Genetic factors affect the initiation and progression of endometrial carcinoma (EC). The routine detection of genetic factors involved in EC has not been extensively performed in Chinese clinical practice, however. In this review we summarise EC‐related genetic factors, including Lynch syndrome‐associated mutations and non‐Lynch syndrome‐associated genetic predispositions found in Chinese women, and their potential clinical applications. In addition, we propose a clinical testing strategy for patients with EC and their family members. The objective of this review is to advance basic research regarding the genetic factors involved in EC and to improve its clinical implementation in China.


The removal of Radon induced Lead from liquid scintillator was extensively studied in preparation for KamLAND's low background phase. This work presents the results from laboratory experiments performed at the University of Alabama and their implications for KamLAND and future low background experiments using carbon based liquid scintillator. It was observed that distillation was the most effective purification procedure and that one must consider a non‐polar and non‐ionic component of Lead in order to reach the levels of radio‐purity required for these new class of ultra‐low background experiments.


Abstract In this paper we consider random trees associated with the genealogy of Crump–Mode–Jagers processes and perform Bernoulli bond-percolation whose parameter depends on the size of the tree. Our purpose is to show the existence of a giant percolation cluster for appropriate regimes as the size grows. We stress that the family trees of Crump–Mode–Jagers processes include random recursive trees, preferential attachment trees, binary search trees for which this question has been answered by Bertoin [7], as well as (more general) m-ary search trees, fragmentation trees, and median-of-(
$2\ell+1$
) binary search trees, to name a few, where to our knowledge percolation has not yet been studied.


Coarse granular materials are widely used in construction. The required mechanical characteristics of the materials are determined by the specific civil engineering application. These coarse granular materials are often obtained by quarrying intact rocks. Growing environmental awareness, the need to ensure sustainability of the construction industry, and public concern to safeguard the countryside limit the use of quarrying sites and encourage the industry to look for alternative materials for engineering applications. The work described in this paper was undertaken to examine the characteristics of waste granular materials in regard to their potential for replacing quarried stone in vibro ground improvement processes. Three materials were considered: quarry waste, building debris and crushed concrete. These materials were examined under various testing conditions: dry, wet, and mixed with 10% and 20% clay slurry. Tests were carried out in a 305 mm × 305 mm direct shear box. The performance of these mater...


NOTHING could more effectually demonstrate the enduring place held by The Federalist in American public law than the publication of three editions of it in I96I-I73 years after these expositions of the Constitution of I787 were first brought together in book form.' No less striking is the excellence of editorship and format. The historical scholar who wishes to study the word changes in early editions, after the original newspaper publication in New York City, and who desires a full yet concise account of the long dispute over the authorship of twelve of the articles, has both wants taken care of in the introduction and notes to Jacob E. Cooke's massive volume. The student of history and politics who wants an unmatched exposition of the place of The Federalist in republican philosophy has his needs satisfied in Benjamin F. Wright's contribution to the John Harvard Library. The "Federalist addict" who requires something light in his pocket (and light on his pocketbook) has Clinton Rossiter's well-introduced and well-printed paperback to draw on. These three editions, so varied in their appeal to various classes of readers, share a third excellence besides good editing and good printing. They agree completely in regard to the disputed authorship of the papers, even to the point of leaving two articles in what I (and perhaps they) regard as needless doubt. Numbers 49 through 58, claimed by both Madison and Hamilton (except that Hamilton ascribed Number 54 instead of Number 64 to Jay), are credited without reserve to Madison. Numbers 62 and 63, likewise long disputed, are given Madison labels by all three editors, with the notation that some doubt remains about them. Wright and Rossiter accept the proMadison findings of Douglass Adair and Edward G. Bourne, who depended largely on internal evidence. Cooke relies chiefly on the contrast between Madison's claim, "maturely considered and emphatically stated," and Hamilton's lumped and casual numerical list, which "probably was made without reference to the essays and revealed a lack of interest" in their authorship. The minor doubt expressed by all three editors about Numbers 62 and


Pulpotomy is the most commonly used treatment modality used in cariously involved primary vital primary teeth. Formocresol shows a good clinical success rate over the period of years but concerns raised due to its toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity. The current review of literature provides an overview of recent advances in pulpotomy medicament that can be used as an alternative to formocresol.


We report on the development and use of an analytical framework designed to articulate the language demands English learners (ELs) encounter on performance assessments such as those used in inquiry-based science classrooms. The Science Assessment Language Demands (SALD) Framework, grounded in functional and interactional views of language and language use, focuses on participant structures utilized in performance assessments, associated modes of communication called for and written texts and genres that students are required to read and produce. We employed the SALD Framework to document the range of language demands present in the performance assessments that accompany three fifth-grade science units. The assessments collectively call upon students to engage in four participant structures (whole class, small group, pair and individual), three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational) and a broad array of genres. These demands may present barriers with regard to ELs' ability to demonstrate their scientific knowledge and skills. On the other hand, the language involved in performance assessments may also present opportunities, both for expanding the options ELs have for demonstrating their understanding and by promoting the development of a wider repertoire of language skills than might be fostered in classrooms preparing students for more traditional assessments.


After the quantitative and qualitative overall researches of errors made by intermediate and advanced-level learners of Chinese from English speaking countries in Chinese discourse coherence, the author finds common errors in such aspects as ellipsis, sentence order, reference, choice of sentence patterns, substitution, lexical reiteration and inappropriate use of connectors. Through analyzing the origin, form of eight different errors and the statistics, and tracing back to the negative and positive transfer by their mother tongue, the author concludes that the difficulties in learning Chinese discourse coherence are the main reason for errors made by such students.


Inhibition performance of 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro[1,4] benzothiazin-4-yl)acetic acid named (P1), newly syn thesized on the electrochemical behavior of mild steel in molar hydrochloric acid was investigated by using the we ight-loss method, potentiodynamic polarization and electroche mical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. EI S diagrams show that adsorption of (P1) increases the transfer resistance and decrease the capacitance o f interface metal/solution. The inhibition efficiency for this compound studied increased with the increase in the inhibitor concentrations to attain 93% at the 10-3M of (P1). Effect of temperature is also studied between 308 a nd 353 K. Correlation between quantum chemical calculations a nd inhibition efficiency of the investigated compou nd is discussed using the Density Functional Theory metho d (DFT)


In this paper a brief introduction to Henstock-Kurzweil integrals is given based on previous studies. This paper explains about definition and some properties of Henstock-Kurzweil integral. Henstock-Kurzweil integral is generalized from Riemann integral. The theory of the Riemann integral was not fully satisfactory. Many important functions do not have Riemann integral. So, Henstock and Kurzweil made the new theory of integral. Keywords— gauge, fine partition, Henstock-Kurzweil integral.


– To critically assesses the extent to which consumers are being empowered by the internet, focusing specifically on the role of the internet in the context of online pension information provision., – A mixed method study involving focus groups and observational research. Focus groups explored consumer meanings of empowerment and pension information needs. Actual information provision was measured using a content analysis of a sample of 20 pension web sites from 1996 to 2004 accessed from the internet archive., – While consumers generally feel that the internet is empowering, the sense of empowerment has not been fully realised in the context of pensions. The findings reveal gaps between consumer needs for information and information provision with implications for pension providers and consumers., – Relies on consumers' own reported information needs. Pensions are complex and consumers may not fully appreciate the most relevant information in order to make an informed pension decision. Researching professional financial advisors could close the loop and help understand what information consumers should be using to make decisions., – Provides useful insights for pension providers and employers in understanding the value of pension web sites and the features/facilities that consumers value most in using them., – Addresses a key concern of government – insufficient pension provision – and helps to understand how the internet can be used to engage consumers in pensions and encourage them to take greater responsibility for and ownership of their retirement saving.


A FLIGHT RECORDER MPV CONTENT IS WITHIN A CHAMBER TWO WALLS 11, 13 SEPARATED BY SUBSTANCE FIREPROOF 12. MEMORY ORGANS ARE MADE HYBRID CIRCUITS H1-H8, TYPE EEPROM. THEY ARE ASSOCIATED CARD ORDER FORM MAY FUSE. HYBRID CIRCUITS H1-H8 AGENCIES ARE TO RESIST PRESSURE. FLIGHT PARAMETERS ARE REGISTERED ALTERNAT IN TWO CARDS AND MEMORY CM1 CM2 AND IN HYBRID CIRCUITS THAT INCLUDE THEM.


The reaction performance of metathesis of ethylene and 2-butylene to propylene on molybdenum-based catalysts was carried out in a fix-bed reactor.Mo/Z was the best among the catalysts employed for metathesis reaction.Addition of K,Mg or La enhanced the stability of Mo/Z,while P,B,Cl or F destroyed it.The MgMo/Z catalyst gave 2-butylene conversion of 60%~90%,C 3H 6 selectivity above 90% during 120 h on stream,at 60~70 ℃under 1 0 MPa,and with C 2H 4/2-C 4H 8 mole ratio 1 5~3.


The article calls attention to the very serious problem arising from the extreme deficiency of housing for the under-privileged classes in Italy. After stressing the need of more efficient action in this field, the author illustrates the part that could be played in carrying out more extensive housing plans by the existing "Autonomous Provincial Institutes for People's Houses", and refers to their experience as organisers and administrators, which would fit them for a wise management of domestic and foreign capital.


USB (Universal Serial Bus) is one of the most commonly seen interfaces. It stresses the functionality of Plug-and-Play as well as automatic detection and system resource disposition. Therefore, many peripheral applications are derived from this. Within them, storage devices of USB transport interface are most receptive and popular among for users, because of the data transport is increasingly fast and convenient. Unfortunately, the surveillance and management systems targeting to the applications for USB port are not common, and this would result with information flaw in the security. In this paper, we will propose a novel efficient authentication protocol to rectify and enhance the above mentioned problems.


SUMMARY Quality online maps and mapping resources, while indispensable to library users, can be challenging to locate. The range of available map types continues to expand and includes road maps, historical collections, political and physical atlases as well as maps and images of the moon and certain planets. Interactive mapping sites continue to grow and provide unique opportunities for users to interact with socioeconomic, historic, and physical data while creating unique and personalized maps. This article serves to highlight the best online resources for both map image collections and interactive mapping sites found on the Internet today.


The present invention discloses a system and method for service request sewing / embroidery machine. Sewing or embroidery machine manually or automatically apply through wired and wireless communication networks to the regional service center for repair service, regional service centers and machines from the nearest service contact, in order to repair the machine to quickly carry out the service. The method of requesting a fault service machine comprises the steps of: due to a failure such a case where the sewing machine is stopped, the transmission through wired and wireless communication network service request information; in the regional service center, the received service request information to the nearest second distance machine a service terminal; and a service personnel after the first failure service processing, sends to the service center through a terminal of the first regional service staff before processing.


A novel material of self-shaped ZnO-embedded biomass carbon foam pellets (ZnO@BCFPs) was successfully synthesized and used as fluidized particle electrodes in three-dimensional (3D) electro-peroxone systems for metronidazole degradation. Compared with 3D and 2D + O3 systems, the energy consumption was greatly reduced and the removal efficiencies of metronidazole were improved in the 3D + O3 system. The degradation rate constants increased from 0.0369 min−1 and 0.0337 min−1 to 0.0553 min−1, respectively. The removal efficiencies of metronidazole and total organic carbon reached 100% and 50.5% within 60 min under optimal conditions. It indicated that adding ZnO@BCFPs particle electrodes was beneficial to simultaneous adsorption and degradation of metronidazole due to improving mass transfer of metronidazole and forming numerous tiny electrolytic cells. In addition, the process of metronidazole degradation in 3D electro-peroxone systems involved hydroxyethyl cleavage, hydroxylation, nitro-reduction, N-denitrification and ring-opening. The active species of ·OH and ·O2− played an important role. Furthermore, the acute toxicity LD50 and the bioconcentration factor of intermediate products decreased with the increasing reaction time.


Microprocessor 100 may include a retire queue (102) and one or more data speculation verification units. Each of the data speculation verification units is configured to verify data speculation performed on operations. Each data speculation verification unit generates a respective speculation pointer identifying outstanding operations on which data speculation has been verified by data speculation verification units. The retire queue 102 is configured to selectively retire the operands, where operations are dependent on the speculation pointer received from each of the data speculation verification units. A microprocessor, a data speculation, memory and dispatch unit, the prefetch unit.


The configuration stability of the elliptical orbit satellite constellation requires the stabilization of the ascending node right ascension,the argument of perigee and the mean anomaly at the same time.Because of the secular perturbation variations of the ascending node right ascension,the argument of perigee and the mean angle caused by the initial deviations of the semi-major axis,the inclination and the eccentricity are linear time-variant,then the active biases of the semi-major axis,the inclination and the eccentricity can realize the self-stabilization design of the elliptical orbit satellite constellation,and so the configuration stability will be improved.The design results of the example constellation show that the self-stabilization design is effective to enhance the configuration stability of the elliptical orbit satellite constellation.


The Internet of Things (IoT) aims at connecting things to the Internet in a peer-to-peer paradigm for data collecting and data sharing in our daily life. A blockchain is an immutable append-only ledger maintained by a peer-to-peer network, where the whole network needs to reach a consensus on the transactional data stored on the ledger. With the decentralization nature, the design of IoT and blockchain aligns with each other well. Blockchain has been integrated with the IoT to solve the existing IoT problems. Our research focuses on analyzing the solutions proposed in academia and the methodologies used to integrate blockchain with the IoT. Through conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) on peer-reviewed, published articles on blockchain-based solutions for IoT, we gather the knowledge on current technical approaches implemented to integrate blockchain into the IoT. Majority of the research in this space is either at a conceptual level or at a very early stage. However, we only found 35 published papers with the real implementation of blockchain in the IoT platforms. We elicit the challenges of the IoT that were being addressed, and the detailed design of the blockchain-based solutions from two perspectives, namely data management and thing management. The evaluation methods and metrics used by those works are also being recorded and analyzed. In addition to the analysis of the literature, we provide our insights on improving the existing solutions and research methodology based on our expertise and experience on the blockchain.


This article discusses issues related to the development of a new algorithm for the recognition and measurement of marks in optical-electronic angle measuring devices. The basis of the algorithm is the Hough transform. The article contains the results of functional testing and measurement results using this algorithm.


A Master of Science Thesis in Electrical Engineering Submitted by Anas Swedan Entitled, "Acoustic Detection of Partial Discharge using Signal Processing and Pattern Recognition Techniques", May 2010. Available are both Soft and Hard Copies of the Thesis.


intervals the transplants produced osseous growth. 2. In each of six rabbits a portion of rib was subperiosteally resected. The superficial layers of the periosteum were destroyed, and the pleural layers left intact. In all there was callus formation only on the pleural aspect. Osteoblasts were not poured out from the bone. 3. In two animals the twelfth rib was resected entirely, including both epiphyses. The rib was completely regenerated in both cases.


Under the influence of Orphan of the Zhao Family (one of dramas in Yuan Dynasty of China), Voltaire wrote Grand Orphan in Song Dynasty of China. But the two dramas have evident differences either in the structure of narration or in the theme. The reason of this is the intentional misunderstanding of the former drama and Confucianism for Voltaire to devalue Christian ethics, praise Master's Ethics, Prodaim the slogan, "civilization conquer savageness" and insist on the enlightened monarchy.


Solar flares are known to accelerate electrons to high energies, resulting in the movement of these particles throughout the Sun's atmosphere. Although this has been known since the middle of the last century, it is still unknown quite how these particles are accelerated, how they are transported and where the energization takes place. This thesis is concerned with these key questions of solar physics, using a mixture of analytical and numerical modelling
in conjunction with the valuable diagnostic tool of the X-rays observed by the Reuven-Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). First, imaging spectroscopy with RHESSI is shown, focussing on how to infer to the underlying electron distribution producing the X-ray photons and how this can be used to produce more realistic models. Secondly, a model where the region in which the electrons are accelerated, stopped and emit X-rays is the same is presented, driven specifically by observations of such sources by RHESSI. This admits a steady-state kappa distribution solution and it is shown that the relaxation of an originally thermal Maxwellian population of electrons to this final state proceeds as a wavefront in velocity space. Finally, a model which takes account of recent studies showing the extended nature of the acceleration region within the loops of solar flares is considered. For the first time the intrinsic spatial dependencies of acceleration and transport are explicitly studied, showing the importance of accounting for this in future modelling of solar flares.


The relationship between the Indian state and its citizens has been constantly evolving since independence. One of the ways, which illustrates a change in the conceptualization of Indian citizens, is how civilians were and are treated in cases of disasters. In my paper, I will look at the historical trajectory that has led to the recent establishment of the new disaster management framework in India epitomized by new institutions such as the National Disaster Management Authority and the National Institute for Disaster Management. I will touch on the modernist project of developing India through science and technology and based on the study of programmatic documents, historical material and fieldwork; I will explore the link between disaster and citizenship. Whereas the Civil Defence Act 1968 treats civilians as those to be modernised, shuffled around and dominated, the Disaster Management Act 2005 is full of language reminiscent of international development 'speak', seeking to demonstrate respect for local knowledge, indigenous technology and the power of community. I am going to explore how this change from a top-down framework to community based disaster management occurred.


ABSTRACT A master promoter of cell growth, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is upregulated in a large percentage of cancer cells. Still, targeting mTOR using rapamycin has a limited outcome in patients. Our recent results highlight the additional role of mTOR as a tumor suppressor, explaining these modest results in the clinic.


The rapid transition to emergency remote teaching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic altered public education as schools closed across the United States. Eighty percent of teachers reported interacting with students online, often utilizing free technology like Zoom and Google Workspace for Education. This article provides a comprehensive overview of state education agencies' recommendations for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 school closures in early 2020. Reviewing 337 publicly available documents from 50 state education agencies reveals a fragmented response: state education agencies relied on nongovernmental organizations to do the work of governance.


Based on large scale of field experiment and theory research,and by utilizing mathematical treatment method of Taylor's series expansion and neglect the high-order term to simplify the nonlinear problem into the linear problem.A model of calculating strip steel intermediate thickness in the load-quick-set cold continuous rolling was established by using the coherent principle of Newton iteration method,which was applied in on the 1220mm five-stand cold tandem mill in Bao Steel tandem cold mill strip thin company.Economic benefit is greatly improved.


Objective This review describes the safety factors of intravenous infusion in elderly patients and nursing measures,to investigate the approprite nursing measures which give elderly patients safe,effective,reliable and humanized medical service. Method The clinical data of 240 cases of elderly patients was statistically analysised,the cases will be randomly divided into two groups,120 people each group,including control group and experimental group. Control group: the hospital routine intravenous infusion therapy,Experimental group:except the conventional infusion therapy,patients were gave the corresponding nursing intervention measures,and the infusion inspection card. All patients were investigated of satisfaction and complications by a questionnaire survey. Results The clinical data for statistics found that the experimental group superior to control group on the puncture of the skin,the patient's satisfaction,concern about intravenous infusion in patients and significant difference( P 0. 05). Conclusion In the process of transfusion,adopting effective nursing measures according to the patients' condition,which can improve the nurses' service consciousness,avoid and reduce various transfusion complications,improve the relationship between nurses and patients,guarantees the safety and satisfaction for elderly patients with venous infusion.


Due to the vast changes in labor market, work-family dynamics has been the most challenging issue in modern life. Consists with the rise of positive psychology, work-family researchers have focused...


SUMMARY: Suspicion of Western panaceas has a long history in Russia: these current protesters are continuing a polemic which began in 1855, when Tsar Alexander II signaled his intention to transform Russia from a primitive despotism into some kind of modern state. The great émigré radical thinker Alexander Herzen was soon at loggerheads with the theorists of the emerging Russian liberal movement. Then, as now, the issue was one of transition, in which the questions "Whither Russia?" and "Whither history?" were closely intertwined. Aileen Kelly believes that this early debate is well worth revisiting, both because of its relevance to the current crisis in Russia and because of Herzen's remarkably prescient insights into the self-deceptions of ideological thought.  Kelly argues that by 1859 Herzen had come to accept the futility of seeking to engage in dialogue with those who believed that Russia's path of progress had been mapped out in advance, and he declared open war on the Westernizers' doctrinairism, asserting in his press that the main threat to the commune's future existence came not from the government but from liberals well versed in political economy and legal theory, and devoted to the principles of Prussian bureaucracy and French centralism. Herzen finally conceded that the dogma-bound Hegelian liberals (the "Russian Germans", as he called them) were immune to all persuasion; but he continued his efforts with a more subtle and sympathetic opponent: the writer Ivan Turgenev.  The article shows Herzen waging war on two fronts: against the liberals' denigration of popular aspirations, and against the radicals' belief that these aspirations coincided with their own exalted ideals. He tells the left that the truth, so far as can be ascertained, is more prosaic – the people want bread and land; and he tells Turgenev that he perfectly understands his horror of the knee-deep mud, droughts, floods and hard labours that face those with faith in Russia's separate path – a path only dimly glimpsed through a thick fog which may never be dispelled. He holds out no hope that peasant socialism, even if developed with the help of Western science and social theory, will embrace all the civilized values that they both hold dear; its justification is that it is more likely to correspond to the aspirations of the vast mass of the population than an imported system imposed by an elite.  Kelly concludes that our culture still has a deep-seated allegiance to the comforting idea of a single order underlying the diversity of life. The myths and prejudices that nurtured this belief survive in the metaphors commonly used to represent development in nature, history and culture, as movement through time from simple to complex, less to more, primitive to advanced. It is precisely to this phenomenon that Herzen refers in his deconstruction of the discourse of Russian liberalism, and the same ideological bias can be seen in assessments of his own thought by 20th century Western liberal scholars.


It has long been accepted that career development is a life-long process (Super, 1990; Vondracek, Lerner & Schulenberg, 1986). Similarly, there has been acceptance for many years that career development is a complex process as evidenced by the range of theories that have been proposed to account for it, such as trait and factor theory, personality theories, and developmental-contextual theory. Such a range of theories is testament to the myriad of factors that influence the career development of individuals (Patton & McMahon, 1999; Super, 1990; Vondracek et al., 1986). With these theoretical formulations in mind, these authors report on the development of a K-12 career education program.


Polyphenolic compounds containing two gallate groups have been shown to be effective inhibitors of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). In this work we use Density Functional calculations to examine energetically-accessible configurations of two digallate compounds exhibiting disparate inhibitory activity toward PAI-1. In addition, we examine the partial charges of potentially acidic protons and the relative stability of the respective conjugate bases of a select group of PAI-1 inhibitors. This analysis was carried out to determine whether such characteristics can be used to distinguish between effective and less effective inhibitors. An examination of the stable configurations of CDE-008 and CDE-056 indicates that the range of distances between gallate rings for the poor inhibitor (CDE-008) does not overlap with the range of distances for the better inhibitor (CDE-056). However, no clear differences were observed in the partial charge distribution or relative stability of conjugate bases for the group of inhibitors examined here. Degree Type Open Access Senior Honors Thesis Department Chemistry Subject Categories Chemistry This open access senior honors thesis is available at DigitalCommons@EMU: http://commons.emich.edu/honors/217 A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTRONIC AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYPHENOLIC


Dispatcher assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DA‐CPR) increase the rate of bystander CPR. The aim of the study was to compare the performance of DA‐CPR and attainable skills following CPR training between young and elderly laypersons.


The high-efficiency welding technology has effects on shipping manufacturing's quality,period and cost.This article points out the difficulty to popularize high-efficiency welding technology and table a proposal of popularizing it.


This study analyzes the economic and environmental effects of trans-shipping biomass from truck to train. Trans-shipment incurs incremental fixed costs, and there is a minimum shipping distance for rail transport above which lower costs per km offset the incremental fixed costs. The minimum economic shipping distance for straw exceeds the biomass draw distance, and hence the prospects for rail transport are limited to cases where traffic congestion from truck transport would otherwise preclude project development. In Alberta the layout of existing rail lines precludes a centrally located wood chip plant supplied by rail, while a more versatile road system enables it by truck. A consolidated set of life cycle analysis data is used to investigate the environmental load for biomass trans-shipment from truck. The results favor train over truck. In addition, trans-shipment of biomass provides a means to limit the impact of road congestion and community resistance to large economic biomass projects.


The aim of this paper is to analyze characteristics of long-term unemployment spells in Romania and to estimate the effect of factors influencing long-term unemployment spells. The study period is in between January 1 st 2008 and December 31 st 2010. 468159 long-term spells registered in the specified period at the National Agency of


Since incomplete data is often encountered in field reliability data of locomotive and car,methods for estimating the confidence limits of percentile and percentage of normal and Weibull distributions are established by using the Monte Carlo simulation method,which is based on the fiducial statistical inference theory.In addition,the fiducial sampling methods of restricted parameter is developed to solve the small sample problem in condition that the life and reliability's parameters are restricted to determined ranges according to the engineer experience or priority information.Besides this,the traditional correlation coefficient optimization method which is used to determine the maximum safety life is extended to the case of incomplete data.Thus,the proposed method can make full use of the similar or the incomplete information,and reach higher precision in both reliability evaluation and life prediction.Compared with the traditional methods,this approach possesses the confidence limits of frequency mean,whether the sample size is relatively big or small.It overcomes the disadvantage of the traditional methods that the inference precision is low with small size sample.


Descriptions and illustrations of larvae and juveniles of the ballyhoo,Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus) andHyporhamphus sp. are provided, based on specimens from Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The first captures of youngHe. brasiliensis in estuarine conditions are recorded and the first documented record of this species from Maryland waters of Chesapeake Bay is offered.


Purpose: f this paper is to is to establish the patterns of oxide formation on the surface of
indium phosphide during electrochemical etching of mono-InP.
Design/methodology/approach: A porous surface was formed with the anode electrolytic
etching. Morphology of the surface was studied with the help of scanning electron
microscope JSM-6490. The analysis of chemical composition of porous surface of samples
was also performed.
Findings: It was shown that during the electrochemical etching of indium phosphide, oxide
films and crystallites form on the surface. It has been established that crystalline oxides
are formed mainly on the surface of n-type indium phosphide. Continuous oxide films are
predominantly formed on the surface of p-InP.
Research limitations/implications: The research was carried out for indium phosphide
samples synthesized in the solution of hydrofluoric acid, though, carrying out of similar
experiments for crystalline oxides on the surface of porous indium phosphide obtained in
other conditions, is necessary.
Practical implications: The study of oxide crystals on the surface of porous indium
phosphide has great practical importance since it is the reproducibility of experimental
results that is the main problem of modern materials science, the more nanoengineering.
Oxides can significantly affect the properties of materials. On the one hand, oxides
significantly affect the recombination properties of materials, this can impair the operation
of semiconductor devices. On the other hand, oxide films can serve as a passivating
coating for the surface of a porous semiconductor. Such an oxide property will be useful for
the practical application of nanostructured indium phosphide. Therefore, questions of the
conditions for the formation of semiconductor intrinsic oxides, their structure, and chemical
composition, and also the effect of oxides on the physical and technical characteristics of
materials are important.
Originality/value: The patterns of oxide formation on the surface of indium phosphide
during electrochemical etching are investigated in this work. It is shown for the first time that
the structure of an oxide depends on the orientation of the surface of the semiconductor.
It was shown that continuous oxide films are formed on the surface of p-InP, and oxide
crystalline clusters are formed on the surface of n-InP.


Subject
 Coffee troubles.

 Significance
 The head of Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers on May 8 warned of a "humanitarian crisis" in the industry, as low global prices force farmers to abandon coffee. His comments follow the announcement by President Ivan Duque on April 13 of additional spending of 32 million dollars to help Colombia's 540,000 coffee-farming families. A 13-year price slump has seen farmers across Latin America struggle to cover their costs, forcing governments to consider how to alleviate the impacts on rural economies.

 Impacts
 Renewed calls for a restructuring of international coffee pricing mechanisms to favour growers are likely.
 Differing volumes, varieties and quality of exports will hinder producer countries' efforts to coordinate calls for price improvements.
 Guatemala's recently approved special coffee fund to help farmers renegotiate debts and get tax refunds may be replicated elsewhere.


Polymer blended films of PEO+PVP and singly doped and co-doped with Mn2+ and Tb3+ ions have been synthesized by solution casting method. Structural, thermal and optical properties of these films have been carried out. Thermal stability of these films has been investigated based on the measurement of TG-DTA profiles. Raman analysis demonstrates the complex formation of the polymer with the dopant ions. The optical absoption spectra of Mn2+ and Tb3+ seperately doped polymers exhibits characteristic bands in octahedral symmetry. From the emission spectrum, two emission bands at 510nm (green) and 614nm (red) are attributed to the T1 A1, and A1 A1 transition of Mn 2+:PEO+PVP polymer films under 370nm excitation. In Tb3+ doped PEO+PVP polymer samples exhibit green emission at 546 nm (green) due to a transition of (D4 F5) under 370nm excitation. The enhanced red emission at 614nm of Mn 2+ ions is attributed to an effective energy transfer of Tb3+ Mn2+ ions in the co-doped blended polymer film, which has been evidenced from the measurement of luminescence spectra and emission decay dynamics. These polymeric materials are suggested as bright visible colour luminescent materials.


Rational design and synthesis of cathode materials with a well-defined nanostructure and superior performances have always been of paramount importance for rechargeable zinc ion batteries.


We present a Monte Carlo (MC) analysis of electronic noise associated with velocity and field fluctuations in GaAs MESFET's. To this end, an accurate estimator of the instantaneous currents at the terminals is used, which improves the precision of the method. Both the current and voltage fluctuations at the different terminals of the device are investigated, thus allowing for the spatial localization of the noise sources. Three different MESFET geometries are analyzed. The results so found compare well with experimental results and confirm the general trend provided by existing phenomenological noise modeling. As a general result, the noise in the drain current is found to increase with the level of the current and remain constant with frequency at least up to 100 GHz. In the case of the gate current, the noise is null at low frequency and then increases quadratically. Under saturation conditions, the source of the drain-voltage fluctuations is localized at the drain end of the n channel, and even penetrates the drain n/sup +/ region due to the presence of hot carriers in the upper valleys. >


The reliability of a complex industrial system can rarely be assessed analytically. As system failure is often a rare event, crude Monte-Carlo methods are prohibitively expensive from a computational point of view. Methods such as importance sampling or multilevel splitting algorithms can be used to reduce computation times. We propose an adaptation of the importance sampling method for a class of multi-component dynamical systems. We focus on systems, which failure corresponds to a physical variable of the system (temperature, pressure, water level) entering a critical region. Reliability assessment of such systems requires an accurate model of the trajectory of the physical variables. As the statuses of the components (on, off, or outof-order) often determine the trajectory of the physical variable of the system, the model should incorporate alterations of components statuses. One difficulty is that these alterations are caused by both deterministic feedback mechanisms and random failures or repairs. To handle these hybrid alterations, we first propose a model of the trajectory of the physical variables of the system based on piecewise deterministic Markovian processes (PDMP) introduced by M.H.A. Davis. Then we show how to adapt the importance sampling method to our model. We present a strategy to apply importance sampling to PDMP. A simulation study, carried out with the python library PyCATSHOO developed by EDF R&D, compares our importance sampling method to the crude Monte-Carlo method.


We have used cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy to study the atomic-scale interface structure of InAs/Ga1−xInxSb superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Detailed, quantitative analysis of interface profiles obtained from constant-current images of both (110) and (110) cross-sectional planes of the superlattice indicate that interfaces in the (110) plane exhibit a higher degree of interface roughness than those in the (110) plane, and that the Ga1−xInxSb-on-InAs interfaces are rougher than the InAs-on-Ga1−xInxSb interfaces. The roughness data are consistent with anisotropy in interface structure arising from anisotropic island formation during growth, and in addition a growth-sequence-dependent interface asymmetry resulting from differences in interfacial bond structure between the superlattice layers.


This essay briefly visits the episode of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son – in the Qur'ān and the Torah – and from this comparison deduces two Qur'anic principles of seminal significance: the autonomy of the individual and the intrinsic worth of all human communities.


1. Fernandez-Banares F, Rosinach M, Piqueras M, et al. Randomised clinical trial: colestyramine vs hydroxypropyl cellulose in patients with functional chronic watery diarrhoea. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2015; 41: 1132–40. 2. Ruseler-van Embden JGH, van Lieshout LMC, Binnema DJ, Hazenberg MP. Isolation and characterisation of the viscous, high molecular mass microbial carbohydrate fraction from faeces of healthy subjects and patients with Crohn's disease and the consequences for a therapeutic approach. Clin Sci. 1998; 95: 425–33. 3. Brydon G, Ganguly R, Ghosh S. The effect of hydroxypropylcellulose on bile acid induced watery diarrhoea. Gut 2003; 52(Suppl. 1): A116. 4. Brydon WG, Culbert P, Kingstone K, et al. An evaluation of the use of serum 7-alpha-hydroxycholestenone as a diagnostic test of bile acid malabsorption causing watery diarrhoea. Can J Gastroenterol 2011; 25: 319–23. 5. Lundasen T, Galman C, Angelin B, Rudling M. Circulating intestinal fibroblast growth factor 19 has a pronounced diurnal variation and modulates hepatic bile acid synthesis in man. J Intern Med 2006; 260: 530–6. 6. Walters JRF. Bile acid diarrhoea and FGF19: new views on diagnosis, pathogenesis and therapy. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2014; 11: 426–34. 7. Martins RM, da Silva CA, Becker CM, et al. Anionic surfactant aggregation with hydroxypropylcellulose in the presence of added salt. J Brazil Chem Soc 2006; 17: 829–31. 8. Torcello-G omez A, Fern andez Fraguas C, Ridout MJ, Woodward NC, Wilde PB, Foster TJ. Effect of substituent pattern and molecular weight of cellulose ethers on interactions with different bile salts. Food Funct 2015; 6: 730–9.


This draft report was prepared by NIST staff at the request of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) to serve as a point of discussion at the Dec. 4-5 meeting of the TGDC. Prepared in conjunction with members of a TGDC subcommittee, the report is a discussion draft and does not represent a consensus view or recommendation from either NIST or the TGDC. It reflects the conclusions of NIST research staff for purposes of discussion. The TGDC is an advisory group to the Election Assistance Commission, which produces voluntary voting system guidelines and was established by the Help America Vote Act. NIST serves as a technical advisor to the TGDC. The NIST research and the draft report's conclusions are based on interviews and discussions with election officials, voting system vendors, computer scientists, and other experts in the field, as well as a literature search and the technical expertise of its authors. It is intended to help in developing guidelines for the next generation of electronic voting machine to ensure that these systems are as reliable, accurate, and secure as possible. Issues of certification or decertification of voting systems currently in place are outside the scope of this document and of the TGDC's deliberations. This document identifies problems with the test method for accuracy specified in VVSG'05 and describes some possible solutions. These possible solutions are the result of a preliminary analysis and do not constitute a NIST position or consensus. Harmonization with ongoing work on the similar topic of reliability testing has not yet occurred. We are providing this preliminary material only to keep the committee appraised of our activities and to provide opportunity for early feedback. The informal concept of voting system accuracy is formalized using the ratio of the number of errors that occur to the volume of data processed, also known as error rate. By keeping track of the number of errors and the volume of data over the course of a test campaign, one can trivially calculate the observed cumulative error rate. However, the observed error rate is not necessarily a good indication of the true error rate. The true error rate describes the expected performance of the system in the field, but it cannot be observed in a test campaign of finite duration, using a finite-sized sample. The system submitted for testing is assumed to be a representative sample (see [6] Ch. 8), so the …


It has been a long-term ambition of cell biologists to catch a glimpse of the molecular architecture inside cells or organelles, ideally by a non-invasive technique 1 . With the advant of automated electron tomography 2,3 it has becomes possible to obtain tomographic data sets of frozen hydrated specimen at sub-critical electron doses. Electron tomography is currently the only technique that can retrieve 3-D information from large pleomorphous structures 4 , as cell organelles or whole cells with 'molecular resolution'. Currently the resolution obtained with ice-embedded cellular structure is in the range of 4 to 6 nm, but there is room for improvement; 2 to 4 nm are within reach. At that resolution it becomes possible to detect and identify specific macromolecular complexes on the basis of their structural signature 5 .


Let $O$ be an order in a quadratic number field $K$ with ring of integers $D$, such that the conductor $\mathfrak F = f D$ is a prime ideal of $O$, where $f\in\mathbb Z$ is a prime. We give a complete description of the $\mathfrak F$-primary ideals of $O$. They form a lattice with a particular structure by layers; the first layer, which is the core of the lattice, consists of those $\mathfrak F$-primary ideals not contained in $\mathfrak F^2$. We get three different cases, according to whether the prime number $f$ is split, inert or ramified in $D$.


In this paper, we describe p–n diode actuators that are formed in the lateral direction on resonators. Because previously reported p–n diode actuators, which were driven by a force parallel to the electrostatic force induced in a p–n diode, were fabricated in the perpendicular direction to the surface, the fabrication process to satisfy the requirement of realizing a p–n junction set in the middle of the plate thickness has been difficult. The resonators in this work are driven by p–n diodes formed in the lateral direction, making the process easy. We have fabricated a silicon ring resonator that has in-plane vibration using p–n–p and n–p–n diode actuators formed in the lateral direction. First, we consider a space charge model that can sufficiently accurately describe the force induced in p–n diode actuators and compare it with the capacitance model used in most computer simulations. Then, we show that multiplying the vibration amplitude calculated by computer simulation by the modification coefficient of 4/3 provides the vibration amplitude in the p–n diode actuators. Good agreement of the theory with experimental results of the in-plane vibration measured for silicon ring resonators is obtained. The computer simulation is very useful for evaluating various vibration modes in resonators driven by the p–n diode actuators. The small amplitude of the p–n diode actuator measured in this work is expected to increase greatly with increased doping of the actuator.


Objective:Disruption of myoepitheliat cell layers is a prerequisite or an early event for breast tumor micro-invasion.The previous studies revealed that a subset of micro-invasive tumor cells overlying the focally disrupted ME cell layers (FDMCL) completely lacked ER expression.This study has investigated the immunohistochemical profile of these ER negative cell clusters (ER-NCC) overlying FDMCL,to look for the early signs of micro-invasive stage and to assess the potential impact of these early alterations on the micro-invasive.Methods:Thirty cases with such ER-NCC have been selected from our previous studies and assessed with a panel of routinely used biomarkers for cell proliferation and tumor progression.Results:In addition to ER,these cell clusters completely lack expression of proliferation and progression related markers,in contrast to adjacent cells within the same ducts,which were strongly positive for these markers.However,they have showed a higher expression of c-erb-B2,compared to their adjacent counterparts.Conclusion:These ER-NCC overlying FDMCL might be targets of a variety of pathological alterations,and the alterations of the immunohistochemical profile of these ER-NCC might accelerate micro-invasive lesions.


In this paper, a new formulation of strong embedded discontinuities in f inite elements is introduced. The displacement jumps are obtained at additional nodes, located along the surface of discontinuity. These additional nodes and the corresponding degrees of freedom ar global, instead of local as assumed in previous embedded formulations. As a consequence: i ) th jump displacement field is non-homogeneous within each parent element and ii) the jumps are continuous across element boundaries. Simple examples are presented and compare d with the results obtained from experiments and with other formulations, namely the discrete approach with int erface elements (discrete-interface approach), the partition of unity method and previous embedded formula ti ns. Introduction Recently, alternative approaches to the embedded discontinuity formulati on h ve been proposed in the literature, namely the extended finite element method and the partition of unity method [1]. In the latter methods the displacement jumps, which occur at the disconti nuity surfaces, are bound to be continuous along element boundaries. This is achieved through the use of addi ti n l global degrees of freedom, located at the usual element nodes. In this way, the concept of embedded discontinuity is somehow lost, although it is still possible to trace the exact location of the discontinuities in the mesh. In this paper, the embedded discontinuity approach [2,3] and the partition of unity method [1] are studied within an unified framework, which covers both the variational form ulation and the numerical implementation. Furthermore, a new embedded discontinuity formul ation is proposed, in which non-homogeneous displacement jump fields are allowed in each eleme nt crossed by a discontinuity. In this new approach, additional degrees of freedom are al so introduced in the parent elements as done in [1]. However, these degrees of freedom are not l ocated at the usual element nodes; instead, the additional degrees of freedom are located at new nod s inserted along the discontinuity surface. These new nodes are global, instead of local as ssumed in previous embedded formulations [2,3]. As a consequence, continuous jumps across the elem ent boundaries can be obtained, similar to the work presented in [1]. Kinematics of a strong discontinuity Consider a domain Ω, with boundary ∂Ω, crossed by a surface of discontinuity Γd. The total displacement field is the sum of a regular part û on Ω and a discontinuous part corresponding to the displacement jump [ |u(x)|], localized at the discontinuity surface Γd: u(x) = û(x) + Γd [|u(x)|], (1) where Γd is defined as: Γd = HΓd − (1−r), 0 ≤ r ≤1 (2) Key Engineering Materials Online: 2003-10-15 ISSN: 1662-9795, Vols. 251-252, pp 109-114 doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.251-252.109 © 2003 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net. (Semanticscholar.org-13/03/20,20:05:40) 2 Title of Publication (to be inserted by the publisher) and HΓd is the Heaviside function at the discontinuity Γd, (HΓd = 1 if x ∈ Ω +;HΓd = 0 otherwise). Similar to other works [4,5], the scalar parameter r defines how the jump is transmitted to the domain Ω: if r=1 the jump is fully transmitted from Ω to Ω. The total strain field is given by: ε = ∇u = ∇û + Γd (∇ s [|u(x)|]) + Γd ([|u(x)|] ⊗ n) s in Ω (3) where (·) s refers to the symmetric part of (·), û is the continuous displacement field, ⊗ denotes a dyadic product and Γd is the Dirac-delta function along surface Γd. Variational formulation In this section, the variational formulation is reviewed as a common basis for the discreteinterface approach, the strong embedded discontinuity approach and the partit ion of unity method. In the following, similar to earlier works [2,5], the principle of vir tual work extended for a cracked body is obtained as a particular case of the three-field Hu-Washiz u variational statements applied to a body containing an internal discontinuity surface. According to equations (1) and (3) and assuming that the essential boundary conditions are satisfied, the fol lowing weak form can be obtained: −Error! + Error! + Error! + Error! + Error! = 0, (4) where b are the body forces, t,are the tractions at the boundary and t are the tractions at Γd. The compatible variations of the total displacements and strains are δu and δε, respectively. From equation (4) two variational statements can be derived [6]: −Error! + Error! + Error! = 0, (5) −Error! + Error! + Error! + Error! = 0. (6) In equation (6), ̂,ε = ∇û and the tractions t are obtained from a separate traction-jump law at the discontinuity, such that t = t([|u|]). Equation (5) is the usual principle of virtual work obtained for a continuum. Note that, if r is taken equal to 1 in equation (2), this formulation is the same as the one adopted in the partition of unity method [1], in which case the second var iational statement given by equation (6) can be interpreted as the principle of virtual wor k applied to sub-domain Ω. More generally, if r is taken between 0 and 1, separate contributions in Ω and Ω are taken into account, similar to the work presented in [5]. Furthermore, summing equat ions (5) and (6), the principle of virtual work applied to a body crossed by a discontinuity is recovered [7], i.e., −Error! + Error! + Error! + Error! = 0, (7) which is the weak form usually adopted in the discrete-interface a ppro ch. In the variational formulations introduced in [2] and used in many other works such as in [3,8], t wo variational statements are also used: i) the principle of virtual work (5) and ii): Error! Error! − Error! Error! = 0. (8) In equation (8), traction continuity at the internal surface Γd is imposed in average at element level, ld e being the length of the discontinuity crossing each parent element. I t is not difficult to show that, 110 Advances in Fracture and Damage Mechanics III


A kinetic model for the reductive desorption of self-assembled monolayers of short-chain alkanethiols has been developed. The monolayer is described as a set of close-packed thiol domains, which for mathematical convenience are modeled as circular and equal in size. Desorption is assumed to occur via two parallel paths, a first route involving the removal of the thiol molecules at the edge of the adsorbate domains, and a second route involving the desorption of the thiol molecules inside the patches through a nucleation and growth mechanism. Analytical expressions for the chronoamperometric current resulting from reductive desorption of the monolayer are also derived and compared with experimental results. Theoretical predictions were found to account satisfactorily for the dependence of the chronoamperometric shape with the desorption potential for butanethiol and nonanethiol monolayers. Thus, the observed chronoamperometric broadening, and the simultaneous increase of the initial current, could be expla...


The test was carried out by half static acute toxic experiment method through the setting of different temperature gradients to four marine fishes for 96 hours.The results showed that under the condition of abrupt raising temperatures,the 96 h-UILT_(50) was 33.00℃ for Pseudosciaena crocea,32.40℃ for Sparus macrocephalus,35.00℃ for Miichthy miiuy and 36.19℃ for Mugil cephalus.While under the condition of gradual increasing temperatures the 96 h-UILT_(50) was 32.72℃ for Pseudosciaena crocea,33.47℃ for Sparus macrocephalus,36.40℃ for Miichthy miiuy and 37.11℃ for Mugil cephalus.According to the experimental data of the abrupt raising the temperatures,Sparus macrocephalus was the least tolerance to high temperature and Pseudosciaena crocea was less tolerance,whereas Miichthy miiuy was better tolerance and Mugil cephalus was the best of all.The experimental data of gradual increasing temperatures also showed that the species which has the highest tolerance to high temperature was Mugil cephalus.This followed in turn by Miichthy miiuy,Sparus macrocephalus and Pseudosciaena crocea.The results also indicated that under the same condition the effect of gradual increasing temperatures on various fishes was obviously less than the effect of abrupt increasing temperatures.


Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), better known in the West as Rumi, is one of the greatest spiritual teachers and mystic poets of all times. He stands out like a peak amidst high mountains looking over the vast oasis of human existence. His spiritual message has touched millions of souls and hearts over the centuries.
Rumi has combined the lore of religion, Ṣufism and poetry before him with rare perspicacity and eloquence. His life and the Mawlawi tradition which he established are a living testimony to the vibrancy of the spiritual message of Islam. As Rumi says in his Introduction to his masterpiece Mathnawi, his works are nothing but a poetic commentary on the essential meaning of the Qur'an, the sacred book of Islam. In the language of the Ṣufis, Rumi is a perfect man (al-insan al-kamil) who has sung the most beautiful and profound songs of love, compassion and companionship.


The first volume of the six-volume Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures (EWIC) set up the EWIC project as an "interdisciplinary, transhistorical, and transnational" work, spanning "all facets of the life of women" in the "civilizations and societies in which Islam has played a historic role" (I: xxi), from the rise of Islam to the present day and extending from West Africa to Central and South Asia, according to the general editor, Suad Joseph (I: xxxiii).


practically no local irritating action and is apparently harmlessto laboratoryanimals. They arenot yet prepared to recommendits administration to man. They express the hope that it will be a "useful clinical substanceand that further investigation of this group of phenolswill bring forth an anthelmintic which .is so safe, effective and cheap that it can be generallydistributed throughoutthe world ... so that finally, after sufficient education ... people can rid themselvesof theseparasitesby self-medicationwithout dangerof Intoxication". Apparently hexyl-resorcin is a very powerful anthelmintic, and. if carefully administered,a perfectly safe one. It should be of great value in private medicalpracticewhen adequatesupervision can beexercised;but it is not suitablefor "mass" treatment. Accordingto Lamson,Brown andWard, the oral lesionsare superficial and quite harmless; but their appearancemust be rather frightening. Theseinvestigatorsare to be congratulatedon their efforts to discover the ideal anthelmintic; their successwould be of almostincalculablevalue to the world. Pleasingfeaturesof their paper are their cautiously expressedconclusions and an absence of extravagant claims for the value of their discovery.


This study analyzed the contributions of collaborative interventions in the conception and development of an educational project which focuses on health promotion. It was carried out through a collaborative action research in a public school. Four teachers and 44 students took part in it. Each intervention took two hours and was developed once a week for four months. The research instruments were questionnaires and field diary, and the information were interpreted through categorical analysis. The design methodology provided students better educational opportunities, encouraging meaningful learning. Interventions improved the quality of education by emphasizing the importance of spreading the contributions of collaborative learning and the project strategy in school environment.


This paper conglomerates our findings on the space $C(X)$ of all real valued continuous functions, under different generalizations of the topology of uniform convergence and the $m$-topology. The paper begins with answering all the questions which were left open in our previous paper on the classifications of $Z$-ideals of $C(X)$ induced by the $U_I$ and the $m_I$-topologies on $C(X)$. Motivated by the definition of $m^I$-topology, another generalization of the topology of uniform convergence, called $U^I$-topology, is introduced here. Among several other results, it is established that for a convex ideal $I$, a necessary and sufficient condition for $U^I$-topology to coincide with $m^I$-topology is the boundedness of $X\setminus\bigcap Z[I]$ in $X$. As opposed to the case of the $U_I$-topologies (and $m_I$-topologies), it is proved that each $U^I$-topology (respectively, $m^I$-topology) on $C(X)$ is uniquely determined by the ideal $I$. In the last section, the denseness of the set of units of $C(X)$ in $C_U(X)$ (= $C(X)$ with the topology of uniform convergence) is shown to be equivalent to the strong zero dimensionality of the space $X$. Also, the space $X$ is a weakly P-space if and only if the set of zero divisors (including 0) in $C(X)$ is closed in $C_U(X)$. Computing the closure of $C_\mathscr{P}(X)$ (=$\{f\in C(X):\text{the support of }f\in\mathscr{P}\}$ where $\mathscr{P}$ denotes the ideal of closed sets in $X$) in $C_U(X)$ and $C_m(X)$ (= $C(X)$ with the $m$-topology), the results $cl_UC_\mathscr{P}(X) = C_\infty^\mathscr{P}(X)$ ($=\{f\in C(X):\forall n\in\mathbb{N}, \{x\in X:|f(x)|\geq\frac{1}{n}\}\in\mathscr{P}\}$) and $cl_mC_\mathscr{P}(X)=\{f\in C(X):f.g\in C^\mathscr{P}_\infty(X)\text{ for each }g\in C(X)\}$ are achieved.


The opportunities of self-learning control systems of metal-cutting equipment for obtaining efficient cutting mode which takes into account production factors, not taken into account in common machine-building standards of cutting mode, are considered in this article.


The Handbook of Research on Building Information Modeling and Construction Informatics: Concepts and Technologies addresses the problems related to information integration and interoperability throughout the lifecycle of a building. This Handbook of Research provides comprehensive coverage and definitions of the most important issues, concepts, trends, and technologies within the field.


Introduction: Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most frequent infection organism following orthopedic surgeries and specifically total hip arthroplasty. Recently, attitude toward herbal medicine is being popular both in people and health care systems. Ruta graveolens is a traditional herbal remedy Iranian medicine and some other countries with a wide spectrum of therapeutic utilities. Our purpose was to determine the effects of this medicinal plant on Klebsiella pneumoniae growth. Materials and methods: Standard Klebsiella pneumoniae was used. We assessed the hexane extracts of both leaf and stark of Ruta graveolens on growth of bacterial disc diffusion and serial dilution methods. We compared the results with some standard frequent chemical antibiotics. Results: Our results showed that all doses of leave extract including 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 micrograms of stark extract had inhibited the growth. In disc diffusion test 500 μg of hexanic extract prevent the growth of bacteria rather than antibiotic discs. We determined minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) by doing their methods. Conclusion: Hexanic extract of Ruta can affect the growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae both for bactericidal and inhibitory effects. It can be a good candidate for more research in vivo to introduce new agent for treating this type of infection. INTRODUCTION: Total Joint Arthroplasty (TJA) is a safe, important and cost-benefit surgery which can progress the quality of life and survive the activity of patients who have destructed hip or knee joints 1 . Despite of very successful outcomes of TJA in different cases, complications related to procedure are not unavoidable. QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.9(4).1650-53 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.9(4).1650-53 One of them is Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) which is now a major mechanism of implant failure lead to revision arthroplasty 2 . There are many bacteria can make prosthesisrelated infections, including Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (both methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and coagulase-negative Staphylococci like Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylo-coccus hemolyticus and etc.), P. aeruginosa, Providencia, Enterococci, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus viridans, Citrobacter, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Corynebacterium and so on 3 .


With the enlargement of the power grid, the setting and cooperation of traditional backup protection become more difficult. Based on advanced communication network and computer technology, a new substation backup protection configuration using substation area information is introduced in this paper. The structure and function of protection configuration is detailed expatiated at first, and the fault location process based on direction, overcurrent and distance is analyzed. According to the fault location, the tripping sequence of local protection and breaker failure protection, which have a good adaptability to different main connection and operation modes, are discussed. The proposed protection system not only provides the local protection and breaker failure protection for all the equipments in the substation but also shortens the operation time and avoids the complicated cooperation.


Computation of maximum column height is common during evaluation of overpressured traps. The main idea behind such computations is to assume tensile fracturing, and that the hydrocarbon buoyancy cannot exceed the difference between the fracturing pressure and the reservoir pore pressure. The uncertainties of such computations are rarely addressed and have to date not been quantified.

We perform such quantification by using pre-production reservoir pore pressure variations to estimate the accuracy that can realistically be attained in evaluating pore pressures in undrilled prospects. We have also analysed uncertainties in fracture pressure determination from leak off tests. This was performed by comparing leak off pressures and fracture closing pressure for a large number of extended leak off tests from the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The uncertainties of the fracturing pressure is frequently 5 MPa or more, which is comparable to the buoyancy of a 1 km gas column. We therefore conclude that computation of maximum column heights should not be computed from individual wells, and that computations based on regional fracture pressure trends need further verification.


Many Gulf Coast Chenier Plain marshes are managed through a combination of winter burning and structural marsh management (SMM) to improve habitats for waterfowl and furbearers and reduce wetland loss. These practices are controversial because of concerns regarding ability to achieve goals coupled with potential negative effects on other marsh processes or organisms. I investigated the effects of winter burning and SMM on bird and plant communities of Chenier Plain marshes in southwest Louisiana. I recorded bird and plant species abundance and vegetation structure in experimental burned and unbumed marshes over two winters and three breeding seasons. Vegetation structure (visual obstruction, percent cover) differed between management types (impounded or unimpounded marshes), resulting in differences in bird species composition and abundance. Sparrows were much more abundant in unimpounded than impounded marshes in winter and summer. Birds associated with open water or mudflats generally were more abundant in impounded than in unimpounded marshes. Winter burning immediately but temporarily changed vegetation structure and consequently bird species composition and abundance. Sparrows and wrens were rare or absent from burned plots during the first post-bum winter (January-February). Icterids were more abundant in burned than in unbumed plots. Bird species absent from burned plots during the first post-bum winter recolonized these plots by the first post-bum summer (April-June), coinciding with recovery of vegetation structure to pre-bum conditions. Sparrow abundance in burned plots exceeded abundance in unbumed plots in the second post-bum summer. Winter burning did not affect plant species composition. During all three years, live above ground plant biomass was higher in burned than in unbumed plots. Total above-ground and dead vegetation biomass were lower in burned than in unbumed plots for several years following burning. Plant species diversity was higher in unimpounded marshes. Below-ground vegetation biomass was lower in impounded than in unimpounded marshes Chenier Plain management practices (winter burning and structural marsh management) implemented for one purpose (i.e., waterfowl foraging habitat) can affect other marsh organisms and


Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture at combined point for opening orifices and soothing the throat plus points selected according to syndrome differentiation in treating pseudobulbar paralysis. Method One hundred and seventy-seven patients diagnosed definitely with pseudobulbar paralysis were randomly allocated to two groups: a treatment group of 89 cases and a control group of 88 cases. In addition to routine internal medicine treatment, the treatment group received acupuncture at combined point for opening orifices and soothing the throat and points selected according to syndrome differentiation plus posterior pharynx wall pricking therapy and the control group, nape acupuncture plus posterior pharynx wall pricking therapy. An evaluation was made using Kubota's water drinking test and Onisi Sachiko speech function grading before and after two courses of treatment. Result Kubota's water drinking test and Onisi Sachiko speech function grading showed a significant improvement in both group of patients after treatment compared with before. The effect was markedly better in the treatment group than in the control group and there was a statistically significant difference(P0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture at combined point for opening orifices and soothing the throat plus points selected according to syndrome differentiation has clinically a definite therapeutic effect on pseudobulbar paralysis.


We analyze the propagation of pulses in noncentrosymmetric crystals by applying high-frequency expansions techniques for Maxwell equations. As a first application we give a closed-form expression for the anisotropic diffraction operator. Given this expression we identify a critical configuration in biaxial crystals where the diffraction reduces to a one-dimensional second-order operator for the ordinary wave instead of the standard transverse Laplacian. The beam propagation in such a configuration involves the generation of spatial solitons because of this anomalous one-dimensional diffraction. As a second application we present closed-form formulas for the interference patterns from biaxial crystal plates between two polarizers. These formulas agree with experimental patterns.


A study of the pair trawl fisheries was made in an attempt to introduce bio-economic models into fishery management in southern and southeastern Brazil. The biological parameters of demersal fishes found in the literature were used to mount the bio-economic model. Since there are no historical data on the economics of the fishery industry, the present market values of fish and of the diverse items that compose the costs of the catch have been used. The results show that the fleet was oversized in the period 1976-1981. The number of boats was reduced from 28 pairs to only 11 in 1996, but was still considered too big. The size of the fleet is reflected in the economic results of the analysis which shows negative returns. However, the fact that some of the fixed costs are not actually spent by the owners of the boats, as many of them have no insurance and most of the boats are already completely paid off and do not accrue costs on the capital invested must all be taken into account. On the other hand, the income figures used in this analysis did not take into account the value of the by-catch landed.


Experimental section Materials All starting materials were used as-received. Hexane and potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) were purchased from Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. Potassium bicarbonate-13C (KH13CO3, 98 at% 13C) was purchased from Isotec Inc. Carbon paper (CP; TGP-H-060) was purchased from Toray Industries, Inc. Cu foil (99.9%, thickness: 0.08 mm) and cupronickel (Cu:Ni=70:30, thickness: 0.3 mm) foil were purchased from Nilaco Corp.


In the past several decades, significant amount of resources have been spent by many manufactures for product quality improvement. Quality improvement efforts involve mitigating the impact of manufacturing variation through robust design, statistical process control (SPC), and inspection. This research focuses on manufacturing system design issues related to inspection. The problem of determining the optimal inspection strategy for a given multi-stage manufacturing system i.e. inspection strategy that will result in the lowest total processing cost is modeled as a joint optimization of inspection location and type. Three inspection options considered in this work are no inspection, full inspection and sampling inspection. This thesis presents a generic mathematical model and employs dynamic programming to identify the optimal inspection plan with minimum total processing cost. Numerical examples are presented to describe the solution procedure. The conclusions are supported by a factorial experiment. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to gauge the impact of inspection errors on the inspection strategy. The developed model is extensible and applicable to solving manufacturing and inspection allocation problems. Keywords. Quality improvement, multistage manufacturing system, inspection strategy, full inspection, sampling inspection, dynamic programming


Pag.2 Introduction to Wireless Digital Communication Pag.3 Multi-gigabit Wireless Systems 5G Pag.6 mm-Waves Pag.7 Theoretical basics Multi-antenna Systems Pag.10 Beamforming Schemes Pag.14 Beam Searching and Tracking Pag.24 Ray Tracing General Description Pag.29 Real Time Ray Tracing Pag.30 Ray Tracing based mm-wave Beamforming assessment Study case Pag.32 Multi-beams BF Pag.36 Results Pag.40


This special issue of Communication, Media, and Its Impact in Times of Crisis brings together 15 selected articles presented at the 3rd International Conference on Islam, Media, and Communication 2021 (ICIMaC2021) which was held on 10 and 11 July. The ICIMaC2021 is co-organized by the Communication Programme and New Media Communication Program, Faculty of Leadership and Management, USIM. For this special issue, various topics are brought to light including the impact of COVID-19 on media and society, and how the Malaysian government uses social media in delivering information during the pandemic, which is deemed efficient in handling crisis communication.


Codes of conduct are used widely in both public administration and industry by organisations seeking to regulate the behaviour of their members and promote adherence to a set of standards. In legislatures, the introduction of codes has gathered pace in recent years, driven either by a perceived need to respond to a corruption scandal or, especially in Eastern Europe, by international efforts to promote democracy and reduce corruption. This article sets out a theoretical case for the conditions in which codes are likely to be effective instruments of regulation. It suggests that a supportive culture of informal institutions is critical but unlikely to prevail in most democratising societies. However, the process of introducing codes may help to create the appropriate conditions.


In contrast to a conventional clastic or carbonate reservoir, where sweet spots for drilling are defined by petrophysical properties like porosity, volume of clay and water saturation, in a shale reservoir the same are characterized by geomechanical properties of the rock such as brittleness, elastic moduli, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio and total organic carbon (TOC). An accurate description of the reservoir and appropriate mapping of the sweet spots are key for an optimized drilling campaign in shale gas reservoirs, The detailed mapping of sweet spots helps in proper planning of well location and completions. Traditionally, such programs are heavily dependent on well logs recorded at pilot wells. ,traditionally, post-stack seismic attributes are used to augment interpretations from the well logs to avoid zones of structural complexities, such as faults etc. Recently, rich information available in seismic gathers in the form of Amplitude Variation with Offset (AVO) has been used to achieve these objectives (Sena et al., 2011; Gabino et al., 2014). We present here the results of simultaneous inversion of multiple offset stacks from a 3D onshore survey over a shale block from the United States to demonstrate that geomechanical properties derived from inversion provide invaluable information to map sweet spots for further use in well planning and designing of hydraulic fractures.


As is well known to all petrographers the name of monchiquite was first given by Rosenbusch' in I89o to a series of dark basic dikes occurring in connection with intrusions of eleolitesyenite in Brazil. Similar rocks had been previously known from South Portugal and hence they received their name from the Serra de Monchique. The material from Brazil was investigated by Hunter and Rosenbusch, and the rocks which have a basaltic habit were found by them to consist of ferro-magnesian minerals in a glass base. The ferro-magnesian minerals were found to be always olivine and pyroxene, while with them were associated sometimes amphibole, sometimes biotite, and sometimes both, and according to these variations the group was subdivided. Since then these rocks, of slightly varying types, have been found, usually in connection with intrusions of alkali syenites, in various parts of the world. In this country they have been found in Arkansas and in numbers in the Lake Champlain district, and our knowledge of them is chiefly due to the researches of Kemp.2 In all cases the main characteristics of the types described are that the rocks consist of ferro-magnesian minerals, chiefly olivine and pyroxene, lying in what is called a colorless glass base.


An attempt has been made to isolate Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologues of mammalian small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) proteins, more specifically the common snRNP (or Sm) proteins; B, B', Dl, D2, D3, E, F and G. Human antisera obtained from patients suffering from systemic lupus erytherematosus (SLE), often has the ability to immunoprecipitate mammalian snRNPs. The most immunogenic peptides appear to be the B, B' and D (1, 2 and 3) proteins. Pre-messenger RNA processing and therefore elements of the splicing machinery (such as snRNPs) are evolutionarily conserved from man to yeast. A serum was obtained which demonstrated reactivity with S.cerevisiae snRNPs, by virtue of immunoprecipitation of snRNP-associated UsnRNA molecules. This serum was used to screen an S. cerevisiae cDNA Xgtl 1 library, from which fourteen strong and twenty-two weak positive clones were obtained (M.Dalrymple, unpublished results). The nucleotide sequences of the cDNAs contained within the 2gt1l clones were obtained, from which peptide sequences were predicted. Database searches indicated that twenty-five cDNAs were derived from previously reported genes or nucleotide sequences. The remaining eleven cDNAs were found to be original in sequence and therefore predicted to encode novel yeast species. One cDNA sequence however, showed approximately 70% identity to a rat ribosomal protein (S5). No identities were observed between the nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences of the novel yeast species and those of the mammalian Sm proteins. However, sequence comparisons indicated that four of the novel cDNA sequences may be derived from one messenger RNA and possibly one gene. The independent isolation of this cDNA (SM 14) sequence on four occasions may imply strong immunoreactivity with SLE autoantibodies. Therefore, the corresponding protein (SM 14) was a potential candidate for a yeast snRNP constituent. On this basis, identification of the S. cerevisiae SM14 gene and characterisation of its product were attempted. Inverse PCR was performed from yeast genomic DNA, in order to obtain the full SM14 genomic sequence, while rabbit antibodies were raised against an E. coli fusion protein (3-galactosidase-SM14). Anti-5M14 sera facilitated immunoprecipitation experiments, from which SM 14-associated proteins and RNA species were analysed. Another E. coli fusion protein (TrpE-SM14) enabled analysis of the RNA binding ability of this fusion protein and affinity purification of SM14 antibodies.


Approaches to modelling nonhomogeneous Poisson processes (NHPPs) commonly use piecewise representations of the rate function. In reality, real-world rate functions are unlikely to take a piecewise form and therefore bias is introduced. We propose a spline function representation using a large number of knots. The resulting function, being both smooth and highly flexible, is able to take on a wide variety of functional shapes reducing the bias between it and the true process. Due to the added flexibility we control overfitting, and thus variability, by adding a penalty to the NHPP log-likelihood. Our approach optimizes the spline coefficient and penalty parameter combination by minimizing a modified AIC score. Our approach also leads to a simple method for arrival generation from the resulting spline function.


The uneven availability of child-care centers for different kinds of families has been detailed in recent years. Much less is known about the distribution of center quality across communities. Nor do we understand the role that local contexts or state policies may play in shaping quality levels. This paper describes several quality indicators, based on reports of 170 center directors situated in three California counties. We found that most centers in lower-income and working-class communities displayed at least moderate levels of quality along structural measures, such as class size, the ratio of children per staff member, and staff education levels. About one in six failed to meet recommended quality standards. Some quality indicators were lower for centers located in communities with lower supply of center enrollment slots per capita, possibly due to excess family demand for center-based care. Center quality was not consistently influenced by community conditions such as poverty levels, ethnic composition, or maternal employment rates. Quality was higher among centers receiving stronger flows of public subsidies. We discuss the success of state agencies in advancing quality among centers and remaining policy challenges.


The travel industry worldwide has been dealt a vicious blow. It is forecast that the number of international tourist arrivals will fall by 60-80%% in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus, putting millions of jobs at risk (Alpert & Beilfuss, 2020; UNTWO, 2020). The drop in arrivals will lead to an estimated loss of $300-450 billion in international tourism receipts (The Economic Times, 2020). The industry will recover, but travel will never be the same again, and the year 2020 will be a defining moment in the history of the tourism sector. But how did this crisis unfold and start to impact travel? This chapter will track the period between the first signs of the virus at the end of 2019 to the beginning of April 2020, showing how as the virus spread, so too did its impact on the travel and tourism around the world.


Introduction. Compounds with a hydroxypyrimidine fragment in their structure exhibit pronounced and diverse biological activity. The low solubility of many hydroxypyrimidine derivatives in water is a significant drawback in the development of new medicines. From 5-butyl-6-hydroxy-2,3-diphenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one, its water-soluble form being a sodium salt was obtained. This compound, as it was revealed during the computer screening of its possible biological acti¬vity in silico, can potentially be used as a pharmaceutical substance for the production (manufacture) of drugs. Since the line of hydroxypyrimidine drugs in the topical dosage forms is extremely limited, and the resulting compound has hydrophilic properties, it is important to enclose the substance in a gel dosage form. Aim. Synthesis of a water-soluble form of new hydroxypyrimidine derivative, determination of its acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity, as well as critical stages of development and further production of a topical hydrophilic dosage form based on the obtained compound. Materials and Methods. The target compound was obtained from the interaction of 5-butyl-6-hydroxy-2,3-diphenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one and an equimolar amount of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide. Acute toxicity was determined on white mice (5 groups of 10 animals, which were injected with a solution of the study compound at a dose of 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, and 1500 mg/kg respectively), observing the development of the main symptoms and recording the time of death of the animals within 72 h from the moment of the drug administration. For the experimental assessment of anti-inflammatory activity, two models were used: formalin-induced mice paw edema and cotton pellet implantation-induced granuloma in rats (for each model there were 3 groups with 10 animals per group: the 1st group received the reference drug diclofenac, the 2nd – the compound under study, the 3rd (control) – sodium chloride solution). Results. The yield of the obtained sodium 5-butyl-1,2-diphenyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-4-olate was 85 ± 1%. It has been proven in vivo that the test compound belongs to the 5th class of toxicity (practically non-toxic) and has a pronounced anti-inflammatory activity. An Ishikawa diagram was drawn up to determine the critical stages of the development and manufacture of a semisolid dosage form, a gel with a target substance. Conclusion. A new compound with anti-inflammatory action has been synthesized, sodium 5-butyl-1,2-diphenyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidin-4-olate, which has low toxicity and pronounced anti-inflammatory activity. The critical stages in the development and manufacture of a gel with synthesized compound are: preparation of the base and drug substance, introduction of the drug substance into the base, homogenization and packaging.


An input device to move an image (1) relative to a display image along perpendicular axes, said device comprising: a housing (51, 61) having at least one opening (55, 65) ; and a set (10) of scroll wheel provided within said housing (51, 61), said assembly (10) scroll wheel member (30, 40) rotatable that is positioned within said opening (55, 65 ), said member (30, 40) rotatable about an axis (52) extending within said housing (51, 61) and can move laterally within said opening (55, 65) relative to said housing (51 , 61), and a system (70) of motion detection which determines when said member (30, 40) moves laterally rotatable relative to the housing (51, 61); wherein said system (70) for detecting movement includes at least one sensor to determine the amount of pressure applied to said member (30, 40) rotatable to control movement relative to the amount of pressure applied to the member (30, 40) rotating.


Using a constructionist framework in music, specifically through an emphasis on composition, is revolutionizing the field of music and education by bridging the gap between the novice and professional. Much of the research has been spearheaded by Jeanne Bamberger and others, who noted the computer's potential to highlight what it means to be a composer and facilitating those with no musical background to express their musical 'intuitions' through the use of the computer (Bamberger, 1972, 1975a, 1975b, 1991). Her close work with Seymour Papert at MIT allowed her to develop MusicLOGO and Impromptu, which allows users to manipulate small blocks of melodic and rhythmic patterns, employing mathematical ratios, finding that people with little to no training in music, knew more than they could verbalize. Through their active constructions of tunes, they were building and developing intuitions about music. Despite her work and the work of other leading scholars in the field, constructionism is still a framework largely overlooked and understudied in the field of music education. However, music, specifically composition, is well aligned with the major tenets of constructionism and there is little known about how learners form a social, cultural, and historic identity through music composition. This is now an apt time to investigate how we can begin to use these tools to study how the sociocultural context changes learners' intuitions about music. The current study investigated how children develop musical understanding through cross-cultural activities composing music. 60 youth, equally divided, from the United States and Israel ranging from 8 to 12 years of age, reconstructed familiar and unfamiliar tunes, remixed tunes, and composed their own music using Impromptu. Each exercise built upon itself to help youth gain a better understanding of important musical concepts and allowed us to better understand what youth know about music from their own culture as well as others through their active construction of music compositions. Data is currently being triangulated (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) using three qualitative data sources, including artifact (music composition) analysis, reflections of artifacts, and discussions of shared music compositions. Preliminary findings suggest that through the active construction and reconstruction of tunes, youth refined their intuitive musical understanding as well as becoming more aware of the cultural differences reflected in other styles of music.


The overall objective of the NUSTAR Capability is to offer standardized tests and scenario conditions to assess performance of the UAS. The following are goals of the NU-STAR: 1. Create a prototype standardized tests and scenarios that vehicles can be tested against. 2. Identify key performance parameters of all UAS and their standardized measurement strategy. 3. Develop standardized performance reporting method (e.g., consumer report style) to assist prospective buyers. 4. Identify key performance metrics that could be used by judged towards overall safety of the UAS and operations. 5. If vehicle certification standard is made by a regulatory agency, the performance of individual UAS could be compared against the minimum requirement (e.g., sense and avoid detection time, stopping distance, kinetic energy, etc.).


As educational technology continues to advance, new technologies continue to enter the scene that seek to enhance the delivery and reception of learning in both academic and industry settings. Digital badges are a recent educational innovation that has unique characteristics and capabilities that can allow for individualized pathways for learning and are being implemented in a variety of settings and for multiple purposes. This article reviews the literature on digital badges and four of their core theoretical underpinnings – behaviorism, goal-setting, constructivism, and gamification theory – as well as empirical studies that highlight the contexts and specific learner groups in which digital badges are being utilized. This review contributes to both scholarly research and practical applications of digital badges and offers potential directions for future research involving digital badges.


Harp seals require pack ice as a platform for resting, to give birth and nurse their young. They are also subject to commercial and subsistence harvesting. We examined the status of the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population using a three parameter population model that fits to estimates of pup production and reproductive rates, and incorporates information on annual catches in Canada and Greenland (including by-catch and struck and lost), and unusual pup mortality due to poor ice conditions. After applying the model formulation used during previous assessments, the fit to the reproductive data and aerial survey data was poor. Using an alternative formulation where adult mortality was fixed and juvenile mortality estimated, and a Comprehensive Environmental Index used to vary the population carrying capacity, improved the model fit to the data. Based upon a population model that included pup production estimates up to 2017, annual estimates of age-specific reproductive rates, removals and ice related mortality up to 2019, the harp seal population appears to have been relatively stable since the mid-1990s, but has been increasing in recent years likely due to higher reproductive rates and lower removals. The model estimated a pup production of 1,039,000 (95% CI 927,000 - 1,100,000) animals and a total population size of 6.8 (95% CI 5.8 - 8.0) million animals in 2017. Projecting forward to 2019, the model estimated that the population increased to 7.6 (95% CI 6.6 - 8.8) million harp seals. Climate change is having an impact on ice-cover, particularly in the Gulf of St Lawrence, but even the northeast Newfoundland area is expected to be ice-free by the end of the century. This will have a negative impact on harp seals unless new areas for pupping are found to the north of current whelping areas.


Residents of Southern China are increasingly concerned about the space heating in winter. The chief aim of the present work is to find a cost-effective way for residential space heating in Shanghai, one of the biggest city in south China. Economic and energy efficiency of three residential space heating ways, including ground source heat pump (GSHP), air source heat pump (ASHP) and wall-hung gas boiler (WHGB), are assessed based on Long-term measured data. The results show that the heat consumption of the building is 120 kWh/m2/y during the heating season, and the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of the GSHP, ASHP and WHGB systems are 3.27, 2.30, 0.88 respectively. Compared to ASHP and WHGB, energy savings of GSHP during the heating season are 6.2 kgce/(m2.y) and 2.2 kgce/(m2.y), and the payback period of GSHP are 13.3 and 7.6 years respectively. The sensitivity analysis of various factors that affect the payback period is carried out, and the results suggest that SEER is the most critical factor affecting the feasibility of ground source heat pump application, followed by building load factor and energy price factor. These findings of the research have led the author to the conclusion that ground source heat pump for residential space heating in Shanghai is a good alternative, which can achieve significant energy saving benefits, and a good system design and operation management are key factors that can shorten the payback period.