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OBJETIVO: estudar os efeitos do nivelamento realizado com fios de NiTi termoativado e de aço inoxidável, avaliando-se as possíveis alterações na posição dos incisivos inferiores, em casos com extrações, correlacionando com o tempo de tratamento. MÉTODOS: a amostra foi composta de 36 indivíduos, de ambos os sexos, leucodermas brasileiros, com idade média inicial de 15 anos e 5 meses, portadores de más oclusões de Classes I e II, distribuídos em dois grupos. No Grupo 1 (n=17), o nivelamento foi realizado com a sequência 1, utilizando-se três fios - 0,016" e 0,019"x0,025" de NiTi termoativado, e 0,019"x0,025" de aço inoxidável. No Grupo 2 (n=19), foi testada a sequência 2, na qual foram utilizados apenas fios de aço inoxidável (0,014"; 0,016"; 0,018"; 0,020" e 0,019"x0,025" com torque passivo nos incisivos inferiores). Os dados foram coletados utilizando-se o método cefalométrico computadorizado e comparados pelo teste t de Student com o nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: no Grupo 1, os incisivos inferiores inclinaram-se para lingual, com movimento significativo apenas da coroa (1,6mm). No Grupo 2, os incisivos inferiores permaneceram estáveis. Não houve alteração vertical em nenhum dos grupos. CONCLUSÕES: a sequência 2 proporcionou um melhor controle dos incisivos inferiores, não alterando suas posições iniciais, enquanto a sequência 1 permitiu a expressão do torque da prescrição utilizada, levando a uma inclinação lingual desses dentes. O tempo de tratamento foi menor utilizando-se a sequência 1. As variações biomecânicas estudadas apresentaram vantagens e desvantagens que devem ser conhecidas e ponderadas pelo ortodontista no planejamento do caso.OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of the leveling phase performed with heat activated NiTi and stainless steel archwires evaluating the possible changes in lower incisors position in extraction cases, as well as its correlation with treatment time. METHODS: The sample comprised 36 white Brazilians subjects, male and female, mean age of 15 years and 5 months, with Angle Class I and II malocclusion, arranged in two groups. In Group 1 (n=17), the leveling phase was performed with sequence 1, using three archwires (NiTi heat activated 0.016" and 0.019"x0.025" and stainless steel 0.019"x0.025"). In Group 2 (n=19), sequence 2 was tested, in which only stainless steel archwires were used (0.014", 0.016", 0.018", 0.020" and 0.019"x0.025" with passive torque in lower incisors). The data were collected using the computerized cephalometry and were compared by Student's t test at significance level of 5%. RESULTS: In Group 1, lower incisors tipped lingually and only the crown presented a lingual movement that was statistically significant (1.6mm). In Group 2, the lower incisors remained unchanged. There was no vertical change in either groups. CONCLUSIONS: Sequence 2 showed better control of the lower incisors and no changes in their position were observed whereas sequence 1 allowed torque expression of brackets prescription with lingual tip of these teeth. Treatment time was shorter using sequence 1. Both biomechanical variations studied showed advantages and disadvantages that should be known and evaluated by the orthodontist during case planning.

Some crustal-deformation data related to the Ms8.0 Wenchuan in 2008, was described and a model that is capable of explaining the observed deformation features is presented. The data include: pre-earthquake uplift in an area south of the epicenter obtained by repeated-leveling measurements; pre-earthquake horizontal deformation by GPS observation during two periods in Sichuan-Yunnan area; vertical deformation along a short cross-fault leveling line in the epicenter area; and co-seismic near-field vertical and horizontal crustal-movement data by GPS. The model is basically “elastic-rebound”, but involves a zone between two local faults that was squeezed out at the time of earthquake.

Co- and post-seismic vertical displacements of the Wenchuan earthquake derived from two measurements in 2008 and 2010 along two partly-damaged leveling lines near the epicenter show the following features: Co-seismic displacement at Beichuan-Yingxiu fault was as large as 4.711 m near Beichuan, where the maximum observed fault offset was 5.1 m. In contrast, the observed co-seismic offset of the Qingchuan fault in Pingwu County was only 0.064 m. During 2008–2010, the post-seismic displacement rate was 5–27 mm/a near Beichuan-Yingxiu fault in Beichuan area, 20.6 mm/a at Jiangyou-Guangyuan fault near Dakang, and only 0.2–1.3 mm/a at Qingchuan fault near Gucheng.

• A method for leveling of the powder's surface using ultrasound was investigated. • The system comprises a V-shaped plate and two ultrasound transducers. • A smaller SWR for the flexural vibration produced higher leveling accuracy. • Larger vibration led to shorter leveling time and higher leveling accuracy. In the pharmaceutical field, a technique to level the surface of powdered medicines is important in the dispensing process because the flatness of the powder surface affects the packaging accuracy directly. This paper investigates a method for leveling of the surface profile of powder using ultrasound vibration on a plate. The system used comprises a V-shaped plate and two ultrasound transducers, and the plate configuration required was determined from the results of simulations performed by finite element analysis. The resonant longitudinal vibration of the transducers generated the resonant flexural vibration mode of the plate at 27.4 kHz, which resulted in transportation and leveling of the powder. The powder was aggregated at the nodal positions of the flexural standing wave, and a correlation was observed between the sound pressure distribution over the plate and the surface profile of the powder. The powder leveling accuracy was investigated by varying the driving phase difference between the transducers, and it was found that a smaller standing wave ratio for the flexural vibration produced higher leveling accuracy. When the input voltage to the transducers was increased, the leveling time decreased and the leveling accuracy improved; the highest leveling accuracy obtained was 2.2 mm at 130 V pp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Dental crowding is one of the most common types of malocclusions. It can be treated with or without extraction, depending on the severity of the crowding. Extraction-based orthodontic treatments are the preferred treatment option in cases of severe crowding, but they take longer than non-extraction cases. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the dentoalveolar changes following the orthodontic treatment of severely crowded maxillary anterior teeth in adults using self-ligating brackets alone or combined with flapless piezocision. Materials and methods The participants in this study were 63 patients (46 females and 17 males; mean age SD: 19.71 ± 2.74 years) who attended the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Damascus from January 2020 to December 2021. The participants were divided into three groups at random: Group (1): traditional brackets group, Group (2): self-ligating brackets group; and Group (3): self-ligating brackets with flapless piezocision group. Little's Irregularity Index (LII) was measured at five assessment times: before the onset of orthodontic treatment (T0), after one month (T1), after two months (T2), after three months (T3), and at the end of the leveling and alignment phase (T4). The intercanine width (lingual), the intercanine width (cusp), and the canine rotation angle were measured at two assessment times: before the onset of orthodontic treatment (T0) and at the end of the leveling and alignment phase (T4). Results The three studied groups had statistically significant differences in terms of LII during the first three months, and the most significant improvement of LII was in the self-ligating brackets with the piezocision group (P < 0.001). In addition, the intercanine width (cusp) at the end of the leveling and aligning phase revealed greater mean values in both self-ligating brackets groups compared to the traditional brackets group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Otherwise, no statistically significant differences were found at the end of the leveling and aligning phase in the intercanine width (lingual) or the canine rotation angle between the three studied groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion Using self-ligating brackets with flapless piezocision revealed more significant results concerning LII as compared to other groups. Thus, combining these two acceleration methods could get more effective results in aligning severely crowded teeth. Self-ligating brackets, whether used alone or with flapless piezocision, resulted in greater intercanine width at the cusp level. The type of brackets (traditional or self-ligating) did not affect the canine rotation angle., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Al-Ibrahim et al.)

The height reference network of Sarawak has seen major improvement in over the past two decades. The most significant improvement was the establishment of extended precise leveling network of which is now able to connect all three major datum points at Pulau Lakei, Original and Bintulu. Datum by following the major accessible routes across Sarawak. This means the leveling network in Sarawak has now been inter-connected and unified. By having such a unified network leads to the possibility of having a common single least squares adjustment been performed for the first time. The least squares adjustment of this unified levelling network was attempted in order to compute the height of all Bench Marks established in the entire levelling network. The adjustment was done by using MoreFix levelling adjustment package developed at FGHT UTM. The computational procedure adopted is linear parametric adjustment by minimum constraint. Since Sarawak has three separate datums therefore three separate adjustments were implemented by utilizing datum at Pulau Lakei, Original Miri and Bintulu Datum respectively. Results of the MoreFix unified adjustment agreed very well with adjustment repeated using Starnet. Further the results were compared with solution given by Jupem and they are in good agreement as well. The difference in height analysed were within 10mm for the case of minimum constraint at Pulau Lakei datum and with much better agreement in the case of Original Miri Datum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Trauma activation and/or leveling criteria are designed to balance the potential harm to individual patients from undertriage (UT) of severe injuries versus overutilization of resources from overtriage (OT) of lesser injuries. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recommends an acceptable UT rate ≤5% and OT 25%-50%. To improve UT or OT, an intervention was performed to (1) improve accuracy in following established leveling criteria and (2) modify activation criteria in an evidence-based manner to better identify severely injured children. Methods Results from a prospective, interventional process improvement study performed at an ACS-verified level I pediatric trauma center are reported. The baseline period included all pediatric trauma patients who met registry inclusion criteria for 2010. The intervention period included two consecutive 3-mo periods in 2011-2012; phase I of the study involved moving the leveling responsibility from emergency department physicians to the nursing care team leaders. Phase II of the study implemented revised leveling criteria. Sustainability was assessed by evaluating data from 2014. Results In phase I, accuracy in assigned trauma activation level improved from 70% to 99%. UT decreased 10%-8%, and OT decreased 37.5%-33.3%. In phase II, UT decreased 8%-5.1%, and OT increased 33%-40%. Adherence to the activation criteria remained stable (95%). For 2014, UT was 5.3% and OT was 18.2% demonstrating sustainability. Conclusions Shifting trauma leveling responsibilities to nursing care team leaders improved accuracy. Revising the activation criteria to include Center for Disease Control and ACS guidelines, as well as tailoring the activation criteria to the program-specific population, further reduced UT rates in a sustainable fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we define two different workforce leveling objectives for serial transfer lines. Each job is to be processed on each transfer station for c time periods (e.g., hours). We assume that the number of workers needed to complete each operation of a job in precisely c periods is given. Jobs transfer forward synchronously after every production cycle (i.e., c periods). We study two leveling objectives: maximin workforce size ( [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diachronica is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Precise leveling data observed in the period of 1970-2014 around the Ordos block were collected and processed to estimate present-day crustal vertical movement. Vertical rates of 6 GPS sites were employed as a priori constraints to define the reference frame. The velocity field shows that the interior of the Ordos block moves upward at a rate of 3 mm/a as a stable block. With respect to the central Ordos, the grabens and rifts around the Ordos block are undergoing subsidence, while the northeastern and southwestern Ordos uplift at the average rates of 2 and 1 mm/a, respectively. To the southeastern margin of the Ordos block, the Weihe and southern Shanxi grabens are subsiding at the rates of 4-6 mm/a. The subsidence of the Shanxi graben indicates that the graben is experiencing extensional movement on a long timescale. To the northwestern margin of the Ordos block, the Hetao and Yinchuan rifts are subsiding at the rates of 2-3 mm/a. A 2-D buried faulting model is used to infer the normal or reverse dip-slip rates. Our solution shows that most of the normal slip rates along the faults in the grabens and rifts are ~2 mm/a. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most commonly used accessories in multiple applications with farm tractors is the front end loader. There is a broad variety of loaders that can offer a range of possibilities and advantages to the operator. Depending on the task to be developed, the functionality that the operator requests from the loader may be different. Nevertheless, in order to avoid significant loss of product during transport, in most applications it is desirable for the loader to be level throughout its movement. In this paper, a new methodology for achieving a high quality levelling is described. This methodology, when compared to the alternative options that can be found in the market, presented favourable features. The proposed methodology could be implemented at affordable cost by using a reduced set of inexpensive components and can be applied to both new and old tractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aeromagnetic data are usually contaminated by line-to-line errors, which are most often visible as stripe patterns in a 2-D data map. Leveling is a critical step to eliminate these errors in data processing and interpretation. The conventional tie-line leveling technique involves control lines (tie lines) which are perpendicular to flight lines to extract the leveling errors. By contrast, there are also some other methods to level without the need for tie lines, which can save considerable survey cost. However, a main setback when leveling without tie lines is to distinguish the cross-line gradients from the leveling errors, making the leveled results inferior. In this letter, we revisit tie-line leveling as a nonlinear spatial-filtering technique and analyze the inadequacy of it, based on which a new approach is developed to extract the leveling errors without additional tie lines. The approach includes two steps: designing a virtual frame and leveling based on this frame. The virtual frame is elaborately designed to ensure that each extracted point can represent the local field-intensity level of a flight line and each virtual cross line can bypass the localized areas of magnetic anomalies; hence, some difficulties when leveling without tie lines are overcome. Afterward, two real field data examples are tested to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Screeds are construction materials used to correct surface defects and to bevel floors. It is intended to prevent a variety of problems in conventional cementitious screed with a new screed system such as self-leveling, minimized cracking risk, pumpable, self-leveling, curing speedily, that can be applied quickly, which can reduce the dead load due to the property to make thin coatings. In this study, it was produced self-leveling screeds with three types of aggregate and new generation superplasticizer. Slump flow, compressive strength, unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity, capillarity, water absorption and shear strength tests were conducted. It was observed that, when aggregate was getting finer, T500 time was decreased and flowability was increased. At the end of the study; the use of 0–1 mm river sand and 1% plasticizer in the production of the self-leveling screed (SLS) gave more positive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of phosphogypsum from fertilizer industries occupies considerable land resources and causes serious environmental problem. This work aims to study the possibility of recycling original phosphogypsum as raw material for the manufacture of self-leveling mortar. Thus an experimental study was carried out to evaluate the fluidity, flexural strength, compressive strength, shrinkage, bond strength and wear resistance of self-leveling mortar prepared with original phosphogypsum, and the role of phosphogypsum in mortar was also investigated by theoretical analysis, XRD, TG-DSC and ESEM. In addition, the cost of self-leveling mortar prepared with original phosphogypsum was also discussed. The results indicate that all the properties of self-leveling mortar can meet the requirements of Chinese standard (JC/T985-2005) even when the content of phosphogypsum comes up to 55%. Phosphogypsum in mortars not only acts as fillers but also takes part in the hydration of cements. This work provides a method for the direct use of phosphogypsum and offers a high performance mortar used in civil engineering. Besides, the cost of this innovative mortar has been reduced dramatically due to the addition of waste material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Automatika: Journal for Control, Measurement, Electronics, Computing & Communications is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Centering–leveling devices are often used together with rotary tables to improve measuring process in various fields of metrology. The most important factor of measurement quality – accuracy – is affected by numerous external and internal factors. To ensure the optimum quality of measurements, several factors have to be well known and thus taken into account in the final measurement to minimize their influence. Analysis of structural dynamics provides data on sensitivity as well as an appropriate method to verify the analytical model. The paper deals with an analysis of structural dynamics of a plain structure centering–leveling device by performing appropriate modal analysis. The experimental setup for vibration monitoring and measurement principle underpinning the work is described in the paper. Measurement results of table dynamics as well as a comparison of theoretical and experimental modal shapes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on a resource theory, this study investigates (a) how individuals’ socio-economic status is related to political communication in offline situations and on social networking sites and (b) whether political expression on SNS improves socio-economic stratification in offline political discussion. Analyses of a national survey demonstrate that the impact of individuals’ socio-economic status (SES) is much weaker on political expression via SNS than on offline political discussion. It is also found that the political use of SNS reduces the strength of the link between individuals’ SES and offline discussion. Implications of these findings for the Internet and political inequality are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study related to assessment of elevation determination around a canal in central California region. Topics discussed include analysis of subsidence as a geological phenomenon that arises through ground water; usage of several instruments for determination of subsidence such as Global Positioning System (GPS); observation of precision in differential levelling method for examination of levelling; and production of topographic survey for the Canal.

Copyright of Journal of Guangdong University of Technology is the property of Journal of Guangdong University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the Karaganda coal basin, mines are located in close proximity to each other and to the city of Karaganda and ongoing mining operations are accompanied by a dangerous process of settling the earth's surface and monitoring are essential for the region 's economy. Underground mining leads to the formation of voids in the rock mass, which cause displacement of the earth surface. This paper demonstrates an innovative use of the integrated approach for monitoring on the example of Karaganda coal basin, which includes estimation of the rock mass displacement using leveling profile lines and satellite radar interferometry. It is proved that satellite radar interferometry provides reliable results of surface subsidence measurements in mining areas and can be used for considered sort of monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource leveling is used in project scheduling to reduce fluctuation in resource usage over the period of project implementation. Fluctuating resource usage frequently creates the untenable requirement of regularly hiring and firing temporary staff to meet short-term project needs. Construction project decision makers currently rely on experience-based methods to manage fluctuations. However, these methods lack consistency and may result in unnecessary waste of resources or costly schedule overruns. This research introduces a novel discrete symbiotic organisms search for optimizing multiple resources leveling in the multiple projects scheduling problem (DSOSMRLMP). The optimization model proposed is based on a recently developed metaheuristic algorithm called symbiotic organisms search (SOS). SOS mimics the symbiotic relationship strategies that organisms use to survive in the ecosystem. Experimental results and statistical tests indicate that the proposed model obtains optimal results more reliably and efficiently than do the other optimization algorithms considered. The proposed optimization model is a promising alternative approach to assisting project managers in handling MRLMP effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of Kierkegaard studies, A Literary Review has often been hailed as the Danish philosopher's main contribution to the field of social-political philosophy. Although this aspect of the work has been explored in some detail, only few commentators have taken the time to study the background of it, i.e., the book which Kierkegaard purports to analyze in the review, namely Two Ages by Thomasine Gyllembourg. The present article explores the relation between Gyllembourg's novel and A Literary Review with an eye to determining what influence Gyllembourg's work might have had on Kierkegaard. It is argued that Gyllembourg's novel served primarily as an occasion for Kierkegaard to further develop ideas that he was already concerned with previously in connection with his authorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on speech in Vermont has revealed evidence of dialect leveling but with much individual variation. The purpose of the current study of the raising and fronting of /aυ/ in Vermont is to explore this residual variation with an eye toward offering interpretations based upon group and personal identity and affiliation. Broad demographically based analyses as well as the examination of interview content and individual vowel data provide insight into the process of dialect leveling in Vermont. Specifically, in addition to such demographic factors as age and gender, overall life affiliation differences and individual life choices gleaned from interview material are helpful in disambiguating what would otherwise seem to be anomalous variable features. This combination of methods may be particularly useful in situations of economic and cultural change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We apply persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) techniques to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from ERS and ENVISAT satellites on the Lesina Marina area, a coastal tourist village in Apulia, Southern Italy, where the excavation of a canal exposed grey micro- and meso-crystalline gypsum which is now showing a high density of cavities and sinkholes due to gravitational collapse processes. We observe PS objects undergoing displacements, along the sensor line of sight, forming the same relatively smooth pattern in all the processed data stacks. Vertical displacement rates, derived through integration of ascending and descending geometries, reach about 4 mm/year on locations adjacent to the canal, gently decreasing towards the western end of the built-up area. High-precision leveling measurements, performed in 1999 and 2010, reveal a substantial agreement with the ENVISAT PSI data, taking into account a small bias due to the choice of the leveling reference point. The dataset, thus validated, suggests the presence of an uplift phenomenon going on steadily for the entire timespan covered by the SAR observations (1992–2009). These observations, supported by petrographic data and in situ investigations, seem only in part compatible with a residual diapirism, and hint instead to more complex processes, such as a combination of diapirism and the hydration of the residual anhydrite in the core of the gypsum mass. These results confirm the importance of the integration between in situ, geologic and geophysical, remotely sensed investigations, as the latter often represent an essential tool to infer whether a given phenomenon, which can be hypothesized by the former, is presently under development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1st December 2014, Latvia as a national height system is determined by implementing the European Vertical Reference System in Latvia - Latvian Normal Height System 2000,5 (LHS-2000,5). For height calculations, a transformation formula exists for acquiring the theoretical value of the height difference between LHS-2000,5 and Baltic Normal Height System 1977 (BHS-1977) in any place in Latvia. The performed practical GNSS measurements and the obtained mathematical processing data lead to the possibility of having ellipsoidal heights of a point. However, by using the geoid model concerning mathematical correlations it is possible to achieve the normal height of a point, in this case point height that corresponds with LHS-2000,5. As a result, it is possible to compare the differences between the theoretical and practical values in BHS-1977 and LHS-2000,5. The study provides an analysis of the differences between the theoretical and practical measurements concerning BHS-1977 and LHS-2000,5 and its possible causes. This study aims at determining differences between BHS-1977 and LHS-2000,5, obtained by completing theoretical and practical measurements. To achieve the goal the following tasks are set: 1) to perform global positioning measurements in the national I class levelling network in order to obtain practical values of point height difference in two height systems; 2) to obtain point height difference theoretical values using the height transformation formula; 3) to compare the obtained practical and theoretical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Filozofija i Drustvo is the property of University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy & Social Theory and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Precise levelling is known for its accuracy and reliability in height determination, but the process itself is slow, laborious and expensive. We have started a project to study methods for height determination that could decrease the creation time of national height systems without losing the accuracy and reliability that is needed for them. In the pilot project described here, we study some of the alternative techniques with a pilot field test where we compared them with the precise levelling. The purpose of the test is not to evaluate the mutual superiority or suitability of the techniques, but to establish the background for a larger test and to find strong and weak points of each technique. The techniques chosen for this study were precise levelling, Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) levelling, which included static Global Positioning System (GPS) and Virtual Reference Station (VRS) measurements. This research highlighted the differences of the studied techniques and gave insights about the framework and procedure for the later experiments. The research will continue in a larger scale, where the suitability of the techniques regarding the height systems is to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Textile Leader is the property of China Textile Information Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 1914 Theodor Haecker presented Kierkegaard to the German-speaking public as a social critic, when he published the translation of a fragment from Kierkegaard's A Literary Review (1846). The translation inspired several influential authors of the interwar period, who commented on the condition of the society of that time. One of them was Karl Jaspers who believed that Kierkegaard's views were more relevant in the 20th century than they were in the 19th century. In his work The Spiritual Condition of the Age (1931/1932) Jaspers adopted several motifs from Kierkegaard's critique of society. In the present paper I examine thematic points of intersection of Kierkegaard's reflections on the public and Jaspers' reflections on the mass. I also elucidate Kierkegaard's and Jaspers' views on excellence, envy, leveling and modern media. Both thinkers provide original and incisive analyses of the decadent features of modern society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A successful bottom-up fill of single Damascene test features is achieved by using a two-component additive package consisting of bis-(sodium-sulfopropyl)-disulfide (SPS) and Imep polymers (polymerizates of imidazole and epichlorohydrin). In addition, a remarkable leveling effect is observed. Clearly, the Imep additive combines bottom-up fill capabilities with leveling characteristics in one single polymer component. These unique hybrid properties of the Imep are rationalized on the basis of an extended N-NDR (N-shaped negative differential resistance) being present in the linear-sweep voltammogram of the SPS/Imep additive system during Cu electrodeposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting appropriate texts for L2 (second/foreign language) learners is an important approach to enhancing motivation and, by extension, learning. There is currently no tool for classifying foreign language texts according to a language proficiency framework, which makes it difficult for students and educators to determine the precise difficulty/complexity levels of an unclassified text. Taking the Chinese language as an example, this study aimed to create a readability assessment system, called the Chinese Readability Index Explorer for Chinese as a Foreign Language (CRIE-CFL), in order to level-that is, to sort by proficiency level-texts that will be used for instructional purposes. The framework of choice in this project is the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). A team of expert CFL teachers first classified 1,578 CFL texts into their appropriate CEFR levels. A set of 30 CFL readability features was then developed or drawn from previous research, and sorted according to importance using F-scores. In addition, a support vector machine model was trained by sequentially integrating the features into the model to optimize accuracy. The empirical evaluation of CRIE-CFL revealed average exact- and adjacent-level accuracies of 74.97% and 99.62%, respectively, for predicting the expert classification of a text. The functionalities of CRIE-CFL are introduced and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Phainomena is the property of Phenomenological Society of Ljubljana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)