Background and Aim: Salmonella spp. are an important group of pathogens responsible for human and animal diseases. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify and characterize of Salmonella spp. isolated from broiler farms of Gazipur, Tangail, and Dhaka districts of Bangladesh. This study also evaluated the difference of Salmonella positivity status between two groups of farms, good practices adapted in broiler rearing at the project intervened farms, and non-project intervened traditional farms. Materials and Methods: A total of 352 samples including 128 cloacal swabs, 32 whole carcasses, 64 feed, 64 water, and 64 attendants' hand rinses were collected through convenient sampling technique from 16 poultry food safety project of Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations Bangladesh intervened farms and other 16 non-project intervened farms in the same location. Various cultural based techniques and biochemical methods were employed for the estimation of prevalence, isolation, and identification of Salmonella spp. which was further evaluated by polymerase chain reaction. Antimicrobial susceptibility test using disk diffusion methods and serogrouping by slide agglutination test was accomplished for additional characterization. Results: Among the samples, an overall prevalence of Salmonella spp. was 31.25% (110/352) (95% confidence interval [CI]=26.44-36.38%). However, the prevalence of Salmonella spp. was 24.43% (43/176) (95% CI=18.28-31.47) in project intervened farms and 38.07% (67/176) (95% CI=30.87-45.68%) in non-intervened farms. Among the 110 isolates, 31.82% (35/110) were fitted under serogroup B, and the rest of the isolates 75 (68.18%) under serogroup D. Of 110 isolates, 82.72%, 77.27%, 81.82%, and 79.09% were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, norfloxacin, and streptomycin, respectively. In addition, 81.82% and 80% isolates were resistant to erythromycin and tetracycline, respectively. Isolated Salmonella spp. presented moderate resistance to both amoxicillin and azithromycin. Alarmingly, 80.91% (89/110) isolates were shown to be multidrug-resistant Salmonella spp. Conclusion: The study has presented a significant variation of the prevalence of Salmonella spp. between project intervened and non-project intervened farms, and this indicates project intervened farms are comparatively safer than the non-intervened farms considering public health and food safety grounds. This research outcome also has highlighted a substantial proportion of poultry origin multidrug resistance Salmonella spp. is a potential source of public health hazards. In this regard, proper awareness creation and motivational activities on good agriculture practices in poultry rearing and maintaining good personal hygiene at the farmers' level are warranted through participatory training.


Stop to smell the roses Some roses smell beautiful, yet others only look beautiful. Magnard et al. leveraged this distinction to study the biosynthesis of geraniol, a monoterpene alcohol in rose scent (see the Perspective by Tholl and Gershenzon). Enzymes known for geraniol synthesis in other plants, such as basil, did not seem to provide that function for roses. Instead, a diphosphohydrolase, which functions in the cytoplasm of cells in rose petals, generates the geraniol emitted by fragrant roses. Identification of the enzyme and its gene enables marker-assisted breeding to put the perfume back into beauty. Science, this issue p. 81; see also p. 28 Roses that are showy may not be fragrant if this enzyme is missing. [Also see Perspective by Tholl and Gershenzon] The scent of roses (Rosa x hybrida) is composed of hundreds of volatile molecules. Monoterpenes represent up to 70% percent of the scent content in some cultivars, such as the Papa Meilland rose. Monoterpene biosynthesis in plants relies on plastid-localized terpene synthases. Combining transcriptomic and genetic approaches, we show that the Nudix hydrolase RhNUDX1, localized in the cytoplasm, is part of a pathway for the biosynthesis of free monoterpene alcohols that contribute to fragrance in roses. The RhNUDX1 protein shows geranyl diphosphate diphosphohydrolase activity in vitro and supports geraniol biosynthesis in planta.


We revisit the standard methodology for evaluating proximity to urban services and recommend enhancements to address existing limitations. Existing approaches often simplify their measure of proximity by using large areal units and by imposing arbitrary distance thresholds. By doing so, these approaches risk overlooking vulnerable, access-poor populations – the very populations that such studies are often trying to identify. These limitations are primarily motivated by computational constraints. However, recent advances in computational power, open data, and open-source analytics permit high-resolution proximity analyses on large scales. Given the impetus for equitable accessibility in our communities, this is of fundamental importance for researchers and practitioners. In this paper, we present an approach that leverages these open source advances to (a) measure proximity using network distance at the building level, (b) estimate population at that level, and (c) present the resulting distributions so vulnerable populations can be identified. Using three cities and modes of transport, we demonstrate how the approach enhances existing measures and identifies service-poor populations where the previous methods fall short. The proximity results could be used alone, or as inputs to access metrics. Our collating of these components into an open source code provides opportunities for researchers and practitioners to explore fine-resolution, city-wide accessibility across multiple cities and the host of questions that follow.


The separation of CO 2/N 2 mixture using the gradient tubular membrane of diatomaceous earth was studied. It was found that the CO 2 molecule was adsorbed affinitively on the diatomaceous earth membrane. The diatomaceous earth membrane gave the high separation factor with low flux. The increasing of the pore size of the membrane or the concentration of the CO 2 resulted in the decreasing of the separation factor and increasing of the flux. The gradient diatomaceous earth membrane had special microstructure in which the pore size of the membrane was decreased gradually from large to small along radial. The high gas permeating flux and high separation factor can be obtained using this kind of gradient diatomaceous earth membrane. The suitable CO 2 concentration was lower than 15%(V). The separation factor of CO 2 and N 2 was 4 3 with the flux of 3 2 x10 5 mol·s 1 ·m 2 ·Pa 1 on the diatomaceous earth membrane of 0 1μm pore size under 10% CO 2 concentration.


The present research investigated the comparison of Rorschach responses of 152 male Catholic seminarians with the expected norms for the general adult population. The seminarians were also divided into two groups, 98 persisters and 54 leavers. A comparison of Rorschach responses between these groups was made by means of a univariate analysis of variance. Personality correlates of these responses were proposed and discussed. Results indicated that a majority of seminarians' responses differed significantly from the norms and suggested that seminarians are introversive, non-conforming, and not at ease in their ability to maintain interpersonal relationships. They tend to be anxious but with adaptive ego strength which is less rigid than expected. They also tend to have more blatant sexual content and less self-devaluation than expected. Results also indicated that persisters differed from leavers mainly in amount and quality of anxiety. Anxiety for leavers appeared related to aggressive impulses pushing for expression while persisters experienced anxiety over a lack of emotional fulfillment related to need for affection and interpersonal relationships. Difficulties in the homogeneity of groups and further study were discussed.


Pyrimidine auxotrophic basidiospores of Pleurotus sajor-caju were selected using positive selection method. Wild type basidiospores could not grow on minimal medium containing the pyrimidine analog 5'-fluoro-orotic acid (5'-FOA) whereas pyrimidine auxotrophs grew normally. After treatment of basidiospores with ultraviolet light, a total of 13 pyrimidine auxotrophic basidiospores were isolated among 24 5'-FOA resistant mutants. These mutants require the pyrimidine such as uracil, cytosine, thymine. Mating type group and growth rate of their mutants were determined.


Skin biopsy of a 50 year old Moroccan male patient with labial and oro-pharyngeal plasmocytosis showed hyperplastic, with papillomatous eroded epithelium. Dense infiltrates of plasma cells were seen in the dermis, with perivascular prominence. Hypopharynx, epiglottis, adenoids, and tonsils showed the same type of infiltration. Immunofluorescence (IF) and peroxidase antiperoxidase (PAP) techniques demonstrated the presence of mostly and infiltrate of plasma cells showing IgA (30 – 40%), IgM (20-30%), IgG(10-20%) after staining with polyclonal antibodies along with T4 & T8 Iymphocytes with monoclonal staining. Electron microscopy showed absence of atypical plasma cells with abundant endoplasmic reticulum. Patient's symptoms of stomtitis, dysphonia and pharyngitis were temporarily relieved by systemic corticosteroids of plasma cells suggesting a reactive type of benign plasmocytosis.


Some events become seared in the public imagination. Others are side notes or back page stories or no story at all. Some lives are rendered grievable and others deemed somehow less so, an occasion to shake one's head in dismay but not to dwell deeply. And some stories are taken up by the media and, like a mirror (maybe even a distorting, funhouse mirror), held up as momentous signs of social decay, or redeeming justice, or racist bigotry, or antigay animus, or national pride, or local shame. Jennifer Petersen's ambitious and compassionate book, Murder, the Media, and the Politics of Public Feelings: Remembering Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., examines just how certain heinous events become made to mean and how they "work" at both national and local levels. It is a testament to how iconic and enduring these murders became that—almost 15 years later—the memories of both are fresh and powerful. Many of us, particularly those of us living in one or more of the communities so victimized, remember both of these murders: James Byrd Jr., a middle-aged Black man in Jasper, Texas, was beaten by three White men and dragged behind a truck for 2 miles; and just a few months later, Matthew Shepard, a gay White college student in Laramie, Wyoming, was similarly beaten by two White men and left for dead, trussed up to a fence by the side of a road. Like many others, I found myself crying at the Capitol in Washington, DC, during the moving memorial for Matthew Shepard and avidly watched The Laramie Project in its theatrical incarnation and its HBO airing. I remember the articles, the books, and the news coverage. But, tellingly, my memories of the Byrd murder are hazier, or at least less formed by media discourses and public displays of mourning. This book goes a long way to explaining that discrepancy, shaped not only by my own particular racial and class and sexual identities but by larger forces that mediated these events to differentiated publics; it does so in a rich, complicated, and nuanced way, not stopping with the most obvious recognition of the race and class realities that played out in the media coverage of both crimes but instead digging deeper into the "politics of public feelings."


Demonstration experiments indicated that when available potassium in soil was lower than 150mg/kg applying potash to maize, millet, wheat and potato could improve plant growth, enhance their ability of resistance increase the yields greatly. The yields of maize, millet, wheat and potato were increased by 8.5%~16 3%, 10.6%~17 8%, 9 8%~16 4% and 14 6%~22 3% respectively. The appropriate amount of potash fertilizer for maize and wheat was 120~180kg/hm 2, for millet was 150~225kg/hm 2 and for potato was 225~300kg/hm 2. Potash fertilizer should be applied to the soil with low level of available potassium and to potashphilous crops. It is appropriate to apply base fertilizer with methods of drill applying and hole applying.


Introduction: The structure of a large organic molecule [end-capped quinque-thiophene (EC5T)] was investigated by surface x-ray diffraction (SXRD). The structure formula is shown in Fig.1. Polythiophenes are model systems for light emitting diodes and have been intensively studied in the past by different methods such as by scanning tunneling microscopy and (STM) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) [1], however, detailed structure analyses revealing the coordinates of the atoms within the unit cell have been carried out only recently for EC4T and uracil-derivatives [2].


In general, irrigation by surface methods is the most common to supply crops with frequent application of water. Pressurized irrigation systems have been introduced in Egypt to develop new irrigation technology suited to limited water supply as well as to specific topographic and soil conditions. In this study, a field experiment was carried out in the Agricultural Experimental Station of the Desert Research Center, Maryut, Alex. Governorate during the two successive seasons of 2006 and 2007 .Five methods of irrigation were studied: , gated pipe(GP), surface drip irrigation, one line of drippers for one line of plants(D1:1) ,  surface drip irrigation ,one line of drippers for two lines of plants(  D1:2 ), sub surface drip irrigation, one line drippers for one line of plants (SD1:1) and sub-surface drip irrigation, one line of drippers for two lines of plants (SD1:2) .The irrigation methods were  conducted  under three water quantities (100%,70% and50%) of reference ETO calculated by modified Penman- Montieth equation ,with two soil water depletion levels (30% and 50%) of available water .The statistical analysis revealed  highly significant increases in all the studied parameters with increasing water quantities. The maximum fresh weights i.e. ,41.73,41.51and39.66 ton/fed./ were obtained  with SD1:1,D1:1and GP, respectively under water quantity 100% ( Q1) and soil water depletion 30% ( D1),in the year 2006 while the maximum dry masses of 8.23,8.2and 7.9 ton/fed. Respectively were achieved under SD1:1, D1:1and GP with Q1and D1 .In 2007, the maximum fresh   masses were, 42.55, 41.85and 40.53 under D1:1, SD1:1 and GP, while the maximum dry weights were 8.4, 7.98 and 7.27 ton/fed respectively .under D1:1, GPand SD1:1 with Q1and D1. The study showed that water use efficiency decreased by increasing quantity of the applied water.
KW: WUE, Evapotranspiration, Sub-Surface Drip Irrigation (SDI), Drip Irrigation (DI), Gated Pipe (GP), Soil depletion.


A novel compact internal antenna combining a monopole and a parasitic planar inverted‐F antenna type of structure is presented. Based on voltage standing wave ratio <3:1, the operation bandwidths are 42% from 704 to 1083 MHz and 57.7% from 1660 to 3000 MHz to cover LTE700/GSM850/900/DCS1800/PCS1900/UMTS/LTE2300/LTE2500 for mobile phones. The proposed antenna is designed and printed on printed circuit board with compact size of 60 × 15 × 1.2 mm3. Measured average low band efficiency is about 60% and high band efficiency is about 70%. The simulated specific absorption rate at required frequency is less than 1.0 mW/g. Both antenna size and performance showed that this antenna has great potential for slim phone applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:247–252, 2015


This paper adresses the under-explored relationship between women's structures and union democracy and argues that women's structural progress is mediated by an enduring patriarchal oligarchy and an associated struggle to access power resources.


Research has shown that a solid visual arts program provided to students throughout the K-12 years increases academic achievement, increases self-confidence and selfconcept and provides opportunities for students to tap all their intelligences. However, recent budget cuts and the high stake testing on Mathematics and English Language arts at all grade levels demanded by the No Child left Behind Act has led to elimination of art programs across the country leading to less student involvement in the visual arts. It is clear that the public, administrators, parents, teachers and the larger community have little or no knowledge regarding the potential benefits of an art program to the student well rounded education. My research which relied on content analysis of archival data investigates strategies through which teachers and other stakeholders can advocate for the visual arts to ensure they are accorded the same respect other core subjects enjoy!


Resilience means a kind of positive and constructive ability to adapt oneselves reasoningly when people are in adverse situations,which would harm them physically and mental. The development of teenagers'resilience is playing a crucial role in building a harmonious society. The fact that positive psychology and resilience can match each other ,as we can see from a new angle,will help to provide a positive model of how to develop teenagers'resilience. This model is beneficial to develop teenagers'optimism and better their self-protection consciousness. It is an effective way to develop teenagers'resilience by constructing a positive society and bettering the protection factors with the help of positive psychology.


Objective: To assess if adductor and psoas release is effective in prevent hip displacement in quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy pacients, Gross motor V. Methods: A retrospective study with 26 patients who had psoas and adductor release was analyzed. Reimers Index before and after surgery was analysed. We divided the patients into two groups: surgery made in patients above five yars and after five years of age. Results: With a follow up of seven years, most of the patients of both groups had Reimers Index controlled by the surgery proposed. Conclusion: Adductor and psoas release was effective in controlled hip displacement in quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy patients, Gross Motor V. The age at the time of the surgery does not influence in the result.Reimers Index up to 70% and asymmetric hip not had good results.


In Binary Threshold Public Good (BTPG) games, n players have binary choices: cooperation or non-cooperation. If at least k players cooperate, a public good is produced. The case k = n is the Stag Hunt game with the two pure strategy equilibria E1 (all players cooperate) and E0 (no player cooperates). In four rather diverse examples of four-player Stag Hunt games, three prominent concepts of equilibrium selection favor E0. Experiments, however, result in cooperation frequencies between 70.3% and 99.7%. Also for k < n , the selected equilibria clearly differ from experimental behavior. We interpret our observations by suggesting the concept Behavioral Equilibrium Selection.


Hadronic systems are characterized by unrestricted conversion of energy into particles and by the spatial extension of the particles. Investigating a system of hard-core particles with free creation and annihilation, we show that with increasing energy density this leads to a phase transition from a state of abundant production and high mobility (''hadron gas'') to a state in which both creation and mobility are strongly restricted (''hadronic solid''). Such hadronic solids could thus be considered in terms of weakly coupled quark matter.


During the industrial revolution women's wages were substantially lower than men's. This article documents the wage gap and shows that in most cases it can be explained without reference to wage discrimination. First, the wage data we have overestimate the wage gap; correcting for biases due to measurement error reduces the size of the wage gap. Second, because differences in productivity were substantial, the corrected wage gap is consistent with these.


AbstractThis work proposes a deterministic and a probabilistic constructive heuristic for solving the project scheduling resource availability cost problem with tardiness (RACPT), as well as a new ...


It is now well established that the developing embryo is very sensitive to oxidative stress, which is a contributing factor to pregnancy-related disorders. However, little is known about the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the embryonic cardiovascular system due to a lack of appropriate ROS control method in the placenta. In this study, a small molecule called 2,2-azobis(2amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), a free radicals generator, was used to study the effects of oxidative stress on the cardiovascular system during chick embryo development. When nine-day-old (stage HH 35) chick embryos were treated with different concentrations of AAPH inside the air chamber, it was established that the LD50 value for AAPH was 10 μmol/egg. At this concentration, AAPH was found to significantly reduce the density of blood vessel plexus that was developed in the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of HH 35 chick embryos. Impacts of AAPH on younger embryos were also examined and discovered that it inhibited the development of vascular plexus on yolk sac in HH 18 embryos. AAPH also dramatically repressed the development of blood islands in HH 3+ embryos. These results implied that AAPH-induced oxidative stress could impair the whole developmental processes associated with vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Furthermore, we observed hyperplasia in the HH 40 heart following AAPH treatment, where the left ventricle and interventricular septum were found to be thickened in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, oxidative stress, induced by AAPH, could lead to damage of the cardiovascular system in the developing chick embryo. The current study also provided a new developmental model, as an alternative for animal and cell models, for testing small molecules and drugs that have anti-oxidative activities. As antioxidants are divided in different categories, we have conducted to investigate the antioxidant capability of different nature compounds combined with the methods of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), cellular antioxidant activities (CAA), and chicken embryo model.


A detailed understanding of propagation impairments likely to be encountered on a given path is one of the factors needed in transmission link design to provide satellite service at the quality customers demand. This paper sets the background to INTELSAT's need for propagation information, gives the focus of recent INTELSAT Nu- and Na-band measurements, and provides some of the results and conclusions of these measurements


At first, the paper puts forward that the investor relation management of Chinese domestic listing companies is in an important phase. Then, the paper defines investor relations and investor relations management,designs an elementary investor relations management model. Finally, by evaluating the investor relations column of Chinese domestic listing companies websites among 400 samples, the article demonstrates that there are many problems in the investor relation column of Chinese domestic listing companies′ websites. The paper presents a relatively complete sample of investor relations column.


Research the response of flowering to mineral elements through measuring the contents of mineral elements, the sum of female-flower and outputs in different cultivars of Castanea mollissima BL. The results show that there is a marked difference in contents of mineral elements for different cultivars. C/N controls flowering and is positively responsive of the sum of female-flower and outputs in different cultivars, and photosynthetic rate can affect the value of C/N. In addition, output is related with compound mineral element (N×P×K) that promotes the photosynthetic rate.


Chronic itch is a common and severe debilitating disease in our population with a significant health burden. Pharmacological treatments despite widely used has not been satisfactory especially in managing anxiety and stress...


This article evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group within a community mental health team. No significant change was found, which may be a result of the outcome measures used in this study.


A review of the literature relating to women's current status in the profession of librarianship points to the high proportion of male librarians compared to women in senior library positions. While women's initial entry into librarianship was dependent on their conformity to a feminine model, their success today is measured against the male work standard. Some of the explanations explored in the literature as to women's lack of achievement in the profession (in terms of their under-representation in the higher administrative positions) focus on issues such as women's role within the private sphere, their personalities, career breaks, the different values women and men place on their jobs, and institutional discrimination. The current status of women librarians in Brisbane academic libraries was examined against this background.


The results of an experimental and theoretical study of consolidated, acid‐cleaned fused glass beads are presented. Measurements of the spin‐lattice lifetime, permeability, and capillary pressure curves in conjunction with digital analysis of scanning electron microscope images and theoretical modeling lead to a description of this porous material consistent with the fast diffusion picture of nuclear magnetic relaxation.


In a connected group of finite Morley rank in which the generic element belongs to a connected nilpotent subgroup, proper normalizing cosets of definable subgroups are not generous. We explain why this is true and what consequences this has on an abstract theory of Weyl groups in groups of finite Morley rank. The only known infinite simple groups of finite Morley rank are the simple algebraic groups over algebraically closed fields and this is a motivation, among many others, for a classification project of these groups. It borrows ideas and technics from the Classification of the Finite Simple Groups but at the same time, and it is a highly nontrivial task, it provides a kind of simplified version of the finite case. This is mostly due to the existence of well-behaved notions of genericity and connectivity in the infinite case which unfortunately can hardly find finite analogs. The present short technical note deals with a very specific topic concerning such arguments based on genericity in the case of infinite groups of finite Morley rank, showing at least similarities with algebraic groups in any case as far as a theory of Weyl groups is concerned. This applies also to certain non-algebraic configurations of groups of finite Morley rank, which may not be entirely unexpected. In a simple algebraic group, maximal (algebraic) tori are conjugate and cover the group generically, with the Weyl group governing essentially the structure of the entire group. There are at least two abstract versions of tori in groups of finite Morley rank and which coincide at least in the case of a simple algebraic group, decent tori on the one hand and Carter subgroups on the other. The main caveat with these two more abstract notions is in both cases an unknown existence, more precisely the existence of a nontrivial decent torus on the one hand and the existence of a generous Carter subgroup on the other. In general "generous" for a subset of a group means "whose union of conjugates is generic in the group", the typical property of tori in algebraic groups. With both notions there are conjugacy theorems in case of existence, or more precisely there are conjugacy theorems with nontrivial contents in case of existence. This gives a natural notion of Weyl group in each case, N(T )/C(T ) for some maximal decent torus T or N(Q)/Q for some generous Carter subgroup Q. In any case and whatever the Weyl group is, it is finite and, as with classical Weyl groups


We reanalyze the Chandra ACIS spectrum of the kpc-scale jet in PKS 0637–752 to investigate the possible low-energy cutoff in the relativistic electron spectrum producing the nonthermal radiation in the scenario of inverse Compton (IC) emission off the cosmic microwave background. This was among the first objects targeted by the Chandra Observatory and gives a unique opportunity to study the low-energy X-ray emission free of detector contamination. As previously reported in the literature, the spectrum can be fit by a power law, with the slope predicted by the radio spectrum, modified by low energy absorption through the Galaxy as determined from the spectrum of the quasar core and by Hi 21 cm observations. We obtain a marginally better fit with a model of IC emission produced by an electron population that exhibits a cutoff at γmin δ10 between about 50 and 80 (assuming Γ = δ). This range for γmin is higher than has previously been assumed in broadband spectral fits to the jet emission. The observed optical flux can be used to place a lower limit on γmin; the constraint is not very strong, but does suggest that γmin must be higher than 1 to avoid overproducing the optical emission. We investigate the effect of uncertainties in the column density for galactic absorption as well as the calibration of Chandra for these early observations. Finally, we discuss the implication of these limits on the jet luminosity in this source.


In order to provide culturally competent care to North Carolina's American Indian population, health care professionals must understand the influence of their own experience and perspective on their work. They must also take the time to learn the importance of history, land, and culture for their American Indian clients.


This study's goal is to examine which factors of augmented reality (AR), the fruit of future technologies, help to improve learning effects, and to reveal the relationships between those factors. To this end, we examined previous studies and selected five factors that can influence learning effects in augmented reality based learning. We discovered the effectiveness structure of media utilization in augmented reality based learning through an investigation of the relationships between those factors. The five factors selected were: sensory immersion, navigation, manipulation, presence, and flow. A questionnaire was formed based on these research questions, and a survey was conducted on 290 fifth-graders at two elementary schools. A total of 272 cases were examined for this study (incomplete and unreliable responses were excluded) and these were analyzed using a structural equation model. The results showed that with the exception of navigation, all factors such as sensory immersion, manipulation, presence, and flow had a meaningful influence on satisfaction, knowledge & understanding, and learning effects of application. In particular, the manipulation factor was proven to have a direct effect on satisfaction and the application aspect of learning effects, indicating that strengthening manipulation through the tangible interface of augmented reality can be an important factor in the areas of learning satisfaction and application. In addition, sensory immersion was proven to have a meaningful influence on immersion in learning and learning effects. In terms of learning effects, the application of augmented reality media was shown to have a greater influence on application factors than on knowledge & understanding.


NCS (National Competency Standards) has emerged as an issue of great importance amongst Korean universities and corporations. Although previously used mostly for vocational education purposes at colleges, NCS is currently receiving an increasing amount of attention from 4-year universities as well. In the ever-evolving information economy, the basic workplace skills defined by NCS, which include soft skills such as communication skills, problem-solving skills, and interpersonal skills, have now become more important than specific technical skills. This study analyzes the correlation between the basic workplace skills of NCS with participation in Formula SAE activities, a common component of Capstone design courses across North America and Europe. Data are derived from site visits to Formula SAE competitions, competition-related documents drafted by student participants, and questionnaires administered to student participants at the Formula SAE Lincoln completion and at the Korea KSAE competition. From the study findings, we claim that the basic workplace skills of NCS are closely correlated to participation in Formula SAE activities. Through a survey designed to measure the degree to which Formula SAE activities can enhance an individual's NCS Basic Workplace Skills, we find that these activities overall improved NCS basic workplace skills averaging 4.0 points above in the Likert 5-point scale. For reference the mathematical skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills displayed statistically significantly correlation with NCS but the remaining 7 skills did not show a statistically strong correlation with NCS comparatively.


This article presents research that aims to identify waste reduction methods used in the construction industry in relation to the following materials: steel, concrete, masonry products, finishing products (i.e., ceramic, and stone tiles), and wood and the dependence between the use of these methods and the size of the construction company. The research is based on surveys conducted amongst construction site managers in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. In the research, 13 methods of reducing construction waste were analyzed using Pearson's independence test and the SPSS-26 software. Methods of reducing construction waste were identified. The study determined the frequency with which waste reduction methods in each material group were used, depending on the size of the company. Amongst the 13 methods analyzed, the ones which demonstrate a relationship between frequency of methods and size of the company were identified (for all groups of materials): the use of monitoring systems, reuse of materials within the construction, use of prefabricated elements, adequate storage, and engagement of subcontractors. In the case of the other tested methods, no such relationship was found.


Over the last few decades, in-place recycling of asphalt pavements has seen increased use by the highway industry, primarily to take a dvantage of potential cost and logistical savings compared to conventional reconstruction. More recently, the U.S. Navy and Federal Aviation Administration have allowed recycling to be used on airfields with lighter traffic. This report contains a discussion of in-place recycling design considerations obtained from a literature review of its use in the highway industry. Observations developed from a review of airfield pavement projects that have utilized recycling is also included. A structural analysis was performed using the Pavement-Transportation Computer Assisted Structural Engineering (PCASE) tool to determine typical stiffness values that recycled layers must achieve to support various types of military aircraft traffic for different pavement structures. Overall, in-place recycling is recommended for consideration as a rehabilitati on technique for military airfield pavements, and further investigation is recommended before it is implemented it into design guidance.


The microchannel heat sink (MCHS) has the advantages of small heat transfer resistance, high heat transfer efficiency and small size, which exhibits good heat transfer performance in the field of active heat dissipation of electronic devices integrated with high heat flux density. In this paper, the application of MCHS in thermal management is reviewed in recent years, and the research progress of microchannel topology on enhancing heat transfer performance is summarized. Firstly, the research progress on the cross-sectional shape of the microchannel shows that the heat transfer area and fluid flow dead zone of the microchannel is the keys to affecting the heat transfer performance; Secondly, the microchannel distribution and the bionic microchannel structure have a great role in enhancing heat transfer performance, especially in microchannel temperature uniformity; Thirdly, the disturbing effect caused by interrupted structures in microchannels such as ribs and concave cavities has become a hot topic of research because it can weaken the thermal boundary layer and increase heat dissipation. Finally, the commonly used MCHS materials and cooling media are summarized and introduced. Based on the above reviews of MCHS research and applications, the future trends of MCHS topologies are presented.


The placement of edge computing server is the key to the rapid development of edge computing. We propose prediction-mapping-optimization heuristic based on resource requirements forecasting for server placement in edge computing. Through this algorithm, we divide the task into multiple subtasks, and then realize the mapping of subtask-location of server, and finish the information interaction between the servers and the data source through the data naming mechanism proposed by us. With the goal of the lowest cost of service providers, we propose a cross-region resource optimization model and obtained the final server placement strategy.


Starting from the comparison between traditional supply chain and modern supply chain, the origin and concept of modern supply chain are gradually revealed in terms of time scope, market environment, operation mode, management mode, management responsibility and wisdom level. Further the paper illustrates the connotation of the modern supply chain from four aspects those are strategic positioning, production mode, achieving the goal and green development. Finally, the paper further conceived the definition of the connotation of modern supply chain, the deep integration of the Internet of Things, and the measurement of new kinetic energy in the modern economic system, and pointed out the direction for further exploration.


Radio show interview of expert in economics, on the role of central banks, and how various strategies result in inflation, deflation, recession and depression. Helps individual investors understand some of the current forces at work on the dollar and the euro, and retirement savings.


This paper introduces three kinds of organic thermal insulation materials SBI tests.According to the test results and phenomenon,potential fire risk of the three kinds of organic thermal insulation materials were analyzed and compared.It turned out that the combustion performance of phenolic plate is better than that of graphite polystyrene board,which is better than that of XPS board.The influence factors and precautions during SBI tests were also proposed.


The laminar fully developed flow and heat transfer through a rectangular duct of a viscous incompressible Robertson–Stiff fluid is investigated. Robertson–Stiff fluids are time independent non-Newt...


Tourism and globalization are considered as drivers of economic growth since they boost income, job opportunities, infrastructural development, international trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, and technological diffusion. However, the economic benefits of tourism and globalization could occur at the expense of increased energy consumption (from fossil fuels) and other pollution-intensive activities that worsen environmental degradation, especially in countries with lax institutions and environmental standards. The roles of tourism, globalization, and their interaction term on environmental degradation have not been thoroughly investigated. Hence, this study analyzes the moderating role of globalization on the impact of tourism on environmental degradation (carbon emissions and ecological footprint) in 31 African countries using different dimensions of tourism and globalization. It uncovers the marginal effect of tourism on environmental degradation at different levels of globalization. It utilizes strategies that account for cointegration, dynamism, endogeneity, heterogeneity, cross sectional dependency, and causality. Evidence from this study shows that globalization and its dimensions play favorable moderating roles on the impact of tourism on carbon emissions. The marginal effect of tourism on carbon emissions decreases as globalization increases, suggesting that a simultaneous increase in tourism and globalization can mitigate carbon emissions. However, no evidence to show that globalization can mitigate the environmental impact of tourism on ecological footprint. The findings differ probably because carbon emissions and ecological footprint measure different aspects of environmental degradation. This analysis emphasizes the need for countries to consider the interaction between tourism and globalization in their quest to ensure environmental sustainability. JEL Classification: F64, Q53, Z32


The rate of the package is affected by the free particles in the packaging cavity seriously during the packaging process.The control of free particles is the primary resolving method to improve rate of the package.This paper analyzes the reasons of how the free particles produced in the packaging cavity during the packaging process,and put forward the control ways to these reasons.


A UAV data processing and management system is provided including an encoder broadcaster and data manager which provides end users with a single interface for searching and sharing any video or imagery source, from any device with no client software required. Data inputs to the resource can include UAV video, photos, traffic cameras, fixed surveillance systems, iOS and Android device pictures, and other data (e.g., texts, emails) and inputs from all forms of social media, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. The cloud based manager is built with collaboration and sharing in mind while at the same time maintaining data privacy, security protection, chain-of-custody control and audit trail maintenance. Analytic tools are integrated accordingly as ''plug-ins'' or as a store of available app resources which are easily removed, added and customized based on user needs and system requirements and cost constraints.


The pollution characteristics of current atmospheric particulates was summarized in the present investigation. The composition and proportion of the pollution sources used for dirt pickup resistance and stain removal test were adjusted, and the pollution sources used for new type dirt pickup resistance and stain removal test produced. In addition, a new dirt pickup method was adopted, and a set of new type laboratory dirt pickup resistance and stain removal tests developed by taking comprehensive consideration of the existing state and dirt pickup mode of actual atmospheric particulates. It verifies the rationality, feasibility and effectiveness of new test methods for dirt pickup resistance and stain removal based on the contrast test over the new and old test methods.


Amynander of Athamania first appears in our sources in 209 B.C. and last appears in 189 B.C. In whatö follows I shall discuss two episodes from within this period.


The synthesis technology of 7-hydroxyflavanone was described.Using m-dihydroxybenzene as original materials,7-hydroxyflavanone is synthesized by F-C reaction,Claisen-Schmidt cyclization and hydrolysis reaction.The total yield of the four synthesis steps is 21.4%.Its chemical structure is identified by 1H NMR,mass spectrometry and elemental analysis.


Precise muon wave functions are calculated by solving the Dirac equations within a method based on modern neural networks and stochastic optimization techniques. The reduced radial wave functions (up and bottom) of a bound muon in muonic atoms are then given as linear combinations of the well behaved sigmoid functions. As concrete applications, the known muonnucleus overlap integrals, which determine the structure and evolution of muonic atoms (twobody quantum systems bound together due to the fundamental electromagnetic interactions), may accurately be calculated. In this work, the muon-nucleus integrals for a set of nuclei including the 28Si and 64Zn entering the ordinary muon capture rates are exactly obtained through numerical integrations using Gauss integration algorithms.


In the diffraction of visible light by a dielectric microcylinder packages of evanescent waves always arise. However, a single-wave incidence corresponds to rather small impact of evanescent waves outside the cylinder. In this paper, we theoretically show that a symmetric pair of plane waves impinging a glass microcylinder corresponds to much higher impact of the evanescent waves. Namely, the interference of the evanescent waves with the propagating ones results in the suppression of the electromagnetic field in an area with very small cross section. This area is located in free space at a substantial distance from the {rear side of the microcylinder and along its axis}. It may serve a linear optical trap for cold atoms and ions.


Objective To determine the content of total flavonoids in different parts of Berberis heteropoda Schrenk and to study the antioxidant activity so as to provide references for efficient utilization of the herbal plant.Methods We determined the total flavonoids of Berberis heteropoda Schrenk by UV-Vis spectrophotometry,evaluated the antioxidant activity of the extracts from different parts of Berberis heteropoda Schrenk in scavenging DPPH radicals,hydroxy radicals and oxygen radicals.Results The contents of total flavonoids were richer in fruits of Berberis heteropoda Schrenk than in stem bark and root bark.In addition,the extracts from the fruits of Berberis heteropoda Schrenk showed higher antioxidant activity than the stems.Conclusion The extracts of Berberis Heteropoda Schrenk show antioxidant capacity,thus can provide a basis for the development of natural antioxidants.


Objective To discuss the effect of purulent moxibustion on Zusānlǐ(足三里ST 36)point on the clinical symptoms and life quality of patients with malignant tumor.Methods Sixty patients with malignant tumor were divided into an observation group and a control group with 30 cases in each group.The observation group was treated with purulent moxibustion on Zusānlǐ(足三里ST 36)in combination with herbal medicine;the control group was only treated with herbal medicine.After 80 days,the changes of the clinical symptoms and KPS of the two groups before and after the treatment were observed.Results The effective rates for the improvement of lassitude,poor appetite and insomnia in the observation group were 72.4%(21/29)、75.0%(15/20)、71.4%(15/21),and those in the control group were 42.9%(12/28)、55.6%(10/18)、42.9%(6/14),and there was no statistical significance of diffe-rence between the two groups(P0.05).KPS has statistical significance in the two groups after the treatment(P0.01),and the observation group was higher than the control group.Conclusion Purulent moxibustion on the point of Zusānlǐ(足三里ST 36)has certain effect to improve the clinical symptoms of patients with malignant tumor,and raise KPS and upgrade the life quality of patients.


Three new α-pyrones, scirpyrones A–C (1–3), and four new pyranes, scirpyranes A–D (4–7), were isolated from solid cultures of the plant pathogen Pestalotiopsis scirpina. Their structures were elucidated primarily by NMR experiments. The absolute configurations of C-7 and C-2′ in 1, C-7 in 2, and C-6 and C-7 in 3 were deduced on the basis of circular dichroism (CD) data, whereas those of the secondary alcohols in 4–7 were determined by a modification of Mosher's method. Compound 1 is the first described 6-(5-oxotetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-2H-pyran-2-one. Compounds 4–6 showed significant cytotoxicity towards MCF-7 cells.


We propose a fair and efficient incentive mechanism to stimulate the node cooperation. Our mechanism applies a fair charging policy by charging the source and destination nodes when both of them benefit from the communication. To implement this charging policy efficiently, hashing operations are used in the ACK packets to reduce the number of public-key-cryptography operations. Moreover, reducing the overhead of the payment checks is essential for the efficient implementation of the incentive mechanism due to the large number of payment transactions. Instead of generating a check per message, a small-size check can be generated per route, and a check submission scheme is proposed to reduce the number of submitted checks and protect against collusion attacks. Extensive analysis and simulations demonstrate that our mechanism can secure the payment and significantly reduce the checks' overhead, and the fair charging policy can be implemented almost computationally free by using hashing operations.


1. Introduction: Denis J. Galligan (Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies). 2. Sociology and the Stereotype of the Police: Paul Rock (London School of Economics). 3. A Critical Survey of Law and Economics in the UK and the role of the Oxford Centre: Anthony Ogus (University of Manchester). 4. Remembering 1972: The Oxford Centre in the Context of Developments in Higher Education and the Disciplines of Law: William Twining (University College London). 5. Horatio's Mistake: Maureen Cain (West Indies). 6. The Challenges of Socio-Legal Research: Shari Diamond 7. Global Approaches in the Sociology of Law: Volkmar Gessner (Bremen). 8. On Old and New Battles: Obstacles to the Role of Law in Eastern Europe: Andras Sajo (Central European University). 9. Being Social in Socio-Legal Studies: Peter Fitzpatrick (University of Kent). 10. Contested Communities: Richard Abel (UCLA). 11. The Future of Socio-Legal Research with Respect to Environmental Problems: Michael Faure (Limburg). 12. Geoffrey Stephenson (University of Kent). 13. What Socio-Legal Scholars should do when there is too much Law to Study: Robert Kagan (Berkeley). 14. The Last Word: Stewart Macauley (Wisconsin-Madison). Bibliography. Index.


The Magnificat has often been said to be modelled upon the Song of Hannah. Taking into account the body of Mary's canticle (Luke 1:51-53) and that of Hannah's canticle (1 Kgdms 2:4-8), we have compared specific social conditions, which entirely pervade them. The aim of our article is to underline how the Magnificat and the Song of Hannah take on the tones of social hymns, hymns against the abuse of power and injustice, hymns employing strong reversal imagery and socio-political language.


The names of three genera of fossil Neuroptera are found to be junior homonyms; we propose the following substitute names: Glottopteryx nom. nov. for Glottidia Bode, 1953; Hongosmylites nom. nov. for Sinosmylites Hong, 1996; and Jurosmylus nom. nov. for Mesosmylus Panfilov, 1980. The family-group name Glottidiidae Bode, 1953 is unavailable and should be considered nomen nudum. The spelling of the family name Osmylopsychopidae Martynova, 1949 (not Osmylopsychopsidae) is grammatically correct and available. The family affinities of these fossil genera are briefly discussed: Glottopteryx may belong to Prohemerobiidae or Osmylopsychopidae; Hongosmylites to an undetermined psychopsid-like family; Jurosmylus with confidence to Osmylidae; Sinosmylites Hong, 1983 is most probably a member of Prohemerobiidae.


Objective To investigate the clinical significance of applying pubic symphysis separation with reconstruction plate.Methods Retrospect 30 cases of patients definitely diagnosed as fit for pubic symphysis separation with reconstruction plate in People′s Hospital of Jiaoling.The ADL score of pre-surgery and post-surgery were analyzed to evaluate efficacy.Results All of the observers were followed averagely in 18 months.The records show that post-surgery was obviously decreased compared with pre-surgery in the ADL score below 40,while post-surgery was significantly improved compared with pre-surgery in the ADL score among 40 to 100.Almost all the patients have better life quality and little complication diseases after surgery.Conclusion The efficacy of pubic symphysis separation with reconstruction plate is steady and obvious,so that it can be recognized as a safe,economical,efficient method worthy of popularize.


BackgroundAlthough there has been a decrease in mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, new pediatric infections still occur especially during the postnatal period. Prevention of vertical transmission is a key strategy in reducing the incidence which is 15-30% during pregnancy and delivery and 5-20% during breastfeeding. Early infant diagnosis and prompt initiation of antiretroviral are among some of the interventions that help to reduce the risk of transmission.ObjectivesThe purpose of the study is to assess the prevalence of HIV infection and the socio-demographic characteristics of HIV exposed infants presenting to KATH infectious disease clinic.
MethodsA retrospective review of folders of exposed infants presenting to the infectious disease clinic from September 2019 to September 2021 was done. Data was entered onto excel sheet and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used.
ResultsA total of 245 HIV exposed infants were seen within study period of which 54.35 (133/245) were males. The mean (SD) of birth weight was 3.07 (0.50). The median (IQR) age in months were 2.3 (1.5-3.3) at first visit to the HIV exposed clinic. Mode of delivery was by spontaneous vaginal delivery for 50.6% (124/245) and by caesarian section for 36.3% (89/245).
Exclusive breastfeeding was initiated in 72.7% (178/245), formula feeding in 6.1% (15/245), and mixed feeding in 4.1% (10/245). Antiretroviral were initiated at birth for 95.9% (235/245) of infants. Septrin prophylaxis was initiated at 6 weeks for 60% (147/245).
A major limitation of this records review was high level of data missingness. Most of the early infant diagnosis results were missing. The very few recorded were negative making it impossible to evaluate the true status of the exposed infants.ConclusionEven though infants exposed to mothers with HIV are seen regularly at KATH, the quality of the data collections must improve to estimate accurately the prevalence and determinants of HIV infection in exposed infants.


A method of equalized packaging of pouches in collecting containers, in which the collecting container relative to a horizontal axis are aligned obliquely in the stacking direction, and the bags are transferred from one conveyor of a packaging machine in the collection containers and stacked in an inclined position in these, wherein the collection container via a conveyor belt in a angular range of> 0 ° to <90 ° relative to the horizontal axis be tilted, characterized in that a plurality of bags are simultaneously transferred from a horizontal position from the conveyor belt by a lifting direction in the inclined position.


Abstract. Home industry workers in manufacturing have low to high occupational risks in their work environment. This community service activity aims to increase workers' knowledge of the hazards in the work environment and increase awareness of the use of personal protective equipment in the workplace. The activity was carried out using the grafting method, namely observation, education, and evaluation of the activity's stages. Based on the assessment results, this method is quite good in making workers master and understand basic knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health, as well as handling solid waste from daily industrial activities. Workers can apply the practice of using Personal Protective Equipment correctly and managing the waste generated. Increased knowledge of Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) and waste management in workers can reduce near misses, incidents or even minimize work accidents in the workplace. Keywords: occupational health and safety, home industry, solid waste, knowledge of occupational health and safety, PPE, work accident


A broad definition of gene targeting includes any method that can lead to permanent sitespecific modification of the genome [1], preferably with predetermined outcomes. More specifically, gene targeting is the alteration of a specific DNA sequence in an endogenous gene at its original locus in the genome, and often refers to the conversion of the endogenous gene into a designed sequence [2]. Rapid developments in the field of gene targeting, and the potential of the technology to revolutionalise genomics and plant biotechnology in particular has led to the adoption of this broad definition, over earlier definitions such as that by [3] and [4] that restricted gene targeting to homologous recombination mechanisms.


The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been largely criticized for its austere measures attached to the programs, so called conditionality. Some scholars claim that IMF has adverse effects on education in borrower countries. The latter is conditioned with the fact, that IMF often requires governments to cut budget deficits which is accompanied with direct cuts of public spending on education and health care. At the same time, Romania has been among the frontrunners of the European Union (EU) states to turn to the IMF for financial assistance during the crisis. Hence, article seeks to analyze the possible ways that IMF may influence public spending on education and reveal the current effects of IMF intervention on Romanian education. Thus, we have explored all Stand-By arrangements since 2008 and their measures: Prior actions,Quantitative performance criteria and Structural benchmarks. Furthermore, we have applied with-without, approach on main education indicators, in order to illustrate the IMF participation effects on Romanian educationsector by attributing differences to the IMF programs. Particularly, employing Bulgaria as a control group for with-without approach, shows that during the crisis Romanian education indicatorshave been more affected than those of Bulgaria. Our findings report that Romanian government should be aware while applying to the IMF assistance that it may have adverse effects on education in short and medium term periods.


The paper introduced characteristics of Modbus RTU communication protocol,proposed a design scheme of I/O driver for programmable logic control kernel software ProConOS based on Modbus RTU protocol,and conducted on test and analysis.The test and application results show that the scheme can effectively realize interconnection,industrial networking and centralized control of different control equipments which support the Modbus RTU protocol,and provides basis for application of the Modbus RTU protocol in embedded system.


Intergenerational Caregiver Loss and Successful Aging Opportunity Disruption of Bulgarian Elderly by Daniel Habermann MSW, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2015 BS, North Dakota State University, 1992 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Social Work


With the development of integration of the world, this paper analyzes the basic content of international metropolis and the developing status of central cities in China, expounding that this should be adjusted to the developing tidal current of international city for the development of central cities in China and then discusses efficient ways and the mechanism of regulation that benefits the international development of the central cities in China.


Robust magnetic switching and nonvolatility make magnetic random access memory an attractive prospect for future memory designs. However, there has been some concern over whether or not standard fabrication processes can be used to produce annular shaped memory elements. In this paper we present the fabrication and test results of deep submicron annular memory elements defined by electron beam and optical lithographies. The annular memory cells consist of a current perpendicular to plane giant magnetoresistive (CPP GMR) stack containing two ferromagnetic layers with a nonmagnetic interlayer where thin Cu laminations were included in the ferromagnetic layers to enhance the CPP GMR effect.


One application photoelectrocatalysis film decomposition of water in the hydrogen storage, which is a thickness of the application film made of a photo catalytic male film / bismuth oxyhalide film / film 100.05μm female is the cathode compartment and an anode compartment separator formulation total mass electrolytic solution, a metal as an anode and their oxides, hydrogen storage material as a cathode; light under electric field, water synergistic catalytic decomposition of hydrogen and hydrogen storage online. Photoelectrocatalysis films prepared according to the invention for water decomposition, hydrogen production quantum efficiency as high as 90% to 96%, up to 99% hydrogen purity to 99.9% energy savings as high as 15 to 40%, the hydrogen generated is stored in the line cathode hydrogen storage materials, realized photoelectrocatalysis hydrogen and electrochemical hydrogen storage online integration vision.


Scanning White Light Interferometry (SWLI) provides high vertical precision for measuring step-like structures in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The SWLI performance depends on its light source. A rapidly modulated light source with a broad bandwidth inside the infrared (IR) region is necessary to measure layered MEMS that move. Typical SWLI light sources - light emitting diodes (LEDs) and Halogen (HG) bulbs - fulfill only one of these requirements. To overcome this shortcoming we equipped our SWLI setup with a supercontinuum (SC) light source produced by Fiberware Gmbh (Ilum 100 USB II). We tested our setup by measuring in plane and out of plane oscillating thermal bridges with visible light, as well as top and bottom surfaces of silicon structures using IR light. The wide SC spectrum creates localized interferograms. This allowed us to measure top and bottom surfaces of a thin (4 μm) bridge. The stroboscopically measured profiles of oscillating thermal bridges were comparable to those measured using a white LED. The results of static measurements were similar to those achieved with an HG lamp.


To the Editor: I read with interest the original article by Edwards et al about the possibility of rheumatoid factor (RF) being an independent risk factor for ischaemic heart disease.1 The contribution …


We propose a model of a system for control of resistance levels of electronic systems with regard to electromagnetic noise in indoor spaces, which allows analyzing cumulative averages of electromagnetic fields of concentrated sets of radiation sources.


BACKGROUND: Graft ABO incompatibility has not been thought to aflect patient survival after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, although it may be associated with prolonged erythroid aplasia and immediate or delayed hemolysis.


The methodology for developing a bulk sampling plan involves primarily the assessment of the heterogeneity of bulk materials and the quantification of testing error. However, when multiple characteristics of bulk materials are to be considered, developi..


Qilbert Blane, in his Treatise on the Prevalence and Mortality of various Disorders, mentions, that only two cases of it had occurred to him in the course of his long and extensive practice. A case of suppression of urine, arising from affection of the kidneys, is recorded by Dr Home in his Clinical Experiments, in which the treatment was nearly similar to that adopted in the following one ; but it seems, in that instance, to have been com-


Sceptics of an Africanisation of education have often lambasted its proponents for re‐inventing something that has very little, if any, role to play in contemporary African society. The contributors to this issue hold a different view and, through the papers included in this issue, arguments are proffered in defence of an Africanisation of education on the African continent, particularly through the notion of ubuntu. Since the 1960s, Africana philosophy as an instance of Africanisation has emerged as a 'gathering' notion for philosophical endeavours practised by professional philosophers and intellectuals, either of African descent, including those living in the diaspora, or those of non‐African descent but who are devoted to matters pertaining to African and African‐descended individuals and communities (Outlaw, 2004, p. 90). These philosophical endeavours mostly relate to a 'critical analysis and reflective evaluation of the evidence and reasoning' that constitute the beliefs, customs, values, traditions, oral literature (parables, proverbs, poetry, songs and myth), languages and histories of African and African‐descended peoples (Hallen, 2004, p. 105). The articles presented at this symposium analytically explore ideas and practices central to Africana philosophy, their underlying rationales, and how these forms of philosophical inquiry can potentially engender defensible educative relationships.


Foreign language teaching dictionaries are compiled for the need of foreign language learning. The entries include different kinds of information learners need. Therefore, it is very helpful for learners to have a clear picture of information arrangement in dictionaries so as to interpret and grasp the needed knowledge. It is also helpful for learners to improve their communicative competence. However, the author's research shows that the majority of learners are either blind in choosing a dictionary or unclear about the dictionary structure. As a result, they are unable to utilize dictionaries effectively. This paper, based on the above problems, talks about how learners should make a good use of dictionaries to improve their communicative competence.


The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how one might improve financing of the household waste collection system in Dakar, using the contingent valuation method. Our results show that household willingness to pay is far beyond what is being actually collected through TEOM ("Taxe d'Enlevement des Ordures Menageres", a flat-rate tax imposed by local government to finance waste collection). The implementation of a unit based collecting fee is ultimately advocated.


This paper reports an investigation of the difficulties experienced by (Indonesian) students when solving context-based mathematics tasks. A total of 362 students from 11 schools located in rural and urban areas in the Province of Yogyakarta participated in a paper-and-pencil test. The test items comprised 34 tasks which were selected from the released items of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tasks. Students' difficulties were examined through an error analysis for which an analysis framework was used. The framework consisted of four error types: comprehension, transformation, mathematical processing, and encoding. The data analysis revealed that the most dominant errors made by the students were comprehension errors (38%) and transformation errors (42%). Of all errors made by students 17% were mathematical processing errors and only 3% were encoding errors. These findings indicate that (Indonesian) students mostly had difficulties in comprehending a context-based task and in transforming it into a mathematical problem. Keyword: context-based tasks, PISA, error analysis, Indonesia


Impedance-based stability analysis method has been widely adopted for addressing the small-signal stability issues of power electronics-based systems. For the three-phase ac systems, the impedance models (IMs) are generally obtained in the rotating dq-frame and represented by the 2 × 2 transfer matrices, with which the system stability can be predicted through the Generalized Nyquist Criterion (GNC). However, the computational process of GNC as well as the derivation of the impedance matrices aggravates the complexity of stability analysis. This paper presents a simpler impedance modeling process for the three-phase symmetric systems. The IMs can be directly established by the complex transfer functions (CTFs) in the dq-frame, while keeping the equivalent relationship with the original impedance matrices. Consequently, the original multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is simplified to a single-input single-output (SISO) system without losing any accuracy. Further, it is also proved that the Nyquist criterion originally used for dc systems can replace the GNC to predict stability of the cascaded three-phase symmetric system, which thus avoids the massive matrix calculations and leads to the remarkable simplification of the stability analysis. Case study of a three-phase grid-connected voltage source inverter system consisting of the frequency-domain analyses and experimental tests is presented. The obtained results confirm the correctness of the theoretical analyses.


Thank you for reading the hmong of china context agency and the imaginary. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search hundreds times for their chosen books like this the hmong of china context agency and the imaginary, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some infectious virus inside their laptop.


It is 10 years since the Journal of Research in International Education (JRIE) was launched in Geneva, on the occasion of the inaugural conference of the Alliance for International Education (AIE). Both initiatives grew out of a perceived need, following the burgeoning interest worldwide in international education and international schools during the last quarter of the 20th century, for a wider base of interchange of ideas for those involved in generating them. Globally, schools in both the private and state sectors of education were adopting curricula designed to be 'international' in character, or were developing their own programmes for the same end, and – taken with the rapidly changing and increasingly interdependent nature of the global environment – these developments generated many and varied issues for which a forum for debate was an increasingly clear need. From the outset, one of the justifications given for the introduction of yet another academic journal, and a chief aim in its implementation, was the exploration of reasons for the lack of agreement among theorists and practitioners alike concerning the diversity of interpretations of the concept of 'international education' that was becoming all too evident across the wide range of schools, colleges and universities claiming it as a central tenet of their educational intentions. The extent to which progress has been made through the JRIE in that respect, over the past decade, may be judged from a reading of the articles that have appeared in the journal during that time. A reading of the views expressed in this special 10th anniversary edition by those invited to contribute to it will also throw light on the extent to which the JRIE has met those early aims. As will be clear, the changes in local, national, regional and global contexts that have characterized the first years of this new century have made the task of arriving at shared understandings not only more difficult but also more challenging and intriguing for those involved in the search for a common interpretation. A second aim for the then new journal was to provide an opportunity, for those with experience in implementing the conceptual ideas behind such a term as 'international education' in schools and other institutions, to share that experience in a wider constituency than had, to that date, been possible. A pleasing feature of the articles published since 2002 has been the readiness with which such contributions have been offered. Often the impetus for sharing experience through formal publication has arisen from the systematic and rigorous work undertaken by practitioners through their engagement in formal study for a higher degree qualification in universities throughout the world – a trend which is continuing to grow in a most welcome manner. Thus, slowly but certainly, 464917 JRI11310.1177/1475240912464917Journal of Research in International EducationThompson 2012


The current article intends to do an analysis on the benefits of artistic therapies for patients suffering from Alzheimer. This illness, since it produces serious damages in some areas of their brain, provokes that the patients forget important moments in their lives, losing even their own identity. Through different artistic ways of acting, it has been proved that as the memory is stimulated, new neuronal connections can be created favoring in this way the functioning of their memory.


Karl Lukas and Robert Weibel Department of Geography University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich (Switzerland) Fax: +41-1-362 5227 (kalle, email@example.com· The study reported in this paper had two major objectives. In a first step, methods published in the literature were implemented to form the basis for a comparative assessment. Secondly, based on the previous evaluation, existing methods were improved further. Four basic classes of' methods of increasing algorithmic complexity were implemented: 1) analytical hillshading with a single constant light source; 2) multiple constant light sources; 3) multiple light sources, weighted according to a locally varying aspect map; and 4) local variation of a single light source according to a map of ridges and valleys. The assessment consisted of systematic experiments, varying the relevant control parameters. Based on a quantitative and visual assessment, it was concluded thai: the first and third classes of techniques extended by the. enhancements described here '-were superior to the other two. The best potential, however, is expected to lie in the combination of different methods in order to add the strengths and alleviate the deficiencies of the individual methods. Composites of classes 1 and 3 seem to be particularly useful (class 1 emphasizes large forms, while class 3 highlights details).


The doctrine of the burden of proof must face, as the pole of its argument, its connection with the Constitution and that it must assume that the doctrine of onus probandi projects a formulation that goes beyond its strict procedural conceptualization of the "ordinary" to access the sphere of constitutional guarantee, because a jurisdictional declaration of right cannot be refused when a party's burden of proof is aided by both the preemption of defenselessness and the right to use appropriate means of proof to substantiate - prove - its claim. It must be declared essential that recognition of the constitutional right to the burden of proof is correlated with the constitutional right to effective judicial protection. The Constitution, in addition, places this recognition in the procedural part without the possibility to recognize the relative recognition of the constitutional right as the burden of proof in the judge and which can justify the ex officio evidence of the part of the judge (in part). In the European model, the constitutional right to the burden of proof is correlated with the constitutional right to effective judicial protection, which is not characterized by its uncertainty or casuism - that is, when the burden of proof should apply in a civil process - but, on the contrary, by the constitutional recognition of a specific and specific constitutional right and the guarantee provided by the Constitution. Without constitutional recognition of the right to the burden of proof, it would be impossible to achieve effective judicial protection, since the use of "evidence for their protection" is essential for the party to have access to it - to effective judicial protection. Burden of proof rules have a double dimension. On the one hand, they affect the parties because they indicate the need to prove their claims and the scope of the right to prove what they have in the process. On the other hand, they are the only way out of the crossroads in which the court may find itself when it doubts the authenticity of the facts proved, either because they have not been proved, or because the evidence was insufficient or unsatisfactory. This decision consists in ruling against the party who has failed to prove the facts in question, constituting a factual presumption of the supremacy of the law sought to be enforced.


We describe a framework for overcoming agent ignorance within a setting for collaborative problem solving. For various reasons, agents may not reveal information that could be of use in problem solving. In this case, under certain assumptions agents can still reason about this information in terms of the possibilities that are consistent with what they know. This is done using constraint-based reasoning in a framework consisting of an ordinary CSP, which is only partly known, and a system of "shadow CSPs" that represent various forms of possibilistic knowledge. This paper proposes some properties of good structure for this system and shows that a reasonable set of deductions used during the solving process preserves these properties. This system can be applied to a general class of problems called "common assignment problems", where agents must find solutions to individual problems, part of which they share in common. This paper describes an extension of the shadow system to common assignment problems that involve graph coloring and shows that problems of this type can be solved more effectively using this framework.


The capability of sensor nodes to collect and aggregate ambient data enables a mobile user to receive assistance from the network in charting a safe path through a potentially dangerous area. However, the information would be meaningless without localization. Applying an existing coarse-grain location-aware cluster (virtual infrastructure i.e. VI) for object detection provides only approximate location of dangerous objects as the objects are further away from the center. This distance-dependent location-based cluster creates various sizes of localized clusters, which cause inconsistency in size and thus may lead to inefficient path planning.
 The main contribution of this paper is to propose a fine-granularity clustering technique, that we call eVI that enhances the performance of previously-proposed VI by dividing clusters into smaller sub-clusters. Utilizing the eVI for autonomous navigation enables mobile sink to detect location of dangerous object effectively and thus result shorter safe travelled distance compared to other sector-based clusters as demonstrated in the simulation result.


The forms from the Arran material referred to in this my third paper on the subject have already, from time to time, been exhibited at the meetings of the Dublin Microscopical Club, so that nothing remains to be done respecting them except to add the minute details of description.


Background: Petroleum-based solvents have been widely used for dry cleaning in Korea. Although there has been a few reports of irritant contact dermatitis induced by petroleum- based dry cleaning solvents, this is the first case of contact dermatitis with peripheral eosinophilia in Korea. Case History: A 53 year old man had suffered from itching sensation, erythema and bullae in both arms. The onset time was 1 hour after wearing a jacket which had been dry cleaned the day earlier. The skin lesions were localized to the area in contact with the jacket, and the Nikolsky sign was seen. The patient had no history of previous allergic diseases. Results: Serum total IgE levels, peripheral eosinophil counts, eosinophil cationic protein levels and liver function test results (aspartate and alanine transaminase) were elevated. Histopathological examination of the skin biopsy specimen showed epidermal necrosis with superficial perivenular lymphocytic and eosinophilic infiltration. He was negative for the patch test with maximum 1% of the solvent used at that laundry, which was composed of paraffin and naphten. Therefore, we thought that his skin lesion may be attributed to irritant reactions to this solvent. Conclusion: We report herein a case of contact dermatitis induced by a petroleum-based dry cleaning solvent. (Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol 2011;31:295-299)


A model representing the synthesis process of 4A zeolite from wastes of aluminum finishing plants was obtained and validated through statistical tests. From this model, the optimum values for the molar ratios SiO2/Al2O3, Na2O/SiO2 and H2O/Na2O, which define the type and quality of the synthesized zeolite, were estimated for the use of these wastes as raw material. The obtained zeolites could be used as water softeners in the formulation of detergents. The resulting liquors could be reused in the cleaning of the extrusion matrices used for aluminum profiles or recycled for new zeolites synthesis.


The manner in which a random mixture of musical pieces from various countries is presented as world music in Australia is discussed. It is suggested that the planned representation and commercialisation of 'world music' to attract tourists is paradoxical since it involves the performances of mostly Anglo performers in Anglo settings to mostly Anglo audiences, negating the diverse nature of individual music styles of in the world.


The combination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) in the proportion of 4 mg of TMP to 20 mg of SMZ was used in 51 children with recurrent urinary-tract infections who had failed to respond to long-term therapy with other antimicrobial regimens. Included were 34 patients with normal urinary tracts or with minimal or no lower tract abnormalities, nine with parenchymal damage but normal renal function, and eight with severe structural abnormalities of the urinary tract and reduced renal function. TMP-SMZ was effective in maintaining the urine sterile in all but the complicated cases for periods up to 22 months. In approximately half the patients infection recurred soon after treatment was discontinued. No adverse effects were observed in any of the patients.


In this paper, we study a phenomenological collective model for the calculation of the nuclear density and ground state binding energy of nuclei. The proton density is assumed proportional to the nuclear density. The total binding energy of the nuclear matter consists of the binding energy of infinite nuclear matter, of two Yukawa-potentials, of the Coulomb-energy and of the symmetry-energy. The parameters of the Yukawa-potential are fitted with the Bethe–Weizsacker (BW) mass formula. The resulting binding energies and nuclear densities agree quite satisfying with known nuclear values.


Wireless sensors network is a new research field.It can be used in some special situation for signal collection, processing and transmitting. A temperature monitoring system based on wireless sensor network is established .The node is based on the top-grade 8-bit AVR micro-processor ATmega128L,the peripheral sensors and the wireless communication module CC2420 chip, which can realize the function of monitoring temperature .The system in which ZigBee protocol is used is a stable and low-cost system.


Safe travel is essential; however, recognition of the benefits of continued mobility and, conversely, the consequences of loss of mobility must also be considered. Driving affords the greatest mobility for many older adults. Unfortunately, at some point, most individuals need to consider retiring from driving. Although there are reported gender differences in the timing of and reasons for driving reduction and cessation, with potential impacts on mobility, health, and quality of life for some, much remains unknown about how older drivers perceive the difficulties in transitioning to being a nondriver and whether there are any gender differences in this process. Even less is known about how people decide to stop driving and the strategies that may improve the outcomes of this transition. This study examined gender differences in the mobility impacts of driving cessation and in life satisfaction. A total of 1,718 drivers (40% female) and 108 former drivers (58% female) completed a self-administered survey designed to examine issues surrounding the adoption of self-regulatory driving practices and the mobility impacts of driving reduction and cessation. The study highlights gender differences in the processes of driving reduction and cessation, particularly driving frequency and experiences and plans for driving cessation. While few gender differences were noted among former drivers, particularly in the number of trips and satisfaction with current mobility, older females were more likely than males to have planned ahead, made the decision themselves, and stopped at appropriate times, and to use alternative transport options, suggesting a good adjustment to nondriving with a more favorable mobility outcome. These findings have implications for the development of education and training programs to assist male and female drivers to achieve a smooth transition from driving to nondriving.


Ophiopogon sclerophyllus is described and illustrated as a new species from northwestern Guangxi, China. The new species can be distinguished from other Ophiopogon species by its roots with fusiform or oblong tubercles near middle or tip, thickly leathery leaf blade, widely opening flowers with recurved perianth segments. The relationships among O. sclerophyllus, O. pseudotonkinensis and O. petraeus are shortly discussed.


The traditional non-solvent epoxy glass flake coating was modified by self-made electroless Ag flake graphite and the glass flake conductive coating was prepared. The resistance,surface drying/real drying time,thickness,hardness,corrosion resistance and BSE photos of the glass flake conductive coating containing different mass fraction of electroless silver graphite were studied. Results show that surface drying/real drying time of glass flake conductive coating containing electroless silver flake graphite was shortened. Its thickness,hardness and corrosion resistance are all increased. The optimal mass fraction of electroless silver graphite in the coating is 30%. And the resistivity of coating is 252.75 Ω· cm.


Water is a critically important but increasingly scarce resource in much of the developing world. Increases in overall productivity in relation to water use are desirable in the context of rising pressure to utilise water more efficiently. This highlights the need for improved integration amongst water use systems. Thus paper presents a framework for research towards integrating fish production and irrigation systems, focusing on opportunities for poor people as beneficiaries. Any assessment of farming systems in Asia quickly recognises that `irrigated' and `rainfed' zones are far more complex with respect to water availability than such simple terms suggest. The constraints and opportunities for the poor to benefit from integration of fish production into large, institutionally-managed systems are likely to be very different for farmers managing various forms of micro-irrigation. We categorise irrigation as being under the control of (i) the household or inunediate community. or (ii) an outside institution, typically , an irrigation authority or department, as the basis of a framework leading to the development of improved systems integrated with fish production for both. We outline approaches that use technical and social methodologies both to understand current systems and to develop innovative approaches in participation with stakeholders. Engineering and management options are examined in an interdisciplinary mode in which action research with local conurnunities follows situation analysis. Projects are being undertaken in India,


Molecular dynamics computer simulation has been used to determine diffusion coefficients and viscosities for four thermodynamical ly identical one component model liquids composed of rigid triatomic molecules of the type XY2 at the same temperature and density. Exactly the same intermolecular potential was used throughout. The molecules comprising these liquids all had the same total mass but the molecular mass distributions were different for each liquid. Differences in the viscosities and the diffusion coefficients clearly show that the molecular mass distribution is a factor which in itself influences transport properties, a point seldom considered in the past. The viscosities were determined by nonequilibrium molecular dynamics and a new method is described for implementing isokinetic shear flow in molecular liquid simulations which employ quaternion algorithms. To obtain satisfactory diffusion coefficients for the equilibrium liquids it was necessary to use simulations extending up to 300 ps. The res...


The Dark Sapphire or Indian Purple Sapphire Heliophorus indicus (syn. H. epicles indicus Fruh.) has a distribution range from Kumaon in Uttarakhand through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and the northeastern Indian states up to Myanmar (Evans 1932; Wynter-Blyth 1957; Gasse 2013; Kehimkar 2014, 2016; Varshney & Smetacek 2015; Anonymous 2019) in an elevation of 600–2,100 m. The male of this species is characterized by sharp forewing apex, straight termen, dark shining purple upper side, and no discal markings on the underside or markings that are reduced to a few dots between the #175 21 July 2019


Air-source heat pump with vapour injection is a prospective efficient heating method for electric railway vehicles in cold regions. A heating performance analysis modelling for air source heat pump with vapour injection is set up for performance optimization in this paper. The maximum errors of the program are within 15%. Heating performance, as well as the optimal injection ratio is analysed. The optimal injection ratio varies mainly from 0.12 to 0.3 under the typical working condition of railway vehicles in winter. It goes up with increasing inlet air temperature of condenser and goes down with increasing ambient temperature. The ambient temperature has very little effect on the optimal injection temperature of the internal heat exchanger. The results indicate that the * Corresponding author Zou, H., et al. Analysis of Optimal Injection Ratio of ... Year 2019 Volume 7, Issue 4, pp 656-666 657 Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems expander valve opening of the injection branch can be controlled by its outlet temperature to get the optimal heating performance.


Background:
Thyroid dysfunction is one of the complications risks of Down Syndrome. Thyroid
function tests in Down Syndrome is not always performed routinely. Thus, it may
cause morbidities including mental retardation. Diagnosis of hypothyroidism in
Down Syndrome is mostly based on laboratory findings because the clinical
characteristics are mild and subclinical. Early diagnosis and treatment will provide
a better outcome in Down Syndrome
Objective:
The aim of this study is to determine the characteristics of thyroid function test in
Down Syndrome patients at Dr. Soetomo Hospital Surabaya.
Methods:
This is a descriptive observational research with data taken from the patient's
medical records from 2009 – 2016 through total sampling. This study is held in
Pediatric Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic Dr. Soetomo Hospital.
Results:
There were 71 samples join in this study. Forty – seven samples are male (66.2%)
with ratio male:female 2:1. Mean of age was 13.16±2.04 months (1 – 12 months)
with mean of TSH and fT4 levels were 10.16 μU/mL and 1.29 ng/dL respectively.
Distribution of the thyroid function tests results showed central congenital
hypothyroidism (39.44%), compensated hypothyroidism (29.58%), euthyroid
(22.54%), primary congenital hypothyroidism (7.04%), and hyperthyroidism
(1.41%).
Conclusions:
Thyroid function test in Down Syndrome at Dr. Soetomo Hospital mostly showed
central congenital hypothyroidism.


This paper presents a Vlasov antenna with optimized re∞ector position and angle suitable for high power microwave applications. With the proposed conflguration, the re∞ector is directly attached to the waveguide, which is an advantage and makes it simpler to radiate in the direction of the axis of the waveguide. Bevel-cut and Step-cut Vlasov antennas, designed for operation at 3GHz, are used to validate the efiect of the re∞ector. In addition to proper radiation of the direction of maximum radiation, the optimized re∞ector results in increased antenna gain and reduced half-power beamwidth. 1. INTRODUCTION High Power Microwave (HPM) sources, such as the Backward-Wave Oscillator (BWO), the gy- rotron, and the vircator (virtual cathode oscillator), generate power in cylindrically symmetric transverse electric TE0n or transverse magnetic TM0n modes. The side lobe generation, gain re- duction, and ine-cient power loading on the antenna aperture, make these modes unsuitable for driving conventional antennas. This gave the idea of using mode converters at the output of these sources to convert these modes into a plane-parallel linearly polarized beam. Vlasov antenna is one of the most known mode converters used. The well-known Vlasov types are the Step Cut and the Bevel Cut antennas (1). The step cut, originally suggested by Vlasov, has sharp edges and there- fore may sufier from electrical breakdown when radiating HPM. The bevel cut, which was later suggested by Nakajima, avoids the sharp points of step cut, and as a result has a more suitable shape for HPM applications. However, a Vlasov antenna with either the bevel or step cut has its maximum radiation shifted by some angle with respect to the axis of the waveguide. In (2), a comparison of the performance of bevel-cut and step-cut Vlasov antennas in HPM is conducted, concluding that the bevel cut has better performance in such applications. Other studies focused on increasing the gain of bevel-cut and step-cut Vlasov antennas. In (3), a re∞ector is added to a bevel-cut Vlasov antenna to increase its gain and to obtain more directive radiation. In (4), two methods are proposed for increasing the gain of a bevel-cut antenna, one using a parabolic cylinder re∞ector, and the second using a horn. In (5), the step cut is studied in the presence of a parabolic re∞ector. However, none of these studies considered bringing back the maximum radiation along the axis of the waveguide. In this paper, an optimized re∞ector position for Vlasov antennas is presented, which will help, with the proper rotation angle, to orient the generated waves along the +Z direction, which is the axis of the waveguide in our case. In addition, with our proposed conflguration, the re∞ector is directly attached to the waveguide structure, decreasing the size of the usual Vlasov antennas with re∞ectors, and eliminating the need of extra components to hold the waveguide and re∞ector together. The proposed re∞ector is applied to a bevel-cut and a step-cut Vlasov antennas to evaluate its performance. It could also be applied to the cut proposed in (6), where the same results will hold.


A field experiment was conducted during Rabi, 2022 at Crop Research Farm, Departmentof Agronomy, SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P). The treatment consisted of three level of Sulphur (25,35,45 kg/ha) and three level of Micro-nutrient Boron (1 kg/ha), Zinc (4 kg/ha), Molybdenum (0.4 kg/ha) and control. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with ten treatments each replicatd thrice. The soil in the experimental area was sandy loam with pH (8.0), EC (0.56 dS/m), Organic Carbon (0.62%), Available N (225 kg/ha), Available P (38.2 kg/ha), and Available K (240.7 kg/ha). Higher plant height (36.93 cm), number of nodules (16.44) higher dry weight (6.67 g/plant), maximum number of pods/plant (160.33), maximum number of seeds/pod (1.99), higher seed yield (2028.05 kg/ha) and higher stover yield (3540.60 kg/ha). However, the maximum gross return (129245.56 INR/ha), maximum net return (91679.57 INR/ha) and maximum benefit cost ratio (2.44) was obtained with same treatment-9 [Sulphur (45 kg/ha) + Molybdenum (0.4 kg/ha)].


Techniques used to solve multi-objective optimization problems, are meant to identify the non-inferior (Pareto set) set of solutions for consideration by the decision maker. This set is usually large and identifying one policy for implementation can be quite challenging. Traditionally, it has been assumed that once this set is identified, it should be presented to the decision maker who should then be left alone to make a choice of a policy for implementation. It is true that the decision maker may not even understand the numerical values presented to him in the name of optimal solutions, hence the choice of a single policy for implementation would be, at best, random. This, therefore, calls for decision support tools, which can help a decision maker choose one policy among others for implementation. This paper presents such a decision support tool, which is developed within the framework of utility theory. The applicability of the tool is demonstrated through an example of a groundwater aquifer whose input parameters are uncertain and is formulated within a multi-objective framework. Results show that such a tool can use supplementary information to assist a decision maker in his search for a single policy to implement, hence quantifying his choice.


The glazing area and orientation of building have significant effect on indoor visual and thermal comfort which also affects the energy consumption of the building. Windows is sensitive spot for the exchange of energy through the skin of the building. Increased use of glazed window leads to increased solar gain inside the building, which is becoming a major problem in warm climate regions. Thus, the effect of the window to wall ratio for different building orientation on the thermal performance of residential buildings are studied. For this, a typical residential building located in warm temperate climate of Butwal was chosen as the study building in this paper. Window to wall ratio of glazed windows in north and south fac¸ade varied with 9 different values from 0.1 to 0.9 with constant increment of 0.1 and the building orientation was also changed for the comprehensive study. 80 different test scenarios were created in the simulation tool. By using Ecotect Analysis 2011, annual thermal energy consumption was computed for each test scenario. Findings from the research showed that increasing WWR results in increased energy consumption. The research also concludes that South orientation is the best orientation for all WWR whereas North-East orientation had the poorest result.