The move to component-based development (CBD) is driven by a number of important requirements with respect to the agile assembly of application systems from pre-developed parts. However, to make CBD a reality requires a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts of CBD and how those concepts can be embodied in tools and techniques. The most basic questions are in respect to what constitutes a component, how appropriate components can be found, and how to assemble components when building an application system. This paper addresses these questions and makes the case for more rigorous descriptions of component behaviors through the use of domain and specification models which allow interfaces and implementations of components to be more easily understood, analyzed and combined.


The U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system is failing to keep pace with the needs of commercial aviation. Airline traffic has increased by 68% since deregulation. But the workforce is one-third smaller in relation to traffic levels than before the 1981 controllers' strike, and the computers, radars, and other equipment are generally outdated and unreliable. According to the Department of Transportation, extensive delays are being experienced that cost airlines and passengers some $5 billion a year. Also, two recent airport collisions resulted from ATC deficiencies. The fundamental problem is that the ATC organization is crippled by being part of a governmental agency (the Federal Aviation Administration). Spinning off ATC to a user-funded, user-owned nonprofit corporation would solve some problems, such as civil service rules that prevent the FAA from paying enough to attract sufficient experienced controllers to high-stress points, and federal procurement regulations that delay needed equipment upgrades for many years. Direct user fees would make funds available quickly and efficiently to upgrade the system to state-of-the-art technology, and the corporation could pay whatever was needed to attract sufficient numbers of experienced personnel to its critical facilities. The result would be a safer, more efficient ATC system, able to keep pace with a growing, competitive aviation industry.


RAYMOND NG HAN LIP, MBBS, MMed (Family Medicine). Registrar, Department of Palliative Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital ABSTRACT Advance care planning is not widely practiced in the local context. When used appropriately, it is a tool that encourages deeper conversations about issues once deemed taboo to talk about and promotes patient centered care at the end of life. There are challenges that face the initiation of advance care planning discussions including physicians' apathy and inadequacy of training. Successful advance care planning will entail sensitive discussions of the patient's preferences and values that influence care at the end of life, clear documentation, regular review over time and application of the advance care plans to real situations. Primary care physicians can initiate advance care planning discussions with their patients who are usually in stable health.


Twelve different green gram varieties procured from the AICRP on Mung bean, Urd bean, Lentil, Lathyrus, Rajmash and Peas, Main Agriculture Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka were analysed for their physical properties and milling characteristics. Length, breadth and length-breadth ratio ranged from 3.70-5.05 and 3.25-3.90 mm and 1.13-1.38 respectively. Highest length and breadth were recorded by variety DDG-3. Different varieties exhibited 100-kernel weight, 100-kernel volume and bulk density values of 3.55-6.44 g, 5.20-6.30 ml and 0.67-1.20 g/ml respectively. Variety DGG-3 recorded higher value for 100-kernel weight, 100-kernel volume and bulk density. Milling of different varieties of green gram yielded 8.45-10.07 per cent husk, 76.15-78.55 per cent Dhal recovery, 4.43-5.64 per cent brokens, 5.23-6.73 per cent powder and 0.90-3.31 per cent milling loss. Dhal recovery was highest in DGG-3 (78.55%) and least in Selection-04 (76.15%). In general small seeded varieties produced higher Dhal yield. The results of the present study revealed that elite entries were on par with released varieties with regard to physical properties and milling characteristics.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics and effects of the forest therapy programs for adult patients.
Methods: Six...


Traditional machine learning methods of plant leaf disease detection lack successful performances due to poor feature representation and correlation. This paper presents a novel methodology for automatic plant leaf disease detection using cascaded deep convolutional neural network (CDCNN) which focusses on increasing the feature representation and correlation factors. It provides distinctive features that gives low intra-class variability and higher inter-class variability. CDCNN were performed on a plant-village leaf disease database which consists of 13 classes of tomato, potato, and pepper bell plant diseases; DCNN model performs better with an overall accuracy, recall, and precision of 98.50%, 0.98, and 0.97 respectively. Additionally, performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on real time cotton leaf database for bacterial blight, leaf miner, and spider mite diseases detection and provides 99.00% accuracy. The proposed DCNN outperforms well compared to traditional machine learning and deep learning models and is able to detect the diseases present in the leaves of the plant.


Abstract This article explores the footballing Twitter community and the abundance of tweets that use discriminatory humour to 'Other' minorities. With a 32% increase in instances of discrimination during the 2018/19 Premier League season, this qualitative study collected tweets containing some form of discriminatory language or slurs to be analysed. Two main concepts were identified, Othering and humour, where the Othering of minorities was often concealed by humour. It appears that discriminatory comments, no matter their inconspicuousness, have found a new home online as discrimination at games is now met with condemnation and punishment. Ultimately, this article highlights the justification of discriminatory language on football Twitter, whether stated outright or otherwise, when it is encompassed with humorous undertones. The conclusions reflect on how this understanding can be helpful for authorities and social media companies to use in identifying this form of abuse.


The paper uses the strong secondary development function of Auto CAD software to study the common issue of drawing intermediate circular arc in engineering drawing,and deduces a mathematical model to solve the problem. It designs the process diagram using VBA programming language,and writes command procedures and user interface. Based on examples,it is indicated that the command is easy to use and could draw intermediate arc conveniently. Compared with the conventional method using auxiliary lines,drawing efficiency is greatly improved,the workload of drawing staff is reduced and their work efficiency is improved. The order also extends the function of Auto CAD drawing circles.


Diamond films were prepared on WC-Co substrates with microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. The effects of different pretreatments including acid etching and copper interlayer and deposition conditions on the quality of diamond films were studied. The result of this study shows that the quality of diamond film is good with moderate conditions of gas pressure 6.0 kPa and substrate temperature 780 ℃.


In order to study the change rule of chip breaking limits in high speed machining,chip breaking experiments are performed by using the representative turning insert with 3D complex groove at eleven normal and high cutting speeds.Based on the analysis of the experimental data,the chip-breaking limit curve and the common-character chip-breaking limit curve are obtained. The relationship between cutting speed and critical feed rate and the relationship between cutting speed and chip breaking region are analyzed by the method of cubic spline function interpolation and their mathematical models are built by the method of quadratic polynomial fitting and cubic polynomial fitting.Then,the mathematical model with least error and easy calculation is chosen.The results of the cutting experiments show that the critical depths-of-cut is a constant value at various cutting speeds,and the curve of critical depths-of-cut is a perpendicular line.Therefore,the new mathematical model of the critical depth-of-cut is built.Combining with the representative turning insert with 3D complicated groove,the change rule of the critical feed rate is studied and the predictive model is deduced.The establishment of the chip breaking limit curve and the mathematical model of 3D complicated grooved insert lays a theoretical and experimental basis for the future investigation of the chip breaking mechanism of turning insert with 3D complicated groove in the field of high speed machining.


This essay offers an account of "sexting's" cultural value and social uses by examining celebrities' production and distribution of sexual imagery on Twitter. It argues that as a result of technological convergence and the prevalence of social media, teens and celebrities are using "candid" images of their sexuality to remediate themselves in a fashion that generates a specific form of user-generated capital. Ultimately, this perspective is used to argue that the anxiety surrounding high school-age sexters has less to do with teens documenting their sexuality than it does with the ways that new forms of text-based media articulate the libidinal status of teenage sexuality in contemporary culture.


AIM
To explore interruptions during medication preparation and administration and their consequences.

BACKGROUND
Although not all interruptions in nursing have a negative impact, interruptions during medication rounds have been associated with medication errors.

METHOD
A non-participant observational study was undertaken of nurses conducting medication rounds.

RESULTS
Fifty-six medication events (including 101 interruptions) were observed. Most medication events (99%) were interrupted, resulting in nurses stopping medication preparation or administration to address the interruption (mean 2.5 minutes). The mean number of interruptions was 1.79 (SD 1.04). Thirty-four percent of medication events had at least one procedural failure, while 3.6% resulted in a clinical error.

CONCLUSIONS
Our study confirmed that interruptions occur frequently during medication preparation and administration, and these interruptions were associated with procedural failures and clinical errors. Nurses were the primary source of interruptions with interruptions often being unrelated to patient care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
This study has confirmed that interruptions are frequent and result in clinical errors and procedural failures, compromising patient safety. These interruptions contribute a substantial additional workload to medication tasks. Various interventions should be implemented to reduce non-patient-related interruptions. Medication systems and procedures are advocated, that reduce the need for joint double-checking of medications, indirectly avoiding interruptions.


In order to better constrain calcium cycling in natural soil and in soil used for agriculture, we present the δ44/40Ca values measured in rainwater, groundwater, plants, soil, and bedrock samples from a representative karst forest in SW China. The δ44/40Ca values are found to differ by ≈3.0‰ in the karst forest ecosystem. The Ca isotope compositions and Ca contents of groundwater, rainwater, and bedrock suggest that the Ca of groundwater primarily originates from rainwater and bedrock. The δ44/40Ca values of plants are lower than that of soils, indicating the preferential uptake of light Ca isotopes by plants. The distribution of δ44/40Ca values in the soil profiles (increasing with soil depth) suggests that the recycling of crop-litter abundant with lighter Ca isotope has potential effects on soil Ca isotope composition. The soil Mg/Ca content ratio probably reflects the preferential plant uptake of Ca over Mg and the difference in soil maturity. Light Ca isotopes are more abundant in mature soils than nutrient-depleted soils. The relative abundance in the light Ca isotope (40Ca) is in the following order: farmland > burnt grassland > forests > grassland > shrubland. Our results further indicate that biological fractionation in a soil–plant system is a vital factor for Ca–geochemical transformations in soil surface systems.


A novel neural network architecture for image texture classification is introduced. The proposed kernel modifying neural network (KM Net), which incorporates a convolution filter kernel array and a classifier in one, enables an automated texture feature extraction in the multichannel texture classification through modification of the kernels and the connection weights by a backpropagation-based training rule. The first layer units working as the convolution kernels are constrained to be an array of Gabor filters, which achieves the most efficient texture feature localization. The following layers work as a classifier of the extracted texture feature vectors. The capability of the KM Net and its training rule is verified with basic problems of synthetic and fabric texture images, and also with a biological tissue classification problem in an ultrasonic echo image.


The effect of photodecomposed phosphine (PD-PH 3 ) treatment on the interfacial properties of phosphorus nitride/indium phosphide (PN/InP) metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures has been investigated. It is demonstrated that PD-PH 3 treatment is effective in reducing the interface state density for PN/InP MIS diodes fabricated by photochemical vapour deposition (photo-CVD). An interface state density as low as 3.1×10 11 eV -1 cm -2 is achieved by an in situ photoprocess consisting of PD-PH 3 treatment and subsequent PN deposition


In this paper, the authors discuss how the technical and ideological design of WeChat, a social media platform, enables the free flow of information within the context of heavy Internet policing and surveillance in the People's Republic of China. Through a case study of two instances of grassroots and social activism, the authors highlight how three unique features of WeChat---Moments, Friends' Circle, and Share to---enhance privacy and security issues related to information dissemination. In both cases examined here, the unique design of certain WeChat features enhanced privacy and security in ways that allowed for the free dissemination of information and public involvement through social media. In examining these cases, this study represents one of the first attempts to use a Chinese social media app to examine technology design within a particular political and social context. The authors hope the results of this study will further our understanding of the reciprocal relationship between technology, design, and the social context in which technologies are used.


From Introduction: "This bulletin summarizes and discusses copper-concentrator methods, results, and costs from 1929 to 1931 and includes an account of trends and developments in the industry."


This paper examines how the assets adjustment behaviors of investors in the developed country influence nominal exchange rate volatility in less-developed country.It is found that in a risky world with flexible exchange rates,open capital account,and investors' lagging assets adjustment,the lessdeveloped country would see its currency appreciate under the shock of product volatility of developed country.If the product volatility shock of developed country lead to an increase of product volatility in less-developed country,then whether the currency of less-developed country appreciates or not depends on whether the increase of product volatility in less-developed country is lower than that of developed country.Furthermore,the more investors in developed country care about wealth and social status,the more it would aggravate the exchange rate volatility of less-developed country.


The International Linear Collider requires an intense positron beam with yields of about 10 14 positrons per second. A polarized positron beam can be produced with a helical undulator passed by the accelerated electron beam to create a high power polarized photon beam. The photon beam penetrates a thin titanium-alloy rotating target wheel of 1m diameter with 500 to 2000 rpm rotation speed and produces polarized positrons. The system should run for 1-2 years without failure. A break down can occur due to the huge heat load in a short time (<1ms). The target design must keep the resulting thermomechanical stress below the yield strength and the fatigue limit of the material. FEM ANSYS simulations are used to evaluate the thermo-mechanical stress as well as the vibrations at the bearings of the rotating system. Results are presented with the goal to optimize the target wheel design parameters for a long lifetime.


Artificial Intelligence driven assistant system is a supporting system that is used to find path within limited defined area as well as it can be used for the automation purpose. The path finder feature helps to find the path between two places within limited defined area. This approach is very useful for the people who are new to the organization, as they do not know the path inside the organization. There exist a lot of artificial intelligence assistants that help people to solve their problem. So, here is the implemented system that solves the path related problems within the organization and also helps to automate the system.


The single factor and orthogonal experiments were made and the optimum media and conditions of producing bacterial cellulose with Acetobacter Xylinum1.1812 was obtained as follows: sucrose 5 %, protein peptone 1.5 %,citric acid 0.2%, Na2HPO4•12H2O 0.2 %, KH2PO40.2%, MgSO4•7H2O 0.03 %, alcohol 1 %, pH 6.8, and cultivation at 28℃ for 6 days. The yield is 2 g/L. The (rude cellulose was obtained by filtering, washing by 4 % NaOH solution, washing by distilled water and 0.5 % CH3COOH many times. The cellulose was isolated by Sephadex G-150 column chromatograpy. It is found that the cellulose's onent is single.


Over the last 25 years, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have emerged as powerful treatments for reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially among patients with hypertension and/or left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction [1,2]. More recently, however, several large randomized controlled trials have explored the benefits of ACE inhibitor therapy in a wider spectrum of moderate-to-high risk patients, for example non-hypertensives, those with previous stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or myocardial infarction (MI), and patients with diabetes [3–6]. Four years ago, this journal ran a commentary on the diabetic subgroup of the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) study [7], which included 3578 patients (38% of the HOPE study population), with diabetes and one other risk factor or previous cardiovascular complication, who were randomized to addon therapy with ramipril or placebo [8]. The ACE inhibitor conferred an impressive 25% risk reduction in the primary composite endpoint of acute MI, stroke or death from cardiovascular disease, and the number of patients developing microvascular complications was also reduced (24% risk reduction, p1⁄4 0.03) [8]. Whether this therapeutic effect was attributable to a modest further reduction in blood pressure (BP), or due to some other mechanism, caused considerable debate which tended to distract attention from the main unequivocal conclusion – that ACE inhibitor treatment reduced macroand microvascular complications in a broad spectrum of patients, including those with type 2 diabetes. In the last few months, further information has emerged about the outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes in large trials of ACE inhibitor therapy [9–11]. PERSUADE: the diabetes subgroup of EUROPA


The petrographic study is based on 88 samples obtained from 18 surface sections. The aim of this study is to shed more light on the facies, and the environment deposition for Nfayil formation, which is results depositional environments are interpreted as categorized by Flugel (2004). Show restricted carination on marine platform, deposited in very shallow hypersalline lagoon, was deposited in shallow marine environment with normal salinity. The age of Nfayil Formation, depending on the fossils content (Peneroplisfarsensis, Ammonia beccarii, Elphidiumsp., Textulariasp., Miliolids, rotalids). The assemblage fauna above the typical is Middle Miocene which is equivalent to Fat`ha Formation.


Compositions containing Enzyme E HUE FOR TISSUE AGENT. The present invention relates to compositions comprising certain lipase variants and a hue agent to tissues, as well as methods for producing and using these compositions. This includes the use of these compositions to clean and / or treat a local.


May 2014 | Page 1 of 2 What are lice? Lice (singular louse) are tiny, wingless insects that survive by feeding on human blood. They cannot jump or fly, and they do not burrow under the skin. Adult head lice or their eggs (nits) are found in the hair and are most often found behind the ears and at the base of the neck. Head lice usually lay their eggs on strands of hair about 4 mm or 1⁄4 of an inch from the scalp.


To improve the safety and economy of aircraft pallet use, an aircraft pallet damage monitoring method based on damage subarea identification and probability-based diagnostic imaging is proposed. In the proposed method, first, the large aircraft pallet monitoring area is divided into rectangular subareas, and a piezoelectric transducer sensor is pasted on each vertex of the rectangular subarea that is used to excitation and sensing the Lamb wave. Second, the damage subarea is identified according to the diagonal damage indexes. Third, the damage position in the damage subarea is calculated using the probability-based diagnostic imaging method and coordinate probability weighted algorithm. Finally, the aircraft pallet damage can be localized based on the damage subarea position. Frequency selection and damage simulation study results show that the Lamb wave is sensitive to aircraft pallet damage whose centre frequency ranges from 50 kHz to 150 kHz, and the damage index of a steel ball is less than that of all real aircraft pallet damage from 95 kHz to 125 kHz. The verification results show that the proposed method can locate aircraft pallet damage with an error of less than 2 cm.


In order to solve the problem that Gipps lane changing framework calculation is inefficient in lane changing model, a vehicle moving framework based on finite state automaton was proposed. Both discretionary and mandatory lane changing can be modeled in the framework. The driver was in certain state and made decision locally. Authors analyzed the condition of intention generation of mandatory and discretionary lane changing corresponding to critical distance and frontage traffic state respectively, and derived the critical lead and follow gap for safety. A traffic simulator was developed to validate the model in a two-lane road. The results show that the model can regenerate the realistic macroscopic characteristics of traffic flow and the microscopic characteristics of lane changing.


Abstract Background Orthogeriatrics inpatient ward. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic changed working patterns for many trainees. Remote telephone or video outpatient consultations became established practice, with clinically vulnerable staff able to support this provision. We adapted the use of telemedicine to provide remote clinical working for inpatient care and continued speciality training opportunities. Method Microsoft Teams video conferencing facilitated interaction between the specialist registrar working remotely and the on-site multidisciplinary team (MDT). Daily activities included virtual handover attendance, inpatient ward round consultations and MDT discussions. A portable computer enabled the clinician to see and interact with inpatients remotely. Access to electronic patient records facilitated timely decision making and enactment of management plans. Anonymous MDT feedback was collected via online questionnaires. This project conformed to service evaluation guidelines and ethical approval was not required. Results Fourteen staff members completed the feedback survey. Results were overwhelmingly positive, with 78.6% of respondents strongly agreeing that the senior doctor working remotely supported the MDT, facilitated complex clinical decision making and was beneficial to patient care. Feedback noted that some patients praised the 'clever' and 'innovative' method. Limitations included technical difficulties due to Wi-Fi connection, which contributed to communication not being as fluid as face-to-face consultations and increased ward round duration. Patient factors, namely hearing and cognitive impairment, limited the interaction that patients were able to have with the clinician via video link. Conclusion Video inpatient ward round consultations offer an effective opportunity for physicians to continue clinical patient-facing roles whilst working remotely. Furthermore, this minimises the impact of COVID-19 on specialty trainees, by providing continued training and assessment opportunities for individuals required to shield. This novel method affords a framework transferrable to clinicians from other hospital specialties who may be required to work remotely. Future reviews of patient and relative satisfaction with this process are required.


In this paper we determine the magnitude of phase fluctuations caused by atom-atom interaction in a one-dimensional beam of bosonic atoms. We imagine that the beam is created with a large coherence length, and that interactions only act in a specific section of the beam, where the atomic density is high enough to validate a Bogoliubov treatment. The magnitude and coherence length of the ensuing phase fluctuations in the beam after the interaction zone are determined.


PURPOSE
Nocturia (waking from sleep at night to void) is a common cause of sleep disruption and associated with increased comorbidity and impaired quality of life. However, its impact on mortality remains unclear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association of nocturia with mortality, both as a prognostic and causal risk factor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We searched PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and major conference abstracts up to December 31, 2018. Random effects meta-analyses addressed adjusted relative risks (RR) of mortality for people with nocturia and a meta-regression explored potential determinants of heterogeneity, including risk of bias. We applied the GRADE framework to rate the quality of evidence for nocturia as a prognostic risk factor for mortality and, separately, as a cause of mortality.

RESULTS
Of 5230 identified reports, 11 observational studies proved eligible. For the assessment of nocturia, ten studies used symptom questionnaires and one frequency-volume charts. Nocturia was defined as ≥2 episodes/night in six (55%), and as ≥3 episodes/night in five (45%) studies. Pooled estimates demonstrated a risk ratio of 1.27 (95% confidence interval 1.16-1.40; I2=48%; absolute 5-year mortality difference 1.6% and 4.0% in people aged 60 and 75 years, respectively). The pooled estimates of relative risk did not differ significantly across varying age, gender, follow-up time, nocturia case definition, risk of bias, or study region. We rated the quality of evidence for nocturia as a prognostic factor as moderate and as a cause of mortality as very low.

CONCLUSIONS
Nocturia is probably associated with an approximately 1.3-fold increased risk of death.


Radiolucent mandibular lesions are commonly evident on head and neck imaging and present a diagnostic dilemma for the radiologist. These may represent a broad spectrum of lesions arising from both odontogenic and nonodontogenic structures. Furthermore, few radiolucent lesions are often identified as incidental lesions by the radiologist on imaging performed for different reasons. Location of the lesion, borders, internal structure, and its effect on surrounding structures are the key points to narrow the differential diagnosis. Imaging is essential not only for the diagnosis of lesions, but also to guide therapy and monitor the treatment response. Here is a case report on traumatic bone cyst that presented as an asymptomatic radiolucent lesion in right posterior mandible and was discovered incidentally on routine radiograph. The lesion was diagnosed based on patient′s anamnesis and radiographic examination. This paper aims at discussing the differential diagnosis, various radiological characteristics, and their prediction in prognosis of the lesion.


The paper deals with possibilities of utilization of the non stationary hot-wire method for determination of thermal conductivity of lightweight expanded clay aggregate concrete coefficient and with products of this concrete. Determination of the thermal conductivity coefficient at lightweight concrete is quite difficult due to high in homogeneousness of the tested material being result of high open structure. The paper deals with measurement accuracy and predicative value of measured results and further it describes possibilities of the given measurement way in building practice.


gifted child today 39 Did you know that by the year 2025 one in four schoolchildren will be Latino (Gibson, Gándara, & Koyama, 2004)? That minority students, including Hispanics, are often underrepresented in gifted education programs (Worrell, Szarko, & Gabelko, 2001)? Did you know that out of all Latino groups, U.S. Mexican youth have the lowest aspirations for postsecondary education? That Hispanics frequently lack knowledge about college as an option (Kao & Tienda, 1998) and have the highest high school dropout rate as compared to other groups (Gándara, O'Hara, & Gutiérrez, 2004)? For the Hispanic students who do decide to pursue higher education, the majority "do not achieve their aims of acquiring a college degree, and quickly find themselves on the job market, unskilled and undereducated" (Gándara, 1995, p. 2). This article will focus on two education-related factors that appear to contribute to the schooling aspirations and self-efficacy of Hispanic youth: (a) sense of belonging at school, and (b) composition of the student's peer group. In particular, middle school students whose home language was Spanish were given an opportunity to participate in the Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language program. By placing these students in a program that honors their native language as an advanced academic skill rather than an academic risk factor, we hypothesized that Spanish-speaking eighth-grade students (a) would earn qualifying scores on the AP Spanish exam and (b) increase their sense of belonging at school, selfefficacy, and academic aspirations.


The Mountain Lake Region, as here considered, comprises approximately 500 square miles (1290 square km) in Craig, Giles, and Montgomery Counties, Va., and Monroe County, W. Va. Here the altitude varies from 396 m (1300 ft) at New Castle, Craig County, to 1329 m (4363 ft) at Bald Knob on Salt Pond Mountain in Giles County. Waters draining from the area contribute to three major river systems—the New River flowing to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the James River to Chesapeake Bay, and the Roanoke River to Albemarle Sound, N.C. Except for a few sphagnum bogs, sinkhole ponds, and impounded streams, the only lentic habitat larger than a few feet in diameter


Enlargement andmicrobial colonization ofthececum wereexamined inneonatal micesuckling mothers drinking either water oranaqueoussolution ofpenicillin. Thefull cecaincreased inweight atthesamerateinbothdrug-treated andcontrol miceduring thefirst 15to17daysafter birth. Thereafter, cecal weight increased ata greater rateinthedrug-treated animals thanintheuntreated controls. Atweaning, thececaintreated miceweretwotothree timesthesize of control organsandremained enlarged aslongaspenicillin was given. Theenlarged cecadidnotdiffer histologically fromthoseincontrols. Frombirth, thececal microflora inthedrug-treated micediffered qualitatively andquantitatively andincolonization pattern fromtheflora ofcontrol mice.Thececaof untreated animals were colonized primarily bylarge populations oflactobacilli during thefirst weekafter birth, small populations ofcoliforms andenterococci during thesecond week, andenormouspopulations ofbacteroides andcertain gramnegative fusiform-shaped anaerobic bacteria during thethird week.Incontrast, theorgansofthetreated micewerepopulated bylarge populations ofcoliforms andenterococci during thefirst weekandenormouspopulations ofclostridia and unusual gram-negative nonsporeforming bacteria during thethird week.These large abnormal populations were present inthececa as theyenlarged during thethird weekafter birth inthedrug-treated animals. Thesefindings confirm thatonlycertain populations ofanaerobic bacteria can acttomaintain cecal size innormal animals.


In order to improve the convergence rate and control accuracy of the electro-hydraulic servo control system, differential evolution optimization and genetic optimization are used to optimize the sliding mode factor and convergence rate in the sliding mode control. The input-output error and control input are taken as optimization indexes, and a penalty term is added when the error is greater than zero to ensure that the system will not produce large overshoot. K-type observer and saturation function are used for signal observation and jitter reduction. The structure of simulation program is designed with three parts of optimization algorithm module, sliding mode control module and evaluation function. The individual of algorithm has 30 chromosomes, and the system is iterated 50 times in Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results show that the two optimization algorithms can converge to get the optimal solution of the model, but the convergence speed of differential evolution algorithm is faster; the tracking effect after optimization is good, and the error curve changes in the range of ±0.00015 in the steady state, achieving a high control accuracy. The optimized system has faster convergence speed, higher position tracking accuracy and evaluation index as low as 2.15, which has better engineering application value.


Edited by Alison Mackey and Susan M. Gass. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2012 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. The aim of this chapter is to describe how survey studies are carried out in the context of SLA research. After a general introduction, we explain the required steps to design a survey that can provide valid and reliable data. Then we look at the main aspects of quantitative data analysis to be applied to questionnaire data, followed by a discussion of reporting survey results. Finally, we present an illustration of how the various principles of questionnaire design have been put into actual practice, with information on further resources that might be helpful in planning to conduct a questionnaire survey.


The optimization of water-using network in a complete batch process system with multiple contaminants was studied in this paper.A superstructure of water-using network and the NLP(non-linear programming)mathematical model are constructed,and the quantity of flow in each water-using process is limited between the minimum and maximum in order to accelerate convergence.In this study,storage tanks are used to bridge the time gap.First,the key contaminant in each water-using process was ascertained,and then the superstructure was simplified by eliminating the reuse and recycle of the water resource with maximum concentration of the key contaminant.Second,the model is solved by GAMS(General Algebra Model System),and then the minimum fresh water and waste water discharge are gained as well as the number and volume of central storage tanks.Third,the optimized water-using network is obtained.Two examples in literature are solved to illustrate the validity and advantages of the proposed approach,which requires fewer cycle periods of calculation and smaller number of central storage tanks than before.


This article examined the relationship of social affiliation and ideological orientation of the various representatives of the public idea of Kalmykia of the beginning of the twentieth century. It is marked an important role of public idea, which presents a personal beliefs and philosophical views of its individual representatives, as well as socio-political ideals and principles of certain social strata, public institutions, social movements and organizations, political parties. Attention is drawn to two similar period in Russia´s history, characterized by a surge of public-political ideas. It seems characteristic of public idea of Kalmykia of the beginning of the twentieth century, its features and content. Different directions of socio-political movement are considered by the example of individuals, the specific of their ideas in connection with the identity of the participants to a specific social class. In particular, these are the members of the nobility, clergy and intellectuals.


Skin cancers particularly malignant melanoma is lethal and difficult to identify in last stages. The variation of stages (Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Actinic Keratosis Cell, Basal cell and Malignant Melanoma) of Skin Cancer is highly ambiguous and difficult to recognize. To clearly recognize the stage of Skin Cancer is primarily important for effective treatment, which cause in increasing the survival rate from Skin cancer. In this work, we propose a methodology to reduce the probability of false diagnosis. In the proposed methodology, the data set is first preprocessed using K-mean Clustering algorithm. This preprocessing helps to increase the rate of reorganization by removing all irrelevant texture. The preprocessed data is then used to extract the features. The classification results illustrate that the proposed method can considerably improve in classification of Skin cancer disease. The computed accuracy of classification for this algorithm is achieved up to 94.4%.


This article discusses a pedestrian education program instituted in Longmont, Colorado by Debra Sadar, a Traffic Signal Technician. The program is designed to teach first and second graders the proper operation and timing of pedestrian signals. In the fall of 1992 she expanded the program and presented it to senior citizens at the local senior homes and centers.


Summary Venom from the desert ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, collected by 3 different techniques has been described. The observed effects of ant venom, when delivered by the intact viable animal into human skin, indicated a material of cholinergic properties which resulted in piloerection and sweating, and the capacity of eliciting an extensive and prolonged triple response. Absorption of the microgram quantities of venom are postulated to occur very slowly as a result of the time required for dissipation of the triple response and the absorption of the material through the lymphatics seems likely in view of the time course and distribution of the deep pain observed. Extracted venom by any one of the means described, was very toxic to female weanling mice and when given intraperito-neally the LD50 was 45 (AU) per kilogram of body weight.


This case describes the confrontational relationship between four trustees on the San Antonio School Board and the San Antonio School District's superintendent Diana Lam, a nationally recognized school reformer, who came to San Antonio in 1994. The case includes a dramatic board meeting where a closely divided board meets to buy out Lam's contract, and then, under intense pressure from business and political leaders, backs down. But despite significant improvements in student achievement, conflict returns. Two years after the first crisis, the board, again closely divided, buys out Lam's contract. This time the business leaders do not rally to defend her.


e13090Background: To observe the efficacy and side effects of apatinib in patients with metastatic breast cancer in non-clinical trial setting. Methods: Patients with metastatic breast cancer who w...


In the process of the acquisition of the sound system of French as a foreign language, Polish students face numerous difficulties at the level of recognition, differentiation and correct production of French vowels. This is true for oral and nasal vowels. This article concentrates on nasal vowels, and its aim is to present a comparative description of nasal vowels in Polish and French, including recent changes in their production. Moreover, the paper presents the study reporting difficulty with correct perception and articulation of French nasal vowels faced by advanced Polish learners of French. While the paper does not describe corrective proce-dures, it indicates the necessity of undertaking further studies aiming at optimizing the process of the acquisition of the sound system in a foreign language.


Dosage compensation (DC) on the X chromosome is a mechanism to counteract the deleterious effects by gene loss from the Y chromosome. However, DC cannot work efficiently if the X chromosome also degenerates. This indeed occurs in the neo-sex chromosomes in Drosophila miranda, where neo-X as well as neo-Y chromosomes are under accelerated pseudogenization. To examine the generality of this pattern, we investigated the evolution of two additional neo-sex chromosomes that independently emerged in D. albomicans and D. americana and compared their evolutionary processes with that in D. miranda. Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed that the pseudogenization rate on neo-X is also accelerated in the two species (though lesser extent in D. americana). We also found that neo-X-linked genes whose neo-Y homologs are pseudogenized tend to be upregulated more stringently than those whose neo-Y homologs remain functional. Moreover, the genes under strong functional constraints and highly expressed in the testis tended to remain functional on neo-X and neo-Y, respectively. Focusing on the D. miranda and D. albomicans neo-sex chromosomes that independently emerged from the same autosome, we further found that the same genes tend to have been pseudogenized in parallel on neo-Y. Those genes include Idgf6 and JhI-26 whose functions seem to be unnecessary or could be even harmful for males. These results indicate that neo-sex chromosomes in Drosophila share a common evolutionary trajectory after their emergence, which may be applicable to other sex chromosomes in a variety of organisms to avoid being an evolutionary dead-end.


A new procedure for the distribution of current in ships' electrical systems is described. The method employs a technique of transverse separation via paired choke coils, magnetically coupled and with antiparallel switching to compensate for unsymmetrical loading of the electrical currents. By redundant provision for the main users, it is possible to operate switchgear without any significant limitation of the ship's performance. The method allows for the continuous supply of power, even in the event of short-circuiting a bus-bar and reduces the risk of accidents. An application example is given in which the new arrangement is compared with the conventional longitudinally coupled system incorporating a current limiter. Order from BSRA as No. 54,361.


Background— Traumatic experiences in early childhood are associated with increased risk for developing mood and anxiety disorders later in life. Low serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT 1A R) density during development has been proposed as a trait-like characteristic leading to increased vulnerability of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Methods— To assess the relationship between early-life stress and alterations in the serotonin system during development, we used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure in vivo 5-HT 1A R density and apparent dissociation constant (K Dapp ) in the brain of juvenile rhesus monkeys exposed to the early-life stress of peer-rearing. Results— In general, 5-HT 1A R density and K Dapp were decreased in peer-reared compared with control mother-reared animals. However, increase in receptor density was found in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex of peer-reared females. Conclusions— These findings suggest that exposure to an adverse early-life environment during infancy is associated with long-term alterations in the serotonin system and, support previous studies suggesting that reduced 5-HT 1A R density during development may be a factor increasing vulnerability to stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Further, alterations in the serotonin system appeared to be gender- and region-specific, providing a biological basis for the higher prevalence of affective disorders in women. Low 5-HT 1A R binding, measured by PET and in vitro binding assays of postmortem brain tissue, is found in individuals with several anxiety-related disorders, including depression, social anxiety and panic disorders (1–8). Moreover, a spontaneous variation in the HTR1A gene promoter that results in lower levels of HTR1A expression (9) is also associated with anxiety-related personality traits (10).


The article reviews the book "Multiple Perspectives on Interaction: Second Language Research in Honor of Susan M. Gass," edited by Alison Mackey and Charlene Polio.


The mean-field-like gauge-invariant variational method formulated recently is applied to topologically massive QED in three dimensions. We find that the theory has a phase transition in the Chern-Simons coefficient {ital n}. The phase transition is of the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless type and is triggered by the liberation of Polyakov monopoles, which for {ital n}{approx_gt}8 are tightly bound into pairs. In our Hamiltonian approach this is seen as a similar behavior of the magnetic vortices, which are present in the ground state wave functional of the compact theory. For {ital n}{approx_gt}8, the low energy behavior of the theory is the same as in the noncompact case. For {ital n}{lt}8 there are no propagating degrees of freedom on distance scales larger than the ultraviolet cutoff. The distinguishing property of the {ital n}{lt}8 phase is that the magnetic flux symmetry is spontaneously broken. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}


With the increasing percentage penetration of wind energy, accurate Wind Speed/Power Forecasting (WSF/WPF) has become a crucial tool for power trading and electricity grid operations. The physical and statistical methods used to forecast mostly rely on meteorological information, site specific data and historical data from wind farms. Most of the existing works are limited to utilize single input data source and a prediction variable. However, some gap in using multiple data sources and multiple prediction variables as input has been identified to substantiate and enhance forecast accuracy of these models. In this paper, a multi-source and multivariate surveillance approach has been conducted using time series methods and machine learning algorithms. Firstly, the proposed model uses multiple sources to understand the deciding prediction variables. Secondly, an analogy among time series Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) with Long Short-term Memory units (LSTMs) is used. Although, the prediction models using single data source are economical for forecast providers and wind power producers considering multiple sources can certainly improve the forecasting accuracy thus reducing wind curtailments and imbalance penalties. A comparative approach has been made using data sources obtained for Gulf of Khambhat, a south to north penetration of the Arabian Sea on the western shelf of India. The obtained results show that the forecasting accuracy can be improved by considering multiple sources of input data.


Service trade has become the key point to promoting economic growth, so its sustainable development has attracted more and more attention. On the basis of serious analysis of current development of China's service trade, the reporter discusses the main causes which constraint the development of trade service, and then puts forward some suggestions to promote sustainable development of China's trade service.


In spring 2002 the European Conference of Ministers and Transport (ECMT) and the European Commission's Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) launched a joint project under the title 'Comparing existing taxes and charges with an optimal pricing benchmark'. Using the TRENEN model, its purpose was to assess the impacts of optimal marginal cost based pricing upon traffic volumes, charges collected from road users and government tax revenues. The analyses were carried out for Finland, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and France. The results were reported to the ECMT Council of Ministers meeting in April 2003. This report describes the results for Finland and the key findings for the other countries that took part. The Finnish results provide an important example of transport conditions in sparsely populated European countries in comparison with Central Europe, and by the same token an important example of the impacts of marginal cost pricing under these variable conditions. In Helsinki, the implementation of marginal cost pricing in place of existing transport charges and taxes (as well as public transport subsidies) would increase the cost of movement. It would help to spread out congestion peaks and in this way bring considerable savings in time costs and reduce other external impacts. One of the factors with the greatest impacts in the theoretical calculations is the expansion of areas subject to car parking charges, which would clearly increase the revenue collected from road users in the Helsinki area. In less congested areas and especially in more sparsely populated regions, the cost of movement would primarily be reduced from current levels. This is because current transport charges and taxes on average exceed the costs of external impacts caused by transport. In the large and/or congested countries of Central Europe, marginal cost pricing would according to the TREREN model not only generate increased public revenues, but also promote general well-being. The results for Finland are different. Marginal cost pricing would reduce central (or local) government revenue due to the low marginal costs of road networks with low traffic volumes and thus to lower pricing compared to existing road transport taxation. However, the model suggests that there would be some minor beneficial impacts on well-being in Finland as well. This report is available at http://www.mintc.fi or http://www.mintc.fi/oliver/upl477-1304.pdf


Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease, resulting from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which was recognized by the WHO as a pandemic in March 2020. As of June 15, 2021, over 4 million people have died from COVID-19 globally. Cases still remain in some parts of the world, like India, where less than 40% population has been vaccinated yet. Patients with comorbidities are more likely to acquire COVID-19 and experiencing poor clinical outcomes. The "heart" is one of the vital organs affected by COVID-19. Examples of major cardiovascular diseases that can compromise getting severely ill from COVID-19 include heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, and pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure, stroke, and more. According to the current data, ischemic heart disease also known as coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the causes of more severe COVID-19 illness with greater mortality. Since COVID-19 is a novel disease based on previous experience with respiratory infections, patients with CHD should be given special attention, otherwise, it may lead to death. A cardioprotective diet and balanced nutrition which can also help in maintaining immunity are some of the essential strategies for the prevention and management of CHD patients during COVID-19 and other viral infections. Therefore, this review aimed to provide an appropriate nutritional recommendation and supplementation in the management of CHD patients during viral infections with perspectives for COVID-19 (for both who can take orally or via enteral tube feeding).


Sickle cell disease is a genetic disease with autosomal recessive transmission due to the presence in the red blood cell of abnormal hemoglobin called hemoglobin S. It would be the most widespread hemoglobinopathy in the world affecting nearly 120 million people according to the WHO. This disease is very frequent in Africa south of Sahara, where in Senegal it affects almost 10% of the population. It is responsible for polymorphic clinical manifestations, in particular ophthalmologic. However, the latter are very little described by the literature in our country. We report our experience of ocular lesions found in heterozygous sickle cell subjects monitored in our department.


The technique of Noise-Immune Cavity Enhanced Optical Heterodyne Molecular Spectroscopy (NICE-OHMS) is employed to detect rovibrational transitions of at wavelengths of 1.4  m. This intracavity-saturation approach narrows down the typical Doppler-broadened linewidths of about 600 MHz to the sub-MHz domain. The locking of the spectroscopy laser to a frequency-comb laser and the assessment of collisional and further line broadening effects result in transition frequencies with an absolute uncertainty below 10 kHz. The lines targeted for measurement are selected by the spectroscopic-network-assisted precision spectroscopy (SNAPS) approach. The principal aim is to derive precise and accurate relative energies from a limited set of Doppler-free transitions . The 71 newly observed lines, combined with further highly accurate literature transitions, allow the determination of the relative energies for all of the 59 rovibrational states up to J = 6 within the vibrational parent of , where J is the overall rotational quantum number and , , and are quantum numbers associated with the symmetric stretch, bend, and antisymmetric stretch normal modes, respectively. An experimental curiosity of this study is that for strong transitions an apparent signal inversion in the Lamb-dip spectra is observed; a novelty reserved to the NICE-OHMS technique. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


A formulation of safe products was developed and 4 pilot batches of bitumen were obtained in small quantities - replacing binders from local waste of oil and fat and oil production. The origin and characteristics of the used local waste and additional components are considered. A scheme for obtaining a bitumen-replacement mixture for the use of insulating and roofing coverings has been developed. Experiments on the utilization of local waste by the physicochemical process and the process of raw material oxidation have been carried out. Experimental batches of bitumen-replacement mixture have been prepared for the use of insulation and roofing. The results of comparative tests of pilot batches of bitumen-replacement mixtures for physical and mechanical characteristics in accordance with GOST 6617-76 are presented.


In this article an attempt is made to treat 'textuality* from the viewpointof 'inferential processing'. To this end, text Interpretation is conceived of in terms of comtructive processes based on different types ofinference (lexical inferences, syntactic inferences, semantic-logical inferences, and actionoriented inferences). These inferences contribute to the construction of textual coherence relations in a way which is accounted for by eight hypothetical principles, Ηρι~Ηρ%. Furthermore, the specific role that knowledge resources play is clarified by applying some of these hypothetical principles to a segment of text. In this way a rational basis is suggestedfor the concrete assigmnent of meaning where there are inferential gaps and where the recipient's psychological characteristics, such s interest, intelligence, attention, expectation, sensitivity, etc., may come into play. The article also aims at extending the domain of inference to the domain of grammar. It will be made clear that a method which places exclusive reliance on rules of grammar cannot do justice to the main semantic properties of texts. Some issues arising out of this position (2.1-4.3) are elaborated further in van de Velde(1981). 1. Introductory remarks Many flelds in both the sciences and the humanities have to rely on Information present in discourse and other occurrences of 'textual phenomena'. The main issue which arises here is how the Information present in textual phenomena is processed. This question leads to a number of others, namely, 0165-4888/81/0001-385 $2.00 Text l (4) (1981), pp. 385-406 © Mouton Publishers, The Hague 386 Roger G. van de Velde what conditions have to be fulfilled in order to achieve optimal degrees of Interpretation? In what way are different knowledge sources involved? What kinds of knowledge result from the reception of textual phenomena? The present article will consider these questions from the specific angle of human reasoning. That is, the assumptions and principles guiding our approach are based on the view that the very existence of textual phenomena is mainly dependent on the functioning of human reasoning. In order to make our central viewpoint both acceptable and clear we shall present the argument in five stages. The first stage (1.1-1.3) attempts to sketch the main features to be taken into account in studying textual phenomena. In the second stage (2.1-2.2) we shall clarify our view that the construction of text meaning takes place on the basis of different types of inference. The third stage (3.1-3.2) relates these different types of inference to a set of hypothetical principles !8, which account for the conditions for constructing coherence relations in textual phenomena. In the fourth stage (4.1-4.3) we shall put into practice some of the hypothetical principles Hp!-Hp8. In so doing we shall illustrate the different roles that knowledge has to play both äs the basis for inferential processing and äs the outcome of inferential processing. In the fifth part of this paper (5.1-5.2) some far-reaching consequences are derived from the present approach and some further perspectives are sketched for the fields of research which have to do with 'texts', 'discourse', 'sequences of sentences', 'multi-sentence combinations', etc. 1.1. Approaches to textuality Textuality' and related terms and concepts have a special Status among the properties of human natural language. Some text linguists, text theorists, and semioticians are willing to treat 'textuality' äs a mere analogue to common notions like 'grammaticality', 'well-formedness', 'acceptability', 'appropriateness', and the like. They thus set themselves the task of distinguishing between 'texts' that belong to one specific human natural language HNLj and those verbal phenomena that do not qualify äs 'texts' of HNLj. Some workers in the theory of literature, poetics, and literary aesthetics are disposed to relate 'textuality' to notions like Tictionality', thereby stressing that literary 'fictionality' can be realized in textual phenomena. Some grammarians, semanticists, philosophers, workers in AI, and logicians Textudity and human reasoning 387 have shown a growing interest in 'textuality'. The main issues with which they have been concerned are paragraphs äs grammatical units, the flow of thought, the thread of discourse, thematic progression, chains of inference, and similar topics, which are all bound to textual aspects of human natural language. We could, of course, extend the list of those who are particularly interested in 'textuality' by also mentioning cognitive psychologists, neurolinguists, theologists, sociologists, anthropologists, etc., who have recently become involved in a multidisciplinary approach to textual phenomena. However intense the interest in 'textuality' might be, there is a lack of generally accepted criteria that would enable us to explicitly specify the intuitive notion of 'textuality'. It also seems highly questionable to define related terms like 'text', 'discourse', 'paragraph' and 'multi-sentence combination'. (For further remarks concerning controversial issues in text linguistics we refer the reader to Ballmer, 1981: 165-169; de Beaugrande, 1981: 113-122.) l .2. On the consensus about textuality Regardless of this lack of clarity and notwithstanding the controversial nature of the issues, some degree of unanimity has been reached concerning the following points: (a) Textuality' should not be accounted for merely by an isolated treatment of surface characteristics (concerning proforms, tense, deictics, etc.), which can mainly be detected by studying the sequential order of textual phenomena. (b) Deep characteristics of textual phenomena should lead to the investigation of different hierarchical structures present in the semantic properties and relations of textual phenomena. (c) A knowledge of both deep and surface characteristics mentioned in (a) and (b) is a prerequisite for any further investigation of textual phenomena denoted by terms such äs 'grammatical cohesion', 'coherence', 'macrostructure', 'global structure', 'global plan', 'isotopia', 'propositional content', 'ideational content', 'text basis', 'thematic networks', 'thematic progression', 'underlying logical form', 'semantic-logical structure', and the like. (d) Textual phenomena denoted by the preceding terms may be identified, (re)constructed, and represented by reference to certain Systems of logic. 388 Roger G. van de Velde l .3. Textuality and its rules With respect to (d) it is beyond question that logical rules govern the production and reception of textual phenomena. But some questions remain, namely: How do logical rules play a governing role? Also, can logical rules play an independent part or are there reciprocal roles to be defmed for logical rules and other leading principles? How do logical rules interact with the rules of grammar? In what way are both logical and grammatical rules in their turn interactive with psychological strategies, with communicative maxims, with cooperative principles, and with sociocultural conventions? With regard to all these questions, research in text linguistics has only made a very modest start . The treatment of one question results in partial and tentative answers or gives rise to an increasing number of new questions and problems. As far äs the increasing number of questions and problems is concerned, this article will treat only a very limited area of research without intruding in the related flelds. Our main aim is to sketch some guidelines concerning the intricate role which human reasoning plays in the comprehension processes of HNL macrophenomena. Comprehension of HNL macrophenomena is, of course, not only dependent on human reasoning. There are some other psychological factors involved, which at present cannot be systematized in a precise and complete way because the main conditions of empirical research concerning these particular factors are not fulfilled in current psychological work. Moreover, these factors are so different from those that mainly interest workers in AI that no attempt has been made to relate them to research on understanding machines. In this respect we might mention just a few factors which are in need of further empirical investigation. Individuais vary greatly in tbe amount and kind of background knowledge which they have at their disposal. They may not be equally gifted with intellectual abilities, capacities of concentration, sensitivity, and working memory. They might furthermore be influenced in their comprehension processes by heterogeneous contextual and sociocultural settings. Psychological variables such äs intentions, attitudes, beliefs, wishes, desires, expectations, etc., might determine in very intricate ways the assignment of meanings. Moreover, connotations, associations, synaesthesia, empathy, and simüar determinants might be involved. This is to mention only a few factors, which are of a highly subjective nature. It is, of course, not the aim of the present article to underrate the degree of subjectivity which might be present in interpretative actions. The Textudity and human reasoning 389 acceptance of subjective factors, however, does not prevent us from striving for some degree of objectivity by laying down the main rational steps a recipient has to take in comprehending textual phenomena. In specifying these rational steps we shall assume that human reasoning belongs to logic, äs far äs the rules and normative devices of argumentation and validity are concerned, and that the actualized processes of reasoning performed by individuals reside in the domains of cognitive psychology. In the later stages of our approach we shall refer to human reasoning using the technical terms 'inference', 'drawing inferences', 'making inferences', 'inferential processing', and the like. Actualized inferences include mainly those cognitive processes which relate (fragment


A study was conducted at Department of Horticulture, MPUAT Udaipur on response of storage duration and packaging materials under passive modified atmosphere storage of tuberose cut spikes cv. Suvasini to find out the suitable packaging material and storage duration in tuberose to avoided seasonal glut in market. The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design with factorial concept and with three replications. The cut spikes were harvested when 1–2 florets showed colour, after pre cooling, pulsing with 20% sucrose solution cut spikes were packed in five wrapping materials (LDPE-25μ, 50μ, PP-25μ, 50μ and news paper wrapping served as control) and stored on five level of storage duration (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 days). The cut spike packed sleeves were stored vertically under refrigerated condition at 3–4°C, 85–90% relative humidity. The stored spikes were removed after storage duration and kept in corrugated fibre board boxes for 6hrs simulated transit and various postharvest parameters were recorded. Polypropylene sleeves exerted varying effect on keeping quality of spikes. Vase life was maximum in polypropylene-25μ (11.64 days) and minimum in low density polyethylene 50μ sleeves. The keeping quality of unpackaged stored tuberose cut spikes was highly deteriorated, which decreases with increase in refrigerated storage duration. An ideal level of CO2 (1.98%), lower level O2 (13.84%) and C2H4 (0.78 ppm) respectively were recorded at 3 days storage duration packed in polypropylene-25μ. The spikes stored in polypropylene-25μ with 3 days storage level also showed highest basal florets diameter (3.55 cm), vase life (11.64 days), gain in fresh weight (7.72%) and water uptake (34.39 ml), which continued to decrease with increase in storage duration irrespective to packaging material. Optimum level of CO2(2.48%), lower level O2(12.36%) and C2H2(0.80 ppm) after 6 hrs simulated transit were recorded at 3 days storage in polypropylene-25μ. On the basis of three year study, it is recommended that polypropylene-25μ along with 3 days storage duration were found most suitable for post harvest life under passive modified atmosphere storage of tuberose.


Introduction: The impact of violence on urban development has been an important subject of attention  lately. The consequences of the exposure to violence,  such as homicides  and drug consumption , in particular, result in  physiological, neurological and interpersonal alterations. Objective- This study has the objective of  verifying the relation between the exposure to community violence and  the use of  illegal drugs and  engagement in criminal activities. Methods: This is a retrospective study with an observational and descriptive approach. It was conducted by analyzing  the medical records of  prisoners who  were convicted of murder andtypifying the crime and information about the use of illegal drugs. Results:  Out of 40 convicted prisoners  whose medical records where analyzed, 100%  were male with the prevalence  of the 21 to 40 years-old age group (n=30, 75%). As for their schooling, 47.5% (n=19) did not  finish elementary school, 35% (n=14) were illiterate and 17.5% (n=7) finished high school.  Filtering the data by th type of crime, it was observed that all prisoners have been convicted of murder, based on futile motivations, as described in  article 121. Conclusion: Under the influence of illegal  drugs people tend to lose their emotional control and display symptoms like: hallucinations, euphoria, psychosis, among others, which could be a motivation to the practice of crimes with exquisite cruelty.


Abstract: For the characters in Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell's class-conscious North and South, tolerance does not seem to be a sufficient end in itself. The novel is filled with instances of people's hasty judgment of others and consequent miscommunication, which often worsens relationships between individuals of different social classes. And yet, some of Gaskell's most initially prejudiced characters - John Thornton, Nicholas Higgins, and Margaret Hale - end up enacting the greatest social reforms. Others, like Mr Hale, who are consistently non-judgmental, are portrayed as weak and vacillating. They do not judge unfairly, but they also fail to correct societal ills. This essay aims to show how in North and South, the confident assertion of one's beliefs, regardless of their truth or falsehood, leads to a confrontation with truth that produces positive social change. By contrast, tolerance alone is associated with passivity and lack of action. Through the portrayals of the confident Thornton, Higgins, and Margaret, and the indecisive Mr Hale, Gaskell suggests that the honest revelation of one's bias is the essential starting point for personal enlightenment, social reconciliation, and by extension, stronger community.Tolerance, in our modern context, is generally seen as a positive attribute. People of all backgrounds are expected to shun socioeconomic as well as other prejudices in order to avoid judging others unfairly or imputing negative stereotypes to them. For the characters in Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell's class-conscious North and South, however, tolerance does not seem to be a sufficient end in itself. The novel is filled with instances of people's hasty judgment of others and consequent miscommunication, which often worsens relationships between individuals of different social classes. And yet, some of Gaskell's most initially prejudiced characters - John Thornton, Nicholas Higgins, and Margaret Hale - end up enacting the greatest social reforms. Others, like Mr Hale, who are consistently nonjudgmental, are portrayed as weak and vacillating. They do not judge unfairly, but they also fail to correct societal ills. In North and South, the confident assertion of one's beliefs, regardless of their truth or falsehood, leads to a confrontation with truth that produces positive social change. By contrast, tolerance alone is associated with passivity and lack of action. This significant pattern is clearly shown through the effects of the confident attitudes of Thornton, Higgins, and Margaret, and the indecisive tolerance of Mr Hale. Through these collective portrayals, Gaskell suggests that the honest revelation of one's bias is the essential starting point for personal enlightenment, social reconciliation, and by extension, stronger community.This article's emphasis on confrontation, rather than mere tolerance, as a necessary means to social change in North and South becomes significant when we consider the genres in which Gaskell's work has usually been placed. North and South is typically seen as an 'industrial novel' characterised by the clash among divergent social classes, primarily between the bourgeois mill owner and the factory worker.1 Scholars' analyses of the novel tend to focus on how the characters resolve - or fail to resolve - the class tensions created by industrialisation. Gaskell composed her works for a broad Victorian readership that expected an educational dimension in their fiction and habitually enjoyed reading aloud in the family circle.2 Elements of the social narrative and the domestic love story as well as the industrial novel coalesce in North and South in a way that highlights the radicalism of her literary campaign for frank, authentic debate among both women and men. Joseph Kestner rightly recognises a reform emphasis in the novel that is associated with social protest fiction. He considers Margaret as Gaskell's filtering perspective in her exploration of the themes of 'religious doubt and the nature of progress' and the co-inherent tensions between classes, genders, and geographic regions; he claims that Margaret inspires Thornton's reformed approach to his workers but that, as an emblem of southern agrarian tradition, she is ultimately assimilated into his industrialised world. …


We  present  a  rare  case  of  the  combination   of  cervical  cancer  and  unilateral complete   aplasia  of  the uterine  adnexa.    Female  genital  tract anomalies  account  for  about  4% of all congenital  malformations. Congenital  malformations  of the  adnexa  are  very  rare,  accounting  for  less than  0.5%. In  the  presented case, this abnormality was found incidentally during surgery for cervical cancer. Medical genetic counseling confirmed  the presence  of the isolated congenital  pathology.


The complexity of most chemical industry always tends to create a problem in monitoring and supervision system. Prompt fault detection and diagnosis is a best way to handle and tackle this problem. There are different methods tackling different angle already proposed in literature. One of the popular methods is artificial neural network which is a powerful tool in fault detection system. In this study, a production of ethyl acetate by a reaction of acetic acid and ethanol in a batch reactor is applied. The neural network with normal and faulty event is executed on the data collected from the experiment. The relationship between normal-faulty events is captured by training network topology. The ability of neural network to detect any process faults is based on their ability to learn from example and requiring little knowledge about the system structure.


ChemmineR is a cheminformatics package for analyzing drug-like small molecule data in R. Itslatest version contains functions for ecient processing of large numbers of small molecules,physicochemical/structural property predictions, structural similarity searching, classi cationand clustering of compound libraries with a wide spectrum of algorithms.Figure 1: Selected functionalities provided by the ChemmineR package.In addition, ChemmineR o ers visualization functions for compound clustering results andchemical structures. The integration of chemoinformatic tools with the R programming envi-ronment has many advantages, such as easy access to a wide spectrum of statistical methods,machine learning algorithms and graphic utilities. The rst version of this package was pub-lished in Cao et al. (2008). Since then many additional utilities have been added to thepackage and many more are under development for future releases (Backman et al., 2011).


Fast and slow magnetosonic cnoidal and solitary wave structures in electron–ion plasmas are studied in the presence of an oblique magnetic field. Under the low-frequency wave assumption, cold ions are taken to be dynamic, while inertialess electrons are assumed as isothermally heated. The two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic model is applied to present the basic set of dynamic equations for magnetosonic waves in the presence of oblique magnetic field. The linear analysis is performed for studying fast and slow modes of magnetosonic waves and also discussed its limiting cases with magnetic field angle. The nonlinear analysis is done via the reductive perturbation method, and the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation is derived with appropriate periodic boundary condition. The cnoidal wave and soliton solutions for both fast and slow magnetosonic waves are presented. The effects of variations of magnetic field angle and plasma beta on both fast and slow magnetosonic cnoidal and soliton wave structures are discussed using the space plasma parameters that exist in the literature.


Shipping and presentation package (1) from a blank of corrugated cardboard for a plurality of goods, with a bottom (2), a first side wall (3), a second side wall (3), wherein the second side wall (3) perpendicular to the first side wall (3), a triangular stack corner (9), wherein the stack area (9) in the region of the upper edge extends (12) of the first side wall (3) and the second side wall (3) between them and parallel to the ground (2), a folding part (11) of the first side wall (3), which is designed as a side wall flap (13) via a bend line (10) is connected to the other part of the first side wall (3), characterized, in that the side wall flap (13) in such a way on the bend line (10) with the first side wall (3) and a plurality of fold lines (10) and the stacking area (9) with the second side wall (3) is connected, that a folding the side panel flap (13) such that substantially perpendicular to the ground (2) to extend, causing the parallel extension of the stack area (9) to the bottom (2).


TpIFTEEN thousand years ago, when some of our more sensible ances tors had retired to paint pictures in caves in the south of France, the Scandinavian peninsula lay buried under a glacier. Even as recently as the seventh millennium b.c., when the arts and vices of civilization were already flourishing in the towns of Mesopotamia, the part of the earth's crust that is now Scandinavia was still depressed by the weight of half a mile of ice. Although the country has been rebounding at a great rate ever since, many Scandinavians remain depressed today. One reason may be that the Ice Age, as any Eskimo knows, is not yet over. The Scandinavian Airlines tourist who comes and goes like a swallow in the opalescent summer rarely glimpses the wintry or Pleistocene side of Nordic character, which accounts for its toughness, but which also re sults in some of the world's highest rates of alcoholism and suicide. Perhaps because it was colonized so recently, the land the Norse called Midgard has always been treated as such?as middle ground, that is? by some of its inhabitants; as a good place to be from, on the way to some such place as Asgard, the abode of the gods. Rome, Byzantium, Nor mandy, and Britain were all chosen in their turn as earthly versions of As gard. For a while, in the later Stone Age, the earliest emigrants could sim ply retrace their fathers' footsteps back to Europe, for the Danish Sounds were dry then, and dry land in the southern North Sea made Britain a peninsula before Scandinavia became one. By Roman and Viking times, given access to long ships, emigration continued to be almost as easy as it was fashionable. If one looks at a map of the land of the midnight sun (and remembers what happens when the sun goes down), it is easy to picture history as a series of glacial pulsations, or Gothic spurts, extrud ing adventurous Northmen toward successive seats of power, and milder winters. Nowadays, possibly because the northern weather is improving, the emigrants are less warlike than they used to be, and Visigoths and Vikings have tended to give way to movie actresses and physicists. The last of the great landwasters, Gustavus Adolphus, died more than three hundred years ago. It was only a few years before his time? in 1579 to be exact?that the animal kingdom seems to have caught the idea and carried it on, for that is the first year in which the now famous lemmings are known to have been on the march. Biologists, of whom I am one, have been taking a lively interest in lemmings lately. These rat-sized hyperborean field mice were un


In reality, industrial machines are not running
perfectly and will be damaged. Damage to the machine can
be detected by its vibration analysis. The force that causes
vibration in the machine comes from unbalance,
imperfection of part or function of the machine, and also
because of a crash or bearing fault, which is the topic of
this research.
The purpose of this research is to know the type and
level of bearing fault and to know the effect of running hour
induction motor against damage to the bearing. This
research was conducted at PT Amman Mineral Nusa
Tenggara by taking the case of damage to the induction
motor bearings in the SWIS pump 62PU003. To know the
damage to bearing done by spectrum analysis of velocity,
acceleration and enveloping, while to know the level of
damage then the overall trend in spectrum compared to
standard ISO 10816-3.
In general, the results of this research concluded
that based on velocity, enveloping, and the acceleration
spectrum, indication of bearing fault such as defect in cage,
ball, outer raceway and inside raceway occur at impulses
frequency 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, and 6X RPM FTF, BSF,
BPFO and BPFI aligned with the peak amplitude of
vibration at a frequency of around FTF, BSF, BPFO, and
BPFI. For the cause of bearing fault can be a condition of
unbalance, misalignment and structural looseness. A
bearing fault also affected by the machine running hours,
along with increasing running hours of the machine,
bearing fault increase.


Rett syndrome (RTT) is an intellectual deficit and movement disorder that develops during early childhood in girls. Affected children are normal until 6–18 months of age, after which symptoms begin to appear. Most cases of RTT are due to mutations in the MeCP2 gene leading to disruption of neuronal communication in the central nervous system. In addition, RTT patients show peripheral ailments such as gastrointestinal (GI), respiratory, and cardiac dysfunction. The etiology of intestinal dysfunction in RTT is not well‐understood. Reports on the presence of MeCP2 in the peripheral nervous system are scant. As such we examined the levels of MeCP2 in human and murine GI tissue and assessed MeCP2 expression at various developmental stages.


Severe COVID-19, characterized by a cytokine storm and lymphopenia, has led to increased levels of mortality due to multiple organ failure. Brain-associated comorbidity with an increased mortality rate develops in approximate one-third of COVID-19 patients. Thus, further central nervous system considerations and improvement of COVID-19 neurological comorbidity could reduce the mortality rate that ensues with COVID-19. A cytokine storm has been recognized to be a major characteristic of COVID-19 neurological comorbidity through cerebrospinal fluid analyses. In the review article by Meier et al. the emphasis was directed at the importance of the brain cytokine storm in neurodegeneration and cognition, which caused the large loss of labour force productivity. However, how the brain cytokine storm is shaped by COVID-19 infections that is reflected in neurological comorbidity pathophysiological processes, still has to be elucidated. We posit that the involvement of the gut-brain axis in the brain cytokine storm in COVID-19 neurological comorbidity is a significant determinant of COVID-19 severity and is of therapeutic implications. The intestinal microbiota presents a complex structure that develops throughout life presenting trillions of commensal bacteria that exert multiple beneficial effects on the human host. Dysregulation of the gut microbiota (gut dysbiosis) is associated with metabolic disease in various organs through bidirectional interactions such as happens with the gut-brain axis. Gut dysbiosis alters the inflammatory tone of the gut that leads to chronic inflammation with decreased anti-inflammatory mechanisms. These effects result from reduced abundance and adverse shifts in the diversity of the commensal bacterial cohort with subsequent decreases in beneficial metabolites namely, butyrate, bile acid derivatives and tryptophan. The gut-brain axis has been often reported involved in neurological disorders and thus the intestinal dysbiosis could be incorporated into the narrative of neurological manifestations of COVID-19. The patients with COVID-19 neurological comorbidity are characterized as those with advanced age, hypertension, renal failure, and neoplastic diseases. All these risk factors are involved with gut dysbiosis. Therefore, gut dysbiosis could be a major contributing factor in the formation of the cytokine storm in the brain. Furthermore, the systemic inflammation from other organs infected by SARSCoV-2 also contributes to the formation of the cytokine storm in the brain. A study showed that the mortality is highest in those COVID-19 patients with both neurological and other major organ manifestations, followed by those with neurological manifestations only and then by those with no systemic manifestations. In addition, gut dysbiosis could also involve in the local vascular abnormality to cause fatal thrombosis. The local vascular inflammation is not only caused by


As today's business activities have largely transcended national boundaries, global forms of work become an increasingly common phenomenon in multinational enterprises (MNEs). Such global work arrangements are defined as situations in which employees who are collaborating with each other are not only culturally diverse but often also geographically distant from one another and thus embedded in different national cultures and contexts (Hinds, Liu, & Lyon, 2011). The presence of cultural, linguistic, spatial, and temporal distances involved in global work—as well as distinct political, economic, and societal institutions— make the coordination of work and the management of people within MNEs particularly challenging (Aycan, 2005; Brock, Shenkar, Shoham, & Siscovick, 2008; Edwards & Kuruvilla, 2005; Kostova & Roth, 2002; Raghuram, Garud, Wiesenfeld, & Gupta, 2001; Welch & Welch, in press). These firms hence face pressures to continually realign their human resource (HR) systems with strategies aiming at operating in a global context. Moreover, identifying, attracting, developing, managing, and retaining talent capable of effectively handling global complexity is of critical importance for MNEs and their HR management (HRM) systems (Farndale, Scullion, & Sparrow, 2010). Within the fields of international business (IB) and HRM, global work, strategic HRM, and global talent management have thus far remained largely separate research streams. Existing IB research has mainly focused on the strategic design and local adaptation of HRM systems (e.g., Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994; Schuler & Rogovsky, 1998), the role of HRM as an antecedent to MNE-level outcomes (e.g., Caligiuri, 2014), and the management of international assignments (e.g., Reiche, Kraimer, & Harzing, 2011; Wang, Tong, Chen, & Kim, 2009). Existing HR research has largely focused on potential cultural differences in responses to HR policies and practices as well as the appropriateness of global versus local HR strategies. While previous research has significantly contributed to the academic debate and progress of 602217 JOM41710.1177/0149206315602217Journal of Management research-article2015


Crime victims have different needs when turning to the police. Most of the needs of victims have long been studied. However, practical studies on police officers' understanding of victims' needs are lacking. A practical study was therefore conducted by the State Police of Latvia in 2012 (1). Crime victims' and police officers' samples were compared, so as to analyse and understand the victims' critical needs. Based on the results of this research, a specific training programme for police officers was developed.


The results showed that Fokienia hodginsii mixed forest owned larger stand biomass (F.hodginsii and Cunninghamia lanceolata mixed forest 233.66 t·hm~(-2),F.hodginsii and Pinus elliottii mixed forest 219.45 t·hm~(-2),whereas C.lanceolata pure forest 188.78 t·hm~(-2),F.hodginsii pure forest 178.37 t·hm~(-2),and P.elliottii pure forest 181.44 t·hm~(-2),respectively) and more reasonable stand structure as compared with C.lanceolata,F.hodginsii,and P.elliottii pure forests,the F.hodginsii and C.lanceolata mixed forest and F.hodginsii and P.elliottii mixed forest might be popularized as the timber forest afforestation model.


In this work, two simple and fast methods for the determination of candesartan cilexetil in pharmaceutical forms, having it as a sole drug, were developed and validated. Candesartan cilexetil is a prodrug hydrolyzed to candesartan during absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Candesartanis a selective AT1 subtype angiotensin II receptorantagonist used in the management of hypertension. The HPLC method uses a Chromolith RP-18e column. The mobile phase is acetonitrile - 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid aqueoussolution in ratio 50.0: 50.0 (v/v) in an isocratic elutionat a flow rate of 1.5 mL min-1. The diode array detector isoperated at 251 nm, and column temperature is set to 20  o C. The UV-derivative spectrophotometric method is based in the linear relation between drug concentration and first-order derivative spectrophotometric measurement. Alkalineaqueous solutions (0.1 M NaOH) of candesartan cilexetilexhibit a maximum at 246 nm and a minimum at 263 nm (1D 246-263). The sum of these two absolute values is the signalused on the range concentration 6.34 mg L-1 to 25.34mg L-1. The accuracy of the method, as mean recovery percent, is 98.9 % and the relative standard deviation, 0.76 %. Both methods were validated according to parameters established for specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, stability and limits of quantification and detection. The limits of detection and quantification, chromatographic parameters and selectivity obtained are better than other published methods. These methods were applied for the content uniformity of solid dosage pharmaceutical forms of two commercial brands.


This paper considers the advantages to the crew of an o p t i m u m internal atmosphere and pressure and the effects on a sealed cabin structure. The reliability of the cabin and its resistance to fast fracture are discussed and shown to be essentially constant for various internal pressures wi th proper design. Certain safety advantages of a cabin designed for h igh pressure are pointed out , for example, a greater resistance to meteoroid penetrat ion and a longer decompression t i m e should a penetrat ion occur. Means of increasing the t ime of decompression to permit effective emergency act ion are discussed, and the need for complete reliability of the sealed cabin system is e m phasized.


Objective:To evaluate the expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in fetal liver stromal cells during hypoxia,in an attempt to provide evidences for cell therapy of brain ischemia. Methods: Cells from 14.5-day-old mouse fetuses were cultured and passaged. Subconfluent cells of the fifth passage were cultured in hypoxia condition (95% N2 + 5% CO2 ). TGF-β1 mRNA and TGF-β1 were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot,respectively. Results: TGF-β1 mRNA and TGF-β1 levels,which are very low in normally cultured cells, increased significantly in hypoxia-cultured cells. Expression of TGF-β1 mRNA increased from (5.47±2.76)% to (10.38±3.65)% at 4 h of hypoxia(P0.01),and reached peak (%) at 16 h,which was 4.36 folds that of the control. Western blot showed that TGF-β1 protein is increased from (2.97±1.75)% to (8.03±3.94)% at 4 h of hypoxia (P0.01),and peaked at 16 h of hypoxia (% vs %,P0.01).Conclusion: Expression of TGF-β1 mRNA and TGF-β1 protein is increased in fetal liver stromal cells under hypoxia condition,indicating that fetal liver stromal cells may play an important role in therapy of ischemic/hypoxic injury such as cerebral ischemia.


Controlled blasting technology is widely applied in urban reconstruction and demolition of building foundation or high structure.The paper introduced successful application of this technology in demolition of 80 m high cooling tower of Xinan power plant in Henan Province.


Two-element Mg-Al-CO2-3-LDHs,three-element Mg-Al-Zn-CO2-3-LDHs and four-element Mg-Al-Zn-Fe-CO2-3-LDHs were prepared through coprecipitation by using self-made reactor with MgCl2 · 6H2O、AlCl3 · 6H2O、 ZnCl2 · 6H2O、FeCl3 · 6H2O、Na2CO3 as raw material and were added into the pulp to prepared a series of neotype LDHs flame retardant(FR) papers.The LDHs were characterized with FT-IR and the mechanical properties and combustibility of the FR papers were tested.The results showed that the flame retardant property of the FR papers improved when multiple-element LDHs were added.The four-element Mg-Al-Zn-Fe-CO2-3-LDHs possessed better flame retardant capability than the three-element Mg-Al-Zn-CO2-3-LDHs,and the two-element Mg-Al-CO2-3-LDHs in turn.The IO of FR paper reached 25.3% with adding 30% three-element Mg-Al-Zn-CO2-3-LDHs and reached 25.0% when 25% four-element Mg-Al-Zn-Fe-CO2-3-LDHs was added.The FR papers met the demand of GB/T 14656—2009 with flaming lasted 5 s,glowing lasted 30 s and 95 mm of char when 30% four-element Mg-Al-Zn-Fe-CO2-3-LDHs was added.


Transversal adaptive filters for digital signal processing have traditionally been implemented into DSP processors due to their ability to perform fast floating-point arithmetic. However, with its growing die size as well as incorporating the embedded DSP block, the FPGA devices have become a serious contender in the signal processing market. Although it is not yet feasible to use floating-point arithmetic in modern FPGAs, it is sufficient to use fixed-point arithmetic and still achieve tap-weight convergence for adaptive filters. This paper examines the feasibility of implementing an adaptive algorithm, namely the LMS algorithm, based on fixed-point arithmetic, using the Altera Stratix device.


Retrospective study of complications and lethality in 284 victims with combined brain and loco-motor system injury allowed to determine the most important complications that were the cause of lethal outcomes in a great number of cases. Those complications were edema and cerebrum dislocation, acute bleed, early and delayed pneumonia. Purulence of soft tissue wounds and open fractures significance influenced the duration and outcome of treatment. Criteria and schemes of outcome prognosis as well as development of soft tissue wounds and open fractures purulence were worked out.


This paper proposes a sensor model in three dimensional (3D) space, where the height of sensor above ground is variable and the position of sensor on the ground is limited. Traditional sensor models treat the sensor placement area as a film and there is no placement limits as well. As a consequence, the number of sensors is very large and the performance is not such ideal as simulation. In this paper, we develop a novel model for sensor placement, which makes sensors possible to be set at different height above ground, so that the coverage rate can be analyzed in 3D space and the simulation result can be more dependable. We also propose a corresponding 3D coverage rate evaluation method to be used for our proposed 3D model. In order to test our proposed model and evaluation method, the system is designed and numerical and graphical simulators are developed. Experiments are conducted to quantify trade-off relationship between coverage rate and cost, i.e., the number of sensors, which can make sensor placement strategy more practical. From the experimental results, we confirmed that the proposed 3D model and evaluation method is effective in a 3D space.


The design and operation of acousto-optic (AU) Bragg cells at center frequencies in excess of 3 GHz are considered. The high frequencies involved severely limit the choice of AO material and mode due to acoustic attenuation. In addition, transducer design becomes increasingly difficult. Experimental results for Bragg cells operating at center frequencies up to 7 GHz are presented.


Abstract Two new nordammarane-type triterpenoids, 3β-acetoxy-20-oxo-21-nordammaran-23-carboxylic acid methyl ester (1) and 3β-acetoxy-17β-dammaranic acid (2), along with two known cycloartane-type triterpenoids (3–4), were isolated from the petroleum ether-soluble extract of Artemisia argyi. Their structures were elucidated based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis. All compounds were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro. Compounds 1–4 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase with IC50 values ranging from 38.34 ± 0.23 to 105.54 ± 0.33 μM. Graphical Abstract


1. The Documentary Field 2. Braided Channels - Documentary Voice 3. Cinematic Scenes of Life 4. New Waves of Documentary 5. Australian Television Takes On Independent Documentary 6. Documentary and the Film Finance Corporation 7. Changing Relations: The AFC, Film Australia and Documentary in the Era of the FFC 8. Australian Broadcasting Cultures and Recent Documentary Practice 9. Documentary and the Edge of Reality 10. Documentary and Civics 11. Documentary Present and Future.


In this paper, we successfully synthesized homoepitaxial diamond with high quality and atomically flat surface by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. The sample presents a growth rate of 3 μm/h, the lowest RMS of 0.573 nm, and the narrowest XRD FWHM of 31.32 arcsec. An effect analysis was also applied to discuss the influence of methane concentration on the diamond substrates.