Current seismic risk assessment practice characterizes the components of risk—hazard, exposure and vulnerability—in a static state. This paper provides a conceptual framework for an urban risk assessment model that accounts for spatial and temporal dynamics of urban environments. Specifically, it incorporates spatial and temporal variations in exposure and vulnerability in order to predict future risk. The framework is then applied on a case study of Kathmandu, Nepal. Based on sparse data from the Nepalese national census, the results show a very significant increase in seismic risk over time. These results point to the importance of time-dependent risk models that can forecast future risk, and points to several possible avenues for future developments. PhD Candidate, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (corresponding email: firstname.lastname@example.com) Graduate Student Researcher, Stanford University, Stanford, CA Professor, Stanford University, Stanford, CA D. Lallemant, S. Wong, K. Morales, A. Kiremidjian. A Framework and Case Study for Dynamic Urban Risk Assessment. Proceedings of the 10 National Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Anchorage, AK, 2014. Tenth U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering Frontiers of Earthquake Engineering July 21-25, 2014 Anchorage, Alaska 10NCEE A Framework and Case Study for Urban Seismic Risk Forecasting D. Lallemant, S. Wong, K. Morales, A. Kiremidjian


The capabilities of convolutional neural networks for recognizing handwritten digits. The technique of training networks, which implements the alternating periods of training with and without distortion of characters. The technique of selection and modification of learning rate. The neural network is tested by using the standard database of handwritten digits (MNIST), the results of experimental investigation are presented.


Ceria-based and fumed silica-based systems are compared for oxide chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) in terms of defectivity and removal rate (RR). Ceria-based slurries yield RR ca. threefold that of conventional silica slurries but result in enhanced defectivity. To reduce defectivity, composite structures comprising a 300 nm polymer core coated by 14 nm ceria particles have been investigated. The polymer core shows mechanical properties that are highly tunable by variation of synthesis parameters, while the major advantage of the ceria coating is an enhanced chemical action of the abrasive particles. We report the evolution of RR, root-mean-square roughness, and defects during silica CMP experiments using different abrasive types at pH 3 and 10. Interestingly, the two types of composites, achieved by either silane coupling agents or electrostatic attractive interactions between the core and the coating, exhibit different RR. This is attributed to differences in morphology and surface composition. Overall, the ceria composites result in reduced defectivity after CMP due to the springlike effect coming from the elastic component of the core, compared with conventional slurry material.


Abstract This talk describes a proposal to set up a series of international institutions in different parts of the world to serve as nodes in a network that links astronomers from the developing nations worldwide. This network, along with its nodes is visualized as an economic way of upgrading the facilities for teaching, research and development of astronomy in the Third World countries. By way of illustration, the modus-operandi of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India is described. A network of this kind is suggested as a cost-efficient way of sharing limited resources.


Nowadays many educators and parents turn pale at the only mention of video games.However,influential books and papers from some famous experts and scholars in U.S.A.,including Thiagarajan,Prensky,Johnson,Reeves,Beck,Brown,Gee and Shaffer,have shown that video games have many positive educational values.These serious and compelling researches can be summed up in three aspects.First,video games are innovative approaches to human resources training.Second,video games can facilitate the skills of problem-solving,multitasking processing,intelligence as well as management competence,and nurture the special disposition.Third,video games can help children learn.The reason that video games have so many positive educational values is the technology development which has made a vast differences between modern video games and the old arcade games.


A new procedure to the direct atmospheric gravity effect, in connection with Stokes's integral formula, was presented by Nahavandchi (2002). This formula was derived by combining the local contributions of the effect of atmospheric masses, computed from a detailed Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and a set of spherical harmonics to account for the global contributions. This formula is valid for a point on the geoid, which indicates this fact that the direct effect and the effect of analytical continuation of gravity anomalies to sea level (due to the atmospheric masses) are combined into the so-called direct atmospheric effect. These two terms are studied here and a new strategy for the effect of atmospheric masses in geoid computations is presented. This strategy has been investigated over a test area.


A novel fiber laser magnetometer, designed for seabed-mounted surveillance arrays, is described. The sensor, comprising a metalized fiber laser attached to a nonmagnetic bridge, utilizes the Lorentz force generated in a magnetic field to detect small changes in the earth's field. Three orthogonally mounted sensors measure each component of the field through high-resolution strain measurements, encoded as frequency shifts of the fiber lasers. The sensor node, incorporating three orthogonally mounted magnetic field sensors and a MEMS inclinometer, is qualified to an operating depth of 100 m and connected by a 1 km fiber-optic cable to the interrogation electronics.


During the years 199211993, data on patients with collagenous colitis have been collected from most parts of Sweden. By the end of 1993, data on 11 3 patients were available. Epidemiological figures, associated diseases of inflammatory or autoimmune origin, and experience of medical treatment based on a retrospective analysis are presented. Results. Distribution of patients: 96 women (85%), 17 men (


1. Measurements of the penetration of light of various colours into the sea were carried out by means of a selenium rectifier cell. The mean vertical absorption coefficients were: for blue, 0·177; green, 0·153; "white," viz. no filter, 0·216; yellow, 0·243; red, 0·345. The results accord well with those obtained under similar conditions with emission cells and show that, for water a couple of miles offshore, green light penetrates best. 2. The current was measured using the potentiometer-telephone method as for emission cells, but determining the drop in potential across a low resistance, 10,100, or 1000 ohms. The motion of the ship was too violent to permit of the use of any available galvanometer of adequate sensitivity. 3. Rectifier cells are more convenient to use than emission cells, as the currents to be measured are much larger and the absence, of high potentials greatly simplifies all insulation problems. On the other hand the curvature of the illumination–current relation involves additional labour in standardizing and in calculating results.


This paper proposes a specific definition for the manner of use and deeply analyzes the relationships among the way products are used and their changing design concepts in a bibliometrics method. Besides, the characteristics of how a product is used, the core element of industrial design and the medium of interaction between users and products are discussed from the historical perspective. Finally, it concludes that products' manner of use is the consolidated manifestations, which accomplish the usage and the emotional reflection of products with the analysis of the characteristic of times and the development of product design. The purpose of the research is to introduce the significance of manner of use in design process and design cognition. Authors try to establish a conceptual framework for further study on manner of use design and develop the theory of arts of design research.


This paper develops a conjectural variation model that allows for partial ownership arrangements and foreign trade. This model is applied to the Japanese and U.S. automobile industries. Although collusion is found to occur in the Japanese automobile industry, it is found to be more competitive than the U.S. automobile industry. The effect imports have on firms' price-cost margins in both countries is also found to be different. Copyright 1997 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd


Alanine scanning of the channel region linking the S4 and S5 transmembrane helices of the hIK channel revealed several residues critical for protein trafficking and function. Substitution of phenylalanine with alanine (F194A), produced a channel that was inactive. Placing a tryptophan at this site (F194W), produced a channel that was functional, but initial whole‐cell patch‐clamp experiments indicated that the hIK‐F194W channel could no longer be stimulated by the channel opener DC‐EBIO. We determined the properties of this S4–S5 linker mutant channel further using giant‐patch and single‐channel patch clamp electrophysiological techniques.


The equation of change for the electron distribution function in the Townsend-Huxley experiment is solved considering both elastic and inelastic collisions at constant collisional frequencies. The usual Lorentz two-term approximation is extended to include the next term and the effect on transport coefficients is considered. Criteria for the validity of the two-term approximation are established.


The invention provides a mounting structure, an electro-optical apparatus having the mounting structure and a touch panel. Even the first electrode and the second electrode in the opening portion are electrically connected by an anisotropic conductive material, the conductive particles in the opening portion can be bruised fully. In a mounting structure (200) including a first member (1) and a second member (2), the first electrode (11) and the second electrode (22) in the opening portion are electrically connected by an anisotropic conductive material (40).At least a part of the periphery ofthe opening portion of the insulating layer overlaps with the second electrode in a plan view. Also, a particle diameter of the conductive particles is equal to or more than twice a depth value of the opening portion.Therefore, before the second electrode (22) is abutted with the insulation layer (12), more than 50% of the conductive particles are deformed.


Objective: to study impairments in the nanostructure of red blood cell membranes in acute blood loss and methods to correct the membrane structures with perfluorocarbon emulsion. Materials and methods. Experiments were carried out on Nembutal-anesthesized outbred rats. The model of a terminal state was 60-minute hypovolemic hypotension, followed by blood reinfusion and addition of perfluorane or Ringer's solution. Images of fragments of the red blood cell membrane surface structure were obtained using a Femtoscan atomic force microscope (AFM). Twenty-seven experiments were performed; 186 cells were scanned on the AFM, which provided 720 images of three orders. Results. The paper shows the time course of changes in the index hi for different phases of an experiment. After 5-minute hypotension, h1 increased by more than 4.3 times and after 60-minute hypotension, this value decreased to 4.7 nm. The second-order height rose linearly at the stages: control — at 5 minutes — at 60 minutes of hypotension. At 60 minutes of hypotension, the first- and second-order heights were similar. At 5 minutes of hypotension, the third-order surface slightly changed — it increased by 1.5-fold. But at 60 minutes of hypotension, the changes in the fine structures of the membrane became great — h3 increased by 6.3 times. Conclusion. Blood loss has shown to induce impairments in the microstructure of red blood cell membranes at all levels of its organization: flick in the range of 600—1000 nm, spectrin matrix at 150—350 nm, proteins, band 3, at 30—80 nm. The per-fluorocarbon emulsion «Perftoran» exerts a pronounced modulatory effect on the red blood cell membrane nanostructure at all steps of its organization, by restoring the membrane nanostructure practically to the control level. Key words: blood loss, red blood cell membrane, nanostructure, atomic force microscopy.


The objective of Selective Change Driven (SCD) Vision is to capture and process those scene pixels that have the greatest impact in the motion estimation task. The implemented SCD Vision sensor delivers the pixels ordered according to the illumination change undergone by each pixel, from the last time each pixel was read-out. This ordering strategy is especially interesting for motion detection algorithms, since it allows for a reduction in data bandwidth requirements without decreasing accuracy. The speed of the obtained pixel flow allows movement detection and tracking at a speed several orders of magnitude higher than conventional vision systems. To accomplish these objectives, the sensor is based on a well-known logarithm continuous time cell for light capture, and a new high-speed several thousand input Winner-Take-All (WTA) circuit with single winner selection. This WTA circuit differentiates this sensor from others, since it allows for a constant synchronous pixel rate, self-adaptation to scene conditions, the operation being controlled by the processing hardware, the complete use of the available processing and bandwidth resources, and illumination and address event delivery at the same time resolution of 2 μs. A 64 × 64 SCD Vision sensor is presented which has been implemented in standard 180 nm CMOS.


In Michel Foucault's work, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, I am interested in thinking about the relationship with his theory about power and knowledge. For Foucault, power and knowledge is within the "articulation of each other [1]." In this, there is a type of knowledge and hypervisibility that has a historical tone, and this feature is scientific [2]. For this essay I will summarize some of Foucault's theories about power and knowledge, because it provides a pedagogy to think about the performative structure of knowledge. In that, there is a performance of power that upholds certain knowledge as important. Foucault's argument that I am interested in are how the state produces discourse that is scientific and upheld socio-historically. More specifically, I am interested in his ideas about "subjugated knowledge," because this can be either unconscious and ideological knowledge that is informed by history, or outside knowledge, non-state knowledges of everyday life and experience [3]. What I am really interested in for this critical response is to extend Foucault's ideas about knowledge that is not seen as important to the state. In this essay, I put forth the following questions: How does the state evaluate knowledge as important? How can we think, and use knowledge outside of the state's power? I will attempt to answer these questions in this essay.


This paper discusses the problems that inhibit the development of spirituality in the youth, shows the role of educational institutions for young peoples moral stability development, reveals a personal paradigm that initiates self-actualization and improvement of students for socialization in modern Russian society. The paper analyzes the problems of spirituality and intelligence development in Russian universities. It is argued that the presence of spirituality creates a barrier to destructive social phenomena, while intelligence represents the internal and external culture, dignity and morality of the individual. The paper emphasizes that spirituality and intelligence should be protected by the individual from the destructive influence of the criminal environment and dubious offers. Students relying on the theory of reactance must learn to say no. It is noted that according to students the significant components of spirituality are the desire to develop their country, national virtues, the less significant ones are the willingness to sacrifice personal interests for the interests of the fatherland. The role of a comfortable psychological environment in the development of self-education, self-criticism, self-actualization of student youth is shown. It is postulated that an educated person respects other people, recognizes their intrinsic value, originality, meaning and dignity.


A tool for measuring the quality of nursing care was developed in Japan in 1993. This tool consists of three dimensions: structure, process, and outcome. One aspect of the outcome dimension, specifically nursing-sensitive medical incidents such as falls, downfalls, pressure ulcers, hospital infections and drug-related errors was measured. In this study, aspects of nursing care that may influence the frequency of medical incidents were examined. As the above five medical incidents were differentially related to each other, they were summarized under two factors using principal component analysis. Factor 1 comprised falls, downfall, pressure ulcers and drug-related errors. Factor 2 comprised hospital infections and pressure ulcers. All domains of the structure and process of "incident prevention" were related to factor 1. These variables were able to explain 46.1% of the variance in factor 1. Most of all the domains of structure, and process of "patient empowerment", "direct care", and "incident prevention" were related to factor 2. These variables were able to explain 45.5% of the variance in factor 2.


A system for measuring conditions in a wellbore (10) includes tubing (12) extending into the wellbore. A first fiber optic cable (20) extends axially along a fist surface portion of the tubing and hasat least one signal generation gauge (24) located at a predetermined location for producing a generated acoustic signal (26) that propagates outward from the generation gauge and through the tubing.A second fiber optic cable (22) extends axially along a second surface portion of the tubing and is operable to receive a resulting signal of the generated acoustic signal so that wellbore parametersproximate to the predetermined location can be determined. The second fiber optic cable (22) is spaced apart from the first fiber optic cable (20) and is operable to transmit data of the resulting signal to a receiver (30).


In this paper, a new formulation and method is presented to directly recover 3D short term motion from range image sequences. In the case of a rigid-body motion, the formulation relates through a set of linear equations the six motion parameters to the first spatial-temporal derivatives and coordinates of a point. A weighted least square method is used to find the solution of this equation set. In case of locally rigid motion, the six rigid motion parameters of each point are estimated from the first and second spatial-temporal derivatives. For each point, a set of 10 linear equations with six unknowns is again solved by the least square method. The special case of local translation with small rotation gives a very elegant closed-form solution and an explicit geometric explanation. We also shown that the formulation can be easily generalized to any arbitrary motion. The proposed formulation has theoretical elegance since it only involves solving a set of linear equations. Results on both synthetic and real data are given.


Training residents to improve clinical quality, safety, and efficacy is important both to prepare residents for independent practice and to engage residents in improving care now. However, interviews with leads in each of our institution's 22 residency programs found that the substantial majority of programs did not provide systematic didactic training with project experience. ¶ Institutional personnel encouraged programs to identify faculty leads for QI training, developed flexible basic curricula, and trained identified faculty. These efforts continue as more programs identify faculty QI leads. Active central institutional involvement is needed to facilitate the development of QI training across all residency programs.


This paper describes a full-rate (FR) candidate speech codec for a new Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) codec standard. The proposed codec is a multi-rate codec, operating in various modes that have different bit-rate partitionings between source and channel coding. The source coding is based on Algebraic Code Excited Linear Predictive Coding (ACELP). Convolutional coding is used for the channel coding. Subjective tests show that at poor channel error conditions with low C/I-ratios of 7 dB, the lowest mode of the proposed codec produces speech quality comparable to G.728 in clean channel condition. The codec also provides substantial improvement on error robustness over the Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) GSM codec, by selecting an optimal coding rate to suit the channel condition. The codec performance passes twenty-six out of the twenty-nine test conditions, conducted according to [2]. Therefore, the proposed codec has passed the ETSI qualification test.


Background/Aims: This study investigated changes of interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels before and after dialysis, and the possible association with other pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Methods: Plasma IL-18 of healthy controls, and pre- and post-dialysis of uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) were evaluated by ELISA methodology. Results: Plasma IL-18 levels were significantly increased in patients with maintenance HD (p <0.001) compared to its level in normal subjects. When compared to pre-dialysis levels, a significant increase in plasma IL-18 was measured at the end of HD (p = 0.032). There was a significant correlation among plasma IL-18, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in HD patients. Conclusion: Plasma IL-18 concentration was significantly higher in HD patients and was significantly elevated by cellulose-based HD processes. Pre-activation of immunologically active cells may contribute to the association between pre-dialysis IL-18 and post-dialysis IL-6 and TNF-α levels.


This article is based on Schumpeter's distinction between innovation and invention based on its economic consequences and analyzes his well-known concept of creative destruction caused by business innovation. Next, it focuses on the decisive effect of social harmonization of the exercise of entrepreneurship, suggesting the overcoming of the Schumpeterian concept through the idea of coordinating creativity. In this way, it is understood that business innovation, instead of leading to the self-destruction of capitalism, makes unlimited economic and social development possible, a process that has been called a coordinated social big bang.


A popular view of the rural Midwest is one of unchanging farmsteads and small towns. This perception is inaccurate. Small towns, like other components of the rural cultural landscape, are dynamic. The built environments of small towns change in respon~ to changes in the underlying culture while, at the same time, continuously developing from it. Ivesdale, located in southwest Champaign County and eastern Piatt County, has and is undergoing this perpetual transformation. This article considers some of the .,rocesses which affect Ivesdale and the Jevelopment of its built environment. Ivesdale originated along the Wabash Railroad line to the south of a grove of trees known as Cherry Grove in 1855. The original town plat for Ivesdale was filed as "Norrie" on July 1, 1867 by Ephriam A. and Josephine c. Chapin. The town plat, based on the grid system with streets intersecting at right angles, imposed ,an indelible pattern on town morphology. Norrie was incorporated on June 12, 1871 and renamed Ivesdale in March 1872 in honor of R. H. Ives of Providence, Rhode Island, who was a major landowner in the vicinity. .William H. Johnson (1823-1898) was the first settler in the vicinity, building a home there in 1856. The Wabash Railroad was the first major employer in the region and railroad employees were responsible for establishing the first components of the built environment including a boarding house and railroad depot in the 1850s. The railroad offered access to rapidly expanding 'markets and facilitated Ivesdale's role as an important center of, agricultural trade and services. The railroad had a profound effect on the Jevelopment of the early built environment ofIvesdale and remained the town's lifeline until the early twentieth century. The diminishing role of the railroad was demonstrated by the suspenN ovember-DecemJ>er,1992 Number 6


This paper presents a pattern matching machine which detects all occurrences of the longest possible keywords in a text and replaces them with the corresponding keywords. The pattern matching machine of this type is a generalized sequential machine and is constructed in nearly the same way as AhoCorasick's pattern matching machine to locate all occurrences of keywords. We show algorithms to construct our pattern matching machine and to make the machine run on a given text string, and show the validities of them. We also consider the time complexity of the algorithms and evaluate the running time of the algorithms. Finally we discuss some applications of our pattern matching machines.


Recently, significant research efforts have been initiated to enable the next-generation, namely, the sixth-generation (6G) wireless systems. In this article, we present a vision of metaverse towards effectively enabling the development of 6G wireless systems. A metaverse will use virtual representation (e.g., digital twin), digital avatars, and interactive experience technologies (e.g., extended reality) to assist analyses, optimizations, and operations of various wireless applications. Specifically, the metaverse can offer virtual wireless system operations through the digital twin that allows network designers, mobile developers, and telecommunications engineers to monitor, observe, analyze, and simulations their solutions collaboratively and virtually. We first introduce a general architecture for metaverse-based wireless systems. We discuss key driving applications, design trends, and key enablers of metaverse-based wireless systems. Finally, we present several open challenges and their potential solutions.


The Cobra‐PLUS™ perilaryngeal airway (CP) is a modification of the Cobra perilaryngeal airway. It has a distal curve for easier placement and a thermistor on the pharyngeal cuff. We assessed the orientation of the larynx to the CP and compared temperatures measured using CP to temporal arterial (TA) and infrared tympanic (T) thermometers.


Preface. 1.Audiometer Listening Checks. 2.Audiometer Calibration. 3.Otoscopy. 4.Pure-Tone Audiometry: Air Conduction. 5.Pure-Tone Audiometry: Bone Conduction. 6.Effective Masking Calibration. 7.Masking for Air Conduction. 8.Masking for Bone Conduction. 9.Speech Audiometry: Speech Recognition Threshold. 10.Masking for Speech-Recognition Threshold. 11.Speech Audiometry: Word Recognition. 12.Performance Intensity Function for PB Word Lists. 13.Masking for Word-Recognition Tests. 14.Acoustic Immittance. 15.Auditory Evoked Potentials. 16.Otoacoustic Emissions. 17.Alternate Binaural Loudness Balance Test. 18.Short Increment Sensitivity Index. 19.Masking for the Short Increment Sensitivity Index. 20.Tone Decay. 21.Masking for the Tone-Decay Test. 22.The Stenger Test. 23.Synthetic Sentence Identification. 24.Staggered Spondaic Word Test. 25.SCAN: A Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders.


This paper uses the Duane's reliability growth model and applies it to some subsystems of light duty trucks during their design and development and prototype testing. The data presented illustrates explicitly the prediction of the reliability growth during development and testing. The data is used to estimate the parameters for the reliability growth curve. Once the model is development, it can be used to monitor product reliability. /GMRL/


This study assessed the levels of nitrogenous (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) and phosphate compounds in the water column in the Great Ruaha River (GRR) in response to natural and human pressures. Water were sampled using Teflon capped plastic containers and analysed using standard methods. High levels of ammonia were observed in the Mtera dam and low in the GRR and its tributaries as well as at Ruaha Mbuyuni. Nitrite levels were observed only in Mswiswi and Luwosi tributaries in the upstream and in the Mtera and Ruaha Mbuyuni in the downstream. High levels of nitrite were observed in the Mtera dam probably due to increased microbial activity. Levels of nitrates were high in the Mtera dam and in the Mswiswi and Lunwa tributaries and low in the Little Ruaha, Ruaha Mbuyuni and in other tributaries. Nitrate levels were increasing from the tributaries to the main river and later decreasing at Ruaha Mbuyuni probably indicative of some changes in land cover, land use, soil type and groundwater level. Observed levels of phosphate followed an irregular pattern and were relatively were high probably due to anthropogenic activities and absence of Ca, Mg, Al and Fe minerals that can precipitate phosphate. Levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the GRR were lower than the US EPA and Health Canada set standards, indicative of a natural source. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicate that the nitrite and ammonia are so closely related to each other than to nitrate, indicating probably that most nitrites originate from the nitrification of ammonia than the denitrification of nitrate. Similarly, nitrate and phosphate were observed in the same principal component clearly indicative of the same source, which could be fertiliser application in agricultural fields. However, increasing agricultural and livestock activities as aggravated by increasing human population pose a threat on the future dynamics of the nitrogen and phosphorus in the area.


Qiong Liu Tongling University, Tongling 244000, Anhui, China Research on the Training of Auditing Talents Based on the Blockchain Environment Abstract: The audit course is a comprehensive subject with a certain degree of professional technical difficulty, and taking into account both theoretical and practical aspects. Students not only need to know the knowledge of auditing, but also understand the corresponding laws and regulations, and train themselves to have certain problem induction and Skills of analyze. This article studies the improvement of audit teaching level in the information environment, analyzes the problems in the current audit teaching, and proposes some teaching improvement measures, hoping to provide some useful suggestions to the majority of audit teachers in the teaching process.


Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a common procedure done for stone removal, as it is less invasive than an open procedure. But, several complications may occur. Hemothorax is a rare but severe chest complication of the supracostal puncture during PCNL. We experienced an acute hemothorax and lung collapse just after PCNL in a 66-year-old male patient with left renal stone. A chest tube was inserted for drainage and was removed after 9 days, when a chest X-ray revealed good expansion of lung.


Objective:We reviewed the experience of ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysms(RSVA) associated with ventricular septal defect(VSD) to determine risk factors for preoperative aortic regurgitation(AR) and postoperative progression of AR.Methods:A total 94 patients underwent a surgical repair of RSVA and VSD.Aneurysms originated from right sinus in 91 patients,and protruded into right ventricle outlet tract in 85 patients.Surgery was performed in a short time once RSVA was diagnosed.Aortic valve replacement(AVR) was performed in 24 patients and aortic valvuloplasty in 6 patients(1 received AVR eventually for aortic valvuloplasty failure).The methods of RSVA repair included the following:closing the base of the fistula with patch in 63 patients,closing the break with direct sutures(simple / buttressed) in 7 patients.Results:All patients survived the operation.Late death occurred in 1 patient after AVR.AR presented in 61 patients before operation.By Logistic regression analysis,patients with secondary changes of aortic valve and diameter of VSD were risk factors related with preoperative AR.In 56 late follow-up patients without AVR,AR worsened in 9 patients.By univariable analysis,AR at discharge was identied as a risk factor correlative with late postoperative worsening of AR.But by Cox regression analysis,AR at discharge showed no signicant contribution to late follow-up AR aggravation.Conclusion:RSVA associated with VSD can be repaired with a low mortality and excellent long-term result.An early diagnosis,an aggressive treatment should be recommended for treatment.Patients with AR at discharge should be followed up closely.


Developers and users of artificial-intelligence-based tools for automatic contouring and treatment planning in radiotherapy are expected to assess clinical acceptability of these tools. However, what is 'clinical acceptability'? Quantitative and qualitative approaches have been used to assess this ill-defined concept, all of which have advantages and disadvantages or limitations. The approach chosen may depend on the goal of the study as well as on available resources. In this paper, we discuss various aspects of 'clinical acceptability' and how they can move us toward a standard for defining clinical acceptability of new autocontouring and planning tools.


Intestinal parasites infect approximately 3 billion people worldwide, leading to augmented risk of developmental deficiencies, and even deaths (1). In tropical countries, parasitic infection is a common cause of morbidity along with mortality (2). Its incidence is predominantly high in developing countries owing to the poor sanitary conditions, usage of contaminated drinking water and poor personal hygiene(3). Giardiasis is one of the most common parasitic infestations in children which are caused by a Zoonotic protozoan called Giardia lamblia (4). This parasite affects humans and domestic as well as wild animals (5). World Health Organization had reported that, since 1988, there were over 280 million new cases of Giardia lamblia infection observed every year in Africa, Latin America and Asia(1). It is also associated with socioeconomic level of a country and its prevalence ranges from 2 to 7% in most of industrialized regions and reaching 40% in developing countries(6) This diseases may have both immediate and longterm consequences including chronic diarrhoea with or without dehydration and intestinal malabsorption, recurrent abdominal pain, and weight loss (7). It has been currently related to chronic fatigue post infectious irritable bowel syndrome and particularly, in International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 07 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


ABSTRACT In order to better predict the traffic states on freeways and make management decisions, a hybrid model of support vector machine (SVM) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) is proposed for short- term freeway exiting volume prediction. First, a historical data set is built by using the freeway toll data. The abnormal toll records, such as records that have same entry and exit station, illogical time record and abnormal travel speed, are excluded by data quality control. Based on the historical dataset, it is found that the exiting volume has periodical variation over time which provides the basis of the short-term prediction. Then, the historical data set is cross-classified into twelves groups based on the day of week and time of day. The prediction has been done for each group. Finally, the prediction is accomplished by the hybrid-model of SVM and KNN. The exiting volumes of previous time periods are used as the feature vector for KNN and SVM. Besides, a dynamic weight is adopted for the prediction of current time period based on the latest prediction accuracy of KNN and SVM. The model results indicate that the proposed algorithm is feasible and accurate. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error is under 10%. When comparing with the results of single KNN or SVM method, the results show that the combination of KNN and SVM can improve the reliability of the prediction significantly. The proposed method can be implemented in the on-line application of exiting volume prediction, which is able to consider different vehicle types.


This paper considers time-reversal (TR) imaging with the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) method for the location of point targets, not only in the usual framework of the Born approximation but also in more general nonlinear scattering frameworks where there is multiple scattering between the targets. This finding is important toward practical implementations of the TR technique facing multiple scattering effects. The super-resolution results of a previous paper (C. Prada et al., Acoust. Soc. Am., vol.114, p.235-243, 2003) can now be better characterized theoretically in the multiple scattering regime. We showed how both the conventional, backpropagated images of the principal eigenvectors and the predicted values of the target scattering amplitudes are scattering model-dependent.


Ross Island Copper Mine, located in Killarney National Park, Killarney, Ireland, is known for archeological artifacts of copper from the Bronze Age. Copper production surged in the late 1700s and into the mid-1800s. The mine included both open pits (e.g. Blue Hole) and underground excavations (e.g. Western Mine). Copper veins were found in the Mississippian-aged limestone bedrock along with chalcopyrite and tennantite ore. In 1912, tourism had become the main source of income in the area, and the mines and the land surrounding them were remediated and became a part of the national park. Mine shafts were filled in, waste piles were moved or disposed of, and trees were planted. Little remediation has been done since the original work in 1912. The purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of contamination in the soil and water in and around mine sites. Twelve water samples and four soil samples were taken from Blue Hole, Western Mine, Lough Leane (the nearby lake), and River Laune, located several miles downstream from the national park. The water samples were dried on micro-carry filter papers and analyzed in an XRF spectrometer for S and Cu. Soil samples, mostly of a sand or silt texture, were dried and pressed into pellets for XRF analyses of S, Pb, Cu, and Zn. Water samples had low concentrations of both Cu and S (<4 and 23 ppm, respectively). Much higher concentrations of S and heavy metals were observed in soil samples, with maximum concentrations of S >134,000 ppm, Zn >63,000 ppm, Pb >62,000 ppm, and Cu >17,000 ppm. These high levels may be of concern, although leaching of these metals is unlikely to adversely affect local aquifers or wells because of dilution in nearby Lough Leane. There is no immediate threat to humans from contaminated soil, though the health of some plant species could be compromised, especially with high levels of Pb and Zn. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to examine the levels of sulfur (S) and heavy metals, specifically zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and copper (Cu), in the soil and water at an ancient copper mine within Killarney National Park, Killarney, Ireland. The town of Killarney is located in County Kerry near the southwest coast of the country. The national park has 3 main lakes that ultimately flow northwest towards the Atlantic Ocean-Lough Leane (pronounced "Lock Lean"), Muckross Lake, and Upper Lake. Lough Leane is the largest of the 3 lakes and is located closest to the various sample sites. 12 water samples and 4 soil samples were taken over 11 days from 6 different sites with weather varying from sunshine to light rain to several hours of downpour. Samples were taken with weather in mind because it is possible that rain could have an effect on the results, either by diluting possible contaminants or causing an increase in S levels due to acid rain. The importance of this research lies in the fact that few studies have been conducted in this area. Despite the mine being located in Ireland's largest national park, very little scientific research on the quality of the water and soil has been done. This study aims to give a snapshot of the current state of the soil and water at the specific sample sites. Each element was chosen because of the close elemental relationships with copper mining. BACKGROUND Ross Island, a peninsula located within the boundaries of Killarney National Park in Killarney, Ireland, has been home to several thousand years of mining activity. Tools found around the area in the late 1700s indicate that mining began here in the Bronze Age (3500 BC). Mining continued again in the late 1700s and the Ross Island Copper Mine was established. The original site location is known as the "Blue Hole" site and was a large open pit mine. When production grew in the early 1800s, a second site was opened. The Western Mine was a typical underground shaft mine located slightly west of the Blue Hole site. Between 1804 and 1829, more than 5,000 pounds of copper were sent to smelters in England (Ross Island). In the late 1800s, production at the mine began to slow due to increasing production costs and a growing tourism industry in the area. The mines were finally closed, but an attempt was made in 1911 to reopen the mines. Because tourism was now the main source of income for the area, the mines were permanently closed in 1912. Mine buildings were demolished, shafts were filled in, and various trees and plants were planted in an attempt to remediate the mine sites (Ross Island). Ross Island has a Devonian-aged, copper-rich limestone matrix (Ross Island). Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and tennantite (Cu12As4S13) ores are present in vein-type structures. The peninsula of Ross Island is located on 2 different geologic thrustsHead of Ross Thrust and Ross Island Thrust (Nex et al., 2003). The carbonate lithology of the region, along with a ductile nature, suggests that a ductile-thrust model is the most applicable model for the area (Nex et al., 2003). Figure 1 is a geologic map of Ross Island and the various lithologies, thrusts, and other structural information. Ross Island consists of Ballysteen Formation limestone overlying the Rockfield Formation limestone (Nex et al., 2003). Mineralization of copper extended only to a maximum depth of 13-16 meters (approx. 42-52 feet) (Ross Island). The implications of heavy metal contamination in soil have been studied extensively. High heavy metal levels in soil have been known to lead to soil acidification, which can, in turn, lead to a diminishing in the health of plants (Sowinski et al., 2016; Shi et al., 2015; Verdejo et al., 2015; Motuzova et al., 2014; Rutkowska et al., 2015). Heavy metal content depends on different variables, including the type of parent material, soil texture, pedologic factors, and anthropogenic forces (Sowinski et al., 2016). Cu, Pb, and Zn all have significant effects of the health and productivity of soil. Cu is a necessary micronutrient, but after a certain threshold, becomes highly toxic (Verdejo et al., 2015). The total content of Cu in soil can be used as the main predictor of plant growth (Verdejo et al., 2015). Zn also has the ability to negatively affect soil. Zn is toxic to microorganisms and can have adverse effects of soil fertility (Rutkowska et al., 2015). All 3 heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) can be affected by decreasing levels in pH. As the pH of the soil lowers, mobilization of metal Fig. 1: Geologic map of Ross Island, In Killarney National Park. Shown is the distribution of the lithologies and thrusts of the region. The stereonet is an equal-area plot of the data on the map (Nex et. Al, 2003). Fig. 1: Geologic map of Ross Island peninsula. The lithologies and thrusts can be seen as well as structural variations throughout. Taken from Nex et al., 2003 cations increases (Sowinski et al., 2016). This means that heavy metals in the soil have the ability to affect the soil's pH while the pH of the soil can affect the mobility of heavy metal ions. Phytoremediation, the use of plants as bioremediators, has proved to be the most effective form of remediation in terms of heavy metal contamination (Shi et al., 2015). Lab studies have shown that Cu levels in soil can be dramatically remediated by phytoremediation (Sowinski et al., 2016). Phytoremediation has been used in northeastern China, the Avoca mines in eastern Ireland, and Chile to much success (N. F. Gray, 1996; Verdejo et al., 2015; Shi et al., 2015). SITE DESCRIPTION For this study, samples were taken from 6 different sites. The study was around Blue Hole but samples were also taken near the entrance to Western Mine as well as downstream from the national park. Figure 2 shows the location of each sample site. Table 1 lists each sample site, along with the date of collection, site name, designated abbreviation, GPS location, elevation, and what water and soil samples were collected. Fig. 2: Ancient copper mine at Killarney National Park. Sample sites indicated with dots and label of site number. Inset maps include Ireland and Killarney National Park. Ross Island map photo taken by C. Chouinard (2016). Ireland and Killarney National Park images from Google Earth (2017). S1


Noting that "one-third of all graduates of university public relations programs go to work for non-profit organizations" {Kelly, 1993), this paper focuses on the issues of accountability and assessment faced by nonprofit organizations with corresponding methods of evaluation. First, the paper demonstrates the extent of nonprofit organizations in American society and the impact of nonprofit organizations on public relations. The paper then explores the various publics who hold a nonprofit organization accountable. As these publics unfold, the paper discusses the specificity of goals or objectives, both longand short-term. The paper also discusses ethical considerations of various fundraising techniques as related to the issue of accountability, and as they relate to the public relations practitioner. Contains 5 notes and 19 references. (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** ASSESSMENT OF NONPROFIT PUBLIC RELATIONS EFFORTS Diane Atkinson Gorcyca Department of Communication Studies New Orleans, LA November, 1994 Send Correspondence to: Diane Atkinson Gorcyca, Ph.D. Dept. of Communication Studies Missouri Western State College 4525 Downs Drive St. Joseph, MO 64507 816-271-4504 firstname.lastname@example.com UAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION On. of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION C'n CENTER (ERIC) tie) siLThis document his been eeproducid as received horn the Person or organization originating .1 0 Minor changes have been made to improve \C3 reproduction quality Points 01 view of op.mOns staled .5 th.sdocu men' do not necessarily represent official C.") OE RI position or polity "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" Running Head: Nonprofit Assessment 1) 6 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Nonprofit assessment, 1 ASSESSMENT OF NONPROFIT PUBLIC RELATIONS EF} oRrs Recently, a public supported media operation offered tickets to a Speakers' Series contingent upon member's pledge to a specified dollar amount. This author pledge the amount, and in fact, paid by check within two days of receipt of the pledge statement. There was a limited number of seats available for the events. The station over sold the memberships, because pledges do not guarantee payment, and did not provide the author with tickets because first priority went to members who charged their pledges. Since the seat limit was reached before her check arrived, the author was not given tickets to the Speaker's Series. The station might have curbed overall resentment if they had sent notification of their predicament. However, the managing board decided against notifying those who had contributed but did not receive tickets. One week prior to the first speaker, the author called concerning the status of the tickets. The station explained the situation, their decision not to issue tickets, and their decision not to notify. Using knowledge of public relations, the author explained her reactions in terms of organizational accountability. Since that time, the author has worked with the station to develop ftiture guidelines for accountability in fund-raising endeavors, and did receive tickets for the Speake s Series. The ending to this situation is analogous to the fairy tale ending of "...and they lived happily ever after." This negative experience resulted in a positive solution because of the author's willingness to practice application of "textbook" fundamentals. Likely, most respondents Nonprofit assessment, 2 would not react in this positive manner. Indeed, others who were denied tickets indicated their unwillingness to the station management to make future membership pledges to the station. This paper will focus on the issues of accountability and assessment faced by nonprofit organizations with corresponding methods of evaluation. First, the extent of nonprofits in our society and the impact of nonprofits on public relations, will be demonstrated. Secondly, the various publics who hold a nonprofit organization accountable will be explored. As these publics unfold, the specificity of goals or objectives, both long and short-term, will be discussed. Various methods of assessment are available and should be related to these goals. Ethical considerations of various fund raising techniques will be discussed as related to the issue of accountability, and as they realte to the public relations practitioner. The number of nonprofit organizations is an ever-increasing facet of public and private work. Kelly (1993) estimates that "one-third of all graduates of public relations programs housed in departments or schools of journalism and mass communication go to work for nonprofit organizations" (p. 353). James Joseph, President of the Council on Foundations, emphasized the societal purpose of nonprofits when he contends that encouraging privategenerosity "...is fimdametal to any society that has faith in the essential goodness of the individual...philanthropy is itself an important value...[it] can affirm and advance the connectedness of humanity [and its study] can serve as the social glue of the humanities" (Scala, 1992, p. 47). The strength of this faith in individuals is supported by the figures on monetary contributions over several previous years which also represents reductions in federal funding that began during the 1980s. In 1991, there were an estimated 800,000 organizations categorized as charities. In 1989, 460,000 organizations qualified for IRS 501(c) status (Ke:Iy, 1991). By 1991,


This paper introduces continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) to the Transactions. It outlines the major recent developments in financing procedures and regulatory requirements aimed at keeping these entities solvent. In particular, it describes the Actuarially Based Financial Management System (ABFM) created in 1990 by the American Academy of Actuaries and the Statement o f Position 90-8 promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The paper aims to guide the actuary in making sound judgments of the differing results that arise from these professional requirements and naturally stresses the merits of a comprehensive actuarial approach.


(both downtown and suburban) provide comfort-level amenities for a greater share of their residents, both young and old – including the impending explosion in the number of elderly women living alone.' The title of the book and my own background as an ecologist in the biological sense led me to expect information about another aspect of the ecological impact of population ageing. If average household sizes of the elderly are smaller than those of younger families rearing children, then an increase in the proportion of elderly households will be associated with a reduction in average household size (unless average household sizes of the elderly and the young change, of course). If each household has a refrigerator or other appliances that consume an amount of energy nearly independent of the number of people in the household, then an ageing population could contribute to increased energy consumption per person. On the other hand, if the elderly have reduced mobility and are concentrated in cities, fuel use for commuting could decline and the use of public transport could increase. The ageing of the population could contribute to the concentration of people in the cities and the emptying of rural areas, diminishing the demands of the human population on wetlands, forests, and other largely unpopulated areas. These hypothetical examples show that population ageing could have ecological effects of significance to the biological and earth sciences as well as ecological effects recognizable by the social sciences. The present volume's meticulous and informative analysis of the human-ecological impacts of population ageing could be followed by a future analysis of the ecological impacts that an ecologist would recognize. JOEL E. COHEN Rockefeller University and Columbia University