-line process is introduced; it consists of a coupling (different from Liggett's basic coupling), having as invariant measure the product of Poisson processes. The definition of the multi-line process involves the dual points of the space-time Poisson process used in the graphical construction of the system. The coupled process is a transformation of the multi-line process and its invariant measure the transformation described above of the product measure.


The procedure of a physical chemistry experiment for university students must be designed in a way that the accuracy and precision of the measurements is properly maintained. However, in many cases, that requires costly and sophisticated equipment not readily available in developing countries. A simple, low-cost experiment to determine isobaric expansion coefficient has been designed and successfully implemented. The practice includes measurement of density at controlled temperatures and mathematical and graphical treatment of data. In spite of the simplicity of the experiment, the precision and accuracy of the measurements are not forfeited.


According to the development of ubiquitous and computer techniques, the application fields of sensor network have been enlarged. We present the design and implementation of sensor node which is the most important component of sensor network techniques in this paper. The proposed sensor node is implemented with 8-bit microprocessor, and temperature and humidity sensing device to gather temperature and humidity data in real world. It achieves low production cost and user convenience, and also has the feature os existing commercial sensor node. Though our experiments, we show that deviation of temperature and humidity are and 23.2% respectively, and the proposed sensor node is reliable in real applications.


Virus concentrations measured in municipal wastewater help inform both the water treatment necessary to protect human health and wastewater-based epidemiology. Wastewater measurements are typically PCR-based, and interpreting gene copy concentrations requires an understanding of the form and stability of the nucleic acids. Here, we study the persistence of model virus genomes in wastewater, the protective effects provided by the virus capsids, and the relative decay rates of genome and infectious viruses. In benchtop batch experiments at 25 , extraviral (+)ssRNA and dsDNA amplicons degraded by 90% within 15-19 minutes and 1.6-1.9 hours, respectively. When encapsidated, the T90 for MS2 (+)ssRNA increased by 424x and the T90 for T4 dsDNA increased by 52x. The (+)ssRNA decay rates were similar for a range of amplicon sizes. For our model phages MS2 and T4, the nucleic acid signal in untreated wastewater disappeared shortly after the viruses lost infectivity. Combined, these results suggest that most viral genome copies measured in wastewater are part of intact virus particles, that measured concentrations are independent of assay amplicon sizes, and that the virus genome decay rates of naked viruses are similar to inactivation rates. These findings will be valuable for the interpretation of wastewater virus measurements.


There have been strengthening recommendations that physical education (PE) should make a wider contribution to learning beyond that of psychomotor development. Cooperative learning models show considerable potential for study in PE but as yet these remain unexplored. This article reports upon an undergraduate gymnastics programme delivered using a jigsaw learning approach. A purposive sample of 61 third‐year PE undergraduates was selected for the study and data were collected using focus‐group interviews and field notes. In evaluating the jigsaw learning approach it became apparent that while it had clearly met the needs of a wider set of priorities, such as those of the affective and cognitive learning domains, it fundamentally failed to facilitate psychomotor learning. Such tensions may well become increasingly apparent as practitioners of PE navigate its place within future educational structures and raise interesting questions as to what 'high‐quality' PE should actually be.


Objective To study the levels of serum β 2 m and urine β 2 m?Alb?IgG in patients with diabetes type Ⅱ.Methods Eighty two patients with diabetes type Ⅱ were tested by radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the levels of serum β 2 m and urine β 2 m?Alb?IgG and the results were compared with those in thirty five normal controls.Results The levels of serun β 2 m and urine β 2 m?Alb?IgG in diabetic patients were obvirously higher than those in normal controls( P 0.01).Conclusion Detection of serum β 2 m and urine β 2 m?Alb?IgG has an important value in early diagnosis of diabetic renopathy.


International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 190 by family process variables, school enrollment and relationship experience. Similarly, the adjusted odds ratio for behavioral control moved closer to the null (from 0.8 to 0.9), suggesting that its effect on the odds of reporting coerced sex was largely mediated by school enrollment and relationship experience. In contrast, the adjusted odds ratio for conflict barely changed, suggesting that the effect of conflict on experiencing coerced sex was not mediated by enrollment or relationship experience. Overall, fewer associations were found in the prospective analyses. Age retained a positive bivariate association with reporting coerced sex between the two waves (odds ratio, 1.3), and its estimated effect was barely affected by adjustment for other demographic variables and household composition (Table 4). Age's estimated effect was substantially reduced, however, when family process variables, school enrollment and relationship experience were controlled for (1.1), suggesting that the effects of age may be largely mediated by these variables. Of the family process variables, only conflict was correlated with coerced sex in the prospective analyses: A one-standard-deviation increase in conflict was associated with a 30% increase in the likelihood of experiencing coerced sex between the two surveys. However, the adjusted odds ratio for the total effect of the conflict variable was closer to the null and not significant, suggesting that the association between conflict and coerced sex may be largely spurious. School enrollment was not associated with coerced sex in any of our prospective models. Notably, relationship experience remained significant in bivariate and multivariate models. Net of the potentially confounding influences of all other independent variables, having ever had a boyfriend was associated with elevated odds of reporting an experience of coerced sex between Waves 1 and 2 (2.6).


The operation is aimed at embolization of all the varicose veins of the gastroesophageal zone which are the source of bleeding in portal hypertension. Under the corresponding anatomical conditions the total embolization results in the decreased portal tension due to the development of effective direct portocaval anastomoses.


Social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) programme in secondary schools: national evaluation. Department for Education Research Report DFE-RR049, 2010. SEAL is "a comprehensive, whole-school approach to promoting the social and emotional skills that underpin effective learning, positive behaviour, regular attendance, staff effectiveness and the emotional health and well-being of all who learn and work in schools" (DCSF, 2007, p.4). National Strategies report that it is currently being implemented in around 90% of primary schools and 70% of secondary schools. The aims of this national evaluation of secondary SEAL were to (a) assess the impact of secondary SEAL on a variety of outcomes for pupils, staff and schools, and (b) examine how schools implemented SEAL, with particular reference to the adoption of a whole-school approach. There is clear evidence that SEL (social and emotional learning) programmes can impact upon a variety of key outcomes for children and young people (e.g. Durlak et al, in press). However, as delivered by the schools involved in our evaluation, the SEAL programme did not follow this trend.


A skin lesion is a growth or appearance anomaly in the dermis that is different from the rest of the body. A tiny scratch or something more serious like skin cancer might be completely unnoticeable. The use of deep learning (DL) architectures for image categorization in several fields, including dermatology, has shown impressive results. The expectations produced by DL for applications like image-based diagnostics have necessitated that non-experts become acquainted with algorithms' working principles. Obtaining hands-on experience using these tools through a simplified however realistic method, in our opinion, may significantly aid in their intuitive comprehension. Even students without a strong mathematical background may understand concepts like convolution by seeing the outcomes of DL algorithms' operations on dermatological images. Furthermore, the ability to fine-tune hyperparameters & even computer code expands the reach of basic intuitive understanding of these methods without having complex computational & theoretical skills. It is now feasible because of recent technology advancements that have lowered technical & technological obstacles associated with usage of these tools, creation them available to a larger population. So, we present a custom CNN for training a CNN on a dataset that contains skin lesions images linked by distinct skin cancer groups. Activity is open-source & doesn't need any additional software to be installed to use it. Additionally, we describe the algorithm and its functions in detail, starting with the creation of the basic computer code building blocks and leading the reader through the execution of real-world examples, comprising visualization & assessment of results. We get a training accuracy of 100 percent & a validation accuracy of 98.32 percent using this method.


The tax challenges of digitalization have been to the forefront of national and international discussions on public revenues in recent years. The digital transformation is seen as being an exacerbating factor in the erosion of tax bases and the shifting of profits to low tax jurisdictions, particularly by multinational companies, thus reducing tax revenues for governments. While there is a large literature examining the role of ICT and digitalization in raising economic growth, productivity and other macroeconomic variables, the relationship between digitalization and tax revenues has been relatively understudied – despite being one of key drivers of what could be most significant change to international tax rules in a century. This study utilizes panel data covering OECD countries during the period from 1995 to 2018, and examines the effect of the rise of digitalization on tax revenues employing both static and dynamic panel data analysis techniques. The findings indicate that digitalization may have a negative impact on the ability of a country with high digital dynamics to generate higher tax returns.


Objective To study and analyse the efficacy of β-receptor blocker betaloc for treatment of the patients with chronic pulmonary heart disease with heart failure in death rate,hospitalization rate and the patients' endurance. Methods Forty-four patients with the disease were randomly divided into two groups,20 cases took dose of vitamine B 1(5-60 mg/d) in control group,and 24 cases took dose of betaloc( 6.25-100 mg/d) in treatment group on the basis of conventional treatment. The mean follow-up was one year. Results After betaloc administration for one year,there was more significant improvement on heart functional class(NYHA) in treatment group than in control group.Compared with control group,the total dead patients were 2 to 4 cases,because of heart function depravation, the dead patients were 1 to 3 cases, and the hospitalization rate(because of heart function depravation) was deceased 64%(P 0.01) in treatment group. Conclusion Betaloc can improve the heart function of the patients, reduce hospitalization rate. And the patients with the disease have good betaloc-endurance.


In this paper SEL cross sections were calculated from TCAD simulations varying doping profiles, anode-to-cathode spacing and substrate and well taps placement values. We found that doping profiles and substrate and well taps placement variation has a stronger impact on SEL sensitivity then variation of anode to cathode spacing.


We propose a new model for agent communication in open systems that is based on the principle that the meaning of communicative acts lies in their experienced consequences. A formal framework for analysing such evolving semantics is defined. An extensive analysis of example interaction processes shows that our framework allows for an assessment of several properties of the communicative conventions governing a multiagent system. Among other advantages, our framework is capable of providing a very straightforward definition of communicative conflict. Also, it allows agents to reason about the effects of their communicative behaviour on the structure of communicative expectations as a whole when making decisions.


Objective: To evaluate whether a nerve growth factor(NGF) relieves the peripheral neurotoxicity cisplatin(CDDP) induced.Methods: Wistar rats were randomly assigned into one of three groups: control,CDDP and NGF group.The CDDP-treated rats were abdominally injected with CDDP 2mg·kg-1 and mannitol 100mg·kg-1 twice per week for 5 weeks;the NGF-treated rats were added on a intramuscular injection of NGF 25μg·kg-1(three times per week) in addition to the regimen CDDP-treated rats were administered for 5 weeks;the rats in the control group were abdominally injected with mannitol 100mg·kg-1 twice per week for 5 weeks.The effectiveness of the treatment was assessed based on the improvements of toxic symptoms and signs,including statuses of tibial and sural nerve conduction velocity,latent time and wave amplitude that were measured by electromyogram(EMG).Neurobehavioral indexes including heat sensation and myodynamia were monitored.The sciatic nerve,dorsal root ganglion,brain and spinal cord were examined by pathohistological techniques.Results: Compared to the control group,the sensory nerve conduction velocity(SNCV) of the sural nerve in the CDDP group was decreased [(38.4±6.3)vs.(54.1±9.6)m·s-1,P0.05],and the threshold of heat sensation was extended [(25.1±1.9)vs.(14.8±3.7)s,P0.05].Compared to the CDDP group,the SNCV in the NGF group was significantly increased [(52.9±7.8)vs.(38.4±6.3)m·s-1,P0.05] and the threshold of heat sensation was reduced [(15.6±1.1)vs.(25.1±1.9)s,P0.05].The dorsal root ganglion in CDDP group showed more severity of kytoplasm shrinkage with eccentric nucleoli and nuclear fragmentation than in the NGF group.Conclusion: The damages of the peripheral sensory nerve by cisplatin might be reversed by the injection of NGF.


This article surveys the history of children's libraries in England and Wales between the reports of the Kenyon Committee and L. R. McColvin, a period which was dominated by the economic depression and the Second World War. It shows how much of the progress in the development of library work with young people took place in the immediate years prior to the war, and defends the record of children's librarians of the period who have been harshly criticized by a later generation. The growth of an increased desire to appeal to a layer section of the community is exemplified in the organization of book weeks and co- operation with employment exchanges and youth clubs. These were years of adversity, and a spirit of co-operation had never been so evident.


The article presents an alternative means of public transport such as a trolleybus as an example of an ecological vehicle. Three still functioning trolleybus systems in Poland were discussed, with reference to rolling stock, as well as investments that were implemented to develop trolleybus lines. The subject of environmental and economic benefits resulting from the exploitation of trolleybuses in relation to bus and tram communications was also discussed.


Aims: To investigate the effect of NaCl stress on parent Nostoc muscorum and its spontaneously occurring mutant clone showing resistance to growth inhibitory action of NaCl in terms of various physiological parameters. We have further analyzed the role of iron uptake systems in providing a resistant phenotype.
Place and Duration of Study: Division of Microbiology, Department of Botany, Government Motilal Science College, Bhopal 462008 (M.P.) India. This work was carried out between August 2021 to May 2022.
Methodology: We have examined the various physiological parameters viz. growth, specific growth rate, photosynthetic O2 evolution, and nitrogenase activity as per the prescribed protocol. Further, DNA microarray analysis was carried out using the Agilent platform.
Results: NaCl stress adversely affected growth, photosynthetic O2 evolution, and nitrogenase activity of the wild-type Nostoc muscorum, while NaCl-resistant mutant remains unaffected under a given stress. Microarray data analysis identified 24 ORF related to the uptake of iron with fold regulation ≥2 in the mutant strain. These ORFs belonging to the ABC-type ferric iron transporter that plays a significant role in the iron acquisition were identified in the mutant strain.
Conclusion: The mechanism of iron homeostasis in the NaCl-resistant mutant has been explained. The results presented are essential to explain the regulatory role of the iron uptake system in stressed conditions.


To share the huge amount of heterogeneous information to the large-scale of heterogeneous users, the Internet on the computing level should be reconstructed since such a crucial infrastructure was designed without proper understandings. To upgrade, it must consist of five layers from the bottom to the top, including the routing, the multi-casting, the persisting, the presenting and the humans. The routing layer is responsible for establishing the fundamental substrate and finding resources in accordance with social disciplines. The multi-casting layer disseminates data in a high performance and low cost way based on the routing. The persisting layer provides the services of storing and accessing persistent data efficiently with the minimum dedicated resources. The presenting layer absorbs users' interactions to guide the adjustments of the underlying layers other than shows connected local views to users. Completely different from the lower software layers, the topmost one is made up totally with humans, i.e., users, including individual persons or organizations, which are social capital dominating the Internet. Additionally, within the upgraded infrastructure, besides the situation that a lower layer supports its immediate upper one only, the humans layer influences the lower ones in terms of transferring its social resources to them. That is different from any other traditional layer-based systems. Those resources lead to adaptations and adjustments of all of the software layers since each of them needs to follow social rules. Eventually, the updated underlying layers return latest consequences to users upon those modifications.


The purpose of this study was to find out the significant difference of Physical fitness parameters between female Kho-Kho and Kabaddi players. For this study, total 40 inter-university level female players (20 each game) selected as a subjects. The subjects age ranging between 19-25 years was selected randomly from Punjabi university, Patiala affiliated colleges. Speed, Agility and explosive leg strength these variables selected for this study. Unpaired t-test was employed. The level of significance 0.05 was set. The result shows that significant differences in all variables between inter-university level female Kho-Kho and Kabaddi players.


In today's knowledge-based economy, the competitiveness of enterprizes and the quality of work life are directly tied to the ability to effectively create and share knowledge both within and across organizations. The literature about knowledge management distinguishes two main aspects to enable knowledge sharing, i.e. organizational and technical aspects. In this paper the SWAP-environment1 is presented which enables the exchange of knowledge on the basis of a peer-to-peer system [Susarla et al., 2003; Bonifacio et al., 2002], viz. it is focusing on technical aspects.


"Disorders and deficits in sensory-percep tual systems due to aging should be viewed ultimately, not as singular events affecting a given modality, but as interrelated events that implicate the aging person's total repertoire of behavior" Corso, 1987, p.29


Data acquired from remote sensing satellites are processed in order to retrieve the information from an image. Those images are preprocessed using image processing techniques such as noise removal. Satellite images are assumed to be corrupted with white Gaussian noise of zero mean and constant variance. Three planes of the noisy image are denoised separately through Legendre Fenchel Transformation. Later, these three planes are concatenated and compared with results obtained by Euler-Lagrange ROF model. Simulation results show that Legendre Fenchel ROF is highly convergent and less time consuming. To add evidence to the outcomes, quality metrics such as variance and PSNR for noisy and denoised images are calculated. The qualitative analysis of an image is analysed using MSSIM calculations, which clarifies the Structural Similarity between denoised images with original image.


The invasion of natural and anthropogenic habitats by alien plants is a global problem. To understand the factors that regulate the success of alien plant species we sampled alien plant biomass and species composition in 66 sites representing a wide variety of habitat types within Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario, Canada. We quantified the response of existing alien biomass to a suite of habitat variables including habitat productivity, standing biomass, species richness, soil nutrients and disturbance factors. Standing biomass in the sites varied from 0 to nearly 60 000 g/m2 and annual productivity ranged from 0 to nearly 800 g·m−2·yr−1. The response of both absolute and relative alien biomass (dominance) to the independent variables was assessed using univariate plots and multivariate canonical correspondence analysis. The results show that total standing alien biomass and site disturbance history can predict alien dominance, but other factors including primary productivity, nutrient levels, and s...


Understanding the European Communities brings together the joint expertise of a practitioner and an academic to provide a comprehensive introduction to the history, organizations and systems of the European Community. The book is written at a level accessible to those approaching the subject for the first time. One of its major themes is that the development, institutional system, policies and significance of the European Communities cannot be understood unless treated in the proper historical and political perspective. The book therefore traces the intellectual origins of European integration and the evolution of the Communities right up to the end of the 1980s. Throughout, the text is illustrated by tables and diagrams. Understanding the European Communities is essential reading for all students of European politics and economics.


A virtual agent may obviously benefit from having an up-to-date model
of her environment of activity. The model may include actual users' profiles,
a dynamic environment characteristic or some assumptions being accepted
by default. However, the agent doesn't have to stick to one model only, she
can possess a set of complementary beliefs, both learned and assumed. A
hierarchy of beliefs for an agent is proposed in this paper, together with a
decision making scheme and some experimental results to support the idea.
The experiments consisted of the agent's interactions with some simulated
0-level agents, acting as customers of an imaginary Internet banking service.


The invention relates to a 2-2 type ferroelectrics-ferrite multilayer composite magnetoelectric material and the preparation method, which relates to a ferroelectrics-ferrite multilayer composite magnetoelectric material. The invention consists of a ferroelectrics and a ferrite, the ferroelectrics and the ferrite materials are composed by adopting a layered alternate arrangement mode, wherein, the ferroelectrics material selects a lead zirconate titanate PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 ceramics, and the ferrite selects a cobalt ferrite CoFe2O4 ferrite ceramics. An organic solvent, a plasticizer, a dispersant and a bonding agent are added in PZT powder and are ball milled and mixed to obtain a paste; the paste is treated with screening, defoaming and doctor blade casting to obtain an electrolyte thin film green, demoulding and cutting are carried out; the organic solvent, the plasticizer, the dispersant and the bonding agent are added in CFO powder and are ball milled and mixed to obtain the paste; the paste is treated with screening, defoaming and doctor blade casting to obtain the electrolyte thin film green, the demoulding and cutting are carried out; the PZT green and the CFO green are overlapped alternatively, a multi-layer composite green material is obtained by heating and pressurizing, roasting and hydrostatic pressure processing are carried out, and then sintering and molding are carried out for preparation.


Centennial seedless grape were treated by'3414'of fertilizer treatment.A foliar nutrient analysis was conducted on trees with different fertilizer treatments using the Kjeldahl and Vanadomolybdate yellow colorimetric methods as well as atomic Absorption spectrometry.The results showed that with an increase of foliar nutrients:fruit yield increased when total nitrogen content was 21.95~22.60 mg/g,total phosphorus content was 3.25~4.60 mg/g,and total kalium content was 9.18~10.24 mg/g.


Epilepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by a spontaneous tendency for recurrent seizures which affects major aspects of a patient's life, including cognitive, behavioral, psychological and social functioning (Foldwary & Wyllie, 1999). It has been reported that cumulative lifetime risks for epilepsy and for any unprovoked seizure are 3.1% and 4.1% respectively in industrialized countries. Estimates of annual incidence of epilepsy are reported as high as 43 cases per 100,000 of the population in so-called developed countries, and are almost double this figure in the developing world (McHugh & Delanty, 2008). Another estimation points out that there are 50 million people who have epilepsy in the world (WHO 2001, Leonardi & Ustun, 2002). It was suggested that more than 80% of people with epilepsy live in developing countries, where the condition remains largely untreated (ILAE/IBE/WHO Annual Report, 1999; Meinardi et al., 2001).


M J Fletcher London: Mills and Boon 1971 pp 56 price £1.50 The author has had considerable experience at the applications end of this subject and writes with authority on the design of components for electron beam welding and on the metallurgical properties of the resulting welds. His book gives a broad introduction to the topic, without getting bogged down in the details, and could be understood by a first or second year student with an introductory materials science course behind him.


Constructing a system architecture for a distributed safety-criti cal real-time control system is a complex task. This complexity results from non-functional as wel l as functional requirements. One issue of interest to the designer of a system architecture is that of selecting a topology such that dependability and timing characteristics of a ystem emerge during the design process. A topology is a set of configured hardware and softw are primitive resources (units). A unit may be a processor, sensor, piec e of software, etc. Selecting a topology has hitherto been approached in a very simplistic ma nner leading to a system topology being set early in the design process. In this report we investigate one aspect of the topology selection is sue in depth; the architectural topology problem in which a number of alternative physical resources are employed to support a logical implementation (an architectural component ) of a control action (Service). We show how a quantitative evaluation of alternat ive rchitectural topologies can be used to guide the process of building an architectural topology.


The invention discloses an optimal arrangement method of coal mining machine rocker arm vibration sensors. The optimal arrangement method of the coal mining machine rocker arm vibration sensors comprises the following steps that firstly, a finite element model of a coal mining machine rocker arm shell body is established; secondly, regional division of optimal arrangement points is conducted based on the power flow method; thirdly, monitoring points of the sensor are selected primarily; fourthly, optimal calculation is conducted on the number of the sensors and the specific monitoring points according to the particle swarm optimization algorithm and based on the modal assurance criterion, and therefore an optimal arrangement result of the vibration sensors is obtained. The optimal arrangement method of the coal mining machine rocker arm vibration sensors has universality. According to the optimal arrangement method of the coal mining machine rocker arm vibration sensors, on one hand, the effectiveness of each sensor measurement signal is guaranteed and on the other hand, the purpose that the modal vector of each monitoring point has a large space intersection angle is guaranteed. The optimal arrangement method of the coal mining machine rocker arm vibration sensors can meet the requirements for on-line monitoring and fault diagnosis of a coal mining machine rocker arm.


Pectin methylesterase (PME) is the first enzyme acting on pectin, a major component of plant cell wall. PME catalyzes reactions according to the double-displacement mechanism. In plants, PMEs can be classified on the basis of presence or absence of the PRO domain in pectin methylesterase into Type 1 and Type II. Type1 contains one to three PRO domains and two or three introns, type II PMEs are without PRO domain and with five or six introns. Once PMEs are secreted into the cell wall, mature PMEs exhibit three different modes of action: single chain mechanism, multiple chain mechanism and multiple attack mechanism. For bacterial and plant PMEs, single chain and multiple chain mechanism is used and for fungal PMEs only multiple chain mechanism has been proposed. PME activity is regulated by differential expression both spatially and temporally.


Fishing of whelks Neptunea arthritica in Shiriuchi, Hokkaido is carried out using three types of trap. However, the size selectivity of these traps is not known. Size selectivity significantly depends on the mesh size and hanging ratio of the bottom net of the trap. In this study the size selectivity curve of traps for whelks was estimated by calculating the probability of retention (Pn) that en-trapped whelks can not pass through the bottom net of a trap. Pn is expressed as a function of mesh bar length l, hanging ratio α and shell length L'. The results of an examination of 48 individuals with α values of either 0.50 or 0.29 indicate that Pn can be expressed as a partial sigmoid curve. The regression curve can be expressed approximately as: where L' is the measured shell length. The slope of the latter is greater than that of the former and the values of the selection span (the difference of L'/2l between 25% and 75%) are 0.22 when α=0.50 and 0.19 when α=0.29. The resultant selection factors are 0.60 for the former and 0.65 for the latter.


An economical wideband FM telemetry demodulator has been developed for use in telephone telemetry pacemaker clinics. The device features wide bandwidth to accommodate most commercial FM telephone telemetry transmitters, automatic gain control, callback and system test capabilities.


ABSTRACT Research in visual communication suggests that relatively complex graphics stimulate viewer interest, while relatively simple graphics facilitate learning. A study was conducted to determine whether the graphics in two science publications ("Scientific American" and "Sciences 81") would be tailored to the ways in which their audiences use information. Presumably, "Scientific American" is geared toward a more instrumental-use audience of working scientists and science educators, while "Sci-Qnce 81" is geared toward a more consummatory-use audience of science "hobbyists." All graphics accompanying an article or department in the five most recent issues of each journal were coded according to three variables. Two variables, visual type and use of color, were used as indicators of graphic complexity. Another variable, perceived function, was used as an indicator of instrumental versus consummatory use of information. Results indicated that the streamlined graphics used in "Scientific American" (primarily black and white or one-color diagrams and graphs) helped to offset the complexity of the written material. In this way, they helped the instrumental-use reader to understand basic relationships between concepts. The visually "exciting" graphics used in "Science 81" (primarily full-color photographs) helped to perceptually motivate the consummatory-use readers--to capture their attention and stimulate interest in the accompanying written material. (HOD)


The article deals with the contemporary situation of gender and its implementation peculiarities in European countries. The article analyzes various approaches to the notion, gender disparity situation and reveals the burning challenges which the contemporary world faces now. The article highlights the present situation with gender asymmetry in STEM and ways of its transformation due to the unequal ratio of men and women employed in educational and scientific areas that would lead to employment problems in future. Much attention has been paid to the criterion for assessing gender equality, namely Gender Equality Index, an indicator that reflects the disparity in achievement opportunities between men and women in the European Union. Also, statistical data was presented that shows the great gender gap and identifies countries with a high / low gender equality index. Gender Equality Index is compared to the Global Gender Gap Index that shows the extent of the gender gap across four key dimensions that serve as a basis for developing effective measures to reduce the gender gap. The article points out the ways promoting the implementation of the principles of gender equality in European countries.


Cypress Semiconductor's EZUSB FX used as USB controller is introduced, andthe difference between EZUSB FX and other USB controller is given. Then the convenience ininterface design between USB and other protocols is shown. At last a designed example betweenUSB and EPP protocol is presented.


In this paper we study the structure of Gröbner bases with respect to elimination orders. We give a structure theorem for such Gröbner bases, which turns out to be an extension of Lazard's theorem established in the case of two variables. We then give a more precise structure theorem in the case of radical zerodimensional ideals. As an application of this we give the basic theoretical ingredients of an algorithm to compute a lexicographic Gröbner basis of a finite intersection of maximal ideals.


The demand for higher productivity requires machine tools to work on the adequate critical speed to have faster and more accurate ball screw system. Ball screw affects severely over the higher rotation speed of the shaft in computer numeric control (CNC) machining centers. This paper deals with an approach to calculate the initial critical speed of the shaft. Critical speed requires significant attention due to its major use in the manufacturing sectors. The impacts of weight on the critical speed of shaft assembly have been analyzed from theoretical as well as analytical investigations. Additionally, we evaluated the impact of weight on the deflection of the shafts along with failure analysis of shafts with respect to critical speed. Further, we computed the results for critical speed based factor to enhance the accuracy of CNC machining centers. Finally, the analytical estimations have been carried out to prove the validity of our proposal.


We have shown that Na/K‐ATPase interacts with caveolin‐1 through a putative caveolin‐binding motif, and regulates its trafficking in cell culture. The aim of this study is to review the importance of this putative interaction in animal physiology. A mCBM (F97A and F100A) mutant mouse was generated using a knock‐in strategy. Homozygosity of the mCBM Na/K‐ATPase animal results in embryonic lethality around mid‐gestation. Heterozygous animals were born with the expected Mendelian frequency and survived to adulthood. Further analysis of the embryonic development reveals the following defects. The first phenotype of homozygous embryos with obviously defect was noted at E7.0 day. At E9.0 day, homozygous embryos exhibited severe growth retardation with defective brain and somite development. By E12.5 day, the homozygous embryos were no longer detectable. On the other hand, heterozygous embryos seems to be normal through the development. However, they are significantly smaller in size at E9.0 day. Mechanically, RNAseq shows normal expression of different isoforms of Na/K‐ATPase and caveolin‐1. However, it reveals defects in Wnting signaling pathway, which results in severe down‐regulation of genes important for neurogenesis and muscle genesis. Those defects were further confirmed by qPCR analysis of mRNA from wild type and homozygous embryos. Taken together, our new findings suggest that α1 Na/K‐ATPase functions as a critical signal integrator in animal embryonic development, and that the putative caveolin‐binding motif is required for this non‐pumping function of Na/K‐ATPase.


The advantages of spatial diversity are investigated with respect to two metrics. i.e., near-far resistance and the rank of the channel matrix. The impact of spatial diversity on the rank of the channel matrix and its significance is first studied. Then the near-far resistance of the minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector is derived for wireless code division multiple access (CDMA) communication systems with spatial diversity. The derived near-far resistance under different transmit-receive antenna configurations is analyzed and compared. It is shown that near-far resistance is enhanced when spatial diversity is introduced.


This paper gives the derivation and experimental results for a current-source parallel-resonant inverter with a transformer used to change voltage levels and provide isolation. The analysis is performed in the frequency domain using Fourier series techniques to predict maximum switch voltages, impedances, and transfer functions. The inverter consists of two switches, a large choke inductor, a transformer, and a parallel-resonant circuit (PRC). The magnetizing inductance of the transformer is used as the inductance of the PRC, thereby requiring one less component. Each switch consists of a MOSFET in series with a diode. The MOSFETs have their sources grounded so there is no need for a complicated gate-drive circuit. An inverter was designed and constructed. The input voltage was 156 V and the output voltage was a 224 V peak sine wave at an operating frequency of 50 kHz. The output power at full load was 100 W.<<ETX>>


Diabetes patients are increasing in number so it is necessary to predict , treat and diagnose the disease. Data Mining can help to provide knowledge about this disease. The knowledge extracted using Data Mining can help in treating and preventing the disease. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) can be used to create an classifier from the data. The neural network is trained using backpropagation algorithm The knowledge stored in the neural network is used to predict the disease. The knowledge stored in neural network is extracted using Pos-Neg sensitivity method. The knowledge extracted is in form of sensitivity analysis to analyze the disease and in turn help in treating the disease.


Up with ultrafine aerosol particles Ultrafine aerosol particles (smaller than 50 nanometers in diameter) have been thought to be too small to affect cloud formation. Fan et al. show that this is not the case. They studied the effect of urban pollution transported into the otherwise nearly pristine atmosphere of the Amazon. Condensational growth of water droplets around the tiny particles releases latent heat, thereby intensifying atmospheric convection. Thus, anthropogenic ultrafine aerosol particles may exert a more important influence on cloud formation processes than previously believed. Science, this issue p. 411 Water droplet condensation by ultrafine aerosol particles fuels more intense atmospheric convection. Aerosol-cloud interactions remain the largest uncertainty in climate projections. Ultrafine aerosol particles smaller than 50 nanometers (UAP<50) can be abundant in the troposphere but are conventionally considered too small to affect cloud formation. Observational evidence and numerical simulations of deep convective clouds (DCCs) over the Amazon show that DCCs forming in a low-aerosol environment can develop very large vapor supersaturation because fast droplet coalescence reduces integrated droplet surface area and subsequent condensation. UAP<50 from pollution plumes that are ingested into such clouds can be activated to form additional cloud droplets on which excess supersaturation condenses and forms additional cloud water and latent heating, thus intensifying convective strength. This mechanism suggests a strong anthropogenic invigoration of DCCs in previously pristine regions of the world.


Treatment of native coronary and saphenous vein graft aorto‐ostial stenoses with balloon angioplasty is associated with lower procedural success rates and more complications compared with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of nonostial stenoses. A patient with totally occluded ostial left anterior descending artery at ostium following aortocoronary bypass developed ostial stenosis at the saphenous vein graft in the descending aorta. The aorto‐ostial lesion of saphenous vein graft was successfully stented and was followed by retrograde dilatation of the left anterior descending artery, and the totally occluded ostial lesion was reopened. The ischemia was eliminated following the procedure. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2003;59:357–360. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Dinoflagellate cysts have been investigated in surface
from the Norwegian-Greenland Sea and short sediment cores
Norwegian Sea spanning the last 15,000 years.
sediments
from the
The distribution of single species and assemblages is related to
the bathymetry and oceanography of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea.
Oceanographic fronts can be recognized in the distribution of species
and assemblages.
Round protoperidinoid cysts, MuZtispinuZa minuta s.l. and HaZodinium
spp., characterize the assemblages from the East Greenland Shelf.
Nematosphaeropsis Zabyrinthus and ?Impagidinium paZZidum dominate the
assemblages in the central leeland and Greenland Seas. Operculodinium
centrocarpum is important in the marginal area of the Arctic domain
and dominates clearly the assemblages from the Norwegian Sea. Assernblages
from the shelf of north leeland are marked by cysts of
Peridinium faeroense.
The distribution pattern of single species and assemblages reveals
that relatively warm north Atlantic waters only pass through the
Faeroe Shetland Canal into the Norwegian-Greenland Sea and further · up
into the eastern Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea. In the southern
Norwegian Sea the Atlantic water masses are already modified by
advection of surface waters from the North Sea.
The development of the Norwegian current has been reconstructed by
means of dinoflagellate cysts since termination r •. North Atlantic
water masses have almost always influenced the surface water masses in
the last 15,000 years. Since ca. 12,000 to 13,000 BP, the influence of
warmer North Atlantic waters increased significantly in the NorwegianGreenland
Sea. The modern circulation system was established around
10,000 BP. First, the Norwegian current was cooler and less saline,
and then obtained its modern hydrographic properties around 6,000 to
7,000 BP. A slight change towards cooler conditions is documented in
the western marginal areas in the last 2,000 to 3,000 years.
Changes in the oceanography of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea must be
related to modifications in the water masses and the circulation
system of the entire North Atlantic. The discontinous influx of
meltwater may have been an important factor for changes in the
oceanography and the ecological conditions.


Schinnacher oasis which consists of a· group of low lying hills interspersed by few glacial lakes is located between latiwde 70° 44' 33" S to 70° 46' 30" S and longitude 11 22' 40" E to 11 54'00" E.. Ten different lakes situated around the Indian summer station Maitri were studied for their nutrient stams, primary productivity and microfaunal characteristics of sediments during 18 to 24 January, 1985. The water temperature of these lakes varied from 1·5 to 7°C; the dissolved oxygen ranged from 4·3 to 6·02 mll-1 and the pH from 7·6 to 8·8. The nutrient concentration showed vide range of fluctuation with some lakes showing very low levels of nitrate and phosphate. The maximum nitrate and phosphate values recorded 'were 3·1 and }.} J1 mol 1-1 respectively. N : P concentration ratio ranged from 0 to 27·6. The concentrations of urea, ammonia and total nitrogen varied from 0 to 14 Il moll-I, 0·3 to 1·7 Il mol 1-1 and 0·8 to 17·9 Il mol 1-1 respectively. The high concentration of these nutrients may compensate the nitrate defficiencies in these waters. Silicate concentrations varied from 5·5 to 68·5 J1 moll-I. Chlorophyll a remained low (0·07 to Q.65 mg m-3) but the primary productivity of the lake waters was quite high. Particulate organic carbon varied from 0·38 to }·04 mg 1-1. Concentrations of dissolved and particulate carbohydrate indicate high organic matter content in these lakes. The faunal density in the upper 6 cm layer of sediment vaned from 450 to 1920 numbers m-2• The fauna was mainly dominated by nematods (22.1%). The distribution characteristics suggest that the particulate matter and the sediment microflora serves as a rich food source for the littoral benthic communities.


Experiments have been performed to assess the utility of unsteady one-dimensional heat con- duction modelling for the calculation of heat losses during a free piston compression process. Heat transfer measurements have been obtained within a gun tunnel barrel using surface junction thermocouple instru- mentation. The gun tunnel was operated with a relatively heavy piston such that the shock waves induced by the piston motion were weak. Peak heat transfer values are estimated reasonably well by the unsteady one-dimensional model. However, overall quantitative agreement between the measurements and calcula- tions has not been achieved at this stage, principally because the development of turbulent heat transport was not properly modelled.


Over the last decade a number of novels have displayed a various and intriguing range of historical commitments. Although I will not attempt to take on the whole range here, I do want to explore a subset of the historical novel I think I can clearly delineate, or at least two exemplars of this subset. I call this particular category the neo-Victorian novel, and I read it as at once characteristic of postmodernism and imbued with a historicity reminiscent of the nineteenth-century novel.(1) In order to develop my own argument, I will make rather free use of Fredric Jameson's critique of postmodernism, particularly his critique of postmodern representations of history. In his attacks on postmodernism, Jameson has decried its supplanting of the redemptive project of history with "the random cannibalization of all the styles of the past,"(2) an approach he finds problematic because if one's relation to the past is a matter of randomly retrieving various "styles," then one loses the impetus to find out what actually happened in that past. As a Marxist critic for whom the purpose of history is "the resurrection of the dead of anonymous and silenced generations, the retrospective dimension indispensable to any vital reorientation of our collective future" (CL, p. 18), Jameson finds in postmodern historicity an ever-widening gap between the actual lived past and its representation. According to Jameson, postmodern skepticism regarding how much we can really know about the past has resulted in nostalgia for the "look" of the past without significant interest in its substance.(3) Consequently, the past as historical referent is dissolved in self-reflexive textuality: "the past as `referent' finds itself gradually bracketed, and then effaced altogether, leaving us with nothing but texts" (CL, p. 18). Jameson acknowledges that history is an "absent cause" that is never completely representable, and yet he insists that "History is not in any sense itself a text or master text or master narrative, but that it is inaccessible to us except in textual or narrative form, or in other words, that we approach it only by way of some prior textualization or narrative (re)construction."(4) Jameson is concerned that the postmodern preoccupation with history-as-text has shifted attention away from the actual events of the past, toward the interpretation of those events. What appears to disturb Jameson most about postmodern representations of the past, be they fictional, filmic, or architectural, is that they strip away its specific political content to focus on its aesthetics. Instead of respecting the radical difference of bygone eras, postmodernism projects onto them contemporary culture, fabricating a "privatized," or subjective, history denuded of its specific cultural resonance.(5) Epitomizing this kind of historicism for Jameson is a film like Body Heat, which stylistically "connotes" 1940s film noir through the language of nostalgia, but is actually set in 1980s Florida (CL, p. 19). The past, according to this cultural logic, becomes a treasure trove to be mined for pertinent connections and similarities to our postmodern world, an approach that for Jameson creates a false continuity between past and present. Jameson argues that using history responsibly means reading it for traces of the "uninterrupted narrative" of class struggle, and bringing to the surface of the text this "repressed and buried reality" (PU, p. 20). In effect, he sees past and present as having continuity only insofar as they can be united in a Marxist interpretive framework, which he claims is uniquely qualified to evade the "double bind" of antiquarianism and the postmodern tendency to project contemporary relevance onto history (PU, p. 19). The former posits an artificial rupture between past and present; the latter creates a false connection. In his well-known indictment of E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime, Jameson claims that the historical novel can no longer represent the historical past, but can only represent our ideas and stereotypes about that past (CL, p. …


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss modifying an existing bookmarklet which is a button‐based tool that adds functionality to a web browser. This modification allows an individual to search a library's OPAC by ISBN for numbers encountered in the body of web documents such as bibliographies or book reviews.Design/methodology/approach – The paper documents the code for the bookmarklet and its modification for different browsers.Findings – The process involves using JavaScript to copy highlighted text from a web page and send it as a search to the local OPAC.Practical implications – This tool allows the user to check if a particular book encountered on the web is held in a local library by highlighting the ISBN tool and clicking a browser button. The utility may be useful to library patrons as a discovery tool for finding books and can be used to automate aspects of daily library operations. Suggested applications and further variations and modifications to search by data elements other than IS...


This work describes the development of a real-time simulator for an ROV pilot trainer. The challenges addressed in this paper were the selection and implementation of a dynamic physical model that provides both, an accurate model of the physical phenomena and a fast enough implementation for the operation as a real-time simulator. It also has graphical interface for the user interaction. This work explains in detail how was the process of development and the features that the software has.


Novel ternary diamond-like phases of the B-C-N system were synthesized at pressures up to 30 GPa and temperatures up to 3500 K by static and dynamic compression of graphite-like BN-C solid solutions. Structure and properties of these new phases were studied using X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation, analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), microhardness measurements and nanoindentation.


Modifications of our watersheds, starting with beaver extirpation and continuing through current land development practices (whether for agriculture, residential, commercial, or institutional uses), have negatively impacted our stream resources. Changed watershed hydrology has led to stream channel enlargement and isolation from stream valley and floodplain resources, with a cascade of resource degradation. Stream restoration—specifically restoration using engineered wood structures to restore the stream valley and floodplain connection—can sustainably reverse the cascade of degradation and regenerate natural processes that will continue to improve the system's ecological function over time. Wood has been used to enhance fish habitat in streams for decades, but it has largely served to augment the use of rock in stream restoration projects. Stream restoration using wood is gaining interest and acceptance following the publication of manuals such as "Stream Restoration Using Large Wood" (Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center, 2016) and "Low-Tech Process Based Restoration Manual" (Wheaton et al. 2019).


The involvement of citizens' participation in identifying or developing innovative solutions to public problems is increasing. Thus, the concept of crowdsourcing continues to be in situations where the ideas, work, opinion or expertise of large groups of people are used. It is now used in various organizational strategy initiatives. However, this use has generally focused on open collaborative platforms and specific steps in the policy-making process such as agenda setting and policy assessments. In addition, other forms of crowdsourcing have been neglected in policy making with a few exceptions. This paper provides an overview of the crowdsourcing concept, gives examples of its use in the e-government sectors, and develops a crowdsourcing based framework for how governments can begin to strategize and think about the crowdsourcing to solve problems when engaging with citizens. Our framework is illustrated with the suspect investigation and identification.


A constant velocity, axially adjustable, universal joint having an outer race with straight, axially parallel grooves on its inner surface, and an inner race with straight, axially parallel grooves on its outer surface, balls seated in said grooves forming driving elements between the two races, and a retainer spaced from said inner race for retaining said balls in their respective grooves. The joint is designed primarily for use in a multiple cylinder pump or motor or hydrostatic transmission in which the outer race or the supporting structure therefor forms a wobble plate for driving pistons in the cylinders.


Growth of the obligate anaerobes Clostridium botulinum and C. sporogenes is inhibited by 0.02 per cent sodium nitrite in fish digest broth at acid pH, inhibition not being accentuated by brief expo...


We analyze time-costly decision-making in committees by privately informed individuals, such as juries, panels, boards, etc. In the spirit of the Coase Conjecture, we show that the decision is "almost instantaneous" when individuals entertain identical objectives. Delay can only be understood as the outcome of conflicting (biased) objectives.


An electrochemistry model was developed to analyse the J-V characteristics of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolyser for hydrogen production. The Butler-Volmer equation and water transport characteristics through electrolyte membrane were employed to simulate the electrode activation overpotential and membrane ohmic overpotential, respectively. The modeling results are found to agree reasonably well with experimental data published in the literature. The parametric simulations show that the ohmic overpotential is relatively small with typical water content in the membrane. Compared with the cathode overpotential, the anode overpotential is more significant and constitutes the major source of voltage loss. The high anode overpotential is due to the relatively slow oxidation kinetics, which is related to anode material property and microstructure. This model can be integrated with a photovoltaic or wind turbine model to predict the performance of sustainable hydrogen production systems and optimise their designs.


NASA is developing fission surface power (FSP) system technology as a potential option for use on the surface of the moon or Mars. The goal is to design a robust system that takes full advantage of existing materials data bases. One of the key components of the power conversion system is the hot-side Heat Exchanger (HX). One possible design for this heat exchanger requires a joint of the dissimilar metals 316L stainless steel and Inconel 718, which must sustain extended operation at high temperatures. This study compares two joining techniques, brazing and diffusion bonding, in the context of forming the requisite stainless steel to superalloy joint. The microstructures produced by brazing and diffusion bonding, the effect of brazing cycle on the mechanical tensile properties of the alloys, and the strength of several brazed joints will be discussed.


A securitization differs from these traditional forms of financing in several important ways. The key in a securitization is that the cash flow generated by the asset pool can be employed to support one or more securities that may be of higher credit quality than the company's secured debt or the generic asset pool. The higher credit quality of these securities is achieved by relying on the cash flow created by the pool of assets rather than on the payment promise of the borrowing firm, such cash flows having been isolated in a bankruptcy remote structure and "credit enhanced" using several credit enhancement techniques. Just three of the advantages of securitization compared to nonrecourse and modified recourse are that (1) there is typically lower funding cost when a securitization is used, (2) securitization would mostly likely result in off-balance-sheet funding, thus helping an entity to better its financial statements while keeping effective economic leverage high, and (3) securitization creates securities that are better matched with the cash flow profile of the receivables, thus minimizing asset-liability mismatches. Either acting as agents for an originator or as principals, investment bankers will structure a transaction. The sole economic goal of the structurer is to maximize the total proceeds received from the sale of all the bond classes that are backed by the asset pool. In market parlance, the goal is to obtain "best execution." Or alternatively, for a given funding size, the goal is to attain the lowest weighted average cost. In seeking to obtain the highest prices or the lowest cost, the structurer must take into account market conditions, demand for various structured products, and all the cost of creating such bond classes.

Keywords:

securitization;
asset-backed notes;
asset-backed bonds;
asset-backed obligations, asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP);
excess spread;
profit extraction devices;
overcollateralization;
step-down triggers;
liquidity facility;
revolving period;
lockout period;
regulatory capital relief;
regulatory capital arbitrage;
expected loss;
unexpected loss


Subject. This article explores the financial, stock-exchange and operating performance, as well as the financial and economic analysis ratios of the twenty five leading public oil and gas companies between 2006 and 2018.
Objectives. The article aims to identify key trends in the changes in financial, stock-exchange and operating performance, as well as the analysis ratios of the largest public oil and gas companies, and identify the factors that have caused these changes.
Methods. For the study, I used comparative, and financial and economic analyses, and generalization.
Results. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the twenty five oil and gas companies' annual reports, the article identifies trends in the changes in financial, stock-exchange and operating performance in the industry's public sector, and establishes the main factors that affected these changes.
Conclusions. Despite the growth of raw materials production, the stock segment of the oil and gas industry shows a decrease in profitability. This has a negative impact on the market attractiveness of the oil and gas sector.


The paper describes the results of experimental studies of the superplasticity of ultrafine-grained (UFG) high-purity copper, as well as UFG copper alloys Cu-Ag and Cu-Cr. The study shows that the introduction of small (up to 0.1 wt.%) additives of alloying elements leads to an increase in the ductility of UFG copper at elevated temperatures. An increase in the concentration of alloying elements complicates the process of plastic flow of UFG copper at elevated temperatures due to the difficulty in grain-boundary sliding.


The purpose of this research is to find out whether there is a significant difference in financial performance before and after go public at PT Sampoerna Agro, Tbk. The analysis technique uses both qualitative and quantitative analysis that is by performing calculation on financial ratios to be tested by using paired sample t-test to find out whether there is any differences or not of financial performance before and after go public.The result of financial ratio analysis at PT Sampoerna Agro, Tbk. before and after go public shows the company's financial performance after go public that is proxy by liquidity, leverage, profitability, and activity, which have a tendency to be better than before go public. The result of paired sample t-test that from 10 financial ratios which stated the financial performance is better before and after go public only 3 financial ratios (CR, GPM, and NPM) which show significant performance difference whereas the remaining 7 ratios (QR, DTA, DER, ROA, ROE, TATO and FATO) do not show any difference. Keywords: Financial Performance, Financial Ratio, Go Public


Three pesticideusing methods--Foliar spray, putting mixture of pesticide and sand in transplanting hole before transplantation and irrigating root range with pesticide solution after transplantation were used to study their control effect on the tomato Trialearodes vaporiorum Westwood.The results showed that foliar spray showed fast and high control efficacy (91.58%~96.06%) 3 days after treatment.Posttransplanting irrigation had long (over 21 days) and higher control efficacy (90.51%~96.72%) 14 days after treatment. Pretransplanting using of mixture of pesticide and sand performed lower control efficacy. But all the three using methods had no negative influence on the tomato growth.


An examination of how ethical dilemmas are created is presented and applied to engineering practice. Cases which are most typical of such conflicts are whistleblowing cases in which the engineer is torn between making a judgement based on his professional standards of excellence and making a judgement which alines itself with management policy. An ethical analysis from a philosophical point of view provides an analysis of the problem of conflicting roles.


Recent work has shown that it is possible to reconstruct perceived stimuli from human brain activity. At the same time, studies have indicated that perception and imagery share the same neural substrate. This could bring cognitive brain computer interfaces (BCIs) that are driven by direct readout of mental images within reach. A desirable feature of such BCIs is that subjects gain the ability to construct arbitrary messages. In this study, we explore whether words can be generated from neural activity patterns that reflect the perception of individual characters. To this end, we developed a graphical model where low-level properties of individual characters are represented via Gaussian mixture models and high-level properties reflecting character co-occurrences are represented via a hidden Markov model. With this work we provide the initial outline of a model that could allow the development of cognitive BCIs driven by direct decoding of internally generated messages.


This is m y third paper on the topic of Wabanaki peoples in white literature. The first (Morrison 1979) discussed ten books about frontier warfare, in the children's literature category. The second (Morrison 1981) treated selected works of 19th-century N e w England writers Longfellow, Whittier, and Hawthorne. This time I consider some analytical criteria, some additional information on some old themes, and some books which depict the Wabanaki in constructive contexts. Recently I retired from full-time teaching of anthropology courses, and the clean-up/move-out process gave m e ample opportunity to assess m y own mental evolution — i.e., to monitor what I had learned in over three decades of teaching, as anthropology gradually taught me. Some of m y ruminations are particularly relevant to this paper, as a starting point for developing the frontier encounter model that I propose herein. Clearly, the most important single concept in anthropology is relativism, because it is basic to absolutely everything else. Second in importance is that key application of relativism called the "definition of the situation", or D.O.T.S. for short, because, very simply, D.O.T.S. call the shots. Particularly is this so for analysis of frontier encounters. Consider the relativism involved in any analysis, especially as regards the relationship of the parts to the whole. In analyzing anything, one or more parts(s) symbolically must stand for the whole, which is too big to take on directly. Said another way, one must use conceptual models as the necessary handles to grasp abstractions. All models are only approximations of whatever they represent; i.e., they are absolute relativisms only. All models are biased and prejudiced toward focussing in some attributes of the whole while focussing out other attributes. Such is the relativism involved. Some models are bigger and more complex than others. Some models are better than others for particular purposes. The single absolutely worst model for any purpose is the model that one does not use any models at


The paper analyzes the organizing and commanding ability general structure of space launch mission,and puts forward the organizing and commanding integration model of space launch mission.It confirms the interaction rules between structure of multi-agent system(MAS) and Agent based on the Agent system modeling and simulation method.Using NetLogo simulation platform,it carries evaluation example simulation analysis on the space launch mission.The simulation results show that,compared with other modes,using an integrated organization and command mode,the average total time of launch task has a substantial reduction.Therefore,the integration mode represents the future space mission organization mode in the overall development trend command.


Would the deadline for filing your taxes seem less foreboding if you had a list of every check you wrote last year? One Georgia bank thinks it would. First National Bank of Griffin hopes to capitalize on its investment in imaging software when it uses the system's capabilities to offer a tax-filing service this year. The $165 million-assets institution reflects a new trend in banks' attitudes towards their imaging software. No longer is it being viewed only as something to improve banks' internal operations, but as a potential money spinner. The Griffin bank reckons local consumers will pay $25, and businesses $100, for an imaged statement showing, in sequence, every check they wrote during the previous tax year. What people pay for the service will be less than what they would otherwise be paying their accountant, Chuck Copeland, a bank vice-president, maintains. "Small businesses usually come with shoe-box loads of paper to their CPA," he says. "This could be a win-win for the client, the CPA, and the bank." Another vendor has approached First National--a licensee of Greenway Corp., Carrolton, Ga.--with a different retail application, Copeland adds. The unnamed vendor's proposal is to image sensitive documents for individuals or small businesses, which they could store on disk in a safe-deposit box. Wausau Financial Systems, a Mosinee, Wisc., imaging vendor, also helps consumers file their taxes--in the course of reporting back to them on where their money is going. Wausau (which recently made VARBusiness magazine's list of the best value-added resellers) is incorporating the SmartCheck product of Downey, Calif.-based On Track Management Systems into its own, BudgetMaster application. SmartCheck makes it possible for a computer to understand what the check payment is for by replacing a handwritten line with a series of icons. The consumer checks one of 18 icons, which represent types of payments. Unlike handwriting, which is too variable to be understood by most computer systems, the icons can be interpreted as data fields. Wausau's BudgetMaster incorporates Smart-Check information into a report on the consumer's other bank transactions. It's up to the bank what transactions to include, but deposits, withdrawls, credit, debit, and check-card transactions are all possibilities. A bank that provides its customers with such useful feedback will encourage them to conduct the maximum amount of business with the bank, Joe Gregory, head of Wausau's consumer products division, says. Of course, as detailed in this space in February, cross selling also will be easier for the bank which knows who spends their money on what. Consequently, Wausau is working with third-parties to feed BudgetMaster information into banks' data warehouses. A survey of 2,500 consumers, by First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester, N.Y., found consumers willing to pay for BudgetMaster, Gregory says. Four banks are testing the product, with a view to charging between $3 and $7.50 a month, he says. They are also experimenting with downloading the information into personal financial management packages. As regards those taxes, there's an icon on SmartCheck to indicate which payments are tax deductible. Bob Johnson, chief financial officer with First National Bank of Dona Ana County, the Las Cruces, N.M., test site, thinks this is the best tax solution from an imaging vendor. At press time, the $375 million-assets bank, was about to offer BudgetMaster to its customers, at $7 a month. A chip card in a mag-stripe world Imagine a smart card that could work in the existing card infrastructure. That's what CardLogix, a start-up development firm did two and a half years ago, and, today--just as many people declare the United States will never move to chipcards because it would be prohibitively expensive to rip out the entrenched magnetic-card system--CardLogix is about to launch a chip-card that works in a magnetic-card world. …


In this paper the optimal H∞, general distance problem, for continuous-time systems, with a prescribed degree on the solution is studied. The approach is based on designing the Hankel singular values using an imbedding idea. The problem is first imbedded into another problem with desirable characteristics on the Hankel singular values, then the solution to the original problem is retracted via a compression. The result is applicable to both the one-block and the four-block problems. A special case is given for illustration.


Sichuan has rich intangible cultural heritage of minority leisure sports. Under the background of economic globalization and urbanization in China, the crisis of the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage of Sichuan minority leisure sports has three points. First, the hollowing out of the ethnic minority areas in Sichuan led to the loosening of the foundation of national traditional sports; secondly, the sense of identity of the intangible cultural heritage of national leisure sports was reduced; thirdly, the impact of modern fitness and entertainment methods on national leisure sports was intensified. In the face of difficulties, the intangible cultural heritage of Sichuan national leisure sports can be explored based on the local government, ethnic villages and intangible cultural heritage inheritors. In the excavation of the intangible cultural heritage of leisure sports in Sichuan, the intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minorities should be classified according to the characteristics of the intangible cultural heritage of Sichuan minority leisure sports, according to martial arts and festival folklore.


Using power system stabilizer (PSS) and static var compensator (SVC) can effectively restrain the oscillation. The math-ematical model of PSS and SVC was analyzed. Prony algorithm was adopted to find leading oscillation mode,then the system was modeled and simulated and coordination operation between SVC and PSS was researched. This method has good effect on improving the power system transient stability.


Press (1), in particular drawing press, with a plunger (5) for mounting a movable mold part (6), with at least one servo motor (3) for driving the plunger (5), with a gearbox (4) for drivingly connecting said servo motor (3) with the plunger (5), having a control device (8), the processing means (14), memory means (15), an input device (10) and a screen (9), with a presentation module (19) for displaying a predetermined law of motion (x (α)) of the plunger (5) by means of the screen (9), with a default module (20) for specifying points (26-30), of the law of motion (x (α)) of the plunger (5) to go through, required drive signals with a calculation module (31) for calculating to obtain the desired law of motion of the plunger (5) and ( '(X α)) with a presentation module (19) for representing the motion law resulting of the plunger (5) on the screen (9), wherein for definition of the points (26-30), this means the input device ...


The article describes theoretical approach and practical instrument for individual education system creation aimed at pupil/student who is interested in future professional career. The game form is encouraged to use as an effective method for soft and hard skills development. The approach would help to improve the socio-economic life conditions of the population by improving the balance on the labour market.


The author argues that the security situation of the Baltic countries cannot be separated from the way the Balts themselves speak of security. This is a discourse of danger producing insecurity in pursuit of security. Moreover, this article is a study of identity by demonstrating how Baltic security issues are constituted by discourses of danger revolving around Russian Otherness and European Sameness. In conclusion, the following aspects are addressed: the prospects for the coming together of East and West in the Baltic Sea Region – and NATO's role in this process – and whether this process will come to ease with a parallel between sovereignty and regionality as organising principles for political space, or whether the one will succumb to the other in the course of a prolonged contest.


Biological systems which inspire connectionist architecture are based upon axonal point to point connections. As we attempt to engineer ever larger analogues of these neural networks we are forced to multiplex neural signals over time shared paths. This can alter the timing of signal arrival which is critical in oscillatory networks and leads to the bandwidth-synchrony dilemma. This paper further describes the problem, especially for analog VLSI systems, and approaches under consideration for the solution.<<ETX>>


Abstract:This article reviews studies on Ramus amd Ramism published between 1987 and 2000 under the headings: Biographical and General Studies, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Scientific, and Ramism, this latter subdivided by geographical areas. It finds that the study of Ramus is in a very healthy state, particularly through international collaboration, though there are still considerable problems for scholars in securing access to the different versions of his works. Ramus is now presented primarily as a teacher and educationalist. The debate about Ramus's "humanism" has produced new work on his classical commentaries. Attempts have been made to achieve better definitions of Ramism.


The essays in this study reassess evidence about the plausability of the widely accepted guns and germs theories which put forward firepower advantages and disease importation as the two main causes of European expansion overseas. All argue that these theories are important but oversimplified. The effectiveness of firepower and disease impacts on specific groups of New World indigines were always conditioned by time, place and cultural characteristics. Long range communication control was sometimes more important. Above all, motives driving invasions and conquests were often more influential than means and methodologies.