US companies are still reeling form the takeovers, leveraged buyouts, junk bonds, recapitalizations and other financial restructuring transactions that reshaped corporations in the 1980s. This book discusses how those transactions affected corporate performance and altered the relationship between corporate management and the financial markets. The authors explain that the financial restructuring was driven by a dispute over who should control large public corporations, what their goals should be, to whom the organizations and their managers should be accountable, and how to make them more accountable. Although the financial restructuring itself has died out, this conflict remains unresolved and will continue to influence the business climate. The book addresses a number of issues. Why did long-dormant questions about corporate performance governance surface in the 1980s? Why did they manifest themselves in takeovers and financial restructurings? Why would capital structure be likely to affect corporate performance? Were the increased use of debt, the rapid pace of innovation in financial markets, and the explosion in takeover activity independent phenomena or related? And if related, which caused which? Finally, why did the impulse to restructure subside without having resolved the controversies that underlay it?


Software frameworks for neural networks play key roles in the development and application of deep learning methods. However, as new types of deep learning models are developed, existing frameworks designed for convolutional neural networks are becoming less useful. In this paper, we introduce Chainer, a Python-based, standalone open source framework for deep learning models. Chainer provides a flexible, intuitive, and high performance means of implementing a full range of deep learning models, including state-of-the-art models such as recurrent neural networks and variational autoencoders.


The management of patients who have been diagnosed with coeliac disease and do not show a satisfactory response on a gluten free diet represents a treatment challenge to the physician.
It is not only the decreased quality of life that these patients experience with chronic fatigue, malabsorption and nutrient deficiencies, but also the well-recognised complications of long term untreated coeliac disease such as osteoporosis and increased fracture risk, infertility, increased risk of malignancy and increased risk of other auto-immune diseases that compel us to seek answers and find successful treatment strategies for these patients.


In the last few years, network "softwarization" is gaining increasing popularity to achieve dynamicity and flexibility. Cloud computing, as well as the new paradigms of software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV), are supporting this evolution. However, the need to move services closer to users to guarantee low latency in the service fruition on one hand, and the trend to support personalization of services on the other, are stimulating the migration of services toward edge nodes (in the so-called "fog computing" fashion). This is the target of the INPUT platform, proposed in the INPUT project to support future Internet personal cloud services in a more scalable and sustainable way, and with innovative added-value capabilities. The INPUT platform enables next-generation cloud applications to go beyond classical service models, and even replaces physical smart devices, usually placed in users' homes (e.g., set-top-boxes, etc.), with virtual entities, providing them to users "as a Service." In this paper, we present the INPUT paradigm and discuss a relevant use case—namely, the virtual set-top-box—adopted to prove the feasibility of the softwarized SDN/NFV paradigm jointly with the fog-computing approach for the support of personal cloud services. The INPUT platform is also compared with a legacy approach to evaluate the gain in terms of quality of experience for both static and mobile users.


Protection and proper management of archaeological heritage are an essential process of studying and interpreting the generations present and future. Protecting the archaeological heritage is based upon multidiscipline professional collaboration. This study aims to gather data by different sources (Photogrammetry and Geographic Information System (GIS)) integrated for the purpose of documenting one the of significant archeological sites (Ahl-Alkahf, Jordan). 3D modeling deals with the actual image of the features, shapes and texture to represent reality as realistically as possible by using texture. The 3D coordinates that result of the photogrammetric adjustment procedures are used to create 3D-models of the study area. Adding Textures to the 3D-models surfaces gives a 'real world' appearance to the displayed models. GIS system combined all data, including boundary maps, indicating the location of archeological sites, transportation layer, digital elevation model and orthoimages. For realistic representation of the study area, 3D GIS model prepared, where efficient generation, management and visualization of such special data can be achieved. Keywords—Archaeology, Close range Photogrammetry, OrthoPhoto, 3D-GIS


textabstractOn a daily basis surgeons, nurses, and managers face cancellation of surgery, peak demands on wards, and overtime in operating rooms. Moreover, the lack of an integral planning approach for operating rooms, wards, and intensive care units causes low resource utilization and makes patient flows unpredictable. An ageing population and advances in medicine are putting the available healthcare budget under great pressure. Under these circumstances, hospitals are seeking innovative ways of providing optimal quality at the lowest costs.
 This thesis provides hospitals with instruments for optimizing surgical patient planning. We describe a cyclic and integrated operating room planning approach, called master surgical scheduling, and models for efficient planning of emergency operations. Application of these instruments enables the simultaneous optimization of the utilization of operating rooms, ward and intensive care units. Moreover, iteratively executing a master schedule of surgical case types provides steady and thus more predictable patient flows in hospitals.
 The approach is generic and so can be implemented taking account of specific characteristics of individual hospitals. Prerequisites for successful implementation of logistical models in hospitals comprise sufficient room for last-minute changes as well as keeping the ultimate responsibility for individual patient scheduling with medical specialists. Both are satisfied in the master surgical scheduling approach which has already been successfully implemented in hospitals.


Educational researchers and practitioners are frequently asking questions about how better to understand educational theory and practice. Through the years, they have employed a variety of both quantitative and qualitative methods to elucidate the world of education. In this article, the author explores the epistemological legitimacy of metaphor analysis as a viable means for qualitative educational inquiry. In so doing, he explores the concepts of the theory of abduction, educational research and social constructivism, categories of metaphors, and metaphorical analysis in educational research. In addition, a review of the literature on educational research that uses metaphor analysis as the primary methodology revealed five major themes.


A millennium change is in many ways an arbitrary division of history for the first day of the new century was hardly different from the last day of the old one. Nevertheless, the fact that we do divide time into precise segments gives us the sense of beginnings and endings and commonly identified units of history. The rarity of a millennium change in most people's life course elevates the importance of closing one era and beginning a new one for divisions of time have always been important units of analysis. There are two basic responses to this kind of calendric change. One is to look forward and speculate about the future. The other is to look backward and to review accomplishments, failures, or turning points. Sociologists as a professional group and sociology as a discipline have not been exempt from such ruminations. The American Sociological Review (65:1, 2000), for example, does not normally publish thematic issues but its editors felt that the new millennium warranted a special examination of the state of society (rather than the state of sociology). Contemporary Sociology (29, 2000), on the other hand, ran a year long symposium on the state of sociology and its future. The British Journal of Sociology (51:1, 2000) took yet a different tack in arguing that the new millennium represented a social-material transformation which marked a definite break in the development of human societies and which provided new challenges and opportunities for sociology which they attempted to explore in their special issue. Sociology (34:1, 2000) focused particularly on developments in British society and then reflected on what these developments meant for the discipline. Sociologie et Societes (32:1,2000) celebrated thirty years of publication as a journal and decided to debate how the changing environment was changing the practice of sociology in Quebec. And yet still another contrast is found in Acta Sociologica (43:4, 2000) which celebrated the pioneers and classics of the last millennium in Scandinavian sociology. In each case, the dawn of a new century stimulated discussion and debate about the past and the future, and attempted to assess and evaluate the meaning of the present moment in societal and disciplinary terms. Another publication using the new millennium theme is entitled Sociology For The Twenty-First Century edited by Janet L. Abu-Lughod (1999). The goal of this book was to report on the "continuities and cutting edges" in sociological thinking in North America, and I was struck by this explicit geographical reference to North America as though sociology there displayed its own unique character. In this volume, selected sociologists based in Canada and the United States (there is no representation from Mexico) discussed important sociological ideas and themes but with little sense of how these discussions would be different from sociological work in other parts of the world or how national or continental contexts shaped that sociological enterprise. Of striking interest, there was little awareness of the sociology of sociology in which Canadian and American contexts actually might make a difference. While intellectual globalization may have much in common with economic globalization, the globalization literature has reaffirmed the role of the local and national in these broader processes (sometimes referred to as glocalization) because this is the context where life is lived. Thus while global forces may erode some national powers, nation-states are still significant containers both for social action and as a unit of analysis. Sociological thought may cross international boundaries but the shape, character, and form of sociological research will always be influenced to a considerable degree by issues of local/national significance. The appropriate question might be then, what issues gives sociology in Canada its unique character and how might we assess its accomplishments and its evolution at the millennium change. …


Countries in Southern Africa have only recently begun considering the possibility of jointly developing comprehensive industrial policies under the auspices of regional integration bodies such as the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Regional co-operation in industrial policy design and implementation has the potential to both identify and capitalise on the productive synergies that exist between states, and to enhance the integrated performance of industrial sectors across borders.


The study illustrates how urban forest parks as scarce resources in congested Manila could be sustainable to enhance the social values of a stressful urban life. Urban forest is considered as woodland located in or near urban area that entails transformed forest vegetation and provides green spaces to the communities (Zhang et al., 2007). It is widely regarded as a chain of trees where services are considered non-consumptive use value that includes clean air, serene and calmness environment, as well as sports and recreational activities. The Arroceros Forest Park (AFP) is one of the urban forests in congested Manila. It is a 2.2-hectare green space that contains different varieties of trees, plants and birds. Considered as the "last lung" of the city of Manila (Roces, 2015), it is located along the riverside of Pasig River, only few urbanites are aware of.The objective of the study is to present the ecological values of AFP as space break to promote urban sustainability of Manila. This study is anchored on the concept of willingness to pay (WTP) that tries to determine its bequest value using total economic value as framework. According to literature, willingness to pay is being used to elicit the values put people on green spaces as Hadker et al. (1996) used a similar approach in the case of Borivli National Park in Bombay, which shares the same characteristics as that of AFP, in terms of location in an overly crowded metropolis, faced with the challenges of severe degradation and neglect.The study used mixed methods combining key informant interviews and field observations as well as survey in gathering qualitative data and quantifiable values placed on the forest park. Results show that the AFP is maintained by a non-government organization with limited funding and volunteers. Selected respondents are not fully aware on the role of the forest park. There is no city ordinance to protect the forest park, but there are environmentally aware institutions, student organizations, advocacy groups and civil societies that are willing to protect the forest park from deterioration. In conclusion, due to limited awareness on the ecological value of AFP, it became susceptible to vandalism, waste disposal and proliferation of informal settlers.


It appears, then, that the rule for attaining the third grade of clearness of apprehension is as follows: Consider what effects, that might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object." A note, 1893: "Before we undertake to apply this rule, let us reflect a little upon what it implies. It has been said to be a sceptical and materialistic principle. But it is only an application of the sole principle of logic which was recommended by Jesus; "Ye may know them by their fruits," and it is very intimately allied with the ideas of the gospel. We must certainly guard ourselves against understanding this rule in too individualistic a sense. To say that man accomplishes nothing but that to which his endeavors are directed would be a cruel condemnation of the great bulk of mankind, who never have leisure to labor for anything but the necessities of life for themselves and their families. But, without directly striving for it, far less comprehending it, they perform all that civilization requires, and bring forth another generation to advance history another step. Their fruit is, therefore, collective; it is the achievement of the whole people. What is it, then, that the whole people is about, what is this civilization that is the outcome of history, but is never completed? We cannot expect to attain a complete conception of it; but we can see that it is a gradual process, that it involves a realization of ideas in man's consciousness and in his works, and that it takes place by virtue of man's capacity for learning, and by experience continually pouring upon him ideas he has not yet acquired.


The post-layout gate-level simulation constitutes a critical design step for timing closure. The major drawback of traditional post-layout gate-level simulation is its long analysis time, which becomes exacerbated as design complexity increases. An alternative method is static timing analysis (STA), which can drastically reduce analysis time. However, STA sacrifices accuracy for speed and often produces unrealistic results such as false paths and overly pessimistic estimates. In this paper, we propose a hybrid analysis method that can significantly reduce analysis time, while preserving accuracy, with respect to the traditional gate-level simulation. Our key idea is that a large speedup would be possible by removing those events that are repetitious and unnecessary for simulation. In particular, we focus on reducing the number of clock-related events, which account for a major portion of all the events handled by a simulator. We tested the proposed method extensively with various benchmark circuits as well as industrial designs. Our experimental results exhibit that the proposed approach accelerates the total simulation speed by two times on average, yet maintaining the accuracy acquired by the traditional gate-level simulation.


What makes a work of literature good or bad? How freely can the reader interpret it? Could a nursery rhyme like Baa Baa Black Sheep be full of concealed loathing, resentment, and aggression? In this accessible, delightfully entertaining book, Terry Eagleton addresses these intriguing questions and a host of others. How to Read Literature is the book of choice for students new to the study of literature and for all other readers interested in deepening their understanding and enriching their reading experience. In a series of brilliant analyses, Eagleton shows how to read with due attention to tone, rhythm, texture, syntax, allusion, ambiguity, and other formal aspects of literary works. He also examines broader questions of character, plot, narrative, the creative imagination, the meaning of fictionality, and the tension between what works of literature say and what they show. Unfailingly authoritative and cheerfully opinionated, the author provides useful commentaries on classicism, Romanticism, modernism, and postmodernism along with spellbinding insights into a huge range of authors, from Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling to Jane Austen and Samuel Beckett.


Historians have tried to trace the origin of the American Revolution, but few, if any, have dared indicate an exact moment in time. Yet sufficient evidence points to the chilly afternoon of February 24, 1761, inside the Old Town House (now the Old State House) in Boston as the precise time and place. Future president John Adams, who, as a 25-year-old Boston attorney in attendance at that occasion, later declared, "Then and there was the first scene of the first Act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then and there, the Child Independence was born" (Adams to Tudor, 29 March 1817). It was "then and there" that one of the American colonies' most notable attorneys, James Otis, Jr., gave a speech that caused tremors throughout the British Empire. Textbooks have often downplayed this moment because the man who first sparked the American Revolution—James Otis, Jr.—was considered mad. However, we know today that James Otis Jr. was probably suffering from bipolar disorder and his condition was exacerbated by alcoholism.


High air entry ceramic disks are commonly used for the control of matric suction in triaxial and direct shear tests and in tests for obtaining the soil-water characteristic curve. Geotechnical engineers have made increasing use of high air entry ceramic disks in order to measure or control matric suctions during unsaturated soil testing. One of the limitations associated with the use of high air entry ceramic disks has been the time required in order for equilibrium conditions to be established across the disk. Improving the efficiency associated with establishing suction equilibrium is of considerable interest to geotechnical engineers. Pressure membrane technology involving the use of microporous membranes is one possible technology that could result in improved performance for the measurement or control of matric suctions. If microporous membrane technology can be used, the end result could provide considerable time and cost savings, particularly in the measurement of soil-water characteristic curves (SWCCs). In this study, a new apparatus was developed to make use of a microporous membrane for the measurement of the SWCC with matric suction of up to 25 kPa. The maximum AEV (i.e., air-entry value) of the membrane is 250 kPa. This paper presents the results of laboratory SWCC measurements on several soil types using pressure membrane technology. Comparisons are made between the soil-water characteristic curves measured using a conventional pressure plate apparatus and those obtained from the new micro membrane apparatus.


This book is primarily intended to be a textbook for undergraduate students majoring in mathematics or in physics. Most, if not all, of the existing textbooks on Relativity use verbal descriptions together with what one might call \the mathematics of variables and coordinates". We believe that such an approach makes it difficult to convey a deeper understanding of the subject and an intuition for relativistic phenomena, an ability to "think relativistically" as it were. Such an understanding can be gained, we believe, by employing a more contemporary type of mathematics: the mathematics of sets, mappings, and relations. Typically, physics majors rarely learn about this kind of mathematics, and mathematics majors, when they learn about it, are not told how useful it can be to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts of physics.


Isolation due to geographical barriers should promote genetic and morphological divergence among populations. Marine currents flowing in opposing directions along landmasses can constitute barriers that isolate populations dependent upon aquatic dispersal. The distribution of fiddler crabs (genus Uca) is regulated primarily by the oceanic transport of their planktonic lar- vae and by available adult habitat. Along the Brazilian coast of eastern South America, the flow of 2 major oceanic currents separates northern from southern Uca populations, which may promote intraspecific divergence in 'trans-Brazilian' species. Populations of 10 Uca species were sampled at 64 locations north and south of the Ponta do Calcanhar, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Carapace shape was assessed using geometric morphometrics to analyze 12 surface landmarks in 1319 female crabs. Carapace shape differs significantly in each species. In morphospace, the carapace forms of the 10 species appear to separate into traditional subgeneric clusters. Within the 8 species exhibiting trans-Brazilian distributions, northern and southern populations show distinct carapace differences. Depending on species, either the hepatic or the branchial region is larger in northern populations. Since significant genetic variability among such populations has not been confirmed, divergence in carapace shape suggests significant ecological modulation of phenotype within each species. Apparently, environmental differences between northern and southern localities exert a greater impact on carapace morphology than impeded gene flow. The drivers under - pinning diversification of carapace shape remain unknown, however.


Practical and easy to understand, DATABASE SYSTEMS: DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MANAGEMENT, Tenth Edition, gives readers a solid foundation in database design and implementation. Filled with visual aids such as diagrams, illustrations, and tables, this market-leading book provides in-depth coverage of database design, demonstrating that the key to successful database implementation is in proper design of databases to fit within a larger strategic view of the data environment. Renowned for its clear, straightforward writing style, the tenth edition has been thoroughly updated to include hot topics such as green computing/sustainability for modern data centers, the role of redundant relationships, and examples of web-database connectivity and code security. In addition, new review questions, problem sets, and cases have been added throughout the book so that readers have multiple opportunities to test their understanding and develop real and useful design skills.


Prep1 is an homeodomain transcription factor belonging to the TALE proteins, including also Pbx1, which plays an essential role in hematopoiesis, organogenesis and development. Prep1 forms transcriptionally active complexes with Pbx1 and regulates the activity of several genes. The Prep1 null mutation leads to embryonic death at a very early stage. Therefore, Prep1 hypomorphic (Prep1i/i) mice have been generated. Prep1 heterozygous (Prep1i/+) mice, which express only 55-57% of protein, have a complex metabolic phenotype with at least two relevant features. One is the presence of smaller but otherwise normally structured islets with reduced fasting and post-loading plasma insulin levels. The second is increased insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and in liver which is accompanied by protection from streptozotocin-induced diabetes. In muscle, decreased Prep1 levels are followed by an increase of the PGC1alpha/Glut4-mediated glucose uptake. In liver, better insulin sensitivity is due to a reduced SHP1 tyrosine phosphatase expression followed by an increase of insulin signaling. Also, triglyceride levels are significantly reduced in the liver of Prep1i/+ mice. However, the molecular mechanism by which Prep1 controls lipogenesis is unclear. In this study, we have focused our attention on the role of Prep1 on the regulation of the triglyceride synthesis.
To study the lipogenesis in the liver of the Prep1 heterozygous mice, we have examined the expression of the lipogenetic enzyme FAS (Fatty Acid Synthase) by real-time RT-PCR analysis. Hepatic expression of FAS is significantly decreased. Western Blot analysis have shown increased phosphorylation of PKCzeta, LKB1, AMPK and ACC, which may control FAS expression and triglycerides production in Prep1i/+ mice liver. Protein and mRNA levels of the lipid phosphatase SHIP2, an inhibitor of PI3Kinase/PKCzeta signaling, are reduced by 40% in the liver of Prep1i/+ mice. Consistent with these data, HepG2 (Human Hepatocarcinoma cell line) cells overexpressing Prep1 display increased triglyceride levels and FAS expression, while PKCzeta, LKB1, AMPK and ACC phosphorylation is strongly reduced. Moreover, SHIP2 levels are increased by 50%. Interestingly, overexpression of Pbx1 cDNA in HepG2 cells mimicked Prep1-induced triglyceride synthesis. At the opposite, Prep1HR1 mutant, which is unable to bind Pbx1, fails to elicit these effects. ChIP and Re-ChIP experiments indicate that Prep1/Pbx1 complex can bind SHIP2 promoter region and regulate its expression.
These data suggest that Prep1/Pbx1 dimer regulates hepatic triglycerides production by increasing SHIP2 levels and thereby inhibiting the PKCzeta/AMPK signaling.


Pre-enrollment university expectations can influence subsequent adjustment levels during the first year of postsecondary studies (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1992). There is very limited literature studying the expectation levels of visible minority students in the U.S., and no literature at all in a Canadian context. We were interested in examining expectation differences between visible minority students and majority students attending Canadian universities, as well as exploring the influence of residence status and campuswide diversity on these expectation levels. We further used regression analyses to predict subsequent university adjustment using pre-enrollment expectations as predictor variables, and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the role of students' perceptions of university support as a mediator for the expectations-adjustment relationship. Using an initial sample of 2913 students from six campuses across Canada, we found that: a) visible minority students expected a less academically successful experience when compared to majority students, but there were no differences between minority and majority students in social expectations; b) students planning to live at home (more often visible minority students) were not as prepared for the upcoming experience as the students planning to live on campus during university; c) students attending schools with greater ethnic and cultural diversity in our sample reported lower levels ofpositive academic and social expectations than students attending predominantly White schools; d) university expectations predicted adjustment levels across four years of university, and e) perceived university support mediated the relationship between preenrollment expectations and subsequent adjustment levels across time. These patterns of support and adjustment predictions did not differ by minority/majority status.


A frequency-response method for determining the critical control-gearing and hunting oscillations of airplanes with automatic pilots is presented. The method is graphical and has several advantages over the standard numerical procedure based on Routh's discriminant. The chief advantage of the method is that direct use can be made of the measured response characteristics of the automatic pilot. This feature is especially useful in determining the existence, amplitude, and frequency of the hunting oscillations that may be present when the automatic pilot has nonlinear dynamic characteristics. Several examples are worked out to illustrate the application of the frequency-response method in determining the effect of automatic-pilot lag or lead on critical control gearing and in determining the amplitude and frequency hunting. It is shown that the method may be applied to the case of a control geared to airplane motions about two axes.


We review the current state of optical methods for sensing oxygen. These have become powerful alternatives to electrochemical detection and in the process of replacing the Clark electrode in many fields. The article (with 694 references) is divided into main sections on direct spectroscopic sensing of oxygen, on absorptiometric and luminescent probes, on polymeric matrices and supports, on additives and related materials, on spectroscopic schemes for read-out and imaging, and on sensing formats (such as waveguide sensing, sensor arrays, multiple sensors and nanosensors). We finally discuss future trends and applications and summarize the properties of the most often used indicator probes and polymers. The ESI† (with 385 references) gives a selection of specific applications of such sensors in medicine, biology, marine and geosciences, intracellular sensing, aerodynamics, industry and biotechnology, among others.


Physical interaction of organic binder depends on bituminous film ability to absorb the mineral particles on the surface. The thick film formation begins with the bitumen amalgamation with mineral powder grains and finishes during the processes of application, seal arrangement and cooling down of asphalt concrete. Active surface centers are on every mineral material and they supply their reactive ability and interaction with bitumen. For proving experimentally and to study the physical and mechanical properties in real operation conditions that were arranged, the blanket was arranged from stone-mastic asphalt with shungite bituminous binder of 500 m long. The monitoring conducted during 3 years indicates that asphalt concrete with shungite binder is subjected to calibration to a lesser degree in comparison with asphalt concrete based on standard powder. For operation reliability of nonrigid road base, it is necessary to estimate and prognosticate asphalt concrete fatigue properties in a blanket. The characterized property appears in such a way that the effect of loads which is significantly smaller than the destructive ones leads to the gradual degradation of fatigue and destruction of the blanket. The results proved that asphalt con- crete with shungite bituminous binders has higher operation characteristics. interaction with organic binding. The interaction of binding agent with mineral materials depends on chemisorptions processes on their interface. The strength of chemiadsorption bonds between bitumen and mineral powder depends not only on the chemical impact of the bitumen and mineral powder components but also on the mineral powder particles surface state, studied with the microscope (C3M) NanoEducator.


Globally, low zinc (Zn) soils are widespread, but one of the largest expanses of such soils is in south west Australia (WA). Early Zn research in the region determined how much fertiliser Zn was required for profitable production of spring wheat (Triticium aestivum L.) and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneanum L), the major crop and pasture species at the time. The research showed that Zn sulfate and ZnO were equally effective Zn fertilisers, but ZnO was cheaper and so was widely used. The research indicated that in the year of application, depending on soil type, between 0.5-1.5 kg Zn/ha provided adequate Zn for the production of wheat and subterranean clover. The length of time that a single application of Zn fertiliser remains fully effective in maintaining the production of crops and pasture in future years (residual value; (RV)) had not been determined. This knowledge of the RV of Zn fertilisers is required for soils of WA. The experiments that measured the RV of fertiliser Zn for spring wheat and subterranean clover form the bulk of this thesis.

The soils in the region were also initially acutely phosphorus (P) deficient requiring the application of fertiliser P for profitable production. Single superphosphate was the P fertiliser initially used. It was manufactured locally using phosphate rock imported from Nauru and Christmas Islands. This phosphate rock also contained much Zn, and the single superphosphate manufactured from it contained 400-600 mg Zn/kg. At amounts of application needed to provide adequate P, the Zn-contaminated superphosphate also supplied about 90 g Zn/ha. Therefore, early field experiments measured the RV of ZnO applied to soil when single superphosphate was applied annually at >150 kg/ha. In these experiments, the RV of Zn was measured when different amounts of fertiliser nitrogen (N) was applied. This was because it has recently been very profitable to apply fertiliser N to wheat crops, which greatly increased grain yields and so may have increased the demand for Zn, thereby probably decreasing the RV of the original ZnO application. In these experiments, there were many nil-Zn plots. In subsequent years, freshly-applied ZnO amounts were applied to measure the RV of the original ZnO treatments relative to the fresh Zn treatment. No Zn deficiency was detected for up to 23 years after applying ZnO while applying superphosphate at >150 kg/ha per year and for all amounts of N applied.

Subsequently cheap imported DAP fertiliser was used for wheat crops instead of locally produced Zn-contaminated single superphosphate and urea. The imported DAP contained about 50 mg Zn/kg (1/12 that of single superphosphate). This new fertiliser strategy induced Zn deficiency in many wheat crops. This led to further field studies to determine the RV of ZnO fertiliser when DAP was applied. The experiments also included 2 Zn-contaminated single superphosphate treatments. In one, no ZnO was applied, and superphosphate was applied at >150 kg/ha per year to match the amount of P applied as DAP to the other treatments. The other treatment was the same, except 1.5 kg/ha Zn as ZnO was applied in the first year only. In subsequent years, freshly-applied ZnO amounts were applied to measure the RV of the original ZnO treatments relative to the fresh Zn treatment. Relative to freshly-applied Zn in each year, the RV of the original ZnO treatments decreased as the length of time that the Zn was in contact with soil increased. However, the rate of decline in the RV was also found to differ with soil type, and was affected by soil pH, clay and organic carbon content of soil, and in alkaline soils with the calcium carbonate content of soil.

Parallel glasshouse studies measured the RV of Zn, as Zn sulfate, for wheat and subterranean clover, using many soils from WA and other Australian States. The glasshouse studies also showed that the rate of decline in the RV of the original Zn application varied markedly with soil type and was strongly influenced by soil pH, clay and organic carbon content of soil, and in the alkaline soils, the amount of calcium carbonate in soil.

In the above studies, the RV of fertiliser Zn was measured relative to freshly-applied Zn using yield of plants (shoots and grain for wheat, shoots for clover), Zn content in shoots and grain, and soil test Zn using the ammonium oxalate and DTPA procedures. In addition, Zn concentration in young tissue and rest of shoots (glasshouse studies) and young tissue and whole shoots (field studies) was measured, and Zn concentration related to 90 % of the maximum yield (critical Zn in plant parts) was determined. The studies showed that the DTPA soil test procedure, together with soil pH, and clay and organic matter content of soil, was an accurate prognostic test for indicating when Zn deficiency was likely in the next clover or wheat crop. The study confirmed that young tissue (youngest fully expanded leaves) provided critical plant test values for diagnosing Zn deficiency in plants. The plant and soil tests for Zn are now used by commercial soil and tissue testing laboratories.

When Zn deficiency was diagnosed early in field grown wheat, Zn sprays can be applied to the crop foliage to prevent or minimise decreases in grain yields at the end of the growing season. Zn sulfate and Zn chelate are the most widely used compounds. This thesis reports the results of a field study to compare the effectiveness of the two compounds when the spray was applied at two growth stages of wheat (Gs14; seedling growth and Gs24; tillering). In addition, Zn applied with the seed while sowing the wheat crop was also included. Zinc applied to the soil while sowing was the most effective treatment. Zn chelate was more effective as a spray than Zn sulfate when applied at the earlier growth stage, but Zn sulfate was cheaper, and both sprays were equally effective when applied at the later growth stage.

Recently in the region, durum wheat (T. durum L.), narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), yellow lupin (L. luteus L.), white lupin (L. albus L.), canola (Brassica napus L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) were all increasingly grown in rotation with spring wheat. Consequently, the Zn requirement of the new crops was compared with the Zn requirements of spring wheat. Species requiring less Zn than spring wheat to produce the same relative yield were faba bean, chickpea, albus lupin and canola; species requiring more Zn were lentil and durum wheat.

Spreadsheet models were developed to determine when re-application of fertiliser Zn was required for low and high production systems. Relative to freshly-applied Zn, the rate of decline in the RV of Zn applied in a previous year varied depending on the amount of Zn applied, time the Zn was in contact with soil since application, properties of the soil (soil pH, % clay, % organic carbon, % free calcium carbonate), plant species, and the amount of Zn removed in harvested grain or hay.

The thesis has culminated in a better understanding of Zn in the agricultural production systems of WA. The distribution and correction of Zn deficiency is now predictable for the many soil types and cropping systems of WA. Accurate identification of Zn deficiency for a range of crop and pasture species by plant analyses, typically the youngest mature leaf, is now possible for local conditions. With the calibration of the DTPA Zn soil test for soils of WA, particularly for wheat the major crop species grown in WA, prognosis of potential Zn deficiency can now be predicted before the appearance of Zn deficiency or loss in plant production.


The potential of remote sensing in upland soil erosion studies has been examined on Glaisdale Moor, North Yorkshire Moors. The study considers four different remote sensing sources, viz. sequential air photographs, ground radiometry, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and SPOT simulation. Sequential air photographs have been interpreted in order to elucidate the land use/land cover changes and the drainage development and associated erosion problems in the region. A series of statistical analyses were employed in an effort to establish the relationships between the different spectral variables and the soil/ground variables. Attempts have also been made to evaluate the spectral separability performance of the Ground radiometer, the Landsat TM and the SPOT simulation wave bands. The Landsat TM and the SPOT simulation imagery have been further analysed in order to gather information about the best band and band combinations that would be required to optimize the discrimination of moorland surface types including eroded areas. Digital image processing of the Landsat TM and the SPOT simulation subscene for Glaisdale Moor was performed using the DIAD image processing system. The land use/land cover classification information derived from the air photographs, the Landsat TM and the SPOT simulation, has been used as an input into a soil loss prediction model (USLE) to predict the soil erosion rate of the study area. Of the various remote sensing systems used, air photographs and TM data proved the most useful in this area.


Smart meters are informative and educational tools that allow households to instantaneously view personal real-time water use feedback. A smart metering trial was incorporated into a residential water efficiency project in Perth, Western Australia. The H2ome Smart program by the Water Corporation and its contractor ENV Australia Pty Ltd engaged 12,000 households in selected suburbs of the Perth metropolitan area. After a selection process, nine households were accepted from the most active participants to participate in the Greensense smart metering trial, with the 10th participant being local television sustainable gardening celebrity Josh Byrne. A number of findings were made on how to derive benefits from smart meters in behavioural change programs.


The performance of the private sector is crucial for a country's economic growth. Thus, this report revisits the theme of low Caribbean growth, viewed through a macroeconomic lens in the previous "Sclerosis" report, but focuses on a microeconomic perspective: Why is the business sector not functioning well as the engine of that growth? We argue that fine-tuning that engine, as it were, will take more than an oil change. The central hypothesis is that the Caribbean private sector is falling behind because its policy environment hinders rather than promotes dynamic, innovative, and export-oriented businesses. Structural policies that target overall improvements in the environment in which firms operate may have greater returns than just firm- or sector-level interventions in improving the performance of the private sector, and hence overall economic growth. This is counterintuitive for many Caribbean policymakers and commentators who often focus on the needs of existing large firms (foreign or domestically owned) and discuss which sector or industry should be promoted next given the stagnation of the existing sectors.


It is critical for a power system to estimate its operation state based on meter measurements in the field and the configuration of power grid networks. Recent studies show that the adversary can bypass the existing bad data detection schemes,posing dangerous threats to the operation of power grid systems. Nevertheless, two critical issues remain open: 1) how can an adversary choose the meters to compromise to cause the most significant deviation of the system state estimation, and 2) how can a system operator defend against such attacks? To address these issues, we first study the problem of finding the optimal attack strategy—i.e., a data-injection attacking strategy that selects a set of meters to manipulate so as to cause the maximum damage. We formalize the problem and develop efficient algorithms to identify the optimal meter set. We implement and test our attack strategy on various IEEE standard bus systems, and demonstrate its superiority over a baseline strategy of random selections. To defend against false data-injection attacks, we propose a protection-based defense and a detection-based defense, respectively. For the protection-based defense, we identify and protect critical sensors and make the system more resilient to attacks. For the


If poetry could help better prepare future adults in their chosen disciplines, perhaps teachers, administrators, school boards and governments would be more receptive to include poetry as a core component of the curriculum. What other subject in our curriculum boasts of the capacity to challenge the intellect, charge the emotions, tickle the imagination, renew the spirit, stimulate the senses, enrich the body, calm the mind, lure the listener, motivate the reader, entice the writer and empower the speaker? -- Poetry effects change. The young people who stand today before audiences and adjudicators seeking recognition in drama symposiums and public speaking forums are the adults who will stand in the courtrooms, classrooms, lecture halls, churches, boardrooms, parliaments, television and radio studios of tomorrow. They are the voices of passion, emotion, spirit, and conviction. Sadly many teachers decide against teaching poetry in their classrooms because they are afraid to do so. For some no doubt memories of poetry taught during their student days, consisting of antiquated rhyming masterpieces which they were forced to dissect, memorize and recite, has precipitated such a decision. Such a pedagogical decision may result in not only stunting our children's language growth, but also impairing their developments as the creative, passionate individuals of tomorrow's society. -- The major purpose of this project is to establish a rationale for the inclusion of poetry as an integral part of a school language programme. Factors intrinsic to the enjoyment of poetry during the primary schooling years are examined and the constituent elements of fine poetry for children are identified. This project has surveyed the related literature to expose teachers to the benefit of engaging on a course of poetic education in the primary years. The underpinnings of teachers' reluctance in entering upon such a course will be reviewed as well as the role of the teacher in presenting such work. To assist in the selection of appropriate poetry the constituent elements of children's poetry are examined, an annotated bibliography of recommended books is created, and an evaluation made as to a proposed course of action. -- Part II of the project consists of the Poetry Companion for teachers. The theme of Back to School was selected because of its easy integration into the curricula for elementary grades and its ability to move, delight, inspire, and instruct. The nature of this theme also lends itself well to the development of cognitive thinking skills and affective personal and social goals. A variety of poetry books and anthologies were selected as useful resources. They are highly recommended for use with children in the elementary grades. The selection of material is flexible and can be utilized at the beginning, middle or end of the school year. It can also be incorporated into the Language Arts curriculum to develop listening skills, encourage oracy, promote reading spontaneity, and enhance creative writing. -- The Poetry Companion includes a wide variety of poetry forms within a selected theme, some instructional strategies for use in the classroom as well as a bibliography of selected reading materials for teachers and an annotated bibliography of recommended children's poetry books.


This study applied the content analysis method to compare the differences of addition and subtraction for two digit numbers in grade one textbook. The published mathematics textbook of "Nani" in Taiwan and "My Pals Are Here [MPAH]" in Singapore were selected to be compared. They are the most popular elementary mathematics textbooks in each country. The results show that MPAH uses different approaches, including counting on, place value chart and standard written algorithm, to lead students to solve two digit plus one digit questions. The Nani textbook highlights the use of pictorial representation and horizontal algorithm. The MPAH textbook also teach two digits plus two digits after the two digits plus one digit in one chapter. However, The Nani textbook only focuses on two digits plus one digit and the two digits plus two digits will be taught at grade two. In addition, the Nani textbook emphasizes the introduction of special terms, such as summand, addend, sum, minuend, subtrahend, and difference. Yet the MPAH does not introduce these mathematical terms.


AIM
The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) in a bovine hydroxyapatite/collagen (BHC) carrier to augment bone formation in a canine nasal sinus model.

METHODS
Eight mongrel dogs, approximately 12 months old and 30 kg in weight were used. Following preparation of bilateral sinus access windows, BHC alone (control) or loaded with E. coli-derived BMP-2 at 0.1 mg/ml was implanted in four animals, and BHC loaded with E. coli-derived BMP-2 at 0.5 and 1.5 mg/ml was implanted in four animals. The animals were euthanized at 20 weeks when block sections were obtained for micro-computed tomography and histometric analyses.

RESULTS
Total augmented volumes did not differ significantly between groups. Histometric analysis showed significantly enhanced bone formation for the BMP-2 groups compared with control.

CONCLUSION
BMP-2 in a BHC carrier, even at the low 0.1-mg/ml concentration, induces osteogenic activity, enhancing local bone formation in a canine sinus model.


Background: There are few data to inform decisions about the optimal management of occluded tunneled cuffed hemodialysis catheters with thrombolytic locking solutions. The effect of dose, dwell-time, and number of administrations remains controversial. Methods: In this retrospective single-center review of tunneled cuffed catheters used between 2010 and 2014, restoration of blood flow as well as pre- and post-pump pressures after either short (30 min) or prolonged (48–72 h) administration of 100,000 IU of urokinase locking solution was evaluated in all thrombotic dysfunctions. We also assessed if multiple urokinase locks for the same thrombotic dysfunction event were more efficient to restore catheter performance than single administration. Results: Data on 773 thrombotic events in 148 patients (236 catheters) were collected during observation period. After urokinase treatment, blood flow and pre-pump pressure improved (median of 50 mL/min and 20 mmHg) whereas post-pump pressure decreased (median of 15 mmHg) (all P < 0.0001). The short thrombolytic procedure, used in more severely dysfunctional catheters, resulted in significantly larger improvements in catheter function than the long procedure. Multiple administrations for the same thrombotic event further improved access function in case of persisting dysfunction after first lock but had no added beneficial effect if blood flow and/or pump pressures were normalized after first urokinase lock. Conclusion: Both short and prolonged administration of urokinase locks were efficient in restoring blood flow and pre- and post-pump pressures in dialysis catheters with thrombotic dysfunction. Multiple urokinase locks provide added benefit on these outcomes only in case of persisting dysfunction after the first lock.


This paper develops an empirically constant, data-coherent, error correction model for inflation in Australia. The level of consumer prices is a mark-up over domestic and import costs, with adjustments for dynamics and relative aggregate demand. We address issues of cointegration, general to specific modelling, dynamic specification, model evaluation and testing, parameter constancy, and exogeneity. We also test this model against existing models of Australian prices: this model encompasses (but is not encompassed by) the existing models.


Background For almost any topic, a Wikipedia page will appear among the first ten items of a search online. Wikipedia is also a site whose quality and reliability has been called into question. Methods In this paper, we aim to discuss medical practitioners' use of Wikipedia, what this consists of and what it might be. We consider the context and history of Wikipedia before discussing the relationship between Wikipedia and the medical profession. In so doing, we will consider Wikipedia as a means of informal self-education and the extent to which it might inform clinical decision-making. We compare with the existing literature results from our two small-scale empirical studies of Wikipedia and clinical decision-making. Results Notwithstanding issues over quality and reliability, Wikipedia's rules on verifiability are such that its articles are very heavily referenced, and this is just as true of health-related articles. The Cochrane/Wikipedia Initiative in improving the quality and reliability of medical and health pages in Wikipedia is significant in increasing reliability. Our respondents largely concurred with the results from earlier studies on the use of Wikipedia by medical practitioners. Conclusion Perhaps the very doubt over Wikipedia's accuracy is its greatest strength as a means of informal education of doctors. That medical and health articles on Wikipedia can be so fully referenced and still be doubted is arguably a good thing and one whose effects may be spread into other, more trusted, publications. Hence, one might envisage a future where no one source is taken automatically on trust. Keywords Wikipedia, informal education, continued professional development, medical education.


We report a detailed analysis of the human calcitonin/alpha-CGRP gene locus. About 39kb of DNA containing the gene has been mapped and a common Pvu II RFLP identified downstream of the gene. DNA sequence analysis revealed an extensive CpG island containing several rare restriction enzyme sites at the 5' end of the gene. The structure of this island is unusual in that it contains two distinct CpG-rich regions, one located around exon 1 and the other about 1.5kb further upstream. Msp I sites within both CpG-rich regions were found to be unmethylated, regardless of whether the calcitonin/alpha-CGRP gene was being expressed. However, a correlation was found between demethylation of Msp I sites in intron 2, downstream of the CpG island, and calcitonin/alpha-CGRP gene expression. DNA sequence analysis also revealed the presence of several binding sites for constitutive and regulatory transcription factors in the promoter of the gene. These results suggest that both unmethylated CpG islands and specific demethylation of internal sequences may play a role in the activation of calcitonin/alpha-CGRP gene transcription.


In this fieldwork-based study, Corinne Dempsey examines Christianity in Kerala, which is home to India's ancient and thriving Christian community. Dempsey views their saint traditions as reflecting devotees' "hybrid" (Western and Eastern) identities in colonial and postcolonial times. She uses Kerala Christian devotional practices as points of comparison with European Catholicism and the indigenous Hinduism of the region.


In this paper, survey data are used to document the presence of gender gaps in self-employment, employership, and labor force participation in seven Balkan countries and Turkey. The paper examines the quantitative effects of the gender gaps on aggregate productivity and income per capita in these countries. In the model used to carry out this calculation, agents choose between being workers, self-employed, or employers, and women face several restrictions in the labor market. The data display very large gaps in labor force participation and in the percentage of employers and self-employed in the labor force. In almost all cases, these gaps reveal a clear underrepresentation of women. The calculations show that, on average, the loss associated with these gaps is about 17 percent of income per capita. One-third of this loss is due to distortions in the choice of occupations between men and women. The remaining two-thirds corresponds to the costs associated with gaps in labor force participation. The dimensions of these gender gaps and their associated costs vary considerably across age groups, with the age bracket 36-50 years being responsible for most of the losses.


Telecommunication industry has gained a great deal of importance both for developed and developing countries in the global economy. Telecommunication services, which are necessary infrastructure investment for countries to develop economically and to keep their growth, occupy a more important position in rapid changing technology and in the globalizing economy of our day. The goal of this study is to analyze the impacts of the privatization, liberalization and regulations on the telecommunication sector on OECD countries have been researched in accordance with the literature through the Fixed Effects Model, Random Effects Model and Hausman–Taylor Model among the panel data analysis methods. In order to analyze the economic development variation, OECD countries have been divided into two groups empirical studies. According to results of the research, it is concluded that the reforms for the telecommunication sector have different impacts for the countries in different group of income. Consequently, it has found out that aforementioned mathematical methods could have significant results in analyzing the economical impacts on the telecommunication sector for OECD countries.


Hypoglycemia is one of the most common adverse events for people living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. To gain a deeper understanding of patients' emotions regarding hypoglycemia, we conducted a descriptive qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants for a 30- to 45-minute semi-structured interview. The 16 participants included both women and men with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, with a mean age of 53 years and mean time since diagnosis of 21 years. All participants had experienced more than one hypoglycemia event in the past year, ranging from nonsevere to severe. Data collection and analysis occurred in an iterative manner. Individual and team analyses of interviews were conducted to identify overarching themes and sub-themes. Thematic analysis revealed the unique interconnection among the emotions experienced by participants, including fear, anxiety, frustration, confidence, and hope. Time, experience, and reflection helped to build participants' confidence in their ability to manage a hypoglycemia event. Patients' emotions regarding hypoglycemia provide valuable insights into life with diabetes. Although hypoglycemia continues to evoke feelings of fear and anxiety, the role of hope may temper these emotions. Understanding the complex interplay of emotions concerning hypoglycemia can guide health care providers in improving clinical practice and promoting patient-centered interventions. Ultimately, health care providers can build patients' hypoglycemia-related confidence by using a strengths-based approach.


Feedforward networks together with their training algorithms are a class of regression techniques that can be used to learn to perform some task from a set of examples. The question of generalization of network performance from a finite training set to unseen data is clearly of crucial importance. In this article we first show that the generalization error can be decomposed into two terms: the approximation error, due to the insufficient representational capacity of a finite sized network, and the estimation error, due to insufficient information about the target function because of the finite number of samples. We then consider the problem of learning functions belonging to certain Sobolev spaces with gaussian radial basis functions. Using the above-mentioned decomposition we bound the generalization error in terms of the number of basis functions and number of examples. While the bound that we derive is specific for radial basis functions, a number of observations deriving from it apply to any approximation technique. Our result also sheds light on ways to choose an appropriate network architecture for a particular problem and the kinds of problems that can be effectively solved with finite resources, i.e., with a finite number of parameters and finite amounts of data.


IZA DP No. 14560 JULY 2021 Temperature, Workplace Safety, and Labor Market Inequality Using data covering the universe of injury claims from the nation's largest worker's compensation system (2001-2018), we explore the relationship between temperature and workplace safety and its implications for labor market inequality. Hotter temperature increases workplace injuries significantly, causing approximately 20,000 injuries per year. The effects persist in both outdoor and indoor settings (e.g. manufacturing, warehousing), and for injury types ostensibly unrelated to temperature (e.g. falling from heights), consistent with cognitive or cost-related channels. The risks are substantially larger for men versus women; for younger versus older workers; and for workers at the lower end of the income distribution, suggesting that accounting for workplace heat exposure may exacerbate total compensation inequality. We document a decline in the heat-sensitivity of injuries over the study period, suggesting significant scope for adaptation using existing


This paper considers ordered vector spaces with arbitrary closed cones and establishes a number of characterization results with applications to monotone comparative statics (Topkis (1978), Topkis (1998), Milgrom and Shannon (1994)). By appealing to the fundamental theorem of calculus for the Henstock-Kurzweil integral, we generalize existing results on increasing differences and supermodularity for C1 or C2 functions. None of the results are based on the assumption that the order is Euclidean. As applications we consider a teamwork game and a monopoly union model.


This paper presents an innovative, green and organic electro synthesis in order to prepare Schiff base product by the reduction of 5-methoxy-5,6-bis (3-nitropheyl-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazine-3(2H))-thione followed by the condensation on zinc cathode in aqueous alkaline ethanol media in the presence of salicylaldehyde at room temperature. The main characteristic of this proposal is the electro-reduction and electro-condensation. The bulk electrolysis at constant potential was performed in a three-electrode undivided cell in order to prepare Schiff base. In this sense, good yields and easy purification were achieved. Results indicate that thereduction produced high current in the cell and succeeded a green chemistry process. Products were characterized by IR, NMR (1H, 13C), and SEM.


Abstract Neoliberal urban governance is often framed as a break with the social statecraft of the postwar period. If we approach social government as a specific mode of biopolitical population politics, neoliberal reforms can instead be understood as re-articulating the welfarist version of postwar social planning. In this article, I analyze how social urban government can become the basis of neoliberal planning through a study of the Swedish city of Malmo, which has shifted its approach from emblematic Scandinavian social democratic welfare urbanism to a particular kind of neoliberal planning. Malmo is a city where distinctions between desirable and unwanted populations are produced by municipal social planning that concerns itself with accumulating human resources. Postwar social planning technologies are thus re-articulated as the basis for making space competitive for certain residents. This mode of planning is described as a type of ?social neoliberalism?, which, instead of circumscribing neoliberal economics, extends the reach of neoliberalism into social government. This study suggests that calls for a return to social planning need to be complicated by accounts of how social government itself has been remade by neoliberal reforms. It also points out how the divisions produced by social neoliberalism expose powerful fault lines that reveal a terrain of political struggle.


Virtual and Collaborative Teams is of importance to practitioners and researchers because it brings together in a single accessible source, a variety of current research and practice on the subject of virtual and collaborative teams. Geographic distance, technology, lack of social presence, lack of adequate training and lack of instructional resources are just some of the unique challenges faced by virtual teams. This book is a unique resource in that it provides a variety of research and practice from a wide range of disciplines, nationally and internationally. The essays blend theory and practice, encompassing quantitative and qualitative research, case studies, interview research and theoretical models.


Introduction: Glottic and subglottic stenosis, and most notably the cricoid fracture, is a common sequela of larynx trauma, which has received inadequate and ineffective treatment. This is a difficult fracture with a high recurrence rate. It affects the patient's airway and voice, forcing him to breathe through a tracheal cannula or depriving him of normal speech. These conditions badly influence his quality of life, leaving him as a burden on his family and society. This study is to evaluate the result of a glottic and subglottic reconstructive surgery through grafting. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted in a hospital in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Data were collected from a descriptive clinical trial of 9 cases that were admitted to the ENT Department of Cho Ray Hospital. These patients displayed symptoms of glottic and subglottic stenosis and were being prepared for reconstructive surgery by grafting. Results: Total 9 patients were included in the study (9 males and 1 female). The main cause was identified as cricoid trauma (8/9 cases), with one case having an unknown reason. Most cases have a total or near total loss of glottic/ subglottic lumen. The rate for successful cannula removal for 6 cases was 77.8%. The study clearly demonstrated that glottic and subglottic reconstructive surgery through grafting is a difficult but effective operation to reconstruct the laryngeal lumen. Conclusion: Cricoid trauma gave rise to most of the glottic and subglottic stenosis cases, with the majority of the cases having a total or near total loss of glottic/subglottic lumen.


—Complex mobile applications require an appropriate global architecture. If used correctly, the high-level design patterns promoted by Apple and Google such as MVC, MVVM, and MVI/MVU may make an important contribution to the architecture, but they often require supplementary architectural concepts. General architectures such as Clean Architecture may come to the rescue but leave room for interpretation as to how they work best on iOS and Android. This paper gives an overview of the current situation and choices and a vision of using a mix-and-match approach with the following goals: provide an extendable approach suitable for small and large projects, use minimal integration into the platform, and sidestep traps and erroneous implementations.


Q-switched operation of an Nd:LuAG laser using gold nanorods (GNRs) as the saturable absorber (SA) is reported, which also produces the highest average power among the nanosecond Nd-doped Q-switched lasers by GNRs-based SA. The applied GNRs are prepared using a seed-mediated growth method and then dropped onto the quartz substrate to fabricate the SA. The average power of the Q-switched laser is 516 mW with the shortest pulse duration of 606.7 ns and the repetition rate of 265.1 kHz.


The theoretical concept of technological performance has emerged only recently with the publication of Jon McKenzie's Perform or Else: From Discipline to Performance in 2001. McKenzie develops a general theory of performance based around the development of three performance paradigms: cultural performance, organizational performance (or performance management), and technological performance. In his examination of the techno-performance paradigm, he focuses primarily on late twentieth and early twenty-first century 'high performance' technologies such as computers, guided missiles and space shuttles. While he acknowledges that the concept of performance does not apply only to technologies in this period, his analysis implicitly suggests that high performance technologies are a unique invention of the modern age. This essay confronts McKenzie's restriction of techno-performance to the post-WWII period by demonstrating how technologies performed and were seen to perform in the late nineteenth century through a techno-performance reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). The late Victorian period saw startling innovations in information and communication technology (such as the overseas telegraph, the typewriter, and the gramophone), which were marketed as high performance technologies, though not in those words. To contextualise my reading of Dracula , I examine contemporary Victorian advertisements for communication technologies to demonstrate how such technologies were viewed as high performance products by Victorian advertisers and consumers. Technology in Dracula has usually been read as a metaphor. I employ McKenzie's concept of techno-performance to examine the performative functions of technology in Dracula that have not yet been explored by Victorianist scholarship. McKenzie notes two challenges posed by techno-performance: first, the challenge posed by a developer to his/her technological product, to perform or be classified as obsolete; and, second, the challenge posed by technology to its user to perform or be regarded as outmoded. I argue that Stoker's Dracula takes up both of these challenges. Emergent technologies sometimes perform in unexpected and potentially disruptive ways, much like the space shuttle Challenger cited by McKenzie; at the same time, such technologies oblige their users to perform in unexpected and disruptive ways. This essay examines emergent technologies in Dracula to highlight the relationship between individual and technological performance in the late nineteenth century.


ABSTRACT In recent years, the problem of child sex trafficking has become a topic of international discussion and concern. Child sex trafficking can include many forms of commercial sexual exploitation such as prostitution, pornography, and child sex tourism. Children who fall prey to these forms of sexual exploitation are of particular concern because of their vulnerable status and the impact these experiences have on their development. This article provides a comprehensive review about what is currently known about child sex trafficking by examining definitions, estimates of the problem, child risk factors and consequences, and approaches to protection, prosecution, promotion of recovery and reintegration, and partnerships for promoting collaboration and cooperation.


This paper examines the labor market for mutual fund managers and managers' responses to the implicit incentives created by their career concerns. We find that managerial turnover is sensitie to a fund's recent performance. Consistent with the hypothesis that fund companies are learning about managers' abilities, managerial turnover is more performance-sensitive for younger fund managers. Interpreting the separation-performance relationship as an incentive scheme, several of our results suggest that a desire to avoid separation may induce managers at different stages of their careers to behave differently. Younger fund managers appear to be given less discretion in the management of their funds; i.e. they are more likely to lose their jobs if their fund's beta or unsystematic risk level deviates from the mean for their fund's objective group. We also show that the shape of the job separation-performance relationship may provide an incentive for young mutual fund managers to be risk averse in selecting their fund's portfolio. Consistent with these implicit labor market incentives, younger fund managers do take on lower unsystematic risk and deviate less from typical behavior than their older counterparts. Finally, additional results on the flow of investments into mutual funds suggest that rather than just being due to a screening process, firing decisions may also be influenced by a desire to stimulate inflows of investment into the fund.


OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between the neurobehavior of very preterm infants and the level of NICU quality of developmental care. METHODS: The neurobehavior of 178 very preterm infants (gestational age ≤29 weeks and/or birth weight ≤1500 g) from 25 NICUs participating in a large multicenter, longitudinal study (Neonatal Adequate Care for Quality of Life, NEO-ACQUA) was examined with a standardized neurobehavioral assessment, the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS). A questionnaire, the NEO-ACQUA Quality of Care Checklist was used to evaluate the level of developmental care in each of the NICUs. A factor analyses applied to NEO-ACQUA Quality of Care Checklist produced 2 main factors: (1) the infant-centered care (ICC) index, which measures parents' involvement in the care of their infant and other developmentally oriented care interventions, and (2) the infant pain management (IPM) index, which measures the NICU approach to and the procedures used for reducing infant pain. The relations between NNNS neurobehavioral scores and the 2 indexes were evaluated. RESULTS: Infants from NICUs with high scores on the ICC evidenced higher attention and regulation, less excitability and hypotonicity, and lower stress/abstinence NNNS scores than infants from low-care units. Infants from NICUs with high scores on the IPM evidenced higher attention and arousal, lower lethargy and nonoptimal reflexes NNNS scores than preterm infants from low-scoring NICUs. CONCLUSIONS: Very preterm infant neurobehavior was associated with higher levels of developmental care both in ICC and in IPM, suggesting that these practices support better neurobehavioral stability.


The cyclic AMP response element (CRE) is found in many cellular genes regulated by cyclic AMP, and similar elements are present in the early genes of adenovirus that are activated by E1A. The transcription factor CREB has previously been shown to bind this site, and cDNAs for CREB have recently been characterized. We report here the isolation of a cDNA encoding a human DNA-binding protein that also recognizes this motif in cellular and viral promoters. This protein, HB16, displays structural similarity to CREB and to c-Jun and c-Fos, which bind the related 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element (TRE). HB16 contains a highly basic, putative DNA-binding domain and a leucine zipper structure thought to be involved in dimerization. Deletional analysis of HB16 demonstrated that the leucine zipper is required for its interaction with DNA. In addition, HB16 could form a complex with c-Jun but not with c-Fos. Despite its structural similarity to c-Jun and c-Fos and its interaction with c-Jun, HB16 had approximately a 10-fold-lower affinity for the TRE sequence than for the CRE sequence. Although HB16 and CREB both recognized the CRE motif, an extensive binding analysis of HB16 revealed differences in the fine specificity of binding of the two proteins. HB16 mRNA was found at various levels in many human tissues but was most abundant in brain, where its expression was widespread. The existence of more than one CRE-binding protein suggests that the CRE motif could serve multiple regulatory functions.


Abstract Background A new software package called flowFP for the analysis of flow cytometry data is introduced. The package, which is tightly integrated with other Bioconductor software for analysis of flow cytometry, provides tools to transform raw flow cytometry data into a form suitable for direct input into conventional statistical analysis and empirical modeling software tools. The approach of flowFP is to generate a description of the multivariate probability distribution function of flow cytometry data in the form of a "fingerprint". As such, it is independent of a presumptive functional form for the distribution, in contrast with model-based methods such as Gaussian Mixture Modeling. flowFP is computationally efficient, and able to handle extremely large flow cytometry data sets of arbitrary dimensionality. Algorithms and software implementation of the package are described.


Abstract. Collecting comprehensive knowledge about spectral signals in areas composed by complex structured objects is a challenging task in remote sensing. In the case of vegetation, shadow effects on reflectance are especially difficult to determine. This work analyzes a larch forest stand (Larix decidua MILL.) in Pinnis Valley (Tyrol, Austria). The main goal is extracting the larch spectral signal on Landsat 8 (LS8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) images using ground measurements with the Cropscan Multispectral Radiometer with five bands (MSR5) simultaneously to satellite overpasses in summer 2015. First, the relationship between field spectrometer and OLI data on a cultivated grassland area next to the forest stand is investigated. Median ground measurements for each of the grassland parcels serve for calculation of the mean difference between the two sensors. Differences are used as "bias correction" for field spectrometer values. In the main step, spectral unmixing of the OLI images is applied to the larch forest, specifying the larch tree spectral signal based on corrected field spectrometer measurements of the larch understory. In order to determine larch tree and shadow fractions on OLI pixels, a representative 3D tree shape is used to construct a digital forest. Benefits of this approach are the computational savings compared to a radiative transfer modeling. Remaining shortcomings are the limited capability to consider exact tree shapes and nonlinear processes. Different methods to implement shadows are tested and spectral vegetation indices like the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Greenness Index (GI) can be computed even without considering shadows.


Histamine H2 antagonists are widely used in treating patients with hematemesis and melena, despite the lack of reliable evidence of benefit from any of the randomized trials, considered separately. Examination of the data from all 27 available randomized trials, in which over 2500 patients were entered, suggests that treatment may reduce the rates of rebleeding, surgery, and death by about 10, 20, and 30 per cent, respectively, although these results were only marginally significant for surgery and death. Any benefit appeared to be confined to patients with bleeding gastric ulcers, but since this subgroup analysis was prompted by preliminary examination of the data in some of the individual trials reviewed here, it should be treated with particular caution. The implications of this overview are that treatment with histamine H2 antagonists appears to be moderately promising, but its effects on important end points, such as death, still need to be assessed reliably. Prevention of "only" about 20 per cent of all deaths could well be worthwhile, for the condition is common, and the treatment widely practicable. To detect such a moderate effect reliably, however, might require the randomization of 10,000 patients (or more), which would be possible only in an extremely simple multicenter collaborative trial.


Due to the inherent genericity of graph-based representations, and thanks to the improvement of computer capacities, structural representations have become more and more popular in the field of Pattern Recognition (PR). In a graph-based representation, vertices and their attributes describe objects (or part of them) while edges represent interrelationships between the objects. Representing objects by graphs turns the problem of object comparison into graph matching (GM) where correspondences between vertices and edges of two graphs have to be found. In the domain of GM, over the last decade, Graph Edit Distance (GED) has been given a specific attention due to its flexibility to match many types of graphs. GED has been applied to a wide range of specific applications from molecule recognition to image classification. Researchers have shed light on the approximate methods that can find suboptimal solutions hopefully close to the optimal ones but the gap between optimal and suboptimal solutions has not been deeply studied yet. For that reason, in this thesis, we focus on exact GED algorithms. Unfortunately, exact GED methods have an exponential complexity. Thus, coming up with an exact GED algorithm that can be scaled up to match graphs involved in PR tasks is a great challenge. Two promising ways to cut-off computational time are search space pruning and distributed algorithms. To this end, we first propose a depth-first GED algorithm which requires less memory and search time. An evaluation of all possible solutions is performed without explicitly enumerating all of them. Candidates are discarded using an upper and lower bounds strategy. To find a trade-off between speed and optimality, we describe how to convert the proposed depth-first GED method into an anytime one that is capable of delivering a first solution very quickly. It also can find a list of improved solutions and eventually converges to the optimal solution instead of providing one and only one solution (i.e., the optimal solution). With the delight of more time, anytime methods can also reach the optimal solution. To illustrate the usage of anytime GM algorithms, we convert our depth-first GED algorithm into an anytime one. We analyze the properties of such methods to solve GM problems and consider the performance in terms of accuracy of the provided solution compared to the optimal or the best one found by a state-of-the-art methods. This thesis is also considered as a first attempt to reduce the run time of exact GED methods using parallel and distributed fashions. Two parallel and distributed GED approaches are put forward; both of them are based on the depth-first GED method. The search space is decomposed into smaller search trees which are solved independently in a parallel or a distributed manner. To benchmark the proposed GED methods, we propose not only assessing GED methods in a classification context but also evaluating them in a graph-level one (i.e., evaluating their distance and matchin accuracy). Due to the exponential complexity of exact GED algorithms and in order to obtain this kind of information about methods, we propose analyzing the behavior of the eight compared methods under time and memory constraints. In addition to the performance evaluations metrics, we propose a graph database repository dedicated to GED. In this repository, we add graph-level information to well-known and publicly used databases. Added information consists of the best found edit distance of each pair of graphs as well as their vertex-to-vertex and edge-to-edge mappings corresponding to the best found distance. This information helps in assessing the feasibility of exact and approximate GED methods. This thesis brings into question the usual evidences saying that it is impossible to use exact errortolerant GM methods in real-world applications when matching large graphs, or even in a classification context. However, we argue and show that a new type of GM, referred to as anytime methods, can be successful in a graph-level context as well as a classification one. Anytime videos, pseudo-codes and the publications related to the thesis are publicly available at: http://www.rfai.li.univ-tours.fr/ PagesPerso/zabuaisheh/home.html. The thesis is also publicly available at: http://www.rfai.li.univ-tours.fr/Documents/Articles_RFAI/PhD2016zeina.pdf


A 5 x 25 km, three-dimensional seismic survey of the lower part of the northern Barbados Ridge accretionary prism creates a three-dimensional image of a major active decollement fault. The fault is usually a compound negative-polarity reflection modeled as a low-velocity, high-porosity zone less than ∼14 m thick. This thickness is significantly less than that defined by drilling of a >40 m zone of deformation at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 671B, located within the surveyed area. We infer that the seismically defined fault is a thin, high-porosity zone and is thus an undercompacted, high-fluid-pressure dilatant section. If these inferences are correct, then map-view variations in seismic-reflection waveform and amplitude illustrate complex patterns of fault-zone fluid content and fluid migration paths. The amplitude map suggests kilometre-wide channels of locally high porosity and thus focused fluid flow. These paths are only subparallel to the expected minimum head, as inferred from the shape of the overlying sediment wedge; other factors must modify fluid concentrations and ultimately migration. Several areas of positive-polarity fault reflections define square-kilometre-sized regions inferred to be lower porosity sections producing strong asperities in an otherwise weak fault. One, coincident with Site 671B, may explain the success of drilling through the fault here. All other holes drilled in the area were within the negative-polarity regions and were unsuccessful in penetrating through the entire fault zone, possibly because of instability associated with high fluid pressures and a weak fault. ODP Leg 156 planned for 1994 will test inferences related to fault permeability and fluid pressures.


The goal of the reactive automata model is to reduce the space required for the implementation of automata. A reactive automaton has extra links whose role is to change the behaviour of the whole automaton. These links do not increase their expressiveness. Typical examples of regular expressions associated with deterministic automata of exponential size according to the length of the expression show that reactive links provide an alternative representation of total linear size.


For the past four years, Google has been systematically making digital copies of books in the collections of many major university libraries. It made the digital copies searchable through its web site - you couldn't read the books, but you could at least find out where the phrase you're looking for appears within them. This outraged copyright owners, who filed a class action lawsuit to make Google stop. Then, last fall, the parties to this large class action announced an even larger settlement: one that would give Google a license not only to scan books, but also to sell them. The settlement tackles the orphan works problem, but through the judicial process. Laundering orphan works legislation through a class action lawsuit is both a brilliant response to legislative inaction and a dangerous use of the judicial power. Many of the public interest safeguards that would have been present in the political arena are attenuated in a seemingly private lawsuit; the lack of such safeguards is evident in the terms of the resulting settlement. The solution is to reinsert these missing public interest protections into the settlement.


One of the most widely used self-assessment inventories of coping is the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. The aims of the study were to describe coping with illness-related problems in persons with muscular diseases and to investigate the influence of demographic variables. Also, the reliability of the Swedish version of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire was to be evaluated. Forty-four persons with muscular dystrophy and 32 persons with postpolio syndrome, along with a comparison group of 214 students, completed the questionnaire. The findings of this study show that there are some different coping patterns in students as compared with persons with chronic disease. The coping strategy Distancing was used more and the strategy Accepting Responsibility used less frequently in the chronic disease groups and may be an expression of the inevitable physical limitations caused by the progressiveness of muscular dystrophy and postpolio syndrome. Furthermore, persons with muscular dystrophy also used less problem-focused coping in the form of Confrontive Coping and Planful Problem Solving when compared with the postpolio and student groups. In addition, women in the three groups employed the strategy of Seeking Social Support more often than did men. Regarding the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, internal consistency was acceptable for the total score, but lower and not acceptable for several of the subscales. In the student group, but not in the chronic disease groups, there were low correlations between subscales, which indicate discriminative ability. More research is necessary to further investigate the reliability and validity of the Swedish version of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire before this instrument can be used routinely to assess coping patterns in patients with chronic disease.


Thirty years ago, Jacob, Cuzin, and Brenner proposed the replicon model of DNA replication to describe the regulation of Escherichia coli chromosomal duplication (Jacob et al. 1964). This model predicted that a positive trans-acting protein, called the initiator, would activate DNA replication through a cis-acting sequence called the replicator. Subsequent studies demonstrated the validity of this model and identified the dnaA protein as the initiator and oriC as the replicator for replication of the E. coli chromosome (Kornberg and Baker 1991). The finding that a number of bacteriophage and eukaryotic viruses use a similar mechanism to replicate their genomes supports the generality of this model (Challberg and Kelly 1989; Stillman 1989). In eukaryotic cells, the problem of chromosomal replication is much more complex. Instead of a single origin of replication, hundreds of origins must be coordinately regulated. In addition, the timing and extent of replication are precisely controlled during the...


Sixteen ecological and entomological journals were surveyed from 1969-1989 for articles concerning defensive mechanisms in arthropods. Predators and prey are listed taxonomically by family, and grouped according to the specific defensive mechanism employed by the prey. A dichotomous categorization scheme is proposed which primarily reflects the hypothesized energetic costs of various antipredator mechanisms. In total, 354 papers were examined involving 555 potential or real predator/prey interactions. It is concluded that certain defensive mechanisms are prevalent in particular taxonomic groups as indicated by the literature. Several predator/prey pairs occur together in interactions more frequently than would be expected by chance (up to 39 times in one case). Most pairs (71 percent) occur together ten or fewer times. Thirty-four pairs (nine percent) occurred only once. It is questionable whether this phenomenon is an accurate representation of the natural distribution of defensive mechanisms in arthropods because of the potential and real bias involved in the investigative process. Many studies assume but do not demonstrate the efficacy of the alleged defensive mechanism. Of 555 real or potential interactions, a defensive function was demonstrated 354 times (64 percent). No defensive function was demonstrated 201 times (36 percent). It is suggested that whenever possible, future investigations incorporate tests of the hypothesized defensive function against sympatric, and therefore ecologically relevant predators.


Finding an indicator that can point to a high risk group for suicide has long been a desirable aid for the prevention of completed suicides. The studies reviewed in this essay presume that a biological aspect can point out the high risk individual. The focus of the studies lies on the serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) monoamine neurotransmitter and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) which is the principal metabolite of 5-HT in depression. The studies on 5-HT metabolites have led to the belief that these may play a key role in the neurochemistry of suicidal behaviour. It is suggested that the core behavioural effect of low CSF 5-HIAA concentration might result in an increase in impulsive and violent behaviour to self and others. The predictability is based on the fact that patients with low CSF 5-HIAA are more prone to reattempt and complete suicide by violent means. A number of well-designed studies concerning suicidal individuals and control subjects have however not shown any difference in concentration of CSF 5-HIAA in suicide attempters compared to non-suicide attempters which could be explained by methodological flaws. Low CSF 5-HIAA does seem to characterize the high risk individual, but it is not yet determined what role it plays in actual suicidality.


Triclosan (TCS), an antibacterial agent widely found in household and clinical products, is readily absorbed into human skin, but TCS effects on mammalian cells are largely unknown. TCS has been found to alleviate symptoms of human eczema, via an unknown mechanism. Mast cells are ubiquitous, key players in allergy, infectious disease, carcinogenesis, autism, and many other diseases and physiological functions. One important function of mast cells is release of pro-inflammatory mediators from intracellular granules (degranulation) upon challenge with antigen. Non-cytotoxic doses of TCS inhibit several functions of both human (HMC-1.2) and rat (RBL-2H3) mast cells, including degranulation. Previous work in the Gosse laboratory has shown that TCS disrupts ATP production without cytotoxicity in RBL-2H3 and HMC-1.2 mast cells in glucose-free, galactose-containing media. In the same glucose-free conditions, 15 μM TCS dampens RBL-2H3 degranulation by 40%. Thus, TCS affects degranulation and ATP production in mast cells. TCS-methyl, unlike TCS, was shown to inhibit neither of these processes, suggesting that TCS disrupts cellular energy production in part due to its ionizable proton. Well studied mitochondrial uncouplers [e.g., carbonyl cyanide 3chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP)] have been shown to disrupt mast cell function. Oxygen consumption rate (OCR) is a parameter that has been used to study mitochondrial function, since most cellular oxygen consumption is via mitochondria. Triclosan at 10 μM was shown to increase the cellular oxygen consumption rate in RBL2H3 cells, demonstrating a similar effect as 1 μM CCCP. Taken together, our data indicate that TCS is a mitochondrial uncoupler which disrupts mast cell signaling. This mechanism could underlie TCS toxicity in numerous mammalian cell types.


This collection charts three projects by performance-makers who generate autobiographical writing by taking walks. It includes performance texts and photographs, as well as essays by the artists that discuss processes of development, writing and performance. The Crab Walks and Crab Steps Aside are performances made by Phil Smith based on an initial exploratory walking of an area of South Devon where he was taken for childhood holidays and then on to Munich, Herm and San Gimignano. Both shows were accompanied by the distribution of maps seeking to provoke the audience to make their own exploratory walks. Mourning Walk is a performance that relates to a walk Carl Lavery made to mark the anniversary of his father's death. Lavery shows how a secret can be both shared and hidden through the act of communication as he explores 'an ethics of autobiographical performance'. In Tree, the result of a multi-disciplinary collaborative process, Dee Heddon occupies a single square foot of soil, and discovers that by standing stationary and looking closely she can travel across continents and centuries, making unexpected connections through an extroverted autobiographical practice. The work of all three artists, taken together and separately, raises important issues about memory, ritual, life writing, textuality, subjectivity, and site in performance.


The development of high-quality tunable lasers and very bright, incoherent sources has made high-quality interferometric measurements available to the optical telecommunications industry. These measurements have advantages at the fundamental level because they allow linear-systems concepts and analysis to be applied to optical fiber systems. In particular, phase characteristics that have been previously measured as derivatives can be acquired directly, allowing more consistent evaluation and qualification of optical components for high-bit-rate systems.


Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers can present holes in spectral gain in Wavelength Division Multiplexing operation. The origin of this inhomogeneous saturation behavior is still a subject of controversy. In this paper we present both an experimental methods and a gain's model. Our experimental method allow us to measure the first homogeneous linewidth of the 1.5 μm erbium emission with gain spectral hole burning consistently with the other measurement in the literature and the model explains the differences observed in literature between GSHB and other measurement methods.