This article presents a theory of polity replication in which religious congregants prefer institutions in other realms of society, including the state, to be structured like their church. Polities, or systems of church governance and administration, generally take one of three forms: episcopal (hierarchical/centralized), presbyterian (collegial/regional), or congregational (autonomous/decentralized). When asked to cast a vote to shape institutions in a centralizing or decentralizing manner, voters are influenced by organizational values shaped by their respective religious traditions' polity structures. Past social scientific scholarship has neglected to explicitly connect religious affiliation, defined by polity, with members' stances on institutional design. However, previous examples of polity replication in action include the founding of the United States, the perpetuation of authoritarian regimes in Latin America, and the consolidation of the European Union. In this article, I provide original data on Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist support for city-county consolidation, an example of institutional design in metropolitan governance, in Louisville, Kentucky. Logistic regression results show that, other factors being equal, episcopal Catholics were 37 percent more likely to support consolidation in the 2000 referendum than were congregational Southern Baptists. Linear regression results show that Catholics were also more approving of the Louisville Metro government three years after its creation. In addition, Catholics who attend services more frequently were more supportive of consolidation and the consolidated regime. Perhaps owing to their polity structure, the effect of attendance for Baptists was unclear. † The following colleagues provided assistance during various stages of this research: John Gilderbloom, Corwin Smidt, Hank Savitch, Steve Koven, Jason Gainous, Carrie Donald, David Imbroscio, Bob Carini, Matt Hanka, Carey Addison, Isabella Christianson, Katrin Anacker, Bud Kellstedt, Michael Leo Owens, and Gerry Beller. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2011 meeting of the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture. Ambrosius: Religion, Politics, and Polity Replication 3 Most scholarship on churches' effects on political behavior begins and ends with formal church policy positions or more informal ministerial directives issued from the pulpit or through interaction with parishioners. Using institutional theory as a basis, I propose an additional outlet for religious influence derived from divergent religious organizational forms. I call this polity replication. Church polity is the term that theologians and sociologists of religion use to describe churches' formally defined systems of governance and administration. Polities generally take episcopal (hierarchical/centralized), presbyterian (collegial/regional), or congregational (autonomous/decentralized) forms. No past or present social scientific scholarship has explicitly argued that there is a connection between religious affiliation—defined by denominations' distinctive forms of polity—and members' preferences for institutional design (e.g., the structure of the state). However, it can be argued that when asked to cast a vote to shape institutions in a centralizing or decentralizing manner, voters are influenced not only by economic self-interest but also by organizational values shaped by their respective religious traditions. In this article, I theorize that congregants come to prefer institutions in other realms of society to be structured similarly to their church polity. The founding of the United States of America on Congregationalist principles, Catholic support for authoritarian regimes in Latin America, urban political machines in the United States, and the European Union consolidation can all be seen as examples of polity replication in action (Cairns 1981; Gill 2004; Merton 1972; Nelsen, Guth, and Fraser 2001). After discussing the details of past work and my theory, I present an analysis of original data on support for city-county consolidation in a referendum in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2000. Regression results show that when all else is held equal, episcopal Catholics were 37 percent more likely to support consolidation than were congregational Southern Baptists, and Catholics were more supportive of the postconsolidation regime. In addition, Catholics who attend services more frequently were more supportive of consolidation and the regime. On the other hand, perhaps owing to their polity structure, the effect of attendance for Baptists was unclear. Finally, I discuss implications of this theory and the findings for academic study, politics and policy, and religious life. EXPLORING INSTITUTIONS In the mid-twentieth century, political science—and much of social science in general—left behind the study of institutions in favor of the study of individual actors, encouraged by the dominant approaches of behavioralism and rational choice (Peters 1999). Beginning in the 1980s, a ―counterreformation‖ under the banner of new institutionalism returned to examining the importance of formal and informal institutions in constraining individual action (Goodin 1996). 4 Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion Vol. 7 (2011), Article 9 Scholars are divided over the definition of the term institution. Elinor Ostrom (1999: 37) writes that some casually refer to institutions simply as organizational entities, while others, including herself, define them as ―rules, norms, and strategies adopted by individuals operating within or across organizations.‖ In simple terms, institutions are ideas about how something should be done, structured, or otherwise constituted. Ostrom's view is representative of the most widely accepted definition in institutional theory. Institutional design, then, is ―the process of crafting a configuration of rules . . . aimed at reducing the severity of the tradeoffs among multiple values by shaping incentives in ways that encourage desirable behaviors‖ (Oakerson 2004: 20). Meyer, Boli, and Thomas (1987: 36–37) define the process of institutionalization as the ―processes that make such sets of rules seem natural and taken for granted while eliminating alternative interpretations and regulations. In the Western tradition, rules become institutionalized as they are linked more closely to moral authority and lawful order in nature.‖ McMullen (1994) links neoinstitutionalism to Berger and Luckmann's (1966) influential ideas about the social construction of reality, meaning that individuals and organizations interact to form socially approved representations of each other's actions that, through habituation, become institutionalized and thus understood as objective reality. New institutionalists emphasize how individuals ―learn . . . taken-for-granted scripts, habits, routines, rules, and conventional menus and categories of action.‖ In other words, ―The views, interests, and beliefs of individuals themselves are constituted by institutions‖ (McMullen 1994: 710–711). While institutions do extend beyond organizational entities, organizations and their structures, as Elinor Ostrom (1999) suggests, are typically important components of institutional arrangements. Organizations, simply defined, are ―social unit[s] with some particular purposes‖ (Shafritz and Ott 1996: 1). In considering the differences between organizations and institutions, Powelson (2003) writes, ―An organization is an administrative and functional structure, clearly bounded, while an institution is a significant practice within a culture, such as the institution of marriage.‖ In this sense, American religion and metropolitan governance are both institutions; individual denominations and congregations are organizations with administrative and functional structures. Metropolitan governments are organizations that reflect preferences for how an institution should be structured. Institutional environments shape organizational structures and culture. According to Rainey (2003: 18), organizational structures ―are the relatively stable, observable assignments and divisions of responsibility within [an] organization, achieved through such means as hierarchies of authority, rules and regulations, and specialization of individuals, groups, and subunits.‖ Elinor Ostrom (1999: 46) states that in the absence of empirical research based on an appropriate framework, ―recommendations of [institutional] reform may be based on naïve ideas about which kinds of institutions are ̳good' or ̳bad' Ambrosius: Religion, Politics, and Polity Replication 5 and not on an analysis of performance.‖ This may affect nonexperts' choices or preferences for institutional design. Ostrom challenges the Homo economicus view of human activity that is dominant in neoclassical economics and substitutes an understanding of bounded rationality. In this view, information gathering is costly, processing capabilities are limited, and decisions are therefore made on the basis of ―incomplete knowledge of all possible alternatives and their likely outcomes.‖ People can make mistakes (see Vincent Ostrom 1986); for example, they can vote in favor of governmental consolidation and later perhaps recognize that such a vote was not in their individual interests. INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN IN THE CHURCH One novel connection between government and religion is this study of institutional design. No work has directly linked internal denominational structures to preferences for similar structures in society, such as monocentric or polycentric urban governance. All Christian denominations accept some form of religious authority. Offices of authority can take the forms of pope, archbishop, bishop, priest, minister, pastor, deacon, or elder. These offices are situated at various levels and roughly correspond with equivalent ranks of secular political authority at the international,


To investigate whether a single inflammatory cytokine could stimulate nitric oxide formation in the absence of other cytokines or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), NO was measured by the redox chemiluminescence method in primary cultured rat hepatocytes and in rat Kupffer cells. Interleukin (IL) 1 beta, but neither IL‐6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐alpha), interferon gamma (IFN‐gamma), nor LPS stimulated NO formation in a dose‐dependent manner and induced half‐maximal effects at 30 pmol/L. Maximal stimulation was achieved at 12 to 16 hours after the addition of 1 nmol/L of IL‐1 beta, and was 50‐ to 60‐fold above basal levels in rat hepatocytes. The combined effect of these cytokines with LPS or IFN‐gamma on NO formation was also examined. Neither LPS nor IFN‐gamma affected the IL‐1 beta‐induced NO formation. TNF‐alpha, however, stimulated IL‐1 beta‐induced NO formation, while IL‐6 inhibited it, although independently these cytokines had no effect on NO formation. None of the cytokines tested stimulated NO formation in cultured rat Kupffer cells. In hepatocytes, the NO formation induced by IL‐l beta was blocked by both the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor NG‐monomethyl‐L‐arginine (L‐NMMA) and by IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra). Furthermore, IL‐1 beta markedly increased NOS activity, and this increase in activity was accompanied by the expression of inducible NOS (iNOS) messenger RNA (mRNA). This study clearly demonstrated that IL‐1 beta markedly stimulates NO formation in hepatocytes, in the absence of other cytokines or LPS.


This chapter contains sections titled: Contextualizing Green Gamification, Gamifying Green Examples, Explicitly Designed Home Resource Games, Transportation, Waste Disposal and Recycling, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, Notes, References, Gameography


Efficiently dam operation is necessary to secure water resources and to respond to floods. For the dam operation, the amount of dam inflow should be accurately calculate. Rainfall information is important for the amount of dam inflow estimation and prediction therefore rainfall should be observed accurately. However, it is difficult to observe the rainfall due to poor density of rain gauges because of the dam is located in the mountainous region. Moreover, ground raingauges are limitted to localized heavy rainfall, which is increasing in frequency due to climate changes. The advantage of radar is that it can obtain high-resolution grid rainfall data because radar can observe the spatial distribution of rainfall. The radar rainfall are less accurate than ground gauge data. For the accuracy improvement of radar rainfall, many adjustment methods using ground gauges, have been suggested. For dam basin, because the density of ground gauge is low, there are limitations when apply the bias adjustment methods. Especially, the localized heavy rainfall occurred in the mountainous area depending on the topography. In this study, we will develop a radar rainfall adjustment method considering the orographic effect. The method considers the elevation to obtain kriged rainfall and apply conditional merging skill for the accuracy improvement of the radar rainfall. Based on this method, we are going to estimate the mean areal precipitation for hydropower dam basin. And, we will compare and evaluate the results of various adjustment methods in term of mean areal precipitation and dam inflow.

This work was supported by KOREA HYDRO & NUCLEAR POWER CO., LTD (No. 2018-Tech-20)


This article initiates a discussion about the ex-convict in American literature through an analysis of Edward P. Jones's 2004 short story ''Old Boys, Old Girls.'' More specifically, it discusses how shame polices African American ex-convicts' post-prison lives and uses ''Old Boys'' to consider the limitations of using affect, especially ''shamelessness,'' as a method of resistance to mass incarceration. Drawing on contemporary theories of race and criminal justice, as well as affect theory, this article rethinks resistance to what Michelle Alexander calls the ''New Jim Crow,'' suggests new directions for African American literature, and makes an early contribution to the study of Edward P. Jones's work, which is woefully under-examined in American literary studies.


Automatic evaluation of electron density profiles from frequency modulated continuous wave (FM–CW) broadband microwave reflectometry on ASDEX Upgrade has been achieved in all plasma regimes combining a high performance system and advanced analysis tools. The results presented demonstrate the capability of the system to resolve the abrupt gradient changes occurring in the edge region during the L–H transition and in the presence of edge localized modes (ELMs). The temporal evolution of the density gradient could be obtained extending from the ohmic and L phases to the ELMy H phase. A new data analysis method that uses sets of consecutive sweeps to extract the group delay is also presented and its use versus single sweep analysis is discussed. It is shown that local perturbations may appear and disappear during the sweep time reinforcing the need to obtain redundant data in very short time intervals and apply rejection/averaging techniques.


AIMS To assess the integrity of the ocular surface epithelium in patients with atopic dermatitis from the viewpoint of its barrier function. METHODS 49 patients with atopic dermatitis with blepharoconjunctivitis (ABC group), 27 age matched patients with seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis (AC group), and 20 volunteers with normal healthy eyes (NH group) were assigned to this study. Ocular surface epithelium barrier function was evaluated by the fluorophotometric method using a slit lamp fluorophotometer. 3 μl of 0.5% sodium fluorescein was instilled into the conjunctival sac of the right eye and fluorescein uptake (ng/ml) 30 minutes later (20 minutes after eye washing) was measured in the central cornea and the temporal bulbar conjunctiva. Fluorophoto metric measurements performed were analysed in each group and compared between the groups. RESULTS The ABC group showed significantly higher fluorescein uptake (mean 28.2 (SEM 3.3) ng/ml) in the cornea than the AC (11.4 (2.2), p=0.001) and NH groups (9.3 (2.1), p=0.001). There was no significant difference between the AC and NH groups (p=0.930). The ABC group also showed significantly higher fluorescein uptake in the bulbar conjunctiva (393.4 (54.0)) than the AC (182.9 (24.6), p=0.011) and NH groups (169.3 (29.1), p=0.012). There was also no significant difference in fluorescein uptake between the AC group and the NH group (p=0.987). CONCLUSION This study suggested that ocular surface epithelium barrier function is impaired in patients with atopic dermatitis with blepharoconjunctivitis.


Global economy and growing competiveness on international market require consolidated approach in the Problem Solving process, that cover a variety of issues and functions in social life and economy; also in vocational education and industrial training [1]. The paper outlines a concept of Competence Based Problem Solving Training Protocol for modular mechatronic training by DATAMAS, developed to upgrade mechatronic competence of staff performing maintenance and repair jobs in automated plants in Poland. The concept presumes, that to achieve the very best training outcomes resulting in fast and effective diagnose and solving field problems, it is necessary to better adjust specialized training curricula and procedures to the problem of staff intellectual potential and capability. Such approach is reflected in the process of delivering DATAMAS training modules, flexible and adaptable to different production systems and conditions thus, able to effectively upgrade the maintenance staff competences and solve a variety of functional and other problems. Due to their didactic content combining knowledge and hard skills acquisition as well as soft skills, behaviors and attitudes advancement, the modules are the base training material, modified and applied for a variety of customized, on demand training courses "on the shop-floor". They exercise how to more effectively solve real field problems by engaging trainees to some creative activity and emotional involvement. The modules are equipped with DATAMAS Training Protocol which provides methodological and organizational frame for the company's trainers. DATAMAS Training Protocol was designed to follow the SSM approach [2]. The Protocol is mapping many functional features and training procedures that follow technical program saturated with the ongoing "mind storm" animation and argumentation. Since the DATAMAS Training Protocol concept has been under continuing scrutiny, only some limited data on its application are available. The paper outlines the concept, discus the problem solving cycle applied and explains some features of the Protocol. Problem solving cycle proposed by DATAMAS is outlined in Annex A, while a section of DATAMAS Training Protocol is shown in Annex B.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


The existence of extrema, maximum and/or minimum and negative gradients of melting curves observed for several elements at high pressure is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation using the two-species model (TSM) proposed by Ogura et al. [1]. TSM is a model which imitates the change in the electronic structure of an atom in terms of a species change in particles. The TSM phase diagram has two solid phases and one liquid phase with a solid–solid–liquid triple point which corresponds to the melting curve minimum. The melting curve has both a maximum and a minimum, and the gradient of the melting curve is negative between these extrema. These peculiar melting curve properties and phase diagram are common to alkali metals and some other elements.


A GaN metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) with 2 /spl mu/m gate-length and 200 /spl mu/m gate-width has been fabricated on a sapphire substrate. The electron mobilities for the n-GaN layer were 585 cm/sup 2//V/spl middot/s with a carrier concentration of 1.1/spl times/10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/ at 300 K, and 1217 cm/sup 2//V/spl middot/s with 2.4/spl times/10/sup 16/ cm/sup -3/ at 77K. A GaN MESFET showed a transconductance of 31mS/mm and a drain-source current of 288 mA/mm. The sidegating effect was observed when the negative bias was applied to the sidegate electrode.


A description is given of the SAMPEX (Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer) data processing unit, which provides overall control of the scientific payload while acquiring, combining, and compressing science data to produce the science telemetry for the mission. Data manipulation techniques for intelligently using the onboard recorder storage are examined. Some key features of the data processor design are given. >


The extraction of keywords is currently a very important technique used in several applications, for instance, the characterization of document topics. In this case, by extracting the right keywords on a query, one could easily know what documents should be read and what documents should be put aside. However, while the automatic extraction of multiword has been an active search field by the scientific community, the automatic extraction of single words, or unigrams, has been basically ignored due to its intrinsic difficulty. Meanwhile, it is easy to demonstrate that in a process of keyword extraction, leaving unigrams out impoverishes, in a certain extent, the quality of the final result. Take the following example:


Purpose – This paper aims to identify emerging themes that can help in understanding the preferences of Indian consumers, in the transition generation (25-44 years) (Sinha, 2011), toward sustainability in the luxury lodging industry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a multi-method approach for data collection. Thorough literature review and personal interviews with marketers were conducted to explore the themes and construct tentative thematic webs. In total, 42 customer inputs were drawn through focus groups and personal interviews to validate the themes. Customer perspective, marketers' perspective and findings from literature were juxtaposed to understand the themes. Findings – "Influence of Parents, Children and Travel agents", "Rewards for green behaviour" and "frequent communication around sustainability efforts" have been identified as some of the key motivations for consumers to choose sustainability. Some deterrents have been identified as "limited awareness about sustainability issue...


Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is a nondestructive technique in investigating the physical properties of solid-liquid interfacial layer in situ. It has the capability of quantifying the extremely tiny force change occurring on the interface by measuring the frequency shift Δ f and the energy dissipation change Δ D (or the half-bandwidth variation Δ Γ). The quantitative analysis of QCM results greatly depends on the theoretical models, whose development could generally expand the comprehension of the properties at the interfaces and the application of QCM. In the paper, the progresses on the theory and applications of QCM are reviewed. The commonly used theoretical models for a single layer in the gas/liquid phase are essential for QCM in the fields of biosensor application, surface chemistry study, and interfacial rheology, such as the adsorption of proteins, the polymer and surfactants, and the viscoelastic properties of the interfacial liquid layer. The advanced models, incorporating the effects of b...


We investigate approximations to a full dynamical theory of the concentration dependence of the viscoelasticity of polymer solutions in order to alleviate the impediments which arise by virtue of the frequency dependence of the individual polymer mode relaxation rates within the effective medium theory. The problem is considered for the simplest situation under which these frequency dependences appear, namely, in the leading concentration correction for the dimensionless relaxation rates δa(ω). These δa(ω) are evaluated numerically for short chains by use of fast Fourier transform methods. The exact δa(ω) are compared with the previous static approximation and are used to calculate the concentration dependent normal mode autocorrelation function Za(τ). The steady state δa(ω) provide an average relaxation rate approximation to Za(τ) with a form in good agreement with low concentration viscoelastic data.


The study investigated the effect of calabash chalk on the uterus of adult female Wistar rats. The 15 female adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into groups A, B and C. Group A served as the control while groups B and C served as experimental groups. Their body weights were measured on a weekly basis throughout the experimental period. In addition to feed and water given to all groups, group A received distilled water only for 21 days, group B 40 mg/kg per body weight of non-salted calabash chalk for 21 days and group C 40 mg/kg per body weight of salted calabash chalk for 21 days. On the 22nd day the animals were sacrificed and their uterus harvested for histological studies. Data was analysed using one-way ANOVA and SPSS version 2.0. The body weight of animals in group B was significantly reduced (P


We present a new method for nonrigid registration of coronary artery models with layered motion information. 2D nonrigid registration method is proposed that brings layered motion information into correspondence with fluoroscopic angiograms. The registered model is overlaid on top of interventional angiograms to provide surgical assistance during image-guided chronic total occlusion procedures. The proposed methodology is divided into two parts: layered structures alignments and local nonrigid registration. In the first part, inpainting method is used to estimate a layered rigid transformation that aligns layered motion information. In the second part, a nonrigid registration method is implemented and used to compensate for any local shape discrepancy. Experimental evaluation conducted on a set of 7 fluoroscopic angiograms results in a reduced target registration error, which showed the effectiveness of the proposed method over single layered approach.


Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 Question: A 45-year-old man presented with intermittent abdominal pain, dark urine, and constipation for 6 months. Laboratory tests of the initial episode showed total bilirubin 109.9 mmol/L (reference range, 3.4-20.5), alanine aminotransferase 3500 U/L (reference range, 9-40), aspartate aminotransferase 1860 U/L (reference range, 15-40), gammaglutamyl transferase 763 U/L (reference range, 10-60), and alkaline phosphatase 164 U/L (reference range, 45-125). The patient was discharged with abnormal liver biochemistry. For the past 4 weeks, the abdominal pain became diffuse, and the episodes lasted from a few minutes to several hours. Upon examination, the skin and sclera were mildly icteric; there was diffuse abdominal pain on palpation. A purple-blue line (Figure A) at the edge of the gums was noticed. He had consumed 100-g hot yellow rice wine (10 g alcohol) from the tin pot per day for 20 years. One year prior, he acquired a new tin pot to replace the old one. Laboratory tests on admission showed mild abnormal liver biochemistry, a normocytic anemia with a hemoglobin of 118 g/L (reference range, 130-175), creatinine 138 mmol/L (reference range, 59-104), and blood urea nitrogen 10.5 mmol/L (reference range, 2.85-7.14). Abdominal anteroposterior radiograph showed multiple air–fluid levels and dilated bowel (Figure B). On day 3 of the admission, a repeated abdominal anteroposterior radiograph showed the air–fluid levels significantly decreased (Figure C) after administration with fasting water and gastrointestinal decompression. The liver pathology result showed edema of liver cells and intrahepatic cholestasis (Figure D, E). On day 4,


"With cold ferocity and ostentatious prejudice", a quote from Primo Levi, a student of "Jewish race" at the University of Turin, which, in essence, presents the violence and the absolute unreasonableness of the measures undertaken in 1938 to expel Jews – professors, students, technical and administrative personnel – from the University and the Polytechnic of Turin. To recount the inflicted wounds, even in percentage terms, on the entire academic community, the diligent obedience of the institutions and their representatives, the "silent" reaction of those who witnessed the immediate and irrevocable expulsion of their colleagues, the difficult and postponed return or non-return of professors who were victims of the persecution once the war was over.


Research on coping with work stress has indicated that men and women typically employ different coping strategies. However, the coping domain is limited, and the outcomes of coping are rarely examined. The current research examines gender differences in coping with work stress and the effects of coping on work related outcomes. Participants included 181 full-time working students, 30.9% male and 69.1% female. Participants completed questionnaires assessing control and escape coping, social support, and physical activity. Job satisfaction, job strain, perceived job stress, absenteeism, and turnover intention were also measured. Few gender differences were found in coping, and multiple regression analysis indicated different trends on the effectiveness of coping for men and women. Limitations and future research are discussed.


In order to analyze the effect of a tilted metallic mesh on the modulation transfer function (MTF) of an optical system, the relation between the MTF and tilted angle &ptheta; of the mesh was established through calculating the point spread function (PSF) of the tilted mesh using a model based on Huygens-Fresnel diffraction theory and then conducting Fourier transform on the calculated PSF. It was found through analyses that the density of triangular spikes on the MTF curve is compressed by 1/cos(&ptheta;) times along axis x, and the MTF values are degraded due to the stretch and asymmetrical distribution of diffraction spots of the tilted mesh; moreover, when the aperture of the mesh is so small that it is the optical stop itself, the cutoff frequency of MTF along axis x decreases by cos(&ptheta;) times and the MTF values drop largely. The degradation effect on MTF caused by a tilted mesh can be reduced by using a large-size metallic mesh and increasing the porosity ratio of metallic mesh.


In a recent article Professor Bork presents a vigorous and interesting defence of vertical price fixing or resale price maintenance (hereinafter referred to as r.p.m.).1 He argues that where it is not practiced either in response to resellers' cartels or as part of a manufacturers' cartel, it must be practised in the interests of greater efficiency, larger output and improved satisfaction of consumer wants. Excluding the cases of r.p.m. practised in response to resellers' cartels or as part of manufacturers' collusion, Bork says of r.p.m., inter alia, that "the economic analysis of such restraints . . . indicates that they . . . will never be instituted with either the intent or the effect of restricting output."' "In the case of an individual manufacturer's imposition of restraints upon competition among its resellers . . . the manufacturer's motive can never be restriction of output. An alternative explanation of the manufacturer's behavior is necessary, and the only satisfactory alternative hypothesis is that the manufacturer believes the restraint will increase its net revenue by increasing distributive efficiency. This is not to say that the elimination of competition among resellers may not have some tendency to affect efficiency adversely .... But any such adverse tendency must be outweighed by a tendency to create efficiency. Otherwise, the manufacturer would not employ the restraint." Bork, it should be noted, intends his conclusions to apply regardless of the extent of monopoly power of the manufacturer. The novelty of Bork's approach lies not in its recognition that it is conceivable that in some circumstances the use of r.p.m. may increase the manufacturer's sales and be of advantage to consumers, but in its attempted demonstration that, in the absence of cartels, the use of r.p.m. cannot fail to have this effect if adopted voluntarily and independently by a manufacturer, that is, that it cannot have the intent or effect of reducing output. Many who hold the view that r.p.m. in general is against the interest of consumers nevertheless concede that there may well be particular cases and special circumstances where the prac-


Background : Community-level public health research engages a wide range of staff cadres. Community level workers with limited formal education are usually in first contact with the community and require training so that research interventions are carried out to high standards. Method : In a community-based TB study in South India, a Professional Development Programme (PDP) was developed to optimize the quality of the research, and to make involvement in research more meaningful for all members of the research team. The programme started with a set of modules that were considered relevant for a community-based epidemiological study. Subsequently, new modules were developed based on the expressed needs of the study staff. Pre and post-tests were conducted for all modules. A qualitative assessment was conducted after 3 years. Results : While initial 'pre-test' knowledge across modules was lower amongst community level field workers than staff of higher cadres, they achieved passing grade scores (>75%) with the programme. Longer term retention of knowledge over 6 months for the basic modules, was in excess of 75% for all staff. Focus groups discussions revealed that while many in the research team began work with an incomplete understanding of research methods and community health principles, investing time and resources in education beyond protocol training via the PDP realized long-term benefits to the research study and the individual staff, particularly the community level workers. Conclusions : There is a need to enhance the capabilities of community health workers to be part of a research team in field settings, so as to optimize their performance while utilizing their existing skill sets.


7 Research has found that the vividness of conscious experience is related to brain dynamics. 8 Despite both being anesthetics, propofol and ketamine produce different subjective states: we 9 explore the different effects of these two anaesthetics on the structure of dynamic attractors 10 reconstructed from electrophysiological activity recorded from cerebral cortex of two macaques. 11 We used two methods: the first embeds the recordings in a continuous high-dimensional manifold 12 on which we use topological data analysis to infer the presence of higher-order dynamics. The 13 second reconstruction, an ordinal partition network embedding, allows us to create a discrete 14 state-transition network, which is amenable to information-theoretic analysis and contains rich 15 information about state-transition dynamics. We find that the awake condition generally had 16 the "richest" structure, visiting the most states, the presence of pronounced higher-order struc-17 tures, and the least deterministic dynamics. In contrast, the propofol condition had the most 18 dissimilar dynamics, transitioning to a more impoverished, constrained, low-structure regime. 19 The ketamine condition, interestingly, seemed to combine aspects of both: while it was generally 20 less complex than the awake condition, it remained well above propofol in almost all measures. 21 These results provide provides deeper and more comprehensive insights than what is typically 22 gained by using point-measures of complexity. 23


Polyhydramnios is an obstetric pathology, which is characterized by an increase in the volume of amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid) of more than 1500 ml. The purpose of the study was to study the frequency of causes, the course of pregnancy, the outcome of childbirth and the condition of the newborn with polyhydramnios. To achieve this goal, a retrospective analysis of the history of childbirth of 72 women with polyhydramnios who delivered in the obstetric department of the Samara State Medical University clinic in 2022 was carried out. The course of pregnancy in women with polyhydramnios is complicated by: preeclampsia of the first and second half of pregnancy, miscarriage and premature birth. Perinatal outcomes are characterized by: intrauterine retention syndrome, prematurity, malformations of the central nervous system, cerebrovascular accidents and intrauterine infections.


A prototype system has demonstrated the capability to use a custom-designed multi-channel sensor to monitor high energy radiation strikes by coupling the silicon sensing elements with a radiation tolerant computer system. The computer system uses triple modular redundant soft processors and custom signal conditioning circuitry to monitor single event effects caused by high energy particles passing through semiconductor materials. The operation of the system was confirmed by exciting the radiation sensing elements with high energy Krypton ions from a cyclotron and monitoring the number of current spikes generated by the generation of electron-hole pairs as the ions lose kinetic energy through collisions within the silicon lattice of the sensors.


With the development of world technology, fictitious society has already been in the actual existence in human practical activities. Three characteristics of fictitious society have been exerting more and more pressure to modern human economic and social living. Qingdao will settle the problem about improving management level of fictitious society.


This research aimed to examine the development of the Moroccan food enterprises. It aims to identify critical issues that would contribute to the effective performance measurement function in these types of companies. This study used the qualitative research. Five case studies from various companies in the sector that engage in different activities: Flour milling company (ISO 22000); Cheese manufacturing (ISO 9001); Production of soft drinks (ISO 22000); Canned fish (ISO 9001); Coffee production (ISO 9001). The paper presents important issues: development constraints; Strategies; systems set up; performance indicators. The analysis is based on the balanced scorecard, which proposes a global dimension of the piloting with a decline on the operational level. We have classified the determinants of BSC, while using the ABC method, to measure the importance of each indicator, to answer the question: which factors have the most influence on the performance? It is assumed that the financial and accounting criteria alone are not sufficient to measure the performance of the company. This stage of performance evaluation is very important, before proposing improvement actions, or a corrective method for an effective and a permanent strategy. Keywords— Performance, constraints, Balanced Scorecard, Moroccan food companies.


Key management is one of the biggest problems in IoT security. The Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol is well known as a secure key exchange protocol to establish secure channels between two hosts. However, IKE uses RSA as public key cryptography algorithm that is based on Diffie-Hellman (DH) key exchange which is very heavy, in term of arithmetic operations, for very constrained resources devices such as the case for WSNs. In this paper, we propose to use Multivariate Quadratic Quasigroups (MQQ) to negotiate and share a secret key between two sensors. Phase 1 of the IKE protocol is supposed, by the proposal in this paper, to use MQQ instead of Diffie-Hellman (DH) key exchange.


An inertial measurement unit (IMU) contains three linear acceleration sensors and three rotational speed sensors. For the sensors there are desired installation directions parallel to the co-ordinate axes of a Cartesian co-ordinate system which is fixed to the vehicle. The actual installation directions of the sensors may differ from the desired installation directions owing to incorrect orientations. By comparing accelerations which are measured by the linear acceleration sensors for different attitudes of the vehicle with acceleration values which are known for these different attitudes in the Cartesian co-ordinate system which is fixed to the vehicle, the actual installation directions of the linear acceleration sensors are determined. By using a co-ordinate transformation it is then possible to convert the measured accelerations into the actual accelerations. ® KIPO & WIPO 2008


It can be seen from Shiji that three field trips have been conducted by the author Sima Qian-his trip as a student in his youth,his trip as an envoy to the southwest of China and his trip as the King's retinue.With an attempt to analyze these three trips,the paper has adopted four basic perspectives in the fieldwork of anthropology.emic approach and etic approach,macro-perspective and micro-perspective,the perspective of the community and the cases,special study and comprehensive study.The concrete methods of Sima Qian's field investigation include: participant observation,interview methods,the use of oral history and so on.Through this anthropological interpretation and analysis,this paper is supposed to seek certain grounds for the adoption of anthropological viewpoints in the study of Chinese traditional culture.


Investigations of edge luminescence in ZnTe crystals at high excitation levels have until now been far from complete. The luminescence has been investigated basically by laser excitation [i-3]. There are differences in the spectral location of some bands, and different opinions on their nature. Investigations of luminescence with strong electron excitation, which can give a higher generation rate of carrier pairs with nonselective excitation, are practically nonexistent. In this paper features of the structure of the edge luminescence spectra, especially of undoped ZnTe crystals, were studied at high electron excitation levels and various temperatures. Pulse duration was of the order of 10 -7 sec, repetition rate 200 Hz, electron energy in the beam up to 50 keV, and beam diameter of the order of 1 mm. The crystal preparation technique and an investigation of the cathodoluminescence (CL) was described in [4].


This paper presents the results of laser remelting influence on structure and properties of the surface of the AlSi9Cu2 aluminium cast alloy as well as X40CrMoV5-1 and 32CrMoV12-28 hot work tool steels, carried out using the high power diode laser (HPDL). Structure changes were determined in the work, especially structure of the surface after wear resistance test. Also hardness investigation of the different remelting areas was performed. The reason of this work was also to determine the laser treatment parameters, particularly the laser power, to achieve a good layer hardness for protection of this constructional and tool materials from losing their work stability and to make the material surface more resistant for work extreme conditions. Tungsten carbide and boron nitride powder was used for alloying. The goal of this work was also to determine technical and technological conditions for remelting the surface layer with HPDL. The remelted layers which were formed on the surface of the investigated aluminium and steels were examined metallographic and analysed using a hardness and wear resistance testers. Key words: Wear resistance, HPDL treatment, aluminium alloys, tool steel, remelting, alloying, surface treatment, boron nitride, tungsten carbide.


System and method for selectively connecting and disconnecting an auxiliary device while avoiding collisions tooth in a vehicle. The system includes a transmission, a transfer case and a transmission controller. The transmission has a plurality of gears for producing a plurality of gear ratios. The power divider is coupled by an output shaft to the transmission. The transmission controller communicates with a plurality of control devices associated, to control the operation of the transmission. The controller includes control logic for controlling the coupling and uncoupling of the auxiliary device. The control logic comprises a first control logic for determining whether the operator has pressed a selection switch, a second control logic for actuating a torque transmission device to switch on the additional device or decouple and to avoid tooth collisions, a third logic for monitoring the presence or uncoupling of the auxiliary device and a fourth control logic that determines whether the auxiliary device is on or has been disconnected.


For the relaxation and optimization of the electric field stress in electric power equipment, the application of FGM (Functionally Graded Materials) with spatial distribution of dielectric permittivity can be an effective solution. We investigated the applicability of FGM with various relative permittivity distributions to gas insulated power equipment. Firstly, we investigated the application effect of FGM to GIS spacers by electric field calculation. Next, we investigated the simulation technique for fabrication of FGM with different types of relative permittivity distribution and compared it with fabricated samples. Consequently, we developed the effective techniques for FGM fabrication and simulation, and verified the applicability of FGM to GIS spacers.


This article examines and critiques digital media culture and its embedded postracial logics through the resistance strategies of Black women online. Specifically, I am interested in everyday resistance strategies as "seemingly innocuous" communication, which is understood from theorizations of "hidden transcripts" that black publics utilize to counteract dominance. In order to explore "everyday resistance" I employed focus groups with 20 Black women and present patterns of resistance strategies online, such as visual signifiers and posting news articles. Secondly, I interrogate how these resistance strategies "talk back" to and circumvent the underpinnings of digital media culture through the postracial logics of individuality and networked influence. Ultimately, Black women's interconnected identities reveal the flaws of digital culture as postracial by demonstrating their resistance strategies that must work around any assumption of a "postracial parity."


In mathematical physics, the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation or Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin method is a technique for finding approximate solutions to linear differential equations with spatially varying coefficients. An attempt has been made to approximate the velocity of surface seismic wave in a piezo-composite structure. In particular, this article studies the dispersion behaviour of Love-type seismic waves in functionally graded piezoelectric material layer bonded between initially stressed piezoelectric layer and pre-stressed piezoelectric half-space. In functionally graded piezoelectric material stratum, theoretical derivations are obtained by the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin method where variations in material gradient are taken exponentially. In the upper layer and lower half-space, the displacement components are obtained by employing separation of variables method. Dispersion equations are obtained for both electrically open and short cases. Numerical example and graphical manifestation have been provided to illustrate the effect of influencing parameters on the phase velocity of considered surface wave. Obtained relation has been deduced to some existing results, as particular case of this study. Variation in cut-off frequency and group velocity against the wave number are shown graphically. This study provides a theoretical basis and practical utilization for the development and construction of surface acoustics wave devices.


Napier City Council has been operating a pilot scale Biological Trickling Filter in an extended Losluj configuration for the past 15 months, in order to assess the suitability of this relatively novel configuration for the Napier community. The pilot was designed robustly so that it could be operated as a full-scale plant would be, and results could be extrapolated to the future performance of a full-scale filter. Performance of the pilot plant at an organic loading rate of 0.4 kg cBOD5 /m.d has been good. Operational parameters of great importance for this process configuration are the flushing cycle and dose rate. At this organic loading rate, industry standard design models can be used to predict pilot performance. This paper details the design and construction, and assesses the performance of the pilot plant to date, in the context of the development of the Napier community's wastewater scheme.


Abstract : In a deterministic inventory system charged with providing spares and repair parts, the right number of spares to carry would be exactly equal to the number of spares the customer would demand during the time it takes to obtain replacements from the relevant resupply process (i.e., procurement, repair, or the order-and-shipping process). Unfortunately, customer demands and resupply process times are not precisely predictable, and thus we need 'safety levels.' The safety level for an item is the extra stock carried above the average number of demands expected over a resupply time for the item. (We occasionally use the term pipeline to refer to the average number of demands over a resupply time - so safety levels represent the extra stock carried above the pipeline. Negative safety levels occur when the number of spares carried is less than the pipeline. ) Safety levels protect us against the statistical fluctuations that occur in most demand-and-resupply processes.


A routing device and method for connecting a free-of-charge call from a customer to a company using the company's own preexisting telecom infrastructure such that the company avoids the added cost of a third party free- of-charge service provider. The device and method provide one or more triggers allowing a customer to initiate a free-of-charge call to the company, e.g., an icon or other link appearing in the company's website or email which a customer may click to initiate the trigger, or an advertised SMS target number to which a customer may send an SMS message. Upon receiving a trigger, the routing device immediately calls the customer back and connects the customer to the appropriate company department or representative.


Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have been adopted in the physical layer of many communication systems because of their superior performance. The direct implementation of these codes onto an existing software defined radio (SDR) platform is likely to be inefficient. Our approach is to design the LDPC code to match the constraints imposed by the existing architecture, without compromising the communication performance. We present a procedure for architecture-aware code design that involves feature identification, code construction and verification. Details of the procedure for the case when the SDR platform is equipped with a multi-stage interconnection network (MIN) are presented. By analyzing the characteristics of the MIN, simple yet explicit constraints are derived and used in the code construction step. The resulting LDPC code can not only be mapped very efficiently onto the SDR platform but also has very good bit error rate (BER) performance


Easy and complete solutions for implementing fiber-in-the-home networks are presented in terms of optical cable installation, fiber connectorization, fiber distribution, and optoelectronic interfacing modules. Multi-functional capabilities of the fiber-in-the-home networks for broadband networks communication, building energy management, fire alarming, and structural health monitoring are proposed.


This paper presents a Multi-choice of E-Business Model for best practice within E-Business based upon the literature to define the logic of a business system for creating value & revenue streams in the Internet era. The objectives of this paper is to develop promote and coordinate the practice matrix of electronic business. It is composed of three main Perspectives, which are Strategy (Value-added), Business model (Classification), and Business process (Revenue streams). Finally, we show that it makes sense of E-business strategy to choose the e-BM, which was under the matrix of BM to compare value-added aspect with revenue streams.


In article authors carried out the analysis of rather new form of marketing activity geomarketing. Geomarketing means the detailed analysis of the marketing environment with a binding to geographical objects and geospatial factors, it as a geographical coverage zone, transport hubs, a pedestrian stream, an automobile stream and so on. The binding of demographic factors of the consumer to areas of residence and dwellings for calculation of population density, a level of income of the population, a zone of automobile and pedestrian availability, a coverage zone an outlet, population on time of day enters tasks of the geomarketing analysis (day, night). Authors allocated 9 basic tasks as a result of systematization of data: first, territorial planning at the micro and macro level; secondly, the social and demographic analysis with a binding of consumers to dwelling zones; thirdly, the direct marketing meaning a complex of actions for forming of direct connections by the consumer; fourthly, the analysis of competitors and surrounding infrastructure in a section of automobile and pedestrian streams; fifthly, the organization of targeted advertizing and media planning, sixthly, the analysis of a location with a direct and return task; seventhly, risk analysis, assessment and ranging of options of the organization of an outlet; eighthly, development of recommendations about the organization of a branch network; ninthly, examination of real estate for determination of value of the territory of building. In article authors gave further the most often used geomarketing tools including geographic information systems of the opened and closed access, made the methodical basis of geomarket researches: spatial, correlation, regression and cluster analysis, Hoffa's model, and also creation of buffer zones, routing, analysis of availability of an outlet.


Recommendations are given for determining proportions and details of monolithic, reinforced concrete slab-column connections. Included are recommendations regarding appropriate uses of slabcolumn connections in structures resisting gravity and lateral forces, procedures for determination of connection design forces, procedures for determination of connection strength, and reinforcement details to insure adequate strength, ductility, and structural integrity. The recommendations are based on a review of currently available information. A commentary is provided to amplify the recommendations and identify available reference material. Design examples illustrate application of the recommendations. (Design recommendations are set in standard type. Commentary is set in italics.)


The ecological protection goal('Lucid Waters and Lush Mountain',LWLM)and the economic development goal('Gold and Silver Mountains',GSM)are referred to as the'Two Mountains'in this article.The objective and scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of'Two Mountains'practices and the clarification of bottlenecks that may restrict the conversion of'Two Mountains'practices are essential for promoting the advancement of these practices.Based on a clarification of the connotation of the'Two Mountains'goals,this study establishes an index system for evaluating the effectiveness of'Two Mountains'practices.In addition,this article analyzes 11 cities in Zhejiang Province in terms of the effectiveness of'Two Mountains'practices.The results showed the following:(1)During 2008-2017,both the comprehensive development level and the'Two Mountains'index displayed a fluctuating upward trend,and the comprehensive development level had an important impact on the'Two Mountains'index.There were also obvious regional differences in the'Two Mountains'index between the 11 cities.(2)The ranking of the LWLM index and the ranking of the GSM index largely developed in the opposite directions in the 11 cities.Cities such as Lishui and Quzhou ranked high in the LWLM index,but ranked low in the GSM index.(3)According to the distribution of the'Two Mountains'index,the 11 cities in Zhejiang Province could be divided into three types:the LWLM-leading type,which was a leader in ecological protection,the GSM-leading type,which was a leader in economic development,and the synchronized type,where ecological protection and economic development advanced simultaneously.This study showed that,although Zhejiang Province has entered the third phase of the'Two Mountains'construction,there are still a large differences between the 11 cities in terms of'Two Mountains'construction.It also showed that regional development is uneven.Cities should adapt to their local conditions,make timely adjustments in their policies,and promote'Two Mountains'practices.


Corporate strategic innovation is inevitable choice for corporate to maintain competitive advantage and enhance competitiveness.Corporate strategic innovation must build a set of complete strategic innovation behavior mechanism,of which strategic innovation decision-making mechanism is key to success.Therefore,study on corporate strategic innovation decision-making mechanism has important theoretical and practical significance on the survival and development of enterprises.


HUMAN SETTLEMENT COUNTRY PROFILE CANADA Decision-Making Programmes and Projects A. Providing Adequate Shelter for All B. Improving Human Settlement Management C. Promoting Sustainable Land-Use Planning and Management D. Promoting the Integrated Provision of Environmental Infrastructure: water, sanitation, drainage and solid waste management E. Promoting Sustainable Energy and Transport Systems in Human Settlements F. Promoting Human Settlement Planning and Management in Disaster-Prone Areas G. Promoting Sustainable Construction Activities H. Promoting Human Resource Development and Capacity-Building for Human Settlement Development Status Capacity-Building, Education, Training and Awareness -Raising Information Research and Technologies Financing Cooperatio n


Infrared facial imaging, being light- independent, and not vulnerable to facial skin, expressions and posture, can avoid or limit the drawbacks of face recognition in visible light. Robust feature selection and representation is a key issue for infrared face recognition research. This paper proposes a novel infrared face recognition method based on local binary pattern (LBP). LBP can improve the robust of infrared face recognition under different environment situations. How to make full use of the discriminant ability in LBP patterns is an important problem. A search algorithm combination binary particle swarm with SVM is used to find out the best discriminative subset in LBP features. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms traditional LBP based infrared face recognition methods. It can significantly improve the recognition performance of infrared face recognition.


The results showed also a significant decrease in the levels of total protein ,albumin ,Ca and Mg in preeclamptic women compared with normotensive pregnants (p<0.05) .These changes were insignificant when the results of these component in Group IV were compared with Group III (p>0.05). The Relationship between Testosterone Hormone and Lipid Profile, Proteins and Some Trace Elements in the Sera of Patients with Preeclampsia


4. Early sciatic radiation of pain does not necessarily mean an intervertebral disk lesion. 5. Laminectomy alone does not give nearly such good results as when interbody fusion is performed as well. The donor site frequently causes more complaint than the back after this operation. 6. Conditioning of muscles during jacket fixation or .after operation is an important part of treatment, which is often inadequately supervised. 7. Cooperation with the surgeon in finding suitable work in the industry hastens recovery in the long-term case when the patient can be assured that fusion is firm. 8. An adequate lumbo-sacral belt gives a great boost to morale during early activity after any painful back injury. 9. The worker who has exaggerated his symptoms becomes tired of complaining after a couple of weeks; but the man who continues to complain needs investigation .and diagnosis. The accident need not have been severe. 10. I feel better about the complaint "I've got a pain in me back" since making this survey.


Payment issues are prevalently rooted in the Malaysian construction industry, whereby upstream players have abused their payment obligation to force the downstream players such as Sub-Contractors to accept the onerous conditions. Meanwhile, there is no sanction for the default available in several Sub-Contract Agreements to facilitate the cash flow and yet, seeking dispute resolution from arbitration and litigation is expensive and time consuming. As a result, the unpaid Sub-Contractors with weak financial capacity are often forced to encounter severe cash flow problems and eventually led to adverse impact to construction industry. CIPAA was enacted in 2012 to facilitate regular and timely payment. However, the effect of adjudication decision is temporary binding, which might lead to a meaningless decision if it is resisted by losing party. Therefore, this research objectives are to identify the pertinent features of CIPAA in remedying payment issues and investigate the effectiveness of provisions set out under CIPAA in remedying payment issues. This study is targeted to the CIDB Grade 7 Sub-Contractors located in Selangor and Johor and quantitative questionnaires survey method is adopted. The results shows that CIPAA is an effective dispute resolution to overcome conditional payment provisions and it is able to minimize cash flow problems due to its speedier, contemporaneous and extensive remedies to recover payment. However, cost of adjudication fee and temporary binding decision under CIPAA are the major concern for Sub-Contractors to apply CIPAA as a dispute resolution.


In this paper, several conventional connection schemes and main equipment selection of DC systems in 220 kV substation are investigated, and these schemes are compared with the recently proposed two batteries three chargers scheme and the scheme used in 500 kV substation. Also some suggestions for the design of DC systems in 220kV substation are given.


The mechanism of time-effectiveness of static pressed pile's bearing capacity in soft soil foundation is analyzed.Some empirical equations are introduced for bearing capacity study.Meanwhile,the importance to understand the scientific value of time-effectiveness analysis of bearing capacity as well as giant economic effect it brings are elaborated.


The structure and functioning of Supervisory Board are the most important determinants of team effectiveness and the performance of a company. At the same time ability to control and shape Top Management Team (TMT) effectiveness seems to be crucial for investors and shareholders. In traditional concepts, TMT effectiveness is related to the structure of the managing group, however the inconsistency of empirical studies implies further search for other explanations. One of them is a concept of group dynamics, which emphasizes indirectness of the relation between group characteristics and group effectiveness, as well as the importance of group processes, such as effort norms, cognitive conflict or group cohesiveness. The study conducted among companies listed on the main market of Warsaw Stock Exchange (Poland) enabled the construction of model illustrating the above relations. Moreover, the significance of group processes for team effectiveness was explored. The paper has been prepared in the framework of research project which was funded by the National Science Centre, decision no. UMO-2011/01/N/HS4/02166.


This study was conducted to compare the physical characteristics and nutrient composition of raw and parboiled rice in rice cultivars. The equilibrium moisture content of raw and parboiled rice increased in 75℃ compared to soaking condition (25℃) and the time taken to reach the equilibrium was shorter in 75℃ compared to soaking condition (25℃). The Boramchan and Pyeongan cultivars showed higher water binding capacity of raw and parboiled rice, respectively, which was increased 2.3-3.5 times after parboiling. In amylogram characteristics, the initial pasting temperature was increased, the peak viscosity was lowered, and the setback became higher after parboiling. The alkali digestion value showed negative correlation with initial pasting temperature in raw rice and scored higher in parboiled rice through gelatinization by steaming. The mineral composition of raw and parboiled rice was analyzed by the highest K content and P > Mg > Ca >Na > Fe > Zn > Mn in turn. The total mineral content was increased by 2.5-6.1 times after parboiling. Vitamin B1 content was highest in the Boramchan raw rice at 0.1410 mg/100 g and it increased in parboiled rice 2.5-6.1 times.


A circumstance which cannot fail to impress the student of chemistry is the extreme paucity of chemical substances. The combinations of which he can conceive are innumerable, but those which he can realize are few—a mere sprinkling from the sea-shore sand—and, making the fullest allowance for human incapacity, it yet appears that there are natural facilities and natural obstacles in the way of making certain compounds which are independent of our skill and power. It is my object to show that among these is to be reckoned that relative "facility of production" of chemical substances which depends on the mathematical laws of combination which are inherent in the very nature of chemical combination and unalterable. By this I mean the relative facility with which the units of matter may be constructed and taken to pieces, owing to the relation of these units to the number and kinds of the simple weights of which they are made up; and I propose to consider in what way, if any, this unequal "facility of production" is connected with these mathematical laws. Is it true that, as a matter of theory, there arises from these laws any greater facility for the production of one compound than of another, or do all stand on the same level? and, further, does experience tally with the conclusions of theory?


Abstract Growth is an important determinant of life history development for juvenile anadromous salmonids. We collected juvenile fall chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in two reaches of the Snake River to describe growth in fork length (mm/d) and to test for a relation between growth and water temperature. Growth rate during shoreline rearing was significantly higher (P = 0.003) for parr in the warmer of these two reaches (grand means = 1.2 ± 0.04 and 1.0 ± 0.04 mm/d). Because smolts from the two reaches share a common, relatively warm downstream migration route, growth rates were similar between smolts from the two reaches (P = 0.18; grand means = 1.3 ± 0.04 and 1.4 ± 0.04 mm/d). By pooling data across reaches and life stages, we found that growth rate generally increased as water temperature increased (N = 17, r 2 = 0.62, P = 0.0002). The growth rates we observed were probably lower than for fall chinook salmon in a historical rearing area now inaccessible because of dams, but they were still rapi...


Background To assess clinical outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation comparing Medtronic CoreValve ReValving System® with Edwards SAPIEN XT. Methods All consecutive patients in our center with aortic stenosis treated with transfemoral Medtronic CoreValve ReValving System® (MCV) from November 2009 to September 2011 (learning curve patients excluded) or Edwards SAPIEN XT (ESV) from April 2010 to September 2011 when the device became available were included. Results In total, there were 192 patients in this analysis. The overall mean age was 79.4±8.1 years, logistic EuroSCORE 21.1±15.9% and STS-PROM score 8.8±8.6%. The MCV group consisted of a greater proportion of males (60.3% vs 43.7%; p=0.026) with a corresponding larger aortic annulus size (24.7±2.0 vs 23.4±1.7; p<0.001). The median clinical follow-up length was 171 (IQR 54–357) days. 30-day all cause mortality was 4.0%, myocardial infarction rate 1.0% and stroke 0.5%, with no differences between valve types. Life-threatening bleeding occurred in 14.7% and 11.5% had a major vascular complication. There were no differences in the combined safety endpoint at 30 days (ESV 72.2% vs MCV 71.9%; p=0.936). However, there was a significantly higher rate of device success among the ESV group (98.3% vs 90.4%; p=0.012) with additionally a significantly higher rate of conduction disturbances/arrhythmia (31.5% vs 16.0%; p=0.011) as well as pacemaker implantation (28.8% vs 5.0%; p<0.001) with MCV compared with ESV. Conclusions In our single center experience, transcatheter aortic valve implantation was a relatively safe and effective procedure utilising both commercially available devices. However, there was an increased incidence of arrhythmia and pacemaker implantation in the MCV group.


TPS6085 Background: ATC is a rare tumor of thyroid epithelium affecting several hundred patients annually, but causing death in almost 100% of them. It has a dismal prognosis with currently ineffective treatment options, particularly in metastatic disease. BRAF V600E mutations have been identified and then targeted with novel agents, which led to striking activity in patients (Rosove et al, NEJM 2013). ALK overexpression and mutation have also been identified in ATC in 11% of patient samples (Murugan et al, Cancer Res 2011). Patients treated with ALK inhibitors show dramatic tumor response (Godbert et al, JCO 2014). Ceritinib is a well-tolerated, highly potent oral ALK-inhibitor that is FDA-approved for use in ALK-rearranged lung cancer. It is critical to develop a framework by which anaplastic tumor samples can be collected, actionable mutations identified and novel agents rapidly tested. Methods: This multicenter, open label trial (NCT02289144) is collecting tissue from 100 patients with ATC/UTC. A geno...


The dramatic change in aggregate fiscal policy in recent years has contributed to a shift from process rules to allocation rules in federal budgeting. Although the allocation rules inherent in formula budgeting seem to offer fairness in times of fiscal constraint, they actually impose arbitrary program-level budgets that reflect the peculiarities of baselines, accounting conventions, and time horizons. Formula budgeting also changes the analytical environment, forcing policy analysts to pay greater attention to institutional arrangements.


The objective of this paper is to describe the development of the line source sorting model NETSEN II and its use in conjunction with the EPA's automobile exhaust emissions model analysis model. Speed-profile analogies from the Regional Air Pollution Study of the St. Louis air quality control region (AQCR), developed for use in the model emissions model, are used. The model emissions model was designed to calculate the amounts of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emitted by individual automobiles or groups of automobiles stratified by age and geographic location. The NETSEN II is an updated version of NETSEN with additional variables and subroutines and the ability to test for the following roadway characteristics in defining a line source at any level of data refinement (a line source being the smallest segment of inventoried roadway depictable with a given specific set of attriputes): average daily traffic, five types of special typography, four types of capacity alternations, eight types of sensitive land uses, five types of activity centers, five types of progressive movement, channelization, functional classification, link distance, peak speed differences, truck and bus volumes, and volume-capacity (V/C) ratio. In this research, the inputs to NETSEN II are the appropriate uses control cards for selection of line sources and the network roadway inventory; and the output is a set of line sources that meet specified characteristics which is used as the project's first output, the second being the emission rates computed by the modal emissions model, the third the emission factors for trucks, and the fourth a control card to determine the total percentage of all trucks, the hours of the day for which emissions data are desired, and whether or not emissions are to be added to the grid totals of stored separately as hourly totals. With these inputs, line source emissions were computed. Besides NETSEN II itself, the data analysis and modeling efforts of the project yielded: development of a truly microscale emissions estimation modals which allows emissions to be analyzed as a function of highly localized traffic operating conditions and roadway descriptions through integration of NETSEN II and the modal emissions model; the ability to develop accurate analogies of speed-profile and emission characteristics for links that do not possess speed-profiled data; and thus an accurate and exhaustive statement of emissions obtained for line sources in the St. Louis AQCR.


2 Abstract: Paediatric bronchoscopy requires a deep level of anaesthesia of relatively short duration. This prospective randomized study compared the effectiveness of a low-dose infusion of propofol in combination with either dexmedetomidine, or midazolam for intravenous anaesthesia in paediatric patients undergoing bronchoscopy. Sixty paediatric patients, ASA I-II boys and girls, aged 2-10 yr and body weight between 12-30 kg, undergoing elective rigid bronchoscopy for removal of airway foreign bodies were studied. Patients were allocated into 2 groups: Group (D/P) received dexmedetomidine with propofol infusion, and Group (M /P) received midazolam with propofol infusion. There were no significant differences between the two groups as regards demographic characteristics, and haemodynamic data. It was noticed that time to full recovery was significantly more rapid in the dexmedetomidine/propofol group. No postoperative complications were reported. It was concluded that dexmedetomidine in combination with propofol anaesthesia is a safe, practical alternative for paediatric patients undergoing bronchoscopy and may be preferable to midazolam/propofol, because of the significantly shorter recovery time.


The invention provides a contact technology of a magnetic read and a slide block and a disk body of a read-write contact type hard disk. A contact surface to which the magnetic read, the slide block and the disk body are contacted is at least one layer two-dimensional atomic crystal, is in a planar structure and extends to a side face of the magnetic head; the disk body has atomic-scale smoothness, and a contact surface on which the disk body is contacted with the magnetic head slide block is at least one layer two-dimensional atomic crystal or a diamond-like carbon (DLC) nanometer film. When the data is read, the magnetic head slide block and the disk body are always kept in atomic contact. The directly contacted two-dimensional atomic crystal two-layer structure between the magnetic head slide block and the disk body has non-coplanarity and is in a super-lubricating state, namely the friction force between the magnetic head slide block and the disk body is nearly zero. The magnetic head slide block is in atomic contact with the disk body, the distance between the magnetic head slide block and the disk body is greatly reduced, a DLC protective layer in the traditional magnetic head slide block can be completely canceled, the distance between the magnetic head slide block and the disk body is further reduced, and higher storage density, faster storage and reading speed and miniature hard disk equipment are realized.


A well-known, slow-motion film of a head-on collision between real billiard balls was analyzed by digitizing a video version of the film and then employing modern video analysis software designed for introductory physics courses. This method is compared to the method designed for student use with the original film. The data are compared to the predictions of simple theory and to computer simulations produced by software often encountered in introductory physics courses.


Background: Interpretive description is a qualitative methodological approach originally developed within the discipline of nursing, which has expanded to the field of rehabilitation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of interpretive description to explore research questions within the field of childhood disability research. Methods: Using a case example of a study that explored the lifecourse health development of individuals aged 23-33 living with cerebral palsy in Ontario Canada, we describe the challenges and opportunities created using interpretive description during the research process. Results: The use of interpretive description was applicable to childhood disability research. We found that the clinical relevance of the findings was a strength of interpretive description, however preparation is required to ensure that team members have developed a common understanding of interpretive description. Team members should also identify their own clinical and analytic lenses when working with the data. Conclusion: The use of interpretive description within childhood disability research as a methodological approach has value and is well-suited to the multi-disciplinary lenses often found on research teams within the field of childhood disability research. PhD. Thesis – M. Freeman; McMaster University Rehabilitation Science 50 Finding our Lens: the Use of Interpretive Description in Childhood Disability Research Within the field of rehabilitation, the use of qualitative methods has grown [1]. Qualitative methods explore the various ways individuals experience phenomena within the context of their lived experience [1]. Interpretive description is a qualitative methodological approach that seeks to answer research questions emanating from the applied clinical practice environment of healthcare providers [19]. Originally developed within the discipline of nursing, interpretive description is now being used within rehabilitation [2], social sciences [3] and education [4]. Despite the growth of interpretive description research, its application to childhood disability research is only beginning to emerge. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the appealing ability of interpretive description to a research question in the field of childhood disability research. We explore this through an example of a recent study in which we investigated the lifecourse health development of young people with cerebral palsy (CP) between the ages of 23-33 [5]. For the convenience of the reader, the published article detailing the case example is provided as an appendix to this chapter. Prior to discussing the use of interpretive description in the research project, it is necessary to discuss the parallel paths of the development of interpretive description and trends in childhood disability research. We then articulate our understanding of interpretive description over the last 20 years and consider some of the criticisms surrounding its use as a methodological approach, as they directly relate to childhood disability research. Then we return to our project as a case example and discuss the application of interpretive description. This is discussed through the identification of similarities and differences emerging from our multidisciplinary and multiPhD. Thesis – M. Freeman; McMaster University Rehabilitation Science 51 experiential perspectives. The purpose of the next sections is to provide readers with an overview of childhood disability research trends as well as interpretive description literature to assist the reader in understanding the applicability of the approach. The purpose is not to provide a comprehensive systematic review of childhood disability research or interpretive description literature. 20 Years of Childhood Disability Research Historically, childhood disability research has been impairment focused [6]. Focusing on impairment meant children living with disabilities and their families received interventions focused on remedying the impaired body function or structure associated with the health condition. Importantly, the interventions tended to be diagnosis specific. In the last two decades childhood disability research has experienced a move away from research exploring solely impairment-based (or component-based) outcomes to the exploration of goals and functional outcomes within the context of what is important to a child and their family in their life context [6]. Once a diagnosis is identified, recent studies have shown that families of children with disabilities have wanted to know more about how to accommodate individual needs within society to enable participation [7, 8, 9]. The shift in focus toward the exploration of participation, and environmental barriers and supports, and away from impairment related barriers has led to more noncategorical research [7]. Importantly, however, research has also shown that individuals with disabilities and their families are still pursuing diagnosis specific information, particularly in developmental periods of change, such as the transition to adulthood [10, 11, 12, 13]. Childhood disability services may involve professionals from various clinical backgrounds. Although it is possible for children who receive services from just one discipline, the youth with CP and their families discussed in the case example below may have interacted PhD. Thesis – M. Freeman; McMaster University Rehabilitation Science 52 with occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech language pathologists, physicians, nurses, social workers and other healthcare providers [14]. Delivery of pediatric services can be multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary [14]. Multidisciplinary services are those in which professionals work in parallel or conjunction but stay within their own discipline (e.g. Occupational Therapy) to set goals and provide interventions to a child [15]. Interdisciplinary refers to individuals from multiple disciplines working together to set goals and to create a shared intervention plan but working within their own disciplines on individual components of the plan [14]. Transdisciplinary refers to individuals working in roles beyond the boundaries of their individual disciplines in consultation with other rehabilitation professionals to execute intervention plans (e.g. an occupational therapist using a solutions-based coaching model to participate in therapeutic interventions) [16]. As a result, the clinical research questions emanating in the field of childhood disability are varied. Over the last decade, coinciding with an increase in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary services and research, there has also been an expectation that stakeholders experiencing the phenomenon under exploration will be included in all aspects of the research process. Within the field of childhood disability research, this often includes family engagement or active participation of those with disabilities in the research process [17]. 20 Years of Interpretive Description Since originally proposed in 1997 [18], interpretive description has been the focus of two books by Sally Thorne [19]. Interpretive description is a qualitative methodological approach, which provides applied healthcare practitioners and researchers an approach aimed at providing answers to questions relevant to clinical practice [19]. In the second edition of her book [19], Thorne states that the original article published in 1997 [18] and an article in 2004 [20] PhD. Thesis – M. Freeman; McMaster University Rehabilitation Science 53 discussing analytic issues in the use of interpretive description represent the "foundational articles" (p. 37). In the interest of fidelity, we will return to both the original articles published in 1997 and 2004 and highlight any changes occurring in the subsequent books. Thorne situates interpretive description as part of a paradigm shift within qualitative research [21]. Interpretive description shifts away from the previously dominant rule-based research methods, borrowed from the social sciences and the drive to theorize, to research that examines the experience of a phenomenon within its relevant clinical context [21]. Although research questions relevant to clinical practice are not unique to interpretive description, prioritizing clinical practice throughout the research process is [19, 20]. Thorne [21] argued applied healthcare researchers require a methodological approach that produces findings relevant to clinical practice and that are not primarily aimed at building or rebuilding detailed levels of description of the lived experience, which may lack relevance to a clinician's experience in practice [20]. In this vein, interpretive description is not prescriptive or rule-based. Interpretive description in Thorne's [19] words is "methodologically ecclesiastic" (p. 36) because it borrows data collection and analytic procedures from other qualitative methods, particularly grounded theory and phenomenology [22], and interpretive description integrates various methodologies in unique ways to achieve a flexible approach to research. Unlike where researchers are interested in developing a theory regarding why a particular phenomenon is occurring or uncovering the meaning of a particular experience as in phenomenology, the aim of interpretive description is to discover elements of a particular phenomenon that are relevant to healthcare providers in their clinical practice through describing a phenomenon and then interpreting the description through their clinical lens. PhD. Thesis – M. Freeman; McMaster University Rehabilitation Science 54 Prior to discussing the strengths and challenges when using interpretive description, we first wanted to acknowledge foundational questions about interpretive description. Critics of interpretative description, such as Berterö have questioned whether interpretive description should be viewed as a separate methodology or


This article presents insights from a laboratory experiment on human problem solving in a combinatorial task. I rely on a hierarchical rugged landscape to explore how human problem-solvers are able to detect and exploit patterns in their search for an optimal solution. Empirical findings suggest that solvers do not engage only in local and random distant search, but as they accumulate information about the problem structure, solvers make 'model-based' moves, a type of cognitive search. I then calibrate an agent-based model of search to analyse and interpret the findings from the experimental setup and discuss implications for organizational search. Simulation results show that, for non-trivial problems, performance can be increased by a low level of persistence, that is, an increased likelihood to quickly abandon unsuccessful paths.


The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025729X 20 March 2006 184 6 291-291 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2006 www.mja.com.au SnapShot intestinal wall (Figure 2). At laparotomy, 142cm of n was removed. The postoperative course was uneve patient was discharged 1 month later. The precise mechanism for formation of gas in the system is uncertain. The primary factors that favour ment are intestinal wall alterations, bowel distensi abdominal sepsis. In many cases, two or three of 90 the ina A -year-old woman was admitted with acute vomiting for previous 24 hours and acute, diffuse, intense abdoml pain. Her medical history included atrial fibrillation and hysterectomy. Clinical examination revealed a generally distended, tender, tympanic and silent abdomen. Blood pressure was 98/54 mmHg; her pulse was irregular at 67 beats per minute. A plain x-ray of the abdomen revealed bowel distension without air– fluid levels. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed the presence of gas in the portal venous system (Figure 1) and the ecrotic ileum ntful, and the


PAVEL SERGEEVICH ALEKSANDROV (on his 80th birthday) A V Arkhangel'skii, A N Kolmogorov, A A Mal'tsev et al. Pavel Sergeevich Aleksandrov and the development of topology in the USSR Yu M Smirnov PAVEL SERGEEVICH ALEKSANDROV (on his seventieth birthday and the fiftieth year of his scientific activity) A N Kolmogorov, L A Lyusternik, Yu M Smirnov et al. PAGES FROM AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. II P S Aleksandrov The life and work of Andrei Nikolaevich Kolmogorov V M Tikhomirov THE MAIN ASPECTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SET-THEORETICAL TOPOLOGY P S Aleksandrov and Vitalii V Fedorchuk Kirill Aleksandrovich Sitnikov (on his sixtieth birthday) A N Kolmogorov, A A Mal'tsev and S P Novikov What Pavel Sergeevich Aleksandrov did for me


While a common approach to address nonlinear distortions, emitted by multiple loudspeakers and observed by multiple microphones, is to use post-filtering techniques, this paper proposes a cooperative strategy to rather model and then cancel such distortions. In this approach, the overall problem of modeling distortions emitted by a number of loudspeakers is divided into multiple simpler and easier tasks of estimating distortions emitted by subsets of loudspeakers. This approach allows also the exploitation of the physical configuration of the loudspeakers and microphones to select certain microphone signals for estimating the nonlinearity of loudspeakers that contribute the predominant part of the acoustic echo to this microphone signal. The proposed strategy is realized using the elitist resampling particle filter and the Gaussian particle filter. Both variants are evaluated and compared to a linear approach using synthesized and real recordings.


The present invention provides a decapeptide derivative with LHRH receptor antagonist activity: R-D-Nal-D-Cpa-D-Pal-Ser-Aph(Hor)-D-Aph(Cbm)-Aaa 7 -Ilys-Pro-Aaa 10 -NH 2 . The present invention further provides a preparation method of the decapeptide derivative, a pharmaceutical composition containing the decapeptide derivative, and use of the decapeptide derivative in preparing medicine that can inhibit hypophysis from secreting gonnadotrophin, medicine that can inhibit gonad from secreting steroid hormones, and medicine for treatment of prostatic cancer, endometrial cancer, and sex hormone-dependent diseases associated with reproduction, contraception, and the like.


Introduction Theories About the Relocation of the Textile Industry Description of Textile Production by Region Spindle Choice Mill Survival Probability of Mill Survival Evaluation of the Theories About Relocation Textile Wage Differentials and Equalization The Modern Textile Industry Conclusion Appendix A: Data Collection and Special Problems Appendix B: Overview of Textile Production Since 1800 Bibliography Index


Experimental reverse genetic replacement of Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 3A (EBNA3A) with a conditional mutant EBNA3A revealed that EBNA3A is critical for continued lymphoblastoid cell (LCL) growth. Wild-type (wt) EBNA3A expressed in the LCLs specifically sustained growth under nonpermissive conditions, whereas EBNA3B or EBNA3C expression had no effect (S. Mauro, E. Johannsen, D. Illanes, A. Cooper, and E. Kieff, J. Virol. 77:10437–10447, 2003). This genetic system and related biochemical assays have now been used to discover that EBNA3A lacking amino acid residues 170 to 240 ( (cid:1) 170–240), TLGC 202 to AAGA 202 , or (cid:1) 300–386, which are deficient in repression of EBNA2 activation of an RBP-J (cid:2) /CBF1-dependent EBV Cp enhancer, are null mutations for LCL growth, whereas EBNA3A (cid:1) 2–124, (cid:1) 410–439, (cid:1) 440–470, (cid:1) 470–500, (cid:1) 500–523, (cid:1) 523–612,


ABSTRACT The revolutionary period in Ethiopia (from the mid-1960s until the late 1970s) has long been a matter of scholarly interest and public debate. This article examines this period from the perspective of memory studies: the ways in which this period is remembered, the meanings attached to it and the roles the memory of this period plays in contemporary Ethiopian politics and society. More specifically, the paper focuses on perspectives of members of the post-revolutionary generation (i.e. Ethiopians in their 30s and 40s). As the study shows, members of this generation indeed see this period as extremely important both to them personally and to contemporary Ethiopia in general. It shows that the themes they associate with this period – the Leftist-Marxist ideology and practice, the legacy of armed struggle and violence, the ethnic/national question and more – are also issues crucial for understanding contemporary Ethiopia.


Objective:To observe the clinical effect of modified Maxing Diyu Decoction(MDD) in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods:One hundred patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were equally randomized into test group and control group.The control group was given conventional treatment,and the test group was given modified MDD orally based on the treatment for the control group,14 days constituting a treatment course.The clinical efficacy,scores of signs and symptoms,indicators of lung function and blood gas analysis were compared in both groups.Results:The total effective rate of test group was 96.0%,significantly higher than 80.0% in the control group(P 0.05).Scores of signs and symptoms of cough,sputum volume,sputum nature,dyspnea,dry rales and moist rales,lung function indicators of forced expiratory volume in one second(FEV1),ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity(FVC),and peak expiratory flow(PEF),as well as blood gas analysis of partial pressure of oxygen(PaO2) and carbon dioxide(PaCO2),and pH value were significantly improved in both groups after treatment,the effect of the test group being superior to that of the control group(P 0.05).Conclusion:Modified MDD is effective in the treatment of acute exacerbation of COPD through improving lung function,relieving respiratory failure and regulating the acid-base balance,which is worthy of clinical use.


Abstract: DevOps aims to shorten project schedules, boost productivity, and manage quick development-deployment cycles without compromising business or quality. It necessitates good sprint management. Continuous Testing detects integration issues considerably earlier in the development process. It reduces the cost of defect resolution and frees up the tester's time for exploratory testing and value-added activities. Continuous testing allows for more frequent, shorter, and more efficient releases. It ties people, technology, and processes together. Continuous Planning, particularly effort estimation, is closely linked to Continuous Testing. This paper examines the state of the art in DevOps parametric estimate in continuous planning, as well as the difficulties and best practises. Keywords: Project, Testing, Continuous, Planning


Quality control of welding processes plays a significant role in characterizing of the weld quality. Various Non-Destructive Method (NDM), Semi-Destructive Method (SDM) and Destructive Method (DM) are all employed for welding inspection and quality control. This paper presents a review of the recent research onthe quality control of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) processes of similar and dissimilar alloys. Based on previews articles, this paper focuses on comparing various inspection techniques with the effect of different FSW parameters such as; tilt angle (deg°), rotation speed (rpm), welding speed (mm/min) and axial applied force (N)on the formation or residual stresses across welded joints. Additionally, the inspection measuring parameters, machine used, and material specification are also discussed. Recent studies are classified based on the measuring approach. The key findings for each inspection method are also presented. Researchers report that NDM, SMD and DM greatly contribute in detecting residual stresses of welded joints. However, some techniques like Deep-hole drilling technique have not been extensively applied for quality inspection of the FSW process. This paper reviews the various testing techniques for the FSW, aiming to let more experts know the current research status and also provide some guidance for future research.


This report examines various state plans under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), which authorizes states to establish their own occupational safety and health plans and preempt standards established and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA must approve state plans if they are "at least as effective" as OSHA's standards and enforcement. The report provides specific examples from California and Arizona


We propose a trust prediction model for service Web using the Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The proposed model uses a dynamic training scheme that incorporates temporal sensitivity by using a dynamic training pool. The concept of the dynamically updated training pool enables the system to absorb newest information from data. We present the implementation of the proposed model and corresponding algorithm and their evaluation on real life data.


Ula is one of the clan tribes of Jurchen. It is also a nickname of Manchu because they dwelt along Songhua River in Jilin, Jinlin province for generations. Ula Street Town of Jilin City has a long history and culture. It is not only rich in folk customs, but also famous for Ula culture at home and abroad. The design of modern residence should reflect locality and nationality, which is also a powerful means to highlight the characteristics of modern residence design. The embedding of this special technique will also make the space design more appealing. Nowadays, although the Ula national customs show distinct regional characteristics, there are few embodiments of Ula-style designs in residential design. We should refine and sublimate the traditional living culture elements of Ula and make full use of the traditional national cultural elements to make our interior design more national and vital, and achieve a good decorative style effect. The paper will study the concept of Ula traditional residential design and research how to better apply the long-standing Ula culture in modern dwellings and inherit it. Keywords—Ula culture; modern residence; application; inheritance