the principle of divided supervision. He asks for further research into the unfruitful and misleading theoretical dichotomies of &dquo;the individual and his environment&dquo;, &dquo;psycho-social&dquo; and &dquo;intra-psychic and extra-psychic&dquo;. Interesting, too, are his brief comments on how the professional sub-culture of the therapist can have an important bearing on the worker-client relationship in the formulation of treatment goals. He asks that theory be re-formulated to examine &dquo;sick situations&dquo; rather than &dquo;sick&dquo; people, since he feels it is rare that only one member of a family is affected by emotional disturbance. To anyone concerned with the impact of social events and the community upon the emotionally disturbed child or parent, this type of research will prove heartening. While the research may have done more than it did to explore psychoanalytic concepts and their interaction upon social science concepts, it has brought new insights, however limited, and set forth new research areas in a field that has been beggaring such an effort. PAUL WIDEM


Somewhere in England in August 1979, Bamber Gascoigne witnessed the solemn burial of a bejewelled golden pendant in the shape of a hare, worth about 5,000 pounds. Masquerade, a surrcalistically-illustrated children's book containing hidden clues to the secret of the hare's location, was released six weeks later, bearing on its back cover the assurance of the author, Kit Williams, that the puzzle could as easily be solved by an intelligent child often as by an Oxford don. T h e book was an instant hit, and over the next two years sold about two million copies worldwide. Quest for the Golden Hare' is the story of the hunt that Masquerade inspired, as revealed in thousands of letters sent to Kit Williams by eager 'Masqueraders'.


In the present ex post facto study the influence of inhibition, attachment styles, parental rearing styles and social comparison in social anxiety disorder was investigated. First, we studied the isolated effect of each variable through the comparison of two clinical groups and a control group. Then we analysed the action of these variables altogether, using the structural equation model, controlling eventual mediator effects. The sample consisted of adolescents with ages between 12 and 18 years old, who were distributed by three comparison groups: social phobia, other anxiety disorders and normal controls. A structured clinical interview and self-report instruments were used for/in youth assessment. Results showed a specific effect of inhibition and social comparison in social anxiety disorder. The structural equation model outlined the combined action of inhibition, social comparison and peers attachment quality in what concerns the prediction of social anxiety as well as the mediation role of social comparison through the effect of other variables. Although this study presents some limitations, its results contribute to the understanding of some of the ways of development and maintenance of social anxiety during adolescence.


We investigate theoretically the structural aspect of the characteristic features in the vicinity of the metal–insulator phase boundary in perovskite-based manganites. We develop a phenomenological treatment based on Ginzburg–Landau type formalism in which the elastic energies such as Jahn–Teller energy, phonon energy and the bulk strain energy are explicitly taken into account. The two important features observed commonly at the phase boundary; incommensurate orbital order and two-phase coexistence are reproduced as the stable states in the two dimensional model system.


Bangsa Moro is the generic name for the 13 ethnolinguistic Muslim tribes in the Philippines which constitute a quarter of the population in Mindanao,(and the southern archipelago islands of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Basilan, all in all approximately 4.5 million Muslims)
In 1905 Dr. Najeeb M Saleeby wrote in a book Studies in Moro History, Law, and Religion, 'the Moros are a law-abiding people, provided, however, they feel that the government that rules them is their own. They do not regard the present government as their own'. One hundred years on, the same sentiments persists with the majority of Bangsa Moro people of the Southern Philippines.
Prior to the original Spanish landing in the Philippines by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, the population, consisting of Muslims and animistic tribes people, lived in a symbiotic relationship. However this was to change with the introduction of Christianity by Spain. As a result of the Christian imposition, war and hostilities occurred. The start of hostilities began with the first Muslim Filipino/Spaniard clash near Cebu in 1569. When the United States of America acquired the Philippines in 1898, following the Treaty of Paris, the Muslim population in the Philippines had in all but Mindanao, and a few islands in the Philippine archipelago, been either eliminated or converted to Christianity. The resolve of the Muslim Bangsa Moro, for self-determination 3 or independence has survived to this date, despite the impact of Spanish colonization, American imperialism, Japanese invasion, and Philippine industrialization.
The Bangsa Moro of the Southern Philippines would, if allowed, live according to Sharia law. This in itself promotes a conflict of interest, because Philippine law has as its authority the Philippine Constitution, and 'the Philippine Constitution still hovers above the Koran' (Vitag & Gloria 2000). There is no government policy which clearly discriminates against Muslims in Mindanao, however policies are formulated in response to popular demand, and since the majority of the population are Christians, 'policies can be biased in favour of the majority' (Lingga 2004).


A double‐blind cross‐over trial has been carried out on 20 patients with Parkinsonism, comparing the effects of amantadine hydrochloride given in a dosage of 200 mg per day for a period of four weeks, with the effects of an identical‐appearing placebo also given twice a day for four weeks. Pretrial therapy was continued unaltered throughout the trial for all patients.


The mixing optimization model of min ventilation networks was summed up,the four way advantage and disadvantages of sloving mixing ventilation networks optimization problem were analysed.Facing the demand of mixing ventilation networks,integrative optimization way optimizing min ventilation networks was put forward.The two adjacency matrix of dynamic networks were initialized on random according to genetic algorithm thought based on min ventilation networks theory and graph theory.The two minimum spanning tree of the dynamic network was searched by the way of minimum spanning tree algorithm confined in conditions,two independence circuit matrix were calculated,and then the ventilation volume of networks branchs and resistance adjusting values of remaining tree branchs were calculated by the ventilation volume of remaining tree branchs and circuit matrix.The generalized objective function is set up in the sum ventilation power and restriction conditions,The ventilation volume distributing and adjusting schemes were judged by the generalized objective function,and schemes codes were evolved by genetic operator.Finally,the satisfaction ventilation volume distribution and adjustment schemes was attained by iterative.The algorithm is a globe optimization in strict mathematics define.The algorithm deals with adjusting location restriction very well.The results show that the algorithm reduces variable number in mode,and is good at efficiency,through making use of the node int-flow and out-flow balance restriction.


About the book: Computer Supported Argument Visualization is attracting attention across education, science, public policy and business. More than ever, we need sense-making tools to help negotiate understanding in the face of multi-stakeholder, ill-structured problems. In order to be effective, these tools must support human cognitive and discursive processes, and provide suitable representations, services and user interfaces.

Visualizing Argumentation is written by practitioners and researchers for colleagues working in collaborative knowledge media, educational technology and organizational sense-making. It will also be of interest to theorists interested in software tools which embody different argumentation models. Particular emphasis is placed on the usability and effectiveness of tools in different contexts.


The invention relates to a desulfurization method of medium and low grade cold rolling non-oriented molten silicon steel, which comprises the following steps of: (1) deoxidizing after tapping of a rotary furnace, pouring pretreated hot metal into the rotary furnace, smelting, tapping, adding lime, premelted slag and aluminum iron during the tapping process, adding lime, premelted slag and aluminum pills into steel ladles after tapping, blowing argon gas and deoxidizing while strongly agitating; (2) low-frequency desulfurizing at low frequency station, sampling, analyzing that carbon in molten steel is not greater than 0.05%, delivering power, blowing argon gas from bottom, agitating, cutting off power, blowing argon gas while strongly agitating, sampling and analyzing; and (3) relative-humidity decarburizing at relative humidity station, vacuumizing, sampling and analyzing carbon content and aluminum content in molten aluminum, wherein the blowing oxygen content is O (Nm )=molten steel quantity (ton)*0.4+{[C]%+[Al]}*10 ; circulating in vacuum, sampling after adding aluminum when the carbon content [C] in molten steel is not greater than 0.0020%, and IVRH alloying when the C content in molten steel is not greater than 0.0025%. Sulfur in the medium and low grade cold rolling non-oriented molten silicon steel can be reduced to below 20 ppm.


The metabolism of d < 1.063 lipoproteins of the rat was studied in perfused liver and in vivo. Perfused livers were used to label the lipoproteins in the lipid and protein moieties with palmitate-3...


The principle of operation and the design of the harmonic oscillator is introduced, the factors influencing the anisotropic etching quality of the harmonic oscillator are analyzed. In experiment, the fabrication technology was studied and improved, by which the high quality harmonic oscillator has been successfully fabricated. It has been applied in the integrated optical chip of "the theory and experiment research of photoelectric integrated acceleration seismic geophone technology "-a program supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China.


Objective To establish the influencing factors of hand-food-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in Zhongshan. Methods A hospital-based case-control study was conducted on two groups of children matched by sex ,age, time of hospitalization. Interview was carried out with uniform designed questionnaires between the case-group with serious complication and control-groups with mild symptoms from 2009 to 2011. Logistic regression analysis was then performed. The pathogen of HFMD was confirmed by RT-PCR. Results High fever (OR=2.258,95%CI:1.260-4.049), oral ulcers (OR =3.918, 95% CI:1.892-8.113), ought (OR =5.516, 95% CI:1.530-19.882), omit (OR =5.185, 95% CI:1.087-24.742), tremble (OR=8.972, 95% CI:2.998-26.848), tachypnea (OR=9.702, 95% CI:3.391 -27.758), tachycardia (OR=4.029, 95%CI:1.866-8.701),lymph-cell counts increase (OR=3.452, 95%CI:1.577-7.559), the above factors were significant among children with serious symptoms. Multivariate analysis was used to test these risk factors showed that high fever (OR=2.859,95% CI:1.325 -6.170), oral ulcers (OR =4.332,95% CI:1.752 -10.712), tachypnea (OR = 9.888, 95%CI:2.801-34.900), tachycardia (OR=3.842, 95%CI: 1.535-9.619). Conclusions High fever, oral ulcers, fast ougyt, fast tachycardia may the early risk factors of seveve HFMD. To strengthen clinical surveillance and etiology surveillance of HFMD disease ,early diagnosis and early treatment can effectively prevent children from developing severe hand-foot-mouth disease possibility.


Deep ultraviolet (UV) lasers are essential for enormous use ranging from medical and life science to environmental and industrial applications. Herein, a class of blue‐pumped microcavity lasers operating in the deep UV region is demonstrated by using Lu6O5F8:Pr/Gd@Lu6O5F8 upconversion nanocrystals as the gain medium. A hot‐injection synthesis is developed for tuning dimensions of the Lu6O5F8 nanocrystals. By synthesizing large‐sized nanocrystals and using inert shell coating, deep ultraviolet emission at 315 nm by blue excitation at 447 nm is realized for the first time in colloidal solutions. Mechanistic investigations suggest that the upconversion stems from sequential absorption of two blue photons by Pr3+ ions followed by energy transfer to Gd3+ emitters. By virtue of their small particle size and high dispersibility, the upconversion nanocrystals are readily incorporated into silica resin microcavities with a bottle‐like geometry. Lasing emissions of tunable optical characteristics are achieved from the microcavities through the formation of whispering gallery modes. These findings pave the way for constructing compact lasers operating in the deep UV regime by pumping with sophisticated long‐wavelength lasers.


: The mention of LCMs should be mentioned much earlier, along with the issue with linear scaling for precipitation. Then present PREMU as a solution to that issue, followed by the justification statistics from the historical and ESM comparisons. L22 onward can remain as the conclusion sentence. L12 "better estimate and represent precipitation simulated by Earth system models (ESMs)" wording should be changed as there is no justification in the paper suggesting the PREMU simulations are better than the ESM data they are recreating.


1229 Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food in Asia, accounting for approximately 47.8 and 38.5% of the productivity and planting areas for cereal crops in 2011, respectively (FAO, 2014). To meet the growing demand for food due to population growth over the past several decades, great efforts have been made to breed new hybrid rice cultivars with higher yield potential to improve average farm yields (Huang et al., 2017). However, the resultant yield rice cultivars have generally required more resources such as N and water (Huang et al., 2017; Wang and Peng, 2017) and wider growth space to realize the yield potential in practice (Ahmad et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2014; Wang and Peng, 2017). Sparse planting methods help to alleviate the labor intensity of rice farmers who utilize traditional manual transplanting (Peng et al., 2009). However, with the growing number of farmers migrating from rural to urban areas for jobs (Levine et al., 2008), alternative rice planting methods that require less labor than traditional manual transplanting, such as direct-seeding and/or machine-transplanting, have been rapidly developed (Chen et al., 2017). Recently, dense planting with mechanical assistance has been considered a promising choice and recommended as a practice for achieving greater grain yield with less resource inputs for rice (Huang et al., 2018; Lin et al., 2009; Zhu et al., 2016), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (Li et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2016), canola (Brassica napus L.) (Wang et al., 2015), and maize (Zea mays L.) (Chang et al., 2016; Shi et al., 2016). High planting density may be more practical for direct-seeded and machine-transplanted rice than for traditional manual transplanting in practice, as it can be achieved easily with less labor (Huang et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2014). However, whether hybrid rice could maintain its superior yield over inbred cultivars in dense planting conditions is still unknown. In addition, hybrid rice seed is far more expensive than inbred rice; therefore, there is also a need to evaluate the economic gain for hybrid rice before adopting dense planting. A number of reports have been published on the effect of dense planting on crop grain yield and yield attributes. Liu et al. (2016) proposed that large-spike wheat would have greater Effect of Dense Planting of Hybrid Rice on Grain Yield and Solar Radiation Use in Southeastern China


Background Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating disease frequently leading to death or poor functional outcome. A major source of disability from aSAH is the development of cerebral vasospasm, which is defined as narrowing of the large and medium-sized intracranial arteries. Limited information exists regarding underlying anatomic mechanisms of vasospasm after aSAH. Based on the anatomical location of resident herpesvirus and their activation in response to adrenergic stress, we propose that herpesvirus reactivation in response to adrenergic activation of head and neck ganglia during aSAH will be temporally related to cerebral vasospasm. Methods We developed an IRB-approved protocol for noninvasive bedside testing of viral shedding in tears and saliva in aSAH patients. The protocol was a joint effort with Infectious Disease and our virology laboratory. Viral specimens and catecholamines were obtained at admission and at days 4, 7, 10 and 14 post-aSAH. These values were compared to standardof-care metrics including transcranial doppler, clinical examination and radiological studies. Herpesvirus serology was also obtained. Results Our protocol successfully yielded samples for analysis in all cases. Initially, serum catecholamines were utilized but collection methodology and requirements resulted in unusable samples. Further, many patients require pressor support using parenteral catecholamines and serum results may not be valid during hospitalization. Instead, salivary alpha-amylase is being tested as a surrogate marker, with collection limited to those patients not requiring catecholamine pressor support within the previous 24 hours. In our preliminary dataset, integrity analyses demonstrated high quality yields of saliva and tears for quantitative PCR analysis. Once collection is complete, we aim to present the collection and storage protocol for dissemination and highlight the training required for specimen processing. Conclusion We have developed a novel protocol for the analysis of viral shedding and catecholamine measurement in postaSAH patients. The specimens are captured during the patient's hospitalization and allow us to study the relationship between reactivation of chronic herpesvirus infection and cerebral vasospasm after aSAH. Disclosures M. Walker: 2; C; Medtronic. A. Mohammed: None. C. Kelly: None. S. Levy: None. M. Erdoes: None. C. Johnston: None. M. Levitt: 1; C; Medtronic, Stryker. 2; C; Medtronic, Metis Innovative. 4; C; eLoupes, Cerebrotech, Synchron.


ABSTRACT Korea's low birth rate raises the issue of work-life balance (WLB) in the country. Given this context, this study aims to explore the factors that contribute to the adoption and use of family-friendly policies (FFPs) as a result of companies' adaptive responses to internal and external pressures. This study explores these factors by focusing on the organizational slack and internal constituents based on organizational adaptation theory. The findings indicate that internal constituents (i.e., labor unions and the proportion of female, older and professional employees) have an impact on the adoption and use of FFPs, while the impact of organizational slack is limited. The results suggest strengthening policies to facilitate communications between employees and employers as well as among employees to enhance the effectiveness of WLB policies.


ABSTRACT Understanding reality-making in different cultures is crucial. Focusing on reality-making, a cultural difference emerges from ontological worlds, epistemic commitments and methodological practices. A good case of reality-making is divergent understandings of a caterpillar fungus, half animal and half plant, by Chinese materia medica studies and European natural history. The two profoundly differ regarding the organism's reality, either as alternating constantly between plant and animal, or as remaining a plant after fungal infection, respectively. The reality of the organism came into being in imperial China through a method of collecting heterogenous, contradictory anecdotes, poems and administrative records. The Chinese saw everything as fluid, inscribing heterogenous forms using heterogenous sources. In contrast, the Eurocentric metaphysical framework of science was based on stable objects, so that its method made a reality through measurement and empirical observation of concrete materials. Analysis of the caterpillar fungus texts illuminates the tripartite framework of reality-making: methodologically how to know, ontologically what to know and epistemically what counts as knowledge. The juxtaposition of these texts also highlights postcolonial alternatives, where Western science becomes merely one among many realities. Tracing and understanding fluid ontologies and ways of making reality might therefore help us decenter the Western scientific world as universal.


This paper presents a theory and its validation by experiment for the radiative properties of high-porosity silica aerogels that contain randomly oriented and uniformly dispersed fibers. The formulations for the fiber radiative properties are based on fundamental principles, for which parameters defining the material composition are the only required inputs. The predicted spectral transmittance and reflectance for collimated irradiation from the solution of the radiative transfer equation are compared with the measured values. The validity of the theoretical model is established by the good agreement between the predictions and experimental data for various specimens that contain different fiber types, fiber and aerogel solid volume fractions, and specimen thicknesses.


Abstract Disclosure: S. Jasim: None. Y. Chen: Employee; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Stock Owner; Self; Veracyte, Inc. R. Jiang: Employee; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Stock Owner; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Y. Hao: Employee; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Stock Owner; Self; Veracyte, Inc. J. Huang: Employee; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Stock Owner; Self; Veracyte, Inc. J.P. Klopper: Employee; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Stock Owner; Self; Veracyte, Inc. R.T. Kloos: Employee; Self; Veracyte, Inc. Stock Owner; Self; Veracyte, Inc. T.C. Brown: None. Thyroid nodules arising in the isthmus are more likely to be malignant and demonstrate more aggressive behavior relative to thyroid nodules from either thyroid lobe. Preliminary studies of papillary thyroid cancers (PTC) studied in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) indicate molecular profiles that may explain the more aggressive phenotype of isthmic PTC, including an increased ERK signaling molecular profile. The goal of this study was to interrogate the Veracyte Afirma thyroid nodule database and assess cytologic and molecular differences of thyroid aspirates sent for Afirma Genomic Sequencing (GSC) testing from isthmus nodules relative to lobar nodules. Samples from isthmus nodules represented 4.8% of all samples. Most Afirma nodules had indeterminate cytology (ITN, Bethesda III or IV) and there were more ITN samples from the thyroid lobes (95.7%) compared to the isthmus (91.8%). For Bethesda V or VI nodules, the proportion from the isthmus was almost double that from the lobes (8.2% vs 4.3%). There were no significant differences observed in the Afirma benign or suspicious result of ITN samples comparing isthmus versus lobar location. Analysis of molecular alterations in Afirma suspicious nodules from ITN and Bethesda V-VI nodules showed that isthmus nodules had twice the frequency of BRAFV600E mutations compared to lobar nodules (21% vs 10%), an increased frequency of ALK/NTRK/RET fusions (4.6% vs 2.5%), and a lower frequency of NRAS (7.7% vs 13%) and HRAS (4.5% vs 8.2%) variants (all comparisons significant (p < 0.001)). Additionally, isthmus nodules had significantly higher BRAF-like signature, ERK signaling, and follicular-mesenchymal transition scores compared to lobar nodules (p < 0.01). In summary, thyroid nodules sent for Afirma molecular testing arising from the isthmus are more likely to have Bethesda V and VI cytology and, amongst Afirma suspicious ITN and Bethesda V and VI lesions, have higher levels of molecular markers of aggressiveness relative to lobar nodules. This study expands upon the data seen in PTCs from the TCGA as most thyroid tumors referred for molecular testing have Bethesda III and IV cytology and thus are enriched for follicular lesions including follicular variants of PTC and follicular carcinomas. Future studies should investigate the final histopathology of these molecularly tested isthmus nodules as well as oncologic outcomes. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023


This study aims to apply one of the techniques in multivariate statistics namely Factor Analysis to determine the factors that influence the decision of students to choose Mathematics Education Department, Teaching and Education Faculty, Musamus University. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 70 students majoring in mathematics education that consists of force in 2015, 2016 and 2017. To analyze the data used factor analysis method with SPSS 20 and obtained that from 25 variables studied can be reduced to only 7 factor. The factors that are formed are the quality factors of the study program, lecturer professionalism, curriculum relevant to the world of work, advice, costs, personal abilities and prospect factors and job opportunities.
Keywords: factor analysis, decision, mathematics education


The clavicle is a sigmoid-shaped bone that is easily visible in thin people and is palpable in all except the morbidly obese. The atypical asymmetric pattern and varied diaphyseal breadths are results of patterns of an individual, mechanical behaviour and unique developmental pathway of clavicle. The varied diaphyseal breadths are being more sensitive to the effects of loadings than the lengths. This study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, AIIMS, Patna. The sample size was of 30 adult clavicles. Bones showing obvious pathological deformities were excluded from the study. Factors such as mechanical load, pressure and tension created by muscular attachments, and genetic endowments might be responsible for such asymmetries not only in various metric traits of clavicle but also among the non-metric traits of both side human clavicles. The fact of lesser intake of calcium in the form of milk and milk products by the East Indian population and this may have led to decreased thickness of the bone and hence lesser midclavicular circumference.


ABSTRACT In this paper, we highlight the basic techniques of multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) under the dimensionality criteria, such as Multiway Principal Component Analysis, Multiway Partial Squares, Structuration à Trois Indices de la Statistique, Tucker3, Parallel Factors, Multiway Independent Component Analysis, Multiset Canonical Correlation Analysis, Slow Features Analysis, and Parallel Coordinates. Furthermore, we summarize the procedures of each statistical technique and the usage of multivariate control charts. In addition, we review the most significant proposals and applications in practical cases. Finally, we compare and discuss the benefits and limitations within methods.


The authors have implemented a simplified Luttinger-Kohn theory to model the optical gain, spontaneous emission and quantum-well carrier concentration of a strained quantum-well laser. The model is based on an anisotropic effective mass approximation. Parameters of the effective mass interpolation over the whole quaternary parameters space of InGaAsP are presented.<<ETX>>


Communication and marketing professionals make strategic decisions in highly complex and dynamic contexts. These decisions are highly uncertain on the outcome and process level when, for example, consumer behaviour is at stake. Decision support systems can provide insights in these levels of uncertainty and the professional process of decision making. However, literature describing decision support tools for strategic communication and marketing management that provide.


A series of imidazole derivatives (4 a-e) have been synthesized from 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4, 5-diphenyl1H-imidazole-1-yl)-acetic acid hydrazide under various reaction conditions. Elemental analysis, IR, 1 H NMR and mass spectral data confirmed the structure of the newly synthesized compounds. All the synthesized imidazole derivatives have been investigated for their anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antifungal effect and showed moderate to good activity


This paper presents the first results of a research project aimed at building a pollution peaks predictor using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) with data measured locally. We focus more particularly on the ozone concentration prediction in the Corsica Island at horizon "h+1". We mainly look at the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) network which is the most used of ANNs architectures both in the Environment domain and in the time series forecasting. We have demonstrated that an optimized MLP with endogenous, exogenous and time indicator inputs can forecast hourly ozone concentration with acceptable accuracy. The final results indicate that our predictor has an average Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) equal to 10.5%. Knowing that the devices measurement accuracy is around 10%, these results are considered as very convincing by "Qualitair Corse", regional organization responsible for monitoring air quality. We have also tested in "real conditions" our predictor: indeed, several ozone pollution peaks occurred during the months of June and August 2010. While PREV'AIR, the national air quality forecasting and mapping system, cannot predict the August's peaks, it appears that our optimized MLP is able to predict them in both cases.


Introduction: The Connective Mindshift R.S. Zaharna, Ali Fisher, Amelia Arsenault Part I: Visions of Connectivity 1: Social Power in Public Diplomacy Peter van Ham 2: Linking Ethics and Effectiveness: Public Diplomacy as a Relational Enterprise Kathy R. Fitzpatrick 3: The Politics of Relational Public Diplomacy Robin Brown 4: Taking Diplomacy Public: Science, Technology and Foreign Ministries in a Heteropolar World Daryl Copeland 5: Diaspora Diplomacy in Public Diplomacy Kishan Rana 6: Relational Aspects of a Chinese Model of Public Diplomacy Yiwei Wang Part II: Conflict & Culture: Connectivity in Practice 7: Building and Measuring Sustainable Networks of Organizations and Social Capital: Post-War Public Diplomacy in Croatia Maureen Taylor and Michael Kent 8: New Frontiers in Relational Public Diplomacy: Collaborative Cultural Initiatives in Peace Building Tadashi Ogawa 9: The Relational Paradigm and Sustained Dialogue Harold Saunders 10: Delivering Digital Diplomacy: Information Technologies and the Changing Business of Diplomacy Charles Causey and Philip N. Howard 11: The Virtual Last Three Feet: Incorporating Relational Perspectives into Public Diplomacy 2.0 Hyunjin Seo Part III: Networks & Collaboration: The Connective Mindshift 12: Network Purpose, Network Design: Dimensions of Network and Collaborative Public Diplomacy R.S. Zaharna 13: Networks of Freedom, Networks of Control: Internet Policy as a Platform and an Impediment to Relational Public Diplomacy Amelia Arsenault 14: From Fortunate Sons to the Crowd: Learning Strategies for Collaboration in Public Diplomacy Ali Fisher


Abstract : The results of electron microscope studies of the effects of nonthermal electromagnetic fields at radio frequencies on the subcellular structures of the rat liver are presented. Differences in reaction of subcellular structures to electromagnetic fields as a function of frequency are described. (Author)


Light-matter interactions that are nonlinear with respect to the photon number reveal the true quantum nature of coherent states. We characterize how coherent states depart from Gaussian by the emergence of negative values in their Wigner function during the evolution while maintaining their characteristic Poissonian photon statistics. Such states have non-minimum uncertainty yet present a metrological advantage that can reach the Heisenberg limit. Non-Gaussianity of light arises as a general property of nonlinear interactions, which only requires a polarizable media, resonant or dispersive. Our results highlight how useful quantum features can be extracted from the seemingly most classical states of light, a relevant phenomenon for quantum optics applications.


The work is devoted to centralized heat supply systems based on CHP plants and the use with them heat pumps (HP) on carbon dioxide as refrigerant. Heat pumps are used in heat supply systems for buildings and use the heat of the outside air and, at the same time, the heat of the return network water (WWR) as a source of low-grade heat (LHP). The aim of the study is to develop a structural diagram of such a heat pump, where the outside air is heated by a heat exchanger installed in the return water line of the heating system, to develop a hydraulic circuit of a heat pump taking into account the law of regulation of the building heating system, to develop an algorithm for controlling the operating modes of the so-called balancing heat exchanger installed after gas cooler and internal heat exchanger of the heat pump. The most significant results were the hydraulic circuit of the heat pump, the aerodynamic circuit of the air supply path to the heat pump evaporator, the balancing heat exchanger control system, taking into account the requirement to ensure the operation of the control valve in a single-phase flow. The significance of the results obtained consisted in obtaining the dependences between the CO temperature graph and the parameters of the thermodynamic cycle of the heat pump, which ensured the operation of the control valve of the heat pump in a single-phase environment.


In approaching the consideration of the subject of fœticide we are at the outset confronted by two facts, both of which possess an important significance. We first note that the highest crime—from some standpoints at least—of which criminal humanity is capable, and whose prevalence doubtless exceeds the highest estimate, is of no more judicial importance, in either treatise or statute, than when the evil was scarcely known, and motherhood was everywhere the crowning glory of woman. The second fact is little less an anomaly: that in the presence and despite the elevation, culture, refinement and, more than all else, the religious training and influences operating upon and in modern social life, that in the class of society making in all these respects the highest claims, this vice has developed, the enormity and extent of which is but feebly recognized outside the medical profession. As aiding our purpose, which is that


Corrugated-arch Metal Roof is not an isotropic structure so that the panels are simulated as orthotropic sheets. A self-made program of this structure is established for nonlinear finite element analysis. Ultimate bearing capacity is analyzed by use of the finite element analysis system. The results are compared with experimental results and calculations by the specification, and then the nonlinear program is validated. Parameter analyses on bearing capacity are performed, in which 5 main factors: rise-span ratio, sheet type, sheet thickness, effective span and loading mode are considered. The analysis results indicate that the theoretical ultimate bearing capacity is determined by overall stability under full-span or half-span loading. The ultimate bearing capacity is relatively high when the rise-span ratio is between 0.2-0.3; the bearing capacity reduces with the increasing span of the structure; the bearing capacity is comparatively low under half-span loading. Finally, design recommendations based on the parameter analyses are presented.


1. The strain Lactobacillus helveticus, not having the ability to convert lactose to lactic acid and capable of the fermentation at from 30 to 45 ° C, more preferably from 32 to 43 ° C, and most preferably at 37 ° C, milk medium containing glucose in an amount more than 3 wt.%, with a total protein content greater than or equal to 2 wt.%, preferably 2 to 10 wt.%, more preferably from 2.5 to 6% and most preferably to 4%, to form a tripeptide sequence IPP and / or runway in an amount of at least 25 mg, preferably m enshey least 50 mg, more preferably at least 75 mg per kg VPPekv fermentable product. ! 2. The strain Lactobacillus helveticus of claim 1, having at least one mutation in the lactose operon. ! 3. Lactobacillus helveticus strain according to claim 2, having at least one point mutation that introduces a termination codon in the lactose operon. ! 4. The strain Lactobacillus helveticus of claim 1 such that the milk medium with a total protein content of 4.0% containing 1.0% glucose (by weight), the above-mentioned fermentable strain Lactobacillus helveticus for a maximum period of 30 hours fermentation, with a temperature of from 30 to 45 ° C, has a pH above or equal 4.0, preferably above or equal to 4.1. ! 5. Lactobacillas helveticus strain according to any of claims 1-4, which in addition possesses fruktozonegativnym phenotype. ! 6. The strain of Lactobacillus helveticus according to claim 1, selected from: I-3504 deposited at the CNCM 14.10.05; ! I-3505 deposited at the CNCM 14.10.05; ! I-3508 deposited at the CNCM 14.10.05; ! and variants or mutants strains derived from strains listed above. ! 7. Use of the strain Lactobacillus helveticus according to any one of claims 1-6, for preparing a food product or pharmaceutical


Before the present crisis, the number of cars, the volume of traffic, and the length of the motorway network had been increasing at a very rapid pace in every European country. Speed limits had been introduced - mainly since 1972 - on the road network of a large number of countries, but were unknown on motorways, with the exception of a few northern countries. The energy crisis, in the latter part of 1973, compelled European countries to enact three different types of fuel-saving measures, namely, restriction on selling fuel or using cars (these measures have since been dropped almost everywhere); large fuel-price increases; and general speed limits on roads and motorways of all European countries. The level of these general speed limits has been recently raised in different countries, but general speed limits are still imposed on the road network of all European countries, and on motorways of all European countries with the exception of the German "autobahns". The impact of fuel-saving measures is discussed from four different points of view, namely the automobile market, traffic volume, fuel consumption and road accidents. In every European country, speed limits resulted in a sharp decrease in accident rate, especially for the lethal ones. This reduction seems to persist and speed limits on roads and motorways are certainly there to stay. Different attempts are currently being made to try to harmonize speed limits throughout Europe. (A) This paper was presented at the 1974 Symposium on "the Impact of Fuel Saving Laws on Road Safety," held in Pretoria, South Africa. The covering abstract for the symposium is IRRD abstract no. 213021. /TRRL/


This paper analyzes the market adjustments to pending Federal legislation that would impose mandatory royalties on resales of works of fine art. The pending legislation is ostensibly motivated to confer economic benefits on artists who have not yet established themselves in the market. An important provision of the legislation is that it forbids the artist to waive his right to the re-sale royalty. The paper conducts a partial equilibrium welfare analysis to measure the allocative effects of the statute. Three propositions are established that demonstrate that the pending legislation will induce a net welfare loss as well as effect a redistribution of income from artists to a subset of purchasers. The policy implication of the proposition is that if the pending legislation is enacted, it will pervert the legislative intent.


The development of Decision Support System (DSS) is challenging, as it must include the participation of system designers and human factor specialists to ensure the cognitive fit between the DSS and the decision-maker in order to maximize decision-making effectiveness. The validation step from the DSS development process is often skipped due to money and time constraints and lack of appropriate validation tools. This paper describes ongoing work at the Defence R&D Canada - Valcartier to develop an "operational-like" human-machine interface design environment called CODSI (Command Decision Support Interface). The paper describes and shows the validation capability of CODSI and the advantages of integrating CODSI in the DSS development process.


The past decades have witnessed a strong trend towards the international dispersion of value chain activities such as design, production, marketing, distribution, etc. Different stages in the production process are increasingly located across different economies and intermediate inputs like parts and components are produced in one country and then exported to other countries for further production and/or assembly in final products. This paper analyses the existing evidence on Global Value Chains (GVCs), including the role of emerging countries like China and the distribution of value within GVCs. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy issues raised by GVCs.


aBStract This two-part paper explores the sources, motivations, and consequences of emergent online mapping activities, circa 2005. Online mapping, defined as mapping software applications and associated cultural practices that utilize the Internet as a primary infrastructural component, arises as an information retrieval technology, twice-over. Its technological ancestors are maps of territories in the form of geographic information retrieval technologies originating with remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, and maps of information in the form of Web-based information retrieval technologies that comprise search engines and website classification systems. Online mapping is a product of the convergence of these technologies which each had reached a critical tipping point with regard to data management. This paper contends that to reduce and manage excessive amounts of information, each adopted strategies that retailored both Web-based and geographic information management to focus on the local as the site for globally scoped information retrieval. During the Cold War, a clash between the U.S. Air Force's directive to amass untold quantities of uncalibrated satellite data and the Army's mandate to systematize and manage that data produced the World Geodetic System and paved the way for the GIS technologies at the heart of Navteq and Google Maps. Now, as the amount of information on the Web grows exponentially, Web-based information retrieval technologies face a similar dilemma. Personalized search (epitomized by Google) and folksonomy (user-contributed keywords) are superceding top-down directory classifications (like the early Yahoo!). Secondarily, while the cultural practice of mapping remains, above all, a matter of representation, this paper asserts that online mapping departs radically from traditional cartography. Online maps forsake the techniques and precepts of visual representation, as typified in centralized, perspectival systems of optics that aspire to global extent. Instead, engaging distributed, data-centric systems that operate locally, online maps achieve representation through what Philip Agre describes as technologies of informatic capture. Three case studies (Google Maps, map hacks and mashups, and folksonomy-based neighborhood maps) employ this representational mode to produce maps of glocalities, indicating a cultural shift toward merging dominantly optical and dominantly informational worldviews, and toward infusing global networks with local practices. introDuction In the history of the Internet, the year 2005 was a moment filled with changing mores and changing technologies. In the early spring of 2004, Dale Dougherty of O'Reilly Media coined the term " Web 2.0 " to reflect the shift he and others were observing away from business-as-usual dotcom …


Simple Summary Mudskippers are an interesting group of goggle-eyed amphibious fish that can live both in water and on land. They are a useful model for obtaining insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying the terrestrial adaptations of amphibious fish. This review summarizes the morphological and physiological modifications of representative mudskippers, and focuses on the recent advancement of genomic studies on their genetic adaptations to the amphibious lifestyle. Abstract Mudskippers are the largest group of amphibious teleost fish that are uniquely adapted to live on mudflats. During their successful transition from aqueous life to terrestrial living, these fish have evolved morphological and physiological modifications of aerial vision and olfaction, higher ammonia tolerance, aerial respiration, improved immunological defense against terrestrial pathogens, and terrestrial locomotion using protruded pectoral fins. Comparative genomic and transcriptomic data have been accumulated and analyzed for understanding molecular mechanisms of the terrestrial adaptations. Our current review provides a general introduction to mudskippers and recent research advances of their genetic adaptations to the amphibious lifestyle, which will be helpful for understanding the evolutionary transition of vertebrates from water to land. Our insights into the genomes and transcriptomes will also support molecular breeding, functional identification, and natural compound screening.


The paper presents modern methods for engine and vehicle real time simulations. In the program AVL Boost, a virtual model of spark ignited passenger car engine with the power of 52 kW is made, and its drive and energy characteristics are calculated. Thereafter a model for simulating the engine performance in dynamic driving conditions is developed, using energy and drive characteristics of the engine together with drive characteristics of the vehicle. The model is made in such a way that it can follow a specified drive cycle, and can calculate fuel consumption for that cycle. The results of fuel consumption that are obtained by following the standard European drive cycle, used in homologation regulations, are compared with the measured fuel consumption of similar real vehicles. The engine behaviour for several different drive cycles, which represent different driver types, is calculated by using this model. These results are used in the analysis of driver type influence on vehicle fuel consumption.


With (NH 4) 2SO 4 as a agent to inhibit the conversion of barium sulfate, 97 % SrCO 3 was obtained without traditional barium removal process. Combined with impurity removal by sulfuric acid,SrCO 3 of high purity (wt99 %) was achieved,and the barium removal reached 95 % through controlling the process parameters and adding other flocculants.Other residual ions could not go into the solution of strontium nitrate.The technique meets the requirement of clean production.


It is a crucial problem in the studies of the fluid on numerical simulations of the interfaces movement in multi-component fluids. Fluid dynamic characteristics are studied during shock waves pass helium bubble in this paper. These methods are used including high resolution discontinuous finite method for Fluid dynamic equations, Level set method for capturing moving interfaces and ghost fluid method with Isobaric fix for disposing the interfaces, which obtains profiles of the helium bubble, density contours and the curves of density and pressure with center axial direction. It is in good agreement for the general bubble shape and position compared with those in other numerical schemes.


BACKGROUND
The altered expression of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) contributes to various types of carcinogenesis and their disease progression. Hypermethylation of CpG islands located in the promoter regions is involved in gene silencing at the transcriptional level. The methylation status of MDR1 gene promoter was investigated in gastric cancer in relation to various clinicopathological features.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The methylation of the MDR1 promoter was estimated in both antral non-neoplastic mucosa and cancer lesions in 83 patients with gastric cancer using a methylation-specific PCR method.

RESULTS
The methylation ratio (MR) of the cancer lesions (31.3 +/- 20.5) was significantly higher than that of non non-neoplastic mucosa (20.9 +/- 31.3, p = 0.0004). The MR was especially high in Lauren's intestinal cancer (p < 0.0001). A higher MR was also observed in more advanced stage (p = 0.005) and lymph vessel invasion-positive cases (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION
The promoter methylation of MDR1 seems to have a significant role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression in the stomach.


The author analyzed the meaning of the abstract thought and creativity thought, the meaning in reading , form with characteristics, and education with the training method etc., aim at let readers understand the importance of abstract thought and creativity thought, thus to make better use of the abstract thought and creativity thought in reading .


The monograph Plasma Scattering of Electromagnetic Radiation was published by Academic Press in 1975. A Russian edition, Atomidzat, came out in 1978. An updated version is being prepared by D. Froula, S. Glenzer. N Luhmann, and J. Sheffield for publication in 2010 by Elsevier. The new version will discuss the broader applications of Thomson scattering, which include the full range of plasmas used in research and industry. The expansion of the field has been made possible by the growing number of powerful radiation sources (from X-rays to microwaves), detectors, and innovative techniques. When the book was published, the highest temperatures in laboratory plasmas were around 2 keV for the electrons. Compare this to today's 25 keV where the relativistic effects are dramatic. The application to low temperature plasmas with Te in the range of 1 − 30+ eV, important in industry, has grown. Important capabilities have been developed in the areas of energetic particle, micro-instability, and high energy density plasma measurements. For the future, we look forward to the use of scattering as a diagnostic on the large new fusion facilities–NIF, LMJ, and ITER.


Background Quality assurancehas become an organizational tenet,fundamental to quality healthcareandaccreditation. It hasgone through a metamorphosis, being transformedfromthestructureddiagnosis-based audits to amanagement informationsystemandamethodfor evaluationof processof careandfor resolutionof problems. When the quality assurancestandardwas implementedfor acute care facilities, therewas confusion aboutwhat theJoint Commissionon Accreditationof Hospitals(JCAH) was actually requiring. It was not clear that the standardwas actually requiring a system—onethatprovidedfor 1) an organizedmonitoring andevaluationof the quality andappropriateness of care; 2) a mechanismfor intradepartmental, interdepartmental,and disciplinary communication;and 3) proceduresfor documentationandreportingof reviewfindings andactions.The details,includingwhich personswereresponsiblefor theseactivities,wereto be codified in a plan.


This study evaluates the density and distribution of parasitic plants and vascular epiphytes of the shea-butter tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) in the Ngaoundere savannas. The study was conducted in three savanna habitats: forest canopy (gallery or riverine), hill savanna, and plains savanna (open or plateau). For each tree, three strata were considered: basal trunk, middle section, and treetop. The design of the experiment consisted of a split-plot with six replicates. Habitats received the main treatment, with species and strata corresponding to sub-treatments. The localities were the replicates. Data collected on the density of epiphytes and parasites of the shea-butter tree showed common flora consisting of six holo-epiphytic orchids (Calyptrochilum christyanum, Graphorkis lurida, Polystachya odorata, Rangaeris rhipsalisocia, Angraecum angustum, and Tridactyle tridactylites), one hemi-epiphytic fig (Ficus thonningii), and one mistletoe (Tapinanthus globiferus ssp. apodanthus). Ecological requirements were found to differ for the epiphytes and the parasitic plant. Epiphytes preferred humid habitats, mainly the forest canopy and middle section of the trees; whereas infestation points of Tapinanthus globiferus were located mostly on the canopy fringes.


Go Tools Ltd requirements met by investment in Okamoto machines; Integrity Saw & Tool reaps reward of new Vollmer; BTH Import Stal and Van Geenen benefit from Timesavers machines; plus, news in brief


number of fledglings recorded is three, with one exceptional record of a Jabiru Jabiru mycteria nest with five chicks fledging (Thomas 1981) and one record of four Black-necked Stork chicks fledging in Australia, where the species has been well studied (D. Richards in litt. 2006). There are no records of four Black-necked Stork chicks fledging from a single nest in South-East Asia, where the species is sparsely but widely distributed (J. Barzen, T. Clements, W. Duckworth, T. Evans and R. Timmins in litt. 2005).


Bearing runout is one of the main error sources of laser tracking system. This paper tried to analyze the relationship between the measurement errors and the bearing runouts through establishing an error model. According to the model, the error distribution diagram has been drawn. It is pointed out that the measurement errors change as the pitch angle changes, the maximum errors distribute on a plane whose pitch angle equals π/2. With regard to the measurement, it is better to avoid placing the measured points on this plane. The errors are irrelevant to the distance between the measured point and the tracking head. When bearings with P2 precision grade are used, the measurement error is as high as 9.8091µm. The error model can effectively guide bearing selection, shorten selection time and improve production efficiency.


The performance of 11 kV suspension type porcelain (in-serviced and fresh) and polymeric composite insulators, energized by HVAC (High Voltage Alternating Current), are investigated in the present study. To characterize the electrical performance of the samples, artificial pollution tests have been conducted. Fly ash, mixture of soluble and partially soluble salts, cement, and agricultural sand have been used as contaminants to simulate the different pollution conditions of field operative HV insulators. The solid layer method (IEC-60507) is used for artificial pollution and wetting is done by natural fog. Equivalent Salt Deposit Density (ESDD) and Non-soluble Deposit Density (NSDD) approaches were used for classifying pollution severity on the insulators. Flashover voltage and surface conductivity were also measured to compare the pollution flashover characteristic. The results indicate that, under the same pollution conditions the in-serviced porcelain insulator attains poorest performance, while polymeric-composite insulator achieve relatively good performance. It is also found that the difference in the flashover values is basically due to the roughness of the insulator surfaces and ionic properties of the contaminants.


This thesis focuses on the role of seriality in Banjo by Claude McKay and Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. The different chapters of the books seem loosely connected, however, through the use of recurrent motifs or patterns and the role of the main characters, the authors succeed in giving a sense of progression to their stories. The characters appear grotesque, all suffering from a flaw inherent to their conditions. This prevents them from communicating and therefore from finding a place in the society. They also cannot leave their environment, hence staying alone. Marseilles and Winesburg are cities which need to be escaped from. Travel here is synonym with liberation, even though the latter is only reached by Banjo and George Willard. When the main characters leave, both novels end.


AT Grange THE END asserted OF that THE few SEVENTEENTH Jews in Alsace CENTURY were Intendant comfortably de off la Grang asserted that few Jew in Alsace re comfort ly o f and none could be called rich. Although the number of Jews in the region increased over the course of the eighteenth century, from 3,650 individuals to 19,620, the majority remained poor, with the exception of several families of notables from which community officials were recruited. This indigence partially explains the simplicity, not to say the poverty, of the ceremonial objects, both domestic and private, which have survived from eighteenth-century Jewish communities in Alsace.


The effect of sodium dihydrogenphosphate, trisodium pyrophosphate, and sodium aluminocarbonate on the thermal decomposition of rigid polyurethane (PUR) foams, based on diphenylmethane-4,4-diisocyanate, diphenyl-2,2-propane-4,4-dioxyoligo(ethylene oxide), and oxyalkylenated toluene-2,6-diamine, blown with pentane, was studied. Thermogravimetric (TG) data have shown that there is a stabilization effect of additives in the initial stage of degradation, both in nitrogen and air atmosphere, and the decomposition proceeded in two steps up to 600°C. Results of the kinetic analysis by the isoconversional methods of Ozawa–Flynn–Wall and Friedman yielded values of (apparent) activation energy (Ea) and preexponential factor (A). For phosphate-stabilized PUR samples, Ea remained stable over a broad area of the degree of conversion, while for carbonate-containing sample two regions of Ea were observed. Further advanced kinetic analysis by a nonlinear regression method revealed the form of kinetic function that was the best approximation for experimental data—for a two-stage consecutive reaction the first step was the Avrami–Erofeev nucleation-dependent model, and the second step was a chemical reaction (1st or nth order) model. The integrated thermogravimetric (TG)/Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique probed the thermal degradation of modified PURs by analyzing the evolved gases. The solid residue remaining at different temperatures was identified by diffuse reflection FTIR (Kubelka–Munk format). The complex thermal behavior was discussed on the basis of the obtained results—it can be shown that the global stabilization effect is a multistage process whose initial conditions are of critical importance in governing the nature of the entire process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 2319–2330, 2003


Edge detection (Edge detection) is executed to detect the operating margins (edges) that restricts two homogeneous image regions with different brightness levels (Pitas, 1993). A digital image edge detection is the process of looking for differences in the intensity of the states boundaries of an object (sub-images) in the entire digital image in question. Purpose of edge detection is to improve the appearance of the boundary line of an area or object in the image. The process of image edge detection is done by looking for the locations of the intensity of the pixels that discontinue with the intensity of the pixels adjacent (neighboring / neighborhood).There are several methods such as object edge detection operators are known, such as (1) Sobel, (2) Prewitt, (3) Robert, (4) Laplacian of Gaussian, (5) and Canny (6) Kiresh. Each operator has its own advantages and disadvantages in performing edge detection. By doing a combination or in the development of these operators allow to gain a better edge detection (obviously).One of the contributions of this study for science and technology is the creation of a software application that can be used as a simulation tool using edge detection operators in digital image and its various combinations in order to gain a better edge detection (obviously).Keywords: Edge detection, detection operator


KINE4565 premier source of literature for sports and sports medicine journals, providing full-text content from many well-known and respected sources.


1. The hypothesis being studied is that there is a difference in post-caesarean infections between a single dose of gentimicin in combination with metronidazole and multiple doses of gentamicin and metronidazole. In the background the authors reference two studies (24, 25) that demonstrate that a single dose of antibiotics is as effective as multiple doses. They do not describe in enough detail why, despite these studies and other evidence supporting just a single dose of antibiotics for prophylaxis, their study is still needed.


Introduction On 7 October 2016, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations ( JFBA) held their 59th Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and adopted the Declaration Calling for Reform of the Penal System Including Abolition of the Death Penalty. The JFBA strives for the abolition of the death penalty by April in 2020, when the next UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is due to take place in Kyoto, Japan. International society has created a series of benchmarks for modern democracies regarding the abolition of capital punishment. They are represented by relevant documents and protocols of the United Nations1) and the acquis communautaire that states must conform to before they can be admitted into the European Union. With states having incentive to adhere to international norms in order to be recognised as legitimate members of international society,2) it may appear that it is in their interests to comply with the anti-death-penalty norm. Having said that, the Japanese government has been sticking to the claim that 'state killing is state business'.3) Japan has been treating capital punishment policy as an issue of a criminal justice, not as an issue of human rights, and believes that it has the right to choose sentences within its own criminal justice system without interference from international society.4) The JFBA's initiative to achieve the abolition of the death penalty revolves around: the reintegration of offenders in society; eradication of miscarriages of justice which could lead to capital punishment cases; and introduction of life imprisonment without parole as an alternative punishment. The JFBA claims that 'Many offenders commit crimes against a backdrop of familial, financial or educational problems, and are often socialized in environments where they lack moral guidance and experience social discrimination'.5) Therefore, the JFBA believes that the penal system should not function for retributive purpose but that even the worst offenders should be given the opportunities for rehabilitation and reform.6) The JFBA is also heavily concerned about the issue of miscarriages of justice. Japan has had four main retrial cases in late 1940s and early 50s where death row inmates were not found innocent till several decades later. The JFBA therefore claims that an execution of the innocent is an irreversible human rights violation7) and encourages the introduction of life imprisonment without parole in lieu of the death penalty. The JFBA has passed a resolution calling on the Japanese government to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment without parole in August 2012;8) and the DeclaLife Imprisonment without Parole: Alternative Punishment to the Death Penalty in Japan or a Hollow Choice?


ABSTRACT The volatile compounds of 10 Piper species cultivated in Hainan Island, China, have been investigated. Eighty compounds were profiled after headspace–solid phase microextraction (HS–SPME) with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Mean Bray–Curtis similarity value was only 22.78 ± 1.98% among the different Piper species. The volatile compounds were largely grouped as hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, acids, ketones, esters, and phenols. The main compounds comprised benzaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, β-caryophyllene, ocimene, lavandulol, myrcene, cubebene, terpinene, linalool, α-caryophyllene, β-elemene, and germacrene. Principal component analysis revealed that Piper laetispicum, Piper longum, Piper hainanense, Piper betle, and Piper flaviflorum were characterized by high contents of β-caryophyllene, α-caryophyllene, germacrene, and β-pinene. Piper puberulum and Piper cathayanum were associated with high contents of linalool, myrcene, and germacrene D. On the other hand, Piper pseudofuligineum and Piper retrofractum were related with high contents of ocimene. Finally, Piper auritum was associated with high content of cinnamaldehyde. Volatile profiling of Piper species by HS–SPME–GC–MS and the interrelationship investigated among the volatiles can be used as a roadmap for future resource utilization or biotechnological applications.


This article explores some of the current themes round the perceived crisis in British politics in supposed an age of 'anti-politics'. Drawing on Bernard Crick's In Defence of Politics, it offers a critique of what is referred to as a dominant British political tradition and in so doing seeks to challenge 'demand-side' accounts that ostensibly defend the traditional arena politics of the Westminster system. Instead, it argues that developments around issues such as big data, social media and freedom of information have led to a more open society in recent years. It concludes by suggesting that if traditional political institutions wish to restore a greater degree of legitimacy, they need to 'do' or, more particularly, 'supply' politics differently, adapting to these changes by seeking out new modes of openness, engagement and accountability.


In my recent paper [1] there is a mistake in the proof of Corollary 3. The first line of the displayed equation in that proof asserts that \[\int_G|\langle u,\pi^g v\rangle_V|^2\,\rm{d} g = \int_G\langle u\otimes u,(\pi^g\otimes \pi^g)(v\otimes v)\rangle_{V\otimes V}\, \rm{d} g.\] However, since the paper uses complex-valued representations, the integrand on the right here may not retain the absolute value of that on the left. Without this equality, the proof of Corollary 3 can no longer be reduced to an application of Lemma 2. However, it can be proved directly from Schur Orthogonality along very similar lines to the proof of Lemma 2.


: This essay analyzes the figure of the archbishop of Manila, Fray Felipe Pardo, OP (1677-89), and especially his conflictive relations with the Jesuits. Unfortunately, the prelate has not deserved the attention of scholars, with notable exceptions. There are several reasons for this. One, the "black legend" that accompanies Spanish colonialism in the Philippines. Another is the union loyalty of his-torians, either to the "Jesuit side" or to their bitter enemies who increased as a result of the diffusion of the Mónita privata of 1614 (from the Dutch edition of 1654, Mónita secreta ) and which brought together Dominicans and members of other religious orders as well as several laymen and jansenistas. Manila was no exception to this "anti-Jewish nebula" which spread throughout Europe and the Indies.


For the past twelve years, the Iraqi Kurds have enjoyed selfgovernment
in at least part of their homelands; the Kurdishadministered
enclave was to most purposes an independent state
although it lacked all forms of international recognition. The Kurdish
leaders never stopped proclaiming that they had no ambitions to
separate from Iraq permanently; their stated political objectives could
be summarized in the slogan "democracy for all of Iraq, and autonomy
for Kurdistan." And there is much, indeed, that ties the Kurds to the
rest of Iraq: a common history and common perceptions such as result
from enculturation in the same educational system, listening to and
watching the same media, and decades of taking part in the same
political system.


The paper presents a qualitative evaluation of the New York State proof-of-concept project for electronic credentialing, the One Stop Credentialing and Registration Project (OSCAR). An overview of the I- 95 Corridor Coalition's CVO program and the methodology used to conduct the evaluation are presented in the Sections 1 and 2 of the paper. Sections 3 and 4 summarize the organization of the New York State motor carrier program and current credentialing processes. A detailed description of the OSCAR project is presented in Section 5. Sections 6 presents evaluation findings, including an in-depth analysis of the institutional factors that contributed to the success of the proof-of-concept, and presents recommendations for other jurisdictions to consider when designing and implementing similar projects. Conclusions and recommendations for other jurisdictions to consider in the design and implementation of similar projects are presented in Section 7


One-dimensional anyon models are renewedly constructed by using path integral formalism. A statistical interaction term is introduced to realize the anyonic exchange statistics. The quantum mechanics formulation of statistical transmutation is presented.


The development and validation of an S-R inventory of dominance is described. The inventory was found to have high reliability, adequate convergent and discriminant validity, and a meaningful factor structure. In samples of 18 and 164 college students the interaction between persons and situations contributed more to total score variance than did either persons or situations taken separately. Moreover, the percentage of variance due to the person-situation interaction for dominance was found to be substantially larger than those obtained for other personality characteristics that have been studied with S-R inventories. These considerations suggest that this new S-R inventory is particularly appropriate for future research on dominance and the nature of person-situation interactions.


Environmental exposures that may contribute to the development of essential hypertension are not clearly understood. We have studied factors associated with the risk of hypertension in residents of Anniston, Alabama who live near a plant that manufactured polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1929 and 1971. A total of 759 Anniston residents had multiple measurements of blood pressure and information on demographic factors, medications, smoking, and exercise collected in 2005-2007. They also provided blood samples for the analysis of 35 PCBs and total serum lipids. Rates of hypertension increased significantly (p<0.05) with age, concentrations of serum PCBs and body mass index (BMI) and were higher in African-Americans than in Caucasians. Hypertension was not associated with total serum lipid levels, gender, smoking or frequency of exercise. Odds ratios (ORs) for elevated diastolic blood pressure in relation to total serum PCBs were above four in those not on anti-hypertensive medication (OR=4.49, 95% CI 1.34-14.99) after adjustment for established risk factors for hypertension and were elevated, but to a lesser degree for systolic hypertension (OR=3.87, 95% CI 1.13-13.17).


Edited by Frank Laroi, Andre Aleman Oxford University Press, 2010, £44.95, hb, 416 pp. ISBN: 9780199548590

This is an ambitious book that brings together the clinical and research experience of a wide range of international leading experts, mainly European, on the field of hallucinations. Its


Significance The β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) is a major regulator of energy expenditure that triggers lipolysis and thermogenesis in adipose tissue, thereby significantly attenuating the risk of obesity. Obesity is associated with diminished β3-AR expression and decreased β-adrenergic responses, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that ten-eleven translocation (TET) proteins, the crucial modifiers of DNA methylation, act as epigenetic suppressors of β3-AR in adipocytes by recruiting histone deacetylases to its promoter, thereby reducing the sensitivity to β-adrenergic stimulation. Adipose-specific ablation of all TET proteins in mice prevents body weight gain and metabolic disorders under high-fat diet challenge via enhanced fat browning, lipolysis, and thermogenesis. Modulation of adipocyte TET proteins may provide a new therapeutic avenue to treat obesity.


CT120, a novel membrane-associated gene implicated in lung carcinogenesis, was previously identified from chromosome 17pl 3.3 locus, a hot mutation spot involved in human malignancies. In the present study, we further determined that CT120 ectopic expression could promote cell proliferation activity of NIH3T3 cells using MTS assay, and monitored the downstream effects of CT120 in NIH3T3 cells with Atlas mouse cDNA expression arrays. Among 588 known genes, 133 genes were found to be upregulated or downregulated by CT120. Two major signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, cell survival and anti-apoptosis were overexpressed and activated in response to CT120:One is the Raf/MEK/Erk signal cascades and the other is the PI3K/Akt signal cascades, suggesting that CT120 might contribute, at least in part, to the constitutively activation of Erk and Akt in human lung caner cells. In addition, some tumor metastasis associated genes cathepsin B, cathepsin D, cathepsin L, MMP-2/TIMP-2 were also upregulated by CT120, upon which CT120 might be involved in tumor invasiveness and metastasis. In addition, CT120 might play an important role in tumor progression through modulating the expression of some candidate "Lung Tumor Progression"genes including B-Raf, Rab-2, BAX, BAG-1, YB-1, and Cdc42.


We describe enhancements made to Sherpa for the CIAO 2.0 release, concentrating upon those that enable a user to: (1) analyze Chandra X-ray Observatory grating data with wavelengthor energyspace models; (2) simultaneously fit background and source datasets; and (3) estimate and visualize confidence intervals and regions. We also list enhancements that we plan to make to Sherpa for future CIAO releases.


Occurrence of insect species on Jujube Ziziphus jujube was recorded in Shan Ywa Gyi environs. A total of 15 species were identified during August 2017 to January 2018. Six species were found before flowering, 9 species were found flowering and 8 species were found in fruit and ripe stages. Apis mellifera is the highest species composition 25.58% and Sternochetus mangifera is the lowest species composition 1.03% were recorded. The highest percentage species composition 33.33% was found in order Coleoptera and the lowest percentage species composition 6.67% was found in order Diptera. Regarding the status of insects, 1 species is beneficial, 4 species are both harmful and beneficial insects and others 10 species are harmful insects were observed. Local farmers and gardeners should be given the awareness of bio-control of insect pest by releasing predatory insects instead of using the chemical control method which can more affect consumers.


Can we finish with exile? Exile, from the old French essil, which comes from the Latin exsillum, means the expelling of someone from his/her homeland and the forbidding to return. It's the enforcement to living out of a place, away from someone whose absence is mourned. In the novel The Shawl, by the American novelist Cynthia Ozick, the baby's shawl can be drunk as if it was liquid, as if one were a baby, one's own child. We cannot leave once and forever our condition of infans, that which doesn't speak. There's no lost paradise from where we were exiled - our childhood, for instance.


This paper studies the relative Sobolev p-capacity in proper and unbounded doubling metric measure spaces satisfying a weak (1, p)-Poincaré inequality when 1 < p < ∞. We prove that this relative Sobolev p-capacity is Choquet. In addition, if the space X has an "upper dimension" Q for some p ≤ Q < ∞, then we obtain lower estimates of the relative Sobolev p-capacities in terms of the Hausdorff content associated with continuous gauge functions h satisfying the decay condition ∫ 1 0 ( h(t) tQ−p )1/p dt t < ∞. (1) This condition generalizes a well-known condition in R.


In this study the expression of the sweetness by using threshold value and effects of salt addition on the sweetness was carried out in model system. Threshold value was 0.4% in sucrose solution and was 0.75-0.80% in the mixture of sweeteners such as low glutinous starch syrup and reduced starch syrup with sucrose solution. The equation between mixture of sweeteners and relative sweetness () on sucrose was induced. The sweetness of red bean paste prepared with low glutinous starch syrup and reduced starch syrup were estimated as 32.78-34.32 by using threshold value, and those lower than 55 of red bean paste prepared with sucrose alone. The synergistic effect of sweetness was observed when 0.05% salt in sugar solution (2.0%) and 0.2% salt in red bean paste were added, respectively. It showed that the addition of salt could be increase the degree of sweetness and decrease the quantity of sweeteners.


This paper proposes a novel method for extracting airplanes in infrared image. Firstly the image is enhanced based on Multi-scale Retinex algorithm. Eye micro-movement algorithm is approved to extract airplanes in infrared image. It can be concluded that such an approach is effective for airplane extraction in infrared image.


left-right locations do not have much political meaning for British voters (Butler and Stokes, 1969), even though comparatively large numbers of them will assign themselves an abstract left-right location when asked to do so (Inglehart and Klingemann, 1976; Barnes and Kaase, 1979). Norwegians have never been asked to locate themselves on a purely left-right scale, although at the Norwegian electoral study of 1977 they were asked to rate themselves on a Conservative-Radical dimension, and almost 85 percent of the respondents did so. Our approach to assigning left-right locations to the voters in our samples did not involve such direct questioning. Instead, we employed the method already used by Valen (1973) in his analysis of the Norwegian prereferendum survey data. Respondents at the British and Norwegian postreferendum surveys were asked three questions, posed in Likertscale format, relating to conventional elite-level interpretations of the left-right dimension. TWo of the questions concerned government control of the economy and the third concerned equality of income.8 The responses to the three questions intercorrelated more strongly in Britain than in Norway, but the three items formed a single cluster for each country when subjected, along with other items, to factor analysis. Not IThe questions asked respondents to react on a five-point agree-disagree scale to the following statements: (1) "Unless the government controls private business, industrialists will have too much influence"; (2) "It is easier to keep full employment in Britain [Norway] if the government has control over private business"; and (3) "There should be far greater equality of wage and salary levels in Britain [Norway]." These questions were first used in Norway and translated into their closest renditions in English for the 1975 British survey. For Britain, in order to maximize case numbers from our comparatively small sample, missing data were coded at the midpoint of the response categories. For Norway, we only included respondents who replied to all three questions; this excluded, at most, three percent of the Norwegian respondents. This content downloaded from 18.104.22.168 on Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:36:06 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms REFERENDUM VOTING BEHAVIOR 49 surprisingly, the two items that explicitly referred to government control loaded more heavily than the item relating to income equality, but all three items reflect a common factor. We constructed a simple additive scale for each country based on replies to the three questions. The scales are identical in range (from 3 to 15) and, we presume, identical in meaning. Given the nature of the questions on which the scales are based, we interpret them to be a version of Downs' tentative formulation of the left-right dimension, reducing "all political questions to their bearing upon one crucial issue: how much government intervention in the economy should there be?" (Downs, 1957, p. 116). Moreover, the items faithfully reflect, at least partially, issues on which left and right, as conventionally perceived at the elite level in both countries, differ in routine political debate and action.9 The distributions of our British and Norwegian respondents on this contrived left-right dimension appear in Figure 1. Of course, there, is considerable overlap between left-right locations and affiliation with parties conventionally considered leftist or rightist. In both countries thie contribution of people affiliated with the Labor Party (and, in the case of Norway, the Socialist People's Party) is greatest at the extreme left and diminishes gradually as one moves right, while the contribution of Conservative Party supporters is just the reverse. On the other hand, the patterns for the British Liberal Party, and for the Norwegian Christian, Center, and Liberal parties, are almost invariant across the spectrum. There is only a slight peaking at the center, with some modest falloff at the extremities. For those voters, left-right locations are essentially irrelevant to their partisan attachments. That does not necessarily mean, however, that their left-right locations are also irrelevant to their attitudes toward the EC. The Relevance of Left-Right Attitudes The policy content of our left-right scale is theoretically related to expected attitudes toward the EC. Although leftist political movements have historically emphasized internationalist themes, such a posture raises serious concrete problems for a leftist government in power. To the extent that a government emphasizes central control over the economy, there is a risk that the obligations of membership in international organi90ne caveat, cited by Downs, is that "the parties designated as right-wing extremists in the real world are for fascist control of the economy rather than free markets" (Downs, 1957, p. 116). This ambiguity is at work in connection with British attitudes toward the EC as well, inasmuch as certain groups regularly regarded as extreme rightist were opposed to British membership. The left-right dimension implicitly applied to those groups has little to do with government intervention in the economy but rather refers to such matters as racial attitudes or attitudes toward foreigners. This content downloaded from 18.104.22.168 on Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:36:06 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms I / //~~~~/ g e_--I ! v i z~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The non-linear Schrodinger equation (NLS) predicts an existence of stable solutions (e.g. solutions conserving amplitude and phase under propagation) for both positive and negative Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD) regions. The solution existing in the positive GVD region consist of a rapid dip in a CW background and is called a "dark soliton" analogously to a "bright soliton" for the negative GVD region [1,2]. The fundamental dark soliton is an anti- symmetric function of time, with an abrupt π phase shift and zero intensity at its center. Although the existence of dark optical solitons in fibers was first predicted in the early 1970-s, experimental verification was reported not long ago [3]. In all the experiments known to date a dip of a dark pulse existed in the intensity of a broad pulse. Another possibility of forming of dark solitons from a periodically modulated CW signal in a fiber with amplification was reported recently [4].


Introduction:
 Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, and vascular dementia. Nearly two out of three Americans develop hypertension by age 70, and African Americans are disproportionately affected compared to non-Hispanic whites. The etiology of hypertension is complex, but there is an emerging consensus that both biological and social/psychosocial factors contribute to increases in blood pressure.

 Hypothesis:
 In this study, we assess whether the relationship between genetic factors and systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure is modified by social or psychosocial factors in up to 12,000 non-Hispanic whites and 3,000 African Americans from the Health and Retirement Study (mean age = 68).

 Methods:
 We conducted genomic region-level analysis using the Sequence Kernel Association Test (SKAT) to evaluate whether genetic variation at 34 known blood pressure loci (29 from published GWAS of European Ancestry, and 5 from trans-ethnic meta-analysis) were associated with systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure in each ethnic group, separately. Illumina HumanExome BeadChip data was used to evaluate the effects of rare exonic variants, while 1000 Genomes imputed data was used to evaluate common variants across the entire genomic region. For genomic regions that demonstrated a marginally significant effect on blood pressure (p<0.2), we used the Gene-Environment Set Association Test (GESAT) to evaluate whether social factors (education, parental education) or psychosocial factors (anger, stressful life events, social isolation, and depression) interacted with the genomic region to influence blood pressure.

 Results:
 Preliminary results indicate genomic region-level influences on blood pressure in non-Hispanic whites (ATP2B1, C10orf107, CACNB2, FES, MTHFR, ZNF652, and regions around rs1173711 and rs4373814) and African Americans (ATP2B1, FES) at p<0.05. Genomic region had a significant interaction with anger (C10orf107, PLCE1) in non-Hispanic whites, and both education (region around rs1458038) and anger (ULK4) in African Americans at p<0.001. Interaction analysis results for stressful life events, social isolation, and depression are forthcoming.

 Conclusions:
 New methods for integrating data on biological and social/psychosocial exposures are needed to more fully characterize the determinants of cardiovascular disease and elucidate potential mechanisms for cardiovascular disparities across ethnic groups.


Tungsten oxide thin films on glass substrates were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition under different experimental conditions for gasochromic applications. Palladium clusters were overlaid on the film surface by the electroless plating method. Hydrogen gasochromic investigation revealed that desirable samples are amorphous deposited films in oxygen partial pressure. The maximum colouration velocity of deposited films at 13.3 Pa oxygen partial pressure and 25 °C, 150 °C and 300 °C substrate temperatures are 0.010 s−1, 0.027 s−1 and 0.030 s−1, respectively, while at 300 °C substrate temperature by increasing the oxygen partial pressure to 66.7 Pa the maximum colouration velocity enhances to 0.117 s−1. Deposition at the higher pressure results in a more porous surface which provides not only a larger gas–surface interaction area, but also extra positions for palladium reduction from solution.


This Comment analyzes personal jurisdiction through the lens of BristolMyers Squibb v. Superior Court. Courts have, for years, been split on the degree of relatedness required between the claim and the defendant's contacts with a forum when analyzing specific jurisdiction. While the Supreme Court recently intervened in an attempt to clarify the issue and articulate a single test for relatedness, this Comment argues that the Court's entire personal jurisdiction framework is flawed. The main problem is an overemphasis on the defendant's contact with the forum. The result of this emphasis is that courts rarely, if ever, consider fairness as a dispositive factor in the analysis. And when courts try to expand the scope of jurisdiction under this contact-focused approach, the resulting opinions can be confusing or otherwise flawed. This Comment argues that the best way to expand the scope of state personal jurisdiction is to return to a mélange approach, under which each factor weighing on the overall fairness of exercising personal jurisdiction is considered alongside the others. This approach has several advantages over the Court's current framework. Expanding personal jurisdiction through the mélange would reduce the resources currently being spent on pre-discovery litigation, and would allow more cases to move forward past the pleading stage and closer to being resolved on their merits. Reducing litigation costs would in turn encourage access to courts. Furthermore, because the mélange considers the forum state's interest in adjudicating a case as a coequal factor, it encourages courts to consider the role of states as separate sovereigns. Finally, the mélange would promote a fairness-based view of due process by making fairness the central question to be asked and answered in every personal jurisdiction case. DEMARTINI_COMMENT GALLEYPROOFS 4/23/2018 12:54 PM 810 EMORY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 67:809 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 811 I. BACKGROUND: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MÉLANGE ...................... 814 A. The Rise of the Mélange ............................................................ 814 B. The Mélange Takes a Back Seat: Hanson Through Burger King ............................................................................................ 818 C. Specific Jurisdiction Today: Disorder "Arising out of or Relating to" a Muddled Theory ................................................. 822 II. BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB CO. V. SUPERIOR COURT: MAKING SENSE OF THE OPINIONS ................................................................................ 826 A. The California Supreme Court's Opinion ................................. 827 1. A "Sliding-Scale" Test for Relatedness ............................... 828 2. The Fundamental Fairness of Litigating in California ....... 831 B. Analysis: Reasonable Result, Unreasonable Opinion ............... 832 1. A Reasonable Result ............................................................ 833 2. An Unreasonable Opinion ................................................... 834 C. Supreme Court Intervention: More of the Same ........................ 837 III. RETURNING TO THE MÉLANGE: STEPPING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD ........................................................................................... 839 A. The Mélange: A Reasonable Way to Expand Personal Jurisdiction ................................................................................ 839 1. Streamlining Litigation and Resolving Disputes on Their Merits .................................................................................. 840 2. Respecting State Sovereignty ............................................... 843 3. Focusing on Fairness .......................................................... 844 B. Bristol-Myers Squibb Under the Mélange ................................ 846 1. BMS' Contacts with California ........................................... 846 2. California's Interest in the Litigation .................................. 847 3. The Nonresidents' Interest in Litigating in California ........ 848 4. The Overall Convenience of Litigating All Claims in California ............................................................................ 849 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 851 DEMARTINI_COMMENT GALLEYPROOFS 4/23/2018 12:54 PM 2018] STEPPING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD 811


: Edge-aware smoothing has proved to be a fundamental technique for various image processing and computer vision tasks. In this study, the authors introduce a local, non-iterative, and effective edge-preserving filter namely guided adaptive interpolation filter (GAIF). GAIF can be used as a post-processing step after any smoothing filter to improve its edge preservation performance without reformulation. GAIF has an O ( N ) computation complexity, where N is the total number of pixels in the image. To further increase the efficiency of GAIF at edge-preservation, two techniques are introduced and demonstrated. GAIF efficiency is demonstrated and compared to state-of-the-art techniques on a number of tasks including image smoothing, flash/no-flash image denoising/fusion, single image dehazing, and image details enhancement.


The Web was first envisaged as an Information Management tool that helped researcher organise and find interesting documents. However with the popularity of the Internet and the its image as a Publication tool for the masses, we now have a Information Mis-Management Tool. Increasingly people are using it for searching using "Web Portals". Web Surfers are morphing into Web Searchers. XML may help us resurrecting the information chaos into some manageable form. This paper will briefly describe XML and its potential benefits for Educational Delivery.


The present invention relates to a bed mattress assembly having a spine correction function, comprising: a sensing unit embedded in a mattress body so as to read pressure that results from the user's load, which is applied on the mattress body; and a posture correction unit, which is electrically connected to the sensing unit, which is configured to be able to move into/out of the upper surface of the mattress body, and which supports the user's cervical vertebra part and the lumbar vertebra part according to the distribution of pressure applied on the mattress body, wherein the bed can independently induce the user to maintain a correct sleeping posture.


Standard off-policy reinforcement learning (RL) methods based on temporal difference (TD) learning generally fail to learn good policies when applied to static offline datasets. Conventionally, this is attributed to distribution shift, where the Bellman backup queries high-value out-of-distribution (OOD) actions for the next time step, which then leads to systematic overestimation. However, this explanation is incomplete, as conservative offline RL methods that directly address overestimation still suffer from stability problems in practice. This suggests that although OOD actions may account for part of the challenge, the difficulties with TD learning in the offline setting are also deeply connected to other aspects such as the quality of representations of learned function approximators. In this work, we show that merely imposing pessimism is not sufficient for good performance in deep RL, and demonstrate empirically that regularizing representations actually accounts for a large part of the improvement observed in modern offline RL methods. Building on this insight, we show how using a simple improved Bellman backup estimator — without changing any other aspect of conservative offline RL algorithms — can achieve more effective representations and better performance across a variety of offline RL problems.


The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) enacted by the U.S. congress to restore investor confidence in U.S. capital markets has been subject to a vast number of research studies, but the evidence about its net benefits is inconclusive [1]. Subsequent to its passage, many nations enacted similar legislation, including Canada [2,3], UK and Australia [4], the European Union [5], Japan [6], China [7,8], and the Philippines [9]. However, research on the effects of these regulations has been limited. It would be highly informative to extend the research studies on SOX to those countries that have created similar sets of regulations and assess the evidence regarding their net benefits. Since these countries had the opportunity to learn from the experience of foreign and U.S. companies listed in the U.S. subject to SOX, it is possible that consistent positive results would result.


Early writings on university housing show a connection between dining services and university residence halls (Riker & Lopez, 1 96 1 ) Regardless of how housing and dining programs are organized within the institution, the two entities are inevitably connected; living and eating go together. A recent annual study (Educational Benchmarking, Inc. (EBI), 2002) comparing four years of data cited satisfaction with dining as being one of the foremost predictors of overall residence satisfaction. This prominent relationship provides incentive for housing administrators to be more aware of students' dining satisfaction. The purpose of this research was to examine contributors to residence hall students' dining satisfaction at a large Midwestern university. Disciplines Family, Life Course, and Society | Higher Education | Home Economics | Models and Methods | Political Science Comments This article is published as 50. Brian Hayes, Robert Knight, Yongyi Wang, Donald F. Whalen, and Mack C. Shelley, II, "Contributors to Dining Satisfaction of Residence Hall Students," Journal of College and University Student Housing, 32(1), 39-46 (2003). Posted with permission. This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/pols_pubs/67 Contributors to Dining Satisfaction of Residence Hall Students