Conventional drilling of rock, in most mining applications, uses the mechanical impact of a metal tool to create the advancing hole. This technique, which has gradually increased in power and thus penetration rate has, however, certain inherent disadvantages. These range from the overall weight of the equipment which must be located at the free face of the hole to the maintenance of alignment o...

In this study, we explore the global effect of the Internet on democracy over the period of 1992 to 2002 by observing the relationships between measures related to democracy and Internet prevalence. Our findings suggest that while Internet usage was not a very powerful predictor of democracy when examining full panel data from 1992 to 2002, it was a stronger predictor when we study data from ju...

The need for a drying stress indicator has previously been stated with some research in the past to this means. Given the recent successes in achieving this goal through monitoring shrinkage, the refinement and further understanding of the process was needed, specifically, the influence that penetration of the mount-foot had on the shrinkage data. Four different LVDTmounts were investigated in ...

Following previous presentations on the dangers penetration testers face in using current off-the-shelf tools and practices (Pwn the Pwn Plug and I Hunt Penetration Testers), this paper and presentation explores how widely available learning materials used to train penetration testers lead to inadequate protection of client data and penetration testing operations. Widely available books and oth...

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provide Internet penetration statistics, which are collected from official national sources worldwide, and they are widely used to inform policymakers and researchers about the expansion of digital technologies. Nevertheless, these statistics are derived with methodologies, whic...

BACKGROUND Skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) are approved for evaluation of allergen sensitization. Local allergen extracts are less expensive and more available but need to be standardized. OBJECTIVE To compare SPT results of local and imported allergen extracts and sIgE levels in response to the American cockroach, dog, cat, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp), Dermatophagoides ...

BACKGROUND Aspiration is a common complication in acute stroke patients and is strongly associated with a poor outcome. Due to an insufficient sensitivity and specificity of clinical bedside tests, further refinements are needed to improve the accuracy of clinical aspiration screening in acute stroke. OBJECTIVE To assess the ability of the simple 2-step swallowing provocation test (SPT) to de...