EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Audiovisual Aids; Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Software; *Computer Uses in Education; *Educational Technology; *Interactive Video; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Optical Disks; Science Education; Secondary Education; *Secondary School Science; Technological Advancement; *Videodisks; Video Equipment IDENTIFIERS Science Education Research


This paper analyses the problems of translating euphemism, such as the definition of euphemism, the relationship between indirect speech act and euphemism, non-equivalence between Chinese and English euphemisms, implicitness and explicitness of euphemism as well. A pragmatic approach to translation has provided basic principles for translating euphemism. The author sums up the techniques of translating euphemism by means of contextual and contrastive analysis, including pragmaliguistic contrast and sociopragmatic contrast.


The Salary and Cash Disbursement Accounting System based on necessity of application of internal control because the application of internal control for salary disbursement is very important for all companies that want to create the effective procedures for increasing the internal control aims. At PDAM Tirta Dharma with the focus on Salary and Cash Disbursement Accounting System thus obtained proof that there are still weaknesses in the procedures of salary disbursement. There is the overlapping function in organization structure. Redesigning the salary disbursement procedures which stressing on the function separation between General Affair. Separation function in organization structure is must.


which he or she will generate his or her own personal and highly complex mental schemata with which to represent the patient. Although this schemata will certainly include conscious elements, such as 'myocardial infarct', 'depressed' or 'well educated', it will also inevitably include unconscious elements relating to, for example, the surrounding environment, the clothes worn by the patient and even the emotional state of the clinician. Medical education is therefore a complicated process in which students gradually improve their ability to interact with individuals, to interpret their findings and to develop appropriate responses. Despite the largely unconscious, biased and uncertain nature of the cognition, it must be recognised that clinicians will always be required to consciously justify their decisions in the abstract, symbolic form of a written diagnosis or treatment plan. However, the conclusion must be that human interaction is the key to clinical medicine. Medical education is therefore a complicated process in which students gradually improve their ability to interact with individuals


A new non-separable 2D structure is proposed for integer implementation of a 3D lifting wavelet transform. It reduces total amount of rounding noise due to expressing signal values as integers inside the transform. In the existing method, a non-separable 3D structure is used to minimize lifting steps. It contributes to decrease delay from input to output. As it decreases total number of rounding operations which are source of the rounding error, total amount of the rounding noise was also reduced in the (5,3) type transform for lossless coding. However, it was found that it is not true in the (9,7) type transform for lossy coding. In this paper, introducing a non-separable 2D structure instead of the 3D structure, a new transform with reduced number of lifting steps is proposed. Since the proposed method does not change order of the original lifting steps, total amount of the rounding noise observed in pixel values of the decoded image is significantly reduced. Upper bound of quality of decoded images in lossy coding is also improved.


Methodical problems of research with use ATR-FTIR spectroscopy of structural changes in water solutions of flotation reagents -buthyl xanmate and oleat. and also potassium chloride are discussed. Influence of a potassium chloride solutions preparation way on intensity of transmission is established.


This extended abstract examines the progress of a project on unsupervised language learning, and focuses on two different approaches to segmentation, as well as how cohesion may be generalized from it definitive morpho-syntactic instantiation. It is intended as a discussion paper, and outlines the specific hypotheses currenlty being tested.


The present invention has the ability to safely, slowly and completely degrade within about 30 days in the human or animal body, stopping the blood flow both during and after surgical treatment to facilitate treatment Therefore, the present invention relates to a hemostatic composition that can be used by a doctor. [Selection figure] None


Integrating a high mechanical-Q oscillator to a high-finesse cavity for cavity optomechanics cooling is a promising way to observe quantum coherence in macroscopic objects. Our work currently focuses on improving the mechanical-Q of the oscillator by optically trapping suspended dielectric membranes. We push the limits of nanofabrication in order to free the membranes from contact to the environment as much as possible. We use light to optically stiffen the center-of-mass motion of these membranes and hope to increase the Q of the system by storing energy in "lossless" optical field. I will discuss our progress on design simulations, fabrication, and experimental evidence of optical trapping of these membranes. In the future, we plan to integrate our oscillator inside a high finesse cavity for further cooling.


Submitted for the MAR07 Meeting of The American Physical Society Buckling and Mechanical Failure of Viral Shells WILLIAM S. KLUG, ROBIJN F. BRUINSMA, JEAN-PHILIPPE MICHEL, CHARLES M. KNOBLER, University of California, Los Angeles, IRENA L. IVANOVSKA, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, CHRISTOPH F. SCHMIDT, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and Georg-August Universität, Göttingen, GIJS J. L. WUITE, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam — We present a combined theoretical and experimental study of the structural failure of viral shells under mechanical stress due to indentation by atomic force microscopy. Modeling the indentation of icosahedral viruses with twodimensional continuum shell elasticity theory, we find that the fivefold-symmetric disclinations precipitate geometric "buckling" instabilities, leading to structural collapse at indentation loads that are significantly lower than those which buckle perfectly spherical shells. Coincident with these instabilities, discontinuities in the force-indentation curve appear when the so-called Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) number exceeds a critical value. A nano-indentation study of a viral shell subject to a soft-mode instability, where the stiffness of the shell decreases with increasing pH, confirms the predicted onset of failure as a function of the FvK number. William S. Klug University of California, Los Angeles Date submitted: 22 Nov 2006 Electronic form version 1.4


'human rights', but the 'interests of humanity' and 'humanity' represents the anti-thesis to 'barbarism'—or, more precisely and less figuratively, the Ottoman Empire—are discussed in more detail in Swatek-Evenstein, Geschichte der 'Humanitären Intervention', pp. 64–84 (note 1). 3 In recent years, theorists of international law have more generally returned to the power of such historical episodes to shape international law. See Fleur Johns, Richard Joyce and Sundhya Pahuja (eds.), Events: the force of international law (Abingdon: Routledge 2011), and Michael Reisman and Andrew R. Willard (eds.), International incidents: the law that counts in world politics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1988). 4 These might be well situated within a history of a 'humanitarian impulse' of that time. See for example, Geoffrey Robertson, Crimes against humanity, 3 edn (London: Penguin, 2006), pp. 18–20. Whether such a 'broader' history makes sense—outside the confinements of the development of international humanitarian law—is very much in question at the moment. 5 Antoine Rougier, 'La théorie de l'intervention de humanité', Revue générale de droit international public, Vol. 17, 1910, pp. 468–526. 6 Ellery C. Stowell, Intervention in international law (Washington, DC: John Byrne, 1921). 7 W. Michael Reisman and Myres S. McDougal, 'Humanitarian intervention to protect the Ibos', memorandum circulated in 1968, reprinted in Richard B. Lillich (ed.), Humanitarian intervention and the United Nations (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1973), pp. 167–180. Trim and Simms seem to misjudge the timing of this book and the conference it documents, attributing it to India's war against Pakistan, which led to the eventual independence of Bangladesh (p. 18 and footnote 49). In fact, the conference was convened independently of these events. See Swatek-Evenstein, Geschichte der 'Humanitären Intervention', p. 36, note 1. 8 It is, however, still unfortunate that the discussion of the European intervention in the Greek War of Independence focuses in both books on the British involvement, whereas in the Greek self-perception, the role of the Russians was and is far more important. Greek international lawyer Maria Varaki explained this to me in a personal conversation. This shows that there is still room for further studies on the history of 'humanitarian intervention'.


"Tai Chi" shows promise for improving many health outcomes and are recommended for dissemination to older adults. A "Tai Chi" practice was tested in some old people. Results showed that plasma lipid levels were reduced in these old practicers. With a 6-month-exercise, significant improvements in oxidative injury was found for participants (P <0.01). Immunity function was also markedly (P <0.01) improved. It can be concluded that "Tai Chi" quan exercise is useful for older adults and causes favorable quality of life benefits.


Image denoising is fundamental in image processing and computer vision field, where the assumption of a signal independent additive white Gaussian noise model dominates the most state-of-the-art denoising algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel variational approach that addresses more challenging generalized signal-dependent noise model, which is more flexible and practical for real imaging scenarios. The generalized noise model is decomposed into two independent procedures by introducing an intermediate latent variable, with which the variational model is thus constructed. Moreover, the popular second-order total generalized variation regularizer is introduced into our variational model. To effectively solve the variational problem, we first simply the objective functional by substituting one of the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations and thus eliminating the intermediate variable. A semi-explicit iterative scheme is present in the proximity operation so as to overcome the difficulty of the high nonlinearity involved in the data term when applying primal and dual hybrid gradient algorithm. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.


Climatological factors such as temperature, wind, and precipitation have been reported to affect fish reproduction and recruitment in large lakes; however, little is known about these relationships in shallow, semi-permanent wetlands. We utilized age-O yellow perch (Pereaflaveseens) aquacultural harvest data to model climate effects on variability of juvenile yellow perch year class strength in semi-permanent wetlands. Overall, March through May precipitation, April air temperature, and a wetland parameter (i.e., intrinsic characteristics) provided the best-supported model. These results potentially indicate that spring weather patterns have an influence on yellow perch year class strength in semi-permanent wetlands.


Because of the difficulty in finding the analytic modal,the dynamics analysis of a moving flexible camber beam is often by means of Finite Element Method (FEM).The processes of FEM become very complex with the increasing of elements.A new method called Fitted Modal Method (FMM) was described in this paper as a alternative.The discrete modal solution of a camber beam was calculated by FEM software such as ANSYS and the approximate analytic modal expressions were obtained by fitting the discrete modal into the form of polynomial expression.This made the modeling and solving processes simple and convenient.The dynamic analysis of a paraboloid antenna was used as an illustrative example to verify the accuracy of FMM.


Objective To investigate the effect of Leksell gamma knife irradiation on normal rat hippocampus through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultra-structure and analyze the gene expression profile of the rat hippocampus before and after the irradiation of the Leksell gamma knife.Methods The normal rats were irradiated with doses of 20,40,60 and 100 Gy,and 4-mm isocenters were used to cover the right hippocampus.MRI was performed at 3rd,5th and 7th month after radiosurgery with gamma knife.Rat was killed and the brain was removed to receive ultra-structural examination at 3rd month after irradiation under electron microscope.Meanwhile,we used gene chip to investigate the expression profile of genes and their function in the rats 3 months after irradiation with 25 Gy and 8-nm isocenters.Results After irradiation with 20 Gy,there were no obvious changes on MRI and ultra-structural examinations of the rat hippocampus.The damages of rat brain were aggravated with the increase of irradiation dose and the extension of duration.Mixed signals occurred in MRI,and electron microscopy showed neuronal pyknosis,endothelial cell damage,etc.The genes differentially expressed were categorized into different functions incIuding molecular function,biological process,cellular component,etc.Conclusion The effect of gamma knife on brain tissue appeared gradually with the extension of time and the increase of irradiation dose.The microarray analysis can screen the genes differentially expressed before and after irradiation,and classify the differentially expressed genes functionally.

Key words:
Gamma Knife ;  Hippocampus ;  Gene expression ;  Microarry analysis


The expanded functions of the judiciary under New Labour's reforms, emanating especially from the Human Rights Act 1998, have been subject to intense debate and scrutiny, as these functions seemed to require a recalibration of constitutional relationships.This chapter focuses, however, on the extent to which this judicialization has been channelled through common law constitutionalism. Common law constitutionalism has been indirectly encouraged by the centrality of the judicial branch to the navigation of new constitutional powers and obligations, and the reconciliation of these constitutional innovations with mainstays of the constitution. The courts are also at the centre of a further indirect consequence of New Labour's reforms – increased attention to comparative engagement in the courts. By enhancing the external influence on, and the external outlook of, UK constitutional law, the reforms also shed more light and inspire greater reflection on, the role of foreign law in UK courts. This chapter therefore identifies two (largely, I contend, unintended) consequences of the New Labour reforms from 1997 onwards: a rejuvenated common law constitution and attention to, and contestation over, judicial comparativism in the UK.


Several general properties of time-dependent invariants in quantum mechanics are discussed, some of which were not mentioned in the literature.


Molecular engineering of high energy barrier Ueff in single-molecule magnets (SMMs) of general composition MoIIIkVIIm based on orbitally-degenerate pentagonal-bipyramidal [MoIII(CN)7]4− complexes with unquenched orbital momentum and high-spin V(II) complexes is discussed. In these SMMs, the barrier originates exclusively from anisotropic Ising-type exchange interactions −Jxy(SixSjx + SiySjy) − JzSizSjz in the apical cyano-bridged pairs MoIII–CN–VII, which produce a double-well energy profile with a doubly degenerate ground spin state ±MS. It is shown that the spin-reversal barrier Ueff is controlled by anisotropic exchange parameters Jz, Jxy, and the number n of apical MoIII–CN–VII groups in a SMM cluster, Ueff ~ 0.5|Jz − Jxy|n; it can reach a value of many hundreds of wavenumbers (up to 741 cm−1). This finding provides a very efficient straightforward strategy for further scaling Ueff to high values (>1000 cm−1) by means of enhancing exchange parameters Jz, Jxy, and increasing the number of [MoIII(CN)7]4− complexes in a SMM molecule.


Let G be a graph with p vertices and q edges and A = {0, 2, 4, . . . , q+1} if q is odd or A = {0, 2, 4, . . . , q} if q is even. A graph G is said to be an even vertex equitable even labeling if there exists a vertex labeling f : V (G)→ A that induces an edge labeling f∗ defined by f∗(uv) = f(u)+f(v) for all edges uv such that for all a and b in A, |vf (a)− vf (b)| ≤ 1 and the induced edge labels are 2, 4, . . . , 2q, where vf (a) be the number of vertices v with f(v) = a for a ∈ A. A graph that admits even vertex equitable even labeling is called an even vertex equitable even graph. In this paper, we prove that the graphs Cm Pn, Cn(Qm) if n ≡ 0, 3 (mod 4), [ Pn; C m ] if m ≡ 0 (mod 4), Cm ∗e Cn and the graph obtained by duplicating an arbitrary vertex and edge of a cycle Cn admit an even vertex equitable even labeling.


The combination of advanced functional materials with high optical performance and cutting-edge micro/nano fabrication technology has ushered in a new era for integrated photonics. Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) has emerged as a promising material platform for the next generation photonic integrated circuits (PICs), owing to its wide transparency window from UV to mid-IR, moderately high refractive index that enables dense photonic integration while maintaining a suitable mode-size in the single-mode lithium niobate (LN) ridge waveguide, and large electro-optic (EO) as well as nonlinear optical coefficients which are critical for high-speed EO tuning and high-efficiency wavelength conversion applications. Photolithography assisted chemo-mechanical etching (PLACE), a technique developed specifically for fabricating high quality (high-Q ) large-scale photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on TFLN, has enabled fabrication of a series of building blocks of PICs ranging from high-Q micro-resonators and low-loss waveguides to waveguide amplifiers


A very simple, accurate, rapid and economical UV spectrophotometric method was developed for the estimation of fluconazole. The UV method permits a simple, rapid and economical quantitation of fluconazole in capsule dosage form only. The maximum absorbance of fluconazole was found to be 210 nm. Fluconazole, which is available in Karachi in different brands within the pharmacies, was collected and used for this assay method. The results showed that the assay results of the two brands were in range. This study would turn out to be very beneficial and with this simple and accurate method, one can easily determine fluconazole.


This project was developed from hydrologic information, hydrographs of stage and discharged recorded at two measuring stations, geometry data from 34 cross sections that are the result of topographic and bathymetric surveys. For calibration and study the behavior of deep-discharge curves were selected 9 cross sections that were run in the HEC-RAS 4.1 with the aim of analyzing the behavior of deep-discharge curves in unsteady flow. There was carried out the sensitivity analysis to assess the results of the depth-discharge curves taking into account the characteristics of the flood, the shape of the cross sections and the Manning coefficient. The results demonstrate the close relationship that has the shape of the cross section with the path (loop) that defines the depth-discharge curve, the scope of the curves according to the magnitude of the flood routing run and the value of the coefficient Manning on that path.


Use of Nonlinear loads such as power electronic converters, power supplies used in personal computers and etc is the main cause of harmonics in power distribution systems. Hence, voltage distortion on utility outlets and excessive neutral current on distribution lines have arisen and lead to a number of serious problems in distribution systems. In this paper, a series active filter is proposed to be placed in neutral of a three-phase, four-wire distribution system. This filter interacts with neutral by injecting proper current in order to suppress the excessive current harmonics, this in turn will prevent the overloading of the neutral conductor and the distribution transformer. Detailed analysis of the proposed system will be presented. Also a new control method and the related compensation characteristics of a series active filter connected in the neutral conductor are presented in this paper. This approach has been simulated using MATLAB.


PurposeThis research is part of a project that aims to investigate using foamed concrete structurally in houses. Foamed concrete has a porous structure that makes it light in weight, good in thermal insulation, good in sound insulation and workable.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental program is conducted in this research to investigate the behavior of polypropylene fiber reinforced foam concrete beams laterally reinforced with/without glass fiber grid.FindingsThe results proved the effectiveness and efficiency of using glass fiber grid as lateral reinforcements on the shear strength of reinforced foam concrete ribs, in reducing the cracks width and increasing its shear capacity, contrary to using glass fiber grid of reinforced foam concrete beams since glass fiber grid did not play good role in beams.Originality/valueLimited literature is available regarding the structural use of foam concrete. However, work has been done in many countries concerning its use as insulation material, while limited work was done on structural type of foam concrete.


The paper analyses three concepts of aesthetics of arts in Slovak aesthetics in the first third of the 19th century based on the ideas of three Slovak authors (Michal Gregus, Andrej Vandrak and Karol Kuzmany) who all shared creative reading of Kant and transformation of the process of "harmonization" as a foundation of defining possible aesthetic potentiality of art.


The BONUS call 2014: Sustainable ecosystem services (SES) of over EUR 17 million in volume, engaged 500 research staff across implementation of eight projects funded in years 2015–2018. The projects generated substantial impact on science, society, policy and management of the Baltic Sea region. The research partners from 47 institutes of all nine countries in the Baltic Sea region (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden as BONUS member countries, and Russia through bilateral agreements), facilitated Baltic-wide research integration both within and beyond the SES call.


In this paper, we sug est a useful method of enhancement and restoration for X-ray imaging. Enhancement of X-ray imaging is done by adjusting paramenter in computer and result is satisfactory.
MTF of X-ray images for stationary body is studid. For simplicity, only the degradation within the intensifying screens and the effects of the extended X-ray source size are considerd. We have described the specific analytic MTF in certain casses and results are agrement with foreig computing results.


Scanning infrared thermography systems have the potential to analyze materials and parts, quickly, accurately, and at a reduced cost compared to other systems. Scanning infrared thermography uses Fourier's law of conductive heat transfer to detect both material and geometric anomalies in a particular sample. The current system has been developed to create an easy to operate physical system and an interface utilizing commercial software packages. New hardware components have been designed to work in concert with specially developed analytical models to treat surfaces with changing emissivity and uniformly finished surfaces like those used in traditional infrared scanning systems. The system has been successful at detecting defects on coated surfaces where cracks were oriented parallel to the heating element and at sub-optimal angles. In addition, new experimentation has shown the new camera shroud and LabView program to be successful at removing reflected radiation from variable emissivity, diffuse surfaces. However, the system has only been marginally successful at removing artifacts of reflected radiation from thermographic images of surfaces that show a high degree of specularity, making temperature correction and crack detection difficult. In these cases, coatings have shown to be a potential solution to eliminate specular effects and allow for continued use of the developed system.


T he Swedish E.P.A. has estimated that the 6000 ha wetlands that will be constructed in agricultural landscapes by 2012 will reduce the load to the Baltic Sea by 450 tonnes of nitrogen (N) (NV 2008). It has been suggested that with stricter guidelines for wetland location and design, the nitrogen removal per hectare of wetland could be substantially increased. This paper presents results obtained from a scenario analysis of the N load reduction that could be achieved if 6000 ha constructed wetlands would be constructed with improved guidelines.


This paper tackles an important case among those relevant to comparative linguistic lessons. Basically, it deals with the glottal stop " Hamzah" of the Arabic definite article "Al". Meanwhile, it ends with the fact that its origin emerged from "Ha" which apparently exists in the Arabic Demonstrative "Hada".
The present researcher adopted a comparative descriptive procedure through which he showed how the definite article and the demonstrative semantically meet, and how such phenomena linguistically match in structure in semitic languages.
The researcher concluded that the prefix "Ha" which is used to give "warnings" is, in its origin, relevant to the glottal stop "Hamzah" in the Arabic definite article "Al", since there is a big similarity in terms of semantic denotation in certain contextual debates.


The objective of this investigation is to identify the effects of the marginal fitness of the crowns on the gingival tissues. Ten porcelain-fused-to-gold crowns with different degrees of overhangs were cemented in three clinical cases. The crown contours and their marginal fitness were measured intra-orally with an electronic device. The severity of the gingival inflammation was assessed on the marginal gingivae at the midpoint of the labial aspect of these crowns by (1) a newly developed instrument which can measure the consistency and the volume pulse of the gingivae, (2) by the gingival fluid meter "Periotrona" and (3) by clinical examinations. Based on the results of these experiments, the following conclusions can be made: 1. Subgingival restoration with properly placed and well-fitted margins will not affect the marginal gingivae. 2. The crown margins should not be extended too deeply into the gingival crevice. 3. The overhanging restoration caused deleterious effects on the gingivae, and those effects still remained after the removal of the overhangs. 4. Proper oral hygiene instructions are indispensable for the maintenance of healthy gingivae of the crowned teeth.


Objective: Measure by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) the three aspects of professional burnout, that allow to determine the extent of burn out worker syndrome (burnout) within the rural community pharmacists in Spain, correlating this with their socio-demographic characteristics and pharmaceutical care. Methodology: Transversal descriptive study with analytical components through self-administered surveys conducted by mail, Fecha de recepción: 20/12/10. Fecha de aceptación: 26/04/11. Correspondencia: Rosa Ana Torrecillas. Olmos, 18. 04276 Alcudia de Monteagud (Almería) Correo electrónico: email@example.com José Espejo. Natalio Rivas, 35. 04770 Adra (Almería) Correo electrónico: email@example.com Prevalencia del síndrome de «burnout» en farmacéuticos comunitarios titulares de oficina de farmacia rural en España Prevalence of the burnout syndrome in community pharmacists head of the rural pharmacy offi ce in Spain R.A. Torrecillas1, J. Espejo2 1Licenciada en Farmacia. Farmacéutica comunitaria titular de la Ofi cina de Farmacia de Alcudia de Monteagud. Almería. 2Doctor en Farmacia. Grupo de Investigación en Atención Farmacéutica de la Universidad de Granada. ©2011 Ediciones Mayo, S.A. Todos los derechos reservados 169 Prevalencia del síndrome de «burnout» en farmacéuticos comunitarios titulares de ofi cina de farmacia rural en España R.A. Torrecillas, J. Espejo Originales addressed to a sample of head pharmacists in dispensing pharmacies in Spain from towns of up to 5,000 people. This stratifi ed random sampling rate, was conducted in two waves, between June and November of 2009. A questionnaire that contained three types of variables was designed: socio-demographic, variables that allow characterizing the work of pharmacists in a rural pharmacy, and the 22 items of the MBI. The survey-based information was evaluated by descriptive analysis (frequencies, means and standard deviation) and an analytical approach based on simple analysis of variance and t-test of Student. Results: 9.52% of the pharmacists have burnout syndrome, and the values obtained for the three subscales, emotional exhaustion (EC), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA), showed average levels of affection for the three, with means and standard deviations of 16.4 (SD= 11.7), 5.4 (SD= 5.6) and 36.2 (SD= 9.3) respectively. The EC subscale showed signifi cant differences within autonomous communities, DP within population of the town, type of medical center in the town, parapharmacy products dispensed daily and annual invoicing of the pharmacy. And PA pharmacist's personal relationships and professional relationships with the physician. Conclusions: Worrying burnout levels have been obtained, albeit lower than those of other health professions, but with greater personal accomplishment. Latest news of the study: It has been determined for the fi rst time the condition for burnout syndrome of rural pharmacists


Purpose – Teacher training is significant for effective school disaster management. The purposes of this paper are: first, to set items for analysis of teacher training program of Armenia through identification of teacher training program of Emergency And Rescue Team by school staff in Hyogo (EARTH) to understand the characteristics of teacher training program of Armenia; second, to identify common points and different points of school disaster management and teacher training between EARTH and Armenia to understand the characteristics of one of training program of Japan; and third, to propose improvement of teacher training of Armenia through identification of problems to give suggestions to improve teacher training program of Armenia. Design/methodology/approach – One of teacher training program for school disaster management in Japan can be considered as a good practice. The objectives are achieved through the comparison of teacher training program between Armenia and Japan. Findings – In Armenia, there...


The surface morphology of a structural plane is an important factor affecting the shear mechanical behavior of a structural plane. A direct shear test of a rough structural plane is carried out, and the shear mechanical behavior and slip weakening characteristics of a structural plane under different levels of roughness and normal stress conditions are studied; the normal stress conditions ranged from 2 MPa to 14 MPa. The results show that the shear strength and shear stress drop of a rough structure increase as the normal stress and roughness levels also increase. The higher the roughness level, or the greater the normal stress level, the more elastic energy the structural plane accumulates before shear failure. Once the shear stress is great enough and shear failure occurs, the shear slip of the rough structural plane shows obvious stick slip characteristics, and it releases more energy. Under high normal stress conditions, the convex body of the structural plane is damaged earlier in the process of direct shear, and the duration of convex body damage and failure is longer. After direct shear, the roughness of the structural plane decreases exponentially as normal stress levels increase. The shear slip of the structural plane, which has a significant degree of roughness under high normal stress conditions, shows a significant number of slip weakening characteristics, which is the main reason that the stick slip of the structural plane releases a lot of energy.


This article presents an in‐depth case study of the governance of FC Barcelona up to the end of 2008. An historical account of how the membership‐ownership model at FC Barcelona was threatened during the presidency of Josep Núñez between 1978 and 2000 is first presented. An analysis of the conditions over 2000–2003 which led to the election in 2003 of Joan Laporta as club president, on a radical platform for reform of the governance of the club, is then presented. A detailed analysis of the governance and management of FC Barcelona over the 2003–2008 period is then outlined, with the analysis focusing on four key strategic areas: the prioritisation of sporting success; the re‐assertion of member democracy and improvements in transparency of club governance; the implementation of a commercial strategy designed to generate increased revenues; and the development of an innovative series of corporate social responsibility initiatives. The analysis concludes with a critical consideration of the reasons why the mutual ownership and governance structure of FC Barcelona does not appear to have hampered its ability to compete in financial and sporting terms and whether this model could be replicated in the English Premier League.


Beckmann rearrangement of 3α- and 3β-acetamido-5α-androstan-17-one oximes gives homo-aza compounds and the corresponding "second order" Beckmann cleavage ω-cyanoolefin. The mixture of the compounds produced, was separated by column chromatography. The structure of the lactams and the exocyclic nitriles was apparent from ir and nmr spectra.


SUMMARY Plants of Vitis vinifera (cv. Sangiovese) were submitted to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations in the field, using a FACE array; the experiment took place in a vineyard in Central Italy, throughout two growth seasons. The effects of fumigation on productivity, product quality and plant water relations were evaluated. Both vegetative growth and yield were increased, while no differences were evidenced in plant phenology. A significant decrease in stomatal conductance did not result in marked differences in leaf water potential, while osmotic adjustment induced by elevated CO2 in leaves was evident at the final stage of the growing season, but such an observation was year dependent.


A scintillation microprobe has been developed to directly measure the positron decay activity from radiotracers in live animals. The probe consists of a small LSO crystal coupled to an optical fiber which is read out with a photomultiplier tube operated in a single photon counting mode. Positron conversions in the crystal are detected with high efficiency due to the excellent stopping power and high light output of LSO, and allows for the direct determination of the positron emitter concentration in a localized region of tissue. The probe can be used in the study of chemical kinetics and the development of new radiotracers in awake and freely moving animals.


Objective:To investigate the effects of microinjection of acetylcholine and atropine into hippocampus on sheep and wakefulness.Methods:Polysomnography(PSG)and hippocampal microinjection.Results acetylcholine enhanced wakefulness(W),but decreased slow wave sleep(SWS)and total sleep time(TST);Atropine enhanced SWS and TST,but decreased wakefulness.Conclusion:The microinjection of ACh into hippocampus causes wakefulness.Atropine,a muscarinic receptor blocker, promotes SWS and blocks the effect of ACh.


Micrographics once served the world of banking, finance and government. Microfilm was the medium. Since then, the micropublishing world has turned its attention to higher education and has devised a variety of formats: microcards, microprint, 16 and 35 millimeter microfilm, microfiche and ultrafiche to capture that market during a quarter-century period. Micrographics has responded to the information explosion that triggered the technology revolution which drives much of the world's economy. Developments in electrical engineering and the electronics industry gave contemporary society the semiconductor which revolutionized the storage, retrieval and dissemination of information, an issue of vital importance to the library profession. Developments in communication technology brought about by fiber optics and speedier microprocessors followed.


Harvey Fletcher (1884-1981) was a founding member and first president of the Acoustical Society of America. He made important research contributions to electron physics, speech and hearing, communication acoustics, and musical acoustics. Among these were contributions in the development of the audiometer, electronic hearing aids, stereophonic sound, the artificial larynx, and sound in motion pictures. He, with his colleagues, introduced or quantified the concepts of articulation, loudness, and critical band. Along with his many colleagues, Fletcher made many experimental measurements to define and support these new concepts. He has been described as "a singular intellectual force in the development of presentday communication acoustics and telephony."


This article analyzes the interaction between innovation culture of the enterprise and its competitiveness, as well as the study of the influence of innovative culture on the formation and development of competitive advantages of the industrial enterprises. The article analyzes the existing definition of "innovation culture" and "competitiveness". Relevance of the topic article by the fact that competitiveness and strengthen market positions in modern conditions of economic development is not possible without creating a unique, competitive advantages of renewable. To date, the innovative culture is the basis for the formation and development of effective competitive advantages of the industrial enterprise and allows you to create a competitive strategy based on existing innovative potential. Besides the development of innovative culture contributes to the life cycle of competitive advantage, as well as the increase in the number of unique and hard to reproduce a competitive advantage.


As the Nolan Patent Office Bill (H. R. 11,984) will be brought before the Conference Committee of the House and Senate probably about the middle of December, and as the bill has been so altered by the Senate Committee as to be rendered almost worse than useless as a remedy for the present Patent Office troubles, an appeal is again made to the engineering profession to exert all possible influence towards its passage in original form, In this connection your Board of Directors at their meeting of November 12, 1920 adopted the following resolution:


The reform of the Chinese economy in the late 1970s has led considerable unbalanced economic and cultural developments. One phenomenon, Dakou, music compact disc imported to China as plastic waste, has emerged on the media market. The underlying cause is a mixture: e.g. development policy, insufficient management on imported waste and awakening individual agency. Since then, Dakou phenomenon plays as a part of the social development for human beings, and the context for their behaviour and development. This thesis has situated Dakou phenomenon in the framework of China's development procedure, from the perspective of human ecology analysed its construction and inspiration. Meanwhile, I argue that the government shall place people as the priority for the social development and support them to fulfil their agency.


A short periodically repeated train of torsional waves is transmitted along a glass or metal cylindrical rod. After reflection from the free end, these waves are sent back to the quartz crystal which serves as both transmitter and receiver. The phase shift and added attenuation caused by immersing the rod in the test liquid are measured by means of a special balancing arrangement, and yield a calculation of the impedance presented to the rod surface. From an analysis of wave propagation both in the rod and in the liquid, one can calculate the characteristic shear impedance of the liquid, and the dynamic viscosity and stiffness. Illustrative data for polyisobutylene liquids with static viscosities up to 2000 poises are given for the frequency range 25–150 kc. High frequency data (5–25 mc) for the same liquids obtained by a method previously reported on are correlated to the present work.


 Artifact-Centric Business Process Synthesis Framework Using Discrete Event Systems Theory Yin Wang, Ahmed Nazeem HP Laboratories HPL-2011-40 Business Process Synthesis, Service Composition, Artifact, Supervisory Control, Discrete Event Systems Artifact-centric design principle promotes business artifacts to the central role. Services in an artifact system are operations that change the state of these artifacts. A business rule specifies a condition to invoke a service, and a set of rules form a business process. Analogous to the service composition problem in Service Oriented Architecture, one can synthesize an artifact-centric process automatically from a given set of artifacts and services. However, handling uncontrollable events such as user behavior and conditional effects is a challenge. With a few exceptions that target at specific models, existing composition algorithms either assume deterministic outcome of uncontrollable events, or use the execution monitoring and replanning technique. Replanning may be late and miss the opportunity to achieve the goal. In this paper, we introduce a branch of control theory, called Discrete Event Systems (DES) theory, for process synthesis. This theory applies discrete state space models such as automata and Petri nets. The objective is to synthesize the control logic that achieves a given specification. With automaton model, the control logic is represented by state-action pairs that closely resemble rules in artifact systems. While planning techniques are usually optimistic in the sense that they search for the optimal path to achieve the goal, DES theory considers all possible paths and tries to guarantee the specification under the worst sequence of uncontrollable events. We use Google Checkout Service to illustrate our process synthesis technique. External Posting Date: April 6, 2011 [Fulltext] Approved for External Publication Internal Posting Date: April 6, 2011 [Fulltext] Copyright 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Artifact-Centric Business Process Synthesis Framework Using Discrete Event Systems Theory Yin Wang and Ahmed Nazeem 1 Hewlett-Packard Labs, Palo Alto 2 Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Abstract. Artifact-centric design principle promotes business artifacts Artifact-centric design principle promotes business artifacts to the central role. Services in an artifact system are operations that change the state of these artifacts. A business rule speci es a condition to invoke a service, and a set of rules form a business process. Analogous to the service composition problem in Service Oriented Architecture, one can synthesize an artifact-centric process automatically from a given set of artifacts and services. However, handling uncontrollable events such as user behavior and conditional e ects is a challenge. With a few exceptions that target at speci c models, existing composition algorithms either assume deterministic outcome of uncontrollable events, or use the execution monitoring and replanning technique. Replanning may be late and miss the opportunity to achieve the goal. In this paper, we introduce a branch of control theory, called Discrete Event Systems (DES) theory, for process synthesis. This theory applies discrete state space models such as automata and Petri nets. The objective is to synthesize the control logic that achieves a given speci cation. With automaton model, the control logic is represented by state-action pairs that closely resemble rules in artifact systems. While planning techniques are usually optimistic in the sense that they search for the optimal path to achieve the goal, DES theory considers all possible paths and tries to guarantee the speci cation under the worst sequence of uncontrollable events. We use Google Checkout Service to illustrate our process synthesis technique.


The individualized cultivation of scientific and technical personnel plays an important role in pushing the student's all-round development and nurturing the spirit and ability of innovation.In view of the mono-type teaching,weak practical skills on the part of students,lack of individualized education,and other related problems and in consideration of the needs for innovative talents cultivation by modern agricultural endeavors,we put forward the individualized cultivation conception of agricultural machinery talents,scaffolded the specialty program and knowledge structure matching with individualized cultivation,implemented the teaching reform project with the focus on teaching content and methodology,and constructed the channeled and individualized practical teaching system that integrates the"points,lines,planes and sphere".


This study was designed to estimate the relative contribution of the aerobic pathway during the Wingate Anaerobic Test in fourteen young men (25.0 1.0 years) and fourteen older healthy men (57.0 2.0 years). Indirect measure of the anaerobic energy release was compared with a direct value obtained from measured oxygen uptake. Results: At rest, significant (P< 0.05) differences were noted between the groups in heart rate, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure. At peak exercise, five elderly experiencing ECG abnormality, significant (P< 0.05) differences were noted between elderly and young in: heart rate, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures, oxygen uptake (0.9±0.2 and 1.6±0.3 L•min / 2 respectively), peak power output (2.00.7 and 4.31.1 L•min / 2 respectively) and lactic acid (8.50.7 and 12.61.1 mmol•L respectively). Conclusions: Although the absolute contribution of oxygen pathway during the Wingate Anaerobic Test was larger in the young than old, yet, these results show that the aerobic process contribute significantly during intense exercise lasting 30 s in elderly as in young. In addition, it may suggest of the existence of an inherent characteristic of the interplay between aerobic and anaerobic pathways during exercise within the reduced exercise tolerance due to aging limitations.


Welding deformation reduces the accuracy of ship hull blocks and decreases productivity due to the need for correction work. Preparing an error-minimizing guide at the design stage will lead to higher quality as well as higher productivity. Therefore, developing a precise method to predict the weld deformation is an essential part of it. This paper proposes an efficient method for predicting the weld deformation of complicated structures based on the inherent strain theory combined with the finite element method. A simulation of a stiffened panel confirmed the applicability of this method to simple ship hull blocks.


Internal communication in the public sector is an important factor in the improvement of service delivery especially in institutions of higher education hence this study to describe the communication methods used by public universities to disseminate corporate identity messages to employees. The research was carried out through the mixed methods design which comprised a descriptive survey for the qualitative data, indepth interviews and documentary analysis for qualitative data. The target population consisted of ten public universities in Kenya. The sample size was 386 participants which included lecturers, administrative staff, registrars and public relation managers drawn from three older universities and seven recently charted universities. The findings indicated that the communication methods are top-down and one way. The recommendation was that universities create a communication policy that included a formalized way for information to move from the bottom-up.


A versatile windowless beamline for undispersed VUV radiation in the energy range between 10 eV and 100 eV is presented. An adjustable light guiding assembly with two glass capillary arrays as vacuum interfaces is constructed to assure high optical transmission (~30%) of white synchrotron light. Three differential pumping stages reduce the pressure of a reaction gas from 1 mbar to 5 x 10(-9) mbar. Estimate of the optical transmission of the system are given. The beamline was designed to irradiate a large area of a semiconductor surface for synchroton photon enhanced etching and deposition processes.


Search engine results pages (SERPs) are a frequent gateway to Internet content. Prior research has extensively documented strong effects of SERPs (e.g. rank order or the spatial distribution of the results) on users' attention to and selection of particular Web pages [1,2]. In the context of Web search, a common user behavior is the 'top link' or 'Google trust' heuristic, that is, the inspection and selection of only the first few search results presented by the search engine, without evaluating all other search results available. This heuristic behavior allows users to find information in an efficient way, as search engines tend to provide relevant documents on top of the list, especially when it comes to simple facts. But just relying on the top results of the SERP to access information may not be as efficient when users search for learning purposes about controversial topics, such as climate change, for at least two reasons. First, users can be easily mislead by, for example, commercially biased Web Pages located on top of the SERP [3,4]. Second, by looking at just few hits users miss the opportunity to use SERP information to reflect on the relationships between available web pages, an essential step when learning about controversial topics [5]. An emerging research line is currently exploring the role of SERPs in supporting users from different student populations to search the Internet for learning purposes. Based on a synthesis of existing research, in this talk I will argue that SERPs' design can influence users' perceptions and learning of controversial topics, to the extent that design can counteract the effects of 'top link' heuristic [5,6,7]. In addition, I will show that SERP effects are moderated by users (e.g. prior knowledge) [4,8] and task's characteristics (e.g. task complexity) [3]. Finally, I will present results from a recent short intervention study designed to support users' systematic exploration of SERPs when learning about a controversial topic.


I examined the effects of arthropod abundance and of bird foraging tech- niques on the tree species preferences of seven insectivorous bird species in a temper- ate deciduous forest. It is hypothesized that bird species with a wide range of foraging techniques respond more flexibly to the spatial distribution and seasonal change of prey than those with specialized foraging techniques. This hypothesis was supported by the fact that tits, bird species with a wide range of foraging techniques, changed their techniques when foraging in tree species with different foliage structures. They also used various tree species in late summer when food requirements increased owing to the addition of nestlings and fledglings. Bird species with a narrow range of foraging techniques, such as flycatchers and white-eyes, did not change their tech- niques among tree species and had strong tree species preferences in all research peri- ods.


A longitudinal test of the Shevky-Bell mnodel of increasinlg scale, using data from the U. S. for the last century shows the accuracy of the social rank and urbanization axes as aspects of increasing scale, but indicators selected from this model fail to confirm the segregation axis as a trend related to scale. The Shevky-Bell model of sub-area differentiation which its authors developed for census tract unlits was applied to the description of other sub-area unlits. The social rank axis appeared for each area unit, the urbanizatioll axis was barely discernable, and the segregation axis appeared to be a geeneral factor rather than an independenlt axis of differentiationi. It is suggested that the indicators for the segregation axis are measurinlg the fundamenital process of functionial specialization of sub-areas, while the other two axes describe the factors around which the specialization of areas is organized. Furthermore it appears that the axes of sub-area differentiationi shift as the sub-area unit of anialysis is changed. ociologists aind economists have long concerned tlhelmiselves with reducing -to a L coniceptual schemie with a smiall number of variables the process of developmenlt of complex societies. It is the unique feature of the Shevky-Bell typology for social area analysis that a tlheoretical attemiipt is malde to coordlinate the axes of differentiation of social areas from one anotlher with the basic variables in a theory of the developmiental process of comiplex society.1 Drawing on the work of urbanl scholar Louis WVirtl, anltlhropologists Godfrey and Monica Wilson, anld economiist Colin Clark, Shevky anld Bell presented wlhat we will call, after tlhem, a theory of increasinlg scale. As a society inlcreases in scale, three interrelated processes are asserted to occur (aand I interpret Shevky andl Bell lhere somlewlhat) (1) The occupational structure will shift fromi a large proportion in malnual occupations to a large proportion in clerical, supervisory, and management occupations. This shift will he reflected in general improvemiient in economiiic status and social rank, and caln be measured for any census tract by an index comhinin-g measures for that tract of occupational status, educational level, andl amounlt


The utility model provides an ammonia gas absorber and an ammonia water preparing absorption system. The ammonia gas absorber consists of at least one absorbing unit, wherein the absorbing unit consists of an inner barrel and an outer barrel which are sleeved with each other; the inner barrel is a guiding channel for ammonia gas to flow through; ammonia gas is input from one end of the inner barrel; a flow dispersing plate is arranged in front of an ammonia gas input end of the inner barrel; gas flow speed reducing through holes are formed in the flow dispersing plate; a space between the outer barrel and the inner barrel is divided into an upper water jacket and a lower ammonia water collecting jacket; a water sprayer is mounted on the wall of the inner barrel. The ammonia water preparing absorption system comprises the ammonia gas absorber and a longitudinal ammonia water tank, wherein an ammonia water collecting pipe, a water conveying pipe, an ammonia water conveying pipeline, a concentration detecting pipeline and a circulating pumping pipeline are communicated with the ammonia water tank. In the technical scheme, basic assembling unit structures can be adopted according to the amount of ammonia gas, and the pressure and the flow rate of the ammonia gas; the ammonia gas absorber and the ammonia water preparing absorption system have the technical advantages of high flexibility in assembly design and easiness in implementation of automatic control.


Abstract The basic structural materials for the ITER are considered. They are austenitic stainless steels for the first wall and blanket and alloys on the base of Mo and Cu for the divertor. The basic mechanical properties in the initial state and the influence of irradiation on them are presented. The mechanical and sone other properties of 0.04C-16Cr-11Ni-3Mo-0,5Ti steel do not yield to foreign analogs and exceed them by some parameters.


The thermal stability of a new magnet wire known as Alkanex* wire has been evaluated as a component of heat-resistant motor insulation by four different test methods. Alkanex wire has been shown to possess approximately a 40 degrees centigrade (C) superiority in thermal stability as compared to Formex ® wire when used with suitable varnish systems. It is important to choose varnish and solvent systems which are compatible with the wire enamel. It is concluded by test that Alkanex wire can be used in equipment operating at class B temperature and that use need not await confirmation by long service trials.


The effects on progesterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations of 10 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) administered on Day 5 of pseudopregnancy were studied in long-term hysterectomized rats. In hysterectomized rats treated with saline a period of vaginal diestrus of 22.7 days was found whereas vaginal cornification was delayed for 73.6 days following a single sc administration of 10 mg MPA. Progesterone levels determined on the even days 8-22 revealed that in control and MPA-treated rats maximal concentrations occurred between Days 8-10 (85 and 75 ng/ml respectively) and decreased gradually to 20 ng/ml on Day 20. In rats treated with saline LH increased from Days 16 to 20 but such an increase was not seen in rats treated with MPA. These results indicate that MPA dissociates functional luteolysis from the rise in basal LH levels before proestrus and confirms the earlier observation that MPA does not affect the functional life-span of corpora lutea.


Abstract Soybean agglutinin (SBA) represents the anti-nutritional molecule in soybean. This molecule agglutinates erythrocytes of several animal species. The specific binding of SBA to glycoprotein of the cellular plasma membrane is necessary for SBA to exert its toxic action. The sensitivity of erythrocyte to SBA for various species is different, however, the pathway is unclear. We aimed to optimise the method of extracting erythrocyte membrane (EM) and to analyse the pathway of the different sensitivity of erythrocyte to SBA in three animals species (rabbit as a rodent, pig as an omnivore, and bovine as a ruminant). The method of low osmotic haemolysis was used to extract the EM. To precipitate the EM, we evaluated the purification effects of three lysis bufferes, including NP-40, RIPA (medium) and RIPA (weak). All SBA-specific binding proteins (SSBP) on erythrocyte membranes were conducted using co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) and analysed using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS (Q-E)). The results showed that NP-40 lysis buffer was the most effective than the other two kinds of lysates to extract EM proteins. Functionally, the SSBP of EM could be divided into three categories in each animal, including cytoskeleton proteins, catalytic enzyme proteins and the functional regulatory proteins. The cytoskeleton proteins were the main different expressed proteins among the EM proteins in pig, rabbit than that in bovine, which may be one important reason for the difference of the SBA sensitivity. This research provides basis to reveal the pathway of SBA-induced hemagglutination differences in erythrocytes in different animal species. Highlights We optimised the method of extracting EM to isolate and identify SSBP in different animal species. NP-40 lysis buffer was the most effective than the other two kinds of lysates to extract EM proteins. Cytoskeleton proteins were the main different expressed proteins among the EM proteins in pig, rabbit, and cow.


Abstract Spalted heartwood is valued for its vibrant colors, patterns, and decay-free appearance. Using microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and non-targeted metabolomics, we aimed to study some distinctive features of black patterning. The results showed that cocci might be associated with the production of spalted heartwood. There was an absence of decay in the spalted heartwood because the cocci had not aggressively attacked the cell walls. 4-pyridoxine, often associated with the bacterial stimulation of organisms, was identified as an upregulated metabolite in the black-patterned wood compared to non-colored areas. We identified four primary metabolic pathways related to bacterial activity associated with the black patterning: pentose and glucuronate interconversions, ATP-binding cassette transporters, histidine metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction. These results suggest that microbes might play a significant role in the development of the heartwood's distinctive black pattern in Diospyros spp.


UNLABELLED
SKOLAR has implemented a web-based CME program with which physicians can earn AMA Category 1 credit for self-directed learning.

METHODS
Physicians researched their questions in SKOLAR and applied for CME. Physician auditors reviewed all requests across two phases of the project. A selection rule set was derived from phase one and used in phase two to flag a subset of requests for detailed review. The selection rule set is described.

RESULTS
In phase one, SKOLAR received 1039 CME applications. Applicants frequently found their answer (94%) and would apply it clinically (93%). A linear regression analysis comparing time awarded to time requested (capped at actual time spent) had R2=0.79.

DISCUSSION
We believe that that this self-directed approach to CME is effective and an important complement to traditional CME programs. However, selective audit of self-directed CME requests is necessary to ensure validity of credits awarded.


The interaction between transport, land-uses and travel patterns produce diverse transportation problems in urban cities with traffic congestion as the most visible manifestation. Traffic congestion is a frequent phenomenon in most cities around the globe. This paper reviews the interaction between landuse traffic congestion through published literature. The objective of this study is to encourage and provide researchers with future research directions in land-use and traffic congestion. For this purpose, a systematic review was performed analysing 45 articles from the year 2010 to 2020 using a descriptive approach. Subsequently, the results of the study show that although the interaction between land-use and traffic congestion has gained currency in developed countries far less is known on this subject in developing parts of the world, though new evidence is steadily accumulating. Consequently, limitations of this work are presented, opportunities are identified for future lines of research. Finally, the conclusion confirms the need for further research addressing the methodological concerns. This article is an open access


The Technical University of Babahoyo, committed to social development and the training of professionals with academic excellence, welcomes the responsibility of linking students who attend their last semesters and pre-professional practices of the Basic Education career, redesigns, the objective of these activities It is to contribute to society through the lines of action of the Plan for Good Living, responding to the integral formation of early childhood, through agreements with NGOs, such as the one signed with the Autonomous Decentralized Government of Babahoyo. The students of the Basic Education Career, in compliance with the pre-professional practices, carried out workshops based on educational guides to stimulate children through playful methodologies. The work also allowed the integration of learning processes learned from parents of different communities through activities aimed at academic reinforcement through recreational activities. At the end of the process of linking and pre-professional practices, students obtained disciplinary, didactic and pedagogical knowledge that allowed the development of generic and professional skills with a social impact.


This paper deals with the analysis and implementation of a new scalar control technique for industrial interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor drives that exploits energy-saving capability. In particular, the proposed control strategy forces the conditions of maximum torque per ampere (MTPA), flux weakening (FW), and maximum torque per voltage (MTPV) simply by assigning polynomial relationships between the operating angles of the machine. Although the dynamic performance of the drive is worsened compared to that of vector control schemes, the modified scalar control allows us to work in energetic conditions, very close to those obtained with vector-controlled drives exploiting MTPA, FW, and MTPV strategies. The control techniques are implemented without using any speed and voltage measurement and with only a single current feedback. This paper provides a detailed study of the control strategy, showing the effectiveness and limitations of the method through simulations and experimental results.


Georgetown University Press, Washington, DC, 2004, 336 pp. David Kelly is the Gallagher Professor of Theology and Health Care Ethics at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, and also served as an ethicist for the former St. Francis Health System in southwestern Pennsylvania. This book, which reflects his dual role in academics and health care, is intended, he writes, "as a textbook for students and a resource for practitioners" (p. xi.). Part I ("Theological Basis") and Part II ("Method") are appropriate primarily for an academic audience. In these theoretical sections, Kelly traces the religious roots of the contemporary discipline of health care ethics, sets out a theological anthropology in relation to health care, and introduces the concepts of philosophical ethics. Part III ("Application") is likely to be of greatest interest to health care professionals. Nine of the 14 chapters in this section deal with end-of-life issues, reflecting the author's assessment that "this is the area where ethics comes into play most visibly in hospitals and nursing homes" (p. xi). Particular chapters discuss the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means as the principle for forgoing treatment, the distinction between killing and allowing to die, decisions by competent patients, decision making for incompetent patients, advance directives, nutrition and hydration, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, the concept of medical futility, and pain management.


is fault tolerance deployment of and in to achieve and different research challenges. This presents an analysis of fault tolerance deployment mechanisms in to identify the strengths and weaknesses of This presents the scope of directions in order to help who are working in this field.


This article is a short personal piece that attempts to explore the circumstances and triggers behind moving from employment to the freelance world and back again. It highlights some pitfalls and high points along the way and illustrates the pros and cons of each status. I like proverbs, little common-sense truths ... and this one sums up the freelancer versus employed dilemma better than most: Whether to remain freelancing, or conversely, remain employed, is a dilemma that will affect many of us during our medical writing career. It is a dilemma because each has its own pros and cons, and the pros tug at you from the other side almost all the time. Believe me, I have been doing this for over 30 years, and it doesn't change. When you are working as a freelancer, you worry a great deal about the next project; you long for the assurance of a predictable income and regular time off. When you are employed, either in the agency or industry arena, it is hard not to feel tied and to long for the freedom of being your own boss. Of course, there are lots of other pros and cons and it seems that for almost every negative, there is a positive, and this almost equal balance makes the dilemma even worse (Figure 1). Moving in either direction is not difficult in these days of internet, talent spotters, and the seeming insatiable appetite for good writers. LinkedIn is a great resource and a little time spent 'hunting' through contacts and networks is time well spent, even though it might feel like spying. This is my potted story and within it I hope to illustrate some of the pitfalls and some of the golden moments; neither is better, they are just different. I cannot offer advice; we are all different. We have different needs, pressures, and pulls. Moving from employment to freelance and back again simply reflects the ebb The grass is always greener on the other side: Freelance vs employed, experiences from a seasoned medical writer 30 | March 2019 Medical Writing | Volume 28 Number 1 Gurton – The grass is always greener on the other side and flow of our lives at the time. I first became a freelancer as a result of circumstance rather than design. I was working in a big pharma company which had just been taken over by an even bigger company, and relocation was on the agenda. This coupled with an attractive voluntary redundancy package made it a 'no-brainer' for me, particularly since I had promises of work from many colleagues. A year in, I was working from home, inundated with jobs, thoroughly enjoying my freedom, and earning what seemed to be a shed-load of money! It is interesting to note that daily rates for freelancers have barely risen since then – 28 years ago! I think this has two drivers; there are many, many more of us around, and there is less money in the marketing and medical departments of big pharma today. So, we get comparatively poorer and, because of strong competition, there is an increasing pressure to excel. The learning and challenge of freelancing I continued happily as a freelancer for some years, expanding my network, building my reputation, and trying my hand at more and more types of writing. I worked on training programmes, product monographs, resource kits, public relations pieces, advocacy materials, abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, posters, etc. And I worked in many different therapeutic areas from Figure 1: The freelance vs the employed seesaw Freelancing Employed Less


1. A method for producing difluoroacetic acid, its salts or esters, characterized in that it comprises reacting in the presence of salt water, which is a source of fluoride anion, monohalogenated or dihalogenated and acetic acid in the acid, salt or esterified form; with at least one halogen atom different from ftora.2 atom. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the halogenated substrate corresponds to the following formula: HCXX-COOR (I); in the formula: - X a and X, which are identical or different, represent a chlorine, bromine or fluorine with the proviso that at least one of the atoms X or Xyavlyaetsya chlorine or bromine atom, - R: a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group which may be alkyl or cycloalkyl group; metalla.3 cation. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the halogenated substrate corresponds to the formula (I), wherein: - R represents a hydrogen atom, - R represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R u is an alkali or alkaline earth cation metalla.4. Process according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the halogenated substrate is monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, or their chlorofluoroacetate methyl or ethyl efir.5. Process according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the salt which is a source of fluoride anion, is one of the following salts or their mixtures: - a metal fluoride, a metal fluoride, preferably from the groups (IA), (IIA) and (IIB ) of the periodic table of elements, - a double salt, preferably a double aluminum fluoride and sodium or potassium; and ftorosilik


Due to that the practically fired coal of the boiler deviates greatly from the designed coal grade,the efficiency of the W-shape flame boiler of the 660 MW unit in a power plant is lower.Aiming at this problem,the combustion optimized adjustment experiment was carried out.As first step,the F damper was regulated to balance the oxygen distribution in the outlet of the coal economizer.Then,starting from the main factors influencing on the operational economical efficiency of the boiler,combining with the features of the boiler,the influences of the load variation,the second air flow variation,the coal quality variation and the open degrees of C damper on the boiler efficiency were analyzed;and a rational operating condition was proposed.


Background The geographic distribution of forest and woodland ecosystems in the Interior West United States is strongly influenced by topographic gradients that, in part, control moisture availability through their effect on insolation, and precipitation capture and retention. Through an empirical approach, we use unique, plot-level data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program ( n = 13,437) over eight ecoregions within eight Interior West states to characterize the distribution of the 12 most abundant tree species with respect to the effects of elevation, slope aspect, and slope steepness. Results Across species, elevation, and aspect, most plots occurred on gentle slopes and the number decreased with increasing slope. Species-specific differences to microenvironmental conditions were evident in the variation between observed (plots containing a subject tree) and expected (all forest plots from the systematic sample) numbers of plots across the gradient combinations. Species groups, broadly defined as woodland, montane, and subalpine, generally exhibited similar responses and revealed more generality than hypothesized. Only Douglas-fir, white fir, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce exhibited significant patterns of affinity for particular aspects—most often on north and least often on south—with the relative importance of south aspects decreasing with increasing elevation. Limber pine showed unique, unimodal patterns of affinity for moderately steep slopes, with no consistent patterns by aspect or elevation. Although not significant, at high elevations woodland species exhibited a tendency to occur more often on south aspects on gentle to intermediate slopes, and less often on north aspects. Conclusions Unique microenvironments created by interactions between aspect, slope, and elevation create some predictability in patterns of geographic distribution. However, the general lack of species-specific response suggests that patterns of occurrence in relation to physiographic gradients is much broader than in common generalizations.


The increased number of items with a shorter useful life, the massive use of e-commerce, and increased environmental awareness with increasingly demanding laws on disposal of products, have created a large amount of returns increasing the importance of Reverse Logistics for society and companies, in general. However, according to the literature, Reverse Logistics is still a poorly explored activity, and therefore there are no concrete data to work with and to explore opportunities for improvement. With the goal of bridging this gap, a literature review on the relationship between Reverse Logistics and business performance was conducted in addition to a study carried out in the companies to investigate how this relationship is established.  As the main result, which is directly related to the objectives of this study, a conceptual model that contributes to a better understanding of the reverse logistic process was developed. This model includes performance indicators suitable for evaluating the activity. Another objective of this study is the use of the multiple-criteria decision making approach, a tool that simplifies the selection of indicators according the company strategies.


We propose an alternative formulation for an already known approach of continuum fusion of detectors. Our approach is based on min-max and max-min detectors that turn out to be equivalent to continuum fused detectors. The new formulation is easier for analytical purposes. We prove a theorem about the relationship between min-max and max-min detectors that would have been difficult to obtain using continuum fusion. For the case of a simple background space, when the two detectors simplify to the max-type detector, we compare the performance of that detector with the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) detector, and show cases when either of the two outperforms the other detector.


Doped micro-crystalline silicon films are deposited at temperatures as low as 400 ℃ by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition method using a silane and hydrogen gas mixture. Electrical properties such as the carrier concentration and the Hall mobility are investigated for various measuring temperatures. It is found that the grains of micro-crystalline silicon are preferentially oriented along the (220) direction , and that the Hall mobility is larger than 8 cm 2·V -1 ·s -1 , the carrier concentration is about 1×10 17 cm -1 ~1×10 19 cm -3 at room temperature.


The goal of the study was to compare the reliability and validity of 3 Sedation Agitation Scale. Two nurses and a physician conducted 130 observations simultaneously. They found an excellent interrater reliability in the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (r > 0.86), and high correlations between the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale and the Sedation Agitation Scale and Visual Analog Scale scales (r = 0.92, r = 0.85). The research findings will help to assert Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale as a daily assessment tool in the intensive care unit, and it will pave the way for construction a sedation protocol according to the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale level.


This paper presents a novel approach of utilizing TEM lamella for nano-probing in localizing high resistive via within via - metal interconnect. Nano-probing on TEM lamella allows better resolution in a way multiple layers can be accessed within a single probing session at a cross section view. Depending on the layout structure of the failing interconnect, probing on TEM lamella has greatly accelerated the defect finding when compared to the conventional front side probing. The standard practice of multi-layer nano-probing capability with access to only two metal layers is also presented in this paper on a FIB recess sample.


Strmmary.-The aim of the present study was to approximate the initial amount of informarion obtained by the visual and haptic sysrerns from exposure to a stimulus. College students were presented with 10-sided random forms at 4 exposures (2-, 5-, lo-, and 15-sec.) in two modalities (visual and haptic) and under two delay conditions (no delay and 10-sec. delay) and were required to draw each form. Drawings were scored on accuracy of match to the original form. Results indicated that (a) in general, scores increased with increasing exposure time; (b) visual exploration was superior to haptic exploration; and (c) the delay variable did not affect performance. In Exp. I1 college students were again presented with 10-sided random forms under 5 modality.by-exposure conditions. Thirty sec. of 1-handed haptic exploration resulted in comparable performance to 2 sec. visual exploration. The results are discussed in terms of the dis- ' parity of the information-gathering capacities of the visual and haptic systems. The majority of investigations studying visual-hapcic perception have been primarily concerned with the relative efficacy of visual versus hapcic performance (Cashdan & Zung, 1970; Garvill & Molander, 1968; Gaydos, 1956; Milner LZZ Bryant, 1970; Rude1 & Teuber, 1964). Few have been concerned with specific characceristics of visual and haptic processing of information. Abravanel (1972), in a recent article, has pointed out the need for further research "co separate the roles of acquisition and transformation processes in the chain of information handling" (p. 424). The aim of the present research was to investigate and compare the information-gathering capabilities of the visual and haptic modalicies and to equate vis~~al and hapcic information as a function of stimulus exposure. It seems pla~~sible that the haptic system is less efficient in its gathering of information than che visual system; chat is, given equal exposure to a stimulus in each of these modalities, more information is obtained and therefore would be available for processing in the visual than the haptic system. To study visual-haptic processes accurately, e.g., the transformation or retention of information, the initial amount of information to each modaliry must be controlled. Methods which impose equal exposure times for both modes do not control the amount of information each system receives. Further, procedures commonly used when comparing intra- and cross-modal matching, which require Ss to find a match to a standard form from a series of variants, e.g., match-to-sample tasks, produce an experimental confounding. The time neces


The Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network model is an effective deep learning approach for predicting streamflow, and the investigation of the interpretability of deep learning models in streamflow prediction is of great significance for model transfer and improvement. In this study, four key hydrological stations in the Xijiang River Basin (XJB) in South China are taken as examples, and the performance of the LSTM model and its variant models in runoff prediction were evaluated under the same foresight period, and the impacts of different foresight periods on the prediction results were investigated based on the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method to explore the interpretability of the LSTM model in runoff prediction. The results showed that (1) LSTM was the optimal model among the four models in the XJB; (2) the predicted results of the LSTM model decreased with the increase in foresight period, with the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) decreasing by 4.7% when the foresight period increased from one month to two months, and decreasing by 3.9% when the foresight period increased from two months to three months; (3) historical runoff had the greatest impact on streamflow prediction, followed by precipitation, evaporation, and the North Pacific Index (NPI); except evaporation, all the others were positively correlated. The results can provide a reference for monthly runoff prediction in the XJB.


During necropsy of a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) heart an adult, male Toxocara caniswas found under the pericardium at the junction of the right ventricle and right atrium. The life cycle of T. canisis complex and includes tracheal and somatic migrations of larvae, and they can be found in many tissues throughout the host's body. However, it is rare for adult ascarids to be recovered outside of the small intestine. This is the first report of an adult T. canisinside the pericardial space.


Traditionally, aloe Vera was used topically to heal wounds and for various skin conditions, and orally as a laxative. Aloe Vera was an ancient and medicinally valued herb mentioned in siddha, ayurveda system of medicine. It contains essential components like Vitamins, mineral and amino acids etc. Today, in addition to traditional uses, people take aloe orally to treat a variety of conditions, including diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and osteoarthritis. People use aloe Vera topically for burns, sunburns, and psoriasis. Aloe Vera gel can be found in hundreds of skin products, including lotions and sunblocks.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved aloe veras a natural food flavoring. NCCAM (National Centre for complementary and alternative medicine.) had done many researches on aloe Vera extract for various conditions. ICMR (Indian council for medical research) doesn't provide much research details on Aloe Vera extract. Early studies show that topical aloe gel may help in healing burns and abrasions. There is not enough scientific evidence to support aloe vera for any of its other uses. I took some of the reference studies related with Aloe Vera entrain other indication like Diabetes mellitus, Ulcer etc. This study will be a preliminary study to rule out the influence of Aloe vera extract on Lipid profile and will support to future studies on various indication in a


The choice of bearing stratum for Zoucheng Baiyun M ansion is analyzed according to the feature of soil components,physical mechanic s indexes.By strength checking and eubeidence calculationg,it is found that the third layer,gravel and grit,is euitable to be eelected as bearing stratum,box fo undation adopted is able to meet the requirement.


This paper Considers a class Of distributed perameter systems with unbounded disturbances.First,a design method Of variable structure control is Proposed under general conditions,and the dynamical properties and reachablity of sliding mode are studied.Secondly,under some special assumptions, a finite-dimensional layer control is designed.


A novel filtering balun is proposed in this letter. The filtering balun consists of three half-wavelength uniform-impedance microstrip resonators. Each resonator is coupled to external port through tapped line. Two resonators (called output resonators) connected to balanced output ports are in parallel coupled to the third resonator (called input resonator) connected to the unbalanced input port. The coupling locations have equal-magnitude and out-of-phase voltages, which provides balanced output signals. To improve the isolation performance, a microstrip stub is used to introduce coupling between the output resonators and an isolation resistor is added between the symmetrical position of the microstrip stub and the ground. The isolation resistor can obviously improve isolation performance and has no effect on the balanced output signals. The design is discussed in detail and a prototype filtering balun with center frequency of 2.4 GHz is designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results have good agreement with the simulated ones, which confirms the novel filtering balun and the design method.


Ecosystems may have more than one state with a self-stabilizing mechanism, so that a shift between states does not occur frequently and is not readily reversible. These big changes of ecosystem states are termed regime shifts. Regime shifts are difficult to predict and are problematic for ecosystem managers because of irreversibility. Here I briefly introduce a theoretical approach to predict the shift between a clear-water state and a turbid state in lakes, the best-studied example of regime shifts. This paper also discusses regime shifts in other systems besides ecosystems.


This experiment was conducted to determine the nutritional requirement of digestible methionine (dmet) in growing Japanese quail from 7 to 28 d of age. A total of 540 seven-day-old quail chicks were allotted in 9 treatments including several levels of dmet (0.35, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55, 0.60, 0.60, 0.65, 0.70 and 0.75 %) with 4 replicates and 15 birds in each based on completely randomized design. A basal diet was formulated to meet all nutritional needs except of met, and to create experimental treatments incremental levels DL-met was added to the basal diet at
expense corn starch. Growth data for body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded weekly. The results showed that the highest BWG and FI (p<0.05) were obtained with 0.5% of dmet (7-14, 7-21, and 7-28 d of age). The lowest FCR (p<0.05) was obtained at the 0.5% of dmet from 7-14 and 7-28 d of age. No
significant (thigh, breast, liver, and length small intestine) during the study. Also, the effects of dietary met were not significant on the immune organs including spleen and bursa of fabrics (p>0.05).


Dissolution of NiO cathode into the electrolyte matrix is an important phenomena limiting the lifetime of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). The dissolved nickel diffuses into the matrix and is reduced by dissolved hydrogen leading to the formation of metallic nickel films in the pores of the matrix. The growth of Ni films in the electrolyte matrix during the continuous cell operation results eventually in shorting between cathode and anode. Various mathematical and empirical models have been developed to describe the NiO dissolution and Ni deposition processes, and these models have some success in estimating the lifetime of MCFC by correlating the amount of Ni deposited in the matrix with shorting time. Since the exact mechanism of Ni deposition was not well understood, deposition reaction was assumed to be very fast in most of the models and the Ni deposition region was limited around a point in the matrix. In fact, formation of Ni films takes place in a rather broad region in the matrix, the location and thickness of the film depending on operating conditions as well as matrix properties. In this study, we assumed simple reaction kinetics for Ni deposition and developed a mathematical model to get themore » distribution of nickel in the matrix.« less


Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (strangles) is a highly contagious upper respiratory infection in horses. The infection is transmitted by inhalation or direct contact with mucopurulent discharge from an infective animal, resulting in fever, depression, and submandibular and retropharyngeal lymph node enlargement that can lead to respiratory distress. Complications include purpura hemorrhagica and metastatic abscessation. Control of outbreaks requires strict isolation protocols and hygiene measures. Detection of carriers is essential for preventing disease recurrence on a farm.


The Center on Knowledge Translation for Technology Transfer (KT4TT) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013 Product Utilization Support and Help (PUSH) Award, Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden and his team at the Trace Research & Development Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Trace is home to NIDRR's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) for Universal Interface and Information Technology Access and RERC on Telecommunications Access. Dr. Vanderheiden and his team exemplify knowledge translation for technology transfer through their implementation of a needs-driven approach to focusing their Center's research and development efforts on creating innovative technology solutions and transferring them to the marketplace.


Molecularly (mechanistically) , epigenetics can be defined as 'the sum of the alterations to the chromatin temp la te that collectively establish and propagate different pattems of gene expression (transcription) and silencing from the same genome". DNA methylation and histone modification are the main epigenetic mechanisms in mammals2. Epigenetic factors are being found to play a role in disease Cincluding cancer, atherosclerosis , autoimmunity, psychiatric diseases, diabetes mellitus and obesity) , heredity, cell differentiation and cell development. Epigenetic therapy is the use of drugs to correct epigenetic defects (epimutations). 1t is a new, realistic


Abstract A 1:1 mole-ratio mixture of anthracene and naphthalene was pyrolyzed in a drop-tube furnace. the product mixture was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array, UV-absorption spectrometric detection (HPLC/DAD) and by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS). In addition to previously characterized bianthracene and binaphthalene isomers, 6 isomeric naphthyl-anthracenes were identified. Because of the unavailability of standard reference compounds, structural elucidation was achieved by comparing UV spectral features, mass spectral fragmentation patterns, and GCMS and HPLC elution order with those for bianthracenes, binaphthalenes and other structurally similar molecules. In addition, steric hindrance to rotation at the naphthalene-anthracene bond, a factor that governs the degree of non-planarity of the isomers and thus influences HPLC elution order and MS fragmentation patterns, was estimated using a semi-empirical molecular orbital model.


1. Introduction PART I: ON DEFINITIONS 2. Systematizing Thin and Thick Rule of Law Definitions 3. Diminished Subtypes of the Rule of Law PART II: ON MEASURES 4. Evaluating Extant Rule of Law Measures 5. Exploring the Interchangability of Rule of Law Measures PART III: ON PATTERNS 6. Examining the Empirical Fit of the Typological Hierarchy 7. Reassessing the Relevance of Diminished Subtypes of the Rule of Law 8. Charting Rule of Law Adherence Across Time and Space PART IV: ON CAUSES 9. Uncovering the Historical Origins of the Rule of Law 10. Explaining Cross-National Differences in Adherence to the Rule of Law 11. Conclusions


In the process of developing horizontal machining center,in order to meet customer′s product multiformity demand,reduce the cost and improve production efficiency,we designed a kind of modular structure of tool magazine,and introduced the process of exchanging and controling tool.


This research work is aimed at investigating the effect of variation of speed and spark advance settings on the performance of a spark ignited gasoline engine fuelled with natural gas without any design and operational modification. Study is carried out for two modes of operation-one with gasoline fuelling for baseline data generation and another one with natural gas for four different engine speeds at different engine loading conditions at three different spark advance settings and then various engine performance parameters (maximum brake power, brake specific fuel consumption, exhaust temperature, peak cylinder pressure, rate of pressure rise etc) are analyzed and reported. Finally the effect of speed and spark advance setting on the performance parameters are compared for the two fuels. Results show that for the same speed and spark setting, the conventional gasoline engine has lower power, higher bsfc, and higher engine operating temperature with NG fuelling and more sensitive to change in speed and spark settings than with gasoline. For gasoline at higher speed, the change of spark setting has no significant effect on the engine performance. While for NG, the change of spark setting leads to considerable improvement in performance over the entire speed range. Moreover, NG fuelling causes moderate pressure rise, so high speed operation can be carried out smoothly compared to gasoline fuelling.


This issue is a bit unusual. By unusual I mean the UK editor (me) makes an appearance in three contributions. In two I have a lead role and in the third I have a walk-on part. This is the obvious place to insert the disclaimer that there is any self-advertising intended. Like so many things in life it is sometimes best to get certain things out of the way as quickly as possible and as coincidence has had it, in the past two years or so I have been involved with various aspects of the process of ego-histoire, both writing about it as well as being a subject of (to?) it. So, as it turns out, there is more than a dash of that genre of historying in this issue. As Jeremy Popkin wrote in his famous essay 'Ego-histoire and Beyond: Contemporary French HistorianAutobiographers' (Popkin 1996) autobiographies by historians are rare birds. This is why since its inception almost 15 years ago in this journal we have had our regular 'Invitations to historians' feature (to which Jeremy Popkin has contributed of course). This issue is more broadly concerned – although not exclusively – with the historian as an authorial figure. We start with the innovative theorist Kalle Pihlainen's examination of new forms, procedures, customs and practices of history writing. He examines what has defined afresh the job of historians. To this end he deploys the concept of narrative constructivism as pioneered by Hayden White that has centred on the pursuit of different and sometimes unusual forms of and for history writing. He also recognises that in the past 50 years or so, many radical moves within historical thinking and research have been drafted into conventional history writing and so the initially sharp and incisive political edge of such historical thinking and research has been dulled. Specifically he deploys the examples of microhistory and feminism. Pihlainen argues that what he calls 'constructivist theorising' has blunted the edge of oppositional theorising. He revisits and rejects the conventional argument of epistemically conformist historians that the postmodern moment is over and that it has gone the way of all 'anything goes' arguments. He concludes with an examination of how constructivist thinking has redefined the job of the historian in both representational as well as political terms. Next, Allan Megill is the subject of an interview replying to the questions of Mikkel Thorup. In this particular piece of ego-histoire, Megill recalls how he was attracted to intellectual history by both its concerns and what he describes as 'its relative epistemological modesty'. He then describes it not so Rethinking History Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2011, 459–462


Based on observation of food habit of common birds was observed at a 20 hm2 plot from October 2010 to September 2011 in Tiantong Forest Park,Zhejiang,we analyzed the relation between birds and tree species.Among the 3 130 birds of 32 species observed that belong to 5 families and 12 orders 5 species Alcippe morrisonia,Aegithalos concinnus,Parus major,Hemixos castanonotus and Pycnonotus sinensis were dominant.The species of trees perched by birds were correspondingly related to bird species by similarity index and Spearman correlation analysis.Birds Parus major and Aegithalos concinnus more likely foraged on or near trees of Diospyros glaucifolia,bird Pycnonotus sinensis was near trees of Vaccinium trichocladum and Schoepfia jasminodora in autumn,while birds Hemixos castanonotus selected their forage site near trees of Eurya muricata in summer and autumn.


This paper proposes a model that exploits the Internet of Things in the urban environment to promote the accessibility to physical real-world objects especially to those with special needs. The approach is primarily based on connecting and sharing data about accessibility requirements and real-world environment data. The approach is also founded on annotating physical objects, and adapting the interaction with the virtual side of cyber-physical objects in order to make physical objects accessible in a smart environment via smart devices. We define and build our model as an extension of previous research results in order to facilitate interaction with everyday objects and promote quality of life for those with special needs.