Accent forms an integral part of identifying cultures, emotions, behavior's, etc. People often perceive each other in a different manner due to their accent. The accent itself can be a conveyor of status, pride, and other emotional information which can be captured through Speech itself [1] [2]. Accent itself can be defined as: " the way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words", or "a special emphasis given to a particular syllable in a word, word in a sentence, or note in a set of musical notes" [3]. Accented Speech Recognition is one the most important problems in the domain of Speech Recognition. Speech recognition is an interdisciplinary sub-field of Computer Science and Linguistics research where the main aim is to develop technologies which enable conversion of speech into text. The speech can be of any form such as read speech or spontaneous speech, conversational speech. Speech unlike text has lot of diversity. This diversity stems from the environmental conditions, variabilities from speaker to speaker, channel noise, differences in Speech production due to disabilities, presence of disfluencies. Speech therefore is indeed a rich source of information waiting to be exploited. model accent In the following report we propose a pipeline which uses different components of ASR system to quantify accent and automatically evaluate them as scores. We use the posteriors of an ASR model trained on native speech, along with the phone level boundaries to obtain phone level pronunciation scores. We used this as a baseline pipeline and implement methods to remove unknown words (phonemes) in the output by building three pipelines which incorporate these changes. The Online, Offline and Hybrid pipeline which returns the scores but also are able to prevent unknown words in the final output.


Vision based object recognition has attracted much interest in recent years due to its spread area of applications. Purely computer vision techniques, biologically motivated approaches or combined methods have been developed to tackle this task. Object recognition task based on three variants of non-negative matrix factorization techniques is investigated in this paper. The analysis is undertaken with respect to the recognition performances of the three investigated algorithms namely, non-negative matrix factorization, local matrix factorization and discriminant matrix factorization. The correlation between the sparseness of basis images and the classification accuracy is also considered. The experimental results reveal the fact that, the degree of sparseness is an important issue and differently affects the recognition performance for each algorithm.


The electronic structure and absorption spectrum of the wurtzite Zn 1- x Mg x O( x =0, 00625, 0125, 025) alloys have been calculated by means of the first-principles method. The doping of magnesium leads to an apparent change of the electronic structure of ZnO. The electron density of the oxygen atoms near the magnesium atom increases obviously, and the oxygen atoms transfer some of the electrons to Zn atoms nearby. This weakens the interactions between zinc and oxygen atoms, the band gap becomes broader, which has been validated by the extent of shift of Zn 4s in the same alloys. Theoretical calculation also reveals a blue shift in the absorption spectrum of Mg-doped ZnO, and the absorption edges were located at 379,366,357 and 333nm, respectively, with increasing doping of magnesium in ZnO. The results are discussed in detail.


Objective To detect ureaplasma urealyticum(UU)in urogenital specimens and study the resistance of UU to nine kinds of antibiotics.Methods By culture in vitro,the drug sensitive tests of UU from 410 patients with UU positive were conducted.Results The sensitive antibiotics were pristinamycin(95.85%)、Josamycin(94.88%)、doxycycline(94.88%) and tetracycline(88.29%),respectively.The resistance rates of the tested mycoplasma against ciprofloxacin,ofloxacin,erythromycin and azithromycin were 68.29%,48.29%,24.63% and 21.46%,respectively.Conclusions The monitoring of drug resistance of UU in urogenital specimens is important for clinical treatment.


Spices are used in food around the world for enhancing the flavour/aroma of dietary preparations. Apart from this aspect spices are also used in herbal medicines practice/treatment. However, the effect of mixed spices namely cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), cloves (Syzygium aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata), turmeric (Curcuma longa), and bay leaves also known as curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) on serum glucose, insulin and adiponectin protein concentration in rats induced hyperglycemia with streptozotocin (STZ) have not been studied. Sprague Dawley rats aged three months were injected with STZ (40 mg/kg body weight) in the abdomen in order to induce hyperglycemia. The rats were acclimatized with diets prior allocation to the doses of mixed spices. After having developed hyperglycemia, the rats were divided into four groups i.e. 0 (control), one, two and three g per day. The aforementioned spices were ground and mixed in equal ratios and added to stock diets 0, 1, 2 and 3 gram of the mixed spices in the feed to be fed to rats daily. The total duration of the feeding was 40 days and followed by 20 days after effect of the spices. Blood was collected on the day 0, 21, 31, 41 from the tail and on the 61st day from heart puncture of the rats. The blood samples were immediately processed for serum separation after day 61 collection and stored for later analysis at -70 C. The serum was analyzed for adiponectin protein, insulin and glucose. The statistical analysis of the results indicated that serum adiponectin protein and insulin concentration were significantly (P<0.05) higher whereas serum triglycerides concentration was significantly (P<0.05) lower in three gram fed spices compared to control 1 and 2 gram spices fed groups. This study indicates that spices provide control over hyperglycemia through increased adiponectin and insulin in circulating blood. Therefore, these spices combination may be used for the control of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetic patients.


In 1953, E, Haeffner (1) reported that when he passed a direct e lectric current through a capillary tube fille d with mercury, he obtained a separation in the isotopes of mercury with the heavier isotopes being enriched at the negative terminal and the lighter isotopes at the positive terminal. This effect has since been referred to as the Haeffner E ffe ct, Since the original experiment with mercury, other investigators have observed this e ffe ct in many other liquid metal systems. This investigation of the Haeffner E ffect in mercury involves the use of a radioactive isotope of mercury (Hg 203) as a tracer to follow the separation of the isotopes as i t occurs in a capillary system. The capil lary system used in this investigation was constructed so that no reservoir was attached to the system thereby allowing an observation as to whether equilibrium conditions existed in a rela tiv ely short time compared to other investigations of the Haeffner F ffe ct.


PurposeThe authors construct two time-varying political connection (PC) indexes to measure a firm's political tendencies toward ruling and opposing parties and analyze whether a firm with ruling party tendencies obtains better bank loan contracts compared to the contracts obtained by a firm with opposing party tendencies and a firm with fixed PC tendencies.Design/methodology/approachLinguistic text mining is used to construct the two time-varying PC indexes from news sources that reflect the tone and frequencies of characteristic texts to determine a firm's tendencies to favor the ruling or opposing parties.FindingsThe results show that varying PC firms connected to the ruling party receive preferential loan contracts when their political tendencies increase but varying PC firms connected to the opposition party do not. In contrast, fixed PC firms gain similar benefits only when the connection is determined in the presidential election year but not in other years. Firms supporting two parties receive minimal financial rewards in terms of loan terms.Originality/valueIn past studies, once a firm is identified as having a connection with a political party, it is assumed to have PC throughout the sample period (i.e. fixed PC firms). The authors lift this assumption and examine how varying PC affect bank loan contracts. The two time-varying PC indexes can identify a firm's more immediate party tendencies and more precise effects of a firm's party tendencies on bank loan contracts.


TŘINACTÝ JIŘI, RICHTER MICHAL, KŘIŽOVA LUDMILA. 2016. Comparison of Maize Silagebased Diets for Dairy Cows Containing Extruded Rapeseed Cake or Extruded Full-fat Soybean as Major Protein Sources. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 64(3): 901–909. The trial was carried out on four Holstein cows with initial milk yield of 27.3 ± 1.7 kg.day−1. Cows were divided into two groups – the fi rst was fed a diet based on extruded rapeseed cake (D-ERC), the second one was fed a diet based on extruded full-fat soybean (D-EFFS), both diets contained maize silage and meadow hay. The experiment was divided into 4 periods of 42 days. Intake of dry matter, crude protein and NEL was not aff ected by the treatment (P > 0.05) while the intake of PDIA, PDIN and PDIE was lower in D-ERC than in D-EFFS (P<0.05). Milk yield in D-ERC (22.6 kg.d−1) was lower than in D-EFFS (24.7 kg.d−1, P < 0.001) while concentration of milk fat and protein were reverse (P < 0.05). Smaller portion of essential AADI in crude protein intake (CPI) in D-ERC resulted in lower effi ciency of CPI utilization for milk protein synthesis in comparison to D-EFFS being 313 and 327 g.kg−1, respectively (P < 0.01). Concentration of AA in blood plasma was not aff ected by the type of diet except of His and Ile that were higher in D-EFFS (P < 0.01).


Nowadays, data mining plays important role in an enterprise. It is used to discover knowledge from data. Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) also has become emerging concept in the last years. CRM is an enterprise management strategy which centers on customers. Unfortunately, customers are usually data rich but information poor. This paper will review data mining technique which could be applied to represent knowledge value through customer data. Here data mining functions such cross-selling based on association rule is reviewed. This article facilitates knowledge regarding application of data mining technique in CRM.


An amorphous Hf70Cu20Pd10 ternary alloy was prepared and its crystallization process was studied. The crystallization proceeds through two exothermic reactions. Annealing of the specimen at a temperature lower than the onset point of the low-temperature exothermic reaction resulted in the precipitation of an icosahedral quasicrystalline phase. Further annealing at the same temperature caused the phase transformation to Hf2Cu crystalline phase, indicating the metastable character of the icosahedral quasicrystalline phase. In comparison with the crystallization process of other Hf-based amorphous alloys, the effect of Pd addition on the precipitation of the icosahedral quasicrystalline phase was discussed from the point of view of atomic radius.


Picobirnaviruses (PBV) are a group of small, nonenveloped viruses with bi-segmented dsRNA genomes. The large genomic segment encodes for the capsid protein while the small segment encodes for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. PBV are widely distributed and have been detected in the feces of a large variety of vertebrate species, including farm and captive animals and also in humans. Their etiological role as a cause of diarrhea remains elusive. Still, compelling evidence indicates that PBV may be opportunistic pathogens associated with diarrhea in immunocompromised individuals. The partial molecular characterization of human and animal strains revealed that PBVs are highly variable, and at least two distinct genogroups have been recognized. In addition, the possibility of interspecies transmission has been suggested. This article examines the molecular epidemiology and the biology of PBV and highlights the major challenges in the field.


A fundamental problem in business and other applications is ranking items with respect to some notion of profit based on historical transactions. The difficulty is that the profit of one item not only comes from its own sales, but also from its influence on the sales of other items, i.e., the "cross-selling effect". In this paper, we draw an analogy between this influence and the mutual reinforcement of hub/authority web pages. Based on this analogy, we present a novel approach to the item ranking problem.We apply this ranking approach to solve two selection problems. In size-constrained selection, the maximum number of items that can be selected is fixed. In cost-constrained selection, there is no maximum number of items to be selected, but there is some cost associated with the selection of each item. In both cases, the question is what items should be selected to maximize the profit. Empirically, we show that this method finds profitable items in the presence of cross-selling effect.


Abdominal bloating is a common symptom in patients with functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGIDs). Abdominal bloating has many features such as conceptual ambiguity, fuzzy diagnosis, high incidence and difficulty in treatment. In current clinical practice, " early satiety" is often used as an indicator of abdominal bloating. In Rome III diagnostic criteria, abdominal bloating with " early satiety" belongs to functional dyspepsia (FD) in functional gastroduodenal diseases. According to the literature, the onset of FD is closely related to gastric sensory disorders and gastric motility disorders. In fact, existing data suggest that gastric sensory disturbances can′t explain the " early satiety" type of abdominal bloating symptoms in FD patients, and that gastric dysmotility may be related to " early satiety" abdominal bloating in a small group of FD patients. Conversely, dysfunctions of the gastro-colic reflex and head-stage effects associated with encircling feeding periods can explain the " early-satiety" type of abdominal bloating that covers all phases. Therefore, whether there is " early satiety" or not, abdominal bloating has a more close relationship with colonic disorders than that with gastroduodenal dysfunctions. The clarification of abdominal bloating is aimed at more accurate diagnosis and treatment of bloating. In addition, this article also point out that emotional disorders are often the cause of functional abdominal distension, attentions should be paid to the combination of emotional disorders and FGIDs symptoms in treatment.

Key words:
Functional dyspepsia; Flatulence; Diagnosis; Mood disorders


The paper presents the results of modeling the mechanism for producing porous silicon on a textured surface. For various technological tasks, it is important to learn how to control the parameters of electrolytic etching to obtain the desired result. On 3D maps of the distribution of potential and etching currents, you can see that the vectors go around the pyramids and pointly etch certain sections of the surface. Confirmations of this can be seen in photographs of a scanning electron microscope and a scanning probe microscope. A detailed description of pore formation on textured porous silicon substrates has not yet been found in other works.


6R‐L‐erythro‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor for nitric oxide biosynthesis. Substantial clinical evidence indicates that intravenous BH4 restores vascular function in patients. Unfortunately, oral BH4 has limited efficacy. Therefore, orally bioavailable pharmacological activators of endogenous BH4 biosynthesis hold significant therapeutic potential. GTP‐cyclohydrolase 1 (GCH1), the rate limiting enzyme in BH4 synthesis, forms a protein complex with GCH1 feedback regulatory protein (GFRP). This complex is subject to allosteric feed‐forward activation by L‐phenylalanine (L‐phe). We investigated the effects of L‐phe on the biophysical interactions of GCH1 and GFRP and its potential to alter BH4 levels in vivo.


PURPOSE: A lamp using a reflector for decoration is provided to perform stable and beautiful indoor illumination by installing the reflector in a decoration hole of a transmissive plate. CONSTITUTION: A transmissive plate(20) is inserted between an upper glass board(11) and a lower glass plate(12). A decoration hole(21) passes through the center of the transmissive plate. A plurality of fitting holes(32) is formed on a plate body(31) of a fitting plate(30). A decoration part(50) is mounted in the fitting hole. The fitting hole includes an expansion inclined surface to mount a reflector(55).


Objective:To explore the characteristics and relationship of irrational beliefs and the coping style in patients with schizophrenia.Methods:200 schizophrenic patients and 102 normal controls were assessed with Irrational Beliefs Scale(IBS)and Coping Style Inventory.Results:①Compared with the controls,the levels of IBS of the patients were obviously higher(P﹤0.01),and the subscale scores of self-accusation and withdrawal were higher(P﹤0.05),but the score of problem-solving was significantly lower(P﹤0.001).②There were significant positive correlation between the levels of IBS and the coping style of self-accusation,withdrawal,fancy,and rationalization(P﹤0.05-0.01),and some negative correlation between the levels of IBS and problem-solving coping style.Conclusion:Patients with schizophrenia,in general,have irrational beliefs,and often adopt negative coping styles.And there is some relationship between irrational beliefs and the coping styles.


Drinks dispensing device for delivering gas powered pressure beverage annealed at the temperature of intake as beer, wine and soft drinks, for example with gas pressure of CO2, which essentially comprises a container (1) preferably cylindrical, that is divided by a partition (10) bell-shaped on a part of beverages (2) arranged on the ground side and a part of pressurized gas (3) ring disposed on the side of the cover, a beverage valve and gas (3) above with riser pipe in the part of beverages (2), a gas valve (5) on the part of pressurized gas (3) and a dispensing head (6) removable connecting the two valves (4 , 5) and in each case, a ring stand and a head (7, 8), characterized in that an upper part (9) of the container (1) has about the same axial length separating wall (10) , which it is less than the axial length of a lower part (11) of the container (1), stand or joined silos three edges clashing of the top (9) and the bottom (11), with almost the same diameter, and the separating wall (10) forming a seam common weld (12), and that the two container parts (9, 11) are equipped with points security perforation (24a, 24b) and at least the outer diameter (13) of the head ring (8) does not exceed at any point the outer diameter (13) the container, whereby the head ring (8) a first setpoint (15), which positions the dispensing head (6) with pressure regulator (16) integrated exclusively in the precise position relative to the gas valve (5 ), and having a second adjustment point (17), which positions the head ring exclusively in the precise position of the gas valve (5).


In many real-world scenarios, stability is a key property in coalition formation to cope with uncertainty. In this paper, we propose a novel criterion that reshapes stability from robustness aspect. Specifically, we consider the problem of how stability can be maintained even after a small number of players leave the entire game, in the context of hedonic games. While one cannot guarantee the existence of robust outcomes with respect to most of the stability requirements, we identify several classes of friend-oriented and enemy-oriented games for which one can find a desired outcome efficiently. We also show that a symmetric additively hedonic game always admits an outcome that is individually stable and robust with respect to individual rationality.


[Purpose] To explore the relationship between expression of CLN3 gene and its biological behaviors in ovarian serous cancer. [Methods] The expression of CLN3 in 45 cases with ovarian serous tumor (23 cases with ovarian serous cancer, 11 cases with borderline ovarian serous tumor, 11 cases with benign serous tumor) and 12 cases of normal ovarian tissue were detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot methods. [Results] The expression of CLN3 mRNA was 3.04±0.58 in ovarian serous cancer and 1.63±0.43 in borderline ovarian serous tumor. The expressions of CLN3 mRNA in ovarian serous cancer and borderline ovarian serous tumor were significantly higher than those in benign ovarian serous tumor and normal ovarian tissue (P0.01). The expression of CLN3 mRNA in ovarian serous cancer was higher than that in borderline ovarian serous tumor (P0.01). There was significantly difference between stageⅠ/Ⅱ and Ⅲ~/Ⅳ, G1/G2 and G3, with and without ascites (P0.05). [Conclusion] CLN3 might be related to the carcinogenesis and prognosis of ovarian serous cancer and become an important biological marker for ovarian serous cancer.


As the article,written by John Ling,the assistant editor of "Circuit World",focused on as many as 14 of the European PCB manufacturers,in the current financial crisis some of their thinking,ideas and perspectives.


Smokers and nonsmokers, each group consisting of 25 men and women, were observed an average of 9.16 min. while engaging in coffee-drinking behavior at the student union cafeteria. Data were tabulated in sips per minute. Smokers sipped coffee significantly less often than nonsmokers. Further, men sipped coffee markedly less frequently than women. Statistical analysis indicated that the major difference resulted from men smokers who sipped coffee significantly less frequently than the other groups.


This paper proposes structural modification of the Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) based on results from doctoral research that studied the changes in mathematical knowledge and beliefs of two Year 5/6 teachers as they implemented a four-week, innovative curriculum unit. These inclusions into the current model expand its analytical, interrogatory and predictive functions. This in turn increases its relevance for those implementing professional learning at the school level, enabling them greater insight into the aspects of a teacher's world that require more support, and possibly more challenge.


Transmedia narrators can use the intermediacy of images and text as a foundation to develop story networks. These narrators can also use various forms of technology to recreate a variety of aesthetic responses in readers. In this study, we analyzed the narrative strategies of adaptation in examples of transmedia adaptation among winners of international picture book awards. In artistic terms, the horizons of expectation of adapters, the readers of fiction, and the inviting structures extended from intermediacy play key roles in aesthetic communication. How adapters use the materials of intermediacy as filler or to expand on negative speculation also influences the relaying process. In this study, we clarified that in addition to considering aesthetic judgments, adaptation must also adhere to the economy of aesthetics.


Use of glycyrrhetic acid and / or their derivatives for the manufacture of cosmetic or dermatological preparations for the prophylaxis of damage to the skin's own DNA and / or repair of already occurred damage to the skin's own DNA.


BACKGROUND
Little is known about the influence of dynamic training on the hemodynamic and neurohormonal responses to static exercise and on inflammatory markers in optimally treated post-coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS
One hundred and twenty male patients, aged 55±6 years, 3 months after receiving CABG, were randomized to either 6 weeks of aerobic training on a cycloergometer, 3 times a week, at a 70-80% of the maximum tolerated heart rate (HR) (training group, n=60) or to a control group (n=60). At baseline and at the end of the study, all patients underwent: (1) a cardiopulmonary test; (2) handgrip at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction for 3min in a sitting position during in which HR, blood pressure (BP), stroke volume (SV, by impedance cardiography), cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were monitored; and (3) plasma level assessment of catecholamines, nitric oxide and inflammatory markers. During the final tests, handgrip-induced increases in HR, BP, and TPR (14% vs 27%, P<0.01) were lower, whereas SV and CO were higher (by 13% and 15%, respectively, P<0.05) in trained patients compared with controls. Moreover, a higher increase in nitric oxide level (46% vs 14%, P<0.01) and a lower increase in noradrenaline (11% vs 20%, P<0.05) were observed in trained patients compared with controls. Accordingly, training caused significant improvement in peak oxygen uptake per kilogram body weight (peak VO(2)) and inflammatory markers.

CONCLUSIONS
Short-term dynamic training caused significant improvement of hemodynamic and neurohormonal responses to handgrip, cardiovascular fitness and inflammatory state.


Data from a 4-yr study involving 217 cows/yr (3/4 Red Angus, 1/4 Simmental) were used to compare net returns among 5 cow/calf production systems: 1) March (Mar) calving cows wintered on native range, 2) Mar calving cows wintered on corn residue, 3) June (Jun) calving cows wintered on native range, 4) Jun calving cows wintered on corn residue, and 5) August (Aug) calving cows wintered on corn residue. Steers born in Mar entered the feedlot at weaning (November; calf-fed). Steers and heifers born in Jun and Aug were divided equally into 2 postweaning management treatments. Half entered the feedlot immediately after weaning (May, calf-fed) and the other half grazed subirrigated meadow and entered the feedlot as yearlings (September to October). Average USDA reported monthly prices for the yr 2007 to 2010 were used to value both inputs and outputs. Prices utilized were at time of purchase for feed ingredients and replacement cows and time of sale for cattle. Costs were not different (P = 0.81) among calving dates, but net returns were greatest (P 0.21) calf feedlot performance. Steers generated greater (P < 0.01) net returns than heifers when ownership was retained. Net returns were greater (P < 0.02) for calf-fed compared with yearling cattle when purchased at weaning and sold on a marketing-grid basis. Purchasing and finishing yearlings was not profitable. Net returns vary by calving date, wintering system, ownership length, postweaning management system, and calf sex.


T Thee interleukin-12 receptor (IL-12R) is composed of two subunits, referred to as Bl and fJ2. Both chainss are necessar y for high affinity IL-12 binding and signaling, although only the IL-12RJ32 chainn contains the intracellular tyrosine residues responsibl e for STAT4 activation. This study present ss the intron-exon organizadon of the human IL-12RB2 gene. PCR primers designed acrosss the cDNA (U46198) were used to trace introns, by comparing PCR product sizes obtained usingg cDNA and genomi c D NA as templates. PCR products spanning introns were sequence d to determinee the exact splice sites and flanking regions. The coding region of the gene was found to consistt of 15 exons and 14 introns. Al l intron-exon boundaries are consistent with the consensu s sequencee for splice junctions (5' G T / A G ¥). Comparison of the intron-exon organization with thee human G-CSFR gene, indicated a remarkabl y well conserved genomi c organization between thesee two class I cytokine receptors. Interestingly, we identified an alternativel y spliced mRNA, encodingg a putative, truncated protein, lacking all signaling potential .


Is a teacher a social worker? Is education a need for the community? Are education reform policies necessary to solve community problems? Does quality assurance as policy in institutions of higher learning meet its agenda? What are the factors hindering its effective implementation? Would pedagogy and research be of significant importance in quality assurance policy implementation in institutions of higher learning? These are rhetorical questions which this article will attempt to address. Just for the purpose of curiosity! Would you ask your neighbor the factors that enabled Europe to conquer almost the whole world? What makes the best university in the world be ranked in the position between number one and hundred? What makes a lecturer famous and prominent leading to promotions in ranks? What are the hindrances to the achievements? Quality assurance ought to cause a paradigm shift from a state of fear and enslavement within our nations least we get criminalized to be instigating trouble to leaders as we demand for equal rights and free participation in development.


The paper describes a lunar transportation system (LTS) based on a minimum cost approach to the lunar exploration scenario. A three-part exercise was conducted to minimize the cost and risk of lunar exploration, and the results of these optimization studies are presented. Particular consideration is given to the proposed concepts for the translunar injection stages, the common crew module of the LTS, the lander configuration, the LTS performance, and a concept of a long-range rover ('Rover First ') for discovering and mapping lunar resources for future utilization.


The morphology of spermatozoa from rodents of peninsular Malaysia was investigated with the light microscope. The sperm had a long tapering head and long tail in four species of Rattus, two species of Leopoldamys, and in single species of Berylmys and Sundamys. Sperm head morphology of the three species of Niviventer varied, but in two of them it was generally similar to that of Rattus. By contrast, the sperm head was broader and the tail much shorter in the three species of Maxomys and in single species of Chiropodomys and Hapalomys. Highly divergent forms of spermatozoa occurred in Pithecheir, Lenothrix canus, and Bandicota bengalensis. No species were found in which the sperm head had two extra ventral hooks as occurs in most of the Australian Hydromyinae. The possible phylogenetic implications of these findings are briefly discussed.


A cryogenic electrostatic storage ring (CSR) is under construction at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Kernphysik in Heidelberg (MPI-K), which will be a unique facility for low velocity and in many cases also phase-space cooled ion beams. Amongst other experiments the cooling and storage of molecular ions in their rotational ground state is planned. To meet this demand the ring must provide a vacuum in the XHV range (10 mbar room temperature equivalent), which will be achieved by cooling the ion beam vacuum chambers to 2 10 K. This also provides a very low level of blackbody radiation. The projected beam current will be in the range of 1 nA 1 μA. The resulting low signal strengths together with the cold environment put strong demands on the amplifier electronics of the position pickups. In order to improve the precision and to push the limits of position measurement towards the nA intensity regime, we plan to make use of a resonant amplifying system, using an LC-circuit with a quality factor of ∼1000. A resonant amplification setup was tested in the MPI-K's Test Storage Ring (TSR). We report on signal-to-noise ratio improvements and on issues that have to be paid attention to, if resonant amplification is requested.


The agreement on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a tremendous achievement. The goals represent an advance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by aiming to eliminate poverty, by including an equality goal and by bringing sustainability into the agenda. Nonetheless, three outstanding issues remain. First, national ownership is likely to be a problem. The centrally agreed goals need to be interpreted nationally to allow for national priorities and circumstances and to secure national commitment to them. Secondly, the goals are silent on the underlying economic structures needed to realize some of the goals, particularly of reducing inequality. Existing economic structures and policies are likely to result in a move away from achievement of this goal. Thirdly, most important, there is not true integration of the sustainability and economic goals. The goal of promoting economic growth needs to be seriously qualified for middle and high income countries, if the sustainability objectives – particularly on carbon emissions – are to be realized. This requires either that economic growth should only be promoted if sustainability can be assured, or that growth is redefined as 'green growth' so that promoting economic growth and achieving sustainability become consistent.


Abstract The information system (IS) change management and governance, according to the best practices, are defined and described in several international methodologies, standards, and frameworks (ITIL, COBIT, ValIT etc.). These methodologies describe IS change management aspects from the viewpoint of their particular enterprise resource management area. The areas are mainly viewed in a partly isolated environment, and the integration of the existing methodologies is insufficient for providing unified and controlled methodological support for holistic IS change management. In this paper, an integrated change management methodology is introduced. The methodology consists of guidelines for IS change control by integrating the following significant resource management areas – information technology (IT) governance, change management and enterprise architecture (EA) change management. In addition, the methodology includes lists of controls applicable at different phases. The approach is based on re-use and fusion of principles used by related methodologies as well as on empirical observations about typical IS change management mistakes in enterprises.


Valerie Jerome was a member of Canada's team at the 1959 Pan American Games where as a 15-year-old she placed 4th in the 100m. She was also a member of Canada's 1960 Olympic and 1966 Commonwealth Games teams. After leaving competitive sport, Valerie continued to serve as a track and field coach and official, serving as Chief Judge for Horizontal Jumps at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and Jumps Referee for the 1978 and 1994 Commonwealth Games and World Indoor (1993) and Outdoor (2001) Championships. She is also a fixture in Vancouver civil society, serving on such diverse boards of directors as the Achilles Athletics Foundation, the Goh Ballet Academy, Vancouver Youth Theatre and the British Columbia (BC) Association of Black Educators. She has been nominated seven times to run for public office beginning with her 1978 candidacy for The Electors Action Movement through to her 1996 candidacy for the Green Party of BC.


This Note considers whether Alaska should follow the recent state trend towards deregulation in the electrical market. It first examines the reasons behind the national trend towards deregulaion. Next it describes Alaska's current electrical energy market and regulatory scheme, and how it differs from the rest of the states. The Note then considers the regulatory schemes recently passed by other states, focusing on California, Montana, and Oregon. It then contemplates what Alaska can learn from the other states and concludes that if Alaska decides to deregulate, it should do so cautiously, with due regard to Alaska's unique market conditions and the needs of residential customers.


The scope of administrative plaintiffs confined by the Administrative Procedure Law of the People′s Republic of China will damage the potential interests of the citizen if not obtaining judicatory redress in time and will not accord with the Constitution.The Administrative Procedure Law of the People′s Republic of China should establish the administrative commonweal litigant system and enlarge the scope of administrative plaintiffs.


The Szarvasko complex exposes a rare fragment of Jurassic mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks that have been described as a dismembered portion of a Mesozoic ophiolitic sequence, formed in a setting related to the opening of a narrow basin of the Vardar ocean. These magmatic rocks are mainly extrusive pillow basalts, along with gabbroic sills intruded into terrigenous shales, and minor ultramafic and plagiogranite bodies. The basalts and some of the gabbros have fractionated N-MORB-like trace element patterns, but low eNd values, indicating a possible enriched source component as well. Other gabbros as well as the ultramafic rocks have the lowest REE patterns and are regarded as cumulates. The plagiogranites on the other hand, show inverse patterns with overall high trace element contents, and remarkable Eu anomalies. This suite of samples cannot be related solely by fractional crystallization to a common parental magma. Rather, they represent a combination of processes where the originally N-MORB-like magmas fractionated variable amounts of olivine+plagioclase+ clinopyroxene±chromite and then assimilated terrigenous sediments abundantly present in the area. There is no reliable evidence for a subduction-related component in these rocks.


This study examines the semantic interpretation of man and its anaphoric pronoun he and of their equivalents in German, Danish, and Swedish within a cross-linguistic experimental design. These languages differ systematically in respect of the features that define the grammatical and natural gender of these items. The hypothesis that the items are more or less pseudogeneric to the same extent that their features are more or less sex-marking could be confirmed in two experiments where subjects rated the acceptability of sentences containing these items. In conclusion, the pros and cons of such an 'experimental linguistic' approach are discussed.


Continuous intravenous infusion of factor VIII (FVIII) concentrate has been reported to be effective and safe to achieve a stable plasma level of FVIII activity as well as reduction of FVIII consumption. We have used continuous infusion of a monoclonal-antibody purified FVIII concentrate (M-FVIII) for the treatment of 6 patients with hemophilia A, 5 of whom underwent major surgery and 1 with subcortical cerebral hemorrhage. The age of the patients were ranged from 16 to 68. Duration of continuous infusion was 3 to 27 days. In vitro study of the FVIII activity in the M-FVIII showed that it retained over 80% of initial FVIII activity for the period of 24 hours at room temperature in a plastic syringe. The patients required bolus shot of 63.4±29.4U/kg followed by 4.25±1.49U/kg/hr continuous infusion to keep the initial plasma factor VIII level of 100% that result in 102.3±19.0% of actual activity in the plasma of over 2 hours after starting the infusion. Subsequently, dose of continuous infusion was reduced stepwise so that the achieved plasma level of FVIII gradually decreased to 60% in 7 to 10 days after the operation, followed by bolus infusion. All the patients showed excellent hemostasis with no remarkable adverse reactions during and after the operation. 28% of the total dose of M-FVIII was reduced as compared with theoretical dose of bolus infusion of twice a day for the first 3 days. We conclude that the use of continuous infusion of M-FVIII is practical and effective replacement therapy especially for hospitalized patients with hemophilia A for elective surgery.


As a jury may have twelve members, a lawyer likes to present at least twelve plausible arguments. There being one standard of mathematical truth, an economist is reluctant to make an argument publicly until it is tight. Alan Schwartz's paper "Products Liability, Corporate Structure, and Bankruptcy: Toxic Substances and the Remote Risk Relationship" is replete with novel ideas. He makes many plausible arguments, which I will not summarize, and a few tight ones, which I will make tighter. Identifying the actual or possible foundations of his paper yields some surprising theoretical conclusions and confirms some familiar ones, and these conclusions have implications for the current policy debate about inherently dangerous products. This paper is divided into four sections. Section I describes the technology and the institutional setting for a model of inherently dangerous products. Schwartz analyzes the incentives of manufacturers to invest in research on the dangerousness of products, and he assumes that their findings are issued in accurate warnings. In contrast, this paper assumes that manufacturers of inherently dangerous products are free to vary the severity of the warnings issued to buyers in light of the rules of liability prescribed by the legal system. While Schwartz focuses on the discovery of information, this paper focuses more on its communication. In Section II I discuss a rule imposing liability for the harm caused by warnings that are too lax relative to an ideal warning. This rule can be cast in the language of negligence or strict liability. The material implications of the rule are the same, regardless of the choice of words, but in practice the words affect courts in ways that go beyond the rule's application.


A method for determining the energy loss and mean dechanneling distance of light charged particles traveling along a low index axis of a crystal in the backscattering geometry, is presented. The method is based on nuclear resonance reactions which act as a marker for the range in the backscattering spectra. Computer simulations based on the assumption of an exponential rate of dechanneling of the incoming particles in the crystalline material, are in good agreement with measured spectra. The results of applying this method to protons and alphas in crystals of Si, SiO2, SiC and MgO are discussed and possible improvements are indicated.


This paper introduced the PLC controlling engineering made from SIEMENS S7 in elevator realized a kind of S car′s running speed,and route of travel control full-digitized.It made the equipment safety、correct and reliability


This study aimed to quantify possible long-term impairment of the retinal microcirculation and microvasculature by reassessing a cohort of patients with acute COVID-19 without other known comorbidities one year after their discharge from the hospital. Thirty patients in the acute phase of COVID-19 without known systemic comorbidities were enrolled in this prospective longitudinal cohort study. Fundus photography, SS-OCT, and SS-OCTA using swept-source OCT (SS-OCT, Topcon DRI OCT Triton; Topcon Corp., Tokyo, Japan) were performed in the COVID-19 unit and 1-year after hospital discharge. The cohort's median age was 60 years (range 28–65) and 18 (60%) were male. Mean vein diameter (MVD) significantly decreased over time, from 134.8 μm in the acute phase to 112.4 μm at a 1-year follow-up (p < 0.001). A significantly reduced retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was observed at follow-up in the inferior quadrant of the inner ring (mean diff. 0.80 95% CI 0.01–1.60, p = 0.047) and inferior (mean diff. 1.56 95% CI 0.50–2.61, p < 0.001), nasal (mean diff. 2.21 95% CI 1.16–3.27, p < 0.001), and superior (mean diff. 1.69 95% CI 0.63–2.74, p < 0.001) quadrants of the outer ring. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding vessel density of the superior and deep capillary plexuses. The transient dilatation of the retinal vessels in the acute phase of COVID-19, as well as RNFL thickness changes, could become a biomarker of angiopathy in patients with severe COVID-19.


Triptolide, triptonide and triptriolide are active ingredients of traditional Chinese herbal medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f. Although these compounds are found to have significant anti-inflammatory, immune-suppressive or anti-tumour effects, the molecular mechanisms of actions, especially their binding to proteins remain unclear. Since the chemical structures of triptolide, triptonide and triptriolide are similar to steroid hormones, we try to identify potential target proteins from the steroid hormone receptors (or "nuclear receptors"). In this study, using the reverse docking strategy, 12 nuclear receptors are reversely docked to triptolide and ranked by the binding energy scores. Based on this, human estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) was selected as a potential interaction protein for triptolide and the binding mode of three compounds to ERα-LBD (ligand binding domain) was further assessed by Docking and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation. To further analyze the docking results, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) and Reporter Gene assays were used to validate the interactions of ERα-LBD with the three compounds. SPR studies together with ITC measurements indicated that the three compounds could bind to ERα-LBD with weak affinity. Triptonide showed the highest affinity and triptriolide exhibited the weakest affinity. Furthermore, the binding of triptonide or triptolide to ERα significantly increased the reporter gene activity in human cervical cancer cell lines HeLa. This study not only further defines the binding proteins of triptolide and its analogues but also provides useful information for application of these compounds.


Abstract:Whereas book reviews in mainstream media outlets reach huge audiences, and their effects are obvious, the effects of reviews in scholarly outlets—and therefore the reason publishers do the work to land them—are harder to quantify. Yet scholarly book reviews play an important role in the long-term perception of a scholarly work and in the larger ecology of scholarship. This essay explains a bit about how scholarly book reviews work and why publishers believe they are valuable.


A common question asked by dentists is how to deal with cervical tooth sensitivity. Practitioners are commonly confronted with patients who complain about cervical sensitivity, but unfortunately, those patients seldom receive adequate relief. The minor discomfort is often considered too minimal to warrant significant time on the dentist's part, and very few practitioners have delegated tooth desensitization to auxiliary personnel [1-3].


The first,lump of Ida characteristics,distribution is summarized,and then on lump formation and structure,igneous rocks,and correlation of radioactive elements are anolyzed.The formation of valuable lump only relate to sedimentary environment and unique radioactive elements in this area.A lump sum formation mechanism are: No.2,No.7-seam formed in the delta environment,three coal seams formed in the delta between the Gulf environment.Due to the formation anvironment more stable,the formation of lump coal rate will higher,so No.2,No.7 coal seam than No,3 high.Moreover,precisely because of radioactive elements into the coal in the participation accelerated the process of peat into coal,to play an important role in the formation of lump coal.


Collapse experiments are found very helpful in facilitating collapse analysis of new buildings and identification of older buildings that are at high risk of structural collapse during severe earthquake events. Experimental observations from dynamic global collapse of a single story 3-bay RC frame are presented in this paper. The frame is composed of shear-critical columns and ductile columns to allow for load redistribution. A near-fault record from the September 21 (local time) 1999 Chi-Chi Taiwan earthquake was employed. Preliminary investigation shows that existing empirical equations are able to predict hysteretic backbone until the point of structural collapse with satisfaction.


Background: Lipid storage myopathies (LSMs) are rare diseases. The phenotype and genotype of lipid metabolism disorders are heterogeneous and divided into two major groups. Constant or progressive proximal and axial muscle weakness associated with or without metabolic crisis, is often seen in patients with LSM such as primary carnitin deficiency (PCD) or multiple acyl-coenzyme a dehydrogenase deficiency disorder (MADD). On the other hand, rhabdomyolysis triggered by fasting, fever, or physical activity usually occurs in patients with disorders affecting intramitochondrial fatty acid transport and β-oxidation, such as carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency (CPT2), mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency and very-long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCAD).
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we summarized the clinical profiles and muscle histology of 64 Iranian patients diagnosed with LSM by muscle biopsy. These patients were selected from 3000 patients referred for muscle biopsy to Toos and Mofid children's hospitals during 2010 to 2016. Their affected siblings were also added to the study.
Result: In our study 45.3% of the patients were men and 54.7% were women. Mean age of the patients was 27.05 years (SD: 14.26) and the mean age of onset of symptoms in these patients was 20.94 (SD: 14.25) years.  Most patients (70.3%) had proximal weakness and no bulbar involvement. Only 9.3% of the patients had a positive family history.
Conclusion: LSMs are not incommon in Iran and their phenotype can mimic inflammatory myopathy or limb girdle muscular dystrophy. Overall the demographic and clinical features of LSMs in Iranian patients were similar to prior reports.


110 cubic meters super large -size walk -in room for high-low temperature and humidity test was designed and manufactured in our country scarcely. The features of technical performance, structure, refrigerate system and control system of the test room was described.


Plagiarism detection is an important tool in modern academia. With growing class sizes and the modernization of the internet, there have been more ways that allow plagiarism to excel in modern culture. Methods such as patchwriting – where an individual may copy, paste and possibly modify the content – and commissioned writing – where an individual hires another person to do the work for them – are not considered by modern plagiarism detectors. This work aims to give instructors a way to identify and detect plagiarism in student writing that addresses these difficult-to-detect issues using artificial intelligence. We introduce a tool to aid instructors in detecting plagiarism that adapts to each students' individual writing style as they submit writing assignments. This work incorporates artificial intelligence and natural language processing that identifies the ways in which a student writes based on a collection of their essays. The proposed Authorship Verification for Hired Plagiarism Detection (AVHPD) tool includes document storage, a clean user interface, and intuitive break-downs of how a given writing sample differs from prior samples.


Cost Benefit Analysis in E-commerce System Implementation
Case Study: E-ticket Project in Mashhad Public Transport

Abedin Vahedian
Faculty of Engineering Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Mohammad Hangval
Khorasan Science &Technology Park
Gholamreza Malekzadeh
Faculty of Administration and Economic Sciences Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Abstract
E-commerce implementation often encounters challenge of cost-benefit analysis upon the completion of the project architecture and business plan. It is more of a bigger challenge to implement it by public, private, or banking sector. There exists a view that these types of systems are to be subsidized and attract incentives by the government as they are based on information and communication technology. On the other hand, implantation of e-commerce systems by private consortiums or banking sector following a cost-benefit analysis appears to be a promising idea. Determining the key factors in project realization, however, appears to be not straightforward as it is in the case of industrial projects. This research attempts to give a review on these implications using field survey method and experts views followed by acquiring necessary data for a broad cost-benefit analysis. It then considers Mashhad public transport automatic fare collection project (AFC) and carries out an in-depth analysis of comparing two methods of realizing it, namely municipality involvement and banking sector investment as alternatives. The study shows that private investment is indeed a way to go for this case study.

Keywords: E-commerce, Cost-benefit analysis, ICT- based trade, Automatic Fare Collection


In medicine, sports, bodybuilding, dressmaking etc, it is necessary to reliably measure human body. The device here presented can estimate without physical contact the perimeter of human body parts as waist, thigh, biceps etc. It can also measure the circumference of objects like tree trunks. The device actually scans the shape of the object's cross section and the perimeter measure is a byproduct. We think that the shape of human body provides much more information than simple perimeter measure, and may have many applications.


Thank you very much for reading making law order and authority in british columbia 1821 1871. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their favorite books like this making law order and authority in british columbia 1821 1871, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some malicious virus inside their computer.


Background: Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is caused by a poxvirus which produces cutaneous lesions appearing as small, firm, umblicated papules. Lesions of MC are most commonly seen in young children. Transmission is through viral particules, which remain on surfaces, autoinoculation, or from contact with open lesions. There are many options for treatment of MC and these may be broadly subdivided into destructive, immunological and antiviral therapies. An alternative treatment would be desirable in pediatric patients. Imiquimod (IQ) is a member of immune response modifiers.


Efficient and organized marketing is essential for the healthy growth of the any community. It benefits the producer as well as the consumer. Unregulated market involves a long chain of intermediaries before the commodity reaches to the final consumer, with the result that the cost of the commodity becomes exorbitant. To eliminate the middleman from the marketing activities and provide better price for agricultural producers the cooperative marketing societies were established during 1912 Act. Cooperative marketing societies are organized by the farmers themselves and the profits are distributed among the members based on the quantity of the produce marketed by them. Indian Farmer Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO), a premier organization in the cooperative sector engaged in production and marketing of Urea and complex fertilizers over five decades, is now standing amidst competition of private and public sector fertilizer brands in the country. IFFCO has as many as 30000 member societies and aims at serving them through cooperative way. Hence it has chosen a single distribution channel that is Federation at state level, to market its various fertilizer brands. Of late the experiment to market the fertilizer directly to the society is also carried out. However, the need to explore an effective alternative marketing channel still exists to make the IFFCO fertilizer a universal brand in the country.


Professional activities may have a 2way effect-school nurses may influence people through all of the public health nurse activities and they may take new ideas from other public health nurses back to their own group. School nurses need to evaluate their progress before they determine final goals. Are the demands for a section being made by the majority of school nurses or by only a few? Do school nurses have the strength in numbers and leadership to solve their problems alone? Only school nurses can answer these questions.


AltMM 2018 is the 3rd edition of the International Workshop on Multimedia Alternate Realities at ACM Multimedia. Our ambition remains to engage researchers and practitioners in discussions on how we can successfully create meaningful multimedia 'alternate realities' experiences. One of the main strengths of this workshop is that we combine different perspectives to explore how the synergy between multimedia technologies can foster and shape the creation of alternate realities and make their access an enriching and valuable experience.


A continuous simulation technique, based on the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) method, is used to determine annual storm runoff coefficients (ASRCs) for Orlando, Florida using 13 years of daily rainfall data. The ASRC, which is defined as the ratio of annual runoff to annual precipitation, is used to determine annual runoff volume (or depth) and annual pollutant loads in storm-water models under wet conditions. Although simulated ASRC values are very similar to values measured in other studies, they are significantly lower than the values predicted by other existing models. Estimating ASRC values by the continuous modeling approach has several advantages over existing models; relevant watershed characteristics such as soil type, cover, hydrologic condition of the soil, and antecedent moisture conditions neglected in existing models are taken into consideration, and the annual precipitation that does not produce runoff is determined precisely. Meaningful statistical comparisons can be made between the annual pollutant loads estimated using simulated ASRCs. The technique is cost-effective since continuous simulations can be done on spreadsheets, and require easily available daily rainfall data from a nearby climatological station.


We describe the approach that has been followed by the authors while teaching the CS1 laboratory course on Java programming at the University of Florence. In particular, we focus on the assessment method that has been utilized: by making use of specific software developed by the teachers themselves, the method allowed them to automatically obtain a preliminary evaluation of the students' performance, which could subsequently be analyzed and modified after a manual exploration of the students' work.


In this paper, a novel scheme for subsynchronous oscillation detection and modal parameter estimation is proposed, by leveraging the rich information contained in high-rate phasor measurements as well as the effectiveness of synchrosqueezing transform for multimodal signal analysis. Specifically, an instantaneous time-frequency representation of a voltage/current signal is first obtained by applying synchrosqueezing transform to the real-time data collected by a phasor measurement unit. The non-zero synchrosqueezing transform coefficients quantify the undamped frequency components of the original voltage/current signal at each time instant. For an unknown number of undamped frequency components, unsupervised clustering is applied to the non-zero synchrosqueezing transform coefficients in the frequency domain, so as to determine how many modes comprise the signal, as well as which mode each non-zero synchrosqueezing transform coefficient belongs to. Then, for each detected mode, the corresponding non-zero synchrosqueezing transform coefficients are utilized to reconstruct a component of the original voltage/current signal. Finally, the magnitude, damping factor and phase angle of each mode are estimated by applying a least square estimation algorithm to the reconstructed component signal. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is revealed through several case studies using IEEE benchmark models. Further, practical issues involving missing data, measurement noise and transform basis functions are also systematically addressed in this study.


Boosting coal recovery rate by 8% and reducing fuel expense $18,000 annually by replacing two tractors, are two tangible benefits that Crows Nest Resources of British Columbia has achieved since overseas coal markets weakened in 1985. Though coal production at the 4-million tpy Line Creek open pit mine has been cut 25% from its 1984 level, morale among the pit crew remains high. More efficient pit equipment, innovative use of existing equipment, and encouragement of multiple skill development among workers - so people can be assigned to different jobs in the operation as situations demand - contribute to a successful operation.


ABSTRACT This paper presents a new method based on the Kalman filter (KF) for the two-dimensional (2D) autoregressive model parameters estimation. For this purpose, the corresponding relations of KF in one-dimensional (1D) case are extended to the 2D case and the related algorithm is presented. Main advantages of the proposed method are: online and recursive parameter estimation, and detection of parameters changes. Meantime, because the presented approach does not involve complex and time consuming matrix calculations, so it is computationally efficient. Numerical examples are expressed to verify the efficiency of the proposed method.


The purpose of this paper is to challenge Professors Gómez Uranga's and Etxebarria's argument that self-government on it's own propitiates better socio-economic results. The authors' article offers us a complete overview of all the regional-provincial planning instruments and the innovation system implemented in the Basque Country. However, the authors lack objectivity in their approach, failing to analyse the negative effects of ETA (ETA is a terrorist group that demands separation of the Basque Country from Spain), which is not even mentioned in the article. In fact, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is an outstanding test case for the effectiveness of a regionally promoted redevelopment instrument that is partially undermined by the violence of ETA. In this sense, the efŽ cacy of self-government is subject to a clear consistent commitment to solve the problem of terrorism.


Neuregulins play a critical role in the developing heart, nervous, and mammary systems. Neuregulin-1–induced cardiac, neuronal, and mammary differentiation is based on a cell–cell communication model, where the ligand neuregulin-1 is produced and secreted by one cell type, which does not express its receptors erbB3 and erbB4 and acts on neighboring cell types that do express these receptors. We proposed that neuregulin-1 affects fetal lung maturation through a similar mechanism. Immunostaining showed neuregulin-1 in fetal lung that increased in fibroblasts at the onset of surfactant synthesis. Neuregulin-1β was found to be secreted by the fetal lung fibroblast and stimulated type II cell surfactant synthesis. Both fetal lung fibroblast-conditioned media and neuregulin-1 stimulated erbB2 receptor phosphorylation in type II cells. The effects of neuregulin-1 and of fibroblast-conditioned media on both surfactant synthesis and type II cell erbB2 phosphorylation were specifically blocked by antibody to neureg...


The design and performance of semiconductively preionized nitrogen lasers employing optimized capacitor transfer excitation circuitry are described. These lasers of minimum complexity are capable of producing ultraviolet pulses of up to 1 mJ and 150 kW at efficiencies of more than 0.04%.


Optical Phase Conductor is a new type of optical cable in power communication. Compared with OPGW and ADSS, OPPC has the advantages of perfect integration of power transmission and optical signal transmission, no additional load, good corrosion resistance, thermal stability and long service life. This paper first analyzes the characteristics of OPPC, and then elaborates its application in smart grid. Combined with transmission line transformation, Shandong electric power company of State Grid studies the key control and engineering application of OPPC in design and construction.


Se enriched tea was produced by spraying sodium selenite, combined with humic acid(HA) on leaves of tea. Total selenium content and organoselenium in tea was determined with the mothod of hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The results showed that total selenium content is siginificantly increased from 0 121±0 030 μg/g of the regular tea to 9 920±0 892 μg/g of the Se enriched tea. Meanwhile, the organoselenium and its percentage in Se enriched tea are also remarkably increased,rising up to 99 67%. Selenium in Se enriched tea is mainly organoselenium. Selenium foliar application might have stimulated the absorption and accumulation of selenium in tea, subsequently, transferred inorganoselenium to organoselenium.


This paper explores the nature and substance of Islamic management practices in Arab countries. It also examines the impact of globalisation on multinational (MNC) companies operating in Islamic countries. Understanding Islamic management principles helps build a more suitable model of best practice management in Arab and Islamic countries. The study argues that reverse management skills delivery by MNC managers is crucial to successful human resource management in host countries. It adds to the comparatively limited literature on Islamic management by presenting issues critical to advancing Western Islamic management systems. It concludes that the incompatibility between global integration and local obligations is a key reason for the lack of progress in most Arab and Islamic countries.


Objectives: This paper presents new possibilities of treatment of acute thrombosis located in proximal segments of upper and lower limb veins using transcutaneous mechanical thrombectomy and transcatheter thrombolysis. Material and methods: The procedures were carried out in patients hospitalised in the Department of Vascular Surgery of the Provincial Hospital Complex in Kielce. Qualification for the procedure was based on the prevention and treatment guidelines for venous thromboembolism in Poland and worldwide. The treatments were performed using a Penumbra Indigo thrombectomy device. The observation covers the first half of 2017. Results: Out of 24 patients hospitalised in this period due to deep vein thrombosis, six had aspiration thrombectomy; the remaining patients were treated with the traditional method. In five patients a very good treatment effect was obtained and immediate regression of swelling and pain of the limb was observed. The applied treatment significantly shortened the hospitalisation time by half on average compared to traditional treatment and did not cause significant complications except minor bleeding. During the half-year follow-up period, patients undergoing treatment did not experience any recurrence of pain, swelling, or recent thrombosis. Conclusions: Aspiration thrombectomy combined in some cases with transcatheter thrombolysis allows rapid removal of thrombi and resection of veins and leads to quick relief of symptoms, at the same time reducing hospitalisation time and immobilisation at home. Given the novel nature of the device, further observation is needed to demonstrate the safety and comparable efficacy of this method, including randomised, controlled clinical trials before any recommendations for its use can be made.


A presentation made at the CUBE (Computer Use By Engineers) Symposium, October 1976, in Albuquerque, New Mexico is summarized. A full-scale testing program involving impact tests of spent-nuclear-fuel shipping systems is described. This program is being conducted by Sandia Laboratories for the Environmental Control Technology Division of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration. The analytical and scale modeling techniques being employed to predict the response of the full-scale system in the very severe impact tests are described. The analytical techniques include lumped parameter modeling of the vehicle and cask system and finite modeling of isolated shipping casks. Some preliminary results from the mathematical analyses and scale model tests demonstrate close agreement between these two techniques. Scale models of the systems are also described and some results presented.


The new rules on bank liquidity set by the Basel Committee require banks to hold high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs) against future cash outflows in periods of market stress. Domestic government bonds are considered to be HQLAs. To assess the appropriateness of this rule, we investigate the liquidity of European government bonds in ordinary times and in periods of market turmoil. We find that the effect of adverse market conditions on liquidity strongly depends on individual bond's characteristics. Our evidence argues for rules on HQLAs that should constrain the eligibility of government bonds depending on their characteristics (primarily, duration and rating).


This paper deals with double-layer rotor design and design method of a single-phase line-start permanent magnet (LSPM) motor considering the efficiency and maximum torque with d-and q-axis equivalent circuit and finite element method (FEM). The motor parameters meeting the required efficiency, starting and maximum torque are determined by the characteristic map obtained by the d-q axis equivalent circuit analysis, then the geometric shape design satisfying the motor parameters are performed with FEM. In the end, the improved double-layer LSPM motor is fabricated and tested in order to measure the efficiency and maximum torque.


We argue that the emission and the absorption components of he N II lines recently observed in Eta Carinae can originate in the secondary's wind acceleration zone. We base this claim in part on the presence of these lines in hot nitrogen rich stars, such as WN 8 stars, and on the expected clumpy nature of such winds. The envelope of the secondary star in Eta Carinae is expected to be nitrogen rich due to accretion of few solar masses of the primary luminous blue variable's nitrogen rich material during the nineteenth century Great Eruption. Another argument in support of N II lines origin in the acceleration zone of the secondary wind is the behavior of the emission components. The emission components of the lines show the same Doppler shift variation as that of the absorption components. The secondary's-wind origin of the N II lines is compatible with the binary orientation in which the secondary is closer to us near periastron passage.


It was intended to find the critical factors which influence understorey woody diversity of Eucalyptus plantation on the basis of comparative analysis of annual rainfall,the water content of soil and available N,P,K of soil with the method of outdoor's sample surveying in Hainan Island.The results of compound factors correlation analysis show that,on the principal components analysis of critical factors which influence undergrowth diversity,annual rainfall is the first main factor(limiting factor) influencing on the undergrowth diversity,water content of soil follows,and then available N of soil.The results still show that the Eucalyptus fast plantations are not fit to plant in dry area where annual rainfall is less than 1 000 mm in Hainan Island based on the analysis.


Abstract A strain of Chlamydomonas pulsatilla isolated from a supralittoral rock pool near St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada grows over a wide range of salinities. Glycerol is the main osmoregulatory solute. It grows heterotrophically on acetate, and has a high affinity for this substrate (Km ~40 μM). Acetate strongly enhances growth at low light intensities, but the flagellate can also grow photoautotrophically. Nitrate and urea cannot be used as sources of nitrogen for growth, while ammonium and several amino acids are excellent nitrogen sources. The alga is well adapted to withstand changes in salinity and to take advantage of reduced inorganic and organic nitrogen sources present in its rook pool habitat.


Unlike analog calibration, digital calibration alone does not correct or create analog decision levels. Therefore, the uncalibrated ADC must provide decision levels spaced no greater than lLSB at the intended resolution. In lb/stage pipeline ADCs with nominal gain of 2, missing decision levels result when the input of any stage exceeds full scale due to capacitor mismatch, capacitor non-linearity, charge injection and comparator offset. Missing decision levels can be eliminated, however, by using gain less than 2 and 2-3 more stages of pipeline giving enough redundancy in the analog decision levels. The missing codes with gain less than 2 are eliminated by digital calibration.


Vinberg's algorithm is the main method for finding fundamental domains for reflection groups acting on hyperbolic space. Experience shows that it can be slow. We explain why this should be expected, and prove this slowness in some cases. And we provide an alternative algorithm that should be much faster. It depends on an algorithm for finding vectors with small positive norm in indefinite binary quadratic forms, of independent interest.


The present invention relates to a gyro sensor driving circuit, a gyro sensor system and a gyro sensor driving method. According to one embodiment of the invention, the drive signal generator for receiving a signal converted from the output signal of the gyro sensor to generate a drive signal to be applied to the gyro sensor; A resonance determining unit which receives an output signal of the gyro sensor or receives a demodulation signal or a driving signal for demodulating the output signal and determines whether the gyro sensor is resonant; And a start signal applying unit configured to apply a driving signal to the gyro sensor when determining the resonance of the resonance determining unit and to apply a start-up signal that may cause resonance of the gyro sensor when determining whether the resonance determining unit is non-resonant. There is proposed a gyro sensor driving circuit comprising a. In addition, a gyro sensor system and a gyro sensor driving method including the same are proposed.


Managing product variety is a challenging problem given the increasing complexity of supply chain networks. To overcome this complexity, managing integration in the supply chain is essential for companies to coordinate effectively. By managing the influx of information exchange between the various entities involved in the supply chain network, integration can be achieved successfully. In this paper, we are targeting research questions regarding the impact of the influx of information exchange on product variety and supply chain networks and the key factors influencing its exchange from different industries' perspectives. To investigate our research questions and to conduct a case study across different industries and companies, this study aims to explore the impact of supply chain network complexity, which causes an influx of information exchange due to increasing product variety through qualitative research. In our results, by categorizing the raw interview data, we visualize correspondent opinions to facilitate deep analysis, including factors such as product variety, supply chain networks, and information exchange. The key factors that can influence the influx of information exchange from different industries' and companies' perspectives are presented in our results to provide valuable insights into the significant factors affecting the success of the smart business.


particular interest. At some time, probably during the earlier part of the first cold phase of the Wisconsinan or Last Ice Age, as long as 100,000 years ago, representatives of an early type of presentday man, who lived on the southeastern edge of Asia, must have developed sufficient command of water transport to be able to negotiate the sea barriers separating the Australian region from the mainland of Asia. As drifters from island to island and reef to sand bank in search of food, they may have attained the new continent without full realization of their achievement. These firstcomers appear to have lived in relative isolation for many millennia, but changes which, in general seem to parallel those in mainland Asia, suggest that successively several major new influences were brought across the sea barriers by further visitors. These incursions were registered in changing tool forms and also affected the physical characteristics of the inhabitants who came to live in different parts of their new, vast, and ecologically varied land. As an archaeologist, I have had a share in developing knowledge of tool kits which these early visitors seem to have carried, either physically or at least in their minds, and now are to be found, in archaeological deposits and on surface sites almost Australia-wide, as the Kartan stone implement assemblage. I also shared in the years of fieldwork which enabled Birdsell (1941, 1949) to observe and report physical differences in the living descendants, thus warranting an assumption that the gracile Barrinean negritoid folk still living in the Atherton rainforests represent the earliest type of people to arrive. Birdsell's conclusions were reached long before some of the bones of such gracile ancestral confreres of Mid-Wisconsinan time began to be unearthed at Mungo Lake in New South Wales by Bowler and others (1970). Data now available suggest that heavier built, and rather hairy Southern or Murrayian aborigines may have arrived as a second wave of migrants, perhaps as late as near the beginning of the last cold phase of the Wisconsinan. Widespread stories in abstract


Reply: The base year emission inventory was validated through comparison of a regional air quality model (CMAQ) simulations with NO2 column retrieved from OMI, SO2 column retrieved from SCIAMACHY, AOD retrieved from MODIS, and ground observations of SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 and its components. Model simulations were performed for year 2005. The model generally reproduces both spatial distribution and seasonal variation of tropospheric NO2 and SO2 column densities and AOD in China that have been observed by OMI, SCIAMACHY, and MODIS. The correlation coefficients between model simulated and satellite observed NO2 column densities, SO2 column densities and AOD over China are 0.85, 0.89 and 0.79, and the NMBs are 11%, -27%, and -27% respectively, which are comparable with the errors from satellite retrievals. Surface concentrations of NO2, SO2, and PM10 given by CMAQ model are also comparable with those observed in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with NMB ranging from 1%∼18%, -3%∼-25%, and -12%∼18%, respectively. The results suggest that the anthropogenic emissions of SO2, NOx, and PM10 used in this study are in line with both satellite and ground observations therefore are of acceptable accuracy.


This video includes Voyager 1 to Saturn, Solar Maximum Mission, sounding rockets/balloons, Space Shuttle, GOES 4 weather satellite, Mount St. Helen's Research, wind energy, rotor systems research aircraft, quiet shorthaul aircraft, AD-1 Scissor Wing, and automated pilot advisory system.


Principal Component Analysis, or PCA, is a methods of reducing the dimensionality of a data set consisting of many variables such that most of the information in the data is preserved. We measured chemically sweetness, sourness, salt and umami contained in several commercially available tomato juices and identified the principal components of a four-dimensional data set consisting of them. In result, we found that the first component of the data set has strongly positive correlation with the total estimation of sensory test by young adults around twenty years of age.


In recognition of the National Communication Association's 100th Anniversary, this article maps the content published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research (JACR) over the last four decades to develop a picture of what applied communication research has emerged and how that research has changed through the journal's history. This study mapped 678 research articles over the four decades of JACR's existence. Results reveal a strong overall orientation towards applied research in nine interest group divisions: organizational, health, public, group, family, interpersonal, training, women, and media. Analysis of the four individual decades that span JACR's history depict a journal responsive to its sociohistorical time and place and a journal adapting and adopting more expansive definitions of whose communication (voice) and how communication (model) over time. This analysis demonstrates future opportunities and challenges for applied communication scholarship as an important part of our National Communication Association specifically and communication research generally.


The purpose of this article is to assess the regions of the Republic of Armenia in terms of quality of life and to identify the main problems. To achieve this goal, the concept of an integrated quality-of-life indicator was used. The integral life quality index is a hierarchical system of interrelated indicators that allows to assessthe quality of life of the population based on publicly available statistical information on the values of three integral indicators: the quality of the population, the level of well-being of the population, the quality of the social sphere. As a result, the regions were classified into three categories: the level of well-being of the population, the quality of the population, and the quality of the social sector. Among the characteristics of the level of well-being of the population, the largest share is distinguished: the numberof the population living below the standard of living or extremely poor, the availability of housing stock, as well as the share of emergency housing in the total housing stock. Thehealth sub-category has the largest impact on the population quality category, the latter's influence severed by the increasing number of deaths from Covid-19 in 2020. Studying "Social Quality" category it proved that migration and unemployment remain serious problems in all regions of Armenia.For the general classification of regions, migration, unemployment and poverty are problems for all the regions of Armenia, but they are prominent in Lori, Shirak, Tavush and Kotayk regions.


Because d'pamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) is released from storage vesicles in adrenergic nerves and the adrenal medulla along with catecholamines, determination of circulating levels of this enzyme might serve as an index of sympathoadrenal activity. This hypothesis has been studied in dogs anesthetized with cyclopropane, isoflurane, and thiopental that were subjected to a single acute hemorrhage and followed for 5 hours. Plasma DBH activity and catecholamine levels were determined before and every 30 minutes after the hemorrhage. Charges in DBH activity did not correlate well with changes in levels of circulating catecholamines in the dog in response to this form of stress.


Product responsibility in e-commerce transactions is the civil responsibility of business actors for losses suffered by consumers due to using the products they produce, the presumption of liability principle as a modification of the principle of responsibility on the reverse burden of proof. The principle of absolute responsibility adopted by producers gives very important attention to producers in protecting consumers as the weak party in carrying out a transaction, especially in e-commerce transactions. Product liability that adheres to stict liability can be very useful for consumers in protecting consumers in e-commerce transactions. So that consumers are not obliged to prove a mistake, it's just that consumers in a transaction should be able to prove that a product they use is defective so that it is detrimental to it.


Abstract Material containing a high proportion of spores of Pithomyces chartarum was collected from grassland herbage by a suction cleaner technique. When dosed to sheep this material produced morphological changes in tissues identical to naturally-occurring asymptomatic cases of facial eczema and to similar cases produced by the oral administration of sporidesmin.


Over the last two decades, the nature of teachers' work has undergone significant structural changes due to political, social, organizational, technological, and philosophical factors. With the development of inclusive policies, the roles and functions of special education teachers (SETs) have evolved over the years. Inclusive work in general classrooms is often seen as a source of stress for SETs as they may have less autonomy at work, and more complex collaboration than their peers working in special classes. This stress can lead to a burnout syndrome, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a lack of personal accomplishment. Less is known about the effects of teaching contexts on the SETs' health. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the perceived health of a sample of SETs in Switzerland (N = 306) working in inclusive contexts (n = 79) with those working in non-inclusive contexts (n = 227). The sample filled out a self-reported questionnaire measuring personal variables, burnout at work with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and collaborative variables with the School Quality Survey. Research results show three main findings. 1. Differences in perceived health at work are not significant between the two subgroups. 2. The two subsamples are not exhausted or depersonalized, but present a reduced personal achievement. 3. The collaboration-related variables exert different effects on the three burnout dimensions.


Although romantic breakups, breakup distress and heartbreak are common among adults, they have occurred as early as the seventh grade [90], and most of the studies on these topics have been conducted with university students, as reflected by the literature reviewed in this paper. Romantic breakups occur in as many as twothirds of university samples [43, 104]. The breakups frequently lead to breakup distress which is often associated with depression, feelings of rejection and betrayal, heartbreak symptoms including chest pain and compromised immune function. This review summarizes some of that literature.


Physicochemical characteristics of eggs are still poorly controlled in poultry farming in the city of Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. The present study was thus conducted to characterize the rearing systems in modern poultry farming and to analyze the physicochemical characteristics of eggs from hens reared in deep litter, battery, and backyard systems from August to October 2020 in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. To this end, 33 farms with approximately 61100 hens (Cobb500 broiler and layer) were surveyed. At the end of this survey, a sample of 180 eggs was collected, with 60 eggs per system for physicochemical analyses. Data included socio-economic and technical characteristics of modern farming systems as well as the physicochemical parameters of the eggs. The obtained results indicated that 90.9% of Cobb500 chicken owners were men. Of the total of the layer's buildings, 73% were equipped with nests. The materials used for feeders were made of wood (54.4%), plastic (21.2%), or cement (6.1%). Moreover, 81.1% of the poultry farmers buy chicken feed on the market while the others prepare their own feed from various ingredients. Preventive and curative prophylactic measures were applied by all livestock farmers, yet 54. 5% were still victims of different diseases. The selling price of a 45-day-old broiler chicken was between 4 and 6 USD, while the price of a 30-egg tray varied between 3 and 4 USD, which contributed to 60-80% of family income for 54.5% of poultry farmers. The high feed cost as well as lack of finance, ingredients, and security were the main issues of poultry farming. Concerning the physicochemical characteristics of eggs, a significant increase in egg weight was noted among backyard (43.50 ± 3.15 g), battery (58.19 ± 4.02 g), and deep litter (63.51 ± 3.91 g) systems. The Haugh's Unit of eggs in the backyard system (72.33 ± 4.42%) was significantly lower than deep litter (82.91 ± 6.76%) and battery systems (86.83 ± 11.42%). The proportions of eggshell and edible contents were similar in all production systems. Yolk lipid (17.63%) and yolk protein (7.11%) in dry matter contents of local breed eggs were higher than those of improved breed from both systems. The findings indicated that modern poultry farming in Ngaoundéré has been poorly developed and backyard eggs were richer in nutrients and consequently highly recommended to use.


The purpose of this texte is to describe an important aspect of Rousseau's political thought: the antinomy between civil and ethical consciences. Rousseau's clear choice is for the first one, civil conscience, requires among meaning other things approximation of his philosophy of the dictamen and citizens' general will.


This ethnographic chapter takes the reader into the wider lifeworlds of the ethnographic participants of this study and their entrepreneurial efforts to make a living from the increasingly commodified and sportified world of lifestyle sports. It contextualises this trend within the challenges, barriers and anxieties that surround youth transitions into adulthood in late-capitalism; the increasingly blurred line between work and leisure and the rise of 'prosumption' and its impact upon modes of capital accumulation.


Previous research examining the transition into senior housing has focused primarily on individuals and has used cross-sectional, retrospective designs after older adults have already moved into the facilities. These designs cannot disentangle changes over time and how partners influence this process. The Relocation and Transitional Experiences (RELATE) study leverages a prospective longitudinal design that tracked 157 participants (97 who participated in the study as part of a dyad with a romantic partner or other close partner (family member)) prior to moving into senior housing and across 3.5 months after the move. Participants ranged between 40-95 years of age. Results showed that those who were unmarried reported fewer depressive symptoms, but also less social support and lower life satisfaction than married participants. Changes over the 3.5 month period in depressive symptoms, social support, and rumination also varied by age. This study suggests partners may influence one another's developmental health trajectories.


This article describes how computer imaging technology, used to evaluate particle form, angularity, and surface texture, will allow for the real-time analysis of aggregates used in asphalt pavement mixes. The article describes the current processes involved in aggregate analysis, then discusses how with new automated imaging technology, the length, width and thickness can be measured. This will enable the sphericity of each particle in an aggregate sample to be calculated. Since hot mix asphalt (HMA) mix designs are volumetric, knowing the volume of each particle is critical. Computer imaging technology should also lead to a better understanding of how aggregate particles affect HMA performance, ultimately leading to new and improved specifications.


This research is entitled "The Use of Pyramid Strategy in Helping Students' Writing Narrative Text". It was aimed at finding out to what extend the use of pyramid strategy improves students' ability in writing narrative text. This research was experimental research. The experiment was conducted through a few classroom meetings in two groups or classes: one class for the experimental group and one for the control group. The sample of this research were students of class VIII-A (experimental class) which consisted of 24 students, and VIII-B (control class) which consisted of 30 students, in MTsS Oemar Diyan Boarding School. The sample was taken by using purposive sampling. To collect the data, the researcher conducted tests (pre-test and post-test) and experimental teaching. To analyze the result of the tests, the researcher used statistical formula to calculate average of the tests. The result showed that pyramid strategy could improve students' ability in writing narrative text, which proven by the result of the tests that showed an increase in mean scores achieved by experimental class students in post-test (8.54) compared to their mean scores of pre-test (11,17).


The article is devoted to specificity of individually-psychological characteristics of mothers of teenagers with delinquent behaviors. The article provides the data of empirical research of accentuation of personality, level of subjective control of the personality, features of self-perception of the mothers of delinquent teenagers.


ABSTRACT
This work consists of a review of the literature that criticizes the Brazilian exchange rate
management practiced in the period after financial integration, which is called globalization.
These studies argue that the mode of operation of the foreign exchange market and,
particularly, carry trades, has systematically distorted exchange rates. The carry trade
operation consists of a financial strategy that seeks to enjoy interest rate differentials between
currencies. This literature also points to the effects produced by the exchange rate policy of
the period, through the use of instruments such as foreign exchange swaps, in addition to
demonstrating the correlation between the international liquidity cycle and exchange rate
volatility. It is therefore intended to bring attention to the importance of this relative price,
through the search of this recent literature, which analyzes the decision-makers of policy
makers, as well as analyzes the microstructural nature of the Foreign Exchange Market. In
this sense, it was concluded that protection against the negative effects brought by unwanted
exchange rate variations should be pursued.


Arab nationalism emerged as a secular ideology in the early 20th century in the Ottoman Empire. During the First World War, it proved influential enough to motivate an Arab rebellion against the Ottomans and, following the war, several Arab states were founded. Its popularity rose in the interwar period, and many Arab mandates became independent after the Second World War. Its popularity peaked at the hands of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1958 when Syria and Egypt united to form the United Arab Republic. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Arab nationalism began losing its appeal and declined dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s. At the turn of the 21st century, Arab nationalism became an almost irrelevant ideology in the Middle East. This study examines the birth, the dramatic rise, and the sudden decline of Arab nationalism from a historical perspective and concludes that Arab nationalism today, as an ideology, is on the brink of demise.


The experimental technique used to determine the dynamic characteristics of buildings is based on records of low intensity oscillations of the building produced by various natural factors, such as permanent agitation type microseismic motions, city traffic, wind etc. The possibility of recording these oscillations is provided by the latest seismic stations (Geosig and Kinemetrics digital accelerographs). The permanent microseismic agitation of the soil is a complex form of stationary random oscillations. The building filters the soil excitation, selects and increases the components of disruptive vibrations corresponding to its natural vibration periods. For some selected buildings, with different instrumentation schemes for the location of sensors (in free-field, at basement, ground floor, roof level), a correlation between the dynamic characteristics resulted from signal processing of ambient vibration and from a theoretical analysis will be presented. The interpretation of recording results could highlight the behavior of the whole structure. On the other hand, these results are compared with those from strong motions, or obtained from a complex dynamic analysis, and they are quite different, but they are explicable.


ABSTRACT Antheraea pernyi (Guérin-Méneville) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), a well-known economically important insect, was domesticated from its wild type. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the wild type of A. pernyi was determined and compared for nucleotide variation with its domesticated type. The mitogenome of the wild type of A. pernyi is 15,537 bp in size, thus 29 bp smaller than that of the domesticated type. The gene content, order, and orientation of the complete mitogenome of the wild type are identical to those of the domesticated type, as are those of the other completely sequenced lepidopteran mitogenomes. A striking difference between the two mitogenomes was found in the A+T-rich region because of the numbers of tandem repeat units. The wild type has five tandem repeat units, whereas the domesticated type has six. Comparative analysis of the two mitogenomes revealed a relatively lower level of sequence divergence (1.70%). Within the two mitogenomes, there are no significant differences in nucleotide substitution rate for the 13 protein-coding genes except for the nad4L gene, which is different from those differences observed between the domesticated silkmoth Bombyx mori (L.) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) and its wild-type ancestor Chinese B. mandarina Moore. The divergence time between the two Antheraea mitochondrias was estimated to be between 0.74 ± 0.13 and 0.97 ± 0.17 million years ago, based on the genes cox1+cox2 sequences. To our knowledge, this is the first report on sequence variation of the complete mitogenomes between the domesticated insect and its wild-type ancestor, within a single species.