Aim

To evaluate the PocketLAI® smart app for estimating leaf area index (LAI) in woody canopies.

Location

Northern Italy.

Methods

PocketLAI – a smartphone application for LAI estimates based on gap fraction derived from the real-time processing of images acquired at 57° below the canopy – was tested on continuous forest stands, plantations, spotted shrub-lands and spotted tree-lands. LAI data from hemispherical photography (images post-processed with Can-eye software) were taken as reference values. Plants were clustered on the basis of leaf type and canopy structure.

Results

In general, PocketLAI showed satisfactory performances in the case of broad-leaf plants (R2 = 0.78, P < 0.001) for all shrub and tree clusters. On the other hand, poor results were obtained for conifers (R2 = 0.16), likely because of the unfavourable leaf area to perimeter ratio. Best performances were observed for dense broad-leaf canopies characterized by a regular arrangement of crowns (R2 = 0.95 for row-planted trees, R2 = 0.87 for tall forest trees), although satisfying results were achieved also in the case of canopies made irregular and non-homogeneous by pruning (R2 = 0.73 for small fruit trees). Concerning shrubs, the agreement between PocketLAI and hemispherical photography was higher for species with big leaves (R2 = 0.72).

Conclusions

These results suggest that PocketLAI can be an alternative to other methods in case of broad-leaf woody species, especially in contexts where resources and portability are key issues, whereas further improvements are required for conifers.


The use of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) in the pharmaceutical industry is becoming widespread. They are used to control a variety of equipment involved in the manufacture of drug substance (large volume production of the intermediate steps of the drug) and drug products (the fOllliuJation of the drug that is g.iven to the patient). The use of PLCs provides an inherent flexibility for the automation of a manufacturing plant. They are widely used as standalone controllers either embedded into or remotely controlling production equipment. Advances in network technology has resulted in an increasing use of networked PLCs and their use as slave stations to a central supervisory and data acquisition system (SCADA) or distributed control system (DCS). There has to be a sound business need for automation as it can be costly to implement and maintain throughout its lifecycle. However, the benefits of reproducibility of performance, increased productivity, increased efficiency and, most importantly of all, increased product quality generally make a quick return on investment for the business. However, PLCs cannot just be picked off a shelf, put into a system and be expected to work. The business can rightly expect that a structured system be in place for the development, implementation and maintenance of the PLC system so that production needs can be met in a cost efficient, timely and right first time manner. Validation provides a framework to accomplish this.


Consider the problem of diffraction of a plane stationary electromagnetic wave by a nonmagnetic, isotropic, transversely inhomogeneous, and linearly polarized E=(E<inf>x</inf>,0,0), H=(0, H<inf>y</inf>, H<inf>z</inf>) (E-polarization) the time dependence is exp(−inωt), with vector of polarization P(NL)=(P(NL)<inf>x</inf>, 0, 0), and nonlinearity layered dielectric structure, see Fig. 1.


The wave systems characterized by two different spectral peaks with different propagation directions, also known as crossing sea states, have been regarded as a situation that may increase the effects of modulational instability. The nonlinear interactions of two wave systems appear to be a cause of the rogue wave occurrences. Although most of the available studies have focused on sea states characterized by single-peaked spectra, there is a significant percentage of sea states that are more complex than single-peaked spectral seas. There are many evidences that unusual and extreme wave phenomenons do occur in crossing seas. The famous Draupner wave is found to be generated in crossing seas according to the hindcast date from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (Adcock et al., 2011). Here, we shall limit attention to the crossing seas consisted of two waves with nearly the same peak frequency. For nearly unidirectional crossing seas consisted of two identical wave systems, the modulational instability has been investigated with the framework of nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equations. Onorato et al. (2006) studied the modulational instability of two wave systems with the same frequency but different propagation direction using coupled nonlinear Schrodinger (CNLS) equations derived from Zakharov equation. Their results suggested that the existence of another wave system can result in an increase of the instability growth rates and the enlargement of instability region, and more rogue waves are expected in crossing sea states with crossing angles less than about 70◦. Extension of the obtained results in Onorato et al. (2006) to the more general cases of two-dimensional perturbations has been performed b Shukla et al. (2006). Onorato et al. (2010) presented a further detailed derivation of the CNLS equations and a discussion of the coefficients in front of the dispersive and nonlinear terms with the support of direct numerical simulations. The result indicated that crossing angles between 20◦ and 60◦ are the most probable for establishing a freak wave sea. These theoretical results based on CNLS equation have been validated by Toffoli et al. (2011), who performed both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to study the effect of crossing angle on the extreme events. Based on hindcast data and numerical simulations, Bitner-Gregersen & Toffoli (2014) found that the maximum kurtosis occurs for the crossing angle about 40◦, independent on the wave directional spreading. A more recent experimental study reported in Luxmoore et al. (2019) shows that the third-order nonlinearity was more affected by varying the directional spreading of the components instead of the crossing angles between components. They also found that the kurtosis, which quantitatively describes the third-order nonlinearity, can be estimated quite well from the directional spreading using an empirical relationship based on the two-dimensional Benjamin-Feir index (BFI2d), proposed by Mori et al. (2011). In the present paper, we derived a modified coupled two-dimensional Benjamin-Feir index (CBFI2d) for crossing seas to estimate the third-order nonlinearity effects. The prediction from CBFI2d was validated based on numerical simulation using a higher-order spectral method as well as previous experimental data.


This paper presents the results of the first ever experimental tracking of the betatron and synchrotron phases for a single electron in the Fermilab's IOTA ring [1]. The re-ported technology makes it is possible to fully track a single electron in a storage ring, which requires tracking of amplitudes and phases for both, slow synchrotron and fast betatron oscillations.


In the theory of locales (or 'pointless topology'), approximations to the Alexandrov-Hopf separation axioms have been considered by several authors [2,4,9,…]. The T1 axiom has proved more recalcitrant than the others; as yet, no-one has found a satisfactory lattice-theoretic condition of roughly the same strength.


Objective To explore the rationality and possibility of multi-slice low-dose CT scan in the examination of the chest. Methods (1) X-ray dose index measurement: 120 kV tube voltage, 0.75 s rotation, 8 mm and 3 mm slice thickness, and the tube current setting of 115.0, 40.0, 25.0, and 7.5 mAs were employed in every section. The X-ray radiation dose was measured and compared statistically. (2) phantom measurement of homogeneity and noise: The technical parameters were 120 kV, 0.75 s, 8 mm and 3 mm sections, and every slice was scanned using tube current of 115.0, 40.0, 25.0, and 7.5 mAs. Five same regions of interest were measured on every image. The homogeneity and noise level of CT were appraised. (3) The multi-slice low-dose CT in patients: 30 patients with mass and 30 with patch shadow in the lung were selected randomly. The technical parameters were 120 kV, 0.75 s, 8 mm and 3 mm slice thickness. 115.0, 40.0, 25.0, 15.0, and 7.5 mAs tube current were employed in each same slice. Otherwise, 15 cases with helical scan were examined using 190, 150, 40, 25, and 15 mAs tube current. The reconstruction images of MIP, MPR, CVR, HRCT, 3D, CT virtual endoscopy, and variety of interval reconstruction were compared. (4) Evaluation of image quality: CT images were evaluated by four doctors using single-blind method, and 3 degrees including normal image, image with few artifact, and image with excessive artifact, were employed and analyzed statistically. Results (1) The CT dose index with 115.0 mAs tube current exceeded those of 40.0, 25.0, and 7.5 mAs by about 60%, 70%, and 85%, respectively. (2) The phantom measurement showed that the lower of CT dose the lower of homogeneity, the lower of CT dose the higher of noise level. (3) Result of image quality evaluation: The percentage of the normal image had no significant difference between 8 and 3 mm in 115, 40, and 25 mAs (P0.05). Conclusion Multi-slice low-dose chest CT technology may protect the patients and guarantee the image quality with proper employment.


A multiple access channel (MAC) with generalized feedback (G F) is a communication network where two or more sources transmit information to a single destina tio , and each source observes a different feedback from the channel output. Such a channel with two use rs i shown in Fig. 1, whereW1,W2 are the messages to be transmitted to the receiver, X1, X2 are signals transmitted by the encoders, Y is the channel output, Y1 andY2 are feedback to encoder 1 and2 respectively, and̂W1 andŴ2 are the decoded messages.


A new tubulidentate, Leptorycteropus guilielmi gen. et sp. nov. from Member B of Lothagam-1, Turkana District, Kenya, is described. It is a generalized form for an aardvark, despite its relatively recent age. Review of the known fossils indicates that Leptorycteropus, Onjcteropus and Myorijcteropus are representatives of three phyletic lineages. The aberrant Malagasy Plesiorycteropus is so distinct from the rest as to suggest that its ancestors reached the island at some time during the Eocene. A division of the family Orycteropodinae into Orycteropodinae and Plesiorycteropodinae nov. is proposed. The biology of O. afer and the nature of the myrmecophagous adaptation are reviewed, and the possible adaptations of the extinct genera discussed. The surviving species, as a fully committed myrmecophage, is anomalous in retaining functional posterior 1 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. cheek teeth, a retention that may be related to the curious symbiosis between this animal and the cucurbitaceous plant Cucumis humifructus. Available evidence is consistent with the hypotheses of condylarth-tubulidentate relationships and of Africa as the place of origin of the


The copper-doped lithium tetraborate Li2B4O7 (LBO) is one of the promising materials for the thermoluminescent dosimetry since it possesses the best tissue-equivalence among known non-organic materials used in the dosimetry. In addition, this material has high radiation resistance, a linear dose dependence, a wide range of operating doses and an insignificant dependence of a dose on the ionizing radiation energy. However, the results of the studies on the local attachment level parameters, which define the dosimetric properties of Li2B4O7:Cu, obtained by various authors differ considerably. To some extent, this descrepancies are due to the different purity of the initial materials and the technology of luminophor preparation, the methods of measuring the thermostimulated luminescence (TSL) and determining the parameters from the temperature luminescence glow curves (TLGC). In the present paper, the studies of the integral TSL in the polycristalline and monocrystalline LBO have been carried out at different heating rates. By means of a partial luminescence overall light collection method the energy positions of the local attachment levels have been determined, while the TLGC computer simulation technique has allowed the corresponding frequency factors to be found.


This document provides supplementary information to "Doubly resonant χ(2) nonlinear photonic crystal cavity based on a bound state in the continuum," https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.6.001039. We provide details regarding the simulations discussed in the paper, and show larger images of the cavity modes. We also discuss some of the details relating to Eqs. (2) and (4) in the main text. Finally, we demonstrate that resonance tuning of the cavity modes into the doubly resonant condition is possible using either one of the photonic crystal structural parameters.


The article substantiates the topicality and considers the specificity of teaching German as the second foreign language after English in a technical institute of higher education. The brief analysis of linguo-didactic arguments in favor of multilingualism in a technical institution of higher education is carried out. Special attention is paid to the theoretical analysis of basic principles and approaches.


Abstract : The boundaries between planning and realization within generation are a standard division in a natural language processing, although they no longer seem so secure. New territorial divisions appear necessary, but it is still unclear where the borders are best drawn. This report shows that systemic- functional linguistics (SFL) offers a rich body of linguistic work concerned precisely with issues that are coming to the forefront in natural language processing. This work provides theoretically well-motivated and thorough guidance in an area where text planning and generation are still lacking in experience: the treatment of text in context for the purposes of communication and social interaction. Many of the issues raised in text planning are also addressed within the SFL tradition; SFL can provide an extremely detailed and beneficial map of the territory through which we now need to move. Keywords: Computational systemic linguistics, Text generation, Text planning.


A bioflocculant-producing bacterium, named B-28, was isolated from contaminative soils by gas oil wastewater and identified as Bacillus sp. according to its morphological, physiological, biochemical properties and the analysis of its 16S rDNA gene sequence. The effects of bioflocculant dosage on flocculating activity in kaolin suspension showed that more than 80% of flocculant activity was observed in the range of 0.5-2.0 ml crude fermentation liquid of strain B-28. And the flocculation activity of MBF-28 varies from approximately 80.3% to 93.5% in the temperature range of 20 to 65 oC. Moreover, FT-IR spectra showed hydroxyl, C-H, carbonyl, C-O-C groups were present in the MBF-28 molecule and the mainly effective composition of bioflocculant is polysaccharide with the total content of 73.48% (w/w).The wastewater treatment experiments results indicated that the MBF-28 was efficient for decolorization ratio of 82.44% and the removal rate for Cr6+ was 52.11%, respectively.


Attitude detection is the crucial part for the design of UAV,especially for micro UAV.The attitude reference system is composed of 3-axis micro magnetometer,3-axis micro gyro and 3-axis micro accelerometer which utilized Micro Electro Mechanical System(MEMS).The attitude reference system utilizes dynamic acceleration and angular rate to estimate the dynamic attitude,which utilizes two vector reference and kalman filter and especially optimizes for micro UAV.The MEMS-based attitude reference system takes advantages of small size,lightweight,low consumption and without long-term drift.It can detect yaw,pitch and roll,which distinctly improves the dynamic precision.


OBJECTIVE To probe into the etiology of stroke-associated pneumonia(SAP) in elderly patients and analyze the drug resistance.METHODS A retrospective analysis was carried out to investigate the 137 elderly patients with SAP who enrolled in hospital from Jan 2009 to Jun 2011.RESULTS The incidence of SAP in elderly patients was 28.66%;there were totally 142 strains of pathogens isolated,including gram-negative bacilli(61.97%),gram-positive cocci(26.76%),and fungi(11.27%);Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Staphylococcus aureus,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Acinetobacter banmannii and Escherichia coli were commonly seen,and the drug resistance rates were relatively high.CONCLUSION SAP is more common in the elderly patients with stroke,and the prognosis is so poor that in accordance with the characteristics of the distribution of etiology and the drug resistance.It is necessary to reasonably use antibiotics in early stage so as to prevent SAP in the elderly stroke patients.


List of tables. Acknowledgements. Abbreviations. Introduction. 1. Constraint and tension in middle-class leadership. 2. The Hindu-Muslim question. 3. Ambivalence to the working-class struggle. 4. Bengal Provincial Congress: operational dilemma and organisational constraint. Conclusion. Appendix I -Biographical sketches of leading political activists. Appendix II- The composition of the BPCC, 1939179. Appendix III-14-point election manifesto of the KPP, declared in the 1936 Dacca session. Notes. Glossary. Selected bibliography. Index.


Robert E. Litan is a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution and vice president for research and policy at the Kaufmann Foundation. Among his many books is Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity (Yale, 2006), written withWilliam Baumol and Carl Schramm. Martin Neil Baily is also a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings. A member of the president's Council of Economic Advisers from 1994 to 1996, he was CEA chairman 1999-2001. He is the author of Transforming the European Economy (Institute for International Economics, 2004).


Increasing industrial productivity and innovation is essential to meet needs to reduce lead times and costs. However, diffusion of systemic innovations in project-based industries (PBIs), such as t ...


The present work proposes to develop and to analyze procedures of treatment of electrical energy produced by photovoltaic panels. It emphasizes the application of power electronics static converters to get simple and efficient solutions to that treatment. The solar energy has an extremely variable behaviour. Its exploitation when it is converted into electrical energy depends naturally on Power Electronics. The latter has a powerful set of knowledge proper to make it useful and competitive. By a bibliographical revision, the main technological advances so far consolidated as well as the approaching methods aiming conception of low-cost, robust and efficient electronic systems were acquainted. Energy conversion efficiency, topological complexity, life time, quality of the produced energy and final cost of the converter are problems observed among the studied systems, which are not solved up to now. Considering the main deficiencies of the conventional structures, solutions are proposed based on theoretical studies and experimental results of high efficiency systems. The goal is to conceive structures with topological and control simplicity. It is also performed a study about the systems that searches the maximum power point of operation of the photovoltaic panels. Additionally, controllers for that purposes are developed.


We propose a simple and accurate three- dimensional (3-D) analytical model for the threshold voltage of AlGaN/GaN modulation doped field effect transistor (MODFET) taking into account the short channel effects (SCEs) and the narrow width effects (NWEs) present simultaneously in a small geometry device. The model includes the effect of vital parameters such as doping and thickness of the barrier layer on the threshold voltage. The accuracy of the proposed analytical model is verified by comparing the model results with 3-D device simulations. It has been demonstrated that the proposed model correctly predicts the potential, the electric field distribution along the channel and the threshold voltage.


The present study reports a case of cervico-vaginal prolapse in a sheep. A novel technique using a modified vaginal retention suture for successful replacement of prolapse was highlighted with an uneventful recovery.


An apparatus comprising a first receiver configured to verify authentication protocol packet switch fabric in accordance with the destination edge device. The destination edge device configured to verify from the source edge device to a plurality of distributed switch fabric through the data path to the destination edge device based on the first verification package. The destination edge device configured to respond to receiving a first packet transmitting a second authentication verification package to the peripheral processing device. The destination edge device is further configured to transmit the second packet according to the authentication verification protocol different from the first authentication protocol.


This exegesis informs the ten accompanying audiovisual artworks which express the concept of the sound phantom. The sound phantom is a speculative entity, enjoying persistence, and harboured by all objects. It consists of every sound, real or conceptual, that the object has made or could make, past and future, time-condensed and folded into spatial form. Once this form, or field, is entered by a listener, various sonic representations of the object can be experienced. The object chosen for this paper is that of the tree.  There is a possibility that the sound phantom is an ancient idea in both academia and cultural fora, though it has not necessarily enjoyed the scrutiny and artistic response presented here. Given that the actual sound of an object is only part of the sound phantom, the phantom encompasses sonic representation of its other sensual properties (such as visual and textural) as well as conceptual (such as human and non-human perceptions of the object, and its own memories and goals). The sound phantom can be imagined as a zone straddling the boundary of scientific/philosophical understanding and the unknown.  There is support from existing academic research for the existence of such a concept, not least in that conceptual and sensory objects enjoy the same status as objects, even if their 'realness' is what is in question. This also implies that at some level these objects have experience and even agency, even if it is far from human understanding. Once we accept that different life forms exist on vastly different timescales, it becomes easier to accept the notion that slowly-moving organisms like trees may be able to sense, remember, communicate and make decisions. If we could somehow perceive the object's 'sonic self', that may re-encourage an idea that has been in decline over the last few hundred years: that of inter-entity empathy. At least in practice, it is undeniable that the environment and its non-human inhabitants have been severely disrespected and damaged to a critical point in modern times. If we are able to empathise with other things through art, we might yet rekindle enough action to avert disaster to both the world and ourselves.  I have chosen established media to portray the idea of the sound phantom, using 2D projection of biaxial 360º video material as a visual guide to the immersive 7.1-surround sonic material. There are other artists that have approached various aspects of the idea of the sound phantom, if not necessarily the political reasons for doing so. Even though our perception of the sound phantom can only be partial, through this paper and our powers of cognition, we might yet be able to grasp the concept and remember that we are not seperate from the world, but of it, and would do well to realise that through our individual and collective actions. This exegesis and the works are a first a step along that pathway.


Device and method for the automated extraction of nucleic acids, comprising a body which can be immersed in a reaction cavity partially or completely, characterized in that at least the part which is immersed in the reaction cavity has a non-smooth surface. After lysis of a biological sample with an organic substance, preferably alcohols or ketones, is added. This approach is now brought with a material which is characterized by a non-smooth surface in contact. Under these conditions, nucleic acids adsorb to the surface of the material used. carried out below possibly washing steps with known alcoholic washing solutions. After drying, the adsorbed nucleic acid is replaced by addition of water or a low salt buffer to the material and can be used for downstream applications.


Nowadays, consumers increasingly base their online purchase decisions on user-generated content. Marketers can respond to this development by providing these consumers with sponsored product reviews in their advertising, given by third-party endorsers like experts or celebrities. An upcoming endorser who have gained a lot of (online) popularity during the past years, is the social influencer. The effect of endorsements are especially interesting when a high-tech product is involved, like a laptop.

This study features a 3 (endorser type: expert, social influencer, consumer) x 2 (message appeal: emotional rational) between-subjects experimental research design using an online questionnaire. Moreover, one possible moderator (laptop knowledge) and three possible mediators (identification, internalization and message credibility) were included.

The findings indicate that an expert endorser results in the highest intention to purchase the product. This effect is even stronger when the respondents have a lot of product knowledge. Even so, this effect is mediated by internalization (endorser credibility). Message credibility only plays a mediating role in the consumer endorser condition. Besides, a rational message has a positive effect on attitude towards the advertisement as compared to an emotional message. Future research is needed in order to investigate the effect of existing social influencers (familiarity, celebrity effect) and other (existing) product types.


Ringstrom addresses major changes in a number of paradigms that have been occurring over the past 50 to 70 years within the larger scientific/philosophical community and, more specifically, within psychoanalysis. His overall purpose is to further delineate and integrate these paradigmatic changes and their theoretical and clinical implications for understanding psychoanalytic change. In his title, "Three Dimensional Field Theory: Dramatization and Improvisation in a Psychoanalytic Theory of Change," Ringstrom a third "spatial" dimension to relational field theory that makes it more than a metaphor. Dramatization and improvisation does not just refer to a technical approach but, more important, provides a framework by which he understands effective therapeutic interaction. This discussant attempts to evaluate several of the paradigm shifts, namely, the informational revolution and dramatization and improvisation.


relations faction in shifting Prussian Chudinov in the partitions at a time weakened does faction it, Prussia's reversion to accommodating France the Coalition after gests structural necessities


Foreword. Introduction. Chapter 1: Autism - Towards a Definition. Chapter 2: Autism-Related Problems. Chapter 3: Coming to Terms. Chapter 4: Falling to Pictures/Drowning in Words. Chapter 5: Towards a Liberatory Spirituality of Autism-Related Problems. Chapter 6: Unqualified Existential Presence. Appendices. References. Index.


Accounting bodies and relevant stakeholders have questioned the suitability of traditional educational approaches; concluding that communication, group working and problem-solving skills appear to be at least as important as 'technical' knowledge for their professional future. In the Spanish context, the implementation of the EHEA should have been a key milestone in order to redirect accounting education objectives, by including complex competencies composed by knowledge, skills and values. The paper objective is to study the influence of a pedagogical strategy consisting on the use of empirically-based case studies on content learning, skills development, and students' attitudes. This longitudinal experiment has been carried out in the subject Management Accounting for Tourism Organisations from 2004 to 2008 academic courses. The instrument consists of a self-assessment questionnaire. The sample is composed by the students enrolled in Management Accounting subject who had taken part in the innovative activity. The obtained evidence suggests that there is a strong influence on students' motivation, improvements in content learning, and, above all, non-technical skills development when using empirically-based case studies elaborated by students from real companies information as a innovative pedagogical strategies.


Developments in computers and in telecommunications lead to the conclusion that these two field will eventually merge. The term "Telematics†is the name of the product of that merge. Future global telematics policy will be primarily a function of the achievements in the field of telecommunications in the major countries of the world. However developments in computers, changes in the managerial styles and in the world's political climate will also be important. This paper presents a summary of the telecommunication systems in the major parts of the world and examines how they are influenced by other factors. On a basis of that a prognosis of a global telematics system is built and examined.


An efficient randomized heuristic for a maximum independent set is presented. The procedure is tested on randomly generated graphs having from 400 to 3,500 vertices and edge probabilities from 0.2 to 0.9. The heuristic can be implemented trivially in parallel and is tested on an MIMD computer with 1, 2, 4 and 8 processors. Computational results indicate that the heuristic frequently finds the optimal or expected optimal solution in a fraction of the time required by implementations of simulated annealing, tabu search, and an exact partial enumeration method.


The medical specality concerned with the treatment of disease, injury, and deformity by physical operation or manipulation. [L. chirurgia; G. cheir, hand, + ergon, work] Surgery videos, professional organizations, statistics, images, news


Based on a formalism that describes atom-light interactions in terms of the classical electromagnetic Green's function, we study the optical response of atoms and other quantum emitters coupled to one-dimensional photonic structures, such as cavities, waveguides, and photonic crystals. We demonstrate a clear mapping between the transmission spectra and the local Green's function, identifying signatures of dispersive and dissipative interactions between atoms. We also demonstrate the applicability of our analysis to problems involving three-level atoms, such as electromagnetically induced transparency. Finally we examine recent experiments, and anticipate future observations of atom-atom interactions in photonic band gaps.


Coral reefs protect the coast from erosion and flood hazards through breaking of energetic waves offshore. The enhanced circulation, generated through wave breaking and setup, sustains a diversity of marine life in the sheltered near-shore environment. We present a combined field and numerical study to investigate the complex physical processes over fringing reefs.


Modern thought has often asserted that it is not possible to simultaneously profess both the sovereignty of God and true human freedom. The author examines some writings by Irenaeus in which it is repeatedly affirmed that, according to biblical revelation, «God is not violent», but instead wants his relationship with men to follow the way of «persuasion», so that His designs are realized through man's free decision.


High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, NMR, in the solid-state permitted a detailed molecular dynamic study of natural fibers, including two obtained from the banana tree stems and from coconut fruits. The nuclear relaxation technique was applied to evaluate the domains associated with different mobilities of the fiber components, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Experiments were also done to quantify the lignin content using a chemical method. From the relaxation times and the domain curves, fibers with higher lignin content were found to have higher relaxation times, because they present a more rigid structure with aromatic groups.


Without a sense of belonging, students may become disheartened and give up when faced with new challenges. Moreover, with the sudden growth of remote learning due to COVID-19, it may be even more difficult for students to feel connected to the course and peers in isolation. Therefore, we propose a recommendation system to build connections between students while recommending solutions to challenges. This pilot system utilizes students' reflections from previous semesters, asking about learning challenges and potential solutions. It then generates sentence embeddings and calculates cosine similarities between the challenges of current and prior students. The possible solutions given by previous students are then recommended to present students with similar challenges. Self-reflection encourages students to think deeply about their learning experiences and benefit both learners and instructors. This system has the potential to allow reflections also to help future learners. By demonstrating that previous students encountered and overcame similar challenges, we could help improve students' sense of belonging. We then perform user studies to evaluate this system's potential and find that participants rated 70% of the recommended solutions as useful. Our findings suggest an increase in students' sense of membership and acceptance, and a decrease in the desire to withdraw.


Cooling device for an electrical component (10), wherein said cooling means comprises: - a non-magnetic thermally conductive diffusion layer (12); and - at least one serpentine cooling tube (14), disposed on the thermally conductive diffusion layer (12) in thermal contact therewith such that, when in operation at least one serpentine cooling tube (14) the substrate (12) is cooled; wherein the diffusion layer (12) has a discontinuous metal layer (30) which is connected with a thermally conductive, electrically non-conductive layer (26), and wherein the discontinuous metal layer (30) is in thermal contact with the at least one serpentine cooling tube (14) wherein the at least one serpentine cooling tube (14) is disposed on the interrupted metal layer (30), and exposing in the column in the interrupted metal layer (30) portions of the electrically non-conductive layer (26).


Wavetable matching of musical instrument tones using principal components analysis (PCA) takes advantage of spectral correlation information to find the basis spectra. Although PCA matching is efficient, it usually poorly matches the low-amplitude parts of a tone due to its inherent statistical bias. This paper describes weighted PCA methods that normalize the tone before PCA to fairly weight its different parts. Matching results for a range of instruments show that PCA of a frame-weighted spectrum with a roughly constant loudness throughout the tone improves on unweighted PCA by about 4% on average. The method gives the most dramatic improvements, up to 20%, for plucked string instruments. Moreover, the frame-weighted PCA results are almost as good as previously reported near-optimal results, especially when the number of wavetables is large.


Various broad bandwidth services have being swallowing the bandwidth resource of optical networks, such as the data center application and cloud computation. There are still some challenges for future optical networks although the available bandwidth is increasing with the development of transmission technologies. The relationship between upper application layer and lower network resource layer is necessary to be researched further. In order to improve the efficiency of network resources and capability of service provisioning, heterogeneous optical networks resource can be abstracted as unified Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) which can be open to various upper applications through Application-oriented Integrated Control Center (AICC) proposed in the paper. A novel Openflow-based unified control architecture is proposed for the optimization of cross layer resources. Numeric results show good performance of AICC through simulation experiments.


The invention discloses a waste tire mold re-manufacturing method, which is characterized in that through carrying out specialized and batched repair or technical upgrading by adopting a repairing technique or utilizing new materials and new techniques, a remanufactured product meets the standard requirements of original like products in the aspects of technical performance and safe mass, and thelike.


We present here an alternative method to determine simultaneously both the internal stress and the Young's modulus of ultrathin films. This method is based on the comparison of film stress at different levels of relaxation and it is expected to be very sensitive and at the same time much easy to apply to very thin brittle or ductile films. This is achieved by combining curvature measurements which are performed on films deposited on macroscopically thick substrates (totally unrelaxed films) and on films deposited on thin cantilever shaped substrates (partially relaxed).


Britain is recognised worldwide for having a unique sense of humour and the ability to laugh in the face of gritty reality. This stood us in good stead ...


The paper mainly discussed the applied conditions of support measures,construction characteristics and attentions of Yangshuzhuang Tunnel V-grade surrounding rock for reference.


The software and hardware design of an adaptive video image classification system based on a high-speed fixed-point DSP chip TMS320DM642 is presented.According to video images of different backgrounds and their statistical characteristics,the adaptive classification of video images using DSP/BIOS multi-threading technology is implemented.Experimental results show that,the system can be real-time and accurate to adaptively classify the video images of different backgrounds.


In this article, we first develop very tight second and third-order exponential-type approximations for the Gaussian probability integral Q(.) and/or the complementary error function erfc(.) which are subsequently used to devise the conditional symbol error probability (CEP) formulas for several classes of digital modulation schemes that are both invertible and in a "desirable" exponential form. These invertible CEP formulas are of interest in the optimization of discrete-rate adaptive modulation designs and for computation of the symbol/bit error outage performance metric. We also present new non-invertible higher-order exponential-type approximations for the erfc(.) and erfcp(.) functions based on Gauss-Chebyshev quadrature method. Our analytical framework also facilitates the derivation of simple and tight closed-form approximation formulas for the average symbol error rate performance metric of both cooperative and non-cooperative diversity systems in conjunction with a wide range of digital modulation schemes over generalized fading channels via the moment generating function (MGF) approach. The accuracies of our closed-form approximations have been validated with that of the "exact" formulas in an integral form and via computer simulations.


Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam By Nick Turse New York: Metropolitan Books, 2013 370 pages $30.00 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Investigative journalist Nick Turse offers a disturbing account of American atrocities in the Vietnam War in a commendable attempt to bring attention to the death and destruction wrought upon South Vietnamese civilians. His purpose is to expose "the scale of civilian suffering" in Vietnam, while claiming that American "command policies"--free-fire zones, body counts, search-and-destroy missions, and the use of excessively destructive conventional technology--established a deadly but accepted standard of "overkill" at the operational level. At the tactical level, this "overkill" created a caustic atmosphere among US forces, one that encouraged American troops to commit atrocities--rape, mutilation, murder, mass killings--with callous impunity. This is a very grim and chilling read indeed. Turse bases his findings on his examination of the US Army's Vietnam War Crimes Working Group collection in the National Archives. Collected by a then-secret group in the wake of the My Lai investigations, these records detail approximately 800 alleged and investigated incidents and cover-ups of atrocities committed by American military personnel. They range in scale from barbarous individual acts to the body-count mayhem orchestrated by the "Butcher of the Delta," Major General Julian Ewell, who with his 9th Division conducted a multi-month mass killing spree called Operation Speedy Express in the Mekong Delta during 1968. Turse takes the reader through example after example of soldiers raping young girls in rural villages, intentionally running down children with deuce-and-a-half trucks, and shooting unarmed civilians, among other incidents. He supplements this material with extensive interviews of veterans and Vietnamese victims; these may be Turse's greatest contribution and are a credit to his journalistic skills. A harsh critic might suggest Turse cherry-picked his evidence; a more generous reviewer would criticize his data sample as too narrow. Absent is context beyond what fits Turse's agenda. He ignores the very compelling stories of servicemembers who honorably performed their difficult duties, despite the dark character of the war in which they fought. He overlooks civic-action programs, the broader pacification strategy, and other nonmilitary efforts that, flawed as they were, worked alongside military operations in what was obviously a failed and tragically costly effort to stabilize South Vietnam. Missing is a balanced examination of the impact of atrocity allegations on the antiwar movement and the frustrating difficulty of prosecuting atrocities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. To bring attention to civilian suffering would also warrant examination of Viet Cong atrocities committed against Vietnamese noncombatants--this, too, is absent. The author also ignores the commonality of civilian suffering in all war. …


The progressive study on oat (Avena sativa L.) transpired during the crop season of 2021–2022 at the Agricultural Research Station, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Iraq. The study aimed to determine the effects of amino acids foliar application on two oat cultivars. Experimenting with a randomized complete block design included a split-plot arrangement. Two oat cultivars (Shafa and Genzania) grown and placed in secondary plates received seven treatments of three different amino acids (Control – No amino acid, 50 and 100 mg L-1 of L-Tryptophan, 50 and 100 mg L-1 of L-Glycine, and 50 and 100 mg L-1 of L-Lysine). The results revealed that oat cultivars and amino acid treatments differed significantly for most of the studied traits. The amino acid foliar application treatment of LTryptophan at the rate of 50 mg L-1 showed significant superiority, which boosted and provided the highest rate of flag leaf area, chlorophyll content, crop growth rate, and green fodder yield. However, the cultivar Shafa exhibited superiority for flag leaf area, chlorophyll content, and the green and dry fodder yield, with increased values of 7.15 cm2, 8.11 µg cm-3, and 8.01% and 5.61% t ha-1, respectively.


Results are discussed of an effort to finance and monitor passive solar houses in North Carolina, emphasizing mistakes made by homeowners in using solar design features, and discussing education of decision-makers through the example of the monitored homes. (LEW)


ABSTRACT This article examines the use of Shakespeare by the Women's Institutes drama groups during the interwar period in rural England. The WIs used amateur theatre to emphasise women's social and cultural value as part of their broader effort to revitalise the countryside. The article asserts that the broad nature of the WIs and its local variances meant that the drama groups not only appealed to a diverse group of women, but their performances also had wide public appeal. Additionally, the malleability and recognisability of Shakespeare's plays and characters could equally serve either a conservative or progressive ideology, which complicates efforts by historians to fit the drama groups into a feminist paradigm. In order to gauge how these performances—and their messages—were received, the article draws upon newspapers and magazines in conjunction with official records.


The exploitation and transportation of petroleum products are important reasons for environmental concern since they are the major causes of accidents involving oil spills. Therefore, the biosurfactant produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus UCP1615 was applied in the removal of motor oil from sand and stones from coastal regions. Bioassays carried out with the microcrustacean Artemia salina and three vegetables' seeds showed that the biosurfactant has reduced toxicity. The application of the biosurfactant in crude and isolated form, as a removal agent, was carried out in static and kinetic tests using sand contaminated with motor oil, in packed columns, and in flasks under orbital agitation, respectively. The results showed that the biosurfactant removed 63.0 ±2.1% of the hydrocarbon in the static test and 84.0 ±2.2% in the dynamic test. In tests using rock wall samples, the removal rates reached 69.0 ±2.0%. Conservation tests carried out during 120 days demonstrated that the surfactant activities were maintained, especially in the presence of the preservative potassium sorbate. The B. cereus biosurfactant has proven to be a biocompatible, effective, and stable alternative for applications in environments contaminated with hydrophobic compounds and can be industrially stored for application in the event of possible environmental disasters.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use finite element method for optimizing the membrane type double cavity vacuum sealed structure for the best achievable sensitivity in a piezoresistive absolute pressure sensor and its validation using a standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. Design/methodology/approach – A double cavity vacuum sealed piezoresistive absolute pressure sensor has been simulated and optimized for its performance and an analytical model describing the behaviour of the sensor has been described. The 1×1 mm sensor chip has two membrane type 100×30×1.7 μm diaphragms consisting of composite layers of plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of silicon nitride (Si3N4) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) each hanging over 21 μm deep rectangular cavity. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) based anisotropic etching of single crystal silicon using front side lateral etching technology is used for the fabrication of the sensor. The electrical readout circuitry uses 318 Ω boron...


TABLE A.2 -Bladder absorbed dose per unit air kerma free-in -air, TABLE A.4-Bone (surface) absorbed dose per unit air kerma DTiK., for monoenergetic photons incident in various geometries free-in-air, DTiK., for monoenergetic photons incident in various on an adult anthropomorphic computational model. These data geometries on an adult anthropomorphic computational model. are presented graphically in Fig. Al (Annex 1) These data are presented graphically in Fig. A3 (Annex 1)


An experimental program underway at Caltech has produced plasmas where the shape is neitherxed by the vacuum chamber norxed by an external coil set, but instead is determined by self-organization. The plasma dynamics is highly reproducible and so can be studied in considerable detail even though the morphology of the plasma is both complex and time-dependent. A surprising result has been the observation that self-collimating MHD-driven plasma jets are ubiquitous and play a fundamental role in the self-organization. The jets can be considered lab-scale simulations of astrophysical jets and in addition are intimately related to solar coronal loops. The jets are driven by the combination of the axial component of the JB force and the axial pressure gradient resulting from the non-uniform pinch force associated with theared axial current density. Behavior is consistent with a model showing that collimation results from axial non-uniformity of the jet velocity. In particular, �ow stagnation in the jet frame compresses frozen-in azimuthal magneticux, squeezes together toroidal magnetic �eld lines, thereby amplifying the embedded toroidal magneticeld, enhancing the pinch force, and hence causing collimation of the jet.


This paper introduces the structure and implementation of operator evaluation method based on fuzzy expert system.High quality scoring system not only can evaluate operating quality,but also can instruct the lack in operating.The paper summarizes the importance of operation evaluation and the model of operation and scoring,and using fuzzy expert system to establish the scoring rule base and using forward reasoning to approach to reasoning.This scoring system is successfully applied in a boiler simulation training system.It proved that it is a real time,rapid and accurate way to evaluate operators.It can help the teacher to train objectively.The scoring system is of high value in industry process.


Part 1: The Background to Educational Effectiveness Research 1. Towards the Development of the Theoretical Framework of Educational Effectiveness Research 2. Essential Characteristics of Educational Effectiveness Research 3. The Comprehensive Model of Educational Effectiveness 4. Empirical Testing of the Comprehensive Model of Educational Effectiveness: Review of Research Part 2: A Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness 5. The Essential Features of The Dynamic Model 6. The Dynamic Model: Factors Operating at Student and Classroom Level 7. The Dynamic Model: Factors Operating at School and Context Level Part 3: Empirical Support for the Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness 8. Testing the Dynamic Model: A Study Investigating the Impact of Classroom-Level Factors on Student Achievement Gains 9. Testing The Dynamic Model: A Synthesis of Studies Investigating the Impact of School Factors on Student Achievement Part 4: Implications for Research, Policy and Practice 10. Implications for Research and Evaluation 11. Implications for Policy 12. Implications for the Improvement of Educational Practice


Dubois Jean-Daniel. Richardson (Peter) Westerholm (Stephen) . Law in Religious Communities in the Roman Period, The Debate over Torah and Nomos in Post-Biblical Judaism and Early Christianity. In: Archives de sciences sociales des religions, n°92, 1995. L'islam en europe. pp. 131-132.


Uniaxial strain plane impact (300-1700 m/s), loading and reloading experiments carried out on SS304L are reported. The aim of these experiments was to measure the material strength properties under shock compression. Most of the experiments reported here show a viscous type elastic precursor. The experimental results are compared to numerical simulations performed using a 1D code. The input physics to the simulations are the Steinberg equation of state and Johnson-Cook strength model. This model has been previously calibrated under uniaxial stress conditions in the rangee e =1-5×103 s-1. Our experiments extended the data into the regione e =105 -106 s-1. In spite of this extrapolation, there is a general agreement between simulations and experiments. However, differences in some details still exist.


Every institution has a culture of commemoration made up of the customs, knowledge and expressive acts shared by the members of the institution over successive generations. Since the 13th century, ...


Abstract Reynolds-number criteria are developed for acceptable variations in SpaceShuttle Orbiter entry trajectories for use in computational aeroheating anal-yses. The criteria determine if an existing computational uid dynamics so-lution for a particular trajectory can be extrapolated to a di erent trajec-tory. The criteria development begins by estimating uncertainties for seventeentypes of computational aeroheating data, such as boundary layer thickness, atexact trajectory conditions. For each type of datum, the allowable uncertaintycontribution due to trajectory variation is set to be half of the value of theestimated exact-trajectory uncertainty. Then, for the twelve highest-prioritydatum types, Reynolds-number relations between trajectory variation and out-put uncertainty are determined. From these relations the criteria are estab-lished for the maximum allowable trajectory variations. The most restrictivecriterion allows a 25% variation in Reynolds number at constant Mach numberbetween trajectories.


Despite the importance of isotopically purified samples in current experiments, there have been few corresponding studies of spin qubit decoherence using full quantum bath calculations. Isotopic purification eliminates the well-studied nuclear spin baths which usually dominate decoherence. We model the coherence of electronic spin qubits in silicon near so called Clock Transitions (CT) where experiments have electronic $T_{2e}$ times of seconds. Despite the apparent simplicity of the residual decoherence mechanism, this regime is not well understood: the state mixing which underpins CTs allows also a proliferation of contributions from usually forbidden channels (direct flip-flops with non-resonant spins); in addition, the magnitude and effects of the corresponding Overhauser fields and other detunings is not well quantified. For purely magnetic detunings, we identify a regime, potentially favourable for quantum computing, where forbidden channels are completely suppressed but spins in resonant states are fully released from Overhauser fields and applied magnetic field gradients. We show by a general argument that the enhancement between this regime and the high field limit is $< 8$, regardless of density, while enhancements of order 50 are measured experimentally. We propose that this discrepancy is likely to arise from strains of exclusively non-magnetic origin, underlining the potential of CTs for isolating and probing different types of inhomogeneities. We also identify a set of fields, "Dipolar Refocusing Points" (DRPs), where the Hahn echo fully refocuses the effect of the dipolar interaction.


This paper studies the cooperative games with restricted cooperation among players. We define the situations in which both a coalition structure and a network exist simultaneously and each of them mutually depends on each other. We call such situations two-level networks. By using a two-step approach, we define and axiomatize an allocation rule of the cooperative games with two-level networks. The allocation rule is an extension of the Myerson value and also, is characterized by the Owen value. JEL classification: C71


The edge effect of wavelet transform brings great difficulty in damping parameter identification of power system short signals.In view of the fact that the energy of oscillation mode at the end of the signal is close to zero,the influence of edge effect of wavelet transform at the signal end is very weak,for this reason an improved continuous wavelet transform method,which forcibly make the signal that is located in the left half plane of wavelet function at the moment of convolution equal to zero,is proposed to improve the edge effect of beginning of the signal,thus the effect of identification of short signal damping parameter is improved.Results of calculation example show that the proposed method is effective.


Maintenance of multivariate calibration models can be laborious when using near infrared (NIR) for quantitative analysis, thus to save time on updates of the multivariate calibration models it is worthwhile to investigate if multi-product models for the content of a given constituent in many different foods can be developed. In this study eight different food products with known fat content (%) were analysed with NIR spectroscopy in the range from 850 to 1048 nm and the predictive performance of calibration models developed on each product was compared with multi-product calibration models including all eight food products. Different pre-processing techniques (multiplicative scatter correction, first and second order derivatives, extended inverted signal correction, standard normal variate transformation and second derivative combined with multiplicative scatter correction) and five linear and non-linear calibration models (partial least squares regression, neural networks and three local regression techniques) were evaluated. Also, simple single-spectral match was tested. In total, 4382 samples were analysed covering all eight products and a fat content range of 0.03 to 86.25%. Two thirds of the samples were used for model development and one third of the samples were used for independent test set validation. Not unexpectedly, the results showed that multi-product models generally result in less accurate and precise predictions than one-product models. Of the calibration methods tested, the local regression models gave the smallest range-relative root mean square error of prediction for multi-product models. Multi-product models also worked well using neural networks, whereas partial least squares regression could not handle the non-linear trend in data. Both neural network and local regression models were found to be suitable methods for substituting several one-product models with one multi-product model. The relative prediction errors for the best local regression model were in the range 2.2 to 4.4% for the eight products. Predictions based on using the fat content of the sample in the calibration set with the most similar spectrum (smallest Euclidian distance) to the test sample as the predicted value were inferior to the neural network and local regression methods, but worked surprisingly well.


are placated by sacrifices or by suitable scarifications on the forehead, face, wrists and the foot. No part of the accessible body surface is completely exempt, the tongue, waist, mons pubis and even the penis is scarified and appropriately rubbed with black powder to obtain protection. Such beliefs are by no means confined to the classes mentioned even university professors have been known to seek such traditional protection against the machinations of envious neighbours. In spite of such prophylactic measures, however, some people fall victim to illness and attribute such illness to the machinations of the hostile environment.


Although the cost of clinical trials is ever-increasing, in-silico trials, which rely on virtual populations and interventions simulated using patient-specificc models, may offer a solution to contain these costs. However, in-silico trial endpoints need to be compared to those available from conventional clinical trials to ensure that the predictions of safety or effcacy from the in-silico approach are valid. Here, we present the flow diverter performance assessment (FDPASS) in-silico trial, which modelled the treatment of intracranial aneurysms in 82 virtual patients with a flow-diverting stent, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to quantify post-treatment flow reduction in the aneurysm sac. The predicted FD-PASS flow-diversion success rate replicated the values previously reported in three reference clinical trials. The in-silico approach allowed broader investigation of factors associated with insuficient flow reduction and increased stroke risk after flow diversion than would be feasible in a conventional trial. These ndings demonstrate for the rst time that in-silico trials of medical devices can (i) replicate ndings of conventional clinical trials and (ii) incorporate virtual experiments that are impossible in conventional trials.


Objective To explore the optimal dosage of cyelophosphamide for inducing oligosperm in mouse model. Methods One hundred and twenty experimental male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups,which were respectively treated by intraperitoneal injection of normal saline (control) and different doses of cyclophosphamide ( 100,80,60 mg,/kg, day) continuously for 5 days. The mice were killed in hatches at different time poims. The serum testosterone (T) and luteotrophic hormone (LH) levels were measured. A suspension was made from the testis of one side for malondialdehyde (MDA) level analysis,while the testis of other side was sliced up and stained by HE method to detect the count of Leydig cells and the layers of spermatngenetic epithelia. Results The mortality rate of mice in 80 mg/kg, day cyclophosphamide group was 16.7%, and T level [ at 30th day : ( 1.38 ± 0.31 ) ;45th day: ( 1.15 ± 0.26 ) ] and T/LH ratio [ at 30th day: (0.163 ± 0.014) ; 45th day: (0.127 ± 0.023 ) ] were significantly decreased (all P<0.05) at 30th day after induction;The concentration of MDA [at 15th day: (2.70 ± 0.41) ;30th day:(2.710.36) ;45th day:(2.67 ±0.43) ] was maintained at a high level (all P<0.05) during the 45 days ; Number of Leydig's cells [ at 15th day: (9.65 ± 0.75 ) ; 30th day: ( 14.05 ± 0.67 ) ; 45th day:(8.49 ± 072)] and layers of spermatogenetic epithelia [ at 15th day: (4.75 ± 0.82) ;30th day: (3.60 ± 0.49) ;45th day: (3.74 ± 0.43 ) ] were significantly decreased ( all P < 0.01 ) and stabilized in a low level. The induced model was stable and the mortality rate was acceptable. In the 60 mg/kg, day cyelophosphamide group, the T level and T/LH ratio had no significant change (P > 0.05 ), and the concentration of MDA ,number of Leydig' s cell and layers of spermatogenetic epithelia recovered at 30th day after induction. The induced model was unstable. The mortality rate in 100 mg/kg, day cyclophosphamide group was 30% and unacceptable. Conclusion The optimal dosage of cyclophosphamide for inducing oligosperm in mouse model was 80 mg/kg, day.

Key words:
Oligo sperm;  Model,animal;  Cyclophosphamide


REPAK Semiha & REPAK Advan The contribution of border police in combating Organized Crime at the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina THE CONTRIBUTION OF BORDER POLICE IN COMBATING ORGANIZED CRIME AT THE BORDERS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Semiha REPAK MS Repak Semiha, Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, Sarajevo Advan REPAK MS Repak Semiha, Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, Sarajevo Abstract The contribution of border police, the fight against organized crime, has the scientific challenges in proving the general socially acceptable opinion that the work of border police in the countries arranged legal relations are considered universally applicable moral principles which are beyond the traditional ideological divisions. Simultaneously, the text starts from the fact that human rights are universal and the same all the countries. We give special emphasis, human trafficking, where mainstream the Declaration on the Human Rights Council. "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world," in making this work, we went from the general hypothesis that human rights are "universal" as referring to all people and not only to members of a particular country, race, religion, gender or group. Given the insights that we got during the preparation of this work, studying the phenomenon of trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe, was the fact that human trafficking has certain specific characteristics that are typical for other forms of organized crime and concern primarily the conceptual definition of this phenomenon, etiology, and geographical aspects of victimization. The problem of human trafficking as a multidisciplinary category we have been studying several aspects of the sciences (sociology, economics, anthropology, philosophy, psychology ...) and that the two approaches to the study; Longitudinal, study the topic through its historical aspect of the world in general, and Transversal, the study of topics at this time in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As is the practice in most countries in the region and in BiH, many international organizations and institutions as well as local nongovernmental organizations have taken the responsibility of the joint fight against human trafficking. The existence of multiple institutional entities outside of the legal analysis of state responsibility was a fundamental challenge in our empirical section covering the topic of the thesis. Therefore, we are in the aforementioned study on the practices define the roles of all those subject to service of our country's commitment to all victims of organized crime in human trafficking.


Research suggests youth make active choices about how they use and respond to media. Yet publicly available information outlining patterns of youth media consumption and how content is perceived – especially in relation to reporting of issues of pertinence to youth – is limited. Using an online survey of 2296 Australians aged 16–24, we measured news media consumption and perceptions of reporting on illicit drugs. The study concluded that Australian youth are not 'deserting' news media; indeed, they have regular contact with news media. However, youth regard mainstream news as lacking credibility.


Increased myometrial expression of cyclooxygenase‐2 (Cox‐2) at term results from elevated local levels of inflammatory cytokines, and its inhibition provides a potential route for intervention in human pre‐term labor. We have identified a role for atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes in IL‐1β‐induced Cox‐2 expression in human myometrial smooth muscle cells (HMSMC). The PKC inhibitor GF109203X (10 µM) inhibited IL‐1β‐induced Cox‐2 protein and RNA expression, which were also reduced by MAPK and nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) inhibitors. GF109203X did not affect MAPK activities, and neither did it replicate the effect of p38 MAPK inhibition on Cox‐2 mRNA stability, suggesting that PKC operates through an independent mechanism. The effect of GF109203X remained intact after depletion of conventional and novel PKC isozymes by phorbol ester pre‐treatment. In contrast LY379196 (10 µM), which at micromolar concentrations inhibits all but atypical PKCs, did not affect Cox‐2 expression. A peptide corresponding to the pseudosubstrate sequence of atypical PKCs blocked Cox‐2 protein expression, whereas the sequence from conventional PKCs was ineffective. GF109203X did not affect NF‐κB binding to nuclear proteins, but strongly reduced NF‐κB‐dependent transcription in luciferase reporter assays. Our findings indicate that IL‐1β‐induced Cox‐2 expression in HMSMC in culture requires p38‐MAPK‐mediated mRNA stabilization and an independent activation of Cox‐2 transcription which is dependent on the action of atypical PKCs, probably through direct stimulation of the transactivating activity of NF‐κB. J. Cell. Physiol. 210: 637–643, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Report presenting an experimental investigation of the effectiveness of a horizontal tail on two 47.7 degree sweptback wing-fuselage combinations of aspect ratios 5.1 and 6.0. Various combinations of components were tested, including leading-edge flaps, drooped-nose, split flaps, and double slotted flaps, in addition to the flaps-neutral configuration. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the longitudinal stability characteristics of these wings in combination with the fuselage and tail and to determine if the tail is effective in overcoming the unstable variations in pitching moment prior to maximum lift.


In given clause influence of styles of family education on personal characteristics of teenagers in view of the ethnopsychological factor is considered. Results of research of styles of family education of parents and personal features of their children are presented. Their interrelation which confirms the assumption that the existing certain stereotypes of family education render the certain influence on development and becoming of rising generation is shown.


Actor of its presentation and actor of its online representation, the diarist draws his diegetic existence by setting up a strategy of automediation. The Self-representation is a personal creation determined by the interface and the functionalities of the software. A pragmatic approach of the Self-representation in the Livejournal Blog and the Touchgraph Livejournal browser provides a way to observe the play between intimacy and intersubjectivity. The software leads the user from the lonely space of writing to the community space of publication.


The OERA(Offensive Earned-Run Average) is a methodology for the performance evaluation of baseball players, which is based on a well- known Markov chain model. The DEA(Data Envelopment Analysis) is an LP-based evaluation technique for performance analysis of DMUs (Decision Making Units), whose production activities are characterized by multiple inputs and outputs. In this paper, the performances of Korean professional baseball players are analytically evaluated using both OERA and DEA methods. We discuss methodological strengths and drawbacks of two kinds of baseball evaluation techniques, by comparing both results. Finally to overcome the shortcomings of both methods, we develop a new analytical approach for baseball evaluation by combining OERA with DEA.


Physical properties, compatibility and handiness as determined by sensory test were compared between 20%Neuzym fine granules and current Neuzym granules. Both preparations met the respective requirements in the particle size distribution test. As for physical properties, improvement was noted in dispersibility of the fine granules. Compatibility was compared in terms of color, odor, moisture, and weight increase ratio as moisture index. No difference in evaluation of the above items was found between the two preparations except for wettability under severe condition of 30°C and 92% humidity. Handiness as determined by sensory test was found better with the fine granules than with the granules, particularly at the time of weighing and dividing. This result supports the prediction made on the basis of the data on physical properties.


A method for detecting improper injection of UREA in an SCR system is provided to prevent vehicle cost from increasing and improve the technology competitiveness by determining the propriety of UREA injected into SCR(Selective Catalyst Reduction) catalyst. A method for detecting improper injection of UREA in an SCR system comprises the steps of calculating a ratio of NO and NO2 of NOx of exhaust gas introduced into SCR catalyst(S101), calculating the model efficiency of the SCR catalyst using the calculated ratio and temperature of the SCR catalyst(S102), and calculating the substantial efficiency of the SCR catalyst by monitoring signals of an NOx sensor(S103). The efficiency calculated in the step(S102) is compared with the efficiency calculated in the step(S103)(S104). A UREA recharge driver inducement is performed or not according to the comparison result in the step(S104)(S105,S106).


An opinion poll in 160 medical graduates was carried out to study their attitudes to psychatry, the factors influencing these attitudes, their evaluation o f the various teaching-learning methods and the desire to pursue psychiatry as a career. The data was collected on a specially prepared self reporting questionnaire and was analysed. 151 medical graduates answered the entire questionnaire. O f them 71.52'%, considered psychiatql cssential and 79% emphasized the need fo r psychiatrists in every hospital. 68.2% maintained this to be their own belief and peer group influence contributed to only 21.85%. 56.29% felt that lectures helped to understand the subject while 23.84'!41 felt it to be a waste of time. Case demonstrat ions, bedside clinics were prcfcrretl by 78.80'%, over classroom lectures as teaching methods. 73% stated that they acquired qood listening habits and improved relationship with patients. Only 21.19% opted for psychiatry as a prospective career.


As networks are getting larger and substantially more complex in companies and institutions, the demands expected of these networks are high. This is indeed the case in environments that rely heavily on e-commerce and the use of technology to do their business. Due to the great reliance upon these networks, the networks must be created, designed, and more importantly, maintained to a high standard. This includes the constant resolution of anomalies found on the network known as faults. To automate the detection and resolution of faults, fault management systems are designed to be implemented upon large networks to find and correct these anomalies. This report proposes a possible fault diagnosis system, that is distributed across the network utilising agent technologies to gather data from several network nodes and use it to pinpoint potential faults. To implement the backbone of the system, the Simple Network Management Protocol is used to communicate data between both the distributed agents and a central application. At this central application is where the data is processed and displayed to the likes of a network administrator. After several research of several fault detection methods were analysed, two methods were found to collect data. One of these was to collect data from the hardware of a node, to determine if the hardware was functional, and if the link was intact. Furthermore, to determine routing problems, the Internet Control Message Protocol packets were captured from every host too. A symptom-aggregation technique could then be used to divide the data collated into three distinct model types that would determine if the problem was: client-server based, server/host based or an attack. The system was then built incorporating all of the above technologies, and tested upon network scenarios to see if the aggregation model technique was successful in isolating the fault type. After this testing, it was then possible to evaluate the success of the system and draw conclusions as to any issues and outstanding work that had not been completed. Finally, the report assessed where the future lay ahead for this work and how it could be improved. John L. Murdoch 4 BEng (Hons) Computer Networks and Distributed Systems, 2003


People with diabetes are at increased risk of depression and anxiety disorder compared to people without the condition, and many or most people with diabetes experience difficulties coping with the condition at some point in their lives. However, depression in individuals with diabetes often remains undiagnosed and access to psychological support and care is limited. The authors aimed to address this gap in support and care at a local level by developing a specialised primary care diabetes psychology service within the framework of the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. Here, the authors describe the development of the service and present data from five pilot sites in Kent. In addition, they describe the development and evaluation of a diabetes psychology training workshop for mental health workers and an online training programme to increase awareness of the psychological implications of living with and managing diabetes.


Objective:To investigate the changes of morphology and intestinal permeability of rats with intestinal ischemia reperfusion injury,and its relation with bacterial translocation.Methods:Male SD rats were divided into model group 1,model group 2,control and operation group randomly.The intestinal ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)model of group 1 and operation group were established by clip occluding superior mesenteric artery(SMA).SMA was isolated but not occluded in model group 2 and control group.Rats in model group 1 and 2 were sacrificed 30 minutes after reperfusion or isolation of SMA,specimens of small intestinal were taken for pathological examination.In the other 2 groups,24 h of urine was collected on day 3 and 7 after the operation for detection of permeability of intestinal mucosa via L/M determination.Portal venous blood was collected on day 8 for 16s rRNA gene expression,pancreatic and lymphoid tissue were taken for culture.Results:Villi of small intestine were engorged and destroyed,proper layer was infiltrated by inflammatory cells in model group 1 thirty minutes after reperfusion;permeability of intestinal mucosa was significantly higher in operation group compared with that of control group on day 3 and 7 after the operation(P0.05,P0.01);positive rate of culture in operation group was significantly higher than that of control group(P0.005),positive rate of 16s rRNA gene in control group was lower than that of operation group(P0.01);there was obvious corelation between L/M and the positive rate of 16s rRNA gene(P0.01),but not with the positive rate of culture.Conclusion:The intestinal I/R injury can impair mucosa structure of small intestine,increases the intesital permeability and facilitates bacterial translocation.There was obvious relationship between the intesital permeability and bacterial translocation in the portal system.Portal system may be an important way of bacterial translocation from the intestine.


The study evaluated diesel particulate matter (DPM) sampling methods used in the South African mining industry. The three-piece cassette respirable, open face and stopper sampling methods were compared with the SKC cassette method to fi nd a comparable DPM sampling method for the non-coal mining industry. Controlled surface and underground static (i.e. area) and personal sampling studies were conducted. Triplicate analysis was carried out on each sampled fi lter using the NIOSH 5040 method to obtain elemental carbon, organic carbon and total carbon values. The results of the three-piece cassette sampling methods compared well with the SKC method and it is concluded that any of the three methods could be used to determine the DPM exposure of mine workers in terms of the elemental carbon marker. In terms of standardising the DPM sampling methods for non-coal mining industries, the respirable method had certain advantages.


Very little is known to date about the long-term dynamics of balancing home and dominant languages by adult immigrants. Russian-speaking immigrants in Canada remain an underrepresented group with no available studies of their language development. To address these gaps, this article describes a linguistic journey experienced by Russian-speaking immigrants in Canada as they adapt to the life in the host country. The major objective of the study is to examine the importance of learning the host country's majority languages (English and French) vis-à-vis maintenance of the home language as seen by the participants in the beginning and after a few years of immigration. The article reports the results of a mixed-methods study involving an online survey and written narratives about language dynamics in immigration. One hundred Russian-speaking immigrants from nine countries residing in seven Canadian provinces participated in the study. The analysis involves quantitative comparisons of responses involving correlation and chi-square tests as well as qualitative descriptions of the participants' linguistic experiences. The results indicate that over the time since immigration, the importance of the English language learning decreases, and the importance of Russian language maintenance increases for the participants, whereas the salience of acquiring French remains unchanged. The new finding is the trajectory of the relationship between the participants' interest in the home language and culture maintenance and host languages and cultures learning over the years of immigration. These results align with the authors' linguistic equilibrium hypothesis of language dynamics in immigration. The implications of the study involve long-term support of linguacultural needs of immigrant communities. The research conducted during COVID-19 was limited in methods and would benefit from in-person interviews in future. Expanding the project to other immigrant groups for comparison is another direction for future research.


Fifty isolates of Venturia inaequalis, from diseased apples of several varieties collected in sprayed orchards on various fungicide programs and in unsprayed orchards, were tested for their sensitivity to captan, glyodin, dichlone, phenyl mercury acetate, copper sulphate and sulphur. The isolates were sensitive to a wider dosage range of sulphur than of other fungicides but there was no indication that, in nature, V. inaequalis had developed strains resistant to the fungicides.


Abstract We give some explicit constructions of type III product measures with various properties, resolving some conjectures of Brown, Dooley and Lake. We also define a family of Markov odometers of type III0 and show that the associated flow is approximately transitive.


(Pbx,Sr1-x)0.85Bi0.1TiO3 thin films with perovskite structure were prepared on ITO glass substrate by a sol-gel method. XRD, SEM and impedance analyzer were respectively used to characterize the phase status, morphology and dielectric properties of the films. The results show that during the formation of (Pbx, Sr1--x)0.85Bi0.1TiO3 thin films, nucleus of the perovskite phase are initially formed and then congregated together. These aggregated nucleus are then transformed as the perovskite-phase crystalline. And finally, the crystalline phase grows and separates gradually to form the perfect crystalline structure. The content of the perovskite phase formed in the thin film under rapid thermal process(RTP) is more than that formed in kinetic equilibrium under traditional heat treatment. It is due to the high active decomposed ions forming the perovskite phase directly when heat-treated by RTP. The structure of the perovskite phase has a close relation to the ratio of Pb/Sr in the system because of the difference of radius between Pb2+ and Sr2+. The transformation temperature between cubic and tetragonal of the perovskite phase is increased as increasing Pb2+ whose radius is larger than that of Sr2+. It appears at room temperature when the content of Pb2+/Sr2+ is about 0.4/0.6. Meanwhile, the tetragonality of the perovskite phase is increased with increasing Pb2+ ions. High tunability of the (Pbx,Sr1-x)0.85Bi0.1TiO3 thin film is exhibited when the film composition is close to transformation point between paraelectric and ferroelectric. Pb2+ ions act as a dominant factor to affect the Curie point of the system and then to change tunability.


In 1987 V.I. Ponomarev and V.V. Tkachuk characterized strongly complete topological spaces as those spaces which have countable character in their Stone– Čech compactification. On the other hand, in 1998 S. Romaguera introduced the notion of cofinally Čech complete spaces and he showed that a metrizable space admits a cofinally complete metric (otherwise, called ultracomplete metric), a term introduced independently by N.R. Howes in 1971 and A. Császár in 1975, if and only if it is cofinally Čech complete. In a recent paper the authors showed that these two notions are equivalent and in this way answered a question raised by Ponomarev and Tkachuk [Vestnik MGU 5 (1987) 16–19] about giving an internal characterization for strongly complete topological spaces (termed ultracomplete by the authors). In this paper, sums and products of ultracomplete spaces are studied.  2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. AMS classification: Primary 54D99; 54B10; 54D35, Secondary 54D45; 54D20


Shareholders play a vital role in an organization through parting with their funds which determines the continuity and survival of the organization. As a result of this, regular payment of dividends as at when due to different shareholders is a concerned of every stakeholder in an organization. Therefore, this study examined the mediating effect of dividend payment policy on the relationship between managerial ownership and firm value of listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. This study focused on ten manufacturing firms that are listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) from 2010 to 2019 using panel pool technique and Hausman's test. The findings from this study established that there was a partial mediation of managerial ownership, dividend payout and leverage ratio on firm value. In addition, managerial ownership (20.8%) had an inverse and significant effect on firm value; while, dividend payout ratio and leverage ratio had a direct and significant effect on it with each contributing 15.2% and 3.8% to it respectively. On mediation, the finding discovered that dividend payout through managerial ownership indirectly contributed 33.1% to managerial ownership. The study concluded that managerial ownership and dividend payment policy partly contributed to firm value with dividend payment policy playing an indirect role through increase in managerial ownership. Therefore, recommended that organizations should endeavor to review their dividend payment policy and ensure that dividend accrue to the firms' coffer are pay as at when due. Also, managers of listed firms are strongly advised to take more of long-term loan on intending capital projects.


In its first issue (Autumn 1975), Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society published Carroll Smith-Rosenberg's now classic article, "The Female World of Love and Ritual: Relations between Women in Nineteenth-Century America." The following summer appeared Joan Kelly's "The Social Relation of the Sexes: Methodological Implications of Women's History (Signs:Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 1, no. 4 [Summer 1976]). Among scholarly articles, these two provided, in different ways, a point of departure for my thinking in this essay. I am deeply indebted also to the growing body of lesbian research in other journals, including Blanche W. Cook's "Female Support Networks and Political Activism," Chrysalis 3 (1977): 43-61; and Lorraine Bethel's "'This Infinity of Conscious Pain': Zora Neale Hurston and the Black Female Literary Tradition," lecture given at the Harlem Studio Museum, May 1978, forthcoming in Black Women's Studies, ed. Gloria Hull, Elaine Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith (Old Westbury, N.Y.: Feminist Press, 1980); by several books published in the last few years: Kathleen Barry, Female Sexual Slavery (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1979): Mary Daly, Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism (Boston: Beacon Press, 1978); Susan Griffin, Woman and Nature: The RoaringInside Her (New York: Harper & Row, 1978); Diana Russell and Nicole van de Ven, eds., Proceedings of the International Tribunal on Crimes against Women (Millbrae, Calif.: Les Femmes, 1976); and by Susan Cavin's dissertation in sociology, "Lesbian Origins: An Hystorical and Cross-cultural Analysis of Sex Ratios, Female Sexuality and Homo-sexual Segregation versus Hetero-sexual Integration Patterns in Relation to the Liberation of Women" (Ph.D. diss., Rutgers University, 1978). 1. Alice Rossi, "Children and Work in the Lives of Women" (paper delivered at the University of Arizona, Tucson, February 1976).


NiFe2O4 nanocrystals were synthesized by hydrothermal method with polyethylene glycol(PEG) as a soft template.The effect of PEG molecular weight on properties of the sample was investigated.The samples were characterized by XRD,VSM,SEM,BET and ICP.The results show that as-synthesized NiFe2O4 nanocrystals with spinel cyrstal structure and uniformer particle distribution.The sample synthesized with PEG-400 as soft template has small particle size,higher specific surface and saturation magnetization;as-synthesized sample with PEG-1500 has larger particle size and higher saturation magnetization.


The penultimate chapter argues that dibao is afflicted by institutionalisation issues common to other policies during the reform era. I use two cases from dibao to examine this lack of institutionalisation and discuss the implications. The first case discusses the progress of the social assistance law. The second case addresses the responsiveness of social assistance to changes in prices. Both cases highlight the problems of and opportunities a lack of institutionalisation creates. The chapter seeks to discuss both the positive and negative cases for the lack of institutionalisation in China's social assistance system. Using recent legislative development and recent announcements on the running of dibao to frame the discussion the chapter argues that while the lack of institutionalisation both causes problems and creates opportunities. The fragmented nature of the Chinese state is the reason for both a lack of institutionalisation and its responsive and adaptive nature. To resolve the challenges facing the programme a compromise incorporating some institutionalised elements would work best. Finally, the chapter looks beyond China at how social assistance has been implemented and automatic government introduced for examples relevant to dibao and situates the current challenges within a comparative context.


Adopting the method which treated corn blade with fungus toxin, the resistance of corn variety to leaf blight have been studied. As a result, it is proved that the fungus toxin has strong toxicity to the corn blade, and causes the blade tissue cell membrance damaged. The degree of its damage is related to the degree of resistance of the corn variety. With the toxin being treated, the time extending, the damaged degree of blade tissue cell membrance about non-possessing Ht genotype of susceptible self-bred becomes heavier. On the contrary, it is not obvious about possessing Ht genotype of resistance self-bred. The sensitivity of the blade tissue cell membrance of the self-bred of corn about possessing Ht genotype to the fungus toxin is higher than that of non-possessing Ht genotype, which it's withering very quickly by the effect of toxin. So that the hyphal body of fungus in blade tissue spread further restrained and thus products high resistance to the leaf blight.


In 1973 the Konjunkturinstitutet published an important study estimating the effects of the 1969-71 cycle of tightened and eased money on fixed investment in industry.1 On the basis of questions on the reasons for the reported modifications of businesses' planned amounts of investment (appended to the official surveys of planned and realized investment made in mid 1970 and mid 1971), it was concluded that the effects of the tightening and easing of money were too slow to permit monetary policy to be used for smoothing out the business cycle. A subsequent paper in this Journal has argued that the Konjunkturinstitutet evidence told nothing about 1971 but indicated fairly quick and strong effects on fixed investment from the restrictive policies of 1969-70, and provided a clue to important effects on inventory investment also, at least for the year 1970 (the comparable information on 1969 not having been printed).2 Strong restraint of inventory investment was in fact indicated in the 1970 Yearbook of the Riksbank. The Konjunkturinstitutet authors had inferred slow effects because tightened money caused only a very small percentage reduction in total 1969 fixed investment below the amount expected in May of that year, while the reduction of 1970's aggregate investment was a substantial percentage. But a correct interpretation of these data must allow for the fact that the reported changes in 1969 and 1970 investment from the amounts planned in May 1969 could have reflected only the tightening of money that occurred after May 1969 (or a little earlier). Hence, for 1969 the percentage effect on investment to be reported was that on the investment of the second half of the year. Some delay in the effects on reported acquisitions of capital equipment must of course be expected, but that need not preclude sufficient promptness for worthwhile anti-cyclical benefits: measures taken in May or later in 1969 would be found sufficiently prompt if they began having significant effects by September of


Aiming at the problem of the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) of PV system, based on the requirements of improving the tracking speed and reduce the steady-state oscillation, a terminal sliding mode control method is proposed to complete MPPT control in this paper. Mathematical model of the PV module is realized by four parameters with standard condition. Unlike traditional methods, it is proposed that the tracking current and power reference at the maximum power point at arbitrary conditions can be obtained directly from the established model. It is simple and can avoid the tracking error. In this paper, we tracked the outputs of the PV module under different conditions and compared the proposed method with the Incremental Conductance (INC) algorithm, the results show that the proposed control method can enhance the track speed and accuracy, decrease the steady-state oscillation and improve the efficiency of PV system.


This paper concerns discounted Markov decision processes with a fuzzy reward function triangular in shape. Starting with a usual and non-fuzzy Markov control model (Hernández-Lerma, 1989) with compact action sets and reward R, a control model is induced only substituting R in the usual model for a suitable triangular fuzzy function R̃ which models, in a fuzzy sense, the fact that the reward R is "approximately" received. This way, for this induced model a discounted optimal control problem is considered, taking into account both a finite and an infinite horizons, and fuzzy objective functions. In order to obtain the optimal solution, the partial order on the α-cuts of fuzzy numbers is used, and the optimal solution for fuzzy Markov decision processes is found from the optimal solution of the corresponding usual Markov decision processes. In the end of the paper, several examples are given to illustrate the theory developed: a model of inventory system, and two others more in an economic and financial context.


This work aims to examine the factors that influence users' satisfaction and reuse intention in respect of the monorail system in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hypotheses were tested with 417 survey data collected among monorail users. The newly developed model of users' satisfaction and reuse intention was evaluated through structural equation modelling, the basis of which was a parameter estimation of partial least squares (PLS-SEM). Findings reported that the proposed model led to 70.4% and 59.5% of the variances explained by user satisfaction and reuse intention towards the service provided. The findings demonstrated convincingly that overall satisfaction and reuse intention are affected by two key factors from the users' perspectives: perceived quality and perceived value. The results are useful for service providers and related bodies in their effort to enhance user satisfaction as well as increase the monorail service ridership.


The emergence of Wenzhou mode benefited from its special external environment condition and endogenous increase of the capital. This market running mode that takes individual private economy as subject, has constantly received identification of practice and achieved success during the reform course for over 20 years. But, as a typical instance of the economy transition in China, can it be regarded as a kind of "mode" to be popularized in the more extensive area of the whole country? This is an important problem considered by theory circle and policy-making level. This paper thinks about the universality of Wenzhou mode, though making summary of the internal and external factors of Wenzhou mode, and combining the recent situation of social economic development in Wenzhou.


This thesis presents a tunable 3D real-time interactive simulator of the geometrical displacement of the thoracic diaphragm during physiological and mechanical ventilation. Particular attention is ...


In order to study the effect and characteristics of phosphorus removal in biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal process using membrane bioreactor,this paper investigates the removal efficiency of total phosphorus(TP),and discusses the contributions of biological growth phosphorus removal,denitrifying phosphorus removal,aerobic phosphorus removal,and membrane filtration phosphorus removal.The results show that the average removal efficiency of TP is 92.0%.The phosphorus removal mechanism in this process is different from that in the conventional biological phosphorus removal process in which aerobic phosphorus uptake plays the most important role.In the process,denitrifying phosphorus removal is enhanced and contributed by 34.0%-38.6% in the total phosphorus removal.In addition,membrane can reject a portion of colloidal phosphorus,leading to a further decrease of total phosphorus concentration in membrane bioreactor permeate.


Batch-fabricated SiC nanowires (NWs) and SiC@C nanocables (NCs) were heated under an argon flow at high temperature (1600−1800 °C). The ensuing product was characterized by SEM, HRTEM, EDX and XRD. As we found, the heat treatment led to the structuring of SiC NWs, whereas SiC@C NCs were completely converted into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) encapsulating faceted β-SiC nanocrystals. The growth mechanism of these nanostructures (NSs) was studied. The results collected in this study will enable us to better define use conditions of SiC-based 1D NSs at high temperatures and to understand the effect of confinement on the migration of element during annealing. These NSs could have applications in different fields such electronic and light-emitting diode.