We propose a method for estimating parameters of multiple target objects by using networked binary sensors whose locations are unknown. These target objects may have different parameters, such as size and perimeter length. Each sensors, which is incapable of monitoring the target object's parameters, sends only binary data describing whether or not it detects target objects coming into, moving around, or leaving the sensing area at every moment. We previously developed a parameter estimation method for a single target object. However, a straight-forward extension of this method is not applicable for estimating multiple heterogeneous target objects. This is because a networked binary sensor at an unknown location cannot provide information that distinguishes individual target objects, but it can provide information on the total perimeter length and size of multiple target objects. Therefore, we propose composite sensor nodes with multiple sensors in a predetermined layout for obtaining additional information for estimating the parameter of each target object. As an example of a composite sensor node, we consider a two-sensor composite sensor node, which consists of two sensors, one at each of the two end points of a line segment of known length. For the two-sensor composite sensor node, measures are derived such as the two sensors detecting target objects. These derived measures are the basis for identifying the shape of each target object among a given set of categories (for example, disks and rectangles) and estimating parameters such as the radius and lengths of two sides of each target object. Numerical examples demonstrate that networked composite sensor nodes consisting of two binary sensors enable us to estimate the parameters of target objects.


Professor David Sharp is a consultant neurologist and was awarded one of the UKs first round of National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Professorships. He is the Head of the Centre for Restorative Neuroscience at Imperial and Scientific Director of the Imperial College Clinical Imaging Facility. His research programme aims to improve clinical outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI), focusing on common cognitive impairments in domains such as memory and attention. He uses advanced neuroimaging to investigate the effect of brain injury on brain network function and the effects of inflammation and neurodegeneration after TBI. His NIHR research programme will use changes in network function to guide the development of novel treatment strategies for cognitive impairment. He leads TBI research within the Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies and collaborates with The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine to study the effects of blast exposure military personnel. Diffuse axonal injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI) produces neurological impairment by disconnecting brain networks. This structural damage can be mapped using diffusion MRI, and its functional effects can be investigated in large-scale intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs). Here, we review evidence that TBI substantially disrupts ICN function, and that this disruption predicts cognitive impairment. We focus on two ICNs—the salience network and the default mode network. The activity of these ICNs is normally tightly coupled, which is important for attentional control. Damage to the structural connectivity of these networks produces predictable abnormalities of network function and cognitive control. For example, the brain normally shows a 'small-world architecture' that is optimised for information processing, but TBI shifts network function away from this organisation. The effects of TBI on network function are likely to be complex, and we discuss how advanced approaches to modelling brain dynamics can provide insights into the network dysfunction. We highlight how structural network damage caused by axonal injury might interact with neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which are late complications of TBI. Finally, we discuss how network-level diagnostics could inform diagnosis, prognosis and treatment development following TBI. Reference . David J Sharp, et al. Network dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. Nature Reviews Neurology2014;10:156–166. Published online 11 February 2014.


Data on cancer in the United States is collected through cancer registries. The Missouri Cancer Registry and Research Center (MCR-ARC) maintains a statewide cancer surveillance system and participate in research in support of the prevention of cancer and the reduction of the cancer burden among Missouri residents. We applied Bayesian hierarchical models to colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer related data collected by the MCR-ARC. In the first project, CRC incidence and mortality rates in Missouri were studied with emphasis on different groups of people categorized by age, gender and county at diagnosis. The incidence and mortality data were aggregated into different spatial regions due to data confidential requirements, which was identified as a misaligned-region problem in multivariate disease mapping literature. The Marginally and Conditionally CAR models were built to address the problem. Later on, colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) prevalences were analyzed due to its importance to the early detection of CRC. We applied small area estimation techniques to produce county-level CRCS prevalences from the state-level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. The last two projects focused on breast cancer related data. One is about breast cancer survival analysis in Missouri with emphasis on detecting the spatial variation of survival time among counties in Missouri, after accounting for the differences in demographic and cancer stages. The other one is studying the disparities of breast cancer treatment delay with respect to patient�s race, age, stage of cancer, county at diagnosis and year of diagnosis.


Rickettsiae are concentrated in the testes of Temnocephala novaezealandiae, where they occupy the cytoplasm of spermatogenetic stages and the testis epithelia. They have gram negative ultrastructural characteristics and are surrounded by clear zones which are not membrane-limited; indented mitochondria are associated with the clear zones. Propagation occurs by simple division. Extensions of the testis epithelium envelop cloned groups of spermatocytes, spermatids and spermatozoa. Heterophagosomes isolating unmodified rickettsiae, and giant lysosomes enclosing bacteria in advanced stages of degradation, are contained within the epithelial processes. Rickettsiae and large lysosomes were found also in testes of Troglocaridicola mrazeki, a scutariellid. Peririckettsial lucid zones are interpreted as areas of histopathy where host cytoplasm has been catabolized by bacterial enzymes. The rickettsiae evidently are true parasites, although they have no apparent harmful effect on the general condition of their hosts. Digestion of bacteria in lysosomes may provide nutrients for spermatogenetic stages. Transmission of rickettsiae to juvenile temnocephalids does not occur via the spermatozoa.


In this paper, setting 1.06 μm Gaussian modulated pulse electromagnetic wave as irradiation sources, the influences of structural parameters on reflectivity are analyzed by finite different time domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the filled factor and height are key factors for circular tube relief structure with non absorption. The optimal height could be set to 0.2 μm, which is one odd time of the ratio of incident wavelength λ and four equivalent refractive index 4N, then the best filled factor is between 0.7 and 0.9, the ratio of inner and outer diameter could be set between 0.4 and 0.6, and the structure period has little significant influence. Compared with cylinder solid structure, it has been discovered that circular tube hollow structure could weaken the backward energy of electromagnetic wave, and it would be more suitable for antireflection structure than solid cylinder structure. Moreover, we design two another circular tube relief structures simulations with different extinction coefficients, it is found that the reflectivities are lower up to 0.00016% than the non absorption one.


The Oral History Manual is designed to help anyone interested in doing oral history research to think like an oral historian. Recognizing that oral history is a research methodology, the authors first define oral history and provide an overview of its various applications. They then examine in detail the processes of planning and doing oral history, which include articulating the purpose of interviews, determining legal and ethical parameters, identifying narrators and interviewers, choosing equipment, developing budgets and record-keeping systems, preparing for and recording interviews, and caring for interview materials. The Oral History Manual provides a road map for all oral history practitioners, from students to public historians.


Pattern mining techniques generally enumerate lots of uninteresting and redundant patterns. To obtain less redundant collections, techniques exist that give condensed representations of these collections. However, the proposed techniques often rely on complete enumeration of the pattern space, which can be prohibitive in terms of time and memory. Sampling can be used to filter the output space of patterns without explicit enumeration. We propose a framework for random sampling of maximal itemsets from transactional databases. The presented framework can use any monotonically decreasing measure as interestingness criteria for this purpose. Moreover, we use an approximation measure to guide the search for maximal sets to different parts of the output space. We show in our experiments that the method can rapidly generate small collections of patterns with good quality. The sampling framework has been implemented in the interactive visual data mining tool called MIME1, as such enabling users to quickly sample a collection of patterns and analyze the results.


This article examines the skills development needs and learning opportunities of the workforce in the city of Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. It attempts to elucidate the factors that influence employees' participation in workplace training and adult education activities. By tapping the views of firm executives and employees, this article discusses the combined efficacy of three types of education and training activities for vocational learning: informal learning, nonformal training, and formal adult education. The major findings of this article suggest that working adults in Shanghai are willing to participate in a variety of adult education and training activities so long as they can see the utility of these activities. Their willingness is especially apparent when adult education and training can yield widely recognized qualifications that enhance their marketability. As the leading metropolis of China, Shanghai has great aspirations for its own role in national development as well as on the world stage. Its endeavor in providing skills development for a large workforce during a period of economic transformation should afford conceptual and policy insights into the implementation of adult education and training in changing societal contexts.


The selection of an appropriate global transfer function is essential for visualizing time‐varying simulation data. This is especially challenging when the global data range is not known in advance, as is often the case in remote and in‐situ visualization settings. Since the data range may vary dramatically as the simulation progresses, volume rendering using local transfer functions may not be coherent for all time steps. We present an exploratory technique that enables coherent classification of time‐varying volume data. Unlike previous approaches, which require pre‐processing of all time steps, our approach lets the user explore the transfer function space without accessing the original 3D data. This is useful for interactive visualization, and absolutely essential for in‐situ visualization, where the entire simulation data range is not known in advance. Our approach generates a compact representation of each time step at rendering time in the form of ray attenuation functions, which are used for subsequent operations on the opacity and color mappings. The presented approach offers interactive exploration of time‐varying simulation data that alleviates the cost associated with reloading and caching large data sets.


New ways of tracking changes in human thinking perceptual, belief-forming and decision-making skills began to emerge in the 1950s. By the arrival of the 21st Century, new paradigms for explaining how the brain processes information were well-advanced, most notably one based on the research and theory development of the late Clare W. Graves, a pioneering American evolutionary psychologist. The Graves model describes a stair-step path to mental, emotional and spiritual maturity that is closely tied to how a person's brain develops. In part, progress in advancing on this path is tied to the available complexity of ambient surroundings and the "openness" of a mind and its world-view to novelty. The author of this article concluded that Dr. Graves' work could benefit far more individuals and organizations than could be reached with conventional academic explanations. Achieving this outcome has been aided by a best-selling "how to" work developed by this author and an academic colleague. According to the authors of  Strategy of the Dolphin: Scoring a Win in a Chaotic World , a key advance in human cognitive capabilities is understanding how to produce abundance while avoiding major pitfalls it can produce. This article explains the basis for, and provides a general overview of, what has been styled "the dolphin mindset" in both formal OD, HRD and creativity research and training circles and general business media outlets.           Keywords :  metaphor, dolphin mindset, strategy, chaotic world


The high-risk patient with claudication or impending limb loss secondary to iliac artery occlusive disease presents a difficult management problem. The morbidity and operative mortality rates of an aortoiliac or aortofemoral bypass procedure can be significant in the elderly or high-risk patient with multiple medical problems. An alternative to the axillofemoral bypass graft and other procedures that have been used in this clinical setting is presented. The combination of endarterectomy of the donor iliac vessel and retrorectus crossover bypass graft has been used in five patients, with good results at 6-month to 2-year follow-up. There have been no operative deaths and a retroperitoneal hematoma has been the only complication. One patient required balloon catheter dilatation of a stenotic vessel distal to the bypass graft for relief of recurrent claudication symptoms. This procedure appears to be a safe and effective therapeutic option in the patient considered an unsuitable candidate for aortofemoral bypass grafting because of advanced age or associated medical problems.


Many problems arising in signal processing, statistics and machine learning are solved by casting them as very large scale convex optimization problems. These problems usually have dense large scale data and the traditional second order optimization methods cannot be used. Often, however, these problems exhibit special structure (i.e., sparsity) of the solution. First-order methods with favorable convergence rates have recently become a focal point of much research in addressing these problems. These methods have low periteration complexity and can exploit the problem structure. We will discuss several convex optimization problems arising in the context of machine learning. In particular we will focus of sparse inverse covariance selection problem and we will discuss several first order methods for this problem. Bio: Katya Scheinberg is an associate professor in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Lehigh University. A native from Moscow, she earned her undergraduate degree in operations research from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1992 and then received her Ph.D. in operations research from Columbia in 1997. Scheinberg was a Research Staff Member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research center for over a decade, where she worked on various applied and theoretical problems in optimization, until moving back to Columbia as a visiting professor in 2009 and later on to Lehigh. Her main research areas are related to developing practical algorithms (and their theoretical analysis) for various problems in continuous optimization, such as convex optimization, derivative free optimization, machine learning, quadratic programming, etc. Scheinberg has also published a book in 2008 titled, Introduction to Derivative Free Optimization, which is co-authored with Andrew R. Conn and Luis N. Vicente. She is currently the editor of Optima, the MOS newsletter, and an associate editor of SIOPT.


CD8 single-positive cells, including CD8αα+ and CD8αβ+ subsets, constitute the majority of TCRαβ+ intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (αβ iIEL) in mice. CD8+ αβ iIEL show significantly weaker responses to TCR stimulation in the presence of exogenous IL-2 than do CD8+ T cells of the central immune system. IL-15 is a T cell growth factor likely expressed in the intestine mucosa. To understand the role of IL-15 in CD8+ αβ iIEL biology, we compared the effects of exogenous IL-15 and IL-2 on the survival and primary responses of the two CD8+ αβ iIEL subsets in vitro. In contrast to the death of ∼60% of both CD8αα+ and CD8αβ+ iIEL cultured in IL-2 with or without TCR stimulation, IL-15 promoted survival of the CD8αα+ subset in the presence of TCR stimulation and promoted survival of both subsets in the absence of TCR stimulation. The higher proliferation level of TCR stimulated CD8αα+ αβ iIEL cultured in IL-15 compared with those cultured in IL-2 is likely due to IL-15's prosurvival effects. In addition, unlike exogenous IL-2, exogenous IL-15 did not support the effector functions of either iIEL subsets, including IFN-γ production, IL-4-induced Th2 cytokine production, and anti-TCR mAb-redirected cytotoxicity. These findings demonstrate that IL-15 and IL-2 are functionally distinct and suggest that IL-15 plays a unique role in the maintenance of the CD8+ αβ iIEL pool in the absence of Ag stimulation and in the survival and expansion of CD8αα+ αβ iIEL upon Ag stimulation.


In this paper, we present a load-sharing approach based on the refactoring of agents. According to our approach, the role(s) that makes an agent overloaded is identified and transferred to less loaded agents. The excess workload of this heavily loaded agent is then transferred to the new agent. This approach defines a new agent, called the "monitor agent," which monitors the workload of agents in the organization and decides about the refactoring of the agents. The monitor agent uses the platform ontology, which explicitly describes the components of the agent organization, including agents and their roles, plans, and workloads. This ontology is updated by the monitor agent in every monitor cycle.


In this study, we report on the observation of recombination center defects in the base of 4H-SiC bipolar junction transistors. The defects are observed through a very sensitive electrically detected electron spin resonance technique called spin dependent recombination. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the first electron spin resonance results of any kind reported in a fully processed SiC bipolar junction transistor and provide the first direct observations of the chemical and physical nature of recombination centers in SiC bipolar junction transistors. Our results clearly demonstrate the power of SDR techniques in the detection of recombination centers in SiC bipolar junction transistors.


Modeling counterparty risk is computationally challenging because it requires the simultaneous evaluation of all the trades with each counterparty under both market and credit risk. We present a multi-Gaussian process regression approach, which is well suited for OTC derivative portfolio valuation involved in CVA computation. Our approach avoids nested simulation or simulation and regression of cash flows by learning a Gaussian metamodel for the mark-to-market cube of a derivative portfolio. We model the joint posterior of the derivatives as a Gaussian process over function space, with the spatial covariance structure imposed on the risk factors. Monte-Carlo simulation is then used to simulate the dynamics of the risk factors. The uncertainty in portfolio valuation arising from the Gaussian process approximation is quantified numerically. Numerical experiments demonstrate the accuracy and convergence properties of our approach for CVA computations, including a counterparty portfolio of interest rate swaps.


Abstract. Glaciers are storehouses for freshwater. Glaciers Monitoring is one of the most important research areas especially when climate change has been accelerated snowmelt process. The major goal of research was to find snow cover trend for glaciated regions of Pakistan followed by estimation of snow mass balance. The area chosen for it was Upper Indus basin, which includes ranges of Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalayas extended in Pakistan, India and China. This region exhibits high topographic relief and climate change variability. Snow cover trend analysis was performed for eleven years ranging from 2004 to 2014 using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data imagery product with daily temporal resolution. These results were combined with respective year's average monthly temperature. Further quantitative analysis was performed to relate presence of greater vegetation as an indication of greater snowmelt using Landsat Imagery for these years. Snow mass balance curves reveal that glaciers are regaining their mass balance after losing mass balance in middle of last decade. In addition to that, only freely available data is used for this study. This purpose behind this approach is to prove RS and GIS has an effective and low-cost tool for snow cover monitoring, also mass balance calculations. Continuous monitoring of snow cover dynamics is effective for prediction and mitigation of hazards associated with areas in proximity of glaciated regions. One common hazard is glacial lake outburst phenomenon, which cause severe flash flooding in downstream areas. Year 2004 has the lowest mass snow balance and 2014 has the highest snow mass balance. These different parameters were analysed and results show that snow start melting in months of May and June and faster melting rate observed in months of July and August. With the advancement in computing technologies, it has been easier for computers to handle and manipulate massive datasets. Remote sensing has proved to be an excellent tool for extraction of data from glaciers, snow and oceans for remote areas. In particular, snow cover/snowmelt can tell us continuously changing melting patterns, which helps concerned authorities to take necessary measures for preserving these storehouses of water and to mitigate effect of global warming.


As the result of Rice Genome Research, we can available many tools including molecular markers, genomic libraries, sequences data, many mutants produced by tag lines, microarray and proteome system. These progresses give us many chances to approach to science and breeding. Here we introduce rice genomics application to our research, study of Gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic, signal transduction pathway (1,2 and 3). And also we show the rice genomics application to the molecular breeding (4 and 5).
We has been collected and maintained many rice mutants including dwarf and slender mutants. Dwarf mutants in plants are crucial for elucidating regulatory mechanisms for plant growth, development and response to plant hormones. We have screened GA-sensitive and insensitive rice mutants. We have cloned several genes associated with GA biosynthesis and 3 genes associated with GA signal transduction by using the rice genomics.
A rice dwarf mutant Daikoku carrying the d1 gene is not only short, but a/so has broad, dark green leaves, compact panicles, and short, round grains. These phenotypes are all controlled by a recessive allele (d1) of the rice Dwarf1 (D1). The mutant was characterized as Gibberellin (GA)-insensitive, because no production of alpha-amylase in the d1 mutant was detectable by application of GA3. For clarifying the molecular mechanisms of GA signal transduction, the rice Dwarf 1 (D1) gene was isolated by a map-based cloning strategy. (1, 2).
The rice slender mutant (slr1-1) is caused by a single recessive mutation and results in a constitutive gibberellin (GA) response phenotype. The mutant elongates as if saturated with GAs. Some results indicate that the product of the SLR1 gene is an intermediate of the GA signal transduction pathway and slr1-1 mutant is caused by a loss-of-function mutation of the product of the SLR1 gene, which is an ortholog of GAI, RGA, RHT, and D8 which are associate with GA signal (3).
The gid1 (gibberellin insensitive dwarf1) mutant shows severe dwarf phenotype similar to that of the null allele of d18, which is a deficient mutant of GA biosynthesis. In gid1seedlings, however, endogenous Ga1 content was almost 120 times higher than that in wild plant and the application of exogenous GA3 did not restore phenotype. These results indicated that gid1 is defective in the perception to GA, and the GID1 gene may encode a positive regulator of GA signaling. Recently, we succeeded to clone the gid1 gene with Yue-ie Caroline Hsing lab. collaboration, Academia Sinica.
Analyzing the function of these genes, epistatic interaction and biochemistry approach guides us the outline of GA signal transduction. And now we can control the plant height and plant type with modification of these plant hormone genes.
(l) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 1999; 96: 10284-10289.
(2) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2000; 97: 11638-11643.
(3) Plant Cell, 2001; 13: 999.1010.
(4) Plant Cell, 2000; 12: 1591-1605.
(5) Plant Cell, 2000; 12: 2473-2483.


other superdisintegrants natural origin is preferred because they are comparatively cheaper, abundantly available, non-irritating and nontoxic in nature. An attempt has been made for the development of orodispersible tablets of the Sotalol hydrochloride, using different concentrations of natural superdisintegrating agents like plantago ovata mucilage, Bhringaraj powder, synthetic and semi synthetic superdisintegrants like cross povidone and croscarmellose sodium by direct compression method. Disintegration time and drug release were taken as the basis to optimize the orodispersible tablet. All the tablets were Prepared & evaluated for various parameters like hardness, weight variation, friability, thickness, disintegration time wetting time and dissolution time. Among all the formulations, formulation containing 5% w/w of natural superdisintegrant (Plantago ovata mucilage) was found to be shown faster and high drug dissolution.


We describe Furcifer timoni sp. nov., a new colourful and morphologically highly distinct chameleon from Montagne d'Ambre National Park in northern Madagascar. Males of this rainforest species are characterized by short paired bony rostral appendages which are completely absent in females. The new species differs from all other Furcifer species except F. bifidus (Brongniart, 1800) and F. balteatus (Dumeril & Bibron, 1851) by a light ventrolateral band that is composed of scales which are arranged in a rosette-like manner. It differs from F. bifidus and from F. balteatus by smaller size, shorter rostral appendages of the males, and colouration. We suspect that F. timoni may be a cryptic species of the forest canopy. Furthermore, we designate a lectotype for Dicranosaura bifurca var. crassicornis Gray, 1864 and confirm its synonymy with Furcifer bifidus.


The fundamental objective of this study is to access the impact of microfinance institutions on small scale enterprises in Nigeria. Simple random technique was employed in selecting the small scale enterprises used in the research. The findings reveal that significant number of the small scale enterprises benefited from the microfinance institution loan even though only few of them were suitable to secure he required amount needed. Interestingly, it was also found that the microfinance institution have grown phenomenally in the last ten years. Majority of the small scale enterprises acknowledged positive contributions of microfinance institutions loan towards promoting their market excellence and overall economic company competitive advantage. Rather than tax incentives and financial supports, the study recommend that the government should provide adequate infrastructural facilities such as electricity, good road network, and training institutions to support small scale enterprises in Nigeria. This paper is organized into five sections, with review of literature following the introduction. The methodology of the study is presented in section three, while section four provides data analysis, and discussion of findings. Section five is for conclusion and recommendations.


Drought is an intricate phenomenon assessed by analyzing several hydro-meteorological factors such as rainfall, soil moisture, temperature, evapotranspiration, vegetation cover, etc. For effective drought hazard management and preparedness, the monitoring of drought requires the evaluation of influencing factors via the Drought Hazard Inventory (DHI). The main objective of this study is to compare spatial occurrences of drought hazard with the help of microwave and Optical/Infrared datasets obtained from multiple satellites. The long-term climatology of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Rainfall, Climate Change Initiative soil moisture (CCI-SM) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived Land Surface Temperature (LST), Evapotranspiration (ET) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used in this study for drought hazard assessment. This study was carried out in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, considered as one of the most frequent and dominant drought-prone areas of India. The current study includes the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique based on Multi-Criteria Decision Making Analysis (MCDM) for weighting assignment and decision making, while the geospatial platform was used for data layer standardization, integration, and drought assessment. The results indicate that a large percentage of area (38.05% and 27.54%, respectively) lying in the central part of Bundelkhand region is under high to extreme drought conditions, where precautionary measures are needed. To demonstrate the robustness of our results, we compare them with the long-term in-situ ground water depletion as a proxy. Finally, based on the findings of this study, we recommend the methodology for drought assessment at a larger scale, as well as in the remote areas where ground based measurements are limited.


Based on the constitutive relation between the magnetic permeability and magnetic flux density, the constitutive relation of magnetized ferrite medium in frequency domain is transformed to the time domain by using the corresponding relation between the time-differential operator /t and jω. And the constitutive relation including the time-differential operator /t in time domain is presented. By the introduction of a direct-discrete method, the time-differential operator /t is dispersed. Then direct discrete-finite-difference time-domain(DD-FDTD) iterative formula are derived in the discrete time domain. To exemplify the availability of the algorithm, the backscattering radar scattering section of a magnetized ferrite sphere is computed, and the numerical results are the same as the reference values, and show that the DD-FDTD method is correct and efficient.


Digital traces and data are becoming increasingly abundant. This paper will examine their eventual fate by focusing on the issues of their intergenerational transmission, seen from the point of view of individuals. Respondents highlighted the advantages of digital transmission over that of physical objects. However, the sense of a lack of ownership on the Internet and the perceived usefulness of current safeguarding solutions are major barriers to the transmission of digital data.


Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is a standard used for distribution and viewing of medical images from different modalities. In this paper, we propose a method for compressing DICOM images based on the well-known Set Partitioning in Hierarchical Trees (SPIHT) which possess the progressive transmission capabilities useful for telemedicine applications. This is in sharp contrast to Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) where the images have to be first compressed to the required level and only then can be transmitted. In our method, the header and image data is separated from the DICOM image where the header is transmitted first with necessary modifications. The image data is then compressed using SPIHT and transmitted. It is found from the experiment that our method gives better results in terms of compression and time.


Abstract A year‐long survey of rural small ruminant markets in southern Nigeria shows that supplies from local sources fail to keep pace with increased demand, particularly at festival times, and the gap is filled by supplies from the northern part of the country. Subsistence oriented southern producers sell animals throughout the year mainly for various cash needs such as buying food, clothing and paying school fees. Prices are higher at festival times but on a yearly basis variations are not significant, so production technologies that contribute to year‐round increased supply may be of better value for small‐scale subsistence oriented producers while commercial production may be geared to the peak festival time markets.


Collapsing cavities on or in Uie vicinity of ship propeller blades cause pressure pulses which excite the huil structure above the propeller. Inevitably, this leads to higher noise and vibration levels in public spaces on board. Because of more demanding comfort criteria the prediction of propeller-ind uced huil pressure pulses is still an important issue in ship design. In this paper some recent developments are presented in the prediction of huil excitation forces either through model basin tests, by computational means, or through feedback obtained from sea trials. Special attention is paid to ongoing European projects and other cooperative research initiatives that are considered helpful in improving prediction techniques.


Salamanders are important components of many forested communities. However, their fossorial habits and seasonality often make them difficult to sample. The use of artificial coverboards (coverboards) is a relatively new and little-studied technique for monitoring the terrestrial activity of salamanders Coverboards are designed to simulate fallen tree limbs and logs, and to provide a moist refuge for forest salamanders. Despite several studies, questions remain concerning the value of coverboards. Therefore, I conducted an experiment in 19961997 to determine whether coverboards are as effective for sampling salamanders as searching natural cover objects such as logs and branches. Using a paired design, I established five sites, each containing two 1-ha grids separated by 20 m. One of the grids contained only natural debris while the other grid contained natural debris and 100 individually numbered coverboards (30.4 x 30.4 x 2 cm) each placed 10 m apart. During the spring (26 April 6 June) and fall (25 September 7 November) of 1997, the paired grids (coverboards and natural cover) were checked every 1-2 weeks at each site for any salamander species. Encounter rates were significantly lower under coverboards (0.8 salamanders per site check ±0.15 SE) than under natural cover (2.3 salamanders per site check ±0.34 SE). However, searches under coverboards detected most of the same species (Plethodon glutinosus ocmulgee, Eurycea cirrigera, E. quadridigitata, and E. guttolineata) as found under natural cover (P. g. ocmulgee, E. cirrigera, E. quadridigitata, E. guttolineata, and Ambystoma opacum). Salamander size/age under coverboards (mean=4.32 cm ±0.22 SE) was also the same as salamander size/age under natural cover (mean=4.34 cm ±0.33 SE). The number of salamanders found under coverboards was dependent on rainfall and site. Coverboards did not reproduce the same physical characteristics of natural cover. The temperature under coverboards fluctuated more than the temperature under natural cover. This is the first comparative study to quantify salamanders sampled by an array of coverboards and that sampled by an adjacent grid of natural cover objects. It was also the first to quantify the thermal microclimate under coverboards compared to natural cover. Overall, my results show that coverboards can effectively sample salamanders that normally occur under natural cover (in terms of species and size/age), although they detect fewer individuals. There is a positive relationship in the number of salamanders encountered under coverboards and rainfall in southeast Georgia.


Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are used in a variety of consumer products and have been detected worldwide in human blood. Recent studies mainly of highly exposed populations have indicated that PFOA and PFOS may affect serum cholesterol levels, but the magnitude of the effect may be inconsistent across exposure levels. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between plasma PFOA and PFOS and total cholesterol in a general, middle-aged Danish population. The study population comprised 753 individuals (663 men and 90 women), 50–65 years of age, nested within a Danish cohort of 57,053 participants. Blood samples were taken from all cohort members at enrolment (1993–1997) and stored in a biobank at -150°C. Plasma levels of PFOA and PFOS and serum levels of total cholesterol were measured. The associations between plasma PFOA and PFOS levels and total cholesterol levels were analysed by generalized linear models, both crude and adjusted for potential confounders. We observed statistically significant positive associations between both perfluorinated compounds and total cholesterol, e.g. a 4.4 [95% CI  =  1.1–7.8] higher concentration of total cholesterol (mg/dL) per interquartile range of PFOA plasma level. Sex and prevalent diabetes appeared to modify the association between PFOA and PFOS, respectively, and cholesterol. In conclusion, this study indicated positive associations between plasma PFOA and PFOS levels and total cholesterol in a middle-aged Danish population, although whether the observed pattern of results reflects a causal association is unclear.


Prenyltransferase catalyzes the sequential, irreversible l'-4 condensation of isopentenyl-PP with dimethylallyl-PP and geranyl-PP to yield farnesyl-PP. A kinetic study shows substrate inhibition by isopentenylPP at concentrations above 0.7 pM when the concentration of geranyl-PP is 1.0 pM or less as a result of binding by the homoallylic substrate to the allylic region of the active site. Inhibition studies were carried out with the products, farnesyl-PP and PPi, and dead-end inhibitors 2-F-isopentenyl-PP and 2-F-geranyl-PP, analogues for the normal substrates. Competitive patterns were seen for farnesyl-PP and 2-F-geranyl-PP when geranyl-PP was varied, while noncompetitive patterns were found for all other combinations. A minor form of PPi, MgHPPi-7 is implicated as the species of PPi in the magnesium-containing buffer which binds most tightly to the enzyme. This observation explains why K's for PPi calculated from the total concentration of PPi are much larger than K's for the organic pyrophosphates. The lack of regiospecificity in the binding of isopentenyl-PP, as evidenced by substrate inhibition patterns, introduces an element of ambiguity into mechanistic interpretations, and it is not possible to distinguish between ordered and random mechanisms on the basis of inhibition studies.


The aim of this study was to assess the short-term cardiometabolic outcomes in type 2 diabetes patients receiving empagliflozin in a tertiary referral center. Three hundred and fifteen consecutive patients started on empagliflozin were followed for a 4-month period after local ethics committee approval for a range of outcomes. Data were recorded on Microsoft Excel and transposed to SPSS for further analysis. Empagliflozin treatment resulted in statistically significant reductions in weight, glycosylated hemoglobin, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures along with favorable lipid profile outcomes over a 4-month period. The rates of discontinuation of the medications due to genomycotic infections were extremely low at 0.6% with no episodes of severe hypoglycemia or euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis. Empagliflozin therapy, either in addition to other oral agents or insulin, seems to result in favorable outcomes in cardiometabolic risk factors in the immediate short term. Long-term follow-up of this cohort will shed light on cardiovascular outcomes and adverse effects in our population in real-world clinical practice.


BACKGROUND/AIM
C-reactive protein is an independent predictor of the risk of cardiovascular events and diabetes mellitus in apparently healthy men. The relationship between C-reactive protein and the features of metabolic syndrome has not been fully elucidated. To assess the cross-sectional relationship between C-reactive protein and the features of metabolic syndrome in healthy people.

METHODS
We studied 161 military pilots (agee, 40 +/- 6 years) free of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and active inflammation on their regular annual medical control. Age, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, smoking habit, waist circumference and body mass index were evaluated. Plasma C-reactive protein was measured by the immunonephelometry (Dade Behring) method. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel.

RESULTS
The mean C-reactive protein concentrations in the subjects grouped according to the presence of 0, 1, 2 and 3 or more features of the metabolic syndrome were 1.11, 1.89, 1.72 and 2.22 mg/L, respectively (p = 0.023) with a statistically, significant difference between those with 3, and without metabolic syndrome (p = 0.01). In the simple regression analyses C-reactive protein did not correlate with the total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index and blood pressure (p > 0.05). In the multiple regression analysis, waist circumference (beta = 0.411, p = 0.000), triglycerides to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (beta = 0.774, p = 0.000), smoking habit (beta = 0.236, p = 0.003) and triglycerides (beta = 0.471, p = 0.027) were independent predictors of C-reactive protein.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggested a cross-sectional independent correlation between the examined cardiovascular risk factors as the predominant features of metabolic syndrome and C-reactive protein in the group of apparently healthy subjects. The lack of correlation of C-reactive protein with the total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol in our study may suggest their different role in the process of atherosclerosis and the possibility to determine C-reactive protein in order to identify high-risk subjects not identified with cholesterol screening.


ABSTRACT This study deals with the tensions and contradictions between resource governance, welfare policies, and the constitutionally recognized rights of nature and the indigenous peoples in Bolivia and Ecuador. We have identified a certain reductionism in current debates on these issues and propose a more systematic analytical focus on class and the class-ethnicity duality, as expressed in historical and contemporary indigenous struggles, and also confirmed via our ethnographic material. Drawing on the double bind as expressed in Joseph Heller's Catch-22 wherein the protagonists face situations in which they do not have any choice to achieve a net gain, this article centres on how national governments have to choose between the protections of rights – in this case ethnic and environmental rights – and welfare provision financed by extractive revenues. From the perspective of ecologically concerned indigenous actors, the Catch-22 is articulated in the choice or compromise between universal welfarism on the one hand, and ethno-environmental concerns on the other hand. The article draws primarily on ecosocialist arguments and on indigenous-culturalist perspectives on Good Life (Sumak Kawsay or Vivir Bien). A central finding is the existence of awareness among involved actors – oppositional movements and government authorities – that the Catch-22 quandary and joint class-ethnic concerns are unavoidable ingredients in their discourses, struggles, and understandings of Good Life.


Electrophysiological research has isolated neural signatures of decision formation in a variety of brain regions. Studies in rodents and monkeys have focused primarily on effector-selective signals that translate the emerging decision into a specific motor plan, but, more recently, research on the human brain has identified an abstract signature of evidence accumulation that does not appear to play any direct role in action preparation. The functional dissociations between these distinct signal types have only begun to be characterized, and their dynamics during decisions with deferred actions with or without foreknowledge of stimulus-effector mapping, a commonly studied task scenario in single-unit and functional imaging investigations, have not been established. Here we traced the dynamics of distinct abstract and effector-selective decision signals in the form of the broad-band centro-parietal positivity (CPP) and limb-selective β-band (8–16 and 18–30 Hz) EEG activity, respectively, during delayed-reported motion direction decisions with and without foreknowledge of direction-response mapping. With foreknowledge, the CPP and β-band signals exhibited a similar gradual build-up following evidence onset, but whereas choice-predictive β-band activity persisted up until the delayed response, the CPP dropped toward baseline after peaking. Without foreknowledge, the CPP exhibited identical dynamics, whereas choice-selective β-band activity was eliminated. These findings highlight qualitative functional distinctions between effector-selective and abstract decision signals and are of relevance to the assumptions founding functional neuroimaging investigations of decision-making. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neural signatures of evidence accumulation have been isolated in numerous brain regions. Although animal neurophysiology has largely concentrated on effector-selective decision signals that translate the emerging decision into a specific motor plan, recent research on the human brain has isolated abstract neural signatures of decision formation that are independent of specific sensory and motor requirements. Here, we examine the functional distinctions between the two distinct classes of decision variable signal during decisions with deferred actions with and without foreknowledge of stimulus-effector mapping. We find salient distinctions in the dynamics of abstract versus effector-selective decision signals in the human brain, in terms of sustainment through response delays and contingency on foreknowledge of stimulus–response mapping.


Accidents related to swallowing foreign bodies in small children are common. With technological developments the number of battery-powered tools and toys has increased. Produced in various sizes, especially in the form of buttons, batteries can pose as a danger to children. Heavy metals such as mercury, silver, manganese, zinc, lead, cadmium, nickel, and lithium can be found in batteries. As reported in various studies cases of poisoning caused by the ingestion of batteries has increased in the last 20 years and comprises 2% of all cases related to swallowing a foreign body. In this report a 10-month-old infant who died as a result of complications of battery swallowing was evaluated with postmortem examination, to aid in the investigation of the cause of death. Besides the general toxicological analysis and pathological findings inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) metal analysis results were evaluated for the first time in a case involving battery ingestion.


Summary Inoculation of resistant (R) and susceptible (S) Hevea brasiliensis leaves with Phytophthora palmivora induced foliar necrosis and biosynthesis of scopoletin (Scp), considered as a Hevea phytoalexin. The degree of resistance of four clones, as classified by the necrotic lesions, was related to the rapidity and intensity of Scp production. The resistant BPM-24, and marked partially resistant clone PB-235, displayed an early secretion of scopoletin that intensified and lasted longer than the weak partially resistant RRIT251, and susceptible clone RRIM600. The lesion size and amount of Scp after infection were positively correlated to the concentration of spores applied to Hevea leaves. In addition, in leaflets inoculated with high spore concentration, Scp reached the highest level earlier than those with low spore concentration. A fungitoxic effect of Scp on mycelium growth was shown in bioassays; the I 50 value tested on Phytophthora palmivora was relatively the same as on Phytophthora botryosa , but much lower than those found on other leaf pathogens of rubber tree, Corynespora cassiicola and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The lesion size and level of Scp upon spore inoculation may be appropriate for classifying Hevea clones according to their R/S with respect to P. palmivora


Tumor acidosis affects every stage of cancer development, from dysplasia to full-blown metastatic disease. Survival strategies of malignant cells in an acidic microenvironment and pH gradient inversion promote resistance to chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, and suppress the antitumor immune response. It is necessary to consider the low pH of the microenvironment both when diagnosing and when choosing the most optimal treatment regimen. The development of methods for non-invasive measurement of tumor pH, methods for direct and indirect correction of acidosis, new pH-activated and pH-targeted drugs is required. In this work, we consider some aspects related to the altered acid-base state of the tumor, which may be significant for the clinician.


Dopaminergic abnormalities are implicated in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic multiple tics. We used the transmission-disequilibrium test (TDT) method to test for linkage disequilibrium between a specific allele (the seven-repeat allele (DRD4*7R) of the exon 3 VNTR polymorphic site) at the D4 dopamine receptor locus (DRD4) and expression of chronic multiple tics and TS. This particular allele had been shown in functional studies to have different binding properties compared with the other common alleles in this DRD4 polymorphic system. We studied 64 family trios (consisting of an affected person and two parents, at least one heterozygous for DRD4*7R), including 12 nuclear family trios and 52 trios from four large TS kindreds. The DRD4*7R allele was transmitted significantly more frequently than expected (chi 2 TDT ranging from 8.47 [P < .004] to 10.80 [P = .001], depending on breadth of disease definition and inclusion or exclusion of inferred genotypes). Confirmation of this finding will depend on either replication in other samples or the identification of a transmitted functional mutation within this sample.


Continuous fuzzing is an increasingly popular technique for automated quality and security assurance. Google maintains OSS-Fuzz: a continuous fuzzing service for open source software. We conduct the first empirical study of OSS-Fuzz, analyzing 23,907 bugs found in 316 projects. We examine the characteristics of fuzzer-found faults, the lifecycles of such faults, and the evolution of fuzzing campaigns over time. We find that OSS-Fuzz is often effective at quickly finding bugs, and developers are often quick to patch them. However, flaky bugs, timeouts, and out of memory errors are problematic, people rarely file CVEs for security vulnerabilities, and fuzzing campaigns often exhibit punctuated equilibria, where developers might be surprised by large spikes in bugs found. Our findings have implications on future fuzzing research and practice.


The main purpose of current research is to determine the effect of financial crisis on earnings quality. In this study, earnings quality was measured by using three earnings persistence, earnings predictability and accruals quality. The measure of financial crisis in a company is to have at least one of three criteria: three consecutive years of losses (operating loss, net loss or retained), reduction in distributed dividends of each year relative to the previous year by more than 40 percent, and article 141 of the commercial code be applicable to studied companies study. In current study, we use a sample of 97 firms listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2002 to 2015. The results of multiple regression model and panel data with fixed effects, showed that in 95 percent of confidence level, financial crisis has a significant negative effect on the earnings persistence and a significant positive effect on the earnings predictability. Also, there was not found a significant relationship between financial crisis and discretionary.


In order to realize the possible defects at the cable joint interface, four different types of artificial defects are provided: conducting, insulating substances, void and scratches. The analysis related to the PD patterns has been performed by means of conventional Phase Resolved Partial Discharge Analysis (PRPDA) and Chaotic Analysis of Partial Discharge (CAPD) as well which was proposed by our previous communication. As a result, it could be pointed out that each defect has shown particular characteristics in its pattern respectively and that the nature of defect causing partial discharge could be identified more distinctively when the CAPD is combined with the conventional statistic method, PRPDA


Eight 5-to 8-week-old Beagle pups were allotted to 4 groups of 2 dogs each. For 55 to 70 days, they were fed either a semisynthetic basal diet (BD) deficient in vitamin E and selenium (Se) (group 1) or the BD supplemented with either 30 IU alpha-tocopherol/kg (group 2), 0.5 ppm Se as selenite (group 3), or 1.0 ppm Se as selenite (group 4). In the dogs fed the BD, clinical signs of vitamin E-Se deficiency developed after 40 to 60 days. These signs were accompanied by increased plasma activity of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT). The dogs were euthanatized after 10 to 15 days of progressive clinical signs, including muscular weakness, subcutaneous edema, anorexia, depression, dyspnea, and eventual coma. Gross lesions seen at necropsy included ventral subcutaneous edema, generalized skeletal muscular pallor and edema with scattered white longitudinal streaking, prominent brownish yellow discoloration of the intestinal musculature, and a layer of white chalky material at the renal corticomedullary junction. Microscopically, there was evidence of extensive skeletal muscular degeneration and regeneration, focal subendocardial necrosis in the ventricular myocardium, intestinal lipofuscinosis, and renal mineralization. Mean hepatic Se content in the dogs fed the BD was 0.10 ppm (wet weight basis) at necropsy. In the dogs fed the 3 supplemented diets, clinical signs of deficiency did not develop. At necropsy, mild skeletal myopathy was evident histologically in the dogs fed BD and 0.5 ppm Se (group 3) but not in the dogs fed the other supplemented diets. Intestinal lipofuscinosis was found in the dogs fed the 3 supplemented diets but was less severe in the dogs fed the diet supplemented with vitamin E than in those fed diets supplemented with Se.


- Recent years witness the development of cloud computing technology. With the explosive growth of unstructured data, cloud storage technology gets more attention and better development. However, in current storage schema, user's data is totally stored in cloud servers. In other words, users lose their right of control on data and face privacy leakage risk. Traditional privacy protection schemes are usually based on encryption technology, but these kinds of methods cannot effectively resist attack from the inside of cloud server. In order to solve this problem, we propose a Three- Protocol storage framework based on cloud computing. The proposed framework can both take full advantage of cloud storage and protect the privacy of data. Besides, Hash- Solomon algorithm is designed to divide data into different parts. Then, we put a small part of data in local machine and fog protocol in order to protect the privacy. Moreover, based on computational intelligence, this algorithm can compute the distribution proportion stored in cloud, fog, and local machine, respectively. Through the theoretical safety analysis and experimental evaluation, the feasibility of our scheme has been validated, which is really a powerful supplement to existing cloud storage scheme.


The Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) is widely used to measure driving styles and investigate the relationship between driving behaviour and accidents involvement. Recent evaluations of different population groups have taken place throughout the world, including countries in the Arabian Gulf. This study seeks to extend the application of the DBQ to Kuwait with its mix of native and expatriate drivers, by examining the relationships between speed-related behavior and accident involvement using a speed-related score (SRS). For this purpose, 536 respondents (425 Kuwaitis and 111 Non-Kuwaitis) were asked to complete a questionnaire based on the DBQ parameters as well as background information. The results showed that young Kuwaiti male drivers scored highest in most of the areas. Factor analysis resulted in four significant dimensions; speed-related violations, anger related violations, errors, and lapses. The study focused on the speed related violation score (SRS) as the dependent variable. The statistical analysis using ANOVA and t- test showed that there is a significant effect of such factors as accident involvement, age, gender, nationality, education level, driving experience and marital status. Some countermeasures to reduce accidents were identified focusing on those groups with higher SRS values.


For modeling dynamics of mechanisms, various classical formulations are available in literature. The equations of dynamics given by the various classical formulations can also be derived from bond graph. Bond graph is a convenient graphical representation for modeling dynamics of physical systems in multiple energy domains.
In this paper, various alternative causality assignment procedures in bond graph are used to derive different classical formulations such as Lagrange of the first kind (with multipliers), Lagrange formulation of the second kind and Hamiltonian formulations. An example of a mechanism has been modeled using bond graph technique and various alternative causality assignment procedures are applied to derive the various formulations. Simulation coding has been done using MATLAB and plots of various properties have been drawn, analyzed and discussed. The purpose of this paper is to show, how the various formulations can be obtained from bond graph using various alternative causality assignment procedures.


Abstract Prebiotic oligosaccharides confer health benefits on the host by modulating the gut microbiota. Intestinal lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are potential targets of prebiotics; however, the metabolism of oligosaccharides by LAB has not been fully characterized. Here, we studied the metabolism of eight oligosaccharides by 19 strains of intestinal LAB. Among the eight oligosaccharides used, 1-kestose, lactosucrose and galactooligosaccharides (GOSs) led to the greatest increases in the numbers of the strains tested. However, mono- and disaccharides accounted for more than half of the GOSs used, and several strains only metabolized the mono- and di-saccharides in GOSs. End product profiles indicated that the amounts of lactate produced were generally consistent with the bacterial growth recorded. Oligosaccharide profiling revealed the interesting metabolic manner in Lactobacillus paracasei strains, which metabolized all oligosaccharides, but left sucrose when cultured with fructooligosaccharides. The present study clearly indicated that the prebiotic potential of each oligosaccharide differs.


A video-based traffic monitoring system must be capable of working in various weather and illumination conditions. In this paper, we will propose an example-based algorithm for moving vehicle detection. Different from previous works, this algorithm learns from examples and does not rely on any a priori model for vehicles. First, a novel scheme for adaptive background estimation is introduced. Then, the image is divided into many small nonoverlapped blocks. The candidates of the vehicle part can be found from the blocks if there is some change in gray level between the current image and the background. A low-dimensional feature is produced by applying principal component analysis to two histograms of each candidate, and a classifier based on a support vector machine is designed to classify it as a part of a real vehicle or not. Finally, all classified results are combined, and a parallelogram is built to represent the shape of each vehicle. Experimental results show that our algorithm has a satisfying performance under varied conditions, which can robustly and effectively eliminate the influence of casting shadows, headlights, or bad illumination


: A method of preparation of the lamprey and frog isolated hepatocytes is described. The binding of 125I-insulin to the cell receptors and the internalization of insulin--receptor complexes in hepatocytes have been studied at the temperature of species survival. Two classes of binding sites (with Kd equal to 10(-9) and 10(-8) M, resp.) were determined in cells of both species. The molecular weight of the insulin receptor binding subunit estimated in cross-linking experiments appeared 130 kDa in the lamprey and frog, which is in agreement with the data previously obtained for the rat liver receptor. The internalization of bound 125I-insulin in both species examined occurred at the range of temperature within 0 to 20 degrees C. In the lamprey cells the maximum level of the internalized hormone remained equal at all the temperatures studied. In the frog hepatocytes, the level of internalized hormone at 5 and 20 degrees C was higher than at 0 degrees C. The data obtained show that there are no limitation of the insulin--receptor complexes endocytosis, and of the 125I-insulin internalization in hepatocytes of cold-blooded vertebrates at the survival temperature.


The cultural construction in agricultural enterprises in China is not so optimistic especially compared with developed countries. In 2015, as the Party Central Committee in China put forward strategy of building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects, it is necessary for Chinese agricultural enterprise to gain implications for cultural construction by studying Japanese culture. Japanese culture features "group spirit, interpersonal relation, absorbing advanced culture and rational spirit" as its quintessence and with "lifetime employment, annual merits, decision making on application, cooperative management". Chinese agricultural enterprises should find ways for cultural construction which is beneficial for enhancing staff awareness and management from quintessence and outward manifestation of Japanese culture. By doing so, it will promote the cultural construction of Chinese agricultural enterprises and lift the core-competitiveness.


The aim of the present study was the determination of the levels of osteoprotegerin and soluble RANKL in blood serum and in gingival crevicular fluid relative to the degree of orthodontic root resorption in a rat model. Blood samples and gingival crevicular fluid were collected from fourteen 6-month-old male Wistar rats weighing 350-500 g. A 25-g closed orthodontic coil spring was inserted between each upper right first molar and the upper incisors. After 21 days of loading, both upper first molars (treated and control) were extracted and studied under microcomputed tomography scanning. Statistical analysis demonstrated a positive linear correlation between the initial concentration of RANKL in blood serum and the degree of root resorption. The ratio of the initial concentrations of osteoprotegerin to RANKL in blood serum proved to be an independent prognostic factor of the degree of root resorption. The initial concentration of RANKL in gingival crevicular fluid showed a negative correlation to the initial concentration of RANKL in blood serum and for a finite range of initial concentrations of osteoprotegerin in gingival crevicular fluid, the dental root seemed protected against extreme external root resorption. Finally, the concentration of osteoprotegerin in blood serum decreased significantly in cases of severe root resorption.


In the modern technological age, social media allows us to communicate vast amounts of personal information to countless people instantaneously. This information is valuable to more than just our "friends" and "followers," however. Prospective employers can use this personal data to inform hiring decisions, thereby maximizing fit and minimizing potential liability. The question then arises, how best to acquire this information? For job applicants, the counter-question is how best to protect the privacy of their social media accounts. As these two competing desires begin to clash, it is important to find a method to mediate the conflict. Existing privacy law, whether rooted in constitutional, statutory, or common law, is insufficient to cope with the practice, and pending legislation also fails to adequately account for the legitimate interests of both parties. This Note advocates a novel solution: a modified information escrow that would provide employers with the relevant information they seek while keeping private the substantive content of applicants' social media accounts.


The Gutenberg‐Richter frequency‐magnitude distribution of earthquakes has become well established in seismology. The slope of the relation between frequency and magnitude (b value) is typically 1, but it often shows variations around 1. Based on an analysis of seismicity prior to the 2011 Tohoku and 2004 Sumatra earthquakes (both in magnitude (M) 9 class), we show that the pronounced decade‐scale decrease inbvalue was a common precursor to both mega‐quakes around their hypocenters. This is the first report onM9‐class quakes to confirm a change inb value, which has been predicted based on the results of laboratory experiments. We propose that the b value is an important indicator of an impending great earthquake, and has great potential in terms of predicting a future large quake off the Pacific coast of Hokkaido, Japan.


Citation searching is a well-known and widely used technique for locating relevant articles via networks of cited references. Specialized citation databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science facilitate citation searching by indexing hundreds of millions of references from a vast body of journal and conference literature. In recent years, many other discipline-specific databases have added citation indexing and search tools. Academic researchers also use citation metrics such as the Impact Factor (IF) and h-index in order to assess the value and impact of their publications. The techniques used in citation searching and the calculation of citation metrics can also be applied, with appropriate care, to the patent literature. Searching citations in patents and cited patents can retrieve new and relevant information on an infinite number of engineering topics. It can also reveal connections between the journal literature and patents and expose knowledge gaps for further exploration. Universities are increasingly interested in assessing the value and impact of patents awarded to their faculty. A small but growing number of universities led by the University of Maryland and Texas A&M now give credit for patents in faculty tenure and promotion reviews. This paper explores the tools and strategies for searching cited patents and non-patent literature (NPL) references cited in patents using examples from the engineering literature. The author discusses patent citation practices and how citations appear in patent documents and databases. Strategies for searching patent and NPL citations in patents in selected databases are compared and discussed, noting their respective advantages and limitations. The author also explains the potential benefits and pitfalls of applying popular citation metrics to faculty patents and university patent portfolios.


The selective serotonergic agonist fluoxetine has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of depression and has possible efficacy in the treatment of nondepressed and depressed alcoholics. However, no double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with any selective serotonergic medication have been reported in patients who have both major depression and alcoholism. In this study, 21 patients with DSM-III-R diagnoses of both major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence were randomized to fluoxetine or placebo in a 12-week, double-blind, parallel group trial. The patients reported a high level of current episode (52.4%), prior episode (61.9%), and lifetime (76.2%) suicidal behavior. Total alcohol consumption during the 12-week treatment course was significantly lower in the fluoxetine group than the placebo group, after controlling for baseline differences in consumption. The fluoxetine group demonstrated a four-fold greater improvement in depressive symptoms, but this difference did not reach statistical significance in this small sample. These preliminary findings suggest that fluoxetine has potential for treating the excessive alcohol ingestion of depressed alcoholics and may have potential for treating the depressive symptoms of these patients as well.


The Assembly is alive and well and living in New York (since 2008), creating group-devised theatre that interrogates The Weather Underground's activism (HOME/SICK); economic and racial inequalities in the 21st century (That Poor Dream); and aging, art, and self-expression in America (I Will Look Forward To This Later). This young company of directors, designers, dramaturgs, writers, and performers celebrates the legacies of their avantgarde forebears by collectively making visually, aurally, and physically inventive political art that strives to build community.


Transvaginal mesh placement has become a popular surgical treatment for prolapse. The space in which the mesh is positioned is created through an incision in the vaginal wall. The mesh is fixed in a semi-blind fashion by anchors. The number of complications reported has increased over the years; mesh erosion, which occurs in 4-19% of patients, is regarded as the most troublesome problem.


South Africa has adopted an ambitious new water legislation that promotes equity, sustainability, representativity and economic performance through water management decentralization, new local and regional management institutions, water users' licensing, and the possible emergence of water rights' markets. This paper addresses the diversity of water users and uses that currently exists in rural areas, and especially focuses on the competition for water that may result from such a diversity in a context of water scarcity, and from the diversity of objectives formulated by the public authorities. The paper first briefly describes the current institutional arrangements regarding access to water. It also presents the situation in rural areas where farming communities and the mining sector are interacting on water- and labour-related matters. The paper then presents a case study whereby these two sectors have embarked into a negotiation process on water rights transfer, under the auspices of several public role players. It proposes an analysis of the case study through a standard environmental economics model. The model considers the marginal net private benefit (MNPB) generated by mining activities and the associated marginal returns to water (MRW). The transfer of water from farmers to mines results in a loss in crop production potential by the farmers and the subsequent loss of income and potential for development. Such a loss can be considered the opportunity cost of water for smallholders. If not compensated, it represents a proxy of the externality associated with water transfer. The model first highlights the difference in terms of water productivity in the two sectors, and its consequences if a system of transferable licenses is adopted. Then, some policy options (taxes, standards, subsidies) are tested and discussed.


It is important for almost all transaction processing and computer-communication systems to satisfy response time quantile targets. This paper describes HYDRA, a scalable parallel tool for the analytical determination of response time densities in large, structurally-unrestricted Markov models derived from high-level specifications. The tool exploits an efficient distributed uniformization-based algorithm, combined with hypergraph partitioning to balance computational load across processors while minimising communication. We demonstrate our tool on a 1.6 million state Generalized Stochastic Petri Net model of a flexible manufacturing system, comparing the accuracy of our results with simulation and contrasting the run-time performance of our technique with an approach based on numerical Laplace transform inversion.


The paper reports on the results of a study aiming to investigate the cohesion of exposition texts written by eleventh graders of a school in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The study used a qualitative case study research design, especially text analysis, involving 32 students. In the interest of space, the paper will present the data obtained from six texts written by 6 students, representing low, mid, and high achievers. The texts were analyzed using systemic functional linguistics (SFL), especially in terms of schematic structure and linguistic features, especially those contributing to the cohesion of the texts, such as Theme progression and cohesive devices. The results show that all texts show students' grasp and understanding of the schematic structure of an exposition, including thesis, argument, and restatement of the thesis. All texts also successfully use the zig-zag and the Theme reiteration patterns, which indicate the students' emerging capacity to create a text with cohesion at the clause level. However, only texts written by high achievers employ the multiple Theme pattern, indicating the students' emerging capacity to create a text with better sense of connectedness, unity, and flow of information at the global level. High achiever texts also employ discourse features which allow the reader to predict how the text will unfold and guide them to a line of understanding of a text as a whole. Moreover, in terms of cohesive devices, all texts use some simple cohesive devices—reference, lexical cohesion, and conjunction. It should be mentioned that all texts are rudimentary with some inappropriate word choices and grammatical problems. This suggests that the students still needed more guidance and time to do research on the topic in focus, to go through the process of writing as professional do, to allow them to create a better text with more elaboration and characteristics of written language with consistency and accuracy. It is recommended that further research on different perspectives and foci of analysis of different text types using systemic functional linguistics, with more representative samples, and studies on the teaching of writing be conducted.


Personalization and effective user profile management will be critical to meet the individual users' needs and for achieving eInclusion and eAccessibility. This paper outlines means to achieve the goal of the new ICT era where services and devices can be personalized by the users in order to meet their needs and preferences, in various situations. Behind every instance of personalization is a profile that stores the user preferences, context of use and other information that can be used to deliver a user experience tailored to their individual needs and preferences. Next Generation Networks (NGN) and the convergence between telephony and Internet services offer a wide range of new terminal and service definition possibilities, and a much wider range of application in society. This paper describes the personalization and profile management activities at European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Technical Committee Human Factors, together with relevant experimentations in recent European research projects.


This study aims to determine the relationship between energy and nutrients intake, body weight, height, BMI-for-Age, percent body fat, physical activity, and socioeconomic status with musculoskeletal fitness. This study used a cross-sectional design. A total of 151 students from 5 Bekasi High School class X and XI were included in this study. Food intake was measured using 2x24 hours food recall, physical activity using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), anthropometri by direct measurement, and socioeconomic using Family Affluence Scale (FAS) questionnaire. Regression analysis for bivariate and Anova for analysis of socioeconomic status.  The results of this study showed that there were a significant relationship between energy (p=0,001) and nutrients intake (carbohydrate p=0,037; protein (p=0,001; fat (p=0,001), body weight (p=0,002), height (p=0,001), percent body fat (p=0,001), and physical activity (p=0,001) with musculoskeletal fitness before controlled by sex. After stratification analysis by sex, there was a significant relationship between height and percent body fat with musculoskeletal fitness(p<0,005), but only found in male students.


The IllustrisTNG simulations reproduce the observed scaling relation between the stellar specific angular momentum (sAM) j s and mass M s of central galaxies. We show that the local j s–M s relation logjs=0.55logMs+2.77 develops at z ≲ 1 in disk-dominated galaxies. We provide a simple model that describes well such a connection between halos and galaxies. The index of 0.55 of the j s–M s relation comes from the product of the indices of the jtot∝Mtot0.81 , Mtot∝Ms0.67 , and j s ∝ j tot relations, where j tot and M tot are the overall sAM and mass of the halo, respectively. A non-negligible deviation from tidal torque theory, which predicts jtot∝Mtot2/3 , should be included. This model further suggests that the stellar-to-halo mass ratio of disk galaxies increases monotonically following a nearly power-law function that is consistent with the latest dynamical measurements. Biased collapse, in which galaxies form from the inner and lower sAM portion of their parent halos, has a minor effect at low redshifts. The retention factor of angular momentum reaches ∼1 in disk galaxies with strong rotations, and it correlates inversely with the mass fraction of the spheroidal component, which partially explains the morphological dependence of the j s–M s relation.


The palliative care philosophy accepts the dying process as a natural phase in the life cycle and provides quality end of life care for terminal patients and their family members. Prolonged exposure to the physical symptoms and pain, as well as the psychological, spiritual, and existential suffering of the dying patient, may be fertile ground for the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms among palliative care teams. Work-related positive outcomes (such as compassion, satisfaction and meaning) and work-related negative outcomes (such as compassion fatigue, secondary traumatization and burnout) can exist side by side, and the unique balance between them will determine the quality of life of the worker. This review presents the current knowledge about the prevalence and causes of work-related stress outcomes among palliative care teams and measurement tools that are available. The literature review discusses secondary traumatization in palliative care teams and relevant messages for the development of treatment options, burnout prevention programs and support interventions for professionals who lead the care for terminal patients in Israel.


Background. Accurate comparisons of haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) survival based on observational studies are difficult due to substantial residual confounding that arises from imbalances between treatments. Propensity score matching (PSM) comparisons confer additional advantages over conventional methods of adjustment by further reducing selection bias between treatments. We conducted a systematic review of studies that compared mortality between in-centre HD with PD using a PSM-based approach. Methods. A sensitive search strategy identified all citations in the PubMed, Cochrane and EMBASE databases from inception through November 2018. Pooled PD versus HD mortality hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through random-effects meta-analysis. A subsequent metaregression explored factors to account for between-study variation. G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T VC The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com 1 O R IG IN A L A R T IC LE Nephrol Dial Transplant (2020) 1–11 doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfz278 D ow naded rom http/academ ic.p.com /ndt/advance-articleoi/10.1093/ndt/gfz278/5715958 by U niersity of im erick user on 31 Jauary 2020 Results. The systematic review yielded 214 citations with 17 cohort studies and 113 578 PSM incident dialysis patients. Cohort periods spanned the period 1993–2014. The pooled HR for PD versus HD was 1.06 (95% CI 0.99–1.14). There was considerable variation by country, however, mortality risks for PD versus HD remained virtually unchanged when stratified by geographical region with HRs of 1.04 (95% CI 0.94– 1.15), 1.14 (95% CI 0.99–1.32) and 0.98 (0.87–1.10) for European, Asian and American cohorts, respectively. Subgroup meta-analyses revealed similar risks for patients with diabetes [HR 1.09 (95% CI 0.98–1.21)] and without diabetes [HR 0.99 (95% CI 0.90–1.09)]. Heterogeneity was substantial (I1⁄4 87%) and was largely accounted for by differences in cohort period, study type and country of origin. Together these factors explained a substantial degree of between-studies variance (R1⁄4 90.6%). Conclusions. This meta-analysis suggests that PD and incentre HD carry equivalent survival benefits. Reported differences in survival between treatments largely reflect a combination of factors that are unrelated to clinical efficacy.


Abstract An analysis of the wavenumber-frequency spectra of temperature in the free atmosphere is made. It is found that a striking similarity exists between the spectrum of temperature and that of the large-scale wind velocity in the free atmosphere. The wavenumber-frequency spectrum of temperature shows a preferred spectral domain of wave activities, oriented primarily from a region of low wavenumbers and low frequencies to a region of high wavenumbers and negative frequencies assigned to waves moving from west to east. In the high-wavenumber range, the wavenumber spectrum of temperature is approximately proportional to the –3 power of the wavenumber. In the high-frequency range, the frequency spectrum of temperature is approximately proportional to the –1 power of the frequency. These indicate that the structure of the temperature field in the free atmosphere is essentially affected by the large-scale two-dimensional turbulent motion. It is also found that most of the sensible heat is associated with t...


We investigate the influence of microstructural traps in hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth. To this end, a new formulation combining multi-trap stress-assisted diffusion, mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity and a hydrogen- and fatigue-dependent cohesive zone model is presented and numerically implemented. The results show that the ratio of loading frequency to effective diffusivity governs fatigue crack growth behaviour. Increasing the density of \emph{beneficial} traps, not involved in the fracture process, results in lower fatigue crack growth rates. The combinations of loading frequency and carbide trap densities that minimise embrittlement susceptibility are identified, providing the foundation for a rational design of hydrogen-resistant alloys.


The quest to explain the true nature of reality is one of the great scientific goals. In fact, this essay contest asks: is Nature fundamentally continuous or discrete and how can these two different but very useful concepts be fully reconciled? Physical science is vast, complex and remains mysterious [10]. Since long ago, the great thinkers and scholars have dedicated their lives to the attempted comprehension1 of this reality that has become so abstract. Throughout the centuries and through experimentation, they have established numerous laws, concepts, theories, and principles concerning the fundamental notions of reality (centered on matter-energy and spacetime). I propose a central theory (MIT), based on the information of, and compatible with, the contemporary scientific knowledge; the existing fundamental relation between the �physical entities� passes through the determined quantitative transmission (quantity) of this preserved transcendent greatness (quality). In addition to a �formal� relationship (existence) which creates an informal description of what is real, there is a causal relationship between �phenomena� (relativity). My informational approach has been productive in several domains where many enigma persist; solutions for these problems must be envisaged globally, using ideas and concepts from numerous different fields, with a coherent schema... The �Theory of Universal Relativity� (TUR as a ToE) proposed here lays bridges between domains which, at first glance, have nothing to do with each other; it also provides insight into how we can improve our knowledge by understanding the interplay of complexity and simplicity. Therefore emerging from simplexity (contraction of simplicity and complexity), reality is both digital and analogue (and between) and also more! We know there is a strange and mysterious world that surrounds us, a world largely hidden from our senses with extra dimensions and as a mathematical concept of reality, MIT may confirm that we are part of a cosmic hologram (a paradigm shift). My theory has the advantage of being extremely simple, not limited to scientists because everyone can understand it (I = 1 ± i). So, in this essay, I will try to explain why and how [1][13][48][51].


The study focuses on a booster pump used to feed the main pump of one unit of the FMHL hydropower plant (Veytaux I). From the beginning of the operation of the power plant, vibrations have been observed on this booster pump with sometimes the presence of cavitation erosion. The visualisations carried out show that a cavitating vortex develops at the suction side of the booster pump runner and causes the measured vibrations. The booster pump is running without any modification since the beginning of the operation of the power plant, however future mechanical failures cannot be excluded, since in these harsh conditions, the permissible mechanical strain shall be exceeded. Flow numerical investigations have been carried out using OpenFOAM and shown the presence of vortices below the bell of the booster pump. The main vortex observed is assumed to be responsible for the vibrations due to its interaction with the runner blades and to promote the inception of cavitation, which could explain the cavitation erosion observed. Several modifications of the chamber have been considered by simulation. Two of them provide a solution to suppress or at least to damp the vibrations due to the presence of vortices in the bell inlet.


Existing literature demonstrates disagreement over the relationship between hate crime and terrorism with some calling them "close cousins," whereas others declare them "distant relatives." We extend previous research by capturing a middle ground between hate crime and terrorism: extremist hate crime. We conduct negative binomial regressions to examine hate crime by non-extremists, fatal hate crime by far-rightists, and terrorism in U.S. counties (1992-2012). Results show that counties experiencing increases in general hate crime, far-right hate crime, and non-right-wing terrorism see associated increases in far-right hate crime, far-right terrorism, and far-right hate crime, respectively. We conclude that hate crime and terrorism may be more akin to close cousins than distant relatives.


We consider communication over heterogeneous parallel channels, where a transmitter is connected to two users via two parallel channels: a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channel (BC) and a noiseless rate-limited multicast channel. We characterize the optimal degrees of freedom (DoF) region of this setting when the transmitter has delayed channel state information (CSIT) regarding the MIMO BC. Our results show that jointly coding over the two channels strictly outperforms simple channel aggregation and can even achieve the instantaneous CSIT performance with completely outdated CSIT on the MIMO BC in the sum DoF sense; this happens when the multicast rate of the second channel is larger than a certain threshold. The main idea is to send information over the MIMO BC at a rate above its capacity and then use the second channel to send additional side information to allow for reliable decoding at both receivers. We call this scheme a two-phase overload-multicast strategy. We show that such a strategy is also sum DoF optimal for the K-user MIMO BC with a parallel multicast channel when the rate of the multicast channel is high enough and can again achieve the instantaneous CSIT performance (optimal sum DoF) with completely outdated CSIT. For the regime where the capacity of the multicast channel is small, we propose another joint coding strategy, which is sum DoF optimal.


Column oriented in-memory databases typically use dictionary compression to reduce the overall storage space and allow fast lookup and comparison. However, there is a high performance cost for updates since the dictionary, used for compression, has to be recreated each time records are created, updated or deleted. This has to be taken into account for TPC-C like workloads with around 45% of all queries being transactional modifications. A technique called differential updates can be used to allow faster modifications. In addition to the main storage, the database then maintains a delta storage to accommodate modifying queries. During the merge process, the modifications of the delta are merged with the main storage in parallel to the normal operation of the database. Current hardware and software trends suggest that this problem can be tackled by massively parallelizing the merge process. One approach to massive parallelism are GPUs that offer order of magnitudes more cores than modern CPUs. Therefore, we analyze the feasibility of a parallel GPU merge implementation and its potential speedup. We found that the maximum potential merge speedup is limited since only two of its four stages are likely to benefit from parallelization. We present a parallel dictionary slice merge algorithm as well as an alternative parallel merge algorithm for GPUs that achieves up to 40% more throughput than its CPU implementation. In addition, we propose a parallel duplicate removal algorithm that achieves up to 27 times the throughput of the CPU implementation.


Additive manufacturing has been adopted in a wide range of industry. However, limited mechanical properties have prevented additive manufacturing from further development in high value applications. Carbon-fibre-reinforced composites are widely used in automobile and aerospace industries due to their improved mechanical properties and reduced weight. The introduction of carbon fibre into additive manufacturing will allow its application across a broader industrial field. In this paper, carbon-fibre-reinforced composite samples were produced by material extrusion and stereolithography. Tensile tests were performed on pure polymer and carbon-fibre-reinforced samples. Experimental results were compared to theoretical ones based on a rule of mixture. Samples produced by material extrusion showed a 73.3 % reduction in elastic modulus compared with theoretical values whereas those produced by stereolithography showed a 42.06% reduction. Micrographs showed that stereolithography samples had better bonding between the matrix and the fibre.


We conducted an inquiry on the short run and long run impact of energy use, trade openness, and exchange rate on foreign direct investment in Indonesia from 1981 to 2015. Energy use is one of the key variables because host countries cannot easily anticipate short-term energy shortage, whereas foreign investors interpret such shortage as an indicator of progress and readiness of the manufacturing sector. We use the error correction model to explain the interrelationship between predictors and their effect on foreign direct investment. Results show that short run trade openness significantly affects foreign direct investment. By contrast, long-term energy use and trade openness variables have a positive and significant influence, whereas exchange rate has a negative linkage.


Recommender systems suggest new items to users based on his/her interests. They appear in distinct contexts, such as movies, e-commerce, search engines, program guides for digital TV. In this work we propose a framework to generate ranking functions for items recommendation based on genetic programming, which we call GUARD (Genetic Unified Approach for Recommendation). The framework was developed under a collaborative filtering approach, but can be easily extended to work with content-based or hybrid recommender systems. The GP-based framework is flexible, works under a multi-objective approach and is able to combine different features and deal with data uncertainty and noisy. GUARD generates ranking functions considering four different measures: precision, recall, diversity and novelty. The framework was tested in the scenario of movies recommendation, using the Movielens 100k and Movielens 1M datasets. The results obtained were compared to those generated by PureSVD, the state-of-the-art algorithm for collaborative filtering. Considering the Movielens 100k, the results of precision and recall were superior to those of SVD. The framework can also generate more diverse and novel recommendations, with a small loss in precision. For Movielens 1M, the results are not as good as those obtained by PureSVD, but the functions slighly sacrifice accuracy over simplicity.


Learning by ignoring, which identifies less important things and excludes them from the learning process, is broadly practiced in human learning and has shown ubiquitous effectiveness. There has been psychological studies showing that learning to ignore certain things is a powerful tool for helping people focus. In this paper, we explore whether this useful human learning methodology can be borrowed to improve machine learning. We propose a novel machine learning framework referred to as learning by ignoring (LBI). Our framework automatically identifies pretraining data examples that have large domain shift from the target distribution by learning an ignoring variable for each example and excludes them from the pretraining process. We formulate LBI as a three-level optimization framework where three learning stages are involved: pretraining by minimizing the losses weighed by ignoring variables; finetuning; updating the ignoring variables by minimizing the validation loss. A gradient-based algorithm is developed to efficiently solve the three-level optimization problem in LBI. Experiments on various datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework.


Phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions represent some of the greatest hazards occurring on volcanoes. They result from complex interactions at a depth between rock, water, and magmatic fluids. Understanding and assessing such processes remain a challenging task, notably because a large‐scale characterization of volcanic edifices is often lacking. Here we focused on Miyakejima Island, an inhabited 8‐km‐wide stratovolcano with regular phreatomagmatic activity. We imaged its plumbing system through a combination of four geophysical techniques: magnetotellurics, seismicity, self‐potential, and thermal image. We thus propose the first comprehensive interpretation of the volcanic island in terms of rock properties, temperature, fluid content, and fluid flow. We identify a shallow aquifer lying above a clay cap (<1 km depth) and reveal its relation with magmatic‐tectonic features and past eruptive activity. At greater depths (2–4.5 km), we infer a seismogenic resistive region interpreted as a magmatic gas‐rich reservoir (≥370°C). From this reservoir, gases rise through a fractured conduit before being released in the fumarolic area at ∼180°C. During their ascent, these hot fluids cross a ∼1.2‐km‐long liquid‐dominated zone causing local steam explosions. Such magmatic‐hydrothermal interaction elucidates (i) the origin of the long‐period seismic events and (ii) the mixing mechanism between magmatic and hydrothermal fluids, which was previously observed in the geochemical signature of fumaroles. Our results demonstrate that combining multidisciplinary large‐scale methods is a relevant approach to better understand volcanic systems, with implications for monitoring strategies.