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Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of anti-leukotrienes and inhaled glucocorticoids as monotherapy in people with asthma. Design: Systematic review of randomised controlled trials comparing anti-leukotrienes with inhaled glucocorticoids for 28 days or more in children and adults. Main outcome measure: Rate of exacerbations that required treatment with systemic glucocorticoids. Results: 13 trials (12 in adults, one in children) met the inclusion criteria; all were in people with mild and moderate asthma. Leukotriene receptor antagonists were compared with inhaled glucocorticoids at a daily dose equivalent to 400–450 μg beclometasone dipropionate. Patients treated with leukotriene receptor antagonists were 60% more likely to suffer an exacerbation requiring systemic glucocorticoids (relative risk 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 2.2; number needed to treat 27, 13 to 81). A 130 ml greater improvement (80 ml to 170 ml) in forced expiratory volume in one second and a 19 l/min greater increase (14 l to 24 l) in morning peak expiratory flow rate were noted in favour of inhaled glucocorticoids. Differences in favour of inhaled glucocorticoids were also observed for nocturnal awakenings, use of rescue β2 agonists, and days without symptoms. Risk of side effects was no different between groups, but leukotriene receptor antagonists were associated a 2.5-fold increase risk of withdrawals due to poor asthma control (relative risk 2.5, 1.8 to 3.5). Conclusions: Inhaled glucocorticoids doses equivalent to 400 μg/day beclometasone are more effective than leukotriene receptor antagonists in the treatment of adults with mild or moderate asthma. There is insufficient evidence to conclude on the efficacy of anti-leukotrienes in children. What is already known on this topic In 2000 a Cochrane systematic review tentatively concluded that control of asthma was better in patients treated with inhaled glucocorticoids as single agents than with anti-leukotrienes The 2002 Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines still classify the role of anti-leukotrienes as “under investigation” What this study adds Anti-leukotrienes as single agent are less effective than low doses of inhaled glucocorticoids for patients with mild and moderate persistent asthma

Summary form only given. Much effort has been put in the elucidation of the photochemistry of ClO/sub 2/ in the gas and the condensed phases since the outcome of the reaction pathways may have strong implications for sun-light induced stratospheric chemistry. Gas phase experiments and ab initio calculations have shown the complexity of the photochemical dynamics of ClO/sub 2/, that can dissociate along the pathways ClO+O or Cl+O/sub 2/. It is now clear that the excited state dynamics of the A/spl tilde//sup 2/A/sub 2/ state is determined by a multitude of conical intersections to the optically weak 1/sup 2/A/sub 1/ and the dark 1/sup 1/B/sub 2/ states. In the gas phase the lifetimes of these states before dissociation to the photoproduct can be determined with femtosecond time-resolved mass and photoelectron spectroscopy. We have performed pump-probe spectroscopy with 50 fs temporal resolution, where pump and probe were centered at 403 nm, produced by a frequency-doubled l-kHz amplified Ti:sapphire system, in order to get more insight in the initial dynamics in solution, where features like cage effect, recombination and relaxation to the ground state as well as reaction with the solvent may occur.

This paper explains a design and the comparison of two multi-disc permanent magnet motor. The actuator must provide answers to the volume constraint and torque. This application is employed in land transport for aeronautical field. The axial flux motors become interesting when obtaining large surfaces of air-gap with the traditional machines is no possible. Indeed, surfaces of air-gap are more important in comparison with a radial flux machine, and, in a given volume, they allow to obtain a higher torque. After having shown the multi-air gap structure, we describe the design method from elementary cells. That's why two types the disc-type motor were selected. This paper clearly shows the efficient topology of a disc-type multi-air gap machine.

This paper investigates a scheduling model with certain co-existing features of serial-batching, dynamic job arrival, multi-types of job, and setup time. In this proposed model, the jobs of all types are first partitioned into serial batches, which are then processed on a single serial-batching machine with an independent constant setup time for each new batch. In order to solve this scheduling problem, we divide it into two phases based on job arrival times, and we also derive and prove certain constructive properties for these two phases. Relying on these properties, we develop a two-phase hybrid algorithm (TPHA). In addition, a valid lower bound of the problem is also derived. This is used to validate the quality of the proposed algorithm. Computational experiments, both with small- and large-scale problems, are performed in order to evaluate the performance of TPHA. The computational results indicate that TPHA outperforms seven other heuristic algorithms. For all test problems of different job sizes, the average gap percentage between the makespan, obtained using TPHA, and the lower bound does not exceed 5.41 %.

The Relationship Between Agricultural Prices and Food Prices This paper examines the relationships between agriculture, food processing, trade and retail, and consumers at the macro-economic level in France, between 1978 and 2005. The surplus account method is applied using input-output tables (IOT). In order to do so, volume and price indices are calculated for all the elements of the IOTs' to measure the productivity of agriculture and food processing industries and measure the transfers of purchasing power between various economic agents. Agriculture includes forestry and fishing. Food processing industries are divided into two sub-sectors: meat and dairy, and other food processing industries. Trade and retail activities are measured by marketing margins. To measure relationships between sectors, we use the table of intermediate inputs. Relationships with the rest of the world are taken into account through imports and exports. The subsidies and taxes are introduced either at the stage of production, or at the stage of use of products. Payments of factors in each sector are deducted from income accounts, their volume being calculated like an aggregate of the labour and fixed assets being used., Ce texte examine, sur le plan macroéconomique, les relations entre l'agriculture, les industries agro-alimentaires, le commerce et les consommateurs, en France, entre 1978 et 2005. La méthode des comptes de surplus est appliquée aux tableaux entrées-sorties pour mesurer la productivité de l'agriculture et des industries alimentaires et apprécier les transferts de pouvoir d'achat entre les différents agents. L'agriculture inclut la sylviculture et la pêche. Les industries sont divisées en deux branches, les industries de la viande et du lait et les autres industries alimentaires. L'activité du commerce est mesurée par les marges commerciales. Pour apprécier les relations entre branches, le tableau des entrées intermédiaires est utilisé. Les relations avec l'étranger sont prises en compte à travers les importations et les exportations. Les subventions et les taxes sont introduites soit au stade de la production, soit au stade de l'utilisation des produits. Le revenu des facteurs internes des branches est déduit des comptes d'exploitation, leur volume étant calculé comme un agrégat du travail et du capital fixe utilisés., Butault Jean-Pierre. La relation entre prix agricoles et prix alimentaires. In: Revue française d'économie, volume 23, n°2, 2008. pp. 215-241.

With increased demands, power modules are often required to run at higher temperatures with improved reliability. Solder joint fatigue is a major failure mode for current power modules. Silver sintering die-attach technology significantly improves power module reliability. Due to the reliability problem at the interface between aluminum (Al) wire and a silver (Ag) layer, bonding Ag wire to the Ag layer is highly desired. Ag wire is harder and stiffer than Al wire, resulting in much higher wear and significantly reduced lifetime of consumables. This paper introduced the K&S CuEx™ bond tool and studied coupling and interaction between the bond tool and Ag wire. By optimizing the bonding process, the CuEx™ bond tools achieved 400,000 touchdowns, which is 80× more than the standard bond tool lifetime of 5,000 touchdowns. The difference between the front-cut and rear-cut process is discussed. By studying and optimizing the cutting process, the standard rear-cut cutter blade lifetime is increased 4×, from 50,000 cuts to 200,000 cuts. It is observed that Ag wire did not wear a wire guide much faster than Al wire. The standard wire guide exhibited minimum wear after 200,000 bonds.

Due to current improvements in techniques for islet isolation and transplantation and protocols for immunosuppressants, islet transplantation has become an effective treatment for severe diabetes patients. Many diabetic animal models have contributed to such improvements. In this paper, we focus on 3 types of models with different mechanisms for inducing diabetes mellitus (DM): models induced by drugs including streptozotocin (STZ), pancreatomized models, and spontaneous models due to autoimmunity. STZ-induced diabetes is one of the most commonly used experimental diabetic models and is employed using many specimens including rodents, pigs or monkeys. The management of STZ models is well established for islet studies. Pancreatomized models reveal different aspects compared to STZ-induced models in terms of loss of function in the increase and decrease of blood glucose and therefore are useful for evaluating the condition in total pancreatomized patients. Spontaneous models are useful for preclinical studies including the assessment of immunosuppressants because such models involve the same mechanisms as type 1 DM in the clinical setting. In conclusion, islet researchers should select suitable diabetic animal models according to the aim of the study.

A common task of Web users is querying structured information from Web pages. In this paper we propose a novel query processor for systematically discovering any-k relations from Web search results with conjunctive queries. The 'any-k' phrase denotes that retrieved tuples are not ranked by the system.For realizing this interesting scenario the query processor transfers a structured query into keyword queries that are submitted to a search engine, forwards search results to relation extractors, and then combines relations into result tuples.Unfortunately, relation extractors may fail to return a relation for a result tuple. We propose a solid information theory-based approach for retrieving missing attribute values of partially retrieved relations. Moreover, user-defined data sources may not return at least k complete result tuples. To solve this problem, we extend the Eddy query processing mechanism [14] for our 'querying the Web' scenario with a continuous, adaptive routing model. The model determines the most promising next incomplete row for returning any-k complete result tuples at any point during the query execution process.We report a thorough experimental evaluation over multiple relation extractors. Our experiments demonstrate that our query processor returns complete result tuples while processing only very few Web pages.

This paper presents a novel control strategy for an above-knee powered prosthetic leg that unifies the entire gait cycle, eliminating the need to switch between controllers during different periods of gait. Current control methods divide the gait cycle into several sequential periods each with independent controllers, resulting in many patient-specific control parameters and switching rules that must be tuned by clinicians. Having a single controller could reduce the number of control parameters to be tuned for each patient, thereby reducing the clinical time and effort involved in fitting a powered prosthesis for a lower-limb amputee. Using the Discrete Fourier Transformation, a single virtual constraint is derived that exactly characterizes the desired actuated joint motion over the entire gait cycle. Because the virtual constraint is defined as a periodic function of a monotonically increasing phase variable, no switching or resetting is necessary within or across gait cycles. The output function is zeroed using feedback linearization to produce a single, unified controller. The method is illustrated with simulations of a powered knee-ankle prosthesis in an amputee biped model and with examples of systematically generated output functions for different walking speeds.

This article is based on surveys in 1988 among representative samples totalling 4,247 16‐19 year olds from four areas (Kirkcaldy, Liverpool, Sheffield and Swindon), of whom 1,562 had some experience of Youth Training (YT). The young people's likelihood of entering YT depended primarily on their educational qualifications and where they lived. Trainees’ chances of being kept on by the firms where they were trained depended mainly on their types of schemes and their performances during training, indicated by whether or not they earned any additional qualifications. The chances of those not retained moving immediately to jobs with other firms were more dependent on their school‐leaving qualifications and where they lived. The authors interpret their evidence to argue that employers’ uses of YT in the late‐1980s were creating increasingly clear divisions between sponsorship, contest and warehousing sectors. ∗ This paper is based on evidence from the Economic and Social Research Council's 16‐19 Initiative

The paper explores the uniqueness properties of the subjective probabilities in two axiomatizations of state-dependent preferences. Karni, Schmeidler, and Vind's (KSV 1983) system depends on selecting an arbitrary auxiliary probability, and as such, does not guarantee the uniqueness of the derived subjective probability. However, an axiom system initially designed by Karni and Schmeidler (KS 1981) and further elaborated upon here does guarantee the desired uniqueness as well as a useful property of “stability” of the derived solution. When the preference relation displays state-independence, even the KS probabilities may not agree with those derived from the classic Anscombe-Aumann (AA 1963) theorem. However, we claim that, in this case, the KS rather than the AA probabilities are the appropriate representation of the agent's beliefs.

At present, regarding to the machining of aspheric lens mold, there are two major methods to carry out the on-machine measurement (OMM) — contacting method (CM) and non-contacting method (NCM). Here such two methods are reviewed in detail. CM is mainly based on the contacting probe which is scratching aspheric surface of lens mold to achieve profile data. To be efficient, an idea with 45° tilt of probe is proposed for OMM of lens mold by Suzuki. But generally speaking, the contacting OMM is not so efficient and can only deal with axisymmetric aspheric lens mold. On the contrary, NCM mostly uses laser to achieve aspheric profile without any contact. On ultra-precision lathe, laser scanning system or laser interferometer is mounted on the frame of lathe and transfers measurement data to machining system efficiently. However, most NCMs need stable environment and low working noise except instantaneous phase-shifting shearing interferometry (IPSSI). Therefore, a new idea about IPSSI is proposed in this paper to realize OMM of lens molds. Unfortunately, it's also difficult to test the high numerical aperture aspheric or free-form lens molds. By comparison, the newly-developed fringe reflection (FR) method is becoming the promising method because it features the high efficiency and high accuracy. However, this method has not been used for OMM system yet. Much research should be conducted for FR OMM technology.

The continuous Skyline query has recently become the subject of the several researches due to its wide spectrum of applications such as multi-criteria decision making, graph analysis network, wireless sensor network and data exploration. In these applications, the datasets are huge and have various dimensions. Moreover, they constantly change as time passes. Therefore, this query is considered as a computation intensive operation that finding the result in a reasonable time is a challenge. In this paper, we present an efficient parallel continuous Skyline approach. In our suggested method, the dataset points are sorted and pruned based on Manhattan distance. Moreover, we use several optimization methods to optimize memory usage in comparison with naive implementation. In addition, besides the applied conventional parallelization methods, we partition the time steps based on the number of available cores. The experimental results for a dataset that contains 800k points with 7 dimensions show considerable speedup.

As regions around the world are considering increased integration of key energy, transport or other infrastructure networks, issues build in the design of the supranational national regulation needed in that context are increasingly well recognized. Solutions are however slow to emerge. This paper reviews the challenges and discusses the directions suggested by theory to address these challenges. It highlight the potentially counterproductive effects of common standard policy recommendations discussed at the political level. The paper also identifies key research areas as the review of match between theory and evidence suggest that we still have to address significant gaps in our collective understanding of the impediments to desirable integration efforts., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This paper presents a novel fuzzy adaptive controller for controlling a class of dead-zone output nonlinear systems with time delays. A new approximate model is first designed to describe a special dead-zone phenomenon encountered by the output mechanism of nonlinear systems, and the proposed smooth model can be conveniently fused with available adaptive fuzzy control techniques. In addition, the coupling effect that the dead-zone output and the time-delayed states coexist in a common coupling function makes the tracking control design more complicated. To further address this difficulty, a compensation method using mean-value theorem with Lyapunov–Krasovskii function is presented in this paper. By using the proposed output dead-zone model, and based on Lyapunov synthesis, a new optimized algorithm is developed to guarantee the prescribed convergence of tracking error and the boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop systems. Simulations have been implemented to verify the performance of the proposed fuzzy adaptive controller.

Timothy P. Barnard, Cynthia Chou, Indonesian sea nomads; Money, magic, and fear of the Orang Suku Laut. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, xii + 159 pp. -R.H. Barnes, Toos van Dijk, Gouden eiland in de Bandazee; Socio-kosmische ideeën op Marsela, Maluku Tenggara, Indonesië. Leiden: Onderzoekschool voor Aziatische, Afrikaanse en Amerindische studies (CNWS), Universiteit Leiden, 2000, 458 pp. [CNWS Publications 94.] -Andrew Beatty, Peter G. Riddell, Islam and the Malay-Indonesian world; Transmission and responses. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2001, xvii + 349 pp. -Peter Boomgaard, Richard H. Grove ,El Niño - history and crisis; Studies from the Asia-Pacific region. Cambridge: White Horse Press, 2000, 230 pp., John Chappell (eds) -Bernardita Reyes Churchill, Florentino Rodao, Franco y el imperio japonés; Imágenes y propaganda en tiempos de guerra. Barcelona: Plaza and Janés, 2002, 669 pp. -Matthew Cohen, Stuart Robson, The Kraton; Selected essays on Javanese courts. Translated by Rosemary Robson-McKillop. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2003, xxvi + 397 pp. [Translation series 28.] -Serge Dunis, Ben Finney, Sailing in the wake of the ancestors; Reviving Polynesian voyaging. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 2003, 176 pp. [Legacy of excellence.] -Heleen Gall, Jan A. Somers, De VOC als volkenrechtelijke actor. Deventer: Gouda Quint, Rotterdam: Sanders Instituut, 2001, x + 350 pp. -David Henley, Harold Brookfield, Exploring agrodiversity. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001, xix + 348 pp. -David Hicks, Ernst van Veen ,A guide to the sources of the history of Dutch-Portuguese relations in Asia (1594-1797). With a foreword by Leonard Blussé. Leiden: Institute for the history of European expansion, 2001, iv + 378 pp. [Intercontinenta 24.], Daniël Klijn (eds) -Nico Kaptein, Donald J. Porter, Managing politics and Islam in Indonesia. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002, xxi + 264 pp. -Victor T. King, Monica Janowski, The forest, source of life; The Kelabit of Sarawak. London: British Museum Press, 2003, vi + 154 pp. [Occasional paper 143.] -Dick van der Meij, Andrée Jaunay, Exploration dans la presqu île malaise par Jacques de Morgan 1884. Paris: CNRS Éditions, 2003, xiv + 268 pp. Avec les contributions de Christine Lorre, Antonio Guerreiro et Antoine Verney. -Toon van Meijl, Richard Eves, The magical body; Power, fame and meaning in a Melanesian society. Amsterdam: Harwood academic, 1998, xxii + 302 pp. [Studies in Anthropology and History 23.] -Otto van den Muijzenberg, Florentino Rodao ,The Philippine revolution of 1896; Ordinary lives in extraordinary times. Quezon city: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2001, xx + 303 pp., Felice Noelle Rodriguez (eds) -Frank Okker, Kees Snoek, Manhafte heren en rijke erfdochters; Het voorgeslacht van E. du Perron op Java. Leiden: KITLV Uitgeverij, 2003, 103 pp. [Boekerij 'Oost en West'.] (met medewerking van Tim Timmers) -Oona Thommes Paredes, Greg Bankoff, Cultures of disaster; Society and natural hazard in the Philippines, 2003, xviii + 232 pp. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, xviii + 232 pp. -Angela Pashia, Lake' Baling, The old Kayan religion and the Bungan religious reform. Translated and annotated by Jérôme Rousseau. Kota Samarahan: Unit Penerbitan Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 2002, xviii + 124 pp. [Dayak studies monographs, Oral literature series 4.] -Anton Ploeg, Susan Meiselas, Encounters with the Dani; Stories from the Baliem Valley. New York: International center of photography, Göttingen: Steidl, 2003, 196 pp. -Nathan Porath, Robert W. Hefner, The politics of multiculturalism; Pluralism and citizenship in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2001, ix + 319 pp. -Jan van der Putten, Timothy P. Barnard, Multiple centres of authority; Society and environment in Siak and eastern Sumatra, 1674-1827. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2003, xvi + 206 pp. [Verhandelingen 210.] -Jan Piet Puype, David van Duuren, Krisses; A critical bibliography. Wijk en Aalburg: Pictures Publishers, 2002, 192 pp. -Thomas H. Slone, Gertrudis A.M. Offenberg ,Amoko - in the beginning; Myths and legends of the Asmat and Mimika Papuans. Adelaide: Crawford House, 2002, xxviii + 276 pp., Jan Pouwer (eds) -Fridus Steijlen, Kwa Chong Guan ,Oral history in Southeast Asia; Theory and method. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian studies, 2000, xii + 172 pp., James H. Morrison, Patricia Lim Pui Huen (eds) -Fridus Steijlen, P. Lim Pui Huen ,War and memory in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian studies, 2000, vii + 193 pp., Diana Wong (eds) -Jaap Timmer, Andrew Lattas, Cultures of secrecy; Reinventing race in Bush Kaliai cargo cults. Madison/London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998, xliv + 360 pp. -Edwin Wieringa, Kartika Setyawati ,Katalog naskah Merapi-Merbabu; Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Penerbitan Universitas Sanata Dharma, Leiden: Opleiding Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, 2002, ix + 278 pp. [Semaian 23.], I. Kuntara Wiryamartana, Willem van der Molen (eds) -Julian Millie, Jakob Sumardjo, Simbol-simbol artefak budaya Sunda; Tafsir-tafsir pantun Sunda. Bandung: Kelir, 2003, xxvi + 364 pp. -Julian Millie, T. Christomy, Wawacan Sama'un; Edisi teks dan analisis struktur Jakarta: Djambatan (in cooperation with the Ford Foundation), 2003, viii + 404 pp. -Julian Millie, Dadan Wildan, Sunan Gunung Jati (antara fiksi dan fakta); Pembumian Islam dengan pendekatan struktural dan kultural. Bandung: Humaniora Utama Press, 2002, xx + 372 pp.

The paper is devoted to functional and structural testing of programs. Experimental results of a set of programs are presented. The experiments cover selection of functional tests, analysis of function and line coverage and optimization of test suites. The comparison of code coverage results and selection of the most effective tests are discussed in the relation to the test-first approach for program development. The types of the code not covered by the tests are classified for different categories.

This paper presents the fabrication, characterization, and testing of the photocatalytic potential of a non-modified titania nanotube (TNT) and Sn-modified TNT synthesized through a facile one-step hydrothermal method. Two tin compounds (SnCl2 and SnO2) and aqueous solutions (HCl and SnCl2) were utilized as precursors and acid washing solutions, respectively. Because the Sn-modified TNT was free of calcination, the resulting sample possessed a high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area. In addition, the Sn-modified TNT exhibited higher electron-hole separation efficiency. The photocatalytic reaction rate for the sample with methylene blue and malachite green dye decomposition was governed on the basis of their pre-adsorption abilities. The Sn-modified TNT had more Cl species than the non-modified TNT, resulting in higher pre-adsorption abilities for the methylene blue dye. Even though the Cl species on SnO2-TNT sample surface were removed, a higher electron-hole separation efficiency and anatase-rutile mixed phase can promote the photocatalyst activity of SnO2-TNT. On the other hand, the Cl species on the surface of SnO2-TNT-HCl washing sample appeared to act as one of the adsorption sites and enhance gaseous elemental mercury removal.

In this paper, we present a formulation of state variable based gradient theory to model damage evolution and alleviate numerical instability associated within the post-bifurcation regime. This proposed theory is developed using basic microforce balance laws and appropriate state variables within a consistent thermodynamic framework. The proposed theory provides a strong coupling and consistent framework to prescribe energy storage and dissipation associated with internal damage. Moreover, the temporal evolution equation derived here naturally shows the effect of damage—nucleation, growth and coalescence. In addition, the theoretical framework presented here is easily extendable to the addition of other defects (not shown here), and can be generalized to the development of consistent coupled transport equations for species, such as hydrogen (Bammann et al. in JMPS, 2009, submitted), as well as providing a consistent structure for modeling events at diverse length scales.

The paper presents the results of a comparative study on accelerated aging of specially designed experimental transformers and their corresponding laboratory models. The experimental transformers are 300 kVA, with insulation in line with medium size and large mineral oil immersed power transformers, having different initial water contents in the standard Kraft paper insulation of ca. 1 and 4 %. These transformers were subjected to the rated current and voltage conditions, operating in the irregular parallel operation, whereby the temperature of windings were measured with fiber optics sensors and kept at 105 °C for 460 days. Each transformer was equipped with a removable tank which allowed access to the outer surface of the HV windings. Laboratory experiments were simulating experimental transformers and were performed in Erlenmeyer flasks, containing oil, paper materials, copper and iron in the same proportions as in the active part of the experimental transformers. The parameters that were monitored during aging were the following: degree of polymerization of paper, hot-spot temperature of transformers, water content in paper, and water and furans content in the oil. Estimations of water content in solid insulation of experimental transformers using frequency domain spectroscopy and the Perrier-Lukic moisture equilibrium chart were performed. The experimental results show that shortening of the insulation life, defined by the value of degree of polymerization, increased 2.5 times with increasing moisture content in the cellulose from ca. 1 to 4 %. For both experimental transformers and laboratory models, the relationships between the paper degree of polymerization and the furans content for dry and wet insulation was developed and is presented in the paper.

This paper presents a systemic study of the effect of different cross section of gate in permanent mould casting of aluminium alloy. To ensure best quality of the product the mould cavity must be filled with clean metal in a controlled manner to ensure smooth, uniform and complete filling. A gating system controls smooth, uniform and complete filling of the cavity by the molten metal. In this paper, CFD models illustrating the effect of rectangular and trapezium cross sections of gating on cooling of Aluminium alloy in a permanent mould casting were investigated. Same hydraulic diameter was assigned for each of the cross section of gating systems. Bottom gating system is used for its low gas entrapment and less surface defect characteristics. By analyzing it has been observed that in rectangular cross section the cooling is more rapid than trapezium cross sections considered in the investigation.

A medical genetics clinic is a unique and complex environment in which care requires a combination of medical knowledge, social intelligence, and emotional sensitivity. We offer a few pearls from our medical genetics clinic that we hope will help the pediatric or general dermatologist when caring for patients with known or suspected genetic disorders. This paper addresses five main topics: When is it more than just atopic dermatitis? How should the clinician approach blistering in the newborn period? What is mosaicism? When is genetic testing useful? Where can clinician, patients, and families turn for available resources?

This paper reviews recent developments in the theoretical description of the H + H2 reaction and its isotopic counterparts. Both methods and applications are considered, with an emphasis on quantum dynamics applications in three dimensional reactive collisions. Among the methods discussed are coupled channel (CC) and coupled states (CS) reactive scattering methods, reduced dimensionality exact quantum (RDEQ) methods, infinite order sudden (IOS) methods, coupled channel distorted wave (CCDW) methods and approximations thereto, and one dimensional reaction path methods used in variational transition state theory (VTST). Applications discussed center on four topics: (1) integral cross sections and rate constants for H + H2,D + H2, H + HD/DH and Mu (muonium) + H2; (2) vibrationally excited cross sections and rate constants for H + H2 and D + H2; (3) product state distributions in H + D2, and (4) reactive scattering resonances in H + H2. These applications generally indicate a high level of agreement between accurate theory and experiment, with several of the more approximate methods exhibiting nearly quantitative accuracy compared to CC or CS, and at a fraction of the computational effort. Some disagreement between theory and experiment still remains, however, with the rate constant for D + H2 (v=l) being the worst example in this regard. One of the most exciting new results in our review is that H + H2 posses es an apparently rich spectrum of resonance states associated with excitation of the bend mode simultaneously with the symmetric stretch.

The aim of this paper is to compare the two more standard geometrical formulations of gauge systems: the so-calledpresymplectic formulation and the formulation bygroup actions. We summarize the main features involved in them and prove that, at least locally, every presymplectic formulation can be interpreted in terms of group actions. The converse is also proved.

Earthworms can alter the soil environment by changing soil properties. They have great potentiality to enhance soil physical properties like bulk density, infiltrability, hydraulic conductivity, porosity, aggregate stability. Due to this ability they are only species which plays significant role in pedoturbation. Similarly, their role in nutrient cycling and organic matter breakdown is of unique interest. Earthworm cast fortified with the microbial population. Increasing microbial activity in soil, increases the nutrient mineralization and release. Earthworm activity enhances root distribution so that immobile macro nutrients like phosphorous and other micronutrients, which are absorbed by plant through root interception, are easily available to the plants. Hence, earthworms play important role in bioturbation, they are considered as 'soil engineer.' However, their activity differs with the agroecosystems. Their population density is more in reduced tillage system than conventional tillage system, aerobic condition than anaerobic conditions, grasslands than forest. Low population of earthworm was found in dry land agroecosystems. But earthworm presence in extreme environment is not studied well yet. So, this paper was reviewed to explore the role of earthworm as soil and ecosystem engineer. This was already established fact but main aim of this paper is to collect the related information and conclude the future research prospects to strengthen the earthworm role as soil and ecosystem engineer.

This paper proposes a content-based image retrieval system for skin lesion images as a diagnostic aid. The aim is to support decision making by retrieving and displaying relevant past cases visually similar to the one under examination. Skin lesions of five common classes, including two non-melanoma cancer types are used. Colour and texture features are extracted from lesions. Feature selection is achieved by optimising a similarity matching function. Experiments on our database of 208 images are performed and results evaluated.

Solving partial differential equations using neural networks is mostly a proof of concept approach. In the case of direct function approximation, a single neural network is constructed to be the solution of a particular boundary value problem. Independent variables are fed into the input layer, and a single output is considered as the solution’s value. The network is substituted into the equation, and the residual is then minimized with respect to the weights of the network using a gradient-based method. Our previous work showed that by minimizing all derivatives of the residual up to the third order one can obtain a machine precise solution for 2D boundary value problem using very sparse grids. The goal of this paper is to use this grid complexity advantage in order to obtain a solution faster than finite differences. However, the number of all possible high-order derivatives (and therefore the training time) increases with the number of dimensions and it was unclear whether this goal can be achieved. Here, we demonstrate that this increase can be compensated by using random directional derivatives instead. In 2D case neural networks are slower than finite differences, but for each additional dimension the complexity increases approximately 4 times for neural networks and 125 times for finite differences. This allows neural networks to catch up in 3D case for memory complexity and in 5D case for time complexity. For the first time a machine precise solution was obtained with neural network faster than with finite differences method.

Beryllium is known to precipitate in the form of basic carbonates from neutral and alkaline solutions [1]; the solubility of beryllium basic carbonates is mainly due to the formation of strong hydroxide, carbonate, and mixed-ligand hydroxocarbonate complexes [2‐7]. The thermodynamic properties (solubility products) of basic carbonates and the stability constants of beryllium hydroxocarbonate complexes have not yet been determined with sufficient accuracy. The possible occurrence of strongly bonded fluorocarbonate complexes (they are also poorly studied) adds even more uncertainty to the calculations of beryllium speciation [7]. As a result, the estimation of the environmental mobility of beryllium becomes considerably less reliable, and it is more difficult to develop efficient green technologies. To partially fill in the existing gap, here we report the experimental investigation of CÂ 2 (ec) 2 ee 3 solubilities in carbonate solutions. In the experiments, we used basic beryllium carbonate CÂ 2 (ec) 2 ee 3 , which was precipitated from a boiling 0.05 M BeSO 4 solution with a twofold excess of a heated-to-boil 0.5 M Na 2 CO 3 solution. CÂ 2 (ec) 2 ee 3 solubilities were studied in 0.7 M NaClO 4 solutions that contained variable amounts of Na c CO 3 and Na 2 CO 3 with their overall concentration being less than or equal to 0.05 mol/L. In one set of runs, the solutions in addition contained NaF. The weight ratio of the solid phase to solution in all runs was 1 : 200. The run duration was 2 weeks, which was about twice as long as the period required for the solute beryllium concentration and pH to acquire constant values. The solution temperatures were within 25 ± 1°e . At the end of a run, the sample was filtered through presteamed, fine Blue Ribbon paper filters. The filtrates were colorimetrically analyzed for beryllium using Beryllon II indicator and for carbonate alkalinity using an acidometric method; the filtrate pH was determined potentiometrically. The measurement error was ± 5%, ± 2% , and ± 0.005 pH, respectively. The results of the experiments are displayed in the table. Because the concentration of free Be 2+ ions is ignorable at pH > 8 [2, 6], the CÂ 2 (ec) 2 ee 3 solubility is determined by the concentration of hydroxide, carbonate, and hydroxocarbonate complexes. In view of this, the reaction of CÂ 2 (ec) 2 ee 3 dissolution can in general be written as

A simulation model for water quality in the river Drava is presented in this paper, including the space extent of the model, modelling of physical, chemical and biological processes in the river, as well. Simulation of water quality was performed using the software MIKE 11 (Danish Hydraulic Institute). The main goal of the study was the simulation of the water quality for quasi- steady state in two scenarios of the short-term changes in water quality. We simulated in scenario no. 1 two- day failure of the waste water treatment plant in the agglomeration Belišće, in the second scenario, we simulated the impact of waste water from combined sewer overflows in the Osijek agglomeration. The model was used for modelling of various impacts on the water quality due to the different management practices of pollution point sources

Usually, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are prepared based on the famous Stober process in which divinylbenzene (DVA) is often used as a crosslink agent to synthesize SiO2/(PMMA/Fe3O4) nanoparticles. Compared with DVA, linolenic acid (LNA) is innoxious and can polymerize more easily for it has three unsaturated double bonds. In this paper, LNA was used as a new crosslink agent instead of DVA to synthesize the SiO2/(PMMA/Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The results showed that the core-shell structure could be observed obviously. The sizes of nanoparticles with core-shell structure range from 200 to 500 nm. The DNA probes which was immobilized on the surface of MNPs were used to capture the biotin modified complementary sequence of the probe, and the formed complexes were bonded with streptavidin-modified alkaline phosphatase (SA-AP). Finally the chemiluminescent signals were detected by adding 3-(2'-spiroadamantane)-4-methoxy-4-(3"-phosphoryloxy) phenyl-1, 2-dioxetane (AMPPD) which was the substrate reagent of AP. The specificity and sensitivity of this approach were investigated in this paper.

This paper presents a work that aims to study seismo-electromagnetic phenomena in the Western Part of the Eurasia-Nubia Plate Boundary. This region has a significant tectonic activity combined with relatively low electromagnetic noise levels, rendering high quality seismo-electromagnetic measurements possible. An overview of the topic is made and future perspectives are presented.

Various control strategies are being used to achieve high performance operation of linear motor drives. To maintain minimum volume and weight of the power supply unit on board the transportation vehicle, peak thrust per unit current operation is a desirable objective. True peak thrust per unit current through slip control is difficult to achieve because the parameters of linear induction machines vary during normal operation. This paper first develops a peak thrust per unit current control law based on the per-phase equivalent circuit for linear induction machines. The algorithm for identification of the variable parameters in induction machines is then presented. Application to an operational linear induction machine (LIM) demonstrates the utility of this algorithm. The control strategy is then simulated, based on an operational transit LIM, to show the capability of achieving true peak thrust operation for linear induction machines.

For practical application, optical limiting materials must exhibit a fast response and a low threshold in order to be used for the protection of the human eye and electro-optical sensors against intense light. Many nanomaterials have been found to exhibit optical limiting properties. Laser ablation offers the possibility of fabricating nanoparticles from a wide range of target materials. For practical use of these materials, their optical limiting performance, including optical limiting threshold and the ability to efficiently attenuate high intensity light, needs to be improved. In this paper, we fabricate nanoparticles of different metals by laser ablation in liquid. We study the optical nonlinear properties of the laser-generated nanoparticle dispersion. Silica microspheres are used to enhance the optical limiting performance of the nanoparticle dispersion. The change in the optical nonlinear properties of the laser-generated nanoparticle dispersion caused by silica microspheres is studied. It is found that the incident laser beam is locally focused by the microspheres, leading to an increased optical nonlinearity of the nanoparticle dispersion.

Reviews from players regarding different characteristics of an esports game are one of the worthiest sources for the developers to enhance their services or adjust operating strategy. However, little research has been conducted on detecting esports players’ favorite topics dealing with topic modeling. Thus, this paper aims to use a data mining approach to analyze community data in the games domain available on Steam. We collected more than 1.2 million English reviews from four esports games up to August 2020 on Steam. Our contributions in this paper are: (i) we manually build a dataset by filtering out high-quality esports reviews, (ii) we then infer and group reviews into 3 groups with 19 topics, and (iii) we add more contributions to finding the emerging opinions of esports players towards the different topics of esports reviews, which might benefit further research on understanding esports reviews.

Measurement and analysis experiences have shown great difficulties in interharmonic detection and measurement due to their small amplitudes and their consequent vulnerability from harmonics spectral leakage. The spectral leakage is due to lack of synchronization between the analyzed waveforms actual periods and the sampled window length, deriving from both fundamental frequency deviations and nonsynchronized interharmonics. This paper compares the techniques, that are introduced by the same authors in previous papers and that improve the IEC recommended signal processing: the utilization of the classical Hanning Window, in place of the Rectangular; the harmonic filtering and the self tuning signal processing. All the techniques are applied to numerical and experimental tests showing the different performances.

This paper describes the development of a magnetic sensor system for the evaluation of the condition of prestressed strands inside the bottom layer of concrete box beams. The sensor consists of an electromagnet which magnetizes embedded prestressing strand and measures the magnetic field response of the strands using Hall sensors embedded at different positions on the electromagnet. The novel aspect of this comprehensive system is the integration of measuring magnetic flux leakage (MFL) and main magnetic flux (MMF) signals. A computer-aided simulation model has also been developed to use these signals in estimating corrosion. The MFL signal gives indications of the presence of corrosion and cracks or fractures in the strands. The MMF signal quantifies the amount of steel loss in the strands due to corrosion or rusting. Both these techniques have been independently evaluated using magnetic inspection systems which made them suitable to be used in a single sensor system. This comprehensive system was evaluated in a laboratory setting to identify corrosion and strand breaks in prestressing strands. It was observed that the MFL signal could identify the presence of corrosion and strand breaks, while the MMF signal could be used to estimate the loss of steel due to corrosion. This system was also evaluated using it in an inspection of decommissioned prestressed box beams removed from Ohio’s oldest prestressed box-beam bridge. The findings from this inspection revealed a good match with the dissected areas of the box beams. Steps to move the system to implementation are also discussed. With further development improving the accuracy of this inspection system, it can become a valuable tool to bridge engineers for box-beam inspection.

This paper studies the dynamic time-varying formation control of multi-agent systems. Aiming at the unmanned vehicle systems, based on the static time-varying formation in literature [18], a multi-agent dynamic time-varying formation control based on consistency is put forward. Additionally, the sufficient conditions for the agreement and the steps for solving the control parameters are given. The simulation is conducted to prove the effectiveness and robustness of the theoretical results.

This paper presents an integrated simulation approach for studying the circular interpolation regime of CNC laser cutting machines. The circular interpolation algorithm is studied, taking into consideration the numerical character of the system. A simulation diagram, which is able to generate the kinematic inputs for the feed drives of the CNC laser cutting machine is also presented.

This paper evaluates the benefits of energy storage systems applied to renewable intermittent sources like wind. With this objective, a 144 MW Portuguese wind farm is used as a case-study. The storage system design and evaluation processes use a computational tool developed in MatLab to simulate the wind farm operation with an energy storage system and computes the remuneration tariff. The energy storage design settles on a system of 5 MW with 30 MWh. The simulation results show a 2.1% gain in wind farm tariff and a improved adjustment on generation to the typical electricity demand curve. Considering the storage system design and an available storage technology survey, one concludes that redox flow batteries are the best suited to application, in spite of their present prices being not the most advantage.

¿Cómo se refleja el funcionamiento del campo editorial a través de la gestión del patrimonio editorial digital? Entendiendo que la gestión del patrimonio actúa como un indicador sensible que da cuenta del funcionamiento social (del campo editorial), el presente trabajo realiza un repaso por algunas definiciones teóricas del patrimonio, para luego desarrollar las perspectivas ligadas a la noción de patrimonio editorial digital, sus vínculos con los diferentes actores del sector y con el soporte que sustenta el texto. Asimismo, se presta atención a la relación entre patrimonio y procesos de globalización. Los procesos globales aplicados al campo editorial han afectado a la concepción del patrimonio editorial en términos geográficos, pero también idiomáticos y económicos. Por último, se aspira a desarrollar una aproximación al significado contemporáneo de una gestión del patrimonio digital., How does the editorial digital patrimony’s management affect the functioning of the publishing world? Given that patrimony’s management acts as a sensitive hint of the social function (of the publishing world), this paper develops some perspectives related to the concept of editorial digital patrimony, its links to the different actors concerned in that world and with the gadgets or material support that allow the text to be handle. In addition to this, the analysis pays attention to the relation between editorial patrimony and global processes. Applied to the publishing world, these global practices have had an effect on the notion of editorial patrimony in terms of geography, but also in terms of language and economics. Last but not least, the article explores the possibility of the contemporary meaning of an actual administration of the editorial digital patrimony.

The purpose of this paper is to study the consequences of the composite nature of concrete. A plausible energy balance equation is postulated and the Green-Rivlin invariance principle is applied to it to derive the linear and angular momentum balance laws. General constitutive equations are discussed with the aid of thermodynamic potentials and Coleman's method. The distribution of the applied stresses between mortar and aggregate is also studied in detail, showing for instance that substantial tensile lateral stresses may appear in mortar under uniaxial compressive loading. These results are used to derive a criterion for the onset of inelasticity in concrete.

Software frameworks are difficult for plugin developers to use, even when they are well designed and documented. Some of these difficulties stem from the many constraints that frameworks impose on plugin code. These constraints might restrict operations from being called on certain objects, or they might restrict how long an object is available. Additionally, the constraints are relative to the current context of the plugin, and they can involve multiple, interacting framework objects. This paper proposes a lightweight specification system and analysis to check plugins from a semantic perspective, rather than a purely structural view.

Delivering reliable service requires satisfactory operation of numerous line components, spanning significant geographical areas and subject to environmental, electrical, and mechanical stresses, plus normal aging. Conventional reliability practices use periodic maintenance to minimize failures, coupled with rapid restoration procedures when outages occur. Reliability statistics have shown little change in decades. Newer technologies can shorten outages, by automatically rerouting service to customers on healthy feeder segments, but they: require redundant paths for power flow; react only after outages occur; and often require communications with pole-mounted switches. Over the past decade, Texas A&M University has demonstrated that electrical waveforms, available via conventional substation-based CTs and PTs, contain evidence of failures, incipient failures, and improper operation of feeder equipment, often well before these conditions escalate and cause outages. This provides the basis for conditioned-based maintenance and outage avoidance. This paper provides examples, from operating feeders, demonstrating some of these advances.

This paper presents the design and fabrication of 3-dimensional hollow metallic nanolattices using 2-photon lithography, shown in the figure. The ability to fabricate structures of any geometry, with resolution down to 150 nm, provides opportunities to engineer structures spanning multiple length scales with potential to capitalize on combined structural and material size effects for use in many technological applications.

This paper proposes a new filtering scheme applied to a linearized model of a nonlinear representation for combustion systems, whose parameters are obtained by means of optical sensors. To ensure a robust representation regarding the chosen operation point and external disturbances variations, a linear parameter-varying (LPV) state-space representation is proposed in terms of noise disturbances and time-varying parameters affecting the plant (like the instrumentation noise and non-laminar air flow). Concerning the proposed filtering scheme, a new observer structure, which includes the incorporation of the control signal as an additional input of the filter, is proposed to assure improved stability margins and performance given in terms of the H

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar las formas de sociabilidad entre estudiantes secundarios de dos escuelas de gestión estatal de la provincia de Buenos Aires en Argentina. Se trata de una investigación cualitativa cuyo corpus empírico está compuesto por sociogramas, entrevistas en profundidad y grupos focales realizados con alumnos durante los años 2012 y 2014. En un primer momento, se analizan los modos de agrupamiento de los jóvenes en cada una de sus escuelas. Luego, se indagan los motivos por los cuales los estudiantes se eligen o rechazan con sus compañeros. Por último, se interpreta que las diferentes formas de sociabilidad en cada escuela están asociadas al grado de movilidad del plantel estudiantil de cada institución. The aim of this paper is to analyze the forms of sociability among secondary school students in two state-managed schools in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The research was of a qualitative nature, and its empirical corpus consists of sociograms, in-depth interviews, and focus groups carried out with students in 2012 and 2014. First, the types of young people’s groups in each school are analyzed. Then the students’ motives for selecting or rejecting classmates are researched. Lastly, the different forms of sociability in each school are interpreted to be associated with the degree of student mobility in each institution. Fil: Di Napoli, Pablo Nahuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofia y Letras. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

This paper develops a model of crime analyzing how such behavior is associated with individual and neighborhood poverty. The model shows that even under relatively minimal assumptions, a connection between individual poverty and both property and violent crimes will arise, and moreover, neighborhood effects can develop, but will differ substantially in nature across crime types. A key implication is that greater economic segregation in a city should have no effect or a negative effect on property crime, but a positive effect on violent crime. Using IV methods, I show this implication to be consistent with the empirical evidence.

Grouping the similar processes is a good approach to improve the manufacturing efficiency, however, which is facing with two difficulties of the group automation and the constraints coupling. Regarding the numerical control (NC) machines and tasks as a grid system, this paper proposes a similarity-based tactic to solve the above difficulties. First, the methodology for analyzing the similarity among NC tasks is proposed to implement group automation taking the similarity principle as theory foundation. Second, based on the results drawn from the first step, the complex constraints including similarity constraints, delivery date constraints, and serial constraints are coupled to develop an integrated scheduling model. Finally, the integrated model is solved and the optimum solution is gotten using a specialized ants algorithm.

The history of the computer science department at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences since 1963 is briefly described. Starting with small groups of enthusiastic people initiating the new for Bulgaria research in the field of Informatics, nowadays the department can report some significant achievements. The paper presents some of them in three areas—software quality evaluation and management, data mining and semantic analysis, information systems and communities—which mark some key areas of research during the years.

After outlining the basic principles of superconductivity and the history of its development, this paper describes some of the potential applications of the technology, particularly for the electricity supply industry. It charts the development of the use of superconductors in energy research from the mid-1960s on, reviewing the projects developed over that period, and considers why the impetus behind such projects dissipated in the 1980s. The events of the last 18 months — since the discovery of high temperature superconducting materials — and the subsequent explosion of interest in the new materials are then examined. Of particular interest here is the contrast between the emergence of a powerful coalition of government, industry and science in a number of countries anxious to obtain maximum advantage from the technology and the reaction of the energy research community. The paper concludes by identifying the problems of the new materials and of superconductivity itself for the ESI, suggesting how they might interact in the future, and considers how these developments illustrate the relationship between the innovation process and technology choice in the energy sector.