The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate how sports website's perceived risk, trust, flow, and satisfaction effect each other and what relationship they have each other classified by general characteristics. To accomplish the purpose, we analyzed the analysis of frequency, factor analysis, one-way anova from 287 copies of questionnaire. The result is as follows. First, from perceived risk by gender, there was a meaningful difference between security and privacy, and emotion, continuity, normative which are factors of flow, and trust, and satisfaction. Specifically, as we look security and privacy from perceived risk, women were significantly higher than men. In factors of flow, men were higher than women in every factor about emotion, continuity, and normative. Even in trust and satisfaction, men were higher than women. Second, from perceived risk by duration about delivery service, there was a meaningful difference in trust and satisfaction of emotional, continual and normative factor of flow. Third, in factors of flow according to visiting count, 5-6days in a week was more frequent than once in a 2-3month and etc. In trust and satisfaction, there were more users who visit 5-6days, and 3-4days than users who visit once more than 3 month. Fourth, in factor of flow by time, more than 3 hours was higher than less than 1 hour in factor of emotion and continuity. Fifth, in factor of flow by number of purchase, more than 6 times was higher than none in normative factor. Also, more than 6 times was higher than none in trust and satisfaction.


The intra-urban scale has been a tool broadly used in the field of Geography in the comprehension of the processes of production of space. In Brazil, given the weight and the importance of the processes of urbanization and metropolization, the intraurban scale delineated several notes used in several academic and urban management environments. This article aims to fit in this outset and evaluates the importance of the intra-urban scale for the comprehension of the process of production integrated of the urban space in metropolitan environments, focusing the evaluation over the municipality of Senador Canedo, in the Metropolitan Region of Goiania, state of


The effect of non-catalytic hydrogenation on the demetallization and desulfurization of Boscan crude, was studied in a batch reactor. The process scheme consisted in a thermal hydrotreatment followed by solvent deasphalting with pentane.The metal content of the said crude is 1, 250ppm vanadium and 117ppm nickel. Sulphur concentration is 5.6% and the density is 10.3°API.The deasphalted oil yield, after hydrotreating, was 74.3%(w/w) (81%(v/v)) on the crude. This product (24.5°API) contained only 40ppm vanadium and 3.5% sulphur, being a high quality feed for further desulfurization processes. When hydrotreating was not employed the liquid product yield was 72.8%(w/w) its vanadium content being 263ppm.The increased demetallization in the deasphalted oil fraction after the hydrotreatment (HDV equal to 97.6% vs. 84.7% without hydrotreatment) is believed to be produced by dehydrogenation of the heavy metal containing molecules in the "resins" fraction, which favours their precipitation when solvent deasphalting the hydrotreated product.Higher hydrogen partial pressures avoid coke formation and tend to increase considerably the liquid yield.Mass transfer resistance due to hydrogen transport was estimated as 11% of the total, depending on the operating conditions. Enhanced turbulence decreases coke deposition, probably due to lower temperatures at the reactor walls.Non-catalytic hydrotreatment eliminates only the sulphur fraction "easy to remove", % HDS of DAO Leing 37% for Boscan crude.


This paper presents a novel AC-side continuous-conduction-mode (CCM) voltage-source (VS) charge-pump (CP) power-factor-correction (PFC) self-oscillating full-bridge electronic ballast for fluorescent lamps. Unlike the conventional PFC electronic ballasts, the proposed AC-side CCM VS-CPPFC self-oscillating full-bridge electronic ballast has advantages of high power factor and low cost. The circuit analysis and the theoretical design criteria for the proposed AC-side CCM VS-CPPFC self-oscillating full-bridge electronic ballasts are presented. Finally, an 80W prototype circuit is built to validate the feasibility and performance of the proposed electronic ballast.


The only report of a similar testicular lesion then known to the author was that of Shorb, Walker and Keene (1960), who had also reared their fowls on a diet containing boiled egg. In view of the low incidence it was not possible, at that time, to establish the cause of this hydropic distension of the seminiferous tubules. In a recent experiment designed to investigate the effects of fats on mineral retention (Whitehead, Dewar and Downie, 1971) in which egg albumen was used as a source of protein, two cases of cystic testis were encountered. It was only when Dewar and Siller (1971) showed that in turkeys the deleterious effect of albumen was attributable not to the albumen itself but to its high sodium content, that the possible connexion between the testicular lesions and sodium toxicity became apparent. A search was made of the literature on salt poisoning in the fowl, and this revealed that in the past a few authors had mentioned testicular cysts as coincidental observations (Selye, 1943; Krakower and Goettsch, 1945; Blaxland, 1946; Kare and Biely, 1948). Apparently, however, these lesions did not arouse sufficient interest to have stimulated a detailed morphological description or a discussion of the pathogenesis. The only author to publish illustrations of similar lesions (Boas, 1958) had produced them by the subcutaneous injections of the salt-retaining hormone desoxycorticosterone acetate (DCA). Selye (1942) had also found cystic lesions in the testes after similar treatment, but he did not discuss them in detail.


The existence of solution and positive solution is studied for a class of fourth-order nonlinear boundary value problems by using Schauder fixed point theorem and the technique of system of integral equations.In the mechanics of material,the class of problems usually describes the equilibrium state of the elastic beam in which an end is simply supported and other end is Clamped by sliding clamps.The main results show that the problem has at least one solution or positive solution provided the "maximal height" of nonlinear term on a bounded set of its domain.


The following letters (which are selected from the forthcoming Later Correspondence of Lord John Russell , and supplement the documents published by Spencer Walpole) take us behind the scenes of the Melbourne Cabinet during the anxious months of 1840, when the competition of Great Britain and France for hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean enlarged the struggle of Mehemet Ali and the Sultan from a local into a European problem, and brought the two countries within sight of war. The duel between Palmerston and Thiers was watched with an anxiety which was fully shared by the colleagues of the masterful Foreign Secretary. Lord Holland led the opposition within the Cabinet, and was vigorously supported by Lord Clarendon. Lord Spencer and Lord Lansdowne were also uneasy; and their apprehensions were shared by the Prime Minister who, however, was painfully aware that the resignation of Palmerston would destroy a ministry which had long outlived its popularity.


In the paper, the capability and characteristic of graphics control of T6963 liquid crystal display were presented.In combination with 80C196KC SCM,the display model of dynamic liquid graphics crystal was given.


Some of the unique aspects and features of butterflies and their vast variety is discussed. The amazing behavior of Hypebolic in action is also highlighted.


Taxation policies in India have historically not been environmentally oriented. A tax system is needed whic is environmentally more rational. It is argued in this study that India is currently going through a major reform of indirect taxes aimed at ushering in a comprehensive regime of taxation of goods and services by April 1, 2010 and this is the appropriate time to make the entire tax regime environmentally rational. [MONOGRAPH 9/2010].


Discusses methods to estimate the quality as well as validity of a fingerprint image. Orientation certainty is used to certify the localized texture pattern of the fingerprint images while ridge to valley structure is analyzed to detect invalid images. Global uniformity and continuity ensures that the image is valid as a whole. 150 images with various qualities are evaluated using the proposed algorithm and quality benchmark we defined. A monotonic relationship is found indicating that the proposed algorithm is feasible in detecting low quality as well as invalid fingerprint images.


The Ti-substituted heteropolytungstates K7[Ti W11BO40] and K6[V TiW10PO40] have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses and spectroscopic techniques. Their redox properties have been studied by cyclic voltammetry, and the compounds were found to be more dicult to reduce than the unsubstituted heteropolyanion. The oneand two-electron reduced heteropoly blues of [VTiW10PO40] , namely [VTiW10PO40] 7) and [VIVTiW10PO40]8), have also been prepared by chemical methods. Their optical spectra show low-energy intervalence charge-transfer bands as well as the expected d±d transitions. The optical and e.s.r. investigations indicate that V and TiIII are not vicinal in [VTiW10PO40].


. We consider the coupling of racetrack inflation to matter fields as realized in the D 3/ D 7 brane system. In particular, we investigate the possibility of cosmic string formation in this system. We find that strings can form before or at the onset of racetrack inflation is possible, but they are then inflated away. Furthermore, string formation at the end of inflation is prevented by the presence of the moduli sector. As a consequence, no strings survive racetrack inflation.


The method relates to a method of detecting proper flow through the appropriate connection and the channel of the fastener (fixtures) for the channels in the cleaning and sterilization process for the endoscope (endoscope). The endoscope has a second aperture disposed in the first opening, and a liquid into one of the channels connected to the fixture. The negative pressure in the first opening, through the suction channel and the liquid in a predetermined amount, and the amount is measured. If the channel is cut off, it is determined that sufficient liquid flow. If the fixture is not properly connected, the air leakage is determined that the sufficient liquid flow. Sterilization, cleaning, endoscope, liquid channel, negative pressure, purification, medical devices, the lumen


The most common cause of asymptomatic anterior mediastinal mass in young patient is thymoma. We present an unusual case of asymptomatic anterior mediastinal mass in a young male who was incidentally discovered to have aggressive precursor T-cell adult lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-ALL). Routine bronchoscopy and transthoracic needle aspiration were noncontributory, and endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) provided the adequate amount of tissue for histopathology and immunohistochemistry, thus establishing the diagnosis of T-ALL. Our case highlights T-cell lymphoma as a cause of silent anterior mediastinal mass and the potential role of EBUS-TBNA as safe and relatively less invasive modality to obtain tissue for pathological diagnosis and saved the patient from potential thoracotomy/mediastinoscopy.


We tackle the challenging problem of streaming multi-user videos over the downlink of a cellular Cognitive Radio Network (CRN), where each Cognitive User (CU) can sense and access multiple channels at a time. Spectrum sensing, channel assignment, and power allocation strategies are jointly optimized to maximize the Quality of Service (QoS) for the CUs. We show that the formulated Mixed Integer NonLinear Programming (MINLP) problem can be decomposed into two sub-problems without sacrificing optimality: SP1 for the optimal spectrum sensing strategy, and SP2 for optimal channel assignment and power allocation. We show that SP1 can be optimally solved and then develop a Column Generation (CG) based algorithm to solve SP2 iteratively in a distributed manner. We also develop a heuristic algorithm for spectrum sensing with greatly reduced requirement on CU hardware, but with a highly competitive sensing performance. We analyze the proposed algorithms with respect to complexity and derive a performance upper bound. The proposed algorithms are validated with extensive simulations.


This paper discusses trends, challenges, and perspectives in logistics system of Indonesia during and post (new normal) of Covid-19 pandemic. PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restriction) caused a number of supply chains to be cut and made railroad transportation activities decreased. On the other hand, WFH (Work From Home) caused sector of e-Commerce to grow during the pandemic. Challenges in logistics system of Indonesia during the pandemic are changes in distribution patterns, changes in handling processes, changes in facilities and equipment, changes in business processes, and changes in networks. Adaptations in logistics system during the pandemic are using ICT (information and communication technology) such as TMS (Transportation Management System) and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and considering health. WMS (Warehouse Management System) still has a great opportunity to be utilized. The adaptations raise a new discipline in Industrial Engineering, namely logistics hygienic. The use of various ICTs in logistics system together with implementation of health protocols are expected to be a solution for logistics system in Indonesia, especially for the new normal of Covid-19 pandemic.


In this paper the authors estimate the rate of return to firm investments in human capital in the form of formal job training. The authors use a panel of large firms with detailed information on the duration of training, the direct costs of training, and several firm characteristics. The authors estimate of the return to training are substantial (8.6 percent) for those providing training. Results suggest that formal job training is a good investment for these firms possibly yielding comparable returns to either investments in physical capital or investments in schooling. The paper proceeds as follows. Section two describes the data the authors use. In section three, the authors present basic framework for estimating the production function and the cost function. In section fourth the authors present empirical estimates of the costs and benefits of training and compute the marginal internal rate of return for investments in training. Finally, section fifth concludes.


as a ferromagnetic-type ordering of pseudospins in the transversal field which varies from pseudospin to pseudospin [!"?]. This is not the only possible superconducting state. In [**], a conception has been developed according to which in connection with the uncertainty of the multiplicity of pseudospins in the system described by the BCS Hamiltonian, besides the pseudoferromagnetic-type superconductivity caused by attractive interaction, a pseudoantiferrromagnetic-type superconductivity appears due to repulsion between electrons. The existence of superconducting states corresponding to different pseudospin orderings in many-valley semiconductors with intraand intervalley interactions of both attractive and repulsive nature have been shown in [?]. In the two-band (multiband) models which originate from [®7], both the interband attraction and repulsion of electrons lead to a superconducting order [?]. This trend in the theory of superconductivity acquired additional actuality in the context of high-T¢ systems (see for review [®l9]). The idea of interband interaction between the carriers of partly overlapping hole bands as a possible mechanism for superconductivity in metal-oxide compounds has been proposed and developed in [!!-4]. Thereby it is the supposed repulsive nature of this interband coupling that gives an opportunity to get high values of T¢ ['!] and enables one to describe the dependence of the transition temperature on the carrier concentration [!%l3].


The relations between the Ottomans and Mamluks are an important aspect of the late-mediaeval history of the eastern Mediterranean, but nonetheless form an aspect that hitherto has largely been ignored. This is in part, no doubt, because only a limited number of scholars are competent to read both the Arabic of the Mamluk sources and the Turkish of the Ottoman ones. However, the main reason—as Professor Muslu points out—must be that for almost the entire period before Selim I's conquest of Syria and Egypt in 1516–17, the two powers were formally at peace. There were many moments of friction, particularly in 1399, when Bayezid I attacked Malatya, a town belonging to a Mamluk vassal, but in this case, both Bayezid and the Mamluk Sultan Faraj faced the imminent threat of an attack by Timur, and instead of going to war, began negotiating an alliance. It was rumoured that Mehmed II's last campaign in 1481 was aimed at the Mamluks, but his death a few days after he had left Istanbul resulted in its abandonment. In fact, the only period of open conflict before 1516 was the war of 1485–1491, which more or less confirmed the status quo between the two powers, despite Mamluk military victories in 1488 and 1489. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that what limited work has been done on Ottoman–Mamluk relations deals with this war or, more often, with the Ottoman conquest of 1516–1517. This book, by contrast, covers diplomatic relationship between the two powers from the fourteenth century down to Selim I's accession to the Ottoman throne in 1512. In it, the author examines the records of each embassy from the earliest Ottoman mission of 1366, to pledge assistance to the Mamluks in their campaign against Cyprus, to the Ottoman embassy of 1512 to announce the accession of Selim I to the throne. This is not an easy task. Ottoman (and other) archives provide occasional scraps of evidence, which require careful analysis if their context is to be understood, and where documents exist in later collections—notably Feridun Bey's late sixteenth-century Münşe'ātü'sselātı̄n—it is essential to be on the alert for the editor's or copyists' changes. Much of Professor Muslu's material inevitably comes from chronicles, and the Mamluk chronicles, with their often unembellished record of contemporary


This thesis presents results in Extreme Value
Statistics and quantile estimation. A first part includes a
popular scientific introduction to Extreme Value Statistics and a
review paper on Extreme Value Theory in finance.

Further, we study new non-parametric quantile estimators for
non-extreme quantiles. After concluding that these have the same
asymptotic distribution as sample quantiles, a simulation study
shows that their small sample performance is better in many cases
than that of the sample quantile.

In the part of this thesis dealing with finance we study extreme
dependence between stock market log returns sampled at different
frequencies using the so-called tail dependence function. We also
investigate the "stylized fact" that log returns have Semi-heavy
tails.

The next topic is insurance losses resulting from wind storm
damages in southern Sweden. A detailed statistical analysis
detects a weak trend, that non-extreme quantiles of individual
storms increase with time, but no other trends. We also find
prediction intervals for the sizes of future storm losses using
both a univariate and a bivariate model. One conclusion is that
the major Swedish storm Gudrun was not unlikely to occur.

Finally, we introduce the models used in the insurance application
into risk management in finance.


Because the farmer socialcapital has big function in the socialism new rural reconstruction,and at the sametime we lack of it,so its cultivation is a very important job.As for achieve this point,we should make efforts on the following things: to develop the productive forces,to practice the villagers self-government,to educate the farmers.


Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas in which the main sources are tropical rainforest and agricultural soils. N2O is produced in soils by microbial processes, which are enhanced by the application of nitrogenous fertilizers. The soil N2O bulk isotopic composition (δ15Nbulk and δ18O) and the "site‐specific," or intramolecular, 15N isotopic composition, i.e., the 15N/14N ratio at the cenral (α) or terminal (β) nitrogen position, expressed in this study as δ15Nα and δ15Nβ could help identify both the sources (natural and anthropogenic) and microbial pathways of N2O production and consumption prior to emission.We report new isotope measurements of soil N2O emissions and from soil air collected during the rainy season in a mature tropical forest (Tapajos National Forest, Para, Brazil) and in a tropical agricultural corn field ("Fundo Tierra Nueva," Guárico State, Venezuela). The statistically different δ15Nbulk emission weighted average between the mature forest (−18.0‰ ± 4.0‰, n = 6) and agricultural corn field (−34.3‰ ± 12.4‰, n = 17) suggest that the δ15Nbulk data are useful for distinguishing N2O fluxes from fertilized agricultural and natural "background" soils. They also demonstrate that the site‐specific δ15N measurements have the potential to provide a new tool to differentiate between the production and consumption N2O microbiological processes in soils. This study further demonstrates that the observed correlations (or lack thereof) between δ15Nα, δ15Nβ, and δ18O can be used to estimate the relative proportion of N2O that would have been emitted to the air but was consumed via reduction of N2O to N2 within the soil.


Abstract I assess in the context of Cornwall, Ontario, the factory's effectiveness as an agent of social control, and in particular its capacity for teaching workers new meanings of time and space. The article traces Cornwall's industrial development until its emergence as the "Factory Town" in 1893. Industrialization in Cornwall produced a co-existence of industrial forms and work practices so the process is best conceived here as a blend of old and new. Yet Cornwall's textile factories were distinctive institutions in part because of their unique social environments. A heightened level of social discipline was a pervasive feature of Cornwall's factories. Combined, "time-discipline" and "machine-discipline" imposed strict controls on the actions and movements of workers in time and space. I argue that social discipline best characterizes the social significance of factory production. I do not challenge the long-term consequences of social discipline for teaching workers a capitalist sense of time but I do question the factory's effectiveness in this regard. Cornwall's factory work schedules were not inflexible or new. They adapted to pre-existing patterns of social organization and were flexible well into the late-nineteenth century. Similarly, factory workers experienced a contrast between an intense work pace and a persisting pacelessness as multiple interruptions disturbed "normal" work routines. I suggest therefore that the effects of social control in the factory have been exaggerated and that there may be no straight-line relationship between the advent of capitalist industry and some of its more significant social consequences.


This paper describes the detection of faces in complex backgrounds where their sizes, positions and directions are arbitrary. We detect the faces by, extracting face components such as eyes, a mouth and so on. We first extract face features and then calculate their likelihoods as each face component. Second we detect the face features which satisfy, geometrical relations of the face. In order to reduce the number of combinations of all labels for all features, we determine face candidate regions using generalized Hough transform and then apply, a relaxation method to each candidate region.


Background: Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) primarily infects domestic and wild swine, causing the abortion and death of young piglets due to central nervous system disorders. In Japan, the national eradication program has been successful in most prefectures; however, ADV-infected wild swine have been concerned as a source of ADV among domestic pigs. Results: This study assessed the nationwide seroprevalence of ADV among wild swine (Sus scrofa) in Japan. Moreover, sex-based differences in the spatial clustering of seropositive animals were investigated. In total, 1383 serum samples were obtained from wild swine caught in 41 prefectures in three �scal years (April–March in 2014, 2015, and 2017) in Japan. Next, the seropositivity for ADV was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the latex agglutination and neutralization tests. Results showed that 29 swine were seropositive for ADV (29/1383, 2.1% [95% con�dence interval, CI: 1.4%–3.0%]). Among them, 28 were caught in three prefectures located at the Kii Peninsula (28/121, 23.1% [95% CI: 16.0%–31.7%]). The degree of spatial clustering of ADV-seropositive adult swine at the Kii Peninsula according to sex was evaluated using K-function with the capture locations of 46 males including 14 seropositive and 54 females including 12 seropositive. In females, the degree of clustering was signi�cantly higher in seropositive animals than in tested animals; however, such difference was not observed for seropositive males. Conclusions: The spatial dynamics of ADV


The necessity, principle and process of pressure swing adsorption units of PVC tail gas were introduced. Monomer recovery is 99.97%, the recovery of acetylene is 99%, and the tail gas meet the state standard of discharge.


This paper presents a green roof system suitable for middle-income households in Pakistan. While the west has successfully implemented green building systems, the developing countries did not realise it mainly due to the lack of affordable systems and technical know how and the presence of social barriers. Especially, in these countries, the energy efficient building envelope is beyond the reach of the middle-income households, as they cannot afford the current systems. A new system has been developed with respect to the specific needs of the middle class dwellings in the city of Lahore. A detailed survey was conducted among the middle-income households in the Wahdat Colony (Lahore, Pakistan) to assess both the specific constraints and needs of the green roof system. Several aspects including the building envelope, roofing system, local materials, use of air conditioners, local weather, thermal comfortability, thermal response of the existing residential buildings, health problems, and sleeping patterns influenced by the solar radiations were studied and properly addressed in the model development. The new system was designed by using locally available materials and to meet the specific demands of the middle-income residents including affordability and less maintenance. Cost efficiency of the new system has been analysed and found more advantageous than the use of present insulated roof systems and air conditioners.


This volume, Volume 1, presents Marggrafe's stunning biography. Volume 2 consists of a text edition of his astronomical legacy, prepared for the printing press in the 1650s, but only now finalized and published.


Although the expected returns to schooling is the central concept in economic thinking on educational behavior, economists have made almost no effort to learn how youth form their expectations; instead, the norm has been to make assumptions about expectations formation. But there is no evidence that prevailing expectations assumptions are correct nor reason to think that misspecifying expectations is innocuous. On the contrary, rudimentary treatment of expectations has placed the economics of education at an impasse: not knowing how youth perceive the returns to schooling, one cannot infer their decision processes from their schooling choices, and one cannot infer the objective returns to schooling from data on realized outcomes. I argue that the present impasse in the economics of education can be broken only if we ask how expectations influence schooling choices and learn how youth actually form their expectations. Adolescent Econometricians: How Do Youth Infer the Returns to Schooling?


This paper,from the angle of literature metrology,is to analyze and evaluate the research situation of university student affairs administration by 10 indexes;and,on this basis,a contrast analysis of intension and definition,concept and target,content,system and mode,organization framework and other perspectives of student affairs administration is made to offer some experience and reference for the development of student affairs management in Chinese higher schools.


Rice is an essential crop in Ghana. Several aspects of rice have been studied to increase its production; however, the environmental aspects, including impact on climate change, have not been studied well. There is therefore a gap in knowledge, and hence the need for continuous research. By accessing academic portals, such as Springer Open, InTech Open, Elsevier, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology's offline campus library, 61 academic publications including peer reviewed journals, books, working papers, reports, etc. were critically reviewed. It was found that there is a lack of data on how paddy rice production systems affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly emissions estimation, geographical location, and crops. Regarding GHG emission estimation, the review identified the use of emission factors calibrated using temperate conditions which do not suit tropical conditions. On location, most research on rice GHG emissions have been carried out in Asia with little input from Africa. In regard to crops, there is paucity of in-situ emissions data from paddy fields in Ghana. Drawing on the review, a conceptual framework is developed using Ghana as reference point to guide the discussion on fertilizer application, water management rice cultivars, and soil for future development of adaptation strategies for rice emission reduction.


Studies have shown that nutrient restriction during pregnancy leads to poor intrauterine development of offspring and an increased risk of developing adult diseases. Our study examined the effects of protein and folate intake on the rat placenta gene expression and DNA methylation status. Timed‐pregnant Sprague‐Dawley rats were fed 1 of 4 diets varying in protein and folate concentration until delivery. Placenta was collected after spontaneous delivery, followed by qRT‐PCR analysis of IGF2, PEG3, MEST, GRB10, SLC38a4, CDKN1C, ATF3, ATF4, and Methylation Sensitive PCR (MSP) analysis of one of the Differential Methylation Regions (DMR) of IGF2 as well as the Imprinting Control Region (ICR) of H19. IGF2 mRNA decreased significantly from the control to low protein diet, but increased significantly when supplemented with folate. Our analysis of other genes of interest showed a trend of change among diets. MSP analysis of one of IGF2's DMRs showed significant methylation change with folate supplementation. Additionally, MSP analysis on H19 ICR showed a similar pattern but without statistical significance. The results of this study suggest that mRNA expression and DNA methylation of genes responsible for placental development are affected by maternal nutrition, which lays the foundation for future studies of developmental programming and late‐onset diseases.


Recent literature on Heidegger concentrates heavily on his (temporary) involvement in or collusion with Nazi ideology and policies. Without belittling the gravity of the issue, this article shifts the focus somewhat by invoking a distinction which recently has emerged (or reemerged) in political thought: namely, the distinction between "politics" and "the political" or between politics viewed as partisan ideology or policy making, on the one hand, and politics seen as regime or paradigmatic framework, on the other. The main thesis of the article is that Heidegger's promising contributions to political theory are located on the level of ontology or paradigmatic framework rather than that of ideological partisanship. While not neglecting the dismal intrusions of the latter plane, the article probes Heideggerian cues for a "rethinking of the political" by placing the accent on four topical areas: first, the status of the subject or individual as political agent; second, the character of the political community, that is, of the polity or (in modern terms) the "state"; thirdly, the issue of cultural and political development or modernization; and finally, the problem of an emerging cosmopolis or world order beyond the confines of Western culture. In discussing these topics, an effort is made to disentangle Heidegger from possible misinterpretations and to indicate how, in each area, his thought pointed in the direction of an "overcoming" of Western political metaphysics.


AbstractHighly heterogeneous mountain snow distributions strongly affect soil moisture patterns; local ecology; and, ultimately, the timing, magnitude, and chemistry of stream runoff. Capturing these vital heterogeneities in a physically based distributed snow model requires appropriately scaled model structures. This work looks at how model scale—particularly the resolutions at which the forcing processes are represented—affects simulated snow distributions and melt. The research area is in the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in southwestern Idaho. In this region, where there is a negative correlation between snow accumulation and melt rates, overall scale degradation pushed simulated melt to earlier in the season. The processes mainly responsible for snow distribution heterogeneity in this region—wind speed, wind-affected snow accumulations, thermal radiation, and solar radiation—were also independently rescaled to test process-specific spatiotemporal sensitivities. It was found that in order to a...


This invention relates to methods of making rubber and carbon black mixes directly from na tural. (Hevea) rubber latex. Many proposals have been made for producing rubber and carbon black mixes, or So-called rub ber-carbon black masterbatches, directly from natural (Hevea) rubber latex, but these have all resulted in processes which are unsatisfactory for one reason or another. Mixing dry finely divided carbon black with fresh Hevea, latex or with ann monia-preserved normal or concentrated Hevea latex results in immediate coagulation in coher ent lump form without intimate mixture of the carbon black and rubber. The carbon black may be first dispersed in Water, With or Without the 0


The paper focused on the theory and practice of the continuous emulsification machine and on the questions such as the size,the sensitivity of detonators,the safety and other issues of latex.The emulsification machine has practical application in industry.


The heat of fusion of seventeen alkali halides was measured by means of a copper block drop calorimeter. The salts and their heats of fusion in kcal mole/sup -1/ are as follows: LiCl, 4.76; LiBr, 4.22; LiI, 3.50; NaCl, 6.69; NaBr, 6.24; NaI, 5.64; KCI, 6.27; KBr, 6.10; KI, 5.74; RbF, 6.15; RbCl, 5.67; RbBr, 5.57; RbI, 5.27; CsF, 5.19; CsCl, 4.84; CsBr, 5.64; and CsI, 5.64. The heats of fusion are believed to be accurate to at least plus or minus 1 to 2%. Except for the Li salts and, to some slight extent, the sodium salts, the entropy of fusion is constant when the anion varies, but decreases with increasing atomic number of the cation. (auth)


Drug resistance by persisters is a global issue that requires urgent attention. Quinolines and quinolones have proven to be important cores in several bioactive organic chemotypes, based on this, the antimicrobial activity of six derivatives of 2,4-diarylquinolines was evaluated using the disc diffusion method at 5-20 µM/mL. The bioactivity evaluation was conducted on four bacteria examples, two of which are ESKAPE bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The results indicated promising minimum inhibitory concentrations (5 and 10 µM/mL in some cases) and encouraging zones of inhibition against the 4 germs while interesting and reasonable structure-activity relationships were established at the end of the study.


The analysis of vehicle-to-vehicle communications is generally limited to vehicles on street segments, which are modeled using 1-D point processes. However, it is essential to model the intersections which are crucial for vehicle safety. In this paper, we focus on orthogonal street systems involving intersections with Poisson distributed vehicles on each street. We derive analytical expressions for the success probabilities of two types of users-- the typical general user and the typical intersection user. We show that the the orthogonal street system shares some properties of both 1-D and 2-D Poisson networks. Specifically, the vehicles on the street system behave like 1-D and 2-D Poisson point processes of vehicles in the high-reliability and low-reliability regimes, respectively. Also, we deduce that the success probability of the typical general/intersection user is upper bounded by the minimum of the success probabilities of the 1-D and 2-D Poisson networks.


Recently microwave heating is replacing classical methods in composite manufacturing processes. In fact one of the advantages of microwave heating is achieving a volumetric heating, which can improve the final material properties. However electrical and magnetic fields propagation is complicated to simulate and understand inside a heterogeneous domain. In fact, carbon fibers are highly conductor with respect to the composite matrix. Such behavior would alter the wave propagation inside the part and reduces the desired volumetric heating effects. In this work, we simulate the propagation of electric fields inside a heterogeneous part by using the Proper Generalized Decomposition (known as PGD). In fact this method helps us achieving full 3D simulations by the complexity of few 1D simulations.


We have clarified the relationship between the grounding resistance of surge arresters and the lightning surge behavior observed in low-voltage equipment by Electro-Magnetic Transients Program analysis. The result shows that the grounding resistance of surge arresters installed on a pole with a pole transformer can be increased to some extent without decreasing the lightning protection level of the low-voltage equipment by the installation of an overhead ground wire and the shortening of the interval between concrete poles with surge arresters. A reduction in the cost of grounding construction can be expected.


: This article is driven by the research carried out in the last five years at the of Architecture Construction Conservation (Iuav of Venice) about the industrial district of Porto Marghera near Venice. While not addressing the area itself, this paper is about the analyses carried out during the research, inevitably a part of the project process. This research is based on a rigorous knowledge of the location, taking into consideration all the protagonists in the various transformations that Porto Marghera has undergone and continues to undergo. The main goal of the research is to provide those involved with objective analysis with which to operate. Objective analysis that reflects the researcher, who is a designer, namely who may use these findings, traces, abacus and matrixes for designing (sustainable) scenarios. The research methodology is inductive [1] and employs mapping, sorting and cataloguing, in order to deconstruct the different significations of the problem. Mapping the Venetian district has allowed a greater awareness of the areas of complexity and difficulty. We are in the field of project analysis: the inductive procedures put in place, re-propose a source (an arché) that can be different from the object investigated. A derivative. The more rational and prudent the development of the analysis, the lower the risks displacement. The work on Porto Marghera, collected as an atlas, as a catalogue (but that would also like to be an handbook) is not therefore necessary to design a masterplan, which sooner or later will surely have to be drawn up. The Atlas proposes the site's procedural, albeit highly interpretive, reading and aspires to activate analogue suggestions giving rise to "retentissement", that is phenomena of identification of formal principles, of figures participating to the culture of each protagonist [2]. The ultimate goal of this research is to explore the potentials of various mechanisms for territorial recuperation, or rather to show that the question of land reclamation is just a prerequisite. The forms of recuperation are an integral part of the architectural project without limiting it or depriving it of its usual characteristics such as function, creativity, quality, and even beauty.


The herbicide Roundup® whose active ingredient is glyphosate (N [phosphonomethyl]-glycine) was introduced as a broad spectrum, post emergent herbicide in 1974. Extensive research by a number of groups showed that glyphosate's herbicidal activity resulted from inhibition of the enzyme 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) a key enzyme in the shikimate pathway that is responsible for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids in plants and microbes (reviewed, Franz et ai., 1997). Since even small amounts of Roundup® can cause severe injury to plants, it could not be applied "over-the-top" on crops. This changed in 1996 when the first crops tolerant to Roundup® were introduced. However, work to develop this technology began in the early 1980's. Three approaches were investigated in an effort to generate Roundup® tolerance in plants: (1) overexpression of EPSPS, (2) introduction of an EPSPS with decreased affmity for glyphosate, and (3) introduction of a glyphosate degradation gene. Two key discoveries from the latter two approaches enabled the current Roundup Ready® (RRTM) technologies. A glyphosate resistant EPSPS was identified and isolated from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 (CP4 EPSPS) and a glyphosate metabolizing enzyme, glyphosate oxidase (GOX) which converts glyphosate to glyoxylate and aminomethylphosphonic acid was isolated (reviewed, Padgette et ai., 1996).


Because of furious competition, the middle small-sized publishing companies are facing lots of difficulties in their development. In order to get out of the situation, they should foster the core——strength of carving out including making practical strategy and cultivating multiple-quality personel.


Abstract A new organic non-centrosymmetric nonlinear optical (NLO) material, p-nitrobenzylidene-p-phenylamineaniline (PNBPDA) was synthesized and single crystals of PNBPDA were grown from ethanol solution by slow evaporation solution growth technique. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) and powder XRD data confirm that PNBPDA crystallizes in monoclinic system with non-centrosymmetric space group Cc.Various characterizations like PXRD, fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermal analysis and micro hardness test have been conducted. Optical studies have been done for evaluating the transparency range and the luminescence property of the grown single crystals of PNBPDA. Dielectric studies have carried out to investigate the electronic polarizability within the grown crystal. The frequency conversion efficiency of the grown crystal was determined using Kurtz Perry powder technique and second harmonic generation (SHG) was found to be 6 times that of standard Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP). Z-Scan technique was performed to determine the third order non-linear optical properties of the grown crystal of PNBPDA. The optical limiting property and the laser damage threshold value reflect the practical applicability of PNBPDA crystal for photonic applications. Additionally, the theoretical background of PNBPDA was carved out using Density Functional Theory (DFT) by evaluating the geometrical and electronic structural properties from Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) analysis, Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MESP) analysis and non-linear features from dipole moment, polarizability and hyperpolarizability properties embedded within the PNBPDA molecule. The calculated first order hyperpolarizability (β) value of the molecule was found to be 14 times that of the standard urea molecule.


Objective To explore the function of colonic mucosal barrier of patients with colonic slow transit constipation (STC).Methods From June 2008 to June 2012,a total of 136 patients with STC were enrolled.Among them,course of disease of 55 cases was between one and six years,of 43 cases was between six and 10 years,and of 38 cases was over 10 years.The colonic transit time of 66 cases was between three and five days,of 42 cases was between five and seven days,and of 28 cases was over seven days.Altogether,35 cases received subtotal resection of the colon.At same time,individuals who received partial resection of the colon because of single polypus were set as control group.Fasting blood and urine samples of all subjects were collected.The colonic specimens of STC patients who received surgery and control group were harvested.The urinary lactulose and mannitol ratio (L/M) was detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).The level of blood Dlactic acid (D-LAC) was tested by enzymatic spectrophotometric.The level of blood diamine oxidase (DAO) was determined by speetrophotometry.The level of endotoxin (ET) was detected by azo chromogenic substrate limulus test.The colonic epithelial cells membrane resistance (TER) and paracellular mannitol permeability (PMP) were measured with Ussing perfusion chamber.t-test was performed for comparison between groups.Results Urinary L/M of STC group and control group was 0.16±0.03 and 0.10±0.02,respectively.The level of blood D-LAC was (1.81±0.19) and (1.04±0.13) mmol/L.The level of blood DAO was (17.07±1.81) and (9.78±1.14) U/L.The level of blood ET was (64.20±6.85) and (51.30±5.90) EU/L.The TER of colonic epithelia cell was (61.23±7.76) and (75.87±9.65) Ω/cm2.The PMP of colonic epithelia cell was (3.17±0.35) % and (2.14 ±0.22)%.All the differences were statistically significant (t =3.185,3.378,3.863,3.201,3.125 and 3.543,all P<0.05).Among patients with disease course between one and six years,six to 10 years and over 10 years,colonic transit time of STC between three and five days,five to seven days and over seven days,urinary L/M,blood D-LAC level and blood DAO level increased along with the disease course and colonic transit time and the differences were statistical significantly compared with control group (urinary L/M:t=1.993,2.311,2.356,2.204,2.347 and 3.673; blood D-LAC level:t=2.023,2.886,4.124,1.999,2.998 and 3.465; blood DAO level:t=1.994,2.995,4.423,2.203,3.673 and 5.211; all P<0.05).Compared with control group,there were significant differences in blood ET level of course of STC between six and 10 years,over 10 years,colonic transit time of STC between five and seven days and over seven days (t=2.121,4.245,3.241 and 4.657,all P<0.05).Conclusion The permeability of colonic mucosal barrier increased and which was more significant in longer colonic transit time and long course of disease.

Key words:
Constipation;  Colonic diseases;  Intestinal mucosa


Pore structure,surface property and chemical constitution of plant ash were determined and analyzed.Sorption kinetics and adsorption/desorption isotherm of PCB52 on plant ash were examined respectively,and results demonstrated that Freundich equation and second-order equation fit best with the highest regression coefficients,implying that sorption may be a complex multi-layer adsorption,and were divided into fast and slow sorption stage.The desorption isotherms presented nonlinear,and desorption process showed some of the lag phenomenon.With increase of plant ash concentration,HI value were reduced,i.e.desorption lag were reduced,and smaller HI value were showed in the higher concentration conditions,which indicated that the adsorbents were desorbed from the sediments much easier in higher concentration conditions.


In order to overcome the problem of poor accuracy of resonant interferometer method in the measurement of thermodynamic sound speed and hypersound speed of liquids an experimental setup for measuring the sound speed of liquids is established based on the principle of spontaneous Brillouin light scattering. A Fabry-Perot interferometer is used to filter the scattered light and a data acquisition card as well as a photon counting head is used to detect and analyze the scattered light, then a data acquisition and analysis method of scattered light is presented. This method overcomes the limitation of the signal distortion in conventional Brillouin light scattering and increases the measuring accuracy of the sound speed of liquids remarkably. The sound speed of saturated liquid CCl4 is measured in the frequency range of 308.6 to 906.2 MHz at 298.15 K. Results agree well with the data reported in the literature, and show that the experimental method is feasible. In addition, the method for measuring the ultrasonic speed is proposed by adding several free spectral ranges to the measured Brillouin frenquency-shift. The ultrasonic speed of CCl4 measured is in the frequency range of 5406.1–5521.0 MHz. It is shown that the thermodynamic sound speed does not change with the sound frequency, while the hypersound speed increases with the increase of sound frequency and it is much greater than the thermodynamic sound speed, which proves the dispersion phenomena of CCl4.


Present studies on urban road traffic state identification usually set road segments and connected intersections as an entirety. However, traffic flow on road segments and intersections has significantly different characteristics, so it may cause identification error when implementing the same identification criterion. This paper divides road segments and intersections respectively into small units for the purpose of traffic state differential identification. Then, statistical analysis is used to compare the different characteristics of traffic flow between road segments and intersections, during the process, real floating car data of Nanjing is used. The outcome clearly shows the differences and proves that differential identification is needed. Also it contributes to the making of different identification criterion: median speed and ratio of maximum queue length to unit's length are used as the indexes of state identification respectively for road segments and intersections. A case study is conducted to prove the feasibility of the identification method, and the conclusion is that differential traffic state identification can better reflect a real traffic flow state and largely reduce identification errors.


This study was conducted to investigate the effect of nitrogen rates on the growth characteristics and yield of maize in agricultural fields with the stream. This indicates the necessity and optimal level of nitrous fertilization to examine the possibilities of quantity enhancement. Plant height and ear height of maize were not significantly different among the nitrogen rates. Stem diameter and leaf area index increased in the nitrogen treatment compared to untreated control. Changes of photosynthetic rate in maize leaves depending on nitrogen treatments increased as much as nitrogen rates were increased up to the highest level, 36 kg per 10a. NDF and ADF content levels of maize were investigated with different nitrogen rates regardless of treatments. In the case of NDF, it showed a tendency to decrease after 8 days of tasseling date. ADF had also decreased after 15 days of tasseling date. Nitrogen uptake of maize leaves with different nitrogen rates showed the highest level, 4.9 g kg -1 with 36 kg per 10a on the tasseling date. Ear length and 100-kernel weight, there were no significant differences according to yield and the components with different nitrogen rates. Ear diameter and kernel number, nitrogen rates of 18 kg and 36 kg were increased compared to nitrogen rate of 9 kg per 10a and untreated control. The pericarps in 9 kg nitrogen rate and control were thicker than those of 18 kg and 36 kg treatment. The yield, 18 kg, 36 kg, and 9 kg treatments were increased by 10.96%, 9.27%, and 3.31%, compared to control. The component analysis on maize kernel with different nitrogen rates, starch showed no significant differences among treatments. Total sugar in 18 kg nitrogen treatment represented the highest content level, 6.37%. In addition, Amylopectin in 18 kg treatment showed the highest content level of 90.38%. However, amylose in 18 kg treatment showed the lowest level, 9.62% which drew a conclusion that waxy of 18 kg treatment is considered to be the strongest one. From the results described above, nitrous fertilization is essential to grow maize in agricultural fields with the stream. The optimum level of nitrous fertilization is considered 18 kg per 10a.


The National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) was officially opened on August 29, 2011. Located within the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), the NCERC has become a consolidation facility within the United States for critical configuration testing, particularly those involving highly enriched uranium (HEU). The DAF is a Department of Energy (DOE) owned facility that is operated by the National Nuclear Security Agency/Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO). User laboratories include the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Personnel bring their home lab qualifications and procedures with them to the DAF, such that non-site specific training need not be repeated to conduct work at DAF. The NNSS Management and Operating contractor is National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec) and the NNSS Safeguards and Security contractor is Wackenhut Services. The complete report provides an overview and status of the available laboratories and test bays at NCERC, available test materials and test support configurations, and test requirements and limitations for performing sub-critical and critical tests. The current summary provides a brief summary of the facility status and the method by which experiments may be introduced to NCERC.


Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of thymosin α 1(T α l) combined with HGF in the treatment of chronic severe hepatitis.Methods: Sixty four patients with severe hepatitis, who were randomly divided into treatment group (n=24) and control group (n=40), received HGF for three months. Those in the treatment group received T α 1 coincidently. Three months later, the levels of serum TSB, ALT, HA and PT was measured. Results: At the end of treatment, the levels of TSB and ALT were decreased in the treatment group as compared with those in the ontrol group(P 0. 05). In the treatment group, total effective rate was 75.4% and the mortality was 25.0%, while that in the control group was 45.0% and 47. 5% respectively with the difference being significant (P 0. 05). Conclusion: The therapy of T α 1 combined with HGF can obviously alleviate the liver injury and decrease the mortality of the patients with chronic severe hepatitis.


This paper gives a brief overview of requirements within the aerospace market sector for which optical sensors are of potential benefit, and goes on to describe sensors currently under development at Lucas Electrical and Electronic Systems which are primarily intended to meet some of these requirements. These sensors, based on the combination of silicon micromachining and optical sensing technologies, are sufficiently robust to provide the capability of directly measuring on‐engine parameters such as pressure and temperature. In association with FADEC‐mounted interface units, to which the sensor heads are coupled via optical fibre links, the sensors have the potential to provide measurement data for a number of aero‐engine control requirements.


We give some new properties of the space S�,� and we apply them to the �-core theory. These results generalize those by Choudhary and Yardimci.


By unraveling a persistent misconception in the zeta Hadamard product expansion, and employing the zeta functional equation, a concise proof of the Riemann Hypothesis is presented, which conclusively demonstrate that the Riemann Hypothesis is true.


Coherence as one of the most significant elements of text analysis will be the main focus of this research paper. Based upon relevant theoretical background it presents empirical study of coherence in Albanian subtitles of "Great Gatsby" film. This paper will elaborate on the theory of coherence focusing on its role and importance in the text, as well as the difficulties of implementing it during the translation process. The empirical research has been realized on the analysis of fourteen Albanian subtitles from the "Great Gatsby" film, furthermore the study based on the translation (Albanian subtitles) elaborates the implementation of coherence and changes that are made during the translation process. In addition, there are identified the problems, structural changes, cultural loss, parts of the film that were not translated, and at the same time recommendations are given for each selected Albanian subtitle.


This contribution presents selected results from simultaneous L- and S-Band slant-path fade measurements through a pecan, a cottonwood, and a pine tree employing a tower-mounted transmitter and dual-frequency receiver. A single, circularly-polarized antenna was used at each end of the link. The objective was to provide information for personal communications satellite design on the correlation of tree shadowing between frequencies near 1620 and 2500 MHz. Fades were measured along 10 m lateral distance with 5 cm spacing. Instantaneous fade differences between L- and S-Band exhibited normal distribution with means usually near 0 dB and standard deviations from 5.2 to 7.5 dB. The cottonwood tree was an exception, with 5.4 dB higher average fading at S- than at L-Band. The spatial autocorrelation reduced to near zero with lags of about 10 lambda. The fade slope in dB/MHz is normally distributed with zero mean and standard deviation increasing with fade level.


The present invention relates to a non-spherical amphiphilic polymer nanoparticles having interfacial properties which can be reversibly controlled by temperature at the aqueous solution-to-oil and aqueous solution-to-solid interfaces, a method for producing the non-spherical amphiphilic polymer nanoparticles, and an emulsion composition or a nanopattern-forming composition comprising same, the hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties of the particle surface of the non-spherical amphiphilic polymer nanoparticles according to the present invention reversibly changing with temperature, thus allowing the interfacial properties between liquid-to-liquid or liquid-to-solid to be reversibly controlled by temperature. Accordingly, the emulsion composition comprising the non-spherical amphiphilic polymer nanoparticles according to the present invention can maximize the delivery of drugs, cosmetics and the like in the medical and cosmetic fields by controlling the size of the emulsion by means of temperature-based control of the interfacial properties. Additionally, the effectiveness of the lithographic process for semiconductor chip production can be maximized in the electronics industry as the wettability of the liquid for a solid substrate can be controlled by using the characteristic in which the interfacial properties can be reversibly controlled by temperature. Furthermore, the present invention can be used as a printer ink composition and the like in the printer ink and paint industries to maximize the coating effectiveness on the surface of printer paper and painting surfaces having diverse surface characteristics.


This work describes decentralisation in the world at large: how, when and for what reason it occurs, the preconditions required for successful decentralisation and the benefits it brings. Then the results of decentralisation in the Republic of Croatia are investigated. The situation at the lowest levels of government, or in a city, is analysed, the aim being to show the current financial situation and the key budgetary problems related with decentralisation at this level of government. The conclusion of the work is that Croatia has taken a number of steps in the process of decentralisation but that there are many shortcomings that need to be removed.


ObjectiveThe risk assessment and countermeasures of laboratory biosafety during EXPO 2010 in Jing'an District of Shanghai.MethodBy using the standard of risk management of Australia and New Zealand,and the expert evaluating method,risk assessment of laboratory biosafety was made during Expo 2010 in Jing'an district.ResultFire is the highest risk biosecurity event;loss of biological sample and poisonous species of bacteria,infection of toxic species,and earthquake is high-risk biosecurity event;floods,laboratory personnel stabbed,cuts or abrasions is the middle bio-security risk event;laboratory personnel skin and mucous membrane contamination,biological safety cabinets and other outside the heavily polluted environment is low biosecurity risk event.ConclusionThe prevention and controlling risk of biosecurity event should be improved step by step under rules including prevention as primary,prevention and emergency treatment as equal attention,improvement of urgent management.


There is increased interest in biomass gasification for production of a gas which can substitute for fossil fuel. High system efficiency requires good carbon conversion in the gasifier. When a solid fuel particle is injected into a hot fluidized or fixed bed, the reactivity of the resulting char in gasification reactions (between char carbon and steam and CO2 as well as the inhibiting reactions of product gases H2 and CO) play a significant role in reaching good carbon conversion. In this paper, the gasification reactivity data of biomass chars, as measured in TGA experiments, is used for the determination of kinetic parameters for char carbon gasification reactivity correlations. The complicated ash-carbon interactions during char gasification are currently being studied. Laboratory measured reactivity values from TGA experiments are used in the Carbon Conversion predictor to simulate carbon conversion in a real scale fluidized bed gasifier. The predictor is a relatively simple and transparent tool for the comparison of the gasification reactivity of different fuels in fluidized bed gasification. Also a threezone model for fixed bed gasification has been developed, based on models and parameters from the literature. Simulations with the models against some pilot-scale results show reasonable agreement.


The idea that teachers should be competent at what they do is difficult to contest. Perhaps this partly explains the popular appeal of competence‐based approaches to teaching and teacher education, which, in recent decades, have spread rapidly across many countries around the world (for an overview and critical analysis, see Heilbronn, 2008, chapter 2). National frameworks for teacher education are increasingly being formulated in terms of competences, and even the European Commission has recently produced a set of Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications, meant to stimulate 'reflection about actions that can be taken at Member State level and how the European Union might support these' – as it was formulated in the 2007 document Improving the Quality of Teacher Education. The idea of competence, however, has more than just rhetorical appeal. Its introduction marks an important shift in focus from what teachers should know to what they should be able to do, and potentially even to how they should be. In this regard the idea how does a Competent Teacher Become a Good Teacher?: On Judgement, Wisdom and Virtuosity in Teaching and Teacher education


We report 241 species representing 63 genera of ground beetles from th islands of the western basin of Lake Erie and selected mainland sites from a 1991-93 survey, plus specimens examined in public and private collections, and previously published sources. Most species are generally distributed; however, a restricted population of Sphaeroderus schaumii schaumii we redis covered is no doubt imperiled. Comparison of wing morphotype frequencies of the Lake Erie island species with mainland populations from studies in Ohio and Michigan support a hypothesis tha vagility is of increased import in the islands. Regression and correlation analysis show a positive relationship between species number and island area, no correlation between species num ber and distance from the mainland and an improved fit for a multiple regres sion which includes collecting effort. The beetle fauna of the islands of Lake Erie has not been studied inten sively. Inventories of other terrestrial invertebrates such as Lepidoptera (Nault et al. 1989), spiders (Beatty 1988) and isopods (Dexter et al. 1988) have been published. Lake Erie's western basin archipelago contains 22 islands which are of land-bridge origin (Fig 1). Water filled the Erie basin ca. 4000 years b.p. isolating pre-existing dolomitic and limestone hills as i lands (Forsyth 1988). Oak and maple forest, typical of the region, were most likely predominant on the islands. Native Americans intermittently occupied the islands; immi grants arrived in the early in the 19th century and permanent settlements were established by 1822 (Mohr 1931). All islands larger than 0.01 km2 have had or presently have human inhabitants. Mining (Mohr 1931, Courter 1974) and viniculture (Boerner 1984) rapidly transformed and dominated the land scape. Changes in flora of the islands are reported by McGormick (1968), Hamilton & Forsyth (1972), Boerner (1984), Duncan & Stuckey (1970). Rac coons, rats, and feral cats are abundant on inhabited islands. Historically, free-r swine were found on South Bass Island. Tourism has supplanted mining an viniculture as the major economic base of the islands and distur bance in upland areas has declined in recent years. Comparison of aerial photo graphs from 1985 (Musgrave & Derenger 1985) with those taken in 1993 during our survey showed no significant changes in the patt rn of forestation. lDepartment of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. 2Current address: Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. 1 Will et al.: Ground Beetles of Islands in the Western Basin of Lake Erie and t Published by ValpoScholar, 1995 56 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 28, No.1 Figure 1. Lake Erie's western basin archipelago. South Bass Island is a notable exception. Permanent structures have been built recently. primarily in forested areas. The history of severe perturbation in this region has no doubt altered the composition of the beetle fauna. The survey area contains a wide variety of habitats. The lake shore has sand. gravel or bedrock beaches. cliffs and coastal marshes (Herdendorf & Monaco 1988a, 1988b). Uplands are wooded with thin rocky soils and are typically mesic though extremely dry during mid-summer. Dominant hard woods are maples (Acer sp.) and hackberries (Celtis occidentalisl. A few wet lowland areas support ash (Fraxinus sp.) and cottonwood (Populus deltoides). Abandoned agricultural sites are found in all stages of succession. Many of the islands are largely fallow or cultivated fields. MATERIALS AND METHODS


ABSTRACT Lactobacillus otakiensis strain JCM 15040T was isolated from an unsalted pickling solution used in the production of sunki, a traditional Japanese pickle. Here, we prepared a draft genome sequence for this strain consisting of 40 contigs containing a total of 2,347,132 bp, 2,310 predicted coding sequences, and a G+C content of 42.4%.


Aclidinium did not decrease all-cause mortality or exacerbations requiring oral steroids, antibiotics, or both. However, aclidinium decreased the number of patients with exacerbations requiring hospitalization and improved quality of life in those with stable COPD.


The invention provides a thulium-doped optical fiber laser pump method utilizing erbium-doped random optical fiber laser. The method utilizes the erbium-doped optical fiber laser for generating a high power output of 1530 to 1590 manometers, then injects the output into a random optical fiber laser in order to obtain a high power random optical fiber laser output of 1630 to 1700 nanometers, and finally a thulium-doped optical fiber laser/amplifier is pumped, so as to obtain a high power thulium-doped optical fiber laser output. The random optical fiber laser is simple in structure, stable in system, and ensures a higher converting efficiency thereof; the absorptivity and pumping efficiency can be effectively increased by using the random optical fiber laser output of 1630 to 1700 nanometers for co-band pumping the thulium-doped optical fiber laser/amplifier, thereby reducing the pressure of heat management, and finally being able to obtain a thulium-doped optical fiber laser which is high in power, high in efficiency, and convenient in heat management.


Dynamic coalescence and dispersion processes of Pd in a USY zeolite were successfully followed by an in situ quick XAFS method involving cycles of temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), which were conducted repeatedly one after another. In the first TPR process, the agglomeration of Pd progressed up to 673 K to yield Pd clusters with Pd−Pd coordination number (CN) = 7.5, probably in the supercage of USY. On further increasing the temperature, the Pd particles dispersed onto acid sites to form Pd clusters with CN = 4.3. At the same time, Pd−Osurface1 bonds appeared at 0.213 nm owing to the strong interaction between the Pd clusters and the framework of the USY zeolite. After cooling to room temperature, the flowing gas was switched to O2 and the TPO experiment (first run) was carried out. In the TPO, the spontaneous dispersion of PdO onto the acid sites took place through the oxidation of Pd clusters via the agglomeration of Pd. In the following TPR (second run),...


Stress distribution of bolted joint hybrid composite-steel in a vehicle structure is analyzed in this paper. The analysis was carried out on three different conditions that are when the vehicle in total load, in cornering and braking condition. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to investigate the structural behavior during those three different loading conditions. Different parameters were applied for each simulation. The results show that the maximum stress did not appear in the bolted joint area means the stress on this joint is still below the maximum stress of both composite and steel materials with stress value on this area in full load condition is 62 MPa, 54 MPa in cornering condition and 51 MPa in braking condition. By using this hybrid composite-steel chassis structure a lighter weight is obtained. The simulation shows the chassis weight is reduced by about 22.7% compared to full steel chassis with the same dimension.


This paper describes how drinking and driving is responsible for almost 40 percent of fatal road crashes in the United States and around 30 percent of fatal crashes in Australia. First time DWI offenders are responsible for many of these fatalities. Evidence from many researchers clearly illustrates that first time offenders are probably a gross misnomer because these individuals have probably driven between 200 and 2000 times before getting caught for the first time. Interlock programs, in their current form, are not going to prevent first time DWI offenders from crashing vehicles after consuming alcohol. Alcohol interlock programs are effective in preventing drinking drivers from using an interlock equipped vehicle. Until interlocks are installed and operating in every vehicle, drinking drivers will continue to cause death and injury on roads. Interlocks in all vehicles are a long-term goal that must be preceded by effective interlock programs targeting convicted DWI offenders. Unfortunately no state or country has developed a fully effective interlock program that mandates interlocks in vehicles driven by all convicted DWI offenders at this time. Continuous improvement of present alcohol interlock programs is necessary to achieve the longer-term goal. Cost-benefit studies show that interlocks in all vehicles can vary from marginal to positive results, reporting ratios in the order of 8 to 1. Work is needed to more accurately assess the cost of an interlock suitable for all vehicles and the longer-term costs of operating with interlocks in all vehicles. The extremely high costs of alcohol related crashes are well known and create a significant burden on all communities. Lobby groups need to urge politicians to take more action to reduce the incidence of drinking drivers in alcohol related injury crashes. In summary alcohol interlocks in all vehicles remains a goal but an achievable one within the next 5 to 10 years. It has the potential to significantly reduce the 5 percent of the population who continue to drive regularly while intoxicated, causing fatal and serious injury crashes.


Originally published in 1916, this work provides a detailed study of the first century of the Ottoman Empire. It traces the life and career of Osman himself and of his descendants, Orkhan, Murad and Bayezid, who laid the foundations of the Ottoman Empire.


Reservoir compartmentalization has a huge bearing on fluid flow within hydrocarbon reservoirs, and can impact overall recovery during field development. Small and sub-seismic faults can have a dramatic effect on the compartmentalization within a reservoir, but until recently they have not typically been incorporated into fault interpretations. This can be due to data fidelity and the amount of time needed to manually pick them. Their omission from the interpretation - and ultimately reservoir models - means the understanding of reservoir compartmentalization is incomplete, hence solving this problem is critical to improve production. Approaches that automatically identify and extract faults from seismic volumes are available. These automated methods aim to emphasize discontinuities within seismic volumes and are usually focused on poststack data. However, they need preconditioned inputs that are often based around a coherence algorithm. This preconditioning aims to suppress noise but can inflict data degradation, which may diminish smaller features in the seismic volumes. This article proposes an enhanced approach using a new combination of preconditioning steps designed to avoid these degradation problems. It also proposes the use of prestack seismic data, which has not traditionally been used for this purpose. Analysis of various pre-stack elements is displayed to show it can delineate more features than poststack data alone in certain noisy areas, such as gas effects or low frequencies. Finally, it demonstrates that the best approach combines results from pre- and poststack analysis to produce a more complete picture of reservoir compartmentalization.


In this article we give an overview of the relation between planning of maintenance and production. On the one hand we consider production planning and scheduling models in which failures and maintenance aspects are taken into account. Next we discuss the planning of maintenance activities, for which we consider both preventive as well as corrective maintenance. Thirdly, we consider the planning of maintenance activities at such moments in time where the items to be maintained are not or less needed for production, also called opportunity maintenance. Apart from describing the main ideas, approaches, trends, and results we also provide a number of applications.


WITE THE ADVENT of Pressey's automatic testing machine in the early 1920's,1 and particularly since 1954 when Skinner's article on teaching machines appeared,2 a phenomenal growth of activity has taken place in the field of machine teaching. A1though the term, teaching machine, has proved to be a popular nomenclature, it does little to describe the underlying educational and psychological concept which is better called programed learning. Programed learning, variously referred to as auto-instruction, machine teaching, self-instruction, programed instruction, or automated instruction, has three identifying characteristics:


Objective To investigate the bacteriological features,diagnosis and treatment of isolated sphenoid sinusitis. Methods Sphenoiditis secreta and mucosa were taken out under the endoscope from 37 patients with isolated sphenoiditis,who had been identified with CT or magnetic resonance imaging test. The bacteria was cultured and the drug-sensitive test was performed. Meanwhile,drugs were applied according to the drug-sensitiveness results. Results The sphenoiditis detectable rate was 81.1%(30/37),which was almost equal to that in the normal nose(80.0%,24/30)(P0.05). The gram-positive in isolated sphenoiditis took 90.0%(27/30),and the negative 10.0%(3/30). In normal nose group,gram-positive took 66.7%(16/24),and the gram-negative 33.3%(8/24),with remarkable difference with that of the sphenoiditis group (P0.05).All patients were cured 6 months after the treatment. Conclusions Isolated sphenoiditis was mainly affected by the aerobic bacteria,the majority of which were gram-positive. CT or magnetic resonance imaging combined with the endoscopic surgery was a good method for the diagnosis and treatment of isolated sphenoiditis.


Evaluation of metal concentrations in selected canned beers consumed in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria was conducted using atomic absorption spectrophotometer(AAS) after HNO3/H2O2 digestion process. Considered Metals in selected canned beers include: Al , Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb , and Zn to ascertain the quality and standards as it affect beer consumers. The results of the laboratory analysis shown that the concentrations Cr, Fe, Ni, Cd and Pb in the selected canned beers were above the permissible levels concentration stipulated for potable drinking water, while the metals Zn, Al and Cu were below the permissible limits in the potable drinking water respectively . Ultimately, there is clearly a need to improve quality control in the processing of this and other canned beers. From the risk assessment of canned beers on human heath, it is ascertained that metal concentrations in the selected canned beers do not pose a risk to consumer's health since the estimated metal daily intake per kg bodyweight is below the provisional tolerable intake of these metals as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) .Based on this result, quality monitoring and control by standard organization of Nigeria (SON) were suggested for beer


This paper presents the results of tracing and evaluating the process of building of an ICT strategy initiative that was meant to orchestrate the Palestinian efforts in harnessing ICT into an effective tool for socio-economic development. It describes the process, the pillars, and the pitfalls in the efforts led by the governments in making a long term plan for ICT. The paper presents the outcomes of the research efforts that were carried out by a group of researchers who investigated the formation process of the strategy. The researchers traced the building endeavors through utilizing various methods and techniques ranging from focus group meetings, to individual interviews with stakeholders, and semi-structured interviews with all stakeholders, in addition to questionnaires, surveys, and observations of on-going activities. The investigation has revealed that the creation of an information society in developing countries is a sophisticated and long term process that entails the involvement of all major players, under the direction of a resourceful government. The building process of the society should follow an indigenous bottom-up approach that has its agenda revolving around society development. The study has additionally revealed that the leading team should seek out the right formula in addition to the implementation apparatus that are capable of materializing the preset goals in the way to make these technologies successful development drivers. Introduction Since the dawn of history, information and knowledge lay the foundations for development and prosperity for countries and individuals alike. ICT speeds up the diffusion of knowledge among large portions of the populations. It also provides a platform for human interaction that seamlessly crosses borders. ICT advances have exceptionally boosted human capabilities in information processing, and knowledge harnessing. ICT is one of the fastest growing sectors nowadays, and the production, storage, and transfer of information are becoming the basis of any successful enterprises or institutions, and governments alike. ICT enables globalization which obliges companies, governments and civil agencies, to react more quickly, and operate more efficiently than they have done in the past. ICTs have become the center of debate in socioeconomic development circles since early 1990s, which marks the beginning of information and knowledge age. ICT is known to be the fastest rising industry during the past five decades, and its scene for upcoming expansion is emerging to be equally soaring (Freeman and Perez 1988, Willinger and Luschovitch 1988, National Research Council 1988, 1994). Developed countries are now heavy users of IT; emerging and developing countries are following in their steps (King et al. 1992). ICT has been the central driving force behind the progress of the developed societies; however their ICT use and development are seen as a natural evolution in the course of history as these countries have led the transition from industrial to information and knowledge age. Developed nations have early recognized the economic and social implications of ICT so it turned out to be the heart of their national development policies seeking an advanced position for their local industries in the global market. ICTs are now interleaved in the social and economic life of these countries (King, et al 1994). A trend of government intervention in IT innovation across countries appears to be accelerating (Kaul 1987, Rahim and Pennings 1987, Bhalla and James 1988, Kraemer et al. 1992). However there is a substantial dispute about whether governments should lead the efforts to promote information technology diffusion, and if so, how it should happen (Land 1990, Odedra et al. 1990). Developing countries are trying to catch up through actions such as significantly increasing spending for IT, releasing relevant legislations and laws, promoting ICT use and services among different government agencies, and so forth, in the hope of not being left behind in the global struggle for competitiveness. National IT policy has become a center of debate since the beginning of the information age early 1990s. The debate rages between those who claim that national policy should act only to facilitate the ICT private sector taking the lead (Nelson, 1993; World Bank, 1993) to those who argue that broad government guide will achieve faster, wider, and more comprehensive progress (Schware 1992, Kraemer and Dedrick 1994a, Dedrick and Kraemer 1995). Government intervention has been categorized as either being pro-production or pro-use or enabling to other production sectors (Flamm 1990, Kraemer et al. 1992). Each alternative has its own compelling arguments, making the question of policy making somewhat confusing (King and Kraemer 1995). In most developing countries national leaders are encouraged to take a strong stand on ICT, but there is no clear evidence on how to proceed, and this is why


We clarify the optimal pumping schemes for SDM/WDM channel allocation with a 7-core hybrid MC-EDFA. We report up to 20% of power consumption at maximum capacity. We estimate the benefits from improvement of cladding pumping.


No other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfills a man's ego like an automobile. Sir William Rootes


THERE EXIST SEVERAL TECHNIQUES OF MEASURING THE LENGTH OF REINFORCED PILES IN THE SOIL. THE TESTS SHOW THAT THE RESULTS OF MOST OF THEM ARE MARKEDLY INFLUENCED BY INTERFERENCES ON THE SITE. AFTER NUMEROUS TESTS THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE AN ACCURATE METHOD OF DETERMINING THE LENGTH OF THE PILE REINFORCEMENT. THE METHOD WHICH IS A VARIATION OF "EARTHING" REQUIRES THE DRILLING OF BOREHOLES IN THE VICINITY OF THE PILES TO BE TESTED. IT IS EASY TO CARRY OUT AND THE COSTS ARE LOW.


Axiom pinpointing is the task of identifying the axioms that are responsible for a consequence. It is a fundamental step for tasks like ontology revision and context-based reasoning, among many others. One known approach is to reduce axiom pinpointing to an enumeration problem over a set of Horn clauses. We introduce the new SATPin system, which combines techniques from axiom pinpointing and minimal unsatisfiable subformula enumeration, and exploits the numerous optimizations developed for SAT solving in the last two decades. By adding a novel optimization method the runtime can improve by a factor up to 4300. Our experiments show that SATPin can find all the MinAs of large biomedical ontologies an order of magnitude faster than existing tools.


This paper describes the random amplification of polymorphic DNA markers (RAPDs) in Lasaea rubra (Erycinidae: Bivalvia). Present evidence suggests that L. rubra is an asexual species; however, the exact mode of clonal reproduction in this species is still a matter of debate. In this preliminary study, four of the primers used generated polymorphic RAPDs. One primer was able to distinguish between individuals from the same or different crevice population. This same primer also resolved a single band difference between otherwise identical RAPD patterns of a parent and its offspring. No familial differences have been detected in several previous studies using allozyme electrophoresis. This paper suggests that many polymorphic markers could be obtained with this species using the RAPD technique. Population genetic analysis of L. rubra has long been hampered by a dearth of polymorphic markers due to its small size. These findings suggest that this technique has the potential to further the study of population genetics in this asexual species.


A jig apparatus for manufacturing a rack is provided to enhance welding efficiency by allowing a user to freely adjust a turning and tilting of the rack while pipes forming the rack are fixed. A jig apparatus for manufacturing a rack comprises a fixing base installed on the ground, a turning base(200), a tilting table(300) having a T-slot, a clamp device and a control device(500). The turning base has a rotation shaft(S1), which is vertically formed on the fixing base, and is connected to a turning-motor(230) installed on the fixing base. The tilting table is supported by a pair of supports(240) extending from the turning base and is connected to a tilting-motor(250) installed at the turning base. The clamping device is installed on the T-slot to fix a pipe forming the rack. The control device controls the turning-motor and the tilting-motor.


Starting with an r that was already ambiguous, the IPA added new symbols and diacritics without arriving at a comprehensive treatment of rhotics. The results have been ad hoc solutions and potential confusion for languages such as Spanish, in which these need to be distinguished. A few modifications of the IPA diacritic system would suffice in order to capture the different types.


This paper discusses the mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete columns wrapped with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets. A numerical routine was developed to predict the behavior of the columns using a step-by-step technique. The routine is based on an existing model and was modified to account for confinement provided by the traditional steel as well as the external FRP wraps. Several empirical equations for the confined concrete were calibrated with results from experimental tests from different published papers. The most accurate equation was incorporated into the routine to predict the stress-strain relation of the column up to failure. A different confinement to the outer concrete cover and the inner core was used to account for the FRP wraps and the transverse steel. The model was calibrated with experimental results from different experiments on FRP-wrapped reinforced concrete columns.The model was taken one step further by using it to predict the behavior of reinforced concrete columns, wit...


Many engineering courses are being offered in an online mode by tertiary institutions around the world and frequently questions are raised about the quality, or effectiveness, of these courses. While institutions maintain that their online courses are designed and implemented in accordance with good practice there does not appear to be a generally accepted means of measuring and comparing quality. A research project has been undertaken with the aim of determining the constructs that should be used to measure quality in online courses and subsequently build an instrument that uses the constructs to measure quality. In this project an extensive study of published research was conducted to gather the various findings of researchers on what are the attributes of quality in an online course. A large list of items was composed and subsequently analyzed. The analysis of the items and development of the constructs was performed by a group of experts using the Nominal Group Technique. Following a number of rounds of discussion the group reached consensus and seven constructs emerged. These are: information, interface, support, engagement, collaboration, reflection and autonomy. These constructs are considered essential in an effective online learning environment. This paper outlines the research process and then describes each of the seven constructs.


Some types of biomass have a high content of alkali oxides and salts and, thanks to it they feature a low ash melting temperature which may result in various combustion problems. Slag and sintered particles that are formed prevent the fuel from being supplied, restrict the access of combustion air, heat transfer in the heat exchanger and can cause corrosions. One possibility of increasing the ash melting temperature is to add additives. Some additives can change chemical composition of fuel ash, thus changing also the ash melting temperature. The paper deals with the adding of 2 % additives – kaolin, talc, lime, limestone, dolomite, bentonite to silver grass. The tested additives increased the ash content but they also changed its chemical composition, which resulted in the increase of the ash melting temperature. Best positive results were achieved with kaolin and lime which increased the ash melting temperature by approx. 300 °C.


Summary
• Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging was investigated as a tool for the detailed morphological comparison of two species of Podocarpaceae of taxonomic interest; these were difficult to investigate by conventional methods.
• Two- and three-dimensional NMR images of female cones of Afrocarpus falcatus and Prumnopitys ferruginea were acquired using a range of protocols. Conventional sectioning and microscopic techniques and low-temperature scanning electron microscopy were used where possible, to corroborate the assignments of the NMR images.
• A three-dimensional network of resin canals in Prumnopitys ferruginea was revealed and the presence of resin confirmed by chemical shift imaging. Similar canals in cones of Afrocarpus falcatus did not contain resin but the presence of spoke-like vascular traces passing through the sclerotesta was demonstrated. Marked differences in the structure of the sarcotesta of the two species were readily discernible.
• NMR imaging allowed noninvasive retrieval of both internal morphological and histochemical information from single specimens in their natural state in a much shorter time than conventional methods would allow and provides useful data for taxonomic purposes in the Podocarpaceae.


Emergency medicine clinicians are uniquely positioned to deliver interventions to enhance linkage to evidence‐based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in the acute overdose period, yet little is known about patient perspectives to effectively engage patients immediately following opioid overdose. Our objective was to explore patients' perspectives on substance use treatment, perceived needs, and contextual factors that shape the choice of patients seen in the emergency department (ED) to engage with treatment and other patient support services in the acute post–opioid overdose period.


We first propose a new separability criterion based on algebraic-geometric invariants of bipartite mixed states introduced in [1], then prove that for all low ranks r <m+n-2, generic rank r mixed states in mxn systems have relatively high Schmidt numbers (thus entangled) by this separability criterion. This also means that the algebraic-geometric separability criterion proposed here can be used to dectect all low rank entangled mixed states outside a measure zero set.


Objective:Historically, guidelines for blood pressure measurement recommended adjusting the cuff deflation rate to the patient's heart rate (2–3 mmHg per heartbeat). Current guidelines recommend a fixed cuff deflation rate of 2 mmHg/sec. This translates to that, on average, the number of Korotkoff s


We propose a new correlator in one-dimensional quantum spin chains, the s−Emptiness Formation Probability (s−EFP). This is a natural generalization of the Emptiness Formation Probability (EFP), which is the probability that the first n spins of the chain are all aligned downwards. In the s−EFP we let the spins in question be separated by s sites. The usual EFP corresponds to the special case when s = 1, and taking s > 1 allows us to quantify non-local correlations. We express the s−EFP for the anisotropic XY model in a transverse magnetic field, a system with both critical and non-critical regimes, in terms of a Toeplitz determinant. For the isotropic XY model we find that the magnetic field induces an interesting length scale. PACS numbers: 75.10.Pq, 02.30.Ik, 73.43.Nq


Previous mouse and human studies have demonstrated that direct IFN- a / b signaling on naive CD8 T cells is critical to support their expansion and acquisition of effector functions. In this study, we show that human naive CD8 T cells primed in the presence of IFN- a possess a heightened ability to respond to homeostatic cytokines and to secondary Ag stimulation, but rather than differentiating to effector or memory CTLs, they preserve nature-like phenotypic features. These are qualities associated with greater efficacy in adoptive immunotherapy. In a mouse model of adoptive transfer, CD8 T cells primed in the presence of IFN- a are able to persist and to mediate a robust recall response even after a long period of naturally driven homeostatic maintenance. The long-lasting persistence of IFN- a –primed CD8 T cells is favored by their enhanced responsiveness to IL-15 and IL-7, as demonstrated in IL-15 2 / 2 and IL-7 2 / 2 recipient mice. In humans, exposure to IFN- a during in vitro priming of naive HLA-A2 + CD8 T cells with autologous dendritic cells loaded with MART1 26–35 peptide renders CD8 T cells with an improved capacity to respond to homeostatic cytokines and to specifically lyse MART1-expressing melanoma cells. Furthermore, in a mouse model of melanoma, adoptive transfer of tumor-specific CD8 T cells primed ex vivo


With the rapid growth in the number of available services, recommending suitable services to users becomes increasingly important. A number of collaborative service recommendation methods based on user experiences have been proposed for this purpose. Most of them adopt the similarity-based Collaborative Filtering (CF) technique, which tends to identify similar users for a target user and recommends to the target user the services preferred by the similar users. However, a user similar to the target user is unnecessarily trustworthy to him/her. Therefore, the results recommended by similarity-based CF are probably unreliable. Moreover, existing service recommendation methods seldom incorporate social trust relationships among service users into service recommendation. In this paper, we propose a collaborative, trust-aware service recommendation method for service-oriented environments with social networks. The method is based on an integration of the user-service relation and the user-user social relation. Experimental results demonstrate that our service recommendation method significantly outperforms conventional similarity-based recommendation and trust-based service recommendation methods.


This manuscript presents an alternative implementation of the truthful-in-expectation mechanism of Dughmi, Roughgarden and Yan for combinatorial auctions with weighted-matroid-rank-sum valuations. The new implementation uses only value queries and is approximately truthful-in-expectation, in the sense that by reporting truthfully each agent maximizes his utility within a multiplicative 1-o(1) factor. It still provides an optimal (1-1/e-o(1))-approximation in social welfare. We achieve this by first presenting an approximately maximal-in-distributional-range allocation rule and then showing a black-box transformation to an approximately truthful-in-expectation mechanism.


This study attempts to identrfi the mostpreferred type of source offinancialfinding entrepreneur uses at
each stage of business developmetzt and their choice of fund for the dflerent purpose of business
activities. Survey questionnaries were used to collect data from 116small business owners andmanagers
selectedfor this study. Data were then analysed and interpreted usingfrequency and percentage. The
highestper cent determined the source that is mostpreferred choice offinancing by the entrepreneur for
the respective stage of business development and usage of thefind in their business.