Since its discovery in 1994, human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been proven to be the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), and the rare lymphoproliferative disorders primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease. In industrialised countries, HHV-8 infection is uncommon in the general population, but seroprevalence is generally more than 20 per cent among homosexual men, in whom it is a sexually transmitted infection. Infectious virus occurs at highest concentration in saliva, but the precise mode of transmission is unclear. In Africa, HHV-8 seroprevalence is more than 40 per cent in many countries, and the epidemiology suggests that horizontal transmission in childhood is an important mode of infection. HHV-8 is a gamma herpesvirus and has an ultrastructural appearance similar to other herpesviruses. It contains genes that are homologous in structure and function to human counterparts and also genes with no homologues in other herpesviruses. Although it is clear that HHV-8 infection is required for the development of KS, the precise mechanism of pathogenesis is unclear. HHV-8 encodes genes that are angiogenic and have cellular transforming activity. Improved serologic and viral detection assays and a more detailed description of pathogenesis will be necessary to allow for the development of better methods of prevention and treatment of KS. (author abstract)


Objective To observed serum malondialdehyde(MDA) and total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) in patients with CAP and to explore their clinical significance.Methods 90 cases of hospitalized CAP (including 54 males and 36 females with a mean age of 54± 20 years) were recruited from the respiratory wards in the affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College from September 2010 to September 2011 and 30 cases (including 20 males and 10 females with a mean age of 52 ±-11 years) of healthy physical examination in our hospital served as the control.We collected clinical variables of all patients after they were hospitalized within 24 hours and calculated PSI score.The CAP patients were divided into 2 groups:grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ as the low-risk group (n=46) and grade Ⅳ-Ⅴ as the high-risk group (n=44)according to PSI score.Serum MDA and total T-AOC were also measured.We adopted t test or x2 test in the comparison between the groups.And performed the logistic regression analysis and found independent risk factors which had important effect on clinical.Results Serum MDA concentration of CAP patients [(6.5±2.4) μmol/L],the high-risk group [(8.1 ± 2.5) μmol/L] and the death group [(9.9 ± 1.6)μmol/L] were significantly higher than those of the control group [(3.6± 0.3) μmol/L],the low-risk group [(4.9 ± 0.7) μmol/L] and the survival group [(6.1 ± 2.2) tmol/L].Serum T-AOC concentration of CAP patients [(12.6± 1.6) U/ml],the high-risk group [(11.5 ± 1.6) U/ml] and the death group [(10.6-1.5) U/ml]were significantly lower than those of the control group [(17.7 ± 2.1)U/ml],the low-risk group [(13.6 ± 0.6) U/ml] and the survival group [(12.8 ± 1.4) U/ml] (P <0.05,respectively).There were positive correlation between the serum MDA and PSI score (r =0.745) (P <0.05).Serum MDA concentration of the survival patients after the treatment were significantly lower than those before the treatment.Serum T-AOC concentration of the survival patients after the treatment were significantly higher than those before the treatment.We performed the logistic regression analysis and found that serum MDA concentration could reflect the prognosis.Conclusions The serum MDA concentration could reflect the severity and the prognosis of CAP.The dynamic changes of serum MDA concentration and serum T-AOC concentration in patients with CAP could be used for judging the treatment efficacy.

Key words:
Community-acquired pneumonia; Serum MDA; Serum T-AOC


Regarding the clinical periodontal parameters, PLI and GI at the baseline were highest in CP group followed by CPDM group then the control group, while PPD and RAL were highest in CPDM group followed by CP. Highly significant differences were found between CPDM and CP groups except for GI which showed nonsignificant differences. TNF-α level at the baseline were highest in CPDM group followed by CP group then the control group. After treatment, results revealed a reduction in all of the clinical periodontal parameters and TNF-α level for both CPDM and CP groups. The correlation between the clinical periodontal parameters and TNF-α level showed almost a non-significant week positive correlation


The aim of this experimental investigation is to assess the antibacterial resistance of a biodegradable Polylactic acid (PLA) based composite material enriched with non-copper metallic particles, notably Stainless Steel, and Aluminum as alternatives to copper. The composite materials were processed using additive manufacturing technology using commercial fused deposition modeling printers to produce samples for antibacterial testing. The antibacterial materials were assessed according to international standards to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy at different time intervals. It has been disclosed that the biodegradable PLA composite enhanced with Stainless Steel or Aluminum demonstrated an excellent resistance against distinct kinds of bacteria through the observed significant reduction in the bacteria levels.


Attorneys for Amici Curiae _____________________________________ DENDRITE INTERNATIONAL, INC. ) SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY a New Jersey corporation, ) APPELLATE DIVISION ) DOCKET NO. A-2774-00 Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) CIVIL ACTION v. ) ) On Appeal from an Order of the Superior JOHN DOES Nos. 1 through 4 and DOES ) Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, 5 through 14, inclusive, ) General Equity Part, Morris County ) Defendants-Appellees. 1 ) Sat Below: Hon. Kenneth C. MacKenzie _____________________________________ )


This study adds to current explanations of executive fate following a merger or acquisition by examining how executives' perceptions of merger events determine whether they stay or leave. Results indicate that executives' perceptions of the merger announcement, interactions with the acquiring firm's top managers following the merger, and long‐term effects of the merger significantly influenced their decision to stay or leave. These perceptions could be used to correctly distinguish between stayers and leavers in almost 80 percent of the cases. In addition, perceptions created when the target company was acquired by a foreign multinational made it more likely that the executive would leave. This finding demonstrates that foreignness continues to be an important determinant of executive perceptions in cross‐national mergers and acquisitions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The direct relationship between obesity and breast cancer has been elucidated recently with the identification of a cholesterol derivative 27‐hydroxycholesterol (27HC), an endogenous SERM that can act through estrogen receptor (ER)‐mediated mechanisms. Our recent research shed light on the possible SERM‐like property of methanol extract of pericarp of pomegranate (PME) by using human breast (MCF‐7, MDA‐MB‐231), endometrial (HEC‐1A), cervical (SiHa, HeLa), ovarian (SKOV3) cancer cell lines, normal breast fibroblasts (MCF‐10A) and also by in vivo models (ovariectomized Swiss albino mice). Our findings demonstrated that PME binds to ER and downregulates the Estrogen response elements (ERE)‐mediated transcription in breast cancer cells without being agonistic in the uterine endometrium and has cardioprotective effects comparable to that of 17‐β‐estradiol. This preliminary work indicates the ability of PME to antagonize the activity of 27HC. We hypothesize that PME can compete with 27HC for ERα and reduce 27HC‐induced proliferation of MCF‐7 cells. Relevant estrogen‐regulated genes such as pS2, PR and ERα were checked to evaluate the ability of PME to abrogate 27HC‐induced genes. This study is significant, being the first report describing that bioactive components of the methanolic extract of pericarp of PME, a proven SERM could plausibly compete for 27HC. © 2016 IUBMB Life, 68(2):116–121, 2016


Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. PD invariably manifests with motor symptoms related to the dopaminergic cell loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta. In the early stages, patients usually experience some bradykinesia, rigidity and, often, some tremor. The symptoms are typically asymmetric at onset. The age of presentation varies considerably, with young-onset PD arbitrarily being defined as onset before 50 years of age. The incidence and prevalence of PD rise with increasing age; the peak incidence is in the early 60s. Dopaminergic cell loss continues with the progression of the disease. Various imaging markers have suggested a rate of cell loss between 6 and 12% per annum in the early stages of PD. However, the rate of cell loss may vary, probably being greatest in the earlier phases of the disease. The preclinical latent period, during which cells are dying but clinical features are not apparent, has been variously estimated at between 5 and 10 years. Again, however, this period varies, probably according to etiology. Although the early symptomatic features of PD are related to dopaminergic cell loss, in later stages of the disease the effect of neuronal loss in other neurotransmitter systems becomes apparent. These nonmotor features include autonomic dysfunction and cognitive abnormalities. Although symptomatic treatments are available to reverse the dopaminergic features of PD, no successful treatments are yet available for the nondopaminergic features. These inevitably become the most disabling element of PD, and the cognitive dysfunction, in particular, is often a reason for institutionalization. Various treatments are now available for the symptomatic management of PD. These are predominantly related to the dopaminergic system and include L-dopa, dopamine agonists (DAs), and monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors (MAOIs). Other drugs, such as anticholinergics and amantadine, may have a beneficial effect on motor features by influencing nondopaminergic transmitter systems. Symptomatic treatments in the earlier stages of PD are extremely successful and significantly reduce disability and maintain function. However, the inexorable loss of dopaminergic neurons limits the longterm efficacy of these drugs. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop disease-modifying therapies that can slow the course of disease progression and perhaps even reverse symptoms by restoring function to defective neurons. Several drugs are now under evaluation for a neuroprotective effect in PD and other neurodegenerative diseases. The majority of these drugs are still being evaluated at the preclinical phase. Some, such as coenzyme Q10, have demonstrated some efficacy in one small study.1 This review focuses on the potential role of DAs as disease-modifying therapy in PD.


Objective: To present our case series of idiopathic urethral stricture in adolescents, analyzing the treatments applied and the results obtained.
Methods: A retrospective study of 7 patients with idiopathic urethral stricture treated at our center between 2000 and 2021 was performed.
Results: The average age at the moment of surgery was 14.7 years. In 85% of cases the main symptom was voiding difficulty. The diagnosis was by voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) in five patients and by cystoscopy in two, locating the stricture in the anterior urethra in all cases. Six patients were treated with endoscopic urethrotomy and one with balloon dilation. Two patients recurred. The subsequent treatment in both cases was a second endoscopic urethrotomy and one of them required a posterior urethroplasty. Currently 6 out of 7 patients are asymptomatic and the patient who underwent urethroplasty is undergoing regular dilations.
Limitations: The number of patients is limited due to the shortage of this pathology in childhood.
Value: The available literature is quite limited. It is usually secondary to trauma or surgical interventions such as hypospadias repair. Idiopathic etiology represents less than a third of urethral strictures in adolescents and it causes the greatest controversy regarding its management.
Conclusions: We should suspect idiopathic urethral stricture in childhood when symptoms appear, such as voiding difficulty in patients without previous pathologies. VCUG can help diagnosis, but a cystoscopy allows diagnosis and treatment at the same time. Endoscopic urethrotomy should be the treatment of choice for idiopathic strictures smaller than 1 cm, since the success rate is greater than 85%.


We show that the Euler number of the compactified Jacobian of a rational curve $C$ with locally planar singularities is equal to the multiplicity of the $\delta$-constant stratum in the base of a semi-universal deformation of $C$. In particular, the multiplicity assigned by Yau, Zaslow and Beauville to a rational curve on a K3 surface $S$ coincides with the multiplicity of the normalisation map in the moduli space of stable maps to $S$.


Activation of human T cells with anti-73 involves increased intracellular (Ca/sup 2 +/) and phosphatidylinositol turnover. Quantitative assays of Ca/sup 2 +//phospholipid-dependent C-kinase showed high levels (40-60 pmol/..mu..g protein/min) in the cytosol of unstimulated T cells. After stimulation with anti-T3 (100 ng/ml), cytosol activity was rapidly reduced and membrane activity increased, consistent with translocation and activation of C-kinase. With the known C-kinase activator phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), translocation was also seen, but was more sustained and complete (>99% versus 40-60%). Qualitative analysis of endogenous phosphoproteins showed translocation of enzyme, and established the major substrates at MW 56, 42, 33, 24-25 and 20K. Labeling reactions were reduced in dose-dependent fashion by the C-kinase inhibitor polymyxin B (IC 14 ..mu..M), and addition to cultures caused >90% inhibition of proliferation (/sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation), even in the presence of optimal concentrations of IL-2 (4 ..mu../ml). Thus, C-kinase may be involved in T cell responses induced by modulation of the T3-Ti complex.


To study the dynamic behavior of typical temples of the 17th and 18th Centuries stone masonry construction in Mexico, a shaking table test program is being performed on a 1:8 scale model built with the same materials and techniques than its prototype. Results of a first stage of the research in which the model was submitted to horizontal and vertical motions of increasing intensities are presented in this paper. The test was stopped at an intensity corresponding to a base shear force of about 40% of the total weight, causing a damage that was considered as possible to be repaired. Vertical component of the motion showed to significantly affect the response and to increase the damage of the model. Damage patterns were similar to those observed in actual temples. Main features of the measured response are compared to those computed from a linear elastic, finite element model. The degree of damage and the variation in the amplification of the response are correlated to the variation of the fundamental vibration period of the model.


The current report provides an update on Report #11 and Report #40 in this series, describing the increasing range of international uses of the CanCore metadata for the indexing of learning objects.


Merlion is a mysterious creature with a lion-head and a fish body. In terms of its language, Mer means sea, and lion means lion. The fish body symbolizes that ancient Singapore was famous as a place with many fishermen. The lion's head symbolizes Singapore's name as a lion city. There are several merlion statues that are recognized as icons by the Singapore government. The easiest you can find is a merlion statue at Merlion Park - Marina Bay, and a merlion statue on Sentosa Island.


Significance
 Qatar has attracted negative publicity in relation to allegations of bribery to win the vote to host the World Cup and working conditions for the migrant construction workers. It also faces spiralling costs. When the vote was announced, government officials expected to use the event to establish Qatar as a global hub for tourism, sport and culture.

 Impacts
 During the event, international human and labour rights organisations will deliver prominent criticisms.
 Gas-rich Qatar will start to reduce its debt burden, built up during the construction phase of the World Cup.
 Doha would gain positive publicity if it deconstructs and re-uses one or more of its stadiums.
 Drunken fans could create problems for the security forces, which are not used to this type of behaviour.


Nowdays in the research on life science,it becomes more and more important to sequence the genome of the microbe.Its main methord——"shot gun"is introduced in this paper,at the same time,the vast outreach of the genome Sequecing and its explaination is stated.


consequently the commentary is wrong; p. 107, read a rare plural of cL/1,1; p. 116, v. 7, read J j for dialect of the Hijaz which suppresses Hamza, but in commentary (jilanJl; p. 118, v. 2, I should think the correct reading is \^ ; p. 138, read JjOl̂ J ; P155, v. 10, read ]ys?r lf-i hence the commentary is wrong, which should read <_>L !̂ ^ .,UJ| J^sxsSl. The word in this meaning for large vermin, etc., is fairly frequent; p. 163, No. 43, v. 1, I should like to read l$iLi.j \jA^ ^JbJij. I have found the verse only in Khiz. Ill, p. 154, where it is said to have been taken from the 'Ubab of SaghanI; p. 166, 1. 1, read p. 168, 1. 18, read Ju^ ; p. 170, 1. 3, u\z}, 1. 9, J P172, 1. 3, here the author has made a slip, we must read CISAM for <£ls'!, as both the verb preceding and the pronoun following are masculine; p. 211, 1. 1, read UL I have noticed on more than one occasion that the vocalization for significations denoting places participles are in the active construction instead of the passive; this is wrong, cases in question are p. 110, v. 3, and 120,1. 3, where we should read «_JJ^^J and cuUiLu*^ respectively. The correct form is used in other cases as p. 110, v. 6, and 169, v. 3.


Assess her risk with risk assessment tools, such as QRISK-2 (www. qrisk.org/2016) or ETHRISK (www.epi.bris.ac.uk/CVDethrisk/CHD_ CVD_form.html), which use various factors to calculate patients' cardiovascular (CVD) risk (Box 1). These tools can identify high-risk individuals who may benefit from primary prevention, including lifestyle changes and using lipid-lowering medication (e.g. statins).


The purpose of this paper is searching for control Lyapunov-Morse functions(CLMF) using genetic programming(GP) for input-affine systems on general manifolds. The CLMF is an extended control Lyapunov function(CLF) to have multiple critical points. It is shown that a continuous global stabilizer is derived from a CLF for the system. A discontinuous global asymptotic stabilizer is obtained from a CLMF as well as CLF. However, there is no method constructing CLMF systematically. Then, we propose a method of searching for CLMF via GP to design the global asymptotic stabilizer.


Abstract The rediscovery of an unpublished Survey of Rievaulx Abbey made for the Earl of Rutland, the first lay owner after the Suppression, and a re-evaluation of three other contemporary documents has enabled the writer to reconstruct in general terms the precinct of a major Cistercian abbey at its final stage of development. In particular, it has been possible to identify many of the buildings of the Outer Court which no longer survive and to establish the general layout of the whole precinct, thus placing the surviving ruins in context. From the evidence of the four documents studied, it would seem that a particularly Cistercian form of precinct development can be identified for the first time.


ABSTRACT Identification of targetable mechanisms that maintain glioblastoma cancer stem cells (CSCs) remain a priority. Our study reveals a new mechanism by which a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-like protein decysin 1 promotes CSC maintenance through the activation of a fibroblast growth factor autocrine signaling loop, which can be blocked pharmacologically.


The paper conducts the in-depth interpretation and analysis of hot issues on case teaching of physical geography,clarifies the understanding of case teaching,and constructs the case teaching paradigm,which will have the positive meaning for the physical geography teaching reform.


It is matter of fact processing technology must affects the quality and yield of final product and these also depend on the selection of raw material directly or indirectly. So that the estimation of tile preprocessing condition of shellfish is of great importance for distributors and processors. This study was attempted to establish the basic data for evaluating the processing suitability of baby clam, which is one of the five important shellfishes for domestic use and export. The important results are as follows: 1. The ratio of meat volume and meat weight to the holding capacity by shells may be useful for measuring the condition index of baby clams. 2. Baby clams grown in the beds with the composition of a large quantity of gravel were low in condition index value than in sand and mud. 3. If the green feed phenomenon was the prime consideration for canned baby clams, tile most suitable harvest season if October. In this period, the digestive tract in body was almost colorless. 4. As a whole, seasonal changes of moisture and fat content in baby clams were reversely correlated. Protein content increased from April and slightly decreased for a while from July to August and increased again from September. In March, the content of glycogen was 6.3 to 6.8 percent. From this period to October, glycogen was rapidly decreased. In October, it was only 0.1 to 0.2 percent but increased from November. There were little seasonal changes in pH value and crude ash content. The pH value of meat was 6.0 to 6.2 and crude ash content was about 2 percent. 5. By the results of condition index and chemical composition of baby clams, the suitable harvest season as raw materials for processing was from March to June and from September to October. 6. The steamed baby clam meat was packed with 2 percent salt solution containing 0.15 percent, citric acid or 0.5 percent EDTA in a round sanitary tin can coated with C-enamel that is 203.9 ml by volume and sterilized for 60 minutes at . The canned product has shown a good result to reserve the natural characteristics of baby clam through six month storage at room temperature.


Secure communication of data over public channel is one of the most important challenges. Both the activities to secure contents and to break security are very hot. In order to reduce the chances of attack, security need to be made invisible. Need to preserve originality, ownership information and integrity of text documents in a way that cannot be identified by every one is being felt badly. Watermarking of the documents is a step towards achieving these objectives. However to watermark a plain text document (ASCII) in a way that original text is not changed and it would be very difficult to break it, is a great challenge. We have developed a novel encoding scheme, which can be used to insert information in a plain text without changing the text. A system has been developed based upon this encoding scheme. This paper describes the system and demonstrates its working.


The article analyzes the potential of local festivals to serve as an instrument to overcome crises in three particular case studies, namely Gavrovo's Festival of Humour and Satire, Varshets' Resort, Mineral Water and the Balkan Mountains Festival and Kosti's fire dancing. The analysis is based on the results of an empirical research conducted in the summer of 2021 within the project "Local festivals: a resource of local communities for crisis management," supported by the Bulgarian National Science Fund. The main argument is that in all of these cases the festivals cannot be subsumed under the logic of coping with economic underdevelopment. Nevertheless, the festivals have a direct effect on coping with the coronavirus crises both in terms of the practical realization of its irreversibility, as well as in terms of using it as a medium to renegotiate local contradictions and conflicts. Lastly, the article demonstrates the efficacy (and limits) of Bakhtin's theory of the carnavalesque for the understanding of local festivals' role in coping with crises.


This chapter is concerned with single-input single-output processes and the solution of their control problems by relatively straightforward methods. Much of the ma terial can be found in classical control texts but supplementary material based on experience has been added. Most of the chapter deals with process understanding, since control design for well-understood processes is relatively straightforward.


INTRODUCTION
Among patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS) referred for urgent coronary angiography there are some with normal angiograms.

AIM
To compare, with respect to angiographic findings, one-year clinical outcomes in patients hospitalised for suspected ACS.

METHOD
Between January 2001 and December 2003 emergency angiography was performed in 1169 patients. It revealed no significant coronary lesions in 97 (8.3%) cases, of these 40 being women and 57 men with a mean age of 55+/-15 yrs (Group 1). Sixty consecutive patients with ACS (20 women and 40 men with a mean age of 54+/-9 yrs) and significant coronary artery disease (CAD) confirmed by angiography were the study controls (Group 2). Demographic data, CAD risk factors, angiographic findings, ECG and echocardiographic data as well as laboratory test results were analysed. In a long-term follow-up, the prevalence of recurrent angina and all-cause mortality were assessed.

RESULTS
There were no significant differences in patients' demographics between the two groups with the exception of arterial hypertension, which was more frequent in group 1. In group 1 the diagnosis of ACS was established in 14.5% cases, X syndrome in 14.4%, Prinzmetal angina in 4.1%, myocarditis in 6.1% and pulmonary thromboembolization in 5.1%. A definite diagnosis was not related to the cardiovascular disease in 36%. No complications were observed in the late follow-up of group 1 patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Apparently normal angiograms are relatively common in patients referred for emergency coronary angiography. In patients without significant CAD on their angiograms the clinical outcome is favourable, without major adverse cardiovascular events in the long-term follow-up.


ABSTRACT. A classification is given of continuous functions on the long line up to homotopy and homeomorphisms of the long line up to isotopy. The analogous problem for ω‐bounded 2‐manifolds is also investigated.


In the petroleum industry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology has been applied to numerous applications in the laboratory and for wireline logging, which provides vital information about the petrophysical properties of the reservoirs. The primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate the various applications of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technology presently used in conventional and unconventional reservoir systems for formation evaluation purposes in the petroleum industry. Additionally, to better comprehend the type of analysis and information that could be derived from the NMR measurement, a detailed literature review was conducted on the history, theory, and principles of nuclear magnetic resonance. This paper also discussed some standard methods in which NMR technology has been used in the oil and gas industry to estimate reservoir properties such as porosity, permeability, wettability, irreducible water saturation, and irreducible oil saturation. Likewise, it reveals that the borehole and laboratory applications of the NMR measurement have been utilized in both conventional and unconventional reservoir systems to quantify critical parameters like pore size distribution, porosity, and permeability. The application of NMR measurement also gives a better understanding of the interaction between fluids in the reservoirs and the rock properties. This review establishes that the exploration and production of oil in the industry have benefited from NMR technology by effectively enhancing the evaluation of formation and fluid properties in the reservoir.


In this paper, a versatile quadrature oscillator using single Differential Difference Second Generation Dual-X Current Conveyor (DD-DXCCII) as an active element, two grounded capacitors and three grounded resistors is presented. The proposed oscillator provides two current outputs and three voltage outputs in quadrature relationship simultaneously so named as versatile quadrature oscillator. The proposed versatile quadrature oscillator exhibits the feature of orthogonal control over the frequency of oscillation and condition of oscillation. Effects of non-idealities along with sensitivity analysis are also analyzed. The proposed circuit has low active and passive sensitivities. Parasitic study is further explored. The simulation results with 0.18μm CMOS process parameters using PSPICE are also given. Possible realization of proposed oscillator using AD-844 and LM13600 along with some simulation results are also given for completeness sake.


The machine has dropped the driver. Horkheimer1 This essay elaborates a thesis in contemporary philosophy, still much neglected, but which, nevertheless, challenges the very foundation of the last four hundred years of Western culture. This thesis, which I have called "The Death Of Man," has hardly penetrated the leading forces of contemporary thought, but, if it were seriously appropriated, would transform the analysis of the humanities, the social sciences, and perhaps even the normal philosophy of the natural sciences, at least in Anglo-Saxon culture. I shall try to elaborate this development under the following headings: A New Obituary; The Appearance and Disappearance Of The Subject; The Authorless Text; Locus For Play; and Elements Of Anti-Humanism. A New Obituary Over the last decade there has arisen a new theme in modern Europe, especially in modern France, which has spread gradually, and even begins to have its impact in Anglo-Saxon cultures. Anglo-Saxon intellectual societies, with strong roots in British Empiricism, are frequently the inheritors of European ideas; German idealism, Marx, Freud, Phenomenology, Existentialism, and more recently Post-Modernism and Deconstructionism. There is an old saying in philosophy, the validity of which I must let the reader be the judge, to the effect that "every good idea when it is dead, goes to America." So one may be assured that, if there is anything to this theme, we will hear more of it in the future rather than less. Under the strong, although not exclusive, influence of Michel Foucault, the French have proclaimed, the death of man, or what Foucault also calls "The Anthropological Sleep." Consequently, this essay is an attempt to write and discuss our own obituary, an activity which most of mankind never has the good fortune to perform. The essential proposal is that Western thought, for the last four hundred years, has given privileged and inappropriate place to the primacy of the subject, and this context and episteme, this guiding thread of Western culture, is now over. Consequently, man is dead! There is no primacy of the subject, in fact there is no subject. For those who may be amazed by such a suggestion, let me repeat it loud and clear, there is no subject! Foucault writes, For the threshold of modernity is situated not by the attempt to apply objective methods to the study of man, but rather by the constitution of an empirico-transcendental doublet which was called man.2 While this may have been the threshold, the very beginning of modernity, and while such philosophical anthropology may have dominated our day, its primacy and authority have now come to an end, at which point there arises post-modern culture, in which we live, whether we realize it or not. There is no subject, no self, no human essence, no focusing the world on the centering human being, there is no "I" whether finite or transcendental of supreme importance and at the heart of things. The self as the central reality became the grand illusion of our time. Man is dead! Little wonder that Joan Stambaugh suggests that the question of the self is "the supreme philosophical question,"3 or that Gary Brent Madison can write, "The question of personal identity is indeed the central question of philosophy."4 This arrangement of things, to which we have all become so accustomed, "is disintegrating before our eyes." Foucault continues, To all those who still wish to talk about man, about his reign or his liberation, to all those who still ask themselves questions about what man is in his essence, to all those who wish to take him as their starting point in their attempts to reach the truth, to all those who, on the other hand refer all knowledge back to the truths of man himself, to all those who refuse to formalize without anthropologizing, who refuse to anthropologize without demystifying, who refuse to think without immediately thinking that it is man who is thinking, to all those warped and twisted forms of reflection we can only answer with a philosophical laugh-which means, to a certain extent, a silent one. …


The year 2000 was a busy and productive year for the WFRRD. I would like to take this opportunity to describe some of the highlights of the year, and to elaborate on the challenges we have identified for the future. There were 145 workshops/seminars/field days at the Wallace Foundation Learning Center in 2000, which were attended by 3,323 people. We are very proud to see the farm and the Learning Center being used to meet the needs identified for research, education, and rural development.


: English legislative writing has long been criticised not only for its obscure, circumlocutious and tortuous syntax but also for its extreme linguistic conservatism. Its critics claim that, in spite of numerous governmental and social pressures, the style of legislative drafting has largely remained unchanged. However, some interesting attempts have come from within the drafting community in recent years to make their writing more readable without having to sacrifice their defensive and detailed mode of drafting. This paper examines one such trend to reduce information load at a particular point by making use of what might be called textual-mapping devices. This helps the draftsman not only to postpone or avoid specification of complicating legal content at a particular point in the legislative provision but also to establish text-cohering links with the preceding and preceded legislation. This paper presents a corpus-based detailed analysis of the use of textual-mapping devices, considering particularly their formal realization and the textual patterns they display in the expression of the legislative statement.


Software maintenance is an integral part of a software life cycle. However, it has not historically received the same degree of attention as the other phases. Historically, development has had a much higher profile than maintenance in most organizations. This is now changing as organizations strive to obtain the most out of their development investment by keeping software operating as long as possible. Concerns about the Year 2000 (Y2K) rollover did bring significant attention to this important phase. Further, the Open Source paradigm has brought attention to the issue of maintaining code developed by others. Maintenance is also expensive. For these reasons, there is an opportunity to pursue further research to enhance productivity of maintenance activities.


The politicians expect the use of modern telematics systems in transportation to contribute considerable to a more efficient use of the infrastructure, particularly in order to increase capacity in bottleneck areas and improve the traffic flow, to reduce traffic and traffic-related strains on the environment. Above all, however, telematics are supposed to contribute decisively to the integration and interlinking of the different modes of transportation and facilitate the establishment of travel and transportation chains. The industry, too, expects to gain new fields of activity due to the creation of new markets through the development and use of transportation telematics systems. The fast and wide introduction of telematics applications on the market is, however, faced with very complex problems. These include the large number of competent bodies and decision-makers in a state with a federal structure, the political and social process of introducing new technologies and the fundamental question of which tasks in connection with the introduction of new technologies are incumbent on the government and which are incumbent on the industry. In Germany, it is now generally accepted that the wide use of telematics is mainly the task of private industry; the swift introduction of services does, however, require a close cooperation of the public and the private sector in terms of a public/private partnership. One important arrangement for a public/private partnership is that traffic data that are collected by the public sector are combined with those traffic data that are collected by private service providers. Here, the government and the industry are working together in order to establish an economically efficient model for the intermodal management of traffic data. It will be a task for the future to establish a public/private partnership also in the field of traffic management itself, e.g. at the local or regional level.


On underwater structures,it can be challenging to detect hidden problems such as conduits,cracks,and inanitions.To determine the safety of a dyke, a high-resolution chirp sonar was designed for an underwater robot.The system, which utilizes a high-power,wide-band transmitter,generates a linear frequency modulated pulse,and based on discontinuity,acquires reflection signals from the inside of the dyke.Using a digital signal processor,the data is transmitted to a surface unit through optical fiber.A computer in a surface unit performs a profiling image reconstruction and display.This system achieved favorable results in experiments in a pool and outfield.Although the system was designed for dyke safety detection,it can be widely used in ocean resource surveys,sediment classification,and other applications.


Sol-gel production of catalyst supports has been investigated in order to produce homogeneous, high surface area alumina/zirconia materials. A novel microwave method of preparing colloidal Pd has been developed and a range of alumina/zirconia supported Pd catalysts has been produced. These have been tested for activity in terms of temperature programmed three way catalysis (simultaneous removal of NO, CO and C3H8 from a simulated car exhaust stream) and from the array of catalysts produced a suitable catalyst was chosen for further investigation. This catalyst had a 3% zirconia / 97% alumina support and contained ~1% Pd by weight and was examined for activity in the NO + CO + O2 system at temperatures below 500°C. Temperature programmed catalytic experiments revealed the reactions to be chemically controlled below ~400°C but diffusion controlled above this. CO temperature programmed reduction was used to examine the oxidation state of the Pd and revealed a complex Pd/PdO system to be present involving bulk PdO and surface oxide. Further kinetic studies showed that the reactions between NO, CO and O2 to have positive orders in all components. The reaction rates were stable over a wide range of conditions and the NO + CO reaction proved to have a low selectivity towards N2O. In-situ DBIFTS experiments alongside transient pulse work were used to illustrate low CO adsorption which indicated that these reactions proceeded via a redox mechanism in which Pd is oxidised by NO or O2 before being reduced by CO. The support material was examined by XRD following extended heating regimes and then compared to an identically treated sol-gel alumina. The zirconia doped alumina was found to possess a far greater thermal resistance to sintering than the pure alumina material and this was attributed to Zr4+ ions preventing the diffusion of Al3+ to form a-alumina.


2.5D silicon interposer, for a cost effective optoelectronic package, is proposed and fabricated on a wafer level. Using this packaging approach, the fully assembled 120 Gb/s transmitter is scaled down to 6mm × 7mm.


Ada Gem #52 -- Programming languages are, at least in the mind of most programmers, divided into two categories: scripting languages and others. The dividing line is not always obvious, and generally has to do with the size of the application, whether the language is interpreted or compiled, and whether doing operations such as manipulating external processes is easy.
 It's safe to say, though, that Ada is almost never classified as a scripting language. This Gem demonstrates a few of the packages that are part of the GNAT distribution and that provide helpful scripting features to accomplish tasks that would often be thought to be in the domain of languages specialized for scripting. Portability is of course a major advantage of choosing Ada!


Recurrence and explicit formulae for contractions (partial traces)
of antisymmetric and symmetric products of identical trace class operators
are derived. Contractions of product density operators of systems of identical
fermions and bosons are proved to be asymptotically equivalent to, respectively,
antisymmetric and symmetric products of density operators of a single
particle, multiplied by a normalization integer. The asymptotic equivalence
relation is defined in terms of the thermodynamic limit of expectation values
of observables in the states represented by given density operators. For
some weaker relation of asymptotic equivalence, concerning the thermodynamic
limit of expectation values of product observables, normalized antisymmetric
and symmetric products of density operators of a single particle are
shown to be equivalent to tensor products of density operators of a single
particle.


Review of the book Vermeer and Spinoza: Immanence in philosophy and painting, Sarah Hornak, published in Brazil in 2010 by publisher Paulus.


1287 male and 20 female), 47 were traumatic in origin, 10 were spontaneous and 1 was iatrogenic. Of the 22 indirect fistulas (13 Carotido-cavernous fistulas are abnormal arteriovenous communications either directly between the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus or between the dural branches of the internal and external carotid arteries. Direct fistulas occur most commonly secondary to road traffic accident whereas indirect fistulas occur spontaneously. These fistulas predominantly present with ocular manifestations and they are treated mainly by endovascular techniques in most of the cases.


In this paper, we present the simulation of the flow rate through a KOH-etched micro valve, which is part of an electrostatically actuated micropump. This is realized by a coupled simulation of liquid flow and structural displacement of the valve using the Finite-Element-Method. Thereby the static and dynamic behaviour of the valve can be simulated in good agreement to measurements. In combination with anallytical approaches the simulations can be integrated into system simulations. The results are of basic importance for the understanding and optimization of bi-directional silicon micropumps.


The above seminar was organised by IIR Conferences and presented by C Peter Waegemann, Executive Director of the Medical Records Institute (a Boston-based organisation involved in applied research in medical informatics) and was well attended by HIMs from various states and territories. The program for the two-day seminar covered a variety of issues, including the concept of electronic patient record systems, the costs and benefits of those systems, the current technologies and their status in terms of development and utilisation and the legal implications. Systems described included:


The clearance gaps in positive displacement machines such as compressors, pumps, expanders, and turbines are critical for their performance and reliability. The leakage flow through these clearances influences the volumetric and adiabatic efficiencies of the machines. The extent of the leakage flow depends on the size and shape of clearance paths and pressure differences across these paths. Usually, the mass flow through the gaps is estimated using the isentropic nozzle equation with the flow coefficients applied to correct for the real flow conditions. However, the flow coefficients applied generally do not take into account the shape and size of these leakage paths. For that reason, a proper understanding of the relationship between flow coefficients and shape parameters is crucial for an accurate prediction of leakage flows. The present study investigates the influence of the various dimensionless parameters such as Reynolds number, Mach number, and pressure ratio on the flow coefficients for circular and rectangular clearance shapes. The flow coefficients are determined by comparing the experimental values obtained in an experimental test rig and the flow rates obtained from the isentropic nozzle equation. It is observed that in the case of circular clearances, the mean deviation of the experimental leakage results (in comparison to the analytical results using isotropic nozzle equations) is +9.1%, which is significantly lower than the mean deviation (+20.5%) in the case of rectangular clearance leakages. The study indicates that the isentropic nozzle equation method is more suitable for predicting the leakages through the circular clearances and needs modifications for consideration of the rectangular clearances. Using regression analysis, empirical correlations are developed to predict the flow coefficient in terms of Reynolds number, Mach number, pressure ratio, aspect ratio, and β ratio, which are found to match within ±6.4 percent of the numerical results for the rectangular clearance and within the range of -3.6 percent to +5.1 percent of the numerical result for the circular clearance. The empirical relationships presented in this study can be extended to evaluate the flow coefficients in a positive displacement machine.


Sparse grids, as studied by Zenger and Griebel in the last 10 years have been very successful in the solution of partial differential equations, integral equations and classification problems. Adaptive sparse grid functions are elements of a function space lattice. Such lattices allow the generalisation of sparse grid techniques to the fitting of very high-dimensional functions with categorical and continuous variables. We have observed in first tests that these general adaptive sparse grids allow the identification of the ANOVA structure and thus provide comprehensible models. This is very important for data mining applications. Perhaps the main advantage of these models is that they do not include any spurious interaction terms and thus can deal with very high dimensional data.


Subject to an inclined load, we obtain the energy release rate for interface cracks in an isotropic elastic material with various modulus ratios. The energy release rate is calculated by the path independent E-integral using the finite element method with a singular element. In the finite element analysis, we impose avoiding the overlap of the extended crack, which may occur in the large angle kinking. Under the maximum energy release rate criterion, we examine the extension behavior of the interface cracks.


......................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study ................................................................................................ 1 1.1.1 Strategic Management Practices .............................................................................. 3 1.1.2 Organizational Performance .................................................................................... 4 1.1.3 Regulatory Bodies in Kenya .................................................................................... 5 1.1.4 Media Council of Kenya .......................................................................................... 6 1.2 Research Problem ........................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Research Objective ....................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Value of the Study ........................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 13 2.


Emeryville, Calif. ? NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, which develops anti-infective products for the treatment and prevention of infections without causing resistance, has entered a global agreement with Galderma to develop and commercialize NovaBay's Aganocide, according to a company press release.


The object of the research is the review of ways of implementing service-oriented approaches (SOA) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in modern healthcare systems. The generalization of these ways will allow to cope with complex modern challenges, such as increasing demand for medical services, growing volumes of data, and the need for high-quality and effective treatment. This work is aimed at this.
The field of e-Health is rapidly gaining popularity and combines many different systems. But due to the large number of tools and system providers with different architectures, there is a problem that different systems are difficult or impossible to integrate and connect with each other.
It is shown that the use of SOA makes it possible to break down complex systems into separate services that can interact with each other to ensure fast and accurate data processing, effective management of medical resources, and improvement of the quality of medical services. AI can be used to analyze large volumes of medical data, predict risks, diagnose diseases, and develop individualized treatment plans. The use of AI in healthcare systems helps improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce treatment times, and improve patient outcomes. The synergy of SOA and AI in health care systems is important when SOA provides the means to integrate various AI solutions, which allows for the interaction of different services and the exchange of data to ensure effective treatment and collaboration between medical professionals and artificial intelligence systems. Such distribution of systems makes it possible to scale them without affecting other services that are already running. Therefore, it becomes possible to use unified data transfer protocols and combine different services into one system without radically changing the codebase and building additional layers of abstraction for interaction between services that cannot be combined in one system. Examples of the use of SOA and AI in modern health care systems to improve the quality of medical services, optimize resources and ensure an individual and effective approach to patient treatment, which can be used at the next stages of medical reform in Ukraine, are considered.


The idiomatic expressions are the fixed structures that are composed of more than two lexemes and whose whole meaning is not easily derived from the...


The PMAC(programable multiaxes controller)and MACRO(Motion And Control Ring Optical) station are introduced Briefly.and the Applying of MACRO station in Grinding Machine of Finishing Roller be Discussed.The Setting of MACRO station and the Correct Setting of the Mapping of MACRO station and the Setting up of Mapping in MACRO ring were Discussed,the Correct Setting of the I Variable of PMAC too.The MACRO station should be developed.


A simplified model of the long-wave-reflecting region of the ionosphere, first considered in a previous paper, is used to calculate the theoretical variation of sky wave reflection coefficient with angle of incidence and with the angle of dip of the earth's magnetic field. The resulting curves are found to be in good agreement with experiment. They lead to the conclusion that theoretical results based on the assumption of a vertical magnetic field will not lead to errors in vertical incidence sky wave reflection coefficient greater than about 10%, even though the field is inclined at an angle of as much as 23° to the vertical.


The authors present a study of the charmless semileptonic B-meson decays B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{ell}{sup +}{nu} and B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{ell}{sup +}{nu}. The analysis is based on 383 million B{bar B} pairs recorded at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector. The {omega} mesons are reconstructed in the channel {omega} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} and the {eta} mesons in the channels {eta} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} and {eta} {yields} {gamma}{gamma}. They measure the branching fractions {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{ell}{sup +}{nu}) = (1.14 {+-} 0.16{sub stat} {+-} 0.08{sub syst}) x 10{sup -4} and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{ell}{sup +}{nu}) = (0.31 {+-} 0.06{sub stat} {+-} 0.08{sub syst}) x 10{sup -4}.


A ruling of the tribunal is a magistrate's court judgment and mediations are often converted into a ruling having the same effect of a court judgment. The delay in dealing with the tenant's or landlord's complaint within the limit of three months is a miscarriage of justice and pitiable service delivery to the public. All the more reason that a mediator has the knowledge and experience within the tribunal environment, common law, contract law, the relevant constitutional provisions, case law and rules and procedures that govern dispute resolution and judicial proceedings.


The aim of the research was to identify the effectiveness of the strategy of the overlapping waves in the development of the mental reasoning skills of the students. The researcher adopted the empirical research method as a methodology for its research procedures, which includes an independent variable (the strategy of overlapping waves, the normal method) and a dependent variable Experimental design with partial control to adjust the search variables. Prior to applying the experiment, the researcher was rewarded between the two research groups for the purpose of obtaining accurate and objective results with the following variables: After applying the experiment, the researcher applied his research tools to the two groups of research. After correcting the students' answers, the researcher obtained data for the experimental group and the control. Data were statistically tested by t-test for two independent samples. The results showed that the experimental group was better than the control group.


Although scrub typhus is endemic in our country, it is grossly under diagnosed owing to the nonspecific clinical presentation, lack of access to specific diagnostic facilities in most areas, and low index of suspicion by the clinicians. It presents as either a nonspecific febrile illness with constitutional symptoms such as fever, rash, myalgias and headache or with organ dysfunctions involving organs such as kidney (acute renal failure), liver (hepatitis), lungs (acute respiratory distress syndrome), central nervous system (meningitis), or with circulatory collapse with hemorrhagic features. We are reporting a case report of scrub typhus presenting as fever with bilateral bronchopneumonia.


This study aimed to assess the level of IAQ (indoor air quality) through monitoring of several air pollutants inside selected homes in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and to study the most affecting factors on IAQ. Continuous 8-hour monitoring at each home during six months of 2019–2020 was conducted for six air pollutants inside and outside 200 homes, representing three main Saudi cities (Dammam, Al-Hofuf and Qatif). Measurements of six air pollutants were conducted in the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom inside each home and simultaneously outside these homes in their immediate vicinity. The highest mean levels of PM10 (50.3 ± 20.0 µg/m3), CO2 (822.9 ± 195.1 ppm) and NO2 (0.044 ± 0.009 ppm) were found in kitchens, while the highest mean level of CO (1.27 ± 0.25 ppm) was found in living rooms. As for total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and SO2, their levels were nearly the same at three sites (0.21 ± 0.04 ppm and 0.018 ± 0.002 ppm, respectively). Levels of PM10 exceeded their air quality guidelines (AQGs) in homes that are located near industrial and agricultural areas, while levels of other air pollutants were lower than their AQGs in all regions. The increase in concentrations of air pollutants outdoors was accompanied by an increase in concentrations indoors.


Temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition is a crucial parameter to predict the fate of soil carbon (C) under global warming. Nonetheless, the response pattern of Q10 to continuous warming and the underlying mechanisms are still under debate, especially considering the complex interactions between Q10, SOM quality, and soil microorganisms. We examined the Q10 of SOM decomposition across a mean annual temperature (MAT) gradient from −1.9 to 5.1°C in temperate mixed forest ecosystems in parallel with SOM quality and bioavailability, microbial taxonomic composition, and functional genes responsible for organic carbon decomposition. Within this temperature gradient of 7.0°C, the Q10 values increased with MAT, but decreased with SOM bioavailability. The Q10 values increased with the prevalence of K‐strategy of soil microbial community, which was characterized by: (i) high ratios of oligotrophic to copiotrophic taxa, (ii) ectomycorrhizal to saprotrophic fungi, (iii) functional genes responsible for degradation of recalcitrant to that of labile C, and (iv) low average 16S rRNA operon copy number. Because the recalcitrant organic matter was mainly utilized by the K‐strategists, these findings independently support the carbon quality‐temperature theory from the perspective of microbial taxonomic composition and functions. A year‐long incubation experiment was performed to determine the response of labile and recalcitrant C pools to warming based on the two‐pool model. The decomposition of recalcitrant SOM was more sensitive to increased temperature in southern warm regions, which might attribute to the dominance of K‐selected microbial communities. It implies that climate warming would mobilize the larger recalcitrant pools in warm regions, exacerbating the positive feedback between increased MAT and CO2 efflux. This is the first attempt to link temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition with microbial eco‐strategies by incorporating the genetic information and disentangling the complex relationship between Q10 and soil microorganisms.


The paper aims to classify different offensive content types in 3 code-mixed Dravidian language datasets. The work leverages existing state of the art approaches in text classification by incorporating additional data and transfer learning on pre-trained models. Our final submission is an ensemble of an AWD-LSTM based model along with 2 different transformer model architectures based on BERT and RoBERTa. We achieved weighted-average F1 scores of 0.97, 0.77, and 0.72 in the Malayalam-English, Tamil-English, and Kannada-English datasets ranking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on the respective shared-task leaderboards.


Urban farming (UF) is emerging in the urban areas of the modern world due to food scarcity in urban areas. Urban agriculture is enjoying a resurgence in popularity that began decades ago. It's now widely acknowledged and accepted as a means of gaining several environmental, economic, and social advantages. However, the cradle of urban farming is from our ancestral civilization. Hence, documenting different urban farming techniques used by our ancestors is very important. Consequently, this study is launched to study how our ancestors used urban farming to feed their ever-growing urban population. To structure the database, the UF-related words and keywords are divided into five categories. After that, using different keyword combinations for both 'history' and UF the online databases Scopus, ScienceDirect and ISI Web of Science (WoS) were searched. The samples presented here demonstrate the diversity of landscapes found in the Mayan Civilizations. Spatial variances in the underlying environment, various environmental changes, and civilizations' adaptability across time all contributed to this heterogeneity. Whether this civilization chose to focus on agriculture in wetlands or dry uplands, how they dealt with the annual problem of the dry season and water availability, and how diverse and nutritious soils were across the broader landscape all showcase the adaptive strategies used by the civilization to suit the different environmental conditions. Techniques like Raised bed farming in Mayan Civilization, are great examples of their adaptability to the climatic changes using creative solutions. All these civilizations flourished for centuries before their collapse. As a framework for addressing community cohesiveness and food access, Urban farming is entering a new phase. Urban agriculture has the potential to help people adapt to climate change. Mitigation and adaptation will be aided by avoiding reliance on fragile transportation connections, experimenting with seasonality and crop selection, and developing community bonds. When new challenges develop, urban agriculture will be there to meet them, and it will continue to evolve as it reacts to key issues that shape our cities. And to aid this process a comprehensive look at the ancient world's agro-urban civilizations would be very beneficial. Keywords: Urban Agricultural History, Urban Farming History, Mayan Civilizations


In this paper, we describe our contribution to the challenge of detection and classification of acoustic scenes and events (DCASE2017). We propose framCNN, a novel weakly-supervised learning framework that improves the performance of convolutional neural network (CNN) for acoustic event detection by attending to details of each sound at various temporal levels. Most existing weaklysupervised frameworks replace fully-connected network with global average pooling after the final convolution layer. Such a method tends to identify only a few discriminative parts, leading to suboptimal localization and classification accuracy. The key idea of our approach is to consciously classify the sound of each frame given by the corresponding label. The idea is general and can be applied to any network for achieving sound event detection and improving the performance of sound event classification. In acoustic scene classification (Task1), our approach obtained an average accuracy of 99.2% on the four-fold cross-validation for acoustic scene recognition, comparing to the provided baseline of 74.8%. In the large-scale weakly supervised sound event detection for smart cars (Task4), we obtained a F-score 53.8% for sound event audio tagging (subtask A), compared to the baseline of 19.8%, and a F-score 32.8% for sound event detection (subtask B), compared to the baseline of 11.4%.


High-frequency stimulation (100 Hz, 1 ms pulse width) delivered over triceps surae and tibialis anterior muscles (muscle stimulation) can evoke contractions "extra" to those due to stimulating motor axons directly. These extra contractions are thought to arise from central mechanisms (Collins et al., 2001). Stimulation of the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa (nerve stimulation) produces similar contractions and these are associated with increased amplitudes of H-reflexes, but not of M-waves. The present aim was to deliver muscle stimulation to evoke extra contractions and assess changes in Mwave and H-reflex amplitudes. Muscle stimulation was applied over the right triceps surae muscles (20-100-20 Hz for 2-3-2 s, respectively) while recording isometric plantarflexion torque and surface soleus EMG. In 4/10 subjects the stimulus artifact was sufficiently small to eanlabe an accurate measurement of changes in amplitudes of soleus M-waves, H-reflexes, and torque during 20-Hz stimulation. Data were compared between 1 (1s) and 6 (6s) seconds after the onset of stimulation (i.e.1 s before to 2 s after the 100 Hz burst). For these four subjects, torque increased by 213% (p = 0.01 )between 1 and 6s. Amplitudes of M-waves increased by 63% (p = 0.03) and H-reflexes by 249% (p = 0.05) over the same interval. After the 100 Hz burst M-waves were 5-20 times larger than the concurrent H-reflexes. Contrary to tibial nerve stimulation, during muscle stimulation not only H-reflex but also M-wave amplitude increased after the 100 Hz stimulation. The data suggest that different mechanisms contribute to the extra contractions evoked during nerve versus muscle stimulation.


The resonance frequency and the transmission loss due to two 1-DOF cylindrical Helmholtz resonator attached to a duct is thoroughly investigated in this literature to attenuate low frequency noise using finite element method. Primarily, the relative spacing between the two identical resonators attached to a duct is investigated in this study to find the optimum positions between the resonators. The investigation is further carried out by changing the dimensions of the geometry of the cavity and neck for the optimum relative position Finally, based on these several investigations, a conclusion is drawn for an optimized system of two identical 1-DOF Helmholtz resonators in terms of position, orientation and geometry. The results show a significant improvement in noise reduction compared to a single 1-DOF Helmholtz resonator. The results of a single 1-DOF Helmholtz resonator of a published literature have been validated both analytically and numerically in this study.


The current scenario deals with the study of fast dissolving tablets for the patients suffering from swallowing, sickness ,etc.  The present investigation involves in the evaluation of starch tartrate as a superdintegrant in the formulation of fast dissolving tablets of poorly soluble drugs employing 23factorial design. Starch tartrate was synthesized by esterification process. The synthesized starch tartrate was subjected to physical and micromeritic evaluation. All fast dissolving tablets were evaluated for drug content, hardness, friability, disintegration time and other dissolution characteristics like percent dissolved in 5 min (PD5), dissolution efficiency in 5 min (DE5%) and first order rate constant(K1). The starch tartrate prepared was found to be fine, free flowing slightly crystalline powder. Starch tartrate exhibited good swelling in water.Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study indicated the absence of interaction between ibuprofen and starch tartrate. All the fast dissolving tablets formulated employing starch tartrate were of good quality with regard to drug content (200±5%), hardness (3.6–3.9 kg/sq. cm), and friability (0.12-0.15%). The optimised formulation F2 has the least disintegration time i.e., 9±0. 03s. The in–vitro wetting time was less (i.e., 60s) in optimized formulation F2. The water absorption ratio of the formulated tablets was found to be in the range of 27.53±0.12 to 69.75±0.18%. The cumulative drug dissolved in the optimized formulation F2 was found to be 100.17±0.56% in 5 min. Starch tartrate was found to be a superdisintegrant which enhanced the dissolution efficiency with the ibuprofen and hence it could be used in the formulation of fast dissolving tablets to bring immediate release of the contained drug within 5 minutes.
Keywords: Fast dissolving, Superdisintegrant, Starch tartrate, Dissolution efficiency.


The research focuses on some relevant aspects of training at higher schools for building digital competences which facilitate the effective application of modern digital tools for solving planned tasks and achieving objectives. The emphasis falls on the necessary competences for working with integrated resource planning systems (ERP). Special attention is paid to the acquisition and development of the so-called Business Intelligence (BI) competences at higher schools.
At the beginning of the research, we have synthesized the necessary activities for quality training as the final objective is that the learners acquire a totality of knowledge, skills and experience for working and managing some heterogeneous in their nature processes, as well as some means and technologies required for the transformation of data into managerial information, whereas the data itself – into managerial decisions and action plans. The next stage consists of differentiation among the various types of skills – business skills, analytic skills and IT skills, as well as the specific aspects of their acquisition and development through the training at higher schools. The conclusion makes an assessment of the trends, respectively, the topics of training on specific tools for the solution of managerial tasks and the successful realization of strategic aims. We take into account the training in performing business analyses through dashboards and the work with key productivity indicators (KPI).
Parallel to this, we have researched the degree of coverage of this matter in existing curricula and courses at higher schools in Central and Eastern Europe using the method of random sampling without replacement.
The logic of carrying out the research corresponds to the principle that the training shall comply with the needs and requirements of the practice. The basis for determining the research sample is based on the subject matter of the research. We have encompassed enterprises of the private sector in countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The sample is limited to small, medium and large enterprises which actively use digital tools in making managerial decisions (respectively 16% / 65% / 19%) from the Czech Republic, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria using the method of random sampling without replacement. The methodology of the research secures its reliability by addressing the survey to a specific category of individuals, including the opinions of managers and employees on the digital competences of future specialists with a degree in Economics.
The results are used to make a narrow selection of those areas in the content of specific courses which shall be updated and to point out those curricula which shall be updated in the medium term.


The great majority of his published sermons are occupied with argument or philippic against Romanists and unbelievers, with 'vindications' of the Bible, with the political interpretation of prophecy, or the criticism of public events.


Men are generally more reluctant than women to seek psychological help, perhaps because of negative preconceptions about therapy. We interviewed 20 life coaches to find out whether they had seen gender differences in expectations and outcomes regarding coaching in their male and female clients. Analysis of the interviews, using the grounded theory method, revealed that although almost all coaches described gender differences in help seeking and treatment preferences in their clients, most coaches demonstrated ambivalence about describing such gender differences. Findings are discussed both in terms of cognitive dissonance theory, and in terms of the beta bias hindering the recognition of gender differences. These findings have implications for how coaches (and psychotherapists, psychologists etc) can improve the delivery of their therapy.


Background: Verbal abuse is a type of verbal abuse that can cause stress and have a negative impact on mental health. Verbal abuse if done continuously to children in the long term will have an impact on self-confidence in children.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between verbal abuse and self-confidence in children in Pabean Village, Sedati District, Sidoarjo.
Methods: The method in this research is to use a quantitative type of research with a cross sectional research design. The sample in this study amounted to 36 people. The sampling technique used purposive sampling technique. Data collection using questionnaires and data analysis using the Spearman Rank (Rho) test.
Result: The results of the Spearman Rank statistical test obtained (p = 0.000; r = -0.570). The relationship between verbal abuse and self-confidence of school-age children, at Pabean Sidoaarjo has a strong relationship with a negative correlation.
Conclusion: The importance of preventing and overcoming verbal abuse in children. This research provides an understanding of the negative impact of verbal abuse on children's self-esteem and reinforces the need to develop approaches that involve protection and recovery for children who have experienced verbal abuse. Measures of protection, education and psychological support should be put in place to ensure the mental and emotional well-being of children in society.


INTRODUCTION: External apical root resorption (EARR) is an adverse outcome of the orthodontic treatment. So far, no single or associated factor has been identified as responsible for EARR due to tooth movement. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association of risk variables (age, gender, extraction for orthodontic treatment and Angle classification) with EARR and orthodontic treatment. METHOD: The sample (n=72) was divided into two groups according to presence (n=32) or absence (n=40) of EARR in maxillary central and lateral incisors after orthodontic treatment. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in EARR according to age, gender, extraction or type of malocclusion (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The risk variables examined were not associated with EARR in the study population.


Secret sharing is a cryptographic primitive which plays a central role in various tasks including secure multi-party computation and key management. Quantum schemes for secret sharing commonly rely on multi-particle entangled quantum states, which remains challenging with current experimental technologies. Firstly, in this paper we present a (t,n) quantum secret sharing scheme based on quantum walks on a circle, which only involves two-particle product states as the initial quantum resource. When recovering the secrets, it requires at least t participants sequentially completing their operations on the communicated state, while less than t participants can not acquire any information about the secrets. Secondly, a verification mechanism is designed, which can detect cheats with an asymptotic probability 100%. Finally, we show that the scheme is perfectly correct and is secure against common attacks including collusion attack. In conclusion, the proposed scheme will be useful for quantum communication networks due to its inherent scalability, flexibility and information-theoretical security.


Motivated by known preferences for certain amino acids in positions around a-helices, we developed neural network-based predictors of both N and C a-helix ends, which achieved about 88% accuracy. We applied a similar approach for predicting the ends of three types of secondary structure segments. The predictors for the ends of H, E and C segments were then used to create input for protein secondary-structure prediction. By incorporating this new type of input, we significantly improved the basic one-stage predictor of protein secondary structure in terms of both per-residue (Q3) accuracy (+0.8%) and segment overlap (SOV3) measure (+1.4).


The main purpose of this study is to find the influence of corporate tax rate on systematic risk with three more variables (leverage, return on assets and market value of equity) by using cement sector data of Pakistan. This study used fifteen cement manufacturer data from 2004 to 2009 and fixed effect panel data random regression model. The result showed that corporate tax rate is not a determinant of systematic risk, but showed its effect through leverage, which is having statistically significant relationship with systematic risk. This study showed that leverage had significant influence in determining systematic risk and had positive relationship with systematic risk; whereas return on assets and market value of equity are positively related with systematic risk but had no significant influence on systematic risk. This study investigated the influence of corporate tax rate on systematic risk. This study also presented the managerial and policy related implications and recommendations from the study findings.

 Key words: Systematic risk, corporate tax rate, leverage, returns on assets, market value of equity, debt to equity ratio.


Unlike Central and Western Europe, where the access of Gypsies to the professional guilds of the local population was denied for centuries, in the conditions of Ottoman Empire the participation in guilds of Gypsies, who where full-fledged subjects of the Empire, was perceived as something completely acceptable and normal. Formally the Ottoman Empire regulated legally the activities of the guilds only in 1773, the historical data shows that many Gypsies living in Constantinople/Istanbul, were members of different guilds already in previous centuries. Although the guilds in principle should not be detached ethnically, in the 19 c., along with the development of national movements among the Balkan nations, a process of separation of guilds along ethnic lines started. In the general context of these processes at the end of the 19 c. were already registered separate Gypsy guilds in the Ottoman Empire, and later in the new independent Balkan states too. The article introduce three flags of Gypsy craftsmen gilds (blacksmith in Prizren and Resen, and potters in Kyustendil), preserved until now. The history of the Gypsy guilds is reconstructed primarily on base of materials from oral history of Gypsy (Roma and Balkan Egyptians) communities. It is show the place of the guild's flags in the overall life of the respective communities and their use in various calendar and family celebrations, customs and rituals, including nowadays, and presented also the development of some of the traditions of Gypsy guilds for regulation of relations in the local Gypsy communities. During the last two decades the historical heritage of the Gypsy guilds acquires again new forms and functions. Festivities themselves and used flags are seen already not only and not so much as an event connected to given occupation but as an expression of preservation and demonstration of community traditions, as a manifestation of the ethnic identity (Roma and Balkan Egyptians).


POLITICAL CULTURE AND POLICY: THE IMPACT OF CULTURE AND VALUES ON SCHOOL CHOICE LEGISLATION Heather Leigh Neal Old Dominion University, 2019 Director: Dr. Jay Scribner Policy actors unite political culture, power, and values to make substantial decisions which are often subjective in nature. Politics and policy are about collective decisions, which rely on the arrangement of a group of people. As values can influence policy actors in their attempt to solve problems, it is important for policymakers to establish a balance among the most essential values. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate how, and what ways, political culture influenced how state stakeholders interpreted or implemented policy. Power and values were explored as both can connect for the implementation of policy. If values, which are widely subjective, play a part in establishing policy, then it effects all stakeholders. The purpose of this case study was to define how values and political culture impacts the implementation of school choice policy. The theories of power and values are situated within a political culture framework, and used to critically examine whether or not values influenced legislators as they implemented policy. Multiple interviews were conducted, and transcriptions of those conversations revealed that the powers of perception, discourse, and persuasion influenced how stakeholders and policy actors view and interpret school choice. In addition, the data also revealed how stakeholders perceive the values of choice, equity and efficiency differently along with the impact of these values on society. Copyright, 2019, by Heather Leigh Neal, All Rights Reserved.


The MINNI project supports policy makers in the e laboration and assessment of air pollution policies in Italy. In MINNI, an Eulerian Atmospheric Modelling System (AMS), built around the chemical transport model FARM (Flexible Atmospheric Regional Model), has been applied to several reference years. The me teorological fields necessary to drive air quality simulations at 4x4 km 2 space resolution have been reconstructed for years 1999 and 2005 by means of the diagnostic meteorological model LAPS (Local Analysis and Prediction System) employing data assimilation techniques. The first guess background meteorology has been provid ed by an annual simulation of the prognostic non-hydrostatic meteorological model RAMS (Regional Atmospheric Modelling System) with space resolution of 20x20 km 2 and time resolution of one hour. Model results for year 2005 have been compared with independent observations collected by the Friuli V enezia Giulia Region meteorological network, in order to identify streng ths and shortcomings of the meteorological fields. The comparison of LAPS results with RAMS fields and observations shows a satisfactory d escription for all the considered meteorological va riables over coastal and inland plains, which are the main target areas for air quality ass essment and management. The model performance deteriorates over mountain areas, where model resolution is insufficient to properly resolv e Alpine valleys feature and no observations are av ailable to feed LAPS assimilation process.


Sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to investigate the effect of a fuel pellet's design parameters on the performance of a dry-processed Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) fuel and to suggest the optimum design modifications. Under a normal operating condition, a dry-processed fuel has a higher internal pressure and plastic strain due to a higher fuel centerline temperature when compared with a standard natural uranium CANDU fuel. Under a condition that the fuel bundle dimensions do not change, sensitivity calculations were performed on a fuel's design parameters such as the axial gap, dish depth, gap clearance and plenum volume. The results showed that the internal pressure and plastic strain of the cladding were most effectively reduced if a fuel's element plenum volume was increased. More specifically, the internal pressure and plastic strain of the dry-processed fuel satisfied the design limits of a standard CANDU fuel when the plenum volume was increased by one half a pellet, 0.5 mm{sup 3}/K. (authors)


Objective To analyze the serotype,virulence genes and molecular typing of Vibrio cholerae strains isolated in Jiaxing.Methods The serotype,virulence genes(ctxA,ace,zot,tcpA,cri and rtxA)and ERIC-PCR typing of 13Vibrio cholerae strains isolated in recent years were studied by serological and molecular biological methods.Results Out of 13Vibrio cholerae strains,2were identified as serogroup O139and 11were serogroup O1which included 9Ogawa and 2Inaba strains.2O139strains carried 3virulence genes.10 O1strains harbored all 6virulence genes and only one carried 4.ERIC-PCR typing analysis showed that the genetic diversity existed among different Vibrio cholerae strains.Conclusions Majority of Vibrio cholerae strains isolated in Jiaxing carried multiple virulence genes with various origins.Therefore,more work needs to be done for the prevention.


F manufacturers have been challenged to provide better convenient and integral foods for consumers' demands. In normal case, home meals are prepared in the order of purchase of materials, pretreatment, cooking and arrangement. The most advantage of the HMR is to lessen burden to prepare the home meals. The materials of HMR is pretreated and mildly cooked prior to packaging, it reduces overall cooking time greater than normal home meals. Main difference of HMR with normal chilled or frozen foods are its freshness. Nevertheless, the HMR is a processed food, hence losses in physicochemical and sensorial properties as well as nutrition are inevitable. HMR is consisted of various materials of which physical properties are varying depending on types and compositions. Uniform pretreatment of raw materials cannot guarantee the overall quality of the HMR. In the present study, best pretreatment conditions were evaluated to minimize or to improve quality characteristics of vegetable-type HMR. Selected and washed vegetables were blanched by boiling in water, superheated steaming and frying with varying time. Physicochemical properties of the materials were assessed to optimize the best condition. Consequently, this study demonstrated that all materials had different optimal conditions, and the conditions were closely depending on the applied pretreatment methods.


Citation for published version (APA): Westerbeek, H. G. W., Koolen, R. M. F., & Maes, A. A. (2014). On the role of object knowledge in reference production: Effects of color typicality on content determination. In P. Bello, M. Guarini, M. McShane, & B. Scassellati (Eds.), CogSci 2014: Cognitive Science Meets Artificial Intelligence: Human and Artificial Agents in Interactive Contexts http://cognitivesciencesociety.org/conference2014/index.html


Introduction: Zinc is an essential element, a component of several thousand enzymes as well as DNA & RNA. Amongst the trace elements, the abundance of the zinc in the human body is second only to Iron hence playing an indispensable role in growth. Aims and objectives: The aim was to study the prevalence of zinc deficiency in the newborn babies and the effect of zinc supplementation on their growth. Materials and methods: This was an open label RCT conducted in SKIMS Srinagar, a tertiary care hospital in north India, from July 2013 to May 2015. The study group included all newborns who were exclusively breastfed. The babies were randomly divided into study group; who received 5mg OD of elemental zinc for first 6 months of life and control group who were exclusively breastfed. Zinc status was measured by serum zinc level and growth was ascertained by weight, length and head circumference at birth, 3 months and 6 months of age. Results: A total of 60 neonates were studied, 32 cases and 28 controls. Baseline variables were comparable. Total of 45 % of the babies were zinc deficient at birth. Zinc supplementation was found to further increase the length in all babies (3.69±1.44 cm) but more so in preterm babies (4.25±1.73cm). Extra increment in the weight was only significant in preterm babies and head circumference showed no significant change.


A simple and rapid flow injection spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of amount of thiocyanate in wastewaters and well water samples. It is based on the reaction of thiocyanate in hydrochloric acid with janus green and bromate. Reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring janus green absorbance at 𝜆max=554 nm. The calibration graph was linear over the range 0.02–1.0 μg mL−1 and the detection limit was 0.016 μg mL−1 (𝑠/𝑛=3). The throughput was 25 samples per hour.


The compactness of PAN fibers has been varied by employing different conditions for fiber formation before applying silicone oils.Compactness was studied by bulk density measurements;the content of Si and its micro-distribution were characterized by direct current-arc-atomic emission spectroscopy(DC-Arc-AES) and electron probe microanalysis(EPMA),respectively.The pore size distribution of PAN fibers and size distribution of silicone oil molecules were measured.The results showed that the average size of the silicone oil molecules was smaller than the average pore size,and silicone oil molecules were adsorbed by van der Waals forces onto the fiber surface and then permeated inwards through open pores and became impregnated into the core.With increasing coagulation temperatures, the compactness decreased and the number of silicone oil molecules inside the fibers increased.When the coagulation concentration or pre-draft multiple were increased,the compactness increased and the number of silicone oil molecules decreased.The compactness of PAN fibers can be enhanced by reducing the coagulation temperature,raising the coagulation concentration or increasing the pre-draft multiple,so as to prevent silicone oil molecules from permeating inwards.


The modeling with formalized methods can improve the validity and reliability of a target system while developing software.A method to utilize Z language to carry out semantic analysis is proposed.The method indicates the object state by the property set and based on Z specification of the sequence diagram.The context of the sequence diagram is expressed as Z form restraint.The sequence diagram was analyzed semantically by checking the uniformity of context restrant and object state.Taking a class scheduling system based on the credit point system as an example,by using the object-oriented specification language Z,an accurate and entire mathematics model of the class scheduling system is formally described.The process shows that the method has a precise descriptiveness and high-level Abstraction capability,and can provide scientific framework for development and verification of the system.


The practice  of termination  of franchise   agreements  raises  significant  strategic  and  legal issues. This paper aims to provide descriptive information about franchise terminations in relation to which the appropriateness of regulatory responses can be measured. Data were collected from surveys of Australian franchisers in 1998 and 1999 to explore the nature, reasons and outcomes of franchise  agreement terminations.  A model predicting  the likelihood of terminations was developed, based on franchise system maturity, support structures provided, and level of conflict experienced. The results indicate that mature franchises were more  likely  than younger  systems  to experience franchise  terminations.  No  consistent  link was found between the amount of system support or the level of conflict and the incidence of franchise terminations. The data  lends  support  to judicial  responses  to  termination  issues which accommodate the relational aspect of  franchise  relationships  and  addresses termination issues in the context of the underlying relationship and the legitimate business expectations  of the parties.


The assessment of subsurface architecture and location of faults is key information in CO2 geosequestration projects. The 3D seismic survey has been acquired as a part of the SW Hub CCS project in vicinity of potential future CO2 injection sites. The acquisition was carried out within the Harvey and Waroona Shires about 150 km south-east from Perth, Western Australia. In order to support the fault detection and decrease uncertainties on the structural framework two additional imaging techniques have been applied to the 3D seismic volume. One is a diffraction imaging algorithm, the other is an alteration to the post-stack Kirchhoff migration – the steered migration. The application of these methods to the seismic volume enhanced the signal to noise ratio of the final migrated images and supported the understanding of fault distribution in the study area.


An improved deep packet filter is designed to optimize the search for dynamic patterns for high speed network traffic. The advanced deep packet filter is a hardware based system with an optimized logic domain. One optimization technique is to share a common sub-logic in hardware design to reduce the number of gates required. Another optimization technique is to reduce the gate by using the built-in memory to store part of the pattern set. As the logic area is reduced, deep packet filter systems can be implemented on a single field programmable array chip. Deep packet filter, prefix pattern, suffix pattern, suffix index


Interactive Gantt charts are a well known technique to represent and edit interval and point events. Providing scalability to these editable charts in the presence of a large amount of events is a challenging problem that is underexplored. We propose a scalable and compact variation of editable Gantt charts based on focus+context, animation, and clustering. Drag-and-drop functionalities are available for relocating events in time. In this paper we discuss our design decisions when elaborating this interactive graphics, and how they may be applied to analyze sizeable sets of projects from a real company in the power generation sector. CCS Concepts •Human-centered computing→Visualization systems and tools;


FIELD: aircraft engineering. SUBSTANCE: proposed complex comprises manual control board, primary and standby central control board, primary and standby central computer, primary and standby channels of matrix instructions output and multiplex exchange transponder, discrete signal receive-and-process device, microsystem for measurement of voltage and resistance in circuitry, discrete contactless and contact signals output device, telemetry data receive-and-process device and power supply, all being interconnected in a definite way. Central computer comprises computing unit, supply bus control unit, coupling control unit, analogue signal input and standardization unit, unit to receive telemetry data via low-frequency channel, multiplex exchange unit, unit to test pyrocartridge circuits flow and Ethernet switch, all being connected in a definite way. Central control board incorporates tests control unit, monitors, I/O devices. EFFECT: higher reliability. 3 dwg


With the enormous load growth in recent time, the power flow through the feeders of the distribution system is increased and, in some cases, the power flow may reach the thermal stability limit of the feeders. As a result, the chances of fault occurrence in the distribution feeders is significantly increased, which will reduce system reliability. Under such circumstances, it is essential to utilize suitable means so that the reliability can be enhanced. This study proposed a mathematical model to optimally incorporate different types of sectionalizing switches such as manual switches (MS) and remote-controlled switches (RCS). Reconfiguration that is the process of changing the system structure by switching tie switches is also utilized in this study. The main objectives of this article are to increase the overall system reliability and to minimize the investment cost. To accomplish this, a discrete version of the rooted tree optimization (DRTO) algorithm is utilized and different test cases are simulated considering the 33-bus distribution system. Moreover, the effect of budget allocation on the installed number of switches is also investigated.


1. I have the impression the paper does not give enough credit to the body of work in which earlier analytical solutions to the flow problem discussed here were derived. The Laplace-Fourier transformation used here was adopted from Butler Jr. et al. (2001), who in turn adopted it from earlier work done in the former Soviet Union. I had to look this up to find out. Response: Thank you for your comment. The Laplace and Fourier transform techniques used in this manuscript are not adopted from the works of Butler Jr. et al. (2001) but from the textbooks of Engineering Mathematics. They are standard methods of applied and engineering mathematics for solution of partial differential equations. We have added a clarifying statement in the beginning of Subsection 2.2 in the revised manuscript citing an example standard text from which the transforms used in our work to solve flow equations may be found, viz., "To solve the flow problem described above, the governing equation is first transformed into a dimensionless form. Details of the nondimensionalization of the governing equations and their solutions may be found in the Appendix. Laplace and Fourier-cosine transforms are applied to the dimensionless governing equations, which are then solved by standard methods for ordinary differential equations. The respective inversion formulae of the transforms are finally used to numerically obtain the applicable flow solutions in space-time. The transform and inversion formulae can be found in standard textbooks of Engineering Mathematics, and interested readers may refer to the reference text of Haberman (2012). Similar solution approaches have been used in the hydrogeology literature by Butler Jr et al. (2001) and others."


gressive Era also accommodated their husbands' careers and families by working usually up to the birth of their first child and after raising their children. A large number became teachers because this career was most compatible with marriage. This was the case, according to Gordon because women could enter and leave this profession "according to the demands of their private lives, without penalty or the need to keep up with changes in the field" (p. 197). As Educated for Romance and other studies have confirmed, women continue to view their career aspirations as subordinate to their boyfriends' or spouses'. The second backlash to the independence and career aspirations of women of the 1970s has further pushed them back to the home and off the career track (Faludi, 1991). Most women will have to support themselves at some point in their lives. Since women continue to earn less than men and have jobs that are not as financially remunerative, they have a greater chance of poverty. Educated for Romance provides some disturbing conclusions. Although the women in their study may be "happy" at the time in which they acquiesce to romance, as the authors note, these women's lives are far from over. "What will happen in the future?" they write.


large early release frequency (LERF): the calculated frequency (per year) that radioactivity release from the containment is both large and early. "Large" means involving the rapid, unscrubbed release of airborne fission products to the environment. "Early" means occurring before the effective implementation of offsite emergency and protective actions. (A Level 2 PRA identifies accident sequences that can lead to radioactivity release, calculates the frequency of each sequence, and sums these frequencies to obtain LERF.)