Abstract The effect of adding cerium on the microstructure and acid rain corrosion resistance of the AlSi11Cu3 alloy was investigated by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The AlSi11Cu3 alloy was doped with varying stoichiometries of cerium to generate AlSi11Cu3-xCe, where x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt.%. The results show that the α-Al, eutectic Si, and β-Al5FeSi phases in the AlSi11Cu3-1.0Ce alloy are significantly refined. Electrochemical tests demonstrated an increase in the self-corrosion potential value of the AlSi11Cu3-1.0Ce alloy from –670 mV to –628 mV relative to the untreated alloy. In addition, the AlSi11Cu3-1.0Ce alloy has the lowest corrosion current density (8.4 μA × cm–2). Immersion corrosion testing on the AlSi11Cu3-1.0Ce alloy revealed a corrosion rate of 0.71 mg × cm–2 × d–1, constituting a 72% reduction in the corrosion rate compared to the untreated alloy. These results indicate that the AlSi11Cu3-1.0Ce alloy has a high resistance to acid rain corrosion, which is the result of a refinement of the cathode phases.


Creativity in work life typically includes several people, thus there is a need to understand how people interact and support each other in creative group processes. Is there, for example, a need f ...


This article will look at a selection of recent adaptations of Little Women to consider how they are being constantly rewritten to appeal to new audiences and to take advantage of both the old and new forms of media now available, with a particular focus on fan fiction. From sequels to modern-day retellings, via media from novels, to movies and television miniseries, to horror mashups and fan fiction short stories, the desire to return to and reimagine Alcott's most successful novel is yet to abate. This article will consider what is at stake in both writing and reading these different modes of narrative. In doing so, I will also analyze the question of textual origin and ask: who owns Little Women? This article will consider the question of origin as it relates to Alcott's status as a female writer, asking why it is female writers in particular whose biography we reference to provide a source of reality and origin in their work. Through critical and fan readings of Jo as Alcott herself, and claims to an autobiographical basis to the novel through reference to Alcott's letters and journals, I consider why the question of origin is so often gendered female. After all, as the predominantly female readers' expectations of Little Women continue to shift, such claims are often reflected in their expectations of Jo and Alcott, and even of themselves. I will therefore also explore the association of value with such claims to origin and reality, both in Alcott's own work and fan fiction based on Little Women. In looking at Little Women and its adaptations, I particularly want to consider what the term "fan fiction" might mean and investigate some of the problems around how it is categorized in academic criticism. Lauren Rizzuto points out in her essay on fan fiction and Little Women that: "Fan fiction is a form of writing, but it is also a way of reading"; producers and readers of fan fiction are often one and the same (204). I therefore want to consider what it means to claim reading as fandom, and how reading what is positioned as the "original" text might differ from reading the fan fiction. Reading, here, might be about response in that fan fiction readers often interact with the writer of the fan fiction, agreeing or disagreeing with their take or their canonicity, or giving positive feedback. Yet this is the case with


The study was conducted to observe the income smoothing on the manufacturing company listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Income smoothing is capable to mislead investors in analyzing financial statements and mislead creditors in long-term loan decision making. The research object is manufacturing industry group, basic industry and chemical sector, cement sub-sector listed on BEI since 2005 2017. The research result exhibits that factors influencing the partial earnings are par value stock, debt to equity ratio, earnings per share and price earnings ratio. On the other hand, return on asset and firm size is not significant. All variables studied influences income smoothing.


Surface quadrupole tensor sums have been calculated for unrelaxed (001), (010), and (100) surfaces of anthracene and pyrene, with the molecules treated as points. The surface has most effect on sums relating molecules in different surface layers. With the molecular quadrupole moments, the quadrupole sums give the surface electric fields, which reach 5 GV m−1 for anthracene and 15 GV m−1 for pyrene. The fields approach the bulk value by about the fourth molecular layer below the surface. With the molecular polarizability and surface dipole tensor sums, the electric fields give the surface polarizations, which reach 80 mC m−2 for anthracene and 340 mC m−2 for pyrene. With the crystal thermal expansion for anthracene, the polarizations give the surface secondary pyroelectricity, which is found to be of the order of 10 μC m−2 K−1 for all the surfaces. Treating the molecules as point submolecules at the center of each aromatic ring tends to reduce the anisotropy of the results somewhat.


As computers become ubiquitous, they are increasingly used in safety critical environments. Since many safety critical applications are real-time systems, automated analysis technique of real-time properties is desirable. Most widely used automated analysis techniques are based on state space exploration. Automatic analysis techniques based on state space exploration suuer from the state space explosion problem. In particular, a real-time system may have an unbounded number of states due to innnitely many possible time values. This paper presents our approach for generating a nite and eecient representation of the reachable states called a timed reachability graph for a real-time system. In this paper, a real-time system is speciied using a timed automaton which is a timed extension of the well-known nite automaton. Our approach for coping with the state explosion problem is to extract timing information from states and to represent it as relative time relations between transitions. We also present an algorithm for computing the minimum and maximum time bounds between executions of two actions from a timed reachability graph to determine timing properties.


This is the fourth Special Issue in Pharmaceuticals within the last six years dealing with aspects of radiopharmaceutical sciences [...].


Femtosecond optical pulses with a duration of 200 fs were generated using a GaInN bisectional laser diode passively mode-locked in a dispersion-compensated external cavity with spectral filtering performed outside the cavity. The fact that the femtosecond pulses were obtained with a negative intracavity group-velocity dispersion and a saturable absorber recovery time of about 15 ps indicates that the mechanism involved was soliton mode-locking. The spectro-temporal investigation of the output pulses directly emitted after the mode-locked laser diode revealed that the spectral broadening was due to self-phase modulation in the gain section.


•  Development of the epicardium •  Epithelial–mesenchymal transition into EPDCs •  Derivatives of EPDCs •  Potential role of EPDCs in cardiomyopathy and valve disease •  Potential of EPDCs as adult stem cells •  Reactivation of endogenous epicardium after ischemia


This talk is an attempt to underscore in detail the physics reach of an experimental set-up where neutrinos produced in a beta-beam facility at CERN would be observed in the proposed large magnetized iron calorimeter detector (ICAL) at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO). The "magical" CERN-INO beta-beam set-up offers an excellent avenue to use the "Golden" channel (νe → νμ ) oscillation probability for a simultaneous determination of the neutrino mass ordering and θ13 avoiding the impact of the CP phase δCP on these measurements. With Lorentz boost γ = 650 and irrespective of the true value of δCP, the neutrino mass hierarchy could be determined at 3σ C.L. if sin2 2θ13(true) > 5.6×10−4 and we can expect an unambiguous signal for θ13 at 3σ C.L. if sin2 2θ13(true) > 5.1×10−4 independent of the true neutrino mass hierarchy.


A new scientific proposition of synergetic mining was put forward by introducing the concept of synergism based on the current harmonic mining concepts.The clear definition and its significance of synergetic mining were given,and its technology system was built too.The difference and connection of the synergetic mining and the concepts and its coupling property were analyzed.Taking the mining of cataclastic resource with the many cavities in a certain mine as an example,the application of synergetic mining technology was studied.The mining environment reconstructing layering and stripping medium-length hole caving mining method was developed.The synergetic mining schemes design for the main ore layers were accomplished well.The application results show that synergetic mining as a new mining mode with strong vitality and great value of application can provide a scientific and suitable development direction for hidden danger resources or those deposits with special engineering purposes.


The invention discloses an automatic test device for electronic components with high automation degree, high efficiency and compact structure. The automatic test device comprises a charging station (15), a discharging station (21), a test station, a defective product processing station (17), a tray for products to be tested (11) and a turntable body (31), wherein the charging station (15) transfers a product to be tested in the tray for products to be tested (11) to a test fixture (13) of the turntable body (31); a test turntable performs circular motions; when a product on the test fixture (13) is turned to a corresponding position of a test station, the product is tested by the test station, and then the product is turned to a corresponding position of the defective product processing station (17); if the product is tested to be a defective product, the product is transferred by the defective product processing station (17) to a defective product recovery box (22); and qualified products passing the test are transferred to a corresponding position of the discharging station (21) and are extracted by the discharging station (21). The automatic test device can be widely applied in the field of tests of the electronic components.


We consider a problem of optimal control in the KB-lineal. There is the sequence of the k-problems the minimization for the initial problem. The article presents the conditions the convergence the sequence of the controls to the set of the -normal solutions. This sequence is constructed using the k-problems.


A moment method analysis procedure is described to determine the aperture field distribution in a finite-length straight longitudinal slot cut in the broad wall of a rectangular waveguide. The waveguide is fed from one end with the dominant waveguide mode, while the other end of the waveguide is shorted, exactly at the far end of the slot. From the aperture distribution the far-field radiation pattern is then computed, and from the radiation pattern the attenuation and phase constants of the leaky-wave mode in the waveguide are determined. The method of determining the propagation constant from the radiation pattern is an often used experimental technique to determine leaky-wave propagation constants. Computed data is compared to measured data, and good correspondence observed. This propagation constant data can be used to design long meandering leaky-wave slot antennas.


Lactobacillus sp. is a bacterium that naturally exists in various environments, including in breast milk colostrum. This bacterium belongs to a group of lactic acid bacteria that produce lactic acid as the main product of sugar fermentation so that it has probiotic properties that also play a role in the fermentation process. This study aims to produce probiotic milk using Lactobacillus sp isolates from breast milk colostrum  with soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merril.) as the base material and then test the total lactic acid content, pH value, reducing sugar and the number of lactic acid bacteria. The production of soybean fermented milk is based on the analysis of total lactic acid content by acid-base titration method with 0.1 N NaOH standard solution, pH value by using universal pH meter, reducing sugar test by spectrophotometric method of Nelson-Somogyi and the number of lactic acid bacteria by using Glucose Yeast Pepton Agar (GYPA) medium added with CaCO3 then calculated by using Standard Plate Count (SPC) method with TPC value (Total Plate Number) is 2.3. 1012 colonies/ml, 2.5.1012 colonies/ml, 4.5.1014 colonies/ml, 4.1.1014 colonies/ml. From the results of the study it is known that Lactobacillus sp isolates from breast milk colostrum fluid can ferment soybean milk (Glycine max (L.) Merril.)


A seasonal rhythm in blade elongation rate was observed in Alaria esculenta. Maximum (3.0–3.6 cm/week) and minimum (0.5–1.0 cm/week) rates were recorded in June and September, respectively. Translocation of growth‐promoting metabolites occurs within the main blade and between the sporophylls and blade. Bidirectional flow of growth‐promoting metabolities within the stipe was demonstrated. Seasonal effects of nutrients (NO3‐ and PO43‐) and photoperiod on blade elongation were shown in long‐term laboratory experiments. Control of seasonal blade growth by exogenous and endogenous factors is discussed.


This study aim to determinate: (1) the influence of product design, sales promotion and product quality simultaneously on customer purchase decision at Converse, (2) the influence of product design partially on customer purchase decision at Converse, (3) the influence of sales promotion partially on customer purchase decision at Converse, (4) the influence of product quality partially on customer purchase decision at Converse. This sampling technique uses a non-probability sampling method with purposive sampling technique. The population of this research are millenial generation which is at the age of 21- 40 years. The sample of this research is 100 respodent of  millenial generation who already purchased and used Converse shoes and the data was obtained by distributing questionnaires. The data analysis technique used in this study is descriptive analysis, classical assumption test, and multiple linear regression analysis using the SPSS 23 application. The results of the study show that: (1) product design, sales promotion and product quality simultaneously influenced consumer purchase decision, (2) product design partially influenced consumer purchase decision, (3) sales promotion partially influenced consumer purchase decision, (4) product quality partially influenced consumer purchase decision.


Hoverable Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle (FWMAV) is a new concept aircraft which imitates the flight mode of hummingbirds or insects. It has excellent mobility, flexibility, concealment, and can demonstrate hovering, forward flight and other maneuvers, which has attracted wide attention. In this research, a prototype of hoverable FWMAVs is designed and built for the research of control method, and the research on flight attitude estimation and attitude control algorithm are carried out. The hardware devices such as flight control board and remote control are designed and developed independently, also we devised the software control system to realize the communication between software and hardware, then the algorithm is verified on the experimental platform. The prototype of the aircraft weighs 27.24g, and can take off under the flapping frequency of 20Hz. On the experimental platform, relying on the hardware control circuit and software control algorithm, it can realize the attitude control of roll and pitch, and demonstrate hovering flight for two minutes.


Abstract Two new species of the subgenus Galumna (Galumna) (Oribatida, Galumnidae) are described from leaf litter of evergreen rain forest in eastern Madagascar. Galumna brevilineata sp. nov. differs from its closest species Galumna (Galumna) anuakensis Ermilov, 2019 and Galumna paracalcicola Ermilov & Anichkin 2014 by the length of interlamellar and lamellar setae, the localization of notogastral lyrifissures im, the ornamentation of anogenital region, the morphology of bothridial setae and postanal porose area, and the absence of median pore. Galumna (Galumna) paraarmatifera sp. nov. differs from its closest species Galumna armatifera Mahunka, 1996 by the morphology of bothridial setae and anal plates, and the length of circumpedal carinae. An identification key to species of Galumna (Galumna) of the calcicola-group (species with short lamellar lines) was presented.


In this paper, we study the stability of the q -hyperconvex hull of a quasi-metric space, adapting known results for the hyperconvex hull of a metric space. To pursue this goal, we extend well-known metric notions, such as Gromov-Hausdorff distance and rough isometries, to the realm of quasi-metric spaces. In particular, we prove that two q -hyperconvex hulls are close with respect to the Gromov-Hausdorff distance if so are the original spaces. Moreover, we provide an intrinsic characterisation of those spaces that are Sym-large in their q -hyperconvex hulls.


According to the authors, clinical experience and research suggests that eating disorders commonly evolve from what begins as normal dieting, and so it would be important to identify in advance which dieter is likely to go on to develop an eating disorder so that treatment could be started early. This study was designed with 2 aims: (1) determining whether there are features in this group that predict the development of an eating disorder and (2) evaluating the feasibility of using a brief questionnaire to identify those most at risk. The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire of eating disorder features was mailed to all women between 16 and 23 years old in certain urban and rural areas of central England. The questionnaire asked subjects about events or attitudes occurring during the previous 28-day period. Ten thousand seventy-seven surveys were returned, resulting in a return rate of 58.8%, though the authors argue that because of likely problems with the mailing list used, that the actual rate was probably considerably higher. Based on their responses, a group of 2,992 women were identified as dieting but without eating disorders. The same survey was sent to this group of women every 6 months for 2 years. If responses on subsequent surveys suggested that a subject might have developed an eating disorder, they were asked permission to be interviewed. One hundred four women were interviewed and diagnosed with eating disorders. An independent-sample t-test was used to compare characteristics of those with and without eating disorders, and Cohen's effect size was used to estimate relative magnitude of any significance found. Chi-square testing was used to identify features on the baseline survey that were different between those who developed eating disorders and those who did not. Then, using the items identified, further analysis was conducted in a forward stepwise fashion to clarify the predictive nature of these factors. Of the 104 subjects diagnosed with an eating disorder, 10 had anorexia nervosa, 19 had bulimia nervosa, and 75 had eating disorders not otherwise specified. Comparison of the baseline scores of those that did and those who did not develop eating disorders revealed that the former group had significantly higher scores on most of each of the items on the survey (70.4% of the items), as well as a higher total score. Between 5 and 7 of the items were found, when combined with body mass index, to be significantly predictive, depending on the analysis used. These items included: number of episodes of bulimia; number of episodes of purging; secret eating; fear of losing control over eating; and desire to have an empty stomach. Preoccupation with food and preoccupation with shape or weight were the additional items included by some analyses. The simplest predictive instrument developed using only the 5 items, listed above, resulted in a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 72%. It was suggested by the authors that the case-predicting questionnaire that they developed in the course of this investigation could be incorporated into routine health assessments. Women identified as being at risk could then be flagged for further follow-up and for preventive intervention. Obstetric Risk Factors for Urinary Incontinence and Preventative Pelvic Floor Exercises: Cohort Study and Nested Randomized Controlled Trial. Ewings P, Spencer S, Marsh H, O'Sullivan M (Taunton & Somerset NHS Trust, Taunton, Somerset, UK). J Obstet Gynecol. 2005;25:558-564.


The rheological behavior of polypropylene/novolac blends was investigated with special reference to the effects of the blend ratio, compatibilization, and dynamic cure. The polypropylene and all the polypropylene/novolac blends presented evidence of shear-thinning behavior. The novolac, compatibilizer, and dynamic cure had dramatic effects on the rheological behavior of the polypropylene. Various rheological plots, including plots of the viscosity, storage modulus, loss modulus, and loss angle, Han plots, and Cole–Cole plots, were used to analyze the polypropylene/novolac blends. The results showed that the compatibilization together with the dynamic cure could increase the viscosity and modulus because of the formation of a grafting polymer between the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene and the curing novolac resin. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007


The invention discloses a pesticide composition containing a thiosulfonic acid ester fungicide. The pesticide composition contains 10-60% of thiosulfonic acid ester, powders of 1-40 parts of methoxy-crylic acid fungicide, a soluble concentrate, a microemulsion, an emulsion in water, a suspending agent or missible oil. The pesticide composition is a compound composition of the thiosulfonic acid ester fungicide and the methoxy-crylic acid fungicide, high synergetic effect can be generated, and the capabilities of sterilization, disease prevention and healing can be reinforced, so that the crop can be prevented from falling ill in the growth process, and the yield and the quality are improved; the pesticide composition has a broad-spectrum sterilization capability, can prevent the diseases caused by various germs, and particularly plays the role of forcefully killing the moulds; and according to the pesticide composition, the use dose is reduced relatively, and the using cost is lowered relatively; the pesticide composition is processed to be a water-based environment-friendly agent, such as the emulsion in water, the microemulsion, a suspending agent and a suspension emulsion, the use dosage of the organic solvent is reduced, and the safety of the pesticide composition is improved.


, 5 The interdependence of man and the environment in its holistic form needs a better understanding. This is necessary for the protection and improvement of the environment and the survival of man. There is undoubtedly a balanced relationship between man and the environment, this has to be maintained. For a long time, man cherished the concept that he was the master of the environment. This has been the most erroneous and damaging concept developed in respect to man-environment relationship. Environmental education is a necessary tool for taking appropriate decisions concerning the solution and prevention of environmental problems which are considered disequilibrium caused by certain factors in the established relationship between man, animals, plants and others. For a very long time, man's activities on the environment have become more pronounced in different spheres, culminating in serious environmental problems. Man therefore needs to be educated for the understanding, solution and prevention of these problems. This paper examines the need for environmental education and social ethics for the survival of man and understanding and improvement of the environment. & (2015). simulations transformative methodology in environmental Journal Transformative Education , 13 (1), 85-102. Knowledge-based environmental education has been consistently found to be limited in its effectiveness due to its small and indirect role in promoting sustainable behavior, while focusing on the impact of social context has been found to be more conceptually relevant. Transformative learning theory is positioned to be foundational to environmental education based on its increasing focus on promoting social activism through personal transformations. We suggest four criteria in the development of an effective transformative environmental education methodology. Methodologies should (1) focus on change and not just knowledge attainment, (2) reveal behaviors in a real-world context, (3) highlight internal and external influences on environmental behavior, and (4) include a problem-solving approach that demands a solution. Role-play simulations addresses these criteria and can influence the perspective change necessary to promote sustainable behavior. We the potential utility of integrating art into evaluations of environmental education outcomes, we adapted an existing drawing prompt and corresponding grading rubric to assess the environmental attitudes and awareness of children (ages 6-12) at summer camps in Athens, GA USA (n = 285). We then compared children's drawings with scores on a more typical survey instrument that measured similar outcomes, the Children Environmental Perception's Scale. Results showed that a drawing prompt was a practical and unique learner-centered tool for measuring distinct components of environmental attitudes and awareness. Findings also revealed different response patterns across the two instruments, highlighting the value of using multiple approaches (e.g. art-based and survey-based) to assess cognitive and affective aspects of children's environmental orientations. This study sought to investigate how North American EE practitioners from backgrounds ranging from formal and non-formal institutions think about their work. We focused urban environmental concerns of community education rather than reliance on academic opinion alone. Using Q methodology, the study identified five distinct perspectives that appear to represent different ways of prioritizing EE outcomes. All five perspectives were concerned with promoting sustainable living and improved human wellbeing, but the nuances suggest that an individual who adheres strongly to one may feel someone holding a contrasting perspective is working at cross-purposes. The authors suggest that understanding these perspectives can help reduce misunderstanding within the EE field. mixed-method project-based research results, significant gender difference in project-based effect on students' environmental Students defined project-based learning use in environmental education as an approach that is beneficial, enhancing creativity, encouraging research and providing permanent learning. Students this practice helped them define environmental problems more clearly and take on more active tasks in the solution process. We conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research studies published between 2010 that empirically evaluated the outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs for youth (ages 18 and younger) in an attempt to address the following objectives: (1) to seek reported empirical evidence for what works (or does not) in EE programming and (2) to uncover lessons regarding promising approaches for future EE initiatives and their evaluation. While the review generally supports consensus-based best practices, such as those published in the North American Association for Environmental Education's Guidelines for Excellence , we also identified additional themes that may drive positive outcomes, including the provision of holistic experiences and the characteristics and delivery styles of environmental educators. Overall, the evidence in support of these themes contained in the 66 articles reviewed is mostly circumstantial. Few studies attempted to empirically isolate the characteristics of programs responsible for measured outcomes. We discuss general trends in research design and the associated implications for future research and EE programming. This growth in scholarship makes this an opportune time to review and consolidate the knowledge base of the environmental education (EE) field. The purpose of this 51-chapter handbook is not only to illuminate the most important concepts, findings and theories that have been developed by EE research, but also to critically examine the historical progression of the field, its current debates and controversies, what is still missing from the EE research agenda, and where that agenda might be headed. Published for the American Educational Research Association (AERA).


In this paper, we give a cancellation-free antipode formula for the matroid-minor Hopf algebra. We then explore applications of this formula. For example, the cancellation-free formula expresses the antipode of uniform matroids as a sum over certain ordered set partitions. We also prove that all matroids over any hyperfield (in the sense of Baker and Bowler) have cancellation-free antipode formulas; furthermore, the cancellations in the antipode are independent of the hyperfield structure and only depend on the underlying matroid.


Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a secreted enzyme essential for regulating cholinergic neurotransmission at neuronal and neuromuscular synapses. In view of the altered expression of AChE in some central neurological and neuromuscular disorders with a probable genetic basis, we have identified the chromosomal location of the gene encoding AChE. Chromosomal in situ suppression hybridization analysis revealed a single gene to be at 7q22, a result which was confirmed by PCR analysis of genomic DNA from a human/hamster somatic cell hybrid containing a single human chromosome 7. The AChE gene thus maps to the same region in which frequent nonrandom chromosome 7 deletions occur in leukemias of myeloid cell precursors known to express the enzyme during normal differentiation.


Based upon the optical coherence superposition principle, a system to acquire light transmitted by a single-multimode fiber has been built. By collecting the optical interference images and using M...


The purpose of this study was to determine the experimental parameters under which commercially pure YBa2Cu3O7 (1237) powders would be converted into a single phase (1237) powder only. Carbon (present as carbonate) and impurity phase concentrations in the (1237) powder are very dependent upon the firing temperatures, heat-treating temperatures and times, and atmosphere, while the moisture concentration is not. YBa2Cu3O7 powder with about 0.03 wt/%, carbon, 0.03 wt% moisture, and low impurity phase concentrations was obtained. Moisture and carbon concentrations in heat-treated powders did not increase significantly after 48 and 72 h of exposure to air, respectively, and after 144 h of exposure they were less than 0.26 and 0.08 wt/%, respectively. The (1237) powder first reacts with moisture and then hydroxide reacts with CO2. Firing the as received powders in air led to the decomposition of the superconducting (1237) phase.


The properties of layer structures in Al x Ga 1 - x N/AlN interfaces were studied by employing first-principles total-energy calculations with density-functional theory. A structural transformation of Al x Ga 1 - x N overlayers from normal wurtzite structure to zinc blende structure was found when the compressive in-plane strain was between two critical values.


For this review, websites that provide relevant and interesting information on the recent Asian economic crisis have been selected. The amount of information available on the Web continues to expand at an incredible rate. The main problem remains, however, ie trying to identify the quality and accuracy of much of the information provided. In order to provide a comprehensive and balanced source of reference websistes have been chosen from four different types of sources, namely: international organisations; national governments; think tanks; and universities.


I consider research which explored the individual experiences of staff and students working in partnership as part of a three-year Change Programme which set out to improve student retention and success. The data revealed that there was a high level of consensus between staff and students in how they described their lived experiences and the impact that partnership working was having on them. Thus demonstrating how staff-student partnership as an ethos can challenge existing beliefs about HE and prompt both staff and students to adapt their practice to embrace new understandings of the other's perspective, to create a more favourable learning environment in which learning is optimised. An output from this study: Staff and Student Guide to Engagement through Partnership will be available for participants to discuss in an interaction session; its potential use as a tool to encourage others to buy-in to partnership working will be explored.


Poverty-stricken students identification is not only the key point of college financing work but also a difficult problem.According to the present existing problem during the process of Poverty-stricken students identification,based on the inherent characteristic of higher vocational college students.This article tries to construct a new sophistication model of Poverty-stricken students identification system,to permeate education into the supporting system and implement the combination of supporting system and cultivating function,by means of establishing scientific content,making index more meticulous and mobilizing the identification process.


We have investigated the structural and transport properties of filled skutterudites of the general form Ce/sub y/Fe/sub 4-x/Co/sub x/Sb/sub 12/. We show that the Ce occupancy of the cages is a strong function of the presence of cobalt, varying from an almost 100% filling for x=0 down to no more than 10% filling in pure Ce/sub y/Co/sub 4/Sb/sub 12/, i.e., for x=4. We demonstrate a strong suppression of the lattice thermal conductivity by both the "rattling motion" of Ce, and by alloying Fe with Co. We propose that the partially filled skutterudites can be viewed as solid solutions of fully filled CeFe/sub 4/Sb/sub 12/ and /spl square/Co/sub 4/Sb/sub 12/, where /spl square/ stands for a vacancy.


I n t h i s s t u d y , f o r t h e i n h i b i t i o n o f t h e a l u m i n u m a l l o y c o r r o s i o n i n 0 . 5 M N a C l s o l u t i o n , t h e r e h a v e m a k i n g p o l y m e r i z a t i o n o n t h e a l u m i n u m a l l o y A A 2 0 2 4 - T 3 and anodized aluminum alloy specimens respectively. Polymer coatings contain phenol-formaldehyde resin (acid-catalyst or base-catalyst) or poly-methyl methacrylate monolayer or poly-methyl methacrylate as ground and phenol-formaldehyde resin (acid-catalyst or base-catalyst) as topcoat or opposite. Potentiodynamic polarization was used to assess the ability of these polymers to provide an effective barrier to corrosion in chloride environments. For single layer coated sample on the bare aluminum alloy, poly-methyl methacrylate monolayer, can significantly enhance the corrosion resistance and improve the pitting corrosion resistance of the aluminum alloy. For double layer coated sample, with films consisting of a phenol-formaldehyde resin (acidcatalyst) layer over the top of a poly-methyl methacrylate layer on the bare aluminum alloy yielding the best results. However, poly-methyl methacrylate (acid catalysis)/ phenol-formaldehyde on the anodized aluminum alloy yielding the best results. It was found that the degree of protection was a function of the deposition order of the copolymer and pretreatment of aluminum alloy, which plays an important role for corrosion protection.


The hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has become one of the most promising vehicles in the automobile industry due to its energy saving ability and low emission of harmful pollutants. An HEV can recover energy from the wheels, which had been wasted in the past, and reuse it to propel the vehicle at low speeds during high acceleration. The technology used depends on the goals set for the vehicle, which includes fuel efficiency, power, driving range, or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed project deals with the design, fabrication and testing of control logic circuit for regenerative braking of hybrid electric vehicle, by using multi–quadrant DC chopper (MQDC) with MOSFETs acting as switches. Monostable multi–vibrator is being used for firing the MOSFETs. The triggering for monostable multi–vibrator is provided by using the square wave generator. Micro–processor is interfaced with hardware circuit to show various modes of HEV. To realise this logic, a dedicated software programme has been developed in 'C' language.


Abstract Diurnal rectal temperatures of lactating Holstein cows were utilized in a series of studies involving shade modifications with spray and fan in addition to herd data during winter and summer to derive a physiologic index. Physiologic stress degree hours was the product of hours of rectal temperature greater than 39°C. Rectal temperature of cows in shade averaged 39.5°C for 19.6 hours (774.5°C h) compared to 39.3°C for 12 hours (471.6°C h) for shade with spray. Nighttime rectal temperature of cows in both groups was 38.5°C, but milk production declined significantly for cows in shade only. In a follow‐up study, shade modification with spray and fan eliminated hours of rectal temperature above 39°C while rectal temperature averaged 39.4°C for 12 hours for cows in shade (471.8°C h). Rectal temperature of cows in different stages and intensities of milk production was similar during winter. On a record hot day (41.4°C), diurnal pattern of rectal temperature identified high producing cows in early lac...


Article presents ancient tradition about poisoning with bull's blood and the modern attempts of its explanation. Greek and Roman literary sources are compared with the ancient medical texts.


Obesity and its associated metabolic and cardiovascular disorders are among the most challenging health problems confronting developed countries. Not only is obesity remarkably common, affecting more than one-third of U.S. adults, and very challenging to treat, but it is also tightly linked to type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders. A major obstacle to effective obesity treatment is that lost weight tends to be regained over time (1). Although the mechanisms underlying recovery of lost weight are incompletely understood, a large literature suggests that body fat stores are subject to homeostatic regulation, and that this process occurs in obese as well as normal-weight individuals. From this perspective, obesity can be viewed as a disorder in which the biologically defended level of body fat mass is increased. Recent findings implicate inflammation in key hypothalamic areas for body weight control in this process. In this review, we present an overview of energy homeostasis—the biological process that underlies the control of body fat mass—and describe evidence that defects in this regulatory system contribute to obesity pathogenesis. We then address molecular characteristics of hypothalamic inflammation and their implications for obesity pathogenesis (detailed more extensively in refs. 2,3), followed by evidence linking high-fat diet (HFD) feeding to neuropathological alteration of key hypothalamic areas controlling energy balance. We conclude by considering how cell-cell interactions may contribute to this deleterious hypothalamic response and the implications of these interactions for obesity pathogenesis.


Aims. A long-timeline kinematic study of the archetypal compact symmetric object (CSO) OQ 208 sheds light on the physical properties of the most compact radio sources.


́ ́ Abstract. In the paper the simulation and measurements of temperature distribution and humidity in a room of smart building are discussed. Initially, mathematical model has been created. For this purpose ANSYS Fluent has been used. The simulation has concerned changes in solar radiation, temperature, humidity, air velocity and the real structure of walls, ceiling and the floor of the room. Then, the measurement results and simulation results have been compared.


We investigated primary and secondary psychopathy and the ability to detect high-stakes, real-life emotional lies in an on-line experiment ( N = 150). Using signal detection analysis, we found that lie detection ability was overall above chance level, there was a tendency towards responding liberally to the test stimuli, and women were more accurate than men Further, sex moderated the relationship between psychopathy and lie detection ability; in men, primary psychopathy had a significant positive correlation with the ability to detect lies, whereas in women there was a significant negative correlation with deception detection. The results are discussed with reference to evolutionary theory and sex differences in processing socio-emotional information.


The current state of the researches of irradiation technology on controlling food mycotoxin,pesticide,veterinary drugs and fishery drugs residue was summarized.And the degradation rate,mechanism,products and toxicities of food contamination were expatiated.The free radical from irradiation attack the site of weaker bond,and the less or more toxic substances were produced,which lead to the degradation of the food contamination.The limitations and future application of irradiation technique on controlling food contamination were also analyzed.


Abstract. Soil degradation is a critical threat to agriculture and food security
around the world. Understanding the processes that drive soil erosion is
necessary to support sustainable management practices and to reduce
eutrophication of water systems from fertilizer runoff. The erosivity of
precipitation is a primary control on the rate of soil erosion, but to
calculate erosivity high-frequency precipitation data are required. Prior
global-scale analysis has almost exclusively used ground-based rainfall
gauges to calculate erosivity, but the advent of high-frequency satellite
rainfall data provides an opportunity to estimate erosivity using globally
consistent gridded satellite rainfall. In this study, I have tested the use
of IMERG (Integrated
Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM, Global Precipitation Mission) rainfall data to calculate global rainfall erosivity. I have
tested three different approaches to assess whether simplification of IMERG
data allows for robust calculation of erosivity, finding that the highest-frequency 30 min data are needed to best replicate gauge-based estimates.
I also find that in areas where ground-based gauges are sparse, there is
more disparity between the IMERG-derived estimates and the ground-based
results, suggesting that IMERG may allow for improved erosivity estimates in
data-poor areas. The global extent and accessibility of IMERG data allow
for regular calculation of erosivity in a month-to-month time frame,
permitting improved dynamic characterization of rainfall erosivity across
the world in near-real time. These results demonstrate the value of
satellite data to assess the impact of rainfall on soil erosion and may
benefit practitioners of sustainable land management planning.


Using a matched employer-employee data set of manufacturing plants in three sub-Saharan countries, I compare the marginal productivity of different categories of workers with the wages they earn. If labor markets are efficient, the wage premiums associated with worker characteristics should equal the productivity benefits they bring. I find that equality holds strongly for the most developed country in the sample (Zimbabwe), but not at all for the least developed country (Tanzania). Differences between wage and productivity premiums are most pronounced for characteristics that with a large impact on human capital, such as schooling, training, and tenure. ∗Department of Economics, University of Toronto, 150 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G7, Canada, email@example.com. Funding by the Connaught Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.


Order is not a kind of external stress imposed on society but rather an inner-built balance.In public security,authority,criterion and object are the three main factors.Security authority and criterion contribute to each other in controlling the objects.In the mean time,the objects counteract the authority and the criterion.


This essay discusses the general problem in visibility analysis of mapping a building envelope, i. e., the physical membrane separating a building's interior from its exterior, onto a hollow sphere. A digital model of the building envelope is constructed as a perforated-wall model and a constructive method is introduced to produce a spherical map of the model. The construction of spherical maps provides a means of comparison between buildings and environments, and between vantage points within buildings. Possible future approaches are suggested here, including the superimposition of one spherical map onto another to test for similarities and differences. The Alcuin Library at St. John's University in rural Minnesota (USA), designed by architect Marcel Breuer, is used as a test case for the ideas introduced in this paper.


Thank you for reading essential guide to wireless communications applications from cellular systems to wap and m commerce. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their chosen readings like this essential guide to wireless communications applications from cellular systems to wap and m commerce, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious bugs inside their laptop.


The totality of all Zakharov–Shabat equations (equations of zero curvature with rational dependence on a parameter) form a hierarchy — GZS. Starting from an element of the Grassmannian we obtain expressions for the tau-functions of the algebraic-geometrical solutions of GZS in terms of theta-functions.


Global deforestation and global land degradation relative radiometric normalization of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data using an automatic scattergram - controlled regression land use and global environment conservation - a modelling approach a microcomputer based grassland local administration support system Earth science data and information technology network development in India monitoring of Himalayan cryosphere using satellite imagery assessing desertification in arid Australia using satellite data the integration of remotely sensed data into GIS automatic detection of forest fires using satellite images. (Part contents).


This paper provides microlevel evidence on how the enhanced monitoring of the equity market dampens economic cycles by suppressing banks' supply of household credit. Household credit expansion has been documented as the main driver of economic cycles. I exploit a regulatory experiment that randomly selected a group of listed pilot firms and removed their short-selling restrictions from 2004 to 2007. Some of these pilot firms are banks involved in residential mortgage origination. Using a difference-in-differences specification at the bank-county-year level, I find that the growth rate of portfolio mortgage origination is 25 to 54 percentage points lower for the treated banks. Textual analyses show declines in treated banks' short-termism and increases in their attention to mortgage risks. The effect on mortgage origination was stronger for banks with higher short-termism and lower attention to mortgage risks before the treatment period and was not driven by changes in bank financial characteristics or market attention. I do not find a similar pattern in business credit or securitized mortgages. Counties with higher exposures to the experiment experienced less deterioration in housing markets, unemployment rates, and per capita income during the Great Recession. The findings shed light on the role of the equity market in the stability of the real economy.


This study is based on sorne of the theoretical foundations of the functional-lexematic model as expounded by L. Martín Mingorance (1984, 1990), that integrates two descriptive models: Structural Lexematics, developed by Coseriu (1973, 197,7) and Geckeler (1971), and Dik's Functional Grammar (1978, 1989). Both models of analysis are complementary, since "they are based on complementary views of functionality" (L. Martín, 1990: 240). Lexematics, "an essentially paradigmatic model of lexical analysis" (L. Martín, 1990: 240), provides information of lexical field structure, organization in dimensions and subdimensions, analysis of distinctive features, isolation of archilexematic units, semes and classemes. On the other hand, Dik's Functional Grammar "provides a highly-structured development of the syntagmatic aspect of lexical units" (L. Martín, 1990: 240). In FG, each lexeme or basic predicate is represented in the lexicon by means of a predicate-frame, which contains information about its lexical form and category, its quantitative valence or number of arguments associated with the predicate, its qualitative valence, that is, the selectional restrictions and semantic role of each argument, and the state of affairs (basically actions, positions, processes and states) denoted by each predicate accbrding toa set of semantic parameters (dynamism, control, experience, etc.) (Dik, 1989: 91-99). As for the lexico-semantic definition of predicates, which is called the 'definiens', the method of 'stepwise lexical decomposition' "interrelates predicates sharing sorne semasiological space in a hierarchical order" (M. Morillas, 1986: 23), from more specific to more generic terms or vice versa. "The lower predicates are defined by means of the term immediately superordinate to them, plus a specification, generally expressed by means of an adverbial phrase" (L. Martín, 1984: 228).


Backscattering enhancement phenomenon has attracted considerable attention from radar engineering and remote sensing fields. This paper investigates the phenomenon by analyzing numerically the bistatic radar cross-section (RCS) of a conducting circular cylinder embedded in a continuous random medium. The RCSs of different size cylinders are depicted by changing the fluctuation intensity and thickness of the random medium. As a result, strong backscattering-enhancement and oscillation in the neighborhood of the backward direction are observed for a wavelength-size cylinder embedded in a strong random medium.


Brilliant green was used as a complexing agent in cloud point extraction (CPE) and applied for selective preconcentration of trace amounts of gold in geological matrices. The analyte in the initial aqueous solution was acidified with hydrochloric acid (0.1 M) and octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) was added as a surfactant. After phase separation, based on the cloud point separation of the mixture, the surfactant rich phase was diluted with methanol and the analyte determined in the surfactant rich phase by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). After optimization of the complexation and extraction conditions, a preconcentration factor of 31 was obtained for only 10 mL of sample. The analytical curve was linear in the range of 3–1000 ng mL−1 and the limit of detection was 1.5 ng mL−1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of gold in geological samples.


In the electronic commerce (e-commerce) environment, customer relationship management (CRM) is the core of e-commerce activities, and the customer in the CRM plays a vital role to the enterprise's development. Data mining technology can provide decision support for enterprises in the aspects such as the acquisition and maintaince of customers and the analysis of consumer satisfaction research research (CSR), to improve the market competitiveness of enterprises. This article tells the application of data mining techniques in some areas of CRM.


"Paralysis"is the central theme of Dubliners,one of the earlier works of the Irish novelist James Joyce.The author presents the theme not only through disclosing the narrow and moribund social reality of the 19th Ireland and the effect of such reality on the lives of Dublin people,but also through dissecting and displaying the inner nature and spiritu- al essence of these people.The latter gives the theme subtler and deeper illustrations.Mr.Duffy,the protagonist ofA Painful Case,is a good representative of the Dublin intellectuals.Thus,to base the analysis of the major theme"paralysis" on an analysis of this character,and of his life that typifies the spiritual life of Dublin intellectuals would help in the un- derstanding of the spiritual aspect of the theme.


In order to fully develop and utilize various kaolin resources,three deeper processing methods are adopted according to different characteristics of kaolin products resulted from beneficiation,impurity removal and bleaching.They are:(1) Roasting the fillergrade products followed by micropulverizing and surface improving to produce functional fillers;(2)Carrying out the reaction of roasted kaolin with hydrochloride acid under certain conditions to produce aluminium polychloride and white carbon black;(3)Synthesizing 4A zeolite with kaolin which can not be used as a high-grade paint for paper-making.


The unsteady computational method of wing aerodynamic characteristics in propeller slipstream is major objective of research.The establishment of single-propeller geometric model is referred to a Solar-powered UAV,and the propeller is a two-bladed design.High-quality unstructured numerical grid is generated by ICEM software with two computing domain,and the grid application compatible boundary conditions using sliding mesh method.The development of propeller slipstream and unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of wing in the propeller slipstream are analyzed.The results show that the numerical simulation method can be applied to the wing in the propeller slipstream efficiently,and has great engineering application value.


In this paper is a point of view of innovation as the main tool for achieving strategic competitiveness of agricultural enterprises. According to the authors the present state of economic environment, significantly discourages the development of innovation activities of major participants of the food market, focusing them on the organic, mostly extensive, the growth of that term, leading to low investment attractiveness and market value. Formulate proposals for improving the level of innovation of agro-industrial companies, including both the improvement of their business model and the necessary actions of regulators of the market.


In this paper we represent an efficient query optimization technique for the multi-valued rough relational database which follows the indiscernibility relation in its domain. This notion is perceived by using an encoding function to convert a multi-valued attribute to a constant single valued attribute. A simple select-querying technique is provided for selecting the tuples of single-valued attribute from a rough database .We extend the concept of query search to multi-valued attribute. .Here we use an encoding function to convert the multi-valued attribute to a single-valued constant attribute to optimize the query search and hence to reduce the response time.


Midcourse recognition of ballistic missile is one of the core problems in anti-missile early warning operations. Considering the variety of penetration means of ballistic missile, aiming at the attitude characteristics of missile in midcourse flight, this paper focuses on the analysis of five technologies suitable for the midcourse recognition of the warhead, such as the RCS sequence, establishes a Bayesian network model for midcourse recognition of warhead, and standardizes the conditional probability representation of the results of the five techniques according to the actual usage. Finally, the effectiveness of the model is verified by simulation experiments. Through the Bayesian network comprehensive recognition method, the warhead target can be recognized quickly and accurately, and the model has a certain fault tolerance. This model can provide a reference for the warhead recognition in the midcourse of anti-missile early warning combat.


This chapter presents an evocative passage that is found in the Second Thanksgiving written by St. Symeon the New Theologian. It offers a rich and quite precise account of this monk's experience of spiritual vision. It is notable that one of the most striking features of Symeon's writings is the very limited place granted to the material icon within his many discussions of the spiritual life. Given the importance of icons within the theory and practice of Orthodoxy, this lack seems, at first glance, to be surprising. The passage introduces some of the reasons as to why such neglect was necessary for Symeon's spiritual understanding. The chapter explores this gap between a visual spiritual economy and the icon itself. In so doing, it shows the degree to which Symeon's mystical writings were shaped by his rejection of a contemporary theological practice that was grounded in the logic of the visible.Keywords: icon; Orthodoxy; Symeon's mystical writings; theological practice; visual spiritual economy


The national oil company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin) has more than 5,000 idle wells. The company initiated a procedure for leasing these idle wells to small independent operators in July 1989 through a program known as the lease operatorship program. This paper reviews the status of lease operatorship activities, examines the benefits and the strategies adopted by the operators as well as some of the important issues involved, describes the requirements for external operatorship, and outlines planes for the future of the program.


Decision support system (DSS) plays a vital role especially in rural areas to develop rural sector for sustainable development and socio-economic uplifting of the country. To make appropriate decisions and to develop village economy, decision support system is useful for the mandal revenue officer, collector, Surpanch, and different administrators. It deals both spatial and non-spatial data at village level and comprises various ancillary information including mandal maps and village-wise information of Anantapur and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh such as number of houses, male and female, SC/ST/OBC/general (or) OC population, literate and illiterate population, total working and non-working population. Datasets are collected from district collector office, mandal revenue officer (MRO) and inserted in GIS database. This chapter makes an attempt to build features of various decisions at Anantapur and Kadapa districts by integrating various layers of information at village level. GIS-Based Decision Support System for Village Level: A Case Study in Andhra Pradesh


The holographically-formed polymer dispersed liquid crystal (H-PDLC) has been widely studied in recent years. In this paper, we analyze the major factors contributing to the efficiency of volume gratings base on the basic optical theory. With regard to the feature of the special exposure material-PDLC, we have conducted some experiments to investigate the impacts of four major factors, such as different recipes of PDLC, exposing time of PDLC cells, thickness of film and the degree of two laser beams, which contribute to obtain the higher diffraction efficiency. As a result, under the same conditions, it is found that the most significant affecting factor is the recipe of PDLC. The diffraction efficiency is enhanced substantially after new chemistry reagent is mixed into the polymer precursors. Shorter cure time and comparative smaller degree of two laser beams give rise to higher diffraction efficiency. Finally, using 17degree of two laser beams, 50mw power of laser with the wavelength of 441.6 nm and exposing time about 30 seconds, we can obtain about 90% efficiency of the H-PDLC volume grating. Furthermore, we researched the relationship between the applied voltage and the diffraction efficiency.


The influence of plant dispersion on movements of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptino tarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was studied with mark-recapture techniques. Beetles released between potato monocultures, polycultures with two additional non-host plant species, and polycultures with five additional non-host species, randomly colonized the three types of plots. Releases between different arrangements of potted host and non-host plants showed (1) greater beetle colonization and greater length of time spent on potato plants growing alone than on potato plants surrounded by non-host vegetation, and (2) no effect of potato plant density on colonization or tenure time. Overall, there was a 65~ recapture rate; beetles consistently stayed on the same plants they originally colonized, often for at least five days after release. ~luch recent attention in the field of herbivore-plant interactions has been focused on the relationship between various aspects of host plant dispersion (plant density and plant species diversity) and the popUlation dynamics of specialist herbivores (see review by Kareiva. in press). In particular, specialist herbivores are more abundant in monocultures or habitats with low plant diversity than in habitats with higher plant diversity (Root 1973, Bach I 980a. Risch 1980). Several recent studies have determined the mechanisms underlying these abundance patterns. Greater popUlation densities in simpler habitats result from dif ferences in herbivore movement patterns, rather than from differences in colonization, reproduction, or predation, at least for cucumber beetles, Acalymma spp. (Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) (Bach 1980b, Risch 1981). The purpose of the present study was to determine if another specialist herbivore spccies (the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say» responds to diversity in a similar manner. And if so, what role do herbivore movement patterns and tenure time (length of time remaining in an area) play in the relationship between plant dispersion and herbivore abundance? Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae) feeds exclusively on plants in the family Solanaceae, especially on Solanum species (Radcliffe 1982). This study will enable comparison between specialist chrysomelid beetles which have different life cycles. since eggs, larvae, and adults of the Colorado potato beetle occur on host plant leaves. whereas only adults of cucumber beetles (rootworms) occur on leaves. MATERIALS AND METHODS ~lark-recapture techniques were utilized to study the influence of plant dispersion on the movement patterns of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Beetles were collected in vegetable gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan, individually marked with Testor's paint (maximum of two dots per elytron), and released at the study site at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The University of Michigan, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Two basic types of releases were conducted: (1) releases between experimental plots, and (2) releases between potted plants arranged in different spatial configurations. Thirty beetles 1 Division of Biological Sciences. The University of Michigan. Ann Arbor. MI 48109. 1 Bach: The Influence of Plant Dispersion on Movement Patterns of the Col Published by ValpoScholar, 1982 248 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 15, No.4 were released equidistant from experimental plots in a mowed rye and clover field on 12 August 1981 (Fig. I). These plots were initially set up to study how natural colonization by Colorado potato beetles is affected by plant dispersion, but only one beetle naturally colon ized the plots, thus necessitating releases of beetles. There were three replicates of each of four treatments: (I) potato (Solanum tuberoslIm) monoculture, (2) melon monoculture, (3) potato, melon, and bean polyculture and (4) potato, melon, bean, com, tomato, and broccoli polycuiture. (Melon monocultures were utilized in a concurrent study of Acalymma vittatum.) The position of the four treatments was randomized and plots had been planted on 26-29 May 1981. In the first set of releases between experimental plots, L. decemlineata appeared to be very stationary. Thus, it was necessary to create smaller experimental plots. The use of greenhouse grown potted plants allowed a more controlled experimental design and ensured homogeneous plant quality. Potato plants were placed on the mowed rye and clover field in different arrangements. Plants were grown in an unsprayed greenhouse at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in 20-cm-diameter pots with a standard potting mixture soil. Potato plants (variety Katahdin) utilized in the experiments were at the flowering stage and were about 0.5 m high. Melon plants (variety Hale's Best Jumbo) had vines up to 1.5 m long. Experiments were conducted to answer the following questions: (I) Does the presence of a non-host plant species (melon) near a host plant influence colonization of host plants? This question was investigated with two different experiments. The first involved releasing 15 beetles on 7 September equidistant from a potato plant by itself and a potato plant growing next to a melon plant (Fig. 2A). The second experiment involved releasing II beetles on 8 September equidistant from two replicates of each of two treatments: a single potato plant and a potato plant with a melon plant on either side. with melon vegetation completely surrounding the potato plant (Fig. 2B). (2) Is there a difference in tenure time on host plants (potatoes) and non-host plants (melons)? On 7 September, five beetles were placed on a potato plant growing by itself, a potato plant growing next to a melon, and a melon growing next to a potato plant (Fig. 2A). (3) Does plant density influence colonization of host plants? Fifteen beetles were released on 9 September equidistant from two replicates of each of two treatments: one potato plant and three potato plants in separate pots, but touching each other (Fig. 2C). For each of these sets of experiments, all potato plants were searched for beetles for at least five days (six days for experiment 3 and seven days for experiment Ib) after the releases. The identification of each beetle and the particular plant and location were re corded.


In order to reduce the loss in production and guarantee the quality of tobacco, the mixed tobacco vibration screening technology was studied. It introduced a double-layer vibration sieve into the tobacco production of cigarette enterprise, realized two technical indicators that the screening efficiency is high and the false screening rate is low. Mixed tobacco screen effect is obvious, the dust content in cigarette fell down, the false screening rate decreased 62%, and the loss reduced 41%. It provides a very good reference for the research and application of vibration screening technology.


To achieve both goals of drastically reducing process monitoring and maintaining high product quality, CTM/D2 (California Technology and Manufacturing Group) at Intel has taken a new approach in monitor reduction in the 0.25 /spl mu/m Flash technology development and manufacturing. D2's new methodology stems from a fundamental mindset shift to a new paradigm: Engineering to the Least Process Monitoring. Intensive process monitoring only reflects deficiencies of quality in the process design. Without eliminating root causes, any monitor reduction will be limited and transitory. By the end of 1998, D2's new initiatives resulted in a 50% reduction in monitor cost per wafer, setting a new benchmark of cost effectiveness for flash technology manufacturing at Intel. Despite the aggressive monitor restrictions, D2 was able to meet the Flash technology certification goal on schedule. In addition, both line yield and die yield of the 0.25 /spl mu/m Flash technology reached record highs by the end of 1998. These records are unprecedented in Flash manufacturing at Intel.


ABSTRACT This study aims to determine adolescent attitudes towards trust Marapu in Sumba Timur Waingapu Nusa Tenggara Timur. This study uses qualitative methods. Three research subjects who are teenagers in Waingapu City, Sumba Timur. Data was collected through interviews and observation. Data analysis was performed using the technique of thematic Phenomenal Phsykologi Empherical procedures (EEP). Adolescent attitudes toward trust Marapu Waingapu City Sumba Timur, Nusa Tenggara Timur based cognitive component is known that most adolescent do have a fairly good knowledge about Marapu beliefs , but this does not affect the views and beliefs of the trust Marapu . Most of the youth in the region have a negative outlook and confidence to trust Marapu . Therefore , most of the teenagers are less interested in teaching Marapu . However , they argue that the trust actually Marapu not against religion and government regulations . Based on the affective component is known that the majority of adolescents do not attend the event and participate in the establishment Marapu teaching Marapu teachings. This does not make them feel guilty for Marapu teachings contrary to their religion . However , there are also adolescent who attended the event as well as participate in the establishment Marapu teachings Marapu teachings . There is a sense of guilt if not attended school Merapu because if not present then he was not able to understand Marapu teachings and values of the prevailing culture. Keywords: trust marapu, adolescent, attitude


This study aims to determine the Role of Land Deed Making Officials in Electronic Mortgage Registration. This type of legal research uses normative legal research. The approach used in this research is the Legislative Approach, Conceptual Approach and Case Approach. The technique of collecting legal materials was carried out by using secondary data collection methods, namely literature studies. The analysis of legal materials was carried out by qualitative data analysis and the conclusion of this study was to use the deductive method. The research results show that registration of Mortgage Rights with a certificate of Land rights that do not belong to the debtor can still be done manually. Likewise with the role of PPAT, PPAT continues to register and deliver the APHT itself along with the necessary files to the Land Office counters to be recorded in the land book so that later a certificate of Mortgage will be issued, and registration of Mortgage Rights through the HT-e system is not required to be implemented in every office. In terms of facilities, supporting data and human resources.


Pyrgomorpha vignaudii (Guérin‐Méneville, 1849) is a pest of a wide variety of crop plants in Africa. To facilitate the search for a sustainable strategy against this pest, we have studied the post‐embryonic development, morphology and reproduction on Manihot esculenta in the laboratory. Five‐hundred and two larvae at the first stage of development obtained in the laboratory were individually reared in cages. Post‐embryonic development passed through seven stages. The total number of days spent for larval development varied from 77 to 108. The mean duration of development of stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 larvae were, respectively, 16.48 ± 0.43, 14.40 ± 0.55, 13.70 ± 0.61, 15.07 ± 0.84, 15.21 ± 1.31 and 16.21 ± 1.27 days. After the final molt, the females of P. vignaudii take an average of 12.7 ± 1.04 days before the first mating. The time between the first mating and first oviposition ranged from 14 to 34 days (averagely 25.2 ± 4.62 days). The females realized one to nine ovipositions during their lives. The number of eggs per egg‐pods (ootheca) varied from 16 to 93 with a mean of 45.31 ± 3.51. Our results provide valuable information for the search for a control strategy against P. vignaudii.


This paper proposes a new on-line signature verification technique which employs gradient features and a pooled within-covariance matrix of training samples not only of the user but also of the others. Gradient features are extracted from a signature image reflecting the velocity of pen movement as the grayscale so that both on-line and off-line features are exploited. All training samples of different signatures collected in design stage are pooled together with the user's samples and used for learning within-individual variation to reduce required sample size of the user to minimum number. The result of evaluation test shows that the proposed technique improves the verification accuracy by 4.9% when user's sample of size three is pooled with samples with others. This result shows that the samples of different signatures are useful for training within-individual variation of a specific user.


For the 4σ = 360° space-charge resonance in high intensity linear accelerators, the emittance growth is surveyed for input Gaussian beams, as a function of the depressed phase advance per cell σ and the initial tune depression (σo – σ). For each data point, the linac lattice is designed such that the fourth order resonance dominates over the envelope instability. The data show that the maximum emittance growth takes place at σ ≈ 87° over a wide range of the tune depression (or beam current), which confirms that the relevant parameter for the emittance growth is σ and that for the bandwidth is σo – σ. An interesting four-fold phase space structure is observed that cannot be explained with the fourth order resonance terms alone. Analysis attributes this effect to a small negative sixth order detuning term as the beam is redistributed by the resonance. Analytical studies show that the tune increases monotonically for the Gaussian beam which prevents the resonance for σ > 90°. Frequency analysis indicates tha...


The participation of the community in increasing voter participation in theelection of regional head elected by regional head election, can be considered orviewed as social problem in society, of course, the social problem has its owncause for the society itself.


During the autumn of 1975, the Iowa Department of Environmental Quality conducted a study to determine the impact of the open burning of leaves on local air quality in the Des Moines (Iowa) metropolitan area. The results of the study show that open burning can cause excesses of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulates and carbon monoxide in heavily populated residential areas.


1 The cattle egret eats large numbers of insects, mostly grasshoppers and caterpillars, but also ticks, crickets, spiders, and flies that are stirred up by cattle and wild animals. In West Africa, the cattle egret only nests in the Gao tree (Faidherbia albida). Oral history tells of vast flocks of cattle egrets combing through crops and darting between cattle hoofs in pursuit of insects in the recent past. Egrets hunt for pests for free and without leaving toxic hazards. As an added blessing, egrets deposit nutrient rich droppings in their wake.


Hamlet's insanity is a controversial topic which scholars have debated about for centuries. This thesis makes a tentative application of the Relevance Theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson in the interpretation of Hamlet's insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Relevance Theory is the foundation of cognitive-pragmatics. A multi-level cognitive-pragmatic analysis of the cognitive environment of the characters and the relevance of the characters' verbal communication helps to reveal the inner thoughts of the characters and unfold the artistry of Shakespeare's language, which Hamlet verifies that Hamlet just feigned insanity and also proves the applicability of Relevance Theory in the analysis of dramatic language.


The proliferation of Open Access (OA) journals has provided authors of scholarly works a choice in how their works are published and archived. In doing so, open access journals have become competition for the mainstream so-called Toll Access (TA) journals. Some of these traditional journals have therefore realized the potential of offering authors and institutions their own open options and thus formed hybrid OA journals. This article will examine in detail exactly what a hybrid OA journal is and whether or not it qualifies as truly offering an open access option for authors. It will also determine the reasons that traditional journals have gone hybrid and it will take a look at how successful they are. Lastly the article will explore the impact that hybrid OA journals have on the open movement to determine whether they support or undermine it.


Abstract : This guidebook provides practical guidance on why software capability appraisals are performed and how to prepare for them. It incorporates lessons learned from past and recent Software Development Capability Evaluation (SDCE) appraisals and provides example instructions and an initial set of questions to be tailored for a specific program. Also provided are new questions and criteria for evaluating the contractor's processes for developing COTS software-based systems.


We examine US banks' use of available-for-sale (AFS) securities to smooth their earnings during the most recent macroeconomic business cycle from 2001 to 2010. We contribute to the accounting literature by investigating the interaction between the macroeconomic environment and the income smoothing activities of US banks, and find four main results: First, our empirical results show evidence that US banks use AFS securities to smooth earnings. Second, we find that the realized gains and losses on AFS securities can predict the future core earnings of a bank, consistent with the signaling hypothesis of income smoothing (e.g. Barnea et al., 1975; Bartov, 1993). Third, we report evidence that US banks are more likely to smooth income when the general macroeconomic environment is favorable (good times) than when it is unfavorable (bad times). Fourth, our tests demonstrate that the signaling power of AFS securities for future core earnings tend to be higher during bad times than good times.


This study is designed to evaluate and select the best S1 maize top cross lines to continue their process of inbreeding. Nineteen top crosses samples were examined from three contrasting environments (two places from Tamaulipas and one place from the Central High Valleys of Mexico) during 2008. These S1 lines were derived from native populations of four ecological zones of Tamaulipas; one tester from the High Valleys was used. Some top crosses had high yield as well as favorable agronomic traits, though these varied between environments. Some had better performance in Northern Tamaulipas, mainly the tropical groups 1 and 2 that are from hot and dry climates. In the High Valleys these groups had lower yields compared with the top crosses groups 3 and 4. Group 1, the top cross of I-C3001-2915-2 with high yield in the Central and Northern Tamaulipas environments (2.4 and 5.8 t ha-1, respectively) was outstanding. In the High Valleys, the top crosses from group 3 (from the Tamaulipas Huasteca, a hot, and humid climate zone) had yields of 7.4 to 8.5 t ha-1 and from group 4, the top cross of IV-C4031-2939-5(C) yielded 8.8 t ha-1. The S1 lines being evaluated show potential for those top crosses with better grain yield and earliness, indicating good combining ability. It has been suggested that the S1 lines are better to continue the inbreeding process, planning test crosses and field assessments in the environments where they had better performance.


In this article we present a case report of a synchronous squamous cell carcinoma in both tonsils of the oropharynx without neck metastasis. Furthermore, we indicate that synchronous cancers are not that rare, and that special care should be taken when examining a patient with a squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx.


The study used the remote sensing method (Sentinel 2) to analyze the sunflower crop and to estimate the production. The study area was within the DES, ULS 'King Mihai I' from Timisoara, Romania. Eight series of images were taken (April 06 - August 07, 2022). Based on the spectral information, the NDMI, NDVI, NPCRI and NBR indexes were calculated. Spline models best described the variation of index values in relation to time (t, days) during the study period, ε = −0.04286 for NDMI, ε = 0.01172 for NDVI, ε = 0.00537 for NPCRI, respectively ε = −0.08481 for NBR. Very strong correlations were found between NDVI and NDMI (r=0.975), between NBR and NDMI (r=0.997), and between NBR and NDVI (r=0.967), p<0.001. Strong correlation was recorded between NDVI and NPCRI (r=-0.881), p<0.01. Moderate correlations were found between NDMI and t (r=0.729), between NBR and t (r=0.752), between NPCRI and NDMI (r=-0.776), and between NBR and NPCRI (r=-0.762), p<0.05. The regression analysis facilitated the estimation of the production based on calculated indices, under conditions of statistical safety.


The chief original feature of the teaching practiced in the cathedral schools of the first half of the 12th century was its loose institutional organization. Thus the concept of the network is a useful analytical tool which allows us to evaluate people's mobility. In the case of the the ecclesiastical province of Reims, the cathedral schools of Reims and Laon made up a network of schools that extended beyond the national borders, with exchanges between the two schools. The other cathedral schools are less well known and played a more modest role. Tracing the mobility of the scolares also involves observing the mobility of ideas within the society of the time: an examination of careerism and the circulation of writings shows us how the scholastics were responsible for the circulation of certain values. Thus we see how the cathedral schools, especially Laon, played a crucial role in the adoption of the Gregorian Reform by the clerics.


The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between the strong and the "weak" or intuitionistic negation in Nelson algebras. To do this, we define the variety of Kleene algebras with intuitionistic negation and explore the Kalman's construction for pseudocomplemented distributive lattices. We also study the centered algebras of this variety.


Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) film in the crystalline state was nitrogen doped using the reactive sputtering method in order to increase sheet resistance. High-resolution x-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed that molecular nitrogen (N2) existed in the N-doped GST film. This finding implies that both molecular nitrogen and atomic-state nitrogen should be taken into account in understanding the structures of N-doped GST film. The molecular nitrogen is believed to exist at interstitial and vacancy sites, and more likely at grain boundaries.


The need for good quality information on climate and its future changes has become increasingly important for society. Of particular interest are analysis and predictions of rainfall at pertinent spatial scales. An option is the use of regional climate models (RCMs) as a physics‐based downscaling tool to retrieve higher spatial resolution information from coarser present and future climate datasets. In order to verify if simulations provide added values that result in an appropriate representation of the state of climate at finer spatial resolutions, the adoption of RCMs requires prior optimization. The performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model RCM in simulating precipitation over Indonesia is examined by a series of sensitivity experiments using different parameterized convective physics. Among four tested schemes, the best performance is provided by the Betts‐Miller‐Janjic (BMJ) parameterization. RCM multiannual seasonal rainfall bias outperforms or matches the reanalysis. Modeled results provide added value in simulating rainfall‐related climate indices but show low skill in recreating the annual rainfall pattern at monthly resolution. RCM precipitation exhibits complex spatial response to different ENSO phases, with El Niño conditions resulting in a general loss of model skill during the southern hemisphere spring. A series of regional climate simulations using the BMJ convective scheme forced by a future climate projection dataset show changes in rainfall aligned with previous studies.


The European Commission has just published a communication, in order to advise the 27 state members to integrate Media Education in the curricula of all schooling levels. The objective of this initiative is to create opportunities so that students and teachers might be specific trained in order to become critical consumers and reflexive producers of media messages. This paper deals with the design, production, validation and use of the CD-Rom "Vamos fazer jornais escolares" and shows the first results of a research conducted during two years where the CD-Rom was used with students, aged 11-16, so that they could produce media messages for the school newspaper either for the printed or on-line editions. Key-Words: Multimedia CD-Rom, Media Education, Media Literacy, Citizenship Education, Educational Technology, Critical Readers. 1 Media Literacy' urgency The European Commission has just published a document which advises all member-states to insert Media Education in the curricula at all levels. This decision aims to start a process in order to approach Europe to countries like Australia, New Zealand or Canada, in which the inclusion of Media Literacy in the curriculum is recognized [1]. Before putting the document forward the European Union organized a public pole on-line between October and December 2006 with the objective of identifying good practices on Media Education. One hundred and three organizations took part in it [2]. In May 2006, eight institutions from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom went ahead with the production of the European Charter for Media Literacy. The main aim of this document, signed, thereafter, by dozens of people and institutions, is "to support the establishment of media literacy across Europe" [3] The charter refers to the need to alert the media, policy-makers and citizens of the importance of media literacy which will allow the citizen to i) become better acquainted with media technologies and different types of contents; ii) make better informed choices since it stimulates a critical approach to the analysis and appreciation of the media; iii) to develop creativity and use the media as a form of expression and participation in public debates [4]. And what, exactly, is media literacy? For Media-educ this type of education takes on a critical and practical nature, giving main priority to cognitive development and understanding. Its aim, therefore, is to "develop knowledge and understanding of one or more media forms, and it is likely to include both critical and practical activity" [5]. This is something justifiable when the objective is to keep citizens informed and capable of reflecting on media messages instead of accepting them without a second thought. Indeed, as Buckingham mentions "the media do not offer a transparent window of the world". What they do offer are selective versions and representations of that same world [6]. Nowadays literacy is understood as a plural concept. It is something that develops in environments that allow people to: i) express their ideas; ii) learn effectively; iii) participate in written form, characteristics of democratic societies; iv) share knowledge. Within this broader vision of literacy we consider two aspects: a) the broadening of the concept implies that literate people acquire more and more training and information to keep pace with literacy; b) traditional media and electronic or new media are a constant presence in these rich environments where literacy develops. It is common sense to say that information is delivered trough media. So, it is important to develop the skill to analyse critically the media messages. Each citizen should be able to produce messages expressing his/her points of view, using media. Ferry and De Proost support this idea saying that the citizen should be able to criticize through media [7]. It is important to support what Gonnet calls "education aux medias" [8], so that all citizens should use what authors, like Buckingham, call "media literacy". "Media education is the process of learning and teaching about media; media literacy is the outcome – the knowledge and skills learner acquire" [6]. The need for media literacy is consensual. Gonnet defends that training should begin at the age of five [9]. Clemi (Centre de Liaison de l' Enseignement et des Moyens d' Information) and the French Ministry of Education consider it is possible to initiate literacy at nursery school. Nevertheless, they conclude that more research and ways of making media literacy effective are necessary. "Les activites liees a l'education aux medias restent encore largement inovantes" [10]. Nowadays, the media are used in schools but there continues to be confusion between using the media and educating for the media. Remy points out the cases in which there is no media education, but rather "l intrumentalisation des medias" [11] and goes on to criticize the fact that the school combines the media with its traditional lesson solely to make it more motivating. In the same way, Hobbs also alerts: "Educators often mistakenly believe that they are engaged in expanding the concept of literacy when they use television to teach with and few understand that media literacy consists of teaching about media in addition to teaching with it" [12]. Mediappro study refers that the appropriation of new media (Internet, mobile media) by the young people does not follow a common pattern to all countries. It identifies, however, a number of factors that influence it: i) motivation; ii) parents' influence in the use of new media iii) technical and communicative skills; iv) time availability; v) access; vi) socio-cultural context; vii) information from other media [13]. Media will influence the appropriation of other media by the young people. The greater appropriation the better is the communication, receiving and producing messages. Mediappro refers that the new media facilitate the contact among people and cultures, but alerts "the skills needed to meet the eyes of others and to communicate with them in curiosity and respect are more complex than the handling of computer techniques". And concludes: "This is a challenge for school today" [13].


This paper proposes a new on-line monitoring method.On the condition of the laboratory, the dynamic simulated test is experimented to compare the analog flue gas and inhibitor to prevent scale, and treatment cooling water by flue gas has feasible.The results of the test data have showed that the adding flue gas is superior to adding inhibitor on recirculation cooling water system in some aspects.At the same time,the conclusions have proved that the feasibility of the method is verified by experiments.


Digital holography provides the direct access to the interference phase. This basic quantity of interferometry can be used for the measurement of 3D-coordinates and 3D-displacement fields of objects subjected to a certain kind of load. For the inspection of objects which cannot be accessed directly such as hidden surfaces inside a cavity endoscopic systems are applied. In this paper a miniaturized sensor is described that can be fixed at the distal end of a flexible endoscope. The sensor head integrates all components of a holographic interferometer including the CCD-camera as well as the beam splitting and guiding components for three illumination directions using glass fibers. An optimized design of the interferometer setup makes it possible to measure the 3D components of the measurement quantity with high accuracy. After a short introduction to the principles of digital holography and 3d-displacement measurement the basics of perturbation theory are presented. This theory is applied for the design of the interferometer and finally some consequences with respect to the statistical error analysis are discussed.


The enclosure (1) has two side walls (3) and a front wall (5) intended to form the enclosure, where the front wall includes a gate (7). A bar (11) is attached by an attachment point at each of the side walls, so as to maintain a constant distance between the attachment points. The bar is placed remote from the end wall and towards the inside of the enclosure, so as not to impede a calf or a person when moving the gate. The bar is placed at the ground level, so as to avoid discomfort to the movement of the calf or the person within the enclosure.


Demand‐side changes, stimulated by higher levels of consumer awareness and sophistication, have combined with supply‐side changes, mainly induced by legislation, to create a difficult climate for banks. Lacking clear strategic direction and being undifferentiated, they find themselves competitively disadvantaged, particularly in cost terms, against the building societies. There is a difference in the way in which consumers perceive banks and what they expect from banks – i.e. a convenient money transmission service ‐ and the aspirations of many banks to be one‐stop providers of financial services. Suggests that relationship banking may offer a way forward but this requires a better understanding of marketing, organizational flexibility and a clearer customer focus. This poses major organizational, customer and employee challenges.


Traditional strategic management focuses on securing organizational assets and maximizing resources through top-down leadership and the formation of competitive strategies to advance market position, meet performance objectives, and gain competitive advantage. Top-down bureaucratic paradigms are not well suited for gaining an edge in the knowledge economy, and in many cases, these strategic behaviors are counterproductive. There is a growing need for alternative ways of thinking about strategic management and human resource development. Complexity science provides a new framework for 21st century strategic management. The complex responsive processes approach to strategic management strengthens employee engagement, knowledge creation, and organizational learning, and it improves performance, achievement of long-term competitive advantage, and strengthens intellectual capital.


The paper describes an indoor autonomous wheel robot which could move safely in an obstacle environment. The environment may involve any number of arbitrary shape and size obstacles, and the path may be very complex. We describe an approach to solving the motion-planning for mobile robot control by using neural networks based on information fusion technique. In the article, the physics model of the mobile robot was set up, and the sensors used in the avoiding obstacle of the mobile robot were selected. As the indoor environment information couldn't be exact by single sensor, we proposed that using a multi-sensor system for the mobile robot avoiding obstacle. At last, we selected multiple ultrasonic sensors and infrared sensors. In order to predigest the calculation, the measurement data are to be classified and selected. The fuzzy neuron network information fusion based on the T-S model is used to avoid obstacle for the mobile robot, which fully utilized the information coming from the sensors. Finally, the experiment with the autonomous robot proved that the method is really feasible and efficient.


This study aims to develop a noninvasive prenatal test on the basis of the analysis of cell‐free DNA in maternal blood to detect fetal aneuploidy at chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y.


The initial value problem for a reaction-diffusion system with discontinuous nonlinearities proposed by Hofbauer in 1999 as an equilibrium selection model in game theory is studied from the viewpoint of the existence and stability of solutions. An equilibrium selection result using the stability of a constant stationary solution is obtained for finite symmetric 2 person games with a 1/2-dominant equilibrium.


Background: Mass media plays a significant role in strenghring the rural resources of the individual as well as the whole society and motivating the families for the adoption of new technologies. Mass media like Television, News paper, Radio, Magazines are playing a key role in information dissemination to rural population of the community. It may be more effective if the centers of information sources, their availability and utilization pattern is known to media planners. Taking this drawback, the present study was conducted with the objective to know the utilization pattern of information sources among the families residing the rural areas of Kacchehriya village of Varanasi district. Most of the village populations were engaged in vegetable production. Total agriculture land was approximately100 acre of the village with population of nearly three thousand.


The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) type of knee implant usually has high contact stress, often higher than the yield point of UHMWPE tibial platform, which results in wean. As wear progresses, the polyethylene meniscus component becomes successively thinner, and the wear debris or particles will accumulate on the dished surface of the meniscus. In this study, a novel design concept of using a convex meniscus shape is generated using "theory of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ)", so that the wear debris or particles will not accumulate on the surface of the meniscus. In the meantime, the geometry of the sliding surface of the meniscus remains concave in the A-P direction to conform to the shape of the femoral component. The contact surface between the femoral component and the meniscus are designed as "double enveloping surfaces" to provide a smooth sliding interface with a large contact area. After the novel design concept is generated, the detailed dimensions and the interface surfaces between the components are then carefully designed. The motion of the new knee prosthesis is simulated using a kinematics computer simulation software and compared with that of a four-bar linkage system replicating the polycentric motion of a real knee joint.