Hydrogen can be stored in the interstitial sites of the lattices of intermetallic compounds. To date, intermetallic compound LaNi5 or related LaNi5-based alloys are known to be practical hydrogen storage materials owing to their higher volumetric hydrogen densities, making them a compact hydrogen storage method and allowing stable reversible hydrogen absorption and desorption reactions to take place at room temperature below 1.0 MPa. By contrast, gravimetric hydrogen density is required for key improvements (e.g., gravimetric hydrogen density of LaNi5: 1.38 mass%). Although hydrogen storage materials have typically been evaluated for their hydrogen storage properties below 10 MPa, reactions between hydrogen and materials can be facilitated above 1 GPa because the chemical potential of hydrogen dramatically increases at a higher pressure. This indicates that high-pressure experiments above 1 GPa could clarify the latent hydrogen absorption reactions below 10 MPa and potentially explore new hydride phases. In this study, we investigated the hydrogen absorption reaction of LaNi5 above 1 GPa at room temperature to understand their potential hydrogen storage capacities. The high-pressure experiments on LaNi5 with and without an internal hydrogen source (BH3NH3) were performed using a multi-anvil-type high-pressure apparatus, and the reactions were observed using in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction with an energy dispersive method. The results showed that 2.07 mass% hydrogen was absorbed by LaNi5 at 6 GPa. Considering the unit cell volume expansion, the estimated hydrogen storage capacity could be 1.5 times higher than that obtained from hydrogen absorption reaction below 1.0 MPa at 303 K. Thus, 33% of the available interstitial sites in LaNi5 remained unoccupied by hydrogen atoms under conventional conditions. Although the hydrogen-absorbed LaNi5Hx (x < 9) was maintained below 573 K at 10 GPa, LaNi5Hx began decomposing into NiH, and the formation of a new phase was observed at 873 K and 10 GPa. The new phase was indexed to a hexagonal or trigonal unit cell with a ≈ 4.44 Å and c ≈ 8.44 Å. Further, the newly-formed phase was speculated to be a new hydride phase because the Bragg peak positions and unit cell parameters were inconsistent with those reported for the La-Ni intermetallic compounds and La-Ni hydride phases.


ACUTE NEUROMUSCULAR RESPONSES TO CAR RACING VTE Pro Gradu. Jani Backman 2005. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to determine racing car drivers' acute neuromuscular responses to race driving. The secondary purpose was to compare the cardiovascular loading of driving to that of maximal rowing action. Methods: The subjects of the present cross-sectional study (n = 9) were international level karting drivers. The study was performed in two parts; the laboratory tests and driving test. All subjects took part to the laboratory tests and five of the subjects performed also the driving test. The rowing tests consisted of indoor rowing started at the power of 90 watts and the load was increased 30 watts every third minute until voluntary exhaustion. In the driving test each driver drove with his own kart for 30 minutes in a simulated full speed race including one pit stop in a halfway. The strength test protocol consisted of five maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) isometric strength tests (neck lateral flexion to right, shoulder flexion, grip strength, bilateral leg extension and bilateral plantar flexion). The same strength test protocol was accordingly made four times; before and after the maximal rowing test and before and after the driving. Results: Average maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) of the rowing test was 47,6 ± 5,4ml/kg/min and maximal rowing heart rate was 189 ± 5bpm. In the driving test, average heart rate of 30 minutes of driving was 139 ± 12bpm. Maximal blood lactate (bLa) in rowing was 12,2 ± 2,1mmol/l and 3,3 ± 1,7mmol/l after 15 minutes of driving and 3,1 ± 1,6 at the end of driving. Maximal strength was found to decrease systematically both after rowing and driving. The decrease in maximal strength was systematically more after driving than rowing. Significant differences between the driving and rowing-induced changes were found in shoulder and plantar flexor strength actions. The decrease in the change of the force-time curve was significant (p<0.05 and p<0.01) between pre and post driving in shoulder test. Conclusion: The present results indicate that considerable loading of the neuromuscular system takes place in competitive driving. This study also indicates that while there is high physiological and moderate neuromuscular loading in maximal rowing, competitive race driving seems to be characterised by moderate physiological and high neuromuscular loading. Driving seems to strain the neuromuscular system due to G-forces and vibration.


Work function modulation of electrode materials is a crucial factor for achieving superior performance in transparent and flexible device applications. In this work, aluminum-doped zinc-oxide nanoparticles (AZO NPs) with a low work function were introduced in single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transparent electrodes to achieve an Ohmic contact with an indium-oxide (In2O3) active layer. These SWCNT–AZO NP hybrid electrodes exhibited a low contact resistance with the solution-processed In2O3 active layer, due to the low work function of the AZO NPs physisorbed on the SWCNTs. The 50 nm thick SWCNT–AZO NP hybrid films showed a considerably low electrical resistance of 214.5 Ω sq−1, an optical transmittance of 82.1% and a work function of 4.57 eV. By using these materials as the source and drain electrodes, fully solution-processed In2O3 thin film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated, and they showed excellent device performance. Furthermore, the fully solution-processed flexible In2O3 TFTs with these SWCNT–AZO NP hybrid electrodes exhibited only a 2.02% decrease in the field effect mobility after 1000 cycles of repeated bending stress at a radius of curvature of 3 mm.


Economic theory predicts that increasing the severity of punishments will deter criminal behavior by raising the expected price of committing crime. This implicit price can be substantially raised by making prison sentences longer, but only if offenders' discount rates are relatively low. We use a large sample of felony arrests to measure the deterrence effect of criminal sanctions. We exploit the fact that young offenders are legally treated as adults--and face longer lengths of incarceration--the day they turn 18. Sufficiently patient individuals should therefore significantly lower their offending rates immediately upon turning 18. The small behavioral responses that we estimate suggest that potential offenders are extremely impatient, myopic, or both.


The east curtain wall, showing window pattern and use of color panels; "The CCBR Building was built for the University of Toronto to support top-level interdisciplinary research in bioengineering and disease. With a site on the downtown St. George Campus that was formerly a lane, the architects were challenged to accommodate the program of the building while providing linkages to three adjacent buildings. The building was funded by various levels of government, and private donors, with the key benefactor being Terrence Donnelly, a retired lawyer and entrepreneur. Set back from the built edge of College Street, the CCBR is respectful of the 100 year old Mining Building to the west, and the 80 year old FitzGerald Building to the east. The building is pinched at the middle of its height, breaking the bulk of the building while adding interest. A metal clad curving mechanical penthouse tops the glass volume. The building, which is primarily clad with glass, shows distinct treatments of each facade. The South facade that faces the forecourt off College Street is a glass dual facade. This two layered transparent wall moderates solar gain while buffering outdoor air, improving comfort for the offices it encloses. The West facade features an assortment of fritted glass of varying opacity and pattern. The East facade is distinguished by the playful addition of brightly coloured glass panels, reminiscent of genetic chromatography patterns. Inside, a key element is a multi-storey atrium space that connects to the adjacent Rosebrugh Building. This open space is planted densely with tall bamboo that is top lit from the glass ceiling above. On upper floors a delightfully vertigo-inducing stair clings to the edge above the atrium, connecting lab floors. On arrival, visitors are led up a generous stair along the bamboo plantation to an upper level that is scattered with four richly coloured curving rooms, three of them classrooms. Clad in brilliant mosaic tiles, each treatment is distinct and provides a delightful material and formal excitement to the interior . A number of brightly coloured apertures in the ceiling reveal skylights that add interest and daylight to the lobby space. At this level at the north end corridor connections to two adjacent buildings are made. In the upper floors at the south face of the building a series of three storey winter gardens provide a generous vegetated lounge space that connects the different floors. Planted with a large tree and other plants, benches are provided to provide a beautiful resting place. Throughout the building warm wood panelling, benches and accents balance the cool glass and steel surfaces that dominate. The material palette is restrained, with strategic flashes of more generous finishes. The building is impressive and inviting, the large forecourt facing College Street makes the approach to the entrance processional, and the building commands the space. The choice to use the bamboo filled atrium to make the connection to the adjacent hertiage building is brilliant: the resulting space is delightful and unexpected in the context of institutional buildings. The organization of the building is clear, and users are always near either a transparent perimeter wall, or one of the key organizing elements in the plan, be it the atrium, classrooms, or winter gardens." Source: Galinsky [website]; http://www.galinsky.com/ (accessed 5/29/2008)


1. The thermally induced change in conformation of ribonuclease A in solution was investigated by differential thermal analysis and the susceptibility of the enzyme to proteolytic digestion by ficin. 2. A transition with a mid-point of 60.5 degrees C at pH4.2 was observed directly by differential thermal analysis and shown to be a property of the native structure. 3. At pH4.2 ribonuclease A is susceptible to ficin digestion at 60 degrees C but not at 18 degrees C. 4. Chromatographic analysis of the digestion products reveals that transient active intermediates are produced during the digestion. 5. Three of these intermediates were purified and partially characterized. 6. The nature of those sections of the ribonuclease molecule that are involved in the thermal transition is discussed.


What are the consequences of reading Shakespeare's allusions to classical heroes through vernacular adaptations rather than through classical texts? This essay reframes the debate about which classical sources Shakespeare consulted, arguing that he encountered Aeneas and Theseus primarily through vernacular authors. Vernacular literature's depictions of the mythic founders of Rome and Athens foreground classical heroes' treachery and duplicity and minimize their roles as progenitors of empire and culture. Shakespeare's quotation strategies in A Midsummer Night's Dream follow Marlowe and Nashe's model in Dido, Queen of Carthage by looking to Chaucer as the poetic authority for classical myth. Like Chaucer, both playwrights foreground the destruction left in empire's wake. A Midsummer Night's Dream imagines a retelling of Dido's story that privileges her authority over an interloping male hero. In the asinine Bottom, Shakespeare offers an antidote to the exploitative model of heroism embodied in Theseus and Aeneas through a mock-heroic retelling of Aeneas's most renowned crime.


Abstract We introduce an architecture to learn joint multilingual sentence representations for 93 languages, belonging to more than 30 different families and written in 28 different scripts. Our system uses a single BiLSTM encoder with a shared byte-pair encoding vocabulary for all languages, which is coupled with an auxiliary decoder and trained on publicly available parallel corpora. This enables us to learn a classifier on top of the resulting embeddings using English annotated data only, and transfer it to any of the 93 languages without any modification. Our experiments in cross-lingual natural language inference (XNLI data set), cross-lingual document classification (MLDoc data set), and parallel corpus mining (BUCC data set) show the effectiveness of our approach. We also introduce a new test set of aligned sentences in 112 languages, and show that our sentence embeddings obtain strong results in multilingual similarity search even for low- resource languages. Our implementation, the pre-trained encoder, and the multilingual test set are available at https://github.com/facebookresearch/LASER.


OBJECTIVE
To perform etiological diagnosis of hyperlipidemia (HL) brought to light in family medical (general practice) consultations.

DESIGN
Retrospective descriptive study. SITE. A basic health zone (ZBS).

PATIENTS
231 patients diagnosed as having HL by their doctors.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Lipidic levels (average figures): total cholesterol (CT): 280; C-LDL: 201; C-HDL: 49 and triglycerides (TGL): 198. Distribution by phenotypes: IIa: 178 patients, IIb: 42, IV:5, with 6 doubtful cases. Distribution according to etiological diagnosis: 79% primary HL (83% polygenic and 17% family) 15% secondary HL, with 6% having both types in association.

CONCLUSIONS
Diagnosis of HL in the visits to the family doctor reveals probability-predictable patterns based, above all, on the the overall assessment made by the doctor of his/her patient. The survey and the family study are very limited in our circles. The predominating type of HL is primary polygenic where prescribing of special diets will be sufficient in most cases.


More than 10% of the collared coils of the main LHC dipoles have been produced. In this paper, we compare the measured field quality to beam dynamics targets using correlations to measurements at 1.9 K. The present status of field quality is given and corrective actions carried out to center field quality on optimal values are presented. Differences among the three manufacturers are analyzed, and the main results that concern correlation between cold and warm measurements are outlined. Present trends in the production and open points are discussed.


We address the problem of computing dense range maps of indoor locations using only intensity images and partial depth. We allow a mobile robot to navigate the environment, take some pictures and few range data. Our method is based on interpolating the existing range data using statistical inferences learned from the available intensity image and from those (sparse) regions where both range and intensity information is present. The spatial relationships between the variations in intensity and range can be efficiently captured by the neighborhood system of a Markov random field (MRF). In contrast to classical approaches to depth recovery (i.e. stereo, shape from shading), we can afford to make only weak assumptions regarding specific surface geometries or surface reflectance functions since we compute the relationship between existing range data and the images we started with. Experimental results show the feasibility of our method.


The polarization bistability of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers under external optical injection is analyzed theoretically. It is found that on the condition where the optical gain is blue-shifted relative to the cavity mode, the bistable characteristics of VCSEL's can be improved significantly: (1) low optical power of the external injection light is required, (2) the influence of self-heating effects is minimized, and (3) wide bistable hysteresis loop width can be maintained. Furthermore, it is also shown that the reflectivity of Bragg reflectors should also be optimized to improve the performance of VCSEL's as bistable switches.


Italy is characterized by a mature PAYG social security (SS) system and by particularly adverse population projections. Given these trends, the contribution rate to the SS system is deemed to increase above the current high level. This hinders the development of employer provided pension funds and introduces a relevant wedge between labor cost and earnings that discourages both labor demand and labor supply. However, any proposal to reduce payroll taxes has to cope with the state of Italian public finances. Italy has to comply with the Stability and Growth Pact that imposes constraints on budget deficit and debt trends. We show that the replacement rate guaranteed by the PAYG system to a newly insured worker, contributing for 40 years, ranges between 44 and 88 percent, depending on his career profile, and between 56 and 113 percent if, as envisaged by current legislation, severance-pay contributions are fully used to finance a funded occupational scheme. We thus argue that a payroll tax reduction of 10 percentage points can still guarantee replacement rates in line with the European average: about 70 percent for a worker with an average career profile, working 40 years and retiring at age 65. Using micro-data from the Bank of Italy's Survey of Household Income and Wealth and official population projections, we estimate future employment trends under different demographic and macroeconomic scenarios and compute the cost of the transition. We show that the cost of the transition would be substantially reduced if positive effects on employment were induced by the payroll tax reduction. In particular, under the hypothesis that the pension reform had no impact on total employment, we estimate that the net cost for the PAYG system induced by a 10 percentage point reduction in the contribution rate would range between 0.02 and 1.8 percent of GDP in the first year, depending on how gradually the reform will be phased in. If the payroll tax reduction increased employment (by approximately 120,000 units a year until 2025), then savings would start offsetting costs as early as in 2030 and the reform would be entirely self financing.


This paper presents a grouser developed for the wheels of lunar exploration rovers to measure sinkage. The wheels, which are intended to traverse loose soil such as lunar regolith, contain grousers that transfer thrust to the wheels and thus to the body of the rover. The interaction between the wheel (with grousers) and the loose soil can be described using a kinematic model. When traversing loose soil, the wheel sinks into the soil, which necessitates knowledge of the entrance angle needed in order to avoid this problem. If the entrance angle is known, the sinkage can be measured in real time before adverse conditions occur. Because of the importance and usefulness of detecting the entrance angle of the wheel, we herein propose a grouser with an embedded tactile sensor. A strain gauge on the surface of the grousers serves as the tactile sensor. In order to confirm the precision of the proposed grouser, we have performed tests on a rigid surface and loose soil surfaces.


The aim was to validate the MRI assessment of regional cerebral blood flow. Measurements were performed on a 1.5 T imaging system using a fast T2*-weighted gradient-echo sequence. After intravenous injection of gadolinium-DTPA 30 images were acquired in the same slice position during 84 seconds. In 12 volunteers we observed a symmetrical cortical decrease of signal intensity during the passage of the contrast medium. In 9/23 patients with impairment of cerebral blood flow a circumscribed area of reduced signal intensity decrease (hypoperfusion) was found. In 4/23 patients the decrease of signal intensity was more pronounced than in normals (hyperfusion). In 9/23 patients signal intensity changes were normal. HMPAO-SPECT confirmed successful MRI assessment of cerebral blood flow in 22/23 patients.


Visual impairment in patients with diplopia can be assessed using a scoring method in front of a tangent screen. The primary position is the starting position for these measurements. For medicolegal judgement the scoring is based on a suggestion of Haase and Steinhorst, ranging from a disability of 0% to 25%. A new proposal for scoring the field of binocular single vision (BSV) is made here: A field between 30 degrees right and left gaze, 20 degrees upgaze and 40 degrees downgaze is defined as used under every day conditions. It is divided such that diplopia in one lateral half field corresponds to 13% disability, in the upper half 10% and in the lower 18%. Patients suffering from a unilateral superior oblique palsy often show a slight torticollis. In these cases the habitually assumed head position should be taken as the starting posture for the tangent screen measurements.


This research explored the impacts of a linguistically inclusive Spanish reading group on student learning outcomes. This research took place at an elementary school in Marin, which consists of a large Spanish speaking and rural community of third and fourth graders. The research takes into consideration grouping methods (Oakes, 2005), Critical Race Theory (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002), and Schema Theory (Rumelhart, 2017) with regard to a Spanish classroom, in order to reimagine educational structures and instructional approaches. Through Spanish reading group sessions, interviews with adult stakeholders, and a student participant focus group, it is evident that all groups believe that class integration is more effective in acquiring a second language compared to traditional forms of leveled groupings for class segregation. The student participants also revealed internalized perceptions of race about themselves and others as Spanish language learners. The findings of this research point toward important implications for how schools implement effective grouping policies around language integration, and how teachers integrate their own classroom practices to understand student identity and to support language learning.


The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of cross flow and fluctuating flow on the propeller performance of MAV. This study especially has focused on the propeller performance during hovering flight under several cross flow velocity in actual flight conditions. We investigated four test cases of propellers with different starting point of design. The thrust and the torque of each propeller were experimentally measured by using the force transducer in wind tunnel. Figure of Merit (FM) of each propeller were evaluated based on the thrust and the torque measurement. The results showed that low cross flow velocity reduced FM. However, high cross flow velocity improved FM. Fluctuating flow yielded the change of FM with time. Furthermore, it was found that the starting point of the propeller design had a great effect on FM under wind environments.


Guide offers links to books, journal databases, videos, and reliable websites about topics related to countries and regions of the world.


Shaken baby syndrome (SBS), characterized by the triad of subdural haemorrhage, retinal haemorrhage, and encephalopathy, was initially based on the hypothesis that shaking causes tearing of bridging veins and bilateral subdural bleeding. It remains controversial. New evidence since SBS was first defined three decades ago needs to be reviewed. Neuropathology shows that most cases do not have traumatic axonal injury, but hypoxic–ischaemic injury and brain swelling. This may allow a lucid interval, which traumatic axonal injury will not. Further, the thin subdural haemorrhages in SBS are unlike the thick unilateral space‐occupying clots of trauma. They may not originate from traumatic rupture of bridging veins but from vessels injured by hypoxia and haemodynamic disturbances, as originally proposed by Cushing in 1905. Biomechanical studies have repeatedly failed to show that shaking alone can generate the triad in the absence of significant neck injury. Impact is needed and, indeed, seems to be the cause of the majority of cases of so‐called SBS. Birth‐related subdural bleeds are much more frequent than previously thought and their potential to cause chronic subdural collections and mimic SBS remains to be established.


This paper provides the first results of a structural study in a cross-section in the Central Pyrenees (South Pyrenean Zone, North of Biescas), bordered on the north by Palaeozoic rocks of the Axial Zone. The geometric features of the folds, their orientations and relationships with the foliation are detailed from
the structural analysis. Asymmetric south-verging chevron folds, with an E-W axis gently plunging or subhorizontal, are predominant. They admit the regional foliation as the axial plane foliation, with an E-W of medium strike and dips of 50o northwards. Advanced structural studies will allow a more detailed knowledge of the processes originating the described structures and may specify the alpine deformation in the palaeozoic rocks within this region.


This research investigated recognition memory for picture stories. Jenkins, Wald and Pittenger (1978) had found that when subjects viewed a slide sequence which depicted an every-day event, in a later recognition memory test they correctly rejected distractors which were inconsistent with the event but falsely accepted consistent distractors. Jenkins interpreted this result as evidence that fusion - the abstraction of visual events - determined memory performance. He argued that subjects compared the test slides to the abstracted event and accepted those which were consistent with the event. A series of experiments examined the possibility that performance was due not to fusion but to confusion with respect to the featural details of the stimulus material. This alternative interpretation argued that consistent slides had more features in common with acquisition slides than did the inconsistent slides and that the variables of semantic consistency and featural similarity had been confounded. The first experiment manipulated acquisition material and found that subjects who saw a disordered acquisition sequence falsely accepted consistent slides. The second experiment manipulated acquisition conditions and found that subjects who were inhibited from fusing the event by being required to perform a non-semantic task during acquisition falsely accepted consistent slides. Neither of these results supported a fusion interpretation since acceptance of consistent slides occurred under conditions where fusion of the event was not expected. The third experiment manipulated the test conditions and found that acceptance of both consistent and inconsistent slides was less likely with delayed tests although fusion of the event should have led to no change in the likelihood of accepting inconsistent slides. The fourth and fifth experiments re-examined the manipulation of presentation order and demonstrated that subjects were unable to reconstruct the event from a disordered sequence and yet still falsely accepted consistent slides. Each test of the fusion interpretation which had attempted to separate the variables of features and meaning indirectly had indicated that recognition performance was not due to abstraction of the visual event. A final experiment attempted to find explicit evidence for a featural interpretation of the results by directly varying featural similarity of consistent distractor slides to slides from the originally viewed sequence while keeping the degree of semantic consistency constant. Although this experiment failed to support a featural account, the converging evidence from all experiments indicated that recognition memory for picture stories is based to a large extent on the featural properties of the stimulus material. An account of performance solely in terms of visual abstraction is not adequate. Moreover, unless the variables of featural similarity and meaning can be separated directly in the test material, this recognition paradigm is unlikely to provide a means for examining the influence of schemata on recognition memory for picture stories.


Background: Buccal fat is often used as a pedicled flap in cleft palate repairs to minimize scarring and fortify tenuous closures. Although many surgeons have adopted this technique, others have remained circumspect because of the concern for subsequent facial asymmetry. Methods: Patients who underwent cleft palate repair using buccal fat pad flaps for closure between 2007 and 2015 were reviewed. Only patients with unilateral buccal fat pad flaps and three-dimensional photography were included. Volumetric analysis was performed on each patient to measure cheek volumes of both the flap and nonflap sides. A subgroup analysis on cleft palate and bilateral cleft lip and palate patients was performed to eliminate the confounding asymmetries of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients. Paired t tests were used to determine differences in cheek volumes. In addition, three reviewers examined photographs of patients and were asked to determine the side of fat pad harvest. Results: Twenty-four patients met inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 55 months. The volume difference between the flap and nonflap sides was not significant (p = 0.81). Subgroup analysis on cleft palate and bilateral cleft lip and palate patients did not reveal a volume difference between the flap and nonflap sides (p = 0.98). When asked to determine which side buccal fat pads were harvested from based on patient photographs, the average percentage correct for three independent reviewers was 57 percent and the Cohen's kappa was −0.084, indicating poor agreement. Conclusion: Although the buccal fat pad is thought to play a role in facial aesthetics, the authors found no difference in volume between harvest and nonharvest sides, nor was there a clinically detectable difference. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.


Democracy Online offers a set of explorations from communications studies, information science, law, philosophy, political psychology, political science, and sociology of opportunities for the Internet to revitalize democratic practice. Rejecting technological determinism of either a utopian or dystopian flavor, its perspectives embody what its editor calls an emerging school of cyberrealist thought about the variety of individual and social factors likely to shape the future of electronic democracy. Rejecting technological determinism of either a utopian or dystopian flavor, the authors illuminate a variety of individual and social factors likely to shape the future of the field. In an advance review, noted author Howard Rheingold calls the volume a deep, broad, and useful contribution to a critically important discourse about the future of our social and political institutions in an increasingly Internet-centric world. The volume includes chapters by: - Michael Froomkin, discussing the plausibility of deploying new technologies to improve democratic conversation in ways consistent with the vision of Jurgen Habermas; - Beth Noveck, reviewing the design choices faces by programmers seeking to create software to support online political deliberation; - Nancy Marder, exploring the potential future for cyberjuries; - James Bohman, discussing the potential for new public spheres of Internet-supported transnational democratic deliberation; - Peter Shane, urging cyberdemocratic activists to pursue the simultaneous revitalization of both representative and deliberative democratic elements of American governance; - Oren Perez, arguing that the Internet be used to support multidimensional decision frameworks that take account of individual and social pluralism; - Lori Weber and Sean Murray, reviewing literature on the importance of interactivity to Internet-based initiatives aimed at overcoming prevailing social inequalities; - Tamara Witschge, discussing obstacles of political psychology that may impede the capacity of online deliberation to incorporate the elements of difference and disagreement that are essential to the legitimacy of democratic conversation; - Alexandra Samuel, discussing the phenomenon of hactivism, which challenges the adequacy of deliberative democratic thinking about free speech norms and the relationship between identity and accountability; - Dan Hunter, challenging the priority attached by cyberdemocrats to democratic legitimacy in the face of evidence that our deeper political commitment lie elsewhere; - Tom Beierle, reporting on an EPA-sponsored online dialogue on the future of public participation in that agency; - Woody Stanley, Christopher Weare, and Juliet Musso, discussing a Department of Transportation online dialogue on commercial vehicle safety; - Nicholas Jankowski and Renee van Os, describing the obstacles facing effective online deliberation even in a Netherlands city possessing one of that country's most advanced community networks; - Jackie Mildner and Nancy Tate, reviewing the League of Women Voters' Democracy Net Project, and the importance of assessing online initiatives in light of the offline forms of political activism they support; - Paul Harwood and Wayne McIntosh, exploring the capacity of online networks to create a sense of belonging and community-connectedness for individual participants; - Peter Muhlberger, presenting survey data suggesting the importance of individual attitudes and resources for the success of online democratic initiatives; - Jason Barabas, discussing the apparently limited impact of unstructured online political conversation to increase public policy knowledge; and - Grant Kippen and Gordon Jenkins, analyzing the hesitancy of Canadian political parties to embrace cyberdemocratic strategies for building stronger relationships with their constituents.


Burkholderia pseudomallei is a mostly saprophytic bacterium, but can infect humans where it causes the difficult-to-manage disease melioidosis. Even with proper diagnosis and prompt therapeutic interventions mortality rates still range from >20% in Northern Australia to over 40% in Thailand. Surprisingly little is yet known about how B. pseudomallei infects, invades and survives within its hosts, and virtually nothing is known about the contribution of critical nutrients such as iron to the bacterium's pathogenesis. It was previously assumed that B. pseudomallei used iron-acquisition systems commonly found in other bacteria, for example siderophores. However, our previous discovery of a clinical isolate carrying a large chromosomal deletion missing the entire malleobactin gene cluster encoding the bacterium's major high-affinity siderophore while still being fully virulent in a murine melioidosis model suggested that other iron-acquisition systems might make contributions to virulence. Here, we deleted the major siderophore malleobactin (mba) and pyochelin (pch) gene clusters in strain 1710b and revealed a residual siderophore activity which was unrelated to other known Burkholderia siderophores such as cepabactin and cepaciachelin, and not due to increased secretion of chelators such as citrate. Deletion of the two hemin uptake loci, hmu and hem, showed that Hmu is required for utilization of hemin and hemoglobin and that Hem cannot complement a Hmu deficiency. Prolonged incubation of a hmu hem mutant in hemoglobin-containing minimal medium yielded variants able to utilize hemoglobin and hemin suggesting alternate pathways for utilization of these two host iron sources. Lactoferrin utilization was dependent on malleobactin, but not pyochelin synthesis and/or uptake. A mba pch hmu hem quadruple mutant could use ferritin as an iron source and upon intranasal infection was lethal in an acute murine melioidosis model. These data suggest that B. pseudomallei may employ a novel ferritin-iron acquisition pathway as a means to sustain in vivo growth.


Floods resulting from severe seasonal monsoon rainfall are the most important significant natural disaster affecting Malaysia in terms of their impact on the economic, damage to property and sometimes-tragic losses of lives. One of the greatest deficiencies of the current flood models used in the country is the inability to provide cloud and mesoscale rainfall information in the earliest portion of 0-6h of heir forecasting period. In this study NOAA- AVHRR and GMS satellite data were processed for grid based rainfall and rainfall intensity mapping to improve short range quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF) of severe monsoon weather and also to facilitate the assimilation of QPF into operational flood forecasting. 1D cloud model based QPF modeling process was developed, that relates cloud top temperature below 235oK, reflectance above 28% and cloud heights above 12000m with tropical rainfall formation within the range of 3-12 mm/hr. A grid based rainfall intensity map was thus produced for Langat River Basin. High correlations of R2 above 0.75 were observed for cloud top temperature processed from GOES data and recorded rainfall of severe monsoon weather of selected stations in Terengganu, Kuantan and Kota Bahru. Hydrodynamic and rainfall-runoff simulation were performed using MIKE 11 hydrological model and a suitably auto-calibrated NAM runoff model. The hydrological model was tested for rainfall runoff process using observed hourly rainfall data for the flood event of 27 Sept. to 8 Oct. 2000 as well as rainfall estimation derive from the cloud model QPF using hourly GMS temperature reading for the same storm period. The rainfall- runoff hydrographs generated for the two rainfall sources showed similarities with R2 of 0.9028.
The results of the runoff modeling were integrated in MIKE11 GIS model for flood inundation mapping. Separate inundation maps were generated for the observed rainfall and the QPF derive rainfall runoff results for comparison. The accuracies of both maps were verified using grid point location data for flooded areas published in the DID Annual Flood Report. The verification results showed an accuracy of 70% for both flood maps. The methods and processes developed by this study are flexible enough to be applied in other mesoscale and severe storm forecasting particularly a tropical setting. In using NOAA satellite, AVHRR data can be received and processed in advance of 6h of the actual rainfall event. This study should thus prove very useful for the assimilation of grid based rainfall intensity into and improve short- range operational flood forecast.


Based on the study on traffic flow characteristics of the intersection, and current signal timing model of intersection, this paper selected the stop delay, the number of stops and parking traffic capacity as the indexes, and translated them into a single nonlinear objective function which is the fitness of genetic algorithm. In order to meet the changes of intersection traffic flow, this paper improved the basic genetic algorithm. The improved algorithm with two genetic layers carried on signal timing optimization for middle traffic flow and peak traffic flow situation. Experiments show that the model is reasonable, and the effect caused by timing parameters optimization is obvious.


Abstract In this short note, we reify the connection between work on the storage capacity problem in wide two-layer treelike neural networks and the rapidly growing body of literature on kernel limits of wide neural networks. Concretely, we observe that the "effective order parameter" studied in the statistical mechanics literature is exactly equivalent to the infinite-width neural network gaussian process kernel. This correspondence connects the expressivity and trainability of wide two-layer neural networks.


The global demand for more, affordable, safe, and exotic foods in recent years has led to the increased use of intensive farming: this is closely associated with increased outbreaks of a variety of animal and zoonotic diseases. In addition to infectious diseases, cancer in animals is of key importance and research in this area has applications in humans that can be more relevant than studies from murine models. The urgent need for the development of new efficacious vaccines to control animal diseases has never been clearer. This concise book captures the essence of current and future shifts in vaccine development research that will likely transform our understanding of methods to stimulate specific and protective immune responses to infectious diseases, and to offer improved therapeutic applications for oncology patients. The book opens with a chapter on reverse vaccinology and systems vaccinology approaches that should lead to more effective vaccines with fewer side effects. This is followed by a chapter describing recent developments in cancer immunotherapy and vaccination. Additional chapters provide updates on mucosal vaccines in the bovine context, adjuvants, transboundary diseases of livestock, and maternal and neonatal immunization. The book closes with a timely discussion of the newest vaccine modality currently being evaluated to control the human COVID19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines. This book is essential reading for everyone working with vaccine development, from the PhD student to the experienced scientist, in academia, the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries, and in clinical environments.


Cloud Computing Business Framework (CCBF) is a framework for designing and implementation of Could Computing solutions. This proposal focuses on how CCBF can help to address linkage in Cloud Computing implementations. This leads to the development of Business Integration as a Service 1.0 (BIaaS 1.0) allowing different services, roles and functionalities to work together in a linkage-oriented framework where the outcome of one service can be input to another, without the need to translate between domains or languages. BIaaS 2.0 aims to allow automation, enhanced security, advanced risk modelling and improved collaboration between processes in BIaaS 1.0. The benefits from adopting BIaaS 1.0 and developing BIaaS 2.0 are illustrated using a case study from the University of Southampton and several collaborators including IBM US. BIaaS 2.0 can work with mainstream technologies such as scientific workflows, and the proposal and demonstration of BIaaS 2.0 will be aimed to certainly benefit industry and academia.


The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of plant densities and sidedressed nitrogen (N) rates on nutrition and productive performance of the common bean cultivars IPR 139 and Perola. For each cultivar, a randomized complete block experimental design was used in a split-plot arrangement, with three replicates. Plots consisted of three plant densities (5, 7, and 9 plants ha-1) and subplots of five N rates (0, 30, 60, 120, and 180 kg ha-1). Aboveground dry matter, leaf macro- and micronutrient concentrations, yield components, grain yield, and protein concentration in grains were evaluated. Lower plant densities (5 and 7 plants m-1) increased aboveground dry matter production and the number of pods per plant and did not reduce grain yield. In the absence of N fertilization, reduction of plant density decreased N concentration in common bean leaves. Nitrogen fertilization linearly increased dry matter and leaf N concentration, mainly at lower plant densities. Regardless of plant density, the N supply linearly increased grain yield of cultivars IPR 139 and Perola by 17.3 and 52.2%, respectively.


Imam Al Ghazali is a figure with a unique and revolutionary style of thinking. He also contributed a lot of thought about moral education. Family environment is very dominant in fostering moral education and moral education should start from the family because little children spend more time in the family environment than outside the home. To form a noble character, should the child's moral planting done early on as a foundation to live his life in the future. This paper aims to describe how the concept of moral education of children according to Imam Al Ghazali.


OBJECTIVES
Esophagectomy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The authors assessed the relationship between intraoperative fluid (IOF) administration and postoperative pulmonary outcomes in patients undergoing a transthoracic, transhiatal, or tri-incisional esophagectomy.

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study (level 3 evidence).

SETTING
Tertiary care referral center.

PARTICIPANTS
Patients who underwent esophagectomy from 2007 to 2017.

INTERVENTIONS
The IOF rate (mL/kg/h) was the predictor variable analyzed both as a continuous and binary categorical variable based on median IOF rate for this cohort (11.90 mL/kg/h).

MEASUREMENTS
Primary outcomes included rates of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) within ten days after esophagectomy. Secondary outcomes included rates of reintubation, pneumonia, cardiac or renal morbidity, intensive care unit admission, length of stay, procedure-related complications, and mortality. Multivariate regression analysis determined associations between IOF rate and postoperative outcomes. Analysis was adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, procedure type, year, and thoracic epidural use.

MAIN RESULTS
A total of 1,040 patients comprised this cohort. Tri-incisional esophagectomy was associated with a higher hospital mortality rate (7.8%) compared with transthoracic esophagectomy (2.6%, p = 0.03) or transhiatal esophagectomy (0.7%, p = 0.01). Regression analysis revealed a higher IOF rate was associated with greater ARDS within ten days (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.03, p = 0.01). For secondary outcomes, a higher IOF rate was associated with greater hospital mortality (adjusted OR = 1.05, p = 0.002), although no significant association with 30-day hospital mortality was identified.

CONCLUSIONS
Increased IOF administration during esophagectomy may be associated with worse postoperative pulmonary complications, specifically ARDS. Future well-powered studies are warranted, including randomized, controlled trials comparing liberal versus restrictive fluid administration in this surgical population.


The effect of many internal degrees of freedom on the vibration of elastic structures has been of great recent interest; several theories have predicted damping effects arising from associated internal resonances. As an initial effort to explore this phenomena experimentally, the behavior of a single such oscillator attached to ribbed cylindrical shell section has been measured. The single oscillator has been found to give rise to a fairly broadband resonance structure, with a bandwidth that paradoxically increases with decreasing frequency. These results, along with the physical interpretation and modeling, will be discussed.


OBJECTIVE
Trauma exposure is high in African Americans who live in stressful urban environments. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are common outcomes of trauma exposure and are understudied in African Americans. African Americans are more likely to seek treatment for psychiatric disorders in a primary care setting. Our study evaluated trauma exposure, PTSD and major depression in African Americans attending primary care offices.

METHOD
Six-hundred-seventeen patients (96% African Americans) were surveyed for trauma exposure in the waiting rooms of four primary care offices. Those patients reporting significant traumatic events were invited to a research interview. Of the 403 patients with trauma exposure, 279 participated.

RESULTS
Of the 617 participants, 65% reported > or = 1 clearly traumatic event. The most common exposures were transportation accidents (42%), sudden unexpected death of a loved one (39%), physical assault (30%), assault with a weapon (29%) and sexual assault (25%). Lifetime prevalence of PTSD and a major depressive episode (MDE) among those with trauma exposure (n=279) was 51% and 35%, respectively. The percent of lifetime PTSD cases (n=142) with comorbid MDE was 46%. Lifetime PTSD and MDE in the trauma-exposed population were approximately twice as common in females than males, whereas current PTSD rates were similar.

CONCLUSIONS
Our rate of PTSD (approximately 33% of those screened) exceeds estimates for the general population. Rates of MDE comorbid with PTSD were comparable to other studies. These findings suggest the importance of screening African Americans for PTSD, in addition to depression, in the primary care setting.


Background Educators have been challenged to provide more effective dermatology teaching methods. Drawing from the discipline of Applied Behaviour Analysis, Precision Training (PT) (e.g. using flashcards during timed learning sessions) can promote fluency i.e. accuracy and speed in a particular skill. We aimed to determine the impact of PT on medical students' dermatology diagnostic skills. Methods A between-groups controlled interventional study was conducted. Third year medical students were allocated to an intervention (PT + traditional teaching) or control (traditional teaching) group. For the PT group, we designed 50 dermatological image flashcards. Flashcard practice (using the Say All Fast Minute Each Day Shuffle method) took place 2-3 times/day and students' data on accuracy recorded over 5 days. Pre / post-training tests were carried out to determine the impact of PT on students' diagnostic skills. Results In total, 70 students (intervention group) / 65 (control group). Analysis of covariance was used to calculate the change score (comparing preand post-test). A statistically significant improvement of 8.8% (95% CIs; 4.9-12.7, p<0.001) was detected in the intervention group. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrated a positive effect of PT on medical students' dermatology diagnostic skills. This study signals new pedagogical opportunities for PT in undergraduate dermatology teaching.


This special issue is a following to the workshop entitled " Theory and Applications of High dimensional Complex and Symbolic Data Analysis in Economics and Management Science " which took place on October, 27 to October, 30 2011, at the School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing, China. 37 participants from 9 different countries (Belgium, Brasil, China, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, elevenia, USA) attended this workshop. 24 communications have been presented. This issue corresponds to an extended version of the best contributions as well as original submissions in the same field; all have been submitted to a long and severe refereeing process. The major part of the 12 papers of this special issue are about symbolic data analysis as well in an exploratory context (PCA of interval data), as in a predictive one (regression with histogram data). The other contributions give an overview of applications in some very active fields of Data Mining: social networks, recommendation systems, grouped data.


Study Design: A retrospective subgroup analysis of a prospective observational study was carried out. Summary of Background Data: Patients' baseline characteristics may influence the clinical outcomes after minimally invasive lumbar interbody fusion (MILIF). Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influence of patient's age and body mass index (BMI) on the clinical outcomes of MILIF for degenerative lumbar disorder. Materials and Methods: A total of 252 patients underwent MILIF. The clinical outcomes, including time to first ambulation, time to postsurgical recovery, back/leg pain in visual analog scale, Oswestry Disability Index, and EuroQol-5 Dimension, were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 6, and 12 months. Patients were subgrouped by age (50 y and below: N=102; 51–64 y: N=102; 65 y and above: N=48) and BMI (≤25.0: N=79; 25.1–29.9: N=104; ≥30.0: N=69). Data from baseline to 12 months were compared for all clinical outcomes within age/BMI subgroups. Adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) were summarized by age and BMI subgroups. Results: All age and BMI subgroups showed significant improvements in clinical outcomes at 12 months compared with the baseline. The median time to first ambulation was similar for all subgroups (age groups: P=0.8707; BMI: P=0.1013); older people show a trend of having longer time to postsurgical recovery (age groups: P=0.0662; BMI: P=0.1591). Oswestry Disability Index, back, and leg pain visual analog scale, and EuroQol-5 Dimension were similar in all subgroups at every timepoint. A total of 50 AEs (N=39) were reported, 9 of which were SAEs; 3 AEs and 1 SAE were considered to be related to surgical procedure. No differences were observed in safety by age groups and BMI groups. Conclusion: MILIF appears to be safe and effective, independent of age or weight in the treatment of degenerative lumbar disorder. Level of Evidence: Level II.


Multiple cooperating robot systems may be required to take up a closely coupled configuration in order to perform a task. An example is extended baseline stereo (EBS), requiring that two robots must establish and maintain for a certain period of time a constrained kinematic relationship to each other. In this paper we report on the development of a networked robotics framework for modular, distributed robot systems that supports the creation of such configurations. The framework incorporates a query mechanism to locate modules distributed across the two robot systems. The work presented in this paper introduces special mechanisms to model the kinematic constraint and its instantiation. The EBS configuration is used as a case study and experimental implementation to demonstrate the approach.


Dental implant treatment is one of the best alternatives in replacing missing teeth. Osseointegration is an important factor in determining its success, assessed from process that occurs between implant and bone as the criterion. Histomorphometry is the most accurate osseointegration evaluation method. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate whether Low Resonance Frequency Analyzer (LRFA) could be used as an alternative tool for osseointegration evaluation. This study conducted in two stages; LRFA fabrication and diagnostic testing. Osseointegration process evaluation was the second stage. Six male Macaque fascicularis aged about 6 years, weighing from 4.5 to 6 kg were the research subject. Evaluation of were performed through clinical examination and LRFA measurement on the first and second week, then once every month until the fourth month. Animals were sacrificed after the fourth month and histomorphometric examination was performed. The result of histomorphometric examination was compared with LRFA measurement using Pearson correlation coefficient. ROC curve of diagnostic test showed that sensitivity and specificity of LRFA was 90.2% (optimal values). Statistical analysis showed strong correlation between LRFA measurement and histomorphometric examination (R=0.8, P<0.5). With the result was as good as histomorphometric examination, therefore LRFA is an alternative osseointegration evaluation tool. Experimental article (J Int Dent Med Res 2016; 9: (Special Issue), pp. 376-381)


The endophytic fungal community associated with the native cactus Opuntia humifusa in the United States was investigated and its potential for providing antifungal compounds. A hundred-eight endophytic fungal isolates were obtained and identified by molecular methods into 17 different taxa of the genera Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Biscogniauxia, Cladosporium, Cryptococcus, Curvularia, Diaporthe, Epicoccum, Paraconiothyrium, Pestalotiopsis and Phoma. The most frequent species associated with O. humifusa were Alternaria sp. 3, Aureobasidium pullulans and Diaporthe sp. The fungal community of O. humifusa had a high richness and diversity; additionally, the species richness obtained indicates that the sample effort was enough to recover the diversity pattern obtained. Six extracts of endophytes showed antifungal properties and 1H NMR analyses of the extracts of Alternaria sp. 5 Ohu 8B2, Alternaria sp. 3 Ohu 30A, Cladosporium funiculosum Ohu 17C1 and Paraconiothyrium sp. Ohu 17A indicated the presence of functional groups associated with unsaturated fatty-acid olefinic protons and fatty acid methylene and methyl protons. GC-FID analysis of these extracts confirmed the presence of a mixture of different fatty acids. The 1H NMR analyses of Biscogniauxia mediterranea Ohu 19B extracts showed the presence of aromatic compounds. From the extract of B. mediterranea we isolated the compound 5-methylmellein that displayed moderate antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungi Phomopsis obscurans. Our results suggest that native medicinal cacti of the United States can live symbiotically with rich and diverse endophytic communities and may be a source of bioactive molecules, including those able to inhibit or control plant disease pathogens. © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.


Alterations of chemosensitivities associated with transformation of rat 3Y1 fibroblasts were compared among various agents, including either adenovirus type 12 (Ad12-3Y1), the E1A region of adenovirus type 12 (E1A-3Y1), mouse polyoma virus (Py-3Y1), Simian virus 40 (SV-3Y1), Rous avian sarcoma virus (SR-3Y1), plasmid DNA carrying v-Ha-ras oncogene (HR-3Y1), or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NG-3Y1), with untransformed 3Y1 fibroblasts, using a semiautomated non-clonogenic MTT assay. IC50 values were compared for each drug in each cell line. Among the different cell lines, untransformed 3Y1 cells were the most resistant to cisplatin (CDDP), adriamycin (ADM), carboquone (CQ), bleomycin (BLM), mitomycin C (MMC) and 4-hydroperoxy cyclophosphamide (4-hp-CPA). On the other hand, E1A-3Y1 cells were more resistant to vincristine (VCR) and NG-3Y1 and Ad12-3Y1 were more resistant to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) than untransformed 3Y1 cells. These transformed lines did not display any cross-resistance to other drugs. The dissociation of chemosensitivities between Ad12-3Y1 and E1A-3Y1 to ADM, VCR and 5-FU was recognized. These results suggested that some of these transforming agents may alter the chemosensitivities of anticancer drugs.


We explore and report on the temporal behavior of MEMS-based optical switching elements and optical amplifiers in multiwavelength systems as may be utilized in next generation optical networks. The importance of this work is underscored by the growing use of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) in conjunction with dynamically controlled optically transparent network elements. Switching, using MEMS technology, has taken on an important role in supporting dynamic network reconfiguration. Such networks typically include optical amplifiers, and multiple wavelengths are amplified by a single network element The combination of MEMS switching with optical amplifiers and other active elements provides new challenges in overall system design, as the millisecond switching time of MEMS fabrics is comparable to the excited state lifetime in Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), thereby leading to potentially undesirable gain fluctuations and cross talk. Our observations of such transients show durations ranging upwards of 20 milliseconds and amplitudes of up to 2 dB, with transients affecting both switched and unswitched wavelengths. These effects can lead to degradation in end-to-end system performance, as measured by bit error rate (BER). This problem is particularly important for future optical networks where burst switching and packet switching, in addition to circuit switching will generate transients on finer time


The development of internet has brought about a dual necessity for the printed press: that of looking for a new reader and a new format, which, beginning with the lengthy experience of the printed media, includes all the innovations of digital media, and this, along with both a new reader and a new format, creates the journalism of the 21 century. Respect towards the reader is obvious, as the youth which have begun to be known as digital natives, (generations born with internet) are distancing themselves more and more from printed paper for their entertainment and information by means of the new technologies. One of the tools recently incorporated by some newspapers in their online versions is that known as "serious games", and more concretely those centred on information are known as "news games". In news games, the reader finds a virtual world where his actions reveal the information which he traditionally would read in a printed newspaper. This is an activity to which the digital natives are becoming habituated. Could news games become one of the elements of the 21 century newspaper? In this paper we intend to make a pilot project which is being developed by a group of investigators from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, known, by taking various serious and news games as objects of study through which an answer to the question, above, is sought. The investigation explores and proposes a method of transfer of the informative content of videogames. To do this, we start from the triad: ideology, information and entertainment as the guidelines to follow for a possible protocol of adaptation of traditionally journalistic genre, such as reporting and editorials. In the basic structure of a game, we rely on the fundamental element which is "gameplay": game, as the rules framework, and, play, as possibilities of user actions. The game determines the world to be represented. It is a framework which establishes and structures a system of main characters, actions, conflicts, rules and possible results; which, by certain means is similar to the content of a journalistic theme. In this manner, the "gameplay" of a game is its ideology, the representation of the world which it brings about. The conversion of a plot in system is a fundamental step in making a report a possible game framework. More important than "gameplay", is the totality of information which the game transmits, and is determined by the theme on which the game is built around, and, which establishes everything from visual style to the type of personage the user will be in the virtual world. Finally, to ideology and information, entertainment is added. This is a term which seems to be at odds with information, but can by no means be lacking in any game, and, which obliges that the design of the game is such that, as well as fulfilling its informative function, is also attractive. The conclusions to which this work has brought us, establish the guidelines not only for the design of the game as possible ways of exploration for new journalism, but also, for its relationship with the digital media. Also, the investigation lays another factor which until now has not been mentioned on the table, which is that of the necessity of incorporating new professionals who not only possess the traditional knowledge of a journalist, but also, have the capacities of the new narrators of the digital media, into the writing-rooms of newspapers.


Blueberries are a type of vegetation with spectral signatures similar to that of forest and grass. Due to their size, they are difficult to distinguish when intermingled with tall grass. Blueberries are grown in the vicinity of evergreen forests to shield them from the wind and save them from freezing. It is also difficult to distinguish blueberries from forest by normal classification methods. Advanced image processing procedures have already been developed by the authors to distinguish blueberry plants from similar land-uses. Tracking the growth of blueberries throughout a season is another difficult task. Blueberry plants start coming to life by March from their dormant stage in winter. In April, the plants reach full vigor with small fruit developing. In May, the plants have matured and the fruit is ready to harvest. By September, the plants start coming into their dormant stage also known as the post harvest stage. One of the objectives of this study is to use multi-temporal SPOT imagery to distinguish the growth stages of blueberry plants in one orchard in Southeast Georgia in a single year. Another objective was to use high resolution National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery from several years to track the growth of post harvest stage blueberry plants in the orchard. Spot panchromatic images dated March, April, May, and September 2004 were used for blueberry growth analysis within a growing season. NAIP imageries of 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 were used to analyze the multi-year blueberry plant growth. Two-meter resolution NAIP imagery of 2005 and 2006 were resampled (pan-sharpened) to 1-meter resolution to compare directly with the 1-meter resolution imagery of 2007 and 2009. Weather parameters like air temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation are other pertinent features that contribute towards the blueberry growth. Spectral signatures (Digital Number) of the blueberry orchard (study area) along with the corresponding climatologic data for all four dates were used to develop relational models for predicting blueberry plant growth. The study results established that the combination of remote sensing information and climatologic parameters can track blueberry growth within a growing season and in multi-year comparisons. This study procedure can also be used for yield estimation or determining areas with disease affected blueberry plants.


Abstract 759 We hypothesized that metabolic differences between leukemia initiating cells and their normal counterparts represent a vulnerability in the leukemia initiating cell, which can be therapeutically exploited. To test this hypothesis, we used the MLL-AF9 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) model in mice. Actin-DsRed mouse bone marrow transduced with MLL-AF9 expressing retrovirus was used to produce serially transplantable leukemia. Leukemic granulocyte-monocyte precursors (L-GMPs), defined by others to be the leukemia initiating cells were flow sorted from secondary recipient mice and compared with normal GMPs (N-GMPs) from actin Ds-Red mice. Gene expression profiling, metabolomic profiling via liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry and an in vitro shRNA screen were used to identify metabolic pathways preferentially activated in leukemia initiating cells. Of 1574 defined metabolic enzymes, 44 were found to be differentially expressed between L-GMPs and their normal counterparts (N-GMPs). These together with 117 classic rate limiting enzymes were subjected to shRNA knockdown in vitro. Metabolomic profiling of both cell populations was used to corroborate findings from shRNA knockdowns. L-GMPs and N-GMPs were transduced with lentivirus expressing shRNAs of interest (5 shRNAs per gene) in a 384 well format, selected with puromycin and cultured for 72–96 hours in the presence of GFP-positive primary bone marrow stroma. The number of cells in each well at the end of this experiment was quantitated using an Image Xpress microscope. Genes, the knockdown of which by at least two independent shRNAs produced a two fold or more decrease in L-GMPs as compared to control wells and did not similarly decrease N-GMPs, were chosen for in vivo validation. Ten genes in the glycolysis pathway and TCA cycle, fatty acid metabolism and detoxification, and ketohexokinase were identified. Ketohexokinase, a rate-limiting enzyme in fructose metabolism was particularly potent and of interest given its potential to be exploited therapeutically. In vivo assessment of its relative ability to inhibit malignant versus normal hematopoietic cells is ongoing. These studies provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that specific metabolic circuits are differentially active in leukemia initiating cells in MLL-AF9 AML and may represent unique points of vulnerability that can be targeted therapeutically. Authors 1 and 2 contributed equally. Authors 3 and 4 contributed equally. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Sibling relationships have been recognized as important in facilitating the acquisition of emotional and social understanding and even assisting in cognitive development (Sanders, 2004). Sibling relationships that include one child with a disability are especially significant and worthy of study, as typical siblings tend to take on more responsibility for their siblings' care across their lifespan (Cicirelli, 1995). In attempting to understand these sibling relationships in childhood, past researchers have largely relied on parent report and behavioral observations. In order to advance the field's understanding of sibling relationships when one child autism, this study asked children to voice their perspectives and share their experiences. More specifically, four school-aged girls who had an older brother with autism were asked to individually complete a kinetic family drawing and participate in a semi-structured interview. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was then utilized to investigate these girls' constructed meanings of sisterhood. Analysis resulted in the discovery of superordinate and emergent themes relevant to role enactments, the felt experience of these roles, and the significance of togetherness. Additional themes appearing particularly relevant to sistering a brother with autism were also discovered. These superordinate and emergent themes are described in detail and are then considered in terms of alignment and departure from the existent literature. Lastly, limitations of this study and implications for clinical work and future research are addressed.


In over-crowded microfinance markets, borrowers tend to take loans from a variety of lenders, which leads to over-indebtedness on their part, and to a deterioration in the quality of the microfinance institutions'loan portfolios. Credit reference agencies have the potential to make the process of loan appraisal more effective and impose a disciplinary regime on borrowers. This article outlines the problem of lenders'lack of information on the creditworthiness of their customers, and how credit bureaus can operate to overcome the problem. The roles of public and private credit bureaus are covered. Establishing credit bureaus as start-ups in developing countries may be very expensive and involve high charges for MFIs, but alliances with private bureaus already operating in the formal sector may offer a greater potential for information-sharing arrangements.


A total of one hundred and two cases of otitis media were screened for the isolation of bacterial flora of ears. Out of this, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae accounting for 41.2%, 25.5% and 13.3% respectively were isolated. A further two hundred and four sputum samples from cases of lower respiratory tract infections were screened. Moraxella catarrhalis, S. aureus, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae constituting 20.9%, 37%, 30% and 21% were isolated in that order. Thirty-one point seven percent of the Moraxella catarrhalis isolates were beta-lactamase positive. Beta-lactamase M. catarrhalis were resistant to penicillin and ampicillin while the non-beta-lactamase producers were sensitive to these antimicrobial agents. However, both beta-lactamase producers and non-producers were resistant to trimethoprim but sensitive to erythromycin, tetracycline and amoxycillin. Staphylococcus aureus, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae was also sensitive to penicillin while S. pneumoniae was also sensitive to erythromycin and H. influenzae to chloramphenicol.


In this study we have determined the seroprevalence of infections by HTLV-I/II in the blood donor population from the city of Córdoba. A total of 5476 blood donor sera were screened for HTLV-I/II antibodies by particle agglutination assay (PA) (SERODIA HTLV-I, Fujirebio INC, Tokyo, Japan). The reactive sera samples were confirmed by an "in house" indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). 14 out of 5476 blood donors studied were PA reactive and were confirmed positive by IFA, showing a prevalence of 0.26% (95% confidence interval: 0.126%-0.394%). All the positive samples, except one, met the criteria for HTLV-I. Although one HTLV-I infected donor was an intravenous drug abuser and two donors were born in highly endemic areas for HTLV-I, no specific risk factors were identified among the others. The demonstration that HTLV-I circulates in blood donor population of Córdoba, points out that the systematic screening of blood for HTLV-I/II antibodies must be implemented in the blood banks, in an attempt to prevent the spread of infections with this oncogenic virus in Argentina.


A glassy carbon electrode decorated with Fe-OSA was successfully fabricated and its application in electrochemical detection of heavy ions was investigated. Fe-OSA was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The properties of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) before and after modification were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and the swelling, reproducibility, and thermal stability of Fe-OSA were studied. In the case of Pb(II), electrochemical detection was conducted by varying different parameters such as electrolyte, pH and deposition time. The electrochemical behavior of three heavy metal ions (Cd(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II)) on Fe-OSA-modified GCE was investigated under optimum conditions by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Using DPV, it was found that Fe-OSA-modified GCE could be used to effectively detect Cd(II), Cu(II) and Pb(II) individually. According to the obtained parameters (correlation coefficients and limit of detection) from the linear relationship between current and concentration, it was revealed that metal ions in low concentrations could also be detected simultaneously with high sensitivity.


Total proteins, esterases and acid phosphatases from pollen, seeds and leaves of three sunflower cultivars were separated by 2-D electrophoresis. The characteristic peptides for each cultivar were identified. The seeds and pollen of the cultivar Wielkopolski contained 45 and 37 characteristic peptides, respectively, while the seeds and pollen of Coril contained 73 and 35 characteristic peptides. The cultivar Frankasol had the lowest total number of stained peptides in seeds and pollen, and the number of the characteristic peptides was only 61 and 25, respectively. Analyses of esterases and acid phosphatases from young leaves and pollen led to identification of isoenzymes characteristic of the three cultivars. Only for Frankasol no specific acid phosphatase was observed, both in leaves and in pollen.


This paper presents analytical and numerical conformal mapping (CM) to analyze magnetic fields originating from permanent magnets and armature winding currents in a slotted air-gap of a surface mounted radial permanent-magnet synchronous motor (SPM), taking into account the effect of arbitrarily curved motor surfaces. We also studied the slotless configuration of the external rotor permanent-magnet motor for the purpose of calculating the complex relative air-gap permeance. The model is able to predict the air gap field and torque with high accuracy, which cannot be achieved using the previously available analytical methods in both cases: internal and external rotor permanent-magnet motor. We obtained one of the conformal mappings used in this study, the numerical solution of the Schwarz-Christoffel (SC) integral, by using the Matlab SC Toolbox. We used this field solution to calculate cogging torque and electromagnetic torque by integrating the Maxwell stress tensor inside the air gap. We verified the accuracy of the developed method by comparing its results with those obtained from the developed numerical finite-element (FE) model.


Governments are in need of anticipating systems changes to reduce risks and stimulate desired developments. Although policy-oriented foresight proves to be helpful and increasing for governments stimulate a forward-looking attitude, there is little reflection on how do futurists deal with policy in policy-oriented foresight. The text books state that future policy should not be included in the scenarios to allow policy-makers to "wind-tunnel" future policies. Based upon ethnographic analysis in the Netherlands and on a review of internationally developed scenarios, we examine futurists' strategies and struggles with the policy-free ideal.


Oligopeptides predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the oncogene v-fes of feline sarcoma virus (FeSV) were synthesized chemically and used to generate specific antibodies. Antisera against a 12-amino-acid-long oligopeptide (12-mer) located 42 residues from the carboxyl terminus of the v-fes coding sequence efficiently recognized the transforming proteins encoded by Snyder-Theilen (ST) and Gardner-Arnstein (GA) strains of FeSV. This 12-mer also contains 10 amino acid residues homologous in order and position to those predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the oncogene v-fps of avian Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV). The anti-12-mer immunoprecipitated the FSV-specific transforming protein molecules from FSV-transformed cells. Binding of these antipeptide antibody molecules to the v-fes and the v-fps gene products inhibited their associated tyrosine-specific protein kinase (EC 188.8.131.52) activities. The ability to generate such site-specific antisera to the products of related oncogenes will be valuable in the molecular characterization of retroviral transforming proteins and their normal cellular homologs.


We present an efficient graph-theoretic algorithm for segmenting a colored laser point cloud derived from a laser scanner and camera. Segmentation of raw sensor data is a crucial first step for many high level tasks such as object recognition, obstacle avoidance and terrain classification. Our method enables combination of color information from a wide field of view camera with a 3D LIDAR point cloud from an actuated planar laser scanner. We extend previous work on robust camera-only graph-based segmentation to the case where spatial features, such as surface normals, are available. Our combined method produces segmentation results superior to those derived from either cameras or laser-scanners alone. We verify our approach on both indoor and outdoor scenes.


Abstract It is valuable to examine children's questions that are particularly difficult for adults to answer, and the latter's responses, to better prepare and inform parents and other caregivers of their roles. Despite the crucial nature of these questions and answers for the children's development, research on them remains rare. The aim of this study was to examine pre-school children's difficult questions and the parents' answers to them. In this basic qualitative research, data was gathered via interviews with 46 parents whose children were attending pre-school. Word lists and word-repetition techniques were used for data analysis. Five main themes of the children's difficult questions were identified: religion, science and nature, sex and fertility, daily life, and miscellaneous concepts. Among the parents' answers, seven main themes were discerned: giving realistic answers (with examples), giving realistic answers (without examples), providing wrong explanations, providing purely religious explanations, leaving the question unanswered, answering insufficiently, and threatening or exhorting.


The study of the heat-trace expansion in non-commutative field theory has shown the existence of Moyal non-local Seeley–DeWitt coefficients which are related to the UV/IR mixing and manifest, in some cases, the non-renormalizability of the theory. We show that these models can be studied in a worldline approach implemented in phase space and arrive at a master formula for the n-point contribution to the heat-trace expansion. This formulation could be useful in understanding some open problems in this area, as the heat-trace expansion for the non-commutative torus or the introduction of renormalizing terms in the action, as well as for generalizations to other non-local operators.


We present a new LTCC stripline (SL) structured 60 GHz bandpass filter (BPF) composed of transitions to CPW pads for MMIC integration. The possible loss through the SL-CPW transition has been minimized by adopting air-cavities below the via and by gradual approaching the height of the ground planes. The fabricated transition reveals an insertion loss of 1.6dB and a S11/S22 below -20dB at the pass band of the filter. The dual-mode four-pole BPF shows a center frequency of 60.4GHz, 3.5% bandwidth, and S11/S22 below -15dB at the pass band. Excluding the insertion loss of the transitions, the filter insertion loss reveals 3.67dB.


Karl Raimund Popper, the philosopher and methodologist of science, died on 17 September 1994 at the age of 92 years. Locke was a Fellow of the Royal Society, of course, and some other early Fellows, Boyle in particular, have a secure place in the history of philosophy. Whewell, an intellectual forerunner of Popper's (Medawar 1967), was elected in 1820 when the Royal Society was, according to a contemporary philosopher, 'in a state of unstable equilibrium'; he was a mere 26, a lecturer in mathematics, and was to occupy the chair of mineralogy at Cambridge for some years before writing his exceptional studies in the history and philosophy of science. Whitehead and Russell were elected as Fellows for their mathematical work, as have been one or two more recently elected logicians. Popper is the only philosopher in modern times to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society primarily in recognition of his philosophical achievement.


The large radii of many hot Jupiters can only be matched by models that have hot interior adiabats, and recent theoretical work has shown that the interior evolution of hot Jupiters has a significant impact on their atmospheric structure. Due to its inflated radius, low gravity, and ultrahot equilibrium temperature, WASP-76b is an ideal case study for the impact of internal evolution on observable properties. Hot interiors should most strongly affect the nonirradiated side of the planet, and thus full phase-curve observations are critical to ascertain the effect of the interior on the atmospheres of hot Jupiters. In this work, we present the first Spitzer phase-curve observations of WASP-76b. We find that WASP-76b has an ultrahot dayside and relatively cold nightside with brightness temperatures of 2471 ± 27 K/1518 ± 61 K at 3.6 μm and 2699 ± 32 K/1259 ± 44 K at 4.5 μm, respectively. These results provide evidence for a dayside thermal inversion. Both channels exhibit small phase offsets of 0.68 ± 0.°48 at 3.6 μm and 0.67 ± 0.°2 at 4.5 μm. We compare our observations to a suite of general circulation models (GCMs) that consider two endmembers of interior temperature along with a broad range of frictional drag strengths. Strong frictional drag is necessary to match the small phase offsets and cold nightside temperatures observed. From our suite of cloud-free GCMs, we find that only cases with a cold interior can reproduce the cold nightsides and large phase-curve amplitude at 4.5 μm, hinting that the hot interior adiabat of WASP-76b does not significantly impact its atmospheric dynamics or that clouds blanket its nightside.


Users' mental models of security, though possibly incorrect, embody patterns of reasoning about security that lead to systematic behaviors across tasks and may be shared across populations of users. Researchers have identified widely held mental models of security, usually with the purpose of improving communications and warnings about vulnerabilities. Here, we implement previously identified models in order to explore their use for predicting user behavior. We describe a general approach for implementing the models in agents that simulate human behavior within a network security test bed, and show that the implementations produce behaviors similar to those of users who hold them. The approach is relatively simple for researchers to implement new models within the agent platform to experiment with their effects in a multi-agent setting.


Abstract : Qualification tests were performed to determine whether the polystyrene foam container, for MK 25 Marine Location Markers meets the Performance Oriented Packaging (POP) requirements specified by the United Nations Recommendations on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods. The container loaded to a gross weight of 35 pounds successfully met the requirements and retained its contents throughout the test.


In the past few years, big data has attracted significant attention, and many analytics platforms, such as Hadoop, have been developed to enable the analysis of massive data. Nevertheless, it is still very challenging to provision, let alone optimize, a comprehensive system that includes various aspects, from the computing infrastructure to the analytics programs. To tackle this challenge, in this article, we propose a novel provisioning framework, BigProvision, to provision big data analytics systems. The main idea of the framework is to first evaluate and model the performance of different big data analytics approaches, given a set of sample data and various analytics requirements, such as the expected results, budget, response time, and so on. Based on the evaluation and modeling results, BigProvision can generate a provisioning configuration that can be used to configure the whole system for big data analytics. To evaluate the performance of the proposed framework, we develop an experimental prototype that supports three analytics platforms, Hadoop, Spark, and GraphLab. Our experiments show that for the classic PageRank analysis, both GraphLab and Spark can outperform Hadoop under different requirements. Moreover, by modeling the results, our prototype can determine the expected settings, such as the number of machines and network capacity, for the system that shall handle the complete data set. The prototype and experiments demonstrate that the proposed framework has great potential to facilitate the provision and optimization of future big data analytics systems.


This paper uses novel data to show how the media amplifies the economic impact of newsworthy events the media multiplier. Specifically, we combine monthly aggregated and anonymized card spending data from 114 card issuing countries in 5 destination countries (Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Israel and Morocco) with a large corpus of news coverage of violent events in these destinations. To define and quantify the media multiplier we estimate a model of how media coverage helps shape beliefs about risks. When a country is perceived as dangerous by all potential visitors, aggregate spending falls by 53 percent with more than half of this effect due to the media multiplier. JEL Classification: O1, F5, F1, L8


Our recent work suggests that, thanks to nowadays powerful CNNs, image-based 2D pose estimation is a promising cue for determining pedestrian intentions such as crossing the road in the path of the ego-vehicle, stopping before entering the road, and starting to walk or bending towards the road. This statement is based on the results obtained on non-naturalistic sequences (Daimler dataset), i.e. in sequences choreographed specifically for performing the study. Fortunately, a new publicly available dataset (JAAD) has appeared recently to allow developing methods for detecting pedestrian intentions in naturalistic driving conditions; more specifically, for addressing the relevant question is the pedestrian going to cross? Accordingly, in this paper we use JAAD to assess the usefulness of 2D pose estimation for answering such a question. We combine CNN-based pedestrian detection, tracking and pose estimation to predict the crossing action from monocular images. Overall, the proposed pipeline provides new state-ofthe-art results.


To date augmented realities are typically operated in only a small defined area, in the order of a large room. This paper reports on our investigation into expanding augmented realities to outdoor environments. The project entails providing visual navigation aids to users. A wearable computer system with a see-through display, digital compass, and a differential GPS are used to provide visual cues while performing a standard orienteering task. This paper reports the outcomes of a set of trials using an off the shelf wearable computer, equipped with a custom built navigation software package, "map-in-the-hat".


Background: Gaelic games are some of the most popular sports played by Irish adolescents, and the Gaelic Athletic Association has undertaken educational initiatives to improve awareness of a sports-related concussion (SRC). However, SRC underreporting is common among adolescent athletes internationally, potentially due to poor knowledge or attitudes toward SRC. This study aimed to examine previous experiences with, knowledge of, and attitudes toward reporting SRCs, as well as views on future education in adolescent Gaelic games players and their parents. Hypotheses: The hypotheses were as follows: (1) A significant number of adolescent Gaelic games players will have experienced an SRC, (2) nondisclosure of SRCs will be common, and (3) adolescents will display poorer attitudes toward reporting than parents. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Adolescent male and female Gaelic games players (n = 113) and parents (n = 151) completed an anonymous questionnaire examining previous experiences with, knowledge of, and attitudes toward reporting SRCs, as well as views on future SRC education initiatives. Results: Overall, 57.5% of adolescent Gaelic games players suspected they had suffered an SRC previously, and a greater number of suspected SRCs were reported than were medically diagnosed. Adolescent players (mean score, 11.4/14) and their parents (mean score, 11.8) displayed good knowledge of SRC signs and symptoms. However, adolescents were less likely to report an SRC during an important game or if an important game was coming up. Both adolescents and their parents would like more SRC education, particularly in the format of online videos or medical professional–led workshops. Conclusion: Underreporting of SRC occurs in adolescent players, despite good knowledge of SRC signs and symptoms. Education is required to highlight the importance of completing a return-to-play program after an SRC regardless of match importance. Clinical Relevance: A multifaceted educational strategy that targets the wider Gaelic games community in the preferred formats identified by key stakeholders is required.


In this essay, we discuss new insights into the wide‐ranging impacts of mammalian transposable elements (TE) on gene expression and function. Nearly half of each mammalian genome is comprised of these mobile, repetitive elements. While most TEs are ancient relics, certain classes can move from one chromosomal location to another even now. Indeed, striking recent data show that extensive transposition occurs not only in the germline over evolutionary time, but also in developing somatic tissues and particular human cancers. While occasional germline TE insertions may contribute to genetic variation, many other, similar TEs appear to have little or no impact on neighboring genes. However, the effects of somatic insertions on gene expression and function remain almost completely unknown. We present a conceptual framework to understand how the ages, allele frequencies, molecular structures, and especially the genomic context of mammalian TEs each can influence their various possible functional consequences.


Coral reefs in Negeri Hative Besar, Ambon City are in a bad category or almost lost, where the percentage of coral cover is very small. One form of management for sustainability is to provide economic value for the damage to coral reefs. The purpose of this study was to assess community perceptions, analyze the relationship between perceptions and willingness to pay for repairing damage to coral reefs and to estimate the economic value of coral reef damage. This study uses a survey method. Data analysis consists of an analysis of public perceptions, analysis of the relationship between perceptions and WTP, and analysis of non-market economic valuations. The results showed that the community had knowledge about coral reefs, the benefits of coral reefs, and damage to coral reefs. There is no relationship between perceptions and willingness to pay the community for repairing damage to coral reefs in Negeri Hative Besar. The economic value of damage to coral reefs through a non-market approach in Negeri Hative Besar is IDR 1,188,332.66/month or IDR 14,259,991.95/year. Based on the economic value obtained, the management of coral reef damage in Negeri Hative Besar can be carried out through rehabilitation and coral transplantation activities with the involvement of the local community.


Abstract. The All-Sky interferometric meteor (SKYiMET) radar (MR) derived winds in the vicinity of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) are discussed. As Thumba (8.5° N, 77° E; dip lat. 0.5° N) is under the EEJ belt, there has been some debate on the reliability of the meteor radar derived winds near the EEJ height region. In this regard, the composite diurnal variations of zonal wind profiles in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) region derived from TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) and ground based meteor radar at Thumba are compared. In this study, emphasis is given to verify the meteor radar observations at 98 km height region, especially during the EEJ peaking time (11:00 to 14:00 LT). The composite diurnal cycles of zonal winds over Thumba are constructed during four seasons of the year 2006 using TIDI and meteor radar observations, which showed good agreement especially during the peak EEJ hours, thus assuring the reliability of meteor radar measurements of neutral winds close to the EEJ height region. It is evident from the present study that on seasonal scales, the radar measurements are not biased by the EEJ. The day-time variations of HF radar measured E-region drifts at the EEJ region are also compared with MR measurements to show there are large differences between ionospheric drifts and MR measurements. The significance of the present study lies in validating the meteor radar technique over Thumba located at magnetic equator by comparing with other than the radio technique for the first time.


Aim: To examine trends in the use of conditional discharges in New South Wales Local Courts between 2004 and 2015. Method: Data for adults found guilty of at least one offence in the New South Wales Local Courts between January 2004 and September 2015 were examined. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine whether the likelihood of receiving a bond without conviction under section 10(1)(b) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) has changed over time after other relevant offence and offender characteristics have been taken into account. Interactions between year of index contact and other variables, such as offence type, were also explored in these models. Models were estimated for all offences and then separately for drug offences (which showed the largest increase in the use of s10(1)(b) bonds without conviction). Results: The regression analyses showed that year of index contact had a significant positive effect on the odds of receiving a bond without conviction for all matters. Significant interaction effects between year of index contact and offence type suggested that the increase in bonds without conviction varied across crime type, with the largest increase observed amongst drug offences. When looking specifically at drug offences, significant differences in the rise of bonds without conviction were found across drug offence type. Conclusion: Rates of conditional discharges have been rising in New South Wales Local Courts over the past twelve years, even after controlling for the profile of matters coming before the courts.


Companies are progressively investing in practices aimed at improving the quality of management, with the main purpose of enabling them to operate competitively in the present market. For this, it is necessary to document the activities and information of the existing business processes in the organization, aiming at reducing time and cost in the elaboration of the particular model. In this context, the objective of this work is to develop a reference model of the Production Scheduling (PS) processes, an important module of production planning and control (PPC). The research methodology used in this work was divided into the following stages: study of PS and business process modeling, definition of reference model processes, choice of methodology and process modeling tool, development of reference model and prototype of the software and, finally, analysis of results. The modeling notation used was the BPMN, since it is considered a standard language in the field of process modeling. The prototype was developed through the Delphi interface in order to apply the model to support the implementation of business management programs. As results, from a formal documentation, the model proved to be a useful mechanism in the understanding of the processes raised and appropriate in the support to the implantation of production management tools.


MAN-AN ADAPTIVE MECHANISM. By George W. Crile, professor of surgery, School of Medicine, Western Reserve University. New York: The Macmillan Company. Cloth. Illustrated. 387 pp, Price, $2.50. . The great advances in preventive medicine and the revolutionary work of those striving along the lines such as those pointed to by the Life Extension Institute would never have been complete without the work of Dr. George W. Crile. His present book has been awaited, and it fulfils expectations. For more than twenty years the general theme treated in "Man-s-An Adaptive Mechanism" has been under investigation in Dr. Crile's laboratory and clinic. The summaries of his observations are offered in this book in the argument for his main thesis, that -man is essentially an energy-transforming mechanism, obeying the laws of physics, as do other mechanisms, The human body is a mechanism which has reached its present stage of efficiency through a continuous struggle to adapt itself to the conditions surrounding it, he points out. Dr. CriJe's purpose is to show that the phenomena of disease no less than the phenomena of normal livingemotion, ambition. ideals-are the OUtcome of this ancient friction which has resulted in the evolution in the body of a system of organs which. working in harmony or disharmony with the environment, produce responses now recognized as normal processes, now as abnormal reactions. The book is written in terms for the general reader, to whom it carries an appeal.