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The aim of site quality assessment of Pinus radiata plantations is to determine the quality and productivity of the growing stock at different sites. It provides a useful indication of the site productivity to assist in the allocation of optimum thinning and fertiliser regimes and the scheduling of silvicultural operations. The predominant stand height (PDH) at a specific reference age, also known as site index (SI), is often used for site quality assessment of Pinus radiata plantations in Australia, as it is closely correlated with site productivity. However, measuring PDH in the field can be a time- and resource-consuming task. This paper proposes the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to estimate PDH for assessing the site quality of Pinus radiata. LiDAR provides highly accurate digital elevation and surface data that can be used to build a canopy height model (CHM). In this study, the state-of-the-art image segmentation technique, marker-controlled watershed segmentation, was employed for identifying locations of individual trees and estimating their heights from a CHM. Using an empirically derived SI equation, PDHs with reference age 11 years (SI11) were estimated from the tallest trees identified in each forest stand, and were then used to determine the site quality class for each stand. The comparison of LiDAR-derived tree heights with field measurements produced an RMSE value of 0.42 m. The maximum horizontal distance between the field-measured locations of individual trees and the LiDAR-detected locations of their treetops was 1.87 m. Site quality classification was conducted in terms of 0.05 ha gridded plots, which revealed more detailed spatial variations of site quality across the study area than classification based on management plots. The study demonstrated that LiDAR provides an effective and accurate method for site quality classification of Pinus radiata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To control anal incontinence, we have developed an artificial anal sphincter system with sensor feedback. The artificial anal sphincter system is a novel hydraulic-electric muscle which mainly comprises an artificial anal sphincter, a wireless power supply subsystem, and a rectal sensation reconstruction subsystem. To investigate the features of the patients' rectal sensation, we have developed an in vitro experimental platform of artificial anal sphincter. In vitro experiments have been performed, and demonstrate that the traditional threshold method is not suitable for predicting the time for defecation. The traditional threshold method only uses single-dimensional pressure time series which may contain a few interdependent components simultaneously. A wavelet packet analysis algorithm is employed to extract the feature vector of the rectal pressure signal, then the rectal sensation prediction model is constructed based on a support vector machine for defecation pattern recognition. The results show that the proposed method is an effective approach for the reconstruction of patients' rectal sensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/polypropylene (PP) blend films in various blending ratios containing 3000 mg kg−1 of tocopherol were manufactured by an extrusion process. Tocopherol release properties were characterised and correlated with antioxidant effectiveness in retarding the oxidation of linoleic acid contacting the films at 40°C. The conditions without tocopherol (control) and with instant tocopherol addition corresponding to the amount included in the films were also prepared and compared with the film-contacting solutions. The effect of tocopherol inclusion and the blending ratio on their physical properties was also examined. A wide range of tocopherol diffusivity in 6.6 × 10−16–4.6 × 10−14 m2 s−1 were obtained by blend films. As PP content increases, the diffusivity decreased sharply at the beginning and levelled off later. The slower release of tocopherol in LDPE/PP blend films corresponding to lower tocopherol diffusivity retained the higher tocopherol concentration in the linoleic acid system providing better antioxidant effectiveness of the extended induction period in oxidation. The tocopherol inclusion reduced tensile strength and transparency significantly in an affordable range with higher tensile strength given by a higher PP ratio. LDPE/PP blending can be a useful tool to modulate the release profile of tocopherol and thus the antioxidant effectiveness of the tocopherol-incorporated antioxidant packaging film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronics industry is a major business in the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP). Particulate samples and 11 water-soluble ionic species in the particulate phase were measured by ionic chromatography (IC). Additionally, acid and base gases were sampled by denuder absorption and analyzed by IC. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected in stainless-steel canisters four times daily and analyzed via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Ozone formation potential (OFP) was measured using maximum increment reactivity. In addition, airborne pollutants during (1) construction and (2) mass production were measured. Particulate matter concentration did not increase significantly near the optoelectronic plant during construction, but it was higher than during mass production. SO2, HNO2 and NH3 were the dominant gases in the denuder absorption system. Nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium ions predominated both in PM2.5 and PM10-2.5; but calcium ion concentration was significantly higher in PM10-2.5 samples during construction. Toluene, propane, isopentane, and n-butane may have come from vehicle exhaust. Construction equipment emitted high concentrations of ethylbenzene, m-xylene, p-xylene, o-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and toluene. During mass production, methyl ethyl ketone), acetone and ethyl acetate were significantly higher than during construction, although there was continuous rain. The aromatic group constituted > 50% of the VOC concentration totals and contributed >70% of OFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic deformation behavior of Au/Cu multilayers with individual layer thicknesses of 25-250 nm was investigated via microindentation experiments. It was found that plastic instability of the Au/Cu multilayer exhibits strong length scale (individual layer thickness and grain size) dependence. The smaller the length scale, the easier shear bands form. In other words, plastic deformation becomes unstable with decreasing length scale. Cross-sectional observation along with plan-view indicates that the occurrence of plastic deformation instability corresponds to transformation of the deformation mechanism associated with geometrical configuration and length scale of the material. At nanometer scale, buckling-assisted interface crossing of dislocations results in local shear band, while, at submicron scale or above, local dislocation pileup-induced interface offset leads to plastic instability. Theoretical analysis is conducted to understand the length scale-dependent plastic deformation behavior of the multilayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-oil prepared from flash pyrolysis of rice stalk around 500°C was upgraded by filtration and catalytic esterification. Both raw and upgraded bio-oils were observed with an optical microscope. The upgraded bio-oil was extracted with benzene, carbon disulfide, hexane, and carbon tetrachloride, respectively, and the soluble fractions were analyzed with FTIR and GC/MS. In addition, ion trap mass spectrometer was used for analysis of the benzene-soluble fraction. The results show that the upgrading substantially improved the dispersity of organic droplets in the bio-oil and completely removed char particles from the bio-oil, but heavy species are still the main components in the upgraded bio-oil; the soluble fractions contain aliphatic, benzene-ring-containing, ester, and bonded hydroxyl moieties, and methoxy-containing species are the most abundant GC/MS-detectable compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A triangle arrayed tri-screw extruder (TATSE) is a new-style extruder that has a special structure different from a twin screw extruder. Three-dimensional and non-isothermal flow in TATSE was simulated by using the finite element method. The temperature distribution, power consumption and productivity ratio in TATSE at various rotational speeds, screw flight number, pressure difference and flow rate were studied especially. Comparison and analysis of power consumption and productivity ratio between twin screw extruder (TSE), parallel arranged tri-screw extruder (PATSE) and TATSE were carried out. The results show that the mixing and power characteristics of TATSE are better than those of TSE and PATSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the results of the study on first Vilsmeier-Haack synthesis of Flavones with the use of bis-(Trichloromethyl) carbonate/dimethylformamide. It states that flavones are a class of naturally occurring compounds that has several biological activities. It mentions that the Vilmeier-Haack reaction was initially applied for the formulation of activated aromatic substances and carbonyl compounds. It notes that it is applied as a powerful synthetic tool for the structure of many heterocyclic compounds that includes indoles, pyridines, and quinazoline derivatives.

We address a multi-category workforce planning problem for functional areas located at different service centres, each having office-space and recruitment capacity constraints, and facing fluctuating and uncertain workforce demand. A deterministic model is initially developed to deal with workforce fluctuations based on an expected demand profile over the horizon. To hedge against the demand uncertainty, we also propose a two-stage stochastic program, in which the first stage makes personnel recruiting and allocation decisions, while the second stage reassigns workforce demand among all units. A Benders' decomposition-based algorithm is designed to solve this two-stage stochastic mixed-integer program. Computational results based on some practical numerical experiments are presented to provide insights on applying the deterministic versus the stochastic programming approach, and to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm as compared with directly solving the model using its deterministic equivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal visbreaking of inner Mongolia oil sand bitumen was conducted at several temperatures for different lengths of time in the laboratory. The viscosity of the thermally-treated oil was reduced dramatically with thermal treatment under the condition of adding 0.3 wt% anti-coking agent, the oil sand bitumen reacting at 410°C and 45 min. The kinematic viscosity (100°C) of visbreaking oil is reduced to 138.25 mm2·s-1 and the qualities of it are conformed to 7# Chinese Standard for Fuel Oil, which can directly be regarded as product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine in Chinese patients hospitalized with acute bipolar mania.Methods: This was a 4-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, lithium-controlled, parallel-group study. Secondary endpoints in the primary analysis were: response rate (> or = 50% decrease from baseline in YMRS total score) and remission rate as defined using 3 criteria: YMRS total score < or = 12, YMRS total score < or = 12 + MADRS total score < or = 8, and YMRS total score < or = 8. Other measures included: change from baseline at Day 28 in YMRS, PANSS, and MADRS total score. Adverse event (AE) data were collected throughout the study.Results: 73 (94.8%) quetiapine and 62 (80.5%) lithium patients completed the study. Mean (SD) quetiapine doses for the ITT population and responders were 648.2 (111.84)mg/day and 637.5 (118.78)mg/day, respectively, while mean lithium concentrations for the ITT population and responders were 0.80 (0.28)mmol/L and 0.80 (0.22)mmol/L, respectively. Of patients who responded to quetiapine at Day 28, 88.3% were receiving 600-800mg/day. At Day 28 YMRS response rate was significantly greater with quetiapine than lithium (77.9% vs. 59.7%, p = 0.0132), and remission rates using the 3 criteria were significantly greater with quetiapine than lithium: YMRS total score < or = 12 (70.1% vs. 48.1%, p = 0.0071), YMRS < or = 12 + MADRS < or = 8 (70.1% vs. 48.1%; p = 0.0071), and YMRS < or = 8 (51.9% vs. 32.5%; p = 0.0147). Significant decreases were observed in PANSS, YMRS, and MADRS total scores for both groups. The most common AEs experienced by patients receiving quetiapine were constipation, dizziness, diarrhea, alanine aminotransferase increase, palpitations, aspartate aminotransferase increase, pharyngolaryngeal pain, upper respiratory tract infection and dry mouth. In patients receiving lithium, the most common AEs were nausea (16.9%), constipation (13.0%), vomiting (13.0%), nasopharyngitis (11.7%), dizziness (6.5%), diarrhea (6.5%), and upper respiratory tract infection (6.5%).Conclusion: Quetiapine was shown to be clinically effective in patients with acute bipolar mania. There were side effects with quetiapine similar to those reported in other studies that included other ethnic populations of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effects of an increase in the intensity of rehabilitation on the functional outcome of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design and methods: Sixty-eight patients (age 12-65 years) with moderate-to-severe TBI were included. They were randomized into high (4-hour/day) or control (2-hour/day) intensity rehabilitation programmes at an average of 20 days after the injury. The programmes ended when the patients achieved independence in daily activities or when 6 months had passed. Outcome and results: No significant differences were found in the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) (primary outcome) and Neurobehavioural Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE) total scores between the two groups. There were significantly more patients in the high intensity group than in the control group who achieved a maximum FIM total score at the third month (47% vs. 19%, p = 0.015) and a maximum Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score at the second (28% vs. 8%, p = 0.034) and third months (34% vs. 14%, p = 0.044). Conclusions: Early intensive rehabilitation may improve the functional outcome of patients with TBI in the early months post-injury and hence increase the chance of their returning to work early. Intensive rehabilitation in this study speeded up recovery rather than changed the final outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow of polyethylene melt in new tri-screw extruder was simulated using the finite element method (FEM). A special study of flow in central region was performed by analysis of the velocity, pressure, and resident time distribution (RTD). The extrusion characteristics of tri-screw extruder, namely the abilities of material conveying, mixing, and power consumption, were compared with those of twin screw extruder. The results showed that there was circumfluence in central region but no stagnation in it. Tri-screw extruder had better operative abilities and high productivity ratio than twin screw extruder in the aspect of material conveying and mixing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the immune effect of turtle shell extract on normal and cyclophosphamide (CP)-treated mice was determined. Mice treated with the turtle shell extract and CP had significantly (p<0.05) elevated levels of serum IgG, ATL, ATS and CREA compared with CP-treated mice. The turtle shell extract-treated mice had significantly elevated serum IgG (p<0.001), reduced serum CREA level (p<0.05), but the serum ATL, ATS and BUN did not change significantly compared with normal mice. Treatment with the turtle shell extract significantly improved the CD3+, CD4+CD8-, CD4-CD8+ and CD4+CD8+ cells percentages (p<0.05) in normal mice, and also significantly improved CD3+ and CD4+CD8- cells percentages in CP-treated mice (p<0.05). There was significant difference (p<0.001) in the proliferation rate of PHA-stimulated spleen lymphocyte in vitro between the turtle shell extract + CP-treated mice and CP-treated mice, and also between the turtle shell extract-treated mice and normal mice (p<0.05). These results demonstrate that the turtle shell extract can up-regulate the immune states of normal and CP-treated mice, and shows some protective effect on liver and kidney damage in CP-induced mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bile acids are natural compounds that play an important biological role in the body. They are candidates of choice as building blocks of biocompatible and degradable polymers. Bile acids have been incorporated into biodegradable polymeric structures as pendant moieties on natural polymers, such as dextran and chitosan, and as the core component of the backbone of synthetic polymers and dendrimers. In the two latter cases, linkage of the repeating units relies on anhydride, ester or amide bonds. Owing to the rigidity of the steroidal polycyclic backbone and the amphiphilic properties of bile acids, materials based on these compounds can display interesting tunable properties. Therefore, biodegradable polymers based on bile acids are of particular interest to the fields of drug delivery, where their amphiphilic properties can be used to encapsulate drugs, and tissue engineering, where their rigid steroidal backbone make them good candidates for controlling the mechanical properties of the materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new sesquiterpene isocyanide, 3-oxo-axisonitrile-3 (1), with a spiro [5,6] decane skeleton (spiroaxane) together with a known related sesquiterpene isonitrile (2), sesquiterpene isothiocyanates (3–8) and two diterpene isonitriles (9, 10) have been isolated from the Chinese marine sponge Acanthella sp. The structure of 1 has been determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new pregnane-type steroidal glycosides, pregna-5,20-dien-3- O -α-fucopyranoside ( 1 ) and pregna-20-en-3- O -α-fucopyranoiside ( 2 ), along with two known pregnane derivatives, were isolated from the soft coral Cladiella krempfi . Their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protocol conversion is a critical issue requiring much research attention. However, all existing work has focused on simple cases involving only two kinds of protocols between only two interfaces of a gateway. This paper proposes a new method combining the protocol conversion methodology and the information flow trail (IFT) notion to study application layer protocol conversion among more than two interfaces. Refining the IFT notion and introducing it into the protocol conversion methodology allows the complex protocol conversion problems to be solved effectively. The Internet intelligent network (IIN) model is taken as an example to explain this new method. Among four of all five interfaces of the service control gateway function (SCGF), there are different protocol conversion requirements, which requires different IFTs to cooperate with each other. Effective IFTs are obtained from the analysis of the system structure requirements and the application requirements of the IIN model. Common subsets of atomic protocol functions are gained through summarizing the atomic protocol functions of intelligent network application protocol (INAP) and PSTN/Internet iNTerworking (PINT) protocol. Protocol complementing is performed according to the application requirements. Furthermore, the semantic mapping relationships between these two protocols' atomic protocol functions are established. The flowchart of protocol conversion methodology is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a group of young adults aged 25-34 living with their parents in the American Housing Survey (AHS) data from 1985 through 1995, this paper investigates the effect of overcrowding and neighborhood satisfaction on household formation alter controlling for local rental levels and their changes over time. Most of these except for local rent levels have not been tested before in models and hence this study enriches the knowledge on household formation and its consequent potential demand for rental and ownership housing units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal exergy-based ecological performance of an irreversible Carnot refrigerator with the losses of heat-resistance, heat leak and internal irreversibility, in which heat transfer between the working fluid and the heat reservoirs obeys a generalized heat transfer law QΔ(Tn), is derived by considering an ecological optimization criterion as the objective function, which consists of maximizing a function representing the best compromise between the exergy output rate and exergy loss rate (entropy production rate) of the refrigerator. Some special examples are discussed. Numerical examples are given to show the effects of heat transfer law, heat leakage and internal irreversibility on the optimal performance of the generalized irreversible refrigerator. The results can provide some theoretical guidance for the design of practical refrigerators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical analysis for laminar flow in the microchannels of arbitrary shape in slip flow regime is presented in this article. The momentum equations with the first-order slip, the second-order slip, and the thermal creep flow boundary conditions are solved by applying a computation-oriented method of the orthonormal function analysis for the fully developed laminar flow of the incompressible fluid in the microchannels. The dimensionless velocity profile and the friction factor are theoretically predicted for a microchannel of arbitrary shape. To justify the methodology, the friction factor of gas flowing in the rectangular microchannel is calculated and compared with the experimental data. The good agreement between analytic solutions and experimental data shows that within a definite extension of Knudsen number, the traditional Navier–Stokes equations with the slip boundary conditions can govern the gaseous slip flow mechanisms in microchannels, and the orthonormal function method is applicable to solve the momentum equation with the slip flow boundary condition in the microchannel of arbitrary shape. It is found from the theoretical predictions that the slip velocity of fluid on the microchannel wall increases as the Kn number increases, and the friction coefficient is substantially smaller for slip flow compared with the no-slip flow. The aspect ratio of a microchannel has a remarkable effect on the dimensionless drag coefficient at a fixed Kn number in the rectangular microchannels. The friction coefficient for the second-order slip boundary condition is greater than that for the first-order slip boundary condition, and the thermal creep flow on the microchannel wall tends to increase the friction coefficient in the microchannel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel tetrahedral heterometal cluster enantiomers have been separated on cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) stationary phase by high performance liquid chromatography, using hexane as the mobile phase with various alcohols as modifiers. The chromatographic parameters, retention factors (k), separation factors (α), and resolution factors (Rs) of all solutes were presented. The influence of the mobile phase composition on the enantioselectivity has been discussed, and the effect of structural variation of the solutes on their enantioseparation was also investigated and compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study attempts to provide additional understanding of the long-term evolution of water quality in the Pearl River estuary and Hong Kong coastal areas by monitoring the ocean colour from remote sensing images. The extensively inter-connected river network of Pearl River estuary has a large catchment area and its environmental deterioration due to rapid economic growth is significant. The data received by Landsat satellites, over a time period of more than 20 years, were used to evaluate the evolution of water clarity. The study shows the historical varying of sea colour in these areas and image processing methods for extracting the ocean colour features of Landsat images are suggested. The algorithm of 'Gradient Transition' was used to calibrate the result images and the comparing method was used to process and analyse remote sensing images of Case 2 water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present a theoretical analysis for laminar flow and heat transfer between two parallel plates with a microspace under unsymmetrical wall heat flux in the slip flow regime. The momentum and energy equations with the boundary conditions of slip velocity and temperature jump are solved for the hydraulic and thermal fully developed laminar flow of the incompressible fluid in this microchannel. The influences of the Kn number, the tangential momentum accommodation coefficient, and the thermal accommodation coefficient on the temperature profile and the heat transfer characteristics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effects of intensive rehabilitation on the functional outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), we carried out a randomized controlled assessor-blind trial, comparing two groups of patients receiving different intensities of rehabilitation treatment (2 versus 4 h per day). Patients with moderate and severe TBI, aged from 12 to 65 years, were included. Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and Functional Independent Measurement (FIM) were assessed monthly. The interim results of 36 cases showed that there was a trend of more patients in the study group achieving full FIM scores, and good GOS at 2 and 3 months, but the control group appeared to be catching up towards 6 months. Intensive rehabilitation may improve the early functional outcome of TBI patients. The interim results indicate that the study should be continued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic study of two series of carbosilane liquid crystalline (LC) dendrimers from first to fifth generations bearing 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 terminal chiral mesogenic groups, respectively. All the LC dendrimers synthesized are characterized by the same glass transition temperature around -5°C. It has been shown that the LC dendrimers of the lower generations (G-1-G-3) form a ferroelectric SmC* phase over a very broad temperature range up to about 180°C, while the LC dendrimers of the higher generations (G-4 and G-5) display a rectangular columnar mesophase (Col[sub r]). Schemes of packing in the SmC* and Col[sub r] mesophases formed by the LC dendrimers are suggested and discussed. Electrical measurements on the ferroelectric LC dendrimers have shown that an increase in generation number leads to a decrease in the value of the spontaneous polarization and an increase in switching time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the world economy has become more integrated internationally and container transportation has become increasingly more important as the proportion of all trade using containers is continuously growing. In order to adapt to the increasing containerization trend, it is essential to plan and construct adequate ports and facilities to cope with this development. Based on the analysis of factors influencing container movements, this paper illustrates the logical relationships for a distribution model, which has been used to predict the distribution of containers among the three main Seaports near Shenzhen and Hong Kong. A fuzzy number‐based distribution model is outlined in the paper. The paper illustrates the main influencing factors and their logical relationships and proposes a primary distribution model where the attractiveness of each port has been calibrated. The results show that the Port of Hong Kong is significantly more attractive than the other two ports modelled and is likely to continue to be so in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three types of commercial sweet corn hybrids [sugary (su1), shrunken or 'supersweet' (sh2) and sugary enhancer (se1)] were silk channel inoculated in 1996 and 1997 with a macroconidial suspension of Fusarium graminearum to determine how early the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol accumulates in kernels. Disease symptoms rapidly developed on all hybrids and were apparent 4 days after inoculation. Symptoms stabilized by 28 days after inoculation. Toxin levels were greater than 1 mu g/g in kernels as early as 2 weeks after silk emergence and rapidly increased to extremely high levels. Susceptibility in all hybrids decreased as the silk dried out. Deoxynivalenol concentrations were correlated to disease severity. There was some indication that the sh2 genotype was more susceptible than the su1 or se1 genotypes. These results suggest that improvement needs to be made in sweet corn with respect to resistance to gibberella ear rot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat exchanger networks (HEN) play important roles in a chemical plant. In a plant lifetime, it may be required to retrofit a HEN several times in order to improve the energy efficiency or to accommodate the increase in throughput. The network pinch method developed by Asante and Zhu [1] can identify bottlenecks, which limit the increase in heat recovery for an existing HEN and also indicate promising structure changes to overcome the bottlenecks. As a result of HEN retrofit, additional surface area is required for some heat exchangers. There are a number of options to provide additional area, such as installing new shells or new units, adding new tubes to an existing bundle, etc. If heat transfer enhancement (HTE) is applied, additional area can be reduced significantly. This can result in a great reduction in capital cost and implementation time for modifications. However, in practice, heat transfer enhancement techniques have not been applied extensively, particularly in the petroleum refining industry. Several main aspects need to be addressed when HTE is taken into consideration for HEN retrofit. The first is how to determine which heat exchangers are suitable to apply HTE in the network and the second issue is to determine what level of augmentation of heat transfer performances is required. The last is about how to select a particular enhancement technique that can fulfil the enhancement requirement. A new strategy for applying HTE in HEN retrofit at the conceptual design stage has been developed. The above issues can be addressed properly by this new method. The new procedure is demonstrated using a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which proposed an approximate formulation for calculating the scattered field from a three-dimensional narrow crack in a ground plane illuminated by a plane wave. Quasi-static approximation; Description of the dominant traveling wave mode and the second traveling-wave mode; Conclusion.

We explored perimenstrual symptoms among 16 Chinese women in an urban area of southeastern China using a retrospective questionnaire, the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ), and a prospective daily symptom diary, the Daily Health Diary (DHD), modified for cultural relevance. Mean scores on the DHD were significantly (p < .03) higher during the perimenstrual phase for the symptoms fatigue, increased sensitivity to cold, increased sleeping, abdominal pain/discomfort, painful or tender breasts, and decreased sexual desire. The women who reported higher DHD physical symptom scores prospectively were more likely to recall more severe physical symptoms retrospectively on the MDQ. However, there were remarkable discrepancies between the DHD and MDQ regarding psychoemotional symptoms. By retrospective MDQ, the percentages of women who experienced severe mood swings and irritability ranged from 13% to 25% during the premenstrual and menstrual phases; on the DHDs, however, these emotional symptoms were not statistically associated with the menstrual cycle. The failure of prospective charting to confirm the retrospective reports of cyclic psychoemotional symptoms agrees with findings of studies of U.S. samples. We conclude that perimenstrual distress in Chinese women may be affected by the data collection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]