Background. Flexibility is an important component of physical conditioning used to improve performance and prevent injury. The application of vibration is one method that has been reported to increase flexibility. The preponderance of the literature reports the effects of whole-body vibration; fewer studies have investigated the effects of local vibration (LV) therapy. Aims. To assess if LV affects spinal flexibility, the sit-and-reach test, or lower extremity range of motion measurements when compared to controls. To determine if the effects were specific to the site of LV application and if changes persisted between the follow-up visits. Methods. Forty-three college students (age range 21-40 years) responded to an email advertisement sent to a college of health professions. All participants underwent the same procedures and positioning but the vibration device was activated for the experimental group participants only. Nine flexibility measurements were obtained at the beginning and end of each of three visits. Results. Changes in flexibility were statistically significant after LV at each visit except for the sit-and-reach test. No between visit effects or carry-over were observed. Conclusion. The addition of LV to a training regime can improve flexibility immediately after its application. Although the persistence of the effect is unknown, no long-term effects were observed.


The Covid pandemic has affected contemporary lives to unprecedented levels, including the world of sports, which have faced training and competition bans, matches and tournaments having been postponed or cancelled. However, the Union of the European Football Associations (UEFA) was keen to continue playing despite the pandemic and staged matches played behind closed doors. Thus, UEFA provided the involved parties with a strict protocol of how to organise and conduct matches in order to protect players and staff from contracting the virus, as well as to limit the risk of spreading the virus. This study provides a visual auto-ethnographical account of a European qualifier match between the women´s national teams of Iceland and Sweden. The match took place in September 2020, in the midst of the second wave of the Covid pandemic which was sweeping through Europe at the time. This visual story illustrates how the Covid pandemic was experienced in a team working quarantine and how it affected the social organisation of the match as shown by established rules and recommendations for human conduct and manifested in new norms of behaviour. The visual story further highlights how the pandemic imposed unprecedented challenges for sport teams to settle the conflicting forces of how to withhold manifested and collective team rituals under such constrains, as for the social organisations, which had to make-up protocols, at short notice, in order to keep the virus at bay. When analysed visually those protocols seemed inconsistent and illogical at times. It can however be argued, that despite those inconsistencies the protocols should be recognised as a responsible act for public welfare as they counter possible public health repercussions associated with such pandemics.


Diurnal S1 tidal oscillations in the coupled atmosphere–ocean system induce small perturbations of Earth's prograde annual nutation, but matching geophysical model estimates of this Sun-synchronous rotation signal with the observed effect in geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) data has thus far been elusive. The present study assesses the problem from a geophysical model perspective, using four modern-day atmospheric assimilation systems and a consistently forced barotropic ocean model that dissipates its energy excess in the global abyssal ocean through a parameterized tidal conversion scheme. The use of contemporary meteorological data does, however, not guarantee accurate nutation estimates per se; two of the probed datasets produce atmosphere–ocean-driven S1 terms that deviate by more than 30 las (microarcseconds) from the VLBI-observed harmonic of 16:2 þ i113:4 las. Partial deficiencies of these models in the diurnal band are also borne out by a validation of the air pressure tide against barometric in situ estimates as well as comparisons of simulated sea surface elevations with a global network of S1 tide gauge determinations. Credence is lent to the global S1 tide derived from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and the operational model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). When averaged over a temporal range of 2004 to 2013, their nutation contributions are estimated to be 8:0 þ i106:0 las (MERRA) and 9:4 þ i121:8 las (ECMWF operational), thus being virtually equivalent with the VLBI estimate. This remarkably close agreement will likely aid forthcoming nutation theories in their unambiguous a priori account of Earth's prograde annual celestial motion. & Michael Schindelegger firstname.lastname@example.com 1 Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Gußhausstraße 27–29, 1040 Vienna, Austria 2 School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, Ireland 3 Department of Geophysics, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic 4 Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., Lexington MA, USA 123 Surv Geophys (2016) 37:643–680 DOI 10.1007/s10712-016-9365-3


Korea's self-sufficient food ratio on a quantity basis remained a low 27.6 per cent for cereals in year 2004. Even the public auction of imported rice from the United States kicked off a couple of days ago to allow foreign rice to be sold directly to consumers on the Korea market for the first time. Therefore the safety of imported food must be a great concern of Korean consumers. All imported agricultural products are supposed to be quarantined for controlling the insect and inspected for the potent risk like residual pesticides, aflatoxin, sulfur dioxide and genetically modified. agricultural products. The 12percent of agricultural products contained the insects detected by National Plant Quarantine was fumigated with methyl bromide or aluminum phosphide and entered the custom. The most large portion of violated agricultural products (24 cases in 2004) inspected by Korea Food and Drug Administration was dried herbal medicinal foods contaminated by sulfur dioxide which must be treated when they were dried in China. The second factor made the imported agricultural products to be criminals (19 cases in 2004) was residual pesticides. Genetically modified agricultural products like soybean and corn are under control by labelling in Korea. Genetically modified soybean and corn have been used for oil expression mostly. It is the time to set up realistic risk assessment system for our consumer with the pouring imported agricultural products.


As the economy has transitioned from recovery to expansion, the role of monetary policy has shifted to sustaining the expansion by gradually moving conventional and unconventional policy back to normal. But monetary policy is reaching its limit for stimulating growth, calling for private and public sector investments and policies to step up and take the lead. The following is adapted from a presentation by the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to the Economic Club of Las Vegas in Las Vegas on August 2.


In order to have corporations contributing to the environmental and social challenges of the coming years, employees have to develop competences for sustainable management. These competences are necessary to reduce environmental impacts of production or to increase efficiency in terms of energy consumption. In this context, E-Learning modules can offer learner-centered scenarios in which employees can simulate the consequences of their decisions and thereby develop competences for sustainable management. However, such modules focusing on sustainable management have not been used widely. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of a successful adoption and the challenges facing this adoption process of E-Learning modules for sustainable management. To achieve this aim, we conducted a literature review and a qualitative interview study. Thereby, we identified eleven general and eight specific influencing factors as well as twelve related challenges that affect the adoption of ELearning modules for sustainable management.


Back in 1967, Clifford Gardner, John Greene, Martin Kruskal and Robert Miura published a seminal paper in Physical Review Letters which was to become a cornerstone in the theory of integrable systems. In 2006, the authors of this paper received the AMS Steele Prize. In this award the AMS pointed out that `In applications of mathematics, solitons and their descendants (kinks, anti-kinks, instantons, and breathers) have entered and changed such diverse fields as nonlinear optics, plasma physics, and ocean, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. Nonlinearity has undergone a revolution: from a nuisance to be eliminated, to a new tool to be exploited.' From this discovery the modern theory of integrability bloomed, leading scientists to a deep understanding of many nonlinear phenomena which is by no means reachable by perturbation methods or other previous tools from linear theories. Nonlinear phenomena appear everywhere in nature, their description and understanding is therefore of great interest both from the theoretical and applicative point of view. If a nonlinear phenomenon can be represented by an integrable system then we have at our disposal a variety of tools to achieve a better mathematical description of the phenomenon. This special issue is largely dedicated to investigations of nonlinear phenomena which are related to the concept of integrability, either involving integrable systems themselves or because they use techniques from the theory of integrability. The idea of this special issue originated during the 18th edition of the Nonlinear Evolution Equations and Dynamical Systems (NEEDS) workshop, held at Isola Rossa, Sardinia, Italy, 16–23 May 2009 (http://needs-conferences.net/2009/). The issue benefits from the occasion offered by the meeting, in particular by its mini-workshops programme, and contains invited review papers and contributed papers. It is worth pointing out that there was an open call for papers and all contributions were peer reviewed according to the standards of the journal. The selection of papers in this issue aims to bring together recent developments and findings, even though it consists of only a fraction of the impressive developments in recent years which have affected a broad range of fields, including the theory of special functions, quantum integrable systems, numerical analysis, cellular automata, representations of quantum groups, symmetries of difference equations, discrete geometry, among others. The special issue begins with four review papers: Integrable models in nonlinear optics and soliton solutions Degasperis [1] reviews integrable models in nonlinear optics. He presents a number of approximate models which are integrable and illustrates the links between the mathematical and applicative aspects of the theory of integrable dynamical systems. In particular he discusses the recent impact of boomeronic-type wave equations on applications arising in the context of the resonant interaction of three waves. Hamiltonian PDEs: deformations, integrability, solutions Dubrovin [2] presents classification results for systems of nonlinear Hamiltonian partial differential equations (PDEs) in one spatial dimension. In particular he uses a perturbative approach to the theory of integrability of these systems and discusses their solutions. He conjectures universality of the critical behaviour for the solutions, where the notion of universality refers to asymptotic independence of the structure of solutions (at the point of gradient catastrophe) from the choice of generic initial data as well as from the choice of a generic PDE. KP solitons in shallow water Kodama [3] presents a survey of recent studies on soliton solutions of the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) equation. A large variety of exact soliton solutions of the KP equation are presented and classified. The study includes numerical analysis of the stability of the found solution as well as numerical simulations of the initial value problems which indicate that a certain class of initial waves approach asymptotically these exact solutions of the KP equation. The author discusses an application of the theory to the problem of the resonant interaction of solitary waves appearing in the reflection of an obliquely incident wave onto a vertical wall, known as the Mach reflection problem in shallow water. A beautiful explanation of the problem was presented in a swimming pool experiment during NEEDS 2009. Smooth and peaked solitons of the CH equation Holm and Ivanov [4] discuss the relations between smooth and peaked soliton solutions for the Camassa–Holm (CH) shallow water wave equation in one spatial dimension. They first present the derivation of the soliton solution for the CH equation by means of inverse scattering transform (IST); the solution is obtained in a form that admits the peakon limit. The canonical Hamiltonian formulation of the CH equation in action-angle variables is recovered using the scattering data. The authors review some of the geometric properties of the CH equation and conclude their review with the higher dimensional generalization of the dispersionless CH equation, known as EPDiff. They also consider the possible extensions of their approach in three open problems. Integrable models in nonlinear optics and soliton solutions Degasperis [1] reviews integrable models in nonlinear optics. He presents a number of approximate models which are integrable and illustrates the links between the mathematical and applicative aspects of the theory of integrable dynamical systems. In particular he discusses the recent impact of boomeronic-type wave equations on applications arising in the context of the resonant interaction of three waves. Hamiltonian PDEs: deformations, integrability, solutions Dubrovin [2] presents classification results for systems of nonlinear Hamiltonian partial differential equations (PDEs) in one spatial dimension. In particular he uses a perturbative approach to the theory of integrability of these systems and discusses their solutions. He conjectures universality of the critical behaviour for the solutions, where the notion of universality refers to asymptotic independence of the structure of solutions (at the point of gradient catastrophe) from the choice of generic initial data as well as from the choice of a generic PDE. KP solitons in shallow water Kodama [3] presents a survey of recent studies on soliton solutions of the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) equation. A large variety of exact soliton solutions of the KP equation are presented and classified. The study includes numerical analysis of the stability of the found solution as well as numerical simulations of the initial value problems which indicate that a certain class of initial waves approach asymptotically these exact solutions of the KP equation. The author discusses an application of the theory to the problem of the resonant interaction of solitary waves appearing in the reflection of an obliquely incident wave onto a vertical wall, known as the Mach reflection problem in shallow water. A beautiful explanation of the problem was presented in a swimming pool experiment during NEEDS 2009. Smooth and peaked solitons of the CH equation Holm and Ivanov [4] discuss the relations between smooth and peaked soliton solutions for the Camassa–Holm (CH) shallow water wave equation in one spatial dimension. They first present the derivation of the soliton solution for the CH equation by means of inverse scattering transform (IST); the solution is obtained in a form that admits the peakon limit. The canonical Hamiltonian formulation of the CH equation in action-angle variables is recovered using the scattering data. The authors review some of the geometric properties of the CH equation and conclude their review with the higher dimensional generalization of the dispersionless CH equation, known as EPDiff. They also consider the possible extensions of their approach in three open problems. Regular contributions to this issue cover a wide range of topics related to integrable systems. Let us briefly illustrate some of the topics covered by this issue. One of the main topics is the study of hierarchies of integrable equations. The multifaceted idea of integrability of a particular PDE includes an approach whose aim is to find an infinite set of independent conserved quantities, much in the spirit of Liouville integrability in classical mechanics. The existence of these conserved quantities in involution, or of the corresponding infinite set of commuting symmetries, leads to an infinite set of commuting flows; i.e., to the construction of a hierarchy of compatible PDEs with respect to an infinite set of times. Obviously one can generalize or adapt this construction to different settings like the integro-differential, discrete or super-symmetric ones. The emphasis is usually to find auxiliary linear systems defining an infinite set of linear commuting flows whose solutions, if some asymptotic conditions are imposed, are named wave or Baker–Akhiezer functions. These linear flows determine the so called Lax equations, another infinite set of commuting equations whose compatibility leads to the so called Zakharov–Shabat system. An alternative description of the hierarchies is achieved with the use of the bilinear equations directly linked with the tau-function description of the hierarchy. There are two paradigmatic integrable hierarchies, namely the KP and 2-dimensional Toda lattice (2DTL). These hierarchies are treated within this volume in three contributions. In particular, Takasaki [5] reconsiders the extended Toda hierarchy of Carlet, Dubrovin and Zhang in the light of Ogawa's 2 + 1D extension of the 1D Toda hierarchy. It turns out that the former may be thought of as some sort of dimensional reduction of the latter. This explains the structure of the bilinear formalism proposed by Milanov. Carlet and Manas [6] study the 2-component KP and 2D Toda h


QNLY a few statistical series measuring the volume of business are available for a long enough period to make possible satisfactory comparisons of a considerable number of past cycles with the present. Monthly (or at least quarterly) figures are necessary, and most of the prewar statistics relating to business volumes are on an annual basis. For the measurement of physical volumes, a satisfactory series for pigiron output has been developed by Professor Warren M. Persons, going back as far as I877 in quarterly form, and to I884 in monthly form.' For the measurement of dollar volumes there is the series for bank clearings in seven selected cities outside New York City compiled by Doctor Edwin Frickey, and published in this REvIEw for May and August I930. These figures go back, on a monthly basis, to i875. For the postwar period, bank debits of certain selected cities (again excluding New York, and also certain other cities especially affected by speculative transactions) are used to measure the dollar volume of business. Fluctuations in bank debits paralleled very closely those in the clearing figures for the post-war years, and the differences between the two series are probably less than the inaccuracies unavoidable in comparisons of such series over a long interval of time. This discussion will give chief attention to the clearings or debits figures. Such statistics are, of course, only one way of measuring fluctuations in business activity; but they have the advantage of covering a great variety of payments and are expressed in dollars, in which we are accustomed to reckon business transactions. On the following page, there is presented a chart of the adjusted figures for clearings or debits during periods of business decline and recovery.2 The low points of the indexes have been plotted on the middle line of the chart; when more than one low point appears, the last low point falls on the middle line. The period of d cline (except for I875-79) is from the last significant high point of the preceding period of activity to the low point; the period of recovery, from the low point to normal (in most instances). In i888, and again in I89I, when the fluctuations were mostly or entirely above normal, six months of recovery are shown. In I895, normal wa not reached, though closely approached, on the recovery. The pre-war figures are corrected for trend (as well as seasonal movements). Consideration is now being given to the determination of a trend line (or normal) for the past few years. Until such a normal has been satisfactorily ascertained, it is necessary to show I929-30 without correction for trend. The years I92-22 are likewise shown without such correction. The application of trends would tend to increase the amount of declines, and decrease the amount of advances; but over the short periods for which the figures are shown, such periods embracing wide fluctuations, the correction for trend would form a small proportion of the actual movement. For the I922 recovery, the final point is approximately at normal. The curve for debits in I929-30 is placed on the chart to facilitate comparison with the two declines which appear to resemble its movement most closely those of I920-2I and I883-84. The high point is placed on a level with that shown for I883, and twenty months (the duration of the I920-2I decline) from the middle line. This placing of the curve is not to be regarded as an expression of opinion as to the precise extent of possible further decline, or the exact length of time until the curve turns up. The twenty-month interval is the longest shown on the chart except that of the late seventies, which is not regarded as comparable because of the peculiar movement of the clearing figures in these years, attributable at least in part to the


The prevalent conventional method under which the power consumption of a pulverized coal preparation system is calculated based on the electric power consumed in the grinding of each ton of coal has its shortcomings. The authors have come up with a more objective and comprehensive evaluation method, the so called fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. Moreover, also given is a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. The latter takes into account not only the power consumption of the pulverized coal preparation system but also the quality aspects of pulverized coal being ground and prepared. Such quality aspects include: pulverized coal fineness liable to influence ignition and burn off characteristics as well as heat loss due to incomplete combustion, ball mill outlet temperature which denotes the capacity to dry pulverized coal, rank and properties of raw coal received, the metal consumption of the pulverized coal system, quantity of material consumed and amount of other sundry expenses. The new evaluation method allows to make a unified assessment of the efficiency of a pulverized coal system.


This thesis deals with the euphemism used by characters' utterances in The Dressmaker movie. The study were aimed to know the types of euphemism in The Dressmaker movie script. The study was conducted by applying descriptive qualitative method. The source of data was The Dressmaker movie. The data of study were utterances produced by characters in the movie. The findings of the sentences uttered by characters showed that the types of euphemism: (1) metaphor (2) remodelling (3) circumlocution (4) clippings (5) full-ommision (6) metomyny (7) hyperbole and (8) understatement. The characters used the euphemism was in order to keep the relationship among them, not try embrasse the interlocutors, keep listeners from losing face, and to conserve the somebody's self-esteem.


Fulfillment of rules against a high standard of aviation security is an absolute necessity in the aviation world. The arrangement of the coordination of aviation security control between the Head Office of the Directorate of Aviation Security and the Office of the Airport Authority is essential to protect the safety, regularity, and efficiency of civil aviation activities in its territory. The implementation of the flight security control coordination arrangement between the Head Office of the Directorate of Aviation Security and the Office of the Airport Authority has a problem namely the Directorate of Aviation Security still performs the functions of the controlling activities, the authority of signing the extension of licensing to the Head of the Office of the Authority Authority has not been implemented, the aviation security inspector's mutation from the Aviation Security Directorate's Head Office has not worked properly, and the fulfillment and distribution of budgetary requirements for the implementation of the control and supervision of the Office of the Airport Authority has not been met.


Degeneration of the intervertebral disc is the major cause of lumbar and radicular pain and is the one of the most common reasons for missed work days. Intervertebral disc alteration is characterized by an elevation of inflammatory cytokines levels: tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α) and interleukins (IL-1 α/β, IL-6 and IL-17) secreted by the disc cells. These cytokines promote extracellular matrix degradation, induce chemokine production and produce cells phenotype changes. The resulting imbalance between catabolic and anabolic responses leads to disc degeneration, herniation of disc material and produce radicular pain. Chemokines released from the degenerated discs promote infiltration and activation of neutrophils, macrophages, T and B cells, and mast cells further amplifying the inflammatory cascade. Migration of immune cells into the disc is accompanied by the development of microvasculature and nerve fibers arising from the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). In this inflammatory milieu, neurogenic factors in particular nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derive neurotrophic factor (BDNF) generated by disc and immune cells induce expression of pain associated cation channels in DRGs. Depolarization of these channels is likely to promote discogenic and radicular pain and reinforce the cytokinemediated degenerative cascade. Complex approach for studying the role of cytokines in the degeneration of the intervertebral disc extracellular matrix will aid revealing the mechanisms and potential targets for therapeutic application in the treatment of patients with degenerative diseases of the spine.


The aim of the bachelor's thesis is the rationalization of assembly plants for setting of the wiring. The theoretical part focuses on the assembly itself as well as the definition of the material flow, resources and the basic structure of large diameter knitting machines. The aim of the thesis is included in the practical part, where the analysis of the current state assembly is carried out. The thesis also includes a documentation consisting of several dra-wings of the assembly parts and an economic evaluation.


Abstract : Written by team of NAVSUP RD, Chef, retired NAVY with total of 80 years culinary experience, Natick Lab scientists, and Fleet input * Guaranteed nutritional focus, healthier ingredients * Standardized procurement * Reduced cargo... streamline catalogs to ensure availability and consistency of product * SIK Account... improved financial management.


The onset temperature for the curing reactions of phenylethynyl-terminated oligomers can be lowered by the addition of disulfides which dissociate to form thiyl radicals on heating. Studies using model compounds have shown that the products obtained from these reactions are structurally different from those obtained in the absence of the additives. The low-temperature cure reactions of oligomers containing aromatic disulfides as backbone moieties initially yield high molecular weight thermoplastic polymers containing benzothiophene linkages. On further heating these polymers can be converted to lightly crosslinked, tough, thermally stable materials with general properties similar to those of the NASA PETI series, and suitable for matrix resins in high-temperature composites, but differing significantly in processing characteristics.


Ship AIS (automatic identification system) data is an important part of water traffic perception data. It covers the core elements of ship navigation, including the dynamic information about geographical location and the static information of ship. Only in in the Yangtze River Basin, tens of millions of AIS data are generated every day. The traditional way is to store AIS data by offline processing and analysis. With the application of smart maritime, more and more applications need to master the ship dynamics in real-time. In order to realize the real-time processing and analysis of AIS data, a real-time AIS data processing and analysis platform based on the streaming computing framework is proposed. Flink is an open-source distributed stream computing framework with high throughput and low latency. It is used to realize the operations of AIS data De duplication, analysis, statistics in real-time. Through the data visualization technology, the computing results are displayed in real-time. It realizes the effective tracking of ship status and the real-time statistics of ships under the jurisdiction. It is of practical significance to improve the efficiency of ship supervision and maritime management.


Background Annual albuminuria screening detects the early stages of nephropathy in individuals with diabetes. Because early detection of albuminuria allows for interventions that lower the risk of developing chronic kidney disease, guidelines recommend annual testing for all individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and for those with type 1 diabetes for at least 5 years. However, at the Eskind Diabetes Clinic at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, testing occurred less frequently than desired. Methods A quality improvement team first analysed the clinic's processes, identifying the lack of a systematic approach to testing as the likely cause for the low rate. The team then implemented two successive interventions in a pilot of patients seen by nurse practitioners in the clinic. In the first intervention, staff used a dashboard within the electronic health record while triaging each patient, pending an albuminuria order if testing had not been done within the past year. In the second intervention, clinic leadership sent daily reminders to the triage staff. A statistical process control chart tracked monthly testing rates. Results After 6 months, annual albuminuria testing increased from a baseline of 69% to 82%, with multiple special-cause signals in the control chart. Conclusions This project demonstrates that a series of simple interventions can significantly impact annual albuminuria testing. This project's success likely hinged on using an existing workflow to systematically determine if a patient was due for testing and prompting the provider to sign a pended order for an albuminuria test. Other diabetes/endocrinology and primary care clinics can likely implement a similar process and so improve testing rates in other settings. When coupled with appropriate interventions to reduce the development of chronic kidney disease, such interventions would improve patient outcomes, in addition to better adhering to an established quality metric.


The chapter shows how Christians in Asia learn from the followers of other religions, in particular, about the paths that can be taken to open up to the divine. The chapter classifies the striving for peace, justice and the preservation of creation as an exploratory spiritual movement and deems Asian missionary spirituality to be an invitation to every Asian Christian to be a presence of God's self-reaching out, a transforming presence, transforming the world for the realization of God's reign, according to the Gospel demands.


We perform principal component analysis (PCA) on an array of 20 financial ratios to explore and compare conventional and Islamic banks' financial characteristics. In contrast to the existing literature, this is the first study to use PCA to derive four components to examine the financial characteristics of both bank types. The PCA shows that capital requirements, stability, liquidity and profitability are the most informative components in explaining the financial differences between Islamic and conventional banks. We further employ logit, probit and OLS regressions to compare Islamic and conventional banks' financial strength. Our results show that Islamic banks are more capitalized, more liquid and more profitable but less stable than their conventional counterparts. The findings also show important differences between Islamic and conventional banks even when we decompose our sample between small and large banks. Furthermore, Islamic banks were more resilient than conventional banks in terms of capital and profitability during the subprime crisis. Our findings persist when excluding US banks and when comparing banks in countries where the two banking systems co-exist.


The aim of the present research was to evaluate vocational self esteem levels of the coaches who were employed as a permanent employee or contract employee at the Province Directorate of Youth and Sports of General Directorate of Youth and Sports. With this general aim in mind, answers to some sub-problems were sought. We tried to investigate whether there was a significant difference between vocational self esteem levels and such variables as age, sex, marital status, being a employment status (permanent employee or contract employee), professional-working-time, educational status and being a trainer of a team sports or individual sports. "Vocational Self Esteem Scale" developed by Arıcak (1999) and "Personal Information Form" developed by the researcher were used in order to determine the vocational self esteem of the coaches. The population of the research was consisted of coaches employed at Province Directorates of Youth and Sports (from 81 cities) across Turkey. The sample of the research was made up by a total of 360 coaches (73 female coaches and 287 male coaches out of 31 different sport types) who were working actively in 38 city centers and were selected with random sampling method. It was found out that the difference was between the coaches aged 26-30 and those aged 31-35 and vocational self esteem levels of the coaches aged 31-35 was significantly higher. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between the coaches aged 26-30 and those aged 36-40 and vocational self esteem levels of the coaches aged 36-40 was significantly higher compared to those aged 26-30. To sum up, Turkish coaches had moderate vocational self perception. However, we thought that it would be inappropriate to make any generalizations in light of the results of the present research, which was conducted with the Turkish coaches for the first time.


Herein, a single-ion polymer electrolyte is reported for high-voltage and low-temperature lithium-metal batteries that enables suppressing the growth of dendrites, even at high current densities of 2 mA cm-2. The nanostructured electrolyte was introduced into the cell by mechanically processing the polymer powder via an easily scalable process. Important for the potential application in commercial battery cells is the finding that it does not induce aluminum corrosion at high voltages and leads to low interfacial resistance with lithium metal. These beneficial characteristics, in combination with its high single-ion conductivity and its high anodic stability, allow for the stable cycling of state-of-the-art lithium-ion cathodes, such as NMC111 and NMC622, in combination with a lithium metal anode at 20 °C and even 0 °C for several hundred cycles.


Combined with the reinforce project of Xiezishan Reservoir's dam,the article introduces the design procedures that could use the plastic concrete to make a cut-off wall,then suggests design specifications and the problems in application that we should pay attention to.


Latest rapidly emerging technological growth in wireless sensor networks and wireless communications have make life of patients more comfortable through design of wearable unobtrusive, miniature, lightweight, tiny, intelligent, low cost medical sensor nodes that can placed on various body parts of patients, which creates a wireless body area network (WBAN) observe physiological vital signs for twenty four hours through day and to provide second wise (real-time) feedback to medical staff and to patient himself. In this paper various medical sensors as per requirement used to collect the physiological symptoms in the form of digital data and transmit information to the Intelligent Personal digital Assistant (IPDA) by using wireless ZigBee/IEEE802.15.4 standard protocol and also to medical server situated over long distance from patient by using 3G internet[2]. In this three level architecture get introduced which involves improvement in the transmission rate using data compression and priority scheduling to maximize utilize maximum bandwidth.


A method of measuring the group time-delay of chirped fiber grating g(CFG) is presented in this paper. This approach is based on mode-mocking technique. An F-P cavity LD and a linearly CFG under test compound together to be an external cavity laser. Group time-delay can be investigated by measuring adjusted RF frequency and corresponding lasing wavelength.


Precipitation and accumulation of calcium phosphate in granular sludge has attracted research attention recently for phosphate removal and recovery from wastewater. This study investigated calcium phosphate accumulation from granulation stage to steady state by forming heterotrophic granules at different COD/N ratios at 21 and 32 °C, respectively, followed by the transformation of heterotrophic granules to partial nitrifying granules. It was found that mature granules accumulated around 60–80% minerals in granules, much higher than young granules with only around 30% ash contents. In addition, high temperature promoted co-precipitation of hydroxyapatite and calcite in granules with more calcite than hydroxyapatite and only 4.1% P content, while mainly hydroxyapatite was accumulated at the moderate temperature with 7.7% P content. The accumulation of minerals in granules at the high temperature with 75–80% ash content also led to the disintegration and instability of granules. Specific ammonium oxidation rates were reduced, as well, from day 58 to day 121 at both temperatures due to increased mineral contents. These results are meaningful to control or manipulate granular sludge for phosphorus removal and recovery by forming and accumulating hydroxyapatite in granules, as well as for the maintenance of microbial activities of granules.


Abstract This article analyses a peculiar form of labour mobilisation, known as the 'trudarmee', to which ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union, along with some other nationalities, were subjected in 1942–1945 after their initial deportations from the areas in which they had lived. The labour mobilisation of the war years was a form of forced labour obligation which existed outside of the immediate realm of the 'traditional' forced labour of the Gulag. The article considers the compatibility of the two forms of labour mobilisation and demonstrates that the 'trudarmee' labour mobilisation had features of both free and forced labour and thus deserves a space of its own in the existing historiography of Stalinism.


Based on a scoping review, this paper provides a critical analysis on how the current application of Response to Intervention (RTI) programs and Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) interfere with inclusive education. Five paradoxical dimensions are thus presented. These include student eligibility for professional services, identification of students with special needs, roles of teachers and of special education, evidence-based interventions and standardized programs, and a limited use of the problem-solving approach. In short, we explain how RTI and MTSS can actually impede the inclusion of students with disabilities.


Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a life‐threatening condition characterized by single or recurrent pulmonary embolisms, which promotes pulmonary vascular remodeling. There is significant relationship between red cell distribution width (RDW) and pulmonary hypertension; however, the usefulness of RDW as biomarker for the diagnosis of CTEPH remains poorly defined.


The detection and identification of degradation products of the chemical blister agent bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, commonly known as mustard or HD, is important for the future destruction of the mustard stockpile for safety and environmental reasons. Because stored mustard tends to degrade via intramolecular substitution forming stable sulfonium ions, conventional gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis does not give a true picture of sample composition. In this study, liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was applied for the detection and identification of six synthesized mustard related cyclic and open-chain sulfonium ions to demonstrate the applicability of the technique. The technique was then applied to confirm the identification of the major component of unknown solid heels isolated from mustard ton containers as the six-membered ring cyclic 1-(2-chloroethyl)-1,4-dithianium ion by comparison of spectra obtained by LC/MS and LC/MS/MS for a mustard heel and a reference standard. A mechanism to account for this sulfonium ion formation under long-term ton container storage conditions is provided. The technique was also applied to monitor open-chain sulfonium ion formation during the hydrolysis of 0.01 M mustard in 0.05, 2.3 and 10 vol.% thiodiglycol–water at 20°C. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd


Reinforcement learning algorithms can have a relatively high computational demand when working with more than a few state dimensions and possible actions. Especially when a complex algorithm is being used, as in the case of FRIQ-learning, which is a reinforcement learning method based on fuzzy rule interpolation (FRI). With the aim of reducing the computational resource needs, this paper presents possible optimization strategies for the FRIQ-learning reinforcement algorithm, including optimization of the underlying fuzzy rule interpolation method incorporated in FRIQ-learning. The goal was to identify parallelization possibilities and exploit fine-grained parallelism in FRIQ-learning. This was realized by rearranging data structures and with using the Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2) SIMD instruction set present in most modern x86 architecture processors. Experimental results are also presented through well-known reinforcement learning benchmark problems. The techniques described here can be also useful for optimizing other FRI methods for vectorization.


In this paper, multi-optimal control of typical nonstatic error systems are discussed, in which the three conventional performance indexes are complex optimal. Time responses are deduced by the state-space method of modern control theory. In the examples, these systems are designed to realize multi-optimal control, using the optimal control theory.


The present invention provides compounds useful as agents for the prevention or treatment of a disease associated with abnormal serum uric acid level which has a uricosuric activity or the like. The present invention relates to 5-membered heterocyclic derivatives represented by the following general formula (I) having xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities and useful as agents for the prevention or treatment of a disease associated with abnormality of serum uric acid level, prodrugs thereof, or salts thereof. In the formula (I), T represents nitro, cyano and the like; ring J represents aryl or heteroaryl; Q represents carboxy, 5-tetazolyl and the like; Y represents H, OH, NH 2 , halogen, haloalkyl and the like; X 1 and X 2 independently represent CR 2 or N; R 2 represents H, alkyl and the like; R 1 represents halogen, cyano, haloalkyl, A-D-E-G-L-M, -N(-D-L-M) 2 and the like, in the formula, A represents a single bond, O, S and the like; D, G and M independently represent optionally substituted alkylene, cycloalkylene, heterocycloalkylene, arylene, heteroarylene and the like; E and L independently represent a single bond, O, S, COO, SO 2 and the like.


It is something of an orthodoxy that the nature of causation can be characterised by the following metaphysical theses: that causes do not necessitate their effects, that causes must temporally precede their effects, that causation is governed by laws of nature, that causation entails counterfactual dependence, and that causation is not systematically overdetermined. Two further commonly accepted metaphysical claims are that causal notions give us the correct tools to properly understand agency, and that the causes of actions are mental events. Classical theism, however, is comprised by certain commitments which seem to be in direct tension with each of these metaphysical theses. God is understood to be causally efficacious – a divine being who creates, sustains, and intervenes in worldly affairs – and so who is, indeed the, paradigmatic causal agent. Further, God is said to be atemporal, non-physical, and such that he exists independently of all else. The God of classical theism is also characterised as being omnipotent, at least in the sense that whatever he wills to be the case cannot fail to be the case. The apparent tension between these metaphysical theses which concern causation and those which concern God thus threaten the very coherence of the notion of divine causality. The goal of this thesis is therefore to examine these prima facie theistically problematic theses concerning causation, and to consider ways of making room for a coherent notion of divine causality. In some cases, it will argue that certain causal theses ought to be rejected, in others, it will find ways of resolving the tension.


Objective(s): Nanosilver is one of the most widely used nanomaterials due to its strong antimicrobial activity. Thus, because of increasing potential for exposure of human to nanosilver, there is an increasing concern about possible side effects of these nanoparticles. In this study, we tested the potential dermal toxicity of nanosilver bandage on serum chemical biomarkers in mice. Materials and Methods: In this study, 20 male BALB/c mice were randomly allocated into the treatment and control groups (n=10). After general anesthesia and shaving the back of all animals in near the vertebral column, in the nanosilver group, a volume of 50µl of 10 µg/ml of nanosilver solution (40 nm), and in the control group the same amount of distilled water was added to the sterile bandage of mice, then the bandages were fixed on the skin surface with cloth glue. After 3 and 7 days, the bandages were opened and serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured by using standard kits for two groups of mice. Results: In treatment group, a significant increase in ALT, AST and BUN levels were observed compared with control group during experiment periods (p 0.05). Conclusion: The present results indicated that the dermal absorption of 10 µg/ml nanosilver (40 nm) can lead to hepatotoxicity and renal toxicity in mice.


In this letter, we present filtered asymmetrically clipped optical-orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing with index modulation (FACO-OFDM-IM) for optical wireless systems. FACO-OFDM-IM optimizes the baseband bandwidth by filtering out-of-band spectral leakage caused by clipping. Additionally, IM enables FACO-OFDM-IM to impart granularity for spectral efficiency (SE)/energy efficiency (EE) trade-off and to achieve higher SE over established counterparts. Hereby, we elucidate the transceiver architecture, SE/EE trade-off, and bit-error-rate (BER). Simulation results establish that FACO-OFDM-IM attains higher spectral efficiences than classical IM approaches and outperforms them for low alphabet cardinalities while marginally increasing the complexity.


(1) Theoretical consideration of aerofoils of limited span led, in Article III, to a need for some assumption as to lift‐grading along the span, to give the span‐grading of circulation. Fig. 1 shows at (a) the experimental distribution of lift along a rectangular aerofoil of 7·6 per cent camber and aspect ratio 6, at an angle of incidence of 6 deg. At (b) elliptic loading is shown, which, from several points of view, may be regarded as ideal for the same lift coefficient. Assumption of the latter form permits of greatly simplified treatment. Even compared with rectangular aerofoil distribution, the assumption gives differences of little importance in many practical calculations, while these are still less with aeroplane wings, owing to the wash‐out usually introduced at their rounded wing‐tips. The following is, therefore, restricted to elliptic loading, but sufficient generality of presentation is preserved to allow, if desired, other forms to be substituted.


The existence of both traditional market and electronic market complexities supply chain competition. Based on a weakest online manufacturer who sells products in the internet, and contend against manufacturer 1 in electronic market. At the same time, manufacturer 1's retailer shares traditional consumer market. This paper finds out their optimal decisions, and the conditions in which supply chain coordinates. After that, it analyses how manufacturers 1' product costs & retailer's coefficient of service costs affect three enterprises' optimal revenues, and the paper also finds out some managerial inspirations.


Low frequency (LF) current (period>25 hour) variation at 5 stations in Jiaozhou Bay. Shijiousuo, and the central part of the Yellow Sea were studied by analyzing the observed long-period current data series in the study area.1) There are obvious periods of 3 and 5 days in the LF current spectra. The energy spectral value of LF current of a 5 day period is remarkably larger than that of a 3 day period. These periods reflect the correlations between the LF current variation and the LF water level variation.2) The feet that the 15-day period in the LF current spectra corresponds to the semi-monthly celestial tide period indicates that the tide-induced residual current is an important and most evident LF current component in the bay.3) The LF current spectral energy density in the northward direction is much larger than that in the eastward direction. This shows the frequency and strength of the wind field in the northward direction are evidently larger than that in the eastward direction.


Objective To explore the clinical significance of HBV large protein(LHBs)in diagnosing viral replication in the serum of the patients infected with HBV.Methods LHBs,HBV preS1,HBV preS2,HBsAg、HBeAg、HBeAb and HBcAb were analyzed by ELISA.HBV-DNA was quantitatively detected using real-time PCR.Results In 29 patients whose HBsAg and HBeAg were positive,no significant difference was found in the detection rate of HBV-DNA and LHBs,PreS2(P 0.05).Whereas the detection rate of PreS1 was lower than that of HBV-DNA(P 0.05).In 53 patients who had positive HBsAg and negative HBeAg,.there was no significant difference between the detection rate of HBV-DNA and LHBs(P 0.05);the detection rate of PreS1was lower than that of HBV-DNA(P 0.05),the detection rate of PreS2 was higher than that of HBV-DNA(P 0.05).There was a positive relationship between the level of LHBs and the amount of HBV-DNA(r = 0.978,P 0.05).Conclusions LHBs can reflect the replication of hepatitis B virus


We study electron addition spectra of quantum dots in a broad range of electron occupancies starting from the first electron. Spectra for dots containing <200 electrons reveal a surprising feature. Electron additions are not evenly spaced in gate voltage. Rather, they group into bunches. With increasing electron number the bunching evolves from occurring randomly to periodically at about every fifth electron. The periodicity of the bunching and features in electron tunneling rates suggest that the bunching is associated with electron additions into spatially distinct regions within the dots.


For analysis of linear stochastic structure applied by stationary random excitation,the moment method,which is based on the point estimation of the function moment of basic random variables,is presented to obtain the characteristic values of the stationary random responses.In the presented method,the random excitations are first transformed into sinusoidal ones in terms of pseudo excitation method,then the mean square value of the structural response under the stationary excitations is computed,the mean value,variance and variation coefficient of the mean squared value of the structural response under the stationary excitations are developed by means of point estimate.The influences of the randomness of structural parameters on the randomness of the mean square value of the structural response are investigated by two examples.Due to the efficiency and precision of the pseudo excitation method and point estimate method,the presented method is valuable for engineering.


A high‐precision, computer‐controlled monochromator of modest cost is described. The folded sine bar is used for the grating drive that provides high linearity even for large scanning angles. With a 200 steps/turn stepper motor and 600 grooves/mm grating, the minimum step size in first order is 0.05 nm, which can be further reduced. Over the 300–750 nm range, a bandpass better than 0.1 nm and a reproducibility of ±0.05 nm can be achieved. The stray light rejection of 8.9×10−7 at 5.5 nm from the laser line is remarkable for this single grating instrument. Its performance promises to be an important tool for most forms of laser spectroscopy.


Importance Vitreous floaters are common and can worsen visual quality. YAG vitreolysis is an untested treatment for floaters. Objective To evaluate YAG laser vitreolysis vs sham vitreolysis for symptomatic Weiss ring floaters from posterior vitreous detachment. Design, Setting, and Participants This single-center, masked, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial was performed from March 25, 2015, to August 3, 2016, in 52 eyes of 52 patients (36 cases and 16 controls) treated at a private ophthalmology practice. Interventions Patients were randomly assigned to YAG laser vitreolysis or sham YAG (control). Main Outcomes and Measures Primary 6-month outcomes were subjective change measured from 0% to 100% using a 10-point visual disturbance score, a 5-level qualitative scale, and National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire 25 (NEI VFQ-25). Secondary outcomes included objective change assessed by masked grading of color fundus photography and Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study best-corrected visual acuity. Results Fifty-two patients (52 eyes; 17 men and 35 women; 51 white and 1 Asian) with symptomatic Weiss rings were enrolled in the study (mean [SD] age, 61.4 [8.0] years for the YAG laser group and 61.1 [6.6] years for the sham group). The YAG laser group reported greater symptomatic improvement (54%) than controls (9%) (difference, 45%; 95% CI, 25%-64%; P < .001). In the YAG laser group, the 10-point visual disturbance score improved by 3.2 vs 0.1 in the sham group (difference, −3.0; 95% CI, −4.3 to −1.7; P < .001). A total of 19 patients (53%) in the YAG laser group reported significantly or completely improved symptoms vs 0 individuals in the sham group (difference, 53%; 95% CI, 36%-69%, P < .001). Compared with sham, NEI VFQ-25 revealed improved general vision (difference, 16.3; 95% CI, 0.9-31.7; P = .04), peripheral vision (difference, 11.6; 95% CI, 0.8-22.4; P = .04), role difficulties (difference, 17.3; 95% CI, 8.0-26.6; P < .001), and dependency (difference, 5.6; 95% CI, 0.5-10.8; P = .03) among the YAG laser group. Best-corrected visual acuity changed by −0.2 letters in the YAG laser group and by −0.6 letters in sham group (difference, 0.4; 95% CI, −6.5 to 5.3; P = .94). No differences in adverse events between groups were identified. Conclusions and Relevance YAG laser vitreolysis subjectively improved Weiss ring–related symptoms and objectively improved Weiss ring appearance. Greater confidence in these outcomes may result from larger confirmatory studies of longer duration. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT02897583


The earthed line protection for non-solidly earthed network has develops rapidly in recent years.This paper emphasizes the principles of the two new passive earthed line protection,transient signal method and traveling wave method,and then the factors affecting the reliability of earthed line protection are analyzed.It contrasts their performances on reliability and so on.


. The staged Tile Assembly Model has been introduced by Demaine et al. 2008 as an enhancement of the previous tile self-assembly model of Winfree. In this framework, the assembly is allowed to be performed in parallel in different test-tubes, and the obtained products are stored and mixed in subsequent assembly stages. Using elegant combinatorial constructions, in has been shown that staged assembly systems possess remarkable advantage in comparison to their abstract counterparts. Because of their parallel nature, one can choose from a multitude of staged assembly strategies for assembling a given target structure. In the current work we analyze these assembly variations from a kinetic perspective, in order to determine and possibly maximize, their final assembly yield. As a pre-requirement for this task, we provide a procedure for associating an analytically tractable mathematical model to a given staged assembly experiment, based on which we can predict the yield concentration of the final assembly product. As a case study, we consider various assembly strategies as well as optimized and non-optimized assembly protocols for generating a size-10 tile assembly.


Benzene is a simple cyclic organic compounds whose concentrations are found usually low dilikungan. Benzene is often used in the industrial world, both home industry and the oil and gas industry. Benzene can enter into the body through the lungs, it can be through inhalation, gastrointestinal tract, and through the skin, If someone exposed to benzene at high concentrations, the levels of benzene into the lungs roughly half of the levels of benzene is absorbed, so that the incoming kealiran blood. This research is descriptive. The population in this study is a gas station worker Ciputat region totaling 10 people. The results of the study then analyzed quantitatively to determine the concentration secure benzene for workers obtained from the data concentration of benzene in the workplace, height workers, the weight of workers, heavy mice, respiration rate workers, time spent working, the surface area of the worker's body surface area the body oflaboratory mice, the highest dose of the toxin no effects in animal experiments (NOAEL), Km factors in animals (animal Km), Km factors in workers (Human Km), and the safe limit for workers toxin dose (SHD). The results of measurement of the concentration of benzene in petrol stations in the region Ciputat is 0,58mg I m3 (0.18 ppm), which means it is still below the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) according Permenakertrans
13 I MEN IX I 2011, the year 2011 is equal to 0, 5 ppm. In contrast to the NAB which have been set at 0.18 ppm, based on manual calculations for safe concentration limit of benzene obtained value of 0.02 ppm.


: To investigate the process of pipeline/cable burial a pair of models has been developed to simulate a two-dimensional trench backfilling process at 1g, at two different length scaling ratios, 1:30 and 1:7.5. The aim is to investigate the influence of the velocity of the plough and the weight of the pipe or cable on its tendency to move during backfilling operations. Accelerometers attached to the model pipe ensure tracking of its position during the free motion of the pipe. The shape and velocity of the soil flow, down the slope of the trench, is monitored via particle image velocimetry (PIV) using the images from a MIRO R310 high-speed camera. The outcome of the tests will be to develop a framework to assess and quantify the risk of pipeline uplift and to improve design practice and certainty of meeting burial specifications.


The development of foregut structure and digestive function was examined in Jasus (Sagmariasus) verreauxi phyllosomas (instars 1-13) using resin histology and video analysis. Early instar (1-3) phyllosoma had very simple anterior foreguts with little differentiation into ventral and dorsal chambers, no filter press and small lateral comb-row setae. By mid instars (4-7), the filter press had developed and ventral and dorsal chambers of the foregut were distinct. The number and robustness of lateral setae had increased and a dense mat of anterior floor setae had formed. The filter press became increasingly complex in later-instar (8-13) larvae and dense robust lateral comb-row setae, main brushes and a thick mat of anterior floor setae forming longitudinal channels had developed by this stage. The mechanism of food digestion remained similar between instars but changes in foregut structures suggest that the degree of internal mastication, filtration and capacity to sort and mix particles improved with age. This research has implications for artificial diet development in crustacean culture and understanding dietary shifts during larval development.


Aims We present our experience of using a metal‐backed prosthesis and autologous bone graft to treat gross glenoid bone deficiency. Patients and Methods A prospective cohort study of the first 45 shoulder arthroplasties using the SMR Axioma Trabecular Titanium (TT) metal‐backed glenoid with autologous bone graft. Between May 2013 and December 2014, 45 shoulder arthroplasties were carried out in 44 patients with a mean age of 64 years (35 to 89). The indications were 23 complex primary arthroplasties, 12 to revise a hemiarthroplasty or resurfacing, five for aseptic loosening of the glenoid, and five for infection. Results Of the 45 patients, 16 had anatomical shoulder arthroplasties (ASA) and 29 had reverse shoulder arthroplasties (RSA). Postoperatively, 43/45 patients had a CT scan. In 41 of 43 patients (95%), the glenoid peg achieved > 50% integration. In 40 of 43 cases (93%), the graft was fully or partially integrated. There were seven revisions (16%) but only four (9%) required a change of baseplate. Four (25%) of the 16 ASAs were revised for instability or cuff failure. At two‐year radiological follow‐up, five of the 41 cases (11%) showed some evidence of lucent lines. Conclusion The use of a metal baseplate with a trabecular titanium surface in conjunction with autologous bone graft is a reliable method of addressing glenoid bone defects in primary and revision RSA setting in the short term. ASAs have a higher rate of complications with this technique.


This paper summarizes the first-ever IOHSK distinguished lecture. It briefly describes Dr. McKenzie's lengthy research career, identifies the importance of physical activity to public health, emphasizes the need for research and program collaborations, and highlights systematic observation as a tool for generating contextual information on the occurrence of physical activity. It concludes with suggestions about how IOHSK members can become more involved in physical activity promotion.


Cloud Computing represents an attractive and cost-efficient of server-based computing and application service provider models. Together with Cloud Computing development, we have witnessed the rapid increasing of mobile devices industry. Smart-phone is now a well-functioning system of GPS navigation, 3G/4G mobile network, wifi technology and much more. By using Cloud Computing, traditional mobile applications often involve with many Cloud Services such as online data storage, collaboration, real-time monitoring, web, email, push messaging, database processing, compute processing and so on. As the extension of mobile applications, real-time location tracking and messaging system has become particularly important. In this paper, we present a cloud-based real-time location tracking and messaging system (CRLTMS), that consists a cloud-based push messaging service, namely Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), web server, database and GPS navigation data. An Android-based child-care application case study shows that the effectiveness of the system, which enables the server tracks and communicates synchronously to smart-phones in real-time manner.


A plurality of encapsulated particles, each of said encapsulated particles comprising: a phosphorus particle of an electroluminescent phosphor material showing a moisture accelerated decay; and a substantially transparent metallic oxynitride coating that sufficiently encapsulates said phosphorus particle to provide said phosphorus particle with a reduced sensitivity to moisture accelerated decay.


For improving seed germination of Rheum khorasanicum B. Baradaran & A. Jafari, different treatments including KNO3 and CaCl2 were conducted. Treatments applied in this work arranged in two experiments was conducted a completely randomized design. The factors examined include seven levels of KNO3 and CaCl2 comprise (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mM). The results showed that a positive relationship between germination traits and concentrations KNO3 and CaCl2 was obtained. The higher germination percentage 80% and 75% occurred in seeds that treated with 30 mM CaCl2 and KNO3 respectively. Lower germination percentage (57.3%) observed in control seeds.


The platelet function analyzer (PFA) is a popular platelet function screening instrument, highly sensitive to von Willebrand disease (VWD) and to aspirin therapy, with moderate sensitivity to defects in platelet function and/or deficiencies in platelet number. There are two models, the original PFA‐100 and the contemporary PFA‐200. Normal reference ranges (NRRs) provided by the manufacturer are the same for both models, instead being based on the type of test cartridge, for which there are two main ones: collagen/epinephrine (C/Epi) and collagen/adenosine diphosphate (C/ADP).


The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need for online food delivery services (such as Deliveroo and Foodpanda), creating new job opportunities for South Asian youths. However, outbreaks of infected cases in districts populated by South Asians have spurred 'racist' remarks by customers, perhaps triggered by a flurry of negative mainstream news reports and social media outbursts targeted at South Asians. These behaviours reveal the added precariousness of ethnic minority employment. This paper examines the inter-sectional politics of race and class involved in platformed work, in the case of food delivery services. It discusses how the algorithmically controlled platformed economy may have an impact on racial minority workers. Employing the conceptual framing of 'invisibility', and notions around 'platformed/ gig labour', it argues that neo-liberalised infrastructural capitalism aggravates algorithmic surveillance of racial minority workers. It suggests the possible resilience of racial minority workers in the globally popular business model.


This report is prepared within phase one of the project renewable energy resource mapping for the Republic of the Maldives. This part of the project focuses on solar resource mapping and measurement services as part of a technical assistance in the renewable energy development implemented by the World Bank in Maldives. It is being undertaken in close coordination with the ministry of environment and energy (MEE) of Maldives, the World Bank's primary country counterpart for this project. Important part of the project is to deliver high quality solar resource measured data that are to be used for validation of solar resource and meteorological models. This report identifies a long and short lists of potential solar measuring sites in Maldives and presents set of instruments to be deployed and operated at the agreed meteorological sites. This report also ranks the sites, according to the findings, to contribute to the information-based decision-making on the final site selection. This report identifies a long and short lists of potential solar measuring sites in Maldives and proposes set ofinstruments to be deployed and operated at the agreed meteorological sites. This report also ranks the sites,according to our findings, to contribute to the information-based decision-making on the final site selection. The report is accompanied by analytical maps and criteria-supported arguments resulting in synthetic indicatorsand identification of long list and preliminary proposal for a short-list of candidate sites. The report is accompanied by analytical maps and criteria-supported arguments resulting in synthetic indicatorsand identification of long list and preliminary proposal for a short-list of candidate sites.Geographical differences of the country are discussed in Chapter two. Quality and reliability of measuring campaign is one of the most important criteria taken into account. Chapter three describes the sites identified on the long list. From the local perspective, there are several localisation criteria for identification of the most suitable sites,such as accessibility, availability of personnel for maintenance and cleaning, security, sustainability of running the measurement campaign in a long term, acceptance/interest of the present land owner, and other economical and logistical criteria. Based on the selection procedure we have identified a long list of 10 potential sites that are suitable for installation of Tier 1 and Tier 2 solar resource measuring instruments. In the report we describe 4 of them in a more detail. At this subset of sites managed by Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS), there is located ameteorological station with some instrumentation and personnel. The long-listed sites represent fully the climate of Maldives. We also propose a short list of preselected sites to facilitate the final decisions. To ensure viability of the project, regular maintenance and cleaning is inevitable precondition to achieve reliable validation data sets. From this perspective, hosts who are interested to acquire measurements for their professional purposes (during and after measurement campaign) create the priority group of potential hosts.


doi:10.1053/scva.2000.19826 The high prevalence of severe coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients who need vascular surgery is responsible for their high risk for both short(30-days postoperatively) and long-term morbidity and mortality. Coronary revascularization before noncardiac surgery is virtually never indicated solely &dquo;to get a patient through&dquo; the perioperative period. Patients with 3-vessel CAD or left main artery disease and those with poor left ventricular function are a subgroup who may benefit from surgical coronary revascularization. After clinical evaluation, selective noninvasive testing with either dobutamine stress echocardiography or dipyridamole scintigraphy followed by coronary angiography, when these test results are positive, appears reasonable. Such evaluation


Results obtained with 50- mu s dispersion, 5-MHz bandwidth pulse compression subsystem using linear FM with frequency relatively low TB product are presented. To generate the transmit signal, a high-performance digital chirp system is developed. The compression section is made from a metallic reflective array compressor (RAC) device cascaded with a surface acoustic wave (SAW) equalizer on quartz. The equalizer is designed to compensate for the RAC imperfections using accurate SAW device analysis models. The experimental results exhibit a sidelobe level lower than -60 dB.<<ETX>>


To extend storage life of lemons (Citrus limon Burm f.), Nature Seal® 2020 full strength, half strength, a storage wax, and water were applied to lemon fruits. External fruit back ground color was measured after two and three weeks of stor age at 13 C by using a Minolta Chromameter. The results show Nature Seal® 2020 full strength significantly delayed ripening of lemons as indicated by "a," "b" and "L" value. Storage wax was not effective, as compared to water control. Nature Seal® 2020 half strength was more effective than storage wax and less effective than Nature Seal® 2020 full strength. Lemons are harvested year-round, but most fruit reach harvestable size and are picked during the winter when con sumption is relatively light. Fruits are washed; sanitized in wa ter with either sodium ortho-phenylphenate (SOPP), chlorine or soda ash; and coated with storage waxes. Fruits packed in cartons may be stored for several months before marketing. Decay, over ripening and water loss are major problems which limit the postharvest life of the fruits. Fruits gradually decrease and eventually lose their resistance to pathogens due to ripening and senescence. Methods which delay ripening may also delay decay. Fungicides, thiabendazole (TBZ) or imazalil, are used for decay control. Storage waxes are used mainly as a carrier for the fungicide. They re place natural wax but have little effect on ripening control. Low oxygen concentration of 5% to 8% can reduce decay and delay color change of lemons (Biale, et al., 1947, Rygg and Wells, 1962). If oxygen falls to below 3% or if CO2 rises above 10% for a prolonged period, adverse effects may occur. However, Controlled Atmosphere (CA) is not commercially used for lemon storage. Plastic film package was effective on ripening control, but it may promote decay because of high levels of humidity and CO2 within the sealed package. A cellulose-based edible coating, Nature Seal®, was devel oped by USDA in Winter Haven, Florida, improved and pro duced by EcoScience Produce Systems Corp. It forms a thin film on fruit surfaces which acts as a barrier to gas and water diffusion. Nature Seal® delayed ripening of both climacteric and non-climacteric fruits (Nisperos Carriedo et al., 1991). Nature Seal® 2020 delayed color change and softening of guava (McGuire and Hallman, 1995), papayas (Baldwin et al., 1992), mangoes, bananas and avocados. Storage life of the commodities was extended for about one week. It was more effective on delaying color change of lime fruits than a min eral oil coating. Nature Seal® 4000, used as a pack-out coating, delayed degreening and softening of pears and apples for one week at room temperature. It also delayed scuffing and re duced the decay rate of pears. This experiment was designed to explore the possibility of replacing lemon storage wax with Nature Seal® 2020 to achieve better ripening control during storage. Materials and Methods Two cartons of lemon fruits were collected from a stan dard packing house after washing in California and were shipped to Orlando by overnight express in March. One car ton contained light green fruits and the other contained green fruits. Thirty fruits of each maturity were randomly as signed to each coating treatment. Coating treatments included water control, Nature Seal® 2020 full strength (NSF), Nature Seal® 2020 half strength (1:1 diluted with deionized water, NSH) and storage wax (a com mercially used product; label rate for 120 day storage is 2% so lution). Each coating also contained 0.2% Imazalil and 250 ppm 2,4-D. Coatings were applied to fruits by brushing and allowed to dry at room temperature. Each treatment (30 fruits) were packed in a brown paper bag and four bags of same maturity were kept in the same carton. Fruits were stored for three weeks at 13°C and about 90% RH. Fruit external background color was measured by using a Minolta Chromameter 300. One reading was collected per fruit and all of fruits in a treatment were measured. Data was analyzed as 2 x 4 factorial and means were separated by using Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT, P < 0.01). Results During ripening, lemon fruits lose chlorophyll. Skin color changes from green to yellow. Minolta Chromameter (Ram sey N. J.) "L" measures lightness, "a" represents greenness to red and "b" indicates yellow to blue. "L," "a" and "b" values in crease with ripening of lemon. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 108: 1995. 285


An analysis of the European insurance industry on the verge of a structural shake-up On July 1, 1994, the third EC insurance directive will further deregulate the European insurance industry, providing another brutal increase in competition that will put in jeopardy the fortunes of the majority of Europe's traditional insurance providers. Indeed, dramatically changing patterns of competition have already begun to anticipate the painful effects of deregulation: the industry is on the verge of a structural shake-up, and the losses will be heavy. The strong likelihood is that many traditional multi-line insurers will break down under the pressures -- financial and managerial -- of a genuinely free market. But there are basic changes these companies can -- and must -- make now to steer their way through the coming period of deep structural change. WITH ITS ASSETS of more than US$2.2 trillion growing faster than GDP, the European insurance industry has long been a well protected and very profitable financial machine. It has also been extremely fragmented: more than 2,000 companies; a wide variety of sales methods, financial reporting methods, and tax regimes; and huge cross-border variations in market penetration and in the premiums charged for comparable coverage. (The average per capita premium in Greece, for example, is US$115: in the United Kingdom, US$1,907.) As a result, when the protection offered by national laws disappears, the degree of upheaval in insurance will be considerably greater than in most other regulated industries. Based on government-approved premiums and conditions, European insurers' decades-old formula for success -- "go for volume" -- is not merely obsolete. It is a recipe for disaster. As in the United States' airline, transportation, and financial services industries in the late 1970s and 1980s, far-reaching deregulation will lead to extreme difficulties for -- and even the demise of -- many traditional carriers. When economic ground rules change, poorly-managed companies will no longer be able to survive, let alone prosper. Only the fittest will stand a chance. An industry in transition The balance sheets of many of Europe's major insurance and reinsurance groups are already beginning to show the signs of increasing pressure on profits: underwriting results in 1991 and 1992 were sharply down. This is not, as it was in the past, merely the reflection of a temporary dip in the underwriting cycle. t marks the onset of an unstoppable transition. In the more deregulated environments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and France, industry profitability has plummeted, in some cases to levels only one-third those of such markets as Germany and Switzerland (Exhibit 1) -- markets that are still heavily regulated and obviously on the brink of a drastic decline in profitability. The economic logic for the impending collapse in profits across the region rests on: * Overcapacity of 30 percent or more in sales and administration. The capital resources built up during the long era of high growth rates and stable profits are now making possible much more aggressive competition. Products are rapidly degenerating into commodities, as prices and margins decline in the general search for volume to fill capacity. * A rush of specialized insurers into the market with simplified and, in some cases, 40 to 50 percent leaner cost structures is grabbing share away from established multi-line insurers -- and fundamentally changing the whole industry's cost curve. * More discerning customers are beginning to see insurance as a major financial burden and are actively seeking more favorable terms and conditions. As households and industrial corporations alike opt for self-insurance much more frequently, the total volume of premiums in the market will fall by 20 to 25 percent from today's levels. * Financing the enormous investments now required in systems and marketing will force insurers to ratchet up profitability levels or liquidate hidden reserves. …


This study intends to describe the development planning process at the grassroots level where the selected location is Kekasewa Village, Ndona District, Ende Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Specifically, this research is aimed at describing the development planning process at the research location and identifying and explaining the supporting and inhibiting factors. Through qualitative descriptive research, it is described more accurately from observations made in full about a symptom or social situation including through observation and interviews. Some of the selected informants are government officials, community organizations and community members. The analysis was carried out by examining the data obtained from various sources and informants. The results obtained from this study indicate that (1) the application of participatory principles in the process of planning development programs in the village of Kekasewa can be said to be running even though it does not fully follow the principles of, by and for the community, (2) the process of planning development programs in the village Kekasewa has carried out a participatory development program planning process, the steps of which include: reviewing the situation or reviewing the situation, identifying future needs, identifying available resources and agreeing on a plan. In addition, the results that can be recorded from the field show that of the four main factors that influence the participatory planning process at the research location, two of these factors (the existence of mutual trust and democratic agreement) are proven to be supporting factors in the planning process of development programs/activities. As for the other two factors (professionalism of human resources and understanding of development issues themselves) in general they have not shown their role in supporting the "smooth" process of development program planning and have instead become obstacles to the planning process. Regarding the results of the research above, several important things that are recommended in this study are (1) maintaining the existing planning process because it essentially fulfills the principles of the community by the community and for the community. Even if there must be corrective steps, it is recommended to sharpen and reinforce the function and role of the Musbangdus and Musbangdes forums as a vehicle for screening/selection by applying a priority scale, (2) considering the function of the Musbangdus and Musbangdes as a means or medium of dissemination for existing proposed plans, whether those proposed by residents or sectoral plan proposals, (3) utilizing customary institutions through a joint agreement with the village government to instill relevant values to all members of the community to pay more attention to time issues, for example through "wora nau" (meaningful messages) conveyed by the mosalaki the day before the meeting, and (4) raising awareness through training regarding self-help surveys to identify potential or other forms of participatory rural appraisal (PRA).


Both relaxin-3 and its receptor (GPCR135) are predominantly expressed in brain regions known to play important roles in processing sensory signals. Recent studies have shown that relaxin-3 is involved in the regulation of stress and feeding behaviors. The mechanisms underlying the involvement of relaxin-3/GPCR135 in the regulation of stress, feeding, and other potential functions remain to be studied. Since relaxin-3 also activates the relaxin receptor (LGR7), which is also expressed in the brain, selective GPCR135 agonists and antagonists are crucial to study the physiological functions of relaxin-3 and GPCR135 in vivo. Previously, we reported the creation of a selective GPCR135 agonist (a chimeric relaxin3/INSL5 peptide, designated R3/I5). In this report, we describe the creation of a high affinity antagonist for GPCR135 and GPCR142 over LGR7. This GPCR135 antagonist, R3(B∆23-27)R/I5, consists of the relaxin-3 B-chain with a replacement of Gly to Arg, a truncation at the C-terminus (Gly-Trp deleted) and the A-chain of INSL5. In vitro pharmacological studies show that R3(B∆23-27)R/I5 binds to human GPCR135 (IC50 = 0.67 nM) and GPCR142 (IC50 = 2.29 nM) with high affinity and is a potent functional GPCR135 antagonist (pA2 = 9.15), but is not a human LGR7 ligand. Furthermore, R3(B∆23-27)R/I5 had a similar binding profile at the rat GPCR135 receptor (IC50 = 0.25 nM, pA2 = 9.6) and lacked affinity for the rat LGR7 receptor. When administered to rat intracerebroventricularly, R3(B∆23-27)R/I5 blocked food intake induced by the GPCR135 selective agonist R3/I5. Thus, R3(B∆2327)R/I5 should prove a useful tool for the further delineation of the functions of the relaxin-3/GPCR135 system. Introduction Relaxin-3 (1) is the most recently identified member of the insulin-relaxin peptide family. Both relaxin-3 and its receptor, GPCR135 (2), are predominantly expressed in the brain (2, 3). GPCR135, an inhibitory receptor, is expressed in many regions of the rodent brain such as the superior colliculus, sensory cortex, olfactory bulb, amygdala and PVN (4-6.), suggesting potential physiological involvement in neuroendocrine and sensory processing. Recent in vivo studies have further shown that relaxin-3 and GPCR135 are involved in the stress response and in regulation of feeding. More specifically, water restraint stress or intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) infusion induces relaxin3 expression in cells of the nucleus incertus, a region where CRF receptor 1 is also expressed (7) and central administration of relaxin-3 induces feeding in rat (8, 9). These findings suggest that GPCR135 and relaxin-3 may be involved in multiple physiological processes, some of which might be as yet unknown. In vitro, relaxin-3 activates GPCR135 (2), GPCR142 (10) and LGR7 (11) receptors. The http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.M701416200 The latest version is at JBC Papers in Press. Published on July 2, 2007 as Manuscript M701416200 Copyright 2007 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. by gest on N ovem er 7, 2017 hp://w w w .jb.org/ D ow nladed from


We present an efficient computational methodology for full electrodynamic calculations of metallodielectric nanostructures based on a multiple-scattering formulation of Maxwell's equations. The method, originally developed for systems of spherical particles (MULTEM code), is extended to systems of particles of arbitrary shape and applied to ordered structures of metallic nanodisks with an aspect ratio as large as five. We first discuss the particle plasmon resonances of single metallic nanocylinders of different aspect ratios. Then, we study the plasmonic excitations of square arrays of metal-dielectric-metal nanosandwiches and the optical response of a rectangular lattice of metallic nanodisks on a dielectric waveguide. Finally we analyse the photonic band structure of a simple cubic crystal of metallic nanodisks.


IgA ELISA testing for the initial treatment of .pylori infection, without alarming signs such as weight loss, blood-positive stool, palpable mass, etc. can be used. Approach has been designed based on the UBT test. Though accurate UBT testing for treatment and follow-up is better, but due to financial constraints, we would prefer to use this method. Fardin Faraji, MD Assistant Professor of Neurology Arak University of Medical Sciences P.O. Box 13185-1678 Tehran, Iran E-mail: email@example.com


The aim of the study was to analyse the differences in critical features of high jump take-off in different ages. 3D photogrammetry was used to analyse the best jump of the participants of 3 Spanish Indoor Championships (2009) (13-15 y, 17-18 y, and 18-34 y). The variables measured were horizontal velocity of the centre of mass (CM) at touchdown (VH0), knee angle at touchdown (K0), leg angle at touchdown (L0); height of the CM at touchdown (H0); and take-off angle (TOA). The three groups were compared with ANOVA and each variable was correlated with the maximum CM height. Statistical differences were found in VH0 and H0, but not in the variables directly related to the take-off technique. It is concluded that younger athletes use similar techniques than older ones. This might be a wrong strategy, as they should adapt it to their maturity limitations.


Objective To study the assessment value of speckle tracking technology (STI) on left ventricular radial systolic function after stent implantation in patients with acute coronary syndrome, so as to explore the efficacy of reperfusion therapy by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods STI testing was conducted in 32 patients with acute coronary syndrome before PCI and 3 months after PCI for left ventricular radial motion indicator strain rate (SRs), peak systolic radial strain (SR), and the radial displacement (DR). Results Three months after PCI, LVEF, ESV and EDV were significantly improved compared with those before PCI (P0.01), SV showed statistically significant difference with that before PCI, and the SRs, SR, DR were all increased significantly compared. Conclusion STI is an effective method for evaluating the changes in the segmental wall motion of patients with acute coronary syndrome.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the reciprocal relation between total quality management (TQM) and knowledge management (KM) and their impact on process and product innovation. The data were collected from a survey of 190 research and development (R&D) unit managers in Malaysia. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and in the next step, structural analysis was performed to evaluate the research model. The results revealed that there is a reciprocal relationship between TQM and KM. Additionally, TQM and KM showed a positive association with process and product innovation. Regarding the controversy of the relationship between TQM and innovation, this study supports the positive association between TQM and innovation. This study is among the first studies which provide empirical evidence to a reciprocal relationship between TQM and KM. The analysis shows that R&D firms by implementing TQM alongside KM not only are able to manage their activities efficiently, but also are able to effectively perform in an innovative manner.


A robotic stacker serves to lift, deliver, retrieve, and place items from one position to another. Different designs for robotic stackers have already been developed. Mobility is one characteristic of robotic stacker; this gives it the freedom to travel from one location to another. Different gripping mechanisms for the interaction with the items have also been tested by previous researchers. This research study aims to design and evaluate an autonomous twowheeled robotic stacker prototype that will stack cylinders based on weight. The controller used for the robotic stacker is the Arduino Mega 2560. The robotic stacker uses a twofinger gripping mechanism and arm to accomplish the stacking process. For movement, a line following system was developed. Three FC-123 infrared sensors are used for the line following system. For positioning, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are placed on the path and serve as stopping points. A RFID reader is then attached on the robotic stacker. Three load balances weigh the three cylinders for stacking order. Stacking of the cylinders is by weight, with the heaviest cylinder at the bottom. For the results, the pose accuracy of the arm-gripper assembly was ±0.1333 mm and ±0.2583 mm, during no load and maximum load operation respectively. The pose repeatability of the arm-gripper assembly was ±1.2521 mm and ±0.8112 mm, during no load and maximum load operation respectively. After final testing, the total stack offset was 16.13 mm. Distance accuracy was found to be ±1.933 mm, while the distance repeatability was ±10.6128 mm. Data from the trials were not sufficient to show a correlation between the attained distances and the stack offset. 


The risk of development of hypoglycemia increases during glycemic control in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. We report the case that an ESRD patient on maintenance hemodialysis has experienced sustained hypoglycemia with a nateglinide. A 73-year old male ESRD patient on hemodialysis was admitted with exertional dyspnea and increased liver function test. On the 4th day after admission, he had mental change with his blood glucose level of 41 mg/dL. His mental state improved promptly after intravenous injection of 25 g of glucose. To prevent rebound hypoglycemia 10% glucose solution was continuously infused and nateglinide was discarded. However, he has had recurrent hypoglycemic attacks until the 6th day after admission, and thereafter there was no further hypoglycemic attack. On the 5th day of admission, when there was second hypoglycemic attack, the fasting insulin level was 31.62 U/mL, indicating that hypoglycemia was accompanied by insulin hypersecretion. In conclusion, we suggest that nateglinide may provoke a severe and sustained hypoglycemia in an ESRD patient on maintenance hemodialysis and its use might be avoided.


The invention discloses a production method of gypsum tailings compressed nutrient soil. The key point of the technical scheme is that the production method comprises the following steps: first, acidifying gypsum tailings and sludge; then, packaging into a finished product after carrying out stirring, compression and microwave low-temperature sterilization on ingredients of the gypsum tailings compressed nutrient soil. The gypsum tailings compressed nutrient soil is prepared from the following raw materials such as acidified gypsum tailings, acidified sludge, instant sodium silicate, polyvinyl alcohol, ferrous sulfate, peat, flower ceramsite, hyperviscous attapulgite, biogas slurry, biogas residues, smashed plant fibers, expanded vermiculite, expanded perlite and super absorbent resin. The gypsum tailings compressed nutrient soil contains a plenty of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matters and various microelements and can provide nutrient elements required by plant growth and reduce the damage on the plants caused by pathogenic bacteria and injurious insects, thereby facilitating normal growth and development of the plants and protecting the ecological environment. The production method of the gypsum tailings compressed nutrient soil is suitable for producing gypsum tailings compressed nutrient soil with different formulae.


This LibGuide is intended to assist students with their psychological diagnosis of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye.


New-generation direct searches for low mass dark matter feature detection thresholds at energies well below 100 eV, much lower than the energies of commonly used X-ray calibration sources. This requires new calibration sources with sub-keV energies. When searching for nuclear recoil signals, the calibration source should ideally cause mono-energetic nuclear recoils in the relevant energy range. Recently, a new calibration method based on the radiative neutron capture on $^{182}$W with subsequent de-excitation via single $\gamma$-emission leading to a nuclear recoil peak at 112 eV was proposed. The CRESST-III dark matter search operated several CaWO$_{4}$-based detector modules with detection thresholds below 100 eV in the past years. We report the observation of a peak around the expected energy of 112 eV in the data of three different detector modules recorded while irradiated with neutrons from different AmBe calibration sources. We compare the properties of the observed peaks with Geant-4 simulations and assess the prospects of using this for the energy calibration of CRESST-III detectors.


The Raman microscopic analysis of a cryptoendolithic lichen community in sandstone from East Beacon Ridge, Victoria Land, Antarctica, is described for the first time. The Raman spectra from the crustal, lichen, fungal and accumulation zones were used to assess the strategy adopted by the lichen community under environmentally stressed conditions. Calcium oxalate dihydrate was found only in the upper lichen zone, whereas calcium oxalate monohydrate was found distributed through several zones; this is ascribed to a microenvironmental temperature gradient. The leaching of iron oxide occurs from the crustal surface zone into the accumulation zone. In contradiction with earlier wet chemical destructive analyses of Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities, the presence of calcium carbonate was not confirmed in the lichen or fungal zones. The Raman spectroscopic results were confirmed by scanning electron microscopic x-ray analysis.


In light of the Reveiw Conference on the UN Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences to be in November 1988, this paper highlights some of the Major problems impinging upon the universal acceptability of the Code. These include the reservation (known as the Brussels Package) by EC and certain other OECD countries that discriminates aganist developing and Socialist countries; reservations of a controversial nature with regard to the establishment of joint shipping lines established on the basis of intergovernmental bilateral agreement; and the question of compctition by non-conference lines that diminishes the share of cargo available to National Lines by virtue of the Code.


ABSTRACT Previous research has suggested that Euhrychiopsis lecontei, an aquatic weevil native to North America, may act as a biological control for Eurasian watermilfoil. To be able to predict which lakes weevils are likely to be effective in laboratory and field studies were carried out under a range of conditions. In the laboratory, weevils survived and reproduced in water up to 31°C, but not at 34°C. Weevils preferred Eurasian watermilfoil plants with no marl, but ate and laid eggs on marl-covered plants. The weevils preferred plants grown in richer sediment, but did eat and lay eggs on plants grown in poorer sediment After open water releases of weevils in three lakes, weevil populations were established and had a negative impact on Eurasian watermilfoil. We have followed a Eurasian watermilfoil decline from 1990–1995. Plant and weevil abundance have varied over the years; however, Eurasian watermilfoil has never regained its former dominance. Based on these trials, it appears that E. lecontei can su...