Grand canonical molecular dynamics techniques are used to study small molecular penetrant permeation through polymeric media. Penetrants are modeled as hard spheres and square-well spheres. The polymer is modeled as a collection of hard chains and square-well chains. Glassy polymers are modeled using stationary chains while rubbery polymers are modeled using mobile chains. Facilitated transport polymers are also modeled by varying the square-well depth for specific sites along polymer chains. Penetrant partitioning, mutual diffusivity, solubility, and permeability (taken to be a product of diffusivity and solubility) are calculated as a function of reservoir chemical potential, barrier mobility, and, for the facilitating polymer case, the strength of the penetrant/facilitating site attraction. Penetrant diffusivity, solubility, and hence permeability are greater in a mobile barrier than in a stationary barrier. Diffusivity decreases and solubility increases upon the addition of facilitating sites to the barrier or upon increasing the strength of the penetrant/facilitating site attraction. Permeability decreases in these cases, contradicting our expectations concerning the phenomenon of facilitated transport. Comparisons are made between the permeation results presented here and experimental facilitated transport systems.


abstract:The article analyzes the relationship between hydraulics and history in the nineteenth century, often described as a period when the humanities and the sciences split into "two separate cultures." Venice, amphibious city par excellence, is a good starting point for exploring the use of history in water management debates. In the early nineteenth century, humanists and hydraulic engineers came together through multiple disciplinary approaches and in constant confrontation with the Republic of Venice's water policies. In the following decades, while making extensive use of history, these engineers realized and emphasized the diversity of both disciplines' methodologies. This evolution—seen through the writings of renowned hydraulic engineer at the time Pietro Paleocapa—illustrates how history was no longer a source of empirical knowledge but came to be used for rhetorical and political purposes.


This article discusses a domain-specific component-based architecture called distributed feature composition. Based on the well-known pipe-and-filter architecture, DFC has been refined for use in the telecommunication domain. The authors also point to ways this approach might work in other domains, including data networks.


Synthetic antioxidants can have toxic and carcinogenic effects, thus an alternative source of natural antioxidants is needed. Fucoidan from seaweed is a source of natural antioxidants. The objective of this research was to determine the antioxidant activity of fucoidan from Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt from Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara. Fucoidan extraction was carried out using distilled water at 85°C. The test parameters observed included: yield, total sugar content, sulfate content, functional group analysis and antioxidant activity with Radical Scavenging Activity (RSA) of the 1,1-diphenyl2picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP), and reducing power methods. The results showed that the fucoidan extract from S. muticum had a yield of 3.87±0.13%, the total sugar content of 64.34±2.10% and the sulfate content of 17.72±0.92%. FTIR analysis showed that fucoidan from S. muticum had functional group similarities compared to commercial fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus. The DPPH inhibition activity of S. muticum fucoidan at concentrations of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 ppm was 35.67±0.96, 39.40±0.66, 42.88±1.46, 45.58±3.66, and 53.57±4.59%, respectively. The IC50 DPPH value was 3.75 ppm, and the FRAP value at a concentration of 1,000 ppm was 126.58±5.39 μM g. The antioxidant activity of S. muticum fucoidan was lower than that of vitamin C, but not significantly different from that of commercial fucoidan.


Sir, In the 2 recent studies by Bird et al.1 and Dixon et al.2 the value of various biochemical parameters as discriminatory indices of clinical response in rheumatoid arthritic patients treated with alclofenac and penicillamine was described. With particular reference to the measurement of serum sulphydryl (SH) levels, greater attention to the precise methodological assay technique used could, I propose, provide some clarification in the resultant interpretation of the specific function that the SH moiety has in pathogenic and therapeutic biochemical mechanisms in rheumatoid disease. The method used3 in the forementioned reports, while utilising the same spectrophotometric SH reagent, namely, Ellman's DTNB, differs in several pertinent respects from that used in a comparable study which was referred to in their paper.4 The most important difference in experimental assay technique is the choice of pH, the rate of SH reaction being critically dependent on the concentration of the reactive S anion. It has been shown5 that it is possible to discriminate between slow-reacting protein -SH groups, e.g., serum albumin, which react fully at alkaline pH only, and lowmolecular-weight thiols, e.g., glutathione and penicillamine, which react fully at both alkaline and acid pH values. Hence, as compared to the measurement of serum SH levels at 1 pH value only, namely, pH 7-4, the selection of 2 distinct acidic and alkaline pH values, namely, pH 6*5 and pH 7*6, enables the separate contribution of 2 different populations of 'fast' and 'slow' reacting serum S14 groups to be more specifically and accurately assessed. As has been previously reported,6 it is of interest to note that whereas penicillamine causes a significant increase in the 'slow' reacting protein -SH type group levels equivalent to normal values, minimal increases in serum SH are detectable at pH 6 5, thus indicating no comparable increase in thiol type 'fast' reacting SH groups, despite the actual administration of the free thiol drug. By contrast, however, in alclofenac treated rheumatoid patients, the observed increase in serum SH reactivity is largely confined to that measured at pH 6-5 with no comparable increase in the 'slow' protein -SH type levels determined at pH 76. Since alclofenac per se contains no SH moiety, the rise in serum SH reactivity may be attributed to 2 possible mechanisms. Either the normally very low serum concentration of free physiological thiols, e.g., glutathione and cysteine, has increased dramatically, or alternatively the formation of albuminbound ligand drug complexes may have produced alloplastic conformational and electrostatic perturbations in the albumin molecule with consequently heightened chemical reactivity of the mercaptalbumin SH moiety. Subsequent studies have also confirmed the ability of antirheumatic drugs, e.g., penicillamine and aurothiomalate, to increase serum SH levels both in vivo and in vitro, whereas nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs appear to enhance serum SH reactivity only in vitro.7 However, because of the different methodology used, i.e., assay at a single alkaline pH and not utilising measurement of the initial rapid SH reactivity, direct comparisons with the in-vivo studies measuring the 'fast' reacting serum SH levels at pH 6-5 are not, unfortunately, possible. The ability of 'gold' treatment to normalise serum SH levels is of especial interest in relation to the proposal that the therapeutic efficacy of aurothiomalate in rheumatoid arthritis is dependent on the thiomalate thiol carrier portion of the drug molecule.8 In addition to serum SH changes, penicillamine administration has also been shown to produce an increase in cellular levels of free glutathione in erythrocytes.9 The important role of SH/SS redox reactions in the maintenance of enzymatic activity, membrane integrity, free radical scavenging, and protein conformational stability points to the uniquely ubiquitous function that the SH group displays in cellular physiology. The development and application of specific discriminatory techniques for identifying and measuring thiol levels and alterations in reactivity of specific protein -SH groups offers perhaps one way by which the role ofautodisulphide dysfunction in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid disease and possible therapy may be elucidated.


One hundred and ten patients with laryngeal cancer who were treated at Tokushima University Hospital during the 9 years between January 1989 and December 1997 were studied clinically. The mean age of patients was 66.2 years, and the male to female ratio was approximately 11 :1. The 110 patients included 60 (54.5%) with glottic cancer, 49 (44.5%) with supraglottic cancer, and 1 (1.0%) with subglottic cancer. According to the 1987 UICC TNM classification system, 2 cases (1.8%) were in stage 0, 34 (30.9%) were in stage I , 24 (21.8%) were in stage II , 23 (20.9%) were in stage III , and 27 (24.6%) were in stage 1V . The five-year survival rate was 69.4% for all cases with laryngeal cancer (stage 0, 100.0% ; stage I , 90.6% ; stage II , 65.7% ; stage M , 66.3% ; and stage 1\T, 45.6%), 74.3% for cases with glottic cancer (stage 0, 100.0% ; stage I , 94.1% ; stage II, 41.7% ; stage 111 , 66.7% ; and stage P/, 44.4%), and 62.1% for cases with supraglottic cancer (stage I , 66.7% ; stage II , 85.7% ; stage Ill , 66.7% ; and stage 1V , 44.5%). For the case with subglottic cancer, the five-year survival rate was 100.0%.


In the light of the current debate concerning the nature and function of textual aesthetic information in its relationship with the visual dimension, this anthology consists of theoretical and creative texts by the three founders of the Brazilian concrete poetry group and periodical known as Noigandres . The translations by Sergio Romanelli, Silvana de Gaspari, Patricia Peterle and Andrea Santurbano for the first time give Italian readers the opportunity of reading four texts dating from the 1950s up to the present available in Portuguese in the collection Teoria da poesia concreta: textos criticos e manifestos (1965), consisting of a short essay by Decio Pignatari dealing with concrete art ( arte concreta: objeto e objetivo ) and a statement ( depoimento ) on the function of poetry; a useful definition of the specific domain of concrete poetry ( Poesia concreta ) by Augusto de Campos and finally the extraordinary creative poetic manifesto: olho por olho a olho nu (manifesto) by Haroldo de Campos.


ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION.INTRODUCTION. Our aim was to conduct a follow-up of a cohort of women screened for GDM with a normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) during pregnancy to investigate the incidence and time of diagnosis of manifest diabetes mellitus and identify risk factors for subsequent development of diabetes. METHODS.METHODS. This was a follow-up study of a cohort with normal and borderline OGTT in 1991/1992. Among the original 352 women, only five were lost to follow-up. RESULTS.RESULTS. In total, 64 women (18%) had manifest diabetes. Their median age was 57 years after 28 years of follow-up. This amounts to three times the expected rate compared with the background population. The rate of manifest diabetes rises 10-20 years after pregnancy and after the age of 40 years. A normal fasting glucose and also a borderline fasting glucose at OGTT during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of manifest diabetes (p < 0.001), also after adjustment for age, Body Mass Index, non-Danish origin and smoking during pregnancy (p < 0.002). CONCLUSION.CONCLUSION. The incidence of diabetes is higher in women with various risk factors for DM and a previously normal OGTT in pregnancy than in the background population. Our results are useful in identifying the time during which women may benefit from effective implementation of evidence-based treatment to postpone and avert manifest DM, even though they had a normal OGTT during pregnancy.


Internal and external hazards analysis methods have been used recently to evaluate operating nuclear power plants (NPP) and to identify the resilience of NPP in case of hazards and potential needs for modification of plant systems and procedures as well as to support design of new plants The external hazards risk contribution has been modeled in many NPP PSA (at least for some external hazards) over the last decade, including events occurring during shutdown and low power operations. Recently, a revision of the German nuclear safety regulations has been successfully completed and these regulations entitled "Safety Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants", also requiring a detailed investigation of internal and external hazards and combinations of different hazards applying deterministic and probabilistic safety assessment methods.


Aim:To determine the effects of enalapril on insulin resistance in patients with hypertension.Methods:49 patients with essential hypertention(EH)were treated with enalapril 5~15 mg/d for 8 weeks .The blood pressure, fasting serum glucose and insulin levels were measured, and insulin sensitivity index was calculated before and after treatment . The results in patients with EH were compared with those in 28 healthy controls matched with the EH group in age, sex and body mass index.Results: There was no obvious difference for blood glucose between two groups . The level of fasting serum insulin in patients with EH was higher and the insulin sensitivity index was lower than those of controls( P 0.01 respectively). In patients with hypertension, the p SB and p DB significantly decreased( P 0.01 and P 0.05), the level of fasting serum insulin decreased obviously ( P 0.01), but the insulin sensitivity index increased ( P 0.01) after 8 weeks of treatment of enalapril. Conclusion: The study indicates enalapril has beneficial effects on lowering blood preasure and improving insulin resistance in patients with EH.


The cyber domain and all the interdependencies between networked systems form an extremely complex ensemble. Incidents in the cyber domain may have an abundance effect on the physical domain. For example, a cyber attack or an intrusion against an electricity system may affect the performance of healthcare system as well. For organisation's cyber resilience, know-how is the key resource. Cyber security training and exercises have an extremely important role for achieving the required level of know-how in the cyber domain. The old military based-proverb You Fight Like You Train is relevant in the cyber domain. Traditionally, the platform for cyber security training and exercises is called cyber range. Because of the accelerating digitalisation and more complex totality of the cyber domain, also the infrastructure for the cyber security training and exercises is required to be more and more complex. In this paper, the concept of cyber arena, next generation cyber range, is discussed.


We read with interest the recent excellent review by Barison et al., which described the increased risk of severe COVID-19 in patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular risk factors. The authors reiterate the particular importance of implementing cardioprotective lifestyle measures, including weight management, in CVD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also highlight the potential for statin-induced liver injury in COVID-19 patients with CVD who are undergoing treatment with specific antiviral agents. We wish to draw attention to another hepatic complication which often co-exists with CVD and which is of significance in the context of the current pandemic. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, recently renamed by an international consensus panel as metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), affects up to 1 billion patients worldwide. This parallels the massive global increase in central obesity which has reached pandemic proportions. Despite the recognized association between MAFLD and atherosclerotic CVD, it is frequently overlooked in the assessment and management of patients with more traditional CVD risk factors. Putative underlying mechanisms which mediate the link between fatty liver disease and CVD include endothelial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and insulin resistance. Furthermore, patients with MAFLD have a worse prognosis after experiencing an acute coronary syndrome. A recently published review article discusses the challenges faced by patients with pre-existing chronic medical conditions, including CVD and diabetes, during the current global pandemic. These vulnerable patients are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 requiring prolonged hospitalization and intensive care management. The clinical outcomes in obese COVID-19 patients are worse, and the fatality rate is higher in this group. The authors recommend that the weight gain associated with prolonged societal lockdown measures be addressed by concerted efforts to promote healthy eating and physical activity. This is especially important in the obese population, many of whom will also have evidence of MAFLD. A study by Zheng et al. found that the presence of obesity in COVID-19 patients with MAFLD predicted a six-fold increased risk of severe disease. This association was independent of the presence of diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and hypertension. It has been proposed that the mechanism of increased severity of infection in patients with MAFLD and hepatic fibrosis may relate to an amplified cytokine storm observed in many patients with critical COVID-19 disease. While older individuals have borne the greatest burden of severe illness, some younger patients with obesity have also registered adverse outcomes from infection with SARS-CoV-2. MAFLD may be an important co-factor in the development of severe disease in the younger population. In a prospective study from China of 327 adults screened for fatty liver by computed tomography, Zhou et al. found by multivariable logistic regression analysis that younger patients (<60 years) with MAFLD were more likely to have severe COVID19 than elderly patients. The world is currently experiencing two parallel pandemics which may collide in the patient with MAFLD. We advocate for greater awareness among the cardiovascular community of the links between obesity, fatty liver disease, and severe COVID-19, and for greater investment in public health efforts which facilitate lifestyle behavioural changes in this population.


With the extension of software defined radio concept, the software defined radio technology is adopted in digital receiver. The digital receiving theory based on software defined radio is studied, which includes band-pass sampling", "digital down-converter and multiphase filter technology in the paper. The efficient channelized receiving model is derived and the digital receiving platform based on software defined radio is designed and realized. The efficient channelized receiving model is realized in the platform. The efficient channelized receiving model is verified correctly though simulation. The efficient channelized receiving model has small amount of calculation and the characteristics of facilitating implementation, so it suitable for engineering application.


Berkshire nurse Angela Lee last week collected her MBE, awarded for work in promoting the use of bicycle helmets. Now executive director of the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust, Ms Lee launched her Helmet Your Head campaign while working as a paediatric nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.


Objective:To study the effect and clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in viral myocarditis(VMC).Methods:Animal model was established by serum TNF-α in VMC mice was assayed by the way of ELISA.In addition,VMC mice were treated by TNF-α mAb and rTNF-α,death rate andmyocardial change of intervention group were compared with control group.Results:Serum TNF-α in VMC mice increased apparently.Inflammatory cell infiltration and myocardial necrosis had ralations with TNF-α in VMC.Inflammatory cell infiltration and myocardial necrosis in the mice of exogenous TNF-α intervention group were more serious than simple VMC group apparently,death rate of mice was also higher than simple VMC group.Inflammatory cell infiltration and myocardial necrosis in the mice of TNF-α mAb intervention group were milder than simple VMC group apparently,death rate of mice was also lower.Conclusion:TNF-α take part in the immunoreaction and pathogenesis of VMC,it has important significance to the therapy of VMC.


Old chemical syllabuses and teaching materials are with the teaching of a pair of bases.Namely the rudimentary knowledge and basic technical ability are main fact.The new chemical course sandard has run through "STS" education. Throug the contrast educated in teaching and "STS" of "a pair of basis", it carries on simple appraisal to new chemical course standard and teaching materials.


Over the past several years, there has been an increasing interest in the use of nanoparticles as a tool for treatment of cancer. We have shown tremendous augmentation and control (without toxicity) of both heat and cold-based thermal therapy for cancer treatment with a gold based nanodrug-CYT-6091 (Cytimmune Sciences, Inc.) [1–3]. To reach the full potential of these nanodrugs for both stand-alone solid cancer treatment and as adjuvant to thermal therapy, there is a need to understand the in vivo biodistribution and their short-term and long-term tissue interaction.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The utility model discloses an irregular-part leveling device, belonging to leveling devices. The irregular-part leveling device comprises an upper pressing plate, a lower pressing pate and a nut, wherein an irregular part to be leveled is placed between the upper pressing plate and the lower pressing plate and is fixed through a double-headed screw, and the nut is used for fixing the double-headed screw. The irregular-part leveling device can be used for effectively leveling various irregular parts.


The set-indexed fractional Brownian motion (sifBm) has been defined by Herbin-Merzbach (2006) for indices that are subsets of a metric measure space. In this paper, the sifBm is proved to statisfy a strenghtened definition of increment stationarity. This new definition for stationarity property allows to get a complete characterization of this process by its fractal properties: The sifBm is the only set-indexed Gaussian process which is self-similar and has stationary increments. Using the fact that the sifBm is the only set-indexed process whose projection on any increasing path is a one-dimensional fractional Brownian motion, the limitation of its definition for a self-similarity parameter 0<H<1/2 is studied, as illustrated by some examples. When the indexing collection is totally ordered, the sifBm can be defined for 0<H<1.


Mrs. Guthrie-Smith, M.B.E., of the Swedish Institute, London, England, did a great deal of work in the war in the re-education of the wounded soldiers. Her active mind was constantly searching for improvements both in methods and in speeding recovery. In 1924 the following incident shows how Mrs. Guthrie-Smith discovered her method almost by accident. She left a heavy paralyzed patient for a few moments with a limb suspended in a sheet from an overhead bar. She noticed on returning that the patient was moving the limb slightly. At this point may I digress to say that what is new this year may be replaced by much improved ideas next year in anything Mrs. Guthrie-Smith's inventive mind undertakes. Last winter when an average individual would have considered herself crippled by severe lumbago she was found in bed surrounded by pulleys, ropes and slings, thinking out new ideas with such rapidity that her staff were hard put to it keeping up with them, and putting them into practice at hospital. First as a student and later on her staff I have had the opportunity of seeing the amazing enthusiasm and interest she can inspire in those about her. I sincerely hope that she will visit Canada in the near future and that you will have the opporunity of meeting a brilliant and charming personality and a pioneer in her field.


According to the analysis of the construction craft of steel sheet rectangle air ducts in flangeless joint,the paper points out the quality controlling points for the flangeless conjunction steel rectangle air ducts construction,so as to provide reference for similar construction,and to improve the application of the technology.


Collapse is a common instability mode of anti-dip rock slopes. This type of failure involves a complex geo-mechanical process. This work investigated the collapse mechanism of an anti-dip rock slope in a granite mine in Shanxi Province, China. A detailed field survey was carried out to analyze the inducing factors and failure process of collapse. Then, discrete element numerical simulations were conducted by the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) to determine the microscopic damage and macroscopic failure of collapse. Through these works, the composite collapse failure mechanism of the anti-dip rock slope was investigated comprehensively. Results show that the structural planes perpendicular to the slope surface and the steep anti-dip structural planes are the prerequisites of collapse. Strength softening of the structural planes caused by rainfall is the triggering factor of collapse. The collapse of such a rock slope can be considered as a composite failure composed of shear sliding, block toppling, and flexural toppling. In addition, the numerical results indicate that the composite failure of shear sliding and block toppling occurs at the toe of and the middle of the slope, followed by flexural toppling failure at the rear edge of the slope. Therefore, the monitoring and treatment of such type of collapses should be concentrated on the composite failure zone where shear sliding and block toppling occur. The high consistency between the numerical results and field observations shows the feasibility and rationality of using UDEC to study such collapse from the microscopic damage to macroscopic failure. The results enrich the type of collapse of anti-dip rock slopes and provide a scientific reference to the design treatment for such slopes.


To connect different RS485 networks and transmit data on Ethernet without changing the current network structures and configurations, a preverifying Serial-Ethernet communication gateway is designed based on an ARM Cortex-M3 architecture microcontroller LM3S8962. It transfers the data through its integrated Ethernet controller, MAC link layer and PHY physical layer, as well as 2 Uart interfaces. The real-time operation system uC/OS II v2.89 has been ported and LWIP protocol stack also runs on the system. The preverifying function is optional applying to different communication protocols. Therefore, it is effective to reduce the load and collisions over the Ethernet. Certified the gateway accomplished, two RS485 bus with Modbus Protocol could connect via Ethernet to achieve a low-cost, long distance, transparent and reliable data transmission.


This is the first comprehensive study of the prefaces of the major writers of short narrative form in the French Renaissance. Beginning with the concept of authorization and appropriation, this work traces the relationship between history and fiction in the prologue.


The invention provides a parallel robot control method which comprises the following steps: S1, building a dynamic model of a parallel robot; S2, establishing a least square equation used for describing dynamic parameter identification according to the dynamic model of the parallel robot; S3, establishing an optimization criterion of a motivation track according to the least square equation, and describing a mathematical model of the motivation track with the adoption of finite fourier series; S4, controlling the parallel robot to take an optimal motivation track as the expected motion track, and measuring and calculating a practical motion track; S5, identifying dynamic model parameters with the utilization of an identification algorithm and the practical motion track; and S6, controlling the motion of the parallel robot based on the identification dynamic model. The dynamic model parameter identification based parallel robot control method is capable of enabling the precise and intact dynamic model to be established, and precisely controlling the motion of the parallel robot.


Protein-based studies contribute significantly to gathering functional information about biological systems; therefore, the protein–protein interaction detection task is one of the most researched topics in the biomedical literature. To this end, many state-of-the-art systems using syntactic tree kernels (TK) and deep learning have been developed. However, these models are computationally complex and have limited learning interpretability. In this paper, we introduce a linguistic-pattern-representation-based Gradient-Tree Boosting model, i.e., LpGBoost. It uses linguistic patterns to optimize and generate semantically relevant representation vectors for learning over the gradient-tree boosting. The patterns are learned via unsupervised modeling by clustering invariant semantic features. These linguistic representations are semi-interpretable with rich semantic knowledge, and owing to their shallow representation, they are also computationally less expensive. Our experiments with six protein–protein interaction (PPI) corpora demonstrate that LpGBoost outperforms the SOTA tree-kernel models, as well as the CNN-based interaction detection studies for BioInfer and AIMed corpora.


Auctions are an area of great academic and commercial interest; however, many important auctions are extremely complicated, involving simultaneous auction of hundreds of non-interchangeable goods with value dependencies. This makes it difficult or impossible for humans to grasp all of the nuances of their strategic decisions. Computer aid could ease the burden of efficiently competing in these auctions; indeed, very simple autonomous agents have started to appear as bidders in some auctions (e.g. on eBay). Although agents that function in more complex experimental scenarios have been deployed [5], studies of autonomous bidding agents and their interactions are relatively few and recent. Our work explores agent bidding strategies in a large-scale and realistic auction scenario, namely the FCC Spectrum Auction Simulator, orFAucS [2]. That paper introducedknapsackagents that optimized the set of goods they bid on given a budget constraint, but without taking into account the needs and strategies of other agents. We extend this work by examining the possibilities of agent cooperation and uncertain knowledge. In this paper, we present punishing randomized strategic demand reduction (PRSDR), a strategy by which cooperative agents can significantly outperform the Knapsack agents despite having highly uncertain knowledge regarding each others' goals and without any explicit inter-agent communication. The strategy is self-enforcing in that agents cannot benefit by defecting back to the Knapsack strategy, and serves as an example of a general strategy for efficient bidding in many realistic simultaneous multiple-round (SMR) auctions.


Abstract A statistical summary of the thermodynamic features generally thought to be relevant to convective cloud development and the dynamic seeding hypothesis, as diagnosed by a one-dimensional steady-state model, has been compiled for selected locations on the High Plains. The summary is based primarily on rawinsonde data collected at Miles City, Montana, Goodland, Kansas, and Big Spring, Texas during the summer months from 1975 to 1977, as part of the High Plains Cooperative Program (HIPLEX). Data were stratified according to the occurrence or non-occurrence of convective clouds and, when clouds occurred, according to cloud type as seen in geosynchronous satellite imagery. Geographic comparisons are presented showing significant variations from north to south over the High Plains, the most intense convection occurring in the central and southern plains and the least intense in the north. Large annual variations were noted in mean values of thermodynamic features at each site between the three summers....


Jet streaks are ubiquitous features of the extratropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere that, in light of their well-documented association with cyclogenesis and severe weather, have received significant attention from the synoptic community (e.g., Bluestein 1993, Ch. 2). Nevertheless, relatively few investigations have addressed fundamental issues concerning the dynamics of jet streaks, such as their representation and their motion and evolution in different synopticand planetary-scale environments. Several recent observational investigations suggest that many jet streaks may be associated with the superposition of large-amplitude, localized disturbances of mesoscale dimensions with the enhanced potential vorticity (PV) gradients that constitute the extratropical tropopause (e.g., Bosart et al. 1996; Lackmann et al. 1997; Pyle 1997; Hakim 2000a). Indeed, Pyle (1997) has identified such localized disturbances accompanying three of the four jet streaks examined. These disturbances typically have length scales of approximately 500 km (Hakim 2000a), appear as closed contours of Ertel PV (EPV) on isentropes that intersect the tropopause, and on occasion can be tracked unambiguously for periods in excess of two weeks (e.g., Bosart et al. 1996; Pyle 1997). The foregoing properties suggest that these disturbances may be coherent vortices, and in this regard it is noteworthy that an interpretation of jet streaks in terms of coherent vortices as identified by large-amplitude, localized PV anomalies is also consistent with interpretations of jet streaks found in several previous studies (e.g., Mattocks and Bleck 1986; Takayabu 1991; Davies and Rossa 1998). Previous investigation into the possibility of interpreting jet streaks in terms of coherent vortices (Cunningham and Keyser 1999a,b) shows that a steady-state analytical vortex dipole solution applicable to the stratified quasigeostrophic (QG) system (Berestov 1979) provides a realistic dynamical representation of an isolated, straight jet streak. In particular, the dipole possesses an ageostrophic wind that is directed towards lower geopotential height in the entrance region of the wind speed maximum and towards higher geopotential height in the exit region. The rotational part of the ageostrophic wind dominates the divergent part, with the latter part being associated with a four-cell pattern of vertical velocity similar to that described in


The article considers algorithms and methods for the classification of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Stages are considered for carrying out such studies, including the search for raw materials, preprocessing and processing of MRI images.


The present invention provides a heating control method of a three-line multi-heat recovery system, by two air-cooled heat exchanger a heat exchanger to replace the original, full use of three multi-line control of the heat recovery heat recovery features to minimum energy input of the compressor, make full use of the outdoor unit heat exchanger and the heat exchange efficiency be free to choose any one of the outdoor air heat exchanger in accordance with the control system is the use of an evaporator or as a condenser, and the outdoor fan and electronics regulating the expansion valve such that the three heat recovery control system for multi-turn at any ambient temperature and to ensure that any machine within the system high and low temperature and pressure and the exhaust air temperature and the refrigerant return assigned, the system reduces the risk of high temperature and pressure mode and back risk was thus ensuring reliability of the system; rational distribution system refrigerant thus ensuring the operation of the heating effect within the machine, and to achieve the full energy saving heat recovery purposes.


Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate color characteristics in wood samples from Acacia mangium from a homogeneous plantation in Bahia state, northeast Brazil, and also analyze the influence of anatomical section and radial position in the trunk on color response to contribute to information for the best use of the wood, such as, for example, the optimization of the performance of the pieces in sawmill through the most acceptable aesthetic form by the final consumer. Six trees with age of 14 years were cut. The species was identified by anatomical analysis at the Laboratory of Wood Anatomy of the Federal University of Paraná, comparing the sample collected with the authenticated material. A disc from the base of each tree was divided into six samples oriented in anatomical sections (transversal, radial and tangential), with dimensions of 20 × 20 × 30mm, named near pith, intermediate and near bark. A total of 36 samples were evaluated, 12 from each position. The colorimetric evaluation was performed with a CM-5 spectrophotometer. Data on lightness, green-red and blue-yellow chromatic coordinates were obtained, and values of saturation and hue angle were calculated. Acacia wood from planted forest is classified as olive color. Color parameters were influenced by anatomical section and radial position in the trunk, being found 44 for the transversal section, 55 for the tangential section and 57 in the radial for luminosity. Transversal sections had lower values in comparison to longitudinal surfaces and radial sections had higher luminosity than tangential sections. The near bark region presented lower values in most colorimetric parameters, except hue angle, in comparison with the intermediate and near pith regions, which was around 70 in the different positions of the wood.


As explained in the introduction section, this study is motivated by the large uncertainties in the global methane budget. More specifically, a mismatch of 160 Tg/yr between top down and bottom up in the GCP budgets is mentioned. The procedure for specifying prior uncertainties, however, adds up globally to 7% (40 Tg/yr) which doesn't quite reflect this uncertainty. The difference may be more than a factor 4, as the prior budget uncertainty probably reflects only a single year. The setup of prior fluxes mentions a rescaling to make sure that the prior budget is consistent with the observed trend. In sensitivity tests also alternative rescaling is applied to restore the source-sink balance in the a priori budget. It is unclear why this is needed, given that the measurements used in the inversion contain this information (strictly speaking measurement information is double counted in the setup that is used). My guess is that the division of the full time series into blocks and the initialization of these blocks requires the rescaling. If the prior is over constrained for methodological reasons this raises the question how the choice of rescaling might have steered the solution in the direction of the main outcomes and how suitable the proposed time splitting methodology is.


The effect of hysteretic material behavior on vibration characteristics of damaged structures is an important class of problems in nondestructive evaluation. The present work attempts to contribute to this field by considering a cohesive or smeared crack subjected to axial loading with a linear softening cohesive traction displacement model and unloadingreloading hysteresis. Irreversible unloading is assumed towards the direction of the origin for the cohesive traction displacement law. Hysteresis is modeled by assuming that reloading occurs in the direction of the monotonic cohesive envelope but at a slope less than the slope of the preceding unloading line. Direct boundary element method is used to obtain bulk hysteretic material response due to cyclic, monotonic, quasistatic loading. These results serve as input into existing nonlinear models for vibration signatures.


Management and career planning to face the environmental change and organization, which quickly is not easy to. Therefore is needed by design and forming return to develop their career. There are some reason is; why needed by management and good career planning, because career planning become the do it yourself project, entire combination of interest management required by every organizational type have been known better, and people start their career by thinking organization as something that have to be created by " no to be followed". All individual capable to develop the knowledge, skill will place his self in its own career efficacy. In career development, each of individual have to develop the new interest which deal with self management and its career, and also everyone require to learn how to develop the knowledge and adaptation to his self. Career satisfaction is often made by as successfulness indicator program career at one particular organization. Organizational with the high career satisfaction level is indication of how element from organization able to support its employees career development, so that able to trigger the satisfaction appearance in their career. Manager represents one of element from company capable to assist in make-up of satisfaction of employees career. How management support able to influence the career satisfaction will be studied in this research. Cause of interaction between employees and manager will have a share to influence their career satisfaction level. Oftentimes career satisfaction is caused by sympathetic attitude from line manager in supporting the employees' career development.


The impact of autism on the family is an area of study that merits further research attention. Much of the existing literature has focused on the parent perspective, with less emphasis on the experiences of other family members, particularly non-autistic siblings. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of a sample of nine 8- to 17-year-old non-autistic siblings of children and youth on the autism spectrum. We interviewed siblings and analysed transcripts using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Our results revealed the following Group Experiential Themes: (1) Role disparities, different expectations; (2) Connection and disconnection; and (3) Our family is (extra)ordinary. Our study findings highlight the unique and collective perspectives of siblings regarding their brother or sister on the spectrum within the broader family dynamic. We discuss the implications of these results on siblings of autistic children and youth. Lay abstract The impact of autism on the family is an important area of study. Much of the existing literature has focused on the parent perspective, with less emphasis on the experiences of other family members, especially non-autistic siblings. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of a sample of nine 8- to 17-year-old non-autistic siblings of children and youth on the autism spectrum. We interviewed non-autistic siblings and analysed the written transcripts. Our results revealed the following themes: (1) Role disparities, different expectations; (2) Connection and disconnection; and (3) Our family is (extra)ordinary. Our study findings highlight siblings' unique and collective perspectives regarding their brother or sister on the spectrum within the broader family unit. We discuss the implications of these results on siblings of autistic children and youth.


Abstract : Training of preschool teachers in Sichuan Province brings advantages in increasing government support for the pre-school education industry. The society attaches an important role to the pre-school education industry as well as the rapid development of preschool education in Sichuan Province. However, problem exists in large flows of preschool teachers and imbalanced gender ratios. By viewing from the new situation, the comprehensive liberalization of the second-child policy and the development of educational informatization as well as the implementation of the One Belt and One Road strategy (OBOR) have created great opportunities in training of preschool teachers. At the same time, the increase in external impact of high-quality graduates in the east also poses a great threat to the development of preschool teachers in Sichuan Province. Through the strategic combination of SWOT analysis, the paper explores effective countermeasure ways to improve the quality of training of preschool teachers in Sichuan Province and the construction of an excellent team of preschool teachers in Sichuan Province.


The utility model discloses an energy-saving steam stove comprising a stove cabinet and a lining arranged inside the stove cabinet. The lining has a stove wall and a plurality of heat conduction pipes. An accommodation space is enclosed by the stove wall. One end of the heat conduction pipes is arranged in the accommodation space and fixed on the stove wall, and the other end of the heat conduction pipes is stretched out of the stove wall. The part of the heat conduction pipes in the accommodation space forms an annular circuit. The circuit can increase gas stroke so as to prolong the heat exchange time of gas and water in the lining, improving heat exchange efficiency and reducing energy consumption.


Titel: Rockmusic preferences in the rock programme. Popular culture, music preferences and repertoire inside a teaching institution. This paper raises some questions about the popular music that exists outside as well as inside institutions. From the example of popular music and rockmusic the students of a music teacher education programme based on rock music are asked for their taste for music in a brief questionnaire. The answers are compared to those concerning the music they used to like before they entered the education as well as the music played on the ensemble lessons at the programme. The result suggests little difference between music listened to and played and a minor change in music preferences after the students attend the music teacher education programme. The answers indicate no taste for current hit music and little interest for music produced with computers and sequensers. The music played at the ensemble lessons is close the taste expressed in the survey. It might be possible to read the results concluding that students in a natural way change taste slightly affected by the musical environment and that the music played at the programme can be described as genres played and recorded with instruments rather than computers. The discussion includes thoughts about the relation between music played inside an institution and the music outside this environment and touches the complex and interesting task to work with and teach popular music in institutional settings.


Indonesia emergency drugs, this is the news we often hear and see these days on various media. How it is not emergency drugs because about 4.5 youth are not be rehabilitated, even drugs are not only damage the environment to young people but also entered in the institutions. The government and society so heavily sought tackling drug addicts, but still so many victims of drugs. This study tried to determine the influence of facility design differentiation and human resource management on mental health rehabilitation in Babesrehab BNN Lido and Islamic Boarding School Inabah xx Suryalaya and determine the factors that influence to effectiveness of mental health rehabilitation both institutions. The type of this research is qualitative descriftive. Researchers will conduct direct field observation at the sites. Data analysis methods used by the author is the method of discourse analysis and swot analysis of the two organizers subject fostering mental health of drug addicts. With the hope of finding the most effective methods of rehabilitation.


The authors describe the usage of persistent identifiers (PIDs) for historical geographical objects. They provide PIDs' definition and scope of use as well as characterise the process of data harmonisation and PIDs' creation. The article describes and assesses certain approaches used in different projects. Most often, internal identifiers are used, although their stability is not guaranteed. References are also made to external data stores such as Geonames and Wikidata.


This article is concerned with ethical issues that have to be considered when under taking qualitative research. Some of the issues - such as informed consent, the dignity and privacy of the research subjects, voluntary participation and protection from harm - are the same as in other types of research and have their basis in moral and ethical principles. Qualitative research, however, generates specific ethical problems because of the close relationship that researchers form with participants. Qualitative research with patients is especially difficult because of their vulnerability and lack of power in the clinical situation. Therefore the potential conflict between the dual role of the nurse - the professional and the research roles - has to be solved. Researchers also learn how to cope with the tension of subjective and objective elements of the research. Nurses who attempt qualitative research have to consider a variety of complex ethical issues, which are addressed in this paper.


ought to be, found in the appended statistical tables. These latter are excellent, but they might have been developed further so as to free the author from his descriptive burden in the interest of deeper analysis. The second half of the book deals with the European policies of the four countries in turn. Miljan shows well how domestic forces flowing from a dramatic economic transformation pulled Denmark, along with Britain and Ireland, into the European Community, while in Norway what had once seemed equally determined was reversed by the alignment and deepening of domestic cleavages and the manoeuvering of party elites. For Sweden and Finland, on the other hand, the constraints of the international strategic system precluded entry to the Community, while the urge to diversify (Finland) or the realities of economic interdependence (Sweden) made free trade with the Community attractive. As in the historical chapters, Miljan here deploys his command of the four languages to bring out much useful documentation (the bibliography is excellent); these chapters add much to our understanding of the very different orientations toward European integration adopted by the Nordic countries from the mid-1950's onward. For no apparent reason, however, Denmark and Norway get individual chapters and much more space than do Sweden and Finland, which are bracketed together in a single chapter. Are the latter less interesting because less uncertain about the Community? Miljan shows caution about attempting generalizations on the basis of the Nordic experience, for example about the behaviour of small states in conditions of economic interdependence. His broadest conclusion is that these four countries' preoccupation with sovereignty and independence has rendered them not only "reluctant Europeans" but "reluctant Nordics." But it is not clear what is peculiarly Nordic about such a preoccupation, or why their association with the European Community or with each other should have been so different in form from the Community model.


Objective To summarize the outcomes of hepatectomy in patients with HBV infection-related hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The data of 646 patients with HBV-related HCC underwent hepatectomy were retrospectively analyzed.The overall survival and recurrence rates were calculated with Kaplan-Meier survival curve.Results The 1-,3-and 5-year overall survival rates were 76.12%,52.65% and 38.18%,and the recurrence-free survival rates were 82.54%,62.17% and 41.90%.In the patients with low and high replication of HBV-DNA,the 1-year tumor recurrence rates were 22.17% and 47.32%(P0.05).Conslusion The high replication of HBV-DNA is an indepandent factor in influencing survival and recurrence in HBV infection-related HCC patients after hepatectomy,in whom perioperative antivirus therapy may suppress the HBV reaction,delay the recurrence and prolong the survival.


The viscous evolution of accretion discs in the quiescence of dwarf novae is investigated semi-analytically. There are two key factors: the inward flow of the initial mass in the disc and the diffusion of the material added into the disc later. The results are compared with the brightness temperature distributions obtained by the eclipse mapping of OY Car and Z Cha.


In order to analyze of the color perception Farnsworth Test Panel D-15 in the CIELab color space coordinates, it was measured by the reflectance spectrum of the 380-780 nm wavelength regions. The Test Panel D-15 was situated in the near origin point of higher the saturation in CIELab coordinates (a, b). Normal person perceived to the similar color for the color of small color difference, and color deficiency person depended on the confusing color line and the neutral point unconcerned with the color difference. In case of Ptotanopia, Deutrnopia, r-g defect, y-b defect with the color deficiency, the neutral points position (a.b) were each (2.12.1.02), (4.25,2.05), (126.96.36.199). (1.20,-1.10).


A multi-robot system, like a robot formation, contains information that is distributed throughout the system. As the collective increases in numbers or explores distant or difficult areas, obtaining collective situational awareness becomes critical. We propose a method for extracting system and environmental information distributed over a collective of robots.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) often demonstrates highly variable clinical course and some heterogeneity in histopathology [1]. The diagnosis of MS is based on a classic history and symptoms and/or typical findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Newer MRI techniques, such as MR spectroscopy (MRS) promise to yield important information regarding MS recognition, prognosis, and treatment effects [2]. We report a case of MS confirmed by brain biopsy, that did not fulfill McDonald's criteria [3]. Our patient at the age of 19 had her first episode of seizures (initially adverse, later on grand-mal epilepsy). Physical examination was normal, whilst neurologic examination demonstrated four-limb hyperreflexia, bilaterally presented Babinski's sign and clonus. MRI revealed the presence of few T2 hyperintensities in the periventricular region, two lesions within the corpus callosum, as well as few cortical–subcortical lesions limited to the right hemisphere (Fig. 1a). Vasogenic brain lesion and symptomatic epilepsy was diagnosed. MRI scans, performed 6 months and 3 years later, revealed minimal or even no changes when compared with the previous one. At the age of 24, emotional disturbances were present (panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder) and the patient was hospitalized in Psychiatric Department. One year later, the occurrence of seizures had increased and she started complaining of left limb weakness. At this time she was admitted to our Department. Neurologically, a slight upper left limb paresis with pyram-


Based on the concept that learning about the media is the core of democratic education, this essay addresses, in first place, the epistemological, ethical, and political dimensions of education for democracy. In second place, it covers the problematic, complex, and uncertain aspects of thinking about the media, education about the media, and democracy. Lastly, it synthesizes a series of proposals that attempt to continue stimulating the permanent construction of a discussion that is difficult, uncertain, but necessary and impossible to postpone, and which requires making quick decisions in the ethical/ political arena.


One purpose of this study was to summarize data across schools to provide documentation of the generalizability of the claim of validity of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) for use in the law school admission process. A more important purpose is to provide national longitudinal data for law schools to examine against their school-specific data to help them increase their understanding of their own admission process. For the 3-year period 1990 through 1992, 167 schools participated in correlation studies in each year. The 3-year national summary of the LSAT correlation studies in these years lends continued support for the validity of the LSAT in the law school admission process. Findings show that the combination of LSAT and undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) is a useful predictor of academic performance in the first year of law school. As has always been the case, the combined predictors continue to be superior to either predictor alone for predicting first-year average. LSAT results alone continues to be a better predictor than UGPA alone. The median validity of the LSAT alone is 0.41, compared with 0.26 for the UGPA alone. Cross validation studies support the use of regression equations based on previous first-year classes to predict future performance of law school applicants. (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. LSAC RESEARCH REPORT SERIES PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY


A 50‐year‐old woman presented with multiple skin‐coloured facial papules. There was a family history of similar lesions. Histology of one of these papules was consistent with fibrofolliculoma. Multiple fibrofolliculomas together with flexural acrochordons suggested the diagnosis of Birt–Hogg–Dubé syndrome. Investigations to exclude associated disease revealed changes consistent with multinodular goitre on thyroid ultrasound. The literature regarding the association of Birt–Hogg–Dubé syndrome with internal disease is reviewed.


Two experiments examined the whole–partial effect of overtraining in concurrent discriminations and assessed the effect against single discrimination training in rats. In Experiment 1 overtraining facilitated reversal in Group W, in which rats were given concurrent training on two simultaneous discrimination tasks (A and B) in original learning before both tasks were reversed. By contrast, overtraining delayed reversal in Group P, in which animals were given the same training as in Group W in original learning, but only Task A was reversed. After overtraining, Group W reversed more rapidly than Group P. Without overtraining, Group P reversed more rapidly than both Group W and Group C, in which animals were trained only on Task A before this task was reversed. Experiment 2 investigated the effects of overtraining on the reversal of a successive discrimination in Groups W, P, and C. In addition, animals in a further group, Group S, received the same concurrent training as Group W before Task B was omitted and Task A reversed. Overtraining facilitated reversal in Groups W, C, and S but delayed it in Group P. After overtraining, Group W reversed more rapidly than Groups P, S, and C. Both Groups S and C also reversed more rapidly than did Group P. Without overtraining, Group P reversed more rapidly than Groups W, S, and C. There were no significant differences in reversal performance among Groups W, S, and C. These findings indicate that the effects of overtraining on reversal learning in concurrent discriminations differ from those observed in single discriminations.


The emersion of electrodes and their subsequent transfer into a vacuum chamber for detailed surface-analytic and structural studies is now widely used in interfacial electrochemistry. This method rests on the premise that the electrode can be removed from the electrochemical cell with its double layer intact and without any noticeable amount of bulk electrolyte. We specifically address the question of the emersion process and present some recent results from the study of bare and adsorbate-covered electrode surfaces under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions.


Abstract The synthesis of acetic acid by formal isomerization of methyl formate (MF) was investigated using molecular catalysts. The base‐catalyzed decarbonylation of MF, yielding CO and methanol in situ, was integrated with their palladium‐catalyzed recombination for the synthesis of acetic acid and methyl acetate in a one pot reaction. The complex [Pd(Cl)2(dppe)] [dppe=1,2‐bis(diphenylphosphino)‐ethane] in combination with NaI as iodide source and NaOMe as base were identified as promising molecular components to enable the overall conversion. Sequential application of the statistical methods design of experiments and simplex optimization was used in combination with thermodynamic analysis of the competing reaction pathways for experimental planning and data analysis. Starting from a proof‐of‐principle with a turnover number (TON) of 11, the catalytic system could thus be optimized to allow quantitative conversion of MF with a TON of 43000, whereby a yield of 83 % of acetate groups and a yield of 74 % for free acetic acid was obtained.


The invention discloses an OEM information customizing method and OEM equipment, and relates to the technical field of communication. The problem that the agent or retailer cannot fast customize OEM information according to self-demand is solved. The method comprises the following steps: compiling an equipment identification of the OEM equipment and OEM information by using XML language, generating an XML customized file; downloading the XML customized file in a preset storage position of the OEM equipment; reading the XML customized file from the preset storage position, and uncompressing the file as an original file to be stored in memory, wherein the OEM equipment firstly analyzes equipment identifications of all OEM equipment and the OEM information from the XML customized file in the memory, and then adopts a binary tree data structure to reconstruct the analyzed equipment identifications of all the OEM equipment and the OEM information so as to generate a binary tree information structure; searching OEM information matched with self equipment identification in the information structure of the binary tree information file, and storing the OEM information in a first memory module.


The stability is a basic condition for a system to run up in snuff, it is also an important standard of application value.The differences between transform function and state variables to depict the stability of LTI system are discussed in the paper. In addition , the paper mentions the differences in math.


Aim: To compare the amylase activity in the cervical mucus and serum during estrus in normal and repeat breeder cattle and find out importance in fertility. Materials and methods: Twenty cyclic crossbred cattle were divided into two groups: normal (n =10) and repeat breeder (n =10). Animals exhibiting spontaneous estrus, were artificially inseminated (AI) twice, as per AM-PM schedule along with simultaneous collection of cervical mucus and blood. Amylase activity was measured by using kits in collected samples. Result and discussion: Cervical amylase activity was significantly (p<0.01) higher in normal compared to repeat breeder animals showing important role of cervical amylase in fertility without significant difference in serum profiles between these


In a fascinating interview The Observer's legendary award-winning photographer explains why she told the Queen, "I'm just a newspaper hack" and tells the stories behind some of the favourite pictures along her work. Now 80, Ms Bown still hates being idle: "I'm not taking many pictures now and I'm sorry that I've been lifted above my station. I used to like it when they'd say, 'Can you do a picture for a byline' or something, because I like taking pictures and I'd put as much effort into a byline picture as I would anything else. But that's all gone - I'm sort of fading away from it. Now sometimes I think, "Oh, no" when I'm asked to photograph someone, because I'm not doing enough and it comes as such a shock. What I admire about the Queen is that she just goes on. She does the same thing, but differently every day. Well, I used to be a photographer like that."


This work looks at the policies and projects of the African Development Bank, which, like other multilateral banks, has come under growing criticism from grassroots organisations, environmental groups and others.


By the year 2050, it is estimated that the number of people with Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia will explode to 36 million in the US and over 160 million worldwide, over 3 times the current rate.


In 2002 the Bergen Clinics Foundation established Føre Var, a citywide 'earlier warning' system geared towards the identification, monitoring and reporting of drug and alcohol trends in the city of Bergen, Norway, on a six-monthly basis. The primary goal for the system was the dissemination of earlier, more reliable information on new and emerging trends to enable timely and more effective interventions by policy makers and practitioners in the drug and alcohol field. The Føre Var system triangulates and cross-references a wide range of statistical and quantitative data including seizures data, treatment figures, alcohol sales and a school survey, with information from a number of 'leading edge' or sensitive data sources, including Internet sites, youth and local media, cultural mapping and key informants. Data is collected from sources every six months, analysed for identifiable patterns and trends and disseminated widely. This paper details the system's developmental stages and methodologies, in addition to summarizing results from the first three Føre Var reports. In conclusion, the strengths and weaknesses of the model, its replicability as well as the potential advantages of a city-level network are discussed.


The invention discloses a method for preparing a modified cellulose fire-retardant fiber through reaction extrusion, and the method comprises the following steps of: 1. preparing a fire retardant, cellulose, a solvent and an acid-binding agent into a mixture according to a certain mass ratio, wherein the fire retardant is a novel phosphorus-based fire retardant, the cellulose is one of wood pulp, cotton pulp or bamboo pulp, the solvent is ion liquid, the acid-binding agent is potassium carbonate, the proportion is as follows: the mass ratio of the acid-binding agent to the fire retardant is 0.1-0.5:1, the mass ratio of the fire retardant to the cellulose is 0.5-2:1, and the mass ratio of the cellulose to the solvent is 10-25:90-75; 2. feeding the mixture into a double-screw extruder, and synchronously carrying out dissolution, reaction and extrusion of the cellulose through a reaction extrusion method to obtain the freshly formed filament of modified cellulose; and 3. stretching, washing, thermoforming and curling the freshly formed filament to prepare the modified cellulose fire-retardant fiber. The modified cellulose fire-retardant fiber obtained through the method disclosed by the invention has the advantages of no halogen, environmental friendliness without pollution and outstanding flame-retardant effect.


In this article we consider critiques within the design studio as how students press forward into possible forms of the self that are opened up through studio participation. We contrast this with a view of critiques as primarily being a pedagogical or socializing technique under the control of instructors and other critics. We carried out our inquiry using interviews with six studio students, studying how they depict critiques and how they depict themselves when being critiqued. Students' depictions of critiques included their being (a) signal in the noise; (b) windows into their critics' character; and (c) a type of text to be interpreted. Their depictions of themselves included being (a) clear-sighted; (b) street-smart; and (c) creative. We conclude by discussing what these depictions might mean about how instructors/critics can frame critiques in ways that facilitate students using them to take up possibilities that are opened up through studio participation.


This paper presents an output feedback controller design method for uncertain linear systems with sinusoidal disturbance of uncertain frequencies. The controller needs to compensate for the performance deterioration due to the uncertain frequencies of sinusoidal disturbance. To this end, we introduce a virtual system including the dynamics corresponding to the uncertain frequencies and design a controller which minimizes the output difference between the virtual system and the closed-loop system. In other words, the controller is designed so that the closed-loop system approximates the virtual system. The feedback controller is achieved by solving an LMI optimization problem involving a robust constraint. The advantages of the proposed design method are examined by comparing it with a design method that only minimizes the norm of the transfer function between the sinusoidal disturbance and the output. The proposed design method is applied to the track-following system of rewritable optical disk drives and is evaluated through an experiment.


Measles, which is nowadays a serious desease in under developed countries, did not use to be very lethal in the first half of the 20th century in the french colonies of western Africa. It looks as if it became so in the sixties is it an innocuos illness which has now grown more serious ? Or,has it been underestimated, ignored as such ? The second part is a quantitative analysis of measles in Niger, Senegal and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) the third part gos over the history of the first vaccinations from 1960 to 1970. It includes a chapter devoted to traditional attitude towards disease.


There is considerable interest in designing and development of organic nonlinear optical (NLO) materials with macroscopic second-order optical nonlinearities in the field of high-speed information processing, integrated photonics, and optical data storage. In the recent years, organic stilbazolium cation have emerged as an interesting chromophores for producing novel NLO materials due to their large structural diversity and flexibility nature. In this review, we summarises the major achievements and the recent research developments on the organic nonlinear crystalline materials particularly confined to the family of stilbazolium derivative crystals. Stilbazolium derivative crystals grown by various methods such as slow evaporation, slow cooling, seeded solution growth, and isothermal solvent evaporation (ISE) methods have been discussed. The basic structures of the various stilbazolium cations such as pyridinium, quinolinium, benzothiazolium, benzo[e]indolium, benzimidazolium, imidazolium, alkynyl pyridinium based ionic organic single crystals with different counter anion effects on the macroscopic second nonlinear optical properties along with their characteristic properties, in particular how molecular structure related to the THz wave applications have been summarized. Improved SHG efficiency and other characteristic properties were analysed and compared with state of the art DAST crystal.


Retellings of children's literature constitute a booming literary phenomenon, and among those retellings are sexualized versions that recast children's books as adult erotica. Focusing on Chris Kent's retellings of The Coral Island and Tom Brown's Schooldays, this essay examines the sexualization of children's literature and argues that it represents an adult wish to (re)experience or (re)imagine a fantasized childhood that combines the virtues of "childhood innocence" and naiveté with the possibilities of adult empowerment and sexual agency. This suggests a broader understanding of children's literature as reflecting a desire to improve upon the limitations of childhood in its quotidian forms.


McCartney hit the nail on the head.1 I have mentored many doctors, both informally and formally, through General Medical Council and other disciplinary procedures. Many become severely damaged through the protracted investigative process. Most cases are eventually dropped or the charges not proved, but this does little to restore doctors to their normal …


Cetylpyridinium hexafluorosilicate has been proposed as a caries preventive and antibacterial agent for use as a gel for oral application, which requires development of quality control methods. Aim. To develop the method for the quantitative determination of cetylpyridinium hexafluorosilicate in a dosage form using HPLC. Materials and methods. The object of the study is the experimental dosage form – a gel proposed for use in dental practice. The research method is HPLC. Results and discussion. The method for the quantitative determination of the active component, which allows determining cetylpyridinium hexafluorosilicate in the gel in the presence of excipients of the dosage form, has been developed. It is recommended to carry out this determination by the HPLC method using the column of 150 × 4.6 mm in size filled with octadecyl silica gel for chromatography, the sorbent particle size of 3.5 μm, a mixture of perchlorate buffer solution (pH 3.0) and acetonitrile (30 : 70) as a mobile phase and UV detection at the wavelength of 254 nm. Conclusions. The conditions of the chromatographic study by the HPLC method proposed provide sufficient selectivity for the quantitative determination of cetylpyridinium hexafluorosilicate in the dosage form, and it has been confirmed by studying the validation characteristics of the method.


In response to disparities between the length of sentence given and the amount of time served, both federal and state lawmakers enacted "truth-in-sentencing" policies. Most importantly, truth-in-sentencing policies require violent offenders to serve 85% of their given sentence. In 1994 the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants Program made states who met federal guidelines eligible to receive funds which could be used to, among other things, build or expand correctional facilities. All 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands received funding under the grant program.

Keywords:

determinate sentencing;
Get Tough Movement;
indeterminate sentencing;
parole and parolees;
prison administration and management;
sentencing


Summary Worker honey bee samples were collected from six different locations spread throughout the Republic of Macedonia. Morphometric analyses were performed on the front right wing venation of workers (n=1800) and measurements were obtained for a total of 21 characteristics. The bees were examined according to the apiaries from which they originated (n=6) and in equal groups (n=300). Our aim was to determine the diversity of the sampled workers, as well as to examine the relationship with other honey bee races. The racial relationship of the total sample of analysed bees expressed in percentages were: Apis mellifera macedonica: 15.87%; Apis mellifera ligustica. 12.70%; Apis mellifera carnica: 10.32%; Apis mellifera caucasica: 4.76%; Apis mellifera mellifera 4.76%. The variability in honey bee populations found thus provides a suitable basis for the selection of large number of subpopulations with desired biological or production characteristics for introducing a National Bee Breeding Programme in the Republic of Macedonia.


Introduction Part I - Choosing the School Rules 1. What can I do for my children? 2. What am I buying? 3. What's wrong with selection? 4. The real world 5. Respecting parents' rights Part II - Choosing Schools Given the Rules 6. Why hypocrisy is a red herring 7.Legitimate partiality and individual choice 8. How good is good enough? 9. The futility of individual choice? 10. It is not my decision 11. Moving House Conclusion


With the aim to overcome the local searching limitation of traditional numerical algorithms in the solution of nonlinear programming problems, a new global searching algorithm--differential evolution DE is introduced It is easy to implement, conceptually simple and converges well Based on the background of a nonlinear programming transformed from the portfolio model of a property liability insurance company, the effectiveness of the approach is tested The numerical experiment manifests that differential evolution outperforms the existing nonlinear programming algorithms


The present study encompasses the traditional fishing method of cast net practiced in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Cast net without central line and without pockets were made up of 3 to 6 panels joined together vertically by take up ratios to form main conical webbing. PA monofilament having diameter of 0.5 to 1.3 mm was commonly used for construction of main webbing of cast net. Two rows of selvedge meshes of PA multifilament of 210 D×3×3 were provided at bottom edge of the net. Selvedge was absent at the apex end of the net. For all panels of main webbing and for selvedge section, mesh size varied from 20 to 40 mm. At apex, all meshes were closed together and were tied to the pulling chord which was made up of PP twisted multifilament rope of 3 to 4 mm diameter and 4 to 7 m in length. For first three panels, joining of the panels was carried out by 1:2 ratio by making knot locally called as Vasan. From panel number 4 to 6 the ratio was maintained as 2:3. The total depth of net varied from 3 to 5 m. PP twisted multifilament rope of 18 to 26 m in length having diameter of 3 to 5 cm was used as sinker line to which oval shaped lead sinkers having 3 to 4 mm diameter and 180 to 225 in numbers were tied at 12 to 16 cm interval. The fish species harvested by the cast net were mullet, lady fish, silver biddies, glass fish, shrimp and crabs.


The increase in the use of mobile phones generates the formation of mobile social networks which can make use of various purposes including education, public health and controlling epidemics. Social networks consist of the basic building blocks called as the communities within which the social interactions are intensive, but between which they are very weak. Everyone could observe that the spread of infectious disease inside communities often has the ability to cross countries borders and spread rapidly. With the widespread of diseases causing major public health problem, we argue that human mobility patterns not only influence the spreading, but are also useful for preventing and creating awareness of the diseases. In this paper, we present new opportunities offered by the field of mobile social networks for understanding the spread of infectious diseases. For this purpose we propose two models namely MABM (Mobile Agent Based Model) and SDC (Spread Discovery Control) model to understand the spread of communicable diseases between different regions. The proposed SDC model is used to comprehend the spread of diseases by extracting the community structures and the analysis of mobility pattern of each agent (user) within the mobile network. Moreover, the understanding of spread details helps us to propose the control strategy to avoid the spread of the epidemic disease on the specific region. To realize our proposed models in a better way, we have modeled one such communicable disease usually spreading every year in West African region.


This study aims to determine the preference of earthworms to a media, their population growth in the media, and their ability to produce vermicompost. This study was designed with a completely randomized design consisted of three (3) treatments and each treatment consisted of 7 replications. The treatments in this study were 3 species of local earthworms (Pheretima javanica, Pheretima asiatica, and Pontoscolex corethrurus). The rearing media used was the mixture of bagasse and fish waste. The parameters studied were the time needed by the earthworms to enter the media, the earthworms population growth rate, and the time needed by the earthworms in producing vermicompost. The results showed the three species tested could be lived on mixed media of bagasse and fish waste. The worm's preference to the media was determined based on the time of earthworms entering media. The fastest was Pheretima javanica (0.23 minutes), followed by Pheretima asiatica (3.09 minutes) and Pontoscolex corethrurus (6.94 minutes) (p<0.05). The population growth rate between Pheretima javanica (5.85) and Pheretima asiatica (5.71) was not significantly different, but both significantly higher than Pontoscolex corethrurus (0.29 individual/month). The time for vermicompost formation in Pheretima javanica (6 weeks) and Pheretima asiatica (6 weeks) was not significantly different, but they were significantly lower from the time for vermicompost formation in Pontoscolex corethrurus (8 weeks).


The paper deals with investigations about mechanical properties of Iroko, a hardwood species used for structures in shipbuilding as glued laminated timber. Experimental tests have been carried out to assess strength, stiffness and density of Iroko in accordance with current EN Standards. All the results obtained by tensile and three-point bending tests, along with the statistical analyses performed to define the characteristics values of some mechanical properties, are reported in the paper. These values allowed to assign the strength class, reported in EN 338 Standard, to the investigated Iroko wood population. The experiments have taken into account both solid timber strips and scarf-jointed strips, in order to evaluate the influence of such a type of joint, which is widely used in wooden shipbuilding on strength and stiffness. Eventually, peculiar investigations have been carried out to analyse the failure mode of some test pieces through special experimental techniques: three-dimensional computed tomography and infrared thermography.


The organizing and the execution out of the reliability testing of the products represent complex activities from an organizational standpoint and are also big resources consumers. Reliability test elements, conditions and other factors are determined based on customer needs for reliability, by clarifying the environmental and time conditions under which devices will be used and the failure definitions The paper is targeted at the study of the reliability parameters and the lifetime of radial ball bearings using reliability testing. For the case study it used ALTA 7 software what provides a complete array of analysis tools for data from reliability tests. The case study is represented by a set of data from accelerated tests using censored data type.


The Complexity Gap defines a new way to think about software development. We have all heard that developers need to be more productive and to work harder. But what does this mean exactly? The Complexity Gap defines a structure in which to explore concepts of process and productivity and to show how these concepts relate to conventional software development issues of tools and training.Software development is complex. This paper expands on the principles of the Chaos model that suggest that the top-level user requirements and bottom-level hacking are connected through many intermediate levels, and that every level of software development affects quality and productivity to the same degree. In The Chaos Model and the Chaos Life Cycle, I make these points.To clarify the possibilities and limitations of software development, I compare software development to assembly-line work. In the software engineering community, we compare software development to assembly lines for a variety of reasons. Some managers want to acquire the same sense of control over software development as factory managers have over assembly lines. Other managers want to apply assembly-line techniques, such as Statistical Quality Control, to software development. I use both the definition of the Complexity Gap and the assembly-line analogy to suggest ways to improve the software development process.


This paper analyes the shortcomings of (1~9)scale process on determining the weight value of multi-objective decision-making for mining method selection and presents (0,1,2)scale process to determine the weight value ,which can reduce and avoid the error of weight value coming from the experts subjective causes.Basing on objective data,the evaluation matrix is constructed and finally an example is given to show the effectiveness and reasonableness of the method.


Background: Ureaplasma is one of the most common microorganisms in the genital tract, and also one of the most important contaminants in cell culture laboratories and cell banks. We analyzed the Ureaplasma contamination rate in donated cord blood units (CBUs) before cell processing. Methods: One hundred fifty-one donated CBUs with informed consent collected between 3 November and 28 December 2006 were randomly selected and enrolled for study. All of the CBUs were obtained from full-term (37∼42 weeks gestation) deliveries. We performed blood cultures and Ureaplasma DNA PCR assays using samples from the collection bags before processing. Results: Two CBUs had positive blood culture results; however, Ureaplasma DNA was not found in the samples tested. Conclusion: The contamination rate of Ureaplasma in the donated CBUs from full-term deliveries without gestational and/or perinatal complications was extremely low. With the results of our previous Mycoplasma contamination assay (0%), donated CBUs can be used in culture and expansion processes without concerns for pre-processing mollicute contamination. (Korean J Blood Transfus 2008;19:239-244)


This article briefly introduces related concept of the polygon resistance network,discusses the equivalent resistance between its center and any apex by using computer assistance analysis method,and obtains an important conclusion that the equivalent resistance of an infinite polygon resistance network has a definite value.


Jitter in electromechanical instrument servos is studied analytically and by analogue-computer simulation. The study identifies some unreported causes of jitter, identifies the jitter-causing nonlinearities that can be eliminated, establishes relations between the unavoidable nonlinearities that will eliminate jitter, and expresses the effects of granular or quantizing elements mathematically and proves the validity of these equations. The principles are used to modify a commercial servo.


Summary: Two hundred and fifty consecutive patients with subnormal urinary oestriol excretion were studied. Radiological assessment of fetal bone age showed a delay of at least 4 weeks in 22 of 61 (36%) with intrauterine growth retardation and in 7 of the remaining 189 (4%) without this complication. Variance between radiological and clinical assessments of gestational age should be initially interpreted as an indication of growth retardation rather than prematurity or wrong dates.


Abstract Seeds germination obtained from ten Moroccan maritime pine populations growing in three biogeographic areas were studied under controlled photoperiod length and temperature for two pretreatments (stratifications at 4 °C and imbibition with water). Significant differences in germinal potential were noted between batches of seeds. Whereas a relative homogeneity of the germinal behavior of various batches of seeds with respect to duration 12, 48 and 72 h of imbibition was noted. However, the duration of stratification has a differential effect on the speed of germination (T50) between populations and even within the same population. Correlation between geographical parameters, percentage of germination (%G) and T50 shows that longitudinal variations explain about 46% and 39% of the variance, respectively.


The hypothesis that butterflies as a group are primarily nectar thieves, rather than pollinators, of many flowers that they visit was tested by observing skippers and quantifying their pollen loads. Two species of skippers, Atalopedes campestris and Epargyreus clarus, were studied. Adult A. campestris visited 23 flower species and Epargyreus clarus visited 27 flower species. Fifty-nine male and female E. clarus carried a mean of 45.1, and 283 male and female A. campestris carried a mean of 68.4 pollen grains from eight species of very frequently visited flowers. Skippers carried most of the pollen in their facial cavities and on their probOScides. At least one skipper of each species carried pollen from each of these flowers in its genital cavity, a newly documented pollen-carrying structure for butterflies. The skippers may have occasionally pollinated their nectar flowers, because they were constant to particular species during foraging bouts; they transported pollen; and they contacted stigmas with their pollen-bearing proboscides. Nevertheless, the skippers evidently functioned mainly as nectar thieves. They foraged mostly on asteriads rather than other kinds of flowers, primarily probing innermost (male-stage) disk florets, and they tended not to contact the outermost (female-stage) florets with their more pollen-laden parts. Moreover, they carried pollen loads that were too small to make them significant pollinators. Thus, our skipper data do not reject the above hypothesis. Many butterfly species visit flowers from which they imbibe nectar (Faegri & van der Pijl, 1966; Shields, 1972; Barrows, 1976, 1979; Schemske, 1976; Wiklund et aI., 1979; Schemske & Horwitz, 1984). For example, 197 butterfly species found in eastern North America use at least 5.9 ± 0.55 SE (1-15) genera of flowers as nectar sources (Opler & Krizek, 1984). Butterflies undoubtedly pollinate some flower species (Grant & Grant, 1965; Levin, 1972; Levin & Berube, 1972; Barrows, 1979; Cruden & Hermann-Parker, 1979), and they are definitely nectar thieves of others (Spears, 1983; Schemske & Horvitz, 1984). An individual nectar thief is an animal that takes nectar through a natural orifice of a flower without pollinating it (Inouye, 1980). Further, if an animal species thieves nectar during more than 50% of its visits to a particular flower species, the entire animal species could be classified as a thief species with regard to this plant species. Delpino (1874) suggested that male butterflies are likely cross pollinators of their nectar plants, but decades later Robertson (1924: 100101) stated that butterfly "relations to flowers are often that of nectar thieves." Subsequently, Wiklund et aI. (1979) studied the flower visiting of the pierid Leptidea sinapsis L. in Sweden. From this species they generalized that, "Butterflies as a group may have evolved to occupy a parasitic mode of life as adults, feeding on the nectar of flowers without pollinating them," but they did not refer to Delpino's 300 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY or Robertson's assertions. All in all, however, pollination effectiveness and efficiency of butterflies is little known (Gilbert & Singer, 1975; Kevan & Baker, 1983; Spears, 1983). In an attempt to test further the butterflies-as-nectar-thieves hypothesis, we studied foraging behavior of two common skippers, Atalopedes campestris (Boisduval) and Epargyreus clarus (Cramer), in Washington, D.C. The identities and relevant characteristics of the skippers' nectar flowers, skipper foraging behavior, and the locations and amounts of pollen that skippers carried were examined to test the hypothesis. Both skipper species that we studied are native to the Washington, D.C., area, where they have three broods per season (Clark, 1932). Atalopedes campestris fly in the garden from mid-July through September; E. clarus, from mid-June to early August. A future paper will discuss whether butterflies, in general, are nectar thieves or pollinators. MATERIALS AND METHODS In our study, we define "foraging bout" as a skipper's feeding activity on one or more flower species, starting when it was first discovered on a flower until it could no longer be followed due to its flying out of sight. A "visit" is a skipper's alighting upon or near a flower, extending its proboscis into it for at least 1 sec, and presumably feeding. An "infrequently visited flower species (IVFS)" is a flower that we saw only one individual skipper visit during only one of the ten 2-week observation periods of our study. A "frequently visited flower species (FVFS)" is a flower that we saw two to four conspecific skippers visit, and a "very frequently visited flower species (VFVFS)" is a flower that we saw five to hundreds of skippers visit during two or more of the 2-week observation periods. A "clear day" is one over 75°F, with no rain, and with less than 20% cloud cover. A "facial cavity" is a concavity into which a skipper's proboscis coils; a "genital cavity," one at the end of a skipper's abdomen, formed in a female by scales surrounding her papilla anal is above and lamella antevaginalis below and in a male by scales surrounding his uncus above and valvae below. Skippers were studied from May through October 1982 in the 0.9ha vegetable and flower garden where Lazri and Barrows (1984) investigated flower visiting in Pieris rapae L. The garden is a community garden used in 1982 by about 146 gardeners, and it contains about 265 species of entomophilous plants, including vegetables, ornamentals, herbs, wildflowers, and weeds. Flowers visited by the skippers and the relative numbers of skippers present at each species were noted during a total of 12 30-min meandering walks made through the garden twice each month in June, July, August, and September. The walks were made once every 2 weeks on VOLUME 39, NUMBER 4 301 a clear day, every hour on the hour, from 0800 to 2000 h (EDT). At each skipper-frequented flowering plant or group of such plants, we made short (10 sec) counts to standardize the amount of time spent at a plant or group of plants. A total of 564 skippers of both species was counted during the entire census. To measure flower corolla lengths, we collected flowers in plastic bags and kept them moist until they could be examined. Dial calipers, accurate to 0.01 mm, were used to measure corollas (Lazri & Barrows, 1984). We made a pollen reference collection from pollen collected in the study area. In studying possible flower constancy, frequency of flower use, and pollen deposition of skippers, we observed 22 foraging A. campestris and 60 foraging E. clarus. A stopwatch and tape recorder were used when needed. To discriminate focal individuals from other nearby skippers when they were common, we marked forewings of focal individuals with small spots of enamel paint, which did not appear to affect their behavior. Forty additional skippers were each observed for 10 min as they foraged at asteriad disk and ray florets. In examining possible pollen transport and deposition, we collected 285 A. campestris and 77 E. clarus; 3 to 23 males and 5 to 25 females were taken from each VFVFS. Before it was captured, each skipper was followed as it visited two consecutive flower heads, extending its proboscis into a flower in each head for at least 1 sec. After it was netted, a skipper was paralyzed by carefully pinching the sides of its thorax between a thumb and forefinger and then placed into a glassine envelope on which relevant data were recorded. The enveloped skipper was immediately put into an insulated bag filled with frozen cold packs. Within the hour, all skippers in the bag were put into a cooler filled with more frozen cold packs. At the end of a collecting day, the skippers were put into a freezer until they could be examined for pollen (Turnock et aI., 1978). In searching for pollen on a skipper, we removed its legs and proboscis, placed them on a clean glass slide, and covered them with a drop of Permount® and a coverslip. The rest of the skipper was placed on a watchglass. Its proboscis, legs, body, glassine envelope, slide, and watchglass were examined for pollen under a compound microscope (up to 400 power), a dissecting microscope (up to 30 power), or both. Pollen adhering to the skipper's labial palpi were included in its facial cavity count. Free floating pollen grains on the slide and watch glass and in the envelope were also counted. Adult skipper age was estimated to be young, middle-aged, or old, based on the amount of scale loss and wing tattering that was present on a skipper's wings and body. A young skipper was one that was almost totally intact; a middle-aged 302 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY one had slight wing tattering and a few scales missing; and an old one had very tattered wings and many scales missing. Quantitative analyses were made with the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) computer package (Ray, 1982a, b). Pollen count and corolla depth values were log transformed to obtain homoscedastic data for the Duncan's multiple range test (DMRT). Possible differences between groups were analyzed with the t-test (TT) or paired t-test (PTT) corrected for heteroscedasticity when necessary, the Fisher exact probability test (FEPT), and the Chi-square test (CST) . Kendall's rank correlation coefficient (KRCC) was used to test for significant correlations. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


A criterion for effective irrelevancy of the spin–orbit coupling in heavy-fermion superconductivity is discussed on the basis of the impurity Anderson model with two sets of Kramers doublets. Using Wilson's numerical renormalization-group method, we demonstrate a formation of the quasi-particle as well as the renormalization of the rotational symmetry-breaking interaction in the lower Kramers doublet (quasi-spin) space. A comparison with the quasi-spin conserving interaction exhibits the effective irrelevancy of the rotational symmetry-breaking interaction for the splitting of two doublets Δ larger than the characteristic energy of the local spin fluctuation T K . The relevance to lattice models is briefly discussed.


Using the energy-based Hamiltonian function method, this paper investigates the robust nonlinear control of static var compensators (SVCs) in power systems with nonlinear loads. First, the uncertain nonlinear differential algebraic equation model is constructed for the power system. Then, the dissipative Hamiltonian realization of the system is completed by the means of variable transformation and pre-feedback control. Finally, based on the obtained dissipative Hamiltonian realization, a robust nonlinear controller is put forward. The proposed controller can effectively utilizes the internal structure and the energy balance property of the power system. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the control scheme.


An all-optical parametric fiber switch for all-optical amplitude noise suppression was applied mid-span in a 107 Gb/s differential phase shift keying (DPSK) transmission experiment. Using this switch an improved performance after 320 km transmission was achieved.