Extreme drought has devastated the flora, fauna, and regional economy in rangeland grazing districts over Australia for 3–5 years duration every 20 to 30 years throughout the 20th century. We investigate the source of drought occurring in five example grazing districts in eastern and central Australia. We find year‐to‐year variability in grazing district rainfall (GDR) during the summer rainy season (November to March) composed of quasi‐biennial, interannual, quasi‐decadal, and interdecadal signals from 1900 to 1999. However, the longer period signals dominate, accounting for the interdecadal quasi‐periodicity of the drought/flood cycle. We find these GDR signals associated with corresponding global standing modes and travelling waves in covarying sea‐surface temperature (SST) and sea‐level pressure (SLP) anomalies. These global SST/SLP modes/waves influence the GDR signals by altering the troposphere moisture flux converging onto the grazing districts from regional tropical and extra‐tropical oceanic source regions. We construct statistical models to determine whether the evolution of these global SST/SLP modes/waves over the oceanic source regions can hindcast corresponding GDR signals from one year to the next. When these models allow for modulation of the modes/waves, they hindcast ∼1/3 of the variance in the GDR indices at 1 year lead, including the drought episodes. We find drought resulting from the constructive interference of the dry phases of the quasi‐decadal and interdecadal global SST/SLP modes/waves, accompanied by a weakening of year‐to‐year variability associated with either weak quasi‐biennial and interannual modes/waves or their destructive interference. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society


In recent years, the occurrence of ground subsidence phenomenon is frequent in Korea. The Korean government has enacted a special law on underground safety and the law will be enforced from January 1, 2018. Under this new law, underground excavation should be assessed for underground safety impacts. After excavation construction, periodic geophysical surveys should be conducted to investigate the occurrence of underground cavities. When underground cavities were discovered, the underground safety was assessed through numerical analysis. However, it is controversial because the method of numerical modeling the discovered underground cavity is due to be established. In this study, the effect of the depth of the underground cavity from the shape of the underground cavity to the underground cavity was studied using a continuum analysis program. In this study, a method to reflect the shape of the underground cavity to the numerical modeling is presented. The relationship between the shape and depth of the underground cavity, and the factor of safety calculated by the shear strength reduction method (SSR) is presented. The results of this study are expected to form the basic data on underground safety impact assessment.


This study aims to analyze the effect of religiosity and service quality on job satisfaction in micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) industry employees by taking a sample of 120 employees from ten MSME industries in Indonesia. The data collection method used a questionnaire. The analysis method uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Smart PLS v.3.0. The results showed that religiosity had a positive and significant effect on service quality. Religiosity has a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction, and service quality has a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction. Research results can be used as a basis for improving and maintaining employee job satisfaction in MSME industries through increasing religiosity and service quality of company employees.


The internal Zappa-Szep products emerge when a semigroup has the property that every element has a unique decomposition as a product of elements from two given subsemigroups. The external version constructed from actions of two semigroups on one another satisfying axiom derived by G. Zappa. We illustrate the correspondence between the two versions internal and the external of Zappa-Szep products of semigroups. We consider the structure of the internal Zappa-Szep product as an enlargement. We show how rectangular band can be described as the Zappa-Szep product of a left-zero semigroup and a right-zero semigroup. We find necessary and sufficient conditions for the Zappa-Szep product of regular semigroups to again be regular, and necessary conditions for the Zappa-Szep product of inverse semigroups to again be inverse. We generalize the Billhardt λ-semidirect product to the Zappa-Szep product of a semilattice E and a group G by constructing an inductive groupoid.


Rice is an important commodity in human life where its production increase must be followed by environmental sustainability and land health. The achievement of increased rice production supported by environmental sustainability can be achieved by utilizing biological fertilizers. One of the microbes that can be used as nutrient providers for rice plants is cyanobacteria. This study was carried out in a greenhouse and soil biology laboratory of the Indonesian Soil Research Institute using a randomized block design with four replications. The treatments tested consisted of F0 (without treatment), F1 (wet cyanobacteria isolate), F2 (dry cyanobacteria isolate), F3 (cyanobacteria + rock phosphate), F4 (cyanobacteria + biochar), F5 (cyanobacteria + kaolin), F6 (cyanobacteria + rock phosphate + kaolin), F7 (cyanobacteria + rock phosphate + biochar), F8 (cyanobacteria + kaolin + biochar). The results showed that the cyanobacteria formula treatment with biochar (F4) carriers showed the highest total population in the parameters of the cyanobacteria population, bacteria, and fungi so that the interaction was said to be positive. The application of cyanobacteria formula to soil chemistry did not significantly affect the post-harvest soil N, P, and K, while the increase in soil pH occurred in the overall treatment of the cyanobacteria formula. Treatment of cyanobacteria formula with biochar carrier (F4) had significantly different results on parameters of number of tillers, number of panicles, grain weight, number of grains.


Objective Investigate application of biotinylatedanti-AIB1 monoclonal antibody for AIB1 detection in tumour cells.Methods We use the BNHS reagents to mark the McAb 1A2E1 and harvest Biotin-1A2E1 with its valence-1∶3200.We apply Biotin-1A2E1 to detect AIB1 protein in tumour cells by immunofluorescence chemical method.Results Utilizing the biotinylated McAb to detect AIB1 antigen of target cells,the results show that the McAb kept strongly specific and sensitivity.Conclusion It is successful to detect the target cells which express AIB1 antigen by the biotinylated antibody,and it may be of potential significance in the diagnosis and therapy for human cancer.


Objective: To describe the frequency of secondary health conditions among males with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD).
Background: The full spectrum of secondary health conditions in males with DBMD is unknown. A few studies suggest a higher than expected prevalence of a sub-set of conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, constipation, and gastroesophageal reflux.
Design/Methods: Caregivers of males with DBMD were identified through MD STARnet, a population-based surveillance system for DBMD in five states. Participants (n=209) were asked whether their child was ever diagnosed with any of twenty-nine conditions. Responses were categorized by affected male's age, ambulatory status, and steroid-use. The responses were compared to those of the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) when the questions were equivalent. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used to analyze associations between categorical variables. The differences in means of continuous variables were evaluated with T-tests.
Results: Males with DBMD aged >17 years were more likely to have depression (p<0.001), gastroesophageal reflux/heartburn (p= 0.029), and kidney stones (p<0.001) than males aged ≤17 years. Depression (p= 0.001), anxiety (p= 0.006), ADD/ADHD (0.022), gastroesophageal reflux/heartburn (p= 0.006), kidney stones (p= 0.007), trouble urinating (p= 0.010), and high blood pressure (p= 0.021) were more common among non-ambulatory males than ambulatory males. Cataracts were more common in long-term steroid users (蠅6months) than short-term (<6 months) or non-users (p<0.001). In comparison to NSCH participants, MD STARnet males had a higher percentage of behavioral and/or conduct problems, developmental delay, and intellectual disability (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Males with DBMD have a higher frequency of behavioral and/or cognitive issues than NSCH participants. Certain conditions occur more frequently in males >17 years and those who are non-ambulatory. Identification of these secondary conditions can ultimately improve clinical care and direct future research in this population. Disclosure: Dr. Napoliello has nothing to disclose. Dr. Street has nothing to disclose. Dr. Caspers has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ciafaloni has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cunniff has received research support from Genzyme Corp. Dr. Donnelly has nothing to disclose. Dr. Fox has nothing to disclose. Dr. James has nothing to disclose. Dr. Oleszek has nothing to disclose. Dr. Westfield has nothing to disclose.


Background: The ILA HEART study demonstrated that administration of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) for 14 days after onset of NSTE-ACS reduced high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) at 7 an...


We propose, in this paper, a novel approach to modelling education and human capital formation in a computable general equilibrium model. Rather than adopting microeconomic-based assumptions of human capital formation, the method is based on an empirical relationship between labor force composition and expenditure in education services. After realizing a set of econometric estimates, we found some robust relationship between workers' shares in the labor force and educational expenditure, in real terms and per capita. To assess the implications of these findings, we simulate, in a conventional CGE model for Ethiopia, the impact of an increase in public expenditure devoted to education. Our simulation results highlight the existence of a multiplicative effect, such that the overall increase in the supply of education services, in the final equilibrium state, is more than three times larger than the initial demand push. This comes associated with a positive supply shock, entailing gains in productivity, income, and welfare, as well as changes in the structure of the economy


The invention relates to heat resistant steel. The heat resistant steel comprises the following chemical element components in percentage by weight: 0.04 to 0.10 percent of carbon, less than or equal to 0.75 percent of silicon, less than or equal to 2.00 percent of manganese, 19.00 to 23.00 percent of nickel, 24.00 to 26.00 percent of chromium, 0.20 to 0.60 percent of niobium, less than or equal to 0.25 percent of copper, less than or equal to 0.010 percent of sulfur, less than or equal to 0.030 percent of phosphorous, 0.10 to 0.50 percent of molybdenum, 0.10 to 0.50 percent of cobalt, 0.15 to 0.35 percent of nitrogen, 0.02 to 0.10 percent of vanadium, 0.001 to 0.015 percent of aluminum, and at least one of 0.0005 to 0.010 percent of boron, 0.0005 to 0.100 percent of rare earth and 0.0005 to 0.100 percent of zirconium and the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities. After being subjected to solution heat treatment at the temperature of between 1,200 and 1,250 DEG C, a heat resistant steel pipe which is produced by smelting, die casting, hot rolling, forging and hot extrusion has the yield strength (Rp0.2) of more than or equal to 300MPa, the tensile strength (Rm) of more than or equal to 650MPa and the elongation percentage (A) of more than or equal to 35 percent; and the heat resistant steel and the heat resistant steel pipe have high high-temperature permanence properties and high-temperature antioxidant properties and are particularly suitable for high pressure resistant boilers of supercritical generating units.


Objective To study the effect of CD14 overexpression in gastric cancer cells on TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-12 and discuss its function in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer.Methods The gastric cancer cells SGC-7901 stably transfected with CD14 were stimulated with muramyl dipeptide (MDP) of CD14 receptor.mRNA expression and protein expression of each cell factor was detected with RT-PCR and Western blot,respectively.The gastric cancer cells SGC-7901 transfected with empty plasmid was as the control and the effect of enforced CD14 expression on expression of TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-12 was discussed.Results mRNA expression and protein expression of TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-12 were increased in the cells stably transfected with CD14.Conclusions CD14 plays a role in increasing expression of TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-12 to a certain extent.


This study is a four-week section of ongoing attempts that aim to improve 6 th grade students' understandings of the nature of science. The study was carried out in a sixth grade science and technology class at a rural middle school with 15 students on the


The structure–property correlation in blends consisting of styrene/butadiene block copolymers forming alternating polystyrene (PS) and polybutadiene (PB) lamellae, and PS domains in rubbery matrix was investigated by different microscopic techniques (transmission electron microscopy, scanning force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy), uniaxial tensile testing, and dynamic mechanical analysis. Unlike the pure lamellar block copolymer, the blends showed predominantly disordered wormlike morphology formed by the intermolecular mixing. These structures allowed a precise control of stiffness/toughness ratio of the blends over a wide range. The blends showed a gradual transition from predominantly viscoplastic to elastomeric behavior with increasing triblock copolymer content. The results demonstrated that the binary block copolymer blends provide the unique possibility of tailoring mechanical properties on the basis of nanostructured polymeric materials. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 1219–1230, 2004


As the electronics industry has grown, wire materials for electronic components have been required to possess various characteristics. Accordingly, diverse kinds of wire materials have been produced. In addition to single-metal and alloy wires, wire materials include composite metal wires, which have multiple metallic phases (Fig. 1). Singlemetal and alloy wires are generally excellent in performing a single function. However, when they are required to possess multiple characteristics, many challenges need to be overcome, including tradeoffs between characteristics and huge manufacturing cost. Composite metal wires possessing metallic phases with differing functions enable the realization of multiple characteristics at relatively low cost. For example, alloys of iron and nickel have been used to form lead wires that pass through glass seals due to small differences in thermal expansion coefficient between the alloy and glass. Nonetheless, their electrical conductivity is low. In contrast, copper shows high electrical conductivity, although its thermal expansion coefficient is higher than the glass. If the metal were to be used through glass seals as it is, the result would be failure of the seal due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients. By uniting these two metals through cladding, it becomes possible to manufacture a wire material with a thermal expansion coefficient that matches closely that of glass, and with high electrical conductivity. The product is known as the Dumet wire, which emerged about a century ago in the form of lead wires for light bulbs. These claddingor plating-based composite metal wires are extensively used in many sectors. This paper reports on the composite metal wire products supplied by the Electronics Components Department of the Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., and their application examples.


A family of symmetrical wire dipoles having the geometry of the Koch-type prefractal is considered. A regression analysis for the electrodynamic characteristics and geometric parameters of the antennas is performed. Regression models of the base frequency for dipoles having different scales are obtained. A subfamily of antennas with a resonance at frequencies of 2.4-2.5 GHz is identified via regression models. Further analysis of the reflection coefficient and the bandwidth of the antennas from the given family made it possible to select the most matching antennas for operation in the selected Wi-Fi band.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study how people use competing accounting numbers to make sense of and legitimize actions in a complex environment in times of crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes the implementation of a standardized budget model at a USA intergovernmental organization, by relying on a triangulation of data sources, including face-to-face interviews, direct observations, and archival documents. The organization faces one of the greatest crises it has ever experienced. An accounting team and a human resources team make sense differently the same reality–staffing. The sensemaking perspective framework is utilized to provide a theoretical structure for the analysis.FindingsThe understudied organization undergoes constant evolution during the budgetary crisis; data reveal different forms of cues, which activate the sensemaking process, such as fading and compressed cues. Although compressed cues subsequently emerge, they play a more crucial role in managers' enactment than pre-existing fading cues. Artificializing accounting numbers refer to the social process of constructing compressed cues or artificial artifacts that are neither wrong nor right, neither soft nor hard and not useful for peoples' sensemaking but used to legitimize managers' strategic decisions.Practical implicationsThis artificializing process explains the people's resistance to policy implementation. Furthermore, the multiplicity of cues provides useful information for regulators and managers to understand uncertainty during a crisis.Originality/valueThis study presents a rare case of an international third sector organization amid a budgetary crisis. Among few studies referring to numbers as sensemaking resources, this study focuses on the importance of systematic power and corporate power relative to the process of sensemaking.


This paper prospects the topology of a class of robust feedbacks measured by structured singular value. It starts at delimiting the full extent of frequency domain in searching for a feasible system characterized by performance-in-specification, reliability-in-operation and order-of-compensator. This makes possible extension of the design-test-analysis approach that is popular in industry to a semiempirical synthesis to shorten the time consumed in controller development. The research journey ends at an illustrated example where the prospected topology is used to develop robust loop-filters in phase-lock-loop circuits served for frequency-to-voltage transducers.


The fluxional behaviour of [RhCl(PPh 3 )(Ph 2 PO 2 CCH=CHMe)] observed in the n.m.r. spectra is attributed to the rapid equilibrium between two isomers having mutually cis and trans phosphorus atoms respectively. Thermodynamic parameters for this process for this process are measured and loss of P-P but not Rh-P coupling under fast exchange conditions suggests tht J PP has different signs for the two isomers


This paper addresses the issue of the external aspects of the didactic transposition of dietetics in two countries, France and Morocco. Our aim is to evaluate the continuity between social practices of reference and dietitian training between these two countries. To achieve this, we conduct interviews with four recognized dieticians (two in France and two in Morocco) and we collect institutional documents of the three investigated dietician schools (BTS and DUT in France, and Diplome d'Etat in Morocco). In particular, we model the social practices of reference as epistemic games. The comparison of these epistemic games with the prescriptions of the three investigated schools allows us to characterize the articulation between training requirements and the reference social practices.


This study was conducted as a field trial of using a new candidate trivalent Capripoxvirus (CaPVs) vaccine in pregnant ewes and does to detect safety degree and level of immunity, in comparison with commercial Romanian sheep pox viral (RSPPV) vaccine. Monitoring the post-vaccinal reaction and measurement of cellular and humoral immunity by evaluating the lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA) and serum neutralization test (SNT), respectively, in addition to detect the acquired maternal immunity in new-born lambs and kids .The post-vaccine reaction in animals vaccinated with trivalent CaPVs vaccine was more noticeable than that vaccinated with RSPPV vaccine without significant difference (P-Value>0.05). In vitro, the evaluation of cellular and humoral immunity revealed that the animals vaccinated with trivalent vaccine can  significantly induce lymphocyte proliferation response in addition to  of high level of antibodies (Abs) in comparison to that vaccinated with RSPPV vaccine (P-Value <0.05) with peak titre of lymphocyte proliferation and Abs titre at 10 th and 28 th , respectively. Furthermore, the evaluation of maternal immunity in new-born lambs and kids from previously vaccinated dams with trivalent CaPVs and RSPPV vaccines by SNT was shown that the peak level of receiving immunity was appeared at 1st week after birth with increasing its level in lambs and kids of dams vaccinated with trivalent CaPVs vaccine than those of dams vaccinated with RSPPV vaccine with a significant difference in between (P-Value <0.05). The result of this study provide a good profile about a high immune response with a long level of maternal immunity provided with trivalent CaPVs vaccine in comparison to the RSPPV vaccine so toward about the preferable use of new vaccine to control infection with sheep and goat pox diseases. Trivalent CaPVs vaccine could be candidate to be used against lumpy skin disease (LSD) due to antigenic relationship between genus CaPVs strains. Key words : does; ewes; monovalent RSPPV; safety; trivalent CaPVs


Landslides commonly occur on undeveloped hillslopes in Hong Kong, China. Heavy rainfall in June 2001 and May 2003 resulted in small landslides in a headwater drainage basin. Measurements of suspended sediment concentration made during the storm events, along with observations on sediment colour and C and N content, indicate that the suspended matter in streamflow was derived from the landslides, evidencing the connectivity of hillslope and channel systems. Estimates of the volume of failed material when compared to those of deposition revealed that much of the debris from the landslides remained on the slope in an ephemeral drainage line. At-a-point erosion from the landslides is much greater than that recorded by erosion pins in the same catchment.


I derive the set of recurrence relations between the amplitudes of multiparticle production at threshold in the standard large-[ital N] limit of the O([ital N])-symmetric [phi][sup 4] theory which sums all relevant diagrams with an arbitrary number of loops. I find an exact solution to the recurrence relations using the Gelfand-Diki[hacek i] representation of the diagonal resolvent of the Schroedinger operator. The result coincides with the tree amplitudes while the effect of loops is the renormalization of the coupling constant and mass. The form of the solution is due to the fact that the exact amplitude of the process 2[r arrow][ital n] vanishes at [ital n][gt]2 on mass shell when averaged over the O([ital N]) indices of incoming particles for dynamical reasons because of the cancellation between diagrams. I discuss some possible applications of large-[ital N] amplitudes, in particular, for the renormalon problem.


Recent demand growth for shea butter from the international, multi-billion dollar, cosmetic and confectionary sectors, coupled with widespread occurrence of shea parklands across Sahel–Savannah landscapes, provides an unprecedented opportunity to mitigate rural communities' vulnerability to food insecurity while adapting to local and global climate variability. The key outcome of this study is to establish a starting point from which culture protocols can be developed for shoot and root regeneration of explants taken from mature materials. Once possible, superior genotypes with agronomic values could be selected and multiplied for production of high-quality planting materials for African farmers. Axillary shoot proliferation was induced in apical shoots of Vitellaria paradoxa seedlings when cultured on growth media with Murashige and Skoog macro- and micronutrients reduced to half-strength in the presence of a combination of the plant growth regulators, 6-benzyladenine (BA) and α-napthaleneacetic acid. Shoot regeneration was maximal when the cytokinin/auxin ratio was between 5:1 and 50:1 with BA in between 8.9 and 22.2 μM. Adventitious roots were stimulated when cultured on rooting media with Murashige and Skoog macro- and micronutrients reduced to quarter-strength in the presence of the plant growth regulator, indolebutyric acid between 4.9 and 14.8 μM.


This paper explains the effects of BSA/PBA-NHS/Graphene/SiO2 used as a sensing layer for E. coli bacteria sensor based on the electrical properties. In this research, graphene is used as a sensing layer due to its superior properties especially its biocompatibility. The biocompatibility of graphene was examined by topological properties by AFM. Moreover, it was also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The topological structure and Raman spectroscopy showed good results which is indicate the graphene layer suitable for biosensing applications. Additionally, it was also confirmed that the antibody was successfully immobilized on the modified SiO2/graphene/PBANHS. PBANHS is used as a linker due to its cost-effective and time-saving. The electrical properties of the sensing layer before and after the immobilized antibody shows a significant difference. When the number of E. coli bacteria increases, the current increase also became higher. The change in resistance gradually increases from 0.04 to 2.62 Ħ when the number of bacteria increases from 55 to 1200 CFU/ml.-+.


A series of Si-Zr and Si-Zr-Ag films were prepared by the co-sputtering method to examine their microstructural stability and electrochemical performances. Si-Zr thin films like Si58Zr42 and Si48Zr52, alloyed with significant proportions of Zr, show excellent cycle performance with no microstructural change to the film surfaces, although they exhibit a reduced reversible capacity. Si-Zr-Ag film shows a charge-discharge profile with a plateau-like region, in which the cycle performance and the morphological stability depend on film fabrication conditions such as the substrate and the applied bias voltage.


In article, process of automation of diagnostics and elimination of gas defects is considered. The description of a method of identification of kinds of defects, the reasons of their emergence and ways of elimination is provided. Within performance of work, the complex of systems of support of design of manufacturing techniques of castings from the iron and carbonof alloys is offered. The architecture of a complex of the automated systems of improvement of quality of molding is considered. The maintenance of the main subsystems of a complex is described. An example of the analysis of casting "the Cover 766", carried out with use of the developed method is reviewed. Process of diagnostics of defect of casting and search of the reasons of emergence of defect is described, and the list of measures for elimination of the considered defect is provided


The "FLASH Portals Project" is a collaboration between Arktis Radiation Detectors Ltd (CH), the Atomic Weapons Establishment (UK), and the Joint Research Centre (European Commission), supported by the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG). The program's goal was to develop and demonstrate a technology to detect shielded special nuclear materials (SNM) more efficiently and less ambiguously by exploiting time correlation. This study presents experimental results of a two-sided portal monitor equipped with in total 16 4He fast neutron detectors as well as four polyvinyltoluene (PVT) plastic scintillators. All detectors have been synchronized to nanosecond precision, thereby allowing the resolution of time correlations from timescales of tens of microseconds (such as (n, γ) reactions) down to prompt fission correlations directly. Our results demonstrate that such correlations can be detected in a typical radiation portal monitor (RPM) geometry and within operationally acceptable time scales, and that exploiting these signatures significantly improves the performance of the RPM compared to neutron counting. Furthermore, the results show that some time structure remains even in the presence of heavy shielding, thus significantly improving the sensitivity of the detection system to shielded SNM.


Many coaxial cables depart from the 'ideal' geometry of a coaxial cable due to manufacturing constraints. In the case considered here, the role of the ground return is fulfilled by a drain wire. The ground shield is made of a plastic backed metal strip that is wound around the center conductor, dielectric core, and drain wire. This differs from the ideal case in which the ground return is entirely fulfilled by the ground shield, which is continuous. In the case studied here, the drain wire and the ground shield only make contact periodically, so there are two distinct current paths on the ground side of the circuit. Because of the plastic backing on the ground shield, the shield is not electrically continuous where it overlaps, and this results in a helical break in the ground shield. The combination of the the helical break in the ground shield and the existence of multiple signal paths results in signal dispersion. The helical break also makes the resulting electromagnetic fields non-TEM and thus precludes the use of two-dimensional solution methods normally used to characterize the coaxial problem. The characteristics of the electromagnetic waves propagating in this structure are analyzed with the use of a finite-difference time-domain solver under development at the Ultrahigh Speed Digital Electronics Laboratory at the University of Illinois. This solver uses a time-split Lax-Wendroff finite-difference time-domain scheme in conjunction with Maxwell's equations expressed in generalized coordinates in order to support the use of non-orthogonal meshing. The use of non-orthogonal meshing is required for a reasonable treatment of the problem under consideration. The results of this analysis are used to develop a circuit model of the cable behavior. This model is used to estimate the frequency ranges over which dispersion takes place.


Purpose: This study was done to develop a measure resilience in nurses. Method: Forty preliminary items were extracted from a view of the literature on concept analysis and scale development, and from in-depth interviews with nurses. These items were examined for content validity, reliability and validity. The scale was verified with 496 nurses working in three advanced general hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggido. Results: Factor analysis resulted in the creation of the final scale, which consisted of 30 items that were grouped into 5 factors: dispositional pattern, relational pattern, situational pattern, philosophical pattern and professional pattern. The explanatory variance was 56.25%. The reliability of the scale was Cronbach`s ${\alpha}


Abstract Singh, R.R., Dutt, T., Kumar, A. and Singh, M. 2010. Estimation of direct additive genetic and maternal variance for growth traits in Vrindavani cattle. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 38: 145–148. The growth records of Vrindavani calves were analyzed to estimate the variance components and genetic parameters using two univariate and a multivariate animal model based on algorithm of derivative free restricted maximum likelihood. These univariate animal models were simple animal model (AM I) and animal model with additional random maternal effect (AM II). The multivariate animal model (AM III) included all the traits under investigation by considering their relationship. For all growth traits (Birth weight and body weight at 3, 6 and 9 month) the estimate of additive genetic variance was highest in the simple animal model (AM I). The direct estimates of heritabilities were also inflated towards higher side for all the four traits using AM I. The multivariate animal models revealed lowest magnitude of direct additive genetic variances and thus direct estimate of heritabilities for all the traits. The direct estimates of maternal heritability ranged from 0.064 (Birth weight) to 0.197 (body weight at 6 month) and it was zero in 6 and 12 month body weights. The genetic correlations of birth weight with 3, 6 and 12 month body weights were low and non-significant because of significant impact of maternal effect on birth weight. However, the phenotypic correlations between traits were found to be positive and significant.


E2F transcription factors are well‐recognized oncogenic molecules, and their correlation with immune cell infiltration has recently been reported. This work studies the impacts and mechanism of E2F transcription factor 3 (E2F3) in the growth and tumor microenvironment (TME) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).


The skin is the largest organ of the human body consisting of several layers possessing different properties and performing different physiological functions. The loss of skin integrity caused by a trauma or disease may provoke acute physiological and immune disorders that may even be fatal. Therefore, there are many benefits when choosing the right material, such as pain and patient discomfort reduction; reduce fluid loss through the wound; anti-infection; support of the epithelialization process, and reduces treatment costs.In this report, we would like to introduce the effective treatment of Biocellulose biofilm through a severe Lyell syndrome patient.


Data from six years, September 1994-1999, of bio-acoustic surveys near the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, (AK), from which age-0 walleye pollock school and zooplankton patch locations have been extracted, were analysed using image-processing methods. Multiple passes along four transects in this major pollock nursery area were examined. The data showed high year-to-year variability in overall abundance of both fish and plankton, but consistent abundance differences between the transects. Juvenile pollock abundance was generally highest in the shallow shelf region to the north of the Pribilof Islands and lowest in the mouth of the Pribilof Canyon to the south. Plankton biomass patterns tended to be the reverse. We identified fronts and regions within the transects based on changes in hydrograpy (e.g. vertical stratification) and bathymetry. Diel migration patterns of pollock and zooplankton within these regions appear to depend on the degree of stratification, the depth, the size of the pollock and the relative abundance of the pollock and zooplankton. Several hypotheses are also discussed concerning the relationship of pollock recruitment year-class strength to large year classes including differences in the environmental conditions, the pervasiveness of the pollock, the size of juvenile pollock and the density of predators.


Based upon literature survey and questionnaire survey, this research tries to develop four new Cleanroom Garment in semiconductor industrial environment. The designs emphasize to minimize workers discomfort so that they can not only cover human body fully but also reduce dust as much as possible during work hour in dean room. The new designs characteristics and results from both function test and dust emission test are as follows: 1. In order to reduce dust-emission, we develop new designs with hood, kimono sleeve, and back zipper. The designs with hood face positive test results in term of motion suitability and dust-emission. The design with seam in front, in particular, is effective to control dust-emission. 2. For the purpose of reducing dust-emission, we also emphasize to minimize ease of dust-proof wear, with reference to previous research and clothing experiment. The experiment participants report that the new wears are not so comfortable as existing ones, but they accept the new wears positive as effective in reducing dust-emission owing to reduced ease of Cleanroom Garment and sleeves. 3. Also to reduce dust-emission in inner wear, we put inner wear in both Cleanroom Garments and inner wear, resulting to remove discomfort of wearers when changing clothes and of tight waist due to inner-trousers. 4. We develop new designs with elastic bands in both waist through the side lines and with velcro only at the back side. To remove twist in front contributes to reduce emission arising out of friction, also to free the appearance minding woman workers from worrying about exposed stomach. The new designs need to be accepted as a valuable alternative of Cleanroom Garment, in that they are highly effective to reduce dust-emission, which is the most important factor in the wear, in spite of some drawbacks in terms of motion-suitability, ease and appearance as shown in wearing test.


If culture is the lynchpin of public diplomacy, then the Canada Council for the Arts (the Council) has had an important role in projecting Canada's international image, identity, and values beyond its borders for over 60 years. This article explores the evolution of the Council's role in Canada's cultural diplomacy, from its birth as a result of the Massey Commission's recommendations to its growing international role in projecting Canada's diversity in a contemporary international context. The article argues that the Council's growing international role, one that promotes cultural freedom, will strengthen Canada's foreign policy and may portend a unique form of "bottom-up" Canadian cultural statecraft that is distinct from the traditional "top-down" forms of political and economic statecraft.


This study presents a novel and efficient least squares based method for rectangle fitting, using a continuous fitness function that approximates a unit square accurately. The proposed method is compared with the existing method in the literature using both simulated data and real data. The real data is derived from aerial photogrammetry point clouds of a rectangular building. The simulated tests show that the proposed method performs better than the reference method, reducing the root-mean-square error by about 93% and 14% for clean datasets and noisy point clouds, respectively. The proposed method also improves the fitting of the real dataset by about 81%, achieving centimetre level accuracy. Furthermore, the test results show that the proposed method converges in fewer than 10 iterations.


Electric load levelling is one of the urgent requirements for the utility power industries in Japan. As a solution to this requirement, the intensive heat storage system utilizing surplus power during off-peak hours at nighttime was chosen for heating rooms and water supply in buildings, such as hotels and hospitals. This paper describes the system construction and the comparison of the analysis with the experiment on the 2300MJ solid material sensible heat storage system. The analysis considering heat loss predicted the variations of the air and brick temperatures in good accuracy in both charge and discharge processes. The effectiveness of the storage material is also discussed.


Eighty-three programs were randomly selected from a population of 105 Adult Education programs listed in Peterson's Guides (1992) to complete a telephone survey questionnaire about program demographics and the nature of and emphasis on adult learning and development curricula. Demographic data revealed an alarming number of adult education program eliminations and the increased use of adjunct faculty. Substantially all surveyed institutions listed one or more required or elective courses in the area of adult learning and development, even though some educators were unaware of the existence of the Standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education (Commission of Professors of Adult Education, 1986).


This article explores how a foundation level landscape design studio borrows ideas from the creative art discipline to engage students to understand the design process.


This newest addition to the series Society and the Sexes in the Modern World, edited by Christine Stansell, is a fascinating history of Americans' beliefs about sexuality and gender in the white-collar workplace from the mid-nineteenth century to the current day. Richly woven with the stories about women office workers, Julie Berebitsky's book chronicles in absorbing detail the contradictory narratives of sex in the office, from stories of sexually powerful women tempting vulnerable men, to innocent women in need of protection from predatory, older men. Berebitsky describes the development of the "sexualized office in Americans' shared imagination" (p. 9) through visual and print media, in mainstream and professional periodicals and prescriptive literature, in confession magazines, erotic pulp fiction, Playboy and popular film, and in cartoons, postcards, and magazine advertisements (some of which are reproduced in the book). Through a close analysis of these stories, commentaries, and images, Berebitsky argues that sexuality constructed gender in the office and was one way in which "power and authority in the office were created, negotiated, expressed, and challenged" (p. 16). She demonstrates how economic and political as well as intellectual and cultural developments influenced Americans' understandings of sexuality in the office, but she concludes that Americans' attitudes toward workplace sexuality have remained startlingly consistent over time. Women first began working in offices during the Civil War, and their number grew steadily over time, from fewer than 2,000 in 1870 to 70,000 in 1891, and to half a million in 1920. By 1950, at 5.25 million, office workers made up a third of all workingwomen. As women entered office work, competing narratives emerged about them and the men they encountered. Appearing regularly in newspapers by the late nineteenth century, reports of office sex scandals often involved young unmarried women working for older, established married men. Public discourses portrayed the woman office worker alternatively


Architects and systems designers artfully balance multiple competing design constraints during the design process but are unable to translate between system metrics and end user experience. This work presents three methodologies to fill in this gap. The first is an incentive-compatible methodology that determines a"ground truth"measurement of users' value of speed in terms of US dollars, and find that users would accept a performance losses of 10%, 20%, and 30% to their personal computer in exchange for \$2.27, \$4.07, and \$4.43 per day, respectively. However, while highly accurate the methodology is a painstaking process and does not scale with large numbers of participants. To allow for scalability, we introduce a second methodology -- a lab-based simulation experiment -- which finds that users would accept a permanent performance loss of 10%, 20%, and 30% to their personal computer in exchange for \$127, \$169, and \$823, respectively. Finally, to allow for even greater scalability, we introduce a third methodology -- a survey -- and observe that the lack of incentive compatibility and the lack of hands-on experience with throttled device performance skews the results significantly, thus demonstrating the need for lab-based or incentive compatible study designs. By quantifying the tradeoff between user satisfaction and performance, we enable architects and systems designers to make more nuanced tradeoffs between design requirements.


Many of today's construction projects require both complex technology and sophisticated management techniques. Experience prevails in the requirements for management positions, but appropriate education can assist prospective managers to maintain steep learning curves in rapidly acquiring this experience. The Business Roundtable's study of construction education recommended increased emphasis at the graduate level. This paper describes a graduate program, including both technical and management elements, to prepare engineers beginning careers in construction. Although complete coverage of all suggested technical and managerial subjects is not possible in a single program, this proposal may assist in increasing discussion between educators and industry professionals regarding the relative priorities for background in the technology and the management systems required for construction careers. It may also assist prospective graduate students in selecting the mix of engineering and management courses which p...


This paper investigates how the intersection between the Catholic religion and pop culture shows important transformations in the aesthetic, media, and political forms around the mediation processes of Catholicism in media culture. Empirically, we chose to analyze the audiovisual work of Fr. Stan Fortuna, the Friars of Renewal and FoundNation, all agents of Catholicism in the North American context, linked to the rap music genre. We observe how the Cultural Matrices of Catholicism and pop culture cross the selected audiovisuals' content and form between negotiations and disputes. As a result, we aim to indicate some elements that are in transformation in the media production of agents of Catholicism and that point to new conventions that can be consolidated in the expressive formats of this religious institution.


The instability of fat emulsions in total parenteral nutrition mixtures is due to adsorption of electrolytes onto the emulsion droplet, causing a reduction in the surface potential. The effects of other TPN components have not been systematically explored. We have examined the effect of glucose, a major component, which is suspected to destabilize the mixtures by virtue of the pH reduction which it may induce. We have measured by turbidimetry the flocculation of Intralipid 20% by calcium ions in the presence of glucose solutions up to 15% w/v. Intralipid was diluted into glucose solutions to an absorbance of 1.0 and was then mixed with calcium chloride solution and the increase in turbidity measured over a 2-minute period.


The standard pathophysiology in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), is caused by loss of dopaminergic neurons. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have been implicated in these types of neuronal death. It has been shown that exposure to environmental toxins such as paraquat, a commonly used herbicide, can lead to an increase in the incidence of PD. So far, there is no effective therapeutic treatment that can halt the progression of the neurodegeneration. We have been conducting research on a water soluble formulation of CoQ10 (Ubisol-QE) and are testing its ability to protect neurons in vivo. It has previously been shown that Ubisol-QE prevents progression of neurodegeneration in rat models of PD post-injury. We wanted to determine the duration of Ubisol-QE treatment required to effectively sustain neuroprotection. Therefore, over the 8-week treatment portion of the experiment, one group of paraquat exposed rats were treated for the entire time with Ubisol-QE, while another had their treatment withdrawn after 4 weeks. We evaluated the neuroprotective effects by the number of tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain of animals who were given continuous treatment and those of whom who had their treatment withdrawn. The results suggest that Ubisol-QE has a significant effect after 8 weeks of treatment, indicating that longer duration of the treatment is needed. In observing the results from the neuromotor decline experiments, the treatment group had far less hind leg slips than the untreated groups, reflecting the protection that was seen in the immunohistochemical results. Consequently it can be suggested that Ubisol-QE could be an effective treatment to halt the neurodegeneration found in PD patients.


Navigating the physics of the transport industry Physicsworks • The technology that underpins global GPS was first developed by an English physicist at the National Physical Laboratory. • Physics is enabling faster payments and could facilitate faster travel times through the use of new materials.


60 Ad dress for Cor res pon den ce/Ya z›fl ma Ad re si: Turgay Demir MD, Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Adana, Turkey Phone: +90 322 338 60 60-3206 E-mail: email@example.com Re cei ved/Ge lifl Ta ri hi: 28.05.2013 Ac cep ted/Ka bul Ta ri hi: 04.03.2014 Behçet's Disease is a multisystemic, inflammatory, recurrent disorder with oral and genital ulcerations along with cutaneous and ophthalmic symptoms. Central nervous system involvement is called Neuro-Behçet's Disease. Extrapyramidal symptoms are rare in Neuro-Behçet's Disease. We report here a case with NeuroBehçet disease presented with acute hemiballismus. (Turkish Journal of Neurology 2014; 20:60-2)


We describe the impact of changing epidemiology and vaccine introduction on characteristics of COVID-19 outbreaks in 330 long-term care facilities (LTCF) in England between November 2020 and June 2021. As vaccine coverage in LTCF increased and national incidence declined, the total number of outbreaks and outbreak severity decreased across the LTCF. The number of infected cases per outbreak decreased by 80.6%, while the proportion of outbreaks affecting staff only increased. Our study supports findings of vaccine effectiveness in LTCF.


We explore the effect of varying the spectral energy distribution of the incident continuum, by simultaneously and self-consistently computing the structure of an H ii region and a photodissociation region that are in pressure equilibrium. The results of the calculations are applied to extragalactic observations. The intensity ratio diagrams of far-infrared (FIR) emission for Herschel bands (70, 110, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm) and the contribution from H ii regions for these specific FIR emissions are presented for the first time. With these diagrams, we compare the predicted FIR continuum intensity ratios of M82 with observations by Herschel.


Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) releases nucleocapsid proteins (NP) into the blood circulation in infected patients. We investigated whether plasma NP analysis could be used for diagnosing an infection and used for nosocomial screening. Methods: We collected blood samples from patients admitted to the hospital during a period with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based-screening of patients for SARS-CoV-2. Retrospectively the SARS-CoV-2 NP plasma concentrations were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method and used for an initial time course study to find the optimal time-point for sampling blood. Next, we estimated the diagnostic accuracy i.e. the clinical sensitivity and specificity at different plasma NP cut-off concentrations. Results: The time course study revealed profiles with rapid or more slow declines in NP titers after the RT-PCR result. Nevertheless, in the time interval 0 – 7 days after the RT-PCR result, the NP concentration was always above the level of detection at 1.66 pg/ml suggesting that the diagnosis could be established in the time interval of 0 - 7 days. The median time gap between the plasma NP and RT-PCR results was 0.0 days (n = 1957, interval: -26 to + 21 days). Reducing the time gap to seven days, the clinical sensitivity was 90.0% (n= 60, 95% CI, 82.4% to 97.6%) at a specificity of 95.9% (n=1876, 95% CI, 95.0% to 96.8%). Curve analysis by receiver operation characteristics identified a cut-off concentration of 1.87 pg/mL NP as optimal resulting in a positive predictive value of 41.2%, a negative predictive value of 99.7% and a prevalence of 3.1%. Conclusions: In conclusion, the NP method is acceptable for making the laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, and an intended use of plasma NP as a prospective nosocomial screening method is considered feasible.


This research focuses on the success rate of implementing gadget protection in purchasing gadgets at Shopee Indonesia E-commerce. The purpose of this study is to find out how far the success rate is for implementing gadget protection when purchasing gadgets at Shopee Indonesia e-commerce. The method used in this research is using a descriptive qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Where to understand the meaning based on the experience of facts that have been experienced by individuals in detail. The results of this study are that researchers took three informants, one informant was satisfied with the effectiveness of the implementation of the gadget protection provided by e-commerce Shopee Indonesia. However, the informant did not reach the claim stage, because the gadget he had purchased was still in good condition and nothing happened. Meanwhile, two other informants thought that the effectiveness of the implementation of this gadget protection was not working properly, they had difficulty making claims.


Two-photon excitation for creating 3D structure has widely been studied because this technique can be applied for various fields, for example creating of optoelectronic device and micro-optics. This technique was first used for photoresist. However it was used as method to create metal structure which has functionality like enhancement of electromagnetic field. We have already reported the 3D microstructures with submicron scale linewidth fabricated through two-photon photo-reduction of silver ions in poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) matrix using a femtosecond laser system. We studied the morphological behavior of two-dimensional silver structures fabricated by two-photon excitation of silver nitrate in PVP matrix to further analyze. The silver structure near the cover slip was fabricated on a microscope stage. Obtained structure was investigated using an atomic force microscopy (AFM), a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). AFM measurement showed the photo-induced structure on a cover slip. EDX and XPS measurements showed that the silver ion was photo-reduced and the photo-reduced silver was interacted with PVP, respectively. We assume that the silver makes a cluster and the cluster is covered by PVP chain.


Reproducible major disruptions of low aspect ratio plasmas (R/a = 2.17) obtained in the Tokoloshe tokamak, have been studied. These disruptions are triggered by contact of a large m = 2 island with the inside of the limiter. The m = 2 growth is precipitated by a thermal collapse of the plasma periphery during the current decay phase. The time-scale of this island growth is strongly dependent on relatively small changes in the gas puff rate affecting the shear at the q = 2 surface. As a result, the start of the m = 2 growth before the disruption is not necessarily at all closely linked to the start of the thermal collapse. Clear evidence is found that the m = 1 mode plays no direct role in these major disruptions, nor does any other mode except the m = 2 appear to be important.


The geological structure of Zhong-7 well and Zhong-14 well is the Hengshanpu section of the thrust belt in the western margin of the Ordos Basin, and there have been few construction wells in this area in the past two years. During the construction of the two wells, the formation stability of the entire well section was extremely poor, especially Shiqianfeng. The following strata collapsed seriously and frequently encountered blockages during tripping. During the construction, measures such as optimizing the system, enhancing plugging, improving suppression, wall patching in complex well sections, and fiber cleaning were adopted to obtain valuable experience for the later construction of the Zhongzi gas exploration well in the thrust belt of the western margin.


In this paper we describe an event-type extractor on top of a distributed search engine. We apply this event-type extractor in a case study concerned with assisting maritime security operators to assess potential risk factors of ships. Based on a corpus of maritime-related press releases we automatically investigate the history of ships as they enter an area of interest. The performance of the system is evaluated with a task-oriented focus on a set of vessels with known risk factors, and typical behaviour is evaluated by batch-processing a large set of vessels.


The symbolic meanings in architectural culture are that it reveals the mental meanings in architecture by means of different architectural symbol marks. This paper mainly explores how the Chinese traditional culture is reflected in residential buildings, by analyzing the symbolic culture in Huizhou residential buildings and further discusses the fault in architectural culture which happens under the rapidly developing constructional conditions in modern society.


Burleson County is located in east central Texas
between Austin and College Station.
The county shares border with four counties: Milam
on the north, Robertson and Brazos on the east,
Washington on the south and Bastrop on the West.
The largest city is Caldwell, where the county seat is
located, other larger cities include: Snook and
Somerville. The area of the county is 666 square
miles and population approximately 17,000 people
(Source: Public Records 2015)


Oxidation of proteins (carbonyls) and lipids (TBARS) in beef heart surimi-like materials during preparation and storage (2°C) was inhibited by propyl gallate (0.02%) or α-tocopherol (0.2%). Inhibition of oxidation did not affect surimi gel property (storage modulus, G'). Storage promoted oxidation of proteins in 0.2% ascorbate-washed mince, leading to increases in peak ( 55°C) and final (70°C) G' of thermally induced surimi gel. Protein carbonyls in stored surimi and its sol (salted), as well as TBARS of the sol, strongly correlated with both peak and final G' of gels. Incorporation of tripolyphosphate into washed mince promoted gelation whether the surimi-like material was oxidized or not.


This article exposes shocking, never-before-revealed truths about hearsay evidence. In my study of the rule, leading to my book (THE HEARSAY RULE, 2d edition, published in 2009 by Carolina Academic Press) I have discovered eight great and undisputable truths about hearsay. This article contains the proof for each truth here listed. 1. Everything is nonhearsay. 2. Everything is hearsay. 3. Everything fits under an exception to the hearsay rule. 4. Great lawyers can convince average judges of almost anything, and even average judges can ignore the best arguments of great lawyers. 5. These points must be won at trial because appellate courts affirm. 6. When the subject is child abuse, none of the rules (such as they are) applies. 7. None of the above matters much because chances are it will be gotten wrong anyway. 8. It is always admissible, and, even when it is not, you can get around the hearsay rule by hiring an expert witness and have the witness form an opinion that will be admissible.


The uncontrolled logging of Pterocarpus tinctorius Welw. in the Kasenga territory in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is of significant socioeconomic benefit, but above all, it is a threat to the stability of forest ecosystems. Based on Landsat images from 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021, the landscape dynamics of the Kasomeno region in the Kasenga territory, a P. tinctorius exploitation area, was quantified using a mapping approach coupled with landscape ecology analysis tools. The results reveal a continuous loss of forest cover over all the periods studied, mostly between 2013 and 2017, primarily through the dissection of patches. Also, through the spatial process of attrition, the fields recorded a regressive dynamic between 2013–2017, a sign of abandonment of agricultural activity in favour of P. tinctorius illegal logging. These landscape dynamics are the consequences of strong anthropic activities in the study area, leading to an important spatial expansion of the savannah. Consequently, the level of landscape disturbance doubled from 0.8 to 1.7 between 2009 and 2021. Our results suggest that, without regulatory enforcement, illegal logging of P. tinctorius seriously compromises forest ecosystem health and household food security in the region.


ABSTRACT The research presented in this article investigates the role of classroom discussions for supporting students' ongoing identity work during the study of global issues. Civic identity is theorized as a socially constructed process in which individuals become associated as a particular type of citizen created through social interactions in a given context. The findings revealed that classroom discussion focused on supporting identity work facilitated students to critique civic discourses and to negotiate global civic identities within the classroom relations of power that privilege certain positions. The findings suggest conceptualizing civic identity as a fundamentally unresolved process of navigating multiple ways of being a citizen that are ongoing and contingent. However, the students did not discard their national identities in favor of global ones. Instead, they made sense of diverse responsibilities by considering the moral implications of remaining loyal to the nation. Thus, rather than imposing citizenship as a fixed, singular narrative, we suggest that educators support the exploration of diverse moral and political ways of being citizens in the world. Although there are promising results for civic identity work, the findings were less sanguine for a commitment to civic engagement.


A protocol has been developed for calculation of potential future heave of basement floors in residential structures in the Colorado Front Range area. Data from swell/consolidation tests commonly used in the area and soil suction tests are used to predict potential heave. The calculations are very dependent upon the anticipated depth of wetting. Pre-construction soil suction data were compared to post-construction suction data. The results indicate the assumptions of depth of wetting developed for the protocol are appropriate in most instances. Unusually deep wetting may occur in areas where geologic conditions allow water to penetrate more easily into soils and sedimentary bedrock.


Solutions of H2O216,16 in water highly enriched in O18 were irradiated with x rays and protons. The effects of H2O2 concentration, pH, bromide and nitrite ions, on the yield of the isotopic species H2O216,18 and H2O218,18, were investigated. The ``molecular'' H2O2 is formed with a G value of 0.3 in neutral solutions. The formation of H2O216,18 is attributed to the attack of O18H radicals on H2O216,16. The evolved O216,18 may be regarded as a product of a parallel reaction. The yield of O216,18 is dependent on an exchange reaction between HO2 and H2O2. Specific effects due to added NO2— and high concentrations of Br— are discussed.


We consider a wireless communication device that uses network coding and acts as a relay for two connections. We analyze a two-dimensional continuous-time queueing model of the system and show that steady-state performance can be expressed in the solution of a Riemann-Hilbert boundary value problem. From this solution we derive the expected energy consumption and expected packet delay.


were contaminated with viable gram--negative bacilli. Subsequent investigation showed that solutions of Hibitane ( chlorhexidine ) and Savlon ( cetrimide-chlorhexidine mixture ) issued from the pharmacy were frequently contaminated with Pseudomonas species. The contamination was maintained by a residual inoculum remaining in bottles after washing, and was spread to other bottles in the bottle-washing apparatus. It is not generally recognized how widespread contamination of solutions used in hospitals can become. The authors examined stock solutions of aqueous chlorhexidine and Savlon in four additional hospitals and found 30 of 48 samples contaminated with Pseudomonas sp. In one pharmacy the distilled water used for dilution was found to be heavily contaminated with the saille organism. Burdon & Whitby (Birmingham, Eng.), British M. J. 2 :153 ( Apr.15 ), 1967


This paper examines the relationship between the poor level of social and economic development and the poor demographic situation in Madhya Pradesh India. This relationship is explored on the basis of district level information on the demographic situation and development scenario in the state. To do this the author first ranks the districts according to the demographic situation and according to the level of social and economic development and then attempts to establish the relationship between the rank of a district in terms of the demographic situation with the rank of that district in terms of the level of social and economic development. The analysis indicates that there exists a strong link between the social and economic progress and demographic transition across the district of the state. It also suggests that improving the capacity and quality of the people with a focus on women is crucial in hastening the pace of demographic transition. This implies that any policy towards population control in the state must take into consideration the disparities in social and economic development.


The purpose of this paper is to present a modified reliability allocation scheme of a series-parallel system based on that of a series system. Equivalent failure rate is derived as mean failure rate as failure rate of a redundant system is time-varying. We can get constant failure rate that produces the same value of reliability as that of redundant system when time interval is fixed. It means that reliability can be converted to constant failure rate by means of equivalent failure rate. Target failure rate is used in general instead of target reliability via equivalent failure rate. Target failure rate of a series-parallel system can be allocated into those of subsystems including both series and parallel subsystems. Mathematical equations are suggested to figure out target failure rates of parallel subsystems when a target reliability of a series-parallel system is given.


A 5-year-old boy presented to the authors' paediatric admissions unit with a sudden onset of swelling of his left temple. He had a 4-day history of fever and otalgia. He had been prescribed cefalexin by his GP the previous day for suspected acute otitis media. His mother described him waking from his afternoon nap when she noticed, for the first time, a swelling over his left temple. He had a history of two previously treated episodes of acute otitis media in the preceding year. On examination he was febrile with a temperature of 37.9°C. A tender, firm, non-erythematous swelling was present over his left temple and several left cervical lymph nodes were palpable. Otoscopy revealed bilaterally scarred tympanic membranes. Initial investigations revealed a white cell count of 31.2 × 109/litre with a neutrophilia of 27.5 × 109/litre and a C-reactive protein of 261 mg/litre. Intravenous cefuroxime was started to cover a suspected soft tissue infection. Skull radiographs showed no areas of osteolysis. Ultrasono...


Most companies relay on centralized servers, which are considered as a fast and easy to deploy solution for file sharing, but they have many downsides, like security and trust issues, which can be solved using DLT (blockchain) solutions. However, DLT-based solutions have many challenges, such as nodes orchestration, adjusting reliability and double-spending, as well as load balancing. This research proposes a DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) based model for files storage for companies using p2p networks, which takes into account both data reliability and storage space efficiency. More efficient data storage is achieved through the use of the Erasure coding technique. For load balancing, a set of algorithms that can be implemented in the form of a smart contract were proposed. The described model can become the basis of the IT infrastructure for trusted exchange of documents, technical and scientific information, games distributions, mobile applications, updates of scientific, regulatory and technical databases in b2b and b2c format


The heat resistance of a wild type and nalidixic acid resistant strain of Yersinia enterocolitica, and Listeria monocytogenes, was measured in meat (minced beef and minced beef homogenate) and potato substrates over the temperature range 50–60C. Comparisons of heat resistance were determined using D-values calculated using a linear survival model. The results showed that the wild-type strain of Y. enterocolitica was more heat resistant than the mutant (p<0.05). Under most conditions, the use of a nonselective/overlay recovery medium resulted in higher D-values compared to a selective recovery medium (p<0.05). Analysis of the data using a nonlinear survival model (D1 and D2 -values) suggested the presence of heat resistant subpopulations and was particularly evident for the mutant strain, and in potatoes compared to minced beef.


The composite feature, density, similarity and species diversity etc. of the natural mangrove forest and the Sonneration apetala + S. caseolaris mangrove plantation are reported. The ecological function of this mangrove plantation is analyzed and evaluated from the birds community compared with the natural mangrove forest. The results are as the follows. It is not harmful effects on the structure and function of the natural mangrove that the exotic S.apetala and S. caseolaris is used as main afforestation species in Shenzhen bays. On the contrary, it raise the biodiversity of the mangrove ecological system and increased the areas of mangrove. Additionally, the paper suggests that some effective measures to guard against ecological intrusion of S.apetala and S.caseolaris should be used.


This interface control document (ICD) between Analytical Services and Solid Waste Disposal (SWD) establishes a baseline description of the support needed and the wastes that will require management as part of the interface between the two divisions. It is important that each division has a clear understanding of the other division`s expectations regarding levels and type of support needed. This ICD deals with the waste sampling support needed by SWD and the waste generated by the specified analytical laboratories. The baseline description of wastes includes waste volumes, characteristics and shipping schedules, which will be used to plan the proper support requirements. The laboratories included in this document are 222-S Laboratory Facility, the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF) and the Chemical Engineering Laboratory. These three facilities provide support to the entire site and are not associated with one major program/facility. The laboratories associated with major facilities or programs such as Engineering/Environmental Development Laboratory at K Basins Operation are not within the scope of this document.


Least-squares-based methods are very popular in the jet engine community for health monitoring purpose. Their isolation capability can be improved by using a prior knowledge on the health parameters that better matches the expected pattern of the solution i.e., a sparse one as accidental faults impact at most one or two component(s) simultaneously. On the other hand, complimentary information about the feasible values of the health parameters can be derived in the form of constraints. The present contribution investigates the effect of the addition of such constraints on the performance of the sparse estimation tool. Due to its quadratic programming formulation, the constraints are integrated in a straightforward manner. Results obtained on a variety of fault conditions simulated with a commercial turbofan model show that the inclusion of constraints further enhance the isolation capability of the sparse estimator. In particular, the constraints help resolve a confusion issue between high pressure compressor and variable stator vanes faults.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


The patient is a 7.4-year-old Caucasian male who was well until he was 2.5 years old, at which time he was found to have approximately 20 cafe au lait spots, macrocephaly, a Lisch nodule on his left iris, and bitemporal hemianopsia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed a well-defined mass (3.0 cm in diameter) within the suprasellar cistern. The anterior pituitary gland was normal. At 2.6


Drawing on Schumpeterian concept of creative and adaptive responses literature the article analyses how different firms' behaviour can influence structural and knowledge change at both firm and industry levels. We use this theoretical framework to analyse a qualitative case study analysing the transformation occurred in the telecommunication industry on the bounce of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in the consumer voice market segment. Both new entrants and incumbents have used and developed the technology but they have had different responses to the development of VoIP. The analysis of the case study shows that transformation in the industry structure takes place only once firms intentionally react creatively to change by exploiting all innovation features while adaptive responses reduce the pace of changes.


The effect of slight viscoelasticity on the hydrodynamic stability of a plane Poiseuille flow is investigated by the linearized method of small two‐dimensional disturbances. The resulting equation is that of Orr‐Sommerfeld, modified however by a non‐Newtonian term. The constitutive equation used to represent the response of the fluid is that of a second‐order fluid. The equations are solved numerically, and compared with the results of Thomas. The critical Reynolds number is found to be lowered as the magnitude of a non‐Newtonian parameter increased.


This article analyses the leadership of Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Ken Saro Wiwa in the protection of indigenous communities' land rights in Kenya and Nigeria respectively. It uses a case study and 'leadership as process' approach to focus on events and actions by Ngugi and Saro Wiwa, alongside the Kamiriithu and Ogoni communities in 1976 – 1982 and 1990 - 1995, respectively. In the case of Kenya, the Kamiriithu community did not attain their land rights and other freedoms following the Ngugi-led activism. Instead , the Kenyan government turned to further repression of individual and collective rights. In Nigeria, Saro-Wiwa was hanged after a trial marred with irregularities. However, oil exploitation activities on land belonging to the Ogoni ceased. There has been progress in holding Shell legally accountable for environmental degradation and a study on the extent of damage done to the ecology has been undertaken. Both writers, despite different outcomes to their activis m, played leadership roles in their communities' struggle for land rights. Their creative writing abilities and achievements played a role in their emergence as leaders and strategies for leadership.


The recent withdrawal in the United Kingdom (UK) of applications to reclassify two separate systemic antibiotics for uncomplicated cystitis in women as 'P' medicines (pharmacy only sale), marks the probable end of a 15 year discussion. The reasons for these withdrawals are not known, but they ended what had become a protracted regulatory process. The potential for increased microbial resistance in the community following unsupervised use of antimicrobial agents raises important concerns. Illegal sales of systemic antibiotics in European pharmacies remain a substantial problem, and this 'Over the Counter (OTC)' antibiotic misuse, has sometimes prejudiced the debate about proposals for regulated self medication. The abandoned applications, for selected antibiotics in a restricted indication, argued that such de-regulation had the potential to improve antibiotic usage in these limited circumstances. This proposition will remain untested in the absence of prospective studies following an approval. However existing data on self medication of recurrent episodes of cystitis in women and known patterns of antibiotic use in this indication support the contention that not all selfmedication with antibiotics would inevitably lead to misuse and worsening resistance. The removal of two applications to re-classify systemic antibiotics has been seen as an important victory for the principle that systemic antibiotics should be restricted to prescription only use. This paper explores an alternative view that this move may represent a missed opportunity to encourage some responsible self care with antibiotics and to contrast that with the widespread misuse which currently prevails.


NOAA's Local Analysis and Prediction System (LAPS) was implemented for the Narragansett Bay region to provide surface forcing for an oceanographic forecast model for the bay and adjacent coastal waters. The forecast model used by LAPS was the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) mesoscale model (MM5). The Narragansett Bay, with its complex shoreline and numerous islands, provided a difficult challenge for an atmospheric model in properly forecasting mesoscale phenomena such as sea and land breezes. MM5 forecasts (primarily its surface wind predictions) will be evaluated using observations from a variety of different federal, state, university, and cooperative networks. When considered together, these networks provide a dense coverage of observations essential for evaluating mesoscale forecasts in the coastal zone.


on the English Language Teaching and Education. The contents cover analysis, studies, application of theories reports, and material Abstract The research objectives are to find out:(1) what speech acts are found in the novel " Speak " by Laurie Halse Anderson, (2) the forms used to express speech acts meaning in this novel, (3) what the kinds of speech acts appear dominantly in this novel, (4) the ways of the novelist moral values are expressed in speech acts of this novel, and (5) the theoretical implication for English Language Teaching. Qualitative methods and content analysis were used in this research. Documentation, book reviewer, and interview were used as data collection. Triangulation was used to get validity. Research results are (1) all speech acts types appeared,(2) The were 4 directives forms, 4 commisive forms, 6 representatives forms, 3 declarations forms, 12 expressive forms,(3) Expressive was dominant,(4) The novelist expressed moral values through expressive dominantly. (5) The novel "Speak" can be implemented in the literature that has functions in the teaching and learning process.


Why do people use anonymity-granting technologies when surfing the Internet? Anecdotal evidence suggests that people often resort to using online anonymity services, like the Tor network, because they are concerned about the possibility of their government infringing their civil and political rights, especially in highly repressive regimes. This claim has yet to be subject to rigorous cross-national, over time testing. In this article, econometric analysis of newly compiled data on Tor network usage from 2011 to 2013 shows that the relationship between political repression and the use of the Tor network is U-shaped. Political repression drives usage of Tor the most in both highly repressive and highly liberal contexts. The shape of this relationship plausibly emerges as a function of people's opportunity to use Tor and their need to use anonymity-granting technologies to express their basic political rights in highly repressive regimes.


The study evaluates the effect of financial assets on the financial performance of pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria from 2011-2020 with cash, stock and loans as independent variables and return on assets as dependent variables. Data extracted from the published financial statements of the firms for the period covered were subjected to descriptive analysis and inferential statistics analysis. Diagnostics tests include: Panel Unit Root test, Cointegration test, Hausman test. Panel Regression Analysis result reveals positive but insignificant effect of cash, stocks and loans on return on assets of pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria. The conclusion drawn from the findings is that financial assets contribute very little to the financial performance of pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria. The higher the financial assets of pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria, the better, as the performance would be improved. The study recommends amongst others that pharmaceutical firms should improve on their cash management efficiency. Management of pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria should determine the optimal cash level of the firms to avoid liquidity problems while at the same time avoid ideal funds.


Measurements are reported for the sorption equilibrium and transport of water vapor into polyaniline (PANI) powders and asymmetric, microporous hollow fibers. Equilibrium isotherms at 298 K were measured on powders doped with 13 different organic and inorganic acids to change the polyaniline from its emeraldine base, PANI-EB (insulating) form, to the emeraldine salt, PANI-ES (conducting) form. The powders were exposed to air streams of varying relative humidity (RH) from 15 to 80%. The four acid dopants, H3PO4, HPF6, HBF4, and CF3SO3H, provided the highest water sorption figures-of-merit and also displayed nonlinear isotherms. At 50% RH, these four doped powders adsorbed 0.9−1.6 molecules of water per PANI-ES repeat unit. Measurements of the sorption kinetics on the hollow fibers were done with one dopant acid, H3PO4. The data were obtained under exposure to air streams at an ambient pressure of ∼0.1 MPa with relative humidity ∼50% and temperatures of 300−309 K. The sorption process was well-described by ...


In today's Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) scenarios, a prevailing tendency exists to assume that the robot shall cooperate with the closest individual or that the scene involves merely a singular human actor. However, in realistic scenarios, such as shop floor operations, such an assumption may not hold and personalized target recognition by the robot in crowded environments is required. To fulfil this requirement, in this work, we propose a person re-identification module based on continual visual adaptation techniques that ensure the robot's seamless cooperation with the appropriate individual even subject to varying visual appearances or partial or complete occlusions. We test the framework singularly using recorded videos in a laboratory environment and an HRI scenario, i.e., a person-following task by a mobile robot. The targets are asked to change their appearance during tracking and to disappear from the camera field of view to test the challenging cases of occlusion and outfit variations. We compare our framework with one of the state-of-the-art Multi-Object Tracking (MOT) methods and the results show that the CARPE-ID can accurately track each selected target throughout the experiments in all the cases (except two limit cases). At the same time, the s-o-t-a MOT has a mean of 4 tracking errors for each video.


1. the art that the invention defined in the claims The present invention relates to a rental software will provide a server apparatus and a method using a prefetch scheme. 2. The invention attempts to solve the technical challenges The purpose of the present invention provides a, rental software provided by the prefetching method server apparatus and a method for enabling to run smoothly rental software at a high reaction rate in the wireless terminal by introducing the prefetching scheme to rent software providing system that. 3. Resolution of the subject matter of the invention, The present invention provides a software rental service server apparatus, data processing means for managing the network, communicating with a wireless terminal; Performing a user authentication, user authentication, and information storage means for storing the user authentication information; Request management means for collectively managing the rental software request from the wireless terminal; Performing a pattern analysis of the rental software, pattern analysis for storing the pattern analysis, and storage means; Terminal information extraction means for extracting information about the hardware and radio environment information between the terminal and the server of the radio terminal; If there is the terminal information using the terminal information extracted by the extraction means determines the degree of wire drawing of the rental software, and the partial program requests the rental software from the wireless terminal, by the pattern analyzing means according to the degree determined prefetching prefetching management means for requesting the determination of the take-off line portion to be programmed; Store the rental software, and file transmission means for transmitting the prefetch part program to be used for the requested program and a future portion to the wireless terminal; Billing information processing means for storing the charging information, and processes the stored accounting information; And if the store all his operation although an error in the system include error recovery means to ensure recoverability. 4. An important use of the invention, The invention yiyongdoem such software rental service system. Rental software, ASP, prefetching, caching, wireless terminals, rental software provides servers, pattern analysis


Survey indicate that over half (55%) of the county's adult population are either overweight or obese. The percentage of adults who are obese based on selfreported height and weight increased from 14.3% in 1997, to 19.3% in 2002 (Figure 1). An additional onethird of the county's adults (35%) are overweight. Those who are obese are at increased risk of developing many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and many types of cancer. The obesity rate in 2002 was highest among African-Americans (31%), followed by Latinos (24%), Whites (16%), and Asians (6%) (Figure 1). The obesity rate was also higher among those with less education and low household incomes (Table 1). Cause for Concern Obesity is a leading cause of chronic disease. Results of the 2002 survey indicate that those who are obese are much more likely to have been diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, and depression (Figure 2). In addition, persons who are obese are much more likely to report poor health and activity limitations. Overweight and obesity account for an estimated $3.43 billion in health care expenditures annually for adults in Los Angeles County, based on expenditure data obtained from a national study of obesity costs. Health care spending related to obesity is approximately 9% of total health care costs, a rate that rivals tobacco-related health care costs. Since the obesity rates reported from the survey are based on self-reports, they likely underestimate the true burden of obesity in the county's adult population. Recent national data found that obesity rates based on measured height and weight were more than 50% higher than rates obtained from self-reported height and weight. Therefore, actual rates of obesity in Los Angeles County could be much higher than 19%.


InP/Si substrates were fabricated through wafer bonding and helium-induced exfoliation of InP, and InGaAs solar cells lattice matched to bulk InP were grown on these substrates using metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. The photovoltaic characteristics of the InGaAs cells fabricated on the wafer-bonded InP/Si substrates were comparable to those synthesized on commercially available epiready InP substrates, thus providing a demonstration of wafer-bonded InP/Si substrates as an alternative to bulk InP substrates for solar cell applications.


To evaluate the immunoprotection of the outer membrane protease T(OmpT) of Escherichia coli,the mice were immunized by prokaryotically expressed OmpT(rOmpT) with the mice immunized with inactivated vaccine strain of E.coli 308-2 as positive control,and challenged by E.coli from different phylogenetic groups,respectively.In addition,the immunoresponses elicited by rOmpT shown that the antibody against OmpT reached the peak titer(1:64,000) at 14 days post-booster,which increased the phagocytic activity of phagocytes to E.coli,and the IL-4 and IFN-γ positive lymphocytes were significantly increased in the immunized groups comparing with the control group by ELISA spot assay.Moreover,approximate 60% mice were protected in rOmpT immunized groups when challenged with the E.coli from 4 phylogenetic groups,respectively,which were about 10% higher than that in inactivated E.coli vaccine groups.These data demonstrated that the rOmpT had the ability to provide efficient protection against E.coli infections and could be used as a promising subunit vaccine candidate.


According to the specific requirements for the transit temperature test system of the missile environment and the existing problem such as low test precision,poor reliability and high cost of the present storage test system,this article demonstrates and designs dynamic memory test system based on the K-style thermocouple.It introduces the system composition,demonstrates practicability of the test system and provides the key technologies of dynamic and static calibration for the thermocouple.These key technologies provide guarantee for the environmental temperature measurements,make the dynamic and static calibration of system with the actual tested data,analyze and come to relative conclusions.The research shows that the test system possess the practical engineering value,and gives a quick,effective and precise test means for analyzing missile environment temperature.


First, it is not sufficiently clear from the paper how this approach specifically added value to the process of planning and decision making in the Philippines in ways that existing approaches did not. For example, page 6 has a good discussion about inadequate supplies at health facilities, and why that undermines essential care. But inadequate supplies caused by slow or non-existent release of funds have been a well known problem in the Philippines since devolution occurred in 1993. The current wording of the paper almost seems to imply that the approach 'discovered' the problem. Nor is it clear – at least from the wording of the paper as it currently stands – what the value added of the proposed solution was. The current draft simply says, that "in all LGUs, the strategy identified to address the lack of commodities is for each of the identified essential commodities to be included in the local budget, and to allocate responsibility for ensuring this is done". But, at face value, that statement is just common sense and would be pursued – whether successfully or not – by any organisation. I suggest the authors give more examples of how the approach they describe actually generated new insights into problems and solutions that would not have arisen otherwise.


We study the chaotic mixing in two periodic model flows, the 'tendril–whorl' flow and the 'Aref-blinking-vortex' flow, with the objective of supplying evidence for the primary mechanisms responsible for mixing in two-dimensional deterministic flows. The analysis is based on tools of dynamical systems theory but it is clear that the mixing problem generates several questions of its own: low periodic points and horseshoes dominate the picture, since we want to achieve mixing quickly; Poincaré sections, popular in dynamical systems analyses, might give misleading information with regard to dispersion at short times. Our analysis shows that both flows are able to stretch and fold material lines well below the lengthscale of the flows themselves. The inner workings of the two systems are revealed by studying the local and global bifurcations. Computations for the blinking-vortex system indicate the existence of an optimum period at which the average efficiency is maximized, whereas the intensity of segregation – a classical parameter in mixing studies – decays rapidly to an asymptotic value in the globally chaotic region. Even though our flows are not turbulent the results might have some implications for pointing to the limits of similar studies in actual turbulent flows (e.g. line stretching).


This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the practice and experience of restraint and seclusion in inpatient psychiatric settings. These are physical practices typically used by nursing staff in order to manage violence within such services. The available quantitative literature demonstrates the variability in the prevalence of the practices and attitudes towards them. Qualitative research has focussed on then experience of the practices and the different but largely negative impacts they have. Many of these qualitative studies produce interesting and valuable findings; however the literature does not account for the role that language may play in constructing the experience and meaning of the practices for those involved. This and other limitations in the research are described and direction for further research indicated.


The village people of those days spent their times usefully and purposefully. The laborer in agricultural fields and in rural industries sang songs to overcome the weariness of their work. Folk media is a medium through which the soul of a people expresses itself colorfully. Oral tradition and the Performing arts appear to be the main media of communication. Storytellers, singers, minstrels and other kinds of folk entertainers have acted for centuries as sources for the transmission and dissemination of news and information through face-to-face live communication. The folk arts have been used for moral, religious and socio-political purposes in India right from ancient times. Indeed, there have been schools of learning, courts of justice and discussion fore. It must be noted that folk forms have specific, religious, communal, caste wise and linguistic dialects and bear values and associations that need to be taken into account.


This article introduces the way of developing computer aided graphics system of heat exchangerby using AutoCAD.Considering the features of heat exchanger,it suggests the ideas of linking AutoCADwith data base developing graphics system by the technique of assembling mute diagram.This system re-ceives a lot of application while it is applied in the projects of CAD heat exchanger.


This paper presents the results of the study that evaluates the incorporation of FACTS technologies in the expansion planning process of the Colombian National Transmission System (NTS). The application methodology uses as a starting point the optimization of the exploitation of the existing system by increasing its transmission capacity and it is based on steady-state analysis. The results of the feasibility study are also presented for a wide application of FACTS systems in the Colombian Transmission System, for improving transmission capabilities and reliability and security levels after year 2005.


Swine flu, also known as swine influenza, pig influenza, hog flu and pig flu, is a respiratory disease caused by viruses (influenza viruses) that infect the respiratory tract of pigs, resulting in nasal secretions, a barking cough, decreased appetite, and listless behaviour. Swine flu produces most of the same symptoms in pigs as human flu produces in people. Mostly people who are closely associated with pigs (for example, pork processors and farmers) acquire the infection and similarly pigs get infected occasionally human flu infection. The cross-species infections (swine virus to man; human flu virus to pigs) have always been confined to local areas and have not spread across borders in either pigs or humans. Unfortunately, this cross-species situation with influenza viruses has had the potential to change and cause epidemics and pandemics. Most recent pandemic has been reported in 2009,  where "swine flu" strain, first seen in Mexico, was termed as H1N1 as it was mainly infecting people and exhibited two main surface antigens, H1 (hemagglutinin type 1) and N1 (neuraminidase type1). This unique eight RNA strands from novel H1N1 flu have one strand derived from human flu strains, two from avian (bird) strains, and five from swine strains. Since then it has been infecting people here and there.


This document brings together the findings of a number of studies on the informal sector, and provides an analysis of the issues and possible policy options for the informal sector in Guinea. The book starts with a synthesis of the informal sector issue and the links with the modern sector in the Guinean context. It discusses the country's past, the different economic and financial reforms and the structural adjustment programme. Various studies of the informal sector are presented, as well as the organisations for the promotion of the informal sector and those dealing with vocational training. The sector's contribution to the country's employment and national product, the human resources involved and the skill acquisition are discussed. Management and organisational problems of small firms, obstacles to their growth and financial aspects, including taxation are analysed. The concluding chapter calling for a recognition of informal sector issues contains proposals for preliminary assistance to the sector and a general policy including sectoral approach, extension to rural non-farm activities, suitable financial and fiscal policy.