A detailed study of the sorption of Ni2+ and Co2+ from simulated wastewater on saprist peat is presented. The significantly decomposed peat possessed a strong sorptive capacity that was maintained over a wide range of pH. With a metal concentration range of 50 to 200 mg/L, pH range of 3 to 10, peat dose of 2 to 40 g/L, and contact time of 12 to 24 h, batch experiments were conducted based on a four-factor Box-Behnken response surface design. The percentage removals of Ni2+ and Co2+ were analyzed using analysis of variance. Second order response surface models were developed with the significant factors and their interactions to predict the percentage sorption of Ni2+ and Co2+ independently. The prediction equations were verified with additional data not used in developing the equations. The study showed that the saprist peat could be a potential industrial metal adsorbent and the percentage of uptake of Ni2+ and Co2+ could be accurately predicted using the second order response surface models developed. Ni2+ uptake was greater for the two metals and reached a maximum value at just below a neutral pH and Co2+ uptake continued to increase from pH > 5, with higher uptake percentage at pH 10.


The AZ31B magnesium alloy plates of 5 mm in thickness were welded by A-TIG welding under longitudinal magnetic field. The mixed oxides were used as activating fluxes. The form factor,microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joint at different magnetic field parameters were tested. The effects of magnetic field parameters on A-TIG welding process of magnesium alloy were also investigated. The results show that the formability and microstructure of magnesium alloy welded joint can be improved due to the magnetic field. When the magnetic frequency is 10Hz and the magnetic current is 2 A,the form factor and properties of welded joint are tested,the form factor is 2. 304 and the hardness is 980. 98 MPa. The flow of molten pool will be changed by the activating fluxes and electromagnetic( which forming by magnetic field). The liquid metal in molten pool will move from all around to center,which makes the weld be deeper,refines the microstructure and improves the properties of welded joint.


: Age and growth determination of fish are very formal and fundamental components and have a great significance for not only in fisheries biology but it is equally important for providing information about stock management, age of maturity, life span, yield and production also. The proper knowledge on the age and growth of the fish is a prerequisite for studying population dynamics and maintaining sustainable yields in aquaculture (Campana and Thorrold, 2001). The Fish age wise growth rate is species specific, as higher weight increment is shown by few fishes than others at the same length of time, whereas some attain more length than others. Even in the same species, the growth rate differs between both sexes and also with the different seasons of the year which is related to environmental conditions especially water temperature (Akamine, 1993). The main objective to study age and growth of the fish is to assess the maximum level of production of a species in relation to a particular culture period.


In this paper we discuss candidate superconformal N = 2 gauge theories that realize the AdS/CFT correspondence with M–theory compactified on the homogeneous Sasakian 7-manifolds M7 that were classified long ago. In particular we focus on the two cases M7 = Q1,1,1 and M7 = M1,1,1, for the latter the Kaluza Klein spectrum being completely known. We show how the toric description of M7 suggests the gauge group and the supersingleton fields. The conformal dimensions of the latter can be independently calculated by comparison with the mass of baryonic operators that correspond to 5–branes wrapped on supersymmetric 5–cycles and are charged with respect to the Betti multiplets. The entire Kaluza Klein spectrum of short multiplets agrees with these dimensions. Furthermore, the metric cone over the Sasakian manifold is a conifold algebraically embedded in some Cp. The ring of chiral primary fields is defined as the coordinate ring of Cp modded by the ideal generated by the embedding equations; this ideal has a nice characterization by means of representation theory. The entire Kaluza Klein spectrum is explained in terms of these vanishing relations. We give the superfield interpretation of all short multiplets and we point out the existence of many long multiplets with rational protected dimensions, whose presence and pattern seem to be universal in all compactifications. ∗ Supported in part by EEC under TMR contract ERBFMRX-CT96-0045 and by GNFM.


This report describes a microcomputer system for analyzing the information collected by state forces in their annual network-level Pavement Evaluation System (PES). Included in the MICRO-PES are the following three subsystems: a) A one-year Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) estimation system, which contains a series of decision trees developed by experienced engineers from the Maintenance and Pavement Design Divisions. The trees relate pavement distress to the appropriate M&R strategy and have been developed for Flexible, Jointed and Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements, b) The RAMS-District Optimization Program which selects as optimum combination of projects within a fixed budget level. Optimization uses 0-1 Integer Programming techniques and uses maintenance effectiveness as an Objective Function, c) A Routine Maintenance Estimate system which permits estimates of type, amount and cost of routine maintenance requirements for any highway or network of highways. The software package requires an IBM-XT on AT or compatible microcomputer with at least a 1.2 MB floppy disc drive, a 10 MB hard disk, 640 KB of RAM, an EGA graphics adaptor, and a dot matrix printer (A).


The article dwells upon the conceptual parallels between one of the greatest Irish poets W. B. Yeats and Russian composers of the 20th century, Alexander Scriabin and Igor Stravinsky. Yeats first became known in Russia in the end of the 19th century. Gradually, his works entered the literary context and subsequently opened a new perspective in the critical studies of early 20th century Russian poetry (prominent examples include works by the linguist and anthropologist Vyacheslav Ivanov, the poet and translator Grigory Kruzhkov, and so forth). However, very little attention has been given so far to the intriguing connection between Yeats and his Russian musical contemporaries. Thus, the article focuses on the comparative study of the philosophy and aesthetic principles of W. B. Yeats and the Russian composers, and highlights similarities in their aesthetic systems (such as the idea of time and Hermetic symbolism in the philosophy of Yeats and Alexander Scriabin). The comparative approach allows the author to look at the music of Scriabin and Stravinsky through the prism of poetry and vice versa to view Yeats's works through the music of his Russian contemporaries. The author also aims to find out how the poet and the composers expressed similar ideas and aesthetic principles using completely different systems — that of music and that of the language. Tyumen State University Herald. Humanities Research. Humanitates, vol. 3, no 2, рр. 101-108 Citation: Kononova A. V. 2017. "W. B. Yeats and 20th Century Russian Music: New Aesthetic Ideas at the Crossroads of Culture". Tyumen State University Herald. Humanities Research. Humanitates, vol. 3, no 2, pp. 101-108. DOI: 10.21684/2411-197X-2017-3-2-101-108


A new buck-boost type converter that can operate with a low dc bus voltage that has significantly less variability than the voltage in other single-stage converters is proposed in the paper. The operation of the new converter is discussed and general guidelines for its design are given in the paper. The feasibility of the converter is confirmed with results obtained from experimental prototype


During the 2006–2008 summer–autumn seasons, the myxomycete biodiversity was investigated in Gomolsha Forests National Nature Park and neighbouring territories of the East Forest-Steppe area of Ukraine. Several earlier collections (2002-2004) were also reexamined. Four species found appeared to be new for Ukraine, six others were estimated as rare for the country. Descriptions, microphotographs, localities and information on substrata are presented for these species.


Fattening and carcass traits of i i pigs sired by boars from two different breeds were record- ed, in relation to nutritional variations, according to a factorial design 24: two breeding groups (Fyexch Z.aKd)t:ce or Pietrain boars mated to French Lavcdvace or Large White dams), two sexes (females and castrates), two levels 01 dietary digestible energy (3,o and 3.3 Meal respectively of DE/kg), two crude protein to digestible energy ratios in the finishing period (47 and 55 g crude protein respectively per Mcal DE), the latter level being applied to all pigs between 30 and 60 kg). Diets were offered ad libitum and pigs were slaughtered at the mean live weight of 97.3 kg. The nutritional variations generally gave similar responses in both breeding groups which did not differ to a significant extent in food efficiency as well as in body composition; nevertheless in Pietvain crosses, between 30 and 60 kg, energy consumption and growth rate were lower with the diet containing 3.0 Meal DE /kg. Some interactions between sex a,nd diet were observed: the increase in the dietary energy content resulted in better results in females than in castrates; also maintaining the level of 5g g crude protein per Meal DE during the finishing period was associated with a decreased energy consumption and consequently a reduced carcass fatness in castrates, but not in females. of the crossbred progeny of Large White and Pietrain :


Purpose Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a common treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) and involves the use of brain atlases or intrinsic landmarks to estimate the location of target deep brain structures, such as the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi). However, these structures can be difficult to localize with conventional clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and thus targeting can be prone to error. Ultra-high-field imaging at 7T has the ability to clearly resolve these structures and thus atlases built with these data have the potential to improve targeting accuracy. Methods T1 and T2-weighted images of 12 healthy control subjects were acquired using a 7T MR scanner. These images were then used with groupwise registration to generate an unbiased average template with T1w and T2w contrast. Deep brain structures were manually labelled in each subject by two raters and rater reliability was assessed. We compared the use of this unbiased atlas with two other methods of atlas-based segmentation (single-template and multi-template) for subthalamic nucleus (STN) segmentation on 7T MRI data. We also applied this atlas to clinical DBS data acquired at 1.5T to evaluate its efficacy for DBS target localization as compared to using a standard atlas. Results The unbiased templates provide superb detail of subcortical structures. Through one-way ANOVA tests, the unbiased template is significantly (p <0.05) more accurate than a single-template in atlas-based segmentation and DBS target localization tasks. Conclusion The generated unbiased averaged templates provide better visualization of deep brain nuclei and an increase in accuracy over single-template and lower field strength atlases.


5G mobile devices operating at mmWave will incorporate electronic beam steering to address the difficulties of non-line of sight communications at these high frequencies. This requires the use of multiple parallel receive and transmit channels, which must be implemented in a low cost, compact manner. This presentation will describe the design of a 4-channel PA covering the 27.5 to 28.35GHz 5G band. It was realised as a single chip component on the 0.15μm E-mode GaAs PHEMT process of Sanan IC and is packaged in a standard over-moulded, 5mm x 5mm plastic QFN package. This results in a low cost, SMT compatible component suitable for incorporation into high volume commercial products. Each PA exhibits a gain of 20dB with an RF output power of 24.5dBm at 1dB gain compression with a PAE of 20%. When operated at 7dB back-off to preserve modulation fidelity the third order intercept point is 31dBm.


Abstract A locally free action of a Lie group is parameter rigid if for each other action with the same orbit foliation there exists a $C^\infty $ orbit-preserving diffeomorphism which conjugates the action to a reparametrization of the other by an automorphism of the Lie group. We show that for actions of the Heisenberg groups, if the first leafwise cohomology group of the orbit foliation is isomorphic to the first cohomology of the Lie algebra of the group, then the action is parameter rigid. Using this, we give examples of parameter rigid actions for all of the Heisenberg groups.


The manuscript addressed an important issue of the Ethiopian health extension workers. The findings presented in the manuscript are crucial for policymakers and other similar community based programs in other developing countries. However, the manuscript, in its current form, is more of like a report of a survey. Thus, to enrich the manuscript and meet the requirements of a journal article, I suggest the following comments.


A CAN bus tower crane safety monitoring and control system based on GPRS technology was introduced.Which is composed of data acquisition module、CAN bus transceiver module、HMI and GPRS module.The system uses STC89C516 to be master controller,run-time achieved a tower crane working condition monitoring,display,recording and alarm.And real-time data upload network through the GPRS module,send the alarm signal to the mobile phone terminal,and achieve the remote multi-machine joint monitoring purposes in the control center.Practice proves that this system has good real-time,reliability and extensive application value.


In the present study individual milk samples were collected from 80 Garganica goats and the population was genotyped for CSN1S1. Seven different alleles were observed with the A allele found as predominant, followed by the F and B allele, and 14 different genotypes were observed. A proteomic approach was used to classify the individual milk on the basis of protein abundance: four levels of αs1-casein (CN) expression were identified as high (HAS-1), intermediate (IAS-1), low (LAS-1), and null (NAS-1). The present paper aimed to investigate the influence of the level of expression of αs1-casein fraction in milk on proteolytic activities, chemical composition, and renneting properties of individual Garganica goat milk. Results from the present study evidenced that the level of expression of αs1-casein fraction in Garganica goat milk affected chemical composition, curd firmness, and indigenous proteolytic enzymes. In particular, fat, protein, and casein content were higher in HAS-1 and IAS-1 compared to LAS-1 and NAS-1. The SCC decreased passing from the HAS-1 to the NAS-1 and the curd firmness displayed the highest value in HAS-1. The activity of plasmin (PL) was higher in HAS-1 and IAS-1 groups compared to the LAS-1 and NAS-1; whereas, PL plasminogen-derived (PG) activity was the highest in NAS-1 group. On the contrary, the activity of elastase was the highest in LAS-1, intermediate in the IAS-1 group, and the lowest in HAS-1 and NAS-1 groups. Present data demonstrated that the level of synthesis of αs1-CN reflects the efficiency of the mammary gland in the activation of the cellular mechanisms and influences the proteolytic activity in milk, especially the PL-PG system.


(3Z)-Isoprelaurefucin has been isolated as a major metabolite from the red alga Laurencia nipponica Yamada, and its structure was confirmed by chemical correlation with isoprelaurefucin. Furthermore, the absolute configuration of isoprelaurefucin was established on the basis of chemical evidence.


This paper investigated major points of the achieving state independence that allowed Uzbekistan to become a full member of the international community, independently pursue its foreign policy and set its own priorities in accordance with its own conditions. It is known that in the first years of independence, Uzbekistan was recognized as a sovereign state by about 130 countries, and our Republic established diplomatic relations with more than 60 countries.


Falls in older individuals can be caused by balance disorders, influenced by predictive factors based on self-efficacy and outcome expectation. This study investigated the relationship between predictive factors related to regional neural functional activity and postural control. We included 16 older men (average age, 76.4±5.8 years) and evaluated their balancing ability and fall-related selfefficacy using the Japanese version of Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (J-Mini-BESTest) and the Japanese version of the Falls Efficacy Scale (JFES), respectively. We performed an electroencephalogram before, during, and after postural perturbations. The cortical activity in the right Inferior Parietal Lobe (IPL) and Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) was analyzed using current density in the specific regions of interest. Foot Response Values (FRV) were used to evaluate physical responses during postural perturbations. The neural activity values in the IPL after postural perturbations indicated a significant positive correlation with JFES and J-Mini-BESTest scores when prior information was provided to participants. The neural activity values in the SMA before postural perturbations showed a significant positive correlation with J-Mini-BESTest score and a significant negative correlation with FRV. Furthermore, during postural perturbations, subjects with prior information exhibited significant positive neural correlations with neural activity between the SMA and IPL. These results suggest that neural activity in these brain regions influence balancing ability and predictive factors. Prior knowledge of a postural perturbation's timing could be a compensatory factor promoting the activation of predictive factors.


The adsorption capacities of carbon dioxide on six commercial hydrotalcite-like compounds and the main factors (aluminum content, anion type, water content, and heat treatment temperature) influencing their adsorption capacity at high temperatures have been investigated using a gravimetric technique. There is an optimum aluminum content and heat treatment temperature for the adsorption capacity. The carbonate anion favors adsorption of carbon dioxide compared to OH-, and a low content of water also improves the adsorption capacity. The carbon dioxide adsorption capacity is mainly dependent on the microporous volume, interlayer spacing, and layer charge density of the hydrotalcite-like compounds.


Background and Aim: Evaluation of hearing-impaired children's auditory skills by a valid test is very important before starting auditory training. There are many different tests available for languages other than Persian, and some limited Persian tests for children above 5 year of age as well. Accordingly considering the importance of early intervention, we aimed to design a test for evaluating auditory skills of 3-4 year-old hearing-impaired Persian (Farsi) children, which is not available to date. Methods: The study method was test (scale) construction. The test named Tavana includes four subtests: detection, discrimination, identification and sentence comprehension. For determining content validity of the test, the vocabulary of 3-4 year-old normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children and also the comments of seven specialists were applied. We classified 10,10,8 and 6 sub skills for 1 st to 4 th subtests, respectively. Results: The content validity of Tavana test's subskills were 100%, 83%, 96% and 95%, respectively (mean=94%). Mean time for test performance was 82 minutes. Conclusion: Content validity of Tavana test was 94% which was statistically valid compared to Modarres test (97%) and Mazaheryazdi test (88%).


Navigation in global navigation satellite system denied areas such as urban canyons or indoors has aroused large interest due to the recent growth of location aware services. In these scenarios, multipath-assisted positioning schemes are promising due to a rich multipath propagation. Instead of trying to combat multipath, multipath-assisted positioning approaches make use of multipath components arriving at a receiver that is to be located. In more detail, multipath components arriving at the receiver via different paths are regarded as pure line-of-sight signals from virtual transmitters. In general, the number of transmitters might be large, and their location may be unknown. The underlying estimation problem, i.e., estimating the positions of the receiver and the physical and virtual transmitters, tends to be very costly in computational terms. Within this paper, we present a Rao-Blackwellization approach to tackle the computational burden. The receiver location is tracked using a particle filter, while the probability density functions of the transmitter states are represented by Gaussian mixture models, whose parameters are estimated using cubature Kalman filters.


This paper focuses on precise fault-tolerant control for actual redundant parallel manipulator. Based on kinematic redundancy, some unnoticed influences such as mechanical clearance have been considered to design a more precise and intelligent fault-tolerant plan for actual plants. According to regulation principles in human hemostasis system, a bio-inspired intelligent integrated cooperative controller (BIICC) is developed including system structure, algorithm and step in parameter tuning. The proposed BIICC optimises partial error signal and improves control performance in each sub-channel. Moreover, the new controller transfers and disposes cooperative control signals among different sub-channels to achieve an intelligent integrated fault-tolerant system. The proposed BIICC is applied to an actual 2-DOF (degrees of freedom) redundant parallel manipulator where the feasibility of the new controller is demonstrated. The BIICC is beneficial to control precision and fault-tolerant capability of redundant plant. The improvements are more obvious in cases where extra actuators of redundant manipulator are broken.


............................................................................................................................ xii List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used ........................................................................ xiii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... xvi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Research Objectives .............................................................................................. 3 1.2. Thesis Organization .............................................................................................. 4 1.3. Original Contributions .......................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review........................................................................................ 7 2.


This portion of the 14th review of analytical chemistry in the petroleum industry, for July 1976 through June 1978, covers elemental analysis of hydrodesulfurization, cracking, automobile-exhaust and other catalysts, catalytic activity measurements, specific surface area and porosity measurements, surface acidity studies, electron spectroscopic studies, and other spectroscopic techniques; and reports an increase in research on hydrodesulfurization catalysts and in research by sophisticated instrumental techniques, including photoelectron spectroscopy, and a decrease in research on cracking and reforming catalysts and in measurements of total surface area, porosity, and diffusion, during this period.


Case report A 17-year-old primigravida, with an unremarkable obstetric and medical history, had normal booking bloods, a low-risk double test and normal congenital anomaly scan. Her antenatal care was uneventful, and she was admitted in spontaneous labour at 39 weeks' gestation. On admission no fetal heart was heard and the diagnosis of intrauterine death was confirmed on ultrasound scan. She delivered a fresh stillborn female baby 4 hours after admission, weighing 3.48 kg and measuring 53 cm in length. On external inspection the baby's abdomen was not distended and no obvious cause for the stillbirth was identified. The maternal chlamydia, viral screen and placental swabs were all negative. The patient had a normal clotting screen, haemoglobin and glycosylated haemoglobin levels. Post mortem findings were in keeping with ischaemic haemorrhagic necrosis secondary to volvulus. No other abnormality was found.


In order to examine the composition of the lactic acid bacteria
community of rye flour and sourdough made of it, 41 strains were
isolated and characterized. The phenotypic characterization of the
isolates, carried out using a set of 34 tests, allowed the
identification of 11 clusters at the 80 % similarity level by
hierarchical cluster analysis. All lactic acid bacteria isolates from
rye flour were homofermentative cocci belonging to the genera
Streptococcus (30 % of the lactic acid bacteria count) and Enterococcus
(70 %). Homofermentative (Streptococcus sp. - 6 %, Enterococcus sp. -
26 %, and Pediococcus pentosaceus - 16 %) and heterofermentative
(Leuconostoc mesenteroides - 13 %, and Weisella paramesenteroides - 7
%) cocci, as well as homo-fermentative bacilli (Lactobacillus sp. - 32
%) were isolated from sourdough. The lactic acid bacteria were not the
predominant microorganisms in the rye flour (comprising one-third of
the entire bacterial population) but their acid resistance enabled them
to continue growing during natural sourdough fermentation and to become
the major bacterial population of sourdough.


Abstract : To examine the possible use of UAVs or cruise missiles as terrorist weapons, this article approaches the subject from two principal angles: motivations and capabilities. To be sure, possession of the requisite 'knowledge and skills,' together with easy opportunities to procure all the component parts, represents a necessary, but not sufficient, condition of this examination. All too frequently, proliferation questions are addressed from the standpoint of raw technological determinism. A more complex web of planning motivations and technological factors inform whether or not terrorists will successfully pursue the use of UAVs or cruise missiles to achieve their objectives. After considering motivations, the article turns to capabilities by examining two possible and relevant scenarios of terrorist use of UAVs or cruise missiles: conversion of an anti-ship cruise missile for launching from an off-shore freighter, and transformation of a simple airplane into and unmanned means of achieving mass casualties. The article concludes with a consideration of international responses, both military and non-military, to the challenges identified.


Standard QCD sum-rule analyses of the nucleon mass give results that are inconsistent with chiral perturbation theory due to an overly simple continuum ansatz on the phenomenological side of the sum rule. We show that a careful treatment of the continuum, including π-N states and other states with virtual pions, resolves the inconsistency associated with chiral logs. Typeset using REVTEX E-mail: email@example.com E-mail: email@example.com E-mail: email@example.com Permanent address: Department of Physics and Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Taxonomic study of Penaeid shrimps in Kakkaithivu coastal waters, Jaffna, Sri Lanka were studied in specimens of shrimp collected from Kakkaithivu coastal waters from January 2011 through December 2012. Identification of species was based on the morphological characters of rostrum (dorasal and ventral teeth), carapace (longitudinal or transverse sutures in the carapace), branchiae, antennule, antenna, third maxilliped, fifth pereiopods, pleopods, abdomen, sub apical spines on telson, petasma, thelycum and the colored pattern of the whole body based on standard keys and diagnoses available from the current literature.
A total of 7 species from 2 genera (Penaeus and Metapenaeus) and 1 family of Penaeidae were identified in Kakkaithivu coastal waters. These are Metapenaeus dobsoni (Miers, 1878), Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricus, 1798), Penaeus indicus (H.Milne Edwards, 1837), Penaeus japonicus (Bate, 1888), Penaeus latisulcatus (Kishinouye, 1896), Penaeus monodon (Fabricus, 1798) and Penaeus semisulcatus (De Haan, 1884). Modified Key to identify shrimp species from Kakkaithivu Coastal waters, Jaffna, Sri Lanka was prepared after morphometric analysis. Additional research is needed to more clearly define the distribution of shrimp species in Kakkaithivu coastal waters, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.


© 2022, Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 24(1), 140-142. Book Review Shadow Education in Myanmar: Private Supplementary Tutoring and its Policy Implications By Mark Bray, Magda Nutsa Kobakhidze & Ora Kwo. Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong, 2020, 158 pp. Open Access. ISBN 978-92-9223-649-6 (UNESCO), ISBN 978-988-14241-8-1


Immune and biochemical mechanisms of adaptation at the gynecology patients with was not aggravated (sanogenetic) current postoperative period (n=334) and at the sick women with postoperation inflammatory complications were detected (n=133). For the sick women with was not aggravated current postoperative period are characteristic temporary stressory T- and B-immunosupression, fast activation proteins of an acute phase of an inflammation, that reduces to active sanation of a zone of surgical interference. The complicated current of postoperation period is characterised long T- and B- immunosupression, rise of a level of molecules of an average mass and maloun dialdehides, slow activation proteins of an acute phase of an inflammation, that reduces to slow sanation of a zone of surgical interference and is one of internal conditions for implementation inflammatory of complications.


Washington, D.C.'s PUFF PIECES are releasing a new 7 single, Born 2 Die, this June on Lovitt Records. The single is a follow up to their full-length ...


This article explains the implications of asset market integration for the decision making process of market participants and tests the integration between futures and spot markets. Integration is investigated with respect to the hypothesis that the sources of systematic risk in futures and spot markets command identical risk premia. While the futures and the spot markets for currencies and equities are integrated, we present new evidence that the futures and commodity spot markets are segmented. Such results are of primary importance to investors who use asset pricing models to adjust the risk-return trade-off of their portfolio and evaluate portfolio performance. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000.


INTRODUCTION: As older people age and become frail, their decline in independence and concomitant changing care needs may force them to move from retirement village to a residential aged care (RAC) facility. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to subjective wellbeing among older people living in retirement villages in Aotearoa New Zealand and to compare results with the data from the residents of the care home facilities co-located with the retirement villages. METHOD: This study is mainly quantitative in nature to examine what factors contributed to subjective wellbeing among older people living in retirement villages. Descriptive and regression analyses were used with data collected in 2016 from residents of two retirement villages ( N = 163) from one aged residential care provider in Aotearoa New Zealand and they were then compared with already-published data on RAC residents. In addition, four village residents participated in semi-structured interviews.  RESULTS: Results showed that retirement village residents reported being generally satisfied with their living environment and their overall wellbeing is positively influenced by their social and psychological milieu. CONCLUSIONS: This research provides insights on what matters most to retirement village residents' subjective wellbeing, which includes a dignified environment enhancing positive mental health, relationship building and reducing loneliness and isolation. Results were also compared with feedback from care home residents co-located in the same estate to provide an indicative picture for comparison against other studies to inform and expand choices for older people to consider when relocating in late-life.


Objective This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in treating suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness. Method We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Major electronic databases were systematically searched from the time of their inception until July 22, 2021. The primary outcome was the mean change in the scores for suicidal ideation. The secondary outcome was the mean change in depression severity. Results Ten randomized controlled trials were eligible with 415 participants in the active treatment group (mean age = 53.78 years; mean proportion of women = 54.5%) and 387 participants in the control group (mean age = 55.52 years; mean proportion of women = 51.78%). rTMS significantly reduced suicidal ideation (k = 10, n = 802, Hedges' g = −0.390, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.193 to −0.588, p <.001) and severity of depressive symptoms (k = 9, n = 761, Hedges' g = −0.698, 95% CI = −1.023 to −0.372, p < 0.001) in patients with major mental disorders. In the subgroup analysis, rTMS reduced suicidal ideation among patients with non-treatment-resistant depression (non-TRD) (−0.208) but not in those with TRD. rTMS as combination therapy had a larger effect than did monotherapy (−0.500 vs. −0.210). Suicidal ideation significantly reduced in patients receiving more than ten treatment sessions (-0.255). Importantly, the rTMS group showed favorable tolerability without major adverse events. Conclusion The study showed that rTMS was effective and well-tolerated in reducing suicidal ideation and depression severity in patients with major mental disorders.


The internal pore structure of a series of porous silica glasses has been investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Longitudinal and transverse relaxation of protons in deionized water confined to the pores of the samples has been measured and interpreted to provide pore size distributions. Two sets of leached, phase‐separated porous glasses were used: the first nominally bimodal, the second with a more uniform pore space with pore sizes varying from 32 to 1350 A. Our results provide a stringent test of NMR relaxation as a method for pore size analysis. NMR relaxation experiments were performed on one sample as a function of the amount of water imbibed confirming the validity of the theoretical model used to interpret the magnetic resonance data.


This letter presents an experimental research on t he flame spread on a horizontal combustible material surface while external r adiation added. The tested materials include plywood, paperboard, plasti c foam board and carpet. They were horizontally placed on a fixture with a wall. Beside it, two heating panels were used to heat the samples. With different ext erna l heating power, the variations of the flame front position,height and temperat ure with time were recorded. The spread speed was also obtained. It is shown tha t: (1) for most of the samples, flame spread will not expand until enough hea ting flux is added. The external radiation directly affects the spread speed and spread acceleration, although it also depends on the thermal physical parameter s of the samples; (2) For the plywood and carpet material with external radiatio n, t he flame spread is accelerated obviously. But for a plastic foam board, its acce leration cannot be observed; (3) the flame spread will become flashover at some time when the sample has been heated by enough external radiation flux. The test ed materials' flame spread speed, height and minimum heating flux were given.


In this thesis I present the realization of a technique for building strings of neutral atoms stored in a standing wave optical dipole trap with any desired interatomic separations atom by atom. As the first application of this technique I demonstrate the preparation of equidistant strings of atoms. Further, I demonstrate that this technique allows us to insert two atoms into a single potential well of a standing wave dipole trap and to deterministically induce light induced collisions between these atoms. The first part of this thesis (Chapters 2 and 3) is devoted to the presentation of tools for trapping and detecting single atoms. A magneto-optical trap is our source of a desired small number of cold atoms. Strings of atoms are stored in a standing wave optical dipole trap. All spatial manipulations with the atoms are carried out with two dipole traps. An intensified CCD camera in combination with molasses cooling allows us to nondestructively observe and determine the positions of the atoms. In the second part (Chapter 4) I describe the realization of the spatial manipulation of the atoms. I demonstrate the creation of strings of up to seven atoms by rearranging initially irregularly spaced atoms. The rearrangement is carried out by extracting atoms out of the initial string and by reinserting them back at predetermined positions using a second standing wave dipole trap operated as optical tweezers. Using this method, the distance between simultaneously trapped atoms can be actively controlled with a precision of 0.78(±0.05) μm rms and a success rate of 98 −5 %. This precision corresponds to only 3-4 potential wells of the standing wave trap. Further, I experimentally demonstrate that our reinsertion technique is compatible with the insertion of an atom into the potential of the standing wave already occupied by another atom. We can induce inelastic interaction between these atoms by illuminating them with an optical molasses. The detected success rate of the insertion of one atom into the potential well occupied by the other atom is 16 −3 %, which is limited by the precision of insertion with our optical tweezers. Furthermore, I present analytical models of insertion and extraction processes which allows to identify the main mechanisms limiting the performance of our tweezers, e. g., precision and efficiency. Finally, I discuss the possibility to apply of our rearrangement technique to larger number of atoms. Parts of this thesis have been published in the following papers: 1. Y. Miroshnychenko, W. Alt, I. Dotsenko, L. Förster, M. Khudaverdyan, D. Meschede, D. Schrader and A. Rauschenbeutel, An atom-sorting machine, Nature, 442, 151 (2006)


The electrolytic wave detector first described by Fessenden * and shortly afterward by Schlomilch, 2 consists essentially of a cell having as one electrode a fine point usually of platinum and a second larger electrode of platinum or some other metal. The cell in its most effective form contains an electrolyte, the decomposition products of which are gaseous. When an electromotive force is applied to such a cell, powerful polarization ensues, so that scarcely any current passes unless the electromotive force exceeds a certain critical value. When electrical oscillations pass through the cell, the resistance is decreased and the current is for the moment increased only to return to its former small value as soon as the waves cease. This phenomenon has been the subject of several investigations, but the conclusions reached by the several investigators 3 have not been en-


Abstract : Over the past year we have focused on the role of the transcription factor Nrf2 in controlling expression of antioxidant genes in the lung of RSV-infected mice. In particular, we have shown that an Nrf2-inducing agent, BHA, can restore in part expression of the antioxidant genes SOD1 and catalase following RSV infection. We have also established a colony of Nrf2 KO mice and shown that lack of this transcription factor results in enhanced airway disease and viral replication in the lung. We have also identified a new strategy to increase level of Nrf2 expression in the lung by the use of adenovirus-associated vector 2 (AAV2). We have also initiated a fast backcross breeding protocol to generate Nrf2 KO mice in the BALB/c strain. We continue enrolling children with viral bronchiolitis and have validated a new FDA-approved Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel for the identification of co-infections and their role in mediating oxidative injury in infants. This panel has been designed to simultaneously probe for 12 viral targets in a single patient specimen (RSV/A, RSV/B, Influenza A, Influenza A subtype H1, Influenza A subtype H3, Influenza B, PIV-1, PIV-2, PIV-3, hMPV, Rhinovirus, and Adenovirus). We have published a peer-reviewed paper in the Am J Physiology and a comprehensive review in Antioxidant & Redox Signaling. Some of the data have been presented at the ESPID meeting in Milan, Italy.


An air-stable and water-soluble diastereomeric half-sandwich ruthenium(I1) complex, [Ru(η-MeC 6 H 4 Pr i -p)(H 2 O)-(L ∗ )](ClO 4 ) (l), has been isolated and structurally characterized [HL ∗ = (27)-(α-methylbenzyl)salicylaldimine, 2-HOC 6 H 4 CH=NCHMePh]. Complex 1, C 25 H 30 NO 6 ClRu, crystallizes in the noncentric triclinic space group P1 with a=9.885(1)A, b=10.185(1)A, c=14.187(2)A, α=110.32(1)°, β=102.17(1)°, A=102.41(1)°, V=1243( 1) A 3 , and Z=2. The X-ray structure shows the presence of two diastereomers in a 1:l ratio having R Ruν S C and S Ruν S C configurations. The Ru-OH 2 bond distances are considerably long, and the values for R Ru -1 and S Ru -1isomers are 2.119(5) and 2.203(5) A, respectively. The aqua complex (1) exists as a single diastereomer in solution, and it forms stable adducts with P-, N-, and halide-donor ligands. The stereochemical changes associated with adduct-forming reactions follow an inversion order: PPh 3 »P(OMe) 3 > pyridine bases»halides (I, Br, Cl)>H 2 O.


This text is a result of literature search on topics of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) and Web Services Resource Framework (WSRF). It is not meant as a complete resource on the mentioned topics, rather it is a survey of materials encountered while working with these technologies.


Congratulations to the Environmental Claims Journal ("the Journal") on celebrating its 25-year anniversary! The Journal's success is due to the diligent efforts of its founding Editor Lynne Miller, past Editors James Bulman and Robert Chesler, Editorial Advisory Board members, contributing authors, and the Journal's conscientious staff at Taylor & Francis including our Production Editor Cathy Ott for the past seven years. Looking back at the past year and current issue, I observe that the Journal continues to capture the current environmental issues that affect our lives. The increased frequency of natural disasters has elevated the seriousness of climate change as a global threat to life and property. Recently, I witnessed how Hurricane Sandy caused large personal financial losses from floods and windstorm that included claims from the release of wastewater, sewer backups, mold, petroleum releases, migrating solvents, poor indoor air quality, and business interruption. Conversations focused on reasons for the storm's severity and the unreliability of energy supplies and service. Many neighborhoods had no electricity for weeks, and petroleum became a scarcity with hours on gas lines and rationing. The Journal is a scholarly open forum on emerging environmental and energy issues. Heightened public awareness and concern about these issues continue to be an important evolution. The articles published last year and issues this year explore interrelated general themes that impact environmental claims as follows:


Bearing in mind the application to the collapsar models of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), we develop a numerical scheme and code for estimating the deposition of energy and momentum due to the neutrino pair annihilation () in the vicinity of an accretion tori around a Kerr black hole. Our code is designed to solve the general relativistic (GR) neutrino transfer by a ray-tracing method. To solve the collisional Boltzmann equation in curved spacetime, we numerically integrate the so-called rendering equation along the null geodesics. We employ the Fehlberg (4,5) adaptive integrator in the Runge–Kutta method to perform the numerical integration accurately. For the neutrino opacity, the charged-current β-processes, which are dominant in the vicinity of the accretion tori, are taken into account. The numerical accuracy of the developed code is certified by several tests in which we show comparisons with the corresponding analytical solutions. In order to solve the energy-dependent ray-tracing transport, we propose that an adaptive-mesh-refinement approach, which we take for the two radiation angles (θ, ϕ) and the neutrino energy, is useful in reducing the computational cost significantly. Based on the hydrodynamical data in our collapsar simulation, we estimate the annihilation rates in a post-processing manner. Increasing the Kerr parameter from 0 to 1, it is found that the GR effect can increase the local energy deposition rate by about one order of magnitude, and the net energy deposition rate by several tens of percent. After the accretion disk settles into a stationary state (typically later than ∼9 s from the onset of gravitational collapse), we point out that the neutrino-heating timescale in the vicinity of the polar funnel region can be shorter than the dynamical timescale. Our results suggest that the neutrino pair annihilation is potentially as important as the conventional magnetohydrodynamic mechanism for igniting the GRB fireballs.


Advances in the theory of nonlinear stochastic optimal control of quasi-Hamiltonian systems and its applications in the last decade is summarized. It includes: (1) the basic nonlinear stochastic optimal control strategies based on the stochastic averaging method for quasi-Hamiltonian systems and the stochastic dynamical programming principle, that is, response minimization control, stochastic stabilization, first-passage failure minimization control, and the control for targeting a specified stationary probability density function; (2) further study on the nonlinear stochastic optimal control for application, such as optimal control of partially observable systems, bounded optimal control, time-delay optimal control, semi-active optimal control and minimax control; (3) the integrated nonlinear stochastic optimal control strategy; (4) the applications of the nonlinear stochastic optimal control strategy to engineering structures including hysteretic systems and fractional derivative systems. Some related background and problems to be studied in future are also pointed out.


Risks Management Application in Helping the Poor Through Microfinancing by Edmond Njombe Lyonga MS, Mountain State University, 2012 BS, Mountain State University, 2010 BSC, Buea University, 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management—Finance


1 Experiments were performed to determine the nature of adrenoceptors mediating neurally‐induced vasoconstriction of blood vessels in the posterior region of the rabbit knee joint capsule. 2 Electrical stimulation of the posterior articular nerve resulted in frequency‐dependent vasoconstriction which was maximal at 10 Hz. This response was mediated predominantly by α2‐adrenoceptors as it was only slightly reduced by prazosin administration and was not only abolished but converted into a dilator response by the α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist rauwolscine. Further experiments with another specific α1‐adrenoceptor antagonist YM‐12617 showed that the frequency‐response curve in the presence of this antagonist did not differ significantly from control. 3 Neurally‐induced vasoconstriction did not appear to have a purinergic component as it was unaffected by the P2x‐purinoceptor desensitiser α,β methylene ATP. 4 The rank‐order of potency of α‐adrenoceptor agonists given as a bolus by close intra‐arterial injection was: adrenaline = UK‐14304 > clonidine > phenylephrine, suggesting that the vasoconstrictor effects were mediated predominantly by postjunctional α2‐adrenoceptors. 5 The α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist rauwolscine converted the constrictor response to close intra‐arterial injection of adrenaline into a dilator response. The vasoconstrictor responses to UK‐14304, clonidine and phenylephrine were substantially inhibited by rauwolscine. The α1‐adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin failed to inhibit the vasoconstrictor responses to adrenaline, clonidine and UK‐14304 and resulted in enhancement of their constrictor effects. 6 The enhancement of the responses to the α1 and α2 agonists by prazosin appeared to be specifically related to this agent as administration of YM‐12617 did not show such enhancement. The dose‐response curves to both clonidine and UK‐14304 in the presence of YM‐12617 did not differ significantly from control responses. Responses to phenylephrine were significantly reduced by YM‐12617, indicating the presence of post‐junctional α1‐adrenoceptors. 7 These results show almost complete reversal of the adrenoceptor profile compared to results obtained in an earlier in vitro study, where responses were mediated predominantly by α1‐adrenoceptors with a small population of postjunctional α2‐adrenoceptors (Ferrell & Khoshbaten, 1989). This suggests that the differing environment in vitro may not completely reflect the conditions prevailing in vivo.


SDN(Software Defined Networking) is a new network architecture, which decouples the control plane from data plane and operates the globle network with elaborate abstraction. The control plane advocates a centralized approach of network control, which provides both flexibility and high efficiency. However, there are lots of problems in this architecture and the bottleneck problem is the network's performance. Existing OpenFlow based flow expiry mechanisms relys on a fixed timeout after which the switch proactively removes the flow entries from its flow table which may causes unnecessary flow table occupation. Therefore, in this paper, a strategy of dynamically adjusting timeout time is proposed and the program is implemented. It can dynamically adjust the timeout time according to the actual situation of equipment and data flow, and can better adapt to the network with different data flows. The experiment shows that the strategy can improve the network's performance and the mechanism designed in this paper is proved to be effective.


The results of the thermal conductivity measurements of ten mixture refrigerants in the gas phase are analysed. An equation for calculating the thermal conductivity is given for each mixture as a function of temperature and pressure. Basing on experimental information and the theory of of corresponding states a model for predicting thermal conductivity on dew line is proposed.


In Western Austnalia, diarrheal disease in Aboriginal children found in half cases of malnutrition, sugar intolerance in 25% of patients and approximately 50% showed high rates of infection and infestation. The most commonly isolated are Giardia lamblia, Enteropathogenic E. Coli, Salmonellaea and Shigellae. The mortality rate of diarrhoeal disease is maro than 5%, which is several times than white children. The cause of death are hypokalemia, hypoglycaemia, delayed rehydration treatment, the high incidence of malnutrition and sugar intolerance. To improve and solving the problem the prime aim should be prevention by upgrading many factors including maternal nutrition, promotion of breast feeding, standard of living, nutritional and hygiene education and related socioeconomic condition, the availability of skilled medical and nursing facilities.


Patient-reported outcome measures that were initially designed for research studies including heterosexual, partnered, educated cisgender women may have limited applicability for clinical use among Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) patients and patients without a partner.

 We aimed to conduct cognitive interviews with both SGM persons and heterosexual women to determine readability, comprehension, and applicability of questionnaire items to assess sexual function in populations with diverse sexual practices, focusing on items from the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and to establish content validity of a modified measure.

 We conducted four rounds of cognitive interviews with 52 participants (28 SGM, 24 heterosexual) who provided feedback on their comprehension and wording of FSFI questionnaire items and response scales. Participants made recommendations for changes to the questionnaire, which was iteratively revised between interview rounds. Two independent coders analyzed the transcripts using structural coding based on five predefined codes (i.e., satisfaction with item, specificity/language change needed, missing/suggested item, patient definitions of concepts, and confusion with item).

 After four rounds of cognitive interviews and revisions to the questionnaire, participants found the final version of the questionnaire acceptable and understandable, thereby reaching thematic saturation and establishing content validity of the modified FSFI. Modifications included: replacing all instances of "sexual stimulation" and "intercourse" with "sexual activity (alone or with a partner)"; broadening the definition of "vaginal penetration" beyond penile-vaginal penetration; adding skip logic to include the option "no sexual activity". Participants identified missing concepts important to their sexual health, such as including the use of external lubricant. Heterosexual participants found the questionnaire initially refined by SGM participants to be acceptable, and offered targeted feedback including clarifying the clinical relevance of certain domains (e.g., questions about "emotional closeness"), clarifying terminology (e.g., sexually aroused (turned on) and naturally lubricated (wet)) and re-ordering domains (e.g., "pain should be asked about earlier").

 Feedback from direct interviews supports modifying FSFI items and further psychometric testing. This and other similar questionnaires need to be adapted to the broader clinical practice population such that all persons' experiences are accurately reflected and assessed, ultimately assuring that sexual health needs can be met more inclusively. Further research in racially and educationally diverse populations is needed.

 No


This paper briefly draws together ideas from the work presented by other contributors to this special issue and outlines some additional themes particularly in relation to non-governmental organisations, temporalities and changing frames of 'development'. A focus on multiple temporalities invites us to explore understandings of how time is and how time is experienced. Brief suggestive comments are offered in relation to time and temporalities at different scales within the field of development in which non-governmental organisations are located – the individual, the organisation and within wider policy processes. For the development non-governmental organisation, perhaps both the past and the future have become sources of anxiety. The past is experienced in the world of development practice as a murky place where failures can be hidden, where there is an unwillingness to learn lessons, but where glimmers of an idealised past can sometimes be discerned and on occasion, lamented. The future is a place that is promised, and on which present activities are premised, but which never arrives.


We make use of elementary theory of number and Fermat method of infinite descent, shows that the diophantine equations x 8-4y 4=pz 4,x 4-4y 8=pz 8 and 64x 8±y 4=pz 4 have no positive integer solutions when (x,y)=1; the diophantine equation x 4+4y 8=pz 4 in the title has a positive integer solution only if p=5, x=y=z=1.In the same way,x 8+my 4=z 4 can have a solution if m=±p,±2p,±4p,±8p.


Forty-five Agn'as narcissus tiipcijonus Fassl butterflies from Santarem, Brazil were classified according to their anterior red band extensions. The percentage of insects with red bands descending below vein 2 was significantly different be.tween 22 males and 23 females {59% vs 26%, p<O.(}5}. The frequency of subapical blue patches was also significantly different between males and females (82% vs 30%, P<O,O05), and bore no relationship to their red band extensions.. These findings suggest that Agrias narcisszas tmpofonzas butterflies frorn Santarem have wide red band variations that are closely related to sex.


Results from before-and-after comparisons and time-series analysis show alcoholrelated accidents decreased significantly during the study period. When comparing two years before with three years during the increased enforcement, the percent reduction in alcohol-related accidents was 28.1 percent using standard before and after analysis and 29.1 percent using time-series analysis. During the same time period, alcohol related fatal or injury accidents decreased 26.7 percent.


Polymer-modified bitumen (PMB) is a high-performance material for road construction and maintenance. But its storage stability and phase separation behaviour are still not sufficiently understood a ...


This research paper presents a wireless power supply for electronic or electrical devices such as LED taillights or headlight bulbs on the electric vehicle (EVs). The main objectives of using wireless power transfer (WPT) are cost savings and the prevention of fires caused by the insulation burning due to overheating in the conventional cable. According to commercial necessity, the primary goal of the research is to simplify the power converter and transmission coils. Therefore, a high-frequency half-bridge inverter connected with a resonant tank compensator is selected for this task. The power transfer rate is set at 24V, 24W via the high-frequency inverter with 4SV DC input voltage. Apparently, the wireless power at the point load can be controlled at the desired value by using both MATLAB/Simulink and hardware implementations with different ranges of evaluation.


A defining feature of eukaryotic cells is the division of the cell into a nucleus and cytoplasm. This division separates the site of RNA transcription from the site of translation, and this requires mRNAs to be exported from the nucleus via the nuclear pore to direct the synthesis of proteins in the cytoplasm. Importantly, naked RNA is not exported. In the nucleus, RNA is associated with a number of proteins forming a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. RNPs exit the nucleus by going through the nuclear pore complex, which is also composed of a large number of proteins and functions as a specific gate. Only designated proteins or RNPs are allowed to pass through the nuclear pore. Identification of the proteins involved in export – both those that bind or are associated with the RNA and those in the nuclear pore complex – is ongoing. Experiments in Xenopus oocytes reveal multiple, energy-dependent export pathways for different classes of RNA [1]. In these experiments, radiolabelled RNAs are microinjected into the nuclei of Xenopus oocytes. After incubation, nuclei are dissected manually from the cytoplasm and RNA is extracted from both compartments. Rates of export can be determined by the relative amounts of RNA in each compartment over time. Injection of an excess of unlabelled RNA will inhibit export, presumably by saturating a limiting factor. For example, if an excess of mRNA is used, then radiolabelled mRNA will


A system for detecting the presence of bacterial growth in a plurality of sample vials incorporates a single test station moveable along each of the plurality of sample vials. In one embodiment, the sensor station is movably mounted on a rod, and that rod is movably mounted on a pair of spaced rods. The rod which carries the test station may move along the spaced rods to change the location of the test station in a first dimension and the test station is moveable along its rod to change location in a second dimension. In this way, the test station may be moved through two dimensions to move serially to the location of each of the plurality of sample vials. In another aspect of this invention, a bar code is associated with each of the sample vials, and the test station makes a reading of that bar code concurrent with a determination being made as to whether there is any bacterial growth in the sample vial. In this way, it is ensured that the results of the evaluation of whether bacterial growth is ongoing will be associated with the proper sample vial. 1n a third aspect of this invention, the sample vial incorporates a plurality of distinct types of bacterial sensors. Thus, the advantages of each of several types of bacterial sensors may be incorporated into a single sample vial.


Since the eighteen century, a number of writers have attempted to unpack the dialogic relationship between contemplation and intuition most notably Immanuel Kant.1 Applied to understanding the creative process of the arts practitioner this has had little attention apart within scientific, educational and action research contexts.2 Yet intuition provides a form of knowing-in-practice for many arts practitioners often expressed as knowing the right thing at the right moment of a 'disciplinary-mastery' in their respective practices and challenging the critical orthodoxy attendant to intra-disciplinary heresy. Intuition is also pertinent to those who have experienced a paradigmatic shift from a singular art form practice towards an inter-disciplinarity where a heretical crossing of boundaries is implicated that is fundamentally misunderstood particularly in a Eurocentric context where there is a fear of cross-disciplinary miscegenation. Within education, these are those practitioners who are prepared to take risks within an increasingly bureaucratic and meritocratic education system that tends to engage with inter-disciplinarity as a strategic practice that can holistiMichael cally benefit themselves and their students.3 We might include here, arts and cultural practitioners: artists, writers, poets, musicians, dancers, theatre-ineducation companies that make similar interventions through workshops, residencies and a myriad of activities in education. It is not simply that disciplinary knowledge could be threatened but that a new unknowable model of knowledge and model of intelligibility could become a model of practice that cannot be policed and regulated by the critical orthodoxy. Such a theoreticalpractical liberation-'praxis' has given life to a fresh critical approach, which is exemplified through workshop practice.In her ethnographic study of high-energy physics and molecular biology, Epistemic Cultures, Karin Knorr Cetina uses the notion of epistemic cultures to explain, and contrast domain differences in knowledge-making processes. She defines epistemic cultures as "those amalgams of arrangements and mechanisms...which, in a given field, make up how we know what we know. Epistemic cultures are cultures that create and warrant knowledge..." and the investigation she advocates is one that unpacks "the meaning of the empirical, the enactments of object relations, [and] the construction and fashioning of social arrangements" within a disciplinary area. Knorr Cetina also writes about the impact of 'set-up' on decisions taken, because the notion of 'set-up', as Melrose argues (www.sfmelrose.u-net.com), provides us with a more detailed and precise notion, than is available when we think about the notion of 'culture'.4 In terms of Knorr Cetina's key question - 'how [do] we know what we know?' It could be argued that the trajectory of that process has been not so much linear, but fragmented, such that an 'intra-disciplinary' critical interrogation, performed in the interstices, has provided the potential, via a ceaseless feedback process, for the emergence of a trans-disciplinary hybridised practice, whose outcome is more than the sum of its diverse parts. This paradigmatic shift has been predicated on critically challenging what is perceived, for instance, to be an orthodox mode of art making.Furthermore, Gregory Ulmer's "The Object of Post-Criticism", offers a practical-theoretical template here in terms of how a subjective/objective dualistic approach might also be employed.5 Ulmer argues that there are techniques of modernist art applicable in critical representation, the principle device being collage/montage: like Picasso gluing an oil cloth with chair caning to suggest the presence of a chair without representing the actual chair in the first Cubist painting, 'Still-Life with chair caning', I propose in what follows, to interrupt and reposition the notion of objectivity and the subjective, in the context of analysing the object of study: in foregrounding first-person experience and the particular, I propose nonetheless to provide an exemplary account of expert practices in a particular field of workshops. …


The influenza A virus (IAV) binds to α‐2,3‐ and α‐2,6‐linked sialic acid (SA) receptors expressed by Madin‐Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. The receptor distribution may therefore be important in regulating IAV propagation. Serum‐free medium (SFM) avoids variability in conventional culture medium containing fetal bovine serum (FBS), which can have variable composition and may contain endotoxins. However, little is known about the distribution of SA receptors on cells maintained in SFM.


The aim of this thesis is to explore possible differences between public and private companies' way to manage projects. In order to analyze the managerial aspects, we have studied the project of a ...


This study aimed to analyze the effect of implementation of inquiry learning model through the learning styles
of the ability of higher order thinking, the effect of the implementation of jigsaw cooperative learning model through
the learning style of the ability of higher order thinking, the effect of the implementation of conventional learning model
through the learning styles of the ability of higher order thinking, and differences in the ability of higher order thinking
among students who use conventional learning models, inquiry and jigsaw cooperative learning model through the
learning styles of students Faculty of Economics, University of Padang. Data was analyzed using univariate statistical
analysis of variance (ANOVA) two lanes. The results showed there is had effect of learning model implementation
inquiry through the learning styles to improve the ability of higher order thinking, there is had the effect of the
implementation of Jigsaw cooperative learning model through the learning style to improve the ability of higher order
thinking, there is the effect of the implementation of learning models Conventional through the learning styles to
improve the ability of higher order thinking, and there are differences in the ability of higher order thinking among
students who use conventional learning models, Inquiry, and jigsaw cooperative learning model through the learning
styles of students Bank and financial institutions course in FE UNP


Guanylyl cyclase/natriuretic peptide receptor‐A (GC‐A/NPRA)/cGMP signaling plays a well‐defined role in the regulation of blood pressure and blood volume. Mice lacking functional Npr1 gene (coding for GC‐A/NPRA) exhibit hypertension, kidney disease, and heart failure. The objective of the present study was to determine the combined effect of sodium butyrate (NaBu), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor and all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on enhanced renal functions and attenuation of renal fibrosis in Npr1 gene‐disrupted mutant mice. Adult (18–20 week old) male Npr1 gene‐disrupted heterozygous (1‐copy; Npr1+/−), wild‐type (2‐copy; Npr1+/+), and gene‐duplicated (3‐copy; Npr1++/+) mice were treated by injecting ATRA‐NaBu hybrid drug (1.0 mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally for 2‐weeks. A marked attenuation in tubulo‐interstitial fibrosis was observed in Npr1+/− mice after treatment with ATRA‐NaBu (50%, p < 0.001). Western blot analyses exhibited reduction in renal expression of collagen type I alpha 2 and transforming growth factor‐beta in ATRA‐NaBu‐treated Npr1+/− mice compared with vehicle‐treated control animals. A significant decrease in systolic blood pressure was observed in ATRA‐NaBu‐treated Npr1+/− mice. The ATRA‐NaBu treatment enhanced plasma cGMP levels in Npr1+/, Npr1+/+, and Npr1++/+ mice. Creatinine clearance (CCr) was significantly reduced by 62% in Npr1+/− mice and 2‐fold higher in Npr1+/++ mice compared with wild‐type control mice. Treatment with ATRA‐NaBu hybrid markedly enhanced CCr in Npr1+/− mice comparable with vehicle‐treated group. Proteinuria was detected in Npr1+/− mice as evidenced by significantly (p < 0.01) high urinary albumin content compared with Npr1+/+ mice. A complete reversal of proteinuria was observed in ATRA‐NaBu hybrid‐treated Npr1+/− mice group compared with Npr1+/− control mice. Moreover, the increased histone deacetylase activity in Npr1+/− mice was significantly reduced by ATRA‐NaBu treatment compared with untreated Npr1+/− control mice. The present results provide direct evidence that ATRA‐NaBu acts as a potent antifibrotic agent and repairs the renal pathology in Npr1+/− mice, which will have important implications in prevention of hypertension‐related renal pathophysiological conditions.


Italian adages: 'Above all, a woman should be kept in her place as subordinate' (Mangione and Morreale, p. 235). Part four contains interviews by Gioseffi of 'four dynamic Italian American women' (p. 269), Grace Cavalieri, Lee Briccetti, Noreen Tomassi, and Jane Ciabattari. With their accomplishments and success as poets, writers, editors, and a radio host, these women epitomize power, culture, and creativity. They have succeeded in leaving behind the vita della cucina to attain public recognition in American culture. According to Gioseffi, they are indeed the quintessential Italian American women (even though Jane Ciabattari acquired her Italian last name from her husband) who have learned from their Italian American families to be selfsufficient and to take care of themselves. As Lee Briccetti puts it, 'But surely, the most important, incipient training for a life in public service has been coming from an enormous extended Italian-American family—juggling loyalties and negotiating with the many personalities and voices' (p. 272). In part five, there is a selection of letters (almost illegible) written by public figures, including Geraldine A Ferraro and Governor Mario Cuomo, commending Gioseffi for her advocacy against ethnic prejudice. Among the many aspects of Gioseffi's writings, the most impressive is her fierce intellectual passion; she approaches her topics, her crusades, and her work in general with intellectual competence, but also with palpable emotional involvement. Thanks to the abundant and generous resources, bibliography, and references for research, this book of short readings is recommended for scholars interested in Italian American studies, as well as for those unfamiliar with the Italian American cultural production but eager to acquaint themselves with it.


A speech interface to facilitate the manual data entry of fluid balance data is being developed for a patient data management system (PDMS) for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Montreal Children's Hospital. In the ICU. fourteen bedside monitors are networked to the PDMS for the real-time acquisition of physiological data and the graphical display of this data. This paper presents a description of the speech interface, focusing on the speech recognition and generation sub-systems and their integration in the OS/2 Presentation Manager environment.


The cycloinulooligosaccharide fructanotransferase (CFTase) gene (cft) from Paenibacillus macerans (GenBank access code AF222787) was expressed on the cell surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by fusing with Aga2p linked to the membrane-anchored protein Aga1p. The surface display of CFTase was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy and enzymatic assay. The optimized reaction conditions of surface-displayed CFTase were as follows; pH, 8.0; temperature, 50 degrees C; enzyme amount, 30 milliunit; substrate concentration, 5%; inulin source, Jerusalem artichoke. As a result of the reaction with inulin, cycloinulohexaose was produced as a major product along with cycloinuloheptaose and cycloinulooctaose as minor products.


With the installation of a self-standing hybrid riser on Petrobras' Roncador field, the first of four deepwater production solutions specifically targeted under Brazil's Procap 3000 initiative has become a reality. The other three evolving technologies are slated for deployment by 2010. Jennifer Pallanich reports.


Major efforts have been made in the search of high-energy and power density batteries to keep up with the demands of the rapidly growing portable electronics market and EV industry. Though lithium-ion batteries have dominated this field, sodium ion batteries are increasing in popularity due it's wide availability and low cost. Conventional Sodium ion batteries with liquid electrolyte usually have several problems, including limited electrochemical window, flammability, and leakages which are a potential safety hazard. One of the most promising approaches to improve the safety of a battery is to replace the liquid ion conducting electrolyte to a solid ion conducting electrolyte. Even so, how to develop such a high-performance solid-state electrolyte (SSE) that is compatible with both the anode and cathode interface is still challenging. Furthermore, low ionic conductivity electrolytes, dendrite formation and poor cycling capabilities are adding on to the challenges. As one means to tackle these challenges and improve the electrochemical performances of the battery, cation substitution can be considered. Here, NASICON (Sodium Super Ionic Conductor) based Na1+xZr2SixP3-xO12 (NZSP) solid state electrolyte, its phase behavior and its performances in solid state batteries are introduced. Current trends & perspectives on interface engineering and cation substitution of the NZSP electrolyte is also discussed. Although NASICON material lacks mechanical flexibility, it has high ionic conductivity. Substitutions with La3+ and Sc3+ have shown to improve the ionic conductivity of the battery but have also proven to be expensive. In order to make it more feasible, cations such as Ca2+ should be considered. Pure phase NZSP materials with Ca2+ substitution for Zr4+ will be synthesized using solid-state sintering. Along with the Ca-ion substitution, addition of excess sodium into the Ca-ion substituted NZSP system will be performed and a comparative analysis will be conducted. Here, we will analyze the electrochemical performance through XRD Analysis, SEM Analysis, Impedance Spectroscopy and Galvanostatic Charge/Discharge testing. The development of solid-state sodium electrolytes lead to a brighter future where all solid state sodium batteries could be used to power electric vehicles, electronic devices and contribute towards large scale storage and grid applications.


Provides frequency power amplifier of this invention is a compact, low cost, including the GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT), and having a low level of noise in the transmission band. And of the present invention in the frequency power amplifier, a chip capacitor 21 and one end is connected to the upstream stage bias circuit 107, through the bonding wires (B1), and the other end is grounded. Further, a chip inductor 22 and through the bonding wire (B2) - is connected to the base electrode of the frequency signal amplification HBT (101). And of the present invention in the frequency power amplifier, a chip capacitor 21, and the noise generated in the upstream stage bias circuit 107 to flow to ground, thereby reducing noise in the receive band. In addition, the chip inductor 22, the high-to reduce the power dissipation of the frequency signal, so the frequency signal is made to flow to the ground and caused.


In this work the finite-difference method (FDM) is presented for the undoped Hg1−xCdxTe/HgTe quantum well (QW) which allows to calculate the band structures based on Kane's 8 × 8 kp model including all second-order terms representing the remote-band contributions. In particular the common central-difference form is employed in the discretization procedure. The FDM is applied in the envelope function approach (EFA) for the [001]-oriented system for two cases: without a magnetic field (B = 0) and with a magnetic field perpendicular to the layer (B∥z). A proposed presented method can solve all the states simultaneously and can be used for a wide range of temperatures and widths of QW for different values of x for Hg1−xCdxTe/HgTe QW as well as for more complex structures, e.g., asymmetric QW, double quantum wells (DQWs), multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and for the so-called 3D topological insulator with a strained HgTe layer. The results obtained by this method are in a complete agreement with the previous ones. Based on that it is shown that the different x–Cd compounds in the barrier as well as in the QW make the critical width different than 6.4 nm for HgTe QW. What is also very interesting from the application point of view of the strained mixed HgCdTe QW is that for a different width and a different mismatch lattice it is possible to observe the influence of the upper and lower parts of the Dirac cone in, e.g., a magneto-transport experiment.


Effect of Plant Utilization Limiting Fringe Against Population Pests and Natural Enemies On Planting Cabbage ( Brassica oleracea l .) The purpose of the study is  to determine the effect of plant utilization Limiting Fringe barrier against pest species diversity, species diversity of natural enemies, pest species abundance, and abundance of natural enemy species on cabbage crop. The research was conducted in two places items, namely in the field and in the laboratory. Sampling is done diagonally plant. Pest species diversity on both compartments consisting of six species of Aphis brassicae , Crocidolomia pavonana Fab, Plutella xylostella L, Spodoptera litura Fab, Helicoverpa armigera Hubner, and Chrysodeixis orichalcea . There are three species that have a more dominant population abundance namely A. brassicae, P. xylostella and C. pavonana . Species diversity of natural enemies of equal treatment, both in the parasitoid diversity consists of a single species Diadegma semiclausum .e. whereas in the diversity of the species there are six predator Menochilus sexmaculatus , Ischiodon scutellaris , Paederus fuscipes Curt, Dolichoderus bituberculatus , Oecophylla smaragdina and Sycanus sp. The results Showed an Increase in the percentage of the natural enemies of the moment map of plant cabbages planted with crops in the suburban area of the Cabbage Cropping.


In a recent paper in the JFE, Rolando PelJez (1995) analyzes the efficacy of the "Below-Market Discount Rate Method" as a method of calculating lost earnings. In Culver v. Slater Boat Co. (1984), now referred to as Culver II, the Fifth Circuit Court adopted the "Below-Market Discount R. ate Method" as the exclusive method to be used in actions under maritime law. This method requires that future earnings be reduced to present value using a real (i.e., below-market) discount rate. It is currently the de facto practice in the Fifth Circuit to employ this method in all actions involving calculation of lost earnings. Indications are that the "Below-Market Discount Rate Method" is frequently used in other circuits. Roughly two decades ago some economists began using time series analysis as an analytic tool. Because many of these economists were located in prominent East coast universities, their initial work in this area was (affectionately) referred to as "East Coast Black Magic." Mathematical statistics is a branch of mathematics with which most economists have a working knowledge. Time series analysis is a branch of statistics that is developing into an important analytical tool in many fields of economics. Efficient communication requires knowledge of the specialized terminology used in time series analysis. Unfortunately, many economists, as well as triers of fact in our courts, are unfamiliar with the technical terminology of time series analysis and, therefore, may not fully appreciate the important implications that it has for forensic economics. This paper attempts to recast recent developments from time series analysis into terminology more familiar to forensic economists and readers of the JFE. The paper proceeds along the following lines. The results presented in the PelJez paper are re-examined. Some of the reported results are found to be reversed by slight modifications in methodology and computational procedures. Finally, the most important implication of the Pelfiez paper is found to be robust to these changes. Unfortunately, this result was not emphasized in the original paper and may have been overlooked by many readers.


Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and ventilatorassociated tracheobronchitis (VAT) have been a significant problem in patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. In the past, reported rates were as high as 1% per day of mechanical ventilation. More recently, with attention placed to common intensive care unit (ICU) practices such as the use of stress ulcer prophylaxis, minimization of changes in ventilator circuits, decreased use of sedation, and early weaning from mechanical ventilation, rates have fallen. In the United States, hospitals have been required to report rates of VAP with the threat of reimbursement tied to performance standards. Coincident with this, rates in most hospitals have fallen to near-zero, either by means of practices mentioned above or through other, less clearly defined means. Despite this, certain patients are at much higher risk of developing VAP or VAT. These include patients with trauma or neurologic injuries. Another population at higher risk is post–open heart surgery patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation. In this study, at a busy cardiothoracic service, patients who remained on mechanical ventilation for >48 hours after open heart surgery were randomized to receive 3 days of meropenem and linezolid or vancomycin or to a control group. Tracheal aspirates were performed each of the 3 days. Standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria were used to diagnose VAP. VAT was diagnosed when the same signs and symptoms were present with the exception of pulmonary infiltrates. The investigators failed to reach their recruitment goal of 116 patients and randomized 78 patients. The primary endpoint was the reduction in VAP, VAT, or both. There was a significant decrease in the combined endpoint of VAP and VAT, from 64.78 to 31.79/1000 ventilator days. When considered separately, there was no significant decrease in VAP alone or VAT alone. The development of VAP or VAT was significantly delayed in the treatment group (9 vs. 4.5 d). There was no difference in ICU or hospital length of stay, days on mechanical ventilation, or need for tracheostomy. There was also no difference in the occurrence of other infections including Clostridium difficile infection. One concern of using prophylactic antibiotics is the development of resistant organisms in the ICU. The investigators retrospectively reviewed rates of resistant organisms in the 3 years before the study and prospectively for 3 years starting at the end of the first year of the study. There was no apparent increase in the incidence of resistant gram-negative infections and the rates of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus decreased significantly. However, 21 patients with linezolid-resistant organisms either causing colonization or infection were detected, which had not previously been seen. Although causality cannot be determined with this observation, this is clearly concerning. This study was underpowered and only showed a benefit in the combined endpoint of VAP or VAT. Important surrogate endpoints of length of stay or need for tracheostomy were unchanged. The positive results of this study have to be viewed with caution. These patients were at very high risk of developing VAP or VAT. Before instituting this practice, practitioners will have to review local rates of infection in high-risk patients. They will also have to answer the difficult question of how to balance modest benefit to individual patients against the risk of promoting resistant organisms that can affect the entire ICU patient population.


The effect of soil amendment with the STOCKOSORB ®500 MICRO hydrophilic polymer on the photosynthetic traits in beech seedlings (Fagus sylvatica L.) during 50 days of dehydration was investigated. Dehydration was detected through osmotic potential (Ψ s ) in the assimilatory organs of beech seedlings. The addition of Stocko sorb positively affected the CO 2 assimilation rate (A) and instantaneous water use efficiency (A/T), for severely drought-treated seedlings. In comparison with irrigated plants, the values of A of non-irrigated plants with Stockoa sorb substrate decreased by 50%, and in non-irrigated plants with common substrate by 88%. The fast kinetics of chlorophyll a fluorescence indicated chronic photoinhibition under drought treatment without Stockosorb, while no significant changes in maximal quantum efficiency (F v /F m ) were recorded under drought treatment with Stockosorb. The actual quantum efficiency of PSII (Φ PSII ) markedly decreased in both treatments – with and without Stockosorb, though significant differences were found only between control treatments and drought treatment without Stockosorb. Moreover, the thermal energy dissipation (NPQ) was strongly limited under severe drought stress. The capacity to down regulate PSII functionality through non-photochemical quenching was maintained un der drought treatment with Stockosorb. The results indicate that an amendment with soil conditioner significantly improved the photosynthetic performance of drought-stressed beech seedlings.


In the modern world, the benefits of animal milk are questioned due to the spread of lactose intolerance and food allergy to milk proteins among the population, as well as due to the popularization of such nutrition systems as vegetarianism and veganism. In this regard, the market is growing demand for vegetable analogues of cow's milk, which are made from cereals and legumes, nuts and seeds. This article provides an overview of the currently existing traditional technologies for creating plant-based milk substitutes that are used in mass commercial production. The main stages of technological raw materials are described. Some parameters of processing of products of plant origin are given when using their production process of plant analogues of milk, taking into account the differences when using certain types to obtain alternative milk drinks. The advantages and the degree of efficiency of various variants of thermal and non-thermal treatment are noted. Innovative ways of improving the quality of vegetable milk analogues, which have shown the effectiveness of their use in laboratory conditions, are also considered. The improvement and modernization of technologies for the production of vegetable milk substitutes make it possible to preserve more nutrients in drinks, improve their balance and, as a result, increase the benefits for the human body. The degree to which an analogue can replace traditional cow's milk depends on the level of technology progressiveness, which is very important for consumers who include such analogues in their diet. Further research in this direction will not only expand the range of healthy food products on the market, but will also contribute to improving the food security of cities and countries due to greater accessibility to the population of high-quality sources of nutrients.


Background: The objective of this study was to compare, by means of meta‐analysis, the postoperative antiemetic efficacy of ondansetron in patients with and without antecedents of postoperative nausea and vomiting.


In this work, we study the notion of w-pseudo-order on an ordered (semi)hyperring and give some explicit examples. In addition, we give some examples to compare weak pseudo-order relations with pseudo-order relations. Finally, we construct ordered (semi)hyperrings using regular relations.


(A) Side view of LixZrNCl crystal structure. Solid lines represent the rhombohedral unit cell. (B) Schematic illustration of the ionic-gating device based on a real optical micrograph picture of a ZrNCl single crystal flake and patterned electrodes. Narrow contacts are prepared for the tunneling spectroscopy measurements. PMMA covers the whole device except for the outer area of the flake and the gate electrode. The electrolyte containing LiClO4 is dropped on the device. Gate voltage VG is applied to the electrolyte, and lithium cations and ClO4 anions move oppositely. Lithium cations intercalate from the sides of the flake. (C) Source-drain current IDS of the device in intercalation operation. During the forward sweep of VG (red), IDS increases steeply, whereas the change of IDS is gradual in the backward scan (blue). VG is swept at a speed of 10 mV/sec. (D) Antisymmetrized transverse resistivity at 150 K for various values of the Li content x. The linear slope is used to determine x. Credit: Science, doi: 10.1126/science.abb9860


Objective To construct and identify recombinant adenovirus vectors expressing EGFP and human TERT-VEGF-BCL-xl shRNA,and observe their transfection in human laryngocarcinoma cell line Hep-2. Methods Molecular biology techniques were used to subclone EGFP and human TERT-VEGF-Bcl-xl shRNA fragments from pGenesil-1.1 plasmid into the shuttle vector pENTR-EGFP-VTB. Then,the EGFP and human TERT-VEGF-Bcl-xl shRNA fragments were transformed to pGSadeno-EGFP-VTB using recombination in vitro. The linearized recombinant plasmid (pGSadeno-EGFP-VTB) by Pac Ⅰ was transfected into HEK293 cells to obtain recombinant adenovirus rAd-VTB. The recombinant adenovirus was identified by PCR,and the titer and transfection efficacy were evaluated by detecting the tag expression of EGFP. Results The results of enzymes digestion and PCR indicated that the recombinant adenovirus was correctly constructed. The titer was 1.0×109 PFU/ml,and the transfection efficacy in Hep-2 cell line was more than 90 percent. Conclusion The recombinant virus vector expressing EGFP and TERT-VEGF-Bcl-xl shRNA is successful constructed by using recombination in vitro.


Undoped GaN films for high electromechanical coefficient were grown by controlling the size of nucleation sites through a special two step growth method. The film grown by this sequence exhibited the sheet resistance of up to 109 Ω/sq with mirror-like surface morphology. The high resistance of undoped GaN film is thought to be due to the promoted misorientation of nuclei in a or c axis and the formation of deep trap levels in the bandgap when a GaN film was grown during ramping temperature from 950 to 1020 °C for 3 min in the initial growth stage. The fabricated saw filter on semi-insulating GaN exhibited a high velocity of 5342 m/s at center frequencies of 133.57 MHz and an electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) of about 0.763% which was enhanced due to the improvement of surface morphology with high sheet resistance by the two step ramping technique. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Topic segmentation, which aims to divide a document into topic blocks, is a fundamental task in natural language processing. Most of the previous researches focus on written text rather than dialogue text. However, dialogue text has its unique characteristic and is more challenging in topic segmentation. The existing neural models for topic segmentation are usually built on RNN or CNN, which are competent in written text but has a poor performance in dialogue text. We argue that a better segmentation result for dialogue text requires a better semantic representation of sentences. In this paper, we formulate topic segmentation as a sequence labeling task and propose a model based on BERT and TCN (Temporal Convolutional Network) to accomplish the task. We also present three datasets, including two dialogue datasets and a news dataset, to evaluate the model's performance. Compared to the previous best model, our model shows an absolute performance improvement of 8% – 17% in F1scores. Moreover, we explore the impact of importing speakers on dialogue text segmentation, the experiment result shows that the additional speaker information could effectively improve the segmentation performance.


Nonsymmetric differential matrix Riccati equations arise in many problems related to science and engineering. This work is focusing on the sensitivity of the solution to perturbations in the matrix coefficients and the initial condition. Two approaches of nonlocal perturbation analysis of the symmetric differential Riccati equation are extended to the nonsymmetric case. Applying the techniques of Fréchet derivatives, Lyapunov majorants and fixed-point principle, two perturbation bounds are derived: the first one is based on the integral form of the solution and the second one considers the equivalent solution to the initial value problem of the associated differential system. The first bound is derived for the nonsymmetric differential Riccati equation in its general form. The perturbation bound based on the sensitivity analysis of the associated linear differential system is formulated for the low-dimensional approximate solution to the large-scale nonsymmetric differential Riccati equation. The two bounds exploit the existing sensitivity estimates for the matrix exponential and are alternative.


Heart rate variability can reflect the activity of the autonomic nervous system, and can quantitatively assess the tension and balance of the sympathetic and vagus nerves of the heart. It is also the most valuable independent predictor of sudden cardiac death. This paper proposes a novel method of heart rate variability parameter extraction based on facial video. It is a non-contact and convenient measurement method. This method first separate 2D facial video information from RGB three channels, normalizing, detrending and bandpass filtering to obtain one-dimensional time series signals. Then, the systolic peak value of one dimension signal is obtained and IBI information is obtained based on the systolic peak values. In this paper, a simple and fast method of heart rate extraction is given based on IBI signal, and the time domain parameters of heart rate variability (mean of IBI, SDNN, RMSSD) and frequency domain parameters (LF, HF, LF /HF) are extracted. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method is verified by collecting multiple groups of facial video data.


The role of high pressure flashing gas Absorber was to Absorb the CO2 gas from high pressure flashing steam by NHD solution,the purified gas containing N2 and H2,obtained from recovery,was used as the raw material of synthetic ammonia.Due to that the physical data of NHD de-carbon were not yet collected presently into chemical software,so author has adopted the multi-class calculation results of PC de-carbon process in the Pro-Ⅱ calculating software,chemical simulation calculation has been made for high pressure flashing steam Absorber of NHD;the applied data in the actual production were compared for PC de-carbon tower with the NHD de-carbon tower;author has presented the process design calculation results of NHD solution quantity,packing height,tower diameter,solution flood rate etc..