: Ecosystem service assessment is the basis of decision making for environmental management policy. The validity and reliability of the Choice Experiment method for evaluating non- market items by acquiring individual's payment will be a very important issue for scholars. Taking the Sanjiang Plain Wetland as an example , we built a method to evaluate willingness to pay for wetland ecosystem services based on the Theory of Planned Behavior to explore potential motives for willing to pay for wetland ecosystem services. This method improves the reliability and scientificity of traditional Choice Experiments which only contain socioeconomic information parameters. By fitting multi- Logit models chosen according to the utility function of wetland ecosystem services , we empirically analyzed respondent willingness to pay for wetland ecosystem services and influence factors. The wetland ecosystem service function is mainly reflected by the four ecosystem service properties : wetland area , biodiversity , water conservation and natural landscape. We found that residents ' preferences for wetland ecosystem services from high to low respectively are water conservation , wetland area , natural landscape and biodiversity. Model test results show that fitting the multi-logit model introduces behavioral attitudes , subjective norms and perceived behavior as control variables is better and explains the choices of consumer payments. The marginal prices of ecosystem service function properties are prefixed targets in order to realize Sanjiang Plain Wetlands ecosystem service function in the future : willingness to pay for improving water conservation 98.92 CNY ; the willingness to pay for maintaining the existing wetland area is 58.90 CNY ; the willingness to pay to improve the natural landscape is 54.09 CNY ; and the willingness to pay to improve the biodiversity is 46.06 CNY.


Background: Although COVID-19 vaccines have been developed, the number of people willing to receive the vaccine has not yet reached the level for herd immunity. Using the health belief model with governmental information support, this study examined private self-consciousness in combination with other factors that influence the intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Materials and methods: The perceived susceptibility to and perceived seriousness of COVID-19, perceived benefits of and perceived barriers to the COVID-19 vaccine, governmental information support, private self-consciousness, and the intention to receive the vaccine were examined in 523 adults. The data were analyzed with partial least squares regression.
Results: The results indicate that private self-consciousness reduces the effect of perceived susceptibility on the intention to receive the vaccine and the negative effect of the perceived barriers to receiving it on intention.
Conclusion: The information provided by the public health department should focus on perceived seriousness and perceived benefits because they are not affected by private self-consciousness.


Traditional radio multi-access edge computing (RMEC) mainly serves information transmission. However, networking devices tend to be powered by batteries, and the life time of the network is constrained by battery capacity. How to power networking devices in RMEC is a key challenge. Wireless energy transfer (WET), a technology that uses radio frequency signals to charge devices wirelessly, offers the potential to eliminate this performance bottleneck. In this article, a framework for automatically generating network slice (AGNS) is proposed, where "WET" is set as a special application to realize synchronous transmission of energy and information by network slices. First, we discuss the development trends of RMEC. Next, we embark on customized services and resource efficiency maximization to reduce device's energy consumption, and analyze technical challenges. AGNS provides a logical mapping method to bridge the qualitative demand of new applications and the quantitative supply of slices, and provides a slice orchestration strategy to automatically combine virtualized network functions and optimize virtualized network resources for virtual private network (VPN). AGNS also provides a physical mapping approach to establish the resource corresponding relation between the network slices and physical devices in dynamic environments. Simulation results show that AGNS is superior to existing methods which adopt the "best effort" mode with a "one size fits all" rule, in terms of acceptance rate, resource efficiency and energy consumption. The AGNS framework is measured by the data of 10T of China Telecom Sichuan Branch. The results are consistent with our theoretical analysis.


On the base of analysing manufacture resource information, by using object\|oriented method, the structure forms and their relationships of manufacture resource are studied, and the structure model of manufacture resource is established, which lays a foundation for forming manufacture resource and process knowledge, as well as process data base. The relation model of manufacture resource and production planing schedule(PPS) is also studied.


'Brexit' creates significant new challenges; it risks placing the UK's position as a leading capital markets centre in jeopardy, and it places existing, long-established market access arrangements in doubt. Yet, it also creates opportunities. In particular, the UK could have the ability going forward, should it so wish, to extricate itself from the EU's prospectus regime. Indeed, the UK is especially well-equipped in this regard, given the dominant role it plays in global and EU capital markets, and given that, historically, the UK has been closely involved with, and a key influence in the design of EU regulations, both with respect to capital markets, and more generally in relation to financial regulation. Accordingly, via an analysis of the existing prospectus framework, and the recently revamped EU rules, this paper contributes to the existing scholarship on prospectuses and considerswhat could, or should, happen to the UK's prospectus regime following Brexit. It examines three possibilities and it advocates an 'equivalence-plus' approach. Specifically, it speculates that this option is most likely to guarantee the prospectus serves as a valuable investor protection device, as well as providing an attractive fundraising vehicle for firms.


Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability are important aspects in ship design and operation. Hull-shape optimization, hull cleaning and coating, and the use of appendages are, among others, well-known efforts to reduce ship fuel consumption. Regarding energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, it is possible to effectively reduce the resistance of an existing catamaran by retrofitting a foil system to it. In this study, a foil system is designed and retrofitted to a catamaran to reduce its total resistance. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations, utilizing k-w SST turbulence model, were performed to study the effects of the foil system on the vessel's total resistance. Free surface effects were modelled, i.e., the generation of waves due to the vessel's movement on the water surface. The foil system affects the wetted surface area, running sinkage and trim, and the wave pattern generated by the vessel, which ultimately affect the vessel's total resistance. At relatively low speeds (Fr < 0.7), an increase of the total resistance, reaching a value of approximately 11%, was observed due to the foil system. However, at higher speeds (Fr > 0.7), the foil system decreases the total resistance, reaching a value of approximately 32% at the service speed (Fr = 1.24). The 32% resistance reduction at the service speed is promising in view of the intended purpose of the foil system as an energy saving device.


The principles of two new techniques of medical physics, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and topical magnetic resonance, are outlined. Progress in the development of these techniques and their application in clinical trials is reviewed. Advantages of NMR methods over existing imaging modalities are discussed. Finally some safety aspects are considered.


(+)-Bovidic acid is an 18-carbon hydroxyfuranoid acid isolated from the pelage of the gaur (Bos frontalis) and displays potential as an insect repellant. Both a formal and total synthesis of (+)-bovidic acid was carried out with the core of the natural product being synthesized through Mukaiyama aerobic oxidative cyclization employing the second-generation Co(nmp)2 catalyst.


Suction piles have been widely used for offshore structures such as the foundations of subsea structures and the anchors for floating facilities particularly in soft soils. In previous studies, the penetration ratio L/D (L=embedded length, D=diameter) of suction piles has been taken from 0.25 to 1.0, and the behaviour of suction piles has been assumed to be similar to one of shallow foundations. However, in recent projects, the penetration ratio of suction piles is larger than 1.0 for the supports of large structures installed in clay. In this study, the vertical bearing capacity and ground failure mechanism is investigated using the Finite Element analysis(FE analysis) for suction piles installed in clay mainly subjected to the vertical load. The penetration ratio has the range of 0.25 to 5.0. The FE analysis results show that the penetration ratio gives a substantial effect on the vertical bearing capacity and the ground failure mechanism. The FE analysis results are compared with theoretical solutions. As the results of the comparison for the vertical bearing capacity, it is found that Prandtle's theoretical solution is the most similar to the FE analysis results for the penetration ratio in the range of 0.25 to 1.0 and Meyerhof's theoretical solution is the most similar to the FE analysis results for penetration ratio in the range of 3.0 to 5.0.


A control method for a pump assembly (10, 12) in a pneumatic or hydraulic system controls a speed (n) of the pump assembly (10, 12) in dependence on at least one variable (Dp, p, T, xp) which is detected in the system. An error signal (e) is produced from the detected variable (Dp, p, T, xp) on the basis of a sectionwise monotonic function. On the basis of the error signal, the speed (n) of the pump assembly (10, 12) is controlled.


15 In this paper, chemically modified cellulose paper was introduced as a novel extracting phase for 16 thin film microextraction (TFME). Different reagents (Octadecyltrichlorosilane, 17 diphenyldichlorosilane, cyclohexyl isocyanate and phenyl isocyanate) were used to modify the 18 cellulose papers. The modified papers were evaluated as a sorbent for the extraction of some 19 synthetic and natural estrogenic hormones (17α-ethynylestradiol, estriol and estradiol) from 20 aqueous samples. Liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection was used for the quantification 21 of the extracted compounds. The cellulose paper modified with phenyl isocyanate showed the 22 best affinity to the target compounds. TEME parameters such as desorption condition, shaking 23 rate, sample ionic strength and extraction time were investigated and optimized. Limit of 24 detections were between 0.05 and 0.23 μg L and relative standard deviations were less than 25 11.1% under the optimized condition. The calibration curves were obtained in the range of 0.2– 26 100 μg L with a good linearity (r > 0.9935). Wastewater, human urine, pool and river water 27 samples were studied as real samples for the evaluation of the method. Relative recoveries were 28 found to be between 75 and 101%. 29 30 31 32


Abstract Developing simple and effective method for carbohydrate antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) detection is important to achieve the early diagnosis and treat of gastric cancer. In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were treated with a simple wet-chemistry method to form MWCNT/graphene oxide (MWCNT/GO) core/shell nanohybrids that provide high electron transfer, high dispersibility, and a large surface area to immobilize CA72-4 antibodies (Ab) due to the carboxyl groups on the GO shell. Using ferrocyanide/ferricyanide ([Fe(CN)6]3−/4−) as the signaling probe, a simple, label-free and effective electrochemical immunosensing platform was constructed for CA72-4. Upon optimizing the experimental conditions, the simple MWCNT/GO hybrids-based immunosensor showed desirable sensing including a wide linear range and low detection limit. Furthermore, the reproducibility, selectivity and practical applications demonstrated potential value to determine CA72-4 in clinical applications for diagnosing gastric cancer.


The present paper studies the cultural and linguistic practices of Francophone (both mother tongue and foreign language speaker) rap groups using their lyrics as data to be analyzed. The methodology chosen is of a double nature: sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis are used in order to arrive at a more complete picture. The analysis suggests that code-switching is a means through which rappers can create an identity for themselves which identifies them with the African American origins of rap music while allowing for a strong, alternative, national identity. It seems visible that the multilingual identity is one which is gladly embraced because it allows for a wider variety of linguistic practices.


and experience of that context. Winifred Wing Han Lamb explores questions of truth and transcendence in the postmodern setting. Her suggestions, drawing on ideas surrounding the concept of dialogue, point in some positive directions. However, she leaves us to ponder the place or significance of Spirit in such a view, as she does not explicitly mention Spirit in the essay. Nancy Victorin-Vangerud relates Spirit to the idea of dignity in the context of the need for justice in our world. This essay makes a range of links biblical, theological, ecumenical, contextual so that various promising lines of Spirit-started theologising are present. Denis Edwards focuses our attention on the activity of the Spirit in relation to creation, as a basis for raising ecological awareness and concerns. He suggests both a "sacramental" and a "prophetic-eschatological" view are necessary, so that we can appreciate the Spirit-infused quality of the world around us while also recognising the "not-yet" which calls us to action in the name of ecology. The emphasis on sensitive awareness and imagination makes this a fitting essay to "round off" the collection. It is very pleasing to see such a collection, which will add to the theological resources being developed in this part of the world, and which picks up a theme relevant to today's interests and emphases. Given the contemporary significance of the subject, as a symbol of the re-imagining, the creativity, and the open-endedness of our postmodern age, I was a little surprised to find such a focus on traditional systematic themes in theology. The Spirit (especially in part one) seems to be captured within theological tradition, rather than blowing where it wills. As feminist theologies are a particular locus for re-emphasis of the Spirit, it seems a lack not to make more links into this area of theologising. At the same time, the contextualising aspects in part three are a welcome breath. Certainly, a useful volume to sit in the context of today's theological reflection in this region.


mentioned and in that of the Divine Community (as in the next saying in Mark : verity I say unto you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God ') to the ' covenant ' (ScaB~jKr~) spoken of here ? At the Cross takes place the supreme exercise of the seeking goodness of God ; and, again, at the Cross total response to it is made. The f3a(nÀELa as it came when Jesus died and the response which He then yielded to it constituted the basis of the 8ca6rjrc,~. Henceforth there it was, there it is, a relationship initiated between God and ourselves by a wholly Divine work (as, in that respect, was to be the new covenant in Jeremiah's prophecy [3 131ff. ; cf. Ezk 11&dquo;!3626f., Ps 5Ii°]) and sustained on our side by submission to the moral absolute of Jesus. It is the life of the Divine Community with God, in so far as it can be known before the Community has been completely raised


While traditional safety and incident analysis has mostly focused on incident attributes data, such as the location and time of the incident, there are other aspects in incident response that are temporal in nature and are more difficult to analyze. We describe a visual analytics tool for temporal data exploration, called LifeFlow, used for the analysis of incident response data. LifeFlow provides user-controlled overviews of event sequences (e.g. notification, arrival, clearance etc). It allows analysts to interactively explore temporal patterns, find anomalies in sequences and compare management practices. This type of analysis can potentially lead to process improvements and save human lives. We used NCHRP traffic incident data with more than 200,000 incidents are reported by eight different agencies in a period of about 28 months. Our experience suggest that even non expert analysts can spot many anomalies in the data using the LifeFlow overviews, and are able to rapidly ask many questions and find differences between agencies.


In this paper, a low-complexity IP Core based on the CORDIC algorithm is proposed for image/video decoding process in compatibility with the standard MPEG-4 Visual and the standard H.264/AVC. This, Inverse Discrete Cosine and Integer Transform (IDCIT), can be used to support multiplierless 1-D 8-point IDCT and 1-D 4-point/8-point inverse integer transforms. Meanwhile, the number for CORDIC iterations and compensation steps are adjustable in order to compensate the video compression quality. The implementations are embedded in public available software XVID Codes 1.2.2 for the standard MPEG-4 Visual and the H.264/AVC reference software JM 16.1, where the experimental results show that a trade-off between video compression quality in PSNR and computational complexity is obtained.


Drawing on county†level data from Kansas for the period 1977–2011, we examine whether plausibly exogenous increases in the number of establishments licensed to sell alcohol by the drink are related to violent crime. During this period, 86 out of 105 counties in Kansas voted to legalise the sale of alcohol to the general public for on†premises consumption. Using legalisation as an instrument, we show that a 10% increase in drinking establishments is associated with a 3–5% increase in violent crime. The estimated relationship between drinking establishments and property crime is also positive, although smaller in magnitude.


Mobile Adhoc Networks enforces certain level of challenges for the researchers since they operate without a fixed infrastructure. Moreover the constant movement of nodes gives additional challenges while implementing any type of solutions. Similarly enforcing secure mode of routing in mobile adhoc networks creates lot of hurdles for the implementers. This paper addresses these issues, by computing the trust of each node and updating the trust tables of the respective nodes and the cluster head. This paper focus in designing a trusted secure mechanism for routing. The objective of this work is to calculate the trust of nodes using various trust methods. Later the calculated trust is updated with the trust table of the cluster head by forming a web of trust. This will enable a secure channel of communication among the adhoc nodes. After incorporating the newly computed trust, the routing performance of well known routing protocol say AODV, is evaluated for various routing parameters and it is compared with the performance of Trusted AODV(TODV).


In this paper we describe a fully implemented prototype for interactive storytelling using the UnrealTM engine. Using a sit-com like scenario as an example of how the dynamic interactions between characters and/or the user dramatise the emerging story. We present how all possible narrative variations are formalised using Hierarchical Task Networks. However, within interactive narrative representation, matters arise from the conjunction of different sorts of causality: physical, psychological and narrative.


I Anand P . Neurotrophins and peripheral neuropathy. Proc R Soc Philos Trans Series B, 1 996; 351 : 449-454. 2 Facer P, Mathur R, Pandya S, Ladiwala U, Singhal B, Hongo l, Sinicropi DY, Terenghi G, Anand P. Decreased nerve growth factor-immunostaining in skin basal keratinocytes and loss of intra-epidermal innervation precedes sensory loss determined by quantitative testing in leprosy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 1 998; 65: 707. Anand P, Foley P, Navsaria H, Sinicropi DY, Williams-Chestnut RE, Leigh I . Nerve growth factor in cultured human skin cells: effect of gestation and viral transformation. Neurosci Lett, 1 995 ; 185: 1 571 60. 4 Shetty YP, Uplekar MW, Antia NH. Immunohistological localization of mycobacterial antigens within the peripheral nerves of treated leprosy patients and their significance to nerve damage in leprosy. Acta Neuropath (Berf), 1 994; 88: 300-306. 5 Agrewala IN, Kumar B , Yohra H. Potential role of B71 and CD28 molecules in immunosuppression in leprosy. Clin Exp lnununol, 1 988 ; 1 1 1 : 56-63 .


Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common chronic disorder that causes reflux symptoms and/or muscosal damage, associated with Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma, and greatly i


DC circuit breaker (DCCB) plays a key role in the safe and reliable operation of flexible HVDC transmission network. With the increasing complexity of power grid structure and the increase of voltage level in power grid, the traditional two port DCCB can not meet the current needs. In this paper, a multi port DC circuit breaker (MP-DCCB) fault current limiting protection scheme is proposed, which uses mechanical switch as main circuit, adds current limiting branch to restrain short-circuit fault current rise and increases grounding branch to reduce energy consumption of arrester. It can protect multiple lines, restrain fault current and reduce energy consumption of arrester. The simulation model is built in PSCAD / EMTDC software to verify the ability of fault shutdown, short-circuit current limiting and grounding loss reduction of the proposed MP-DCCB protection scheme.


According to 261 statistics,there was an influence factors analysis which was from farmer and farmers' professional cooperatives participation.It revealed the joining will and basic fact of farmers' professional cooperatives,which provided the reality reference for making the policies of agriculture-supermarket jointing.The results of it showed that the perfect degree of cooperative organization structure was consistent with the wishes of agriculture-supermarket jointing,but there was almost no relationship with how to sell these products.In the types of the cooperative products,there were mainly farmers who raised domestic animals like pigs,sheep and so on,who kept poultry such as chickens,ducks and so on,and who planted fruits and vegetables,and they were willing to join the agriculture-supermarket,however,farmers who planted grain or fodder were not really willing to join it.At the same time the market situation around the cooperation had an effect on the wishes of the cooperative farmers and participation.


The Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) National Board has issued guidelines relevant to genetic testing of children particularly to avoid any kind of bias against specific individuals. The 'Position Statement' was issued in response to a request from the Queensland Branch of Sports Medicine Australia.


The painting art of Hals and Vermeer not only explained the aesthetic interest of the public of Dutch,but also showed the beauty and simple of human life.Their paintings released that Dutch people loved and enjoyed their life.They used their own particular ways to recurring the beauty of human nature and life.Their art made us reacquaint life and the true art.This thesis has been discussed from the topics above.


(CMV) infection at diagnosis in childhood ALL, demonstrating active viral transcription in leukemia blasts as well as intact virions in serum. Screening of newborn blood samples revealed a significantly higher prevalence of in utero CMV infection in ALL cases (n 5 268) than healthy controls (n 5 270) (odds ratio [OR], 3.71, confidence interval [CI], 1.56-7.92, P 5 .0016). Risk was more pronounced in Hispanics (OR 5 5.90, CI 5 1.89-25.96) than in non-Hispanic whites (OR 5 2.10 CI 5 0.69-7.13). This is the first study to suggest that congenital CMV infection is a risk factor for childhood ALL and is more prominent in Hispanic children. Further investigation of CMV as an etiologic agent for ALL is warranted. ( Blood . 2017;129(12):1680-1684)


Liturgy and reconciliation before the Reformation : 60 - 312AD In Church History, including the History of Liturgy that
works with a Protestant perspective, the first 1500 years
of Christian history is often negated. Stories about
corrupt liturgical practices such as the selling of
indulgences and superstition surrounding the celebration
of the Mass in the late Middle Ages blur our perspective.
Therefore this series of articles takes another look at this
era in the History of the Liturgy, and specifically from the
perspective of reconciliation. The development of six
rituals of reconciliation is described during the periods 60
- 312AD, 312 - 600AD and 500 - 1550. Such a diachronic
description can help to understand the liturgical changes
that took place during the Reformation, and also to help
us to better understand our own liturgy. The main aim of
this series is however to see which elements were
present in the church's reconciliation rituals during this
time, in order to establish whether these elements might
be of value in the current quest for reconciliation in South
Africa.


It is shown, without reference to threshold decomposition or stacking property, that a WM (weighted median) filter of size N, with discrete-time continuous-valued inputs, can be specified by 2/sup N-1/ mutually consistent linear inequalities relating the weights. The filter's relation to binary threshold functions is indicated. For WM filters with symmetric weights, it is shown that the specification is the same as for ternary threshold functions. On the basis of the inequalities specifying a WM filter, some deterministic properties are derived and the generation of the WM filter is discussed.<<ETX>>


Portable exoskeleton,as an effective way of man-machine coupling,can provide necessary support and assistance for body weighting. The lower extremity is a key part of whole system. Its trajectory directly affects exoskeleton wearing comfort and movement coordination. From the perspective of kinematics,its structure,freedom and dynamic stability are analyzed. Then,a lower limb motion model is established with the methods of coordinate transformation and D-H rule. The trajectory planning of the lower extremity is realized based on the motion model. Finally,an exoskeleton three-dimensional model is established in SolidWorks,and a virtual prototype model is built in the ADAMS for kinematics simulation. The simulation result validates the correctness of the method and formulations of kinematics analysis. All these works lay a foundation for further research in the future.


According to elastic beam theory, in this paper the energy release rate is derived and calculated without the need of a detailed analysis of the crack-tip stress and displacement fields and it is then successfully partitioned into two parts which can reflect the mode I and mode II components. The partitioning of this total value is especially significant because there is considerable ambiguity regarding the values of the energy release rate components at the tip of a crack lying along the interface between two dissimilar isotropic media. An application of the basic solution for concrete stnictures strengthened with steel or FRP plates is made to illustrate its utility.


27 mustard materials were collected around Tibet and cluster analysis based on height of plant,stem diameter,branch position,amount of branch and numbers of siliqua properties was done in the present study.The results showed that: 1) At the threshold of 0.94,wild B.juncea germplasm in Tibet could be divided into 3 groups,mainly including branching type of above plant,branching type of below plant and average type,and the above results would be useful in rapeseed breeding;2)At the threshold of 0.61,they could be divided into 7 subgroups,namely SG1,SG2,SG3,SG4,SG5,SG6 and SG7,therefore,they could be considered as referenced markers of regional microclimate studing on crop growth environment in Tibet;3)It indicated that the agronomic characters of Tibet mustard germplasm were abundant,and their properties displayed significant differences.


This study investigates learners' perceptions of the benefits and the difficulties of group work (GW) in EFL (English as a foreign language) classes. The purpose of this study is to explore the possible effects of GW, in order to better understand learners' attitudes towards GW, and to inform language teachers of students' views of using GW. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative methods) was used to collect the required data for the study. Questionnaires were collected from 188 students in five private language institutions. These institutions specialise in teaching EFL to adult students studying in intermediate and secondary schools. From this sample, 20 students were interviewed in more detail in follow-up telephone interviews. The questionnaire examined learners' general perceptions, and the telephone interviews further explored the questionnaire findings. The findings revealed that many language learners consider the advantages of GW to be mainly related to (1) cognitive aspects, i.e. benefits that help learners in the learning process; and (2) emotional aspects, which are benefits that enhance motivation for learners. However, some learners identified difficulties, mostly related to learners' behaviours, which can result in uncooperative work in groups. These findings revealed that Saudi learners regard GW as effective in learning, but that some students' negative behaviours may prevent them from obtaining the benefits of GW.


Mammographic breast density is a strong risk factor for breast cancer. Studies on imaging dose in mammography have primarily focused on imaging quality and diagnostic accuracy, while little work has been done on understanding its effect on the estimation of breast density. Studies on the effect of dose on mammographic density estimation can be useful in dose reduction for the purpose of density estimation and monitoring. In this study, we investigate the dependence of percent area (PD%) and volumetric (VD%) breast density estimation on imaging dose using an anthropomorphic breast phantom (Rachel, Gammex). A set of digital mammograms were obtained with a GE Senographe 2000D FFDM system, using 220 unique combinations of different imaging physics, namely target/filter, kVp and mAs. Specifically, 8 different mAs settings were defined as corresponding to 10%, 20%, 40%, 70%, 100%, 150%, 200% and 300% of 1.8 mGy reference average glandular dose (AGD) for standard phototimed exposure. Breast density was estimated using fully-automated FDA-cleared software (Quantra v.2.0, Hologic Inc.). The obtained estimates were analyzed to study the effect of the imaging dose, using ANOVA and linear regression. Results show that there is a statistically significant dependence of density estimation on x-ray imaging dose (p-value=0.014 and <0.001 for PD% and VD%, respectively), while the actual variation of the estimation across the different levels of dose is relatively low (standard deviation of 2.87% and 0.66% for PD% and VD% respectively), the differences could be significant when breast density measures are used for risk estimation.


Growth onto vicinal substrates causes 60° misfit dislocations to adopt line directions away from in order for them to maintain their presence within the substrate to strained layer interface. Observations show that for the growth of an on-axis [001]wafer the dislocations have a line direction, within measurement error, exactly [110] or [-110] and two sets of orthogonal dislocations are generated. When grown onto a wafer that is cut off-axis toward [010] four sets of dislocations are generated. The two sets of dislocations in each direction converge to form low angle intersections from which edge dislocations are formed. These edge dislocations can become very long by the glide out of the interface plane of the component 60° dislocations. This 'zipping-up' to form the edge components only occurs in one direction from the low angle point of intersection and the edge segments are exclusively generated in the buffer layer. Their density and penetration are a function of thickness and composition of the mismatched epilayer. The mechanisms by which the dislocations adopt line directions away from and why they zip-up from the intersection in only one direction are discussed.


This study examined the norms that are salient to or accessed by subjects in response to scenes of frontcountry and backcountry settings. Inasmuch as salient norms are more likely to influence behavior, the concept of norm accessibility has utility for recreation and natural resource management. After viewing sets of photographic slides of either frontcountry or backcountry recreation settings, college students completed a questionnaire that elicited salient norms and measured students' previous experience, knowledge, and frequency of visitation levels with the specific setting. Results suggest that while there seem to be few differences in the norm topics recalled or mean number of norms accessed by respondents in backcountry and frontcountry settings, there was slightly more group agreement in the norms accessed for the backcountry setting. The number of norms recalled by respondents was influenced by previous experience, frequency of contact with the setting, and level of knowledge with the recreationa...


The increasing risk and incidence of computer misuse has raised awareness in the public and private sectors of the need to develop defensive and offensive responses. There is now widespread recognition of the importance of specialised forensic computing investigation (FCI) teams able to operate across conventional boundaries of law enforcement and national defence. More specifically, recent research on Australian FCI teams has revealed the critical role of investigative skills alongside digital evidence acquisition and presentation competences. At the level of practice these investigative skills extend beyond a methodical approach, to include case management, critical thinking and sensitivity to the corroborative importance of non-digital evidence. This paper considers the implications of these practical insights for forensic computing theory and presents a matrix for classifying behaviours and types of computer misuse. It also examines the European CTOSE methodology and reflects on how it is re-contextualised by these insights derived from FCI practice. It is anticipated that this paper will contribute towards the development of a standardised and comprehensive forensic approach to computer misuse.


Objective To analyze the abnormal change of ECG of patients with intracranial hemorrhage in acute stage and the relations to the prognosis. Methods The abnormal change of ECG was follow-up analyzed in 193 cases with intracranial hemorrhage in acute stage confirmed by CT. Results 35 cases died. 158 cases were cured or improved. The main abnormalities of ECG were abnormal J wave, elevation or depress of ST segment, and malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Conclusions The abnormal change of ECG of patients with cerebral hemorrhage in acute stage can be recovered following the improvement of pathologic change. The appearance of J wave, transient elevation of ST segment, or malignant ventricular arrhythmias, and have unfavourable prognosis.


We compare patterns of change in budgetary commitments by countries during periods of democracy and authoritarianism. Previous scholarship has focused almost exclusively on democratic governments, finding evidence of punctuated equilibria. Authoritarian regimes may behave differently, both because they may operate with fewer institutional barriers to choice and because they have fewer incentives to gather and respond to policy-relevant information coming from civil society. By analyzing public budgeting in Brazil, Turkey, Malta, and Russia before and after their transitions from or to democracy, we can test punctuated equilibrium theory under a variety of governing conditions. Our goal is to advance the understanding of the causes of budgetary instability by leveraging natural experiments to push the theory beyond democracies and assess its broader applicability. Presented at the Comparative Agendas Project conference in Lisbon, June 2015 * Political Science Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford ** Department of Political Science, University of Missouri in Columbia † Department of Political Science, Syracuse University ***University of Malta


River Chagharzi is the beautiful river flowing in the area and passing through many villages and finally falls to River Indus. A details study was conducted on the River Chagharzi in the period of April to July 2014 to study the fish fauna of River Chagharzi and to find out the quality parameters of the river. During the current study a total number of 7 fishes were collected belonging to 3 orders and 3 families, 7 genera and 7 species. These species were Pantius spohore, Tor putitora, Crossocheilus latius, Barilius pakistanicus, Schizothorax plagiostomus, Matacembelus armatus and Channa gachua. The quality parameters of the river Chagharzi were checked and were found to be suitable for the survival of the fish fauna. The fish fauna of the River Chagharzi was rich but due to the flood occur in the July 2010 results in the endangering of some species i.e. Glyptothorax punjabensis. The anthropogenic activities are also is plying key role in the diminishing of the fish fauna of the area. Protective measurements are required to protect the fish fauna of the River Chagharzi.


This paper studied the activities conditions of leaven in the fermented sausage.The research mainly based on temperature,period,quantity of the substrate.Those factors affected the activity of acid producing of the sausage. Result showed that there were significant difference(P0.05)in the temperature and time.The quantity of the substrate affected to the activity of acid producing was not significant.If the quantity of the substrate was at the level of 80mL/kg,the organoleptic quality declined quickly.The activity of acid producing was stronger by the temperature from 22℃ to 33℃,while the temperature was higher,the activity of acid producing became lower.At the level of 39h,the time gone up,the pH gone down obviously.By the time of 9h,the pH dropped down to 5.27.When the time gone up to 15h,the pH became to a stable level.The activity of acid producing can be strong enough if those factors were controlled properly.These factors were as follows:degreased milk as substrate with the quality of 40mL/kg,continuous cultivation at the temperature of 32℃ and 12 hours.At the same time,the organoleptic quality is the best.Moreover,the sausage in witch produced under those factors the amount of residue of the sodium nitrite was 9.1mg/kg.This level meets the requirements of the national standards,at a high level of security.


Since 2016 world politics has been changing to one vested with nativism, protectionism and cultural nostalgia, a world of "post-trust" in which demagogy and populism are used as tools to arouse popular trust and legitimacy. The article outlines three dilemmas the EU faces in regard to populism resurgence and lists several factors for the growth in electorate support for populist political parties, such as migration, inequality, terrorism, crisis of political representation. The author also identifies different factors triggering the rise of populist parties in Western and Eastern countries and has classified the populist appeals in three categories: scapegoating, capitalizing resentments and constructing authority, all colored with new approaches of negation, using Islamophobia and Euroscepticism.


The use of antibiotics in agricultural production has become a topic of growing concern, as these drugs have facilitated the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Flies have a tendency to mechanically transmit these bacteria, causing potential health problems for humans. It is a benefit to know the demographics of such flies in order to prevent contamination. Organic livestock is typically raised without antibiotics and has some recorded health benefits. It was hypothesized that organic raised chicken breast will attract more flies than non-organic raised chicken breast. Three of each type of chicken breast were placed outside for a week. Adult Diptera were collected, killed and identified. Phormia regina, Cochliomyia macellaria, Lucilia sericata and a Musca species were identified. There was not a statistically significant difference in the number of flies collected or species breakdown between the two chicken breast types. Many variables could have skewed the results. The null hypothesis was accepted that there was no direct correlation between fly attraction and raising of chicken breast, however it was concluded that further research should be conducted with greater control over the experiment for future investigation.


Based on outdoor and indoor observation,the outbreaking regularities of Atrijuglans hetauhei and its comprehensive control techniques were investigated.It was found that A.hetauhei had one generation only at mountain area with the altitude of over 1 000 meters,in Danfeng County,Shaanxi Province,China.However,one to three generations were observed at the gully region with a altitude below 600 meters.The control techniques were suggested: to plow the soil layer of 10~15 cm around the tree roots,the rate of fruit infected by pest would reduced to 2.04%~8.40%,based on the observation that the overwinter larvae were found in the soil layer with a depth of 1~9 cm.In the periods of the pest emergence,oviposition,and worm fruit-boring,to spray Fungus-Bacillus thuringiensis 32 000 IU·mg-1 diluted by 1 000 times,or Fungus-Beauveria bassiana with a concentration of 50 billion·mg-1 twice on the infected tree,the rate of fruit infected by pest would reduced to 10.31% and 17.63% respectively.


Ab initio MO calculations have been performed for the [(CO2)nROH]− (R=H and CH3) anions with n=1 and 2. Three stable structures are found for [(CO2)H2O]−, and two structures for [(CO2)CH3OH]−. All the [(CO2)ROH]− structures are characterized by the charge localization on the CO2 moiety, which interacts with ROH through an O–H⋯O linkage. It is also revealed that the addition of ROH to CO2− leads to the formation of a potential barrier against autodetachment higher than that of a bare CO2−, which results in the increasing stability of [(CO2)ROH]− species. For n=2 the calculations predict the existence of two types of isomers having different degrees of the excess electron localization: CO2−⋅ROH(CO2) and C2O4−⋅ROH isomers. These "electronic isomers" are calculated to be close in energy, while their calculated vertical detachment energies (VDEs) differ by more than 1 eV. The ab initio results are discussed in comparison with recent experimental ones derived from photoelectron spectra of [(CO2)nROH]−.


For p ≥ 12 11 the eigenfunctions of the non-linear eigenvalue problem for the p-Laplacian on the interval (0,1) are shown to form a Riesz basis of L 2 (0,1) and a Schauder basis of Lq(0,1) whenever 1 < q < oo.


Vegetation and atmosphere are linked through the perpetual exchange of water, carbon and energy. An accurate representation of the processes involved in these exchanges is crucial in forecasting Earth system states. Although vegetation has become an undisputed key component in land-surface modelling (LSMs), the current generation of models differ in terms of how key processes are formulated. Plant processes react to environmental changes on multiple time scales. Here we differentiate a fast (minutes) and a slower (acclimated – weeks to months) response. Some current LSMs include plant acclimation, even though they require additional parameters to represent this response, but the majority of them represent only the fast response and assume that this also applies at longer time scales. Ignoring acclimation in this way could be the cause of inconsistent future projections. Our proposition is to include plant acclimation in a LSM schema, without having to include new plant-functional-type-dependent parameters. This is possible by using an alternative model development strategy based on eco-evolutionary theory, which explicitly predicts the acclimation of photosynthetic capacities and stomatal behaviour to environmental variations. So far, this theory has been tested only at weekly to monthly timescales. Here we develop and test an approach to apply an existing optimality-based model of gross primary production (GPP), the P model, at the sub-daily timestep necessary for use in an LSM, making an explicit differentiation between the fast and slow responses of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. We test model performance in reproducing the diurnal cycle of GPP as recorded by flux tower measurements across different biomes, including boreal and tropical forests. The extended model requires only a few meteorological inputs, and a satellite-derived product for leaf area index or green vegetation cover. It is able to manage both timescales of acclimation without PFT-dependent photosynthetic parameters and has shown to operate with very good performance at all sites so far investigated. The model structure avoids the need to store past climate and vegetation states. These findings therefore suggest a simple way to include both instantaneous and acclimated responses within a LSM framework, and to do so in a robust way that does not require the specification of multiple parameters for different plant functional types.


We investigate the evolution of light transmitted by a fork-shaped phase grating etched on the core of an optical fiber using a near-field scanning optical microscope. The optical near-field intensity, simulated based on the angular spectrum method of propagation matches well with the experimental measurements. We propose a scheme to estimate the complex optical field within nanometres of the device by applying an iterative phase retrieval algorithm based on the angular spectrum method of propagation. The recorded intensity scans at different heights from the device accurately match with that calculated from the estimated phase carried out using the propagation of the resulting complex field. The proposed method provides a first of its kind insight into the evolution of the intensity and phase characteristics of propagating near-field.


Bureaucracy and misconceptions led to the decline of 'teaching' in the original EYFS. Early years expert Lena Engel explains why it must be restored to its rightful place under the revised framework.


Jose Marti Perez is recognized as a revolutionary paradigm. His live and work develop a group of essences which synthesizes the best of Latin-American culture. The article "Marti and the complex phenomena of culture" presents the expression of this natural man involved in a process of freedom to conquer the authenticity of his being and his culture


Inexpensive VLSI and an increasing demand for bandwidth effiaency have led to a large increase of the number of ap plications for speech coding. In the past 5 years, many standards have been defined for use in network and cellular communications systems. This widespread deployment of speech coding technology has created new challenges such as coding of speech with background noise, robust performance over noisy or fading channels, and performance for multiple encodings. In addition, many applications impose constraints on communication delay, cost and power consumption of the implementation. This paper will first review the underlying speech coding principles used in most international and regional standards. This is followed by a closer look at the trade-offs that can be made during the design of a speech coder. The last part of the paper will focus on the technical challenges and new directions of speech coding research for the next five years.


One of the various problems faced by farmers in their day to day farming activities is the constant need to watch overirrigation. Many times, the farmer must travel several kilometres to reach their fields and irrigation pumps. Hence, a huge amount of time and effort is expended daily in a farmer's life to irrigate the field when this time could be made use by the farmer at other farms such as animal husbandries which requires much more continuous observation and care. Through this paper, a project is proposed where a system is created to completely automate the process of irrigation such that none to minimal human intervention is required. The aim is to set up a wireless sensor network in the field which will collect data about the moisture in the soil and send information to start the water pump if the level goes below the threshold. Keywords— Wireless sensor network, Automated irrigation, Moisture sensor, Sensor node, Sink node.


Twenty three varieties of soybean were sown in two experiments in the experimental area of Oilseed Programme, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad in a randomized complete block design. The experimental unit was 6×1,8 m. The varieties in Experiment No.1 attained maturity in ten weeks while they took eight weeks in Experiment No. 2. The whitefly population was usually observed on the upper fresh leaves of soybean whereas no or very little whitefty population was observed on the lower and middle leaves of the plant. Heavy rains proved to be lethal for whitefly and a sharp decline in its population was recorded after rains. The significant differences were recorded in the whitefly population amongst the varieties in both the experiments. The susceptibility and resistance of different varieties against whitefly varied in different weeks. In the first week, CO-1 proved to be most resistant in Experiment No.1, while G-9956 showed maximum resistance to whitefly in the 2nd and 3rd weeks. As a whole, AGS-129 was the most susceptible variety with an average seasonal population of 0_74 whiteflies per leaf in Experiment No.1 while G-9956 proved to be most resistant with an average seasonal population of 0.19 whiteflies per leaf. Among the 11 varieties sown in Experiment No. 2. RAWAL-1 was recorded as the most susceptible variety with an average seasonal population of 1.08 whiteflies per leaf. AGS-344 proved to be most resistant with an average seasonal population of 0.10 whiteflies per leaf. The data on plant growth revealed no direct relation between number of nodes per plant and their respective plant heights. A plant having more number of nodes may have less height and vice versa. Similarly, a plant having maximum number of nodes or height in the initial stages of growth may not have maximum number of nodes or height at maturity.


To analyse the damage of Q235A steel during axial tension, tensile experiments were carried out on several Q235A sheet specimens, the acoustic emission (AE) signals were collected at the same time. The properties of cumulative ringing counts of sheet specimens were analysed during tension process, the load-cumulative ringing counts curves were fitted, and the expression of steel damage factor was obtained by polynomial cumulative ringing counts. The cumulative ringing counts calculated by this expression under different loads are close to the experimental values, which prove that it is feasible to use the cumulative ringing counts of acoustic emission to represent the damage factors of Q235A steel during tensile process.


Urinary continence (UC) recovery dramatically affects quality of life after robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Membranous urethral length (MUL) has been the most studied anatomical variable associated with UC recovery.


There were two main sources of water supply for a city in the Pre-Qin Period:one was drilling wells for water,and the other was digging ditches to draw water.The quality of well water was pure,while the quantity of ditch water was large.The draining of urban water mainly depended on pipelines to discharge rainwater and domestic waste water into the moat outside a city.


Novel Biginelli dihydropyrimidines were prepared using 4-fluoro nitrobenzene and Piperidine in presence of K2CO3 in DMSO solvent, followed by reduction with Raney Ni and hydrazine hydrate. Then, this amine was reacted with ethyl acetoacetate in Xylene at high temperature and isolated 3-oxo-N-(4-(piperidin-1-yl) phenyl) butanamide as a scaffold, This scaffold was finally react with urea and different aldehyde in presence of ptoluene sulphonic acid as an efficient catalyst to isolate titled compound derivatives. The chemical structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed by 1H-NMR, FT-IR and Mass spectral analysis. The synthesized compounds were screened for potential Antimicrobial, Antifungal and Antimalerial activity.


This study was to compare effects of konjac glucomannan (KGM), inulin and cellulose over the 24‐h apoptotic responses of colonic epithelium cells to an acute azoxymethane (AOM) and cecal short‐chain fatty acids, in mice. Six‐week‐old male C57BL/6J mice (n=72) were randomly assigned to an AIN‐76 modified high‐fat (20%, w/w) low‐fiber (1% cellulose, w/w) control diet or that supplemented with 5% (w/w) of KGM, inulin or cellulose for 3 weeks. Mice were administered with AOM (10 mg/kg B.W., i.p.) on the 22th day and sacrificed at 0, 6 and 24 h afterwards. Results indicated that the AOM significantly elevated the apoptotic index (AI, apoptotic cells to total cells in a crypt) in the proximal colon of inulin and cellulose groups at 6 and 24 h, of KGM group at 24 h, as compared to those of themselves at 0 h. In the distal colon, AOM promoted the AI of control and cellulose groups to 2–3 folds during the 24‐h period, as compared to that of themselves at 0 h. In contrast, AOM promoted AI of the KGM group to 6 and 5 folds, of the inulin group to 4 and 2.5 folds at 6 and 24 h, as compared to that of themselves at 0 h. Further, KGM was the only fiber that promoted the cecal butyrate concentration. Therefore, KGM showed the most effective fiber in this study to defend against the acute challenge by AOM. This study was supported by the National Science Council Grant NSC‐99‐2320‐B‐040‐014‐MY2, Taiwan.


Abstract In this note we describe the underlying principles — and pitfalls — of the process of non-dimensionalising and scaling the equations that model the classical problem in water waves. In particular, we introduce the two fundamental parameters (associated with amplitude and with wave length) and show how they are used, independently, to represent different approximations (with corresponding different interpretations and applications). In addition, and most importantly, we analyse how these two parameters play a role in the derivation of the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation, which then lead to predictions for the regions of physical space where solitons might be expected to appear. In particular, we address the issue of whether KdV theory can be used effectively to predict tsunamis. We argue that for tsunamis the propagation distances are much too short for KdV dynamics to develop.


A novel ionic liquid N-ethyl piperazinium propionate, [NEPP], was prepared, and the densities and viscosities for the binary mixtures of [NEPP] with methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, and n-butanol were measured over the whole concentration range at (298.15, 303.15, 308.15, and 313.15) K and 0.1 MPa. The data of the excess molar volume, VmE, were calculated and fitted with the Redlich–Kister type polynomial equation. The values of VmE of the investigated systems are all negative, indicating that the ion–dipole interactions play important roles between the molecules of the ionic liquid and the alcohols.


A cut-away schematic of the Penning trap system used by BASE. The experiment receives antiprotons from CERN's AD; negative hydrogen ions are formed during injection into the apparatus. The set-up works with only a pair of particles at a time, while a cloud of a few hundred others are held in the reservoir trap, for future use. Here, an antiproton is in the measurement trap, while the negative hydyrogen ion is in held by the downstream park electrode. When the antiproton has been measured, it is moved to the upstream park electrode and the hydrogen ion is brought in to the measurement trap. This is repeated thousands of times, enabling a high-precision comparison of the charge-to-mass ratios of the two particles. Credit: CERN


The first objective was to measure the effectiveness of mastitis control practices in herds with high WMT scores.
The second objective was to measure the effectiveness of 400 mg of novobiocin when used as the nonlactating period infusion component of the program, when novobiocinpenicillin was routinely used for intramammary infusion of infected lactating glands.
A third objective, in the event a herd did not respond, was to attempt to learn the reason or reasons for this failure.


A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course that is designed for the participation of large numbers of geographically dispersed students. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for the students, professors, and teaching assistants. Perhaps the most striking thing about MOOCs, many of which are being taught by professors at prestigious universities, is that they're free. The authors in this paper are focusing on the challenges, advantages and rewards of the MOOC model in engineering education.


The authors investigated integral affect effects (insults or compliments from out-group members) on evaluations of crossed-categorization targets (in-group/in-group, ingroup/out-group, out-group/in-group (Oi), and out-group/out-group) as discussion partners. The Oi target possessed a category membership that matched the out-group source of affect. The relevance of this category to participants' own category membership determined the evaluation patterns. As predicted, negative affect lowered evaluations of targets with group memberships relevant to those of the insulting out-group members (Study 1). Positive affect primed the positive aspects of in-group memberships, leading to broader, more inclusive categorizations of targets irrespective of their relevance to the affective source (Study 2). Evaluation patterns across targets also confirmed predictions, with negative and positive affect respectively producing hierarchical and social inclusion patterns.


We study the physical properties of the persistent charged current in a metal ring on a noncommutative phase space, and temperature dependence of the noncommutative corrections are also analyzed. We find that the coordinate noncommutativity only affects the total magnitude of the current, and it is difficult to observe it. In contrast, the momentum noncommutativity can violate symmetry property of the current, and this violation of symmetry holds at a finite temperature. Based on this violation effect, we introduce an asymmetry observable to measure the momentum noncommutativity.


Background This article examines the approaches for development of monitoring and control methods of the stressed-and-strained state of trunk gas pipeline compressor stations process pipes as an asset for stress-corrosion protection. Aims and Objectives The monitoring subsystem is proposed for technical condition maintenance and integrity of the compressor stations process pipes in the course of the development of the management system of technical condition and integrity of the gas transportation system of Gazprom Company and includes a unit for monitoring and control of the stressed-and-strained state of the pipes. The consideration of process pipes from the point of view of stressed-and-strained state control is aimed in reduce the risks of accidents at hazardous production facilities, and subsystem stressed-and-strained state management unit which is discussed in the article is aimed in excluding of defects nucleation caused by stress corrosion cracking. Structural stressed-and-strained state control scheme for process pipes should be constructed as part of the management subsystem for hazardous production facilities, including blocks of data collection, data analysis, quantitative assessment of the level of technical risk, forecasting and production management solutions. Results There are described the suggestions to reduce the risk of accidents and avoid the stress corrosion cracks nucleation in the organization of stressed-and-strained state control and monitoring of pipes. An approach is offered aimed to solve the problem of constructing the stressed-and-strained state control subsystem for process pipes of compressor stations as a part of the system of technical condition and integrity management of the gas transportation system of Gazprom Company.


Buruli ulcer and other Mycobacteria infections especially Mycobacterium tuberculosis, involving the skin frequently occur in the tropics and have a lot in common in terms of their mode of presentation and extent of systemic involvements. Since the Yamoussoukro declaration, emphasis has been placed on the increasing prevalence of buruli ulcer; earning it a place among re-emerging diseases. Notwithstanding, other tropical ulcers continue to plague the region which are yet diagnosed or underdiagnosed. In developing countries where the burden of these mycobacterial infections is enormous, the problem of diagnosis and speciating these mycobacterial organisms continues to be a daunting task due to their similar mode of presentation and lack of appropriate labouratory facilities. A high index of suspicion based on detailed history, clinical presentations as well as therapeutic responses to treatment including anti-tuberculosis medication is time-saving and crucial in establishing a possible diagnosis in resource poor settings. This will help combat the burden of these infections and attendant complications and disfigurement associated with these tropical mycobacterial ulcers.


The issue of fire propagation in cities is of obvious importance to Civil Authorities, but does present issues of computational complexity. Our basic assumption is that some event has occurred to disrupt the normal damage prevention infrastructure, i.e. the Fire Department, so that the fire spreads unhindered through the city. For the most part, the spread of fire is stopped inside the building by construction methods (fire glazing, fire proof treatment of woods etc), and the internal sprinkler systems. In many cities the sprinkler systems are fed by the municipal water supply, so should that fail due to catastrophic damage, buildings will burn uncontrolled. The Fire Control Services are, of course, the next line of defense, but, given our assumption, they are incapable of dealing with the fire for some reason. We then wish to find out how fire will spread in a disaster situation, allowing the fire department and other civil authorities to combat a scenario, armed with the knowledge of what places are most prone to fire spread. To do this we wish to have some representation of cities such that we can measure the likelihood of fire spreading from one building to the next. Therefore we must cover the physics of fire, and then deduce a representation that facilitates the calculation of the fire spread. However, fire, by its nature, is difficult to simulate accurately. As consulted experts agreed that fire spread is a noisy value, due to a huge variety of factors changing the shape of the fire within a building (e.g., the distribution of fuel, heating duct, the shape of the internal structure), applying high accuracy operations to the problem is meaningless. To do this we wish to have some representation of cities such that we can measure the likelihood of fire spreading from one building to the next. Therefore we must cover the physicsof fire, and then deduce a representation that facilitates the calculation of the fire spread


All sea transportation facilities users in the world in general especially in Indonesia always prioritize safety, security and comfort aspects. The ship accidents such as sinking, burning, etc., are problems related to the safety and security of sea transportation.The purpose of this study it was to determine the application of occupational safetyand health inside the speedboat accordance with Ministerial Regulation No. 6 of 2018 concerning Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.This study used a qualitative method carried out at the port of Tengkayu II, Tarakan City, North Kalimantan were speedboat passengers as the main informants, as well as Transportation Service officers and dock workers as supporting informants.The sampling technique used accidental sampling technique. The results of the study stated that the application of OSH inside the speedboat had not been fully implemented.Passenger awareness is a fundamental cause of the non-implementation of that regulations. One aspect of applying OSH inside the speedboat in accordance with applicable regulations is to use a life jackets while in a speedboat. Passengers only wear life jackets just before leaving when inspected by officers, but will be removed if it is far from the port. Discomfort factor is the main reason why life jackets are not used. In addition, the boat captain's negligence was still found because it did not prioritize the safety of the feeder, and driving was not in accordance with the applicable standard operating procedures.


ABSTRACT Over the last 130 years, the landscapes of northern Iceland's fishing villages have experienced repeated reconfigurations based on changing technology, cultural developments, and ecological shifts. However, the interconnected nature of these changes and their role in enabling industrial success have not been systematically assessed. This project aimed to evaluate the ecological and cultural histories of the herring industry of northern Iceland vis-à-vis the built environments in Siglufjörður in order to understand how changes in the built environment facilitated resiliency or increased vulnerability in the adaptive cycle through the spatial and temporal analyses of maps and aerial photographs of the landscape. This paper utilises an adaptive cycle framework to better understand how communities responded to disruptions in the fishing industry. Understanding the relationship between the built environment and the adaptive cycles of industrial communities can help illuminate the factors that cause settlements to succeed or fail.


Research has expanded human-machine communication methods past direct programming and standard hand- held joystick control. Individual force sensors have been used as a simple means of providing environmental information to a robot and research has shown that more advanced sensitive skins can be viable input devices. These touch sensitive surfaces allow for additional modes of interaction between machines in open, undefined environments. These interactions include object detection for navigation and safety but can also be used for recognition of users command gestures by their machine partner. Key to successful implementation of these gestures is the understanding of varied strategies used for communication and interaction and the development of performance limits. Data of dominant hand grip forces was collected using a Tekscan Grip VersaTek Pressure Measurement System during opening of a door. Analysis of data from 10 male and female subjects is presented. The results of qualitative and quantitative analysis of these data show variability in hand configurations between users. Average data over the cohort is reported. These data will be used in future work to provide human metrology constraints and limits for use in simulation and design of new, physical human-robot interaction systems.


Integration vs Assimilation K S Singh This paper attempts to set the current changes that are taking place in tribal society in India in a wider perspective of social, economic and political changes. The paper is in four sections.


Load balancing is an important concept for the efficient operation of peer to peer networks. We present three new dynamic load balancing algorithms, that performance guarantee optimal. The first, Queue with consistent hashing algorithm, that balances the multiclass jobs are executed on the specified range of peers having its own capability. The second , Rate with random adjustment algorithm balances the multiclass jobs are executed on specified peer. The third approach combines the both approaches to schedule jobs on specified peer. Here, we are taken similar jobs under single class, and the different classes form a multiclass job.


We argue that peoples' concern for fairness may explain an unsolved puzzle in macroeconomics: the persistence of inflation. We extend a 1990 wage-contracting model of Bhaskar in which workers' disutility from being paid less than other workers exceeds their utility from being paid more. This model generates a continuum of equilibria over a range of wages and unemployment rates. If workers' expectations are based on the past behavior of wage growth, these beliefs will be self-fulfilling, generating inflation persistence within, but not outside of, this range. Based on quarterly U.S. data over the period 1955-2000, we find evidence that inflation is more persistent between unemployment rates of 4.7 and 6.5% than outside these bounds. (JEL: E31, E3, E5) Copyright (c) 2004 The European Economic Association.


We propose the realized option variance as a new observable variable to integrate high frequency option prices in the inference of option pricing models. Using simulation and empirical studies, this paper documents the incremental information offered by this realized measure. Our empirical results show that the information contained in the realized option variance improves the inference of model variables such as the instantaneous variance and variance jumps of the S&P 500 index. Parameter estimates indicate that the risk premium breakdown between jump and diffusive risks is affected by the omission of this information.


RESULTS: Strong correlations (ICCs > 0.98) were observed for all %fat models between RLV methods. Measures of %fat using IND were larger than DIR (mean differences, 0.7 to 1.6%fat, all p < 0.001). However, the magnitudes of the differences were small (Cohen's d, 0.08 to 0.17). Additionally, the range of individual differences between IND and DIR was less than 4.0%, with 3C and 4C producing especially narrow limits of agreement (±1.4%fat and 1.9%fat) compared to 2C (±3.4%fat). CONCLUSIONS: Multi-compartment models using DIR and IND nitrogen analysis to determine RLV demonstrated strong agreement. The more complex models (3C and 4C) were less affected by RLV method than the 2C model and produced limits of agreement less than ±2.0%fat. The results presented here indicate that DIR and IND nitrogen analysis may be used interchangeably for the assessment of body composition when using 3C and 4C models.


Background: To detect circulating markers of oxidative stress in women with normal pregnancy, women at risk of preeclampsia and women with preeclampsia and to assess the effect of Antioxidants on the levels of markers of oxidative stress in all the groups . Methods: Quasi experimental study design, an experimental study with multiple arms conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sawangi (Meghe) Wardha from March 2009 to July 2012. Results: Of 872 women enrolled, 290 were in the Normal Group (Normotensive women), 302 were in the At Risk Preeclampsia and 280 women allocated to Preeclampsia Group. Maximum numbers of pregnant women were between 20-24 years age group being 74.71%, 74.73% and 67.31% in the normal, at risk of Preeclampsia and preeclampsia group respectively Mean MDA level was 2.44 nmol/ml in normotensive women, 2.45 nmol/ml in at risk of preeclampsia and 4.83 nmol/ml in women with preeclampsia. SOD level in units/gm Hb%. Mean ± SD was 9.58±6.44 in normotensive group, 8.12±6.67, in at risk of preeclampsia group and 6.88±14.90 in preeclampsia group (p<0.05). This is due to antioxidant defense against oxidative stress in preeclampsia with resultant fall in plasma levels of SOD. Rising levels of MDA with the progression of gestation in placebo groups of all the pregnant women (Normotensive, at risk of preeclampsia and preeclampsia) and decline in the levels in those patients supplemented with antioxidant vitamins was observed. However there was no definite trend of significant rise or fall in the level of superoxide dismutase enzyme except in preeclamptic women. Conclusions: Circulating biomarker, MDA levels were raised significantly in women with preeclampsia. Superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme showed lower levels in preeclamptic patients. Following antioxidant supplementation marked improvement was noticed in the biochemical indices in all the major groups (normal pregnancy, pregnancy at risk of preeclampsia and preeclampsia). Vitamin supplementation has definite role in reducing the oxidative stress and maternal and perinatal morbidity.


A 32-year-old primigravida referred at 22 weeks with contractions. Ultrasound examination showed a 20 mm cervix and a monochorionic diamniotic pregnancy with one structurally normal fetus with hydramnios and a second twin anencephalic and acardiac (figure 1 and video 1). The patient was admitted with the diagnosis of twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) and submitted to amnioreduction. A normal 46 XX cariotype was obtained.

Figure 1
Acardiac fetus diagnosed during ultrasound examination.

Owing to worsening of hydramnios and after counselling, the patient was sent to Hospital Clinic in Barcelona where a successful cord …


This paper interprets drive test based signal measurements in both urban and semi-urban Indian scenario using high-end smart phones with open source applications and high-end spectrum analyzers integrated with planning and optimization tool provided by Tata Tele Services, a major Indian telecom operator. From the drive test results, we observe that the existing path loss models such as Hata, Okumura, COST-231-Hata and COST-231-Walfisch-Ikegami models are not accurate for Indian terrain conditions and a fresh study is required in this direction.


The management of high-asset training equipment and how to improve its use efficiency is a problem for schools. Schools mostly use manual statistical input to conduct asset inventory and use management, and lack effective data support. This article is based on the management of highasset instruments and equipment based on the Internet of Things LoRa technology + 125 kHz RFID technology. It can accurately and intuitively manage the operating status and storage location of the instrument and equipment. Through statistical analysis, we can further understand the frequency of use of the instrument and equipment. Compared with manual management, it greatly improves the management efficiency of instruments and equipment, and the overall investment cost is lower than the solution realized by pure RFID technology.


This study investigated the e ff ects of HCl and KCl on a laser-clad FeCrAl coating at 450°C in an in-situ ESEM followed by a furnace exposure. In all in-situ TEM cross-sections, three major phases were identi fi ed: an iron rich oxide, an iron-chromium mixed oxide and an aluminium enriched layer. HCl allowed chlorine based corrosion to occur which suggests interaction from its gas phase. EDX of the regions around KCl crystals showed a decrease in chromium which is an indication of chlorine selectively removing chromium. Moreover, the mass gain in HCl with KCl was signi fi cantly lower than that observed in air with KCl.


This paper updates findings on the impact to the U.S. dairy industry of international trade talks and free trade agreements with regard to foreign access to U.S. dairy markets and U.S. farm milk prices.


Hollingsworth Marketing Communications. New Electronic Catalog On CD-ROM Now Available From Eclipse. Eclipse is pleased to announce the availability of a new all brand Electronic Catalog CD-ROM, Version 2. The CDROM includes literature from Combustion Tec, Exothermics, Algas-SDI and virtually all Eclipse Combustion product data and industrial literature current as of January 1, 2000. Eclipse, through its family of brands, manufactures and markets a complete range of energy-related equipment and systems for process heating industries worldwide. For additional information regarding the Catalog CD-ROM—or any other Eclipse product—contact Chet Allen, Manager of Marketing Communications, Eclipse Combustion, 1665 Elmwood Road, Rockford, IL 61103. Telephone: 815-8773031


Objective Tracking of blood pressure (BP) from childhood occurs in populations but, for individuals, prediction of adult BP from childhood levels is poor. We examined factors that may influence tracking of BP to identify better predictors of higher BP in early adult life. Design A prospective study of children recruited at the age of 9 years by random sampling of Perth metropolitan schools stratified by socio-economic status. Setting Community based with re-surveys 3-yearly for 9 years. Participants A total of 516 boys and 520 girls at 9 years; 680 boys and 630 girls at 12 years; 318 boys and 300 girls at 15 years; 330 men and 326 women at 18 years. Main outcome measures Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP. Results Persistence in the highest quartile for SBP between surveys was seen in 34–48% of subjects and in 37% between the ages of 9 and 18 years. The proportion increased to around 60% in those in the highest quartile for body mass index (BMI), to 70% in those in the highest quartile for change in BMI and to 60% if there was a family history of hypertension. In log-linear models, persistence in a quartile for SBP was significantly related to a family history of hypertension, previous SBP, BMI and change in BMI. Relationships were similar for DBP. Conclusions Excessive weight gain in adolescence and a family history of hypertension substantially increase the risk of higher BP persisting into early adult life. Recognition of children at risk would allow early intervention emphasizing weight control with potential long-term benefits.


【Objective】 To investigate the influence of fluoroscopy during operation on mental health of orthopedic surgeons and its countermeasures in our hospital.【Method】 A total of 27 healthy orthopedic surgeons in our hospital were divided into observing group(n =12) and control group(n =15).Surgeons of observing group always attend fluoroscopy operation,while those of control group often participates non-fluoroscopy operation.Then the average weekly operation time and fluoroscopy time during operation of both groups were compared.Psychological states of surgeons assessed by filling out state-trait anxiety inventory(STAI).【Result】 There was no difference in terms of average weekly operation time between the two groups(P 0.05).However,the average weekly fluoroscopy time during operation and anxiety score in observing group were higher than those in control group,there were statistically significant between two groups(P 0.05).【Conclusion】 It demonstrated that fluoroscopy during operation has negative influence on the mental health of orthopedic surgeons.It suggested that people should be educated to enhance the awareness of protection on surgeons from X-ray in operating room,and relieve the psychological stress of doctors.


Abstract The recent global financial and economic crisis has revealed weaknesses of the Russian model of development in the 2000s. It is doubtful whether the efforts currently under way by the Russian Government to "repair" the existing model without political and economic reforms will lead toward a major improvement of the investment climate as only slight changes are being made (e. g., the improvement of the Russian migration regime and the development of special economic zones). However, the federal elections in 2012 could lead to more efficient steps, although it is difficult to predict the scale of probable positive shifts in the investment climate. This article discusses Russian inward FDI and its policy context.


This article deals with the current growth in potato industry at home and abroad.The author makes analysis on the existent problems in China's potato industrialization,including lack of varieties,low technology in production,insufficient fund input,inefficiency and poor management.Accordingly,such proposals are made in this article as cultivation and introduction of fine varieties,choosing rational management mode,establishing quality potato base,attaching importance to the research and introduction of intensive processing technology and supporting leading enterprises.


A commemorating Agnes Mary Clerke (1842–1907), the historian of astronomy, and her sister Ellen Mary (1840–1906), poet and writer, was unveiled at their birthplace in Skibbereen, County Cork, on 11 July 1999. The sisters grew to adulthood in Skibbereen and later lived in Dublin and Italy before settling in London in 1877. Agnes Clerke is chiefly remembered as the author of A Popular History of Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century (1885 and later editions), which is still an indispensable source of information on that period. Ellen Clerke's preferred field was Italian literature, but as a professional journalist she wrote with authority on a wide range of subjects including astronomy. The Clerkes were members of the British Astronomical Association and faithful attendants at meetings of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1892 onwards, when women with a serious interest in astronomy were welcomed as guests. Agnes Clerke was one of the few women to be elected (in 1903) an honorary member of the Society. It is fitting that the sisters should be jointly commemorated: we are told that they were "lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death they were but little divided" (Lady Margaret Huggins, privately printed Appreciation 1907). K George Budden is awarded the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal for his lifelong research into the propagation of radio waves in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, in particular, for his theory on the conversion of energy between different wave modes in a non-uniform magnetized plasma, and for his inspired teaching of generations of students. During the Second World War, Dr Budden was involved in the development of radar. He continued his research at the University of Cambridge into the reflection of radio waves from the ionosphere and developed full wave techniques to describe wave reflection and tunnelling where scale lengths in the medium may be comparable to the probing wavelength. The general equations governing the propagation of radio waves were intractable at the time and thus he was quick to exploit the first Cambridge University computer, EDSAC, as a tool to solve real physical problems. This work had, and still has, practical applications. Radio propagation studies in the ionosphere are important for broadcasting and for radio communications around the world at HF frequencies below the ionosphere. Even today, with the advent of satellite communications at much higher frequencies, a knowledge of the effects of the ionosphere on HF radio propagation is important when one considers that satellite communications may not always be possible during a period of conflict if one does not own the satellite. In 1966 Dr Budden was made an FRS for his outstanding contribution on radio propagation in the ionosphere. Dr Budden's outstanding contribution centres on the conversion of energy from one wave mode to another in an anisotropic magnetized plasma. He used both ray theory, which is subject to the assumptions of geometric optics, and full wave theory to expound his ideas. He showed that electromagnetic radiation, which can propagate through a plasma provided the frequency is above the plasma frequency, can be converted into another type of radiation, which is confined locally to the plasma, at two socalled radio windows. These windows are regions where the refractive index of the incident and locally confined radiation are approximately equal. Dr Budden developed equations to describe the efficiency of energy conversion for a range of propagation angles and showed that the highest efficiency occurs for propagation along the magnetic field when the wave frequency equals the plasma frequency. The test of a good theory is that it can be applied successfully in many areas. This is certainly the case for Dr Budden's theories. For example, ionospheric sounders are used to probe the different layers of the ionosphere and usually only receive two reflections corresponding to the ordinary (O) and extraordinary (X) modes. However, a third reflection is sometimes found and has been explained using Budden's theory in terms of a coupling to and reflection from a local plasma mode, the Z mode. In fact, using Dr Budden's theory it was shown that when the third reflection occurs it is possible to identify the critical ionospheric plasma frequency very accurately. This is of the utmost importance for propagation studies. Dr Budden's work on resonance tunnelling has been applied to the Earth's magnetosphere to explain the excitation of standing hydromagnetic waves. These are oscillations in the Earth's magnetic field at ULF frequencies which are recorded on the ground using magnetometers. His ideas have also been applied to laboratory and fusion plasmas. In these applications the main object is to deposit wave energy into the plasma to help raise the temperature for thermonuclear ignition. Dr Budden's theory has been used to determine the most efficient way of coupling radiation generated outside the device to plasma waves inside the device which subsequently heat the plasma, and to minimize reflection of the incident radiation at the surface of the plasma. His fundamental work on mode conversion at radio windows has been used to explain some of the strongest radio signals emitted from the Earth, known as auroral kilometric radiation, and radio emissions from Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. In these applications the waves are generated locally in the plasma by wave–particle interactions and then converted into free space O and X mode radiation which escapes from the planet. His mode conversion theory at the so-called second radio window has also been used to explain VLF radiation generated in the Earth's magnetosphere which is detected on the ground at high latitudes as auroral hiss. During his career Dr Budden has published four books, one of which, Radio Waves in the Ionosphere, has become a classic. Although much of his work has been highly mathematical, he has always had the gift to explain the physical significance behind the equations to students and researchers alike. He truly understands physics. This has inspired many of us who have had the pleasure of learning from him to teach others in a similar way. Richard B Horne, BAS Cambridge. Dr Kenneth George Budden FRS Address given by the former President of the RAS, Prof. Malcolm Longair, on the presentation of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society to Dr Kenneth George Budden FRS.


The invention discloses an oil filter bypass valve opening pressure gas detection device, which comprises a base, a lower mould fixedly installed on the base, a washer arranged between the lower mould and the base, an inflation disk arranged above the lower mould, an air cylinder whose piston rod is connected with the top end of the inflation disk and an air channel. According to the invention, pressure is applied to a spring of a bypass valve by adopting air inlet of the inflation disk, and the bypass valve is opened to realize quick air inlet when external air inlet pressure is greater than an elastic force of the spring; and the inflation disk is pressed against on the lower mould by adopting the air cylinder so as to enable the inflation disk to be hermetically connected with the lower mould, so that the air does not flow out from a gap between the inflation disk and the lower mould when the inflation disk inflates. The air is taken as a test medium to carry out the test, the device is small in size, simple in structure and convenient to use, detection is carried out at a normal temperature, tested and qualified bypass valve parts can be used, and the input cost and the detection cost of the device are low.


Case Study Approach is an art of education,which gets rid of traditional teaching mode and applies case in class.Through the design of question situation and mutual teaching method,case study approach can inspire the internal interest and touch the subconsciousness of students.Therefore,the students get the assimilation of knowledge and the implement of the insight.The creativity and subjectivity of students can be cultivated.


This paper analyses the effects of pre-trade transparency on market quality in an experimental open limit order book preceded by a market for information. The design of the trading game is akin to the system in use in an increasing number of financial markets. We find that the disclosure of traders' identities reduces the incentive to acquire information, liquidity and volatility. We also show that a positive relation exists between the proportion of traders buying information and liquidity. The results are consistent with a standard model of price formation where the number of informed traders is endogenous. Copyright Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, 2006


The island of Cyprus has been the scene of one of the most tragic conflicts in post-war Europe. A country with a long and rich tradition and much to contribute to all of the cultures of the Mediterranean, Cyprus has been torn apart almost since the day of its independence. Since 1974, more than a third of the island has been occupied by Turkey. Attempts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict have come and gone but the status quo, branded as unacceptable by the United Nations, has remained. Why this is so has already been the subject of many studies. Few, however, have analyzed in any detail the position of Cyprus in international law. Yet an understanding of how the rule of law in international society applies to Cyprus is essential to a proper understanding of the Cyprus question. In this text, Dr Chrysostomides offers just such an analysis, examining the constitutional history of the Republic of Cyprus, the legal principles applicable to the Turkish invasion of 1974 and subsequent occupation and the substantial body of case law and State practice regarding Cyprus since that date. He discusses the competing legal arguments concerning the application of the Republic of Cyprus to join the European Union, the controversial decisions of the European Court and Commission of Human Rights and the debates regarding the status of the occupied northern part of Cyprus. His conclusion is that the Republic of Cyprus has had a continuous existence as a State - and as the only State on the island of Cyprus - since 1960, notwithstanding all of the violations of international law to which it has been subjected.


Actual sports betting data is collected from multiple online sports books for each of the major professional U.S. sports, going back to 2003. A hypothesis of applying a contrarian approach to the sports betting marketplace is tested. Our results show that "betting against the public," when betting percentages reach certain extremes, creates value. Excess returns can be achieved that overcome the friction of the vigorish collected by sportsbooks. The results are robust and the edge is shown to exist across several major professional U.S. sports tested. A "Sports Investing Index" is presented to study and monitor the performance of various "sports betting" methodologies, similar to financial benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Additional research can be performed to track the performance of various approaches, parameters, and subsectors.


The quality state of source of water is an important factor for city water supply. After monitoring and analyzing it for three years, I have eventually found the various regularity of Xiliu Lake Water. It is a scientific reference to guarantee the effect of water treatment.


To obtain quantitative details about the structure of binary tellurite glasses, the thermal properties have been measured. The thermal properties (linear thermal expansion coefficient α and transformation temperature T _g) of a set of tellurite glasses containing rare earth oxides in the form (TeO_2)_0.9 (A_ n O_ m )_0.1 have been measured. The vitreous systems containing the rare earth cations are La, Ce, and Sm. The coefficient of thermal expansion in the range of 300–500 K and the transformation temperatures were determined to detect local structural changes that might be induced by the modifiers. The thermal properties α and T _g are discussed in terms of (i) structure, by calculating the volume of structure unit, the average crosslink density, and the average stretching force constant of each glass system; (ii) vibrations, by correlating the mean long wavelength acoustic mode Griineisen parameter γel and the expansion coefficient α .


Background: Cervix cancer is caused by the persistent infection by some oncogenic strains of the Human Papiloma Virus. It happens due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the capacity of locally invade and metastatize to distance. Cervix cancer is the third more frequent tumor among women and the fourth greater cause of death due to cancer in this population. For this reason, the cervix cytological examination becomes fundamental to track and diagnose this pathology, avoiding a metastatic role of it. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of the cervix cytological examination in the years 2007 and 2013, in all regions of Brazil, and compares them. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study, based on a secondary data of Chronic Diseases Risk and Protection Factors Vigilance by Telephone Inquiry (VIGITEL) of years 2007 and 2013. VIGITEL's objective is to monitor the frequency and distribution of noncommunicabel chronic diseases main determiners by phone inquiry. This questionnaire is anually performed since 2006 and, from 2007 on, questions about cancer prevention were included, being 2013 data the latest available up to the moment. The present research is performed with adults over 18 years old, residentes in the 26 capital cities of Brazil and Federal District. The outcome approached the performance or not of preventive cervix cancer examination at some point and in the last 3 years, being included women between 25 and 64 years old. In 2007, 32704 women were interviewed and in 2013, 32653. This data was organized according to year and region for further analysis. Results: In 2007, from all Brazilian women interviewed, 84.67% said they have already done the cervix cancer tracking examination, while 79.81% claimed to have it done in the last 3 years. By regions, South region was highlighted with 92.85% and 88.21%, for the same variables. Northeast region had the lowest rates in the country, 80.12% and 75%, respectively. Southeast region showed high rates, near South. Midwest was in third place, getting over North region. In 2013, 85.61% of women said they have already done the examination at some point in life, and 80.68% were updated with it. By regions, South regions was again highlighted, with 92.75% of women having done the examination at some moment and 87.81% being updated with it. Northeast region had the worst performance, with 80.8% and 75.59%, respectively. Still, the Midwest was supplanted by the North, after slight improvement of the later in relation to 2007. Discussion/Conclusion: South, Southeast and Midwest regions kept with high rates of the examination, similar to developed countries. In 2007, North region, which was under the coverage of 80% demanded by WHO, managed, in 2013, to supplant it. Northeast had a quick increase; however, it remains short of this goal. With this, it was concluded that in Brazil, in general, the tracking coverage has increased, overtaking, in 2013, the goal of this Organization.