Objective The present study aimed to investigate the impact of emotion on force steadiness of isometric precision pinch grip that is not direction-specific. Methods Thirty-two healthy volunteer subjects participated in the present study. Subjects were divided into two experimental groups: pleasant image group and neutral image group. The isometric precision pinch grip task was performed for three times. Specifically, the first task was performed before pleasant or neutral picture viewing, the second task was performed immediately after picture viewing, further the third task was performed 30 seconds after the second task. During the isometric precision pinch grip task, participants were asked to exert pinch grip force at 10% of maximal voluntary contraction with visual feedback. The coefficient of variation of force production and normalized root mean square value of electromyography activity were calculated. Results After pleasant picture viewing, coefficient of variation of pinch force production and normalized root mean square value of electromyography was decreased. While, in the neutral image condition, theses variables were not altered. More important, compared to the neutral image condition, pleasant emotion led to lower coefficient of variation of pinch grip force production. Conclusion These findings indicate that pleasant emotion improves force control of isometric precision pinch grip. Therefore, in clinical settings, the emotional state of patients may affect the effectiveness of rehabilitation and should be taken into consideration.


Objective:To study the application value of ultrasonography in the general examination of female breast diseases.Methods:1357 women were examined and their cases were retrospectively analyzed with Two Dimensional Ultrasound and Color Doppler Flow Image.Results:885 women contracted breast lobular hyperplasia(65.21%);170 women got mammary fibroadenoma(12.52%);26 women had mammary duct ectasia(1.91%);30 women contracted lactocele(2.21%);12 women got mammary adenolipoma(0.88%);7 women had breast cancer(0.51%);1 woman contracted breast intraductal papilloma(0.07%);226 women had negative result(16.65%).Conclusion:The ultrasonography in the general examination of female breast diseases contributes greatly to the early discovery,early diagnosis and early treatment of breast diseases.


Summary Th is contribution is a presentation or results aimed at verifi cation of possible utilization methods of ashes – solid wastes from combustion of black coal in fusion boilers as one of the components in ceramics production. Firing process of ceramics depends on properties of used ash and desired properties of ceramic material. Firing process is positively aff ected by morphology of inorganic and organic matter: surface areas a pore volume, equal settling vellocity of individual components. Dried bricks with constant addition of ash 25% wt. And 75% wt. of ceramic raw material were placed in laboratory owen. Properties of ceramic bricks were tested at thermal holdups for 15, 60 and 90 minutes during fi ring in laboratory owen at 650 to 950°C. Burnout of unburned coal residuals (UCR) starts in the ash at 650°C, which was completed using lower temperature gradient of 10 K.min -1 at 950°C and using 25 K.min -1 temperature gradient the burnout was not complete even at 1000°C, with only 20,7% of


Diagnosis of mixed acid-base disturbances is often difficult. Nowadays it depends on biochemical and statistical interpretation, coupled with clinical data. The acid-base slide-rule is a useful tool to carry out this five step procedure, which it simplifies, giving rapidly at the patient's bed-side an objective support for the diagnosis of acid-base disturbances.


According to the relationship between load and response, the equivalent static wind load (ESWL) of a structure can be estimated by load-response correlation (LRC) method, which can be accurately used to estimate the background ESWL of a structure. The derivation of the classical expression of LRC formula is based on a specific command response at a critical position, and the ESWL distribution has only one form in this case. In this paper, a general expression of LRC formula is derived based on a specific command response at all positions. For the general expression, ESWLs can be expressed by load-response correlation coefficients, response-response correlation coefficients, RMS values of the fluctuating wind loads, and peak factor in the form of matrices. By comparing the expressions of LRC method, it was found that the classical expression was only one form of the general one. The general expression which introduces the response-response correlation coefficients provided more options for structural engineers to estimate ESWLs and offered further insights into the LRC method. Finally, a cable-stayed bridge, a rigid three span continuous girder bridge, and a suspension bridge were used to verify the correctness of the general expression of LRC method.


Smallpox and rinderpest are two extinct viral diseases in recent years. The last case of Smallpox was eradicated in Somalia in 1977 by WHO and rinderpest in Kenya in 2001 by FAO/OIE. There were many features in common between the two diseases, for instance, both viruses have single serotpype; post vaccination immunity is almost life-long etc. The eradication of rinderpest was a major triumph of the veterinary profession.When JP-15 campaign (1962-1976) was terminated after all clinical rinderpest cases were eliminated. However, toward the end of 1970s rinderpest surfaced again in both West and East Africa and moved toward the central Africa. The OAU/IBAR called for another African campaign (PARC) which started in 1986 with support of FAO and EEC. FAO Expert Consultation held in 1987 approved to expand the campaign in two other regions, namely West Asia (WAREC) and South Asia (SAREC). These two campaigns started in 1989 covering all infected countries in the world. PARC terminated its activities in 1998, and WAREC ended in 1994. However, SAREC was divided into two parts, India and Pakistan. The campaign in India called Rinderpest Operation Zero (1989-1996) was implemented in close collaboration with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The campaign in Pakistan was implemented between 1999 and 2002.In 1989, OIE Expert Consultation was held in Paris, and the plans for strengthening surveillance programs of these campaigns were discussed. The outcome of this consultation included the time-bound plans for surveillance for clinically visible rinderpest cases and for sero-positive subclinical cases. This surveillance program, now known as "OIE Pathway", became mandatory obligation to all the member countries involved in these campaigns. Later, OIE Pathway was also applied to the Global Rinderpest Eradication Program (GREP) of FAO under its new program called EMPRESS, which started in 1994.Extensive studies on rinderpest in wildlife during PARC (1986-1998) in Tanzania and Kenya supported the hypothesis that wildlife were not acting as a long term reservoir of rinderpest virus and that new wildlife epidemics require incursion of virus from another source presumably from cattle. This indicated that mass vaccination of cattle is effective to terminate rinderpest in wildlife. However, wildlife surveillance continued in East Africa under the follow up program called PACE (2000-2006) with improved methodologies. Particular attention was paid to the triangle area in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia known as Somali Ecosystem. The last confirmed case occurred in 2001 in buffalo in Meru National Park in Kenya.Some examples of the benefits brought by the world-wide eradication of rinderpest are listed.


Review(s) of: Interdisciplinary mentoring in science - strategies for success, by Olivero O.A., Academic Press, 2013, soft cover, 200 pp., ISBN 9780124159624, $40.95.


Summary form only given. Next-generation low-power applications such as biological signal processing, energy scavenging and wireless communications require new technologies and circuit techniques to achieve the lowest energy-per-operation. These applications are driving new techniques for efficient on-die clock generation, level conversion, non-volatile storage, low-power clocking, and reliable low-voltage operation. Energy-efficient systems must be optimized to maximize the utility of power shut down during idle and low-activity periods while also maintaining low-energy operation and high throughput during active modes to meet performance targets. The papers selected for this session highlight technology enhancements, novel circuit techniques, and system designs targeting these goals.


Objective To investigate whether rocuronium could affect bispcetral index during different effect-site concentration of propofol.Methods Sixty ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients undergoing elective surgery were enrollded in the study,based on Ce of propofol,the patients randomly divided into four groups with 15 cases in each group (group R2 and R3) and (group C2 and C3).When the Ce of propofol reached 4.0 μg/ml and OAA/S score was below one,a laryngeal mask airway was inserted,Ce was then maintained at 2.0 μg/ml or 3.0 μg/ml for 20 min. Rocuronium of 0.6 mg/kg about 2ED95 was given in groups R2 and R3,normal saline in the volume of 5 ml was given in the other two groups. BIS、HR and MAP values were recorded before induction of propofol immediately(T1),at the time of injection rocuronium or normal saline(T2),when TOF reached 0(T3) and at the first TOF twitch of muscle recovered to 5% (T4). Results The BIS at T3and T4were significantly lower than that at T2in group R2,but not in group R3,C2 or C3. Compared with the same Ce,there was no significant difference between group R2,C2 and group R3,C3. Conclusion Rocuronium could reduce the BIS scores in moderately sedated patients but not in deeply sedated patients.


Commercial microwave links have a great potential to be used as sensors for rain. However, the use of commercial microwave links to monitor the rain depends heavily on the availability of the links' attenuation measurements. The cellular operators which provide the majority of these measurements usually make use of the standard Network Management Systems (NMS), which log only a quantized version of the minimum and the maximum attenuation values (usually in 15-min intervals). The non-linear min/max transformation, in combination with the quantizer, which are implemented on the channel attenuation measurements, should be considered during the rain-estimation procedures. In this paper, we examine actual NMS produced attenuation measurements that are taken from two commercial microwave links during multiple rain events. Using observations from two rain gauges and a weather radar, we empirically demonstrate that the output of the NMS includes bias, which in turn interferes with the rain-estimation process. We show that the detection and the compensation of this bias have the potential to increase the microwave links' rain-estimation accuracy considerably.


This paper is the second of two. In the first (this issue) the authors described a system (Framework for Invention), analogous with the Code of Practice (DfE, 1994a), for dealing with behaviour problems. The current paper describes the links between the underlying philosophy and practice of the Framework and the principles of quality management. Roots in psychology and sociology, as well as the practice and evidence from educational psychology, are cited. The paper concludes with a brief note on the relationship of Framework for Intervention with current views on inclusive education.


Between 1948 and 2004, we report 34 patients with Ewing's sarcoma of pelvis accrued from Scottish Bone Tumour Registry, aiming to identify the prognostic factors and the influence of various treatment modalities on outcome. There were 19 male and 15 female patients at a mean age of 19 years (range, 3 to 48 years). The Pain was main presenting symptom in 30, swelling in 12 and restriction of hip movements in 11 patients. The commonest anatomical site was ilium. Local control was achieved by surgery, radiotherapy (n=25), chemotherapy (n=23) or a combination. The survival correlated significantly with chemotherapy protocols in favour of the group that received ifosamide (p With advances in imaging, aggressive chemotherapy, surgery and conformal radiotherapy which can deliver high dose of radiation with precision, it is possible to achieve a cure rate of more that 50% in non-metastatic pelvic Ewing's sarcoma. The results of this study favour a middle-path regime combining all treatment modalities.


BACKGROUND
Helminth infections in animals to be consumed by humans are an important medical and public health problem. Pharmaceutical research has focused on developing new anthelmintic drugs for parasite control in these animals. However, the incorrect use of anthelmintics can leave residues in animal products intended for human consumption. Therefore, their determination is crucial in terms of food safety.

RESULTS
In this work, a simple and sensitive method has been developed for the analysis of anthelmintic drugs in milk. The method involves extraction of the analytes using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method, and separation and determination by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The use of a core-shell column significantly reduced the analysis time compared to conventional columns. The method was validated and applied to the analysis of different commercial milk samples: whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed cow's milk, and goat's milk. None of the benzimidazoles studied was found in the samples analyzed, so these were spiked with the analytes at three concentration levels (10, 50 and 100 μg kg-1 ).

CONCLUSIONS
The proposed method provided high sensitivity compared with other methods for the determination of anthelmintics in milk samples, at concentration levels well below the established maximum residue limits (MRLs) values. The proposed method is simple, easy, precise, accurate, and leads to good recovery levels. It can be used successfully for the routine analysis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


As one of the basic elements of the ecosystem and natural environment, the soil is closely related to human life. However, the problem of soil environment pollution is becoming more and more serious, which needs to be solved urgently. It will provide a reference for solving the problem of soil environment pollution if a suitable method can be found to evaluate the degree of soil environment pollution. The degree of soil environment pollution belongs to the fuzzy concept. It is a fuzzy pattern recognition problem to evaluate the degree of soil environment pollution according to the soil environment level standard value. The fuzzy pattern recognition method of soil environment pollution assessment makes full use of the fuzzy characteristics existing in soil environment assessment, considers the common influence of the weight of evaluation factors and the index value, and also considers the correlation between indexes and the similarity of index characteristics of different sampling points, therefore, the interference of some man-made certain factors is concealed. The model was applied to the soil sampling point in Wudi County of Shandong Province in the Yellow River basin of China. The results showed that the evaluation of soil environment pollution by this method accorded with the actual situation and can provide a basis for ensuring the stability of soil ecological environment, improving the quality of cultivated land, and improving regional ecological conditions. At the same time, in view of the current problem of soil environment pollution, the paper calls on human beings to pay attention to environmental protection and be responsible for their own safety and also proposes four aspects of treatment schemes and measures.


By the end of the 14th century, the Crown of Aragon had reached the height of its power and was the most powerful Christian state in the region. Under the rule of King Pedro IV, its navies controlled the western Mediterranean and held the balance of power in the East; at the same time, its poets, artists, scholars and musicians were admired and respected throughout Europe. Commissioned and supervised by King Pedro IV, and compiled some time around 1380, "The Chronicle of San Juan de la Pena" was long valued as the earliest complete history of the Crown of Aragon. In the period following its composition, it was considered the official history of the realm; even into modern times, virtually every Aragonese historian has relied heavily, and often uncritically, upon the text. A mixture of fact, fantasy and royal propaganda, it is the sole source of many of the most famous episodes of Aragonese history. This translation includes an introduction which sets the historical context within which the text was written and suggests various approaches to the work. Extensive notes provide explanations of critical passages and point out historical inaccuracies.


This paper presents an analysis of H∞ Filter(HF) for Robotics Mapping and Localization with unknown noise statistics. HF which is also known as the minimax filter is proposed in this paper to estimate the robot and landmarks location while robot moves through an unknown environment. Some of the conditions are proposed to ensure that the state covariance in HF is converging to a steady state value. Furthermore, the analysis of HF convergence for a robot observing landmarks are presented to examine its behavior through the observations. From the experimental results, HF gives a sufficient estimation about the environment. Subsequently, such a result can provide other available estimation methods with the capability to ensure and improved estimation in robotic mapping and localization problem.


This article reports on the synthesis, characterization and properties of a series of anthracene−containing poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(p-phenylene-vinylene)s (PPE−PPV) copolymers with general constitutional unit (Ph−C≡C−Anthr−C≡C−Ph−CH═CH−Ph−CH═CH−)n denoted AnE-PV. Solely linear (AnE-PVaa, -ad, -ae) and solely branched (AnE-PVbb) as well as mixed linear and branched (AnE-PVab, -ac, -ba, -cc) alkoxy side chains were grafted to the backbone in order to tune the π−π-stacking ability of the materials. It has been possible to establish a correlation between π−π-stacking ability, absorptive behavior, charge carrier mobility, solar cell active layer nanoscale morphology and resulting photovoltaic performance. Solar cells energy conversion efficiencies between 0.34% and 3.14% were achieved. The best performance was achieved from AnE-PVab showing both stacking ability and highest π−π-stacking distance of 0.386 nm as compared to 0.380 nm for the others. Poorer performance resulted from polymers with no ...


To discuss the application of option in logistics service supply chain under the circumstance of market demand uncertainty and integrator risk aversion,integrator risk aversion model,supplier risk aversion model and supply chain risk aversion model were constructed based on conditional value-at-risk aversion.Integrator's optimal initial order quantity as well as optimal option order quantity and supplier's optimal option price as well as optimal exercise price were obtained.The results showed that the integrator's and supplier's strategy were affected by integrator risk aversion.Under the circumstance of integrator risk aversion,the supply chain could not coordinate,and option could make the profits of the supply chain and the members better than that in the no option model,and the supply chain's Pareto improvement was reached.The simulation analysis was used to verify the effectiveness of option to spread risk in logistic service supply chain.


This study aims at analyzing the effect of problem based learning (PBL) compared to direct instruction (DI) on students critical thinking skills (CTA) viewed from their social attitudes (SA). This study used post-test only control group design. The population is 15 classes (584 students) of SMA 4 and SMA 6 Denpasar. The sample was chosen by random assignment technique and selected 4 classes (150 students = 25.7% of the population). The samples were divided into PBL group and DI group each 2 classes or 75 students. Furthermore, in each group sorted according to high and low SA, each of the 25 students (33%), both PBL and DI. Students CTA were measured by tests while SA are measured by questionnaires. Data were analyzed by 2x2 ANOVA. The results showed that students CTA in the PBL group higher than the DI group. Students who have high SA show higher CTA than those with low SA. PBL and DI models interact strongly with high SA in achieving CTA. The implication that guiding students to interact socially well is an alternative way for teachers so students can achieve adequate CTA in learning physics in SMA. Keyword: Problem-based learning, social attitude, critical thinking ability


Three new subgenera are established within the Australian bee genus Ctenocolletes Cockerell (Stenotritidae). Three species are placed in Ctenocolletopsis Engel, new subgenus, distinguished most notably by the absence of both female arolia and prominent metasomal setal bands, and the non-convergent male compound eyes. The species Ctenocolletes fulvescens Houston is assigned to the monotypic Houstonapis Engel, new subgenus, owing to the unique absence of a male pygidial plate (similar in this respect to Stenotritus Smith) and the orange brown integument of the metasoma, while C. tigris Houston is placed in Tigriocolletes Engel, new subgenus. 1 Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1501 Crestline Drive – Suite 140, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-4415, USA (firstname.lastname@example.com). 2 Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, New York 10024-5192, USA doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/jom.v0i92.12073 INTRODUCTION The bee genus Ctenocolletes Cockerell encompasses 10 moderately robust species distributed largely in Western Australia (Michener, 2007) (Figs. 1–5). Although species have been recorded visiting a wide variety of flowers, they are apparently most often found on Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, and Fabaceae (Houston, 2018). Where known, species nest in sandy ground and form comparatively deep burrows but without an external tumulus (Houston, 1984, 1987a). The genus encompasses remarkable disparity, perhaps reflective of considerable time since they diverged. Indeed, the characters and differences among subsets of species of Ctenocolletes are as great as those used to diagnose subgenera in other groups of bees (e.g., Michener, 1965, 2007), or, as it is in the case of Ctenocolletes fulvescens Houston, the distinctions are what might in other lineages constitute separate genera. In fact, it is possible that C. fulvescens is allied BRIEF COMMUNICATION Journal of Melittology 2 No. 92 to Stenotritus Smith, its combination of some characters seemingly osculant between this genus and Ctenocolletes, but I have retained the species within the latter pending a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for Stenotritidae. The various species can be differentiated on the basis of the keys and descriptions provided by Houston (1983a, 1983b, 1985). The species as arranged here are outlined in Table 1.


A micro channel heat sink has been studied and optimized for mixed pressure driven and electroosmotic flows through three-dimensional numerical analysis. The effects of ionic concentration represented by zeta potential and Debye thickness are studied with the various steps of externally applied electric potential. Optimization of the micro channel heat sink has been performed considering two design variables related to the micro channel width, depth and fin width. The surrogate-based optimization is performed using a search algorithm taking overall thermal resistance as objective function. The thermal resistance is found to be more sensitive to channel width-to-depth ratio than fin width-to-depth of channel ratio.


A spatial multi-agent system is a decentralized system composed of numerous identically programmed agents that either form or are embedded in a geometric space. The agents' computational constraints are spatially local. Each agent has limited internal memory and processing power, and communicates only with neighboring agents. The systems' computational goals, however, are typically defined relative to the global spatial structure.
In this thesis, I develop the beginnings of theory of spatial multi-agent systems, for the simple case of pattern formation in a one-dimensional discrete model. First, I characterize those patterns that are robustly self-organizable in terms of a simple "necessary condition on solvability". I then solve the inverse problem, constructing an algorithmic procedure that generates robust local rule solutions to any desired solvable pattern. Next, I analyze resource usage and runtime properties of such local rule solutions.
I apply this suite of mathematical techniques to two diverse "global-to-local" problems: the engineering goal of developing a generic "global-to-local" compilation procedure, and the scientific goal of analyzing an embryological development process.


These are notes for a talk in the Junior Geometry seminar at UT Austin on Oseledec's multiplicative ergodic theorem given in Fall 2002. The purpose of the notes is to insure that I know, or at least am convinced that I think I know, what I am talking about. They contain far more material than the talks themselves, constituting a complete proof of the discrete-time version of the multiplicative ergodic theorem. Perhaps sometime in the future I will work through the argument required to adapt that proof to the continuoustime version of the theorem. To motivate the theorem, I start with a discussion of Lyapunov exponents, whose existence follows from an application of the continuous-time multiplicative ergodic theorem to the differential map on the tangent bundle of a compact Riemannian manifold. Since the intended audience for the talk was geometers, I felt this motivation was needed. I then give a proof of the multiplicative ergodic theorem that closely follows [1], though I have filled in quite a large number of details.


We have developed the Wilson chip for detection of 87 mutations
and 17 polymorphisms in ATP7B gene, which represent the most
common reported sequence variants across population groups. Up
to date, we have detected 39 mutations and 17 polymorphisms
correctly in comparison with direct sequencing in all tested
DNA samples. The establishment of the Wilson chip could speed
up and facilitate molecular diagnostics of Wilson disease in
future.


• (p. 172) There are lots of statements of the type, "The only arithmetic progression of distinct non-zero integers whose terms multiply to give a square number is ". −3, −1, 1, 3 • (p. 176) The only square numbers that contain only odd digits are 1 and 9. • (p. 201) The only known Pythagorean triple of triangular numbers is , , . T132 = 8778 T143 = 10296 T164 = 13530 • (p. 203) . (A neat way of seeing that 6 always divides !) 6 (T1 + T2 + ... +Tn − 1) = n3 − n n3 − n • (p. 217) The "sine surprise": what does your calculator (in degrees)


The production of organic food is based either on natural products or plant extracts for disease and pest control. Search for natural products is constant work in order to fournish a huge variety for rural producers. The objective of ths study was to test antifungal potential of crude extracts of Ottonia martiana (ethanolic and aqueous) against Fusarium oxysporum , Colletotrichum acutatum , Rhizoctonia sp. The action of these extracts causing inhibition on mycelial growth was evaluated in vitro . It was verified reduction of growth in all fungi and high activity was produced by ethanolic roots extract.


In this study, the strain sensing characteristics of single-wall carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) networks were investigated to develop a film sensor for strain sensing. The SWCNTs film are formed on flexible substrates of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) using spray process. In this manner we could control the transparency and obtain excellent uniformity of the networked SWCNT film. The carbon nanotube film is isotropic due to randomly oriented bundles of SWCNTs. Using experimental results it is shown that there is a nearly linear change in resistance across the film when it is subjected to tensile stress. The results presented in this study indicate the potential of such films for high sensitive transparent strain sensors on macro scale.


This study was performed to propose the direction of technical guide of slice service of elite tennis players. Speed change in upper joints was made by transferring quantity of motion to shoulders, elbow, wrists and rackets in the serve motion that ball makes an impact after being tossed. In order to change the path of return, correction should be made as the motion to keep the speed of the racket and the wrist to follow through motion because of the characteristics of slice serve. To increase angle speed of the racket in back swing zone, the magnitude that transferred to the curve of elbow joint angle should be increased. At the phase of impact, when speed of wrist joint and racket head out of upper joints increases, you can make a serve giving strong rotation. To help aforementioned results, height of projection and pre-speed of the ball should be increased by stretching elbow and knee joint angles as much as possible. When summarizing the aforementioned results and discourses, it is proposed that we need to reduce elapsed time of each zone to perform slice serve motion more efficiently, to improve the height of racket, speed of upper joints, speed of racket head and ball speed at impact, and to perform strong and fast supination of the wrist to make an effective and strong serve.


the definitions and dimensions of the Sunbelt/ Snowbelt controversy and the creation of the Coalition, subsequent chapters provide case study analyses of the Coalition's efforts at reshaping the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1978, Defense Manpower Policy Number Four (procurement), the Carter Urban Program, and the Crude Oil Equalization Tax. The conclusion is that, while the coalition was instrumental in bringing aboui formula changes which resulted in the redistribution to the Snowbelt of millions of dollars, it was successful only when the redistr ibute impact was clearly on geographic lines alone, when the Coalition activists were united, and when Coalition activists held key committee positions (p. 199). If all three of these conditions were not met, traditional institutional loyalties and logrolling made Coalition efforts impossible. The Sunbelt/Snowbelt Controversy provides an analysis of Coalition efforts only for the 95th Congress, the formative period of the Coalition. Its ultimate success is yet to be determined. Since its inception a Sunbelt Council has been established and with a move of key congressional committee positions from the Southeast to the Northeast, the Coalition's greatest "achievement" may be in raising the Sunbelt's consciousness of the importance and need of computer and formulamanship politics in its own self-interest. The result of the escalation of such politics in the context of other decentralization measures in Congress may be, according to Dilger, that national interests will be further eroded. Dilger provides a readable and understandable analysis of the multiple and complex elements involved in congressional redistributive policymaking and its impact on the Sunbelt/Snowbelt controversy. In addition, he raises substantial and important questions concerning the congressional policymaking process and how well it serves national interests. The case studies included in the study are rare works in their clarity and contributions to the development of the central issues. I recommend this work to students of the policymaking process and of Congress and especially to the policymakers who represent the Sunbelt and Snowbelt states at both the national and state levels.


The authors have proposed a photon-emitting LED (light-emitting diode) combined with superconducting electrodes, which is expected to be an on-demand entangled photon pair source. The main mechanism is based on the coherent spatial extension of the Cooper-pair states to the photon emitting layer, which is expected to enhance the oscillator strength of the radiative recombination processes by the Cooper-pair involvement in the recombination processes. In this paper, the preliminary operation is demonstrated with InGaAs quantum well (QW) LEDs. About 20-times enhancement of the electroluminescence (EL) was observed under the low-injection current regime. This is the demonstration of the improved internal quantum efficiency (QE) under the low internal QE operation of the LED. The enhancement of the radiative recombination processes with the superconducting (SC) effect is also demonstrated by the lifetime measurements under the operation with high internal QE.


Higher Education and the areas of science and technology production are gaining increasing importance in the society of global economy. Therefore, to observe the main tendencies of their conceptions and practices is something that cannot be discarded. Higher Education and science and technology present themselves as the main means for development. Given the need of quality assurance and criteria for approval of titles and diplomas, agencies and processes of accreditation of Higher Education are being organized. These agencies or organisms, very often of transnational character, establish objectively the minimal standards for Higher Education Institutions in general and re-define the meanings of educational quality. Thus, autonomy is moved from the university and the academie actors to the accreditation organisms and agencies. National or multilateral organisms (in particular) try to disseminate the idea that their practices and criteria are strictly objective and frce of ideologies. Likewise, the view most widely accepted by common sense and by the Academia, is that science and technology are neutral, aseptic and ideology-free. This article argues in the direction of the social value of science and technology and of the need to overcome the common-sense conceptions that do not consider them as results of historical processes, conditioned by the values of the social. cultural, economical and political contexts in which they are produced.


The current automobile aftermarket of China is developing with a high speed, while the integration and expansion of chain enterprises are becoming more and more serious. This paper starts from the present situation of Chinese automobile aftermarket; analyzes the demand of competitive intelligence of chain enterprises during the integration and expansion process; put forward that during the integration and expansion process, chain enterprises of Chinese after-service market should focus on the establishment of competitive intelligence system, the competition and cooperative partnership, and the monitoring of the supply chain and groups. Keywords—competitive intelligence; chain; automobile aftermarket; integration and expansion I. CURRENT STATUS OF AUTOMOBILE AFTERMARKET The continuous climbing of car sales leads to a blowout of car ownership in China. From the sales number of 85 million vehicles in 2010 to about 180 million vehicles in 2016, Chinese auto aftermarket has attracted worldwide attention. As far as output value is concerned, the car market of 2016 is 880 billion; it is estimated to reach RMB1 trillion or more in 2017. The industrial chain of automobile aftermarket is very long, which mainly includes three aspects: car maintenance, car finance and car replacement. Car maintenance includes repair, parts replacement, car washing, beauty, maintenance, modification, auto accessories and etc. Automobile aftermarket is ever a traditional industry with 4S shops and road shops as main former form of business. While in the recent 10 years, with huge profits cake formed by Chinese increased car ownership and increased vehicle age, and all the attendant capital influx since 2010, car aftermarket is gradually becoming the focus of attention. In form, besides the 4S shops and road shops, lots of maintenance chain enterprises emerge, and the share is rapidly upgrading. Such as Car Home, Yellow Hat, New Focus, BOSCH, Little Thumb, the way Tiger car, and other chain enterprises, including online businesses. Correspondingly, the number of professional accessories chain service providers also increased, such as Kang Zhong, Zhong Chi, and so on. Many industry insiders believe that the development of Chinese auto industry ever dominated by auto sales has gradually been taken the lead by the automobile aftermarket, which can be found from some major auto sales and consuming countries such as USA and Japan. However, Chinese automobile aftermarket is still in the early stages of growth, its internal and external environment change rapidly and fiercely. Chinese private vehicles ages are young generally; according to the automotive industry data released in "Chinese vehicle age distribution status" magazine by DataEye & Yuan Zheng technology, as of July 2016, the average age of China passenger car at present is 3.3 years old, the higher first-tier cities was 3.6 years. However, private vehicles will generally usher in the peak of maintenance at about 6 years old, then one hand, the automotive aftermarket enterprises are facing enormous opportunities; but due to immature market and lack of experience and, the current situation is not optimistic, the main situation is as follows: a) The laws and regulations of Chinese auto aftermarket are not perfect yet, and they are in the process of exploration. b) The foundation of auto aftermarket is relatively weak, and the main development is from the last 10 years, which leads to the insufficient service capacity of auto aftermarket c) No leading enterprises, mostly small-scale, chaotic management, intelligence awareness is not strong. d) Most of the upstream parts, oil products and maintenance products are monopolized by foreign investors e) The current owners chose the 4S shop first. The approval of independent chain enterlprises is to be further improved This work was supported by University Library Consortia in the Yangtze River Delta in 2017 -Library and information fund (2017B018) 2nd International Conference on Education, Management Science and Economics (ICEMSE 2017) Copyright © 2017, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 49


We all know that we have limited resource of petro-chemical fuels which will last for another 40-50 odd years. In comparison to petro-chemical fuels, nuclear fuels does not produce greenhouse gases, therefore it will not contribute to global warming. Substantial literature is available for alternative fuels, which includes hydrogen, bio fuels, electric propulsion, nuclear propulsion etc which are aiming at reducing the emissions and finding an alternative fuel for the future. Out of all the alternative source of propulsion, nuclear seems to be one of the practical ways to travel in future, as other sources would have some limitations which could not be resolved. In the present study, a novel model for air transport has been proposed and its feasibility for air transport has been analyzed. According to the proposed concept all the chemical propelled aircrafts travelling on that sector could be optimized only for takeoff and climb, which would result in increased efficiency. After climbing a certain designated height, these optimized aircrafts would be carried from one location to another by a nuclear powered aircraft. At destination chemical propelled aircrafts could land by their self engines. Optimizing chemical aircrafts for takeoff and climb, and shutting the engine for cruise would lead to less takeoff weight owing to less consumption of fuel, which would eventually help in decreasing the emissions and less fuel consumption.


During 1934–5 I collected in Plymouth Sound and neighbouring waters seven species of the genus Corophium of which two were undescribed. I also collected one other species, and had sent to me two other species (one new) from other localities in South England. A list of these ten species, with the single other species known from Britain, is given in Appendix II, and their British distribution summarized. In the course of identifying them I examined 23 of the 32 species of Corophium, and saw all the literature to which I could find references.


To the Editor:— The problem of securing a drainage tube is old, and many methods have been developed to prevent the accidental displacement of the tube by the patient or during change of dressing. Whether the tube is used for simple drainage, or as a choledochostomy, cecostomy, etc, is of minor significance. The method to be described is simple, and, in the hands of the author and many of his colleagues, has been quite satisfactory. I first saw it used by Walzel, and there is a brief description of it in his book, Die Technik der Eingriffe Am Gallensystem . 1 It is possible that many surgeons are familiar with the method but, so far as I know, it has not been described in the literature except as noted previously. The drainage or -ostomy tube is placed in its desired location and a cuff 1/4 to 1/2 in. long is cut


The World Wide Web has created significant changes in how cultural institutions, including galleries, communicate their role as custodians of cultural content and research. In this paper we discuss a number of initiatives involving the Research Library and curatorial sections at the National Gallery of Australia to bring information about Australian visual arts to an online audience.


Family law's visions of justice within the family regarding familial property are explored in terms of communal, equalitarian and equitable principles. Communal principles emphasize the family unit and implicitly assumes individuals' cooperation and common interests. Equality confers identical rights; family members share and share alike in family property. Equity underlies rules making entitlements dependent upon contributions, such as requiring proof of individuals' efforts toward acquiring family property. In recent years, equality and equity have found greater expression as family law increasingly addresses individual rights, yet communal notions persist, so that the three principles mix and fuse in family law


The paper is a result of a research work concerning the development of an environmentally friendly transport system Project EMITRANSYS. The publication contains the issues of shaping the transport system, where important factor due to the aspect of sustainable development is including the external costs in transport activity. This paper presents a mathematical model of the distribution of the traffic flow in the transport network. The paper presents selected aspects of the problem of multi-variant distribution of the traffic stream on the network transport for defined scenarios for the transport system development. Traffic distribution on the network has been made due to the criterion function – external cost connected with air pollution. The paper presents modal split of traffic ecological flow for chosen scenarios of the development domestic transport system.


Graphene as an atomically thin material exhibits remarkable optical and electronic properties that suggest its technological application in novel optoelectronic devices, such as graphene-based photodetectors and lasers. To understand the properties of such devices on a microscopic level, we study the interplay of optical excitation, carrier-carrier, carrier-phonon, and carrierphoton scattering as well as diffusion processes. We apply a microscopic model based on the density matrix formalism with spatiotemporal graphene Bloch equations in its core. This approach provides microscopic access to the temporally, spectrally and spatially resolved carrier dynamics both in the presence and absence of an electric field, allowing the study of manyparticle mechanisms behind photodetection and gain in graphene. The focus of this thesis lies in modelling optics, dynamics and transport phenomena on consistent microscopic footing. We predict the possibility to achieve a stable population inversion in graphene, which is the crucial prerequisite for using graphene as an active material in a nanolaser. Further, we provide microscopic insights into the impact of an electric field on the carrier dynamics revealing the appearance of an efficient dark carrier multiplication that can even enhance the field-induced current. We also provide a microscopic foundation for the photoconduction and the bolometric effect as important mechanisms in a graphene based photodetector. Furthermore, we provide insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of optically excited carriers, which create density and temperature gradients resulting in a diffusion of carriers. The gained insights can be used to study the thermoelectric effect and dynamics at interfaces of spatial inhomogeneities.


The current study utilized a prospective design to explore the relationship between alcohol use, athletic participation, fraternity membership, early sexual experiences, and the perpetration of verbal, physical, and sexual aggression among college men over a 3-month interim (N = 425). A series of hierarchical logistic regressions explored the relationship between these risk factors and subsequent perpetration of violence. Previous perpetration of verbal, physical, or sexual aggression was the only predictor of perpetrating that form of aggression over the follow-up. Given that the study of aggression is typically retrospective, and rarely encompasses various types of violence, implications for future preventative efforts among college populations are discussed.


Abstract Hydrodynamic interaction between two and three equal or different spherical particles was studied numerically for moderate Reynolds numbers. The spheres are immersed in a viscous fluid with uniform velocity parallel or perpendicular to the line connecting the body centers. The method used is FEM and the results are visualized in order to see the flow structure. Comparison both with numerical and experimental results for a single sphere was done when the downstream body is placed at a distance equal to 30 times the radius of the upstream sphere. When the spheres are arranged in line, the flow is axisymmetric while in the case when they are side by side three-dimensional problem is considered. The drag and lift coefficients are calculated as functions of the flow velocity (Reynolds number) and the distance between the spheres. The results show the downstream spheres face a reduced drag compared to a single sphere and that the upstream one changes its drag coefficient according to the distance between the bodies. The growth of the drag coefficient of the upstream sphere may reach appr. 12% when the bodies are very close each to another and decrease with increasing the distance. In the case of side by side arranged spheres, an effect of repulsion could be seen up to a fixed separation distance and after that a weak pulling effect appears. The flow around spheres with different size is considered in the case when downstream sphere being in the wake behind the upstream one has twice less diameter. A new configuration of three (or more) spherical particles arranged in "V" formation was examined where one body is set to be a leading and the others are located symmetrically up and down behind it. The flow characteristics are studied when the angle behind the leading sphere vary from 45 0 to 180 0 . This configuration supposes stronger interaction between the bodies due to influence of the wakes behind first sphere to the downstream ones and to the lift forces appeared.


Rushing, surging, tough roaring, overfed, rough. Hard as steel. The cultural and financial seat of the world; the leading port of America; Noisy, moving, ever-changing. The greatest melting pot of the globe; the home of the common man. That's New York! Settled by the Dutch and named New Amsterdam, taken by the English, and won by Amercans, this world of islands, whose heart is the rock of Manhattan, is, today, the greatest city in the world. New York is, without a doubt, the wonder city of all time. A city of steel and bronze, of brick and mortar, it has a face as hard as the geometric diamond and as fresh and gleaming as the sparkling sapphire. New York is a city of unparalled extremes. Wall street represents fabulous wealth; the Bowery depicts hopeless poverty. Central Park is a spacious expanse of beauty; Dead End a squalid area of tenements. Wealth and poverty, beauty and sordidness, all describe individual modes of New York life. Every race, color, and creed is represented in New York, and all peoples have equal chances for success. Immigrants have played a leading roll in the outstanding development of this city, for here they have found boundless opportunities in all fields of endeavor. New York is an endless sea of commerce, industry, and professional, all manifesting the unsurpassed progress which the city has attained. The skyline of any other city, if placed in New York, would be lost in the soaring heights of Manhattan, the borough of masts and spires towering serenely above the sparkling ocean waters, the borough of tunels and canyons, of bridges and elevations, of thoroughfares and highways. Mahattan, seen thus, represents the image of all human endeavor.


In this paper we show an adaptive incremental learning algorithm that learns interactively to classify text messages (here: emails) into categories without the need for lengthy batch training runs. The algorithm was evaluated on a large database of email messages that fall into five subjective categories. As control experiment best human categorization performance was established at 79.4% for this task. The best of all connectionist architectures presented here achieves near human performance (79.1 % ). This architecture acquires its language model and dictionary adaptively and hence avoids handcoding of either. The learning algorithm combines an adaptive phase which instantly updates dictionary and weights during interaction and a tuning phase which fine tunes for performance using previously seen data. Such systems can be deployed in various applications where instantaneous interactive learning is necessary such as on-line email or news categorization, text summarization and information filtering in general.


E-learning platforms have been increasingly adopted by universities to extend and enhance learning. However, the literature review has shown that limited research has been conducted on the effects of electronic peer tutoring on student learning. Correspondingly, there is a lack of a suite of technological affordances to facilitate online peer tutoring sessions and appointments remotely. This paper describes the development of a novel smartphone app – Mobile Education Networked Tutoring On Request (MENTOR) – to facilitate face-to-face and remote peer tutoring. The MENTOR app aims to predict the tutoring needs of students using tutor-tutee matching, provides coordination of face-to-face tutoring sessions via the use ofsmartphones' location data and online operation of remote tutoring sessions.


Our research interest is to uncover mechanisms underlying meiotic chromosome pairing and segregation. pairing failure 2 (pf-2) is a gene involved in this process during meiosis I of male Drosophila. The three pf-2 alleles recovered in a screen for chemically induced (EMS) mutations on chromosome III that cause paternal loss of chromosome N display strong meiotic phenotypes. Cytological analysis of testes of pf-2 mutant flies revealed unpaired chromosomes at prophase and metaphase I and "laggard chromosomes" at anaphase I in primary spermatocytes. Meiosis II appears relatively normal. Genetic data confirm that non-disjunction occurs at the first meiotic division and affects the segregation of sex chromosomes as well as autosomes. By deficiency complementation pf-2 was mapped to region 93D6; 93El on chromosome arm 3R and shown to be allelic to modifier of mdg4 [mod(mdg4)], a complex locus that encodes a large family of chromosomal proteins by alternative and trans-splicing. The encoded proteins together occupy more than 500 sites on the polytene chromosomes. We show that the pf-2 mutations disrupt the function of a single isoform, Mod(mdg4)56.3, that is expressed in primary spermatocytes at all stages. Both a GFP-tagged Mod(mdg4)56.3 transgene and the native Mod(mdg4)56.3 protein localize as discrete foci to the major autosomes, and as an intensely fluorescent cluster of foci to the nucleolus throughout prophase. The nucleolar cluster resolves into a sharply defined structure associated with the X-Y bivalent. We conclude that Mod(mdg4)56.3 plays a critical role in homologous chromosome pairing in


ABSTRACT Grain protein content (GPC), as an important agronomic indicator of nutritional value, is commonly used for optimized cultivation, classified harvesting, and quality grading. Previous studies on the spectroscopic estimation of GPC were often conducted at the canopy level with vegetation indices (VIs) derived from the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) bands, which are apart from the absorption features of protein predominately located in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) region. Since those absorption features are mostly masked by water for living plants, the causal relationships between sensitive spectral bands and protein absorption features are poorly understood. Recently, continuous wavelet spectral analysis has been commonly applied to the spectroscopic estimation of vegetation parameters in the way of extracting the optimal wavelet feature (denoted as WF λ,S, λ is the shifting factor in wavelength and S is the scaling factor in the power number of two) or the red-edge position. This study proposed the wavelet-based SWIR edge position (SWEP) for estimating the GPC in cereal crops through extending the red edge position extraction technique to laboratory SWIR reflectance spectroscopy. The performance of SWEPs and WFs was evaluated in coefficient of determination (R 2), root mean squared error (RMSE) and relative RMSE (RRMSE) with experimental data over field trials. Our results demonstrated that the protein absorption features in the SWIR region could be enhanced using wavelet-based methods towards accurate estimation of the GPC across rice and wheat crops. The optimal features WF1510,4 (R 2 = 0.96) and WF1610,5 (R 2 = 0.93) exhibited similar performance for GPC estimation as compared to normalized difference protein indices (NDPIs) on calibration data, but the latter NDPI models had much poorer performance on independent validation data (NDPI1745,1780: R 2 = 0.35, RMSE = 1.83%, RRMSE = 21.70%; NDPI2080,2160: R 2 = 0.57, RMSE = 1.48%, RRMSE = 17.55%). The GPC could be estimated with high accuracies on both calibration (R 2 = 0.94) and validation (R 2 = 0.92, RMSE = 0.64%, RRMSE = 7.59%) using the SWEP extracted from the 1450–1650 nm range at Scale 5. Given their close predictive performance, the wavelet-based SWEP was less affected by the degradation of spectral resolution in the input data than the WF. The application of SWEPs could help us better understand the spectroscopy mechanism of GPC estimation from grain reflectance spectra. It also suggests that not just the commonly used red edges but also the insufficiently exploited SWIR edges are important in the entire spectral domain for quantifying vegetation properties.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to compare perceptions of male cisgender and male transgender stalking perpetrators. There present study compared participants' perceptions of whether behaviour constituted stalking, posed a threat, had a risk of violence and required police intervention when the perpetrator was transgender or cisgender. The present study also sought to replicate the prior-relationship misconception in stalking literature and to investigate whether perceptions of transgender perpetrators changed based on the age and gender of the perceiver.

Design/methodology/approach
Participants read vignettes outlining the relationship between victim and perpetrator as well as a description of the stalking behaviours. Participants then reported their perceptions of the four dependent variables on Likert-type scales.

Findings
The prior-relationship misconception was replicated. There were no significant differences in perceptions of transgender and cisgender perpetrators across the four dependent variables. There were also no significant differences in perceptions based on the gender of the perceiver. Contrary to expectations, older participants perceived transgender perpetrators as less threatening than younger participants.

Research limitations/implications
The prior-relationship misconception is robust to gender identity of the perpetrator. The participants in the present study seemed to make judgements based on stalking behaviour and not the gender identity of the perpetrator. Future research should replicate this study with more severe stalking behaviours and with greater variation in gender identity.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to compare perceptions of cisgender and transgender males in the context of stalking perpetration. There is also consideration of how the demographics of the perceiver could impact these perceptions. This study also contributes to research on the prior-relationship misconception by demonstrating that the misconception is robust to gender identification of the perpetrator.


A significant feature of business management in the 1990s has been the practice of outsourcing. Firms and public sector bodies have reconsidered where the boundary of their organisation should be set, and passed to third parties responsibility for many business activities. However, many firms have been disappointed with the results they have achieved from outsourcing, not least when it has concerned high profile functions such as information technology. Part of the reason for this disappointment, it is argued, lies in the methodologies (or lack of them) which have been employed by managers. Very few have taken into account the main risks of the practice or identified the required safeguards. This article seeks to address these shortcomings by presenting a model for effective risk management. The article also provides a case study – outsourcing at Hewlett‐Packard – which shows what can be achieved if managers use the right criteria for their decisions.


This study was performed to investigate the effect of various concentrations of Diniconazole (DC) on the growth and quality of grafted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) seedlings cultivated during the summer season. Concentrations of DC were set to 0 (non-treatment), 5, 10 and 20 mg·L, were treated once 3 days after grafting. Rootstock of the seedlings was shorter in the DC 5 mg·L and 10 mg·L treatment compared to the non-treatment, and the scions were significantly shorter in the DC 20 mg·L treatment. Seedlings were significantly shorter in the DC 20 mg·L treatment compared with the non-treatment. Leaf area was lower for seedlings subjected to all treatments than for seedlings in non-treatment group, and reduction was dose dependent. In particular, the DC 20 mg·L treatment inhibited both leaf and stem growth. The fresh weighs of leaves and stems of the seedlings treated with DC 5 mg·L and the fresh weights of roots subjected to all treatments were significantly greater than those of the non-treatment seedlings. Dry weight per organs of the seedlings treated with DC 5 mg·L was significantly greater that of the non-treatment seedlings, but the dry weight of leaves of seedling treated with DC 20 mg·L was much less than that of the non-treatment seedlings. The T/R ratio of the seedlings was lower for all treatments than for the non-treatment. The relative growth rate of the seedlings was significantly lower in the DC 20 mg·L treatment and, the leaf area rate of seedlings was lower in the DC 5 mg·L and 10 mg·L treatment than in the non-treatment. Therefore, the optimal concentration of Dinoconazole used to produce a suitable grafted tomato seedling in the summer season is 10 mg·L or less. Additional key words: dry weight, leaf area rate, relative growth rate, Solanum lycopersicum Received: August 6, 2015 Revised: December 30, 2015 Accepted: March 23, 2016 Copyrightc2016 Korean Society for Horticultural Science. This research was supported by Advanced Production Technology Development Program, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA). Korean J. Hortic. Sci. Technol. 34(2):249-256, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.12972/kjhst.20160026 pISSN : 1226-8763 eISSN : 2465-8588


The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has generated a change in teaching methodologies au university level. The objective of this study is to check the effectiveness of interactive processes in summative assessment or learning-oriented assessment contexts using electronic self-assessment processes (Java application) versus the use of audience response systems (ARS) or "clickers" in the classroom, from the point of view of students' satisfaction measurement.
 The sample for this study is composed by the students of the first year of the Degree on Dentistry of the School of Medicine of the University of Salamanca, and which was carried out by means of a questionnaire, where 1 stood for total disagreement and 7 for absolute agreement; together with an statistical analysis (Conbach alpha) that allows us to value the reliability of the answers obtained.
 Results reflect the students' answers to the questionnaire, as well as the relationship between the two systems. To conclude, there are certain coincidences when judging both assessment tools, but we also observe that there is a better predisposition towards Java system rather than to clickers. The job done by a coordinated interdisciplinary team formed by members of different areas has made it possible to build and validate interesting pedagogical materials, as well as to develop formative assessment strategies that could be generalized to other subjects in different degrees.


We introduce a novel variant of Lagrange interpolation called modular Lagrange interpolation that allows us to obtain and prove error bounds for explicit low-degree polynomial approximations of a function on a union of equally-spaced small intervals even if the function overall is not continuous. We apply our technique to the mod function and obtain explicit low-degree polynomial approximations with small error. In particular, for every k and N >> k, we construct low-degree polynomials that approximate f(x) = x mod N , for |f(x)| ≤ 1 and |x| ≤ kN , to within O(1/N) additive approximation. For k = O(logN), the result is generalized to give O(d)-degree polynomial approximations to within O(N−d) error for any d ≥ 1. Literature in approximation theory allows for arbitrary precision polynomial approximation of only smooth functions, whereas the mod function is only piecewise linear. These polynomials can be used in bootstrapping for approximate homomorphic encryption, which requires computing the mod function near multiples of the modulus. Our work bypasses the fundamental error of approximation in prior works caused by first approximating the mod function by a scaled sine function. We implement the bootstrapping of HEAAN using our polynomials and profile various parameter settings. For example, we demonstrate bootstrapping that can achieve 67 bit message precision, larger than the precision of a double variable, whereas the most advanced prior work was only capable of up to 40 bit message precision.


This paper present a study where the case of the study is to examine how a selection of Swedish companies with a similar number of followers on Facebook can achieve an effective communication throu ...


Funds of Hedge Funds (FHF) are perceived to be the premier choice of institutional investors for first-time allocations into the alternative investment asset class. While many papers cover the bright side of FHF investing, we in this paper empirically investigate the maximum drawdowns of FHF. Therefore, we analyze time series and descriptive variables of 649 FHF drawn from the Lipper TASS Hedge Fund database for the time period January 1996 to August 2007. Our empirical results suggest that (1) the number as well as the magnitude of drawdowns decreases with increasing experience of the FHF, (2) the average recovery is higher with older FHF, (3) there is no difference in the magnitude of a maximum drawdown between small and large FHF, (4) the higher a maximum drawdown of an FHF the longer it takes to recover, and (5) most of the maximum drawdowns happen at times of turmoil in financial markets. Therefore our findings especially question the acclaimed ability of FHF to deliver absolute returns and also show that the beta risks involved with FHF are high. The advantages of FHF should thus rather be their low long-term correlations to traditional asset classes as well as their low volatility.


Successful spiking performance may be linked to genktc factors, the training program, neuromuscular programming and technique. Technique determines how effectively the explosive strength of the spiker is used and impacts the efficacy of the jump. At present there is great interest in improving performance of volleyball players, yet few studies have identified technique differences between different skill levels. This study focuses on the jumping technique used by elite and recreational volleyball players during spiking performance. A major objective is to determine whether spikers differing in skill abilities display differences in the various phases of the spiking technique. In addition, it may be hypothesized that more skilled spikers may be more successful in part because they achieve faster approach velocities with a more effective transition to vertical velocity at takeoff (TO) through techniques employed in the approach (APP), setup (SU) and extension (EXT) phases. According to Kovalev (1978). the spiker tries to execute a loading action during the last step of the approach, resulting in an eccentric lengthening of the quadriceps muscles and a more forceful contraction during TO. Relatively little leg flexion occurs during the braking action and is dependent on approach speed, leg strength, body mass and other factors. Jump height is dependent on not only correct technique and leg strength, but the ability to load during the SU phase. The results of a study of U.S. National Team male volleyball players by Colvin, Beal & Zier (1984) indicate that elite spikers move through the SU phase with a minimum (approximately 20 degrees) of flexion at the knees and ankles. Extension is postponed until the EXT phase at which time there is extension of the hips, knees and ankles. APP times for the elite male spikers ranged from 0.07-0.17s. SU phase from 0.090.10s and EXT phase from 0.08-0.1 1s.


Many papers about fibrinolytic phenomena were published recently but insolved problems are remained yet. Purpose of this paper is to report the summary of our clinical experiences and studies.


The specialization of teachers requires corresponding teachers' professional ethics.The author has investigated teachers in the primary and secondary schools in more than ten provinces and some problems are found in the professional ethics of teachers such as: the quality of the service for students should be improved,the solidarity among colleagues should be reinforced,the collaboration with paterfamilias is somewhat superficial and unequal,inconsistent professional judgement,the poor performed professional duty to the society and the limited responsibility to the professional group.In view of these,we should construct the teachers' professional ethics code,emphasize the integrated education of professional ethics and enhance methodology education of the cultivation of teachers in the primary and secondary schools.


In an attempt to produce glucose from locally sourced materials to boost glucose syrup production and other applications, the optimum reaction velocity which enzyme becomes saturated with the substrate was investigated. In this study, cassava starch (substrate) and glucoamylase (enzyme) from rice were sourced and prepared. The time course of the enzyme hydrolysis was studied at pH 5 and temperature of 400C as optimum conditions. The hydrolysis was carried out at various substrate concentrations. The time course of the reaction for glucose production was monitored at 10 minutes interval for a period of one hour. The glucose concentration produced was plotted against reaction time to evaluate the optimum glucose amount and its corresponding substrate concentration. The reaction velocity was then computed. Also, the experimental data were fitted into Michaelis-Menten model using Statistical Package for Social Scientists to compare the yield of glucose. Results showed optimum yield of glucose concentration was 0.253 g DE L-1 achieved with 2.5 and 3.0% w/v substrate concentration at 50 and 40 minutes respectively. Further analysis gave the optimum reaction velocity range of 0.00506 to 0.00625 of g DE per litre-min.  This range when compared with the model equation result (0.0052 to 0.0068 g DE litre-min) is reasonably close; hence the results from this study are valid. Technical evaluation to standardize the reaction velocity with respect to substrate concentration which may be referred to as specific reaction velocity gave 0.00205 ±0.00005 g D per litre-min per substrate concentration %w/v.


We investigate the thermal flow of Maxwell fluid in a rotating frame using a numerical approach. The fluid has been considered a temperature-dependent thermal conductivity. A non-Fourier heat flux term that accurately reflects the effects of thermal relaxation is incorporated into the model that is used to simulate the heat transfer process. In order to simplify the governing system of partial differential equations, boundary layer approximations are used. These approximations are then transformed into forms that are self-similar with the help of similarity transformations. The mathematical model includes notable quantities such as the rotation parameter $ \lambda $, Deborah number $ \beta $, Prandtl number Pr, parameter $ ϵ $ and the dimensionless thermal relaxation times $ \gamma $. These are approximately uniformly convergent. The Keller box method is used to find approximate solutions to ODEs. We observed due to the addition of elastic factors, the hydrodynamic boundary layer gets thinner. The thickness of the boundary layer can be reduced with the use of the k rotation parameter as well. When Pr increases, the wall slope of the temperature increases as well and approaches zero, which is an indication that Pr is decreasing. In addition, a comparison of the Cattaneo-Christov (CC) and Fourier models are provided and discussed.


The Blind Shall Lead Them Part of the problem of understanding why some children learn to read, and others don't, is that we have a hard time comparing their reading performance with other, similar tasks. What is essential to the reading process, and what is not? What skills must a good reader have? And what others are just icing on the cake? Until recently, it has been hard to answer such questions. Now, however, Linda Pring has opened up a whole new line of attack on the age-old mystery of reading. A faculty member at the University of London's Institute of Education, Pring prevailed upon a residential school for the blind, and a similar institution for sighted children, to allow her to compare their students' reading abilities. The sighted kids, of course, were asked to read standard texts—albeit sometimes in script rather than printed characters. The blind students—all of whom had been sightless since birth—read Braille texts. Both groups were presented with a series of word lists, embedded in a reading passage, and tested for the speed of their recognition of a set of items. Sometimes, the children were presented with nice, clean texts—in the case of the sighted children—and well formed Braille characters—in the case of the blind children. Other times, each group was forced to make do with degraded texts and characters, i.e., letters which had been deliberately malformed, and Braille characters where one of the raised dots was incorrectly placed. In a recent issue of Child Development (1984, 55), Pring presented the results of her study. In general, she found that the two groups responded differently to the degradation of their respective reading materials. The sighted children, on the one hand, made increased use of the semantic context of the target-words to discover their meaning, when that meaning might be slightly hidden by misshapen letter forms. The blind children, however, did not. How come? As Pring sees it, because of the relatively few elements in a Braille character, reading by that method requires a student to pay close attention to the material under his fingers. A change of position by one dot of only a few millimeters can mutate one Braille character into an all together different one. English characters, on the other hand, can still be recognized when poorly constructed. So sighted readers do not need to attend to their structure as carefully. In turn, this means that both groups faced a significantly different situation when forced to find their words' meaning through the semantics of the sentences in which they were embedded. The sightless children, Pring feels, were already binding their attention so closely to the basic task of deciphering the Braille characters that they had little left over in reserve to devote to a second, parallel task: analyzing their word's semantic position in the sentence. With less of their attentional energies bound up in that first task, sighted readers could more easily switch over to the second task, when it was imposed upon them by the degraded text. These findings, Pring concludes, fall in line with the idea of previous researchers that some portion of the reading process is automatic while another is attentional. "The former is independent of limited-capacity processing considerations, while the latter is sensitive to such limitations," she observes, "and will reflect the allocation of resources to different levels of processing."


dsRNA is often sensed as a hallmark of viral infection to trigger an innate immune response. In the constant arms race between viruses and the host, some host protein factors are activated upon the recognition of non-self dsRNA to curb the infection1 (e.g. RIG-I/MDA5, PKR, RNase L, TLRs). Given the importance of dsRNA to trigger an immune response and its prevalence in RNA structures, several methods to detect or to isolate dsRNA have been developed. For instance, the J2 monoclonal antibody is widely used to detect dsRNA in cultured cells, to enrich dsRNA or to identify infections by positive sense RNA viruses2. Most recently, the J2 antibody was used to facilitate the discovery of glycoRNAs 3 and to test for dsRNA contaminations in the preparation of mRNA vaccines as quality control 4 . However, despite decades of widespread use, J2's l ength and sequence preferences for dsRNA and mechanisms of recognition have remained unknown. Using fluorescence polarization and SEC - MALS we found that J2 recognizes dsRNAs shorter then 23 - bp, half the size of the minimal epitope previously proposed (>40 -b p), suggesting its usefulness to study small RNAs. To understand how this antibody senses dsRNA, we solved its co-crystal structure bound to dsRNA at 2.8 Å. The structure and attendant mutational analyses revealed that J2 tracks the minor groove of the A-form dsRNA via non - contiguous interactions to its riboses, phosphate backbone, and sugar edges of nucleobases. Recognition of the minor groove is mediated principally by aromatic residues reminiscent of the S9.6 monoclonal antibody used to map R-loops 5. This strategy


Bangalore has been growing rapidly and ranks as the 5th largest city in India. It is an inland city that developed from system of settlements one founded by a local chieftain in 1537 and the other by the British Barracks established in 1809. Cotton textile industry developed in the 19th century in the city. The Bangalore Municipal Corporation Act of 1949 merged the 2 independent local entities. The states reorganization in 1956 made Bangalore the capital of the state of Karnataka. The population had grown ten-fold between 1941 and 1991 to 4 million. This alarming growth resulted in the Government Industrial Policy Resolution in 1983 prohibiting the foundation of large industries in Bangalore. Most of the growth was attributed to migration boundary changes and natural increase. The labor force also underwent major shifts from services handicrafts and trade to manufacturing construction transport and electronics. In 1941 only 3% of Karnatakas population lived in Bangalore; by 1991 9% lived in the Bangalore Urban Agglomeration. This runaway growth has resulted in the deterioration of environmental conditions. The water supply could not keep pace with rapid population growth. Sewage with toxic effluents is discharged into rivers without adequate treatment; refuse collection and disposal is deficient; 400 slums have proliferated because of the shortage of 71000 housing units and land is scarce to build new housing. In 1986 the city had 329300 registered vehicles and the inner city is unable to cope with increased traffic which with industries produces air and noise pollution. Industrialization and population growth have reinforced each other transforming the city into an agglomeration. Unless large infrastructural projects are carried out promptly the life of citizens could be intolerable.


This paper presents an overview of cryogenics applications in the maritime sector and onboard commercial vessels. Basic thermodynamics in general and cryogenic refrigeration in particular are theoretical knowledge, which becomes compulsory when dealing with complex processes such as liquefaction, re-liquefaction, and boil-off. The aim of this paper is to familiarize students/crew members onboard LNG tankers with the basic concepts of refrigeration cycles and cryogenics.


This paper discusses the legal protection to consumers in electronic commerce studies according to statutory provisions. The purpose of this research is to protect the law of consumers who carry out trade transactions through online electronics and the implementation of electronic commerce on the sale and purchase site of Kaskus and how to sell to avoid fraud. This research method is a normative juridical that leads to empirical research that is research conducted using material sourced from secondary data, including language from applicable legislation, books, court decisions, relevant legal theories, and opinions of bachelor. The results and discussion regarding legal protection to consumers in online-based electronic commerce (e-commerce) for conducting transactions as regulated in Article 4 letters c and h of the UUPK are absent. The right of consumers to obtain true and honest information about the conditions and guarantees of goods are not fulfilled. Fulfillment of consumer rights to obtain compensation and compensation if the goods received are not in accordance with what was promised, to get compensation by asking consumers to send the goods back to the seller and then the obligations of the business actor in this provision the seller as legally stated the seller must be responsible for returning the purchase price and reimbursing costs or losses to consumers.


The study analyzes the structure of the Electoral Authority of Ecuador as of the entry into force of the Constitution of the Republic, in 2008. For this, special emphasis is placed on the distribution and separation of functions of the State and powers regarding administrative and jurisdictional scope in electoral matters. The legal status granted by the Ecuadorian Constitution to the Electoral Authority is considered, since it went from being an institution belonging to the Central Administration of the State to becoming an independent function of it. The intention of this academic effort is that the reader knows the conformation of the electoral function in Ecuador as a guaranteeing organism of democracy.


SDN( Software- Defined Networking),which is called a new networking revolution and has great influence on the next generation of the Internet,is a hot topic after cloud computing,mobile internet, big data in the area of information and communication. This paper firstly introduces the background,principle,architecture and connotation of SDN,then elaborates on its key technologies,finally analyzes its advantages and shortcomings as well as application area.


This paper presents a basis for real-time, cybernetic explanation in terms of typed timed input/output automata (tTAi/o). These are a form of Muller automata with typed states, input, and output. The typing of a tTAi/o is carried out intuitionistically in the tradition begun by Martin-Lof. The explanation of choice in the behavior specified by a tTAi/os is given in terms of the choice operators from Girard's linear logic. The meaning of a timed behavior specified by a tTAi/os is explained with real-time temporal logic. As a result of this approach to cybernetic explanation, a framework for reasoning about time for a specified behavior is given.


In an isolated dog heart, perfused with blood from an anesthetized donor, left ventricular performance was observed during periods in which the left ventricle either contracted isovolumically or was allowed to eject saline. Heart rate and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure were comparable in both. Ventricular performance, as judged by peak systolic ventricular pressure, declined relatively rapidly during isovolumic loading when initial systolic pressures were higher. The efflux of norepinephrine (NE) from the heart was directly related to the systolic pressure of the left ventricle both when the NE concentration of the perfusing blood was normal and when it was reduced to undetectable levels by dialysis. Changes in heart rate did not affect NE efflux nor was NE efflux increased by isobaric loading when the ventricle was distended in diastole without developing pressure in systole. A pathway is described whereby ventricles developing a high systolic pressure may be depleted of NE.


Many control of diarrheal disease (CDD) programs have only instituted 1 component of the communications strategy developed by PRITECH. For example many health education units in the ministries of health (MOHs) have primarily developed basic graphic instructional materials on oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for mothers and health workers. Since experience has shown that it is hard to educate caretakers how to properly mix sugar salt solution (SSS) many developing countries have switched from promoting SSS to home available solutions. Communication planners therefore must choose which home available solutions to promote and how to do so. They also must plan ORT communication programs in such a way that will stimulate major CDD policy changes which will allow significant changes in ORT messages. To better ORT related communication CDD programs and consultants should conduct formative research such as focus group discussions and in depth interviews with mothers and health workers. Further they should assist in clarifying the national CDD policy (promotion of SSS or home available solutions?). Drumming up additional support and resources from inside and outside MOHs should also improve communication efforts. Deciding and acting upon a well thought out communication plan will contribute to a CDD programs success. The plan needs to define and identify the characteristics of the target audience then determine the ORT messages accordingly using behavior analysis and positioning and then decide on what communication channels will be most effective in disseminating ORT information (health workers teachers and/or religious leaders?). The plan also needs to address what educational materials to use and pretest them monitoring and supervision and strengthening or institutional capabilities.


Abstract Continuing interest in the use of trimethylsilyl enol ethers 1 as synthetic intermediates,1 has prompted efforts toward developing efficient, regiospecific methods for the preparation of these versatile compounds. In general, silylation of enolate anions with chlorotrimethyl silane (CTMS) has proven to be the procedure most widely used.2,3,4 In the case of unsymmetrical ketones such as 2, (Table 1) the use of strong base (LDA) (entry 1) allows kinetic deprotonation, and hence, the highly regioselective production of 1a′ upon CTMS quenching. However, attempts to prepare 1a by resorting to conditions which equilibrate the enolate prior to CTMS quenching affords mixtures of 1a′ and 1a (entries 2–4). Further, equilibration of 1a′ and 1a does not give synthetically useful mixtures5.


In the darkness of Turkish feudalism, the Serbian people fought to preserve their identity through the ritual and customary practice and tradition. The aim of this paper, which analyzes the short story entitled Ljuta neman (Eng. Angry Monster) by Grigorije Božović, is to determine the function of rituals as a communication channel and regulations in a social community with disturbed harmony. Religious conversion as a kind of violation of customs and destruction of harmony as a consequence brings the psychological drama of the search for identity that the those who were converted experienced, always torn between what they were and what they were not.


Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) also known as green gram, golden gram, Oregon peas and chokoro (Swahili), is an economically important short duration legume crop for drought prone/ moisture stressed areas. Due to drought escape/early maturity in case of terminal drought in Ethiopia, improvement of grain yield of Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is the main objective to avoid food insecurity. A field experiment was carried out during the 2016 and 2017 main cropping seasons using a randomized complete block design with three replications in order to evaluate eight characteristics viz., days to 50% flowering, seed filling period, 90% physiological maturity, plant height, number of pod per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed yield and thousand seed weight for six mung bean varieties under rain-fed conditions at Abergelle Agricultural Research Center on station in Ethiopia. Analysis of variance showed that, differences varietal was observed for traits studied (p≤ 0.05) except number of pods per plant. The variety Rasa had better performance than the other varieties with the highest seed yield (1776 kg ha-1), while the lowest seed yield was obtained from local Sheraro (889 kg ha-1). Thus, Rasa is recommended as promising variety to the farmers of Abergelle areas.


In this study, optimum extraction conditions of bioactive compounds from fenugreek leaves (Trigonella-foenum graecum L.) were investigated using response surface methodology and the extracts having the highest total phenolic content, total flavonoid compounds, antioxidant activity and total saponin content were achieved. The independent process variables were solvent mixture ratio (water and ethanol, 0-100%), temperature (25-65°C) and sample–solvent ratio (10-50 g/L), and a constant extraction time of 120 minutes was used for all the design points. The experimental study was arranged according to D-optimal combined design and the process conditions were optimized using desirability function approach. Results showed that the extraction of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were increased at increasing water ratios and temperature and decreasing sample-solvent ratio. Saponins were extracted better when 25% ethanol was used as solvent. The optimum extraction conditions were determined as 100% of water, 49.71°C of temperature, and 10 g/L of sample–solvent ratio.


With Bronfenbrenner's (1977) ecological theory and other multifactor models (e.g. Pianta, 1999; Prinstein, Boergers, & Spirito, 2001) underlying this study design, the purpose was to examine, simultaneously, key variables in multiple life contexts (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem levels) for their individual and combined roles in predicting adolescent risk-taking and goal-oriented behaviors. Predictor variables were parenting behaviors (parenting style, monitoring, and involvement), the risk-taking and goal-oriented behavior of peers, and religiosity (attendance, involvement, and importance). General media consumption was also explored. The participants in this study were 272 9th to 12th grade Caucasian and Arab-American high school students (124 males and 148 females) from a suburban public school district in the midwestern United States (Mean age = 15.64). Results revealed several themes, including that peers appeared to have the primary role in explaining variance in risk behaviors, while parents have the primary role in explaining goal-oriented behavior. Religiosity contributed minimally. There were several noteworthy differences between the two cultural groups regarding which factors explained the most variance in criterion variables. Results are explored in more detail and implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.


The functional features of cryptographic technologies in combination with decentralized data registries gave impetus to the development of the segment of decentralized financial assets. Evolutionarily, special decentralized applications were created that ensure the correct operation of the entire DeFi ecosystem. This work is devoted to the study of decentralized applications, since this is the main link of the market of decentralized finance, which provides an interface for the interaction of market subjects. In our work, we study the architecture of decentralized applications in particular detail. In the course of the work, we analyzed the dynamics of the creation of new decentralized applications on the main networks of the ecosystem. We found that most modern applications were created between 2017 and 2019, but new and newer use cases for decentralized applications are constantly emerging. We also identified and outlined the main categories of decentralized application architecture components. We added to the external parts of the architectural components: application developer, blockchain developer, application user, contract user, token user, consensus provider; and internal architectural components: client, smart contract, token, blockchain platform, other platforms. Several examples of the operation of blockchain protocols and the principles of transaction confirmation are in work. We created a detailed diagram of the interaction of all parts of the architecture, as well as subjects participating in the work of applications. We also explained the difference between tokens and coins, as well as accompanying conclusions regarding the practical side of the difference of decentralized assets. We also highlighted several features of the functioning of parts of the architecture of decentralized applications, in particular, management methods and the organization of interactions between different protocols in the middle of the DeFi ecosystem. We have also made appropriate conclusions on the work.


Keeping you informed about the composition of the Foursquare Cabinet in 2010, including information on how your district is participating.


In this paper, we consider the spin-2 field perturbations of four families of supergravity solutions. These include AdS$_5$ and AdS$_7$ backgrounds of type IIA as well as AdS$_4$ and AdS$_6$ backgrounds of Type IIB. As the main result, we show that, in all the cases, there is a solution given by a combination of the warp factors. We also find the respective mass spectra. We analyze the normalizability of the solutions and identify the superconformal multiplets dual to them.


I have read the study by Nicholl et al 1 published in CHEST (June 2012) with a particular interest. The research ers have analyzed the home sleep monitoring data of 254 indi viduals with some degree of renal dysfunction (75 on hemodialysis). They have concluded that a decreased kidney function is associated with greater prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nocturnal hypoxia. It is well known that kidney disease (as well as heart failure and resistant arterial hypertension) is related to volume overload, and in the supine position this extra fl uid can shift toward the neck, causing increased upper airway resistance and collapsibility. 2 However, this is only one potential explanation, with alternatives being possible. Some study aspects merit a brief discussion. First, the patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease were older, had a greater BMI, and had a greater prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF), cerebrovascular disease, and COPD. Age and increased BMI are known risk factors of OSA, and greater prevalence of OSA in patients with worse renal function can be attributed to these variables, at least to some extent. Cerebrovascular disease and CHF can be considered as risk factors for OSA, and CHF is likely to act via the same fl uid overload pathway. 3 , 4 Thus, the greater prevalence of OSA can be a pure refl ection of a greater age and multiple comorbidities but not because of the impact of renal disease. It is also relevant to note that the home sleep monitoring used cannot reliably distinguish between OSA and central sleep apnea, which have different pathophysiologic pathways. 5 An association between decreased renal function and nocturnal hypoxia can be partially explained by a higher prevalence of COPD in patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. Based on the aforementioned factors, longitudinal studies are needed to give the answer as to whether declining renal function is an independent risk factor for OSA.


Summary In this paper we apply a predictive profiling method to genome copy number aberrations (CNA) in combination with gene expression and clinical data to identify molecular patterns of cancer pathophysiology. Predictive models and optimal feature lists for the platforms are developed by a complete validation SVM-based machine learning system. Ranked list of genome CNA sites (assessed by comparative genomic hybridization arrays – aCGH) and of differentially expressed genes (assessed by microarray profiling with Affy HG-U133A chips) are computed and combined on a breast cancer dataset for the discrimination of Luminal/ ER+ (Lum/ER+) and Basal-like/ER- classes. Different encodings are developed and applied to the CNA data, and predictive variable selection is discussed. We analyze the combination of profiling information between the platforms, also considering the pathophysiological data. A specific subset of patients is identified that has a different response to classification by chromosomal gains and losses and by differentially expressed genes, corroborating the idea that genomic CNA can represent an independent source for tumor classification.


The Polish research and development (R&D) potential can be characterised with aggregate figures and indicators included in Table 1 that concern the year 2000. Among the state institutions conducting an R&D activity the scientific units of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) on the whole carry out basic and strategic research. Most of the state universities have a similar character, except certain departments at technical, agricultural or medical universities. On the other hand, research and development institutions, overseen by relevant ministers, deal with mainly applied research and development work. They also become involved in implementation and small-scale production or in services based on their own or adapted technologies. Private universities do not yet carry out, at the present stage of their development, significant scientific research. Industrial entities, in turn, are usually positioned within the structures of large companies, dealing mostly with enhancing their development and competitiveness. Among the personnel employed in the sphere of science as well as research and development, just over 10 per cent (appr. 8.4 thousand) are persons holding the scientific title of professor. The share of these persons has been on the increase in recent years, despite the reaching of retirement age by numerous generations of researchers who embarked on scientific careers after the Second World War. Similarly, the number of persons holding the titles of doctor or habilitated doctor has been steadily rising, reaching over 53 per cent (42.6 thousand) of those employed in the scientific or research and development domains. Positive phenomena in terms of the research workforce include also the stabilisation of personnel after the period of "brain drain" characteristic of the years 1982-1993. The departure of researchers out from the R&D sphere or for abroad has been systematically decreasing. This outflow is counterbalanced by the employment of foreign personnel, mainly from neighbouring countries of Eastern Europe and most often on shortand midterm contracts.


The paper proposes a new method of oriented contour detection on images using the Lorentz function. The first distinguishing feature of the development is the ability to adjust the size of the filter mask to be able to vary the distance between the analyzed differences at the boundaries of the analyzed image areas. The second feature is the ability to pre-set the angle of rotation of the coordinate plane, which determines the orientation of the filter. In addition, the proposed filter has a minimum number of zones with different signs, which distinguishes it from the known Gabor filters. The proposed method can be used in various fields of digital image processing, but the most promising, in our opinion, is the use of the proposed filters in convolutional neural networks instead of convolutional layer neurons that are responsible for distinguishing features.