As mobile devices become multi-functional, and converge into a single platform, there is a strong need for a codec that is able to provide consistent quality for speech and music content MPEG-D USAC standardization activities started at the 82nd MPEG meeting with a CfP and approved WD3 at the 88th MPEG meeting. MPEG-D USAC is converged technology of AMR-WB+ and HE-AAC V2. Specifically, USAC utilizes three core codecs (AAC ACELP and TCX) for low frequency regions, SBR for high frequency regions and the MPEG Surround tool for stereo information. USAC can provide consistent sound quality for both speech and music content and can be applied to various applications such as multi-media download to mobile device Digital radio Mobile TV and audio books.


Hydro-Turbine Governing System (HTGS) is a key component in hydropower station, which converse hydropower into electricity, the stable operation of HTGS is of vital importance to a hydropower station. This paper aims to study the fault diagnosis method under noisy environment and propose an Improved Generalized Predictive Control (IGPC) strategy under fault operation conditions. Firstly, the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is adopted to characterize the faults of HTGS based on the nonlinear mathematical model of HTGS. Each EKF corresponds to a certain fault mode, which composes a fault archive. Meanwhile, the EKFs are able to effectively filter the external noise. The detection and recognition of faults are accomplished by the generalized residual model, the probability of a certain fault is quantified by the deviation between the observation of EKFs and the state variables of real HTGS. Then, the probability of each fault is injected into IGPC to reconstruct the CARIMA of HTGS, hence the CARIMA always follow the real state of HTGS even under fault operation conditions. Based on the online reconstruction of CARIMA, the robustness of GPC is further strengthened. Simulation result indicates that the proposed diagnosis model is effective for the detection and recognition of known faults under noise contaminated environment. In addition, the proposed IGPC is able to effectively stabilize the HTGS under fault operation conditions.


The present invention provides a method capable of producing a base material ingot in a short period of time that have a good base material ingot roundness and core eccentricity, and the connection loss, core eccentricity of the obtained optical fiber excellent in that the cut-off wavelength uniform that, after the starting core is deposited the soot on the member, dehydrated, sintered glass transition, in rotating the surface to the production method of the optical fiber base material ingot to machine grinding, the longitudinal direction of the base material ingot 14 before the grinding process to the purpose of measuring the position of the core at a plurality of locations, and the location of the core of said plurality Barn according to the estimate calculated this center and core center of the base material ingot 14 over the longitudinal direction of the base material ingot 14, the base material ingot (14 to match by ) after designing the finished dimensions of the, and wherein the finishing by grinding the outer periphery of the base material ingot 14 based on the design.


Two models have been developed to explain the relative roles of cultural and geomorphic processes on the distribution of artifacts in the arid southwestern United States. This study tested the Geological Disturbance Model at a microtopographic scale in an area of approximately 14 km2 in the northeastern Hueco Basin, West Texas. Coppice dunes, interdunal deflational areas, and sandsheets have formed throughout the Hueco Basin within the last 100–150 years. The number of coppice dunes in 1,397 ha was counted, and 48 ha were mapped to determine the surface area of the coppice dunes and interdunal deflational areas. Artifact distribution was statistically compared to the coppice dunes in each hectare. No significant linear correlation was found. Cultural practices or other factors appear to have a greater influence on the distribution of artifacts than geomorphic processes at this scale. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Diagnostic techniques based on the Schottky spectrum of the peak detected signal have been used at CERN for a long time to study the behaviour of bunched beams. In this paper it is shown how the measured spectrum is related to the particle distribution in synchrotron frequency. The experimental set-up used and its limitations are also presented together with examples of beam measurements in the SPS and LHC.


We employ a scanning nitrogen-vacancy-center microscope to perform stray field imaging of bubble magnetic domains in a perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/AlOx trilayer with 6 A of Co. The stray field created by the domain walls is quantitatively mapped with few-nanometer spatial resolution, with a probe-sample distance of about 100 nm. As an example of application, we show that it should be possible to determine the Bloch or Neel nature of the domain walls, which is of crucial importance to the understanding of current-controlled domain wall motion.


This paper reports on the experiences of four Australian teachers who provide English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction to Indonesian secondary school students in a regional area of Central Java, Indonesia. These four teachers were all native English speakers and experienced qualified teachers, however, the Australian State Department of Education that sent them to Indonesia did not provide them with formal EFL teaching qualifications or experience. This paper theorises the teachers' talk about their teaching work in Indonesia in an attempt to identify the forms of content knowledge they required to do their teaching. Two significant findings emerged from this research. Firstly, the teachers encountered two distinctively different EFL curricula in Indonesia: the formal EFL Indonesian National Secondary School curriculum and an informal EFL curriculum that the teachers introduced. Each of these curricula required the teachers to draw upon a different content knowledge base. The second significant finding was that these unqualified and inexperienced EFL teachers were not able to make an effective contribution to the formal EFL Indonesian National Secondary School curriculum because they were not given an opportunity to acquire the requisite content knowledge base. Such findings should be of interest to teachers and program managers involved in EFL curricula.


We present a robust elastic and partial matching metric for face recognition. To handle challenges such as pose, facial expression and partial occlusion, we enable both elastic and partial matching by computing a part based face representation. In which N local image descriptors are extracted from densely sampled overlapping image patches. We then define a distance metric where each descriptor in one face is matched against its spatial neighborhood in the other face and the minimal distance is recorded. For implicit partial matching, the list of all minimal distances are sorted in ascending order and the distance at the αN-th position is picked up as the final distance. The parameter 0 ≤ α ≤ 1 controls how much occlusion, facial expression changes, or pixel degradations we would allow. The optimal parameter values of this new distance metric are extensively studied and identified with real-life photo collections. We also reveal that filtering the face image by a simple difference of Gaussian brings significant robustness to lighting variations and beats the more utilized self-quotient image. Extensive evaluations on face recognition benchmarks show that our method is leading or is competitive in performance when compared to state-of-the-art.


Electron-ion transduction is the cornerstone for electronic devices interfacing with biological organisms and promoting emerging ionotronic devices, ranging from basic electronic elements to wearable electronics and energy harvesting devices. However, with commonly used metal electrodes, the electron-ion transduction suffers from high impedance, signal distortion and poor voltage tolerance. Surface modification with conductive porous materials could partially remedy these issues but is inevitably accompanied by weak interfacial adhesion and mechanical weakness. Therefore, freestanding electrodes integrating high mechanical and electrical properties are highly demanded. Herein, a general strategy is discovered to ameliorate these issues by introducing a conducting polymer (CP) hydrogel electrode of ultrahigh strength (~30 MPa) and conductivity (up to ~1200 S cm−1) with a capacitive behavior. These features are derived from the conductive nanoporous matrix with π-π interactions as both crosslinking sites and electron-transfer pathways, through surface gelation coupled with secondary-doping and densification. This strategy significantly decreased the low-frequency impedance and improved the signal fidelity, without affecting its high-frequency response. Furthermore, excellent biocompatibility, multifunctionality, and heart pacing upon ultra-low voltage (60% reduction) have also been demonstrated, showing the great potential of this CP material for bioelectronic applications and various human-machine interfaces.


In this article the authors define the key features and approaches to the understanding the phenomenon of death from ancient philosophy to existentialism. Using modern approaches and methods of research, the key problems of the death phenomenon are defined in the context of philosophical analysis. The authors state that with the change of generations and cultural epochs the answers to the questions about this mysterious phenomenon change quite rapidly. These answers though are hypothetical and demonstrate the incompleteness. Digging into the historic and philosophical excursus regarding the development of philosophical thought, the authors pay special attention to M. Heidegger's analysis of Leo Tolstoy's novel "The Death of Ivan Ilyich". Both Tolstoy and Heidegger claim that only at the "moment" or "sense" of death phenomenon, existence is able to expose its true appearance, as before dying the individual no longer turns to the world of things, as he turns to himself. This study sums up not only to the obvious conclusion that any human being is mortal, but also that life has no predetermined meaning and, therefore, must not be wasted.


A new genus of Ptilodactylidae, Lycomimus gen. n., based on L. bejsaki sp. n. from northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia, is described. The genus is compared with other known ptilodactylid genera, and a key is provided to the genera occurring in Australia.


Implementation Building Information Modeling (BIM) is aimed to create an effective, efficient and accountable construction process through the application of digital construction technology. This thesis takes PT Glodon Technical Indonesia as a case study, which indicates an empirical study of a company that provides a BIM technology for construction services industry in Indonesia. This study analyzes the role of regulators and universities in the business development of a technology company with B2B (Business to Business) products. This paper discusses the company's situation, marketing methods, strategic collaboration and market coverage. Then analyzed through the impact of government regulations, strategic cooperation with regulators and capacity building with universities. Lastly, based on an analysis of the goals and options of corporate strategic planning, this study puts forward the strategic direction of business development collaboration with regulators and universities.


Wallace Invites Investigation of Farmers~ Trip Test Case Blasted By Refusal to Indict DENVER, ltfay 15 (AP}-The carc:Cully prepared teat case through ' vhlcb the federal government hot)eO to dam the nallon-wlde flOOd ot CIl8h ~hB.ln lett ers WI\II blasted tOday by '" t'l'8 nd jury's retUllaI to indict three Denver businessmen. Farmers Rejoice as April Rains in May End Drought Student .Assassinates Peruvian Statesman LU1A, P .... u, May 15 (AP)-An/lon 10 MJro Quelleda, leading Peruvian publlaher and Iltatcama.n, wall &8SM8lnated by a IItudent tnday and hili wIfe dJed at hJ.s side In a. vain .. tteJTl'J)t to sbleld him. Hastings, De)aware Republican, Offended by F,D,'s Address


When an interplanetary (IP) shock passes over the Earth's magnetosphere, the geosynchronous magnetic field strength near noon is always enhanced except for the magnetopause crossing events. Near midnight, however, it increases or decreases. This indicates that the nightside magnetosphere is not always compressed by a sudden increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure. To understand midnight geosynchronous magnetic field responses to IP shocks, we statistically examined geosynchronous magnetic field perturbations, corresponding to 120 sudden commencements (SCs), observed when geosynchronous spacecraft were near midnight between 2200 and 0200 magnetic local times. Out of the 120 SCs, 107 SCs were identified by one geosynchronous spacecraft, and 13 SCs were identified by two geosynchronous spacecraft. Thus, 133 events were used in our statistical study. We observed 23 events in spring, 40 events in summer, 32 events in fall, and 38 events in winter, respectively. A statistical study of the midnight geosynchronous SC perturbations reveals the following characteristics. (1) In summer, all events show a positive enhancement (+ΔBT) in the magnetic field strength. (2) In winter, however, ΔBT exhibits a positive (+ΔBT) or negative (–ΔBT) enhancement. (3) In summer, the midnight geosynchronous SC perturbations in the BH component (positive northward) in VDH coordinates are mostly (∼88%, 35 out of 40 events) positive (+ΔBH), while the occurrence rate of the positive perturbation (∼43%) in the Bz component (positive northward) in GSM coordinates is lower than that of the negative perturbation (∼57%). (4) In winter, the negative perturbations in ΔBH (∼61%) and ΔBz (∼74%) are dominant. (5) Both the north‐south components (BH and Bz) in spring and fall are scattered around zero. To explain the observations, we suggest that SC‐associated cross‐tail current (JSC) has a peak intensity around geosynchronous orbit and thus is a main controlling factor of midnight geosynchronous magnetic field perturbations during SCs. Specifically, we suggest that the seasonal variation of the sign of ΔBH, ΔBz, and ΔBT is due to the seasonal variation of the spacecraft position relative to JSC.


Magnetic resonance is the physical propriety exhibited by the atomic nucleus of determined elements when they are submitted to a strong magnetic field and excited with radio waves in determined frequency (Larmor's Frequency). These originate a radio frequency signal, which can be captured by a receptive antenna and transformed in images. Although expensive, magnetic resonance is the most sensitive method of imaging to evaluate soft tissues, mainly the brain. Extensive diagnostic potential, few hazard effects, accurate anatomic information, images in any plain of the body, good contrast and spacial resolution are some advantages of this method. However, it does not allow a specific histological diagnosis and must be interpreted in context with others clinical and pathological findings. This review had the aim to show the physical bases of magnetic resonance to bring more knowledge to veterinarians.


Harmony is a dream for every household that are nurtured with love, compassion, and sincerity.  In improving household harmony  a grounding Hindu religion as guidance is needed. Household harmony is a state of peace, good, friendly, united hearts, agreement that occur in a family life with overcome differences of opinion and differences of understanding. The increase in household harmony creates a peaceful family circumstances that shows happy, life without violence, as well as inner and outer prosperous which are based on realizing the teachings of truth and religion.


Abstract Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a crop of the humid lowland tropics produced largely by small-scale producers and often on farms with a canopy of shade trees. Where a diverse shaded canopy is used, cacao farms support higher levels of biological diversity than most other tropical crops. A host of viral and fungal diseases, loss of soil fertility, and numerous socioeconomic problems facing producers, often makes cacao production locally unsustainable. Continued clearing of new lands threatens biodiversity. Moreover, new frontiers for cacao expansion are rapidly disappearing. Such problems can be addressed by increasing the long-term productivity of existing cacao farms and restoring abandoned lands. Improved shade management offers guidance along this path. Institutions involved with cocoa should establish collaborations with groups concerned with development, environmental protection, and most importantly producers themselves to pursue a program of research, extension and policy initiatives focused on the ecologically and economically sustainable cacao production on farms with a diverse shade canopy.


For particle size analysis, both gravimetric and optical measuring techniques are available. As well as having a measurement time advantage over gravimetric techniques, optical systems provide additional information on the shape of the particles measured. The higher the resolution of the optical systems, the more accurate and reliable the data obtained on the particle shape and the surface of the individual particles is. On the other hand, there are distinct limits to the resolution of optical systems; the finest particle fractions are neglected in optical measurement. Gravimetric measurement methods also record the fractions of undersize particles for the smallest screen used and therefore have no defined lower measurement limit. As such, it is possible to determine defined particle size distributions. The German firm Haver&Boecker has now developed a measurement technique which combines gravimetric and optical particle analysis to ensure accurate results for the determination of bulk solids samples with wide-ranging particle sizes - for example for a material sample with particles measuring 0-200 mm.


Provided is a packing/filling apparatus with which a good seal can be achieved through ultrasonic sealing. This packing/filling apparatus fills a strip-shaped packaging material with a fluid food product, and forms packaging containers for accommodating the fluid food product, the packing/filling apparatus having a sealing device that has an ultrasonic wave supply unit for supplying ultrasonic waves and an anvil functioning as a clamping jig, and the sealing device sandwiching a strip-shaped packaging material between the ultrasonic wave supply surface of the ultrasonic wave supply unit and the clamping surface of the anvil, and applying ultrasonic waves to the sandwiched, strip-shaped packaging material to seal the strip-shaped packaging material. The clamping surface of the anvil has a smooth shape devoid of angular sections in areas adjacent to contact sections that contact the strip-shaped packaging material during sealing.


In this paper, based on small signal models of hetero-junction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with different feedback circuits, the expressions for S parameters of the device are derived to analyze the influence of different feedback technologies on amplifier performance, especially on the stability and the gain flatness of Ultra-Wideband Low Noise Amplifier(UWB LNA). When a serial inductor or a parallel capacitor is added into the feedback circuits to induce reactive feedback, the amplitude of S21 increases as the frequency increases, the HBT's gain inherent decreasing at high frequency is compensated, a good stability performance can also be reached simultaneously. Based on reactive feedback techniques, we design a 3GHz–10GHz UWB LNA. The simulation results show that throughout the whole frequency band, the amplifier remains unconditionally stable, has a high transmission gain, good gain flatness and low noise figure.


Muon spin relaxation (μSR) rates have been measured in transverse, longitudinal, and zero applied fields for the spin glass PdMn (7 at. %), and are compared with a previous study of the disordered ferromagnet PdMn (2 at. %). The calculated paramagnetic state transverse field relaxation rate for noninteracting spins is much larger than the observed rate in spin glass PdMn, but is in good agreement with ferromagnetic PdMn. The zero field relaxation rate shows a sharp cusp at Tg=5 K. An applied longitudinal field of 5 kG is insufficient to suppress this cusp in spin glass PdMn, but will suppress a similar cusp in ferromagnetic PdMn. Below Tg, a distribution of quasistatic local fields is observed in zero field, which has the same temperature dependence for both samples. Comparisons with model calculations are discussed.


In recent years, field hockey has evolved and become faster paced and more physically. The strength and conditioning training programs objective is to improve the physical fitness characteristics for players in any sport and all trainers are seeking to increase the level of performance for fitness components such as strength, speed and the ability of change directions. The sprint and change of directions are important in all team sports, with field hockey players spending approximately a number of 30 sprints during the game with sprint duration of 1.8 second and maximal sprint duration of 4.1 seconds which performed over 10 to 30 meters and the frequency of sprinting is approximately 20 to 60 bouts per game, with 700 to 1000 meters of the total sprint distance.1,2 In this regard, MacLeod et al.3 suggested that the greater understanding of field hockey specific demands imposed upon sport performers by match play and training and the more likely it is that suitable training and recovery programmes will be improved and employed, which may lead to promote the player performance and reducing the risk of injuries.


In this article, we aim to establish several inequalities for differentiable exponentially convex and exponentially quasi-convex mapping, which are connected with the famous Hermite–Hadamard (HH) integral inequality. Moreover, we have provided applications of our findings to error estimations in numerical analysis and higher moments of random variables.


The invention belongs to the technical field of bio-organic fertilizer production, and provides slowly-releasing water conservation biological organic and inorganic compound fertilizer particles and a production method thereof. The fertilizer has the advantages of reasonable structure, unique processing technique, scientific formulation, high fertilizer effect, improved soil physical condition, convenience application, and wide application scope; high-grade bio-organic fertilizer meeting the requirements of organic agricultural vegetable, fruits or food production, or fertilizer having special functions of drought resisting, saline and alkaline resisting and continuous cropping resisting and capable of specially meeting fertilizer requirement rules of various crops can be further designed and developed. The fertilizer effect playing way in the invention is unique, and component parts such as probiotics, inorganic nutrients, regulatory factors, organic matter and the like can be respectively played in time and space. Through the design to fertilizer particle structure and formula, the advantages of organic matter, high concentration of inorganic fertilizer, slowly-releasing efficiency and the special effects of beneficial microorganisms are integrated and slowly-releasing water conservation biological organic and inorganic compound fertilizer particles can be the first choice in replacing organic and inorganic compound fertilizers, compound fertilizers and inorganic slow release fertilizers.


Each June, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) provides an estimate of the number of farms in the United States, based primarily on the June Area Survey (JAS). Every 5 years, another indication (preliminary estimate) of the number of farms is obtained from the Census of Agriculture. In 2007, the indications from the JAS and the census were too far apart to be attributed entirely to chance. Initial reviews indicated that the differences were primarily a consequence of an undercount of small farms, especially those with minority owners. Using information from the 2007 Census and from the 2009 Farm Numbers Research Project (FNRP), misclassification in the JAS was determined to be a source of the undercount. An additional source is the treatment of incomplete responses. Possible revisions to the methodology of the JAS survey are suggested.


Data evaluating outcomes and patterns of recurrence following radiation therapy (RT) for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) of the head and neck are limited.


STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE The gray seal is found on both sides of the North Atlantic, with three major populations: in eastern Canada; northwestern Europe and the Baltic Sea (Katona et al. 1993). The western North Atlantic population occurs from New England to Labrador and is centered in the Sable Island region of Nova Scotia (Katona et al. 1993; Davies 1957) . This stock is se parated b y both geo graphy and differences in the breeding s eason from the eastern A tlantic stock (Bonner 1981). The western North Atlantic stock is distributed and breeds principally in eastern Canadian waters (Mansfield 1966). There are two breeding concentrations in eastern Canada; one at Sable Island, and a second tha t breeds o n the pack ic e in the Gulf of S t. Lawrence (Hamm ill et al. 1998). Tagging studies indicate that there is little intermixing between the two breeding groups (Zwanenberg and Bowe n 1990), and for management purpose s, they are treated as separate p opulations (Mohn and Bo wen 199 6). How ever, small num bers of anim als and pupping have been observed on several isolated islands along the Maine coast and in Nantucket-Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts (Katona et al. 1993; Rough 1995; J. R. Gilbert, pers. comm., University of Maine, Orono, ME). In recent years, a year-round breeding population of approximately 400 animals has been documented on outer Cape Cod and N antucket Island (Dennis Murley, pers. comm., Mass. Audubon Society, Wellfleet, MA). Gilbert (pers. com m.) has also d ocumen ted a reside nt colony in M aine.


Question 1: Policy recommendations and current practices in select countries: Policy recommendations from the WHO and ECDC see limited circumstances in which travel restrictions or other health border measures, including testing, could be considered. In particular, the WHO recommends risk-based assessments, and the ECDC recommends considering measures in specific circumstances like, for example, when trying to slow the spread of a new variant of concern. In August 2022, most countries have lifted most or all pandemic related travel restrictions. Of the 35 countries whose policies we reviewed, only the USA and Canada maintained significant restrictions, in particular vaccination requirements for entry for some travellers and, for Canada, quarantine and testing requirements for unvaccinated travellers. Scientific and academic literature on efficacy of: (1) border closures and travel bans, (2) quarantine and testing and screening protocols for travellers, and (3) other health measures, like passenger locator forms Indicators Used to Assess Efficacy of Measures Measures recommended or by scientific literature Non-health impacts of border health measures travellers and variants identified. Other studies used incidence rates or growth rates. the with spillover effects. cross-border different cross-border integration in


The corrosion inhibition characteristics of 2,2′-bipyridine (BIPY) and 2,2′-bipyridine-3,3′-dicarboxylic acid (BIDA), on carbon steel in sulphuric acid solutions was studied using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques at 20°C, 30°C and 40°C. The results indicate that the organic compounds inhibit the corrosion of mild steel in H2SO4 solutions and the extent of inhibition increases with inhibitor concentration and decreases with temperature. A mixed-inhibition mechanism is proposed for the inhibitive effects of the compounds. The order of inhibition efficiency obtained was BIDA>BIPY. There is a good correlation between the quantum chemical parameters and experimentally determined inhibition efficiency of the inhibitors. The adsorption characteristics of the inhibitor were approximated by Temkin isotherm. Morphological study of the carbon steel electrode surface was undertaken by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the interfacial species formed on the surface in the presence of inhibitors analyzed by Infrared spectroscopy.


Microfractures and discontinuities are the common structural features of the rock mass lead initiating and developing the brittle fractures in rocks. Fracture toughness is an intrinsic material property for the pre-exist cracks initiate fracture development and play a significant role in brittle fracturing. The Cracked Chevron-Notched Brazilian Disc (CCNBD) sampleswere tested to determine the fracture toughness of monsonite and sandstone samples. Since conducting fracture toughness tests are quite hard compared with the Brazilian test, the tensile strength can be determined by using the tensile fracturing parameters of rocks. Moreover, stress analysis obtained from the Extended Finite Element (XFEM) modelling confirmed a comprehensive relationship between tensile strength and tensile fracturing parameters of rocks. Based on the laboratory experiments, the tensile strength of rocks can be used for the modelling of tensile fracturing and this will improve our understanding of rock fracturing behaviour utilising for the rock cutting and mining designs.


Many animal populations are exposed to disturbance originating from human activities. In response to human disturbance, certain animals display a variety of potentially costly behavioural responses, such as increased antipredator behaviour or relocation to new areas. In contrast, other animals seemingly thrive in the presence of humans and benefit from human‐derived resources. Flight initiation distance (FID: the distance between predator and prey when prey starts to flee) is a measure commonly used to assess animals' tolerance to humans. In this study, we tested how FID changes in relation to human presence in two hyrax species in Serengeti National Park. Hyraxes living on kopjes (rock outcrops) among human settlements showed a significantly shorter FID than hyraxes living on kopjes without human settlements. In addition, we found that hyraxes feeding before the experiment had shorter FID than hyraxes resting or being vigilant, and hyraxes disturbed during the early morning had shorter FID than hyraxes disturbed during late morning. We did not find any significant effects of group size or species composition on FID. Our results suggest that hyraxes living in the presence of humans are habituated and are not adversely affected by human settlements.


Objectives: The anterior bundle of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is the primary static valgus restraint of the elbow joint. In general, the effect of forearm supination and pronation on native and reconstructed UCL strain is poorly characterized. Specifically, the effect of placing the forearm in supination versus pronation during final graft tensioning at the time of UCL reconstruction has not been quantified. Therefore, the objectives of the current study were the following: 1) to determine the effect of forearm pronation and supination on medial elbow joint gapping with an intact native UCL and 2) to determine if placing the forearm in maximum supination or pronation at the time of UCL reconstruction graft tensioning affects subsequent medial elbow joint gapping under simulated valgus stress test at varying degrees of elbow flexion. Our hypotheses were that under valgus load: 1) medial elbow joint gapping will be larger when the forearm is in maximal pronation for both the native and reconstructed ligament and 2) tightening the UCL reconstruction graft in maximum pronation would allow larger gap formation during valgus load testing. Methods: Eighteen full arm specimens were stripped of soft tissue, leaving only the elbow ligamentous and capsular structures intact. All specimens were statically tested at 30°, 60°, and 90° of elbow flexion with the forearm in full pronation, full supination, and neutral in an unloaded and loaded (3Nm valgus) configuration (Figure 1A). Medial joint gapping was measured using retroreflective markers attached to the ulna and humerus with a 3D motion capture system. Following intact testing, the UCL was transected and an ipsilateral flexor carpi radialis (FCR) tendon autograft was used to reconstruct the UCL with a standard docking technique (Figure 1B). For graft tensioning, all specimens were placed in 45 degrees of elbow flexion and randomized to either full supination or full pronation. Valgus testing was then repeated for medial joint gapping measurements. Following UCL reconstruction, the change in medial elbow joint gap under valgus load was calculated by subtracting the intact gap measurement from the reconstructed gap measurement for each specimen. A positive gap measurement was used to indicate an increase in joint gapping after reconstruction while a negative gap value indicated a smaller medial joint gap after UCL reconstruction. Two-way ANOVA were used to determine the effect of forearm position during reconstruction on change in gap and for each of the elbow flexion positions. Significance was set as p<0.05. Results: Valgus load testing of the native UCL demonstrated no significant difference in medial elbow joint gapping between the pronated and supinated position at all elbow flexion angles (Figure 2). Following UCL reconstruction, this finding was maintained as there was no significant difference in medial elbow joint gapping during a valgus load test regardless of forearm testing position. However, forearm position (i.e. maximum supination or maximum pronation) at the time of UCL reconstruction graft tensioning significantly affected the difference of post-operative medial elbow joint gapping at 30-and 60-degrees, but not at 90-degrees of elbow flexion (Figure 3). Placing the arm in maximum supination at the time of UCL graft tensioning resulted in a larger post-operative medial elbow gap compared to specimens with a reconstruction graft tensioned in maximum pronation. Conclusions: Our hypothesis was disproven. In a cadaveric biomechanical model, forearm pronation or supination did not affect medial joint gapping with the native or reconstructed UCL during valgus load testing. However, securing the UCL reconstruction graft in maximal supination resulted in a larger difference in post-operative medial elbow gap at 30° and 60° of elbow flexion. While statistically significant differences were found, the post-operative gap difference was less than 1mm at each level of elbow flexion regardless of the forearm rotation during testing. It is unknown if this small amount of additional joint gapping following UCL reconstruction graft tensioning in maximum supination can result in a clinically notable difference in elbow function, strength or pain. Further research is necessary to determine the clinical significance of the current cadaveric model findings and whether other factors related to the native or reconstructed UCL can affect medial elbow joint gapping. Figure 1. A. Picture of biomechanical testing set-up for native and reconstructed elbow ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) valgus stress testing. B) Picture of a reconstructed elbow UCL using a standard docking technique, resulting in a two-tailed graft (blue arrow). Figure 2. Medial elbow joint gapping with intact native ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) based on forearm position of maximum pronation or supination. Comparison of joint gapping between the pronated and supinated positions revealed no significant differences (p>0.05). Figure 3. Change in medial elbow joint gapping following ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction with final graft tensioning in maximum forearm pronation or supination.


Embedded systems (ES) represent the most important elements in modern intelligent systems. An ES is a mix of hardware blocks (HW) and software blocks (SW), executing in collaboration to achieve specific functionalities. Designing a good ES is driven by several factors, related to non-functional requirements. The most influencing factors are the cost of the hardware area and the execution time. The Co-design is one of the most design methodologies, used to optimize those factors while meeting the functional specifications. The Hardware Software Partitioning (HSP) is a major step in this process of Co-design. The HSP decides for each block, whether it is more advantageous to be affected to the hardware part or to the software part. Most of previous works study the optimization of one factor with the respect of a given constraint on the other factor. In this paper, we propose a novel approach aimed to simultaneously optimize the hardware area and the execution time of the system. The approach is inspired from the GO game and based on Minimax algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed approach leads to more optimal solutions comparing to the Genetic Algorithm (GA).


An enhanced circular switched parasitic array (CSPA) antenna is presented for a C-band data link application with high RF transmit power. Special requirements for the realized antenna gain are met by complementing the conventional CSPA configuration based on monopole antennas by an additional metallic top cover. The original ground plane and the top cover are shaped in such a way that a circular parallel plate waveguide with flared edges is formed resulting in an almost symmetrical radiation pattern with respect to the monopoles' ground plane. The loads of the parasitic monopoles are switched by means of surface-mount technology micro-relay switches in order to handle high transmit power. For post production compensation of manufacturing and component tolerances fine thread screws for mechanical adjustment are provided. Design and realization of a CSPA demonstrator antenna as well as measurement results are presented.


Free space is rcprcscnted as a union of (possibly overlapping) generalized cones. An algorithm is prcsentcd which efficiently finds good collision free paths for convex polygonal bodies through space Iittercd with obstacle polygons. The paths are good in the sense that. the distance of closest approach to an obstacle over the path is usually far from minimal over the class of topologitally equivalent collision free paths. The algorithm is based on characterizing the volume swept, by a body as it is translated and rolatcd as a generalized cone and dct.ermining under what conditions one generalized cone is a subset of another.


Flamenco is considered as a part of the Spanish culture. It is a fusion of cultural elements from many nations. Its native origin is Andalucia, a region of Spain. The remarkable charm of the dance, the song and the music of flamenco is different from the western classical tradition. The elements of African, Latin American and oriental music arouse in the singing style and guitar playing performed by the Gypsies, a community of Indian, Jews, Moorish arrived in Andalucia around fourteenth century in the Byzantine era . The main elemetns of flamenco is Cante-Song, Bailie-Dance, Toque-Guitar, and Jaleo, which freely translated as "hell raising"involves the handclapping,foot stomping, and shouts ofjoy. The diversity of cultures that influences the development of flamenco can be traced back through history, cultural theory, and musicology to unravel the cultural elements which contribute to the development and maturity as an important icon of the Spain as a nation.


The fabrication development is described for a tubular closed-end tantalum container approximates 9 in. long with an ID of approximates 0.375 in. and 0.020 in. to 0.030 in. wall. Impact extrusion techniques were used to form first a thick-walled cup which was subsequently ironed to the final shape. The material used for the initial investigation was prepared from tantalum powder; materials used later were highpurity electrun-bcam-melted tantalum and tantalum containing 0.l wt% tungsten. Several impact extrusion steps were required to form the thick-walled cup. Subsequent ironing was done in six stages. Aluminun- bronze dies and a beeswax lubricant were used to prevent seizing and galling between the tools and the tantalun. Loads of 30 to 40 tons were used for the impact extrusion process. Draw pressure requirements for the ironing operation ranged from 600 lb to 3600 lb. The Ta + 0.1 wt% W material conswstently required higher impact extrusion and draw pressures than the high-purity material. The development showed that heat-treating procedures had a considerable effect on the surface finish. In general, tantalum was found tu be quite compatible with this method of fabrication. (auth)


Strategies are plans of action that are essential elements in enhancing organizational performance, furthermore outreach strategies are means and ways by which important information are disseminated to the stakeholders so as to enhance the delivery of services. On the other hand, NHIF outreach strategy has rendered the insurance cover inaccessible and unaffordable to many of its stakeholders .This study therefore sought to investigate the effect of outreach strategies on organizational performance of National Hospital Insurance Fund in Kenya. In order to achieve this, the study followed a survey research design and targeted 52212 mukuru Kwa njenga slum residents .A sample size of 397 was picked through convenient sampling. The study utilized questionnaires to collect data. The data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics was used to estimate the magnitude of the outreach strategies. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were used to estimate the relationship between outreach strategies and National Hospital Insurance Fund performance. The study established that awareness, accessibility and affordability strategies have a positive effect on the performance of National Hospital Insurance Fund. The study recommends that National Hospital Insurance Fund should make their services more affordable by coming up with more flexible incentive and friendlier mode of payment to motivate more people to take up insurance products , cost should be introduced to reach out to the low-income earners especially in the slums . It is also recommended that National Hospital Insurance Fund should get involved in more marketing of their services and should offer accreditation to more health institutions such locally registered health facilities that operate in the slums so as increase accessibility of the National Hospital Insurance Fund services. Such measures will help in increasing distribution centers in the area and consequently many eligible National Hospital Insurance Fund card holders could easily access and use their cards without having to travel long distances. Such strategies could also attract potential future members.


The stereoselective total synthesis of (I) is achieved via two alternative strategies involving either a Prins cyclization as the key step (28% overall yield) or a 1,3-syn reduction of a β-hydroxy ketone (30% overall yield).


Intercropping of greengram (S-9), sorghum (CSH-6), redgram (UPAS-120) and soybean (Bragg) with two plant populations for each component crop (50 and 100% of their normal population) in a paired row system was studied on sandy loam soil at Dryland Research ares of Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, during Kharif 1979 and 1980. Highest gross returns were obtained from sorghum+redgram (Rs. 6512.72/ha) followed by redgram+greengram (Rs. 6477.56/ha) in 1979 whereas in 1980. sorghum-+ greengram (Rs. 5937/ha) gave highest returns followed by redgram + greengram (Rs. 5234.12/ha). Normal population of both the component crops in intercropping system gave higher returns.


It may be necessary to use pneumonectomy in patients with invasion of the main bronchus and or pulmonary artery in a lung cancer, especially those with a central location, as a lobectomy may be inadequate. This leads to a larger degree of respiratory function loss in the postoperative period. Bronchovascular reconstruction and lobectomy together with the resection of the main bronchus and the invaded section of the pulmonary artery when required may therefore be used as a parenchyma-sparing method. We present a case of squamous cell carcinoma located in the upper lobe and invading the pulmonary artery branch where lobectomy instead of pneumonectomy was used after pulmonary artery resection and pulmonary artery reconstruction with a pericardial


An experimentally investigation is carried out to analysis the performance and emission characteristics of Homogeneous charge compression ignition engine (HCCI). Over the past decades many researcher have been discussed about working of HCCI engine. The HCCI engine is a suitable replacement for compression ignition engine (CI). This paper experimentally investigate the performance and emission characteristics of a HCCI engine at different load with constant speed and compare with convention CI engine. In this research, the HCCI mode engine uses the port fuel injection (PFI) for preparing the homogeneous air-fuel mixture. The results show that the specific fuel consumption is decreased for diesel fuelled HCCI mode engine compared to DI-CI engine. The brake thermal efficiency of HCCI mode engine is even as same or slightly increased. From the result observed that the value of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions are very low than the DI diesel engine. The rate of reduction of NOx and PM are about 20% and 5% respectively. But the exhaust emission of un burnt hydrocarbon (UHC) and carbon monoxide (CO) are higher than DI mode diesel engine.


We introduce taxi cab ridership between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and large financial institutions headquartered in New York City as a novel proxy for Fed activity. A market timing strategy that buys the market portfolio (risk-free asset) when lagged Fedbank ridership is low (high) earns a 50% larger Sharpe ratio than the market portfolio. The strategy's superior performance is especially pronounced around FOMC meetings. We also find highly statistically significant evidence that late-night meetings at the New York Fed and lunchtime offsite interactions increase around FOMC meetings, which suggests increased opportunities for Federal Reserve information to flow to markets along informal or discreet channels. We are grateful to Marianne Bertrand, Bob DeYoung, Elyas Elyasiani, Zhiguo He, Ivan Ivanov, Bryan Kelly, Elisabeth Kempf, Paul Koch, Randall Kroszner, David Lucca, Felix Meschke, Joe Peek, Jon Scott, Amit Seru, Azeem Shaikh, James Traina, Harald Uhlig, Mihail Velikov, Annette Vissing-Jørgensen, Michael Weber, Jide Wintoki, Linghang Zeng (discussant), Luigi Zingales, Eric Zwick, seminar participants at Chicago Booth, the University of Kansas, and Temple University, as well as participants at Stevanovich Center's Market Microstructure & High Frequency Data conference, the Bank of Canada's Workshop on Data Science for Central Banks, and the 2018 Northern Finance Association (Charlevoix) for their helpful discussions and comments. We also thank individuals who provided insights into the conduct of business in New York City and Weijia Zhao for verifying some of the code and econometric derivations. The George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation provided generous support to David Finer for this work, and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Liew Fama-Miller Fellowship were generous sources of general funding. Jared Williams gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Muma College of Business Center for Analytics and Creativity. We thank Ken French for sharing data on his website. All errors are our own. ∗Department of Finance, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, 813.974.6358, firstname.lastname@example.com †The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL 60637, email@example.com ‡Department of Finance, Penn State University, State College, PA 16802, 814.867.4042, email@example.com §Department of Finance, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, 813.974.6316, firstname.lastname@example.com


Before video text images are input to OCR software,text should be separated from background,because video texts often are embedded in complex background.There are two problems:one is that the color of background pixels may be similar with the color of text pixels,the other one is that the color of text pixels has variance caused by video compression and decompression.To solve the two problems,a new text image segmentation algorithm was introduced based on text edge and color features.First,the sample pixels set was got according to high frequency edge information of text.Second,K-means clustering method was applied to get segmentation seed pixels and radius,then segment text image into several text candidate images.Last,false text candidate images were excluded according to connected component property of text strokes.Experimental result shows that this method can separate text from background easily,and gets good OCR result.


Introduction: Acapulcoites and lodranites are similar in mineralogy, major element and oxygen isotopic compositions [1,2]. They are considered to have been produced by partial melting [3] and are thus may provide important information about the early melting histories of the meteorite parent bodies. Except for a few cases, however, the chronological and detailed trace element data for these meteorites are still limited. We present here results of Sm-Nd isotopic and lithophile element analyses for four bulk acapulcoiteslodranites samples as well as mineral separates from one of the acapulcoites, LEW86220. Samples and Analyses: Seven bulk samples from three acapulcoites (LEW86220, ALH81261, ALH81187), one lodranite (GRA95209) and one intermediate sample (EET84302) were analyzed for isotopic composition by using Finnegan MAT 262 and/or lihophile elements by ID and ICP-AES. In addition, six mineral separates from the LEW acapulcoite were also analyzed for Sm-Nd (note: The abundance data were partially reported previously in [4]. Results and discussion: As shown in Fig. 1, all acapulcoites show systematic depletion of alkalis and nearly CIchondritic REE (except for Acapulco REE which is not shown here). GRA (lodranite) show systematic lithophile fractionations; Rb<K<Sr=Eu< LREE<Na<Li<HREE. Partial melting calculation suggests that silicate-melts of a few % for acapulcoites and about 15% for GRA were segregated from the chondritic sources. Three bulk meteorites (two acapulcites ALH81261 and ALH81187 and one lodranite, GRA) indicate a model age of 4.55±0.03 Ga calculated from the initial Nd/Nd ratio of LEW 86010 [5]. On the other hand, LEW shows a model of 4.59±0.03Ga. (Recently we recalibrated Sm-Nd spike solution and found that our previous Sm-Nd data [6] are found to include small errors). The LEW86220 model age appears to be slightly higher than those of other acapulcoiteslodranites, suggesting that the meteorite experienced a secondary Sm-Nd disturbance. In order to examine detailed SmNd isotopic signatures recorded during the secondary event and to determine the time of the event, we have carried out Sm-Nd isotopic analyses for six mineral separates (clinopyroxene [CPX], orthopyroxene [OPX], phosphate [PH], plagioclase [PL], whole-rock leachate [WR-L] and wholerock residue [WR-R]) and two whole-rock samples [WR-1, 2] from LEW86220. As shown in Fig. 2, most of LEW86220 data points, except for plagioclase, define a linear array, indicating that the Sm-Nd isotopic system has been reset but not for plagioclase by a late thermal event. The slope and intercept of the line corresponds to an age of 4.13 ±0.10Ga and an initial Nd/Nd ratio of 0.50732±0.00015 (εCHUR=+1.3±3.0), respectively. The data point of plagioclase clearly deviated from the 4.13 Ga regression line (deviation:δNd=-1.3±0.08). The Sm-Nd model age of plagioclase calculated from the LEW86010 initial ratio [5] is 4.56±0.04Ga, suggesting that the Sm-Nd system has been closed since the early formation of the meteorite and have not been influenced by the late thermal event. This is reconciled with the least diffusivity of NaSi-CaAl in plagioclase among constituent minerals such as clineand orth-pyroxenes (though diffusivities of REE in plagioclase are not well known).


Abstract Public servants are increasingly expected to go the extra mile in order to serve the public. This study examines a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)—namely, individual initiative (e.g., working after normal office hours)—and the extent to which it affects employees' well-being. Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, we conceptualize individual initiative as a type of job demand and propose that public service motivation (PSM) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) are important psychological resources that could buffer the deleterious effect of individual initiative on emotional exhaustion. Based on a sample of 214 employees in 41 local government organizations in Thailand, our analyses confirmed the buffering role of PSM. Furthermore, the three-way interaction analysis revealed that PSM and PSS simultaneously buffered the adverse effect of individual initiative, such that those with low levels of these factors experienced emotional exhaustion more intensely. This finding was observed even after controlling for the effect of negative affectivity (NA). Study implications and areas for future research are discussed.


This work establishes a mathematical muscle model which describes the complex physiological system of the skeletal muscle based on the macroscopic Hill and microscopic Huxley concepts. A new study published by Sorine opened the possibility of controlling the heart muscle model by using a chemical control input to stimulate the contractile element of the model. Starting with this concept, we have proposed a new physiological and mechanical skeletal muscle model where we take into account the muscular masses and the viscous frictions caused by the blood and the muscle tendon connections. This model is presented under differential equations where the input is the electrical signal provided from the stimulator and the outputs are the muscle force and stiffness.


A novel monoterpene, (1S, 2S, 6S)-(+)-1,6-epoxy-4(8)-p-menthen-2-ol, was isolated from an elicitor-treated cell culture of Cupressus lusitanica (Mexican cypress). Ten known monoterpenes - limonene, myrcene, β-ocimene, sabinene, terpinolene, 4-terpineol, α-terpineol, 4(8)-p-menthen-1,2-diol, 4-hydroxyphellandric acid methylester and β-thujaplicin methylether - were also identified. Regioselective metabolisms of monoterpenes were observed in this culture.


An accelerating cavity of ASTRID (Aarhus Univ.) electron storage ring was studied. The cavity was simulated with two 3D numerical codes MAFIA and GdfidL. The HOM influence on the cavity components was investigated.


Based on Flux theory of transformer and working principle of micro wave oven,phase control method and experimental were conducted.With the setting of waiting time,phase angle of power-on was efficiently adjusted near to 90°or 270°.And inrush current and residual magnetism were greatly reduced.Considering of frequency fluctuates and relay operating time,entering and cutting off of power were controlled at the same phase angle.Power-on biasing magnetism and power-off residual magnetism is offset to efficiently restrain inrush current.


The purpose of this study is to look at the leisure activity participation of migrant workers living in Korea as well as the factors of limitations in leisure activities. In order to attain this purpose on-on-on in-depth interviews were conducted with migrant analyzed. The results of the study are as follows. First, it was revealed that the time spent b migrant workers are for passive leisure activities such as meeting friends, watching TV, surfing the internet and reading. Second, the study showed that the hindrances in leisure participation are due to time, social and financial factors, both mentor and mentee with cognitive, emotional and behavior development. Consequentially, this results have influence on improvement of following mentoring progress. Keyword: migrant worker, current state of leisure activities, limitations of leisure activities


Objective To explore the relationship between pulse pressure (PP) and artery atherosclerosis in elders. Methods Totally 2358 eiders( > 60y) with the risk factors of artery atherosclerosis from Yangpu District DOI:10.3760/cma.j.issn.1008-6315.2009.09.006Central Hospital and 11 Community Health Service Centers were enrolled . The basic information includes age, sex, height,body mass, history of smoking, blood pressure, heart rate, history of coronary heart disease, ischemic stoke, chronic kidney diseases and diabetes,etc. The fasting blood sugar(FBS) ,blood lipid( total cholesterel,triglyceride, low-density lipreprotein, high-deusity liproprotein), serum creatinine, serum uric acid, serum alanine aminotransferase were measured. The elders were divided into two groups according to the PP( PP <60 mm Hg and PP≥60 mm Hg) to analyse the relationship between PP and age, BMI, SBP, DBP, HR, FBS, TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, Cr, Ccr, UA, AST and history of coronary heart disease,ischemic stoke,chronic renal disease, and diabetes. Results Serum levels of FBS,TC,TG, LDL-C, UA in the group with PP less than 60 nun Hg were ( 5.6±1.7 ) mmol/L, (4.3±1.3 ) mmol/L, ( 1.5±1.2) mmol/L, ( 2.5±1.1 ) mmol/L, UA ( 246.8±131.2 ) μmol/L, that in the group with PP over or equal to 60 mm Hg group were (6.3±2.6) mmol/L, (4.8±1.2) mmol/L, ( 1.9±1.1 ) mmol/L, (2.9±1.2) mmol/L, (291.4±133.6) μmol/L, Serum levels of FBS, TC, TG, LDL-C, UA in the group with PP over 60 mm Hg were obviously elevated as compared with that in the group with PP lower than 60 ram Hg(P <0.01 ) ; The preven-lence rates of coronary heart disease ischemic stoke,chronic,renal disease, diabetes in the group with PP less than 60 mm Hg were 10.8% ,26.0%, 12.4%, 17.6%, that in the group with PP over or equal to 60 mm Hg group were 17.8% 、31.7% ,16.9% ,23.8% (P <0.01 ). The preveulence of coronary heart disease ischemic stoke,chronic re-nal disease, diabetes were significandy increased in the group with PP over or equal to 60 mm Hg group. Logistic re-gression analysis showed PP was closely related to FBS, BMI, age, LDL-C, UA, HDL-C ( β = 0.103,0.093.0.097, 0.089 ,0.076 , - 0.057, P < 0.05 ). Conclusions For those elders with the basis of artery atherosclerosis, high PP can inhance the development of artery atheresclerosis and also inhance the occurance and development of cardio-ce-rebrovascular and renal diseases.

Key words:
Pulse pressure;  Eider;  Artery atherosclerosis;  Target organ damage


Age reproductive characteristics,distribution of a number of pregnancies and outcomes,and gynecological morbidity were studied in a cohort of 579 women who were born in 1948-1957. All they were descendants of the 1-st generation of personnel which had worked at the nuclear enterprise (Production Association (PA) "Mayak"). An average equivalent dose on fathers' gonads being calculated from external gamma exposure and internal alpha-exposure due to 239Pu body burden was 119.6±6.34 cSv (0.1-790.1 cSv),on mothers' gonads - 92.4±6.97 cSv (0.1-685.9 cSv). A dose in utero from external gamma exposure of 298 women was 17.8±1.55 cSv (0.04-180.6 cSv). The 862 women,whose parents had no doses before conception and doses during pregnancy,represent a control group. Data on the earlier sexual maturation of women in the main group in contrast to the control group were obtained. An average age of menarche in women of the main group (13.45±0.05 years) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than in the control (13.64±0.04 years). The subgroup of women exposed in utero causes it (13.37±0.06 years,p<0.05). In the subgroup of women with preconception and in utero exposure significant differences in reducing of general fertility (4.03±0.15 vs. 4.61±0.08, p<0.05) were obtained. It is stipulated for the significantly smaller number of birth children per one woman (1.67±0.045 vs. 1.78±0.024,p<0.05). That was because of higher percent of childless women (4.7% vs. 2.7% in the control),including infertility (2.35% vs. 1.5%,respectively).


The photochemistry of butatriene (2), matrix-isolated in argon at 10 K, was investigated. UV irradiation (248 nm) produces vinylacetylene (1) and the dimer of acetylene and in addition methylenecyclopropene (3) as a major product. The photochemical 2 → 3 rearrangement is reversible, and on visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) 3 is transformed back to 2. The formation of 3 from 2 requires a [1,2]-H migration to allenylcarbene (8). According to MP2 and DFT calculations, 8 is a minimum on both the triplet (T) and the singlet (S) potential energy surface (PES). The comparison of measured and calculated infrared spectra suggests that two forms of 8 (either syn and anti form of S-8 or a mixture of S-8 and T-8) can be trapped at low temperatures in the matrix. The rearrangement 2 → 3 proceeds in a stepwise manner with S-8 as intermediate on the S−PES (calculated heat of formation at 298 K, ΔH°f(298) = 131.7 kcal/mol) and T-8 on the T-PES (ΔH°f(298) = 129.0 kcal/mol).


Objective. Most current algorithms for detecting atrial fibrillation (AF) rely on heart rate variability (HRV), and only a few studies analyse the variability of photopletysmography (PPG) waveform. This study aimed to compare morphological features of the PPG curve in patients with AF to those presenting a normal sinus rhythm (NSR) and evaluate their usefulness in AF detection. Approach. 10 min PPG signals were obtained from patients with persistent/paroxysmal AF and NSR. Nine morphological parameters (1/ΔT), Pulse Width [PW], augmentation index [AI], b/a, e/a, [b-e]/a, crest time [CT], inflection point area [IPA], Area and five HRV parameters (heart rate [HR], Shannon entropy [ShE], root mean square of the successive differences [RMSSD], number of pairs of consecutive systolic peaks [R–R] that differ by more than 50 ms [NN50], standard deviation of the R–R intervals [SDNN]) were calculated. Main results. Eighty subjects, including 33 with AF and 47 with NSR were recruited. In univariate analysis five morphological features (1/ΔT, p < 0.001; b/a, p < 0.001; [b-e]/a, p < 0.001; CT, p = 0.011 and Area, p < 0.001) and all HRV parameters (p = 0.01 for HR and p < 0.001 for others) were significantly different between the study groups. In the stepwise multivariate model (Area under the curve [AUC] = 0.988 [0.974–1.000]), three morphological parameters (PW, p < 0.001; e/a, p = 0.011; (b-e)/a, p < 0.001) and three of HRV parameters (ShE, p = 0.01; NN50, p < 0.001, HR, p = 0.01) were significant. Significance. There are significant differences between AF and NSR, PPG waveform, which are useful in AF detection algorithm. Moreover adding those features to HRV-based algorithms may improve their specificity and sensitivity.


One of the most significant changes during the last thirty years within the Olympic Games is the growing participation of women. Joined to its increasing participation in their national teams, the world has witnessed an increasing number of medals won by women. This study analyzes three approaches: 1) the approach of participation and results based on the personal effort, 2) the implementation focus of government actions with a gender perspective, and 3) macro social changes, specifically women's access to high school and college education. Among the most interesting findings are the importance of institutionalization within the state or organizations outside the organized elite sport; the importance of investment throughout the process involved in the development of an athlete, and not just once the athlete performed at a high level. Finally, there is evidence of the importance of school sports organization for delivering results in elite's sport.


Abstract : The authors synthesized 8 new bis-(gamma-aryloxy-beta-chloropropyl) sulfides and disulfides, not previously described in the literature, by reacting sulfur chlorides with allylaryl esters. They established that the obtained sulfides and disulfides possess good antiwear and anticorrosion properties. (Author)


Abstract : Maple Lake Dam is an earthfill embankment 14.4 feet high and 283 feet long, excluding spillway. The emergency spillway is located at the left abutment, consisting of an earth channel having a trapezoidal cross section. The bottom width of the spillway at the reservoir outlet is 56 feet. A service spillway, consisting of a 12-inch riser pipe and an 8-inch diameter outlet pipe, is located approximately 100 feet from the right abutment. The outlet works was reported to consist of an 8-inch diameter asbestos cement pipe, extending upstream of the riser pipe to the reservoir and terminating with two sections of an 8-inch diameter vitrified clay pipe, having a concrete plug at the inlet. Based on visual inspection, the Maple Lake Dam is judged to be in good condition. Under the present conditions, the spillway will pass approximately 37 percent of the PMF. Should the top of the dam be restored to its design elevation, the spillway could pass the SDF without overtopping the dam.


In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae three dominant flocculation genes, FLO1, FLO5 and FLO8 have been described. Until now only the FLO1 gene, which is located at chromosome I, has been cloned and sequenced. FLO5 and FLO8 were previously localized at chromosomes I and VIII respectively (Vezinhet, F., Blondin, B. and Barre, P. (1991). Mapping of the FLO5 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by transfer of a chromosome during cytoduction. Biotechnol. Lett. 13, 47–52; Yamashita, I. and Fukui, S. (1983). Mating signals control expression of both starch fermentation genes and a novel flocculation gene FLO8 in the yeast Saccharomyces. Agric. Biol. Chem. 47, 2889–2896). This was not in agreement with our results. Here, we report the location of FLO5 and FLO8 on chromosomes VIII and I respectively.


The utility model relates to an automatic liquid and gas flow regulating valve, which has a valve body. A flow inlet and a flow outlet are arranged on the valve body; a motor, a valve core, a signal panel and a signal sensor are arranged in a valve cavity of the valve body; the valve core is positioned on a communicated passage between the flow inlet and the flow outlet; the signal panel and the valve core are arranged in the same rotating shaft mode. A signal transmission structure which is mutually adaptive to the signal sensor is arranged on the panel surface of the signal panel. The signal sensor is fixed in the valve body; the arranged position of the signal sensor is mutually corresponding to the position of the signal transmission structure on the signal panel. The utility model is characterized in that the motor is a step motor; the rotating shaft of the stepping motor is mutually connected with the rotating shaft of the valve core.


Sea-level rise (SLR) from global warming may have severe consequences for coastal cities, particularly when combined with predicted increases in the strength of tidal surges. Predicting the regional impact of SLR flooding is strongly dependent on the modelling approach and accuracy of topographic data. Here, the areas under risk of sea water flooding for London boroughs were quantified based on the projected SLR scenarios reported in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth assessment report (AR5) and UK climatic projections 2009 (UKCP09) using a tidally-adjusted bathtub modelling approach. Medium- to very high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) are used to evaluate inundation extents as well as uncertainties. Depending on the SLR scenario and DEMs used, it is estimated that 3%–8% of the area of Greater London could be inundated by 2100. The boroughs with the largest areas at risk of flooding are Newham, Southwark, and Greenwich. The differences in inundation areas estimated from a digital terrain model and a digital surface model are much greater than the root mean square error differences observed between the two data types, which may be attributed to processing levels. Flood models from SRTM data underestimate the inundation extent, so their results may not be reliable for constructing flood risk maps. This analysis provides a broad-scale estimate of the potential consequences of SLR and uncertainties in the DEM-based bathtub type flood inundation modelling for London boroughs.


The purpose of this research is to build a prototype of Bukhara Culinary Application using informal prototyping method. The difference between this application and the existing ones is the availability of ingredients and history information. This application will also provide delivery service to the customers. Customers and drivers register to this application, so that their details will be recorded. This might not seem much different from the available applications, but this research is also conducted to portray the use of informal prototyping. It is used for the ease in accommodating changes and continuing to the next step of software development by using commonly used software such as Adobe Photoshop. This research resulted in a prototype that provide the described information for 17 dishes from 5 restaurants in Bukhara.


The remote sensing techniques have been in good operation in the application study on crop acreage monitoring from the initial small regions up to now. The crop acreage monitoring is one of element tasks in the remote-sensing yield estimation, and its precise results can affect the reliability and applicability of the data directly. With development of data sets of multispectral and multi-spatial resolutions, the comprehensive application for multi-scale remote sensing data sources is the evitable trend in the operation of the remote sensing monitoring of the large crop acreage. Thus, it is imperative to study influence of the scale variation on remote sensing monitoring precision of the crop acreage. In the paper, Anhui Province as the research area, with rapeseed for target crops, using high spatial resolution spectrum of remote sensing image (SPOT5) cultivated area is extracted, then the extracted results in different spatial resolutions are available with the scale conversion of the results based on the principle of a simple majority. In this paper, the scale effect in crop acreage remote sensing monitoring is analyzed systematically in different spatial resolution, different monitoring methods and different remote sensing times by making use of the high spatial resolution satellite data and many precision evaluation indexes. The results lays the foundation in theory and experiment for data selection and precision guarantee in the crop acreage remote sensing monitoring based on multi-scale remote sensing data.


The present invention discloses a flame-retarding polystyrene resin composite containing brominated triazine and a preparation method thereof. The composite comprises the components with the following portions: 75 to 91 percent of polystyrene resin, 6 to 18 percent of brominated triazine flame retarding agent, 2 to 7 percent of retardant synergist and 0.1 to 1 percent of antioxidant, which are one-time extruded and processed by a double screw extruder. The composite of the invention has good mechanical performance, unchanged processing performance, high flame retarding efficiency, high-grade flame retarding performance, small environmental pollution and small human harm, can meet the strict requirements for environment protection internationally at present, simultaneously has the advantages of easy forming and good surface glossiness, and is suitable for making shells of various electrical appliances.


Multilevel modulation by LED luminance distribution is proposed and experimentally verified to increase signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) for optical camera communication (OCC). LED luminance level is measured by number of white pixels on the LED image and calibrated. Error-free transmission of 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is experimentally demonstrated up to a distance of 2.0 meter using 30-frame-per-second (fps) image sensor.


Presented Paper in  International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Conference - Challenges & Opportunities  1st – 2nd May, 2012 Organized by   College of Business & Economics, Qassim University  ،  Saudi Arabia Abstract. This  research  aims  to  assess  the  adequacy  of  the  current  content  of  the  IFRS  in  accounting programs  offered  by  the  Saudi  universities  to  identify  the  required  development  to  cover  the  IFRS  in courses of these programs. The research relies on both deductive and inductive methodology through its dependence on many researches and studies published in scientific journals  relevant to its subject. Also a questionnaire  has  been  designed  and  distributed  to a  number  of  business  colleges  in  Saudi  universities. Some results had been reached such as :The business schools in Saudi universities teach the IFRS just in one curriculum which is the International Accounting ,These colleges do not have the necessary facilities to teach these standards, and has the desire to link these standards with the relevant Accounting subjects in  each  curriculum.  Also  these  colleges  recognize  the  need  to  teach  these  standards  to  achieve  a competitive  advantage  for  its  graduates.The  difference  between  the  views  of  faculty  members  is significant and reflected in the difference in their academic positions. There is also no agreement about how to include these standards in the current Accounting Curriculums.. So the researchers recommended: to  teach  these  standards  in  different  accounting  curriculums  and  do  not  restrict  them  in  just  one curriculum, provide the necessary facilities for teaching IFRS in Saudi universities. Also  the researchers recommended the cooperation between these universities and professional organizations and encouraging the accounting department members to authorize collective accounting textbooks and particularly IFRS. This  research  is  considered  an  extension  of  recent trends in  the  field  of  accounting  education  and deals with the teaching of IFRS.  Keywords: IFRS , GAAB , Accounting Education , Accounting Curriculum , Accounting Programs.


The multiple measurement vectors (MMV) model can be used to effectively represent the jointly sparse signals. However, this model cannot be directly used in the scenario of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. The reason is that, the MMV model requires that the multiple sparse vectors have the common sparse pattern, while the SAR range profiles at different pulses have different sparse structures due to the range migration effect. In this paper, a modified MMV model is proposed for SAR imaging. The range migration effect is embedded into the proposed model, and a modified orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm is developed to obtain the high-resolution range profile. Then the cross-range focusing is performed by traditional matched filtering operation. Simulations and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm.


1. Introduction - Making a Strong Case for AWM 2. Working Towards AWM 3. Tools and Instruments for Adaptive Management 4. AWM - Training, Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer 5. Case Study : Elbe 6. Case Study : Guadiana 7. Case Study : Rhine 8. Case Study : Tisza 9. Case Study : Amudarya 10. Case Study : Nile 11. Case Study : Orange 12. Summary and Outlook


This paper presents the transfer of a microgrid converter from/to on-grid to/from off-grid when the converter is working in two different modes. In the first transfer presented method, the converter operates as a Current Source Inverter (CSI) when on-grid and as a Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) when off-grid. In the second transfer method, the converter is operated as a VSI both, when operated on-grid and off-grid. The two methods are implemented successfully in a real platform but the later offers some advantage.


The article provides a survey of possible references to tradition and examines different ways of understanding tradition in Karol Wojtyla's literary works and discursive texts. The first part of the paper presents a reflection on how Wojtyla defined tradition in terms of 'national identity,' 'memory,' 'culture,' and 'nation.' The second part addresses the issue of the presence of references to tradition in literary works of the author in question. The 20th-century traditions to which Wojtyla alludes and which he invokes in his literary output are given particular attention. This part of the article also discusses the problem of the similarity of artistic and ideological solutions adopted by Wojtyla to tendencies characteristic of the interwar literature (1918–1939). The proposed considerations are based on the assumption that Karol Wojtyla's oeuvre is inherently connected to the development of Polish literature at the beginning of the 20th century.


The rectifying technology of hydrogenated turpentine under vacuum was studied. The effects of vacuum, temperature, reflux ratio, kind of fillers on the separation were investigated and the optimum technological conditions of rectifying operation were determined. Finally, the concentration of pinane reached 96%; the yield after 2 rectifications was 73.06%.


Morgan's Collected Translations (1996) is one of his most substantial achievements. This chapter looks at the trajectory of his translations from, and use of, poets of European modernism, in various forms, in a range of political contexts and languages, and in the continuing dialogue, or open conversation, of Morgan's poetic practice. Amongst the dozens of poets Morgan has translated, five stand out – Eugenio Montale, Sandor Weores, Vladimir Mayakovsky, August von Platen and Attila Jozsef – because Morgan has dedicated a separate volume to each one. This chapter shows that by engaging with modern European poetry, and with these five poets in particular, Morgan was able to develop his voice in a number of important ways.


Hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorian women have migrated to Spain over the past two decades, seeking jobs as domestic workers. The gendered nature of this migration and its impact on families is the focus of my research. Migration is a family survival strategy within a global system that undervalues domestic work and fails to meet the needs of women and their families worldwide. While remittances aid in the development of home communities, a perspective that sees remittances as a development strategy ignores the real sacrifices and struggles of migrant women and their families. Using participant observation and interviews in both the home sending community in Ecuador and in Madrid, I explore the impacts on both the sending family and the daughters in Spain. By studying the same transnational family over time and across borders, I explore family dynamics through the details of the actual migration experience: how migrants learn the cultural codes to pass through immigration, how they raise capital through social networks to finance the trip, and how migrants negotiate housing, finding work and gaining legal rights in Madrid. I discuss the undervaluing of care work, which increases the vulnerability of Ecuadorian migrant women. I also investigate the dynamics of this transnational family, through communicative practices, return visits and family reunification. Finally I consider how the migration project of Ecuadorian women affects their sense of personal development and identity. Looking toward the future, I discuss how opportunities are diminishing for migrant workers as the Spanish economic crisis deepens, forcing migrants to decide whether to stay in Spain or return to Ecuador.


With the attention mechanism, transformers achieve significant empirical successes in natural language processing and computer vision. Despite the intuitive understanding that transformers perform relational inference (or "inductive reasoning") over long sequences to produce desirable representations, we lack a rigorous theory on how the attention mechanism achieves it. In particular, several intriguing questions remain open: (a) What makes a desirable representation? (b) How does the attention mechanism infer the desirable representation within the forward pass? (c) How does a pretraining procedure learn to infer the desirable representation through the backward pass? We aim to answer the three questions via the lens of exchangeability. Specifically, we observe that, as is the case in BERT and ViT, input tokens are often exchangeable since they already include positional encodings. The notion of exchangeability induces a latent variable model that is invariant to input sizes, which enables our theoretical analysis. To answer (a) on representation, we establish the existence of a sufficient and minimal representation of input tokens. In particular, such a representation instantiates the posterior distribution of the latent variable (or "concept") given input tokens, which plays a central role in predicting output labels and solving downstream tasks. To answer (b) on inference, we prove that attention with the desired parameter infers the latent posterior up to an approximation error, which is decreasing in input sizes. In detail, we quantify how attention approximates the conditional mean of the value given the key, which characterizes how it performs relational inference over long sequences. ∗equal contribution †Northwestern University; firstname.lastname@example.com ‡Northwestern University; firstname.lastname@example.com §Northwestern University; firstname.lastname@example.com ¶Northwestern University; email@example.com ‖Northwestern University; email@example.com 1 ar X iv :2 21 2. 14 85 2v 1 [ cs .L G ] 3 0 D ec 2 02 2 To answer (c) on learning, we prove that both supervised and self-supervised objectives allow empirical risk minimization to learn the desired parameter up to a generalization error, which is independent of input sizes. Particularly, in the self-supervised setting, we identify a condition number that is pivotal to solving downstream tasks. Our theoretical analysis gives a complete characterization of the attention mechanism as a "greybox" design, which unifies the handcrafted architecture induced by the latent variable model ("whitebox") and the learnable parameter estimated from data ("blackbox") with provable approximation, generalization, and optimization guarantees.


Current evidence on melatonin use for sleep disturbances in children with cerebral palsy is, limited; however, in clinical practice, melatonin is used to treat different types of sleep disturbances in children with cerebral palsy. Studies suggest that between 20% and 80% of patients with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders report sleep disturbances. Our objective in conducting this literature review was to identify evidence supporting the use of melatonin to treat sleep problems in children with cerebral palsy. Studies suggest that sleep latency may be decreased in patients who have cerebral palsy. Significant limitations of the studies exist that include: cerebral palsy was not the sole disorder in the randomized controlled studies, the lack of oversight in the dietary supplement market, as well as an unestablished pediatric dose of melatonin. Overall, minimal adverse effects were reported with use of melatonin, although this could be explained by the small sample sizes. The studies propose that patients with severe brain injury, or who are prone to seizures, may experience adverse events from melatonin use. Due to the variance in the product, minimal number of studies, adverse effect potential, and lack of data on doses in children, melatonin should be used with caution in children with cerebral palsy. Additional research is needed on the use of melatonin in the treatment of sleep disorders, specifically in children who have cerebral palsy.


It is increasingly recognised within high-consequence industries that a positive safety culture is strongly linked to various safety outcomes and performance indicators. Explosive ordnance (EO) is an area that demands a high level of safety culture, indeed it is a reputational and operational necessity. This paper introduces a measure of safety climate tailored to the EO domain. The paper describes the background to the study, the development of items, and the subsequent factorial validation of scales on the basis of a sample of 272 EO personnel. The factor structure that emerged was very similar to the postulated structure of 14 climate dimensions. These 14 dimensions were shown to represent three meta-themes in the data: Safety Awareness and Responsibility (8 subscales), Safety Resources issues (3 subscales), and Safety System issues (3 subscales). The authors are confident that the EO Safety Survey is a valid, reliable and powerful tool that will support the goal of holistic reform of the EO domain. The EO Safety Survey will inform and enable tailored safety intervention efforts, improved compliance monitoring, and benchmarking studies that, collectively, will enhance the management of the human factors issues that impact on EO work.


"At that time Theodosius was a household name because of the fame of his ancestors and his own bravery. For this reason he had been stricken by the jealousy of his colleagues and fellow-countrymen and lived in the spanish provinces, since he had been born and brought up there. The emperor [Gratian] was not at a loss as to what he should do, since the barbarians were inflated by their victory and seemed difficult to fight against, but saw the solution to his difficulties in the generalship of Theodosius. He therefore sent for him at once from Spain and appointed him general and sent him off with a picked force. Armed with the Faith, he attacked boldly. Entering Thrace and seeing the barbarians roving all around, he drew up his army for battle. A skirmish took place, and since they could not bear the Roman attack they abandoned their batde order. When they broke and turned they fled, but the Romans pursued them vigorously. There was a great slaughter of the barbarians, since they were killed not just by the Romans but also by each other. In this way very many were annihilated, but a few managed to escape and cross the Danube. The admirable general then distributed his army into the neighbouring cities and himself dashed at top speed to the emperor Gratian, as messenger of his own successes. The emperor was so surprised at what had occurred that he did not believe what he was told; his courtiers, stricken by the barbs of their own jealousy, maintained Theodosius had fled and that his army had been destroyed". [The emperor then appointed people to investigate how many barbarians had been killed; while they were away Theodosius dreamed that Meletius, orthodox bishop of Theodoret's home town Antioch, had crowned him emperor, and told one of his friends about it]. "A few days later the investigators who had inspected the field of battle returned and announced that many tens of thousands of barbarians had been cut down. The emperor was then satisfied he


A method for simulating time-dependent transport in nanoscaled devices is presented. The method is based on solving time-dependent Schrodinger equation using the method of finite difference time domain (FDTD). Poisson equation is solved self-consistently with Schrodinger equation. This method is demonstrated by simulations of time-dependent transport in a nanowire and gate-around carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET). Transient effects, e.g., finite rising time, are explored in these devices.


The purpose of the HUD residential solar demonstration program is discussed including the Congressional mandate, the position of the Office of Management and Budget, the program goal of ERDA and HUD, and concludes that water heating demonstrations should predominate in the program. The HUD program implementation is discussed including R and D activities, market development activities and demonstration activities in the field. Conclusions and recommendations are presented. (MHR)


Process Identification and PID Control enables students and engineers to understand the essential concepts of feedback control, process identification, auto-tuning, and design of real feedback controllers, especially PID controllers. And related to research, in this paper, the DC-Motor has a speed of 3000 rpm. This paper shows how to design speed 800-1000 rpm. by collect input-output signal information to be analyzed for mathematical equations (Plant-DC Motor) in a system identification toolbox MATLAB/SIMULINK to aid the reader in solving real problems. Readers will be able to design their own controllers, implement them, and confirm performance in real-time using real-time virtual processes. The system of interest is a closed-loop control system with a feedback controller and displays the results with a mathematical model. (Mathematical model identification) of a system that can be designed and implemented.


Purpose – To provide an analysis of transient heat conduction, which is solved using different iterative solvers for graduate and postgraduate students (researchers) which can help them develop their own research.Design/methodology/approach – Three‐dimensional transient heat conduction in homogeneous materials using different time‐stepping methods such as finite difference (Θ explicit, implicit and Crank‐Nicolson) and finite element (weighted residual and least squared) methods. Iterative solvers used in the paper are conjugate gradient (CG), preconditioned gradient, least square CG, conjugate gradient squared (CGS), preconditioned CGS, bi‐conjugate gradient (BCG), preconditioned BCG, bi‐conjugate gradient stabilized (BCGSTAB), reconditioned BCGSTAB and Gaussian elimination with incomplete Cholesky factorization.Findings – Provides information on which time‐stepping method is the most accurate, which solver is the fastest to solve a symmetric and positive system of linear matrix equations of all those con...


The results of evaluation the different spring barley varieties as regards their yielding and adaptability parameters, under the conditions of Northern Zauralye, are submitted in the article. The data obtained as result of test trials of 6 spring barley varieties, conducted in three climatic zones of the Tyumen region in 2011-2013, have been studied. It is shown that the varieties under study had a high yielding potential, though their average yields differed to a great extent due to different rates of their genotypes response to the conditions of environment. High yields variability of the spring barley varieties, regardless of the climatic zone, has been observed. The highest average yields were produced by the Acha variety in the subtaiga zone, the Zhana variety in the northern forest-steppe zone and the Vorsinsky-2 variety in the southern forest-steppe zone. Low yielding potential realization of the spring barley varieties under study has been ascertained. On the basis of the comprehensive assessment of the average barley varieties yielding and its potentials realization as well as the parameters of ecological plasticity and stability the Acha and Vorsinsky-2 varieties are considered to be the most efficient ones.


It is suggested that success at designing systems to satisfy latency-sensitive requirements has not yet been achieved, and that it is necessary to develop benchmarks that explicitly measure system latency, rather than measuring it indirectly through its effect on throughput. If both throughput-sensitive and latency-sensitive benchmarks are required, the result might be the creation of systems that are easily tuned (or even self-tuned) to provide either good latency or good throughput, as the case demands.<<ETX>>


There is provided an apparatus for image acquisition, in which an image pickup device (14) and an illumination device (13) are arranged on a same side of a sample plane (11). The image pickup device (13) comprises independently controllable lighting sections, for example, individual light sources, of being able to illuminate (11) at different angles and / or from different directions about a sample (12) in the sample plane. In this way, a large number of images can be taken with different lighting, which can be combined into a final image with improved properties.


In the paper, we present the sea experiment of positioning underwater vehicles using multiple surface beacons. A system is designed to realize the underwater vehicles' positioning using the time difference of arrivals (TDOA) technique, where no strict clock synchronization between beacons and underwater vehicles is required. Moreover, an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) method is introduced to improve the robustness. A sea experiment is conducted to verify the proposed positioning method. In the experiment, three surface beacons broadcast positioning messages synchronously at a given interval. The underwater node uses the received positioning messages and its corresponding arrival time to perform the position calculation. The experimental results show that the proposed positioning method works well and the average positioning error is less than 20 meters.


The relationship between metaphorical language and protection of fundamental rights on the Internet is evident, in particular, when looking at the judgement of Supreme Courts. Which is the relation between metaphorical language and judicial protection of fundamental rights on the Internet? How in particular, are legal imagination, metaphors and judicial frame impacting on the degree of protection of freedom of expression when the relevant (technological) playground is the world of bits? This work aims to analyze the so-called "judicial frame" focusing especially on the legal disputes relating to free of speech on the Internet. From a methodological perspective, the authors compared both the European Court of Human Rights and the US Supreme Court case law. The main finding of this work shows how the adoption of an internal or external point of view in relation to the Internet by Supreme Courts affects not only the use of different metaphors to describe the digital world, but also the balance between the fundamental rights at stake.


Excerpt To the editor: The report of Klipstein and colleagues (Ann Intern Med79:632-641) that stresses the isolation of toxin-producing Enterobacteriaciae from the midjejenum of patients with tropi...


Time‐dependent differential equations can be solved using the concept of method of lines (MOL) together with the boundary element (BE) representation for the spatial linear part of the equation. The BE method alleviates the need for spatial discretization and casts the problem in an integral format. Hence errors associated with the numerical approximation of the spatial derivatives are totally eliminated. An element level local cubic approximation is used for the variable at each time step to facilitate the time marching and the nonlinear terms are represented in a semi‐implicit manner by a local linearization at each time step. The accuracy of the method has been illustrated on a number of test problems of engineering significance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 2006


The fourth-century battle over the interpretation of a single developed trinitarian theology laid the groundwork for numerous binary trajectories, with some resulting in Christian imperialism. Western Christianity's early preoccupation with divine ontology, coupled with the military might of the Christian empire and the West's inability to hold the mystery of God in tension, has beleaguered Christians and other monotheists for centuries. An Indigenous understanding of the divine shalom community may offer different choices that are perhaps closer to the constructed understandings of Trinity held by early followers of the Christ. In their various perceptions, early Jewish Christians recognized and acknowledged a place in their worldview for a trinitarian construct without the trappings of extrinsic categorization or the bur1 . Shalom, as used in Scripture, is a very broad theological construct. I am using it according to Walter Brueggemann's model, which he describes as follows: "That persistent vision of joy, well-being, harmony and prosperity is not captured in any single word or idea in the Bible; a cluster of words is required to express its many dimensions and subtle nuances: love, loyalty, truth, grace, salvation, justice, blessings, righteousness. But the term that in recent discussions has been used to summarize that controlling vision is shalom. Both in such discussion and in the Bible itself, it bears tremendous freight the freight of a dream of God that resists all our tendencies to division, hostility, fear, drivenness, and misery. Shalom is the substance of the biblical vision of one community embracing all creation. It refers to all those resources and factors that make communal harmony joyous and effective." Walter Brueggemann, Peace: Living Toward a Vision (St. Louis: Chalice, 2001) , p. 14.