Obese children are often liable to weight-related teasing, and in earlier studies this childhood teasing has been found to predict body dissatisfaction. Cognitive theory postulates that negative experiences are the source of interpretation biases, implicating that weight-related teasing might make obese children vulnerable to shape- and weight-related interpretation biases. In the present study, it was tested whether young overweight children show interpretation biases related to body weight/shape and self-esteem. A Situation Interpretation Test (SIT) was used to find out whether overweight children (n = 20) interpret neutral and negative ambiguous situations more often in terms of their concerns about body weight/shape and self-esteem than healthy controls (n = 16). The data show that 8- to 12-year-old overweight children indeed show interpretation biases, that is, they were more likely to endorse negative appearance and self-esteem-related interpretations of a neutral or negative event than normal-weight children. Also, the perceived threat value of these events was higher in the overweight group. Interpretation biases like this might increase and maintain body dissatisfaction and psychological distress. It is therefore argued that the vulnerability to the development of an interpretation bias emphasises the need to use cognitive strategies that tackle these biases in the treatment of overweight children.


Gramsci's and Foucault's readings of power provide critical illuminations for understanding the linkage of state formations to urbanization and the spatial production of subjectivity. This article uses Central Park to illustrate how a combination of their insights helps to elucidate the emergence of pedagogical spaces and environmental hegemonies. I first propose a conceptual framework drawing on diverse parallels and tensions in Gramsci's Quaderni del carcere and Foucault's investigations in the 1970s, reassessed here from the vantage point of the implicit debate with Marxism in La société punitive. Urbanization and the built environment are theorized as material apparatuses of a form of capillary power that reconfigures the relations between state, civil society and individual subjects, striving to forge common senses of space that buttress political hegemony. This analytical toolkit is then applied in a political reappraisal of Central Park, exploring the role of design in the pedagogy of subaltern spatialities and the normalization of a consensual regime of publicity. The discussion pays special attention to the park's assemblage of liberal and disciplinary spatial techniques, its connection to broader agencies beyond core state apparatuses, and their effect on the advent of an integral state formation.


Mobile populations form an increasingly important part of many communities, yet tend to be neglected by problem gambling prevalence research. We explore relationships between problem gambling and the ways in which mobile subgroups use gambling venues. Adopting a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, we conduct an exploratory examination of three subgroups – construction workers, 'grey nomads', and 'southerner' tourists on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. The groups displayed substantial differences in venue visitation, gambling behaviour and problem gambling risk. The group with the least discretionary mobility, the construction workers, were most heavily dependent on gambling venues for economic and social relationships. This translated into higher levels of problem gambling risk, which was further mediated by the inter-personal connectedness of individuals. These results suggest that mobility per se does not directly result in higher risk of problem gambling but combines with social isolation to place individuals at risk.


Over the past 20 years, agriculture in the semi-arid Zuli river valley in Northwest China has been transformed from subsistence to commercial production. Instead of spring wheat and millet, peasants now grow maize, potatoes, and cabbage for national markets. This transformation has been facilitated by a series of interventions that have rescaled agricultural hydrosocial relations in the valley. Many of these interventions, such as alternative cash crops, do not fall under what is traditionally considered water governance, but have altered peasants' relationship with agricultural water nonetheless. This article (1) calls for a broadening of our understanding of scale in hydrosocial relations that gives more attention to the socioeconomic interactions that facilitate human relationships with water in the absence of the biophysical resource of water; (2) illustrates that state-backed rescaling of hydrosocial relations comprises contingent processes, which may or may not be planned; and (3) examines how water governance can mean examining what people do without water, as well as what they do with water. This article illustrates that a diverse set of state actors govern farmers' relationships with agricultural water in often conflicting ways by rescaling both the biophysical resource of water, and socioeconomic institutions that affect agricultural water use.


The massive digitalization of modern society has transformed human lifestyles in several dimensions ranging from social interactions to healthcare and wellness, including transportation systems, jobs, machinery, or energy management. However, physical environments and people have not evolved at the same pace, leaving a challenging gap between the advances in technology and how society efficiently interact with it. One specific case is the workplaces where digital literacy is not widespread among all employees (e.g. blue or grey collars) and the advent of such digitalization is a reality. This work presents an architectural approach to improve energy efficiency and wellness at work (by suggesting new behaviours and dynamics) while maintaining user comfort and keeping user's privacy. More specifically, this approach—inspired by the Fog computing paradigm—features a hierarchical scheme based of privacy maintenance which (1) collects real-time data from the users at the workplace environment; (2) processes these data in either in the Fog or Cloud infrastructure depending on the data sensitiveness; and (3) provides feedback to the user along with a set of recommendations related to energy usage. As such, the user is included in the whole data-cycle which allows employees to decide what information can be monitored, where it can be computed and the appropriate ICT channels to receive the feedback.


The liver is the most common site for metastatic spread in patients with colorectal carcinoma. In addition to conventional radiological investigations, F-18 FDG PET/CT is being used in staging of the colon cancer with a widely increasing manner. FDG, used in imaging, is not a tumor specific radiopharmaceutic, and it may be uptaken in many benign pathologies. This situation may sometimes cause difficulty in differential diagnosis. In this article findings of the liver cyst hydatid mimicking metastasis on FDG PET/CT scan in a case with colon cancer are presented. Hydatid cyst should be considered in differential diagnosis of liver lesions on PET scan, especially in countries where zoonotic infections are relatively common as in ours. In this case report findings that may contribute to the differential diagnosis of hydatid cyst and metastasis on FDG PET/BT scan are discussed.


The visionary goal of an easy to use service robot implies intuitive styles of interaction between humans and robots. Such natural interaction can only be achieved if means are found to bridge the gap between the forms of object perception and spatial knowledge maintained by such robots, and the forms of language, used by humans, to communicate such knowledge. Part of bridging this gap consists of allowing user and robot to establish joint reference on objects in the environment - without forcing the user to use unnatural means for object reference.

We present an approach to establishing joint object reference which makes use of natural object classification and a computational model of basic intrinsic and relative reference systems. Our object recognition approach assigns natural categories (e.g. "desk", "chair", "table") to new objects based on their functional design. With basic objects within the environment classified, we can then make use of a computational reference model, to process natural projective relations (e.g. "the briefcase to the left of the chair"), allowing users to refer to objects which cannot be classified reliably by the recognition system alone.


Some research on male clients of female prostitutes argues that clients are simply seeking unemotional sexual release or looking for wild and varied sexual experiences. Yet other sex workers portray clients as lonely, vulnerable, and desiring of emotional connection with women. Rather than view this as an "either-or" scenario—in which all clients fit one profile—we construct two dichotomous models of masculinity for clients and explore their attitudes toward women and sex. Men in the fragile masculinities category feel uncomfortable around women, unattractive to women, and rejected by women in the sexual marketplace, while consumer masculinities men get excited by approaching a prostitute, seek a variety of partners, and do not want the responsibilities of a relationship. We find that fragile masculinities men may be more dangerous to women than consumer masculinities men.


Good data analysis is required for the optimal design of water resources projects. However, data are not regularly collected due to material or technical reasons, which results in incomplete-data problems. Available data and data length are of great importance to solve those problems. Various studies have been conducted on missing data treatment. This study used data from the flow observation stations on Yeşilırmak River in Turkey. In the first part of the study, models were generated and compared in order to complete missing data using Artificial Neural Network Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS), multiple regression and Normal Ratio Method. Thus, it is tried to define the usability besides the other model to complete the missing data. Likewise, in the study. It is aimed to define the minimum number of data necessary for the use age of ANFIS. For this purpose in the second part of the study, the minimum number of data required for ANFIS models was determined using the optimum ANFIS model. Of all methods compared in this study, ANFIS models yielded the most accurate results. A 10-year training set was also found to be sufficient as a data set.


Solid organ transplantation (SOT) is considered the treatment of choice for many end-stage organ diseases. Thus far, short term results are excellent, with patient survival rates greater than 90% one year post-surgery, but there are several problems with the long term acceptance and use of immunosuppressive drugs. Hematopoietic Stem Cells Transplantation (HSCT) concerns the infusion of haematopoietic stem cells to re-establish acquired and congenital disorders of the hematopoietic system. The main side effect is the Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD) where donor T cells can cause pathology involving the damage of host tissues. Patients undergoing acute or chronic GvHD receive immunosuppressive regimen that is responsible for several side effects. The use of immunosuppressive drugs in the setting of SOT and GvHD has markedly reduced the incidence of acute rejection and the tissue damage in GvHD however, the numerous adverse side effects observed boost the development of alternative strategies to improve the long-term outcome.
To this effect, the use of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) as a cellular therapy is an attractive approach for autoimmunity disease, GvHD and limiting immune responses to allograft after transplantation. Treg have a pivotal role in maintaining peripheral immunological tolerance, by preventing autoimmunity and chronic inflammation.
Results of my thesis provide the characterization and cell processing of Tregs from healthy controls and patients in waiting list for liver transplantation, followed by the development of an efficient expansion-protocol and the investigation of the impact of the main immunosuppressive drugs on viability, proliferative capacity and function of expanded cells after expansion.
The conclusion is that ex vivo expansion is necessary to infuse a high Treg dose and although many other factors in vivo can contribute to the success of Treg therapy, the infusion of Tregs during the administration of the highest dose of immunosuppressants should be carefully considered.


180 disabled elderly persons were followed in a home care program after acute care rehabilitation in order to correlate subjective and objective ratings of medical, physical, and social functioning. To assess the benefits of case management services, 95 test patients receiving such care at home were compared with 85 controls who did not receive services. Both groups reported gains in functional health and their reports were verified with objective measures. There was no difference, however, between the groups in outcome. Our findings indicated that self-assessments correlate highly with measures of functional health. Procedures for self-ratings should be developed as important complements to objective functional health measures.


In the past decade, an increasing number of Danish public, private and independent schools have introduced regular compulsory education outside the classroom for children aged 7–16 as a weekly or biweekly 'outdoor school' day – known in Danish as udeskole. An analysis of this form of outdoor education, its impacts and provision has been undertaken. Findings suggest that udeskole can add value to normal classroom teaching especially with regards to health, social and well-being perspectives. Future recommendations include collaborative strategies between researchers, local government sectors, and educational and landscape planners and managers to improve the impact and provision of udeskole in the Danish school system. Further, it is important to understand this grassroots movement of devoted teachers from both an educational and green management perspective.


This report documents the fishery, assessment, and management of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) across its distribution range. Targeting lumpfish for their roe on a large scale began in the 1950s in Iceland and Norway and then in Canada in the 1970s and Greenland in the 1990s. When the fishery began, there were few regulations, but limits on vessel size, mesh size, number of nets, and length of the fishing season were gradually implemented over time. Worldwide landings have varied from ca. 2000 to 8000 tonnes of roe between 1977 and 2016. Iceland and Canada accounted for >80% of the landings until 2000. After 2013, Greenland and Iceland accounted for >94%. All countries except Iceland show a decreasing trend in the number of boats participating in the fishery, which is related to several factors: the monetary value of the roe, changes in the abundance of lumpfish, and increasing age of artisanal fishers. Each country has a different combination of data available for assessment from basic landings and fishing effort data to more detailed fishery independent survey indices of abundance. The management of total catch also differs, with an effort-controlled fishery in Iceland and Canada, a total allowable catch (TAC) per boat in Norway, and TAC per area in Greenland. Population abundance is above management targets in Iceland and Norway, but the status is less clear in Greenland and around Denmark/Sweden and appears to be depleted around Canada. Certification by the Marine Stewardship Council was instrumental in the adoption of a management plan in Greenland; however, benefits to the fishers remain unclear. Aspects surrounding the biology of lumpfish, which is poorly understood and requires investigation, include growth rate, natural mortality, and population differentiation. In addition, there is concern about the potential impacts that the recent escalation in production of lumpfish for use as cleaner fish in the aquaculture industry could have on the wild population.


Three dimensional electron microscopy is becoming a very data-intensive field in which vast amounts of experimental images are acquired at high speed. To manage such large-scale projects, we had previously developed a modular workflow system called Scipion (de la Rosa-Trevín et al., 2016). We present here a major extension of Scipion that allows processing of EM images while the data is being acquired. This approach helps to detect problems at early stages, saves computing time and provides users with a detailed evaluation of the data quality before the acquisition is finished. At present, Scipion has been deployed and is in production mode in seven CryoEM facilities throughout the world.


Background: To investigate long-term outcomes of prediction error after phacotrabeculectomy and to determine risk factors that may cause unstable prediction error after phacotrabeculectomy in glaucoma patients. Methods: A total 120 eyes of 120 patients who had underwent uncomplicated phacotrabeculectomy (combined group) or phacoemulsi�cation (phaco-only group) were included. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured before and after surgery, and anterior segment parameters including anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens vault (LV), and anterior vault (AV) measured using anterior-segment optical coherence tomography were compared between the two groups. The mean absolute error (MAE) at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively were compared. Risk factors associated with unstable prediction error (MAE ≥ 0.5) were investigated in the combined group. Results: In both groups, BCVA was improved and IOP was decreased signi�cantly. MAE at 3, 6, 12, 24 months postoperatively were not signi�cantly different between two groups. The risk factors for unstable prediction error after 12 months of phacotrabeculectomy were old age and LV. Whereas, the only factor predicting unstable prediction error after 24 months of phacotrabeculectomy was LV. The cut-off value of LV for predicting unstable refractive error analyzed by the ROC curve was 0.855 mm. Conclusions: Phacotrabeculectomy may be an effective treatment with stable long-term outcomes of prediction error similar to phacoemulsi�cation in patients with glaucoma. However, elderly patients or patients with large LV may be predisposed to unstable prediction error after phacotrabeculectomy.


This article assesses the transfer of terrorism suspects outside the United States to other countries for detention and interrogation. The focus is on the CIA's alleged program of irregular rendition on non-U.S. citizens. Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture sets a standard for irregular rendition, precluding transfers in which there are substantial grounds for believing the suspect will be tortured in the receiving country. Beyond an argument that commander-in-chief powers may override American law on rendition, two means for complying with Article 3 are obtaining official assurances from the receiving country before transfer and monitoring the conditions of the suspect's confinement after transfer. The assurances, oral or in writing, could come from heads of state, through diplomatic channels, or from intelligence officials. And the monitoring could be done by human observers or by technical means. Assurances and monitoring are not necessary on renditions to countries with excellent human rights records. On renditions to countries whose human rights records are at the bottom of the list, assurances and monitoring will not be enough to reach legality. Assurances and monitoring do, however, make a difference on close calls. Accordingly, several combinations of assurances and monitoring are assessed against the records of countries, including Romania, Jordan, and Uzbekistan, which have been mentioned as possible recipients of CIA renditions. The conclusion, in disagreement with Human Rights Watch and the New York City Bar Association, is that irregular rendition can be carried out under the rule of law with care, caution, and a bit more transparency.


This thesis presents a mathematical framework for real-time sensor-driven stochastic modeling of story and user-story interaction, which I call sto(ry)chastics. Almost all sensor-driven interactive entertainment, art, and architecture installations today rely on one-to-one mappings between content and participant's actions to tell a story. These mappings chain small subsets of scripted content, and do not attempt to understand the public's intention or desires during interaction, and therefore are rigid, ad hoc, prone to error, and lack depth in communication of meaning and expressive power. Sto(ry)chastics uses graphical probabilistic modeling of story fragments and participant input, gathered from sensors, to tell a story to the user, as a function of people's estimated intentions and desires during interaction. Using a Bayesian network approach for combined modeling of users, sensors, and story, sto(ry)chastics, as opposed to traditional systems based on one-to-one mappings, is flexible, reconfigurable, adaptive, context-sensitive, robust, accessible, and able to explain its choices.
To illustrate sto(ry)chastics, this thesis describes the museum wearable, which orchestrates an audiovisual narration as a function of the visitor's interests and physical path in the museum. The museum wearable is a lightweight and small computer that people carry inside a shoulder pack. It offers an audiovisual augmentation of the surrounding environment using a small eye-piece display attached to conventional headphones. The wearable prototype described in this document relies on a custom-designed long-range infrared location-identification sensor to gather information on where and how long the visitor stops in the museum galleries. It uses this information as input to, or observations of a (dynamic) Bayesian network, selected from a variety of possible models designed for this research. It then delivers an audiovisual narration to the visitor as a function of the estimated visitor type, and interactively in time and space.
The network has been tested and validated on observed visitor tracking data by parameter learning using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, and by performance analysis of the model with the learned parameters. Estimation of the visitor's preferences, in addition to the type, using additional sensors, and examples of sensor fusion, are provided in a simulated environment.
The main contribution of this research is to show that (dynamic) Bayesian networks are a powerful modeling technique to couple inputs to outputs for real-time sensor-driven multimedia audiovisual stories, such as those that are triggered by the body in motion in a sensor-instrumented interactive narrative space. The coarse and noisy sensor inputs are coupled to digital media outputs via a user model, and estimated probabilistically by a Bayesian network. Other contributions are: the design of the museum wearable application, the assembly and fashioning of a wearable computer, specifically conceived for museum use; the design and realization of a new long-range infrared location-identification sensor; the construction and testing of a variety of Bayesian networks for user-type and profile estimation; the extension of the previous Bayesian network for real-time story-segment selection and editing; model selection; model validation and parameter learning via the EM algorithm; and simulation of processing multiple sensor inputs with a Bayesian network for more robust estimation and more accurate user profiling.
Other possible applications of sto(ry)chastics extend to digital storytelling for a variety of interactive architectural spaces, art installations, or the theater stage. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)


Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is the first-line antimicrobial combination for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections. However, allergy or intolerance and increasing resistance limit the use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Quinolones can be used as an alternative therapeutic option, but resistance can emerge rapidly during therapy. We analyzed the contribution of SmeABC and SmeDEF efflux pumps to levofloxacin resistance in clinical isolates of S. maltophilia. Nonduplicate clinical isolates of S. maltophilia were collected in 2010 from 11 university hospitals (n = 102). Fifty-five levofloxacin nonsusceptible (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] ≥4 μg/ml) and 47 susceptible (MIC ≤2 μg/ml) isolates were tested for efflux pump overexpression. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR was performed for amplification and quantification of smeB, smeC, smeD, and smeF mRNA. To determine which antimicrobials were affected by smeD overexpression, the growth rates of a levofloxacin-susceptible S. maltophilia isolate were compared by measuring absorbance of antimicrobial-supplemented Luria-Bertani broth (LB) cultures with or without triclosan. Significant relationships between sme gene overexpression and resistance were observed for smeD against levofloxacin, smeC and smeF against ceftazidime, and smeC against ticarcillin-clavulanate. The mean MICs of moxifloxacin and tigecycline did not significantly differ for isolates with or without overexpression of smeB, smeC, and smeF, but were significantly higher for isolates with smeD overexpression. The mean MICs of amikacin were significantly higher for smeC or smeF overexpressing isolates. Increased growth of a levofloxacin-susceptible isolate was observed in LB with 1/2 MIC levofloxacin in the presence of triclosan. These data suggest that the expression of smeD plays a role in levofloxacin resistance in S. maltophilia.


1. We have previously demonstrated that the metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate [(1S;3R)-ACPD] presynaptically inhibits evoked glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in patch-clamped rat nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) neurons recorded in thin slices. The present study investigated the ability of endogenously released glutamate to modulate EPSCs in the NTS. 2. A low-frequency tetanus of the tractus solitarius (TS) resulted in either posttetanic potentiation (PTP) (8 of 21 cells) or depression (13 of 21 cells) of monosynaptic EPSCs recorded in the presence of D(-)2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5) and bicuculline. 3. The amplitude of the EPSC was not significantly affected by the bath application of the mGluR antagonist (+) alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG). 4. In the presence of MCPG, a low-frequency tetanus resulted in PTP of the EPSC in all neurons. PTP was significantly enhanced in those cells previously exhibiting PTP. 5. The results suggest that presynaptic mGluRs on TS projections to the NTS may be activated by endogenously released glutamate at physiologically relevant stimulus frequencies and therefore play a role in the modulation of autonomic afferent transmission.


A record high-performance GaAs high-voltage HBT (HVHBT)-based WCDMA base-station power amplifier is presented, which uses an envelope tracking bias system to achieve high efficiency and linearity. A wideband envelope amplifier provides dynamic collector supply biasing to the RF stage. A digital pre-distortion technique is employed to satisfy the linearity specifications of WCDMA. The measured overall power-added efficiency reached 58% with a normalized root-mean-square (RMS) error of 2.9% and an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of -49 dBc at 5-MHz offset at an average output power of 42 W and a gain of 10.3 dB for a single carrier WCDMA signal with 6.6-dB peak-to-average power ratio. A memory mitigation algorithm further improves the linearity, resulting in an ACLR of -70 dBc and a normalized RMS error of 0.3%. Measurements were made to quantify separately the efficiency contributions of the HVHBT-based RF stage, and of the envelope amplifier. The measurements show that the RF stage operates at collector efficiency above 85% over most of the instantaneous power range of the WCDMA signal. This remarkably high efficiency is the result of low ldquoon-resistancerdquo and low (and nearly voltage independent) output capacitance of the HVHBT.


Background Asthma is an important focus for pediatric health research as management of asthma symptoms is a significant challenge, and morbidity and mortality among youths with asthma remain prevalent. Treatment guidelines for asthma recommend a written asthma action plan (WAAP) that summarizes individualized instructions for daily medication use. However, WAAPs are typically written at a seventh- to ninth-grade reading level, which can be a barrier to young people in understanding their treatment, having confidence in using a WAAP, and engaging with asthma education. Objective Utilizing a feasibility and pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, the objective of the Take Action for Asthma Control study is to test a symptom-based, computer-generated pictorial asthma action plan (PAAP) in comparison with a standard WAAP and assess the feasibility and acceptability of the asthma action plan (AAP) intervention and study procedures. The study has 3 aims: (1) estimate the effect sizes of PAAPs compared with WAAPs on outcomes (eg, AAP knowledge and medication adherence), (2) evaluate feasibility and acceptability of AAP intervention and RCT procedures from the perspectives of key stakeholders, and (3) establish whether parent and youth literacy levels are associated with treatment outcomes. Methods This feasibility and pilot RCT is a block randomized, 2-arm, parallel-group clinical trial, lasting 6 months in duration. At baseline, participants will be randomly assigned to receive a PAAP or WAAP generated for them and reviewed with them by their asthma physician. Study procedures will take place over 4 separate time points: a baseline clinic appointment, 1-month telephone follow-up, and 3- and 6-month clinic-based follow-ups. At each time point, data will be collected related to the main outcomes: AAP knowledge, AAP satisfaction, asthma control, pulmonary function, and adherence to daily asthma medication. A sample size of up to 60 participants (aged 8-17 years) will be recruited. Feasibility and acceptability data will be collected via one-to-one qualitative interviews with providers involved in the study and a subgroup of families that participate in the study. Results Recruitment and data collection began in May 2017 and were completed in October 2018. Conclusions This pilot and feasibility study will test the potential efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of an AAP intervention and study procedures. The findings will inform the design and delivery of a future definitive trial to assess the efficacy of PAAPs versus WAAPs in supporting asthma self-management among children and adolescents. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/11733


A nonparametric Bayesian sparse graph linear dynamical system (SGLDS) is proposed to model sequentially observed multivariate data. SGLDS uses the Bernoulli-Poisson link together with a gamma process to generate an infinite dimensional sparse random graph to model state transitions. Depending on the sparsity pattern of the corresponding row and column of the graph affinity matrix, a latent state of SGLDS can be categorized as either a non-dynamic state or a dynamic one. A normal-gamma construction is used to shrink the energy captured by the non-dynamic states, while the dynamic states can be further categorized into live, absorbing, or noise-injection states, which capture different types of dynamical components of the underlying time series. The state-of-the-art performance of SGLDS is demonstrated with experiments on both synthetic and real data.


The National Broadband Network (NBN) has the potential to transform economic and social relations. But realising that potential requires universal take-up and significant utilisation of the NBN. This paper examines how NBN wholesale pricing can help to do this. It introduces a mark-up concept to build a bridge between wholesale and retail prices, provides a yard-stick for how we might define affordable retail pricing and suggests how an entry level wholesale price can be specified to deliver that and enable low income customers to access the NBN.


Following a successful Phase A study, we introduce the delivered conceptual design of the MOSAIC1 multi-object spectrograph for the ESO Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). MOSAIC will provide R~5000 spectroscopy over the full 460-1800 nm range, with three additional high-resolution bands (R~15000) targeting features of particular interest. MOSAIC will combine three operational modes, enabling integrated-light observations of up to 200 sources on the sky (high-multiplex mode) or spectroscopy of 10 spatially-extended fields via deployable integral-field units: MOAO6 assisted high-definition (HDM) and Visible IFUs (VIFU). We will summarise key features of the sub-systems of the design, e.g. the smart tiled focal-plane for target selection and the multi-object adaptive optics used to correct for atmospheric turbulence, and present the next steps toward the construction phase.


Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK-1) is a well-known (Ser/Thr) mitotic protein kinase and is considered as a proto-oncogene. As hyper-activation of PLK-1 is broadly associated with poor prognosis and cancer progression, it is one of the most extensively studied mitotic kinases. During mitosis, PLK-1 regulates various cell cycle events, such as spindle pole maturation, chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. However, studies have demonstrated that the role of PLK-1 is not only restricted to mitosis, but PLK-1 can also regulate other vital events beyond mitosis, including transcription, translation, ciliogenesis, checkpoint adaptation and recovery, apoptosis, chromosomes dynamics etc. Recent reviews have tried to define the regulatory role of PLK-1 during mitosis progression and tumorigenesis, but its' functional role beyond mitosis is still largely unexplored. PLK-1 can regulate the activity of many proteins that work outside of its conventional territory. The dysregulation of these proteins can cause diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, tumorigenesis etc. and may also lead to drug resistance. Thus, in this review, we discussed the versatile role of PLK-1 and tried to collect data to validate its' functional role in cell cycle regulation apart from mitosis.


Motivation and research objective: The HOV-scanner can be used to indicate the effect on public transport (PT) share of changes in PT services, for example, a new PT line. The HOV-scanner is developed and used by MuConsult. The HOV-scanner in its current layout is facing some limitations:
1. In case of parallel PT connections all demand is assigned to the most attractive connection. It is likely to assume that the assignment is more nuanced in real life.
2. The HOV-scanner is used as a first indicator for the feasibility of a new PT connection, but using it for this purpose is complex due to the layout of the HOV-scanner. This results in an operation that is too labor-intensive.
In this study both topics are studied and the HOV-scanner is improved accordingly. As a result the research objective is: "To implement PT route choice into the HOV-scanner to simulate parallel connections more realistic. Furthermore, the work load should be reduced to make the HOV-scanner more suitable as a first indication regarding the feasibility of a new PT system." The objective of this research results in two research questions:
1. How should the HOV-scanner be designed to be able to model parallel PT connections?
2. How can the HOV-scanner be improved to reduce the work load? The HOV-scanner: The HOV-scanner is a tool that uses origin/destination (OD) matrices and utility functions to calculate a modal split. The HOV-scanner is programmed in MATLAB. It is designed according to the four-stage transportation model. The total trip distribution is calculated and aggregated to match the desired zone size. Then the modal split is modeled for the reference situation by using a Multinomial Logit choice model. Errors are calibrated if any occurred. The changes in the PT network in combination with the sensitivity toward changes results in a new utility for PT. This new PT utility is used to forecast the distribution for the new situation. The HOV-scanner is modeled according to the schedule based approach. Research approach: As part of the research the current HOV-scanner is analyzed and an introducing literature study has been performed. Thereafter a route set generation method for PT and a choice model are composed and elaborated.
The route set generation method should improve processing time and include all attractive PT routes within the study area. A constrain set is proposed with which the PT route set must comply. Programs and methods are analyzed and the constrained enumeration method is selected as being the most suitable. The constrained enumeration method and the constraints are implemented in a MATLAB program. The program is applied on the "Duin en Bollenstreek" area and resulted in a processing time reduction of a factor five. This is a satisfying improvement over the manual method especially since the HOV-scanner is extended from a single route from towards a route set.
In extension of the original HOV-scanner PT route choice is included and therefore the choice model is altered. A nested Logit model is proposed whereby the different PT routes are nested in the PT branch. To forecast the effect of a new PT scenario a four step approach is conducted:
1. Set up and apply the choice model for the reference situation.
2. Calibrate the outcome of the choice model for each OD relation and mode
3. Calculate the shift in utility for the PT system based upon information that is retrieved in the first step.
4. Forecast the use of the PT system for the scenario.
To model the PT utility it is proposed that in vehicle time, waiting time, transfer time, access an egress time, number of transfers, frequency and PT modes should be included. During the implementation on the "Duin en Bollenstreek" data the frequency and PT mode deviation is neglected due to modeling errors. Furthermore the generalized cost for PT is used to improve the model. The generalized cost for PT consists of the selected parameters and a weight ratio that is retrieved from literature.


: The scope of quantitation in genetics ranges from traits that are defined by quantity to those that can be quantitated not at all, or only with difficulty and on artificial scales of specious interpretability. Since disease is a complex process, there is a serious risk that a projection of it on an arbitrary system of measurements may be insensitive or frankly misleading. A hypothetical but plausible example (the "brittle model") of a purely genetic trait (but one with zero heritability) is presented. In addition an illustration is given that competition in pathways to an endpoint (such as death) may lead to a counterintuitive reversal of the positive skewness in the component processes (the "bingo model"). These paradoxical results reflect the perils of inadequate descriptors and an irrational reliance on stock methods of looking at the inheritance of disease. Well-known studies by Brown and Goldstein, Knudson, Paigen. Armitage and Doll, and Moolgavkar are cited as examples of how medical geneticists might rationally approach the genetics of common and complicated diseases.


A digital frequency synthesizer has been designed and constructed based on generating digital samples of \exp [j(2^{\pi}nk/N)] at time nT . The real and imaginary parts of this exponential form samples of quadrature sinusoids where the frequency index k is allowed to vary (-N/4) \leq K . The digital samples drive digital to analog converters followed by low-pass interpolating filters to produce analog sinusoids. The method is superior to digital difference equations with poles on the unit circle since the noise or numerical inaccuracy remains bounded. The digital technique used consists of factoring the exponential into two table look-ups from an efficiently organized small READ-ONLY memory table and performing a complex multiply to produce the real and imaginary components. A small array multiplier efficiently organized performs the multiplications. The technique lends itself to the production of phase coherent or phase controlled sinusoids because of the indexing arrangement used. In addition finer frequency steps than the READ-ONLY memory allows are available by expanding the indexing register at no increase in inaccuracy.


The electron-transfer kinetics of copper(II/I) complexes formed with the macrocyclic terdentate ligand 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane ([9]aneS3
= TTCN = L) have been investigated under a variety of conditions. The relevant equilibrium constants, complex formation and dissociation rate constants, and redox potentials in both water and acetonitrile have also been determined. The predominant oxidized species in both solvents is CuIIL2, although the 1 ∶ 1 complex, CuIIL(H2O)3, can become dominant in water at high Cu(II) concentrations. The predominant reduced species is the 1 ∶ 1 complex, CuIL (i.e., CuIL(H2O) or CuIL(CH3CN)), as confirmed by electrospray mass spectrometry, pulsed square-wave voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry and the ligand dependence of the oxidation kinetics. Electron transfer occurs
almost exclusively through the bis redox couple, CuII/IL2, even for solutions containing predominantly CuIIL(H2O)3. In the latter case, reduction involves a three-step sequence in which (i) CuIIL(H2O)3 reacts with L to produce CuIIL2, (ii) electron transfer occurs and (iii) L dissociates again to yield CuIL(H2O). The sluggishness of direct electron transfer in the 1 ∶ 1 complex is attributed to the unfavorable energetics of forming or dissociating strong copper–solvent bonds combined with the accompanying re-structuring of the surrounding solvent.


Plant tolerance to pest injury is an ideal component of integrated pest management (IPM) programs, because it places no selection pressure on pest populations, but tolerance is little understood and its use in pest management is limited. In field experiments in 1994, 1995, and 1996, we characterized tolerance to defoliation in 'Clark' soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] isolines differing in leaf morphology : 3- and 5-leaflet, narrow and wide leaflet. Sequential defoliation was imposed manually at the R2 stage (full flowering), based on an insect consumption model. In 1994 and 1996, with ample rainfall, all isolines expressed yield compensation or overcompensation for defoliation as high as 75%, due to compensatory regrowth and delayed leaf senescence; in 1995, however, when rainfall was marginal, defoliation caused significant yield reduction. Equal amounts of leaf tissue removed resulted in different leaf area indices (LAIs). Wide-leaflet isolines had higher LAI than narrow-leaflet isolines, but the narrow-leaflet isolines, particularly Clark-3N, had greater light interception capacity for a given LAI level and had a higher light extinction coefficient in 1995. This shows that light was available to leaves in the lower canopy in the narrow-leaflet isoline. Both low and high defoliation treatments caused significant yield reductions in all isolines, except that low defoliation did not significantly affect the yield of Clark-3N in 1995. The narrow-leaflet isolines apparently tolerated defoliation better than the wide-leaflet isolines because the narrow-leaflet isolines had greater light interception and maintained equal or better yields, despite similar defoliation. In addition to LAI, both canopy light interception and light extinction coefficient are important criteria for selecting cultivars tolerant to defoliation.


ABSTRACT Background: The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) among adolescents with first-episode psychosis has received scant attention in non-western societies. Aim: This study aims to explore both sociodemographic and clinical profiles and examine their relationship to the DUP among adolescents with first-episode psychosis admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Oman Method: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional, analytical study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Oman from January 2010 to December 2018. The subjects of the study included 121 drug-naive adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years old with first-episode psychosis. Sociodemographic data and risk factors were also solicited. Result: A total of 121 adolescents fulfilled the study criteria. The mean DUP was 4 months (SD 4.5). Place of residence, family history of psychosis, presence of both positive and negative symptoms, use of traditional healing systems, length of stay, and leaving against medical advice were the significant factors associated with the duration of untreated psychosis. Discussion: Some of the factors presently found to contribute to the DUP could lay the groundwork for the reduction in the duration of untreated psychosis and redesigning services for such population.


The effect of different housing systems was evaluated on productive performances and carcass and meat quality of a "local grey" population of rabbits (G). To compare data obtained from G, commercial hybrid rabbits (H) were reared and fed under standard practice. Rabbits were reared as follows: 96 G in outdoor colony cages (O) and fed organic feed based on pelleted feed (oP) and alfalfa hay (H) group GOoPH; 80 G in conventional indoor colony cages (I) and fed the same organic diet (GoPH) group GIoPH; 96 G in I and fed conventional pelleted diet (cP) group GIcP; 88 H in I and fed conventional pelleted diet (cP) group HIcP. Fifteen rabbits of each group were slaughtered at live weight of 2500 g (100 days of age for G and 87 days of age for H), carcass and meat quality parameters were assessed. HIcP showed the highest average daily gain (33.5 g/day; P<0.05) and GOoPH the poorest total feed conversion (5.6; P<0.05). G showed the highest slaughter yield (P<0.05). GOoPH showed higher loin proportion and the lowest LL pH at 45 min post mortem (P<0.05). HIcP produced LL and BF meat with the less intense colour and rich in ash. LL meat of GOoPH was the richest in protein. GOoPH and GIoPH LL meat showed higher amount of C14:0 and 18:1 n-9. GOoPH showed the lowest value of 18:2 n-6, and HIcP showed the highest value of 20:4 n-6 and the lowest amount of 16:1 n-7. The G yielded meat with higher nutritive value, and the best results were obtained when animals received both pellets and hay and were reared outdoor.


Using flash photolysis, horseradish peroxidase rebinding of carbon monoxide has been observed in the temperature range between 20 and -70 degrees C. A lag-period of about 50 ms immediately after photodissociation takes place. This lag-period is assumed to be due to the formation of the intermediate protein form with the low reactivity. Following rebinding is bimolecular process with the rate constant 4 x 10(3) M-1 S-1 usually observed for the peroxidase reaction with carbon monoxide. For some peroxidase molecules (about 10 per cent) rebinding of carbon monoxide is CO-concentration independent monomolecular process, which implies, apparently, ligands in these molecules do not leave the protein after photodissociation.


The circular code theory proposes that genes are constituted of two trinucleotide codes: the classical genetic code with 61 trinucleotides for coding the 20 amino acids (except the three stop codons {TAA, TAG, TGA}) and a circular code based on 20 trinucleotides for retrieving, maintaining and synchronizing the reading frame. It relies on two main results: the identification of a maximal C3 self-complementary trinucleotide circular code X in genes of bacteria, eukaryotes, plasmids and viruses (Michel 2015 J. Theor. Biol. 380, 156–177. (doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.04.009); Arquès & Michel 1996 J. Theor. Biol. 182, 45–58. (doi:10.1006/jtbi.1996.0142)) and the finding of X circular code motifs in tRNAs and rRNAs, in particular in the ribosome decoding centre (Michel 2012 Comput. Biol. Chem. 37, 24–37. (doi:10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2011.10.002); El Soufi & Michel 2014 Comput. Biol. Chem. 52, 9–17. (doi:10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2014.08.001)). The univerally conserved nucleotides A1492 and A1493 and the conserved nucleotide G530 are included in X circular code motifs. Recently, dinucleotide circular codes were also investigated (Michel & Pirillo 2013 ISRN Biomath. 2013, 538631. (doi:10.1155/ 2013/538631); Fimmel et al. 2015 J. Theor. Biol. 386, 159–165. (doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.08.034)). As the genetic motifs of different lengths are ubiquitous in genes and genomes, we introduce a new approach based on graph theory to study in full generality n-nucleotide circular codes X, i.e. of length 2 (dinucleotide), 3 (trinucleotide), 4 (tetranucleotide), etc. Indeed, we prove that an n-nucleotide code X is circular if and only if the corresponding graph G(X) is acyclic. Moreover, the


Presents an approach to determining colours of specks in an image taken from a pulp sample. The task is solved through colour classification by an artificial neural network. The network is trained using possibilistic target values. The problem of post-processing of a pixelwise-classified image is addressed from the point of view of the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. Each neighbour of a pixel being analysed is considered as an item of evidence supporting particular hypotheses regarding the class label of that pixel. The experiments performed have shown that the colour classification results correspond well with the human perception of colours of the specks.


Generation of terahertz (THz), and sub-THz, coherent waves has been demonstrated at room temperature in GaAs-AlGaAs asymmetric quantum wells by mixing two CO2 laser beams. Two overlapping regimes were studied: the double resonance regime where three states are involved and the optical rectification which relies on two states only. The measured conversion efficiency of ~10-7 W-1 is in reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions. In addition, this technique of THz generation provides a model system to study the emission profile from an ensemble of radiating dipoles. For instance, backward emission and strong diffraction effects have been observed


Currently there are proposals and negotiations regarding the strengthening of protection for geographic indicators (GIs) in the WTO. A major proponent of stronger protection for GIs has been the European Union. One of the arguments it has put forward for stronger protection has been that it will provide an avenue for economic development for agricultural producers in developing countries – a way to capture rents in the markets of developed countries. This paper first outlines the proposed changes to the international protection of geographic indicators. Second, the potential for groups of producers to generate and capture rents in foreign markets is assessed under differing assumptions pertaining to industry structure, product differentiation in the short and long run, barriers to entry reputation and the form of legal protection in importing countries. A discussion of the resource requirements to establish and maintain a GI is also provided.


Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to methicillin/oxacillin. No active efforts exist at identifying cases of MRSA in Ghana. We reviewed laboratory and clinical data on cases of MRSA and identified a total of 74 cases. A significant number of cases among neonates. Most isolates were from blood and the majority were sensitive to Vancomycin. Septicaemia was the commonest clinical diagnosis. 6 deaths were recorded among cases. Our review indicates MRSA is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. We recommend the establishment of a surveillance system and guidelines for managing MRSA.


Conditioning can make imprecise probabilities uniformly more imprecise. We call this effect "dilation". In a previous paper (1993), Seidenfeld and Wasserman established some basic results about dilation. In this paper we further investigate dilation on several models. In particular, we consider conditions under which dilation persists under marginalization and we quantify the degree of dilation. We also show that dilation manifests itself asymptotically in certain robust Bayesian models and we characterize the rate at which dilation occurs.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) exerts a critical role in the regulation of cell growth and cell survival, primarily through forming two complexes with raptor (mTOR complex 1; mTORC1) or rictor (mTOR complex 2; mTORC2). The mTOR axis is dysregulated in many types of human cancers, thus becoming an attractive cancer therapeutic target. Accordingly, mTOR inhibitors including the conventional allosteric inhibitors (rapamycin and its analogs; rapalogs) and novel mTOR kinase inhibitors (e.g., INK128) have been developed. However, single-agent activity of these inhibitors in the majority of cancer types is limited or modest at best. Thus, it is crucial to identify determinants that impact cell response to mTOR-targeted cancer therapy. In this study, we found that inhibition of GSK3 with both a small molecule inhibitor (e.g., SB216765) and gene knockdown substantially antagonized the suppressive effects of mTOR inhibitors (e.g., rapamycin and INK128) on the growth of cancer cells, including G1 arrest. In agreement, activation of GSK3 by expressing a constitutively activated form of GSK3[[Unsupported Character - Symbol Font ]] sensitized cells to mTOR inhibitors. Moreover, higher basal levels of GSK3 activity from 14 lung cancer cell lines were significantly associated with better cell responses to both rapamycin and INK128 (P < 0.05). These data together indicate that GSK3 plays a critical role in determining cell response to mTOR inhibitors. Interestingly, GSK3 inhibition did not alter the effects of mTOR inhibitors on suppression of mTOR signaling and cap-dependent translation, but rescued downregulation of cyclin D1 and c-Myc caused by mTOR inhibitors, suggesting that mTOR inhibitors decrease cyclin D1 and c-Myc levels independent of inhibition of mTOR-mediated protein translation. Instead, we found that inhibition of mTOR (e.g., by INK128) decreased the stabilities of both cyclin D1 and c-Myc. Moreover, inhibition of proteasome (e.g., with MG132) prevented cyclin D1 and c-Myc reduction by INK128. Hence it is apparent that mTOR inhibition facilitates cyclin D1 and c-Myc degradation, leading to reduction of cyclin D1 and c-Myc. Together, these findings suggest a novel mechanism by which mTOR signaling positively regulates the stability of cyclin D1 and c-Myc. Our current findings thus warrant further investigation of the potential impact of GSK3 inhibition on the efficacy of mTOR inhibitors in the clinic. (This study was supported by the Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar award and NIH/NCI R01 CA118450. SS Ramalingam, FR Khuri and SY Sun are Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholars)

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2803. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2803


SUMMARY In parasites with complex life cycles the transmission of free-living infective stages can be influenced by ambient community diversity, in particular via predation. Here, we experimentally investigated whether parasite density and the presence of alternative prey can alter predation rates on free-living cercarial stages of a marine trematode by several non-host predators. All four predator species consumed increasing numbers of cercariae with an increase in cercarial density, indicating that the removal of cercariae by predators is effective over a range of natural densities as well as in the presence of alternative prey for a number of predators typical of marine ecosystems. However, the relative removal rates and the effects of cercarial density and alternative prey differed among predator species. In barnacles and shrimps, significant interactive effects of cercarial density and alternative prey on cercarial predation occurred while in oysters and crabs cercarial removal rates were unaffected by both factors. As changes in cercarial densities directly translate into changes in infection levels in down-stream hosts in this parasite–host system, the observed predator-specific responses suggest that cercarial predation effects on disease risks will depend on the specific species composition of ambient communities and not on non-host biodiversity per se.


Selection schemes for forming data validation regions for target tracking are discussed in this paper. We develop a novel algorithm, less sensitive to gate size than conventional approaches. This new gate selection method combines a conventional threshold based algorithm with a geometric metric measure based on the Voronoi diagram. An adaptive search based on the Voronoi measure is then used to select valid data points for target tracking.


This paper studies automated tasks based on hybrid force/position control of a flexible object at the microscale. A guiding task of a flexible micropart is the case of the study and is achieved by a two-sensing-finger microgripper. An experimental model of the behavior of the microgripper is given and the interaction forces are studied. Based on grasp stability, a guiding strategy taking into account the pull off forces is proposed. A specific control strategy using an external hybrid force/position control and taking into account microscale specificities is proposed. The experimental results of automated guiding task are presented.


This report presents the results of an extra budgetary project which analyses similarities and common approaches in European national forest legislation. The forest laws of 23 countries have been examined in order to find out whether provisions are made to put into practice the following three legal issues: reforestation obligations after logging through final cutting or loss of forest cover due to fire and natural calamities; regulations concerning public access to forests; and public use of non-wood forest products occurring on forest land. All three legal issues are addressed by the analyzed national legislation. In most countries legislation includes regulations for obligatory reforestation Public access to forests is allowed in most of the analyzed countries, although, forest owners have specific rights to limit such access. Limitations exist mainly with regard to nature protection in order to protect replanted or naturally regenerated forest stands. In most of the examined countries the public has usage rights to collect some non-wood forest products: Considerable variations between countries are to be found; the practice of such rights usually requires consent or authorization from the forest owner; and many rights may be subject to regulation and specific restrictions.


A new subspecies, Gluconobacter oxydans subsp. sphaericus, is described. This subspecies differs from the other subspecies of G. oxydans, the only species recognized in the genus Gluconobacter, both in its morphology and in its vitamin requirement for growth: The cells of the new subspecies are spherical at any age of culture and in all environments tested, and the organism requires nicotinic acid for growth; it differs from all other gluconobacters in that it does not require pantothenic acid. The type strain is IFO 12467.


Two cases are presented in which injury to the stomach occurred in association with laparoscopy under general anaesthesia. The common aetiological factor was gastric inflation resulting from I.P.P.V. via mask. Precautionary measures in the anaesthetic induction technique are described.


ABSTRACT Two hundred and seventy-six accessions of mainly Brassica spp. were screened for resistance to Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris races. In Brassica oleracea (C genome), the majority of accessions were susceptible to all races, but 43% showed resistance to one or more of the rare races (2, 3, 5, and 6) and a single accession showed partial resistance to races 1, 3, 5, and 6. Further searches for resistance to races 1 and 4, currently the most important races worldwide, and race 6, the race with the widest host range, were made in accessions representing the A and B genomes. Strong resistance to race 4 was frequent in B. rapa (A genome) and B. napus (AC genome), indicating an A genome origin. Resistance to races 1 and 4 was present in a high proportion of B. nigra (B genome) and B. carinata (BC genome) accessions, indicating a B genome origin. B. juncea (AB genome) was the most resistant species, showing either strong resistance to races 1 and 4 or quantitative resistance to all races. Potentially race-nonspecific resistance was also found, but at a lower frequency, in B. rapa, B. nigra, and B. carinata. The combination of race-specific and race-nonspecific resistance could provide durable control of black rot of crucifers.


Increasing the belowground translocation of assimilated carbon by plants grown under elevated CO2 can cause a shift in the structure and activity of the microbial community responsible for the turnover of organic matter in soil. We investigated the long-term effect of elevated CO2 in the atmosphere on microbial biomass and specific growth rates in root-free and rhizosphere soil. The experiments were conducted under two free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) systems: in Hohenheim and Braunschweig, as well as in the intensively managed forest mesocosm of the Biosphere 2 Laboratory (B2L) in Oracle, AZ. Specific microbial growth rates (l) were determined using the substrateinduced respiration response after glucose and/or yeast extract addition to the soil. For B2L and both FACE systems, up to 58% higher l were observed under elevated vs. ambient CO2, depending on site, plant species and N fertilization. The l-values increased linearly with atmospheric CO2 concentration at all three sites. The effect of elevated CO2 on rhizosphere microorganisms was plant dependent and increased for: Brassica napus 5 Triticum aestivumoBeta vulgarisoPopulus deltoides. N deficiency affected microbial growth rates directly (N limitation) and indirectly (changing the quantity of fine roots). So, 50% decrease in N fertilization caused the overall increase or decrease of microbial growth rates depending on plant species. The l-value increase was lower for microorganisms growing on yeast extract then for those growing on glucose, i.e. the effect of elevated CO2 was smoothed on rich vs. simple substrate. So, the r/K strategies ratio can be better revealed by studying growth on simple (glucose) than on rich substrate mixtures (yeast extract). Our results clearly showed that the functional characteristics of the soil microbial community (i.e. specific growth rates) rather than total microbial biomass amount are sensitive to increased atmospheric CO2. We conclude that the more abundant available organics released by roots at elevated CO2 altered the ecological strategy of the soil microbial community specifically a shift to a higher contribution of fast-growing r-selected species was observed. These changes in functional structure of the soil microbial community may counterbalance higher C input into the soil under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration.


The Bureau of Mines has installed passive water explosion barriers in two operating mines to determine their usefulness in U.S. coal mines. The primary objective of this field trial was to determine the effect of the explosion barriers on mining operations. Data were also obtained on the ability of the barriers to withstand the mine environment and on the effect of the barriers on belt operation, ventilation, worker travel, and rock dusting. Fifty barriers were installed at three separate beltway locations, and periodic inspections were made. A year after installation, no defects of the barriers or support hardware were detected, nor was any complaint as to the presence of the barriers made by the mine personnel. To date, 2 1/2 years after installation, the barriers have had no detrimental effect on rock dusting, belt operation, or ventilation. Costs of material, fabrication, and installation are reported herein.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are at the forefront of emerging technologies due to the recent advances in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMSs). The inherent multidisciplinary nature of WSN attracted scientists coming from different areas stemming from networking to robotics. WSNs are considered to be unattended systems with applications ranging from environmental sensing, structural monitoring, and industrial process control to emergency response and mobile target tracking. Most of these applications require basic services such as self-localization or time synchronization. The distributed nature and the limited hardware capabilities of WSN challenge the development of effective applications. In this paper, the self-localization problem for sensor networks is addressed. A distributed formulation based on the Information version of the Kalman Filter is provided. Distribution is achieved by neglecting any coupling factor in the system and assuming an independent reduced-order filter running onboard each node. The formulation is extended by an interlacement technique. It aims to alleviate the error introduced by neglecting the cross-correlation terms by "suitably" increasing the noise covariance matrices. Real experiments involving MICAz Mote platforms produced by Crossbows along with simulations have been carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed self-localization technique.


A complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) results in static and often in functional instability. After an ACL-injury, most patients have to decrease their activity level, while some can cope with their injury and manage to keep a high activity level. A better tmderstanding of the influence of muscle activation and external load on the non-injured and injured knee, but also of the adaptive motion strategies employed by the patients with an unstable knee, is of importance for the construction of rehabilitation programs.The general purpose of this thesis was to study certain knee motions during activities focused on rehabilitation, in individuals with anterior cmciate ligament injury and uninjured controls. The sagittal tibial translation and knee flexion angle were registered during motion with the CA-4000 computerized electrogoniometer and EMG was used for analysis of muscle activity. The injured knee had increased static laxity compared to the contralateral non-injured knee and the non-impaired group.The amount of tibial translation increased with increased quadriceps torque during nonweight bearing activities (isokinetic and isotonic contractions). In the non-injured knees, the restraining mechanism was engaged above 50% of isokinetic concentric quadriceps torque and during the eccentric contractions already at low quadriceps torques (<10% of maximum). The motion pattern was similar in the injured knees and the amount of individual translation was larger during the eccentric contractions, compared to the non-injured knees.During weight bearing, tibia translated anteriorly and remained in that position. In the non-injured knee, different loads and performance of weight bearing activities produced different amount of translation. Level walking and squat with the center of gravity behind the feet produced somewhat smaller amount of translations, while other weight bearing activities produced similar amount of translation compared to the non-weight bearing isotonic knee extension. In the injured knee, all weight bearing activities produced similar amount of translation, smaller compared to the non-weight bearing isotonic knee extension.Quadriceps - hamstrings co-activation was not present during non-weight bearing quadriceps dominant activities and therefore, it was not shown to be a factor limiting anterior tibial translation. Also, during the weight bearing activities, hamstrings eo-contraction could not limit the anterior tibial translation. Quadriceps and gastrocnemius seems to work synergistically to stabilize the knee by maintaining an anterior position of tibia.In the injured knee, isokinetic concentric quadriceps contraction below 50% of maximum torque produced the smallest amount of tibial translation. Weight bearing exercises produced similar ammmt of translation despite of load and performance, indicating that when level walking is allowed after an injury, other weight bearing activities can be performed without increasing the amount of translation. Eccentric isokinetic quadriceps contractions above 50% of maximum torque and isotonic quadriceps exercise with and without weights at flexion angles less that 40°, should be avoided in order protect the knee joint.


Telerehabilitation uses new information and communication technologies as an instrument to ensure a distant rehabilitation service. Patients who underwent hip replacement surgery are an excellent case study for the application of this technology. Post-surgical rehabilitation guidelines for hip arthroplasty are well known, and the correct application has a positive effect on the patients' prognosis. However, there are no complementary guidelines for physical therapy that could be used at a distance by patients through a computer platform. This chapter presents a systematic review about conventional physical therapy programs for hip arthroplasty. Based on this review, we proposed therapeutic exercises adapted to a low cost web-platform. In order to reach this objective we will present a brief review of the total hip arthroplasty, telemedicine, telerehabilitation and conventional physical therapy approaches.


Research over the past decade had indicated the effectiveness of visual feedback as a method of training stance symmetry and weight-transference after stroke. This study was carried out to assess the efficacy of the Balance Performance Monitor (BPM) in providing feedback. A reversal ABAB single-case experimental design was used with two patients at different stages poststroke. Assessments of motor function and independence in functional tasks (ADL) were made, as well as the measures of stance symmetry. The results indicated large improvements in symmetry, with both patients achieving levels within the normal range after five treatments. Functional skills also improved. Although the limitations of single-case studies are recognized, such dramatic improvements suggest that the BPM is an effective method of providing feedback and that this approach to treatment enhances the effects of physiotherapy and could be used more frequently after stroke.


Implementation of guidance and counselling services in schools requires School Guidance and Counselling Teachers (SGCT) to provide this services to all students, whether the mainstream students or Special Needs Students (SNT), as outlined in the Buku Rekod Perkhidmatan Bimbingan dan Kaunseling (Guidance and Counselling Services Record Book). This situation has challenged SGCT especially in meeting the specific needs of SNT. This raises questions regarding the involvement of SGCT in providing guidance and counselling services especially to SNT as well as challenges faced in implementing such services. Therefore, a qualitative study has been conducted to answer the questions. This study involved six SGCT who serve in schools that adopt the Integrated Special Education Program or the Inclusive Education Program. Semi-structured interview questions have been used to obtain relevant information. The finding of this study shows that there are direct and indirect SGCT's involvements with SNT. While the challenges that GBKS face in carrying out guidance and counselling services are divided into three themes, namely the challenges characterized by SGCT, challenges characterized by SNT and challenges characterized by the Organization. The findings of this study can provide information on the implementation of guidance and counselling services to SNT and can be used as an improvement of the existing guidelines to increase the involvement of SGCT in providing guidance and counselling services especially to SNT.


Real-time signal processing is important in many emerging applications in areas such as pulse-compression radar, spread-spectrum communications, and electronic warfare. The required digitally equivalent computational rate for these applications is on the order of 10/sup 2/ arithmetic operations per second and the required instantaneous bandwidths could approach 10 GHz. These exceed by nearly three orders of magnitude the capabilities projected for digital systems in the near future, and even exceed that of recently developed analog technologies such as surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) signal-processing devices. To meet anticipated future system needs, superconductive analog signal-processing components with bandwidths of 2 GHz have recently been realized, and the technology is being developed for the realization of 10-GHz bandwidths. Issues of fabrication technology and subsystem integration are examined for superconductive analog signal-processing devices. >


The physical principles of the diagnostic modality is especially important in diagnostic ultrasound. Practically all text books within the field present that kind of material in their first chapters, more or less successfully. This is a book intended for use by sonographers and physicians who need basic knowledge in the field. The intention has been fulfilled—no more, no less. The author carefully, and rather slowly, guides the reader describing the properties of ultrasound and its interaction with physical matters. He describes the prop erties of the crucial part of the instrument and finishes in a description of performance measurements and a discussion on bioeffects and safety. Throughout the text there are a great number of ques tions culminating in a crossword for the reader to check his achievements. This is two-thirds of the book; the rest is appendices for those readers who will meet problems in basic physics and mathemtics. A thorough knowledge of ultrasound physics is crucial for a good understanding of a lot of problems arising when performing clinical ultrasound. This book gives the reader a reasonable amount of knowledge in the actual area of physics. Comments on how to use it in clinical everyday life are however few. With that limitation the author has fulfilled his ambitions.


This paper presents the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling results of the transient flow inside an engine cylinder with spark ignition valve timing. Transient flow simulations at 1,500 rpm are conducted and take into account the movement of the inlet, exhaust valves and the piston. The simulated in-cylinder velocities are compared to published laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) experimental data which is re-processed to illustrate the time history of mean velocities for all LDA measured points. Using the k-e RNG turbulence model, the numerical prediction seems in good agreement with the LDA measurements with an overall averaged correlation of 78.3% for the intake and compression stroke. The development of the flow pattern inside the cylinder at the symmetrical cross-section is presented where the tumble motions and their centre are described for 90 and 180 crankshaft angle degrees (CAD).


BACKGROUND
Sensitive and specific biomarkers for the early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are urgently needed to reduce the high morbidity and mortality of the disease. The discovery of serum microRNAs (miRNAs) and their unique concentration profiles in patients with various diseases makes them attractive, novel noninvasive biomarkers for tumor diagnosis. In this study, we investigated the serum miRNA profile in ESCC patients to develop a novel diagnostic ESCC biomarker.

METHODS
Serum samples were taken from 290 ESCC patients and 140 age- and sex-matched controls. Solexa sequencing technology was used for an initial screen of miRNAs in serum samples from 141 patients and 40 controls. A hydrolysis probe-based stem-loop quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assay was conducted in the training and verification phases to confirm the concentrations of selected miRNAs in serum samples from 149 patients and 100 controls.

RESULTS
The Solexa sequencing results demonstrated marked upregulation of 25 serum miRNAs in ESCC patients compared with controls. RT-qPCR analysis identified a profile of 7 serum miRNAs (miR-10a, miR-22, miR-100, miR-148b, miR-223, miR-133a, and miR-127-3p) as ESCC biomarkers. The area under the ROC curve for the selected miRNAs ranged from 0.817 to 0.949, significantly higher than for carcinoembryonic antigen (0.549; P < 0.0005). More importantly, this panel of 7 miRNAs clearly distinguished stage I/II ESCC patients from controls.

CONCLUSIONS
This panel of 7 serum miRNAs holds promise as a novel blood-based biomarker for the diagnosis of ESCC.


The original coded caching scenario assumes a content library that is of interest to all receiving users. In a realistic scenario though, the users may have diverging interests which may intersect to various degrees. What happens for example if each file is of potential interest to, say, $40\,\%$ of the users and each user has potential interest in $40\,\%$ of the library? In this work, we investigate the so-called symmetrically selfish coded caching scenario, where each user only makes requests from a subset of the library that defines its own File Demand Set (FDS), each user caches selfishly only contents from its own FDS, and where the different FDSs symmetrically overlap to some extent. In the context of various traditional prefetching scenarios (prior to the emergence of coded caching), selfish approaches were known to be potentially very effective. On the other hand, with the exception of some notable works, little is known about selfish coded caching. We here present a new information-theoretic converse that proves, in a general setting of symmetric FDS structures, that selfish coded caching, despite enjoying a much larger local caching gain and a much smaller set of possible demands, introduces an unbounded load increase compared to the unselfish case. In particular, in the $K$-user broadcast channel where each user stores a fraction $\gamma$ of the library, where each file (class) is of interest to $\alpha$ users, and where any one specific file is of interest to a fraction $\delta$ of users, the optimal coding gain of symmetrically selfish caching is at least $(K - \alpha)\gamma + 1$ times smaller than in the unselfish scenario. This allows us to draw the powerful conclusion that the optimal selfish coding gain is upper bounded by $1/(1 - \delta)$, and thus does not scale with $K$. These derived limits are shown to be exact for different types of demands.


Laser ablation (LA) is one of simple and versatile techniques for synthesis of nanoparticles [1]. The major advantages of this method are in its green character and in the possibility of a control over particle size. These advantages make LA a unique tool for nanoparticle synthesis. In this study, we examine the mechanisms involved in nanoparticle formation by laser ablation in gases and in liquids. First, we consider the very early ablation stage providing initial conditions for much longer plume expansion processes. In the case of femtosecond and picosecond laser ablation, the initial population of primary nanoparticles are shown to be formed at this stage. Then, when either ambient gases or liquids are present, the ablated flow suffers a background pressure. The dynamics of the laser plume expansion is changed revealing the formation of shock waves if the background pressure is high enough [2]. As a result, the ablated material is compressed and a part of it becomes supersaturated [3].When ablation takes place in liquids a cavitation bubble is also formed for larger laser fluences. The second population of primary nanoparticles is formed at this stage. Finally, during a much longer later stage, nanoparticle aggregation/fragmentation enters into play leading to the formation of the secondary particles. Based on numerical modelling we shed light on the above mechanisms by using different numerical approaches, such as molecular dynamics, DSMC [4], numerical hydrodynamics [3] and analytical analysis [2]. Calculations are performed mostly for metallic targets and for carbon under different background conditions. The obtained results explain recent experimental findings and help to predict the role of the experimental parameters. The performed analysis thus indicates ways of a control over nanoparticle synthesis. [1]T. E. Itina, N. Bouflous, J. Hermann, P. Delaporte, SPIE Proc., 8414, DOI: 10.1117 /12.923129 (2011). [2]T. E. Itina and A. Voloshko, Appl. Phys. B, DOI: 10.1007/s00340-013-5490-6 (2013). [3]M. E. Povarnitsyn, T. E. Itina, P. Levashov, K. Khishchenko, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 15, 3108-3114, DOI: 10.1039/C2CP42650A (2013) [4]T. E. Itina, K. Gouriet, L. V. Zhigilei, S. Noel, J. Hermann, and M. Sentis, Appl. Surf. Sci. , 253, 7656-7661, DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2007.02.034 (2007)


Visualisation is an important tool for many steps of a research project. In this paper, we present several displays of audio data based on stacked graphs. Thanks to a careful use of the layering the proposed displays concisely convey a large amount of information. Many flavours are presented, each useful for a specific type of data, from spectral and chromatic data to multi-source and multi channel data. We shall demonstrate that such displays for the case of spectral and chromatic data offer a different compromise than the traditional spectrogram and chroma gram, emphasizing timing information over frequency.


ABSTRACT In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled that a system of 'separate but equal' schools for Blacks and Whites was 'inherently unequal', thus ending de jure segregation in American schools. Racial segregation, however, persists in American schools. While researchers have linked the continued segregation of schools to the racial and class segregation of neighbourhoods, school segregation also exists within neighbourhoods and independent of residential segregation. Drawing on two years of fieldwork at two dissimilar high schools, I unveil an unforgiving institutional culture and process of school segregation in an affluent, racially diverse Southern California suburb. A nationally ranked, elite comprehensive high school, where enrolment is predominantly Asian, White, and affluent, supports an exacting institutional success frame. Students who fall short of meeting this frame are subject to academic segregation; they are jettisoned to a separate and unequal high school where the enrolment is disproportionately Black, Latino, and working-class. Korean American and Chinese American parents and students inspire the unyielding institutional success frame, and the frame results in academic segregation. Academic segregation reproduces ethnoracial and socioeconomic inequality in an integrated, affluent community, and the institutional success frame provides a rationale for institutional actors to legitimise and justify the inequality.


Small-molecule restoration of wild-type structure and function to mutant p53 (so-called mutant reactivation) is a highly sought-after goal in cancer drug development. We previously discovered that small-molecule zinc chelators called zinc metallochaperones (ZMCs) reactivate mutant p53 by restoring zinc binding to zinc-deficient p53 mutants. The lead compound identified from the NCI-60 human tumor cell lines screen, NSC319726 (ZMC1), belongs to the thiosemicarbazone (TSC) class of metal ion chelators that bind iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, and other transition metals. Here, we have investigated the other TSCs, NSC319725 and NSC328784, identified in the same screen, as well as the more well studied TSC, 3-AP (Triapine), to determine whether they function as ZMCs. We measured the zinc Kd zinc ionophore activity, ability to restore zinc to purified p53 DNA binding domain (DBD), and ability to restore site-specific DNA binding to purified R175H-DBD in vitro. We tested all four TSCs in a number of cell-based assays to examine mutant p53 reactivation and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We found that NSC319725 and NSC328784 behave similarly to ZMC1 in both biophysical and cell-based assays and are heretofore named ZMC2 (NSC319725) and ZMC3 (NSC328784). 3-AP generates a ROS signal similar to ZMC1-3, but it fails to function as a ZMC both in vitro and in cells and ultimately does not reactivate p53. These findings indicate that not all TSCs function as ZMCs, and much of their activity can be predicted by their affinity for zinc.


The paper presents pp-mess-sim, an object-oriented discrete-event simulation environment for evaluating interconnection networks in message-passing systems. The simulator provides a toolbox of various network topologies, communication workloads, routing-switching algorithms, and router models. By carefully defining the boundaries between these modules, pp-mess-sim creates a flexible and extensible environment for evaluating different aspects of network design. The simulator models emerging multicomputer networks that can support multiple routing and switching schemes simultaneously; pp-mess-sim achieves this flexibility by associating routing-switching policies, traffic patterns, and performance metrics with collections of packets, instead of the underlying router model. Besides providing a general framework for evaluating router architectures, pp-mess-sim includes a cycle-level model of the PRC, a programmable router for point-to-point distributed systems. The PRC model captures low-level implementation details, while another high-level model facilitates experimentation with general router design issues. Sample simulation experiments capitalize on this flexibility to compare network architectures under various application workloads.


Abstract. We examine a new imaging method for the remote sensing of volcanic gases, which relies on the regularly spaced narrow-band absorption structures in the UV–VIS of many molecules. A Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) is used to compare the scattered sunlight radiance at wavelengths corresponding to absorption bands with the radiance at wavelengths in between the bands, thereby identifying and quantifying the gas. In this first theoretical study, we present sample calculations for the detection of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Optimum values for the FPI setup parameters are proposed. Furthermore, the performance of the FPI method is compared to SO2 cameras. We show that camera systems using an FPI are far less influenced by changes in atmospheric radiative transfer (e.g., due to aerosol) and have a great potential as a future technique for examining emissions of SO2 (or other gases) from volcanic sources and other point sources.


The COVID-19 outbreak has cut China's supply of and raised the world's demand for face masks, disinfectants, ventilators, and other critical medical goods. This article studies the economic and political factors that are associated with China's exports of medical equipment during the first two months of the global pandemic. Regression results show that-controlled for demand factors-countries with stronger past economic ties with China import more critical medical goods from China at both the national level and the level of Chinese provinces. Friendly political relations, such as the twinning of provinces, appear to work as a substitute for pre-existing economic ties at the provincial level. These findings imply that, to secure access to medical equipment in crises, countries are well advised to either diversify their sources or to develop closer relations with Beijing and China's provinces.


A 30-year-old woman, gravid 1, para 1 underwent an emergency cesarean section (CS) at 40 weeks of gestation because of intrauterine infection. Seven hours after CS, sudden massive vaginal bleeding of 1,500 mL occurred. Transvaginal ultrasonography with color Doppler revealed the presence of low density cyst with a diameter of 4 cm with spiral pulsating blood flow in the cavity of the cyst in the vicinity of the ascending branches of the left uterine artery. We diagnosed it as uterine artery pseudoaneurysm, and total hysterectomy was performed because of unstable vital signs under transfusion. J Med Cases. 2017;8(8):241-242 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc2867w


The question style In high school enoronmental science textbook was examined in terms of the placement, frequency, and type of question, and then analyzed the kind of scientific Inquiry process elicited by the question In the topic of textbook using the Tektbook guestioning Strategy Assessment Instrument (TQSAI). The average number of question per topic was only 0.6. The number of all Question In the high school enororunental science textbook was very little : the number of non-experiential Question was 8 and that of experiential one was 3. The total number of sentence was 1,236 and the ratio of the number of Question to that of sentence was 0.9% . The frequency of non-experlential question was higher than that of experiential one. In action part of the textbook, there were more kinds of Question styles than In the matin part.


Most of this monograph is on the cytological appearances of the normal epithelia of the female reproductive tract. Dr. Papanicolaou is world-famous for his studies in this field and his present collaborators have been associated with him in much of his work. The monograph is a triumph of transcontinental collaboration, since almost half-way through the ten years devoted to collecting material Dr. Traut left Cornell University to become professor of obstetrics and gynaecology in the University of California. Discussion of all the normal epithelia from the ovary to the vagina occupies 48 -pages. Every one of them is packed with detailed information, not only on the cytology of the tissues but on the correlation of the changes which take place throughout the female genital tract as a whole at the different phases of the menstrual cycle and in the menopausal woman. It is clearly shown that all the epithelia take part in these cyclical changes and that the changes in the Fallopian tubes, cervix, and vagina, though less well known than those in the ovaries and endometrium, are nevertheless completely characteristic to the eye of the expert cytologist. The illustrations are beautifully produced and lend the highest distinction to the work as a whole. Most are in colour; they consist of photomicrographs of admirable clarity and excellent drawings by Hashime Murayama. No doubt the high quality of the production is reflected in the price, though it is difficult to produce work of this kind, which depends so largely on accurate illustration, on a less lavish scale. This monograph will prove an admirable companion to that published five years ago by Dr. Papanicolaou and Dr. Traut on the diagnosis of uterine cancer by the vaginal smear. Their pioneer work in this field is too well known to need further comment, but anyone who wishes to learn this difficult but fascinating method of gynaecological investigation will find these two monographs indispensable. There is no doubt that the vaginal smear will very soon be universally recognized as a routine procedure in gynaecology. The absence of an index is to be regretted, especially in a work where so many cross-references are to be found. The chart given at the end of the book, however, affords an admirable summary of the changes in the menstrual cycle to be seen not only in the epithelia but in the basal-temperature chart and the hormone-excretion levels. It also serves to emphasize again the main theme, which is that of correlation of cytological changes with function.


The chaos sequence generated by the chaotic map methods usually has unsatisfactory performances. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel method with chaos sequence, which blends the Chebyshev chaotic map and one-dimensional chaotic map with infinite collapse in finite interval. Both MATLAB simulations and performance analyses results show that the proposed method has much improved chaotic performances than the single Chebyshev sequence or the chaotic sequence with infinite collapses, by analyzing and simulating the sequence of traversal feature, period doubling properties, Lyapunov exponents, initial value sensitivity, autocorrelation, and the uniformity of sequence.


Ensembling is among the most popular tools in machine learning (ML) due to its effectiveness in minimizing variance and thus improving generalization. Most ensembling methods for black-box base learners fall under the umbrella of"stacked generalization,"namely training an ML algorithm that takes the inferences from the base learners as input. While stacking has been widely applied in practice, its theoretical properties are poorly understood. In this paper, we prove a novel result, showing that choosing the best stacked generalization from a (finite or finite-dimensional) family of stacked generalizations based on cross-validated performance does not perform"much worse"than the oracle best. Our result strengthens and significantly extends the results in Van der Laan et al. (2007). Inspired by the theoretical analysis, we further propose a particular family of stacked generalizations in the context of probabilistic forecasting, each one with a different sensitivity for how much the ensemble weights are allowed to vary across items, timestamps in the forecast horizon, and quantiles. Experimental results demonstrate the performance gain of the proposed method.


Landscape has various economic values. However, Udo Weilacher, the interviewee, argues that most drivers of the global economic development do underestimate the wide range of non-economic values of landscape. He points out that public awareness on the values of landscape and environment somehow depends on the societal developing phase of a country, and hopes that developing countries would not go through the same developments that caused irreversible environmental damage, as what most developed countries did. Weilacher further reflects that the benefits of landscape cannot be economically calculated and landscape architects need to discuss environmental values beyond economic calculation. Finally, he argues that in the current college education of Landscape Architecture, economic aspects of landscape have not been emphasized enough, and landscape design has to be enthusiastic to overwhelm and fascinate people in order to persuade them to invest for environmental improvement.


In this paper, we introduce a novel deep learning framework, termed Purine. In Purine, a deep network is expressed as a bipartite graph (bi-graph), which is composed of interconnected operators and data tensors. With the bi-graph abstraction, networks are easily solvable with event-driven task dispatcher. We then demonstrate that different parallelism schemes over GPUs and/or CPUs on single or multiple PCs can be universally implemented by graph composition. This eases researchers from coding for various parallelization schemes, and the same dispatcher can be used for solving variant graphs. Scheduled by the task dispatcher, memory transfers are fully overlapped with other computations, which greatly reduce the communication overhead and help us achieve approximate linear acceleration.


Abstract In some regions of Spain, well-educated women decide to move to the countryside to carry out their professional activities. This is a new phenomenon after many decades of female outmigration that also occurs in other European regions. Our aim is to explore how these professional women who decide to live in the countryside manage their work–life balance in this changing space. Our hypothesis is that these women, with high level of education and urban experience are more aware of gender inequality, have greater bargaining power, and therefore, achieve better work–life conciliation with their male partners. Research has been conducted through 60 in-depth interviews with women that have been analyzed through discourse analysis. The results show a complex situation. While these women are building the new ruralities with their work, skills, and insights, social norms concerning family responsibilities move more slowly. The research evidences aspects related to women's well-being as well as brings the broad issue of care at the center of the feminist debate.


Student evaluation apprehension as one of the detrimental factors in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, reduces and gradually diminishes student participation in classroom activities, since learners are mostly concerned with how others (teacher and classmates) evaluate/judge their performance. Due to the fact that the studies considering the important role of student evaluation apprehension are scarce in number, this study was conducted to validate the newly-designed questionnaire via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and find the relationship between student evaluation apprehension and academic achievement, gender, and educational level of 258 EFL students. The results from EFA, CFA, and reliability analyses revealed that the new questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument measuring EFL students' evaluation apprehension. Moreover, a significant negative correlation was observed between student evaluation apprehension and academic achievement. Besides, it was found that females experience evaluation apprehension more than males, and BA students were also found to have more evaluation apprehension than their MA counterparts.