Data were obtained from 32 electronic tags that were glued to the fur of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in and around Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, during the environmental monitoring of the SeaGen tidal turbine.
This study provides the first detailed information on the behaviour of marine mammals close to a commercial-scale tidal energy device. The turbine did not prevent transit of the animals through the channel and therefore did not result in a 'barrier' effect.
However, the animals' behaviour did change when the turbine was operating, demonstrating the importance of allowing for behavioural responses when estimating collision risks associated with tidal turbines.
Tagged animals passed the location of the device more frequently during slack water than when the current was running. In 2010 the frequency of transits by tagged seals reduced by 20% (95% CI: 10–50%) when the turbine was on, relative to when it was off. This effect was stronger when considering daylight hours only with a reduction of transit rate of 57% (95% CI: 25–64%). Seals tagged during the operational period transited approximately 250 m either side of the turbine suggesting some degree of local avoidance compared with the pre-installation results.
The results presented here have implications for monitoring and managing the potential interactions between tidal turbines and marine wildlife. Principally that the design of telemetry studies for measuring change in response to developments should seek to understand and take into account variability in seal behaviour.
This study only looked at the effects of a single turbine rather than an array, and mitigation limited the ability to determine close range interactions. However, the study indicates that the effect of the turbine on Strangford Lough harbour seals was minor and that collision risk was reduced by the behaviour of the seals.


U of K- Annual Conference of Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research-Humanities and Educational Studies February 2013- Khartoum-Sudan: Conference Proceedings Volume Two


We study the problem of scheduling periodic real-time tasks which have individual minimum reward requirements. We consider situations where tasks generate jobs that can be provided arbitrary service times before their deadlines, and obtain rewards based on the service times received by the jobs of the task. We show that this model is compatible with the imprecise computation models and the increasing reward with increasing service models. In contrast to previous work on these models, which mainly focus on maximizing the total reward in the system, we additionally aim to fulfill different reward requirements by different tasks. This provides better fairness and also allows fine-grained tradeoff between tasks. We first derive a necessary and sufficient condition for a system with reward requirements of tasks to be feasible. We next obtain an off-line feasibility optimal scheduling policy. We then study a sufficient condition for a policy to be feasibility optimal or achieve some approximation bound. This condition serves as a guideline for designing on-line scheduling policy and we obtain a greedy policy based on it. We prove that the on-line policy is feasibility optimal when all tasks have the same periods, and also obtain an approximation bound for the policy under general cases. We test our policies in comparative simulations.


Particulate TiC reinforced 465 maraging stainless steel matrix Cermets were processed by conventional P/M. The binder phase was added in the form of elemental powders and master alloy powders. The microstructures, binder phase variation with TiC content and mechanical properties were evaluated. The addition of a type of binder phase largely effects the microstructure and mechanical properties. When a master alloy binder phase was used the microstructure showed interphase debondings, microcracks and large growths of TiC particles. Where as, elemental powders in the composition of binder phases showed defect free microstructure of steel bonded cermets. The binder phase variation from starting composition was observed with increase in wt% TiC content and this variation was higher when the master alloy powders were used as a binder. After heat treatment and aging, an increase in hardness was observed. The increase in hardness was attributed to the aging reaction in maraging stainless steel. The response to heat treatment was decreased with an increase in TiC content due to the shift of binder phase from the starting composition.


Intussusception which presents with palpable mass, abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea is a rare condition in adulthood. Most of adult intussusception cases are secondary to benign or malign lesions. Entamoeba histolytica is a common pathogen leading to chronic bloody diarrhea in developing countries . We report a 22-year-old patient presenting with abdominal pain and chronic bloody mucoid diarrhea, which intestinal amebiasis delayed diagnosis of intussusception secondary to colonic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. J Med Cases. 2014;5(8):441-444 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1854w


With the growth of printing in early modern Germany, crime quickly became a subject of wide public discourse. Sensational crime reports, often featuring multiple murders within families, proliferated as authors probed horrific events for religious meaning. Coinciding with heightened witch panics and economic crisis, the spike in crime fears revealed a continuum between fears of the occult and more mundane dangers. In Crime and Culture in Early Modern Germany , Joy Wiltenburg explores the beginnings of crime sensationalism from the early sixteenth century into the seventeenth century and beyond. Comparing the depictions of crime in popular publications with those in archival records, legal discourse, and imaginative literature, Wiltenburg highlights key social anxieties and analyzes how crime texts worked to shape public perceptions and mentalities. Reports regularly featured familial destruction, flawed economic relations, and the apocalyptic thinking of Protestant clergy. Wiltenburg examines how such literature expressed and shaped cultural attitudes while at the same time reinforcing governmental authority. She also shows how the emotional inflections of crime stories influenced the growth of early modern public discourse, so often conceived in terms of rational exchange of ideas.


A century before Jack the Ripper haunted the streets of London, another predator held sway. In the late eighteenth century, the city was gripped by fear, outrage, and Monster Mania. A psychopath who had lashed out violently at over fifty women during a two-year crime spree roamed the city. After stalking and verbally harassing his unsuspecting victims, the Monster would assault them with blades shrewdly crafted for his methods of attack. Sometimes he jabbed his victims squarely in the hips and buttocks. Some he kicked in the backside with knives fastened to his knee. Others he invited to smell an artificial nosegay, only to stab the fine lady right in the nose with a sharp spike hidden within the flowers. The details of these encounters-the bloodshed, the women's ripped clothing, the dark figure calmly observing his victim's screams of anguish before disappearing down the closest alley seconds before help arrived-became deeply ingrained in London's collective psyche. After an immense reward was offered for the capture of the perpetrator by the wealthy philanthropist John Julius Angerstein, one of the founders of Lloyd's, the public's excitement rose. Armed vigilantes patrolling the streets only added to the mayhem, and newspaper reports of each attack roused even greater panic. Fashionable ladies did not dare walk outdoors without copper pans over their petticoats to protect them against the Monster's rapier. And still, the attacks continued. Finally in June 1790, an ungainly young Welshman named Rhynwick Williams, who worked in a factory for artificial flowers, was arrested as the London Monster. He appeared an unlikely Monster, with a reasonable alibi for one of the worst attacks. But after two long, ludicrous trials, where he was defended energetically by the eccentric Irish poet, Theophilus Swift, Williams was convicted. Was Rhynwick Williams guilty after all? Or was he unlucky enough to fall into the hands of authorities when they needed someone, anyone, to pay for the Monster's peculiar crimes? Was there even a Monster at all? Considerable doubt has been cast. In The London Monster, Jan Bondeson writes a lively, detailed account of one of London's most notorious sons and assesses evidence for the guilt or innocence of the convicted Williams. He presents a wealth of contemporary evidence from learned and popular sources, as well as research on mass hysterias and moral panics, to reinterpret Monster Mania and compare it to historical and modern instances of similar phenomena. Indeed, in the magnitude of public frenzy it incited, the story of the London Monster bears similarities to the Ripper murders in 1888; in its stature as urban legend, it is of the bogeyman tradition of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. As Bondeson reveals, the London Monster occupies a unique space in London's criminal history and imagination, somewhere between fact and fiction.


The international dialogue on climate change is currently focused on a strategy of adaptation that includes the projected removal of entire communities, if necessary. Not surprisingly, many of the geographical regions that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are also the traditional lands of indigenous communities. This article takes the position that the adaptation strategy will prove genocidal for many groups of indigenous people, and instead argues for recognition of an indigenous right to environmental self-determination, which would allow indigenous peoples to maintain their cultural and political status upon their traditional lands. In the context of climate change policy, such a right would impose affirmative requirements on nation-states to engage in a mitigation strategy in order to avoid catastrophic harm to indigenous peoples. This article argues for a new conception of rights to address the unique harms of climate change. An indigenous right to environmental self-determination would be based on human rights norms in recognition that "sovereignty claims" by indigenous groups are not a sufficient basis to protect traditional ways of life and the rich and unique cultural norms of such groups. Similarly, tort-based theories of compensation for the harms of climate change have only limited capacity to address the concerns of indigenous peoples.


Welchia worms were launched to terminate the Blaster worms and patch the vulnerable hosts. They created complex worm interactions as well as detrimental impact on infrastructure. Worm propagation analysis, including exploring mechanisms of predator-prey worms' propagation and formulating effects of network/worm parameters, has great importance for worm containment and host protection. In this paper, an integrated worm ecology model is given to study the propagation of such worms. The analytical results provide insights of the worm design and impact to network. The simulation results verify the correctness of our model and show the effectiveness of the worm model by applying it to the LiOn/Cheese and MSBlaster/Welchia.


This research considers Sikh gurdwaras in England as heritage places, responding to recent debates within heritage studies and the wider social sciences surrounding how we identify the value and significance of places for people. It also aims to address an emphasis within heritage practice on original and built form, by allowing for new conceptions of place and value to come to the fore which acknowledge cultural diversity and scalar flexibility. The thesis asks what the value is of gurdwaras in England to those who use and manage them, and have been involved with their ongoing development. It is envisaged that the results presented here will directly impact upon ongoing debates regarding what constitutes heritage in England, and how this is recognised and managed by Historic England and the wider heritage and planning sectors.
The methodological approach taken to the research is qualitative, with a focus on exploring the everyday use and significance of gurdwaras for those who use them regularly, or are involved in their management and development. The narrative experiences of respondents reveal shared and competing understandings of places as gurdwaras, reflecting the religious and social diversity of the Sikh community in England. In general, importance is placed on any gurdwara as the home of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh scriptures) and related practices, and on remaining useful, relevant and purposeful for the immediate and wider community. This research also reveals that the relationship between social and religious values and the physical fabric of a gurdwara building, is nuanced, complex and often highly contextual; where one may be valued because of the community contribution to development work, another may have previously functioned as a church, and is now valued because of its past and ongoing religious function.
The implications of this research relate to a need to more fully debate how a range of values and understandings of place can be acknowledged within heritage practice, ensuring the appropriate future recognition and management of perceived heritage places.


The purpose of this research was to explore economic dimensions of a consumer gift-giving model. Two dimensions of extrahousehold gift expenditures were modeled: the probability of giving and the expected value of the corresponding expenditures. Data were from 4,139 households in the Quarterly Interview component of the 1984-85 U.S. Continuing Consumer Expenditure Survey. The results demonstrated that both the probability of giving and the value of annual expenditures for gifts given outside the consumer unit are related to total expenditures (a proxy for income), family size, life-cycle stage, and education. In addition, the probability of gift giving is related to the number of female adults, ethnicity, and urbanization, and the value of gift expenditures is related to region. Extrahousehold gift expenditures appear to be a luxury--as income increases, gift expenditures increase more rapidly. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.


The Internet has been to date used as a space for simple promotion by political parties; websites present an opportunity for the delivery of non-mediated communication directly to the online audience and nothing more. However, new patterns in usage during campaigns, particularly that of Barack Obama, aided by the technological innovations that fall under the umbrella of Web 2.0, offer new models of online political communication. Through an analysis of the websites and linked online presences of six parties that stood across the UK at the 2010 General Election, we find a dual strategy for Internet campaigning emerging. The persuasive traditions of electioneering remain a feature; however, the key emergent function is one of internal marketing to party supporters and activists. Large sections of party websites are being dedicated to harnessing supporters and converting them to being donators, promoters, and campaigners both online and offline. This suggests that the Internet is increasingly embedded within election communication and online communication strategies are becoming a feature of most of the parties' marketing communication mix.


This paper employs an Extreme Value Theory framework to investigate the existence of contagion between European and US banks. The fact that many regulators have no detailed data sets about interbank cross-exposures raises the necessity of finding market-based indicators in order to analyze the effects of crises and to quantify the risk of contagion. The Distance-to-default (DD) measure is being employed as an indicator of banks' soundness. Focusing on the negative tail of the daily percentage changes of the DD, a country-specific indicator variable labeled Coexceedances is built measuring the number of banks simultaneously experiencing a large shock on a given day. Based on a multinomial logit model, for each country the probability of observing several banks in the tail is estimated. Controlling for common factors and including foreign countries' lagged coexceedances allows to interpret significant coefficients of foreign lagged coexceedances as contagion. The main finding is that there is significant bi-lateral contagion between European and US banks. Furthermore the existence of contagion between European banks is verified by the underlying data set.


On a peat and heather island off the west coast of Scotland, Effie and her mother Nora take refuge in the large mouldering house of their ancestors and tell each other stories.Nora, at first, recounts nothing that Effie really wants to hear, like who her father was - variously Jimmy, Jack, or Ernie. Effie tells of her life at college in Dundee, the land of cakes and William Wallace, where she lives in a lethargic relationship with Bob, a student who never goes to lectures, seldom gets out of bed, and to whom the Klingons are as real as the French and the Germans (more real than the Luxemburgers).But strange things are happening. Why is Effie being followed?Is someone killing the old people? And where is the mysterious yellow dog?


Abstract The peroxidation of linoleic acid (LA) in the presence of copper(II) (Cu(II)) ions alone and with α-tocopherol (α-TocH) was investigated in aerated and incubated emulsions at 37 °C and pH 7. Additionally, the effects of quercetin (QR) and its O-methylated derivative, isorhamnetin (IR), as potential antioxidant protectors were studied in the (Cu(II) + TocH)-induced LA peroxidation system. Cu(II)-induced LA peroxidation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with respect to primary (hydroperoxides) and secondary (aldehydes- and ketones-like) oxidation products, which were determined by ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances methods, respectively. As opposed to the concentration-dependent (at 0.6 and 10.0 µM) prooxidative action of α-TocH in the absence of QR and IR, the latter two compounds showed antioxidant effect over TocH. The peroxidation of LA in the presence of Cu(II)−H2O2 combination alone and with TocH, QR and IR were also investigated in aerated and incubated emulsions, where the latter three compounds exhibited antioxidant effects.


Multi-wavelength sunphotometry provides a quantitative index that relates to total suspended aerosol in the atmospheric air column above the observer. In addition, it has the capability of delineating characteristic features of different air masses and the aerosol sources that affect them, when used in conjunction with other aerosol and meteorological measurements. Daily averaged retrievals of AERONET(AErosol RObotic NETwork) sun photometer measurements from July 2007 to June 2008 are used to provide preliminary results on the characterization of aerosol properties and changes over south–east Romania, near Bucharest, at Magurele (44.35N, 25.05E). It is shown that aerosol optical and microphysical properties and the dominating aerosol types are influenced by the long range transport of Saharan dust and biomass burning. Aerosol-parameter frequency distributions reveal the presence of individual modes that lead to the assumption that moderately absorbing urban– industrial aerosols are usually characterizing the atmosphere above Magurele. The reported data agree well with known aerosol information retrieved from climatology of 10 years of observations of other AERONET sites.


Forest management practices fundamentally impact the structure of a forest (relatively young stage of forest development, dominating stands with only one or two species of trees, planting coniferous tree species on habitats of deciduous forests, introducing alien tree species, very limited volume of dead wood). Bryophytes are especially sensitive to silvicultural practices. The aim of this study was to examine the importance of particular substrates for maintaining bryophyte species diversity in the Murckowski Forest (Silesian Upland S Poland), which is at present a managed forest. In 100 sampling plots, the structure of the forest and the species composition, frequency and abundance of bryophytes on different types of substrates (ground, tree base, tree trunk and dead wood) were analysed. In total, 54 bryophyte species were recorded (five liverworts and 49 mosses). The largest number of species was observed on dead wood (42), while the lowest number was of typical epiphytes growing on tree trunks bark more than 30 cm above the ground (18). This study confirms that dead wood is a key habitat and determines not only the number of epixylic species, but also the whole richness of bryophyte species. Maximal diameter of trees and presence of old tree stands were significant factors for species that were colonizing the tree bases.


Rapid and simple routes to functional polymersomes are increasingly needed to expand their clinical or industrial applications. Here we describe a novel strategy where polymersomes are prepared through an in-line process in just a few hours, starting from simple acrylate or acrylamide monomers. Using Perrier's protocol, well-defined amphiphilic diblock copolymers formed from PEG acrylate (mPEGA480), 2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl-3-chloro-4-hydroxybenzoate (ACH) or 2-(3-chloro-4-hydroxybenzamido)ethyl acrylate (CHB), have been synthesised by RAFT polymerisation in one-pot, pushing the monomer conversion for each block close to completion (≥94%). The reaction mixture, consisting of green biocompatible solvents (ethanol/water) have then been directly utilised to generate well-defined polymersomes, by simple cannulation into water or in a more automated process, by using a bespoke microfluidic device. Terbinafine and cyanocobalamine were used to demonstrate the suitability of the process to incorporate model hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, respectively. Vesicles size and morphology were characterised by DLS, TEM, and AFM. In this work we show that materials and experimental conditions can be chosen to allow facile and rapid generation drug-loaded polymersomes, through a suitable in-line process, directly from acrylate or acrylamide monomer building blocks.


We present a probabilistic framework for learning pairwise similarities between objects belonging to different modalities, such as drugs and proteins, or text and images. Our framework is based on learning a binary code based representation for objects in each modality, and has the following key properties: (i) it can leverage both pairwise as well as easy-to-obtain relative preference based cross-modal constraints, (ii) the probabilistic framework naturally allows querying for the most useful/informative constraints, facilitating an active learning setting (existing methods for cross-modal similarity learning do not have such a mechanism), and (iii) the binary code length is learned from the data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach on two problems that require computing pairwise similarities between cross-modal object pairs: cross-modal link prediction in bipartite graphs, and hashing based cross-modal similarity search.


We investigate star formation and dust heating in the compact far-infrared (FIR) bright sources detected in the Herschel maps of M83. We use the source extraction code GETSOURCES to detect and extract sources in the FIR, as well as their photometry in the mid-infrared and Hα. By performing infrared spectral energy distribution fitting and applying an Hα-based star formation rate (SFR) calibration, we derive the dust masses and temperatures, SFRs, gas masses and star formation efficiencies (SFEs). The detected sources lie exclusively on the spiral arms and represent giant molecular associations, with gas masses and sizes of 106–108 M and 200–300 pc, respectively. The inferred parameters show little to no radial dependence and there is only a weak correlation between the SFRs and gas masses, which suggests that more massive clouds are less efficient at forming stars. Dust heating is mainly due to local star formation. However, although the sources are not optically thick, the total intrinsic young stellar population luminosity can almost completely account for the dust luminosity. This suggests that other radiation sources also contribute to the dust heating and approximately compensate for the unabsorbed fraction of UV light.


We propose and analyze biperiodic photonic crystal waveguides, where there are two sets of discrete translational symmetry along the propagation direction of the photonic crystal waveguides. We present a general method based on a spatial Fourier transform for the calculation of mode dispersion in such biperiodic waveguides. We demonstrate that by modifying the periodicity of only two rows of air holes adjacent to the guiding region, we can achieve guiding through the entire frequency band gap and greatly reduce the group velocity dispersion of the waveguide mode.


The pre-Cenozoic rocks of Tobago, West Indies, represent an exceptional cross-section through a portion of a composite Mesozoic arc system, other parts of which may be found in the Villa de Cura klippe, the Aruba-Blanquilla island chain, and perhaps in the Western Cordillera of Colombia and Ecuador. The geochemical data from Tobago presented in this paper provide a basis from which a regional view of the petrologic character of the accreted Mesozoic arc of the Southern Caribbean Mountain system can be deduced. The Mesozoic rocks of Tobago can be divided into four main groups: the North Coast Schist, the ultramafic to mafic plutonic complex, the Tobago Volcanic Group, and late mafic dykes. Rocks of the North Coast Schist served as wallrock for the plutonic–volcanic–dyke complex, which evolved during the mid-Cretaceous. Geochemical and Nd and Sr isotopic data presented demonstrate the oceanic island arc character of all the pre–Cenozoic rocks of the island. All suites span the calc-alkaline and tholeiitic regions on discrimination diagrams. Rare Earth element (REE) patterns for the North Coast Schist, Tobago Volcanic Group and plutonic suite are essentially identical and are moderately LREE-enriched (La/Yb = 1.1–2.7). The dykes exhibit the most unevolved REE patterns, and are interpreted as most closely representative of parental liquid compositions. Initial ɛNd (+6.6 to +9.4) and 87Sr/86Sr (0.70303–0.70364) for all samples except North Coast Schist and Tobago Volcanic Group argillites are similar in value and overall range to other oceanic island arcs. Limited isotopic data from argillite samples from Tobago suggest an important change in the continental-derived sediment contribution during Mesozoic arc growth. Nd isotopic data from North Coast Schist siliceous argillite indicate virtually no continental detritus in this Neocomian sediment, while Nd isotopic data from the Tobago Volcanic Group argillite suggest a definite continental contribution during Albian arc growth.


This paper explores the formation of compounds in Maka and intends to characterize these constructions in formal, semantic and typological terms. To this end, we have considered elements that constitute compounds and the resulting lexemes, as well as the relationship between constituents. We also seek to contribute to the discussion about the parameters that should be taken into account for lexemes to be considered compounds, and whether they correspond to the features found in languages from the same family or to a typological universal. In order to do so, we also compare the findings to derivational strategies, and discuss the sometimes unclear boundaries between the phenomena of composition and derivation. Keywords: Maka; Gran Chaco region; composition; derivational morphology; typology


This paper presents a functional description of a versatile computer program developed to provide rapid response to spectrum generation requirements. The program, when supplied with flight profiles and the distribution ofthose profiles during the aircraft lifetime, will create a randomly sequenced flight-by-flight spectrum in terms of load factors, loads, or stress at a specific structural location. The heart of the program is a data base containing the frequency definition of load factor occurrences representing the gust and maneuver load cycles for various flight segments. This paper discusses the establishment of the data base from data published in MIL-A-87221 and the FALSTAFF reports, from analytically derived load factor data and from flight load records from specific aircraft. The various forms of load factor data acceptable to the program, namely, exceedance curves, range/mean tables, and the FALSTAFF methodology, are discussed as to advantages and disadvantages. The program will accept multiple flight profiles each with multiple flight segments defined by segment title, segment time, and selected significant flight parameters such as gross weight, Mach number, altitude, and aircraft geometry. For each profile, the procedure creates a series of individual flight load factor spectra each of which differs from all others in load sequence and magnitude while maintaining the sequence of the flight segments. The spectra include the infrequent high loads randomly selected from within the statistics of the data base. Load-factor spectra to stress spectra conversion is briefly discussed in terms of the program capability. The output spectrum is a series of flights representing a defined period of usage with the flights representing the various profiles randomly sequenced within the supplied distribution statistics. The spectrum form is suitable for direct input to fatigue or crack growth programs or can be output to tape for submittal to a fatigue testing machine.


This paper investigates online propaganda strategies of the Internet Research Agency (IRA)—Russian "trolls"—during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. We assess claims that the IRA sought either to (1) support Donald Trump or (2) sow discord among the U.S. public by analyzing hyperlinks contained in 108,781 IRA tweets. Our results show that although IRA accounts promoted links to both sides of the ideological spectrum, "conservative" trolls were more active than "liberal" ones. The IRA also shared content across social media platforms, particularly YouTube—the second-most linked destination among IRA tweets. Although overall news content shared by trolls leaned moderate to conservative, we find troll accounts on both sides of the ideological spectrum, and these accounts maintain their political alignment. Links to YouTube videos were decidedly conservative, however. While mixed, this evidence is consistent with the IRA's supporting the Republican campaign, but the IRA's strategy was multifaceted, with an ideological division of labor among accounts. We contextualize these results as consistent with a pre-propaganda strategy. This work demonstrates the need to view political communication in the context of the broader media ecology, as governments exploit the interconnected information ecosystem to pursue covert propaganda strategies.


An optimal road capacity exists at which the energy use of the road infrastructure and its traffic is minimal. It implies that 15% of the time, the traffic is jammed. The socioeconomic optimal road capacity implies jammed traffic for no more than 5% of the time. The claim that widening roads reduces the environmental damage of transport, because it prevents the formation of traffic jams, is generally speaking incorrect. However, modification of road transport infrastructure with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions of transport is not efficient, since other economic sector can reduce CO2 emission at far less costs.

Should one wish to optimize a network on a criterion that is different from the criterion that governs the flows over the network, complex systems behavior looms. This report advocates the use of back casting as most likely approach to optimize complex networks on an infinite horizon basis. In a network that should be build up, the procedure that leads to a (near) optimal construction strategy is demonstrated.

First, one assesses the optimal end state of the system. Second, one determines the time that is required for the construction works to transform the network from the original configuration to the optimal end configuration. Consequently, one back casts the system configuration under the condition that the shadow price of a network link modification is equal for all network links. As long as the attainability domain is respected, this procedure is shown to provide near optimal results. Whether the near optimal results are also unique, optimal results is not mathematically proven.


Ultra and Very high speed radio platforms are key developing technologies for emerging applications but raise issues of efficient radio spectrum management, wireless coexistence and interoperability, from the radio physical layers to the media access control layers. Among these broadband radio platforms, Ultra Wide Band (UWB) is a very promising technology for the broadband transmission of data using spectrum-efficient and flexible radio techniques. Initiatives such as the WiMedia Alliance have developed concepts to use UWB as a standard radio platform allowing transport of upper level protocols such as Wireless USB (WUSB), TCP/IP (using the WiMedia Logical Link Control Protocol, WLP) and the next generation of Bluetooth. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is producing harmonised standards to foster UWB adoption in Europe; nevertheless Europe is still lagging behind the USA and others. If not corrected, this situation could hinder the European innovation potential to develop new applications and services based on extremely high capacity networks. To pursue the needed European standardisation and regulation efforts, while reinforcing the European leadership in the field of wireless networks, a new range of broadband (including UWB) testbeds have to be developed. The WALTER project will address this need and overcome the associated technological issues of measuring ultra-high frequency signals by developing a pan-European interconnected testbed. This testbed will make use of the strong European expertise in conformance and interoperability testing. Based on a deep needs analysis and specifications definition, it will be flexible enough to address both the short-term (industry and regulators) and long-term needs (research communities), while allowing testing of spectrum mitigation techniques. The deployment of these testbeds will be supported by dissemination activities and liaison with international stakeholders. The organisation of two interoperability events will allow a large operational circulation of the project outcomes.


Background: Surgical pathology reports (SPR) contain rich clinical diagnosis information. The text information extraction system (TIES) is an end-to-end application leveraging natural language processing technologies and focused on the processing of pathology and/or radiology reports. Methods: We deployed the TIES system and integrated SPRs into the TIES system on a daily basis at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. The breast cancer cases diagnosed in December 2013 from the Cancer Registry (CANREG) were used to validate the performance of the TIES system. The National Cancer Institute Metathesaurus (NCIM) concept terms and codes to describe breast cancer were identified through the Unified Medical Language System Terminology Service (UTS) application. The identified NCIM codes were used to search for the coded SPRs in the back-end datastore directly. The identified cases were then compared with the breast cancer patients pulled from CANREG. Results: A total of 437 breast cancer concept terms and 14 combinations of "breast" and "cancer" terms were identified from the UTS application. A total of 249 breast cancer cases diagnosed in December 2013 was pulled from CANREG. Out of these 249 cases, 241 were successfully identified by the TIES system from a total of 457 reports. The TIES system also identified an additional 277 cases that were not part of the validation sample. Out of the 277 cases, 11% were determined as highly likely to be cases after manual examinations, and 86% were in CANREG but were diagnosed in months other than December of 2013. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the TIES system can effectively identify potential breast cancer cases in our care setting. Identified potential cases can be easily confirmed by reviewing the corresponding annotated reports through the front-end visualization interface. The TIES system is a great tool for identifying potential various cancer cases in a timely manner and on a regular basis in support of clinical research studies.


The hippocampus, in humans and rats, plays crucial roles in spatial tasks and nonspatial tasks involving episodic-type memory. This thesis presents a novel computational model of the hippocampus (CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus) which creates a framework where spatial memory and episodic memory are explained together. This general model follows the approach where the memory function of the rodent hippocampus is seen as a "memory space" instead of a "spatial memory". The innovations of this novel model are centred around the fact that it follows detailed hippocampal architecture constraints and uses spiking networks to represent all hippocampal subfields. This hippocampal model does not require stable attractor states to produce a robust memory system capable of pattern separation and pattern completion. In this hippocampal theory, information is represented and processed in the form of activity patterns. That is, instead of assuming firing-rate coding, this model assumes that information is coded in the activation of specific constellations of neurons. This coding mechanism, associated with the use of spiking neurons, raises many problems on how information is transferred, processed and stored in the different hippocampal subfields. This thesis explores which mechanisms are available in the hippocampus to achieve such control, and produces a detailed model which is biologically realistic and capable of explaining how several computational components can work together to produce the emergent functional properties of the hippocampus. In this hippocampal theory, precise explanations are given to why mossy fibres are important for storage but not recall, what is the functional role of the mossy cells (excitatory interneurons) in the dentate gyrus, why firing fields can be asymmetric with the firing peak closer to the end of the field, which features are used to produce "place fields", among others. An important property of this hippocampal model is that the memory system provided by the CA3 is a palimpsest memory: after saturation, the number of patterns that can be recalled is independent of the number of patterns engraved in the recurrent network. In parallel with the development of the hippocampal computational model, a simulation environment was created. This simulation environment was tailored for the needs and assumptions of the hippocampal model and represents an important component of this thesis.


The article examines the archaeological finds from Estonia that are decorated in Scandinavian Late Viking Age ornamental styles. The majority of such finds come from burials in local fashion. The aim of the article is to outline the role of Scandinavian ornament in culture, social strategies, ideology and identity of the local society. Belt fittings and silver-plated weapons comprise the largest part of such finds. While the belt fittings often show simplified patterns, pure Scandinavian style ornament is found on weapons. The current article aims to propose a connection between warfare and warrior culture and the usage of Scandinavian ornament in Estonia. This martial link is found to coincide with the meanings proposed for animal ornament in Scandinavia. In Estonia, the fashion to decorate weapons was most widely spread in the time of Ringerike and Urnes styles. In that period, decorated weapons may have had a specific role in social strategies, probably implying the rise in position of the warrior strata. The article also discusses international relations as the background for the adoption of Scandinavian ornament. The gender aspect is mentioned, as the Scandinavian ornament associates with the male warrior role, while different symbolic languages were used in female attire. The Late Viking Age Scandinavian ornament in Estonia is seen as the visual display of the identity of warriors' social class and the affiliation of Estonian warriors with the Scandinavian cultural sphere, while the local identity was manifested mainly by some types of female jewellery.


This study examined the effect of two different authentic topic-familiar rhetorical L2 listening tasks (expository and argumentative) differing in reasoning demand on the listening comprehension scores of a number of Iranian EFL advanced learners. Sixty homogeneous advanced learners were recruited based on their performance on an English Language Proficiency test (Fowler & Coe, 1976). Then they took a researcher-made test of the two rhetorical listening tasks. The results showed statistically insignificant effect of topic-familiar rhetorical listening tasks on the participants� listening scores. However, learners� performance on familiar expository tasks was statistically, though not meaningfully, better than their counterparts� performance on the argumentative tasks. It was also shown that general, vague topic familiarity cannot exclusively help affect listening quality, but it seems different rhetorical listening tasks would expose more cognitive and linguistic complexity demands on the participants� performance. The main implication would be that Iranian advanced language learners need more precise instruction on different rhetorical tasks in conjunction with elaborated social and cultural background knowledge of topics. In addition, participants� general proficiency level should be cautiously construed as their proficiency in listening skill, too.


We would like to sincerely express our gratitude to the university of Tehran and faculty of veterinary medicine research council for approval and financial support for this extensive evaluation of tensile strength of the superficial digital flexor tendon in horses subjected to Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation (TENS) therapeutic regimen Problems statement: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of TENS on the tensile strength of experimentally traumatized SDFT in horses. Approach: Eight adult castrated horses between 4-9 years-old and 310-395 Kg body-weight were considered. The left fore-limb superficial digital flexor tendon of each horse was splitted longitudinally in the middle portion in full thickness of 10 cm in length using B.P. blade (15 Times strike), then the connective tissue and skin were approximated using No 2 Nylon. Horses were divided into two groups of control and treated with 4 horses each. No treatment was given to control one, whereas treated group was subjected to the transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation (Newtens 900c) therapeutic regimens10 min daily with intensity of 80 µs, 100 Hz frequency for 14 days. After 60 days, the full length of SDFT (20 cm) was removed from the right normal countralaleral and left traumatized tendon of control and treated limbs of all horses to be subjected to test of tensile strength using Zwick/Roell MDTL Machine with speed of 0.07 mM sec−1 having Proportional Integral Deferential (PID) controller. In assessing the variation obtained data was analyzed using paired-t-test. Results: Data of the tensile strength was revealed an average 0.6625 KN for normal SDFT, 0.6375 KN for treated tendon and 0.6175 KN for control tendon .There was significant improvement in regaining tensile strength in treated tendons comparison to control ones in Conclusion: TENS significantly accelerated healing and remodeling of traumatized tendon to regain its tensile strength.


We present the study of one of the first magnetopause crossings observed by the four Cluster spacecraft simultaneously, on 10 December 2000. Although the delays between the crossings are very short, the features of the boundary appear quite different as seen by the different spacecraft, strongly suggesting the presence of a local curvature of the magnetopause at that time. The small-scale fluctuations observed by the STAFF search-coil experiment are placed in relation to this context. A preliminary investigation of their behaviour on the boundary and in the neighbourhood magnetosheath is performed in comparison with the theoretical model of Belmont and Rezeau (2001), which describes the interaction of waves with the boundary.


Over the last decade, mobile communications have been witnessing an unprecedented rise of mobile user demand that is perpetually increasing due to the introduction of new services requiring extremely fast and reliable connectivity. Moreover, there is an important increase of the number of devices connected to cellular networks because of the emergence of the machine-type communication and internet of things. Indeed, data traffic on mobile networks is increasing at a rate of approximately 1.5 to 2 times a year, therefore mobile networks are expected to handle up to 1000 times more data traffic in 10 years time. Because of this huge number of wireless terminals, in addition to the deployed radio access networks (RANs) necessary to serve them, future fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks will suffer from an enormous growth of energy consumption that will cause negative economical and environmental impacts. It is predicted that if no actions are taken, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita for ICT are estimated to increase from 100 kg in 2007 to about 130 kg in 2020. Therefore, there is an urgent obligation to develop new techniques and technologies in order to cope up with the exponential energy growth and correspondingly the carbon emission of emerging wireless networks. From a cellular network operator perspective, reducing fossil fuel consumption is not only for behaving green and responsible towards the environment, but also for solving an important economical issue that cellular operators are facing. Indeed, such energy consumption forces mobile operators to pay huge energy bills which actually constitute around the half of their operating expenditures (OPEX). It was shown that, currently, cellular networks consume around 120 TWh of electricity per year and mobile operators pay around 13 billion dollars to serve 5 billion connections per year. Therefore, there is a growing necessity to develop more energy-efficient techniques to enhance their green performance while respecting the user's quality of experience. Although most of the proposed studies were focusing on individual physical layer power optimizations, more sophisticated and cost-effective technologies should be adopted to meet the green objective of 5G cellular networks. This study investigates three important techniques that could be exploited separately or together in order to enable the wireless operators achieve significant economic benefits and environmental savings: - Cellular networks powered by the smart grid: Smart grid is widely seen as one of the most important means that enhance energy savings and help optimize some of consumers' green goals. It can considerably help in reducing GHG emissions by optimally controlling and adjusting the consumed energy. Moreover, it allows the massive integration of intermittent renewable sources and offers the possibility to deliver electricity in a more cost-effective way with active involvement of customers in the procurement decision. Therefore, introducing the concept of smart grid as a new tool for managing the energy procurement of cellular networks is considered as an important technological innovation that would significantly contribute to the reduction of mobile CO2 emissions. - Base station sleeping strategy: Several studies show that over 70% of the power is consumed by base stations (BSs) or long term evolution eNodeB (LTE-eNB) for 4G networks. Turning off redundant or lightly loaded BSs during off-peak hours can contribute to the reduction of mobile network energy consumption and GHG emissions. - Green networking collaboration among competitive mobile operators: The fundamental idea was to completely turn off the equipment of one service provider and serve the corresponding subscribers by infrastructure belonging to another operator. However, random collaboration may lead to the increase of certain mobile operator's profit at the expense of other competitive operators. This can cause a high energy consumption and a very low profit for the active network. Therefore, fairness criteria should be introduced for this type of collaboration. In this study, we present in detail the techniques described above and provide multiple simulation results measuring the gain that could be obtained using these techniques compared to that of traditional scenarios.


Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems have become more and more popular in nowadays by providing decentralized, self-organizing and fault tolerant file sharing services. As the selfish users do not benefit from providing free service, they tend to download files from other users and yet not to upload for the others, resulting in low system efficiency. In this paper, we propose a correlated equilibrium-based file sharing game to enhance users' performance. We first characterize users' utility with their expected delay. Then, using the correlated equilibrium concept, instead of optimizing their own benefits alone, the users are aware of the best response for them to jointly optimize their strategies together and achieve the correlated equilibrium. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed scheme.


In a database broadcasting system, the server periodically broadcasts contents of database to mobile clients such as portable computers and PDAs. In this system, there are two possible methods for query processing: one is that a client stores all data which are necessary for processing a query and then processes it locally, and the other is that the server processes a query and broadcasts the query result to the query issue client. However, a client cannot get query results when the disk space of the client is not enough for query processing in the former method or when overfull queries are issued in the latter method. In this paper, to resolve these problems, we propose a method which processes a query by collaboration of the server and clients. In our method, the server adds identifiers to tuples appearing in the query result. Thus, the client can store only necessary tuples by referring to the identifiers. In addition, the server broadcasts rules which define the client's behavior for receiving data, and then, the query results are constructed on the client by using the rules. In this way, clients can get query results efficiently.


In the gas turbine engine, the OGV/prediffuser combination is key to achieve a good design for combustor external aerodynamics. Since the flow includes 3D turbulent wakes and boundary layers in adverse pressure gradients with the possibility of flow separation, the OGV/prediffuser combination offers significant turbulence modelling challenges for CFD. In order to understand the optimum approach for modelling turbulence in this important sub-component of compressor/combustor interaction, a comparison is reported in this thesis with available experimental data for both a conventional and an advanced OGV/prediffuser combination using (i) both high Re and low Re RANS CFD, (ii) LES CFD, and (iii) hybrid RANS/LES CFD. In the hybrid RANS/LES CFD, a new method based on the use of an Algebraic Stress Model and a modified Recycling and Rescaling method has been developed to generate a spatially and temporally correlated unsteady velocity field for the LES inlet conditions from the time-averaged RANS solution at OGV exit. The results show that:
1)Both high Re and low Re RANS solutions show good agreement with the experimental data for the OGV wake prediction, but high Re RANS provides better predictions of overall pressure loss and is certainly more cost effective considering computing costs.
2) The LES solution shows partial flow separation of the OGV suction side boundary layer prediction which was not noted in the experiment. This is probably caused by the presence of relaminarisation and subsequent transition of the suction side OGV boundary layer. This places high demands on the LES near wall mesh required, as well as providing an extreme challenge for the LES sub grid scale model.
3) The Hybrid RANS/LES approach is able to provide a good balance of predictive capability, matching RANS predictions on global performance (pressure rise/loss) and improving the prediction of velocity distribution at prediffuser exit, and it thus offers an optimum approach for OGV/prediffuser flow simulation considering both accuracy and cost.


: During the last three decades several hundred papers have been published on the broad topic of "program comprehension". The goal was always the same: to develop models and tools to help developers with program understanding during program maintenance. However few authors targeted the more fundamental question: "what is program understanding" or, other words, proposed a model of program understanding. Then we reviewed the proposed program understanding models. We found the papers to be classifiable in three period of time in accordance with the following three subtopics: the process, the tools and the goals. Interestingly, studying the fundamental goal came after the tools. We conclude by highlighting that it is required to go back to the fundamental question to have any chance to develop effective tools to help with program understanding which is the most costly part of program maintenance.


A primary limitation in applying Reverse Osmosis (RO) is loss of performance caused by membrane fouling resulting from compounds that bacteria can use as energy or nutrient sources. When these compounds enter RO membranes, they are capable of sustaining extensive bacterial growths on the membrane sheets as well as within feed channel spacers. This leads to the entrapment of particles and incorporation of dissolved substances into biological matrices exacerbating the biological fouling. Treating the water with oxidizing chemicals such as chlorine, ozone and potassium permanganate, increase the quantities of compounds that bacteria can use thereby increasing the membrane fouling potential. Also, traces of oxidants reaching the membranes can cause membrane damage decreasing the capability to reject both dissolved and particulate material (including viruses). It is also disconcerting that some organic compounds with relatively high molecular weights are able to pass through even tight RO membranes causing microbial growth in distribution systems. Therefore, even when using RO membranes, quality distributed water cannot be assured. If no corrective action is taken microbes can grow in the RO membranes as well as in the distribution lines. The solution to this dilemma is to grow microbes in biological filters ahead of the RO membranes. If a high quality filtration material, such as Filtralite ® expanded clay, is used for microbial attachment, it is possible to effectively remove both microbial energy and nutrient compounds even at low temperatures (6°C). Pilot and full-scale plant experiences from the Canadian prairies using biological filtration have advanced these treatment processes from experimental to proven technologies and are currently being evaluated as potentially becoming "best available technology" in the treatment of extremely poor quality brackish groundwater. The first Integrated Biological and RO Treatment Plant was commissioned in December 2003, and after two years of full-scale testing, two more plants were commissioned in December 2005. At one of these plants, conventional manganese greensand treatment was followed by RO treatment resulting in frequent chemical RO cleanings as well as membrane replacements every eight months. Removing the manganese greensand in the existing filters and replacing them with Filtralite ® material resulted in a rapid improvement of treated water quality and a literal stop to frequent RO cleanings. The biological filters need to be backwashed 36 times less than the manganese greensand filters (100 filter backwashes per year vs. 3,600). Backwash water use decreased to 0.4 million L from 23 million L and backwash labor decreased to 40 hours from 1,440 hours per year. Combining these savings with decreased RO cleanings, no need for frequent membrane replacements, and decreased chemical costs, it has been estimated that this water treatment plant serving 1,200 people will save more than $100,000 per year.


This volume appears as the product of efforts made by the executive committee of the European History Section of the Southern Historical Association over a period of several years to enhance the prestige of the organization and the quality of the program of the annual meetings. Essays include: Psychoanalyzing the Psychoanalyst: Writing the Freud Biography, Peter Gay; Allied Psychological Interpretations of Germans and Nazis During and After World War II, Louise E. Hoffman; London Quakers and the Business of Abolition: A Case for Collective Biography, Judith Jennings; The Experience of Motherhood in Early-Victorian England, Nancy Fix Anderson; Bertha von Suttner, Gender, and the Representation of War, Anne O. Dzamba; Toynbee and the Historical Profession, William H. McNeill; The Austrian Military Response to the French Revolution and Napoleon: The Problem of Popular Participation in War, Gunther E. Rothenberg; Italy's Peculiar Institution: Internal Police Exile, 1861-1914, Richard Bach Jensen; From Theory to Practice: The Reorientation in Mechanical Engineering Education and Bourgeois Society in Germany, 1873-1914, C. W. R. Gispen; Gertrud B,umer and the Weimar Republic: 'New Jerusalem' or 'Politics as Usual?', Catherine E. Boyd; Entering the Corridors of Power: English Women and the High Civil Service, 1925-1945, Gail L. Savage; The Politics of Opposition: German Socialists and the Tirpitz Plan, 1898-1912, Dennis Sweeney. Co-published with the Southern Historical Association.


Wind turbines operate in the atmospheric boundary layer and are subject to complex random loading. This precludes using a deterministic response of healthy turbines as the baseline for identifying the effect of damage on the measured response of operating turbines. In the absence of such a deterministic response, the stochastic dynamic response of the tower to a shutdown maneuver is found to be affected distinctively by damage in contrast to wind. Such a dynamic response, however, cannot be established for the blades. As an alternative, the estimate of blade damage is sought through its effect on the third or fourth modal frequency, each found to be mostly unaffected by wind. To discern the effect of damage from the wind effect on these responses, a unified method of damage detection is introduced that accommodates different responses. In this method, the dynamic responses are transformed to surfaces via continuous wavelet transforms to accentuate the effect of wind or damage on the dynamic response. Regions of significant deviations between these surfaces are then isolated in their corresponding planes to capture the change signatures. The image distances between these change signatures are shown to produce consistent estimates of damage for both the tower and the blades in presence of varying wind field profiles.


ABSTRACT Coal ash producing is an increasing trend because of its high energy demand worldwide. For transportation, disposal, and reuse of the industrial waste materials, geotextile tube's dewatering technology has been widely used over the last three decades, which helps to decrease the volume of the dewatered slurry. In this study, effect of usage of polymer and fibers on dewatering characteristic of fly ash slurries was investigated. For the experimental investigation, an anionic polymer and short nylon fibers were used. As a new concept, centrifuge test is introduced as an alternative for the widely used pressure filtration test (PFT). Centrifuge test was used to evaluate final solid content of the retained sediments and change in slurry volume of fly ash. Tests were conducted on unconditioned and anionic polyacrylamide and/or fiber conditioned fly ash slurries. Centrifuge test results were compared with PFT results with respect to final solid content. It was found that fiber and/or polymer usage has remarkable effect on the dewatering rate of fly ash slurry. It was also found that final solid content of fly ash slurries was decreased by inclusion of fibers and polymer, which indicates that fiber and/or polymer usage can create more permeable soil body.


Access sensing system can be roughly divided into two categories: one is traditional, mainly based on different structures of locks with a key or a set of buttons (or a dial) for combinational codes to unlock; another type is digitally scientific, mainly consisted of electronics constructed with electromagnetic induction mechanism of locks applying a barcode card, RFID, fingerprint (palm print) identification system, or radio remote control to unlock. This paper tries to adopt the Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) transmission function through the Bluetooth and multi-authenticated encryption technology, along with the open operating system of the smartphone --Android, to establish a secure and reliable control system, to improve the weakness of the old style access sensing system, and to enhance the security on the management of access sensing system.


An almost complete section through the Mercia Mudstone Group is exposed in the cliffs
between Sidmouth and Axmouth on the south Devon coast. This is the only section in
North West Europe that exposes such a complete sequence of the mid to late Triassic
'Keuper Marl' facies. The c. 450.m-thick succession dips gently eastwards in a series of
long, continuous sections that are separated from one another by minor faults which, with
one exception, do not cut out any of the succession. At Seaton about 50 m of strata occur
within a complexly faulted zone in which fault-bounded fragments of the succession
cannot be readily correlated with the main outcrop. The availability of a continuous core
from a nearby borehole has enabled the sequence in the faulted section to be pieced
together for the first time, and to provide a complete stratigraphy for the group. The
previously un-named lower part of the Mercia Mudstone Group (the beds below the Blue
Anchor Formation) exposed in the Devon coastal sections can be divided into three
formations and nine members based on gross lithology. The lowest and highest of these
formations consists of relatively monotonous red mudstones for which the names
Sidmouth Mudstone and Branscombe Mudstone are proposed. The middle formation, for
which the name Dunscombe Mudstone is proposed, consists of a 35 m-thick sequence of
laminated green, purple and grey mudstones which expands in some inland successions
proved in boreholes to over 100 m by the addition of thick beds of salt. The lithologies
exposed in the coastal sections can be correlated with the geophysical-log signatures of the
Mercia Mudstone Group successions proved in inland boreholes throughout the Wessex
Basin.


Abstract Stress levels in wildlife species are an accurate indicator of an animal's well-being and can reflect decreases in habitat quality. Stress levels can be measured by the presence of the stress response hormones cortisol, cortisone, and corticosterone. Analysis of these stress hormones in fecal samples has been widely used because feces can be easily obtained and non-invasively collected in the field. Methods of detecting stress levels from fecal samples of wildlife species are currently limited to enzyme immunoassay testing. This method uses antibodies to bind to target stress hormones. However, immunoassay testing can be time consuming and very expensive 2 . We propose that Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) offers a new method to quantify levels of the stress hormones from fecal samples that is less expensive and time consuming than traditional immunoassays 1 . As part of the Idaho Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP), we are developing a simple, accurate, and relatively inexpensive method to detect stress hormones in fecal samples from free-ranging pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) and sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) using LC-MS/MS.


Transfer of learning through training contributes to clients, managers, and organizations' success in achieving organizational goals. Therefore, learning gained evaluation is very important to measures transfer of learning and skills development of employees. However, to avoid training evaluation costs, usually institutions are not interested to evaluate its training performance by outside evaluators and consultants. Hence, less expensive self-reporting training evaluation methods are popular to evaluate training participants' changing performance and their contributions in achieving institutional goals. This paper reviews self-reporting different training evaluation methods and their suitability of using Grameen Bank's training evaluation in order to measure learning achievement and skills development of the Grameen Bank's officials. The paper also discusses prospective and retrospective self-reporting methods and compares them with other training measurement methods to find an appropriate training evaluation method for Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.


We report on the determination of micromagnetic parameters of epilayers of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As, which has an easy axis in the sample plane, and (Ga,Mn)(As,P), which has an easy axis perpendicular to the sample plane.We use an optical analog of ferromagnetic resonancewhere the laser-pulse-induced precession of magnetization is measured directly in the time domain. By the analysis of a single set of pump-and-probe magneto-optical data, we determined the magnetic anisotropy fields, the spin stiffness, and the Gilbert damping constant in these two materials. We show that incorporation of 10% of phosphorus in (Ga,Mn)As with 6% of manganese leads not only to the expected sign change of the perpendicular-to-plane anisotropy field but also to an increase of the Gilbert damping and to a reduction of the spin stiffness. The observed changes in the micromagnetic parameters upon incorporating P in (Ga,Mn)As are consistent with the reduced hole density, conductivity, and Curie temperature of the (Ga,Mn)(As,P) material.We also show that the apparent magnetization precession damping is stronger for the n=1 spinwave resonance mode than for the n=0 uniform magnetization precession mode.


Background : The purpose of this pilot study was to identify differences between sitting and standing time in high school students' pre and post stand-biased desk intervention. Methods : ActivPal3™ activity monitors were affixed to 25 Bryan Collegiate High School students' to monitor their standing time and activity levels. Data were collected at the beginning of the school year (fall) in traditional seated desks and in the spring in stand-biased desks. After attrition, 18 of the original 25 students were included in the final analysis. The physical activity data (steps) as well as standing and sitting time data provided by the monitors was used for within subject intervention analyses. Results : Descriptive statistics and a two-sided t-test were used to analyse differences between pre and post intervention sitting and standing times. Analysis indicated a significant reduction of sitting time post stand-biased desk intervention (p<0.0001) and a significant increase in standing time, post stand-biased desk intervention (p<0.0001). Analysis also revealed a non-statistically significant (p < 0.0619) average increase of 2,286 steps per school day when comparing mean steps pre-intervention (6,612) and post-intervention (8,898). Conclusions : Standing desks have the potential to reduce sedentary behavior and increase light to moderate physical activity for high school students during the school day.


The design of a simulation environment is described for a machine vision (MV)-based approach for the problem of aerial refueling (AR) for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using the USAF refueling method. MV-based algorithms are implemented within the proposed scheme to detect the relative position and orientation between the UAV and the tanker. Within this effort, techniques and algorithms for the visualization the tanker aircraft in a virtual reality (VR) setting, for the acquisition of the tanker image, for the feature extraction (FE) from the acquired image, for the feature matching (FM) of the features, for the tanker-UAV pose estimation (PE) have been developed and extensively tested in closed-loop simulations. Detailed mathematical models of the tanker and UAV dynamics, refueling boom, turbulence, wind gusts, and tanker's wake effects, along with the UAV docking control laws have been implemented within the simulation environment. This paper also presents the results of a study relative to the use of passive markers versus feature extraction for the problem of estimating in real time the UAV-tanker relative position and orientation vectors.


Visual exploration of large multidimensional datasets has seen tremendous progress in recent years, allowing users to express rich data queries that produce informative visual summaries, all in real time. However, a limitation with current techniques is their lack of guidance. Exploration in existing methods is typically driven by data aggregation queries, but these are unable to suggest interesting aggregations and are limited in helping the user understand the types of queries that lead to certain aggregations. To tackle this problem, it is necessary to understand how the space of queries relates to their aggregation results. We present NNCubes: neural networks that are surrogate models for data cube techniques. NNCubes learns a function that takes as input a given query, for instance a geographic region and temporal interval, and outputs an aggregation of the query. The learned function serves as a real-time, low-memory approximator for aggregation queries. Moreover, using neural networks as querying engines opens up new ways to guide user interactions that would be challenging, to do with existing techniques. First, we show how to use the network for discovering queries that lead to user-specified aggregation results, thus providing a form of direct manipulation. Second, our networks are designed in such a way that we learn meaningful 2D projections of the individual inputs, namely that they are predictive of the aggregation operation. We use these learned projections to allow the user to explore the space of aggregation queries, to help discover trends and patterns in the data. We demonstrate both of these forms of guidance using NNCubes on a variety of datasets.


From the Publisher:
This lively introduction to computer science and computer programming in Scheme is for non-computer science majors with a strong interest in the subject and for computer science majors who lack prior programming experience. The text allows the student to experience the computer as a tool for expressing ideas, not as a frustrating set of mathematical obstacles. This goal is supported by the use of Scheme, a modern dialect of Lisp, designed to emphasize symbolic programming.


First published in 1978 under the Oxford University South Asian Studies Series, this work is an inquiry into the conceptions of love in its sacred and profane dimensions as a universal theme in religious and secular literature. The author proceeds from the universal to the particular, and examines the way in which the generic experience finds expression in a specific context, the Indian traditions, and the way in which these are exemplified in Jayadeva's well-known twelfth-century Sanskrit poem, the Gitagovinda. Simultaneously, the author considers the poem in its own cultural milieu and compares it with texts from other cultures. The volume also contains a new translation of the poem by Dr. Siegel.


Food quality and safety had become an increasing issue for quality authorities, food scientists, manufacturers, producers and consumers as well. In the present work, food quality control using bacterial identification isolated from food samples was performed. Greek olives (raw drupes), currants (dry fruits), roe (fish eggs), bacon and "feta" cheese were collected for this purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of traditional Greek food types and to compare bacterial population observed of each food matrix according to analysis method. Therefore, culture based and molecular methods were performed in parallel. Total bacterial DNA isolated from food samples was verified by PCR and PCR-RAPD amplification and then analyzed by Next Generation Sequencing. Results showed that NGS analysis can provide an advanced and detailed look at food microbiota in comparison to culture-dependent techniques. Climate conditions, environmental factors, even production or processing procedures can result an abundant bacterial diversity isolated from each food product, so NGS approaches can be suitable to elucidate the whole picture of bacteria populations. NGS analysis regarding food safety management can be applied in food industries and therefore quality and safety of food products can be reassured.


When Ernest Scott, Professor of History in the University
of Melbourne, was working on his Life of Flinders,
he employed a copyist to obtain material from the Paris
archives. The copyist found so much about Australia that
the charges mounted very high. So Professor Scott pointed
out to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library and the
Mitchell Library that they ought to have copies of these
valuable historical documents. The authorities agreed, and
the cost of Professor Scott's material was one-third of what
it would otherwise have been.
This partial overhaul of the Paris archives by an intelligent
copyist has thrown a flood of light on the early
relations of France and Australia. An examination of the
papers in the Commonwealth Library, made by the courtesy
of the Speaker, reveals the hitherto unpublished fact that
a French expedition did, in 1772, take formal possession of
Western Australia. It is not in France alone that material may be found.
Hidden away in some dusty corner in Portugal, Spain, or
possibly Holland, there may be documents which upset accepted
ideas about the obscure but fascinating subject of
early exploration in Australasian regions.


Genetic diversity of Sri Lankan goats ( Capra hircus ) was evaluated using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) method to detect polymophism in four candidate genes (LALBA, k-CSN3, GnRHR and BMP4) in a sample of 219 goats representing three phenotypic groups. All studied loci were polymorphic, having three morphs for BMP4, LALBA and two morphs for k-CSN3 and GnRHR in the study population. A significant difference between genotypic frequencies for BMP4 and GnRHR genes was found while PIC criterion revealed an intermediate polymorphism for all analyzed phenotypic groups except for k-CSN3 and GnRHR genes. Cross-bred animals for BMP4 gene and nondescript animals for LALBA gene were comparatively more polymorphic according to the effective allele number criterion. This study provides insight into the genetic diversity of Sri Lankan goats, which can be utilized to develop single nucleotide polymorphism markers to be used in association studies, and marker assisted selection. Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 4(1): 133-138


With the advent of the K to 12 basic education program, it gave birth to the senior high curriculum. Senior high school curriculum offers a wide range of subjects that will prepare young Filipinos to go for further studies, entrepreneur or employment. These subjects were grouped into specialized, core and applied. One of the subjects included in applied is research. There are four (4) research subjects: Practical Research 1, Practical Research 2, Inquiries, Investigation and Immersion and Research or Capstone Project (for STEM). Thus, it is expected that senior high school students will be research oriented individuals. With this, it is essential for teachers to identify the proficiency level of students in doing research. Thus, the researcher aimed to design and develop an instrument with established validity and reliability.

            This study utilized a design and development research approach to establish the empirical basis in the creation of an instrument to measure students' research competencies. Moreover, descriptive quantitative research design will be employed in validating the developed instrument. This will be done through the use of a validation checklist.

            A five - phase model was used to create an instrument. These phase involved Phase I - Review of Literature and Defining of Constructs, Phase II - Development of Items, Phase III - Designing of Checklist and Initial Try - Out, Phase IV - Content Validation and Initial Revision and Phase V –Pilot Testing and Final Revision. The developed instrument was named as Practical Research Competencies Inventory Checklist (RCIC). Experts validated the developed instrument and it obtained a Kappa value of 0.82 (almost perfect agreement) and an Aiken value of 0.89 (Valid). When subject for pilot testing and Cronbach's alpha was computed, it obtained a value of 0.96, which implies an excellent internal consistency reliability.


The Holocaust was not only the greatest murder in history; it was also the greatest theft. Historians estimate that the Nazis stole roughly $230 billion to $320 billion in assets (figured in today's dollars), from the Jews of Europe. Since the revelations concerning the wartime activities of the Swiss banks first broke in the late 1990s, an ever-widening circle of complicity and wrongdoing against Jews and other victims has emerged in the course of lawsuits waged by American lawyers. These suits involved German corporations, French and Austrian banks, European insurance companies, and double thefts of art--first by the Nazis, and then by museums and private collectors refusing to give them up. All of these injustices have come to light thanks to the American legal system. Holocaust Justice is the first book to tell the complete story of the legal campaign, conducted mainly on American soil, to address these injustices. Michael Bazyler, a legal scholar specializing in human rights and international law, takes an in-depth look at the series of lawsuits that gave rise to a coherent campaign to right historical wrongs. Diplomacy, individual pleas for justice by Holocaust survivors and various Jewish organizations for the last fifty years, and even suits in foreign courts, had not worked. It was only with the intervention of the American courts that elderly Holocaust survivors and millions of other wartime victims throughout the world were awarded compensation, and equally important, acknowledgment of the crimes committed against them. The unique features of the American system of justice--which allowed it to handle claims that originated over fifty years ago and in another part of the world--made it the only forum in the world where Holocaust claims could be heard. Without the lawsuits brought by American lawyers, Bazyler asserts, the claims of the elderly survivors and their heirs would continue to be ignored. For the first time in history, European and even American corporations are now being forced to pay restitution for war crimes totaling billions of dollars to Holocaust survivors and other victims. Bazyler deftly tells the unfolding stories: the Swiss banks' attempt to hide dormant bank accounts belonging to Holocaust survivors or heirs of those who perished in the war; German private companies that used slave laborers during World War II--including American subsidiaries in Germany; Italian, Swiss and German insurance companies that refused to pay on prewar policies; and the legal wrangle going on today in American courts over art looted by the Nazis in wartime Europe. He describes both the human and legal dramas involved in the struggle for restitution, bringing the often-forgotten voices of Holocaust survivors to the forefront. He also addresses the controversial legal and moral issues over Holocaust restitution and the ethical debates over the distribution of funds. With an eye to the future, Bazyler discusses the enduring legacy of Holocaust restitution litigation, which is already being used as a model for obtaining justice for historical wrongs on both the domestic and international stage.


Interview with U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force veteran P. K. Carlton. Carlton speaks about his association with General Curtis LeMay, bomber operations against Japan and Japanese occupied territory, his assignment with the Strategic Air Command Operations staff under LeMay, and the role of the SAC and the B-52 in relations with the Soviets. Additionally, Carlton speaks about LeMay's role in creating a safety program for the SAC and in building SAC's communications system, in the development of radar formation flying as well as in the development of Arctic bombing routes and in the USAF's acceptance of the B-52, LeMay's relationship with the press, his efforts to establish survival schools, his influence on USAF equipment decisions, operational contributions and emphasis on readiness, and his views on the use of airpower in Vietnam.


The article explores Freud's writing on homosexuality, from his early hypotheses, expressed in his letters to Fleiss to his last observations in The Outline of Psychoanalysis, published in 1940 after his death. We trace the continuities as well as changes in his thinking, and have organized the paper conceptually, under the headings: 1) Bisexuality 2) Narcissism and Object choice, 3) On Normality and Pathology, and 4) The Quantitative factor and Aggression. We show that Freud was the first to confirm the existence of homosexualities, that he offers no black and white solution to the question of normality and pathology, although he contributes to the understanding of the vehemence that surrounds the subject, and that, in the considerable body of work, he has offered a rich and varied foundation for further thinking on the subject.


Aim: The primary objective of the maxillofacial prosthesis is to restore the function and improve the esthetic; thereby benefit for the patient life quality, the aims of the present study were to select the proper percentage of fiber addition that improves the mechanical properties of the maxillofacial silicone. Method: Total 105 samples were fabricated by the addition of 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75% by weight polyester fibers to A-2186 platinum RTV silicone elastomer after cutting into 2 mm and 4 mm length. The study samples were divided into three groups, each group containing 35 samples. One control group was prepared without polyester fibers addition and six other groups were prepared with different percentage of PA-6 micro particles 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75% by weight and different fiber length (2 mm and 4 mm). Each group was further subdivided into three groups according to the conducted tests, i.e. tear and tensile strength, shore A hardness and surface roughness tests (n=5). The data were analyzed with a descriptive statistical analysis (mean, standard deviation, and bar chart representation). Results: The mean value of tear, tensile strength, surface roughness and shore A hardness for 0.25% by weight polyester fiber (2 mm length) reinforcement group increased significantly when compared to control group on the contrast to the other values of reinforcement groups which were deteriorated significantly. Conclusion: It was concluded that maxillofacial silicone elastomer mechanical properties can be improved when 0.25% by weight of 2 mm length polyester fiber added to it.


The Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and the World Bank (the Bank) approached the EdTech Hub (the Hub) in April 2020 to explore the feasibility of implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The Hub was requested to focus primarily on the deployment of a VLE in lower secondary education, and this report consequently focuses primarily on this group. The report is structured in four sections:

An introduction to provide the background and guiding principles for the engagement with a short overview of the methodology applied.

An analysis of the Zanzibar education system with a particular focus on elements relevant to deploying a VLE. This includes the status of ICT infrastructure, and a summary of the stakeholders who will play a role in using or implementing a VLE.

A third section that discusses types of VLEs and content organisation, and their applicability to the Zanzibar ecosystem.

A conclusion with recommendations for Zanzibar, including short- and long-term steps.

In this collaboration with Zanzibar's MoEVT, the Hub team sought to understand the purpose of the proposed VLE. Based on discussions and user scenarios, we identified two main education challenges a VLE may help to resolve. In the short term, students cannot go to school during the COVID-19 crisis, but need access to educational content. There is content, but no flexible and versatile platform to disseminate content to all students. In the long term, a mechanism to provide students with access to quality, curriculum-aligned content in school, or remotely, is required.


The abstract should summarize the contents of the paper in a single paragraph of no more than 250 words (to ensure that the abstract is published in full by online services such as PubMed). No attempt should be made to provide detailed numerical results. References are not allowed in the abstract. Introduction: This section should provide a concise summary of the background to the relevant field of research, introduce the specific problem addressed by the study and state the hypotheses to be tested. Materials and Methods (or Subjects and Methods): All relevant attributes of the material (e.g. tissue, patients or population sample) forming the subject of the research should be provided. Experimental, analytical and statistical methods should be described concisely but include enough detail for others to be able to repeat the work. The name and brief address details of the manufacturer or supplier of major equipment should be given. Statistical methods should be described in enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the results reported. When possible, findings should be quantified and appropriate measures of error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals) indicated. Sole reliance on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of p values, should be avoided. Details about eligibility criteria for the subjects, the randomization and the number of observations should be included. The computer software and the statistical methods used should be specified (see Lang and Altman: Basic Statistical Reporting for Articles Published in Biomedical Journals: The 'Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature' or 'The SAMPL Guidelines'; http://www.equator-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SAMPL-Guidelines-6-27-13.pdf). Manuscripts reporting studies on human subjects should include evidence that the research was conducted ethically and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association). In particular, there must be a statement in the Materials and Methods section that the consent of an appropriate ethical committee had been obtained prior to the start of the study, and that the subjects were volunteers who had given written informed consent. Information detailing the power and sample size calculations must be included in the manuscript. Randomized clinical trials should be reported according to the standardized protocol of the CONSORT Statement. The CONSORT checklist must be submitted together with all papers reporting clinical trials. Reports on observational studies in epidemiology should be structured according to the standardized protocol of the STROBE Statement (http://www.strobe-statement. org/index.php?id=strobe-home). The STROBE checklist must be submitted together with all papers reporting observational studies in epidemiology. Reports on systematic reviews and meta-analyses should be structured to comply with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement (http://www.prisma-statement.org/ statement.htm). A PRISMA checklist must be submitted together with all papers reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies should be carried out according to the criteria described in the STARD Statement (http://www.stard-statement.org/). The STARD checklist must be submitted together with papers reporting investigations which include clinical and/or laboratory measurements. Randomized clinical trials must be registered at clinicaltrials.gov or a similar national authority and the trial number must be included in the manuscript. When submitting a paper on a clinical trial, the trial registration number should be stated at the end of the abstract using the following format: trial registration (name of the trial registry, the registry URL and the trial registration number). In studies on laboratory animals, the experimental procedures should conform to the principles laid down in the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes and/or the National Research Council Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Unless the purpose of a paper is to compare specific systems or products, commercial names of clinical and scientific equipment or techniques should only be cited in the Materials and Methods or Acknowledgements sections when appropriate. Elsewhere in the manuscript generic terms should be used.


Escalating demands for high performance wireless systems requires the confluence of smart communication methods, network protocols and ongoing advances in fabrication technologies, in order to bring smaller form factor mobile handsets to market. On par with these trends, this thesis focuses on two main areas, namely, Multiple Antenna Systems and Adaptive MAC Design to improve wireless system performance. The first part of this research work presents a mathematical framework for characterizing the performance of cellular mobile radio systems equipped with smart antennas at the mobile handset to suppress a few dominant cochannel interferers (CCI) out of a total of L active independent but non-identically distributed Rayleigh faded CCI signals. Earlier works on this subject chose an unrealistic i.i.d assumption for the cochannel interferers. Since the CCI signals are of dissimilar signal strengths in practical operating environments, the premise of i.n.d fading statistics for the cochannel interferers is more realistic. In the subsequent section an analytical framework to investigate the benefits of a hybrid antenna array using selective interference nulling (SIN) and maximal ratio combining (MRC) in mobile radio environments is developed. In the second part of this thesis, we explore the performance gains that can be achieved by exploiting the synergy resulting from the combination of the MAC and the physical layer of a wireless network. As in a traditional design, the physical layer is responsible for providing error protection for the transmission packets while the MAC layer allocates transmission bandwidth to the contending users. However, in the proposed scheme the MAC layer makes slot assignment decisions based on the channel state information (CSI) from the physical layer. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


"Public Produce" makes a uniquely contemporary case not for central government intervention, but for local government involvement in shaping food policy. In what Darrin Nordahl calls "municipal agriculture," elected officials, municipal planners, local policymakers, and public space designers are turning to the abundance of land under public control (parks, plazas, streets, city squares, parking lots, as well as the grounds around libraries, schools, government offices, and even jails) to grow food. Public agencies at one time were at best indifferent about, or at worst dismissive of, food production in the city. Today, public officials recognize that food insecurity is affecting everyone, not just the inner-city poor, and that policies seeking to restructure the production and distribution of food to the tens of millions of people living in cities have immediate benefits to community-wide health and prosperity. This book profiles urban food growing efforts, illustrating that there is both a need and a desire to supplement our existing food production methods outside the city with opportunities inside the city. Each of these efforts works in concert to make fresh produce more available to the public. But each does more too: reinforcing a sense of place and building community; nourishing the needy and providing economic assistance to entrepreneurs; promoting food literacy and good health; and allowing for 'serendipitous sustenance'. There is much to be gained, Nordahl writes, in adding a bit of agrarianism into our urbanism.


ABSTRACT We offer a comparative study of the differences in civil service laws across countries in order to observe how these systems relate to one another. We compare the civil service laws of 26 countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and eight non-OECD countries from Central and Eastern Europe to identify how different configurations of civil service systems are revealed through their shared attributes. Our data are drawn from the contents of civil service legislation and the status of those civil servants covered by the civil service laws of these countries. We use cluster analysis to identify several groups of countries whose civil service systems share similar features. We find that the estimated topography, or similarity among systems, depends on both subjective decisions about the number of groups and the variables used to estimate the space. However, we draw key conclusions about the value of certain cases, like the United States, for learning about other systems, and the need for expanded knowledge of systems from Central and Eastern Europe.


Extracted from text ... CATHERINE ORRELL, MB ChB,
MSc, DCH
Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Division
of Medicine, University of
Cape Town
WHAT IS ADHERENCE?
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy
(ART) means how correctly a person is
managing to take his/her medication.
The term 'adherence' is preferable to
'compliance', as compliance implies
that some prompting is necessary to
ensure that the medication is taken,
whereas adherence is voluntarily driven
by the individual. Adherence
means taking the correct dose of medication
at the right times, every day,
for as long as ART is required.
WHY IS ADHERENCE
IMPORTANT?
A number of studies have proved
adherence to ..


Dynamic properties of three-dimensional speckles formed in free space on a diffuse object by an illuminating Gaussian beam have been investigated by evaluation of the space–time cross-correlation function. It has been found that the major axis of three-dimensional static speckles is always directed to the center of the beam spot on the object but that dynamic speckles are directed to a position other than the center according to the velocity of the object. Moreover, the motion of dynamic speckles is composed of two types: shifting and tilting.


Attracting highly skilled workers is a major element in the economic development of many countries, especially developing ones. However, workers generally move from developing countries to developed ones. Historical evidence indicates that Korean and Taiwanese firms scout for highly skilled (retired or soon-to-retire) Japanese workers to accrue, and catch up on, knowledge. Therefore, this paper investigates how these firms scout for highly skilled Japanese workers. Aiming to produce evidence rather than testing hypotheses, this paper gives practical information on firms in developing countries in attracting highly skilled workers to drive future growth. In addition, this paper provides insights into the international mobility of highly skilled workers from a developed country to developing countries, which has not been examined in the previous literature.


A 20-year-old male patient presented at our clinic complaining of strange
visual experiences (neither decreased nor blurred) and a mild headache while reading. His best corrected visual acuity revealed
20/20 with a fort myopic correction. Intraocular pressures
measured with Dynamic Contour Tonometer (DCT) (Swiss Microtechnology AG, Port, Switzerland)
were 23.3 mmHg in the right eye (OD) and 27.4 mmHg in the left eye (OS) with cenral corneal
thicknesses (CCTs) of 588 (OD) and 591 (OS) microns, respectively. Optic
discs were bilateral pale with indistinct and scalloped margins without
cupping. Red free photos showed autofluorescence of both optic discs,
representative of optic disc drusen. Visual field analysis (VFA) of both eyes
revealed sensitivity depression with localized defects consistent with the
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) findings. Optic nerve head
drusen (ONHD), myopia and high intraocular pressures (IOPs), may cause ganglion cell damage resulting in RNFL thinning and visual
field loss. Because of the difficulty in detecting the exact cause and the
extent of the damage, patients with ONHD associated with high IOPs and myopia
should be examined closely with serial monitoring using OCT and VFA. In case of RNFL thinning and visual field defects, topical
antiglaucomatous therapy should also be determined.