Our objective is to improve the performance of keyword based image search engines by re-ranking their original results. To this end, we address three limitations of existing search engines in this paper. First, there is no straight-forward, fully automated way of going from textual queries to visual features. Image search engines therefore primarily rely on static and textual features for ranking. Visual features are mainly used for secondary tasks such as finding similar images. Second, image rankers are trained on query-image pairs labeled with relevance judgments determined by human experts. Such labels are well known to be noisy due to various factors including ambiguous queries, unknown user intent and subjectivity in human judgments. This leads to learning a sub-optimal ranker. Finally, a static ranker is typically built to handle disparate user queries. The ranker is therefore unable to adapt its parameters to suit the query at hand which again leads to sub-optimal results. We demonstrate that all of these problems can be mitigated by employing a re-ranking algorithm that leverages aggregate user click data.
 We hypothesize that images clicked in response to a query are mostly relevant to the query. We therefore re-rank the original search results so as to promote images that are likely to be clicked to the top of the ranked list. Our re-ranking algorithm employs Gaussian Process regression to predict the normalized click count for each image, and combines it with the original ranking score. Our approach is shown to significantly boost the performance of the Bing image search engine on a wide range of tail queries.


IZA DP No. 14862 NOVEMBER 2021 Ethnic Regional Networks and Immigrants' Earnings: A Spatial Autoregressive Network Approach The conventional model of immigrant earnings does not account for the correlation of outcomes across immigrant ethnic networks. We apply a spatial autoregressive network approach to account for the spill-over effects of migrant ethnic group economic resources and labour market outcomes. We employ unit-record data across 10 years for New Zealand, a major immigrant receiving country. By applying generalised method of moment (GMM) estimation, we address endogeneity of the spatial network variable. Results confirm strong positive associations of earnings with both ethnic concentration and networks of resources. The analytically enhanced approach provides opportunities for new research on the determinants of immigrant earnings. JEL Classification: J30, J31, Z13, Z18


Seed priming is a physiological seed enhancement method.
Hydro- or osmotic priming can advance germination under adequate moisture
conditions. During direct seeding on well-drained paddy and upland fields, rice
seeds occasionally encounter low soil moisture conditions. Under these
conditions, rice seeds need to undergo rapid germination and secure
emergence through improved water absorption capacity and seed bioactive. This
study aims to clarify the effects of seed hydropriming on germination and
seedling vigor in rice under different soil moisture conditions. The study employed three
hydration conditions such as priming, soaking, and control. The seeds to be
primed and soaked were submerged in tap water at 30℃ for 12 h.
For priming, the seeds were subsequently dried to attain their initial seed
weight, but the seeds for soaking were not dried before sowing, and the control
seeds were untreated. In addition, different soil moisture conditions, such as
3%, 6%, 8%, 11%, 15%, and 20%, were set. Therefore, emergence time shortened
with seed priming at 3%-11% soil moisture contents. In particular, at 8% soil
moisture content, priming and soaking decreased emergence time by
26.8 h and 21.7 h, respectively compared with that of the control. At 8%-15% soil moisture
contents, shoot elongation rate obtained with the priming seeds increased
>1.2 times compared with that obtained with the control and soaking seeds.
At >8% soil moisture content, shoot dry weight obtained with the priming
seeds increased >1.3 times compared with that obtained with the soaking seeds.
Furthermore, at declining soil moisture conditions, the increase in
root dry weight is promoted by seed priming compared with that in the control
seeds. These results suggest that increased root growth affects plant water
absorption under low soil moisture conditions due to priming. This study
demonstrates that seed priming facilitates rapid emergence and seedling vigor,
unless extremely dry or flooded soil moisture conditions are present at
seeding.


With the demand for conformance control in CO2 flooding fields, the traditional HPAM-Cr(III) polymer gel has been applied to reduce excess CO2 production. However, the field application results are mixed. In order to understand the HPAM-Cr(III) polymer gel plugging performance in reservoirs, a numerical reservoir analysis is used to interpret the laboratory results and analyze how the laboratory results are connected to the field application results. The HPAM-Cr(III) polymer gel plugging performance was evaluated in the laboratory with sandstone core plugs. CO2 and water effective permeability was measured. Gelant was injected into the cores until the injection pressure stabilized. Breakthrough pressure was tested and followed by two WAG cycles injection. The injection pressure was monitored. Different permeability cores (100- 1200 md) were used to mimic different reservoir conditions. Residual resistance factor was calculated using the stabilized water/CO2 injection pressure before and after gel treatment. HPAM-Cr(III) polymer gel has higher breakthrough pressure in the low permeability cores. The polymer gel behavior is discussed using three scenarios: no breakthrough, partial breakthrough, and breakthrough. If no breakthrough, the numerical reservoir analysis reveals that the polymer gel can successfully divert the CO2 and water flow to the low permeability layers before breakthrough. The damage to polymer gel is caused by CO2 diffusion from the low permeability layers. The gel damage rate depends on the diffusion rate. This is the reason that polymer gel treatment can last for a longer time in some fields. In the breakthrough scenario, CO2 totally breaks through the gel-treated zone, polymer gel has a larger contact area with CO2 and the gel damage rate will be faster. Therefore, the polymer gel has almost no blocking to CO2 flow.


Open source software is becoming the most interesting 'new' phenomenon of the entire information technology landscape, generating a level of interest similar to that of the first moments of the Internet. However, as we will show in this document, the open source software phenomenon is not historically new, although in recent years it has reached a critical mass, which has allowed it to enter the mainstream software market. The impact of open source technology is expected to be quite noticeable in the software industry, and in society as a whole. It allows for novel development models, which have already been demonstrated to be especially well suited to efficiently take advantage of the work of developers spread across all corners of the planet. It also enables completely new business models, which are shaping a network of groups and companies based on open source software development. And it has, in general, a very positive impact as an enabler for the creation of new markets and business opportunities. Despite these facts, many people think that the open source movement is merely another temporary fashion in the software industry. On the contrary, many other believe that changes caused by open source will be so deep that they will completely shape the software industry of the first decade of the 21st centuy. This document tries to provide some facts, opinions and references, so that the reader can decide if all of this is just nonsense, or if it deserves more and better study and consideration.


Introduction: It is well known that genetic variants, especially in the VKORC1 and CYP2C9 genes, can be associated with warfarin maintenance dose. However, currently known genetic variants fail to explain a large portion of the observed variability in warfarin dose, especially in African American patients. Methylation is a heritable epigenetic modification in which conversion of cytosine residues within "CpG islands" to 5-methylcytosine is associated with reduced gene expression. To our knowledge, the effect of methylation status on warfarin dose has never been studied.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that higher rates of methylation near the start region of VKORC1 in whole blood would be associated with lower required maintenance dose in warfarin patients.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients initiating warfarin at three anticoagulation clinics. All individuals with available methylation data who reached maintenance dose were included in the analysis (N = 237). Methylation status was assessed in the region from 1500bp upstream to 500bp downstream of the VKORC1 start site using the Sequenom EpiTYPER assay on DNA extracted from whole blood. Linear regression was used to assess the association between methylation levels at individual CpG sites (66 total) and required warfarin maintenance dose. Visual inspection of univariable results was used to identify potentially important CpG clusters, which were subsequently examined using univariable and multivariable linear regression, with the latter adjusting for the effects of race, presence of VKORC1 variant, and other well-known predictors of warfarin dose.

Results: Two of 66 CpG sites were nominally associated with lower maintenance dose requirement on univariable analysis. These CpG sites were identified as part of a CpG cluster located approximately 330 to 226bp upstream of the VKORC1 start site. Median methylation levels in this cluster was 16% (IQR 15%, 17%). A 1% increase in methylation in this cluster was associated with a 2.8 mg/wk reduction in weekly warfarin maintenance dose (P = 0.02). No significant interaction between methylation status and African American race was observed (P = 0.77). This association was substantially attenuated with the inclusion of VKORC1 variant status in the model (P = 0.33).

Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that methylation levels in a CpG cluster in VKORC1 may be moderately associated with warfarin maintenance dose, although this association may not be independent of VKORC1 variant status. However, these results require confirmation from additional epidemiological studies and possibly functional assays in liver tissue.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. Tight control of diabetes in the outpatients will reduce complications and hospitalizations. This study of Nigerian patients with diabetes examined the adequacy of glycemic and BP control in line with current guidelines. A 4 month retrospective analysis of type 2 diabetics attending Medical Outpatients Department (MOPD) of Federal Medical Centre, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria between June and September 2008 was carried out using medical records of the patients. SPSS 13 software was used to analyze data. Data are expressed as mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) and frequency expressed as a percentage where necessary. A total of 308 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, aged between 35 and 85 years were analyzed. Their mean age was 60.90 ± 11.60years. There were 125 males (40.6%) and 183 females (59.4%) giving an M: F ratio of 1:1.46. Mean duration of clinic attendance was 26.18 ± 24.46 months. Glycemic control was achieved in only about a third of the patients (29.3% and 32.5% using IDF-Europe and ADA criteria respectively). Blood pressure control was achieved in 24.5% and 48.7% had BMI ≥ 25kg/m2. No correlation between mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and body mass index (BMI). Frequencies of insulin and low dose aspirin use were low (5.3% and 37% respectively). The results from this study showed poor control of blood glucose, BP and weight in the patients. We are of the opinion that current practices are not aggressive enough to manage a substantial proportion of type 2 diabetes patients.


In unstimulated cells, transcription factor NF-κB is retained in the cytoplasm by interaction with the inhibitory protein, IκBα. Appropriate cellular stimuli inactivate IκBα by phosphorylation, ubiquination, and proteolytic degradation, which allows NF-κB to translocate to the nucleus and modulate gene expression. 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), a major lipid peroxidation product, inhibits activation of NF-κB in the human colorectal carcinoma cell line (RKO) and human lung carcinoma cell line (H1299). Pretreatment of cells with HNE dose-dependently suppresses tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA)/ionomycin (IM)-induced NF-κB DNA binding activity and transactivation of luciferase-based reporter constructs. HNE pretreatment has no affect on TPA/IM-induced AP-1 DNA binding activity. HNE inhibits TPA/IM-induced degradation of IκBα in both H1299 and Jurkat T cells. The accumulation of IκBα parallels the inhibition of its phosphorylation. At doses that inhibit IκBα degradation, HNE inhibits IκB kinase (IKK) activity by direct reaction with IKK. Covalent adducts of HNE to IKK are detected on Western blots using antibodies against IKK or HNE-protein conjugates. Addition of dithiothreitol prevents HNE modification of IKK. Thus, HNE is an endogenous inhibitor of NF-κB activation that acts by preventing IKK activation and subsequent IκBα degradation.


In this paper, we propose to increase residual carrier frequency offset tolerance based on short perfect reconstruction pulse shaping for coherent optical-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. The proposed method suppresses the residual carrier frequency offset induced penalty at the receiver, without requiring any additional overhead and exhaustive signal processing. The Q-factor improvement contributed by the proposed method is 1.6 dB and 1.8 dB for time-frequency localization maximization and out-of-band energy minimization pulse shapes, respectively. Finally, the transmission span gain under the influence of residual carrier frequency offset is ~62% with out-of-band energy minimization pulse shape.


Abstract Administrative health data recorded for individual health episodes (such as births, deaths, physician visits, and hospital stays) are being widely used to study policy-relevant scientific questions about population health, health services, and quality of care. An increasing number of international health comparisons are undertaken with these data. An essential pre-requisite to such international comparative work is a detailed characterization of existing international health data resources, so that they can be more readily used for comparisons across counties. A major challenge to such international comparative work is the variability across countries in the extent, content, and validity of existing administrative data holdings. Recognizing this, we have undertaken an international proof of concept pilot compiling detailed data about data – i.e., a "meta-data catalogue" – for existing international administrative health data holdings. We describe the methodological process for collecting these meta-data, along with some general descriptive results for selected countries included in the pilot.


Xylanase A, one of several extracellular xylanases produced by Schizophyllum commune strain Delmar when grown in submerged culture with spruce sawdust as carbon source, was purified 43-fold in 25% yield with respect to total xylanase activity. Although some polysaccharide was strongly bound to the purified enzyme, the complex could be dissociated by sodium dodecyl sulfate and appeared homogeneous on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the protein, calculated from the electrophoretic mobility, was 33,000. The molecular activity of the purified xylanase A, determined with soluble larch xylan as substrate, was 1.4 X 10(5) min-1, with xylobiose and xylose as the major products. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 5.0 and a temperature optimum of 55 degrees C in 10-min assays. The acid hydrolysate of xylanase A was rich in aspartic acid and aromatic amino acids. The sequence of 27 residues at the amino terminus showed no homology with known sequences of other proteins.


This research papers include the eye direction based safety automated navigation system that implemented for the elderly and physically challenged people. The purpose of this navigation system is to avoid the assist required for the physically challenged people. This systems control the motorized wheelchair navigation depends on the eye pupil detection. By the image processing technique (CNN), the sequential images have been capture via Bluetooth specs glass. The system navigate the user to desired directions such as move towards left, move towards right, move forward and stop. Additionally sensors are fixed in front of wheelchair to detect the objects to avoid the faulty navigation. A centralized wireless detector device is also made available in wheelchair for an emergency purpose. A raspberry pi model B is high speed detection kit controls the whole system. Another technique used in this navigation system speech to text conversion. Speech convert to text and then a connection established to raspberry pi model kit. So the system automatically moves by the users given the instruction.


We examined the effects of FK506 on amylase secretion and intracellular pathway in stimulus secretion coupling in isolated pancreatic acini. Amylase release from isolated acini in response to cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was suppressed by exposing acini to FK506. The suppressing effect of FK506 on amylase release from acini was dependent on the concentration of FK506 and the time of exposure to FK506. Amylase releases in response to 8-bromo-cAMP and vasoactive intestinal peptide and phorbol ester (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate) were not suppressed when acini were exposed to FK506, suggesting that the cAMP-dependent protein kinase pathway and protein kinase C pathway were not affected by FK506. However, amylase release in response to calcium ionophore (4-bromo-A23187) was suppressed by FK506, whereas the increase in cytosolic free calcium concentration caused by 4-bromo-A23187 was not affected by FK506. These results suggest that FK506 suppressed secretagogue-stimulated amylase release in acini by altering Ca(++)-mediated intracellular pathways. Further, the property of CCK-8 binding site, CCK-8 stimulated inositol phosphates formation, rises in cytosolic free calcium concentration, and calcium efflux from acini were not suppressed by exposing acini to FK506. These findings indicate that FK506 suppresses amylase release by affecting postreceptor intracellular pathways that are mediated by Ca++ in stimulus secretion coupling.


From religious tomes to current folk prophesies, recorded history reveals a plethora of narratives predicting or showcasing the end of the world. The incident at Waco, the subway bombing by the Japanese cult Aum Supreme Truth, and the tragedy at Jonestown are just a few examples of such apocalyptic scenarios. And these are not isolated incidents; millions of Americans today believe the end of the world is inevitable, either by a divinely ordained plan, nuclear catastrophe, extraterrestrial invasion, or gradual environmental decay, Examining the doomsday scenarios and apocalyptic predictions of visionaries, televangelists, survivalists, and various other endtimes enthusiasts, as well as popular culture, film, music, fashion, and humor, Daniel Wojcik sheds new light on America's fascination with worldly destruction and transformation. He explores the origins of contemporary apocalyptic beliefs and compares religious and secular apocalyptic speculation, showing us the routes our belief systems have traveled over the centuries to arrive at the dawn of a new millennium. Included in his sweeping examination are premillennial prophecy traditions, prophecies associated with visions of the Virgin Mary, secular ideas about nuclear apocalypse, the transformation of apocalyptic prophecy in the post-Cold War era, and emerging apocalyptic ideas associated with UFOs and extraterrestrials. Timely, yet of lasting importance, The End of the World as We Know It is a comprehensive cultural and historical portrait of an age-old phenomenon and a fascinating guide to contemporary apocalyptic fever.


Under the new European Union Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) which comes into force in 2014, more stringent bathing water quality standards, defined in terms of Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Intestinal Enterococci (I.E.), will apply in Irish bathing waters. Compliance with these standards is ensured through a structured water quality monitoring programme that is published by Authorities with responsibility for bathing water areas in advance of each bathing season. The directive recognises that elevated levels of faecal coliform bacteria in bathing areas can derive from the overland transport of waste from livestock in the rural fraction of river catchments. On days therefore, that follow significant storm events in coastal agricultural catchments, exceedences of threshold bacteria levels may occur. Given that these exceedences result from 'natural' rather than anthropogenic influences, a 'discounting' mechanism that allows for a temporary relaxation of these standards is allowed for short-term pollution incidents. In this regard, some high levels of faecal bacteria contamination can be excluded from the water quality record. However, this 'discounting' is only permitted if elevated bacterial levels are predicted in advance and mitigation actions to maintain public health protection are taken. This paper presents an integrated catchment (MIKE11) and 3-dimensional coastal (MIKE3) modelling tool for predicting the bathing water quality at Bray, Co. Wicklow. Models were calibrated using flow and water quality data. Adjustment of the M2 and S2 tidal constituents of the MIKE global model has resulted in an improved fit to measured water levels at the five reference tidal gauges. Bottom friction was calibrated to produce good correlations of measured and simulated current speed and direction. Furthermore, results of the water quality transport model has shown that the model has adequately replicated measurements of E.coli and IE.


A theoretical study was made of the shimmy of castering wheels. The theory is based on the discovery of a phenomenon called kinematic shimmy. Experimental checks, use being made of a model having low-pressure tires, are reported and the applicability of the results to full scale is discussed. Theoretical methods of estimating the spindle viscous damping and the spindle solid friction necessary to avoid shimmy are given. A new method of avoiding shimmy -- lateral freedom -- is introduced.


The effectiveness of adaptive space-meshing in the solution of one-dimensional parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) is assessed.

Present day PDE software typically involves discretisation in space (using Finite Differences or Finite Elements) to produce a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) which is then solved routinely using currently available high quality ODE integrators. Such approaches do not attempt to control the errors in the spatial discretisation and th e task of ensuring an effective spatial approxim ation and num erical grid are left entirely to the user. Numerical experiments with Burgers' equation demonstrate the inadequacies of this approach and suggest the need foradaptive spatial m eshing as the problem evolves. The currently used adaptive m eshing techniques for parabolic problems are reviewed and two effective strategies are selected for study. Numerical experim ents dem onstrate their effectiveness in term s of reduced com putational overhead and increased accuracy. From these experiences possible future trends in adaptive meshing can be identified.


Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterised by high blood glucose levels. The effect and management of this metabolic disorder are of significant socio-economic and medical concern. Abelmoschus esculentus (okra), an important vegetable has been shown to possess medicinal value. Different extracts of the okra in regulating blood glucose on alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats were investigated. IP injection of alloxan (80 mg/kg) was used to induce diabetes. Animals were administered Abelmoschus esculentus peel (AEP); Abelmoschus esculentus seed (AES) and Abelmoschus esculentus seed and peel (AESP) all at 100 mg/kg and distilled water for the control. The last group had metformin at 100 mg/kg. Blood glucose was measured using the one-touch glucometer strip on days 5, 10 and 15. The AEP, AES and AESP groups showed a significant decrease in blood glucose (p<0.05) compared to the metformin group. AESP most significantly (p<0.05) reduced blood glucose (96.84 ± 9.09) compared to metformin group (182.70 ± 34.81) on day 15. It can be concluded that whole extracts of okra are beneficial for a reduction in blood glucose when compared to a routine hypoglycemic agent or other okra extracts. This could be due to its high fiber content which helps to slow down the rate of glucose absorption from the bowel, coupled with a hepatic drug effect.


Abstract This study adopts the push-entrepreneurship perspective and develops a conceptual framework grounded in prospect theory, in order to investigate whether source of sunemployment, layoff in particular, and duration of unemployment stimulate entrepreneurial intent. We also propose that fear of failure and risk propensity moderate the source/duration–entrepreneurial intent relationships. We test our hypotheses using survey data from a sample of unemployed individuals. Results show that both layoff and duration of unemployment are stimuli for higher entrepreneurial intent, and the source of unemployment-intent relationship is moderated by fear of failure and risk propensity. We discuss the implications of these results.


TARGETconnect is a customer relationship management system which is designed to support a
careers service. This paper researches, discusses and assesses whether or not TARGETconnect
provides a return on investment for the Careers and Employability Service at the University of
Chichester and therefore justifies future investment in TARGETconnect.
The organisational review highlighted a key obstacle in investing in TARGETconnect for future years
was the current incompatibility the website has with mobile technology, with a growing demand for
accessibility on both desktop and mobile formats. However, the literature review also provided
optimism for a return on the investment with Imperial College London using TARGETconnect to
generate revenue via the facilitation of advertisements from external companies to students at the
University.
Following the organisational review, data collection was undertaken with current University of
Chichester (UoC) TARGETconnect users using questionnaires, a focus group, an options appraisal and
an interview. The research identified the profile of active student users to be female
undergraduates, who used TARGETconnect to search for employment opportunities. Profiling active
users from external organisations found the majority originated from a company that had been
established for more than 10 years and were looking to advertise opportunities to graduates. The
research found TARGETconnect to have many benefits to all stakeholders, providing students with a
quick and convenient platform to access employment advertisements, whilst offering a facility for
external businesses to promote opportunities to students. Moreover, TARGETconnect was also
found to assist the Careers and Employability Service of the UoC, decreasing staff administration
time on tasks, whilst also providing a database to save notes from student appointments for future
use.
The research also identified that the barriers hindering stakeholders' use of TARGETconnect were
the lack of guidance as to how to effectively use the website, users did not find the website easily
accessible and TARGETconnect is not compatible with mobile technology. This led to the
recommendation of system improvements that would lead to TARGETconnect offering better value
to justify future investment.
With regards to charging external employers to engage with TARGETconnect in order to fund the
system and generate revenue for the Careers and Employability Service at the University of
Chichester, the research indicated that the majority of employers would not be willing to pay. Of
those that would be willing to pay, statistical evidence would be required to indicate whether their
advertisement was effective and worth repeating in the future.
The paper recommends a review of the marketing of TARGETconnect, whilst also addressing the
issues of accessibility and compatibility with mobile technology. It is predicted this will lead to
increased usage of the website, whilst also encouraging more registrations, increasing the value of
the service to its stakeholders. In addition, it is also recommended the service has a tiered pricing
option to avoid losing active users who do not want to pay for TARGETconnect, whilst improving the
effectiveness of advertising opportunities through TARGETconnect for the companies that are willing
to pay for additional promotions.


Interferometry is widely used in bathymetric applications to relate short time delays between two separate sensors to wavefront arrival angles. The main difficulty of this method concerns its sensitivity with regard to the distance between the two sensor receivers, commonly called baseline. Indeed, the baseline, which is only a few wavelengths long, is sufficient to triangulate the direction of an echo, which can be several hundred meters away. Due to the usual short baseline size, the direction of arrival (DOA) resulting from an interferometric measurement is very sensitive to noise, which can reduce accuracy and handicap the data for immediate use. Interferometric measurements are confined to a -length interval, and yet, the time-delay dynamic range can go beyond this length. As a result, the phase delay is estimated with a -modulo ambiguity. This study focuses on the accuracy problem and tries to make a bathymetric performance estimation. The statistical behavior of the interferometric signal is the keystone of the problem as it allows the bathymetric measurement error to be derived. Because of the very singular nature of the interferometric signal, the noise aspect is not analyzed as a classical additive perturbation, but as a decorrelation between receivers. Thus, a coherent error fusion (CEF) makes it possible to directly integrate the impact of several degrading phenomena into the interferometric-phase probability density function (pdf) and thus, to improve the bathymetric performance prediction compared with a classical root mean squared error (RMSE) integration. Finally, the CEF prediction model is tested on real data collected with a 455-kHz sidescan sonar, and compared with the RMSE-based prediction approach.


From 1965 to 1976 134 patients with gastric stump carcinoma were treated. Twenty-nine patients underwent a curative resection. The postoperative mortality was 8 patients; 14 patients survived 3 years. These statistics do not differ significantly from those obtained in primary gastric carcinoma. Twenty-nine patients underwent a palliative resection. The mean survival time was 8.2 month. This survival does not differ from that obtained by other palliative procedures. From the survival time alone one cannot conclude that a palliative resection is preferable to other procedures. Gastric stump carcinoma does not differ essentially from gastric carcinoma and it should be considered as the most important life threatening postoperative complication of partial gastrectomy. On account of the changed anatomical status a total gastrectomy in gastric stump carcinoma is 'the treatment of choice.'


The extensive use of technology in learning and working, is forcing its use in
the assessment process. A lot of software packages exist in the market to
realize automated assessment. Several of them are very comprehensive, but
most of them are stand alone applications without possibilities for
interoperability, adaptability according to learner characteristics and
possibilities for content reuse.
In this paper we describe the purposes and the process of designing an
interoperable E-Testing Framework by remodelling an existing E-Testing
system and introducing new structured Service Oriented Architecture, based
on encapsulating existing business functions as loosely coupled, reusable,
platform-independent services which collectively realize required business
objectives. This common framework should support interoperable content,
exchange of data and learner profiles, and give the possibility for search and
retrieval of any data bank content in local and remote repositories.


The comparative legal analysis of the experience of different states, in this case of Ukraine and Hungary, has even greater interest and novelty in the scientific field due to its lack of research, which makes this article an even greater contribution to science. Examining the sector, we can note the peculiarities of the modern state, which find their embodiment in the modification of the functions of the state. The development of theories of functions gives us the opportunity to forecast a specific situation related to the transformation of the state or its individual institutions, the implementation of state policy. The question of the system of institutional support of external functions, as well as the question of power sources, renewal, and activity of external functions, is always a relevant issue for the scientific sphere, due to constant changes. A full-scale war in Ukraine causes huge human, economic and cultural losses. Life was divided into «before the war» and «in the war». All this pushes Ukraine to the starting point of reference, where after the end of this agony-propaganda «military operation» there will be a period of great reconstruction and punishment of the guilty within the framework of international law. The purpose of each state, its directions of functioning, success, neglect, and limits of implementation can be vividly considered today under the prism of its external functions. The issue of state functions remains one of the key issues in the theory and practice of state formation. They play an important role in the implementation of state policy, because without influencing this or that phenomenon of social relations, the state is unable to solve the tasks set before it and achieve the set goals. Comprehensive implementation of state policy is a guarantee of a peaceful and safe existence and further development of the entire society. This scientific article highlights several structural parts of the external function: Essence and social purpose; Areas of state activity; The main direction of the influence of the state and its final goal (object); The method, form, and principle of implementation of the external functions of the state and the relationship of practical activities with the goal (toward which the functions are directed). However, this part of the article analyzes the first two components - the essence and social purpose and directions of state activity.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are deregulated in many human cancers and a few HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) have been shown to be effective in patients with rare leukemia. However, clinical responses are not very promising for many HDACi in solid cancers. There is an urgent need to develop best in class HDACi with higher therapeutic index in solid cancers.

At present less than 10% of anti-cancer drugs entering phase 1 clinical trials are successful in getting market approval. There are many factors for this poor clinical success for oncology therapeutics, and one of them is the lack of robust preclinical model driving clinical development. Cancer is a very heterogeneous disease and many of the present preclinical models do not represent this heterogeneity. As a result, while a candidate drug may appear good in present preclinical models, they often fail to make the cut in clinical development.

To circumvent this critical problem, we have developed a robust TE (Tumor Ecosystem) platform technology using patient tumors, autologous ligands, and immune compartments from the same patients.Our TE platform preserves patient tumor heterogeneity along with other functional and genomic markers and immunogenic cytokines. Efficacy of drugs exposed to the patient's tumor tissue in our TE platform is assessed by as many as 17 orthogonal assays within a week. The results from these assays are converted into a single predictive score called the "M-Score," and it has been clinically validated using FDA approved drugs in > 1,800 patients across multiple solid and hematological cancers. Our data shows that TE platform predicts treatment outcome of FDA approved drugs in clinical setting with very high sensitivity and specificity.

We have the opportunity to use this platform technology to identify cancer indications and appropriate combinations for MIT-1102, a novel HDACi that exhibited potent histone deacetylase inhibitory activity. Our data further indicates that the anti-tumor efficacy of MIT-1102 is superior to Vorinostat and comparable with Pracinostat (SB-939) while being more tolerable than Pracinostat. Results indicated the superiority of MIT-1102 when combined with SOCs in a subset of patients with gastric and pancreatic cancers. We are also using different omics to identify markers associated with response in those tumor types. MIT-1102 has the potential to be more effective in a defined patient population than other molecules in this class. In summary, we have identified a novel, potent HDACi with drug-like properties, and identified the correct cancer indications and most effective combinations using TE platform Technology.

Citation Format: Mallikarjun Sundaram, Baraneedharan Ulaganathan, Muthu Dhandapani, Allen Thayakumar, Pragnashree Mukhopadhyay, Saravanan Thiyagarajan, Biswanath Majumder, Prasad Shivarudriah, H Jagadheshan, Ganesh Sambasivam, Steve Birnbuam, Padhma Radhakrishnan, Pradip K. Majumder. Application of patient tumors-derived tumor ecosystem platform for the development of novel HDAC inhibitor in solid cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3736. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3736


Readers of Herodotus' Histories are familiar with its reports of bizarre portents, riddling oracles, and striking dreams. But Herodotus draws our attention to other types of signs too, beginning with human speech itself as a coded system that can manipulate and be manipulated. Objects, gifts, artifacts, markings, even the human body, are all capable of being invested with meaning in the Histories and Herodotus shows that conventionally and culturally determined actions, gestures, and ritual all need decoding. This book represents an unprecedented examination of signs and their interpreters, as well as the terminology Herodotus uses to describe sign transmission, reception, and decoding. Through his control and involvement in this process he emerges as a veritable 'master of signs.'


The ground is one of the most highly variable of engineering materials. It is therefore not surprising that geotechnical designs depend on local site conditions and local engineering experience. Engineering practices, relating to investigation and design methods (site understanding) and to safety levels acceptable to society, will therefore vary between different regions. The challenge in geotechnical engineering is to make use of worldwide geotechnical experience, established over many years, to aid in the development and harmonization of geotechnical design codes. Given the significant uncertainties involved, empiricism and engineering judgment will undoubtedly always be an essential element of geotechnical design. However, rigorous and scientific approaches based on probability theory are finding increased attention in the calibration of modern geotechnical codes of practice and these codes can and should be used to aid fundamental engineering judgment. Containing contributions on Code Implementation, Code Application and Code Development, this book provides a single resource that code developers, practitioners, and researchers can use to understand the different choices made by national code developers around the world. Furthermore, the book highlights some of the key challenges faced worldwide concerning the ongoing process of harmonizing geotechnical design code specifications.


The results of a complex study are presented dealing with the effect of Strophantin on metabolism, electrolytes content, myocardial ultrastructure and contractile function of various portions of the heart in dogs with experimentally induced infarction. Under the effect of Strophantin the destructive alterations of the myocardial ultrastructure, the electrolytes shifts and disorders in the contractile function of the myocardium in the zone of impaired circulation (25 min.) were less severe than in non-treated dogs. A more distinct beneficial effect of Strophantin upon the structural-functional state of the myocardium was revealed in the parainfarction zones after 2 days and 2 weeks following the ligation of the coronary artery. A reduction of potassium and sodium content in the paranecrotic zone of the myocardium in early postinfarction periods in treated animals must be largely due to the more active ion diffusion in this zone of the infarction caused by improved microcirculation.


In this study TIG welding was carried out in Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn alloy by using Ti-6-4 alloy filler. The effect of two common industrial heat treatments (artificial aging treatment at 593°C/2hr /air cooling or a solution treatment at 788°C/30min/air cooling plus aging at 510°C/8hr/furnance cooling) on the microstructure, mechanical property and corrosion resistance of weldment were investigated. It appears that these post weld heat treatment result in enhanced mechanical property as well as its corrosion resistance. In addition, solution plus aging treatment presents the excellent mechanical property and corrosion resistance. TEM investigation is also carried out to observe the nano size precipitates in heat affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone (FZ). The possible enhanced mechanisms are discussed.


Abstract. Better knowledge of spatial and temporal delivery of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in small catchments is required to understand the mechanisms behind reported long-term changes in C fluxes from some peatlands. We monitored two storms with contrasting seasons and antecedent conditions in a small upland UK moorland catchment. We examined DOC concentrations and specific UV absorbance (SUVA at 285 nm), together with solute concentrations required to undertake end-member mixing analyses to define dominant flow paths contributing to streamflow. This was combined with laboratory soil-solution equilibrations. We aimed to resolve how seasonal biogeochemical processing of DOC and flowpath changes in organo-mineral soils combine to affect DOC exported via the stream. An August storm following a dry period gave maximum DOC concentration of 10 mg l−1. Small DOC:DON ratios (16–28) and SUVA (2.7–3.6 l mg−1 m−1) was attributed to filtration of aromatic compounds associated with up to 53% B horizon flow contributions. This selective filtration of high SUVA DOC was reproduced in the experimental batch equilibration system. For a November storm, wetter antecedent soil conditions led to enhanced soil connectivity with the stream and seven times greater DOC stream-load (maximum concentration 16 mg l−1). This storm had a 63% O horizon flow contribution at its peak, limited B horizon buffering and consequently more aromatic DOC (SUVA 3.9–4.5 l mg−1 m−1 and DOC:DON ratio 35–43). We suggest that simple mixing of waters from different flow paths cannot alone explain the differences in DOC compositions between August and November and biogeochemical processing of DOC is required to fully explain the observed stream DOC dynamics. This preliminary evidence is in contrast to other studies proposing hydrological controls on the nature of DOC delivered to streams. Although our study is based only on two storms of very different hydrological and biogeochemical periods, this should promote wider study of DOC biogeochemical alteration in headwaters so that this be better incorporated in modelling to predict the impacts of changes in DOC delivery to, and fate in, aquatic systems.


Entomotoxic effects of powder and oil from the leaves and seed of Hura crepitans (L.) on Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) was investigated at the Pest Management Laboratory in the Department of Crop, Soil and Pest Management, the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria under prevailing laboratory conditions of 28±3°C temperature and 65 ± 5% relative humidity. The powders from the leaves and seeds of H. crepitans were applied singly at the rates of 1, 2 and 3 g per 20 seeds weighed into sterile Petri dishes and infested with 5 pairs of one day old C. maculatus adults in three replicates. The oils were applied at the rates of 1, 2.5 and 5 ml per 1 kg of seeds respectively in 3 L plastic containers by injecting the oils into 1 kg of seeds with a syringe and 20 seeds selected randomly from each container into Petri dishes in three replications including the controls. The oil-treated seeds were infested with 5 pairs of a day old adults of C. maculatus. Data were collected on number of dead C. maculatus adults, number of eggs laid, number of seeds with eggs, seeds without eggs, number of emerged aduls, number of seeds with holes, seeds without holes and weight loss after 12, 24 and 48 h of application of powders and oils. The results from the study showed that H. crepitans powders and oils caused mortality in adult C. maculatus. The mortality (80%) of adults C. maculatus at 48 h after application was significantly higher (P<0.05) in cowpea seeds treated with 2 g of seed powder. Application of H. crepitans significantly reduced (P<0.05) oviposition (4.58) at 2 g of the seed powder applied on cowpea seeds. The number of emerged adults (0.71) was significantly lower (P<0.05) on cowpea seeds treated with seed powder and seed oil at higher rates. Weight loss (0.08) was significantly lower in cowpea seeds treated with 2.5 and 5 ml of seed oil. Therefore, based on these results, H. crepitans could be explored as an alternative biopesticide to synthetic insecticide in the protection of stored cowpea against C. maculatus (F.).

 Key words: Hura crepitans, Callosobruchus maculatus, entomotoxic, assessment.


Objectives: In this paper, our work is intended to improve the nodes mobility within the network, as it is still in development stage. Methods/Statistical Analysis An automatic system for finding the efficient routing path is still a challenging task. In order to overcome the problem, we propose Short and Efficient Multipath Routing (SEMR) protocol which enables successful routing system by enabling minimum bandwidth in accordance with delay free networking system. Findings: This (SEMR) protocol applies on-demand routing protocols which find shortest route for communication-based on default parameters. The packet transmission consumes less packet loss ratio with minimum data rates. The implementation work is examined by means of performing simulations in NS2. Here the simulation parameters among every node were implemented based on the 802.11 standards according to the parameters. The test case is carried out with 200 nodes which compare the various factors like packet drops, testing the ability in finding the intermediate nodes, bandwidth and time delay. The best fact of Short and Efficient multipath routing (SEMR) methodology is the exchange of different parameters according to the protocol stack. It is also efficient in terms of security on finding the routes compared to the traditional or other mechanisms currently available in the industry. Application/Improvements:The SEMR protocol performance is tested with other existing protocols such as Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Destination –Sequenced Distance-Vector outing (DSDV). By which the obtained shows that the new scheme is free from fault tolerance with competent in achieving the networking system. Finally, the proposed system is well capable of decision making, especially in the network layers.


Our global economy has pushed the complexity of business transactions to a new level, as companies now employ sophisticated contracts and financial instruments. However, it is unclear whether accounting standards are able to effectively capture transaction complexity, which has been growing at a rapid pace. In this study, we examine three questions related to transaction complexity: (1) Do accounting standards reflect differences in the complexity of the transactions being recorded? (2) Does the use of mark-to-market (i.e., fair value) accounting reduce the complexity of standards by relying on market valuations to capture transaction complexity? (3) Does the reliance on fair value measurements reduce audit costs for transactions with significant complexity? Our findings suggest that complex transactions result in complex accounting guidance, making the standards difficult to read and understand. However, the use of fair value accounting might be a solution to the challenges arising from transaction complexity. Our study informs regulatory bodies, investors, creditors, and public companies that are increasingly concerned about the state of financial reporting standards, which arguably have become very costly to implement yet less effective in communicating the economic substance of complex transactions. Pinky Rusli Xinlei Zhao Montana State University PhD Candidate Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship University of Kentucky Accounting Department Gatton College of Business and Economics Bozeman, MT 59717-3040 Von Allmen School of Accountancy Lexington, KY 40506-0034 David A. Ziebart PwC Professor of Accountancy University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business & Economics Von Allmen School of Accountancy Lexington, KY 40506-0034 firstname.lastname@example.com


Professional skills are important to students who major in ideological and political education. They must be able to conduct the tasks required by the teaching of political activities. Evaluation of the student's skills can offer a theoretical basis for measuring a ideological and political course, but an effective evaluation method is lacking. Therefore, an evaluation method based on the grey system theory is proposed in this article. First, the educational structure of the ideological and political education is discussed; second, the mathematical model of grey system theory is presented; and third, the structure of the professional skills evaluation model of students majoring in ideological and political education is presented. The evaluation index system, the results of which are drawn from a questionnaire distributed to 800 students, and the evaluation program, is put forward. A case study was carried out, the results of which show that the evaluation method outlined here can contribute to improving overall standards in the course.


Agile methods are receiving a growing interest from industry and these approaches are nowadays well accepted and deployed in software engineering. However, some issues remain to introduce agility in systems engineering. The objective of this paper is to show an agile management implementation in an educational project consisting in developing a connected mobile robot, and to evaluate the issues and benefits of adopting an agile approach. Among the most famous agile management methods, SCRUM has been chosen to lead this experiment. This paper first presents the project and how students traditionally manage it, then it describes how Scrum could be used instead. It evaluates the difficulties and interests to introduce agility in this project, and concludes on the ability of Scrum to design, test and progressively integrate the system, thus providing an operational prototype more quickly.


This paper reports the development of the road traffic simulator to analyze the effectiveness of the rapid charge station (ST). We employ Digital Map 2500 (Spatial Data Framework) as the basic database for the map model in the traffic simulator. The EV behavior is defined based on the traffic database of Road Traffic Census. The road map model in this traffic simulation corresponds to the road map of 10 cities, where the area and population are 2600 km₂ and about three million people, respectively. We found the 17 STs are enough to keep the averaged travel length for a household vehicle in Japan. This result suggests the area responsible for a ST is about 150 km₂ per ST (i.e. one ST in the area of about 12 km square).


Semiconductor quantum dots in silicon demonstrate exceptionally long spin lifetimes as qubits and are therefore promising candidates for quantum information processing. However, control and readout techniques for these devices have thus far employed low frequency electrons, in contrast to high speed temperature readout techniques used in other qubit architectures, and coupling between multiple quantum dot qubits has not been satisfactorily addressed.This dissertation presents the design and characterization of a semiconductor charge qubit based on double quantum dot in silicon with an integrated microwave resonator for control and readout. The 6 GHz resonator is designed to achieve strong coupling with the quantum dot qubit, allowing the use of circuit QED control and readout techniques which have not previously been applicable to semiconductor qubits. To achieve this coupling, this document demonstrates successful operation of a novel silicon double quantum dot design with a single active metallic layer and a coplanar stripline resonator with a bias tee for dc excitation.Experiments presented here demonstrate quantum localization and measurement of both electrons on the quantum dot and photons in the resonator. Further, it is shown that the resonator-qubit coupling in these devices is sufficient to reach the strong coupling regime of circuit QED. The details of a measurement setup capable of performing simultaneous low noise measurements of the resonator and quantum dot structure are also presented here.The ultimate aim of this research is to integrate the long coherence times observed in electron spins in silicon with the sophisticated readout architectures available in circuit QED based quantum information systems. This would allow superconducting qubits to be coupled directly to semiconductor qubits to create hybrid quantum systems with separate quantum memory and processing components.


Background: Anthrax toxin receptor 1 (ANTXR1) has been known to have relationship with extracellular transmembrane protein deeply associated with the process of bone formation and exert important role in angiogenesis. However, there have been no reports to prove the effects of ANTXR1 on bone metabolism mediated by two types of bone cells, osteoclasts and osteoblasts. The aim of this study is to reveal the role of ANTXR1 in the differentiation and function of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Objectives: The aim of this study is to reveal the role of ANTXR1 in the differentiation and function of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Methods: To determine the effect of ANTXR1 on osteoclastogenesis or osteoblast differentiation, we examined TRAP staining, F-actin staining and Pit assay, or ALP and Alizarin Red-mineralization staining, respectively. The mechanism of ANTXR1 by transfection of retrovirus or siRNA analyzed using real-time PCR and western blot analysis. Also, the effect of ANTXR1 on osteoclast-mediated angiogenesis of endothelial cells assessed by in vitro vascular tubule formation assay of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Results: Through performing gain- and loss-of-function studies, we found that ANTXR1 positively regulated receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption with no effects on osteoblast differentiation. During ANTXR1-mediated regulation of osteoclastogenesis, phosphorylation of early signal transducers, c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), Akt, and inhibitor of kappa B (IκB) was affected, which in turn alteration of mRNA and protein levels of c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1). In addition, genetic manipulation of ANTXR1 in bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) modulated the capillary-like tube formation by HUVECs via two kinds of angiogenic factors, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A). These results explained the important role of ANTXR1 in osteoclast differentiation and functional activity, as well as, osteoclast-mediated angiogenesis of endothelial cells. Conclusion: Taken together, it was proposed that ANTXR1 might be a promising candidate for gene therapy related with bone metabolic diseases and further, have potential to be served as an important biomarker in the research fields of bone metastasis associated with vascularization. Disclosure of Interests: None declared


Compared to normal tissues, unique conditions in the tumor microenvironment, such as a lower pH, can induce accurate release of a drug into specific lesions. This strategy provides an efficient approach to overcome the issues of unexpected drug leakage and poor circulation stability, thereby reducing the side effects and enhancing the effect of cancer treatment. In this study, we designed a class of acid activatable supramolecular nano-prodrugs (DOM@DOX) with a bottlebrush architecture based on the dextran (DEX) polysaccharide, which connects with a hydrophilic polyethylene glycol chain by atom transfer radical polymerization and further conjugates with an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) at the backbone of the copolymer via an acidity-responsive hydrazine bond. Furthermore, the DOM@DOX prodrug has a high drug loading up to 48 wt% for DOX, and the prodrug can maintain a stable nano-sized spherical shape in aqueous solution by a self-assembly strategy. In an acidic environment inside tumor cells, the hydrazine bond of the prodrug breaks, leading to the release of DOX from parental micelles. Owing to the small size of the carrier, the prodrug exhibits good intratumoral permeability, good circulation stability and significant tumor suppression efficiency in tumor-bearing mouse models, which is beneficial for the development of new generation nanomedicine for enhanced chemotherapy.


The primary aim of this study is to identify how environmental or green Accounting could contribute and ensure sustainable development. It is a descriptive study which has investigated about the environmental accounting and sustainable development from the existing literature. The result indicated that most organizations often ignore large environmental costs. The sound green practice accounting is required. It has also been noted that accountants have unquestioned authority in the field of financial reporting for rights obligations arising under emissions trading schemes in the financial carbon accounting. Finally, the overall results summary of the review shows that the good practice of environmental accounting is vital for sustainability development, especially for focusing on environmental and environmental taxes, costs, and appreciation of ecosystem services, the cost of carbon dioxide, and the cost of water pollution which ensure the sustainable development. JEL classification numbers: Q56Keywords: Sustainable Development, Environmental Accounting.


The pharmacokinetics of cimetidine were evaluated using a linear system analysis that was formulated specifically to resolve the second peak in the blood drug concentration profile after oral dosing. The analysis exemplifies a new approach to pharmacokinetic modeling, which appears to be a valuable alternative to linear compartmental or physiological modeling. The formulation of linear system analysis according to a certain interpretation of a pharmacokinetic phenomenon avoids the complexity of conventional modeling, which often obscures the significance of the kinetic parameters. The new approach should result in a more rational analysis of pharmacokinetic phenomena because the less important pharmacokinetic processes are not specifically modeled but are still accounted for in the mathematical treatment. The bioavailability of cimetidine calculated by deconvolution agrees with previous findings. The model proposed to describe the second peak after oral absorption appears to agree well with the data and the hepatic recycling reported for cimetidine.


The article is devoted to the Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in the context of the joint construction of the "Silk Road Economic Belt", in particular, the cost-effective production of renewable energy sources based on agricultural production on the territory of Ukraine with the involvement of investors from China is highlighted. It has been proved that it is advisable to create an agro-industrial park in the agricultural sector, whose activities can be aimed at research and development of new technologies for growing agricultural products and "green technologies" in the field of agriculture. Calculations indicate the possibility of substantiating the quantitative characteristics of biofuel production and the ecological state of the territories. It is shown that in order to identify the degree of influence of these economic and environmental factors on the efficiency of biofuel production enterprises, it is necessary to conduct a systematic assessment of them with the construction of a mechanism for the functioning of such an enterprise as part of an agricultural park, which reflects the relationship of factors of the efficiency of biofuel production.
Keywords: The economic belt of the Silk Road, Agricultural Park; Production of renewable energy sources, Production of biofuels, Efficiency of functioning of biofuel production enterprises.


This is a small description of the evolution of the Basque language in Lumbier-Irunberri (Navarre). It has two parts: the first one it is a diachronic explanation of the evidences about the presence of the language, and its disappearing. In the second part we have explained how the Basque language has been recuperated and it is being normalized, instead of the obstacles. Finally, we have drawn some conclusions before suggesting some worklines. We would prove that this village has never lost absolutely the contact with the laguage, although it has not been spoken for aproximately two centuries.


State education business institutes are believed as catalyst for the economic progress (especial for commerce) of any country. In China, many regional higher education institutes (mainly be regional university) have been founded from 1998. From 2006, most of those regional higher education institutes, such as regional university, promoted to be comprehensive regional higher education institutes (CRHEIs) in succession. Now more andmore students studying in those CRHEIs, and then the quality of teaching should be improved. In this paper, we analyses ICT (Information and communication technology)–based teaching and learning issues at CRHEIs level and old higher education institutes (ORHEs) level. Using normative Delphi method, we discussed ICT-based issues and get that ICT integration in CRHE need to be in lined with proper strategy in order to get their true benefits.


According to the European 2012/31/EE Directive all new buildings until 31/12/2020 and all new buildings occupied by public authorities until 31/12/2018 should be buildings with nearly zero energy consumption. Many countries of the European Union have established legislation with provisions for the energy performance of the buildings with a further goal to reach the nearly zero energy consumption building. In Greece there is a presence of this attempt from the year 2010 with the Regulation of the Energy Performance in Buildings (ΚEΝΑΚ, 2010). This was a first attempt for upgrading the energy performance and for establishing the energy inspection of buildings and the relative provisions. In order to achieve the goal and fulfill the requirements of the European legislation a further attempt should be focused in interventions such as lower U value limits in the opaque building elements of the building envelope and windows, in upgrading the energy efficiency of HVAC systems and even the use of renewable sources to cover a percentage of the energy requirements of the buildings. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the reduction of the U value of the opaque building elements in the energy requirements and consumption in residential buildings in Greece, according the climatic zone that is located, as a step closer to the nearly zero energy consumption building. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.6.1.5950


by Barry J. Anson and James A. Donaldson. Pp. 211. Illustrated. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Co. Ltd. 1967. 112/-. A beautifully produced book which must now be the definitive work on the surgical anatomy of the temporal bone and ear. There are nearly 100 references concerning the anatomical researches in this region over the past 20 years. This is one of the superb works which came with increasing frequency from the United States. As the operating microscope is continuing to revolutionise the surgery of the E.N.T. and Neurosurgeon the detail presented in this book is therefore by no means of only academic interest.


Abstract Numerous ultra-high-pressure minerals have been recovered from podiform chromities in the Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet. Recovered minerals include diamond, moissanite, Fe-silicides, wüstite, Ni-Fe-Cr-C alloys, PGE alloys and octahedral Mg-Fe silicates. These are accompanied by a variety of native elements, including Si, Fe, Ni, Cr and graphite. All of the minerals were hand-picked from heavy-mineral separates of the chromitites and care was taken to prevent natural or anthropogenic contamination of the samples. Many of the minerals and alloys are either enclosed in, or attached to, chromite grains, leaving no doubt as to their provenance. The ophiolite formed originally at a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) spreading centre at 177±33 Ma, and was later modified by suprasubduction zone magmatism at about 126 Ma. The chromitites were formed in the suprasubduction zone environment from boninitic melts reacting with the host peridotites. The UHP minerals are believed to have been transported from the lower mantle by a plume and incorporated in the ophiolite during seafloor spreading at 176 Ma. Blocks of the mantle containing the UHP minerals were presumably picked up by the later boninitic melts, transported to shallow depth and incorporated in the chromitites during crystallization.


On the North Sea bottom lie numerous pipelines to link oil- or gas offshore units, - platforms and processing stations on land. Although pipeline tubes are coated and covered with protective layers (Concrete Weight Coating), the pipelines risk being damaged through man-made threats like fishing activities with bottom trawls (trawling interference), anchoring and dropped objects. IRM Systems performs integrated risk assessments of pipelines for amongst others Wintershall. Spatial maps of fishing activity would contribute to this risk assessment. Therefore, WMR was tasked to quantify the amount of fishing activity in the vicinity of Wintershall pipelines. Fishing activity has been quantified at a spatial scale of approximate 2500 m2 blocks (50m by 50m) using fishing Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data for 2016 and 2018. In total, for each year 69 shapefiles specifying the fishing intensity in a buffer area of 100m either side of the pipeline, were delivered. The overall total trawl fishing intensity in 2016 and 2018 along the pipeline trajectories ranges from 0 - 18.83 times per grid cell per year and is the result of combining all beam-trawl fleet activities, though split by large beam trawls and shrimp trawls. There is substantial difference in effort between 2016 and 2018 which varies up to 200% for some pipeline segments. Though, at the North Sea scale, fishing has been relatively stable over the past 10 years. Highest fishing intensities are recorded within the 12nm zone where the effort of the shrimp trawlers is most abundant and has increased almost 5-fold in some areas from 2010 and has not come to a halt yet. At the spatial scale relevant in this study, small spatial differences make for substantial differences though.


Most three-dimensional acquisition systems generate several partial reconstructions that have to be registered and integrated for building a complete 3D model. In this paper, we propose a volumetric shape integration method, consisting of weighted signed distance functions represented as variational implicit functions (VIF) or surfaces (VIS). Texture integration is solved similarly by using three weighted color junctions also based on VIFs. Using these continuous (not grid-based) representations solves current limitations of volumetric methods: no memory inefficient and resolution limiting grid representation is required. The built-in smoothing properties of the VIS representations also improve the robustness of the final integration against noise in the input data. Experimental results are performed on real-live, noiseless and noisy synthetic data of human faces in order to show the robustness and accuracy of the integration algorithm.


This study examines the association of "implanted logos" and the "perfect law of freedom" in the Letter of James. It argues that James understands the Torah to be a written expression of the divine law the Stoics correlated with human reason. After showing how past interpretation of James's logos has been guided by a problematic essentialist approach to Christian origins, the Stoic theory of law is reconstructed with special attention to Cicero's concept of "implanted reason." Adaptations of the Stoic theory in ancient Jewish and Christian literature are examined, and the Letter of James is analyzed in detail. The work makes original contributions to the study of James and of Stoicism. It also highlights the importance of broad reconstructions of Christian origins for the interpretation of the early Christian literature.


Author(s): Mitchell, Melanie; Hraber, Peter; Crutchfield, James P | Abstract: We present results from an experiment similar to one performed by Packard (1988), in which a genetic algorithm is used to evolve cellular automata (CA) to perform a particular computational task. Packard examined the frequency of evolved CA rules as a function of Langton's lambda parameter (Langton, 1990), and interpreted the results of his experiment as giving evidence for the following two hypotheses: (1) CA rules able to perform complex computations are most likely to be found near ``critical'' lambda values, which have been claimed to correlate with a phase transition between ordered and chaotic behavioral regimes for CA; (2) When CA rules are evolved to perform a complex computation, evolution will tend to select rules with lambda values close to the critical values. Our experiment produced very different results, and we suggest that the interpretation of the original results is not correct. We also review and discuss issues related to lambda, dynamical-behavior classes, and computation in CA. The main constructive results of our study are identifying the emergence and competition of computational strategies and analyzing the central role of symmetries in an evolutionary system. In particular, we demonstrate how symmetry breaking can impede the evolution toward higher computational capability.


Tree ring synthesis is a key process in wood production; however, little is known of the origin and fate of the carbon involved. We used natural 13C abundance to investigate the carbon-use process for the ring development in a temperate deciduous (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) and a Mediterranean evergreen (Quercus ilex L.) oak. The sapwood carbon reserves, phloem sucrose contents, stem respired CO2 efflux and their respective carbon isotope compositions (δ13C) were recorded over 1 year, in the native area of each species. The seasonal δ13C variation of the current year ring was determined in the total ring throughout the seasons, as well as in slices from the fully mature ring after the growth season (intra-ring pattern). Although the budburst dates of the two oaks were similar, the growth of Quercus ilex began 50 days later. Both species exhibited growth cessation during the hot and dry summer but only Q. ilex resumed in the autumn. In the deciduous oak, xylem starch storage showed clear variations during the radial growth. The intra-ring δ13C variations of the two species exhibited similar ranges, but contrasting patterns, with an early increase for Q. petraea. Comparison between δ13C of starch and total ring suggested that Q. petraea (but not Q. ilex) builds its rings using reserves during the first month of growth. Shifts in ring and soluble sugars δ13C suggested an interspecific difference in either the phloem unloading or the use of fresh assimilate inside the ring. A decrease in ring δ13C for both oaks between the end of the radial growth and the winter is attributed to a lignification of ring cell walls after stem increment. This study highlighted the differences in carbon-use during ring growth for evergreen and deciduous oaks, as well as the benefits of exploring the process using natural 13C abundance.


Gymnosperms are the plants of the conservation of the evolution in there all plant parts; they have the good reservoirs of the metabolites and the other conserved sequences of the evolutionary values. These groups have the very fantascting ecosystems in the Mesozoic era. The appropriate reconstruction of the Mesozoic era gives the appearances of that evolutionary past. Cycadales are the living fossils and they are at the edge of the degradation, all of them totally 11 genera are existing, which have very narrow distribution in some of the area of the world. In this review articles we are trying to work on the one of the Cycadales entitles as the Stangeria. This is well distributed on the some of the area of the South Africa and some islands of the West Indies. Now this cycadales is at the junction of the disappearances due to the habitat destruction and the other anthropogenic activity. (IUCN endangered).


Environmental medicine is a new sub-discipline in the spectrum of medical specialization in Germany. The Berlin Academy of Occupational Medicine and Health Protection, now a branch of the Berlin Chamber of Physicians, developed a 200-lesson curriculum for physicians who want to specialize in this field. Coincidentally during the initial courses, the attendants were already highly qualified (,,Facharzt-level) and experts in various occupational fields, and hence the composition of the classes was highly heterogeneous on the levels of practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge. The Academy therefore decided to change the teaching method to Problem-Oriented Learning (POL). This required training tutors for small learning groups, supervision for these tutors and supplying adequate teaching materials and a stimulating environment for the students. The ,,Arbeitsgruppe Reformstudiengang Medizin (Medicine Curriculum Reform Project) at the Berlin Humboldt University as well as the Dutch Rijksuniversiteit Limburg in Maastricht helped in the process of conceptualization. Participants worked in groups of up to 8 persons under non-directive tutors. A new ,,case was presented every day, and the students developed individual learning goals according to the Seven Steps-method, which were then researched individually and with the help of outside experts. The findings were reported back and discussed in the group. Initially there was irritation, but after two or three days participants got used to not being lectured. Instead of being passive recipients of expert knowledge they felt that the POL method of learning enhanced their competence to act independently.


This paper addresses two problems faced by many forecasters in the transport sector, namely how to use a relatively small sample to forecast car ownership over a long period of time and avoid the difficulties caused by spurious or nonsense regressions. Five alternative estimation methods are used to test for cointegrating relationships between per capita car ownership (and use) and real per capita personable disposable income, real motoring costs and real bus fares. These are the Engle-Granger two-stage, the Phillips-Hansen fully modified, the Wickens-Breusch one-stage, the autoregressive distributed lag, and the Johansen maximum likelihood methods. The corresponding error correction models are estimated, and a comparison made between the derived short- and long-run demand elasticities for car ownership and use. The ex-post forecasting performance of the error correction models, together with an ARIMA model specification, is evaluated using a number of performance criteria. The long-range time series forecasts obtained from the cointegrating regressions are compared with those from the cross-sectional approach used by the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and the policy implications discussed.


Beyond any doubt, the division of tax charges should be just and, thus, the tax legislation, similarly as the tax system, should be established so as to meet the standard of justice. However, the ethic standard of justice causes significant complications in the legislative practice. These mainly result from the fact that there is no confidence in the idea of just taxation. The reasons why the principle of just taxation cannot be trusted are different for the legislator and different for the taxpayer. The legislator's distrust stems, above all, from fear that it might not be possible to connect the just taxation with effectiveness in fulfilling the income function. In the legislative practice a strong wrong belief continues to be shared that the just taxation amounts to the reducing of tax proceeds. Whereas the fear of the taxpayers that the system of tax charges applies to results from their awareness which has been developed and enhanced long enough to show that the legislator, while referring to the concept of justice, too often carries out reforms that contradict it. The tax justice – as an argument underlying the structure of the tax system – is employed much too frequently to mask the fiscal interest of the State, that is the effective fulfillment of the income function. What is important just as well is the fact that the ethical postulate of just taxation can provide the legislator with grounds to formulate various courses of action and, as a result, various tax law solutions. There is a variety of tax rules that can be deemed to incorporate the postulate of justice [1]. However, a more complicated question arises whether the legislator can put the just taxation into practice by referring to the idea of justice. This has always raised doubts [2].


Abstract The paper compares recent and known literature records of mosses from genera Orthotrichum and Nyholmiella in Crimean Peninsula (Ukraine). Field survey was carried out during botanical expedition to Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine in 2012. Total 11 species of the genus Orthotrichum and 1 of Nyholmiella were recorded. Among the most interesting taxa, O. lyellii as new species for Crimean Peninsula and O. affine var. bohemicum as new species for Ukraine, could be considered.


Sub-optimal calcium, vitamin D and iron intakes are typical in athletes. However, quantification by dietary intake may be erroneous, with biomarkers providing a more accurate assessment. This study aimed to determine the calcium, vitamin D and iron status of 8 junior (i.e., under-18 [U18]; age 15.5 ± 0.5 years; height 180.4 ± 6.7 cm; body mass 81.6 ± 14.3 kg) and 12 senior (i.e., over-18 [O18]; age 19.7 ± 1.8 years; height 184.9 ± 6.9 cm; body mass 97.4 ± 14.4 kg) male rugby union players, and assess their adequacy against reference values. Fasted serum calcium, 25(OH)D and ferritin concentrations were analysed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays during the in-season period (March-April). U18 had very likely greater calcium concentrations than O18 (2.40 ± 0.08 vs. 2.25 ± 0.19 mmol.l-1). Differences between U18 and O18 were unclear for 25(OH)D (20.21 ± 11.57 vs. 29.02 ± 33.69 nmol.l-1) and ferritin (59.33 ± 34.61 vs. 85.25 ± 73.53 µg.l-1). Compared to reference values, all U18 had adequate serum calcium concentrations, whereas 33% and 67% of O18 were deficient and adequate, respectively. All U18 and 83% of O18 had severely deficient, deficient or inadequate vitamin D concentrations. Adequate (8%) and optimal (8%) concentrations of vitamin D were observed in O18. All U18 and 75% of O18 had adequate ferritin concentrations. Potential toxicity (17%) and deficient (8%) ferritin concentrations were observed in O18. Vitamin D intake should be increased and multiple measures obtained throughout the season. More research is required on the variation of micronutrient status.


Self-Organization is based on adaptivity. Adaptivity should start with the very basic fundamental communication tasks such as encoding the information to be transmitted or stored. Obviously, the less signal transmitted the less energy in transmission used. In this paper we present a novel on-line and entropy adaptive compression scheme for streaming unbounded length inputs. The scheme extends the window dictionary Lempel-Ziv compression, is adaptive and is tailored to on-line compress inputs with non stationary entropy. Specifically, the window dictionary size is changed in an adaptive manner to fit the current best compression rate for the input. On-line Entropy Adaptive Compression scheme (EAC), that is introduced and analyzed in this paper, examines all possible sliding window sizes over the next input portion to choose the optimal window size for this portion, a size that implies the best compression ratio. The size found is then used in the actual compression of this portion. We suggest an adaptive encoding scheme, which optimizes the parameters block by block, and base the compression performance on the optimality proof of Lempel Ziv algorithm when applied to blocks. The EAC scheme was tested over files of different types (docx, ppt, jpeg, xls) and over synthesized files that were generated as segments of homogeneous Markov Chains. Our experiments demonstrate that the EAC scheme typically provides a higher compression ratio than LZ77 does, when examined in the scope of on-line per-block compression of transmitted (or compressed) files.


The paper reports findings and recommendations from doctoral research in Belgium. The objective is to present insights related to the consumer decision‐making process towards fresh meat. A four‐component conceptual framework is proposed. Information required to investigate links and associations between different elements of the framework is collected through exploratory and conclusive research procedures, with data originating from consumer surveys and household panels. Major attention is paid to the impact of communication and information from mass media, as well as to the impact of socio‐demographic characteristics such as age and presence of young children in the household. Recommendations extend to livestock farming, the meat industry, government, mass media and future research. Key attention points include increased orientation towards satisfying consumer needs and re‐establishment of trust through the production of intrinsically safe products and reliable and effective communication.


This study develops an experimental analysis addressing the premium sensitivity of the demand for insurance accounting for risk attitudes, including risk-loving. Our contribution disentangles the conditional demand (the non-null demand for insurance) from the propensity to buy insurance. Our research shows that the contraction of the global demand for insurance induced by the raise in unit prices and fixed cost is primarily due to policyholders exiting the insurance market rather than reducing their levels of coverage. However, contrary to the theoretical predictions, an increase in the fixed cost has effects only on the risk lovers' behavior. The stability of the conditional demand is robust to changes in insurance contracts and individuals'risk attitude. These results suggest that the decision about insurance may boil down to an "all or nothing" choice. In line with the theory, risk lovers express a lower global demand for insurance than risk-averse subjects and are the first to leave the insurance market when the premium (unit price or fixed cost) is prohibitive. Implications regarding public and economic policies are discussed. As a by-product, our experimental design enables to test and reject the assumption of inferiority of the risk averters' demand for insurance.


This study investigates the role of output tasks in noticing a certain target form upon receiving subsequent input. Sixteen adolescent learners from an intact CLIL classroom carried out a multi-stage dictogloss task collaboratively and individually. They followed the usual steps in this type of task (listen and jot down key words, text reconstruction). Then they listened to the text once again and compared it with their production. The study revealed that (a) pushed output affects noticing in subsequent input and provides learners the opportunity to notice formal aspects of language and (b) pairs working in collaboration did not obtain better results.


ABSTRACT Aiming at assessing the ecological stress of land urbanization comprehensively, three perspectives are considered and combined, i.e. the amount effect with the proportion of construction lands as the indicator, the intensity effect per the density of environmental pollutant emissions, and the location effect based on their spatial distribution in the heterogeneous landscape. The quantitative results of Southern Jiangsu case in Eastern China show the single-perspective ecological stress are spatially different; the proportion effect is higher in city propers which are more densely populated and industrialized. However, the intensity effect is more significant for units along the Yangtze river where heavy industries are gathered, while the location effect is higher in "ecologically suitable" regions. As the integration of proportion, intensity, and location effects, the comprehensive stress differs across Southern Jiangsu and are also different with the single-perspective results. Dominant stressors of each unit are spatially distinct, which benefits policy-makers in targeting their objectives as per primary influencing factors. It is concluded that the comprehensive assessment could efficiently reveal the spatial differentiation of the ecological effects of land urbanization and also the differentiated role of different factors for each unit.


Evidence of construct validity and generalizability for a new measure developed to screen for malingered psychopathology, the Miller-Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST), is presented for a sample of incarcerated males (N = 50) who had applied for mental health services in a maximum-security prison. Participants completed a brief diagnostic interview, the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS), and the M-FAST. SIRS-defined malingerers scored significantly higher on the M-FAST total and scale scores. Receiver operating characteristic analysis yielded an area under the curve of .92 (SEM = .04, p= .01). Consistent with previous M-FAST validity research, utility results indicated accurate classification was best achieved with an M-FAST total cutoff score of 6 (positive predictive power = .78, negative predictive power =.89). Utility analyses across race produced almost identical results indicating preliminary generalizability of the M-FAST for African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian inmates.


Passive deviation of one eye through 18 degrees, 30 degrees and 42 degrees, achieved by force applied to a sucked-on contact lens, caused the direction of visual targets seen by the other eye to be misjudged in the direction of the passive movement by an amount roughly one-sixth of the angle of passive deviation. The result was the same when the perceived direction was indicated by hand, as when the instant at which a moving target seemed straight ahead was signalled. This result is interpreted by considering that muscular efferents were identical in normal and eye-deviated subjects. The main difference between the two target localization conditions results from the proprioceptor output of the deviated eye. Our data demonstrate that the assessment of the direction of a target seen by an eye that is free to move depends in part on information received by the brain from proprioceptors in the orbit (in our case the contralateral orbit). It would be surprising if the ipsilateral orbit did not contribute as much or more. We therefore consider that this constitutes clear evidence against the pure outflow theory of visual direction judgement (Helmholz, 1867), additional to that provided by the all-or-nothing situation of complete versus incomplete oculomotor paralysis. Two models have previously been proposed to describe the function of the visual localization mechanism. Both assume that the necessary information is derived from the coding of the position of the eye in the orbit, either through a copy of the muscular activation or through eye muscle proprioception. We propose an alternative model in which both afferent and efferent signals from all actively contracted or stretched muscles provide the necessary information to the CNS. The data gathered so far from normal subjects made strabismic with a suction lens, and from a fair proportion of strabismic patients, support our model describing the mechanism of localization of a single punctate target in darkness.


Adapting acoustic models to a new environment is usually realized by considering model transformations that are estimated on the adaptation corpus. Since such a corpus usually contains very few data, the models' Gaussians are most often partitioned into a few regression classes, and all the Gaussians in the same class share the same transformation. It is further possible to increase the number of transformations by modeling the dependency between the regression classes. We present, in this paper, such a technique where dependency is modeled by multiscale autoregressive (MAR) processes. The power of the MAR framework resides in its ability to efficiently and optimally estimate the state vector at each node of the regression tree, based on sparse and noisy measurements at different resolutions. The method is evaluated on a french numbers recognition task where the test corpus has been recorded in a car at various speeds and noise levels. The proposed adaptation method is based on Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression.


At present, almost all the cocking work is completed in smoke-filled kitchen, which is a time-consuming and laborious work. However, with the development of automatic and robotics technology, how to apply the relevant technology to the field of cooking has become increasingly urgent. The purpose of this paper is to apply quick-return mechanisms to automatic cooking robot, so as to obtain the realization of the movement of reversing pot. And the main three parts of the study are: the analysis of several typical quick-return mechanisms and the description of their possibility in realizing the movement of reversing pot; dynamic simulation analysis of some kinds of mechanisms, which can cover the basic requirements of the movement of reversing pot, is done so as to determine their functions in realizing the movement of reversing pot and their different characteristics; through taking the typical Sharper(quick-return swing guide) agency as an example and using Pro/E and Adams to realize the dynamic simulation and analysis, the key parameters of such bodies is selected and can provide the basis for the further study of automatic cooking robot.


1  We develop and test a game‐theoretic model for considering the effects of intra‐ and interplant competition on root proliferation and reproductive yield. 2  We predict that if space and resources per individual are held constant, plants should produce more roots per individual and less reproductive yield per individual as the number of plants sharing the combined space increases. 3  We tested the predictions using soybean plants (Glycine max) cultivated in the glasshouse either as owners or as two individuals sharing twice the space and nutrients. 4  Sharing individuals produced 85% more root mass than owners. Owners, however, produced 30% more reproductive yield per plant (dry mass of seeds), as a result of significantly more seed pods (8.70 vs. 7.66), more seeds per pod (1.87 vs. 1.72) and larger seeds (0.205 vs. 0.195 g seed−1), than did sharing individuals. 5  Total plant biomass did not differ between owners and sharing individuals, but owners had significantly higher shoot to root ratios, produced significantly more seeds per unit root mass, and allocated a significantly higher percentage of total biomass production to seeds. 6  Possession of an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) of root competition suggests that different roots and parts of a plant assess and respond to opportunities in a manner that maximizes the good of the whole plant. Thus, plants may be more sophisticated and share more in common with animals in their non‐cognitive behaviours than previously thought. A plant operating as a co‐ordinated whole should, all else being equal, first proliferate roots in unoccupied soil, then in soil occupied by a conspecific competitor, and lastly in soil already occupied by its own roots.


The field of distributed parallel programming is predominated by tools such as the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) and the Message Passing Interface (MPI). On the other hand, mainly standards like the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Remote Method Invocation (RMI), and the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) are used for distributed computing. In this paper, we examine the suitability of CORBA-based solutions for meeting application requirements in the field of parallel programming. We outline concepts defined within CORBA which are helpful for the development of parallel applications. Subsequently, we present our design of an object group service and a join service which facilitate the development of CORBA-based distributed and parallel software applications by transparently encapsulating typical forking and joining mechanisms often needed in that context.


The concern of the present article is the evolution of the "generic masculine" in German as it is reflected in the grammars of the German language from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Grammarians recognized the ability of all masculine personal nouns to refer to both sexes only by the beginning of the 20th century and an adequate description is found as late as the 1960s. Formerly, women and men used to be segregated by grammatical description. The history of this process is being explored in detail and illustrated by citations from original works.


This thesis introduces new methods in analyzing Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal by utilizing EEG spectrogram image and image processing texture analysis called Gray level Co-occurrence Matrices (GLCM). The methods attempt to apply in balanced brain and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) applications. The relationship between balanced brain and IQ application also proposed in this thesis. Collection of EEG signals were recorded from 101 volunteers. EEG signals recorded for the balanced brain application contain closed eyes state meanwhile for the IQ application contains closed eyes and opened eyes state. Before processing the information from the EEG signals, signal preprocessing is done to remove artefacts and unwanted signal frequencies. A time frequency based technique called EEG spectrogram image was used to generate an image from EEG signal. The spectrogram image was produced for each EEG signals sub-band frequency Delta, Theta, Alpha and Beta. The GLCM texture analysis derives features from EEG spectrogram image. Then, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce the results and selected principal components features were used as inputs to the classifier. Two classifiers involved in this experiment are K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The number of training and testing ratio is assessed at 70 to 30 and 80 to 20 to find the best model based on percentage of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity as well as Mean Squared Error (MSE). The relationship pattern of balanced brain and IQ application were observed via histogram and then Scatterplot. The strength and significant of the relationship was evaluated by using Pearson correlation test. The percentage of correctness classification for balanced brain application is 90% and MSE 0.1. The sensitivity and specificity of this application is ranging from 66.67% to 100%. The accuracy for IQ application is 94.44% and MSE 0.0752. Meanwhile, the sensitivity and specificity of this application is ranging from 0% to 100%. The relationship between balanced brain and IQ achieved with positive and strong correlation with r ranging between 0.860 to 1.000 and p < 0.05 for some cases. The experiments reported in this thesis showed that the proposed technique were highly successful in indexing the balanced brain level and IQ.